Quick post before work

   So my boy apparently loves games! If I poke Kylie's belly while he's awake, he pokes right back. He also loves to listen to music. He especially likes bluegrass and Japanese music. I sing him Zou-san every day and just recently started singing bluegrass. He's an active little guy.
   In other news, I am officially moving to a day shift! I am on the schedule as a pharmacy technician starting January 2. It's going to be nice to have a normal sleep schedule--for the three weeks before Nathaniel is due.
   Nathaniel cannot come soon enough for me! I often tell him to take his time and grow properly--but to do it quickly! I'm glad I haven't quite grasped how difficult it will be or how much my life is going to change after he gets here. I don't know how I would handle that realization.
   I got a new phone app this week that presents a word of the day. It's one of the best parts of my work night--looking at my phone at midnight to get a new word! Sometimes I know it (cusp, klaxon, calorifacient) and sometimes I don't (umbriferous, misoneism, ochlophobia) but it's always fun. Today's word is cathexis, meaning the investment of emotional significance in an activity, object, or idea. Fun, right? Yeah, vocabulary level-up!
   Well, off to work!

34 Weeks

Here me and the future baby are at 34 weeks. 

He is about the size of a cantaloupe and about 5 pounds. Nathaniel loves music. Even more than food it seems. He moves A LOT when we are listening to music, when Chris sings to him or when I am singing. However, he doesn't move nearly as much when I eat. (He's still moves no need to worry just not as much as he does to music) Our little boy loves to dance! 

We decorated for Christmas finally. haha. It's taken a while to do so, I normally try and get the tree up the day after Thanksgiving but it is okay. If I had decorated, it would have been on our 4 foot tree. However, Chris got a 6 ft tree two days ago on discount from a Walgreens because it was a display. So now we have a tree that looks like a real family tree, not a college students tree. : ) We are pretty excited.

I still need to wrap the packages but whatever, we'll see if that happens. We also have 3 nativities and 2 nutcrackers but the room isn't clean enough for me to take pictures of the rest of the room. 

This past week was a fun week for me because I finished student teaching and officially graduated. Woo-hoo! I'm a college graduate. I could have my own classroom. The kids were wonderful. I had a great time with them. The last day they performed their plays for me and pretended to be 5 year-old versions of their characters. It was a lot of fun.  

Names and Faces

Hey Everybody! Here's a picture of my beautiful wife!

And here's a picture of my beautiful baby boy! Two, actually.

Isn't he great? That's my boy! And I bet you have all been wondering what we are going to name him. You ready? Here it is: Nathaniel Hays Valentine! He's currently healthy and extremely active. Kylie just grumbled, "Nathaniel, go to sleep. I love you, I appreciate that you're and are letting me know that you're alive, but. . . *sigh* . . . you are making Mommy a little sick and unable to sleep." It's bedtime. He moves all the time, and isn't as shy when I put my hand on him. He gets the hiccups a lot, according to Kylie, which is, I imagine, an odd feeling for her. I just love how pregnant she is now! And how big he is! He was 3 lbs 12 oz last Wednesday when we went to get this ultrasound, with all sorts of good signs. In fact, he was big enough that they said that he is on track to be full sized nine days earlier! Yeah! But his due date is still the same. I guess? I don't know, I'm not a doctor.
   I am, however, a CPhT! That's a certified pharmacy technician. I passed the exam the other week, so now I'm just waiting to be transferred into the pharmacy. I'm super excited to try that out. I think I'll enjoy the new responsibilities and change of pace. It's gonna be different, that's for sure.
   Well, I think that'll be it for tonight. It's bedtime for Daddy, too. We have our birthing class tomorrow (I love going to it!) so I wanna make sure I'm full of energy for it! I am praying that you all have a wonderful week and a spectacular Thanksgiving. Remember to show that gratitude every day, to yourself, those around you, and to the Lord! It just makes everything so much better when you have an attitude of gratitude. Enjoy!

Week 29

The Baby is now the size of a butternut squash!

He is a little over 15 inches long and about 2 1/2  pounds. His brain is hard at work developing this week and his skull is expanding to give it room to grow. He's also using a lot of calcium this week to harden his bones and will continue to do so in the coming weeks. He's also building up the fat so he can look nice and cute when he comes out. He has already moved to the head down position so that his legs are up near my rib cage and sometimes when he gets a really good kick in it feels like he hits a rib (though I don't think he actually is). He is getting pretty strong. I think he had the hiccups today, too. I had a lot of little rhythmic twitches in my lower abdomen.

