My Beautiful Baby

1st Week

Just thought I would post a quick random smattering of pictures of her first week home. The Walker Family Reunion for the 100,000 mower was last weekend so our first week was mostly napping, visiting dad at the lawn mower obstacle course and spending time at the reunion, eating, and napping.

Aydin Rose Williams

I don't even know what to say right now. This has been the most incredible experience of my life. It just doesn't quite seem real yet that just a few days ago it was just Jesse and I, and now we're parents. She is so perfect! The funny thing is that now that she's here finally, it somehow seems like she always has been. Anyway, I know that what everyone really wants is to see more pictures so.....

Aydin Rose Williams, born July 28th at 3:51 am. 8 lbs. and 20 inches long.

Anytime Now...

Went to the doc. today. Business as usual, everything is great, 1 out of 10 cm. (eye-roll) Oh well, that means nothing right? As promised to Sherry, here is what will more than likely be my last awkward belly pic. this go around. 37 Weeks.

Can I Please Have My Brain Back!?!

This is a real symptom of pregnancy right, this total loss of brain power? I have been so forgetful and disconnected for most of this pregnancy, but it has been getting worse and worse lately. For instance, Jesse's birthday is July 8th. I completely forgot!! I was talking about it last week even; on the 4th Jesse said, "4 days until my birthday." I got out of bed that morning when he was getting ready for work, and called him at lunch and never said a thing about it. I saw the date all day long. This really is the kicker, I saw the pile of mail on the table when I got home from work and went through it. I tossed a birthday card from MY grandparents (who remembered his birthday) to him and watched him open it, and it still hadn't dawned on me. I just sat on the couch with him watching t.v. thinking, "my grandma is really with it to send his card early." Yeah. It wasn't until I asked him what was wrong (he wasn't himself at the moment, wonder why) and he said, "I don't know maybe just that me wife forgot that today is my birthday." Apparently the guys at work had brought a cake in for him. Oh, yeah, and one of the guys, who is currently on a Caribbean cruise, managed to take a little time out of his vacation to call that night and tell Jesse happy birthday. Lets just say I felt like throwing up all night. I can't believe I forgot!! It is the baby, right??

Update

So just a quick update about the ultrasound today. Very good news... she is about 5 lbs. 13 oz. right now which I guess is in the 50%. The doctor thinks she should be around 71/2 -8 lbs. full term!!!!! I was sooo relieved to hear that. I think I could probably handle delivering a 71/2 lb. baby naturally, we'll see. Also, there is no extra amniotic fluid, everything looks great. He remeasured me this time and I measured between 35 and 36 weeks, which is what I am. I am wondering if her and I just had a huge growth spurt because I have only gained one lb. since my last appointment. It seems like the weight gain has been slowing down a lot lately. Other good news as well- drum roll please- she has hair!!! For those of you who don't know Jesse was practically bald until he was four. I can't believe she could see that in the ultrasound, but she showed us and sure enough. She said there was no telling how much, but it's there. Yes! And we had the tech double check, she is definately still a girl.

She's relieved too. I imagine her wiping her brow and saying, "phew!"

Giving Birth 101

Birthing class was last Saturday. We opted to take a one day, fast track Saturday class. I was a little apprehensive about going to a class to learn to breathe and pretend to be in labor in front of a bunch of strangers. I'm glad we went though. I can't say that I learned a whole lot. I've been reading the books, so a lot of it was a review, but there were definitely some things that I didn't know about. It was interesting to get to see and touch some of the stuff that they use though (eg. the epidural needle, aaaahhhh!) I also learned a few of the complications of pregnancy for which they will induce such as baby being too small or too big, and mom having too little or too much amniotic fluid, some of which are possibilities for me. So of course, me being the worrier that I am, this wasn't very reassuring and I am now convinced that tomorrow they are going to tell me that she is too big and I will have to be induced early (which would kill my hopes of trying for a natural delivery.) We go tomorrow for another ultrasound so I will post an update about that later. Anyway, I just keep telling myself that she will be here soon one way or another and it really doesn't matter which way. Wow, that was a big bunny trail. Anyway, the class was fine, the rooms are great!!! and I think I'm ready for this.

