My Sweet Baby Girl

My sweet little Clara-beth, you are so loved. You're 6 months old now, and I just can't believe how fast the time has gone by.

Baby girl, you are such a sweetheart. You have such a calm spirit about you all the time. You are so chill. You hardly ever complain (just like your daddy), though sometimes this frustrates me a little bit because it makes it hard to know if/when you are hungry, or if you need a diaper change. You do, however, let me know when you are tired, haha, I don't think you can help it. You don't do tired very well (just like your mama). You are so alert and aware of what's going on around you, and have been almost right from birth. You love to observe the world. You're in heaven when we go on walks in your stroller. You love to be outside where there is so much more to look at. You get pretty serious about being outside. You hardly acknowledge me when we're outside... too busy taking it all in. You love to study people's faces and new toys, and you get such a serious look on your face as if you're trying to figure them out. You're such a cute little people-watcher. You're always so content to just sit and watch people when we go places. You don't even need toys if there are new people to watch.

I love your gorgeous blue eyes. I always thought you'd have brown eyes like your daddy, but I'm so glad they are blue. They fit you so well. And I wouldn't want them any other way. Everyone always comments on how blue they are and how pretty they are. You are beautiful, my sweet girl. 

You've got your daddy's smile, and I love every bit of it. You're whole face lights up when you smile, and I can't help but smile when you do. I love your cute little giggle. Your daddy and I try so hard to get you to laugh, but you use those little giggles sparingly. Fortunately, you're beginning to laugh more and more often and I hope the trend continues because your laugh is one of the most magical sounds in the world.

You love it when I sing to you. You don't get horribly upset very often, but when you do, I just have to sing to you and you calm right down. I love the look of wonder in your eyes when you look up at me when I'm singing to you before I put you down for your naps. I know your admiration of me probably won't last forever, but for now I'm just going to soak up those loving gazes. Sometimes when I'm singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" you join in and start singing with me. Your sweet little musical coos make my heart melt every time. Oh, Clara, I just love you so much.

You're such a petite little thing, but you have the chubbiest cheeks! I love to kiss them all day long, and so far you don't seem to mind that I do.

You are such a cuddle bug. And I love it. You love to be held and snuggled. You used to nuzzle your face into the side of your bassinet when you would sleep, now a blanket by your cheek does the trick, but you still like to have something soft next to your cheek when you sleep. You also love to be swaddled. You fall asleep almost instantly when we swaddle you up in a blanket. I'll never get tired of your snuggles. I hope you don't grow out of it.

Girlfriend, you know what you like. It's so fun to watch your little personality emerge. You're very particular about a lot of things, your brand of pacifier for one (speaking of which, you've gotten really good at taking it out of your mouth and putting it back in all by yourself! So big!), and also, your entertainment. You absolutely love Tinker Bell. It's pretty much the only thing you'll watch (Sometimes Mama needs a break from trying to keep you entertained, haha), and you really watch. You'll sit totally entranced for the whole 77 minutes of that movie, smiling and giggling at the different characters. I also love watching with you, and snuggling with you and watching you watch it. So cute.

I finally convinced your daddy that your first word is "mama." You say it a few times a day now. I do hope you start saying "dada" soon, because it would make him so happy. He loves you so much. You seem to prefer me right now, but I know that as soon as you realize how awesome your dad is, he'll be your new favorite. You have him wrapped around your little finger, and he doesn't mind a bit. He'd do anything for you, Clara. He works so hard for our little family and he's such a great daddy.

You're an expert at rolling over from your stomach to your back, and I swear if you'd try you could roll from your back to your stomach, but you hate being on your stomach, so it might be awhile. Haha. You roll to your side all the time, and I know it wouldn't take much more to roll the rest of the way, but you're just stubborn. Haha. You're getting really good at sitting up now. You still face plant every once in awhile so I still put pillows around you when you play, but you're getting better every day.

You LOVE your rice cereal. You get so excited and practically scream at me when I don't get the spoon in your mouth fast enough. It's fun. Haha. I'm excited to start introducing you to more foods soon.

Clara, your daddy and I love you so very, very much. And that will never change. We're so glad that you get to be ours, and we get to be yours.

