What do YOU think we will have?

I had another doctor appointment yesterday. Baby's heart sounds great! I talked with Dr. Lamb about my hip pain, my radical emotions AND the fact that I have lost six pounds since becoming pregnant. Oh, and that little bit about my progesterone shots. Well, my hip pain is normal...rest more. My radical emotions? While not typical for me, it's normal when pregnant. Loosing six pounds? Well, it's not unusual to loose weight. Someone brought up to me today that maybe I am having twins...Ekkk! We talked about new developments with the progesterone shots. I will be able to have them! That means NO bed rest starting in July for me! That means NO bed at all.
I set up my next appointment for May. I will be meeting with the High Risk Specialist at Millcreek Maternal-Fetal department as well as having my ultrasound done to find out what we are having! We are really excited and grateful to know what we are having before we make the big move to Phoenix!

Speaking of Phoenix...We officially have a place to live! We got a slammin' deal on some great apartments in the Phoenix area. I also have an appointment June 10 with the Doctor. So, I am hoping we can leave on the 11th. Or even after my appointment on the 10th. It's crazy to me to think we won't be living in Utah anymore. I have to say, with the weather being as it has been for the last, I don't know, MONTH, I am ready for a little dash of sunshine in my life. I have already started getting some things organized and just keeping up with some deep cleaning so it's not as much to do when we actually empty our place out. The Ronald McDonald House has been our home for nearly two years. It will be sad to leave the wonderful people we are able to meet here. That being said, I am also SO ready and excited for this new adventure of ours! It will exciting to have Andy for the summer, just with us! We're excited to have a new baby and work our way towards being 'real' adults!! Who knows, maybe we'll just stay a young, hip family forever ;)

As far as what we will be having in October, I have no idea! Sometimes I think "oh, a girl would be fun...but not if she ends up with an attitude..." "Boys are great...plus, I already have everything I need!" But, only the Lord knows for now. What you all think? I know some of you have a 6th sense about these things. I usually do, but this pregnancy is doing crazy things with my mind!

It's been an exciting time!

It's been a week since we made the final decision to attend Midwestern University and I have been VERY busy! I have decided I will be going through all of our things and getting rid of a bunch of JUNK, including my clothes I will probably never be able to wear again. I was doing some wishful thinking, don't judge me. I have also been busy finding us somewhere to live. At first, we wanted to BUY a house. The market is really soft down in Arizona right now and we could actually save some money with a small mortgage. Unfortunately, reality hit and we realized there is no way we could find a house and move into it...all in TWO months. So, we decided that renting an apartment or house right now would be the best option for our family. It will give us a chance to get to know the area and check out some places ourselves.

So, I have found some places to check out. And by "check out", I mean "This place has great reviews and the pictures are legit...let's apply". But, really, I spent the WHOLE day yesterday at the computer, compiling "pros and cons" lists of our top 6 places. I mean, I hooked the computer up at the kitchen table, turned on some Jimmy Buffett, and gave Will some paper and crayons. Of course, Will wanted to draw on the table. While we don't have the nicest table on the block, I still take pride in the little space I have on that table which isn't covered by Andy's school books and my borrowed Work and The Glory series. So, I taped about 10 sheets of blank paper to Will's half of the table and let him go at it! He LOVED it. I couldn't believe my stroke of genius! Last night, Andy and I went through the list and picked our top three to apply to. THAT is what I will be spending my day on today. We are SO excited to go to Arizona! We are so ready to be OUT of Utah winters, which last entirely too long. We are so excited to be on this adventure of building our lives and our family!

In other news, namely, WILL...We ordered him a big boy bed over the weekend! He was looking so cramped in his crib. We were going to wait until we move, but we decided that might be TOO much change at one time. We got a very cute bed from the internet. It's not very high, it's maybe 6-8 inches from the floor, and you just use a crib mattress. Well, it came yesterday. I thought we would wait to use it until the weekend, but Andy put it together last night, with the help of Will! It was so cute to see them working together! I love my family! One thing Will loves to do is 'pretend sleep'. He will lay down almost anywhere, squint his eyes shut, and proceed to snore. I told Andy that Will would probably do that when the bed was all finished...I was so right! The first thing he did was get under his blanket and snore! We have raised a "jumping child". We let him jump on the couch, our bed, the big chair and his crib. Well, now we let him jump on his BIG BOY BED! Last night was our first night. We were pretty laid back about it. We stuck to our normal routine. I let him climb into bed on his own, tucked him in and said a prayer with him. I turned out the lights and shut the door. He opened it about 5 minutes later, and Andy went in to put him back down. He came out two more times. The last time, with his horse in hand and he actually walked all the way into the living room. Andy told him "William RAY. You get back in your bed." Will then started to cry. I took him in bed, realized his noise maker was on the wrong setting, changed it, wiped away some tears, asked Heavenly Father to help Will to sleep and give me and Andy patience through this transition. I kissed him good night and walked away. He didn't make a peep the rest of the night. I woke up to use the bathroom at about 3am, peeked in at him and he was in the middle of the floor. I just put him back in his bed. I am grateful that our first night was a success! I think the fact that we were so laid back about it and that Will actually helped put the bed together and saw Daddy put his crib mattress from his crib into his bed helped a lot. It was only the first night, we still have our first nap time and night 2 ahead of us. BUT, I have faith that we can do this! It will be wonderful!