Her room is done now. I quit on the rug, it was going to take forever so I dropped it for now. Her wardrobe is getting bigger ( : A friend from church gave me a bunch of her daughter's too small clothes to borrow, and I hit a garage sale where I got a great deal on a ton of stuff. It's nice to be able to start making outfits. Before I had a lot of clothes, but not much that would really go together. The only thing that I still need to work on is pants for 0-3 mo. I can't find anything. Of course I mostly shop at thrift stores which can make it hard to find what you're looking for. They are great if you have nothing in mind, and terrible if you are looking for something specific. We're getting there.

Not much else going on right now. Our life pretty much revolves on getting the house ready for her arrival.

bigger, and bigGER, and BIGGER

So throughout this whole pregnancy I've been joking around about how big she is going to be. Every time we get together with my brother-in-law and his wife (who is also expecting and due two weeks after me) Jesse's mom compares our stomachs and makes sure to mention that she thinks that mine will be the bigger baby. Well... now I am really starting to get worried. My last doctor's appointment was last Friday. I was 33 weeks and 3 days. The doctor pulls out the measuring tape, measures me, just looks at me for a few seconds and then says, "Well you're measuring at 37 weeks right now so I'm going to order an ultrasound." My first thought was, "I get to see her again!" but now I really am a little scared. If it keeps up like this, when I go in for the ultrasound in two weeks I'll be measuring around 39 weeks. What does that mean? Is she developmentally that far along and could be here then, or is she just big? Mostly I'm sacred that I'll have to be induced, or have to have a c-section if she is too big for me to deliver. I really, really don't want either. I guess I'll know more in two weeks. We go for our childbirth class next weekend. That should be interesting.

On a lighter note- we went canoing yesterday. It was a perfect day. We took Abe with us too. Last summer he liked the canoe, but we couldn't get him to swim. Well this time we took the canoe to a little beach on the other side of the lake for lunch. After lunch we got Abe to go in the water and he immediately got in and started swimming out. It took him a little while to figure out how to swim without breathing water, but after he got it he really had fun. We are so proud ( :

From My Point of View

This my view down right now. When I first started showing I remember someone saying, "just wait until you can't see your feet anymore." I thought, "whatever... I'm sure I'll still be able to see my feet when I get big." Well here I am, about 34 weeks along, and I can't see my feet when I look straight down. Everyday a new experience!

There is not much to update as far as the pregnancy goes, still measuring two weeks ahead (I double checked the due date, it's right she's just big I guess.) Moving right along and getting more excited everyday. This whole pregnancy I have pretty much been crazy about getting everything ready way in advance. Right now we are debating cloth diapers. We got these cute little g diapers, which are a cover that you can put a little flushable insert into. They are so cute, but the little flushable inserts are like twice the price of regular diapers. Lately I've been thinking, "what if we use the flushable ones when we're on the go, and get cloth inserts for at home?" I know CRAZY, but it just might work. We'll see if after she is born this lasts more than a couple of weeks.

And just for Janaque, pictures of the nursery in it's final stages. I have pretty much finished decorating it except for a rug that I am working on to cover that ugly carpet.

Shower

Last Saturday a couple of great friends threw a baby shower for me. They had decorated to match the theme of the nursery, and since it was at 10:30 in the morning they had muffins, fruit, banana bread, coffee cake, parfait... it was perfect!! There was a great turn out. I think what I appreciate the most is being reminded of what a supportive, loving church family I have. Apart from that they came with so much great stuff for Aydin. She will not be lacking for clothes, that's for sure! I had so much fun coming home and organizing. I love getting everything put away and ready to use (not that I will need to for a little while longer.) The best thing is that after I got everything put away, I started thinking of things that we still actually need and the list is VERY short. We have been so blessed!