Love,
Mama

Clara Elizabeth: Part 2

As I mentioned in my last post, I didn't much enjoy being pregnant, and it got worse as my due date grew closer. At 35 weeks, I went in for a doctor's appointment and my blood pressure was too high and they made me lie down on my left side for 15 minutes to see if it would go down. It did, but my doctor told me she wanted to see me again sooner than she normally would just to monitor my blood pressure closer since I hadn't had a problem with my blood pressure until that point. She also checked me before I left and I was surprised when she told me I was already dilated to a 2 and 70% effaced and she told me that I probably wouldn't have to wait too much longer for this baby. That kind of put things into perspective for me and I started getting the last minute things done that I needed to, although I still didn't pack my hospital bag. Packing my bags made it feel too real, and I wasn't quite ready to accept the reality that like it or not, our baby girl was on her way. Haha.

At my next appointment my blood pressure was still too high, but it wasn't as high as the appointment before, so my doctor wasn't as worried about it. She checked me again and I was still dilated to a 2 and 70% effaced, so no progress there.

At 37 weeks I went into my appointment, and although my blood pressure was still elevated a little, it was still lower. I had progressed to a 2 1/2 and was 80% effaced.  I packed my hospital bag that week. Haha.

Side note: Brian got a jury duty summons for the last half of November... right when our baby could come any day. He tried to get out of it by claiming undue hardship explaining in writing that he was working two jobs to make ends meet and that his wife was due to have a baby anytime. It didn't work. Looking back now, I'm surprised at how calm I was about it, but I guess I just knew that something would work out. He went to the courthouse to report for jury duty on the Tuesday before Clara was born, and explained to the people picking the jury his situation and thankfully they let him leave! If they would have chosen him for the jury he would have been in court the day Clara was born!

The weekend before Clara was born, I was absolutely miserable. Beyond being uncomfortable, I was anxious, I couldn't sleep, my feet and legs were super swollen, and I just felt awful. I just couldn't take it anymore and Sunday I broke down and bawled to Brian. And can I just say, I absolutely Love the man I married. I seriously Love him so much. He just held me and let me cry and then he gave me a blessing. I was told a lot of things in the blessing that put my mind at ease, and was also blessed that I would give birth to a perfectly healthy baby. I was also told that she'd be on her way soon. I, of course, knew what "soon" probably meant. I mean, in all reality my due date was "soon"... but I was sooo ready to be done. Haha. I didn't feel any better physically after the blessing, but I did feel extremely calm afterward, and that was enough for me.

The next morning (Monday, November 19), I woke up as usual and made breakfast for Brian and myself. After he left for work, I watched a morning talk show or two, and then laid down for my usual morning nap. I slept for an hour or two and when I woke up I had the worst headache in the world. I immediately took some Tylenol, and then tried a few things to try to lessen the pain waiting for the Tylenol to kick in. It never did. I tried everything to make that headache go away and nothing was working. So, I cried. And that just made it worse. Haha! I knew that having a severe headache was something that all the books say to watch out for because of how swollen I was and my recent problems with my blood pressure, but I had my 38 week appointment later that day, so I decided to just wait it out until then. Brian wanted me to go in early, but that's just not my style. Haha.

So, I went to my appointment still feeling absolutely miserable. The nurse could tell that I didn't feel well, and I told her that I woke up from my nap with a headache and she was sweet about it and apologized and made small talk and such. Then, she took my blood pressure. "Oh, dear. That's probably what's causing your headache." She hadn't pumped the cuff high enough to even get a reading and had to do it again. "Your blood pressure is sky high. Why don't you lay down on your left side and the doctor will be right in." Yeah, yeah. I'd heard "the doctor will be right in" so much, I figured I'd be there for awhile, but this time, she really was right in. Not even a minute later after the nurse had informed her of the situation, my doctor came right in. "So you have a headache? How bad is it? Have you taken any Tylenol?" I told her it was pretty bad and that the Tylenol hadn't helped, and that nothing I had tried helped at all. After she had checked me and told me I was dilated to a 3, she said she was uncomfortable with how high my blood pressure was and wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure the baby was okay and then was going to send me over to labor and delivery to be monitored to keep an eye on my blood pressure for a few hours or so.

