Happy Holidays!

Just a quick update on us.

Evelyn can hold her head up, talking by making the cutest sounds ever, and making my life more enjoyable than I ever thought possible. I sure do love that girl. She is wonderful when I take her to stores and she lets other people hold her and love her. She is starting to grow out of her 0-3 month size clothing so I organized her drawers with her 3-6 month clothes. They are so cute and I'm excited for her to wear them. She is crying more than she used to...mostly when she's tired. 3 nights ago she cried for an hour probably and there was nothing me or Andy could do. But after she was done crying, she was happy and content again. She sleeps better when I'm holding her and that's kinda causing a problem. She'll fall asleep in my arms and when I lay her in her bassinet, she'll wake up and cry for me to hold her again. We're working on it and she's been better the last 2 days. She went to her first Aggie basketball game last night. She was awake the whole time, except for halftime, and she did great. The noise startled her sometimes, but she didn't cry at all.

Andy is almost done with this semester. He has some projects and tests left, but he'll be done by next week. Hooray! He's worked really hard this semester. It's weird to think that at the beginning of this semester, we didn't have a baby. A lot changed the past couple of months. He had a phone interview on Monday for a job working at the Alumni center at the university. I'm not really sure of the details, but her really wants it...and I do too...we'll get half off on tuition and benefits! He's also starting his own social media company and if you know of anyone who wants to advance their business using social media let him know. He got his first paying client yesterday! He also helped a professor with a research project this semester...well...I did most of the work, but I'm glad he has another professional reference. He has one more semester left and I'm so proud of him.

Me...I take care of Evelyn. Sometimes, I get ready for the day, but mostly I don't and I'm ok with that. I LOVE my new job (I quit Lowes) of being a mother. I think it is my calling in life. Now to convince Andy to have more kids...ha. I also travel to SoJo a ton to help my family with my sister's wedding. She's getting married on December 30th. I love an excuse to see my family. I'm part of a book club. We just started and I love it, because I love to read.

Other events in our lives: We bought a piano on KSL for $50 and Andy has been restoring it. I think it will be pretty nice when he's done. My Grandma Cammack died the week before Thanksgiving. She was very ill and I'm glad her body is out of misery. Thanksgiving was wonderful. We spent it with my Aunt Chris and her family. We did the crazy Black Friday shopping and I don't think I will ever do it again. Walmart was AWFUL!!!!! Last Friday we went to the Festival of Trees and I loved it, minus the crowds. I'm so looking forward to this holiday season and I feel so blessed to have Evelyn be a part of our lives now. I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season as well!

Pics to come

Also...

Evelyn had her 2 month doctor appointment and I was super worried about it because she had to get her shots. She was great though and cried really hard for about 5 minutes and then calmed down. She was pretty cranky that night and slept for most of that day and the next. Here are her stats:

Weight: 10.5 pounds and 35th percentile

Length: 23.5 inches and 88th percentile

Head circumference: 15 inches and 29th percentile

Her doctor said she is in perfect health and we are so grateful. She is such a good baby and we love her alot. Andy put some videos of her on Youtube if you want to check them out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT6RkfRrLGc

Have a wonderful day!

Already 2 months?

Evelyn has had a lot of milestones lately. She makes fun noises, like clicking her tongue and babbling. She babbles and coos all the time. I love it. She holds her head up for longer periods of time. She recognizes important people, like me :). She follows you with her eyes and will look at you when you are talking. We can get her to smile and she smiles a lot. She is such a good baby. Another important event for Evelyn is she was blessed by Andy on November 6th. It was a wonderful day and we were fortunate to have a lot of family there to celebrate with us. We had some wonderful people take notes and even recorded the blessing for us. What a treasure. We missed those who weren't there and wished you could have been with us. We finally are able to download pictures onto our computer so here you go....

I was blessed in the same blessing dress as she was so it made it even more special.

"She's just a doll!" -Kevin, my step-dad

I kinda like this shot

This was one of the first times I caught her smiling for reals.

I think this is an Andy face

We caught her sleeping like this and had to take a pic

We love sleeping :)

One Month!

It's true! Our precious baby girl is a month old today! I can barely remember my life before we had her, but at the same time, I can't believe she's already a month old! Here's an update on Evelyn.

