Calling all mothers out there!

As my belly is growing and I am now into my 6th month, I'm getting the urge to shop for baby gear...Okay let's be honest, I had that urge as soon as I saw the pee stick with a "+" sign on it. But now I'm getting serious about it, like looking with the intent of buying soon.
The main thing that is on my mind right now is a car seat/stroller. I would like something that I can use for most of my kids, if not all, so I'm looking for something nice and sturdy but not too expensive. I'm just curious as to what all you mom's have used with your kids and what your reviews are on certain brands. I've done my research online but now I want to hear from my family and friends which brands they like the best.
I've read that it's best to get a travel system which includes a car seat and stroller that the car seat snaps into and I hear Graco is a good brand but I don't know how sturdy it is. Or should I not get a stroller at all? Just get a carrier instead, like a Baby Bjorn? Help ladies, obviously I am clueless!

Holy bump!

Here are my latest belly bump pics...it's getting bigger! Which means she's getting bigger, which is perfect! These were taken last Sunday so they are my 22 week pics.

I heart my baby girl. Awww...I'm already turning into a sap. I guess it just comes with the territory. :)

I'm so excited, I finally can feel her move! And boy does she like to move! I first noticed the movement inside of me 2 Sundays ago at church. I was sitting in Sunday School and all of sudden I felt this little flutter coming from the womb. It's so hard to explain what it feels like, kind of like bubbles I guess. It is the neatest feeling in the world.

Exactly a week later, Trey got to feel her for the first time! He got so excited, it was so sweet. He got the giggles and had the biggest grin on his face the rest of the night.

I'm so much more aware of her now, it's so fun! Sometimes her movement will startle me, especially when she gives me a good jab. So I think I've pretty much figured her daily schedule out...

• 9am - Yoga (she takes after her mom, i loves the yoga)
• 11am - Taebo
• 2pm - Dancing time
• 5pm - Soccer practice
• 7pm - Water aerobics
• 10:30pm - Kickboxing

This girl is going to come out all muscle! She works out way too much...I really don't know where she gets that from.

Oh and speaking of yoga, my sister-in-law Cheryl recommended the best prenatal yoga DVD to me, I love it! It's made by Gaiam and it's called Prenatal Yoga with Shiva Rea. I highly recommend it to all you pregnant ladies out there. It's so relaxing and not too strenuous. There are 3 different women on the DVD, each representing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimesters. It's great because they show you how deep you should go into a pose depending on what trimester you're in. Every night I do it I sleep better and feel better the next day. Thanks Cheryl!

I'm a convert

So I haven't posted in a while...I'll try and be better. So an update for me personally, things are well. I just got back from University of Toledo College of Medicine. I interviewed there for a spot in the entering class of fall 2009. For those of you who are thinking "where the heck is Toledo?" it is not in Kansas. It is in northern Ohio right on the coast of lake Erie and near the Michigan border.

I'm lucky enough to have family back east so I was able to stay with my cousins who I have not seen in a decade. They live in Ypsilanti Michigan which is right next to Ann Arbor. My cousin Dave and his wife Shana are a bit older than me and have 6 kids so they feel more like a young aunt and uncle. Their kids range from 18 to 7. I had such a blast with them. In the pic below it goes (L to R) Boone (14), Kiri (16) Taylor (18), Kyla (12) Sawyer (9), Dave, Shana, and Briella (7). Oh and their dog Pedro. Missing from the pic are Bubba and Sasha the two cats. The title says I'm a convert because I am not a cat person at all. I'm all about dogs. However, when I saw bubba for the first time he was sleeping in a basket on the kitchen counter. He is not hugely fat, but decent sized. He is just a big lazy cat. He instantly warmed up to me and would come downstairs at night to sleep with me. His charm won me over and now I think I am starting to like cats. Anyway, my cousin and his fam totally rock. I was a little nervous to be staying with them because they were all so little (or yet to be born) the last time I saw them. Things just seemed to pick up right where they left off. Dave and Shana have raised some awesome kids and they all made me feel right at home. They really gave me something to shoot for as far as successful parenting goes. Well I guess something more to shoot for, because my parents did the best job on me, I turned out stunningly hansome and perfect in everyway.