Chris has discovered that the baby likes low voices singing. He was listening to some Japanese music and first we listened to a woman singing, no reaction. But as soon as the next song came on, which was a really low male voice, our little boy started dancing away. So, of course Chris spent the next 20 min or so experimenting with what music made our little guy move. His favorite song so far is Zoo San. Which happens to be a Japanese children's song about elephants.

28 Weeks

Our little boy is now the size of an eggplant.

 He is about 2 1/4 lbs and about 14 inches.

His eyesight is developing enough that he can now see some changes in light that filter through the womb. He is also getting VERY active. The doctor said I could start counting movement this week, that I should feel at least 10 movements in an hour after eating. But not to worry about how long it takes to get the movements. I might get the movements within 20 min, instead of taking the full hour or it might take an hour and a half to get that last movement. Our little boy wants us to know that he is definitely healthy. I get ten movements within a minute or two. He just gets going and likes to keep moving around. Unless Chris puts his hands on my belly. Then he will stop moving for a couple minutes until he gets used to the hand being there or forgets about it. He seems to be a little shy. Once he's used to it though, he gets right back to moving up a storm.

My newest pregnancy symptom is leg cramps. They finally hit. People have been asking me for weeks if I'm getting them. Well, now I am. Haha. Not too bad though. I've definitely had worse. I'm just really conscious about drinking a lot of water and stretching often. I still feel pretty good as a whole. Enough energy to get me through the school day and I don't feel sick. In fact its really only my legs that seem to be feeling the pregnancy. I occasionally forget that I'm pregnant. Until our little boy kicks me or I have to get in and out of  a car.  : ) 

Happy November

   I got Kylie pretty good this morning. I got home at 9 o'clock and noticed that the clock hadn't been adjusted, so I crawled into bed with my barely-awake wife, put a note of panic in my voice, and asked "Aren't you going to get ready? Church is in an hour!" She woke up pretty quickly after that! Lucky for me she was still sleepy enough not to get mad.
   Announcement number one: We now have the internet! We finally broke down and decided that it was almost a necessity of life, especially considering that she uses it for school and I will use it for school come January. So I am writing my first ever blog post at my house! Comin' at you live from apartment 14. And what was the very first thing I did when I woke up and saw that we had internet? I watched a slow-mo video of popcorn popping. It was incredible! This interweb business is fascinating.
   Announcement number two: We now have a bed frame! Courtesy of my father for my birthday, it hits two stones with one bird by also serving as a dresser, with four drawers built into the bed. Nifty, huh? Got it at Ikea, which is, by the way, one of my favorite restaurants. Swedish meatballs! Got a pizza cutter there as well, but whatever. Anyway, here's a picture of the bed.

   It looks really small in this picture. It's a queen, but to be honest, it feels a little small with the way Kylie sleeps. She likes to scootch toward me, but I can't touch her leg because it hurts, so I end up scootching away. It's a vicious cycle. I think it's payback from the time I bloodied her nose in my sleep. She likes to hold grudges like that. Ain't love a kick in the head?

   Announcement number three: Kylie now has a cane! She's been limping so pathetically that I finally convinced her to go to the thrift store with me and buy a used cane. This thing is a beast! It's a recurve or something, I don't understand. I've never seen a cane like it. You'll just need to see it, I can't explain.

Weird, huh?

   I've been to boxing class more. I love it! I'm sore all the time, haha, but I can feel myself getting better and stronger. It's so fun. I'm excited for when I'm experienced enough to spar for real, but I'd just get hurt if I tried now, haha.

   We've been really blessed the last couple of weeks. I got 9 hours overtime last paycheck, 8 this one, and we aren't ever allowed overtime. It's just an example of the Lord blessing us for paying our tithing (10% of our income) by getting me more hours to support us with. It's awesome! we're promised in Malachi that if we pay tithing that the windows of heaven will open right up and blessings will flow, so much that there will not be room to receive it. A few hours of overtime is a good start. It helped us pay for the tire that exploded on us the other day, haha. Dad is always saying I'm pretty lucky; I'm just blessed. : )

   Our son is now the size of a cauliflower (whatever that means; I hate these vegetable references) and a LOT more active. When we had our Halloween date night (Corpse Bride and themed dinner; pics below) he was jumping around the whole movie. Kylie always forgets to watch, but she wants to see him move her clothing while teaching or something. Freak out the kids. He is also, according to babycenter.com, sleeping regularly with more brain activity. So here is my beautiful wife with our beautiful baby in her beautiful belly. And our calendar.

