Hi! I'm Laney. Good to meet you!

My parents worried I'd be a diva.  It all started when I started trying to come early, then when I refused to follow the norm and turn head down.  Little did they know, I was just excited to come meet them and show them how perfect a baby can be!

I'm a little over 4 weeks old now- Mom and Dad take me out to visit friends at BBQs and church and work parties!  I've gotten to meet both of my Grandmas, but I'm still waiting to get to know my Grandpas in person!  Nana Lewis made sure I knew how to eat and grow big. Grandma Boyce is taking care of me while Mom goes back to work.

I'm a really good sleeper. I think I could sleep in any position on any surface.

I'm a twitcher like my dad- easily startled! I keep my hands in "ready-to-be-startled position" at all times.

 

Sometimes I wake up making this face. Mom thinks it's funny, because my eyes go back and forth from left to right very quickly. Imagine that, and try not to laugh!!

 

Everyone says I look like Dad, but I look more and more like Mom every day- dimples, dainty fingers, and hair bows, mainly

 

With a little face like this, I'm pretty sure I'll be getting whatever I want, whenever I want. It's worked for me so far! 

I can't wait to meet you in person soon. I promise to be just as cute as I am now (maybe even cuter!) Did we expect anything less than a perfect child? Not really... As always, Boyce will be Boyce!

Lesson from Bedrest

Today marks 9 complete weeks of being on bedrest, and baby girl is still growing and staying put!!  Matt jokes that he is working on "keeping my mind sharp" during all the dull times. Hopefully it's not decaying that quickly, but it's hard to tell from the inside...

On stir-crazy days, I make Matt take me to stores and wheel me around. Over 9 weeks, I've tested and rated various stores' manual and automatic wheel chair options.  

First: JoAnn Fabric- 9/10 (manual wheelchair with an attached cart)  

With the proper chair pusher, this has earned itself a score of 9 for the following reasons:

Pros: 

-Variable speed options. Just push slower or faster, and you go exactly the speed you want to!

-Basket for collecting and carrying items

-Small enough to fit into aisles and turn corners!

-Able to scoot your bottom forward and recline in the seat (meeting the 45 degree angle rule!)

Cons:

-Wheels don't grip the floor very well, so pushing yourself around is near impossible

-Basket is too small for fabric things, so they like to tip out all over the floor.

Second: WalMart- 6/10 (auto chair with attached cart)

Pros:

-Average "walking" speed. You aren't crawling, aren't sprinting.

-Good size cart/basket

-Incredible turning radius!

Cons:

-You have to be sitting upright to trigger the sensor that allows you to move (no reclining!)

-The dreaded "reverse beep". As if you aren't noticeable enough...

Third: Smiths- 9.9/10 (auto chair with attached cart)

Pros:

-All the Pro's of the WalMart chair, but FASTER

-You feel like you are in a go-cart. See attached picture, with blurred edges from speed.  If you're going to use a chair, at least make the other people in the store jealous of you.

Cons: 

-You're either going (and I mean GOING!), or stopped- no middle speed.  This caused only a few collisions from unsuspecting walkers from behind.

 

Fourth: Target- 1/10 (auto chair with attached cart)

Pros:

-It's a chair.

Cons:

-It's huge. You will be in the way!

-Size increases your tendency to completely knock over clothing racks and items from shelves. Okay, it's actually inevitable. 

-Speed tops out around 5 ft/min

-"Reverse beep"- It's loud, and any reversing takes at least 30 sec.

-You will end up calling your sig. other to bail you out of awkward situations.

Take home message: For a free bumper-cars experience, dress up like a pregnant woman and patron Smiths.

Making bedrest a party because, why not?
Boyce will be Boyce (and soon, will be BOYCES!)

Growing a Kicker

We got to see Baby Girl for a nice lengthy ultrasound on Monday, Jan 13! She's a long, healthy baby, and is already looking clever! (23 weeks already!)

Do you see that sneaky thing? She gives me a good kick and then laughs about it! I'm hoping she's just as sassy when she's out here with us.