• She maintains eye contact and does "real" smiles now, not just her "sleepy smiles".
• She still loves her hands near her face. She used to love being swaddled, but now she fights it to have her hands out by her face.
• She still wears newborn clothes. 0-3 months is a little big.
• She eats about 3-4 ounces at a time.
• She loves bath time. She has a pink tub that we use with a netting over the water in the tub and she loves to put her feet over the netting into the water. She hasn't cried yet while she's had a bath.

Last night was one of the hardest we've had with her yet. We've kinda boasted that she doesn't really cry, but last night changed that. She cried on and off for about 3 hours. Eventually she wore herself out and went to sleep. Andy was really great and stayed up with me, even though he had class today. We finally got to bed around 3am. Luckily our baby slept til 8am and then after eating and getting her diaper changed, she went back to sleep so we could sleep too. We sure do love Evelyn and even though it was hard last night, I wouldn't change it for anything.

Here are the pictures our wonderful photographer took of Evelyn when she was about 2 weeks old.

2 years!

Andy and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary yesterday and it was wonderful! We started out the day with breakfast...at noon...at Angie's restaurant. Then we ran some errands together. Andy had a lot of homework to do so that night he worked on homework while I watched Mansfield Park and Funny Girl. I wasn't expecting him to do anything else, but when he came home from doing homework, he surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates, and dinner. He makes me so happy and feel so special. I sure do love that guy.

Sidenote: Evelyn has really bad diaper rash right now. Even with it, she is normally really good about getting her diaper changed. Last night was an exception. She was crying so much and I knew it was hurting her every time I wiped her that it made me feel awful and like a horrible parent. I was crying too by the end of it. We went through 4 diapers before I was finally able to change her without her peeing or pooping. We have some special cream from our doctor and I hope it will get better soon.

12 days old!

• Evelyn left the hospital weighing 6 lbx 9 oz. We found out last Friday she was back to her birth weight of 7 lbs 3 oz and she's 20 inches long.
• She does really well at sleeping during the night. I give her a feeding around midnight and she'll wake up anytime from 2-5. She'll wake up again from 6-9. Sometimes it's hard to get her back to sleep, so I'll try for like an hour and then I'll wake Andy up and she always goes right to sleep with him. He now calls himself "Magic Hands".
• I hardly ever call her Evelyn. Her nicknames are Pretty (Baby, Girl, or Lady depending on how I feel). Andy calls her Lumpy.
• Just since yesterday she's been crying more. Normally she only cries when she's hungry, but yesterday and today she's been crying just to cry. Last night we took some newborn pictures by Alayna Bean, our personal family photographer, and Evelyn was very unhappy at the new environment and weird situations. We put her in a tutu and she didn't like the material. We tried to get her to curl up to go into this wrap thing called a pod, but she flipped. The rest of the night we kept her swaddled and she did better. She did take some super cute pics though, so when I get them, I'll post them.
• I have a hard time breastfeeding. She doesn't like to latch on, but we're working on it and she's doing better everyday. Luckily, I still can breastfeed her and we haven't had to switch to formula.
• She makes a lot of noises...coos, squeaks, moans, and I could swear she giggled a little today.
• She is a pooper.
• She loves her dad. I think just the sound of his voice soothes her.
• She loves to have her hands be by her face. It was how she was born.

We sure do love this girl and are so blessed to have her in our family.

