another week gone by...

Life has gone by fast in the last 7 days.  After saying goodbye to Mom and Dad in the hospital parking lot after we found out that Baby Gabe is not Baby Genevieve, we started what was to be a pretty busy week.  Well, Ross' life is always hectic as an upper level music student, so I guess I just felt busier than usual:)  I was able to substitute twice last week for a 5th grade class at Madison Middle, which I've come to realize is ALWAYS an adventure.  Day 2 was easier than day 1 since I already knew the schedule, the kids, the routine, etc., but I will admit that 5th graders are quite animated little creatures.  And I KNOW FOR A FACT that discipline in the classroom is up to the teacher.  Mrs.Mitchell is supposedly a pretty strict teacher, and I could tell the difference between this class and the first class I taught (totally out of control, no discipline, etc).  As a substitute, I'll take a strict teacher any day!  The kids just know how to listen better, they follow directions, and they DO THEIR WORK.  When a teacher is a good teacher, their substitute is very grateful!!!

I am also teaching 2 voice students, and in the last week I've had 4 more students/parents show a lot of interest in starting lessons.  3 of them are girls from our ward who I know from Young Womens, and the 4th was a referral from a fellow voice teacher.  So I hope to add them to my schedule before too long!  

Here are a few pictures we've taken this last week:

Happy Valentine's Day!

Baby Gabe and Mommy, 19 1/2 weeks

Our gorgeous temple on a foggy/snowy evening. We love it here. 

Okay, I went with Mom and Dad to Walmart so they could re-stock our pantry (thanks guys!)  We spent the highest percentage of time in the fiber aisle so that the 'rents could make a decision as to which fiber supplement was best.  They ended up going with the Equate brand...

Pops found the elastic headbands and tried them on, although they're usually used when one actually has hair ;)

So life is good here in Rexburg, though it is cold, snowy, and windy.  It's about 16 degrees outside at the present moment and the wind usually drops the temperature several degrees.  But we're happy, healthy, and staying warm (when we're inside)!  This will be our first Valentine's Day as a still-completely-in-love married couple, so there's another to celebrate life!  Hope all is well with all of you!

*T  

Moment of Truth!

Well, as many of you know, yesterday was a BIG day for us.  My parents came up from Utah on Sunday, we ate some yummy food and watched a lil' football, and although I took a Unisom (doctor prescribed for the nausea) at midnight on Sunday, I was awake at 6:30 yesterday morning.  I was so excited to finally find out what was going on with my little butter bean that I was like a kid on Christmas morning!  After breakfast with mom and dad, we did a little grocery shopping and restocked the pantry (which was awesome, parentals!  THANK YOU!).  I was giddier with every passing hour (waiting til my 3 pm appointment was not easy!), and I don't know if I've ever been so insistent to leave so EARLY for an appointment.  And to test my patience even more, the ultrasound technician had to take an emergency patient who showed up in the ER and we had to wait another hour before she could see us (which was okay because we didn't exactly have an emergency).  Our technician, Jessica, was awesome and she really knew her stuff!  It amazed all of us when she pointed out Baby's kidneys, the four chambers of the heart, the two halves of the brain... incredible stuff!  And then came the moment of truth... Jessica stood up and, using the little wand thing like a microphone, smiled and said... 

IT'S A BOY!!!!!

I could NOT believe it!  I really thought I was having a little girl!  It seriously took me a while to wrap my head around it, but we are SO EXCITED!   We could not be happier to have little Gabriel Ross on the way.  I was actually relieved to see him wiggling around so much because I haven't felt him move since last week.  In fact, he was so active that it took the tech longer than normal to get a reading of his heartbeat just because he wouldn't sit still!  He was kicking, waving, and rolling around all over the place.  It was such a neat experience to see him.  And the interesting thing was that I had a Braxton Hicks contraction during the ultrasound and we could SEE the contraction!  Like I said, Jessica was awesome.  Not only could she see every little thing, but she explained it to us and showed us exactly what we were supposed to be seeing.  Right now, Gabe is about 5 inches long and weighs 8 ounces... so he's got QUITE a bit of growing to do:)  And Jessica said that his growth shows a due date of July 3rd.  So there's a possibility that we could have an Independence Day baby!  We'll just have to see what happens!

Other than that, I had my first lesson with another voice student and got a referral today for someone looking for a voice teacher.  And I'll be substituting for the next 2 days at the middle school, so I'm staying busy!  Ross is, of course, busier than ever and just trying to stay on top of it all.  He finally admitted that he secretly wanted a boy all along, so although he's a busy man, he's excited to have a son!  

Life is great!

*T

Picture Update

I realize that these picture updates are few and far between, but it seems like we don't really take pictures of ourselves very often.  I guess we'll be taking lots more when the baby comes.  Nonetheless, here it goes:

  

Ross feels the need to show off his "belly" now that mine is steadily growing.

