36 weeks

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. I'm down to the last of this. Actually, baby might be coming sooner than we thought. The doctor told me to try to take it easy for the next week or we'll have a baby by the weekend. The baby has dropped and I am really feeling it in my lower back. I can barely life my legs to get dressed. Mostly I feel pretty good, though. I did want the baby to be a little early so that is exciting that I'm already starting. Dave takes the MCAT next Tuesday and he's been studying hard. Just as long as the little guy can wait until he's done with that, I'll be satisfied. I definitely didn't think the baby would come before our apartment was finished. It would be nice to be in our own place, but I think they'll be a lot of good things about living with Dave's parents when the baby comes. Luckily, the baby stuff, though not with us, is very accessible, so I'll probably go over and get it soon.

Wow, its been a while.

Okay, I've been really out of the blogging loop. We're still living with Dave's parents. Its been pretty good. Our apartment is coming along. We'll probably be a few more weeks out. Ana's been sleeping in the computer room so that cuts out my usual computer time to get all caught up on blogs. I've missed it! Here's whats going on.

They flood irrigate their back lawn here. The one time it was warm enough to play in it, Ana loved it. At first she was a little concerned with the water coming into the yard, but she got over it.


They have cows right behind their house, too. Ana loves to go stand on the ditch "bridge" and watch the cows. She'll say, "come here cows" and wave to them to try to get them to come closer.
My mother-in-law has been hand quilting her entire life. She quilted us a beautiful quilt when we got married and Ana also has a grandma quilt. I couldn't pass up this opportunity to learn. We finished this quilt yesterday. My first few stitches were awful, but I am slowly getting the hang of it. It'll be fun to do another one.

3 years later...

Saturday was our anniversary. 3 years ago we were married in the Salt Lake Temple. Dave sent me flowers, and they are beautiful! We went to see Iron Man and we liked it. Then we drove out to Twin Falls and went to The Garden Cafe for dinner. It was really yummy. We splurged and got steak and lobster and it was worth the money. So yummy! It was a fun day.

On Sunday in Relief Society we talked about preparing for the Temple. (The Young Women attended also.) It was fun for me to think about my first time going to the temple, especially since it was our anniversary last week. I thought about my experience then and everything that was wonderful about that week we got married.

I love you, Dave! Thanks for a great 3 years. I'm looking forward to the next 3 (and many more) with you!

I am a Mother

I have been reading this book. It's written to LDS mothers, and I found it particularly applicable to me. Its a great book with some good insights. She writes about her experiences, as both a single professional and a full time mom, and quotes many Church leaders who have spoken about the importance of motherhood.

It made me stop and reflect on my role as a mother. I thought about all the times I go on autopilot mothering, or just try to keep Ana occupied by herself instead of playing with her. While thinking of the influence that I really have as a mother, I feel like I should be a more involved mother - playing with Ana more, doing Family Home Evening more diligently, being more consistant with my discipline.

It also made me think about the "Supermom" trend that I feel is all around. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed when I see other moms with perfectly clean, decorated homes who seem to find time to scrapbook, have a side business, sew, bake, and whatever else. But really, I just want to be a good mother. Thoughtful, warm, affectionate, loving. What does it matter if the floor doesn't get vacuumed for one more day? Or I send a store bought Thank You instead of making them myself? Its okay. What is really important is that I am a mother.

Blog slacker = blacker

So yeah, I have been a fat blog slacker lately. I have come to terms with it and I hope you can too.

I am not working at the place on the square where I thought I would be working. Instead I will be doing PSR work for a different agency. I am just starting with them tomorrow. It will be better this way, but we still haven't had much income lately. We are glad we will be living in Rick's apartment when it is finished instead of the place we had chosen before, it will be less money and we are living much cheaper with my parents for another couple weeks until it is finished.

Also, Ana's crib is in the office at my parents' house. This means no computer usage after about 7:30-8:00 usually. Because of this I will probably continue to be somewhat of a blacker for the next couple weeks.

Quick Trip

We made a quick trip to Pocatello and Rexburg on Sunday-Monday. Sunday we celebrated my sister's b-day (Happy birthday, H!) and then Monday we went up to Rexburg. Dave had an interview a committee letter of recommendation so we had to make a trip. We also found Dave some new khaki pants, and some new black dress shoes for myself. And we even got to see some friends from our ward, which was fun.