Kim's account

On Tuesday, I had a doctor appointment and I was informed my doctor would be away from Wednesday night to Monday. She stripped my membranes, hoping I would go into labor before she left. On Wednesday, Sept. 8th, I worked 2-11. I was uncomfortable the whole shift and it hurt to walk, but that was nothing new..the baby's head was so low she was practically coming out of me. I got off work and told Andy I was more uncomfortable than normal so he suggested taking a bath. It was a good idea, because I got to shave my legs :). We went to bed around 12:30ish and I remember I first got a contraction that was more painful at 12:50. That's when I started counting contractions. I got out of bed and thought if I went to the bathroom they might get better...cuz I couldn't be in labor... I thought for sure I would be late (my due date was Sept 9th). I had a really painful contraction in the bathroom and I couldn't breathe during it. That's when a nurse I talked to a couple of days prior told me to come in-when I couldn't breathe during a contraction. I woke Andy up and he told me to walk around. Since my contractions weren't super consistent, I complied, but I thought he would walk with me...nope...he went back to sleep. I walked around our living room and I had another one and I woke Andy up and told him we're going to the hospital because I didn't want to be in pain anymore. He thought it was a fluke, but since I was in pain he got up and put on the clothes he had on earlier...khakis and a nice button up shirt. I was wearing bright maroon scrubs. We looked awesome. Like he said before, we stopped at 7-11 for him to get a slurpee, but that was because I told him to drive around. I still wasn't sure if I was in labor or not. Well we got to the hospital and I sat in the car for a bit, because I was afraid if we went in they would send us away. I told Andy to drive around some more so he started pulling out of the parking lot and I had a SUPER bad contraction that made me nauseous. I told him I was going to throw up and he quickly parked and went to go get a wheelchair. While he was gone, I did throw up and I remember looking up and seeing that RN Andy mentioned earlier just looking at me. He probably had no clue what he should do, so he just watched. We got up to Labor and Delivery and they saw us coming and had the doors opened and ready for us...normally you have to check in at a window and then they unlock the doors for you. I first got checked around 1:45 and like Andy said, I was at a 3+. I was so disappointed, because I was in so much pain, but I was only a centimeter higher than what I was the day before. She told us she would check me in an hour and that hour somehow passed and I was still at a 3+ and normally they would send you home if you still hadn't dilated. BUT, I had thrown up twice more during that time so she decided to call the on-call doctor to see what he would say. Good news! He said I could stay and be given some fluids and anti-nausea stuff to see if that would help. Every time the nurse would come in she would ask me to rate my pain from 1-10. I hate that question. Since I could barely think or breathe when she was talking to me, I think that was a good enough answer for her. I don't know how many times I told this nurse "I don't like being in pain. I don't want to be in pain anymore. Can I please have something?". Pretty pathetic, but holy smokes. It's like a pain I can't even describe. At 3, Andy called my mom to tell her I was in the hospital and she should probably come up. We still weren't sure how long I would be able to stay in the hospital, but we knew we were having the baby that day. Around 3:45, the nurse checked me again and I was a 4+! I was finally given some pain killers that worked for like 45 more minutes and then the contractions were really painful again. My mom got to Logan around 5:30 and that's when things started to get exciting. Around 6, I was checked again and I was dilated to a 5+ . I got my epidural(which didn't hurt at all and probably saved my life...or sanity) and my water broke at 6:18. That was the weirdest feeling. I felt a pop and then a gush of water. When my nurses were cleaning up the fluid, they noticed Meconium in it, which meant the baby had a bowel movement while still inside of me and they were nervous about it getting into her lungs. Also during this time, the baby's heart rate dropped from around 130 to about 80 after contractions. I was quickly put on oxygen and given a shot to slow down contractions. At 7:20, I was checked again I remember my nurse, Heather, looking up at me and said calmly "Well, you're dilated to a 10". So, in just over an hour, I dilated 5 centimeters. Thank goodness for that epidural and I got it right in the nick of time. We were then told they like to wait an hour for the baby and mom to rest before pushing. So, Andy slept and I kinda dozed in and out. Around 9, the room was set up and I started pushing. Even though I had the epidural, I could feel the pressure of the contraction. Apparently her head was stuck or something because the nurse could see her head for a long time before her head crowned. At 11, the on-call doctor, Dr. Craig, came up and at 11:12am Evelyn Elizabeth was born. Andy cut the cord and then she was handed off to the NICU nurses to suck everything out of her lungs. About 10 minutes later I was able to hold her for the first time and I looked at her and she looked at me and I was smitten. She was and still is such a good baby. We love her so much and are so grateful she is part of our family. So, there you have it. And this is the short version too. Ha.

A little blurry, but this is what I spend the majority of my time doing

Don't judge that she doesn't have clothes on. We just got back from a walk and she was hot and sweaty.

We think she's perfect and the cutest baby ever. Typical parent, I guess

Coming home from the hospial

After her first bath

Evelyn Elizabeth Yerka

We had our baby! Hooray!

The story.....

Kim and I got home about 11:15pm on Wednesday night after she got off work and I finished studying for the evening. Nothing out of the usual at this point. Kim was feeling a little tense so we decided to take a bath to help her relax. After scripture study and prayer, we finally hit the sack around 12:15am.

True to form, I passed out very quickly. This rest however was to be short lived. Kim began feeling contractions after the first few minutes and at about 12:30, Kim gently woke me up and told me she was feeling contractions. In return, I instructed her to go walk around for a bit and maybe they'll feel a bit better. So she got out of bed and walked out of the room. Feeling smug that she took the sound advice of her infinitely wise husband, I seamlessly slipped back into my nocturnal coma.

I was quickly awakened when it was clear that her contractions were more than just uncomfortable, they hurt!

