Our little dancer

At our ultrasound we found out that we are having a girl!  It was very clear and there seemed to be no doubt that it is a girl.  We are thrilled and are excited. . . not that we prefer a girl, but that we know what it is more confidently!  We would have been just as thrilled to have a boy, but I guess the boys will have to come later.  She is kicking off and on during the day and I still love it.  sometimes when I am not doing anything too important, I can be found staring at my twitching belly.  It is such a  fun feeling and I get off in my own little world.  I saw how the baby was sitting in my belly, so I kind of know if she is kicking, punching, or head butting me.  Too fun!  I am getting, big, but not miserable!

We know . . . do you?

We had our last ultrasound today and the doctor wanted to check up on something which David and I still don't really know what they were concerned about.  All we really know is that they said everything looks great, they aren't concerned about how the baby is growing/how I am doing and that we both look like we are great and right on track.
We also found out as clear as we could what we are going to have.  Our last ultrasound was a little shaky on the gender and the doctor said the legs were a little tight together, so it seemed that she guessed it was a girl so we could come out with something from our 20 week ultrasound, but we weren't confident.  We haven't bought or painted anything and we prayed that we would be lucky enough to get a good look today, and we did!!!!  We are very excited and with school getting out in 2 days, I will have lots of free time to decorate and make fun stuff for the baby.
For those that are dying to know, you will have to wait!  This is mean, but I won't make you wait too long!  I will tell all over the weekend.  I just like to see what people think.  Maybe it is the teacher in me and this is a little pretest just to see what you already know!  Go ahead and guess. . .  did the doctor guess right and we are going to have a girl, or has it really been a boy all along?  We know. . . do you?

Which Belly????

OK OK. . . so most of you had it figured out.  The belly on the right has the baby in it!  As Dad said it, I have more of a teardrop shape to my belly.  I will also add for David's sake, he really did have to push out his belly to make it look that big.  His doesn't really poke out as far as it looks, it just has the wider surface area so he tried really hard for this look, but my belly has been poking out further than his for a while now.

A few new funny things from people:
. . . I was getting my haircut and as she met me, my hair cutter lady asked, "So are you 8 months along or how far?"  I told her just barely 6 months and she didn't even try to take it back!  I am barely bigger than in this picture and most people have been surprised to find out that I was only 6 months along, so 8 was a shocker to me!
. . . A second grade girl at school told me, "The baby is taking up all your clothes!"  It seemed like an emergency and I just had to agree and tell her that the baby is still going to grow more.  She looked very worried for me :)
. . . A different second grade girl felt the baby bump and was amazed at how tough it was and then said, "your belly is hard, but when you have the baby, it will be so soft and squishy."  Her teacher got on her about making rude comments and how I was not like most people and I have a nice cute little body and will have a nice flat belly.
. . . I sneezed at work and one of my co-workers said "bless you" and followed it with, "Do you pee your pants a little every time you sneeze or cough, because I did when I was pregnant."  I laughed at her and thanked her for sharing, but had to let her down as I have not peed my pants sneezing or coughing.  Some people are very open and feel that by being pregnant before and being face to face with me gives them the go ahead to share ANYTHING and EVERYTHING about their pregnancy, whether I ask or not (usually not).  I have heard plenty from some people that I know nothing about except for some special facts!  Oh the joys of pregnancy.

We found a steal of a deal on a stroller this weekend, and almost a crib too.  I just took a look at craigslist and found so much stuff on there.  Hidden among all the extra stuff was this very good lookin' stroller for only $10.00!!!  Some family here in Boise is moving and didn't need it anymore so I got it!

We are pretty excited about this good deal we found and almost got a crib, but someone beat us to it.  There is only 3 months or less left and we are getting really anxious for this new little baby!
 Summer is almost here and it starts officially on Friday as it is the last day of school around here!  This week is like one big party at school!  Kindergarteners had their graduation today, and the "too cool for E-School" 5th graders have their graduation on Thursday, the 5th grade vs. teachers kickball game on Wednesday, and field day tomorrow and Wednesday for the 1st-4th graders.  This means I get to wear jeans (not dress clothes!) for the rest of the week and I will be signing lots of shirts (it seems that it is the "in" thing to wear a plain white shirt for boys and a pink one for girls and have everyone sign it.)  I put a little preggo stick figure next to my name so they remember me :)  I am going to miss some of the cute kids for sure, but not enough to make me go back to work right after the baby is born.  I will just have to have my own cute kids. . . problem solved!!!

