2 Weeks & 5 Days (or 19 ish Days)

The past 8 1/2 months have flown by! I've decided to do my posts on Thursdays after our final baby appts, just to keep everyone updated- and I know that right now, that's the only reason anyone looks at this- you just want the pics and baby news...
Gryn news:
We are measuring right at 37 weeks, no "Dr. check" this week- it wasn't necessary, and she (our midwife) is convinced that we are in the clear for Labor Day weekend and anticipates we'll deliver on time or about a week late- I don't mind this news (yet) as I still have SOOOO much to do to get ready for my sub. I can use the time!

The ugly news is that I am Strep B positive and will have to have an annoying IV the whole time I'm laboring at the hospital (boo). Chad and I decided we wanted the least amount of tubing/wiring attached to me as possible, so it was disheartening, but I know it's important to be healthy, so Gryn can be healthy when he's born. The good news about the Strep B strain I carry is that it can be killed by anti-biotics that are NOT a part of the "cillin" family- very good news!
We took the stroller and car seat out of their box last night and put them together, we'll have some adjusting to do to bring little dude home, but its ready! We are so excited! Everytime we see and/or feel him move around, we just can't help but get excited because we're SOOO close to having him here! Gryn's bag is packed and ready, however Chad's and mine aren't. That will probably be one of our weekend projects!
Chad news:
USF ends on Saturday. It will be a relief, but also sad. It has been a great season, despite the lack of zest in the music. Things are faling into place at Hurricane Intermediate and the struggles with classes are either finally coming out or are just subsiding as the adjustments are made to Intermediate School. Chad performed twice for the Cabaret, a USF after show. He played a xylophone piece and did a juggling number with some LED lit juggling balls. Each year they have a final show with favorite performances from the season. Chad hasn't ever been chosen in the past, but BOTH his acts were chosen for tonight's final show! He will be the opening and closing performances! I am SO dang happy for him! He is SO excited to perform these numbers again! (I missed the juggling act the first time and am bummed to miss it this time, but the show doesn't start until 11:00 p.m. which means we wouldn't get hom until about 1:30 or so and my body cannot handle that right now.)
Beth news:
I'm looking bigger and bigger! I'm not uncomfortable unless I forget that I'm pregnant and try to do something I would normally need abdominal muscles for! My time of sleeping well has probably ended. I've been battling a head/chest cold for a week now and it is finally beginning to clear up. I haven't been able to take anything and I can't sleep on my back, so breathing at night has been a NIGHTMARE and Gryn usually kicks for about 20 minutes everytime I turn over. So, I'm adjusting to the sleeplessness, but know that the time is coming where it will be much worse than it is now, so I treasure what sleep I do get! Really this has probably been the worst week of pregnancy, but I think it's just because I'm sick. My 4th period class is convinced I will either go into hard labor during class or that I will deliver my baby in class- its quite comical actually! I'm done planning for 1st quarter and with 2/3 of my sub notes for 1st quarter, so now I can focus on getting IEPs written and done- 4 down (completed), 2 written, 10 to go. Yes, that's a total of 16 that will be finished within the first 5 weeks of school. When I come back in Nov. I will be so bored, it's kind of crazy. I will only have 8 IEPs to hold for the rest of the year and I will have nothing to plan for because I'll be planned through Christmas break. I've learned a lot about HS kids vs. MS kids and I REALLY like the differences! My team is great, our paras are WONDERFUL, and I really like teaching Read 180. So in essence, life is good! As always.

Ok, now for the pics:

Me, 37 weeks. Yes, the belly is dropping. And yes, this shirt (albeit maternity) is working REALLY hard to cover my belly. Pretty sure this is the last time I'll be seen wearing it. And looking at last week's pic, maybe I was arching a little, it didn't feel like it though. Weird.

"Travel System" Step 1: In the box, no problem!