So, like any good husband, I peeled myself out of my nice, warm bed, got dressed, put my dear wife in our car, and drove to 7-Eleven to get a delicious Dr. Pepper Slurpee. (We were in it for the long haul, after all)

As we got to the hospital parking lot, Kim was in a considerable amount of pain. I told her to stay in the car as I went and got a wheelchair from the lobby. (I think it's an unwritten law that the hospital won't take your 'labor' seriously until you're in a wheelchair.) As I got the wheelchair, there was a (male) RN taking out the garbage. I exchanged a cordial nod and went back out to the parking lot where I found my dear spouse on her hands and knees next to the car emptying the entire contents of her stomach onto the pavement. Lovely.

As I picked her up and wheeled her in, it dawned on me that the RN had just witnessed this entire ordeal and must have made a conscious decision to not get involved.

After that, we got her upstairs to delivery, she got in her gown and all hooked up to their machines, and we started the waiting game. When the nurse first checked her cervix, she was only dilated to a 3+. We then had to wait an hour for her to be checked again. Usually, at this point, if you're not dilating anymore, they send you home. (Not on Kimmie's wish list.)

So, at about 2:45am, nurse comes back in, lubes up the glove, and tells us the words we really don't want to hear....still at a 3. At this point, I'm convinced Heavenly Father invoked the Imperius Curse because she stopped and said; "Let me call the doctor and see what he thinks." Thank heavens! Doctor said to keep us another hour and at 3:45ish she had dilated to a 4+ and Kimmie was deemed a "Keeper."

With Kimmie's mom on her way up to Logan, and her cervix dilating, we were ready to have this baby! The overnight RN was switched out at 5:00am for a new one (Heather) and her RN-in-training (Whitney), and they were great! Eventually, Kim finally got her epidural and we both spent the wee hours of the morning dozing while she was still contracting.

At 7:40 her cervix was checked again, and she was at a full 10! Go time! (Well, almost) They like to wait an hour after full-dilation before starting to push to help the process go a little more smoothly. So at about 9:00, we had her in their little stirrups, and we were pushing!

At this point, I'm instructed to mention that earlier in the evening, Evelyn's heart rate was dropping a bit after each contraction so Heather was a bit concerned and put Kimmie on oxygen just as a precaution. Thankfully, nothing serious became of it.

At about 11:00am, the doctor and crew were all on the room and the magic was about to happen!

I would like to make a point here. To all future fathers; hold here hand, rub her back, help her push, and encourage her, but whatever you do, DON'T LOOK!

At 11:12am, Evelyn Elizabeth Yerka was born. She weighed in at 7lbs, 3 oz, 19.5 inches long, and she has 10 fingers and 10 toes. Mom and Grandma were instantly reduced to tears and we were all just so happy to have her in our arms!

After about an hour, they moved us up to our recovery room where we would stay for they next 48 hours and they would wait on us hand-and-foot! The hospital staff were really nice and helpful. I'll publicly give props to Logan Regional right here and now. They were great.

We were discharged at 12:00pm on Saturday and we've been home and happy since.

Thanks for reading, and below are some pictures for your enjoyment!

First time in Mom's arms.

Baby Evelyn!

All things considered, I'd say she looks pretty good!

"Now listen here, you! You're not gonna give me any trouble in 13-18 years!"

Our new family.

She did not appreciate this picture...at all.

What a champ!

Sleepy time.

I think we made a pretty cute kid.

She LOVES her hands in her face.

First time in Grandma's arms. (Grandma really loves her!)

Not ashamed to admit I am 50% responsible for this.

Evelyn with Aunt Heidi.

Hi Grandma!

Evelyn with Aunt Camille.

Grandpa really loves her.

Nap time with Daddy.

Cousin Eli with Evelyn.

Where is Uncle Chris?!

Evelyn with Great-Grandpa Fred.

Evelyn with Great-Grandma Nancy.

Grandpa loves you!

Look at those toes! Those are Yerka toes!

Time to go home, Evelyn.

Mommy and Daddy love you.

Grandma and Grandpa at the hospital.

Uncle Andrew, Scott, and Aunt Jess came to visit.

I don't think Grandpa Kevin could be any happier.

