Introducing Our Baby Girl!

Roland and I are looking forward to this February with a new type of excitement this year! Sometime around February 10th, a baby girl will join our little family! We have decided what we are going to name her, but we are not putting it up on the internet . . . so that is one surprise that will just have to wait for February! :)

We found out that I was pregnant right away, mostly because I just suddenly started feeling sick and was throwing up at least once a day. Roland figured that if it was some sort of bug, like I thought it was, it should be going away, and it wouldn't hurt for me to at least take the home pregnancy test to find out if I was or wasn't. So, one morning, I took the test, and guess what . . . it said PREGNANT! I was super excited! Roland smiled and said, "I knew that you were!" We did a little happy dance in our tiny little apartment! I set up an appointment for us to go see my OB, whom I LOVE, and Roland started plotting on how we could tell all of our friends and family! We decided to tell Roland's parents right before they left to move out to Seattle, that way we could tell them in person, we also told my parents around the same time. I thought it would be kind of fun to wait to tell our siblings for a little bit, because Roland's sister, Nicole (who is also going to be having a baby) was coming to visit us. Once the news was out, it has been fun being able to just smile and say, "Yes, I am going to be a Mommy!"

14 1/2 weeks. 18 weeks. 21 weeks, and 25 weeks

At the end of September we found out that we are having a little baby girl! It was so much fun seeing how active she is on the ultrasound screen! We had to stay in there a little longer, because she wouldn't sit still long enough to let them get the pictures of the head and heart that they needed! It was love at first sight! :) It was kind of funny how, Roland and I had a boy's name picked out, but we were still decided on the girl's name . . . but it was almost right at the moment that we both found out she was a girl, we both knew what we wanted to name her, and it was the same name! :)

Ultrasound pictures of her feet, ears, flexing her arm, and of her spin at 21 weeks!

I love being pregnant and being able to feel my baby girl come to life inside of me! Roland loves to poke at her and feel her kick back at him . . . I tell him that he should stop teaching his daughter how to "beat" me up! :) I can already tell that she is taking after her daddy, because she likes to "tickle" me from the inside of my belly just like her daddy like to tickle me, but I guess that is what I get for being so ticklish! She loves it when we listen to music, especially piano and Primary songs. Sometimes I think she is most active when I am sitting in church or reading the scriptures out loud, it makes me smile. The newest trick that she has learned is to kick the monitor and then roll over, when I go into the doctor to listen to her heartbeat, so the nurse has to play "hide and seek" to find it! It is so cute!

3D picture of her face, and a couple profile shots including ones of her pointing to her nose and sucking on her fingers!

Once the first trimester was over, I started being able to keep more food down, which was something that I was excited about! The only thing that I really need to stay away from is Orange Juice, which makes me sad, because I love it! I have been craving like crazy chips and salsa, carrots, Chinese food, and of course ice cream! I get heartburn no matter what I eat, so I just live off of Tums and milk!

I have decided that the only thing that makes me happier than knowing that I am going to be an Auntie to a beautiful baby boy, is knowing that only a couple months later, I am going to be a Mommy of a beautiful baby girl! :) It is so much fun being able to go through my pregnancy with my sister-in-law, Nicole! I am super excited to be able to watch out babies grow up together! Our family is getting just a little bit bigger, and it makes me count my blessings to know, that we will be together forever!

Fresh Starts in September

So, I have been horrible at keeping this updated . . . and I have decided I am going to try a little harder to be a little better! Wish me luck! :)

For Roland, some new adventures started in September . . . well, maybe not new, more like a second chapter of the same adventure! September brought the beginning of his second year of college. And now, that the semester is well on its way, he says that he is feeling more part of the campus life. He thinks that part of it might be because he is working on campus . . . three jobs! He works a couple afternoons a week in a Chemistry computer lab (making sure that everybody signs in and keeps the lab clean), he works a couple hours in the Chemistry stock room (checking in and out lab equipment), and he also grades lab reports for a teacher. He seems to be enjoying being able to be on campus and "part" of that world. He still works a couple nights a week at Target. And with all of that, he stays very busy, but for the most part, he loves it!

September brought us another fun adventure . . . we moved into a new apartment! Oh, boy, I can't tell you how much I love this new place! It has been so much fun moving into our new home! It is much more roomy and we probably well be staying here until Roland is done with his undergraduate degree. It is a two-bedroom apartment with a fairly open concept floor plan for the living space. One thing that Roland LOVES about this apartment is that the kitchen is big enough that you can fit the kitchen table in it AND still have two people working (cooking/cleaning) in it at the same time! I love how even when we had absolutely nothing unpacked, it still felt like home to me . . . and every unpacked box has just added to it! Another thing that we have found that we love is that we have room to invite people over for dinner and there is enough room for everyone without having to rearrange the whole apartment! It might be still a small apartment compared to some, but it is the perfect place for us . . . close to campus and the interstate, the price was right, and best of all, it is our new home together! :)

I also started up my own business in September! I am officially a Pampered Chef Consultant and I am super excited about this new business of mine! One of the things I love about it is that I can make my own schedule and still earn money to help support Roland threw school! This also means that I can be a stay at home mommy! :) I love how much Pampered Chef works with you to help you be successful! My director is AMAZING and she is a wonderful source of information! Even though I am very new in the business and have only been a consultant for about a month, I have already seen the benefits that it has on my life! In this economic time, where so many are being laid off or having trouble finding a job, I feel so blessed to have to opportunity to be working. I love my new job, it is so much fun and I get to do a couple of the things I love to do: meet and party with new friends AND make and eat YUMMY food! What is there about this you could not love? :)

We have found that sometimes life doesn't turn out the way that you think it is going to, but that is still okay. If you live your life getting caught up in the what if's and could have's, you will miss out on the even better right now’s and will be's! It is good to plan ahead in your life and work towards your goals, but if a change of plans comes along, remember that it is all part of God's plan for us, and He knows what He is doing, because He can see the big picture! :)