So I called Brian and told him the situation and that he needed to leave work early, and that I'd call him after the ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that our baby was just fine and they estimated that she was about 7 lbs. Before I left, my doctor told me I probably should go home and get my stuff because if my blood pressure didn't go down, she was going to induce me since I was already dilated to a 3 anyway.

So, I called Brian and told him to meet me at home, but he told me he'd already been home and had gotten our stuff and was on his way to the hospital. Hahaha. He was freaking out and it was funny to me because besides still having to deal with a splitting headache, I was still feeling very calm about everything. I told him to go back home because I wanted to pack a few last minute things that weren't in my bags and also, I wanted to drop off my car at home so we didn't have two cars at the hospital. It took some convincing because Brian felt like I needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible, but I assured him that my doctor had told me to go home to get my stuff first anyway, so we didn't need to rush over there. Hahaha! Oh, my. It still makes me laugh thinking about how he was acting. We always planned on him being the calm one and me freaking out because that's just generally how it works in our relationship, but this time it was completely opposite. So amusing.

So, we headed to the hospital and I texted our parents to let them know what was going on and told them we'd let them know more when we knew more. We walked into the hospital, took the elevator to the 3rd floor and down the hall to Labor and Delivery. My doctor had already told them I was on my way over, and they took me right into an exam room and got me all hooked up to the monitors and stuff. I don't actually know how long they monitored me, it's all kind of a blur, but I do remember at one point the nurse came in and told me that I actually had been having contractions about every 3 minutes. Not super strong contractions, but they were there. Turns out I had been having contractions for a few days by that point,  but I just hadn't known that's what I had been feeling. They felt so different than I imagined they would, and at that point they weren't really all that painful, so it just didn't occur to me that I was having contractions.

At some point the nurse came back in and said that she'd called and talked to my doctor and because my blood pressure was still high, they were going to keep me and induce me that night. It was game time.

It was all surreal from that point. They took me into a delivery room and started an IV with fluids and Pitocin and all that fun stuff. My nurse asked me if I wanted an Epidural. Yes. Yes, I did. She asked me if I wanted it right away or if I wanted to wait awhile. I decided to wait, I think mostly because I was nervous, but yeah. Not long after that a doctor came in and explained that my doctor had told him to come break my water to get things moving along a little faster. Gushhhh. That was gross. And it wasn't just one big gush like they make it seem in all the movies. Haha. There was a gush with every contraction. Not the most comfortable thing in my life. But I suppose labor isn't supposed to be comfortable. After my water was broken, the contractions got bad really fast. I was ready for that Epidural pretty quick. I don't know how anyone does it without it. I couldn't even breathe through them. The pain took my breath right away, and I still had quite a few hours of labor left. Yeah, kudos to those women who do that, but I am SOOO grateful for that epidural. It made the whole process a lot more enjoyable for me. Getting the epidural wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. The hardest part of it was trying to hold still during contractions. The anesthesiologist told me to let him know if I felt any pain in my back where he was putting it in, and Brian kept thinking I was in pain and not telling him because I kept grimacing during contractions. I finally explained to Brian that it wasn't the epidural bothering me but just me trying to hold still while being in pain because of contractions. Haha! After that it was just a waiting game.

My mom showed up sometime after that and hung out for a few hours. My heartburn medicine that I had taken earlier began to wear off at some point and that was pretty miserable, and also, all I wanted was a glass of ice cold water... but they wouldn't let me drink anything. I had to chew on ice chips... but that just wasn't satisfying my intense thirst. I wasn't dehydrated or anything because they were pumping fluids in me... but man, I just wanted water so bad! They were able to give me heartburn medicine at some point and they allowed me some water to swallow the pill. Bad idea. I vomited almost immediately after that. My poor nurse had to search through my vomit to make sure the pill I swallowed hadn't come up with my throw up. Surprisingly it didn't, and my heartburn went away! After I threw up they gave me some Zofran to help with the nausea and to hopefully keep me from throwing up anymore. I was still so thirsty. I'm pretty sure I told Brian a gazillion times that all I wanted was ice cold water to drink. So... he went and got me a big smart water bottle and said I could have it after the baby was born. That was my reward. Haaaa! Kind of funny, but I was seriously looking forward to drinking that water!