It's been a while

I'm still pregnant. We did take some pregnancy pics from our personal photographer, Alayna Bean, so when I get those I'll put them up. Anyways, I had what I hope to be my last appointment today since my due date this Friday, the 9th. I'm dilated to a 2 and 80-90% effaced (my doctor has a hard time telling how effaced I am because the baby's head is in front of the cervix). She stripped my membranes today and then told me she'll be out of town til Monday...which is almost a week away. So, hopefully I'll either have the baby tomorrow or anytime after Monday. Ha. My life has become super uncomfortable lately. Sitting in the car is the worst. My ribs feel so bruised after sitting only for a little bit of time. I'm still able to sleep pretty well, but I do wake up early in the morning to go to the bathroom and then I have a hard time falling asleep again. Poor Andy. He's a light sleeper and wakes up practically every time I move. Our baby is a mover lately and it makes me really grateful because we've had a few scares. We're so happy and excited for the next stage in our life and we are trying to be patient to wait this last little bit. Have a wonderful day!

Fence Sitting

I’m 25 years old. I have a home, a beautiful wife, and our first child (a girl!) on the way. I’m almost done with my Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations. I plan on getting an MBA shortly after. I’d say things are going very well for me, right now. They say most humans spend 90% of their conscious hours thinking about themselves. With everything going on in the world right now, I’m almost ashamed to say I’m a statistic.

I was born and raised a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. A Mormon. Growing up, church wasn’t much of a choice but rather a mandatory 3 hours of painful boredom enforced by my parents. When I became a teenager and moved out, I wasn’t under their roof, and therefore I wasn’t under their rules. I didn’t have to go to church anymore. “Halleluiah!” From the time I was 14 to about 21, I never rejected my affiliation with the church, but it was safe to say that I was thoroughly inactive. My friends, music, girls, games, and good times were much more important. I believed in God, but obviously not enough to show any conviction to change my bad habits, and even worse attitudes. Even as my college career progressed, it was still so important to me to wear my Chuck Taylors, my studded belt, my ratty old hat, and spend every dime I had (or didn’t have) on good times and nice stuff. God was in the background.

I had no job. I started school. I started dating. I broke up. Started dating again. Got a job. I got married. Quit school. I got divorced. Lost my job. Started School. I started dating again. I broke up. Quit school. Got a job. Started dating again. Broke up again. Kept my job…for a while.

I was beginning to think I was bound for failure. My love life always ended in failure, my college career was a failure, and my financial situation was a complete disaster. At the time, it was pretty easy for me to play the Blame Game. Life took a steaming dump on an otherwise great guy!

I was lost. I mulled through life by the strength of my own arm, and stuck in my teenage mentality. I was perfectly content listening to the most vulgar music (which was reflected in my foul language), watching the most vulgar movies and television (or worse), playing the most vulgar video games, and participating in very unbecoming activities. I did whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Funny thing is, even with all my freedom in the world, I could feel the bondage.

They say hindsight is always 20/20. I know why I failed and failed again. The answer is simple: I was on the wrong side of the fence. All the time. I put myself there, and I kept myself there.

As a Mormon, I professed to have an understanding of who Jesus Christ is, what he’s done for me, and what my relationship to him is. I’m ashamed to say my actions did not mirror my beliefs. It wasn’t until I started to repent and draw nearer to God that I began to understand. We live in tumultuous times. Satan is a very real adversary that continuously strives to blur the lines of right and wrong. He works very hard to get us to compromise here a little, and compromise there a little. He wants us so close to the fence of what’s right and wrong because he knows that if he can get us sitting on it, he’s winning.

I was sitting on that fence for years. I figured that my crimes weren’t so egregious that I was beyond salvation. I was a generally good guy. I didn’t regularly compromise my own personal standards. I could still do what I wanted and “love” God, right? Wrong. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

Long story short, in a world that increasingly yields to destruction of families, destruction of mind, destruction of body, and destruction of their personal relationship to their Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, when the choice is put before me, I know which side of the fence I’ll be standing.

The latest

It has been busy here in the Yerka household, for many reasons.

1. We went on a much needed vaca to Fish Lake with friends and had the most relaxing time ever.

2. The day after we came home from our vaca, we moved into a house. Luckily, I felt like I got a lot packed and cleaned before we left and we had a lot of help. Thanks to everyone who helped us! We love living here...even though the yard needs a lot of work.

3. I got promoted at my job. I still work full-time at Lowes working as a cashier at the customer service desk, but now my title is "Head Cashier" so I am in charge of the 10-15 other cashiers. This means I'll be going back to work full-time after the baby is born, so hopefully it will work out ok.

