And the Gender is...

    Well, I have been really bad at posting frequently, tried to do better, but life is busy. So I will post what I can get. I still haven't thought a whole lot about baby, because I don't really have time. Between work, young womens, and life I am pretty swamped. It is nice though because I don't sit around thinking about being pregnant all the time.
      Paul and I decided that we wanted to know what the gender was earlier than we had originally planned. We were going to wait until Christmas, but thought it better to find out today. The great thing about us going with a midwife (mine is amazing by the way), is that we really get to choose when we have an ultrasound. Plus I don't have to get oodles of tests done that I don't feel like I need. Anyway, our midwife referred us to a great ultrasound studio.
     The package we paid for was supposed to be only 30 minutes of ultrasound footage with only a few pictures, but walked out of there with 124 pictures on a dvd and an hour long session of watching our cute little baby! No joke! I don't even know what to do with that many pictures.
      Well, from the beginning of time, Paul and I had it set in our minds that we would be having a baby girl first. We were dead set on it and pretty sure that was what we were having. Guess God had other plans for us because we get to have a cute little boy first!
     To be honest, I thought I was going to be really sad, like devastatingly sad. I wasn't that sad, but I wasn't bursting with excitement. I know that sounds bad, but I truly thought we were having a girl. On the long drive home, with a milkshake in hand, I got time to ponder and think about the new addition to our family. I am not to the point where I am dancing with excitement yet, but I know and feel in my heart that this family was set apart and chosen long before I had a say in it, and for that reason there is a purpose that we are blessed to have a little Mr. joining us.
     I am sure the more I think about it and plan on it the more excited I will get. And I sure hope so. I am truly grateful that we have a healthy baby, that is for sure. It took us seriously like 40 minutes just to get him to sit still enough for us to get a picture of the gender. Of the 124 pictures we have, bet ya only 2 of them are of him showing off for us! He will certainly be a frisbee player though. Even in de womb he knows how to lay out :)
     The pregnancy does seem more real to me know. I thought it might start to click after the ultrasound. It has to some degree. It really was breath taking seeing our cute little guy up on the screen. I can't believe I am almost half way there. 17 weeks tomorrow! The past 5 weeks have flown by! I sure hope the next 23 do the same!

Week 16 in both pictures, but I totally feel like two days later I totally popped. Except now that I am  17 weeks I feel like I am smaller. Hmm... Weird. But hey, I still fit my skinny jeans so life is peachy!

Liz our technician put in the weeks wrong. I am really 17 weeks, but other than that our pictures turned out great!

There he is giggling at us because he is such a stinker and thinks he is so funny! (prolly just yawning) but still, he was such a stinker the whole time!

The 3D pictures were a little bit harder to make out, but if you look at the picture right you can see his cute little face in the top left corner of the picture. 

Trimester #2

     I have been really bad about writing down my thoughts lately. I am nearly 14 weeks and only have three posts about the pregnancy. I thought that since I have a little bit of time, I might write a post about what has been running through my mind, and how I have been feeling.
     From week 7, I pretty much got morning sickness. Thankfully it wasn't bad, but it was definitely irritable. If I got too hot, or too hungry, or smelled anything that I didn't like, it would trigger the nausea. Thankfully being at school helped keep my mind off things, but at the same time, being at school the heater in my classroom is unpredictable, and you know how stinky kids fresh from P.E. smell. I tried to be positive and optimistic always, but feeling sick all the time certainly did not put me in the greatest of moods.
     I do feel that things have started to calm down a little. I do get nauseated if I stay up too late, or don't get enough sleep, and sometimes when I am hungry, but it is not as strong as it was before. I have also started to think that maybe I might feel skittles moving around. I can't tell for sure, but it sure makes me excited to think about.
     Paul and I were talking the other day about everything, and he asked me what I was constantly thinking about and feeling, being pregnant. Maybe I am not putting enough into it, because my response was, "nothing." Not really. I still feel like the whole thing is surreal. Hearing the heartbeat was amazing, but I still don't feel like being a mom has set in. And maybe it won't until I actually give birth. I want to be thoughtful and contemplative, but I guess it needs to sink in first.
      All I know, is that I am exceedingly grateful to my Heavenly Parents for the opportunity they have given me to be a mother, and Paul a father. And while I don't fully understand right now, I know that in time, I will understand.

Skittles Heart Beat

     Today was the first prenatal appointment Paul and I had with our midwife. I will be honest and say that I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I figured if we were going to the hospital they might try and get a heart beat and check other things, but I didn't really quite know how everything would work out with a midwife. 