The FINAL decision!

Andy spent last weekend in Erie, Pennsylvania and Lebanon, Oregon interviewing at some schools. (Well, he actually over slept for his interview in Oregon. So, instead he played at the coast and enjoyed fresh clam chowder and halibut. I was quite jealous!!)

Now that he has seen all the schools...we've made a decision of where we would like to live for the next four years! We're going to Glendale, Arizona! We'll be moving sometime this summer. I prefer the sooner the better. Seeing as I will be about six months pregnant and it will be SUMMER...in ARIZONA! But, we can't move until we find a place to live. Duh. Something about having a roof over our heads is kind of a big deal! We know this is the right choice for our family. This school has just been at the fore-front every step of the way...and not by our doing. We actually saved it for last...and they always got back to us first! There are plenty of homes in the area for us to either rent or buy. The school itself is great! There is still a large LDS community, which will be good for me. Hopefully, I won't end up on bed rest and won't NEED the ward as much as I think. Our old ward was great last time I did bed rest and I can only pray that our new ward is willing to help us out if we need it! It all just feels right and I am actually...EXCITED! I can't wait for this next phase in our lives! We're grateful for a Heavenly Father who leads us on the right path!

(And I'd be REALLY grateful if Will would take his nap already!)

"Mom...Mom...MOM!"

So, Will uses my name. ALL THE TIME! It's seriously the cutest thing I have ever heard in my whole life.

Here is an example of Will:

Will:"Mom? Cookie?"
Me:"No, Will, we aren't going to have any cookies."
W:"Mom? Choco?"(Chocolate)
M:"No, Will, no chocolate right now. Maybe after lunch."
W:"Mom? Orange?"
M:"Will, we're going to have lunch in an hour. Just wait, ok?"
W:"Ok."

Five minutes elapse...
W:"Mom? Nusnack?" (Fruit snacks. I bought some super yummy ones and I think he is addicted.)
M:"Will, no more food right now. Ok?"
W:"Ok, Mom? Apple?"
M:"Hey, Will, let's start making lunch!"

So, he does this ALL the time. Multiple times a day. I love it! Tonight, I was sitting with Andy, asking him if he would take out the garbage and help me with the recycle bins when Will walks up and says:

"Mom? Cookie? Choco? Orange? Apple?"

He didn't even wait for me to say "No, not right now." He just went through the list of things he loves to eat! It was the funniest thing ever! Andy and I were just dying, we were laughing SO hard! I love this kid and I can't get enough of him!!

Baby Update!

Today I FINALLY got to see our new little munchkin! Everything is looking great! The baby has a nice strong heartbeat and was full of the wiggles! Dr. Lamb (I know, it's such a coincidence that his name is Lamb. And he delivers babies...) had a hard time getting a good shot because it kept moving! Andy couldn't get off work, so I went alone. My doctor had another patient in LABOR, so he had to leave in the middle of my appointment to make some phone calls.

We talked about my high risk state. Because I had Will early, for no real reason, I get to be put in the high risk category. Joy. They have these really amazing shots, called Progesterone. You go into the office once a week for weeks 17-37 and they give you this shot in the stomach. These shots have a great success rate as far as preventing pre-term labor. I am the perfect candidate for these shots because I pretty much went into labor for no known reason. The only problem with these shots is the patent for them has been purchased by a company who is charging $1,500 PER SHOT. And you get TWENTY SHOTS. Obviously, that is NOT affordable. It comes out to about $30,000. That is almost 6 times the price of delivery. If I can't get these shots, there are obviously other options, but none as successful as these shots. There are some pills I could take. Realistically, if I can't have these shots, I am looking at starting bed rest in JULY. Yes, 3 months of bed rest. With a two year old. In a new town. So, if you pray, please pray that these shots will be affordable and I will not have to go on three months of bed rest.