Random

I have been wanting to go hiking ever since it started getting warmer out. Jesse does not enjoy hiking as much as I do, so it's kind of hard to get him to take me. Up until yesterday the excuse was that it was still snowy on the trails in the mountains, and we've been pretty busy on our weekends. Yesterday he finally gave in and we decided to go up Horsetooth. It was harder than I thought it would be with the extra 20 lbs. and my complete loss of any agility that I might have previously had, but I made it to the top of the rock, and it was such a great view. Jesse was so great, especially for someone who doesn't enjoy hiking anyway. He waited up for me, pretended like I was actually moving at a normal pace, and helped me up any big rocks. I think we both had a pretty good time.

27 weeks now, only 13 to go!! I am starting to get really anxious. It's not at all that I'm uncomfortable and just want it to be over, I'm just really excited to actually see her. I'm also already beginning to think about how hard it will be (I hope this doesn't come across the wrong way but...) to have to share her with other people, excluding Jesse. I have felt bad for him this whole pregnancy because he has missed out on so much already, so I can't wait for him to get to start enjoying her too.

Anyway, on another note I have definitely begun nesting. From early on in the pregnancy I thought maybe I had this going on a little, but it was nothing like the past week. I think I might have a stronger nesting instinct than anyone on the planet. My Goodwill pile gets bigger daily with random things that we may or may not need, but are in my way at the time. I think I might be driving Jesse crazy. He has had to pull a couple of things out of that Goodwill pile, and he keeps complaining that he can't find his stuff after I've reorganized. His "to do before baby" list keeps growing too, with things like painting the kitchen and cleaning the carpets, pretty miserable stuff. Again, he has been so great about it but I'm sure that he will be totally relieved when this phase is over.

Ahhhh, Sleep!

The last couple of nights I finally decided to ignore all of the warnings on the websites, in the books, and from my doctor and just go ahead and sleep on my back. You know what happened... nothing, except I slept great all night long (minus my usual early morning trip to the bathroom.) I feel so great this morning.

Hormonal Finally??

I don't know what is going on lately. Throughout this pregnancy I think I have been pretty emotional normal (no hormonal craziness) but I have been so grumpy and easily irritated this past week or so. I keep nagging Jesse about stupid stuff that I would never even care about usually such as: "why, after I just did laundry is there a sock on the floor?" or "can't you keep Abel away from me while I'm eating, his breath is terrible?" Jesse has been a champ about it though. I think he knows that this is not really me, and I'll be back soon. Pre-pregnancy he might have asked what has been wrong with me lately... no need to ask now. I have finally gotten to the point where I can say, "I don't have anything to wear" and for the first time IN MY LIFE it is actually true. I broke down and bought a pair of pants with a panel in them the other day. I hate how that stupid panel looks, but they are sooo comfortable! Oh, and one more reason for the monster that comes out every so often - lack of sleep. I cannot get comfortable. I have tried the pillow between my knees, and it helps, but if anyone has any other fabulous suggestions please share. Please!!

Nursery Decor

I have been working lately on the crib set that I am making for the nursery (instead of doing schoolwork) and I finally finished the bumper, the crib skirt, and the blanket. So I thought I would take this opportunity to show it off a little, because I am pretty proud of myself. They turned out so much better than I had thought they would. I am so excited to finish decorating the nursery. I think this is all I am going to do for now though, until I finish my classes. I still want to make curtains, a diaper holder, and hang pictures from the book that inspired this, but I've got plenty of time. Originally I had said that I wouldn't even start until my classes were finished, but.....

Meet Aydin Rose

We found out on Friday that we are having a little girl!!!! We are so excited. We would have been just as excited if she was a boy, but she's not. Jesse said "great, I'm going to have to start saving right now for the high school years." I'm thinkin' better start saving for right now, because I need to go on a baby girl shopping spree.

Not only do we know that baby is a girl, but also that she seems to be perfectly healthy and growing, growing, growing (as am I.) The doc said she was 14 oz. When she said this I was a little freaked out. I am already anxious about her being big because of how big Jesse was when he was born (9lbs. 15 oz.) So when I told her that the websites are saying that "baby" should be an average of 8-10 oz. she smiled and said, "12-14 oz. is normal." Phew!! Still a little anxious, but not as worried as I initially was. I think I need to stop reading those websites. They were all saying that I should have gained an average of about 8-10 lbs. by now too. Not so. I've gained a little more than that, not much, but enough that I think that those sites are stupid now. I'm just going to be a selective reader now and skip over all of that "average" stuff. Good news (knock on wood) no stretch marks. I woke up the other day with red lines all up and down my belly and I freaked out a little until I woke up enough to realize they were just sleep lines from my sheets.

