I grew up with a family that often grilled. The McNeills have an ongoing family tradition of burgers every Saturday night and my stalwart Dad was sometimes stuck in the pouring rain “manning the barb-e.” With the help of Martha Stewart Living‘s June magazine, Conor and I decided that we needed a grill. I’ve been wanting one so I can have the heat outside rather than in and I love grilled food! So our new grill is our early 3rd anniversary gift to each other – we figured there was no point in getting one in the middle of August when the grilling season is halfway done!

That, my friends, is one happy man!

Hello! My fabulously talented SIL, Elizabeth, is doing an incredible giveaway. She’s made the most gorgeous quilt from the Darla line by Tanya Whelan.

I’m in love with the colours and although it’ll go perfect with what I’ve chosen to do for Holly, I’ll let you all know about it too since there are 6 wonderful runner-up prizes. Head on over to Pigtails and Snails to leave a comment to put yourself in the running. Honestly, you do not want to miss this.

Remember this dress that I made last spring? I was a lot thinner and my hair was shorter and lalalala! I’ll have to wear it again next May when I’m less curvy.

I like this shot because it shows just how bubbly my tummy is getting.

And I feel like this is a classic shot of myself. Okay, there’s a reason why this is called “Katie’s Blog.”

I started to notice a rythmic movement in my belly a couple weeks ago and was pretty sure it was hiccups. Nowadays she gets the hiccups almost daily, sometimes more than once. It’s kind of funny to me that a fetus can get hiccups… that amniotic fluid must be mmm..mmm…good!!

Last Friday evening, we received an early tour of the maternity ward. I’ve had contractions for a while now, but Friday night they were a little too close together for comfort. Everything turned out fine and it was just false labour. All the tests done were super reassuring and I’m confident I won’t go into labour this next week. I’m learning more about what the norm is for my pregnancy… which is daily contractions and an irritable uterus (my body really doesn’t like stretching out and making room for this baby and Holly is really possessive about her space because of it). Friday was the first time they were frequent enough to cause concern even though they weren’t really painful. Good old Braxton Hicks! Here’s a couple shots of the belly…. it’s getting bigger…!

PS: it is sooo hot in Denver and living on the 4th floor doesn’t help!

This past week, Conor’s parents were in town and we were on the go all the time. Tuesday, we went to the Denver temple to do a session. It was a bit of a cooler day (much needed) and we had a picnic before we headed into the temple. Lovely, lovely!