Tiny Baby Bump

Remember that one time a few months ago when I said I felt frumpy and was definitely not a "cute" pregnant lady this time around? I shared this photo.

Well guess what.... it hasn't gotten any better! I ran across this next photo that my father in law took while I was pregnant. I remember being HUGE so I decided to figure out how far along I was and compare. I still can't believe what I figured out...

I was HUGE!!!! Granted, I was further along than I thought, so it really was more like 36 weeks, but STILL! There is a significant difference between the two photos. Not only do I look so terribly exhausted and my belly is tiny, but look at the SHAPE. Taysom made my belly perfectly round. This little girl makes my tummy long and funny looking. She seriously better be cute....

On a less vain note... a lot of people say that I am lucky since I am so small. These people have never experienced a small or tight pregnancy. I have now experienced both ends of the spectrum and can honestly say that I much prefer being big. Every time I see a huge pregnant women, I am sincerely jealous. To better understand, you have to remember that while I am measuring small, the baby is measuring PERFECT. She is the same size as any other 36 week gestation baby, she's just stuffed in their so tight rather than pushing out forward. That hurts. Like He**!!! Take my word for it!!! I can feel her on my tail bone, up against my hip, and behind my ribs/sternum.... ALL AT THE SAME TIME!!!

As ready as I am for her to not be inside of me, I am NOT ready for her to be out. This is opposite of how I was with Taysom. I was pretty much 100% ready at 37 weeks. The sooner he came, the better. I have SO much going on between school, Mary Kay, Taysom, and Chris. I need a few more weeks. We got all of our baby stuff out of storage, but have NOWHERE to put it, so her crib is overflowing with crap right now. We have a ton of clothes for her, but I have no idea what sizes and what we still need because I don't have a place to organize it all. We need a changing table and dresser, but oh wait, I don't have room for that either. Like I said, I am SOOOO not ready. So, I will just suffer through and say lots of prayers and get to work, or try to at least!!!

Scholarships and School

The last few weeks have been crazy weird. We had been told that Chris's job would pay for my tuition after a year, but found out that the information we were given was wrong and that they would only cover my tuition after TWO years. To top it off, we found out that I lost both of my scholarships - one because I submitted my fafsa too late, and the other because my gpa dropped less than .1 below what it was. This caused for a couple anxiety ridden days of panicking and trying to figure it all out. I still get a small amount of pell grants, so we decided that I will continue going to school, but only part time (6 credits) instead of the more than full time load (14 credits) that was required for my scholarships. As we made this decision, the anxiety started to subside and we eventually felt a lot of peace, and even excitement about our decision. I can continue my education while having enough time to be with my kids and focus on what is most important. The thought of making a little bit of money even crossed my mind, but I pushed it away because there is no way I want to work outside of home, leaving my sweet babies more than I already have to.

So we solidified our plan, each of us will take 6 credits a semester, Chris will work full time, and we will both be able to spend time with our family. It's going to take a bit longer to graduate, but we are still working towards it, and that's what matters, right? After graduation...? Who knows... maybe we'll stay here, maybe we'll go to grad school, maybe we'll move on. WHO KNOW?! We'll figure it out as it comes. For now, I am happy with the less stressful way of life we have chosen.

Pregnancy... Well... Sucks

I have A LOT to catch up on, but that is just going to have to wait. My husband and son are taking a nap right now, and I couldn't sleep. I don't want to clean. I don't want to craft. All I can think about is my belly. This is going to sound so incredibly stupid, I know it. But since this blog is a sort of journal for myself, I want to remember this.

I remember being hot and miserable when I was pregnant with Taysom. And I even remember crying about stretch marks and feeling unattractive and worrying about the weight I was gaining. But I also remember loving my belly. When I would get dressed in my new pregnancy clothes, I felt CUTE. Up until the day I delivered, you couldn't tell I was pregnant from behind or straight on. I carried him all in the front. I was excited for those things. I have been looking forward to my cute baby bump and the pregnancy clothes, and everything.