Anyway, here are some pictures I'm sure you're dying to see ( :Above is a picture of her nose and mouth.

Countdown

I know that no one else cares that much about the countdown to when we find out about the gender of our child, but I am seriously excited. As of right now we find out in eight days and three hours!!! I think I'm going to need to set aside a block of time to go buy some gender specific clothes after the doc's appointment ( : Jesse will be with me though, so we'll see if that actually happens. He doesn't think our kids will actually wear any of the stuff I am buying right now, but I don't think he realizes how many outfits a kid can go through in one day. We will need MUCH more than what I have so far! Also, I am now 100% sure that what I was feeling before was the baby. The little bubble feelings are getting much stronger now, so there's no question. It is so cool!

Anyway, just one week left of my long term sub job. While it has been a good experience, I am glad it's almost done. I will still have to get through one week of CSAPs, but the teacher who I have been replacing will be back for that last week of them. There is not much else going on, but I thought a quick update was in order.

Goodbye Jack

This past Saturday Jesse and I drove up to Golden, Co and dropped Jack off at the Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies. We had finally decided that this would be the best thing for our enlarging family, but it was probably one of the hardest things that I've done. We were both crying as we left the rescue. I watched Jack as the door closed, and he looked so confused. I know that they will take good care of him, and they do a great job of placing dogs in good homes, but it is still so sad. I'm really going to miss him. He really was such a sweet, cute dog. Abel seems to be doing okay so far. He has walked around the house a few times looking for Jack; he's also been a little mopier than usual, but we had him for a year before we got Jack so I think he'll readjust just fine. As hard as this is, and as much as I would like to go back and get him, I still think that this was the right decision.

On a happier note, only three more weeks until we find out what the baby is. I know it is a little ridiculous to be counting down like this, but I am so excited. I've had three dreams that we had a boy, but my mom says that this only means that the baby is a girl for sure. We'll see. The baby is getting bigger, and so am I. I think in the last couple weeks my "bump" has really popped out. My stomach is starting to feel a little tight, and my jeans are too. I wore a pair this morning that had just come out of the dryer, oh my gosh! I don't think I'll be able to wash my jeans anymore or I won't even be able to get them on soon. I bought one of those bellabands online a few weeks ago and I love it! I have already worn it a lot at school. Most of my teaching pants wont zip up anymore since they sit higher on my waist, so I can't wear them without the band. This picture is me at 16.5 weeks.

Quick Note

I had my 16 week appointment yesterday. I had to see a new doctor since Dr. Sokolowski was unavailable for any of the days that I could make it. I ended up seeing Dr. Bader and he was great! I think I actually like him better. He was just so friendly. I actually scheduled my next appointment with him too. I felt bad about switching, but yet again Dr. S wasn't going to be available. My mom came with me this time so that she could hear the heartbeat. The heartbeat sounded the same, but we could hear the baby moving too. It was neat; I asked if I should be able to feel the baby and although he said not yet, I swear I feel something moving in here. Could be gas I guess.

Well March 14th is the big 20 week appointment. I am so excited to find out what were having! There is absolutely no way that I could wait 5 more months. When I scheduled the ultrasound I got the "how to be prepared" sheet. The check out lady highlighted the part that says I have to drink TONS of water within an hour of the ultrasound, and then she highlighted a part that said to bring in a dvd-r disc if we want a video. We can actually get a recording of the whole ultrasound!!!! It's going to be so cool to be able to show it to Grandmas, and see if they can guess what we're having.