     Lily came over with her assistant, who is one of my friends from planning stake girls camp, Sara Cram. They checked vitals, and pricked my finger to get some blood, and to my surprise they actually tried to get a heartbeat. I honestly didn't know that Lily would have access to the nifty contraption she has to check for heart beats. It was so crazy. Sara had to search around for a little bit to find it, but when she found it, Skittles heartbeat was strong. It was shocking to me, to actually have physical proof that there was something growing inside me! Paul knows I am emotional and even doubly so since being pregnant, so he just kept on watching, waiting for me to start crying. I didn't, but I thought it was funny that he would think I would though.

     It has been a challenge for me to stay happy and keep my dinner in my stomach. If any of you know me, I can handle almost ANY type of sickness and be a trooper about it, but when it comes to nausea and throwing up, I just don't handle it very well. So, with that being said, morning sickness has definitely been a trial of my faith. I am grateful though because it keeps me humble and helps me to remember the Savior and the important things in life. 

     We are officially at week 9 and super excited that everything keeps progressing smoothly. As far as my thoughts go, I am starting to get a little more excited. It is less surreal now that I have heard a heartbeat, but I still don't think it has fully sunk in yet. I am thinking that when I start to show, or when I actually have an ultra sound and see our lil' Skittles, then it will be quite real. My cravings thus far have been normal. Usually I don't crave something, but if I see an add, or start thinking about food, I think of something, (usually quite unhealthy), and fixate on it a little bit. Milkshakes, Arby's roast beef and cheddar, greek yogurt, and caramel ice cream are the huge cravings I have had lately. 

     My sense of smell has gotten quite a bit stronger as well. A lot of smells I used to like are horrible. Things I could handle are horrible, and good smells, are extra good and make me hungry if they are food related. The smelly kids after recess have been a hard smell to get used to. It never bothered me before, but with the super sniffer, I can smell EVERYTHING! The cleaning stuff a few of the teachers use makes me gag, The cafeteria always smells SO good. It makes me hungry every day. My house when I first walk in the door can sometimes set me off. Yeah, even the little things. 

     All in all, we are super excited. Each week that passes gives me hope that after the first trimester my nausea will get better. Nothing is for sure, but I can sure hope! 
     Paul was able to record our little skittles heartbeat. I thought it would be fun to post it in my blog that way we will always have it. 

Camping With My Faves

     Update, Paul received a job in Salt Lake for  a company called Tanner LLC. He starts in January, yet, I have to teach school until June. Sadly we will live apart through the third trimester of my pregnancy. Anyway, I told him that before things got crazy and too cold outside, he HAD to take me camping again. I asked my best friend Lisa if she wanted to come camping and of course she was in!
     We didn't leave until way late in the evening. We were keeping our fingers crossed that even though we weren't getting there until 8 at night, our first come first serve campsite would still have a vacancy. We lucked out and were able to get a great spot at the Red Cliffs campsite. Lisa and I set up camp while Paul got the fire ready for us to cook our dinner, (yeah, we still hadn't had dinner by 8). When we finally ate, oh my, it was the best dinner I have had in a while. Maybe because I was STARVING, or maybe it was really just that good!
     We sat around the camp fire and talked quite a while. I gave into my nausea and tiredness and started to doze in and out of sleep. Paul and Lisa told me they had a very great discussion about the gospel. You can bet I was a little disappointed when I knew what I missed out on. But at the same time, it was sleep or nausea.
     My biggest worry about camping was that I would have to pee multiple times in the middle of the night, (blame it on the pregnancy). I lucked out. But you certainly know what the first thing I did in the morning was! Once we had breakfast and got all packed up we headed out to go on a hike.
     Our hike was little but fun. We pretty much just bush wacked our way to the top of a fun little overlook, (good thing it wasn't a very long hike or I might have died! I was out of breath so quickly). After hiking we went to St. George, went to the store quick and then had a delicious meal at brick oven. I love spending time with Paul and Lisa. They are basically the my bestest friends ever!

Climbing to the top of a"really tall mountain"

The view from the top. Pretty cool!

The three amigos! Well until Lisa gets married. Then it will be four!!