24 weeks and 4 days with Taysom. (2014)

I have already explained how different this pregnancy has been. I didn't feel her for the longest time and have been in so much pain and have been so sick. I lost a ton of weight, and even though I have gained it back, I am currently sitting at the weight I was at before I found out I was pregnant. That's great, right? Except for the part where I feel fat. I feel that I gained nothing in my belly, but a ton in my face and hips. I don't feel pretty. I don't feel cute. And I DEFINITELY don't feel sexy. I remember feeling that way in front of the mirror with Taysom, but I would dress up and be fine. I dress up now and it just makes me MAD! I am breaking out so bad. I feel disgusting wether I wear makeup or not. I feel... gross.

When expressing some of these concerns to my doctor, he said "when people say that you are glowing, they really mean that you have excess blood flow to your face and you look like crap!" This was his way of trying to comfort me and assure me that it is totally normal. But I mean, seriously? I  really want to enjoy this time, but I am finding it so hard.

For a little comparison, here is a photo of me at 24 weeks and 4 days with my first pregnancy and another photo at 24 weeks and 6 days with this pregnancy.

Pregnancy #1 VS #2

I don't have a huge baby bump. Noone can even tell that I am pregnant. They just think I've gained weight. I don't feel cute, just fat. Yeah, I know, this is part of having babies. It's life! But next time I am 'pregnancy hungry' and think that it's all peaches and sunshine, I want to remember this feeling. Cause.. well.. it freaking sucks....

On a much happier note. I love that I can now feel the baby move. It gives me a warm reassurance. As far as we know, she is healthy as can be. Her heart beat is great. I have my glucose test in a few weeks and the doctor wants to do another ultrasound just to make sure everything is alright. Nothing is wrong, our last ultrasound was just a bit early. Despite my body image issues, I am very happy that this little girl is healthy and am so excited for her to join our family. It really is amazing how she has already integrated herself into our family even though she's not even here yet. We really are a family of 4 now.

Potty Talk

Guys... Seriously...

Potty Training + Me = NO!!!

Trying to teach him how to wipe.
Key Word = Trying

I am SOOO not ready for this. Like, not even a little bit! However, we bought a potty seat for Taysom so that he will not be afraid of the potty when the time comes. We let him sit on the potty before or after his bath sometimes. He thinks it is so cool! His favorite part is flushing. It is also SO funny when we hand him toilet paper and tell him to "wipe". He will wipe his NOSE, then put the paper in the potty. Too funny!

A week or two ago, Taysom said potty and climbed out of the bath. I thought he was just bored and wanted to play on the potty, but I didn't want to fight with him, so I let him sit on the potty. Then he peed!!! I think it was a coincidence. He was really confused at first but then got very excited and happy. I thought it was kinda funny, but didn't think much of it.

Yesterday, we were all playing in Taysom's room, and out of nowhere, he stops playing, grabs his diaper, looks straight at me, and says "potty!" I was just going to ignore it, but he kept saying it and even tried taking his shorts off, then ran into the bathroom, so I indulged his desire and let him sit on the potty. As soon as I put him there, he went pee! I couldn't believe it. He had do go potty, actually communicated that to me, and waited until he was on the toilet to go! GOOD JOB, BUDDY! 

Pretending to throw up in the potty...
Like Mommy.

While I am in no way ready to start potty training, I really don't think he is either. I am okay with occasionally escorting him to the potty. However, I am NOT ready to rush to the nearest toilet, or deal with soaking wet undies and department store accidents. I am NOT ready for the regression that is sure to come in less than 5 months when his baby sister arrives. I am not ready. I am not ready. I AM SOOOO... NOT... READY!!!

I am oddly learning to tolerate and even be totally okay with expensive diapers, endless wipes, and nasty diaper changes. They are really okay. I think I can tolerate it for a little while longer.

