Baby News - 18 Weeks!

Wow, time is just flying by! I can't believe I am now in the 5th month of pregnancy and in about a week or so, we will get to find out if it's a boy or a girl! I can't even tell you how excited we are for that fun moment :). We went baby shopping/browsing last weekend which was so much fun! I was in the Girl's section, dying to buy all of the adorable little dresses. Meanwhile, Josh was in the Boy's section, picking out little Michael Jordan jerseys and sports action figures... Can you guess which gender we are rooting for? haha. Seriously though, we would both be just as happy to have a boy OR a girl. It's just fun to dream :). 

Just so you know, I am wearing the same outfit in all of my baby bump pictures because it makes it easier to see the growth/progress and at the end of the pregnancy, I want to make a collage that shows the baby bump from the beginning to the end. So NO, I don't wear the same clothes everyday ;).

At 18 Weeks:

All of my cravings have disappeared and I am now feeling almost completely normal! The baby bump is starting to grow more but I am still wearing all of my normal clothes. I no longer have to deal with nausea/vomiting (Praise the Lord!) and I am really starting to have fun with this pregnancy. 

At 16 weeks I felt the baby move for the first time while I was at work! I was beyond excited and couldn't wait to hurry and call Josh to tell him all about it! Now he/she is moving around quite a bit and on Valentines Day Josh got to feel it too! That was another special moment I will forever remember as one of the happiest moments of my life.

Now that I am starting to show more and am actually feeling the baby move around, it all seems more real to me that I am pregnant. I find myself talking to my stomach all the time and smiling like a fool whenever I feel it wiggle. I'm sure I look like a crazy person but I don't really care. 

The only downside to the past month has been having to tell my managers and coworkers that I am pregnant. I don't know why I am getting such a bad response, but it is really depressing! I mean, come on people, women work and have babies all the time! I am no new exception! 

 

Adjusting to the New Life

We have been living in Nevada for two weeks now and things are going pretty well. That's not to say we haven't had our extreme share of stressors, but we are learning that God is in control and there's no point in worrying about things when it always seems to work out perfectly in the end. Here's a run down of the past two weeks:

1) We were living out of our suitcases until our stuff was shipped out here. The pod came about a week later along with our car so we are now in the process of unloading our stuff and basically putting it all into storage until we find a more permanent situation.

2) We bought a new car!! We were both laughing about our choice in vehicle because at the beginning of our relationship, we owned a convertible Mustang and a Ford Explorer and now all we care about is gas prices and how many MPG's our cars get. So we are now the proud owners of two Toyota Yaris's! Who cares about looking cool when you've got the speed of a Toyota, right? Haha. The new car is my little commuter car, since I have to do a lot of traveling with my new job. It's a hatchback so no, we didn't buy two totally identical cars.... 

3) I started my new job! Well, the training and orientation part at least. I've been a Nephrology Nurse since graduation so I already have the job down, it's just the new laws and policies/procedures that come along with working in a new state that I have to learn about. So as you can imagine, it hasn't been too exciting. But I'm really feeling like I'm going to like the new switch from Chronic Kidney Failure to Acute Kidney Failure. It's a whole new world of problems and possibilities for my patients and I can't wait to learn and grow some more in my chosen field!

4) The next big thing on our to do list is to buy a house. We have started looking around the Henderson and Summerlin areas and have gotten really excited about all the possibilities and choices ahead of us! 

5) Baby has been doing great during all of this chaos. Thank goodness the second trimester has been a million times better than the first, or I would be praying for death right now. I just can't imagine trying to sart a new job and moving across the country again with how sick I was. So God has definitely been looking out for me!

6) We have been so lucky to have so much love and support through this big transition. Both of our families are amazing and we love them so much. My family has been so generous to let us stay with them until we find a house to buy and we have loved getting to spend more time with them than we have in  a long time. We also have awesome friends that we have loved being close to again and can't wait for all the fun times in store. Last night we drove to Henderson and hung out with my best friend Jura and her husband. We had a blast talking and catching up in their new beautiful home and laughing so hard we cried during our buffet dinner. I seriously haven't laughed that hard in a long time and it was so nice to feel that happy again. Yet another testament to us that we are right where we belong :).