   Well, it's bedtime for me, after our post-church Red Baron pizza (it's a weekly tradition). Sunday is not always my day of rest, what with work at night and church in the day, but it's not that bad. I'm just an hour behind in sleep today, so I hope I sleep well . . . and that the kid downstairs won't throw any screaming tantrums today. Don't forget to put your email address in the box to the right if you want an email every time we post. Love you all! Good night! : D 

Ribs and shrunken heads (potatoes) and some bloody guts

Drama Club Halloween Party

The school I'm student teaching at had a drama club Halloween party. You were required to show up in costume, even the chaperones.

Chris and I went as a fifties housewife and the milkman. The kids didn't get it but they loved it anyway. Chris enjoyed it because he got to drink milk all night. I liked it because it was all stuff that we had at home.


PS
The kids kept calling Chris, Mr. Valentine. It kind of freaked him out. He's apparently never been called Mr. Valentine before. He kept trying to introduce himself as Chris. He turned to me once and said "I'm not Mr. Valentine!"

Rutabaga:

I think Chris is right. Our baby is probably cuter. : )

   Hey everybody! Chris here. I'm sitting in McDonald's sucking on a smoothie (blueberry pomegranate, not bad) because i didn't feel like going to the library. It was probably a bad idea (the price of a smoothie and music vs silence and savings) but I felt like a change of scenery. 
   So, what's new, you might ask? Well, plenty! I started going to a gym that teaches martial arts classes, and I am loving it. I got a reduced price three month membership for my birthday (Thanks, Kylie) and i started last week, so I've been five times now, twice for kickboxing, thrice for boxing. Who'da thunk hitting a bag would be so exhausting? Man, I'm sore all down my back and arms, and even my legs! I love it. We did some exercise using a Moby song called Flower, and every time he'd say down we'd squat, every time he'd say up we'd go up. It's a fun workout, and now the song has been in my head since Monday, haha. 
   Work is the same. No updates. Hmm, was it even worth typing out for you to read? Probably not, but what's done is done.
   Kylie's enjoying school (I think, I'm never there with her) and she is remembering their names, mostly. They had a performance last night, I think. She didn't offer for me to go, so I'm not sure. I think she's ashamed to be seen with me ;). 
   Speaking of Kylie, she's looking adorable! I love her belly. Even more, I love the little guy inside of it. He's the best. I felt him move for the first time the other day.I'm trying to read to him, when I can. He is (according to our weekly updates online) now the size of a rutabaga (and what is rutabaga? Apparently some kind of vegetable, but who cares, I bet my baby's cooler than one anyway). So that's my boy. Kylie loves him, too, but I think she gets tired of him dancing on her sciatic nerve. Her leg is ALWAYS hurting now. Only four months to go, Kylie! Ganbatte!
   We went to the pool the other day, and Kylie was happy. She was able to completely submerge her belly, and that is apparently very relieving. It just made it heavier after getting out, though. She tried to take a bath the other day when we realized there is no way to plug the tub! She tried a plate, plastic wrap, and who knows what else before dejectedly crawling into bed for a moment of sadness. She's adorable. Did I say that already?
   Well, the lunch rush from the high school is now in McDonald's so I think it's time to boogie. Listening to teenagers flirt and laugh is not my idea of a day off. Besides, it's almost bed time! So with that, good night!

Registries

 We have had a lot of people asking about what we want so I thought I would post where we have registered.
http://www.diapers.com/baby-registry/welcome
and at Target

Target tends to be a little cheaper than diapers.com but diapers.com gives us points towards free diapers, so that is why we did both. : )

Pictures!

Chris told me I need to write too.
First of all here are the pics from our ultrasound today....

It's a BOY!!!!

 Here are some of the pictures closer up. 

This one is of the face. His eyes are on the right side of the picture, mouth on the left. He kind of looks like an alien. haha. He had his mouth open. This is the very first shot we got of him.