Baby Daddy

David is taking such good care of me. He is such a sweet boy and is very concerned about making me happy.  
. . . He asks nearly each day how my belly is doing.
. . . last night he woke up and noticed I was sleeping on my back.  He got nervous because I am supposed to sleep on one of my sides so nicely woke me up and helped me roll over while I was probably wiping up my drool and not making it as quick and easy as it would seem to be :)
. . . he is very excited to take a birthing and delivery class and graciously waited an extra month to take it so I could look a little more pregnant so I looked as if we were supposed to be there.
. . . he has been watching tutorials online to learn about how to take care of a newborn baby (bathing, dressing, feeding, diapers, etc)
. . . he meets me at doctor appointments each time
. . . he tells me I look cute with a big belly
. . . he wants me to stay home when the baby comes and wants me to be happy
. . . he doesn't really want to name the baby Dory

. . . he lets me blame anything I like on the baby and has tried to do the same but it didn't quite work out for some reason

He is very excited to be a dad and I am convinced he will be a good one!  This boy of mine sure does know how to make me laugh and I love all the time we get to have each night after work and on the weekends together.  Love him :)

Who is Who?

Just for fun. . . which belly has a baby growing in it?  We set up a poll on the side bar for guesses.  We don't care who guesses either. . . I don't know if really anyone that reads the blog has seen the two of us so I don't think there are any cheating spies that will have the advantage:)

Don't worry, neither of us will be offended or sad for any reason if you get it wrong.  We will give this a week before we let you in on the "surprise"!

You Too!

The nice weather is finally here and I love it!  I can't wait to get a little bit of color back into this skin of mine.  I feel like this pregnancy glow is more of a glare as I reflect too much because of my pasty white skin :)  I am very glad that our apartment has a pool no more than 50 feet outside our front door, and I am going to probably be taking full advantage of it.  I might scare people away with the giant growing baby belly.  I am ok with that though!   I might be the pregnant queen of the pool!

This week I have realized a few things about being pregnant. . .

• stripes on shirts aren't so flattering anymore
• I have to stand further away from the fridge when I open it as I have hit my belly three times this week with the door :)
• turning sideways to fit through a gap doesn't help anymore, especially when trying to squeeze behind a student sitting in their chair as my belly just bonks them in the back of the head :)
• push ups are easier as I don't have to go down as far or else I might get high-centered!
• I am now getting special treatment 
• teachers offer thier soft cushioned chairs for me to sit on so I don't sit on the floor
• teachers move an extra chair next to me and my group or a helper is delegated so I never have to bend down to pick anything up off the floor
• I am not allowed to move anything. . . we are 2 weeks from summer vacation and teachers are packing up stuff in their rooms and I am not allowed to help unless I find something I can sit and sort
• Students almost get in trouble for not holding doors open for the pregnant lady
• students save parts of their lunch so they can feed the baby. . . I was given some linty fruit snacks, one for me and one for the baby
• First graders wanted to see me to feed the baby through my belly button :)
• our little girl is kicking all the time and I can feel her now without me sitting still
• a kindergartener gave me a hug and the baby kicked  him at the same time. . . I wasn't sure if he noticed, but with his eyes really big he said, "WHOA!  YOUR BABY KNOWS KARATE!"  all the boys waiting in line started showing off their karate chops and stances . . . I guess they learned karate in the womb too :)
• tying my shoes and painting my toes is getting a little more tricky
• one lady at work came up to me. . . when I was wearing the not so flattering striped shirt. . . and said "Well, your belly sure is getting huge!"  I sort of wanted to say, "You too!" with a nice little smile, but I am pretty sure that wouldn't have been so nice :)

I am finishing up my 2nd trimester and moving on to my 3rd trimester already!  This pregnancy has been flying by and it is great!  Some of the teachers I work with call me a natural breeder since I seem to be meant to have kids. They have their own horror stories from when they were pregnant and I am so glad that it has been such a breeze so far.  