And Here Comes Morning Sickness

     This week I actually felt morning sickness. Well thats what I think it was. I had a few days where I was very nauseas all day long. If I had a snack or got something in my stomach it would go away a little bit, but there were a few times sitting at work where I thought I was going to have to teach my groups with the garbage can right by my side. Thankfully I never lost my breakfast or lunch, but boy was I not feeling so great. Throughout the course of the week it has simmered down quite a bit. I have felt queasy here and there, mostly if I am hungry or smell something really strong.
    Part of me is very grateful for the morning sickness feeling, because I didn't feel that with the first pregnancy. That means that our little skittle is still growing strong inside. The other part of me is just hating life. The first day was so bad I really didn't know if I could last another 6 weeks of it. My heart goes out to all the moms that have had horrible sickness because I know I wouldn't last if I was vomiting all day long.
     In two days I will have made it farther than my previous pregnancy and I can't wait. It feels like if I can just get past 7 weeks I will be good to go. I feel really good about things this time though. I think the Lord was watching out for Paul and myself by making us wait a few extra months. I am eager and excited to see what will happen as the pregnancy progresses.
     It still doesn't feel all to real that we are pregnant, but I think as time goes on it will sink in a little bit more. We haven't told anyone yet. We want to wait until 12 weeks. I am more than halfway to that point now so that is good. I don't know if I can keep telling people no for much longer. It seems like so far to wait, yet, it has gone by just as fast. I hope that I can pay close enough attention through this pregnancy that I don't miss out on all the important things!

The Start of Something New

     Three months ago Paul and I found out we were pregnant and we were so excited. The timing wasn't ideal for us, but we were excited to be parents soon. Shortly thereafter we had a miscarriage. It wasn't devastatingly sad, but it was harder on me than I thought it would be. We were leaving to Scotland just a few weeks after it happened, which I thought would be nice. I would be away from life and have time to heal.
      We found out that we were pregnant again a few days ago. My heart is so happy right now its hard to express in words. Yet I find myself a little fearful of going through the same experience I had previously. I know that the Lord has his hands in all things and that what is meant to be will happen. So I just keep on with life, patiently waiting to make it past 12 weeks so my chances go down. While I am only at five weeks right now I still have a ways to go.
     I do want to write some of my feelings about pregnancy though. This one has surprisingly been quite different than the last one, but perhaps thats because with the last one I didn't make it very far. I have truly been blessed to not have morning sickness. I get nauseas when I am hungry, but if I eat I am fine. The only problem is that if I eat too much, my stomach feels like there is a balloon inside. So I have to eat small meals frequently to keep the balance. Its good though because it keeps me from over eating. My body is tired, but not half as tired as it was three months ago. I still have the energy to wake up at 5:30 AM to work out with Bambi. I still have energy to do crossfit workouts, and I still have energy for frisbee. I don't know how long it will last, but for now its great.
     I have not had any cravings yet. Part of me wants to attribute it to the fact that the minute I found out I was pregnant I went off processed sugars cold turkey. Before I was eating whatever I wanted, and I craved ice cream and candy all the time. Now I don't crave anything. I want fresh vegetables sometimes, but I have plenty of them to keep me satisfied for a while.
     Paul and I have decided to call our little nugget skittles. We are so excited to know there is a baby growing inside me, but I think we are a little terrified at the reality of everything. My hormones have been up and down the past few weeks. Not crazy up and down, but certainly not normal. I am grateful that my husband is so patient and kind with me. He puts up with a lot and knows just what to do when I am an emotional train wreck. I am so blessed. I can't wait for the rest of this adventure.
    Everything is so surreal right now. Hopefully in a few more weeks, everything will set in and I will actually feel like I am pregnant, and going to be a mom in a few months.

The Edinburgh Tattoo

       Today was quite an adventure. Its hard to think that our time here in Scotland is pretty much over, but the more I think about it, the more excited I get for salad, and normalcy in my life again. This morning we went on a hike to Arthur's Seat, also know as Pratt's hill. Paul hiked this hike a lot during his mission, so it had significancy to him.
     We also went to the Edinburgh tattoo. Sofie, David, and Moa, (Paul's family from Norway), met up with us before the Tattoo and had dinner with us. The Tattoo was so cool. It is basically a big performance with lots of musicians and dancers from all over the world. America was not represented in the Tattoo this year, but lots of other amazing countries were. I am a little more partial to percussion because of my background in percussion, so when the percussion parts of the group came out, I just LOVED them. They had dancers from Mexico, England, New Zealand, Asia, and a few others I can't remember along with the scottish pipe band. This truly was a way to end our trip with a bang!

At the top of Pratt's hill. It was SOOO windy I almost got blown off the top!