The one below is the defining picture. Chris loved the fact that we had to spend so much time trying to get a picture of his face after the first one, because he kept covering his face with his hands. However, he wasn't very shy about showing us that he was a boy.

We had a good time at the doctors today. At first our little boy was very cooperative. I drank orange juice before we showed up but we ended up having to wait for about 20 min before we actually got the ultrasound so I think he was just starting to calm down from the orange juice by the time we got in. After the first couple pictures he raised his hands up and kept covering his face. After taking pictures of the rest of him our technician came back to try and get more pictures of the face. He would not cooperate. She spent what felt like ten minutes, poking and prodding me trying to get him to move. It was not very comfortable. Finally she said I needed some sugar to get him moving, so Chris went and got me an orange juice from the vending machine. I chugged the whole bottle and promptly felt very sick. (I'd been feeling sick from her prodding anyway). 10 minutes later she checked and he had started moving up again so we got a couple more pictures that she needed. 
One really cool thing about the ultra-sound was that we could see his heart beat (I keep almost writing the baby, instead of him or his. We are having a boy!) It was really neat to visually see the his heart pumping his blood.
Our little boy is one pound three ounces and he is right on track for his weight and size. He is about the size of a spaghetti squash. We also found out at our last doctors appointment that I'm right on track for size. Which is always nice to know. : ) 

By the time we were through I was ready for bed. I think we were in that dark room for about 30-40 min. Plus I was laying down most of the time not moving. My body was thinking, this is a great time for a nap. Chris had to work pretty hard to convince me to come to the library to blog before I went home to lay down. haha. 

I guess that brings you up to speed. Chris is much better at being detailed and telling a narrative. Sorry about that. : )

It's a Boy!

   Just got back from the ultrasound, and as you may have discerned from the title, we are having a boy! Our very own boy baby. Kylie has the ultrasound pictures on her computer (well, it's actually my computer, but it's the better computer, so she uses it, so it's hers . . .whatever) so she'll post them when she gets done doing homework over in her chair. I'm so excited! A boy baby, all of our own. Just to clear things up, we would have been just as happy with a girl baby. Most of our excitement comes from being able to definitively use gender-specific pronouns in our conversations rather than being stuck using "it." Now, instead of saying "it's kicking!" Kylie can say "He's kicking!" So we're happy.
   On an unrelated topic, I'm using this post as a way to practice proper typing, rather than the hunt and peck method I generally use, so be grateful that it doesn't take you as long to read this as it does for me to type it, haha. I should probably just download a program to help me learn ( or relearn what I've already learned, albeit 13 years ago) how to do this. I keep misplacing all my keys.
   So we met our new midwife last week. Her name is Sue Schlegelmilch, if I spelled that right (and auto-correct is insisting that I didn't). Try saying that five times fast. Or even once correctly. Kylie likes her a lot, she's a pretty down to earth lady who doesn't treat you like you're stupid. We'll hopefully get to meet the other two midwives as we go, there are three of them, and one is always on call, so there's no saying which one will deliver our baby BOY. Our next appointment is next week, something like the eighth or ninth. Kylie knows better than me.
   Kylie's working real hard, doing well at school. Last week they had their first set of parent teacher conferences, which they do four times a semester, it sounds like. She was super stressed about doing it alone because her teacher was out of town for some kind of conference or seminar, but she came home feeling like she did just fine. She may have more to say about it, if she writes anything when she posts the pictures. Maybe she will. She goes down to St. George this weekend for the Shakespeare festival down there, leaving Thursday and getting home Saturday night. I won't get to see her for four whole days! I will last see her before I go to work Wednesday night, then when I get home Sunday morning. At least it happens on a work week, cause I spend most of my time sleeping anyway.
   So this month is going to be exciting, I take the PTCE (Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam) on the 25th, so I'm studying for that. Hopefully I'll be able to transfer to the pharmacy and get a pay raise soon after I get my license, we will need it. However, I probably wouldn't switch too soon, just to help my boss out with being on overnights. It's hard to get someone to switch to being the overnight manager for a mere 25 cents extra. But I'm definitely going to do it, because it will help me transfer up to Rexburg when we move again, whenever that will be.
   Well, I think that about does it for me. Kylie will be up next, she's been preparing her lesson plans or something. We think we've pretty much got a name figured out for our baby BOY, but let us know what you might think. Also, we don't know how to make a subscription button, but if you just bookmark this page and put it on your toolbar, you can click it every now and then to get our updates. Bye!!