It got pretty late and my mom left (well, she went out to the waiting room) and I decided to try and get some sleep, I was exhausted. It had been a long day. I'm pretty sure I was able to sleep at least a little because time seemed to go by pretty fast and I started to feel a lot of pressure and not long after that it was time to push.

Side note: I LOVED all my labor and delivery nurses! The nurse who took care of me for the first half of my labor was seriously amazing! I was sad when her shift was over, but two other awesome nurses took over for her just before I started pushing. I had two nurses because one of them was training or something. I really liked them. They were really helpful when it came down to really delivering my baby.

I didn't expect pushing to be so hard, and unpleasant. The epidural blocked the pain, but it doesn't take away the pressure and the pressure was so intense that at some points it almost was pain. I feel like I only had to push for like an hour, but Brian says it was more like 2 hours. Whatever, it doesn't matter. It was hard work and it was the middle of the night and I'm NOT a night person. I was SOOO tired. And thirsty. Haha! Brian was in charge of giving me a few ice chips between every other contraction to keep my thirst at bay.

Soon my doctor showed up and after a few more pushes and her telling me to reach down and feel my baby's head, I pushed one last time and at 4:17 AM on November 20th (3 years to the day that Brian proposed to me) out popped our little baby girl! 7 lbs 1 oz 19 inches long. I cried. I was flooded with such overwhelming relief and joy and exhaustion all at once, it was insane. After that it's all a blur to me. I remember they took her over to clean her up and weigh her and such and telling Brian to leave me and go over to our baby and watch her and take pictures because that was his job. Haha.

Oh, and no one tells you that the worst part of childbirth is AFTER the baby is born. I don't know if it's because my epidural had started to wear off or what, but when my doctor was pushing on my uterus and stitching me up it was seriously the worst thing ever! I tried to focus on my baby across the room, but I wasn't prepared for how painful that was. Hahaha! They brought sweet little Clara back to me and put her on my bare chest for some skin to skin time. I was able to nurse her for a little bit, she latched right on like a champ, but unfortunately our first bonding moment was cut shorter than I wanted it to because I started to feel light-headed and nauseous and before I knew it, I was throwing up again. Turns out I lost a lot of blood, you see. Yeah, not pleasant. I felt AWFUL. But I guess I did manage to smile for this picture, because here it is. Don't I look absolutely exhausted? I was. (Oh, and take a look at my sausage fingers! I told you I was super swollen! Haha!)

It took me a little longer to recover because I got so sick afterward, and that meant that Brian got a lot of bonding time with Clara, but that made the fact that I wasn't able to hold her a little better because I knew that she was with her daddy. Eventually I started feeling a lot better and they transferred us into the recovery room and my mom and Brian's mom and two of his sisters, Katie and Ally, (the four that spent the night at the hospital waiting) came in to see us and hold our sweet baby girl.

And that's the story of how our sweet little Clara came into this world. At least that's how I remember it. Haha. I'm not a fan of being in the hospital, and I had a mix of good and bad nurses over the next couple of days, but I loved having that time with just Brian, Clara and me, and it was nice having family and close friends come visit. I was extremely ready to go home when we were finally discharged from the hospital on Thanksgiving, though. Haha.

 It was amazing to me how I immediately felt that Clara had always been ours. And that I had always known what she looked like. Strange feeling, but it's true. She is definitely ours. And I was also surprised at how easy the transition was of suddenly knowing I was a Mama, and Brian was a daddy.

And this post is FOREVER long. I think it's time to be done. I'll be posting more pictures in my next post showing how much she's changed in the last 2 months. Wow! 2 months! I can't believe it's been that long. But yeah. We Love our little Clara Elizabeth more than words could ever express and I absolutely love being her Mama! And Brian is seriously the cutest daddy ever. I Love him more than ever. I just love our cute little family.

Clara Elizabeth: Part One

I always thought I would have a boy first. So, when I found out I was pregnant, I immediately began imagining a little baby boy. And then, as the days drew nearer to finding out who our little baby was, I found myself wishing more and more for a little girl. In fact, it got so my heart would ache when I'd think about not having a girl. This, of course, made me feel a little bit guilty knowing that this baby could just as easily be a boy. In the end, though, I think my heart just already knew, because I know I would have been just as happy to have a boy. 