4. Andy is now in 4 Summer classes, including a math class. Homework takes up a good amount of his time.

5. I am 28 weeks now and the baby is growing...at least I think so. People are so surprised when they find out I'm 7+ months pregnant. But, the doctor said the baby is growing at the right rate and everything is fine, so I'm not worried. I started my 3rd trimester and I just can't believe how fast this is going. Before I know it, we'll have this baby and there is still so much I want to do with Andy. Like how we NEED to go camping sometime this summer...

Here's a little story about the baby. A couple of nights ago, Andy was laying with his head on my stomach talking to the baby about his day. All the sudden, the baby kicked Andy in the face. It was so funny. The baby already has an attitude. Ha. I hope this post finds you well and have a wonderful day!

We've got a mover!

The baby's moving! It's been about 2 weeks since I first felt the baby move and I love it! It's such a surreal thing to feel something inside of you moving. About a week ago, Andy felt the baby for the first time. I think he thinks it's weird, but really, it's his first connection with the baby. I mostly feel the baby when I'm lying down. 11:30 pm is when I feel the baby the most.

We went to see our doctor today and everything is still good and healthy. I'll start my 24th week tomorrow and I'm in my 6th month. It's gone by so fast! Our doctor asked us to start looking for pediatricians and to start the birthing classes. I just cannot believe it's getting closer to be thinking about that. I'm still not showing that much...I've been told that since I have a long torso, I'll probably not show all that much. However, my jeans and some shirts don't fit anymore, so I now wear maternity pants. They are SO much more comfortable than my regular jeans! At the doctor's I found out I gained 9 pounds this month. Holy crap! I still throw up about 3 times a week so I can't believe I gained that much weight!

In other news, Andy finished his spring semester with all A's! Way to go! He works really hard and I'm proud of him. We have some big things coming up...we are moving June 6th to a house a couple of blocks away. We're super excited to have a house to ourselves and to have a yard. It's a little stressful though, because we're going on vacation to Fish Lake with friends the week before we move. We didn't plan it that way...that's just how it is. I'm trying really hard to have our apartment packed and cleaned before we move. Luckily, we have a garage where we can store the boxes and furniture.

I just feel really blessed right now. I'm so lucky to have a wonderful husband who works so hard and tries his best to do the right thing. I'm so thankful our baby is healthy. I'm so thankful I'm healthy so I can have a baby. I'm so blessed to be a member of a church that believes in eternal families. I'm so thankful I was married in the temple and that I know that I am a daughter of God. Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is probably one of the most important aspects of my life. It shapes everything I do. I'm so thankful for a living prophet and for inspired leaders who teach with faith and love. I don't really know why I felt the need to share all that, but I just feel so blessed right now. I hope you have a wonderful day!

BIG NEWS!

We had our big ultrasound this morning and we found out the baby is a GIRL!!!!!! We are so excited! We also found out everything is healthy with the baby. I guess the wife tale of "the sicker you are, the healthier the baby" is true. She's about the size of a pop can...roughly 6-9 inches. As we were looking at the ultrasound, I had one of my arms propped up behind my head and the tech showed us a picture of the baby's head and she had one of her arms propped up behind her head the same way I was. It was really funny. Like mother, like daughter. Anyways, we are super excited and super happy today. Have a wonderful day!

Sea bands?

This morning I threw up twice. It was pretty awful, especially because I was at work. Both Andy and I are baffled about why I'm still sick. I mean, I'm 18 weeks and while I'm definitely not as sick as I used to be, I can't seem to stop throwing up. Andy's co-worker told him about sea bands, which look like wrist warmers athletes wear and have a plastic thing that puts pressure on the pressure point on the wrist. This co-worker swears by them and we're pretty desperate at this stage. So, we bought them and I am now wearing them. I don't know if they are helping yet. Have any of you tried them? Success or no?

We're moving!

When our landlord subtly told us he only wanted married couples with no children living here we decided it was time to move. We asked around for good, cheap, 2-bedrooms places and we were told a house would be opening up. A house? Really? We won't have to hear our upstairs neighbors' conversations and footsteps all the time? We'll have a yard? 2-bedrooms? Ok. I guess it'll work. Ha. It happens to be where Jason and Kiley lived once upon a time and we're really excited about it, because it will be so nice to have a place of our own we won't have to share with anybody. Our whole married lives, we've been living with others, from old women to noisy neighbors. Bless their hearts. June 6th is the moving day, but I feel like it is tomorrow, because there is so much to do and plan and I don't have time (and neither does Andy) to finish everything. When I have the energy, I'm trying to get things done....drawers organized, packing things we won't need for the time being, cleaning, etc. We're excite for this new stage and hopefully everything will work out the way we want them to!