Oh, I almost forgot! I found the BEST lumpia place not far from home (in fact, right on my way to work) and it is DELICIOUS. It's called eggrollin' and it's in this little red trailer in a parking lot next to a Chevron. $1 lumpia (good sized) if you get the chance, and if you don't live here, know that you are missing out!

Quick, quick, like a bunny!

Hey everybody! Chris here. It's been awhile, and I only have 3 and 1/2 minutes before the computer times out! I'm at the library, the only place we can get internet. Well, not much has happened recently. Just work as usual. I got hit by a car last week, and the bruises are still there, but otherwise, I'm great! Thankfully. We are still excited about the baby, we get to discover the gender next Wednesday, so hang tight! I'm still not sure what I want, so I guess I'll be happy either way, haha. Oh no, I type too slow, time's up! Later!

Week 20- Halfway there!

Sorry it has been so long since I've written. And double sorry because there is no picture today.
It has been an exhausting week and a half. Plus we don't have internet at home right now, so I just don't feel like going somewhere to use the internet at the end of the day.
However, our little one is the length of a Banana now!

It is about 6 1/2 inches long. The baby is really supposed to start growing now so I should gain weight faster.
My mind is kind of blank right now. I'm officially entering the "not so much sleep" stage so I'm a bit out of it. I'll have to get Chris to come to the library and write a post in the next couple days... haha. I'm just not succeeding right now.

First Day of School

First Day of School!

So today was the first day of my student teaching experience. It was a lot of fun. I'm really excited about the my mentor teacher. I think that we are going to get along great. I'm also really excited about the kids. We've got some great kids and it's going to be a fun program. In first period my mentor teacher didn't say my name clear enough when she introduced me so for the first half of an activity we did the students kept calling me "teacher". It took a little bit for it to get around that my name was Mrs. Valentine. Another class period a student asked me if I knew Mr. Christmas as a joke. 

The first class period I didn't do to well with names because I was getting so nervous but after the initial nerves I think I did really well. I can only hope that pregnancy brain doesn't kick in and I forget all the students names that I learned.

The tech class likes me because I told them I am a tech lover, I like tech more than acting. I love techie pride. The got so excited saying things like "yeah that's right!" and "Go Tech"  and "'Cause Tech is the best!"

I'm actually really excited for that class because my mentor teacher really gives them a TON of responsibilities on productions so the class is preparing them to actually do the jobs, they know that they will have to use these skills soon.   

I have 3 periods of Drama 1, 1 period of Drama 2, a tech class and a Shakespeare class. Drama 1 and Drama 2 will be my classes exclusively starting mid-September. I will be writing curriculum and teaching. I will teach a couple units (groups of 8-15 lessons) in the tech class but we will be following the basic outline my mentor teacher has created. I will also be team teaching occasionally in Shakespeare. Though that is my mentor teacher's baby and she wants to keep a hold of it. : )

I am still a little worried about the whole thing but I think that is a good thing. If I were too confident I don't think I'd learn as much from the experience. However, I'm so excited and I look forward to going back tomorrow.

Week 18

Hey everybody! This is Chris here. Kylie is on the computer with her family, so I'm gonna be updating this week! So here's my idea: it's kinda tacky to state who is typing every single post, so I will make it easy by doing my posts in italics. Or maybe in a different font. Or maybe both. No, I will just stick with the courier type font. Okay.

So, we have moved on, moved out, and moved in. We are all moved in at our apartment, thanks to Kristian (Kylie's younger brother) and his roommate Daniel. We showed up at about 1130 at night, and man, was it hot! Utah is so much warmer than Idaho. But we got the Uhaul unloaded quick, and bit by bit we are unpacking our apartment. We'll  take pictures to show it off sometime. Maybe.

Our 1 year anniversary was yesterday! But we didn't do much. We unpacked boxes, checked the thrift store out for new furniture, went to Zupa's, our soup and salad restaraunt (and as fruity as that sounds, I LOVE that restaraunt), and listened to the BYU ball game on the car radio. A great anniversary.