Here it is!  The baby belly!  I haven't really popped yet... I just look fat:( (note: the mattress looking thing behind me is actually an insulated curtain that helps keep in the heat during the winter)

Proof that Rexburg froze over on my birthday (and that I was awake before 7 am).  -23* fahrenheit!  F-R-I-G-I-D!

Beautiful Alpine, UT during Christmas break.

Okay, so we didn't have much of a Christmas tree this year because we were here for all of 2 weeks during December, but it sure was cute!  

I'll post more when we get pictures of Le Bebe!  6 days and counting until we know whether it's Genevieve Kate or Gabriel Ross!!!  

Life is GREAT!

*T 

It's ALIIIIIVE!!!

Okay, so I obviously knew before now that there's a little butter bean growing inside me, but I was just commenting to Ross yesterday that I wish I could feel it move.  I know women who have felt their babies at 15 weeks, and some not until 20+ weeks, so I figured that at 17 weeks, I shouldn't worry.  BUT STILL... I would sometimes jiggle my belly a little and then sit completely still to see if I could feel anything (but I never did).  Well, I got a call from the Madison School District this morning at 5:58 am, letting me know that the schools were closed today due to the "extreme cold" (when we woke up, it was -22 degrees outside).  For some VERY strange reason, I couldn't fall back asleep.  It might have had something to do with the fact that Ross was really excited to wish me Happy Birthday, or because the temperature in our house was in the lower 60's, or just because I was jarred from my sleep to the ringtone of "Yakkety Yak".  Either way, I was laying there listening to Ross move stuff around in the living room (to prepare for my birthday surprise) when I felt this little twitch in my abdomen.  My stomach was a little gurgly because I was hungry, but this was different than the rest of the gurgles AND there was no sound that accompanied it.  It happened again, very faintly, but I FELT IT!  I knew that this must be the little baby 'flutter' or 'twitch' I've been waiting for!  And to reaffirm it all, I laid down to take a nap in the afternoon and felt another bigger twitch down in the baby belly.  I can't believe that such a little thing could absolutely make my day!  It was like my baby's way of saying "Happy Birthday Mama!"  What an awesome way to start my quarter-century mark!  Wootawoo! 

*T

Music to our Ears!

Soooo, we FINALLY got to hear our beautiful baby's heartbeat!  We went in for my second OB visit on Tuesday, which I have been anxiously awaiting since the last visit when we weren't able to hear a darn thing.  My doctor is in Idaho Falls, which seems silly since there are so many great doctors in Rexburg, but I've known my doctor for about 5 years now and he and his wife were basically like surrogate parents to me.  Dr.Christensen's daughter, Susan, was one of my roommates and best friends, so we spent quite a bit of time at her parents house while we were in school.  So needless to say, when Ross and I found out we were pregnant, my first choice for a doctor was Dr.C :)

Back to the reason for this post... it took Dr.C about 4 seconds to find the heartbeat, and when he did, it was INCREDIBLE!  I felt like I was floating in mid air, almost like I was having an out of body experience.  I realized, as I was listening to this beautiful heartbeat, that I am fulfilling a HUGE part of my life and that I have wanted this for such a long time!  I have a while to go still (I'll be 16 weeks along on Saturday), but this was the first real evidence we've had that this baby is inside of me.  I looked at Ross as we listened to this sweet sound of our baby's heart, and we both had tears in our eyes.  Dr.C said that the baby sounds strong and that I'm growing on schedule, so everything is looking great.  I also made my ultrasound appointment for February 2nd, so we'll know in just a few short weeks if it's a boy or girl!  I am so STINKIN excited that I can hardly stand it!  I really do feel like it's a girl, but we are just so happy to have this baby that we'll take either a boy or girl.  We'll just have this one ultrasound, so I'm excited to see what this baby looks like.  I know you can't really tell what the baby looks like at the 18-week ultrasound, but it'll be so fun to just SEE it.  Man, I can't WAIT!!!

Other than baby stuff, life is goin for us.  Ross is busy with school and work, and I finally acquired some students for my voice studio.  I hoped to be substitute teaching more often, but school just started again and I don't think a lot of teachers are needing subs right now.  But we have so many things to be grateful for!  We are blessed beyond measure, and we really can't wait for July to roll around:)  Here in the cold, frozen tundra of Rexburg, life really is good... 

*T      

Pictures... FINALLY!

The answer we've been waiting for!  Even though it was barely visible, there WAS a 2nd line!  Woohoo!!!

