I Don't Know About You, But I'm Feeling 22!!

Not only am I 22 years old (for 4 more weeks) I am also in my last day of my 22nd week of pregnancy. And Baby Girl just keeps growing! 

I absolutely love feeling her little kicks and wiggles. Pregnancy truly is amazing and is a complete miracle!

This week was eventful because on Thursday I got to go to the LA Temple with some Ladies in our ward. It was so great getting out of Bakersfield for the day and enjoying time at the temple. I really learned a lot this week and it was just what I needed to get through the rest of the week!  

"I looked out the window and I saw a Temple" 

This is kind of an inside joke with my Family. When my brother Jon and I were on road trips we played a game where I said a phrase and Jon would rap with it. We were driving in the Utah valley where there are like 13 temples around and so I said that phrase, and he was so mad because nothing really rhymes with Temple. LOL

(But there is the LA Temple from the street off to the left!)

Before our session began we walked around the temple grounds. I loved this statue of this family. It is crazy for me to think that Brad and I will have our own family very soon!  

On Friday, I got a letter from Japan! My Friend Shalie Fowles is serving an 18 month mission there. She has already been out for 6 months! We used to talk on the phone for hours before she left! I miss those conversations but glad we can write letters and e-mail! She is doing so good and loves Japan! 

Friday night we went to Centennial High School's football game. We have met a lady here named Michelle and she has started coming to church. We have really connected and her son, Andrew is on the football team. Andrew played an awesome game and even scored his first Varsity Touchdown last night! 

Brookelynne, Michelle's daughter came and loved sitting with us! She is such a cute girl and had such a great time!  

It was such a fun and exciting game! I of course loved watching the cheerleaders and the band and color guard!  We had a great night and were happy to cheer on the Golden Hawks with their victory!

We have had a great week this week! It is still in the high 80's here in Bakersfield! I think I will get a rude awakening this week when I fly home to Spokane on Wednesday! We are enjoying California a lot! Brad is very busy with work and has been staying late pretty often! I stay busy at home cleaning, cooking, and crafting! Life is good! Thanks for all of our love and support! We miss everyone so much! Have a great week!

Love, 

The Duffy's

A SUPER SATURDAY!

This last Saturday was the busiest Saturday I have had down here in Bakersfield! It was very eventful and I loved every minute of it! 

On Saturday I went to our ward's Super Saturday. It is a craft day for the ladies at church and we sign up and pay in advance to make certain crafts! Because I love crafts I basically signed up for all of them! I made a thankful sign, wood pumpkins, and I signed up for this ABC gospel children's book but I didn't have enough time to make it so I brought the kit home! (That will be my project these next couple of weeks!)

Once I got home, Brad had surprised me with these beautiful Lilies. Every 19th of the month Brad surprises me with Flowers! On the 19th of November, 2010 we went on our first date so he keeps the tradition alive by getting me flowers once a month! I love it! And these smell so delicious! 

Later that afternoon he surprised me also with going to Murray Family Farms. It is a huge farm about 25 minutes away. They have so much to do and it reminded me of home when I used to go to the Harvest House on Greenbluff on a crisp fall afternoon. But here, the farm was a little different! 

First of all it was in the high 80's and second there were PALM TREES! 

There was so much to do! 

We went to the through the Corn Maze! 

They had little cheats along the way so you wouldn't be in there for too long! I say it still took us 30 minutes or so to complete it! The maze was themed with spider, bat, and dinosaur facts! 

In the middle of the Maze was this huge dinosaur print and painting of a T-Rex! (Our Nephew Brexton would have been in heaven!) 

Once we completed the maze we went to the Butterfly House! It was pretty fun seeing the butterflies fly all around us! 

Next stop was the hay ride! It took us around the farm to see the fruit orchards and then stopped at the Pumpkin Patch.

(can you tell we were a little warm?)

With our admission we were able to pick out a pumpkin for each person! They were all pretty small so we had to find the perfect one! 

One thing I had never seen before was a Grapefruit tree! They obviously weren't ripe yet but it was a new experience! 