We're still living with Dave's parents. Our apartment will probably be a couple weeks out, but its turning out great! Ana loves having Grandma and Grandpa around and I know they love having her around, too.

A little about Ana these days:

*She is getting more spirited every day. I think I'm going to have to check this book out.
*She talks all day long. She says everything. For the most part it is comprehendable, but sometimes she gets set on something and I have no idea what she is saying.
*She wants to do everything by her "self." Thats what she says too. "myself" or just "self."
*I love her little giggle. She likes to be tickled and played with.
*She can sing "You are my sunshine." It is adorable. As soon as our video camera is unpacked, we'll record it.

I'm back

Wow, its been a while since I updated. But I'm back. We moved all our stuff into Dave's brother's garage while they finish up the apartment we'll be living in, then we took a quick trip to Casper, WY to visit my sis.

We left Wednesday morning. Thursday and Friday, Dave went to work with my bro-in-law to shadow some doctors. Teri and I just played the whole time it was so much fun! Here are some pics from our trip. Its about an 8 hour drive, and Ana did great in the car! We couldn't have asked for better.

On Thursday we went to this really fun park. Ana loved the swings and slides. She would even go down the really big, curvy tube slides by herself. She loved it!

Dave took these pictures of Ana and Natalie. They had a lot of fun, with only occasional hair pulling.


Ana loved baby Claire. Sometimes she would lie on the floor next to her and smile and talk to her. Here she is giving Claire her toys.We also went to this really fun indoor aquatic center. Ana loved it! She had no fear. They had this little frog slide that landed in a foot of water and she went down it over and over. She also wanted to walk in water that was way over her head, and sat down a couple times and went under. She even went down a really big water slide with Dave. It was fun, but boy did we have to watch her close.

We left Sunday after church, and so we're back in Rupert now. Our apartment is still underway, so we're living at Dave's parents house. We have a ton more pictures, so maybe if I'm lacking a post I'll share some more. It feels good to be back in the blogging business.

Quick Update

We've been in Casper, Wyoming now for a few days. I went with Chad to work all day Thursday and Friday. Here is where he works - Central Wyoming Urological Associates

It was really interesting to be there and all the doctors were very friendly, helpful, and happy to answer my questions. I'll just say that I saw a few things that I never want to go through (like this*). Thanks Chad for setting it up!

Today we will go swimming at the aquatic center, or quatiak center as Natalie said it. Pictures of the trip to come later. Probably mostly on Erin's blog.

*Warning: You may wish you never knew this existed. I am not responsible for any self inflicted damage as a result of viewing this. You still clicked on it didn't you? I figured you would.

Mystery Photo Answer

Hokan was right on with his mystery photo guess. It's just that we don't live there anymore so I can't take another full size picture. You'll just have to trust me.

Goodbye Rexburg

Well, this may be my last post for a while. Tomorrow we're going to finish packing, and take our stuff to Rupert. Tuesday we'll officially check out of our apartment and I'll have my last doc appointment here. Then Wednesday we're heading to Wyoming for the rest of the week. Sometimes I feel like I have a lot done, other times I feel like I don't have time to do all I need to do. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Ana has had a hard week. She got an ear infection, and multiple canker sores in her mouth. She stayed overnight without mom and dad for the first time (Thanks Granny!). When she returned, we had tons of people over, and the house is in the process of being packed up. She's been ultra-clingy, but I can understand it a bit. I worry about how she will do with the transition to a new house and then to the new baby.
Today was our last day in our ward. We've known some of the members since we were married. Sacrament Meeting was pretty emotional for me, and then I did my last Sharing Time. Man, I'm going to miss those kids. I'm gonna miss Rexburg. Its been good to us. I've been here five years. Its interesting to think of what all has happened in that time. I definitely didn't think I'd have (almost) 2 kids and be moving to Rupert. Mostly, though, I feel very blessed for the experiences we've had here, and it is hard to leave.

After Church we went up to take pictures by the Temple. Ana wasn't very cooperative, but Dave was very much enjoying his new camera and had fun taking pictures up there. Its been great having a Temple just up the street. We'll probably never live this close again. Though its hard to leave, I know that some great experiences and opportunities await us, and thats exciting!