The Zoo and NYC

So my friend Kelly and her daughter Elanor have been my companions the last 2 months. Kelly just barely had a baby on the 24 of this month, so while the time was passing by for her baby to come we tried to do fun things. We used to go walking 3 times a week and Elanor would feed the ducks. I have adopted her as my niece since we are all alone here. I just love that little girl!
So we decided to go to the Zoo in West Orange. It wasn't that big, but Elanor had a blast. Her favorite was not the animals.. oh no she loved this little fountain that was toddler size. It was super cute and funny. Every time we would be walking by it she would run straight for it no matter how far we were from it. She could spot that thing from the other side of the zoo. It was a really good time. It got me out of the house and Kelly too. There was a train ride that just made a loop through the woods and whenever they would ring the bell, Elanor would plug her ears and would say "the train is really loud." It was really fun and I think Elanor had a good time!
Also I guess I should add to the title the zoo, NYC, and a baby because Kelly had sweet Abigail. She is sooo beautiful and a sweetheart. I stayed the night when Kelly had Abigail so Elanor wouldn't be alone. Elanor woke up around 3:30am and when I went in to get her she told me "mommy and daddy are at the hospital having a baby."
The next day I went over to babysit for a little bit while Michael, Kelly husband went to go alone to the hospital. I asked Elanor (who had visited baby Abigail earlier) if she liked baby Abigail and El's response was "I like her just fine!" It was so funny I will never forget that coming out in her little high pitched voice. So anyways that was the Zoo and a new baby.

My old roommate who I lived with in Beauty school actually lives in Connecticut. It's about a 3-4 hour drive, so they decided to come visit for the weekend. It was so nice to have a familiar face around. We decided to go to NYC for Saturday. There was a lot we wanted to do, but plans kept changing, just due to tiredness and walking. We went on the Staten Island Ferry and that was my first time. The day was so perfect. The weather was nice and the company was good. We went and ate some good food, walked around downtown and went to Macy's That place is HUGE! We had so much fun and wish they lived closer, maybe one day huh? It was also nice for Andrew to have a couple around that we both feel comfortable with. Couples here are hard to find here that are in our stage of life and that we both like. I think we all know what I am talking about. So it was nice and relaxing!!

As far as MY sweet babe goes, everything is well. I am officially in the second trimester and have felt pretty good for the most part. I have been more tired then anything, but sometimes still sick. I have felt more at ease about the issues I had posted earlier. I am starting to look for a birthing class to take. I am 15 weeks and have a doctor's appt in 2 weeks and hopefully in another 2 after that I can get an ultrasound to find out the gender of our little pistachio! Boy or Girl what do you all think?

So as far as Andrew and I, Andrew is staying really busy and life just got more difficult since Andrew got called to be the 2 counselor in the Branch Presidency. I know that that is a big responsibility anyways, but back in Idaho and Utah things are so much more organized and "lighter." There is no way I could possibly explain our branch. It's pure CHAOS! If you ever come to visit you HAVE to visit for at least one hour in our branch. Then you will get a glimmer in to our hectic lives. It's been one crazy ride and I have loved every minute of it. I have grown so much in such a small amount of time. As hard as it's been here, I have felt blessed to be a part of it all. It's a lot of responsibility and hard work, but my kids that I teach are incredible and so worth the hard ship. Now my husband's life just got crazier as well. So pray for us, we need all the prayers we can get. We love you all so much and miss you everyday!
XOXO

PS... I promise to post pics of everything when we get back from our weekend adventure.