"Travel system" step 2 (Chad): Ok, it's all out of the box, how do we open it? Oh, the red locking device on the side. Wait, theres only two wheels... oh, nope, here they are. Ok, whew.

"Travel System" step 2 (Beth): This one's already put together! Awesome! Oh wait, no- attach canopy, check, unwrap base, check. This peice to the right doesn't fit ANYWHERE! Riiiight, that would be the stroller tray. Adjust straps, just in case, check. Figure out how the seat goes in the base......................... yeah, still working on that............................... no, don't take it, Chad, I've got to know how to do it once it's in the car............................. *click* YEAH! Got it! How did I do that again?

"Travel System" Step 3: Done! Now, if our Nurse Midwife is wrong, we'll still be able to bring our baby home from the hospital anytime!

In all reality, it wasn't too terribly hard, we had fun goobing up about how "our baby will sit in that" and such. Totally ridiculous! And speaking of goobing stories, here are two, for the road:

Last night a girl brought in her 1 week old baby to our birthing class. Little tiny baby girl was in the back making sweet newborn noises and Chad looks at me all teary and goes- "I can't help but think of our little baby making those noises. I can't wait to hear them!"

We (I) ordered a personalized Mickey Mouse blanket for Gryn. It arrived the other day and Chad missed seeing it the night it arrived. The next morning, I showed him as we were making breakfast and getting ready for the day. He stopped, came over and hugged me and the belly and was like "We are totally going to use that when we take our baby to Disneyland. I can't wait to take him to Disneyland." Again, all teary and sweet about our little dude. P.S. I don't think I'll get to hold our child. Ever. So keep that in mind when you come to see him. His dad may be hogging him.

I LOVE that Chad is the gooby one about this baby! I don't get teary very often about much and haven't gotten very teary over thinking about our baby- I get teary when I think of everything that can go wrong in the next two weeks. I am SO dang excited to have this little guy in our home and share in parenting with Chad- its going to be AWESOME!

36

That's right- only 4 weeks to go! Or less, depending on what this baby decides to do! Here are the pics, you can tell that I am getting bigger... I am not arching my back at all in this pic or sticking out my butt- FYI.


Oh, and if you were wondering, yes, I did get a haircut: added bangs and got a better A-line- I love it, however, I really want it short again. Not super short, but short. We'll see what I go with after I've lost the baby weight and my face isn't so pudgy. I also went darker as well, it just seemed like it was time for a change with the hair!

And we are now taking bets on when you think little dude will arrive.
The due date: Sept. 15.

Bets are 50 cents. Unless someone wants to up that...?
We're looking for date and time of day (morning, afternoon, evening).

I'll re-post in a bit, I don't have time to put ours on right now, we've got to leave for Cedar. Anyway, I'll also update you on the other parts of our life when I get a minute!

I totally just figured out how to see this and change the font and font color, etc. I feel so super lame for NOT knowing until now. Everything after this was posted later...

So. Our Life. We started school one week ago. It has been a busy week! Chad played two shows and two after shows on the second and third days of school. Being the wonderful wife that I am, I told him to call me on his way home so that he didn't fall asleep in the car, which meant that I was up just as long as he was. It was worth it though- I like my husband! Saturday was a parade and pool party with Chad's band kids. In between, we attended a funeral for Chad's co-worker's husband who died very unexpectedly just before school started. It was a very reflective time for Chad and me about what is really important in our lives. After the late nights and early mornings and high emotions, Chad slept for about 4 hours on Saturday night to get caught up on sleep.