After the hay ride we killed some time before the Pig Races. They had this huge jumping pillow! I had to get on to give it a try! I can still be a kid right!?

Farmer Katelyn!!

Then it was the moment we had been waiting for! The Dog and Hog Races!

Before the races begin you get to stop at the booth and do "free" betting! I predicted that the Red Dog or Hog would win and Brad predicted the Green Dog or Hog to win! We got our tickets and sat in the sun.(there wasn't much shade!) 

After the introductions of the Dogs, they were off! My red dog won! 

Next was the Hog Race! These were the ugliest looking hogs I had ever seen! When we first saw the sign for Pig Races we thought that little piglets would be running. Much to our surprise these hogs barely fit in the racing gate! We were cheering for "Green" Eggs and Ham, so Brad could also win! You can't tell by the picture because his green patch fell off, but GREEN Won too! 

After the races we stood in a long line to get our Blue Ribbons. Every person who predicted Red or Green to win got a Blue Ribbon. It was so fun! 

Later that night after a quick nap, Brad and I went to Que Pasa, a Mexican Restaurant down here that we have wanted to try! It wasn't too authentic but it sure was tasty!! I had enchiladas and Brad had tacos! They had very good chips and salsa as well! Our waiter sent us home with some too! 

After Dinner when we were so full, we went over to the middle of the plaza and sat at the fountain. It had finally cooled down a little and we enjoyed ourselves by talking. 

I am so glad that Brad and I can enjoy a fun day together! Even though we don't have little ones to enjoy it with, we can still be kids and have a blast! I am so grateful for a husband who surprises me and makes our weekends together so much fun! Thanks Brad!

I am also grateful that it is October and we can enjoy the harvest! Fall is and always will be my favorite season! I also love our little pumpkin family! Can't believe we are going to be a family of three here soon! Life is just so exciting!  

Love, 

The Duffy's 

BABY GIRL!!!

I can't believe how much excitement we have had the last few days! 

On Thursday, October 10th we found out the gender of our baby! The night before I could hardly sleep. I had every emotion in me. One, I was very excited but two,I was nervous and a little scared. Mainly I was just excited to see the growth of our baby on the inside since I have definitely seen the results from the outside! 

(20 weeks and 5 days!)

While getting ready for our appointment I again had every emotion and thought running through my head. One minute I was jumping up and down, to having sweaty shaking hands, to even crying at times. I think the pregnancy hormones and the fact of the unknown were definitely getting the best of me! 

Then it was time!! Brad came home from work and headed home to pick me up. Our ultra sound appointment was at 3:45 pm. We didn't get back there to the room until 4:15. The anxiety was really building up! Once we got to the room and as she put the ultra sound on my belly, the ultra sound tech said, "Oh hunny, you need to use the bathroom!" I guess my bladder was very full. I turned back to her and said, "Your right, I DO!!" I didn't really think about going to the bathroom at a time like this! 

Round two came and we had a perfect picture of of sweet baby! I was so excited to see that cute little profile! 

The ultra sound tech measured the spine, head, brain, pallet, kidneys, heart, and every thing came back perfect! It was such a relief to know we had a very healthy baby. She also measured the length of the arms and legs. Surprisingly the baby was measuring long, don't know where she got those genes! Both Brad and I are the shortest in our families! 

Next the ultra sound tech turned the ultra sound to a 4D image! That was the coolest thing! We got on the babies face and started talking and out came this adorable smile!! 

We then moved to the bottom of the baby and saw its cute legs all bunched up as if the baby was hiding. Brad and I were both searching for gender revealing parts. 

She switched back to 3D settings and the ultra sound tech announced we were having a GIRL! 

I was so surprised. I thought for sure we would be having a boy! Brad over the passed few days knew it was a girl! He was so convinced that it was a girl that the night before our appointment he said, "Katelyn, I am so convinced its a girl that we could go and buy girl clothes right now!" 