We also went to our new church today and got to meet some members of our ward. I worked last night, so I didn't want to go to church, but Kylie got up to go and asked me if I was coming. I said no, and rolled over, but she came in a few minutes later saying that she put khakis and a shirt out for me if I changed my mind. In my head I chuckled, and said Yeah, right. I was tired. But then I had a dream. Kylie divorced me! And all because I didn't go to church. Now, I know that would never happen, especially cause we finished the 1-year trial period yesterday (there's a return policy on husbands, right?), but it got me thinking as I was lying in bed. A marriage is built up by small things, like going places together, holding hands, saying I love you, kissing at red lights, and whatever little habits we all have in marriage. The same way, a testimony of God and His gospel is built in the same way, by small building blocks that build a strong foundation, such as prayer, reading scriptures, going to church, and many other small and simple things that build one's faith. SO I got up, put on a tie, went to church, and felt great. I even got up and shared that with everybody at testimony meeting. I'm looking forward to this ward.

Let's rewind. Back to when we were separated for a WHOLE WEEK. All I did was work and sleep, and Kylie was being awesome and cleaning/packing up in Idaho. When I got back on Wednesday, she was very obviously pregnant! She had grown! I got so excited. My love for my pregnant wife and unborn child grew a lot while we were apart. I had an interesting dream where I almost lost them both (in a tsunami), but luckily, even my subconscious mind can't imagine life without them. Anyway, here is my lovely wife and her lovely belly!

 

Our baby has ears now! Mostly in the right spots. They say it is bell pepper size now, but I've eaten a lot of bell peppers of varying sizes, so that's a hard image for me. It is to the point that it can hear me if I speak near Kylie's belly, so I like to tell it things throughout the day. It's genitals are formed, so in a few weeks we will know the gender! It is beginning to flex its arms and legs so she has felt it a couple times, though it could have been digestion. I'm jealous that I can't feel it, but excited for when it gets a little bigger. Kylie may have mentioned this before, but she eats SO MUCH MORE now. She really noticed the volume of food she eats when we went to Red Robin and she ate the WHOLE burger and SEVERAL PLATES of fries. WHAT?!? Usually she eats half the burger and I get to eat her fries while I'm waiting for a refill, but she about broke my hand when I tried. Speaking of which, Red Robin has added several new sauces. My favorite is Thai Chili. Yuummm. And the Bleu Ribbon burger, of course. Well, that's our blog about Red Robin, I mean, our pregnancy.

Vacay Pics

We just got the pictures from our trip to Cabo.

We had a wonderful time. Thank you so much to Grandma and Grandpa for taking us. It was so great to spend time with the family.

Week 17

So apparently pregnant Kylie is not as independent as not-pregnant Kylie. Chris left for Provo today. I thought, no problem. 7 days ... no big deal. Then as he's pulling away I get all teary. Man, am I weepy. I feel like I'm really going to miss him a lot for the next 7 days. I'll spend my time pacing us up though. He packed all the heavy things before he left, so I get to have fun with all of the littler things. Like the kitchen and the study. We are sad to be leaving Rexburg but we're excited to be with all of our friends and family in Utah

Week 17 Picture

 

The baby is now about the size of an onion.

The baby's skeleton is changing from cartilage to bone. Fat is beginning to form on the baby, helping it's metabolism and heat production. It's also making me bigger. The baby's heartbeat is about twice as fast as mine. It is practicing sucking and swallowing. As for me, I've realized that I can't get up as fast as I usually do. I keep standing up and walking two steps only to have to lean on something or sit down again because I get super dizzy. haha. I got to learn to slow down a bit apparently. Also, I have become a veracious eater. I may have already mentioned this, but recently it is what I think about most. Food! mmmm... I'm making scrambled eggs as we speak.

Week 16

Okay, so I missed a week. Chris and I went to Provo for a couple days and I didn't think to bring a camera. However, we are very excited. Chris has a job for when we move to Provo in a couple weeks and we have an apartment! Check, on our goals for that trip.

Now onto the photo. Week 16!

This week is the first week I actually really feel pregnant. Though you may not be able to tell in this picture someone actually told me I looked pregnant.

Gummy Bear is the size of an avocado, about 4 1/2 inches.

For those who are wondering about gender, we won't find out until next month. We are just a little too early this month. 

This week has been the week of salt and fruit. Though thankfully not together. I want to eat anything salty; pickles, potato chips, biscuits, basically add more salt to everything. I also wanted fruit, fruit smoothies, fruit snacks, and fruit candy.