We have both really enjoyed our classes and are really looking forward to an awesome year. On top of teaching, I am getting prepped for my sub, which means I am planning ahead for all of 1st quarter and a few weeks into 2nd quarter. It just easier for me to plan ahead until Christmas Break and have all my copies, etc done so that my sub is ready and doesn't have to worry about anything AND so that I don't have to worry about crazy planning when I get back to school. It also means that I have about 12-15 IEP meetings to hold before Sept. 15. So I'm keeping busy! Everyone tells me that I should be taking it easy these last few weeks before the baby comes and I totally agree, however, it just isn't possible as a teacher :)

As for our 50 cents:
Chad's money is on Sept. 12 early in the morning (before 7 a.m.).
I think that as soon as my IEPs, sub plans, USF, and our birth classes are done (this would be around Sept. 2) and I am able to relax a bit, the baby will be born. However, looking at family birth patterns, my money is on Sept. 13 in the late evening (7 p.m. or later).
If you want to place a bet, leave a comment with your guess, you'll get at least a dollar out of it if you win!

We'll keep posting belly pics weekly until there is a baby to post about!

The Belly

In an effort to keep family and friends updated and involved in the last 5 weeks of my pregnancy, I have decided to take weekly pics and post them of the belly.
Today marks 35 weeks, only 5 more to go! It seems like it came so dang fast! We are SO excited. I am getting nervous about Gryn coming early, plain and simply because I am not ready for my sub! I'm putting off being completely ready for the sub because I know that as soon as I am ready and can relax, he'll make his way here shortly. Chad's quarter is on Aug. 31 or Sept. 1 no matter what. We'll see what happens!
In other news, today was our first day of school. Uneventful, pretty chill for both of us- hardly the climax to meet the buildup that we've had going on. We enjoyed meeting our new students and reuniting with the old ones. We're excited to get this school year started! Chad is crazy busy with school and Shakespeare- he's got multiple rehersals and performances until about midnight tomorrow and Friday then we'll be doing another parade on Saturday morning followed by a swim party for the parade kids. What a way to start out the school year! We are tired, but happy!

Yeah, I'm THAT person...

You know what I'm talking about: I am not a fan of posting just about baby stuff, but I'm going to anyway because people just seem to want to know...

The Grind (non baby):
I finish up Summer School on Wednesday this week (THANK GOODNESS) and will be setting up my classroom at the HS starting Thursday. Chad is playing for USF and is now bored with the show. Its a decent show, but anytime you play something over and over, it gets annoying! He has been at his school practicing all sorts of percussion stuff for hours and hours everyday while I'm at work- I went over and listened to him after I got home today and he sounds so good, I really love to watch him play because I know he loves it SO much. He's also working on some awesome juggling tricks!

The Grind (baby):
Our "Birth education" classes start on Wednesday evening, making the whole having a baby thing even more real! We are getting more and more excited for our little Gryn to join our family as we get closer to September.

We finished the baby room last night! We had shelves to hang, the twin bedding to put on the bed, the valance to put up, new clothes and blankets to de-tag and wash, and dots to put on the walls. It looks more like a boy's room than a gender-neutral room, but we can add some pink and purple and use it for a girl too, when the time comes, I guess.

The view from the door of the baby room. And yes, that is a porcelain doll... in a BOY'S room. I've had that doll since I was about 14 (I think). The designer's name is Titus Tomescu and I fell in love with the doll as soon as I saw it. I am displaying it until it is no longer safe to display outside glass.

The finished closet. You can't see, but the dresser is completely full of preemie to 3 month clothing. The shelving on the sides have 4 more rubbermaids full of clothes from 3-2T and about 1500-2000 diapers and two boxes of bulk wipies from Costco. We've got a swing, playmat, high chair, some toys, a bouncer, an infant bath sling, travel bed, bumbo chair, and other things I can't even think of. The best part: most, like 90% most, of it has been gifted/handed down to us. We are SO blessed and SO set on stuff for this little guy!

This shelf is for all the stuffed animals we have been given or toys we have bought. The bunny blanket in the middle was hand-made by a co-worker of mine and I really hope that Gryn loves it as much as Chad and I do. It is SO adorable!

We put the valance up on this window and bought circle declas for the wall instead of painting or putting up pictures, we really like how it turned out!