I married a good one

Lately I have been too tired to do anything when I get home from work. Thus, our apartment is a little dirty, and we have run out of some essentials for food-which we discovered when I had Andy make me pancakes one morning and we were out of eggs. Oops. Yesterday, I came home for lunch and Andy informed me he had gone shopping. He told me he had purchased everything a pregnant women needs and then sent me on a scavenger through our apartment to see what he bought. There was chocolate on the table, a row of granola bars in the cupboard, yogurt and fruit cups in the fridge, and powerade in our pantry. It was really sweet of him to do that.

The people I work with have noticed I have been feeling better. I've gotten numerous comments today about how much better I look. Ha. I'm glad it shows.

Andy has some news to share as well. Not only was he promoted with a pay raise at work, but he was offered another job on campus that is for his major and pays as well. We are blessed. I hope you are doing well and have a wonderful day!

2nd visit

We just got back from the doctor and here are the stats:
Baby's heartbeat: 168 beats a minute
My weight: 147 (I've gained 7 pounds so far)
My 16th week starts tomorrow
She said everything is sounding normal and healthy, which I'm very grateful for. On April 21st, we have the big ultrasound where we will find out the sex of our baby. (We are going to find out the sex ps) We're pretty excited about that. I'm FINALLY feeling better. It's nice not to wake up nauseous. I'm still tired all the time, but that's to be expected. My only food aversion so far is eggs. Just thinking about eating eggs makes me want to throw up.
In other news of our lives, Andy is at a conference today and tomorrow for his major (Public Relations). He's excited about the possibility of a Summer Internship and he's been handing out his resume to prospective employers. I'm really happy for him and it's been fun to see him enjoying this. Right now Andy interns at the PR office on campus and somehow all his co-workers think we already have a baby. I can't remember how it came about, but Andy's too chicken to tell them otherwise now. Anyways, I'm going to this dinner tonight at the conference where I'll meet his co-workers. He called me just barely to remind me we already have a child and to go with it if I get asked about it. It's kinda funny. That's about all I can think of now. I hope you are doing well and have a wonderful day!

The best people in the world

Andy. I had a miserable morning at work. I was sick, throwing up, and light-headed. Andy knew of my ailments and did the best thing he could have done for me....he brought me anti-nausea medicine to work. This is only one example of how wonderful he is to me. He knows how to make me feel better...always.

My Aunt Chris. I grew up at her house (it was only around the corner) and I love her so much. She is such an example of faith and long-suffering. She found out last year she has pancreatic cancer and there wasn't much hope for her. Regardless, she had complete faith and trust in the Lord and I just found out this morning her CAT scan showed no signs of cancer. It makes me so happy to hear that, especially because she has a son leaving on a mission next month. She is an incredible example to me.

My Mom. She is hands-down the best women I know. I feel so blessed to have her in my life and for the example she is to me. My mom went through one of the hardest divorces I can imagine and she did it without complaining and had complete faith. I hope to someday be like her, not just as a mother, but as a person.

This is just a small sample of all the wonderful people in my life. I feel so blessed to have so many wonderful people who care about me. Thank you for all you do!

Tidbits

I was having a wonderful shower tonight... it was so great and relaxing. As I was stepping out of the shower, I stepped on something, but didn't think anything of it. Hours later I went in to brush my teeth and noticed a black thing in the tub. The thing I stepped on was actually a large spider. I stepped on that thing BAREFOOT. I'm so disgusted, it makes me want to throw up. Yuck. The joys of poor eyesight. Ha.

In other news, I'm still sick. I'll have a good day every now and again, but mostly I am feeling pretty yucky and tired. I am DONE throwing up. Or I should say I WISH I was done throwing up. Andy says this will be a our only baby because of how hard this has been for me. We'll see. Ha

Today I found out I am Employee of the Month! Hooray! I can park wherever I want and I get a gift card! My suspicion is my bosses feel sorry for me, because I go to work sick all the time. I really needed some motivation, because I actually cry going to work(and sometimes at work). I'm thinking it's time to go part-time, but I can do this, right?

March is my birthday month. I've always loved having my birthday in March...it's almost Spring and when I was in school, it was over Spring Break. Plus, all the best people I know have birthdays this month :) I think this year Andy and I will go to St. George for my birthday. We really need a break and some warmer weather. I'm excited! I hope this post finds you well and have a wonderful day(or night depending on when you read this ha)!