When we went in for the ultrasound, I remember saying a quick prayer in my mind that our baby would let us see who he or she was. (I knew very well if baby didn't want us to know, baby wouldn't let us see), and I also added in that if our baby was, in fact, a boy, that I wouldn't be disappointed. Silly, but I'm telling you, the guilt from wanting a girl so much had built up significantly by that point. 

The ultrasound tech began taking measurements and all that stuff, and I loved seeing our little baby moving around in there. The sound of that heartbeat was magic once again, and it was neat to see our baby looking like a baby instead of a little bean. And then, it was time. Time for us to find out who our little baby was. 

I remember my heart started to beat a little faster as the ultrasound tech tried to get a good look. Baby was very modest and didn't want to show us at first. Just what I'd been worried about. She kept crossing her legs like this: 

I remember saying something like, "This is what I was afraid of." But, never fear, our stubborn little baby did finally let us know who she was.

I remember being flooded with a mixture of relief, pure joy and excitement, and I'm pretty sure I exclaimed, "It's a girl!" repeating the ultrasound tech's words adding in my own emotions to the phrase. Now, I can't speak for Brian, but I knew that he was hoping for a girl as well, so I was sure he was feeling the same kinds of emotions that I was. I remember looking over at him with a big smile on my face and seeing his smile in return and just loving him more than ever in that moment. 

After our appointment as we pulled into our driveway, Brian and I paused for a minute before getting out to confirm her name. We already knew her name, but I think we just wanted to voice it and make sure we both were still sure. Clara Elizabeth. Yep. That was still her name. Our sweet little Clara. 

Side note: We had the name "Clara" picked out for our first daughter for quite awhile (I'm talking at least a couple of years or so)... and we originally planned on giving her my middle name for hers as well. For some reason, even before we found out we were having a girl, it started bothering me and I started playing around with different middle names for her in my head. (See what I mean, I was totally obsessed with having a girl, haha) And at some point I began to consider "Elizabeth". It's a family name. My Sister's middle name is Elizabeth- she goes by that name, and she was given that name for my Grandma's Grandma (at least that's what I remember from when they gave her that name, but my memory might be a little off... either way, my grandma's grandma was, indeed, named Elizabeth, and for some reason I feel drawn to her. Strange, now that I think of it, because I don't actually know much about her... hmm... I think I'm going to go learn... ANYWAY...) I don't know when it was, but a few weeks before our ultrasound appointment, as I was daydreaming about having a baby girl, I had an emotional/spiritual moment as I imagined naming our daughter Clara Elizabeth, and say what you will about it, but for some reason it was important for our Clara to have Elizabeth as her middle name. I felt it. It took a little convincing for Brian, because Clara Elizabeth didn't quite roll off the tongue the same way as the name we originally had in mind, but in the end, he agreed. Side note to the side note: Clara is the name of Brian's Grandpa's Grandma. So, "Clara Elizabeth" ties her to both sides. I like that. :)

The rest of Pregnancy was not my favorite. Actually, just being pregnant is not my favorite. I know there are women out there who just love it. I'm not one of them. Overall, being pregnant is uncomfortable. I hate being uncomfortable. Comfort is a big deal for me. So, yeah. Not my favorite. I did enjoy feeling my little girl move around until the end when she'd keep me awake at night, but honestly, beyond that I really just couldn't find much to enjoy about being pregnant. I could go on and on about the many complaints I had while I was pregnant, but I'm thinking it wouldn't be wise, as I do want to have another baby at some point. (I wasn't quite sure about more kids while I was pregnant and even for a few weeks after Clara was born, haha). 

I didn't take very many "belly" pictures while I was pregnant- something I actually kind of regret a little- especially right before Clara was born- when that time came though, things got a little crazy and I didn't even think about it. But, here I am when I was 27 weeks:

I never did get that huge or anything. In fact, no one would believe how far along I was a lot of the time. I guess that was good. I felt like a whale, but whatevs. 

Significant things that happened in the months before Clara was born:

* We moved to a little 2 bedroom apartment in Riverton, starting over in a new home for the 4th time in our then 2 1/2 years of marriage. I hate moving. 

* Brian and I were called to teach the 9-year-olds in primary in our new ward - Being a primary teacher with my husband had been a calling I'd been dreaming of for forever- it didn't disappoint. :)

* I quit my job at Hobby Lobby - I could tell an elaborate story about this, but I'll just say that in the end it was bittersweet to leave. As much as I hated working there, I actually loved it in some ways too, and I learned a lot about myself and just people in general (good and bad, haha). 