7) Josh has been hard at work with job interviews and applications. The situation isn't ideal but we have faith that something will come along soon. We are so grateful that I make enough with my job to support us so Josh doesn't have to panic too badly about everything. Like I said before, we have come to the realization that our life is in God's hands and he obviously brought us here for a reason so there's no point in worrying about tomorrow.

8) And then there was our Super Bowl party! As you can see we had a ton of fun! Since Josh is a HUGE 49'ers fan he has lots of jerseys and shirts but sadly it was all packed away for the move so we didn't have any clothes to wear to show our support for San Francisco but we cheered loud and ate wayyyy too much food to make up for it :).

The gang! Way fun party :)

MMMmmmm

Baby News- 14 Weeks

When we first found out we were having a baby, I wanted to keep a strict journal everyday logging every moment of this experience. However, life gets crazy, and in our case... insane. So when I realized I am already 4 months pregnant and still haven't written much about it or even taken a picture, I decided it's time to blog! 

So how do I sum up the past 14 weeks? Well, at 5 weeks I took a pregnancy test and miraculously it was positive, even though I didn't have any symptoms besides horrible acne that decided to suddenly appear out of nowhere. I was so excited thinking, "heck, if being pregnant is this easy, it's going to be great!" Then week 6 arrived.... and with it came the miserable nausea and vomiting along with the complete lack of energy to even get out of bed some days. I had gotten into a really great exercise routine before I found out I was pregnant and had gotten up to running 5 miles and doing weights etc. So I was pretty bummed when that all had to stop because I couldn't sum up the energy to get my butt off the couch :(. I tried a few times to run and it always ended terribly so I gave up on it and just had to keep telling myself, "it's okay, you're pregnant!"

This continued the entire first trimester along with other uncomfortable symptoms that I won't go into detail about. Basically, I found myself constantly wondering, "What the heck is so wonderful and miraculous about this?! It sucks!!!" Eating became a chore because I knew that I would just throw it up anyway, and sleeping was hard because the constant nausea wasn't easy to ignore. I was mad at other women (yes you Mom) for making pregnancy sound so wonderful because it had given me false hope that there could possibly be a bright side to this situation.

And then, at 11 weeks we went to our first OB appointment. It was at that moment when we saw our little baby on the ultrasound monitor, and with the sudden rush of tears and emotion that came over me, I knew it was all going to be worth it! I could have sat there for days just staring at the screen, watching in awe as the baby moved around and seeing its little heart beating. I couldn't believe that miniature human was inside of me! Because I wasn't showing at all, a part of me was so worried that the doctor was going to tell me that I wasn't really pregnant and that it is all in my head. So imagine my relief when I saw proof that I wasn't crazy!! After the appointment, Josh and I went out to breakfast and all we could talk about was that amazing experience we just had and how crazy it is that we are going to be parents and how adorable our baby already is! It was a very emotional day for both of us and I will treasure it forever.

It has been a couple of weeks since then and I am already starting to feel better (Praise the Lord!!). The nausea/vomiting comes and goes but it is so nice to actually have some energy again and to have a few days of feeling normal! I am hoping that this will continue and the second trimester will be much more enjoyable than the first.

As far as cravings go, for some reason I am dying to eat tuna fish and tomato soup! I could eat it breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day if I allowed myself! The problems is, tuna fish contains mercury and that's not something you want to eat in excess when you are pregnant so the doctor told me it is fine as long as I only eat one can a week. This is so sad but I cherish that can and I dream about the next week when I can eat it again.... yes, I sound like a crazy person, I know.... And then there are oranges. That's a craving that seems to be subsiding now, but earlier in the first trimester, I ate a whole bag of Clementines by myself in two days!!