Stay little for a little bit longer my sweet boy!

On another note, with me being so sick this pregnancy, Taysom has spent many days rummaging through the bathroom drawers while I throw up. Sometimes he would come up behind me and pat my back, but the funniest thing ever was when he would bend over the toilet next to me, stick out his tongue, and say "BLEH!" It's even funnier that he still does it. Such a goof!!!

Service Baby

It is so fun to watch Taysom grow into his personality. It is also so much fun to look back and see how his personality was strong, even before we met him. He has such a powerful, loud, energetic personality, and I now realize that I could see it before he was born. While I was pregnant, I craved McDonalds and could have sat in a scolding hot bath all day. Taysom now LOVES the bath... and french fries! I also always wanted to go go go when I was pregnant with him. It didn't matter where, I just wanted to GO. The first thing Taysom says when he gets up from bed is "Go?!" I had so much energy when I was pregnant, both good and bad, and he is definitely just like that.

These funny little parallels have made me be really observant this pregnancy. While it is hard since I can't really feel her yet, I have definitely been able to learn a bit about her. The biggest thing I have found so far is that I think she is going to be much calmer than Taysom. I think she will be more cuddly than him. All I want to do right now is sit on the couch and watch project runway all day. With Taysom, I wanted to BE project runway!!!

The big thing I realized today is that I think little miss is going to be a very kind and generous person. Over the last few weeks, I have found myself multiple times reaching out to others and serving them in various ways. If you know me, you know that I love to help, but I cringe at the word "service". I haven't even been realizing that I am serving until I'm almost done. While doing something for a near stranger a few weeks ago, Chris, the service guru in our family, asked me "Why are you doing this for them? You don't even really know/like them?" My response was simple, because they were in need, and I had the time/ability to help them. But it doesn't stop there. I have found myself volunteering to serve even when I really DON'T have the time or ability. Like offering to do something when my week is already SWAMPED and we are going out of town (lack of time). Or volunteering to teach the relief society lesson on very short notice (SERIOUS lack of ability). I just... feel... the desire, I guess! Like I said, she must have a very sweet and generous spirit. I can't WAIT to meet her and get to know her! She is an example to me already!!!

The most recent project that I took on was for a family in our old ward. A young pregnant woman was diagnosed with preeclampsia and had an emergency c-section at 32 weeks. Since then, she herself has had multiple ER visits, has been hospitalized, and even had gall bladder surgery! Her son has done miraculous, considering the situation, but is still in the hospital 6+ weeks later.

Tonight they get to do a live in study at the hospital to determine wether or not he is ready to go home. While he is doing so great, the struggle is not over just yet. He is still just over 6 pounds and has a very compromised immune system. They will have to be very careful to make sure he is not exposed to any illnesses and stays healthy.

She posted on Facebook a few days ago asking if anyone could make a little yield sign to put on the carseat asking bystanders to not touch the baby. I had never seen such a thing, and don't have any particular talent in the area, but offered to do it anyway! (Why? I DON'T EVEN KNOW!)

I went right to work, brainstorming the best way to do it. It is not perfect by any means. It is so simple, but I am obsessed with it! I just love it! With our little Miss being born at the onset of RSV season, I think this is going to be a must for us. I might as well bust a few extras out while I'm at it. Who wants one?! 

While I was dropping off this little sign to a family I barely know, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with love for them. I am sure that Heavenly Father loves them so very much and I have come to love them too! I have been praying so hard for their sweet little boy the last couple months and am now crossing my fingers... and toes... and hair... hoping that he will finally get to go home to his wonderful new parents tomorrow. If there is anyone out there actually reading this, please join me in prayer for them! They really are such wonderful people and deserve to have their family complete. NO-ONE deserves to go through what they have been through. No-one.

(Gosh, baby girl! Why you gotta make me so emotional!!!)