*We went on a vacation with my family to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole and Lava Hot Springs. 

* I took Brian dinner almost every day after I didn't work anymore- since he was working two jobs and I hardly ever saw him. I lived for those 30 minutes every night that I had with him. 

* Found out that Brian would have 7 weeks of paid time off through FMLA from one of his jobs after Clara was born. Meaning through the holidays and those first few weeks of having a new baby, he'd be able to come home to us at night. (It was wonderful news, and those weeks he only had to work one job were wonderful)

Cravings I had:

Near the beginning of my pregnancy (after morning sickness faded) I craved tomatoes and corn- vegetables in general, but tomatoes and corn were the most frequent. I also craved spaghetti, but I feel it was more for the tomato in the spaghetti sauce, haha.

For the last half of my pregnancy I craved anything and everything sweet. Fruit, but mostly chocolate, ice-cream, etc. This was strange to me, because I had never really had a sweet tooth before- I liked more savory/salty foods over sweet. I was hoping this new liking to sweets would go away after I was done being pregnant, but unfortunately, I still find myself wanting chocolate all the time. I also craved water. Cold water. ALL. THE. TIME. I seriously drank so much water. I loved it so much. It was so satisfying. Haha! That was a craving I actually hoped would stick around because it made it so easy to stay hydrated. Unfortunately, water is not quite as satisfying as it was before and I find myself struggling to make sure I drink enough water, but oh well. 

Well, this post has taken me the better part of my day to write- I have a baby who takes up a lot of my time and attention- and I'm getting tired. I think I'll have to split this post into two parts. I'll have to write about her birth and such another day. Tune in next time for that and some cute pictures of our sweet little Clara. 

a baby and the changing of plans

I think I'm finally starting to believe it. For months now, even while suffering from horrible morning sickness, I just couldn't quite believe it. Not that I wasn't excited or happy about it, because I am extremely excited and happy, a little nervous of course, but I just couldn't seem to get it into my head that all this was really happening. Brian and I are going to be parents! I'm going to be a mom, and he's going to be a dad! It's crazy! It's what I've wanted more than anything since I was a tiny little girl taking care of my baby dolls and now it's happening in real life!

In my defense, the good news came unexpectedly, so I've probably just been in shock for the last few months. Haha! Just a week or two before the news, Brian and I had decided that we felt like it was about time to start our family and that in the next year or so that would be our goal. But it turns out, we were just a little behind on God's plan. Haha.

We actually found out on April Fool's day. I was upstairs watching General Conference (Brian was downstairs watching because we hadn't been getting along too well; I'd been a bit moody... haha). I couldn't really focus on the speaker because I was still mad about something Brian and I had argued about earlier (funny, I have no idea what it was now), and started to wonder what was wrong with me (realizing I was probably being the unreasonable one). It was then that I noticed the pregnancy tests sitting on my dresser (why I had pregnancy tests sitting on my dresser is part of a much longer story, haha). I knew I was late, but that's not unusual for me, so I almost dismissed the silly thought of actually using one. But then I took into account some other symptoms I had, and decided 'what the heck, at least I'll know for sure if it's just the usual PMS or not.' 

When I saw those 2 pink lines, my heart started racing and I quickly read the instructions again to make sure I was reading it correctly. POSITIVE! What?! I immediately ran to the top of the stairs and told Brian to come upstairs and tried to keep my voice as calm as possible. He thought I just wanted to talk about what we'd argued about earlier, so he wasn't in a huge hurry. All the while I'm trying not to freak out. I led him into the bathroom and all I could do was point at the test sitting on the counter. And then I heard Brian say, "What does that mean? Does that mean what I think it means??" And then he gave me a big huge hug. 

After confirming the positive result with another brand of pregnancy test, it started to sink in a little, though we were both still pretty shocked.

I've always thought it would be funny to announce a real pregnancy on April Fool's day since so many people pretend to be pregnant that day... So after we'd calmed down a bit, that's what we decided to do. We called my parents, neither of which realized it was April Fool's day until I brought it up, then reassured them this wasn't a joke. Brian's parents were a little bit more skeptical and told us it better not be an April Fool's joke... haha.  It took a lot more convincing to get them to believe us than it did my parents, but they were just as excited. 