I will admit that this pregnancy has been so easy in the scope of everything. I can't complain about anything! I still see my reflection and do a double take, pregnancy was never in the plans for me, so it's hard for me to see myself and realize that its actually ME and not some other cute pregnant lady and that its MY child growing in there.

I've been feeling the extra weight more this week than ever (and I'm getting the "water retention pregnancy face", which I do not appreciate) and my time out and about is getting shorter and shorter before I get exhausted, but I keep thinking 7 more weeks and my body will start the process of normalcy again...

I sometimes get annoyed when I have a baby in my ribs or kicking my bladder, but all I can think is: poor little guy, how can I be annoyed- you're the one thats all squished, not me. Poke me as much as you need- I don't mind!!

I also have a very supportive and loving husband who thinks that this whole pregnancy thing is absolutely beautiful and is always understanding and positive about my situation. I'm super lucky!

And by the way, after looking at other peoples' ultrasounds, I think we are going to have the cutest baby ever! I didn't think I'd be able to tell that much of a difference form one ultrasound to the next, but I can, and Gryn is way freakin cuter than other people's babies! And yes, I am biased beyond reason, but really, I think he's going to be absolutely adorable!



Need I say more?

I'd like to think that I'll post before the big day, but with my track record of "blogging," the next post very well may be pics of our little dude. 33 weeks- only 7 to go!

The Vaycayshun

We just went on our last "official" vacation of the summer. We have one more trip to Las Vegas before school starts to visit with my best friend from my childhood years, but psychologically, we are in back-to-school mode. We told ourselves that this was our final vacation before school and baby and we are ready to be back. Its a little scary but really exciting at the same time.

The Trip:
We drove to Barstow, CA on Friday night last week and spent the night there. We headed out early on Saturday and spent the day at SeaWorld. We had a lovely time going to the shows and feeding sea animals.


Me, watching the sharks. I think.

Sharks. I'm sure those are sharks.

Watchin "Shamu Rocks." We watched the earlier show ad I even sat in the "soak zone" however, we did not get soaked, actually we didn't even get wet. All we got was this girl's hair whipping my leg the whole time because she couldn't leave it alone. Ugh, by the way, I think long hair is generally gross. I don't like it touching me.

Sunday we had planned on going whale watching and thought we planned accordingly, but boy were we wrong! We left an hour and a half before our boat was to leave (we were staying about 15 miles away). The boat was delayed 20 minutes and we still did not have enough time to drive park and walk to the boat. I was SOOO mad! We ended up rescheduling for Monday morning at 9 a.m. We re-vamped our plans and went to an outdoor mall, saw Inception (SO worth it, everyone should go see it), had dinner at The Cheescake Factory and headed over to the OC Fair where we were catching a Train concert!

We entered the Fairgrounds and my oh my, we must have looked like we were from a small town because neither of us had EVER seen a fair like this before. We could have spent days discovering the fair- I wish we would have known it was going to be so huge, we'd have spent the morning there!

The concert was FANTASTIC! Train is a group I have been a fan of since their debut and this was the second time I was able to see them. This particular show was the biggest the OC had ever had and that Train had ever played! We were so glad to be a part of it! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

This was taken during the concert by Train- its their tradition during the song It is Love... anyway, i freakin joined Twitter just so I could get it...I'm THAT LAME!

Us, after the concert, Chad took video, I'll try to get it going. I looked for the picture that had the least amount of pregnancy pudge face. Note to self and others who are pregnant- COLORS are best, don't wear white. Bad choice.
*Chad bought this Turkey leg after the show- gross. He bit into and got some bones. I was soo grossed out, and I had to hold it on the way back to the hotel while he drove. I almost threw up on it.