**At 14 weeks I am finally starting to show a little bit, but I mostly just feel bloated. The baby is the size of a lemon and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. He/She can now grimace/squint/frown, suck his/her thumb, and is urinating! I'm going to be starting a new job the first week of February so I hope that I will continue to feel better and I don't find myself running out of a patient's room to go throw up. I haven't felt any kicking or movement yet, and sadly, the acne prevails!! Most acne medications are harmful to a baby so there is very little I can do about it. I just have to hope my face will someday go back to normal and doesn't scar too badly. It has been hard on my self esteem seeing my face look like a pizza but I have the most amazing husband who swears up and down that I am the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. He might be a liar, but he is pretty dang good at it ;). 

"Rock of Ages, Still Rollin'......"

If you aren't a Def Leppard fan, the title of this post won't mean much to you. But for the rest of you 80's rockers, I chose this as the title because that's how our life feels. One minute we are up, the next minute we are down.... but in the end, we just "keep on rollin'" and the party continues. Have I confused you yet? Well keep reading and you will start to understand.

We left our home, jobs, and family like a couple of crazies and moved to North Carolina for a wonderful job opportunity.

At the UNC Homecoming Football Game

About two weeks later, we found out we are going to have a baby in July!

the cute little squirrel's first ultrasound picture :)

Then about a month after that, things started going bad at Josh's work and our faith was tested more than ever before, but we had to "keep on rollin'." We spent our first Christmas away from home/family and it actually turned out to be a really great party! We spent Christmas Eve at a church member's home with the rest of the Branch who had no family to go visit. The food was great and the company was even better! Josh even got to play one of the shepherds with the kids in the nativity pageant they put on for us adults....I'm sad I didn't take pictures because it was pretty dang funny watching him up there with all the kiddos. We will never forget their love and hospitality and are continually grateful for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and all it has done for us in our lives. We invited the missionaries over on Christmas Day for lunch and that too turned out to be pretty dang awesome! It was hard for me to be fighting morning sickness and still trying to cook and be a good hostess but it all worked out perfectly and Josh helped out a lot. It was hard to be homesick when we were constantly surrounded by amazing people.

Opening our presents on Christmas Morning!

The boys loading up on food!

Our guests for Christmas. They had awesome personalities and we had a  lot of fun talking for hours and eating way too much food.

Then a couple of weeks after that, I was offered a job opportunity as an Inpatient Dialysis RN in Las Vegas! It was an answer to our prayers for many reasons. The main one being that we could raise our baby close to family!! This kid is going to be so spoiled by my parents and sisters, and Josh's family will only be a 45 minute plane ride away! That's so much better than 2,000 miles away. Another reason we are so excited about this job is the HUGE increase in pay! I'm not going to give numbers, but let's just say that Nevada is pretty dang nice to its nurses ;). Just days prior, we were feeling really down and wondering why life was taking the strange turns that it was, and if there was anyone upstairs listening to us. Well, I can attest that there was! Now we have about two weeks to pack and move all of our stuff...again... and then......................

LAS VEGAS HERE WE COME!!!

So now does the title of this post make any sense? Our life has been one big crazy party! Sometimes the party was so exciting and wonderful that we couldn't believe it could ever get any better, and other times the party was so lame and sucky that we wished we could ditch it and find another party to go to. But in the end, we kept "Rock and Rollin'" and here we are! Onto the next adventure!   

Thanksgiving 2012

Our Thanksgiving was a little out of the ordinary this year, but since it was so much fun, we might just travel every year! We took a trip to Washington D.C. and spent Thanksgiving Day with Josh's cousins and Aunt/Uncle. They were all so nice and welcoming. We really enjoyed eating/spending time with them and getting to know them better! Thanks for everything Atkinson family!