Like I said, I have already learned so much from this little girl inside of my tummy. I really am not one to volunteer myself to serve others regularly, and she has helped me to gain such a desire. She helped me to serve this sweet family, and Heavenly Father has in turn helped me to grow to love them. I really am so grateful for both my little girl and my Heavenly Father. They are both so great!

Ice Cream Cake

I realize that I have yet to post about a pretty big hobby of mine, cakes! It is on my list of things to write about, but this was too good to wait. I have made a few ice cream cakes, all amazingly delicious, but none 100%. On Sunday, I made one more to add to that list, but this one almost made the 100% cut! It was soooo good. It had a brownie base with a mint chocolate chip ice cream layer and a vanilla layer, topped with crushed Oreos and a fudge drizzle! MMMM! The only thing I would do different is to put the Oreos and a nice thick layer of fudge in-between the layers of ice cream! 

MMM! MMM! GOOD!!!!

I like to take pictures of my cakes outside because the lighting is better. And... well... this picture doesn't really need a description. It speaks for itself! 

(UN)comfortable sleeper

Before Chris leaves for work (at 3:00am) he always checks on Taysom. This is what he found this morning. I mean seriously kid, that CANNOT be more comfortable than laying IN your bed. He is totally my kid!

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

Yes, I am very glad when Daddy comes home, but I don't think anyone is quite as excited as Taysom! He loves to stand at the window above the couch downstairs, or above our bed upstairs, and wait for Daddy. He is so sweet! This video is of his waiting for Daddy this morning. He is so energetic!

The Bump

This picture is kind of deceiving. I really am not showing this much. Like, at all. The only person that can really tell I am showing is Chris. However, from my angle looking down, I look HUGE. So I'll show you what I see! Haha. I took this picture on Sunday (we didn't know the gender) and posted it on Facebook. I didn't even realize I was wearing pink. The next day we found out we were having a girl! I guess it was just meant to be. This baby is VERY much so a girl. Isn't it funny how you can tell? And how it just feels so... right?! We are ecstatic!

I mean REALLY... There is a bump there, but it's not much! Come on, baby girl!

GROW! GROW! GROW!

IT'S A GIRL!!!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

I am beyond excited. I KNEW IT! Everything throughout this pregnancy has lead me to think it's a girl, and not to mention the Hurst family trend that we will be continuing! (How bizarre!)

Aside from gender, everything looks great. She was measuring 2 days behind at our last ultrasound and is now 2 days ahead, so she's right on track. She has a nice little heart beat, I think it was just above 130. The reason I haven't really felt her and have been having such bad lower back pain is because she is sitting way far back and her placenta is all packed in the front. The doctor said that I should start to feel her more very soon. (YAY! That is one of my favorite parts of pregnancy!)

He really was upset about taking pictures,
not about a baby sister. Haha!

We can't wait to meet you, baby girl! You will be warmly welcomed!

Ouch

I have had THE WORST luck lately. Yesterday I kept stubbing my toes and accidentally kicking things. My foot got ran over by a grocery cart and I thought to myself "maybe I should wear some sneakers at this rate..." I seriously should have taken my own advice. Shortly after we got home, I tripped over a sprinkler that was supposed to go back into the ground on it's own. It didn't. However, it sure as heck went down into the ground like it was supposed to... after I kicked it! It hurt so bad. I sat on the ground holding my foot and clenching my jaw. I didn't see any blood but was about 2 seconds from tears. After a few minutes it started to bleed and wouldn't stop! I cleaned it up and put a bandaid on but had to change it 3 times within the hour. I realized shortly after I got this under control that my other big toe was sore. Apparently I dragged that foot on the ground while trying to catch my balance after tripping. My toenail ripped a good way down. That hurt too! To top it all off, as I was getting ready to leave the house this morning (still wearing sandals), I dropped a giant box of apple sauce RIGHT on my big scrape. It's still throbbing. I'm gonna go put some tennis shoes on now. Bye.

