He's arrived...

Here are the photos we've promised. 

William Craig Wortley

January 31, 2011 

1:49 p.m.

6 pounds, 1 ounce

20 inches

Enjoy the Go!

In early December I tagged along with my parents on a trip to New York as my "Last Hurrah" before the baby. We had a great time shopping, eating and seeing shows. Unfortunately, I didn't snap too many pictures because I was a wimp and didn't want to pull out my camera in the FREEZING weather. Sorry!

But here is one picture that cracks me up. While out shopping, my mom and I ran into the Charmin Times Square Bathrooms and we had a chance to "Enjoy the Go."

Photo opp on a huge throne! Who could say no to that?

(NOTE: The nerd in me is about to come out, so feel free to skip this section if you get bored).

If you've never heard about these bathrooms, let me fill you in. They are AMAZING! By far the cleanest restrooms in the city, not to mention brilliant from a marketing perspective. Charmin found a solution to an obvious consumer need, while utilizing social media, mobile apps, product samples/trial, events, etc. to drive customer engagement and usage. Here are some pictures:

All of the rooms are decorated with a different State's theme, including options for a variety of Charmin toilet paper products. May I recommend the Charmin Sensitive? Just kidding ...

Social Media photo upload area to take pictures on the throne, as well as mobile apps and QR codes to find clean bathrooms in the city:

Well done, Charmin! I certainly did enjoy the go and had a good laugh about it, too.

Belly Shot at 34 Weeks

I'm only posting this because several people have requested I share another belly shot .... This is me at 34 weeks.

Right now I'm at 36 weeks, but I don't feel like I've changed too much since this picture was taken. Can't wait for our little guy to get here in about 25 days!

Can you think of a better way to ring in the new year?

We rang in the New Year by recreating Cafe Rio pork salads with some friends. I guess I was so excited about the food that I only got a picture of our table before we dove in ...

Wishing you a happy New Year!

Brrr! Winter in Minneapolis

Oh the joys of winter in Minneapolis.

I'm just glad that Don takes care of the shoveling and roof raking. Take a look at that icicle!

Traditions!

We had a great holiday season that was filled with many of our family traditions, despite not being home for Christmas. And although we had to make a few modifications, we were able to keep them alive and had a very merry Christmas! Here is quick recap:

1. Cream Cheese Swirls
My Dad and I usually make his famous Cream Cheese Swirls on Christmas Eve morning, but I talked him into making them while I was home for Thanksgiving instead. I think they turned out pretty delicious!

2. 36th Annual Jessop Family Christmas Eve Pageant
Every Christmas Eve, my family does a Christmas Eve Pagaent where we reinact the Christmas story with songs and scriptures, complete with awesome costumes my Mom has made over the years. This year we utilized Skype to make the 36th annual pagaent happen from around the world (literally!). Here is a screen shot of all of us and the different time zones we were in (10 p.m. Penang, Malaysia; 8 a.m. Minneapolis, MN; 8 a.m. Houston, TX; 7 a.m. Farmington, UT).

3. Gingerbread Houses
Don's family makes and decorates homemade gingerbread houses every year. We thought that would be fun to try with our friends in Minneapolis, so Don whipped up a large batch of gingerbread and we held a gingerbread house-making party. They turned out great, AND tasted delicious! (Thanks for the recipe, Janet!)

A Worthwhile Journey

Just a recap on my recent adventure at the Minneapolis airport. I was supposed to leave for SLC at 9:40 last Saturday night.... Long story short but they delayed my flight 4 times because of freezing rain and I didn't go out until 10:45 a.m. on Sunday. I had to sleep at the airport even though my house is only 15 minutes away because they shut down all the freeways. Luckily, I made a friend from my flight, Kendall, who is also pregnant and due within days of me. We had quite the night and saw two mice (one at McDonalds and one when we were trying to sleep). It was GROSS! Here's a picture of us camping out at the airport.

We both learned that being nearly 7 months pregnant and camping at the airport is NOT fun. I think I'm still recovering...

Now these are all reasons to be upset at the airline, weather, airport, etc. But you want to know what upsets me the most? No Cafe Rio!!! I made my Dad go buy me a salad in preparation for my arrival and he had to put it in the fridge. I was so sad about no Cafe Rio that night, I nearly cried.

But 14 hours later, I came home to find my favorite things:

Cafe Rio Salad from my Dad

Hot waterbottle from my Mom

My Dad's famous meatloaf dinner

and, of course, FAMILY!

It is so nice to finally be home! I guess my long journey was well worth it :)  Now I'm just praying that Don will get here without problems tomorrow night. The blizzard is supposed to blow through Minneapolis tomorrow .... I hope he doesn't get stuck in the airport with my nasty mouse friends.