After that I had about a week of pregnancy bliss (minus a few emotional breakdowns, but my husband managed to console me and comfort me through those. I Love him). But that bliss wasn't going to last for long. Morning sickness kind of snuck up on me. It was just me feeling a little queasy if I forgot to eat at first, then it was I can't eat anything that smells like "that"... and then finally to I can't keep any kind of food in my stomach. 

Pretty soon it became too much for me to handle. After a priesthood blessing, not being able to get a hold of the doctor's office because it was too early in the morning,  and then passing out in the kitchen trying to get ready for work (Brian happened to be right there next to me and caught me, pretty sure it scared him to death) we ended up in the urgent care. They prescribed me medication to help with the nausea. Thank heavens for modern medicine! It didn't take it away completely, I was still pretty nauseous all day, every day, but it made it manageable, and made it a lot easier to keep food down, and I was still able to go to work!

I still got discouraged, though. Especially when we had my first ultrasound appointment and discovered I was actually 2 weeks earlier along than they originally thought. I felt like the morning sickness was never going to end! But it did. I'm finally starting to feel better. I'm still overly emotional and cry more than I'd like to admit, and suddenly I have headaches and heartburn all the time... but over all, now that the morning sickness is all but gone, I'm starting to truly enjoy the miracle that's happening inside me!

{Just a side note about being 2 weeks earlier along: that means we found out I was pregnant when I was just a little more than 4 weeks along, and I was able to stop taking a medication that could have been harmful to my baby even sooner than I thought I had! I'm so grateful I followed the thought to take a pregnancy test, even when it seemed so ridiculous! Tender mercy!}

Seeing our baby and being able to hear the heartbeat for the first time was... I don't really have words for it. Magic? Something close to that. :) And hearing the heartbeat a second time at my second appointment was seriously so comforting. And I'm pretty sure that's when I started to believe that this is all really happening! I'm going to be a mom!

On to the changing of plans: As we weren't quite expecting a baby so soon, financially speaking, we've had to take a lot of things into consideration and make some sacrifices and change some of our plans. First, Brian decided to get a second job. He was able to get a job at SelectHealth which he LOVES, and it truly is a huge blessing that he got a job there. He's still working at the theatre as well, so he's working 2 full time jobs right now to get us more financially stable for when I can't work at Hobby Lobby anymore. This means I don't get to see him very much, but I'm SO grateful he's willing to work so hard to provide for our family! We also decided that moving back into an apartment that is cheaper and a bit smaller than the townhome we're living in now is probably for the best so that I can stay home with our baby (even though we moved here so we'd have room to grow, our bank account hasn't grown at the same rate as our family, haha). We're planning on moving at the beginning of September. Maybe sooner if our landlord will let us out of our lease. We'll most likely be moving to Herriman. Apartments are cheap there because it's kind of far away from everything, but I like that aspect of it. Haha. We've always felt like we'd end up in Herriman anyway, so this is just one step closer for us really.

And that's really all I've got for now. We find out if we're having a boy or a girl on July 5th (assuming baby cooperates) so I'm sure I'll have more to say then.

Summer Highlights and BIG news!

I haven't blogged this whole summer! So... here are some highlights!

Miniature Golf

We went miniature golfing for one of our date nights... in the rain. I love summer rain. We had a blast.

Birthday Suit

Brian got a new suit for his birthday. Looking sharp! He also got a kindle... and I may have gotten one, too. :)

Swimming

We've spent a lot of time swimming at the pool this summer. It's become one of our favorite things to do together. I'm gonna miss it this winter.

Harry Potter 7.2

It was amazing. I loved it. The end.

Bear Lake

We went to Bear Lake with the Hanson side again this year. The water level was so high, it was crazy! There was hardly any beach, but we still had lots of fun in the water.

Silver City, New Mexico (Davis Family Reunion)

This is the rental car we got so we could drive the 13 hours to Silver City!

This is the cabin we stayed in. Small, but super nice! And air-conditioned! 

A big group of us went on a hike. (I think it was called the catwalk?) Fun times!