Once we found out we were having a little girl I just started crying with joy! It was such a miracle to see this beautiful girl growing healthy and strong inside of me! It is a moment I will never forget! 

After 20 minutes of poking around, baby girl had enough! She put her arm over her head and turned around. It was crazy to see her personality already! We love her so much and can't wait to meet her in person! 

Brad and I then met with our doctor! He was very pleased with the progress of my pregnancy and listened to her strong heart beat! He also let us know that the chromosomal testing I had done previously all came back negative! That was also such a great blessing! 

After we left we called our family members and let them know the good news about our baby girl! My Mom had just gotten off her airplane to come to Bakersfield. She was shocked to hear that she was getting another granddaughter! 

Before she arrived Brad and I went to dinner at our new favorite place, BJ's. It was so fun to celebrate! Brad kept saying during dinner that he hopes our baby girl is just like Me! It melts my heart every time he talks about her! 

Later that night my Mom arrived! She brought us some Halloween goodies and some baby sleepers from her and my Grandma Carma! They were pretty gender neutral since they didn't know what we were having before my mom came down! Brad and I were both so excited because we have nothing for a baby! I see lots of shopping in our near future! 

Speaking of shopping.... On Friday my Mom and I went to the Ultra Sound College here in town so she could see sweet baby girl. She heard the heart beat during the ultra sound and saw a good portion of everything we saw the afternoon before. After the appointment we went to Babies R Us and got this adorable GIRL outfit! It is just so precious!! Brad was excited too!

Over the next couple of days my Mom and I worked on some crafts for my baby shower coming up! We had such a fun weekend with her and were glad to have another visitor in our home here in Bakersfield! 

This was when we went out for frozen yogurt! It was still 80 degrees out at 8:00 pm! 

Thanks Mom for coming out and spending the weekend with us! I was so sad to see you leave! We had such a wonderful time and can't wait to see you at the end of this month in Spokane! We love you!!! 

Overall Brad and I are just filled with so much joy! We have really showed out gratitude to our Heavenly Father these last few days. It is such a blessing that everything is healthy with our baby girl! It has really become a reality to us these last few days and we are so excited to raise her! I am feeling so many movements! It is such a miracle! Thanks for all of your love and support! 

20 Weeks Down, 20 More Weeks to Go!!

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — about the size of a banana.

I felt a huge movement yesterday afternoon! It was the coolest thing I have experienced yet with this pregnancy! I have been trying to get Brad to feel it but we didn't have much success! I am sure as the pregnancy progresses, I will feel more movements and he will be able to feel them too! 

Lately I have been following several of my friends blogs. One of my friends, Kelsey McMurtrey, posted on her blog about making lists of things to do before her next birthday. She has 25 things she wants to do before she turns 25. I think that would be fun to do before I have the baby!

20 things I want to do in 20 weeks! 

1. Read the Book of Mormon, cover to cover. 

2. Attend the temple 5 times, whether it is in L.A., Spokane, Rexburg, etc. 

3. Enjoy as many date nights with Brad as I can!

4. Paint my nails once a week.

5. Finish crocheting my chevron blanket.

6. Try 10 new recipes

7. Blog at least once a week

8. Call at least 2 family members or friends during the week

9. Work out 4 times a week, even if its just going for a walk!

10. Clean for at least 30 minutes a day

11. Do a couple sewing projects for baby Duffy

12. Make some things to decorate baby Duffy's room

13. Watch 10 movies I haven't seen before

14. Take Trips to visit Family (Trips already planned for Spokane and Coeur d'Alene)

15. Register for my last semester of College

16. Make a Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Decoration for the Apartment

17. Write a missionary (Elder Duffy, Sister Fowles, or other family member/friend) every week. 

18. Get my wedding ring cleaned

19. Review a conference talk every Sunday!

20. Meet someone new every week! 

So I hope these things are unrealistic because I really want to accomplish all of these things before baby Duffy comes! I will blog about my progress! I encourage other people to make a list like this and accomplish their goals. I would love to hear what your list is too! Hope all is well! 

P.S. 3 more days and we find out what we are having!!