The ultrasound tech did see some things that we not quite as exciting, though.  Unknown to me, my short little cervix has been thinning and opening a bit, which puts our little baby girl at a high risk of preterm labor and delivery.  We were asked to come in again the next day to meet with the OB to double check the measurements. Until then, bed rest.

Here's what we saw at both appointments:

If you can tell what you're seeing in those pictures, you're better than I am!  What I can understand from those, however, is that the cervix length is somewhere between 2 and 2.2 cm long. Apparently anything under 3.0 cm is dangerous, so that view was not good!

It was quite a shock- having not felt any discomfort or irregularities throughout this whole pregnancy thus far! At first, I felt disappointed and scared, but I've realized how lucky we are to have seen this before any preterm labor scares! We are so blessed to know that we need to be careful and cautious with this little body! And how lucky are we to be growing this baby in a time with a medical help to almost any ailment (even those I never knew existed)? The OB gave me a prescription for a Progesterone supplement that has been proven to help aid cervical health and strength.  She's also prescribed that I be on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy, unless we see some huge improvements. 

So here I am, writing from the comfort of my living room recliner, reclined all the way, with a pillow under my bottom to elevate this growing belly. We have faith in the future and know that after doing our best to stay healthy, our life will take whatever path it's meant to. Our goal is for a 40 week old baby! Only 17 weeks to go! We're optimistic, and with a little face like this, can you blame us!? Boyce will be Boyce!

Christmas Card Announcement!

The news is out! We're having a baby girl on May 17!

We're more than excited. This little thing is going to be a charmer, and we're excited to learn a lifetime of new things from her!

We couldn't just share our news easily. We took a whole minute and a half of your life before telling!
We are divas, big surprise! Boyce will be Boyce.

Home Sweet Home

Graduating, moving, and entering the work force was sure to have it's fair share of new experiences, but I can't say we were prepared for ALL that we were about to newly experience.

We moved into a cute little apartment...

 Planned to paint a bit (didn't necessarily follow through on that plan)

Set up our little bedroom with our little view (we do have new carpet now- not installed yet in the photos)

 Cleaned this lovely kitchen

 and shoved the rest of our things in our itty bitty living room/bathroom!

It's a small, inexpensive place and we have made it our own. The carpet and furniture has done it well.

That being said, our new little home happens to be owned by (and share a parking lot with) a game processing facility!  Hunters bring their daily catch here to get butchered and turned into jerky/ground beef/who knows what.  Hunting season is really when the new experiences began...

If you're a fan of LIVE animals, the next few pictures may not be for you, but they're a little snapshot into what we see and smell every day!

 Signs of life on the left (our home).  Signs of previous life on the right (the game processing facility)

 A close up (for those interested)

Seeing this on the doormat was a nice surprise!

Parking has proved to be a difficulty, since apparently concrete is the prime spot to count the number of heads and limbs and body parts you have brought to process.  

 The sheer number of trucks, four wheelers, campers, trailers, etc. that can fit out there is impressive!

We're no longer surprised to see this sight at any moment or location around our home! They're always watching...

Truly, the worst part is the dumpster out back. It's so terrible, I can't even bring myself to stand near it long enough to snap a shot.  I stand as far away as possible and throw my trash in (crossing my fingers that I don't over- or under-throw... which HAS happened, and was very traumatic)


All that being said, we LOVE our neighbors, love our jobs, and love our new friends in Draper.  Plus, we can't pass up a deal!  What can we say? Boyce will be Boyce!

Cancun

We went on a trip to Cancun for the 4th of July. We stayed in Barceló Tropical Resort and ate a TON of food!! Matt loved his virgin piña coladas and Kelsey loved the soft serve ice cream, and we both destroyed some breakfast churros.

We went on a few excursions- snorkeling in cenotes, zip-lining over the jungle, repelling into caves, eating a traditional Mayan meal (and learning some Mayan phrases as well!), visiting the ruins in Tulum, and snorkeling in the ocean!

Why even document ourselves in ridiculous headgear? What can we say? Boyce will be Boyce!