Memory Lane

Andy has to work until 1 AM tonight and I have a hard time falling asleep without him. So, I do random things to keep my entertained. Like tonight, I read all my old blog postings and I'm glad I did. There were a lot of things I had forgotten that happened to us. It was fun to read them again and to remember the good(and hard) times.
Moving on the the present, something monumental happened this week. We FINALLY went to the doctor. It was an incredible experience because we were able to have an ultrasound and we saw and heard the baby! Nothing short of amazing. I couldn't believe that something is growing inside of me. She said our due date is Sept. 9th (sorry Chelsa, not the 14th anymore ha) and the baby is 4 inches long. 4 inches. Can you believe that? Andy couldn't stop looking at the ultrasound pictures and neither could I. Another positive is that I think the morning sickness is subsiding a bit. I still throw up almost every day, but after I do that, I feel fine most of the time, other than being tired. I think I'm starting my 13th week, which means I'm almost done with my first trimester. Have I really been pregnant this long? Crazy.
In other news, Colin Firth won the Oscar for his role in the King's Speech. I can't wait to see that movie. I've heard so many wonderful things about it, but of course there was the one scene to make it rated R. So, I have to wait. But, I love him as an actor and I'm happy he's finally receiving recognition. (He's Mr. Darcy for all you Jane Austin fans). That's about all I want to write about now. If I had a scanner, I would scan the ultrasound pics, but I'm sure you can imagine what they look like...a little peanut with sprouts for hands and legs. Truly incredible and darling. Have a wonderful day!

Big News! (or maybe old news for some of you ha)

I guess it's time to tell you I'm pregnant! It's a huge surprise, but that's ok. We're excited...it took me a month, but I can honestly say I'm excited now. I'm super sick and not just in the mornings, but I hear it's worth it in the end. Ha. We're due September 14th, right in between Andy's birthday and our 2 year anniversary. Any ideas for morning sickness? I do all the classic stuff...I need some new ideas.

In other news, we sold the Jag which was a major blessing. We were able to make money off of it, even though it was a huge stressor for me.

Andy decided he HAD to build a computer. So now we have this monster computer that he named "Brutus". Boys.

I cut my hair and highlighted it. Actually I did that a couple of months ago, but I haven't gotten around to posting pics. Someday I'll be better about that.

That's about all in the lives of Andy and Kim. Stay tuned for more adventures!

My favs right now

I was organizing my kitchen today and this song came on my MP3 player and I realized how much I loved this song. I have a horrible memory so I decided I wanted to wanted to write down my favorite things right now. Off the top of my head my favorites are...
Songs

• Last Call by Plain White Tees. This is the song that inspired this. I love the rhythms of this song. So good.
  
• Dynamite by Taio Cruz. I love dancing and singing to this song. It makes me happy.
  
• King of Anything by Sara Bareilles. I love her songs. Her lyrics are so good. And even Andy likes this song :)
  

Foods

• Pizza. I love pizza...any kind, except frozen.
  
• Cheese Bread. Kinda weird, but it's so easy and so tasty. Basically, cheese and bread are my staples.
  
• Tater Tots. I think I'm going to make Tater Tot casserole tonight cuz now I'm craving them.

Movies

• Tangled. Such a good Disney movie. I loved it...laughed, cried, sang along...
  
• Stardust. Adventure, love, and suspense all rolled into one. Such a good one.
• Juno. I bought this movie before I even saw it, because I knew I would love it from the previews. The downside, is that swearing is frequent, but I love the story line and how funny it is.
  

TV Shows

• Castle. I love Nathan Fillion, who is the main character and the writing is so witty and funny!
• Friends. If I get the chance I love watching this show.
• Dancing with the Stars. I felt like I should include a "reality" show and this is my fav out of that category.

Things to do

• Reading. I love reading pretty much anything I can get my hands on.
• Window shopping with Andy. We love dreaming about our future.
  
• Playing games with my family. I wish we lived closer to them so I could see them more often.

That's probably enough favorites for now. Have a wonderful day!

Our lives have been busy

So far this year...and it's only been 6 days....we have

• bought a Jaguar
• bought a Pontiac Bonneville
• taught Sunday school
• Andy got another job
• Worked, worked, and worked
  

Holy smokes! I was not anticipating all of this craziness. The most important thing is that we had a wonderful holiday filled with family and fun times. We hope you did too and happy new year!