To answer the questions about the soon to be 1 dog: Jack is on his way out. I think we are going to surrender him to a Golden Retriever Rescue. They seem to be pretty careful about who they adopt dogs to. Anyway, he is really sweet, but he keeps marking stuff in the house. I think he has psychological problems from being abandoned. Abe is going to miss him soooo much though. They really are best friends. I just can't handle the pee, especially when we buy a house.

2008 Getting to Know You

1. What is your occupation? Teacher (Sub for now)
2. What color are your socks right now? White
3. What are you listening to right now? Silence (I'm at school, this doesn't happen much)
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Pasta
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Brown; doesn't stand out to much, can't do without it, and I look good in it
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Jesse
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Absolutely!
9. How old are you today? 24
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Football
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes, and it was a terrible experience
13. Pets? 2 dogs, possibly 1 in the near future
14. Favorite food? That's hard to answer because so many foods are my favorite right now
15. Last movie you watched? Brave One (Jesse's pick, I can't stand Jodie Foster)
16. Favorite Day of the Year? Christmas!
17. What do you do to vent anger? Sit Jesse down and just talk about it until I start to feel better (I don't think he likes it, and I'm not sure he is always listening, but it helps)
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? Polly Pocket, and My Little Ponies
19. What is your favorite, fall or spring? Spring
20. Hugs or kisses? Both from Jesse
21. Cherry or Blueberry? Pineapple
22. Do you want your friends to do this? If they have the time
23. Who is most likely to respond? Sherry
24. Who is least likely to respond? Don't know
25. Living arrangements? Jesse, me, two dogs, and soon to be baby
26. When was the last time you cried? Dec. at a Hallmark commercial while my pregnancy hormones were raging
27. What is on the floor of your closet? A bin of sweaters and a laundry basket
30. Favorite smell? Don't know, but there are a lot of smells I don't like!
31. What inspires you? Having time to do the things I would be inspired to do
32. What are you afraid of? Spiders
33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Cheese
34. Favorite car? Love the Outback, but if I had $$$ a Range Rover
35. Number of keys on your key ring? 5
36. How many years at your current job? I wish
37. Favorite day of the week? Sat. when Jesse and I have a chance to relax together
38. How many states have you lived in? 2, CO and ID
39. How many countries have you been to? USA, Mexico, and Canada.
40. Who do you find sexy? Jesse
41. Who or what repulses you? Kids eating boogers; even happens in 6th grade and I have to look away every time so I don't puke
42. What do you do well? Crafty stuff
43. What do you do badly? Getting homework done
44. If you could change your name, what would it be? Don't know
45. What have you learned from life? Enjoy the present, and don't spend too much time worrying about the future

The Unexpected

I applied for a long term sub job before Christmas, and after not hearing anything about it all break I was kinda thinking that I didn't get it. However, I got a call the week after break was over and it was the principal calling to let me know that if I wanted it the job was mine. I am going to be teaching for about ten weeks for a teacher who is going on maternity leave. I didn't know until last week that the teacher is due January 26th and was planning to teach up until the baby came. I met with her last Thursday to go over some stuff, but this was during class, so we only got some time to talk while the kids were working (about a 1/2 hour total.) I left feeling like I still really didn't know what I was going to be doing while I was there, but she told me that we would be able to get together sometime this week.

Anyway, that was Thursday. I got a message from that teacher on Saturday saying that she was going to be induced on Tuesday, so she would need me to start teaching then. Aaaaahhhhh! I was totally freaking out after hearing that because I wasn't ready. Anyway, I went to lunch with her today to go over some more stuff. I now feel much more prepared and I am a lot less nervous. This is a week earlier that I expected to be teaching, but I think it is going to be a great time. I'm really looking forward to it. I am not looking forward to having to get up super early, but I guess I'll get used to it, and I'm not going to get any sympathy from Jesse who has to get up at 5:00 every morning.

In other news, we went for our second doctor appointment last week and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat. The doctor wasn't sure if we would be able to hear it because I was only 11 weeks and a couple days along and she thought that it might be a little to early. Anyway, after moving the thing around for a little while she finally found the heartbeat. It was great to finally hear it. We had seen the heartbeat on the ultrasound four weeks ago, so we knew we had a healthy baby, but hearing the heartbeat was still a little bit of a relief. Just further assurance that everything is going great and the baby is fine. So far it seems like things are going by pretty fast. Just eight weeks and we get to find out if we're having a boy or a girl. Also, I am definitely sporting a bump now. I don't think it is very noticeable yet, but my pants are starting to get a little tight and it looks a little like I ate to much.