Also, emotions are higher then they've ever been about things that are so insignificant. For instance, today alone I've cried at a quote on pinterest, a clip of a little girl saying beauty is making your parents proud, and a teddy bears ear getting ripped off in a TV show. I also got extremely happy over a Jamba Juice. haha. Chris walked into the apartment with the Jamba Juice, and I jumped up so excited "My Love is home!" Chris immediately said "I know you are talking about the smoothie, not me." Sorry Honey.

News in the baby's experience. The baby is now starting to be able to feel. So he /she can probably feel if I poke my belly or lay on it. The eyes and ears have moved almost to their final position and he/she is starting to grow nails.

Starting Weekly Pregnancy Pics

14 Weeks

Yay! 2nd Trimester!

It's the size of lemon.

Cravings

So I haven't had any weird cravings like dirt, but I have had weird cravings for me. Foods that I don't like but suddenly taste wonderful. Also, I've had aversions to foods that I used to love. My diet is definitely changing. Here is the list so far.


Cravings:

• Hamburgers with ketchup (I normally avoid ketchup) and no veggies 
• Bacon burgers from Wendy's are my new best friend 
• Hot Dogs (cooked well done) 
• Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with Tuna Fish in it (I normally only eat homemade mac & cheese) 
• KFC Potatoes (my cravings get very specific. homemade mashed potatoes didn't do the trick) 
• Apples (my least favorite fruit) 
• Milk (granted I still only drink it with chocolate in it, but I've never actually wanted milk before) 
• Lots of Cheese (but this I liked before) 
• Sun Chips ( Also liked these before but feel I should document them because I craved them for two days before giving in and buying them. Oh, dreams of sun chips. )

Aversions:

• Spinach 
• Pomegranate Juice (SO SAD) 
• Any kind of pepper (sad because I just went to Mexico) 
• Really any green but broccoli and even that is touch and go 
• Chocolate (except chocolate milk. Right when I got pregnant Chris got me expensive chocolate to celebrate and I still haven't been able to eat it. ) 
• Cottage Cheese (I used to eat a half a cup, every day for breakfast) 

 I think that is the list for now. Haha. The cravings list is a complete list of everything I have craved since the beginning. The aversions are just the ones that have held on. At the beginning I had a hard time with 90% of food, it seemed like. Oh, the fun experiences of early pregnancy. Almost to the 2nd trimester!

Service

Today in church we were talking about the Relief Society and service came up. It got me thinking.

I Love Service. 

What beautiful principles

 "Love one another"

 "Lift up the hands that hang in sorrow" 

 "Help someone in need".

So when I got home I wanted to keep thinking about service. The opportunities that I've had to serve others and the times that I've been helped. It is amazing the impact that service has on our lives. I don't remember a lot of my childhood because I don't have the best memories but I do remember lots of little moments of service. Doing the dishes at a house where I was babysitting, even if they were the whole days dishes. Watching my mom make burial gowns for stillborn babies. Filling plastic bags with hygiene essentials for disaster victims.

            Some of the biggest things to impact who am today have been service opportunities. Sometimes they wouldn't even be my service activities. For example, I remember my brothers and dad spending quite a few weekends down further south with other members of the ward, helping to clean up and rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. I remember how impressed I was that my brothers who were in middle school and high school, would willingly give up their weekends to go help people they didn't know. It was hard work, too. They would always come back really tired but very happy. They loved going down there. 

             Another thing that really brought home the importance of service to me lately, was on my mission. When I heard about the tsunami hitting Japan I was at the church building with about 20 other ward members, quilting blankets. These blankets were for fire victims in the area because we had recently had a large fire that took many houses. One of the members asked if another had heard about the tsunami. I over heard and asked for details as my heart stopped with fear for Chris. They didn't have many and couldn't even tell me where the tsunami had hit. It took more than 24 hours for me to get any kind of real information because I didn't have internet access but I remember how grateful I felt that I was doing what I was doing when I found out. And also so grateful that other wards all over the world had been doing the same kind of activities and storing up supplies so that when a need came, they could send those supplies. I was so grateful for the help that was going out to Japan.

            The last thing that I thought about was all the service that my family has received since Konnor's diagnosis. How grateful I am for everyone who has visited him, when I couldn't. How grateful I am for all the help that has been given to my parents. How grateful I am for the loving support from so many friends for him. Friends, who in some cases, haven't seen him for years.