On Thanksgiving morning, Josh and I got breakfast at IHOP (yum!) and then went to the Bull Run Battlefield and walked along the trails, enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery. The ground was wet in some places so we got pretty muddy, but it was worth it! I remember reading about that place in history books and wishing I could go there and see what it was like....and I got my wish! Maybe by the end of my life I will have gotten to see EVERY historical site that always intrigued me. That means I'm going to have to live a really long time!

Walking along the trail through the battlefield

Where the Battle of Bull Run took place!

The rest of the day was spent eating, laughing, and talking. One couldn't ask for a better Thanksgiving!

The next day we headed out to downtown D.C. to check into our hotel and start day 1 of touring. We purposely got a hotel right next to all the historical sites so we could walk everywhere, but even then, it was a TON of walking! I actually LOST weight this Thanksgiving! ha!

Our first stop was the Capitol Building. It honestly felt like we were in Europe, it was that gorgeous. 

The Library of Congress was AMAZING! It was so beautiful inside, and the books were incredible.

The National Botanical Garden was as gorgeous as it sounds. It would have been really relaxing walking through it if it weren't for all the people! D.C. is incredibly crowded and Josh said this is the off season!

Josh's favorite stop was the National Air and Space Museum. It was pretty dang cool with all the old planes hanging in the air and the space shuttles you could walk through. 

We also visited the National Museum of Natural History. Dinosaurs are always cool, but the mummies were my favorite!

We also stopped at the Sackler Gallery, the National Native American Museum, and a few other museums but it would take all day to post all the pictures. We knew Tour Day 1 was a success because of how bad our legs and feet hurt by the time we got back to our hotel that night.

Tour Day 2 was different because a cold front came in over night and it suddenly dropped to 30 degrees! We had only brought sweatshirts so we had to basically run from site to site in order to keep warm. By the end of Day 2, I had caught a horrible head cold and spent the night shivering in bed with a sore throat and sinus problems. It was really weird how it just hit me like that. I guess we overdid it, but it was totally worth it! I saw more American history in 3 days than I have seen in my entire life!

The Washington Monument. 

The WWII Memorial. As you can tell, IT WAS COLD!

I was so excited to see the Lincoln Memorial. He was an incredible president and the statue of him here was just as amazing!

It was really sobering to see how many American Soldiers died to keep us free at the World War Veterans Memorial. 

The White House! This was as close as we could get to it (bummer) but still cool nonetheless. 

Standing outside of Ford's Theatre, where President Lincoln was murdered.  We decided not to get tickets to go inside because the line was too long and it was freezing! Right across the street we saw the house where Lincoln was carried to after he was shot, and eventually died.  

Josh and his buddy at the Naval Monument

Our last stop (before I decided I was getting too sick to stand the cold any longer) was at the National Art Museum and I am so glad we went! It was beautiful and had such lovely paintings and statues. I'm not a big fan of modern art, but the old paintings always get me.

This trip was great and believe it or not, we didn't even get to see it all! This means we have another trip in the future....one that incorporates Gettysburg somehow. 

Mood Killer

WARNING: this post is a little PG-13.

Nothing kills the "night time mood" more than trying to be all sexy with the dimmed lights and cute little outfit, when suddenly your husband jumps out of his skin and attacks your leg! I didn't know what to think...but let's be honest, my first thought was, "oh come on now, I've been going to the gym!"

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw it......  that little black exoskeleton with long antennas and big black pinchers on his behind........

Needless to say, the rest was chaos. Josh was scrambling around the bed to grab it.... I was yelling at him to kill it.... and the last thing I remember is him capturing the little stowaway and throwing it.

We both sat there staring at each other for a long moment and then burst out laughing. "What the heck was that?" was all I could say  in between laughing and trying to breathe again.

That's when we realized that the "it" was still alive.....

Yes, instead of killing it, my knight in shinning armor decided to throw it!

He was still alive....lurking....somewhere in our bedroom. That was too much for me to handle. I immediately started shivering and scratching everywhere, imagining the ugly creature coming back into our bed while we slept for seconds.