Monday we woke early, checked out of our hotel and left again for whale watching. Even with commute traffic, we made it in plenty of time and ate a tasty breakfast on the pier while we waited for the boat to be readied. We spent two and a half hours on the boat looking for whales, dolphins, and sea lions. We weren't able to see any whales, but we saw lots of dolphins and a few sea lions. We also saw some HUGE fish, I'm not sure what they were, but they lurked in the water like sharks!! We loved being out there! Dad had given us a suggestion on lunch the day before, so we headed out on the pier off the beach and ate at Ruby's Diner, a cute little 50's style restaurant. We watched a bunch of fishermen just outside and had a great time just taking in the ocean and spending time together.



Open Ocean. This was a little scary for Chad and me. We are land people and deep water freaks us out. But we really did enjoy ourselves.


Sea Lions. We did see them in the actual ocean, but they were hard to catch with the delay on our camera.


These are the giant fishes we saw, I did a random shot, but we got them! They look like sharks!


Us on the boat. We really had a great time!


Us on the pier in front of Ruby's!

We left from Newport Beach to drive to Las Vegas to spend the night with Colby and Stephanie. We were so nervous about driving through Baker in the middle of the day, so we broke out the rest of our water and turned off the AC. We made it without any problems and went swimming that evening at Doug and Kay's. It was wonderfully relaxing! We spent the next day hanging out with our nieces and nephews!

I'm sure we have much more in the way of documentation for this trip, but I think it is via video and I don't have the energy (or desire) to post the video. And really vacation video is only interesting to those who were on the actual vacation, in my opinion.

3 weeks and 5 days...

Chad and I realized tonight that we are getting back into "teacher mode." That's right, the title is the amount of time until school starts for us. I have begun teaching summer school- just finished up the first week. I'm grateful to be able to start getting up early and getting my body ready for the transition back to school. I'm sure I'll be exhasuted the first couple of weeks, but I'm excited to get going at the HS.

Its almost been two months since I posted, so I'll give an update (with pics):)

We left the last day of school for NSL and spent a week visiting with family. It was wonderfully relaxing and we always love spending time with mom, dad, and Mandi's family. We were also able to spend some time with some of my old friends. We really enjoyed ourselves.

A few short days after returning from NSL, we headed to Las Vegas for Thomas' graduation. We are so proud of him and can hardly believe that he'll be off to college in the next few weeks. We loved spending time and catching up with family and friends.


Us with Thomas just after graduation- so awesome!

My mom and Mandi's family came a few days after we returned from Las Vegas. They threw me a baby shower and helped get Gryn's room, clothes, blankets, diapers, etc ready. It was so fun looking through all the clothes, blankets, towels, etc. It made it so real. We played some baseball (in the dusk and dark- scary!), hiked at Zion, played poker (I heard Mandi laugh harder than I've ever heard her laugh in my life- it was hilarious!!), did some shopping, and just relaxed.


Crib set just after Chad had put it all together.


The closet, already fully stocked. We have a wardrobe for the kid for about two years! And tons of diapers, however those will probably only last a few months :) I wasn't able to turn it, sorry.


This is the crib set done. We still have three shelves to hang, so I'll have to post a "finished product" picture.


Zion National Park.


Chad started rehearsals for the Utah Shakespearean Festival while the fam was here. his show started July 2 and he is really enjoying himself. Its always wonderful to watch and hear him perform because he loves it so much!

We had planned a short trip to NSL again to have the 3D ultrasound pictures done. It ended up being worth it, but was a NIGHTMARE to get figured out. We had three full days with no shows or rehearsals. The day we were supposed to leave (I was waiting in Cedar for the show to get over- with all our stuff) they called an impromptu rehearsal for the next day and Chad couldn't miss it, so we had to go back home. We had to leave the next day, which cut our trip short, however we were able to sit on our front porch that night and watch the fireworks in Hurricane- complete with homemade strawberry ice cream and brownies!