All clean.

The initial damage.

A day later.

The other toe.

Bhive picnik

We are members of an awesome credit union called bhive. Once a summer they hold a gigantic picnic. Anyone can come for $5, and members get in for FREE, so of course we go. Who doesn't want free food?! Last year they had some dang good hot dogs and hamburgers. Not this year! To our surprise they had this amazing beef brisket, pasta salad, and a caesar salad. It was so yummy! They also had ice cream sandwiches and live jazz music. It was seriously so much fun. Taysom was begging to go in the bounce house. We were really nervous about it, but decided to let him try it, fully expecting to have to console a tearful toddler after only a minute or so. It cost $1 and let me tell you, it was totally worth it. He LOVED it! He laughed the whole time. He even got knocked over by bigger kids a few times, but got up and kept bouncing/playing. They had little balls and a hoop which of course was his favorite! He was actually the last child out of the bounce house and we had to trick him to come out.

He didn't cry or anything, but was definitely sad to walk away from the bounce house. We distracted him with some cotton candy and the live music. He danced his little heart out. It was so fun.

On our walk home we came across an old canal that is no longer used. It was overrun by these gorgeous wild roses and lilies. On a whim, I decided to climb down into the canal and pick a bouquet. I'm so glad Chris thought to snap a few pictures of my mini adventure!

Taysom's First Movie Theatre experience & Blonde Girls

When Taysom was an infant, I remember going to a movie. I think he breast fed and slept most of the time. He was seriously only a few months old though, so that does not really count as his first 'Movie Theatre Experience'. I hadn't really thought about taking him much before, but we were invited to go see Finding Dory (The Finding Nemo sequel) with some friends. We agreed and actually got pretty excited, enough so that when they decided to go to a showing that was far too late for Taysom and Chris, we decided to go by ourselves to an earlier showing. (Go FatCats for doing $5 Ticket Tuesdays!)

Taysom was in awe! He really loved it. He also thoroughly enjoyed the popcorn! He loves fish, so it was the perfect movie for him. He only got restless about the last 30 minutes and just wanted to go to the arcade. At one point during the movie he started reaching to the little girl next to me. She had to have been about 6 years old and was this adorable blonde girl. Taysom wanted to sit on HER lap and would settle for nothing less. This is when we decided to stand up with him. We stood up near the entrance with him, but never had to leave. (The truck scene helped to reengage him.)

After the movie, we let Taysom explore the arcade for a little bit. It was so weird! They replaced all coins and tokens with these re-loadable credit card things. Half the games just stole our money! :( But Taysom loved ski ball, basketball, and the motorcycle game. It was a fun little experience for sure.


Side Note: He does this all the time! I don't know what it is, but every time he sees a cute blonde girl around 6-8 years old, he clings to her. He wants her to hold him and will even choose her over mommy! I think I finally figured out why though. He has a cousin named Kemiry who is the cutest little (almost) 6 year old ever. Whenever we go to Oregon to visit, she is always the first to play with him, sit by him, and be his best friend. She loves him and they have totally created an awesome bond. I think he thinks all blonde girls are Kem! Too funny!

New Rooms and a Big Boy Bed

With baby #2 on the way, we have been trying to brainstorm how we are all going to fit in our little apartment. The 2 bedrooms are the same square footage, but are shaped differently. We decided to swap rooms with Taysom and keep his crib in our new room and put him in a new big boy bed. We had decided this a while ago, but have put off doing it. We bought a toddler bed and set it up, and have had it set up at the foot of our bed for about 2 weeks. We keep tripping over it, and there really was no room for anything. Chris had finally had enough and said "that's it, we're switching rooms, NOW!" So we spent all afternoon rearranging furniture. I still have a box or two in the hallway that is waiting to be sorted, but other than that, the rooms are rearranged, the toddler bed is set up, and the crib is ready for baby #2 (pending a new mattress).