 We hiked up to this waterfall and spent a couple hours cooling off. It was a lot of fun!

:)

One of the days we went Rappelling. And this is my crazy husband rappelling front first. (Aussie style). He's been rappelling since he was little, so he knows what he's doing. I still have a hard time watching him do it, though. I get too nervous. Haha.

 

We also went shooting while we were there. Fun stuff. 

Lately

Brian's brother Mike was on leave from Afghanistan for two weeks and we were able to spend some time with him and the family. It was sure fun to have the whole family together again!

Brian is starting school this semester! He's all registered and ready to go! It's about time! We're so grateful that things have finally fallen into place for his education! We're SOOO ready for this next chapter in our lives. 

And that brings us to...

BIG News

No, I'm not pregnant. Ha. 

We're MOVING! As of September 15th we will be living here:

It's a 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath Townhome. It's right by Brian's school and in the middle of both of our jobs. It's a really great location for us!  And we're so excited for more space! After a year, our little one bedroom apartment has started to feel a little cramped and this new place will give us some room to grow! :) 

Other than that, we've just been living life, and loving each other, and stuff. :)

Remember how...

. . . back in December, Brian and I, with my parents, went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert featuring David Archuleta... and it was awesome... 

. . . Brian's car got a snow mustache in one of the snowstorms back in December, and it was funny...

. . . we got a Wii for Christmas, and it's fun, and Epic Mickey is my favorite game (yeah, I'm a child, so what?)... 

. . . Brian and I booked a hotel in Ogden for our 1 year anniversary and it was awesome, because Ogden brought us together... and we went to all the places we went on our awesome first date, and Brian got to go indoor skydiving and he loved it... 

. . . Brian and I both got new glasses... 

. . . We had Brian's family over for Sunday dinner and cookies and played an epic game of Settlers of Catan...

. . . I got a cute new hair cut (although, it's mostly grown back now and I'm ready to chop it off again, I'm thinking a bit shorter this time, we'll see)...

. . . we went to Disneyland and I got to meet Mickey Mouse, and I loved it... 

. . . Space Mountain is my favorite ride...

. . . the corn dogs in Disneyland are AMAZING... 

. . . I truly love Disneyland with all my heart...

. . . this is what California does to my hair, haha... 

. . . shaved ice from Scotty's in Whittier, California is awesome... 

. . . we went to the beach and it was beautiful... 

. . . my Grandpa Larsen turned 80 and there was a big family celebration for him... I sure do love my grandpa... 

. . .  the family fished and fed the fish at Barker's trout farm for my Grandpa's 80th birthday because he's always loved to fish... it was fun to see so many of my cousins who live so far away... 

. . . I finally beat Brian in Settlers of Catan, and it was epic...

and... remember how I finally blogged about all those things? 

Yep.

Primary President... Say what?

God definitely has a sense of humor. 

The last couple of months have been pretty trying for me mentally and spiritually... A lot of it has to do with my job, and also the fact that I suffer from Seasonal Affected Disorder wherein I find myself with anxiety and depression due to a lack of exposure to enough sunlight during the winter. I've tried anti-depressants before and they've always just made it worse... So, I've just dealt with it... hung in there from November to February... did my best to stay sane. Fortunately, this year it didn't last as long as most years because my loving husband got me a light therapy lamp. It really has made a HUGE difference. Kinda pricey, but SO worth it. Anyway, got a little side tracked there... So yeah, the last couple of months have been a little rough, and just as I had overcome and triumphed over all the battles that had come my way the last few months... BAM! This last week I was called to be Primary President... Say what?! 

I know, right? I'm too young! I have no idea what I'm doing. I have a seriously short attention span- I can barely sit through church as it is. I'm forgetful. I'm unorganized in thoughts and actions... etc. Heck, I'm a primary kid myself. And yet, they want me to be in charge. HA! My initial thought was "they're crazy, they're crazy, they're crazy" and I've repeated it to my poor husband a million times since I received the call... I was in complete shock. I think maybe the shock has worn off now, but to say I'm overwhelmed is a huge understatement. 

On the flip-side, I love primary and I love those kids. And I've already had some pretty neat experiences especially while I was choosing my counselors. So, I guess I have to say... I know that God knows what he's doing... even if it seems absolutely crazy sometimes.