Purple flowers! They are everywhere so I had to get a good picture of them

We stopped at the Elephant House, which is the cafe that J.K. Rowling sat down to write Harry Potty

We stopped and got the most amazing shakes of my life! They were SO good. Paul got a strawberry cheesecake something or other, and they literally put a slice of strawberry cheese cake in the blender with his ice cream! I had a caramel toffee something or other where they also put a caramel type cookie in the blender with my ice cream. If I they had one of these in the states I would go ALL the time!

The pipe band at the Tattoo

Edinburgh Castle in the background

The castle lit up all red!

The motorcycle group from England (they had kids as young as like 6 doing tricks on motor bikes!)

All the actors lining up at the end of the show

Edinburgh Day 2

     Paul and I bought these explorer passes the other day to get into a bunch of historic sites for free. Anyway, we wanted to go see the castle in Sterling (just outside of Edinburgh), and figured that since there were multiple other places we could use our passes out there, we would pick a few and make a day of it. Oh, I do need to mention though that for breakfast I tried haggis and it wasn't so great. But I tried it.
     We started out going through and seeing the Sterling castle. Yes, we have been to lots of castles, they all seem similar, but they are also all so different from each other. We had a lot of fun checking everything out.
     Second stop was to a cute little bar to get some sticky toffee pudding. We had a great chat with out waiter about the Mormons and about American politics. It was quite interesting!
     Third stop was a place called Inchmahome Priory. It is some old ruins on an island in the middle of a lake. We took a fun little boat ride out there. Once we got to the island, we took a beautiful little stroll around the whole thing. It was so peaceful and so serene. No wonder the cannons (kinda like monks) chose to build a priory there and study religion there.
     Last stop of the day was at Doune Castle. I guess Doune is mostly known for being used to film several scenes in Monty Python. We got some coconuts from the ticket office and clapped them together while we toured the castle. It was kind of fun. Several people gave us weird looks, but hey, we enjoyed ourselves.
    I am thinking about the two days I have left in Scotland and I am both sad and relieved. I have loved all of the adventures and fun little tours we have done while we are here, but I am definitely ready to have consistency in my life again. My own bed is going to be so nice, and eating healthy and exercising again will be so great. I guess I will have to make the most out of our last two days so that when we come home Monday I will have no regrets!

Touring Sterling Castle, what the queens bedroom might have looked like

Its a unicorn with its tongue out!

Just viewing the landscape

Sitting in the throne room

Paul's turn!

Going down some stairs to the lower parts of the castle

Inside the courtyard

Its a royal toilet!! Sure looks softer than the one I use at home!

Our boat ride out to the Inchmahome Priory

There was a path that went around the whole island

Just a walkin

This crazy tree has all the roots growing sideways but the tree is somehow still growing up and out!

Some of the ruins

An arch! I was obsessed with arches the whole trip!

Its another arch! But this one was huge so it was REALLY cool

Leaving the dock to head back to the mainland

Doune Castle! 

Inside the courtyard of Doune Castle

Having fun with my coconuts!

Paul's attempt at reenacting Monty Python

Edinburgh Day 1

     I have wanted to go running this whole vacation, and today I really really wanted to, but by the end of the day, I am SO glad that Paul and I didn't go running. At the end of the day I am pretty sure we walked at least 6 miles if not more.
     Today we basically just saw the sights. Paul took me down Princess Street and High Street and The Royal Mile down in the City Centre. We did lots of shopping for souvenirs and decided we spent more money on getting our family and friends things than we spent on getting stuff for us. But we got to come to Scotland so we decided we don't need lots of stuff.
    The Fringe is starting here in Edinburgh. That is where thousands of dancers, actors, comedians and musicians from all over the world come and perform on the streets and in theaters all over Scotland. We watched a few shows and made our way to Edinburgh Castle and ended the evening there. We toured through the huge castle and made our way back to our room.
  I just can't believe how much history there is in this city. The buildings are so old. The architecture is just amazing! I have loved seeing the different styles of buildings and homes in Ireland, Norway, and Scotland. They are all different, and yet similar at the same time.

A cool tower in Edinburgh

Standing in front of Edinburgh Castle

Inside the courtyard of Edinburgh Castle

Check out how red Paul's beard is!!!

Now I know the picture is kind of dark, but this is me standing in the doorway to the cells. They were so tiny. Paul had to duck to walk through them!

Paul posing in front of a cannon

 This is a view of the city from out one of the cannon holes. The ocean is in the background and man was it beautiful!

My turn with the cannon

Look how cheesy we are!

Stained glass window in a cathedral

Edinburgh Castle from a distance. It really is quite huge!