Side note:
We are all LOVING the switch of bedrooms. The layout of his new room is very square and great for playing. Our new room is long and just feels better all together. Every day since the switch Chris comes down stairs and says "I really love our new rooms!" (Which is funny because he was not really on board until now). I have a few absolute favorite things about the change.

1. Both Taysom's dresser and ours fit in our closets which frees up SO much room.
2. WE HAVE A WALK IN CLOSET!!!! We had been using it mostly as storage, but now it's an actual, real life, walk in closet - and I love it!
3. Taysom has this absolutely adorable built in book shelf. SO CUTE!

The super cute book shelf

Back to the story:
I was so worried about putting Taysom in the big boy bed. I was partially worried about doing it the same day as switching rooms, but mostly just worried about having to sleep train and experience the whole "cry it out 2.0" thing. We were totally prepared for a terrible nights sleep for about a week. But none the less, we strategized. There were many parts to our strategy, and I'm not sure which worked, but I will dare say that the transition went FLAWLESSLY! So, for future reference, I am recording exactly what we did. (I know I am probably jinxing it, but we have already had 4 successful nights and he is currently taking his 4th successful nap. That's success, right?!)

Strategies:

1. Like I said, we had the bed set up for about 2 weeks in our room (which has now become his room). We would occasionally put his mattress on it and explain that this was going to be his new big boy bed. I think this helped it to be a little less new and scary by the time he actually slept in it. He was able to play on it and get used to it for a while.
2. We wore him out! Like, seriously tired him out. We usually put him to bed at 7pm, but we decided at 7:15pm to go on a long walk. Then we gave him a bath. He was sooooo tired, I think he would have slept anywhere!
3. We kept our regular routine. We brushed teeth, got jammies on, read a book (see number 4), read scriptures, said prayer, sang a song, gave kisses and "i love you"'s, then laid him in bed with his favorite super soft blanket (made special by Grandma Hurst), his 2 favorite stuffed animals (Prayer Bear and George), his normal pillow, and a bottle of milk. (Yes, I know, the bottle really needs to go... that's next on our "how to grow up" list.) I hurried and turned on his fan (like always), turned off the light, and booked it out of the room, closing the door behind me.
4. We have a book called Big Bed for Giraffe which is (obviously) about a boy giraffe who is too big for his crib and gets a new big bed. We have had this for a long time and read it a few times, but this time we really slowed down and pointed to the pictures and talked about what was going on in the book, relating it to what was going on in Taysom's room. 
5. As we were changing rooms and again when we were going through our bedtime routine, we explained the changes and that this was his new big boy bed and asked if he was excited.
6. (This has more to do with waking up) I put a pile of 5-6 books by his bed. I thought that if he woke up, he could just look at them. He totally did!

Results:

As we laid him down, he sat up and fussed for literally one second. We hurried out of the room as fast as we could. By the time I got across the hall and in my room to look at the baby monitor, he was laying down drinking his milk. HE NEVER GOT OUT OF BED!!!! He went straight to sleep! (This could have been due to how worn out he was.) Chris works at 3:00am, and was kind of loud getting ready for work. Taysom half way woke up, just enough to climb out of bed, fuss for a second, and lay down on the floor. Chris went in and laid him back in bed and he went right to sleep. This happened the second night as well. After that, we realized that his new room is much closer to the bathroom and that he will need to try harder to be quiet in the mornings. He was super careful yesterday morning and Taysom stayed asleep!

Reading "Go Dog Go" in his bed. He is totally my boy!