Nursery

I know, I know, we have a while to go and it is a little early to be setting up the nursery.

I worked at the Fort Collins Country Club running a kids summer camp the last two summers. I baby sit every so often for one of the families from the camp, and a year ago the mom mentioned that whenever I had a kid they would probably have some stuff that I could use. Anyway, after we found out that we are expecting I gave her a call to see if they had anything sitting around that we might make an offer on. Yada, yada, yada, we went on Saturday to see the stuff and pack up anything we wanted. In exchange, she asked me to baby sit for a weekend in April.

I don't think these people know how much they blessed us. We got there and she had everything out that she wanted to give me. This included a solid wood crib and dresser, a changing table, a Pottery Barn bassinet, a Pottery Barn crib set (for a girl), a Madella electric breast pump, a Baby Bjorn baby carrier, a high chair, some toys, a couple diaper bags, a baby bath, and a stroller and car seat. Unbelievable.

So, we were so excited to check everything out that we decided to set up the nursery as soon as we got home. I know it's really early, but I think it will be nice to have it all done so that when I get BIG and it gets really hot outside I'll be thanking Jesse and myself. Anyway, I am posting some pictures of our new nursery. It will look much better once we decorate and get a rug in there to cover some of the ugly blue carpet, but I'm not ready to decorate yet. My goal is to have my classes finished before I take on that project.

12 Random Christmas Facts

All right I'm in the mood to post this now...

1. Every year, for as long as I can remember I have gotten a toothbrush in my stocking (except this year; come on Jesse.) It's kind of gross to think that I only changed toothbrushes once a year until I started buying my own, but oh well.

2. It is a tradition to pick out one ornament every year. My very first is a teddy bear on a sled with a package of gifts on the back from 1984.

3. Jesse, for a while, used to get his Christmas presents on Thanksgiving, crazy I know. So, ever since we got married he has a really hard time waiting to open them until Christmas. I thought this was going to be the first year that we were able to make it, and I told him that we had to wait until 12:00 am Christmas morning to open them. However, I wasn't feeling so well and all I could think about was sleep, so we only made it to 11:00 pm. Maybe next year.

4. I like to decorate for Christmas early... really early. This year it was the week before Thanksgiving. I made Jesse help me decorate the tree. He was kind of a grump about it though and told me that he refused to have Christmas spirit before the day after Thanksgiving. We are going to keep working on this attitude though.

5. I LOVE Christmas lights. Every year I have to beg Jesse to put them up, but he always does, and they always look so good!

6. My new favorite Christmas movie is Elf, it is sooo funny; second is White Christmas. My least favorite Christmas movie of all time... It's a Wonderful Life, it is kind of a downer.

7. Every year for a while, my family makes this cherry coke salad for Christmas dinner. It's cherry jell-o with pineapple, cherries, and coke. Delicious!! Turns out it was Jesse's grandma's recipe that my grandma got from the old church cookbook. We didn't realize this until Jesse and my first Christmas when he said, "I think I've had this before."

8. My dad's mom used to make the best Christmas ham ever. She would cook it with brown sugar and some other spices, and cook it covered for hours until it was so tender and juicy that it would just fall off the bone. I used to love it, but I can't figure out how to make it.

9. We always open stockings Christmas morning before breakfast.

10. My parents used to always tell us that Santa came, but they would wrap the presents that Santa brought in the same paper as all the other ones, and then my mom would write out all of the gift tags. Not very creative, so needless to say, we always had a sneaking suspicion that there was no Santa.

11. The most memorable Christmas present from my childhood, don't ask me why, was a gift set that my parents got for me that had Minnie Mouse nail polish and lipstick in it. My first nail polish ever!