So the interview was pretty rychus. It was crazy cold in mich and ohio, but the entire campus in toledo is connected by heated glass breezeways so I didn't have to brave the -15 degree weather. The interviewers seemed to be impressed with my resume and honesty so I hope they think I will be a good fit for the school. The student body is very collaborative and according to the students we spoke to, very familial. Thats important to me. Two of the students that gave a tour to us were from the Y, so they had all my LDS questions answered, which was nice. I was really impressed with the facilities and the general laid back feel of the students. I could see myself going to school there and raising a baby girl there. The best part is we'd be close to the Sylvesters and I'd get to hang out with them all the time. Ypsilanti is only 45 mins away. So on my back to Ypsi from the university I got stuck in a snow drift due to some icy roads and my sudden inability to correctly judge a u-turn in a small truck. I felt like a total idiot because it happened in front of a High school right when it was letting out.

I sat there for a while watching heavy commuter traffic speed by wishing I was in Utah because I knew 15 people would've pulled over by now. When I started feeling super sorry for myself a group of kids tried pushing me out and then a big truck and jeep cherokee stopped. Needless to say, I had a super humbling experience and am ever grateful for the kindness of complete strangers. They pulled me out and I was on my way. The trip went by way too fast, and I have been thinking a lot about how awesome my family really is...both immediate and extended. Thanks to Dave and Shana and the kids for being so hospitable to me and treating me like one of their own without expecting anything in return. I expect to return the favor someday. Anyway, enjoy the novel of a post. Rock steady.

Our little Mango is a...

Well the votes are in, and it looks like 62% of you guessed right!!! We're having a baby GIRL!!!! I was shocked, seriously shocked! I thought for sure it was a boy. So much for my motherly intuition...ha ha ha...I asked the ultrasound tech lady if she was sure and she showed us why she was pretty dang sure it was a girl. No little boy wee wee to be found. What a perfect birthday it has been. We are beyond excited! I know that little girl is going to have her daddy wrapped around her little finger, he has a soft spot in his heart for little girls. Thanks to everyone who participated in the poll, it was fun to see what everyone predicted.
Now the next step is narrowing down our lists of girl names...I seriously have 10 that I really like and I think Trey does also...or maybe we'll just stick with Mango. :)

My 24th year...

As I was looking back at some old posts I noticed that a year ago I made a post talking about highlights of my 23rd year...has it seriously already been a year already??! Man time just passes you by doesn't it! I thought since my blog has kind of turned into a online journal/scrapbook type thing, that it would be fun to do another post about the past year of Michelle's life in review...don't worry I'll skip the boring stuff.

Here are the highlights of my 24th year:

• We started doing group workouts at the Thunderdome! It had been a while since both Trey & I had worked out on a regular basis. It was a New Years resolution that was actually fulfilled! Thanks Heath for kicking our butts!
• The Islanders (Chris & Cheryl) came to visit and we got to see Cheryl with her cute pregnant belly! We had a baby shower for her and had fun hanging with all the fam (minus Mom & Dad because they were still gone on the mish). We dug out some of the old home movies and laughed our guts out! Bryan was definitely the funniest little kid ever!
• A childhood wish came true: we went to a Harlem Globetrotters show! It was very enjoyable, I'm glad we got to share that special moment with the Fullers.
• I attended my first Chinese New Year party. The food was amazing! I tried duck for my first time, everyone told me it was a delicacy but I didn't agree at all. Too greasy! We stayed for a little while to watch the crazy Chinese drinking games but left before it got too out of control. I heard some people didn't handle the Chinese "fire water" so well.
• Trey & Bryan opened for In:Avaite at Club NVO. My hubby was a rock star for a night!
• I met Jillian Michaels! She's such a midge and totally wasn't wearing a bra, ha ha ha. But she was so energetic and happy. Just a little firecracker like she is on the show.
• Spring break roadtrip to Indio!!! That was a rockin good time. So many good memories, from going to Vegas and the stupid Bellagio fountains that weren't working and Cici's Pizza, to the Tram ride and the million times we ate at In-N-Out.
• My day at the photoshoot with Tony from American Storm. Certainly something I will always remember. My job definitely has its perks, ha ha ha.
• Trey graduated Magna Cum Laude! So proud of my baby.
• I started riding Stella (my Euro cruiser) to work everyday. At first I wasn't too sure if I would like it but I ended up really enjoying my morning rides. It helped wake me up which was good because I'm NOT a morning person. By the time I got to work I was a little sweaty but ready to work! I highly recommend it...when the weather is nice of course.
• Chicago Trip! Also another awesome roadtrip with friends. This was Trey's graduation trip, we went with his high school friends and their wives/girlfriend. We stopped in Iowa to see Phil & Nicole and were introduced to The Vine, the best pub I've ever eaten at. We also got to see the flooding that covered half their town, I'd never seen anything like it. We also drove through Nauvoo & Carthage, which was neat. We had such a great time hanging with everyone. I finally got to see "The Bean"! That thing is nuts! And I went to my first major league baseball game at historic Wrigley Field. Trey loves the Cubbies so it was fun to see him so giddy.
• We bought a car! My first adult purchase, I felt so grown-up...it was weird. We love our Subaru, it has been a great investment. I'm especially grateful for the seat warmers right now.
• Went to my FIRST demo derby! I'm definitely a fan, sooo redneck, but I loved it!
• 2 of my dear friends, practically sisters, got married! It was so neat to go to their sealings and see them so incredibly happy.
• Cake decorating classes - this is something I've always wanted to do and I finally did it!
• Stake softball rocked our world...we seriously had so much fun! It was fun to hang out with everyone from the ward in a setting other than church. We ended up taking 2nd in our stake!
• P90X - thank you Tony Horton for whipping my tush into shape! These are hardcore workouts but I love them. I was sad when I had to quit because of the morning sickness, I just couldn't handle it anymore...which leads me to the next highlight...
• I GOT PREGNANT!!! YAY!
• My parents came home from their mish!
• I ran in my first Marathon Relay with Trey, Robin, Lo, and Co. I forgot how much fun it is to be in race, I love the adrenalin rush! I'm not a runner by any means so this was a big accomplishment for me.
• Trey interviewed in Iowa and Vermont for med school! We should be hearing back from both schools very soon...exciting!!!
• I made a pregnancy test cake to tell the Brenchley fam about our happy news...I never thought I would use my new skill in such a random way but the idea was pure genius!
• We had Thanksgiving with ALL the Banburys and announced that we are preggers!
• We got to be with ALL the Brenchleys over Christmas and I got to meet my nephew Luke for the first time!

Sorry if I bored any of you, I did this more for myself so I can have a condensed list of things that went on in my life over the past year. Bring on #25!!!! I've decided that I'll take Steve Carrell's advice from Dan in Real Life this year...Instead of planning ahead, just plan to be surprised. :)

The Holidayz

The holidays have been pleasant, unfortunately I was having too much fun and completely forgot to take pictures. Oopsies! I did take a few pics last night, but they're just of me and Trey. We had a few friends over and played games and ate yummy food. I caught some evil stomach bug the night before so I couldn't eat much but what I did have was delish! Thanks to everyone for contributing to a most wonderful New Years Eve feast.

We were both sporting our super cool tees

Christmas was really fun, it was so nice having all the Brenchley fam back together again! Although it did get a little crazy sometimes with all the screaming kids running around, it was worth it. It was fun seeing the Iowans & the Hawaiians and meeting my cute little nephew Luke for the first time. I'm really bummed I didn't take any pictures. Hopefully it won't be too long before we see all the out-of-staters again. We did have family pictures taken at the Capital Building so when we get those I'll post a few.

Baby Update: Tomorrow I will officially be starting my 20th week of pregnancy! I can't believe I'll already be halfway through it. It's gone by sooo fast! My little bean is not so little anymore, it's currently about the size of a large mango. And the most exciting news...we get to have our 2nd ultrasound next Tuesday, on my birthday! What a perfect present! It will be nice to see it again to make sure everything is growing properly and all is well in the womb. And the most fun part, we'll get to find out the sex (if Mango is cooperating)! I am completely convinced it is a boy and have been for some time now. We'll see if my motherly intuition is in sync. :)