I was awake before Taysom in the morning (a rare occurrence) so I waited and watched him on the monitor. He "slow woke up" (This is what we always say, meaning stretched and rolled around, just laying in bed, awake, taking his sweet time). He sat up a few times and looked around, but laid back down. Once he decided to get out of bed he spun in circles a few times. I think he was a little confused, but not upset or sad, just bewildered. He eventually saw the pile of books I had put out for him. He grabbed one and took it to the reading chair. He sat and looked at it for a few minutes. I think he realized that his bed looked way more comfortable and that he would not be stuck or confined there like he would be in his crib. He got up and took his book back to his bed. He laid there reading books for about 10 minutes before I decided to go in. He was so happy when I came in. He didn't mind being in the room. He wanted to continue reading books. Uhm, success?!

I was super worried about nap time. So many people have told me that once they transitioned their kids out of the crib, they wouldn't take naps. I was SO not ready for that. He NEEDS his nap.... I NEED his nap! However, to my surprise, we went through our normal nap time routine and I said "Go get in your new bed!" and he did so with a smile on his face! He was EXCITED to sleep in his new bed! 

I guess that's the end of the post since nap #3 is over now and he probably needs a diaper change. The moral of the story is, big boy beds ROCK!!! I am so happy we made the transition now, instead of closer to the arrival of baby #2. This was definitely a parenting win, and a success in my book!

What I see on the video monitor right this second.

Note to self - Do not put plastic in the oven!

On Sunday (Father's Day) we were having Chris's cousin Nick and his family over for dinner. The lasagna and pie were done and the oven was cooling. I started the dish washer and only had a few dishes left over to wash by hand. They were the only thing left in our kitchen so I decided to put them in the cooling oven to dry. It was cool enough to touch so I knew it wouldn't melt the plastic. Shortly after, Chris's cousin arrived with a loaf of french bread. We decided to toast it, so I turned the oven on the broil, not remembering for even a half second that I had just put plastic dishes in the oven. It took about 5 minutes before I smelt it. I looked at the stove and saw smoke coming out of the burner. I quickly opened the oven and saw a melted mess. I couldn't care less about the dumb cutting board, but I DID care about my new fancy cupcake pan that had a melted green cutting board disaster all over it! I also kind of cared about my cake turn table, but it was only $20 and I ended up getting a slightly newer/bigger version for $2 off. I was able to peel it all apart and get almost all of the plastic off of my cupcake pan. Phew! Moral of the story: DON'T DRY PLASTIC DISHES IN THE OVEN!!! (Even if you think your done using the oven and will remember they are there before you use it again).

above: the melted turn table
below: my new one

above: the melted cutting board
below: what it used to look like (but green)

Pregnancy 2.0

This pregnancy has been soooo different than my pregnancy with Taysom. I decided to look back through Facebook thinking that I would have recorded some of our milestones and wanted to compare, but apparently I didn't. So, I have decided I want to be better about telling our story. I'll start with now and pregnancy #2.

We had been trying to get pregnant for a while and Chris's Doctor wanted to put him on a medication for his Crohn's disease that is known to cause Birth defects. We have been putting off the medication so that we could try and have a healthy baby. It was starting to get frustrating and our family practice doctor suggested that if we weren't pregnant that we might try some testing this summer. Normally, they wouldn't be worried, but because of Chris's health issues and all of the medication he has had to and is currently having to take, it could cause complications. Any who, a week before Easter (the first day of Spring, actually), we had a surprisingly beautiful Sunday and decided to go have a picnic outside. I laid down on my stomach and my chest hurt so bad that I had to turn over.  My hips had also been hurting, but I didn't think much of it until I realized my chest was tender. I decided to take a pregnancy test but didn't think those could really be symptoms. My chest didn't hurt until about 2 weeks before I had Taysom and my hips didn't hurt until my third trimester. After not really thinking about it for a couple minutes, I glanced and the test and the word "not" was missing. I stared at it long and hard before I convinced myself that it REALLY said "Pregnant"!

I decided that with Easter only a week away that I would wait and tell Chris on Easter morning. I had it all planned out cute and the basket was ready to go. Here's proof!