So we jumped out of bed and began the search. I wasn't going to stop until he was found, and I have to give the little guy props, he was REALLY good at hiding.

Once the perpetrator was caught and properly disposed of, we attempted to go on with our night, but it just wasn't going to happen. I couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened and every 5 minutes I would burst into laughing again.

Poor Josh...... probably not his greatest night.

We Made It!

Well, we made it through the first week of living in North Carolina. Those first few days were a little rough. Not because the people were mean or the city is horrible, because it was actually the complete opposite of that. People from the Church were constantly calling/emailing us and asking if we needed things or if we were doing okay. One couple even brought by cupcakes to welcome us! And as for the city, it's absolutely gorgeous! I've never lived anywhere as beautiful and charming as Chapel Hill. No, the roughness came from our sudden reality check that we were no longer "home." That our families are thousands of miles away and it would take a 5 hour plane ride to ever be able to see them again. I have never had anxiety or panic attacks before, but on the day that we left Utah, it was bad.

On day 2, our stuff arrived. We had only planned on it being us and the two movers to unload the truck, but then out of the blue, 7 people from the Church showed up to help too! We got the whole thing done in less than an hour! I can't say enough about the people in our new Branch (it's too small to be a Ward). They are true examples of what it means to be Christ-like and they make me want to try harder so that I too can live the gospel the way it was intended to be lived. Josh and I spent the rest of that day/night unpacking things and attempting to get organized. By 10:00 pm however, the panic attack started setting in for both of us. "What are we doing here? What were we thinking?" were the questions we started asking. So Josh had the brilliant idea to get out of the house and go somewhere familiar to help calm us down. The problem is, nowhere in the South is familiar....... so what did we do? We went to Walmart! I know it sounds ridiculous but we took a lot of comfort in walking around Walmart and buying things for our new home. Something about there being a Walmart in Utah too made everything feel much better. Like I said, crazy....

The next couple of days were spent unpacking and after a while we didn't even feel like we missed Utah anymore. Maybe it had something to do with being surrounded by all of our stuff again? Or maybe it was just the shock of moving 2000 miles away wearing off? Either way, as we went on walks around the neighborhood and began feeling more comfortable with the territory, we actually started feeling at home! We decided to be brave and go to a fall chili cook-off our Branch held on Saturday. It was awkward at first because we didn't know anyone, but within minutes that "southern hospitality" kicked in and we were instantly surrounded by new friends. That made church the  next day much more enjoyable because we actually knew a few people. Oh and by the way, coming from Utah where there is a church on every corner and everyone around you is Mormon, this whole Branch thing is soooooo different. We don't even have an actual church to meet in! We meet in the basement of an office building in a town 20 minutes away from us! It is crazy different, but you wouldn't believe how awesome it is! There is a feeling of family and camaraderie that exists in this small Branch between all of its members that is so unique and unlike anything we have ever experienced. The people are truly loving and thoughtful because they are all each other has, not because they want to get a gold star from the Bishop (sorry but sometimes it feels that way in Utah).

Now basically all that's left to do is finish decorating the apartment and then we are officially all moved in! Josh started his job yesterday. I was dying for him to come home and tell me all about it! He is going to have  A LOT of responsibility but I think he will do great. Basically he is his own boss and has the finances of 5 different MBA programs (around 1500 students) to manage. That is a lot more pressure than I would ever want, but he's the one who went into Business Administration so more power to him! As for me, I've already got a friend/walking buddy! She lives just down the street so it is perfect! We walked around yesterday and she showed me different parts of the neighborhood I hadn't seen yet and gave awesome advice and fun facts. For example, she showed me that Michael Jordan's Mom lives just down the street from us! Cool huh?! So all in all, this past week turned out to be pretty great! I even talked Josh into buying me a new bike so we can get into biking around all the neat trails they have here! We have been very blessed and I have seen God's hand working for us on more than one occasion. Thank you to all of our friends and family who have called and texted, letting us know you've been thinking about us. Your love has been felt!

Our new home