The Baby...

Dan felt the baby move last night for the first time!!! We got back from vacation late Sunday night, and our whole trip I have been trying to get Dan to feel the baby. His strong movements seem to be so sporadic up until last night. :)

So that is the exciting news! I will blog about our vacation in the next couple days. At this point we are just trying to catch up on EVERYTHING, in addition to stay on top of everything we have going on this week. How long until the weekend?

Life's little victories...

This is our Baby!!! We had our ultrasound yesterday morning. It was scheduled on Tuesday (we leave to go to Utah next week and I needed to know before we went) so both Dan and I had to leave work to make the appointment and then go back to work. It ended up being a bigger pain than I had expected but I JUST COULDN'T HANDLE THE SUSPENSE. It was totally worth it, I think Dan would agree.

I was quite convinced it was a girl, and little by little I was convincing Dan that it was in fact a girl. I think Thursday night I asked him why he thought it was a girl and he said "Because they are definitely running out of boys." He wasn't sad, just resigned to the reality.

The last week was very interesting for me... I started to have dreams that we went to the doctor and they said girl, but we both really thought boy so we decided to go neutral (and it ended up being a boy) and then I had dreams we wouldn't be able to find out. It was just bizarre. And then, Friday morning I woke up and had this thought, "It is going to be a boy."

So I'm driving to the appointment and realized I should be prepared for any "unsuspected" news that we might get... for example "There are two!!!" or "There are only 8 toes" (and other more serious things than that. ) I just decided to be prepared and ready for anything.

We get to the appointment, we walk into the dark ultrasound room, the woman starts up the machine and we saw the baby!!! It was amazing! He was all curled up, like most babies are. But then he started MOVING like crazy and the tech could not get some of the measurements, (which is ok, because we get a re-check in 3 1/2 weeks at my next appointment.) She measured everything she could, everything was normal and healthy. (She did not count the toes, but I'm assuming there are 10...)
My favorite picture is this one because you can see the long legs stretched out.So, as she's showing us everything she finally gets a view "inbetween the legs." She points to something and says "It's a boy!" I turned to Dan, his hands go up in the air like the PACKERS just got a touchdown. I just looked at him in amazement- total disbelief.
At the end, when she was wrapping up, I asked her if I could see the p**** one more time-I didn't quite believe it. She found it, took a picture and printed it for us. :) Our poor son... this could be the #1 picture we show potential women 20+ years down the road...

Long story short, I am so excited about having a boy-still a little shocked but SO EXCITED!!! Dan tells me he has a lot to teach me about boys, which is an understatement.

He "put the stem on the apple" and couldn't be prouder. As we're walking out he says... "I'm going to have a Jack." (I told him Jack is still under discussion, but we'll save it for another day.)

It's all Baby...

I am officially 17 weeks tomorrow! Very exciting, but the baby bump/extra rolls around the midsection- not so exciting. It just kind of appeared in the last week. I don't show much when I'm wearing normal clothes, but the SPANDEX yoga pants can give you an accurate picture.I am experiencing some minor aches, particularly when I have a rough night of sleep. I attribute it to round ligament pains. Basically "Everything is growing, the ligaments are stretching." You've got to love hearing that all the time. :)

I decided the Wii Fit board and I would be friends again, 3-4 times a week. I keep reading that a little light exercise will give me energy, maybe even relieve some of the lower back pain. It worked on Monday, let's see if it will work tomorrow. We have a date 5:30 AM.

As for Dan. He is getting excited, he may not admit it but he is excited. He has even started to give me a little bit of sympathy. "What can I do to help?" is his common request as I am whining myself to sleep. He is always there to give a little back rub, turn the TV down way low at night (so it's almost on mute), and has been very good to give me a little extra space on the bed so I can be more comfortable.

We go to the doctor next week and will schedule the big ULTRASOUND then. I can't wait to find out the sex of the baby. For some reason, I think we are having a girl, but Dan tells me that's just because I want a girl. A lot of our friends are having boys, so my rational is "They must be running out of boys." Dan doesn't think it works like that. We shall see...

The perfect picture...

I was at the local "Home Depot" getting some keys made & some other odds and ends, AND I saw the most beautiful thing. A yellow butterfly, the size of my hand. BUT, it was stuck in the corner of the front window. I was in a hurry, like I always am, and decided to take a moment to "smell the roses." So, I watched the butterfly for at least a minute, it was really trying to break free but it was STUCK. I decided I would take a picture and then set it free (because I have seen on the discovery channel how to hold a butterfly without hurting it's wings-so I am a pro.)