However, the anticipation was KILLING me. I had told my sister, Kristen and a few very close friends, but I wanted to tell Chris, my BEST friend. So, Thursday night came around and I had to tell him, so I threw a little something together and am SOOO glad I did! I took a real egg and hollowed it out and put a little announcement in it. We went on an evening walk around the temple and on one of our rounds, I "dropped Taysom's binkie" and took a few steps back to "get it" and planted the egg.

On our next circle around, I pointed out the egg. I'll spare the explanation, and you can watch the announcement yourself.

Notice the four very distinct faces as Chris goes through his thought process.

"Oh crap... we ruined somebody's scavenger hunt!"

"Oh CRAP! We ruined somebody's PREGNANCY announcement!"

"Wait a second... that's OUR pregnancy announcement?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

Pure Excitement!!! (Probably secretly thinking "Finally... I can get on my medicine!")

So... needless to say, we are very excited about this pregnancy. I finished off the semester (and my internship) strong. We had a week off for Spring Break and prepared for the coming semester. We were both signed up for 14 credits (shoot me now). I started getting sick and all of a sudden all the horrid pregnancy memories came flooding back all at ones. I was terrified and didn't know how we would do it. By the pure and simple grace of God, Chris was offered a full time position working for the custodial department as the supervisor over the Taylor building at the school. This was perfect timing and such a huge blessing. The position came with full insurance and retirement benefits, as well as some pretty awesome tuition benefits. This took so many financial and academic pressures off of our shoulders. Chris dropped down to part time now, but decided to just take one very very hard class this semester. He got on his medicine (Imuran) and it seems to be helping, at least somewhat.I was going to try and push through my over full-time schedule. Chris tried convincing me to defer and focus on Taysom and the baby and just take a break, but I was adamant that I went to school while I was sick and pregnant with Taysom and that I could do it again. BOY! Was I WRONG! I got into my second day of classes and was absolutely miserable (little did I know it was going to get worse). I was in the middle of a developmental psych class when I realized that I was so out of it, I didn't hear a single word the professor had said. I decided that Chris was right and walked out of class, requested a deferment, and dropped my classes. (This was only fair since I had received a few overrides and this would have been my 6th straight semester, when we usually go 2 semesters, than have 1 semester off, called our "off track").

So, no school, no obligations, just survive the first trimester and enjoy the summer. Super easy, right? NOT!

I was soooo sick. I must have forgotten how bad morning sickness was. I remember being sick with Taysom, but not like this. I was completely helpless, and not just in the mornings, it was an all day thing. I couldn't eat a thing. I lost 20 pounds. I would just turn on Netflix and supervise Taysom and try to keep us both alive. I expected to get better right around 13 weeks like I did with Taysom, but once again, nope! I am 18 weeks and I still get nauseous in the mornings. It's better for sure, and I have started gaining weight, but it's not gone. Between the nausea and the horrid back pain, I have been absolutely miserable. I am SOOOO glad that I choose to defer school. I literally have no idea how it would have worked.

Another way that this pregnancy has been different is that I felt Taysom around 16 weeks. Around 20 weeks Chris was able to feel him too. Like I said, I am 18 weeks, and I still haven't felt baby. I mean, sometimes I think I can feel him/her, but it's not super obvious and definitely not consistent. This pregnancy has been so different, I am convinced it's a girl. I even looked up a list of baby gender wives tales. According to those, there is about a 75% chance that I am having a girl. Each of my siblings first child was a boy, and the second a girl, so... I am convinced. WE SHALL SEE!

Long story short... We are sooooooo beyond excited to add another little baby into our family. We can't wait! (But we will!)

Happy Father's Day!!!

This guy is pretty darn great! He helps me so much, not just in parenting, but in life. He is the greatest help-meet I ever could have asked for. He is also a phenomenal father. He is not perfect, but is constantly trying to be and do his best and is always improving. He is such an example to me and our little boy. We love him oh so very much. Happy Father's Day, Sweetheart!