So, shortly after we moved into the new house in Rexburg, I was doing dishes and heard a really big BANG outside.  I just thought it was someone pulling a trailer that went over a pot hole (there are a couple big ones on our street), but then I heard people yelling.  When I stepped out onto the front porch, I looked towards all the noise and saw this... a MICROBURST had picked up someone's SHED and dumped it right on top of our neighbor's house!!!  They had to call the fire department to come get it off, which was pretty funny to watch.  Two uniformed firemen simply get up on top of the roof and literally just kick the shed off of the house!  I know it was traumatizing for our poor neighbors, but it was kinda funny to watch:)

Me and Hannah, my darling should've-been-sister.  We all went out to Applebee's to basically celebrate Hannah since she was moving to Florida the next day, and this was our way of sharing our departing moment... I guess??  She's really not heavy and I'm actually stronger than this picture makes it out to be, but we were laughing so hard that I could barely lift her and she could barely hold on.  This is a typical Tri&Han moment.  

Disclaimer:  I  was NOT pregnant when this picture was taken!  If I was, I would NOT have been lifting more than 20 pounds:)

Ross and I chillin at Applebee's to celerate our dear Hanbanan. I think this is a cute picture of us:)

 

Mom and dad came up for the weekend and we took a day trip to Yellowstone.  These elk were so close to us!  It was amazing how unperturbed they were even though there were a lot of people around taking pictures of them. 

So I finally am able to get up some new pics... sorry it took a while.  We rearranged the furniture in our living room and, although I have no idea how it got there, we found our picture importer thingy under our recliner.  Like I said... NO IDEA how it got there, but now we're able to upload pictures!  Hooray!  

I can't believe this is the last week of the semester for Ross.  He was stressed out today for about 3 hours, but that was it!  I can't believe it!  When I started the upper level music classes (and for the rest of my college experience), I was an emotional wreck the last week of school!  But Ross seems very cool and collected, and I think he's going to do awesome on his finals.  As for me, I've been sick.  Not with a cold or anything, but with BABY.  Don't get me wrong... I love this baby and I can't wait to be a mommy, but it amazes me how something SO SMALL can make a grown woman SO SICK!  I finally went to my doctor and got a vitamin B6 shot, and he wrote me a prescription for an anti-nausea med.  I was dumb and didn't fill the prescription because I was feeling better, and lo and behold, I puked my guts out yesterday for the first time.  So needless to say, filling that prescription was on my to-do list today:)  The only thing that has been affected seriously is work.  I work from 6am-2pm, and it is not easy getting up and going to work when I've been so sick.  Although I didn't plan it, I literally worked part-time last week because I either went home early, got there late, or couldn't go at all.  But my boss' wife had a baby just a few months ago, and he is SO understanding with everything.  He basically said that, with 6 weeks of maternity leave, he wouldn't say anything unless I hadn't shown up for MORE than 6 weeks by the time the baby's born.  And since I'm not planning on going back after the baby's born, it's nice not to stress about losing my job because I'm so nauseated. 

On a better note, I have my first prenatal visit on the 16th!  I'll be about 11 weeks along by then, and my doc said that we might get to hear the baby's heartbeat:)  I'm so excited!  I know that there's a baby inside me right now, but to actually hear the heartbeat will make it so much more real.  And even with finals and nausea, our life is good!  It snowed the first big snowfall today, so now it really feels like Christmastime!  We are very excited to spend the holidays with family, and I'm crossing my fingers that we'll have a White Christmas this year!  What a beautiful time of year to be together and remember all that our Savior has done for us...

*T

S.O.S.!!!

Alright, so I know my last post talked about feeling okay as long as I wasn't hungry, but that was last week.  Today is my 8-week mark, and lemme tell ya... I'm feeling it. I don't have morning sickness, but rather an all-day-off-and-on sickness.  I've been feeling kinda lousy at certain points the last few days, but today is by far the worst.  I woke up at 6:45 this morning, which was unnatural because we went to bed late last night, and I was already sick to my stomach.  The only thing that sounded remotely appetizing to me at the time was fruit, so I figured I'd try eating a little bit to see if that helped.  My mom keeps pre-packaged grapefruit cups in the fridge (we're at my parent's house in Utah for Thanksgiving), so I had one of those and did NOT feel better.  I waited a while before trying to eat again, and then had some eggs and herbal tea.  Then I went downstairs to lay down, and it wasn't until this point that I REALLY felt gross.  I haven't been throwing up at all, but I've just felt soooo sick to my stomach and my whole body feels crummy.   Ross and dad went to the ranch early this morning (part of the reason I was up so early), so he's not here to witness my first day of being a typical pregnant woman:)  I finally called my sister Maddy to ask what she did, since she got sick right around this same time during her pregnancy with Britton.  I guess the answer is just to keep little bits of food in my stomach at all times to keep it from getting worse... even though eating is the LAST thing I want to do right now.  So here's my plea... to all of you moms or soon-to-be moms out there, WHAT DO I DO to keep from being so sick???  And if there's nothing I can do, is there anything that'll help?  Please share!

*T