I am bummed that I don't get to teach swimming lessons at our pool this summer though.  I was really excited to do it for the first half of the summer or so until I got too big and pregnant.  The managers are nervous about  being liable for any accidents that might happen so they said I can't do the lessons.  I am trying to think of fun/cheap things to do with my summer time until the baby comes.  David will be working, so I want to stay somewhat busy!  We will have to see!

25 weeks and showing!

Each week we take pictures showing how much my belly is growing and this week I feel like I look huge!
Here are two pictures. .  the one in green is at 23 weeks and the one in blue is at 25 weeks.  Is is just me or is there a BIG difference?  Only 2 weeks, really?!

 I really don't feel like I am as big as I look, but it is what it is!  I am on track for weight gain and I am measuring right on where I should, so I am not worried that I am too big.  I am just caught off guard a little as I don't feel as round as I look!  It is fun though as more and more people now feel safe to mention me being pregnant.  We are getting closer to having a name picked out, but still working on it.  My first grade class has tried to be helpful!
I sometimes wake up in the morning and she is kicking away.  It is a nice way to wake up.  David has been able to feel her kicking around in there too which is fun!  We are just plugging along and loving it!  Nothing too new and exciting, but we are quite alright with that!

Time for smoothies

This week was a good one!  We have a lot that we are blessed with and we are loving spending lots and lots of time together.  I am so glad that May is here and that summer is right around the corner!  Here's some of the random things that happened this week that made us smile!

• killed a giant nasty hobo spider. . . those spiders are fast and gross
• stocked our freezer with Popsicles
• saw my brother and sister-in-law as they stopped here for the night
• went for some runs and loved the fresh air and the cool trails along the river . . . no worries, my doctor said it is fine.  I am no extreme runner, just a few slow miles.
• we got a letter from a company David applied for. . . he didn't get the job, but it is so nice when companies acknowledge the fact that we wonder if any of the applications we put in are even partially considered
• had a flu bug. . . not so great, but I only had it for a day and then I was better. . . and David didn't get it
• lots of hugs from my kiddos at school
• got back on schedule of  scriptures, prayers, temple, etc with David
• Got my teacher certification papers off in the mail to the state
• giant balloon from valentine's day is still floating
• got to teach my first graders for an hour while their teacher went to a doctor's appointment
• David got to go play ping pong twice this week
• I ate a whole box of strawberries. . . too tasty!
• Two dates with David this week
• had a cherry dipped cone from DQ
• David finished a cool book that he really liked
• successfully lead my cub scouts through three songs on their homemade instruments at Pack Meeting for the parents
• was initiated as a new member to scouts and drank bear blood, wolf teeth, and some kind of bones (gatorade, crushed Cheerios, and oatmeal) . . gross, but the boys thought it was pretty cool
• started writing the story of my life so far and have loved thinking back to the shaggy haired silly girl that I was
• David felt our baby kick for the first time!

We are doing great!  Loving each other and have fun doing whatever we feel like doing.  Happy May!

Sorry for those still in school!

Now that I am a college graduate, I am finding that I have so much time.  I work during the week a full day each day, but then when I come home, I am free to do whatever I would like.  Recently I have realized how great it is!  When I was in school, I had multiple teachers say at the start of each new semester that every hour spent in class meant that they expected two hours of study time.  So though I would only have 2-4 classes in a day, some of those teachers expected double that in study time!  Yikes!  No I didn't always spend that much time at home, but there was a constant shameful feeling of how much more I could be doing, but I didn't have the energy and motivation to do it.  I always took at least 15 credits and then there was the occasional racquetball/snowboarding/German/sign language/basketball class that I would put in there for fun.  I think I am just realizing how each semester I spent the evenings worrying about the assignments, reading, projects, papers, tests, etc.  that I had to complete for the next day or that were coming up he next week or month.  I always wanted to get ahead and finish it all weeks in advance, but the semesters came and went and everything was just thrown in there and I had a few all nighters in order to stay on top of it all.
I just love that when I come home, I really do get to relax and do what I would like.  David and I get home at the same time each day and we don't have homework to worry about!  There really is time to do the dishes and laundry and pick-up.
I know that when kids come along, we will be so involved with their activities and school work, but for now we can't get enough of this time to be at home with every evening free to do what we choose!