We went to our ultrasound and Gryn would not show us his whole face, just profiles, so they asked us to come back the next day- the day we were leaving. We went back and this time was worse than the first, we got feet, hands, and nose- thats it. We had to reschedule again. We left to go back home and found that the only time we had to do the u/s again was over the weekend. We went home Thursday night and went back up to NSL on Friday after Chad's show. It was ridiculous. However, Gryn was much more cooperative the third time and we were able to go to Lagoon and Lagoon-a-Beach with Mandi's family. It was a nice trip up again, even though it was short and we had to go home for an evening.


We were able to go to Alex's baseball game while we visited. Little kid sports are SO cute!


We found these cute boys at Lagoon, think their parents will let us keep them?


This was taken 7/10/10, just a few days before I hit 7 months. We are officially two months away, 9 weeks and little guy will be here!


The little dude. He looks so happy and content snuggling. We're excited to see him outside the womb :)


Another bebe pic. His eyes are open in this picture- the tech was amazed at how much his eyes were open while we were seeing him. We are totally enamored with this little guy and can hardly wait for Sept.


Flippin us the bird. Yeah, this is what we got on day two of trying to see his face.


Yep, the bottom of his foot is covering his face. Unbelievable. This is the view we saw the most of.

We are off for an amazing pre-baby, pre-school vacation on the beach this weekend, it will be wonderful. I'll update a little more when we get back.

New Post

I just had a huge rant going, but I decided to erase it and be at peace. All I will say is: please respect my choices. I know that not everyone will. If that be the case, please keep your opinions to yourself unless they are truly productive and helpful. I know it is difficult and that I am guilty of not heeding this, but am trying to be better.

In other news, we are 4 days away from being DONE with school. PRAISE THE LORD!!! I am very excited to move to the High School next year, especially since I will only be teaching one subject. In all my (3) years of teaching, this has never happened, so I'm not sure what I'll do with all my prep time! I am looking forward to working with the team there and somewhat more mature students. I am very excited that I get to follow this group through High School. I will have had them for 5 years at the end of High School- how lucky am I? As part of the end of the year, Chad always has an end of the year concert and his kids did SO well. His Intermediate Band will be moving to the middle school next year and he is VERY sad to lose them. This is the first group he's taught both years of band to, so theres a feeling of ownership there.

Summer is going to be busy, busy, busy. We were looking at our schedules and noticed that after June 6th, we will only have about three days to do any traveling together this summer. I will be attending workshops and teaching summer school at the end of summer and Chad starts rehersals for the Utah Shakespearean Festival on June 15th. We'll be working hard to get the house ready for Gryn- get all the stuff out of the front room and into his bedroom! We are really looking forward to that! Once Aug. 6th hits, there will be no more time to prepare for baby, we'll be back to work and he'll be here within a month of that!

Speaking of baby... we are 24 weeks tomorrow- almost to the third trimester. I am waking almost every morning to Gryn moving around and watching my belly move with him. He seems to know the difference between my hand and Chad's and always stops moving when Chad puts his hand on my belly. I spent an hour this morning laying in bed feeling him move around- just enjoying the time with him. It's miraculous and wonderful. My pregancy is great, I feel great, Gryn is doing great, we (mostly Chad I think) are very blessed! I hope I can say the same about my delivery! The one thing I am not enjoying is my belly being rubbed- in fact my students are going to make me a sign or shirt that says "DO NOT TOUCH" over the belly. My students are wonderful and fascinating to me, but that is another story for another time.

We have been asked quite a few times if we are excited about this baby (weird) and rest assured everyone, we are VERY excited for him! We are not as traditional as most with announcing everything that happens with my pregnancy and we have so much going on right now that it's not the ONLY thing we talk about, but we are still very, very excited. Hopefully next month we'll have another picture to post of him, we'd love to get a little peek at him again. No pics of me yet, my mom and Grandma are the only ones with those, I've been told my many women who have had babies that I am not very big for as far along as I am. Not sure what it means, but we'll get around to taking a picture of the belly at some point!