12. I also will always remember the Christmas with my dad's family where everyone got matching sweats. Each family got a different color, ours got light blue, and the sweatshirts had puffy white snowflakes and our family's last name printed on them.

Merry Christmas

Update

I just thought I would give a little update. I've been tagged to do a 12 random Christmas things whatever-they're-called but I don't think I'm up to it right now so I'll do it later. I just finished up my last semester of student teaching last Friday, and while I am really going to miss my 6th grade class I'm glad I'm done now. Partially because I think the morning sickness just hit, not bad just constant.

I had so much fun this semester getting to teach the 6th graders. They are a really interesting bunch. I don't think there was a single day that I didn't look forward to. I'm going back this Wednesday to go on a field trip with them, and I was promised that I would be let in on any fun things going on next semester too. Looking back on both of my student teaching experiences I really did learn a lot about what I am going to be like as a teacher, and how I want my class to be.

For now I am working on finishing up a few classes, trying to get into a long term substitute position for next semester, and growing a baby! Hopefully this next semester and summer are going to be somewhat relaxing (after those classes are done) and very enjoyable. I've got a lot that I'm looking forward to, and while I say that I can't wait for baby to come, I hope this time doesn't fly by to fast so that I can enjoy the whole process.

P.S. I have found myself getting teary eyed at the most random things. For example, that stupid Hallmark commercial where the carolers give out cards that play songs instead of actually singing. I'm assuming it has to do with the hormones, but Jesse thinks it's so funny, and when he laughs I sometimes cry a little bit more.

Yep, That's Our Kid!!

So, after almost a year of anticipating when I might be able to make this announcement: I am happy to introduce to you, baby. As it seems, we Williams don't like to keep secrets for very long. And so while this might seem to soon to be announcing this type of news, I think I'm just going to go ahead and spill the beans so we won't have to worry about it anymore, plus I'm pretty excited. After four positive at home pregnancy test results on Thanksgiving day we are thrilled to finally be expecting.

We went in for our first visit to the doctor today and we have a healthy baby on the way. We were able to see the heart beating during the ultrasound, and it was probably one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. Honestly, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I would still be wondering if I could really be pregnant.

Anyway, I'm six weeks along right now and my due date is set for August 4th... although I'm wondering who even actually delivers on their due date, and why did we spent ten minutes in the office with the doctor trying to figure out the exact date? I'm feeling great so far. I haven't had any morning sickness or anything, just a little tired.

As for answers to some anticipated questions:

• Will we be finding out if the baby is a boy or a girl? Uh, yes for sure! How else am I going to decorate? I have some great ideas but they're a little gender specific.
• Do we have any names picked out? We have agreed on a couple of names, which I am not going to reveal at this time. I can however assure everyone that they are not Octavius or Fingus as suggested by Jesse.
• Are we ready to be parents? No, even after seven months of trying for this, we are still not ready. Jesse has some worries of his own, and while I might say that I've had all the experience in childcare that I will ever need to raise a kid I find myself remembering a lot of parenting "what not to do's" and very few "what to do's."
• Do I realize that I am going to be at my biggest during the hottest month of the year, and miserable? Yes I do! We'll see how that goes.
  

Picture Me

I've been tagged. I was asked to do one of these memes again so here goes. I'm not really sure what this one is supposed to be but anyway...

If my dad knew I'd posted I don't know what he would say. What wouldn't a dad do to keep his daughter happy?

Our car (the Subaru Outback that we bought two years ago and have already had to take to the shop twice for massive repairs) started overheating two weeks ago. Well to make a long story short we did everything that we could think on our on to save money, but then after repeated overheating we finally took the car to Houska's.

They decided to do what we had already done for free and charge us $100.00 for it. We had a little tiff at the shop because we were upset that they were charging us to do something that we knew wouldn't fix the problem, but they convinced us that they had. The car overheated FIFTEEN MINUTES after we left their shop. (Don't take your car to Houska's)

I called the Subaru Specialist and it turns out we have a blown head gasket...that's a $2,000.00 repair if you were wondering. On my $0.00 a month wages we don't really have the money to be shelling out for that. Anyway, I called my dad and after talking me out of a meltdown he told me that he thinks it will take a while, but he might just be able to help Jesse do the repair. We are talking a very time and labor intensive job here and he doesn't even give helping out a second thought. That's my dad for you. Needless to say this is just one example of many where he has been happy to go out of his way to keep his daughter happy.