             Today has reminded me how important it is to keep others in mind. To focus on giving. To put others before yourself. Our church does this thing called Fast Offerings. Once a month we are asked to go with out food for two meals and then donate the money we would have spent on those to meals to the church welfare program. We our encouraged to give a generous fast offering if we have the means (like pretend it was a steak dinner, even if we probably would have just made fried rice.) As a young married couple I often think, our means are $10 a month and that seems pretty reasonable to me. Chris is never satisfied with that. He always gives more than that. I hope that I can become more like him. Where it isn't a question of how much do I think I can afford to give of my time or money? but how much can I possibly give? 

           I also watched some videos on line because who doesn't like inspirational videos. And of course, because I'm pregnant, I cried at all of them. Here are a few of my favorites. They are short. : )

 Other good ones:
 http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/topics?lang=eng&id=2009-01-60-humanitarian-efforts-review-bishop-burton#2009-01-60-humanitarian-efforts-review-bishop-burton
http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/topics?lang=eng&id=2012-01-001-pass-it-on#2012-01-001-pass-it-on
 http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/topics?lang=eng&id=2011-02-002-unselfish-service#2011-02-002-unselfish-service


I am so grateful to be part of an organization that reminds me and encourages me to serve others.

Fixing our Photo Wall

So I set up our living room when we first moved in. Then about 2 weeks later the photos kept falling down. I never took pictures of the living room because there was always at least on picture missing. Today, Chris helped me fix the pictures so they shouldn't fall anymore. So finally, here are the pictures of our current living area, a month before we move. : )

 Chris was threading needles and tying knots all over the place. I've got an awesome, crafty husband.

It's a Gummy Bear!

That's right! There is a Baby Valentine on the way.

Chris and I are very excited for our new addition. We are ten weeks pregnant and the baby is about the size of a kumquat. We recently had our first prenatal appointment and we have pictures!

It's been said it looks like twins. Just to be clear, there is only one baby in there. The head is just the same size as the rest of the body.

I'm doing good. My morning sickness is starting to go away, I think. (Crossing my fingers) Though I'm still a very picky eater and I gag more often then I ever have before. ha ha. Chris is being super helpful around the house. He is a wonderful husband and I'm so grateful for how understanding he is. I know he'll be a great father.

Well that is all. Not much to say on the baby front.

2013 Movie List

     Well, obviously I did not achieve my goal of writing every week but they always say "try, try again". So here I go. : )
     I've recently been watching a lot of movie trailers because I have been interested in what kind of films Hollywood is making lately. I've known the big names of remakes of plays and books like "Les Miserables" and "The Hobbit" but I haven't really taken the time to see what original movies are coming out or movies adapted from things I don't know. However, I have rectified this oversight and here is my list of movies I want to see from this year, in no particular order.

• The Man of Steel - Because I can't not see a Superman movie.
• Star Trek Into Darkness - The first one was so awesome how could I not.
• The Mortal Instruments -Curiosity, the books have been on best seller lists. Trailer
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Can't see the first and not the second.
• Hunger Games: Catching Fire - See above
• The Great Gatsby - I didn't like the book but I love Baz Luhrmann, so it had to be on my list.
• Despicable Me 2 - Who doesn't want to see more minions?
• Monster's University - I wasn't really interested till I saw this trailer. If nothing else they know how to make a great trailer.Trailer
• Gravity - Lost in space is one of those themes I just love. The trailer wasn't very informative on the plot and I haven't found much about it anywhere else. But right now it is on my must see list, just for the theme and the actors. Trailer
• Now You See Me - Cool magic? Yes, please.Trailer
• Oblivion - Heard about it = wasn't interested. Saw this trailer = interest. Trailer
• Jack the Giant Slayer - Because I can't decide from the trailer if it looks good or not. Really could go either way and I must know. Trailer
• The Wolverine - I love wolverine. Period.
• Ender's Game - I love the book. I'm a little scared for the movie but I have to know.

These titles have yet to be rated so I don't know if I will want to see them but they look interesting:

• Prisoners - I love Hugh Jackman and this kind of reminds me of Taken, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Does look a little rough. Trailer
• Elysium - I'm very interested in the premise of this movie.Trailer
• American Hustle - Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper

PS
I may not have achieved my goal of writing every week but Chris and I have succeeded in doing family home evening most weeks! So at least half of our goal is getting achieved.