So, baby #2 is healthy and active and we couldn't be happier! Next month, I see Dr. Lamb and a high-risk specialist who will talk with me more about my options. Hopefully they give me good news!

What was I supposed to be doing?!

This pregnancy has been very different from my first. I don't know if it is because I already have one child, or what, but it is something totally new for me. Some of the biggest differences are how tired I really am, many foods do not sound appetizing to me, I can only eat very small meals at a time or I feel sick the rest of the day. Although I haven't been physically sick in about 3 weeks, I was violently ill for a while there and still get a weak stomach on a daily basis. My dreams have also been much more vivid and...CRAZY this time around.

All of those are much different, but the biggest change is my memory. I can't remember anything. My brain feels like mush. I really feel like Chef Anne Burrell has taken my brain, put it in her beloved food mill, and food milled my brain. Then, she took said brain and put it back in my skull.

Here are some examples of my loss of short term memory:

When Andy had to go to to Florida for his interview, I had to pick him up from school. He had called me earlier in the morning to tell me that he would need to go to Smith's and pick up some things for his stay and he needed to go to the UPS store to send something back to amazon.com. That was fine. So, I picked Andy up and took him to the UPS store. As we were leaving, I was pulling out of the parking lot, turning right. I should have been turning left. Andy didn't say anything. We get to the street our house is on and he says "You're turning right?" Um, yes, I am. Thanks for noticing my blinker..."Where are you going?" Why, I am going home, to drop you off and go to WinCo. "Don't you remember? I have to go to Smith's?" WHAT!? No, I didn't remember. Why didn't you say something when I turned right out of the parking lot instead of left? Of course, he thought I was going to the OTHER Smith's, which I never shop at because I don't like it. So, instead of turning to go home, I turned to go back the way I came. I was stopped at the first stop sign I came to...waiting for said stop sign to turn green.


In case you all didn't catch that, I waited for the stop SIGN to turn GREEN. I sat there for a good 5 minutes before I realized "This isn't a light...."

I should start making a list for my day. I constantly forget things at the store. I forget conversations I have had just the day before. I forget the keys to the office on a daily basis. ( Good thing I have a spare. Or my boss would hate me for calling her every time I lock myself out.)

Well, although I don't remember much, I do know Spring is coming! I am so excited for all the flowers and plants to come up! It will be a wonderful season and I plan to enjoy it with walks and days spent at the park!

Will-isms

We are in the 'terrible two's' stage of life with Will. I keep reminding myself of a psych class I took in which the professor told us that the more 'terrible' a toddler is, the better person they become as children, teens and adults. It means they know what they want, whether they know how to express that or not. It means they naturally question life. So, let's hope my professor was right, and Will ends up being the greatest mind on Earth. We've been going through some tough patches lately. First, there is the throwing yourself on the ground and screaming. If that doesn't work, there is the "NOO!!!!". Obviously, I don't talk to Will in that tone of voice...unless he resorts to number three, which is hitting.

It usually goes a little something like this:

Mom: "Will, please don't climb up there."

Will: "Shhh!" Continues to climb on the top of the sofa.

M: "William, I am going to count. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Now, get down!"

W: Throws self onto the couch and begins to cry.

M: "Will, you don't need to cry. It's not safe on the top of the couch. You can jump on the cushion, but not on the top."

W: Continues crying.

M: Goes to pick Will up because he is so pitiful.

W: "NOOOO!" Raises hand back to strike.

M: Grabs hand. "NO! We don't hit. It's not nice!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I post this scenario to introduce our evening last night.

I had just gotten off work and Will was standing, stark naked, with Andy. It was right after his bath and Andy was making sure he was all lotioned up because Will has dry skin just like Andy. I sat down on the floor next to them and Andy said "Will, tell Momma your new word." I looked at them and Andy had Will's hand, palm up, and said "Will, what are these?" I was a little confused and then Will said "Wrinkles!" I thought it was the cutest thing! He has what we like to call "old man hands". Once I had Will in his jams, he pointed at my glasses and said "Wusat? Eyes?" Yes, those are my eyes, now don't touch them! He then points to my chin, where I have a mole. It's almost flesh colored, so it surprised me that he noticed it. He points to it and said "Wusat?" I said "That's a mole." He says "Caca?!" Andy covered his face laughing, I swatted at him and Will says "Be nice!"

The moral of this story is this: Be the example you want for your kids, because they are watching you more closely then you realize!