HOWEVER... THE OPPORTUNITY PASSED!!! Our camera from time to time says "Memory Card Error" and I start and restart the camera at least 10 times until it does not have the error message. This has been going as long as I can remember, it is just totally random and has NOTHING to do with the memory card. I had tried everything.

So here I am, standing by the carts at "Home Depot" watching this butterfly, starting and restarting my camera for at least 10 minutes. It still says "Memory Card Error." Finally, I GIVE UP! I was so angry I decided to just save the butterfly, which did not cooperate, so I finally just left.

Yes, I am fully aware that I am the idiot. However, I irrationally tell Dan that I am buying a new camera and he kindly says "Did you ever call the company?" (This is usually my role in the relationship- calling to solve problems, get things for free, calmly discussing with businesses how they have let me down as the customer.) He got them on the phone, the company said to send the camera in for free and they would fix it! This camera is 5 years old! I was amazed. Plus they said they would fix the memory card door that I had taped shut since I dropped it in NC in January. I was pretty impressed!

So... long story short... Our camera was in the shop until this week. Sorry for the lack of posts. The camera came back today and I could not be happier, it's like a brand new camera!

Here is the picture I should have taken, if we didn't have a reject camera... You'll just have to imagine the Home Depot Window behind it. :)

We Wii??? Part 2

I must say, Summer has not been kind. I have been working long days so I can have Friday's off, and my Friday's just seem to fly by... cleaning, shopping, running errands, visiting friends, you name it. I have sadly found very little time to play the Wii, or my Wii Fit. :(

I went on today and... I gained 1 pound. I am still in the normal range but do you know what that 1 lb does to me???
My friend the Wii Fit board asks me, "What is the reason for your recent weight gain?"I clicked on the "I don't know tab" and it asked me if I was sure that I didn't know. Well, I know but they don't give me the option...

I am pregnant!

I am 13 weeks today. I go back to the Doctor in 1 week for a check up and we are going to hear the heartbeat! We are so excited!
I am feeling good. A week and a half ago, I would have said great! Lately I have been tired, kind of emotional and a little high maintenance/whiny (according to Dan.) I just keep reminding him that it could be worse... (He has been very good to me- doing the laundry, dishes, making the bed, all the little things I need. Today he even "supervised" my dad putting in a new toilet!)

Tomorrow is the day I tell my students, and my co-workers. I would love to avoid the attention for just a little longer, but it has to come out. Sooner or later my belly is going to pop, and when it does I will be sure to post it.

For now just imagine my little "mii" working hard, living life, and having fun!

Nauvoo, the City Beautiful

Last weekend, Dan and I went to Nauvoo with some friends from church. We had a great time... we got to see the pageant, visit some of the restored houses, eat at the smorgasbord, and somehow we found time to relax in the AIR CONDITIONING!

The most wonderful thing... we got to see and go inside the temple we were married at.
Happy 3 1/2 year Anniversary to us! (Well, on August 11th)

My Hero(es)

Ever since I was a little girl, my dad has been my hero. He was/is the best... painted our nails, fixed our bikes, built us the coolest pioneer house and swing set, took piano lessons so he could help us girls play piano, took us for car rides, cut down a HUGE Christmas Tree every year and decorated it with all of our ornaments ... He taught us things... like how to check our oil, vacuum our bedroom (taking a wood brush to the edges to get all of the dirt/dust), how to paint with his cool car paint tools at work, even how to drive a car at age 12- even if it was in the middle of a field. The list could go on and on...

This weekend Dan and I took a road trip with some friends to Nauvoo Illinois. We were on our way there and I really wanted some cheese and crackers, which was not cut yet. I told Dan how my dad ALWAYS had his big pocket knife with him, and we would cut cheese, tomatoes, fruit, everything in the car as we traveled. Anything we needed. At that moment, Dan dug in his pocket and found his knife just like it (that my dad gave him for Christmas). IT WAS SO GREAT!!! I knew I had married THE MAN!!! (Of course I knew this long ago... but at this moment I just knew he is the ONLY ONE FOR ME!!!)

Now, no one will ever replace my dad. But, Dan sure does a good job of filling in the holes when my dad is not around. He fixes things, carries the heavy things wherever I need them, helps with the dishes and the laundry, puts up with my insanities, the noise in the morning, everything. He is the best. :)

Note Dan's cool Hawiian Shirt from Michelle & Scott, he just happened to wear it this day... It made me smile. :)