Lovin' Student Teaching

I am having such a great time student teaching this semester!!! The teacher that I was partnered with is amazing. It is so easy to coordinate teaching this semester and I really feel like I'm getting to do all of the things that I felt like I should have gotten to do last semester like team planning and teaching with my own ideas. It has been so much less stressful than last semester and I'm almost sad that I have to leave in a month. I have already been asked to come back for field trips (they're doing this longitudinal study on the Poudre River) as a photographer. I think I'll be visiting a lot next semester in between sub-teaching. Hopefully my sub license will come in time or I'll have to get another crappy in between job. Anyway, I'm loving my experience thus far and have had a few very good reviews, not to toot my own horn but I'm pretty happy about those. No other news right now. TTFN.

Fall Update

I guess I'm not very good at keeping up with this thing! Anyway, I start student teaching next week and I am so excited. I met my partner teacher on Wed. and he is so nice. He is really relaxed and seems to have a pretty fun personality. I think this semester is going to be a lot less stressful than the last. He also introduced me to the class. He said "I would like you to meet my fellow benevolent dictator." One of the kids asked what benevolent meant and he replied that we are giving, kind and helpful but that this classroom is not a democracy it is a dictatorship (benevolent dictatorship.) I'm not sure the kids really got it, but I was laughing.

We had a couple of friends move into the house next door about a month ago. It has been pretty fun to have them so close. We've been so busy that we haven't gotten to spend too much time together, but I think once things settle down a little we'll see more of each other. I keep saying "when things settle down a little I'll..." but so far no settling. Oh well. Also, I have been trying for a year now to get Jesse to go on walks with me in the evenings. I don't need to go out every evening, just every once and a while I thought it would be nice to get some fresh air and exercise together. Anyway, no luck with that, but now that we have friends next door her and I have been going on walks a few nights a week. It's been really nice to just get outside for a little while and chat.

I know that this is a short update, but I'm on overload right now so I'm having a little trouble thinking of things to write about. Oh, I got a really cute Banana Republic purse (real leather) at Savers the other night for .99 yeah, one dollar! I was pretty proud of myself for finding that great deal.

Anniversary

Today is our 2 year anniversary! I can't believe that we have already been married that long. So much has happened in that amount of time, but it flew by. We have been a couple for almost seven years now! Wow. Anyway nothing profound or mushy, I was just thinking about the last couple of years and I'm not surprised, but just really excited by how fun and amazing it has been so far; and we still have so much to look forward to!

Our Canoe

Well, Jesse has been talking about buying a canoe all summer. He thought it would be fun to get a canoe and go camping at different lakes for our vacation this summer. We looked on Craigslist, but we couldn't find one that we liked. We found a store in Fort Collins that sold canoes, and when we got there we found out that they were having a huge closing sale. So, we found a great canoe for 30% off!!! I love sales!

Anyway, we took the dogs out on it that evening to see how they would do, and they loved it. Jack would lean his head over the edge and lap up the lake water. Abel just chilled. The only problem we had was that Abel was so big that whenever he moved, Jesse would have to shift around so that the canoe wouldn't tip over. (We didn't get any pictures though; we didn't want to take the digital camera out in case we tipped. We're going to get a waterproof camera and try to get some pictures of the dogs on our vacation. )

On our way home there was another car with a canoe on top driving behind us. You know how bikers have that cool biker wave that they do whenever they pass each other? Well canoe people have a wave too. This was passing us and we looked over because he had slowed down to our speed, and he was doing this totally cheesy wave with the biggest smile on his face. We felt privileged to be included in the canoe club, but the wave is so lame. ( : Here is a picture of us doing the canoe wave, Jesse is way better at it than I am.

Been A Long Time

I know it has been a long time since the last time I posted so here's an update. I have started and am halfway through two of the five summer classes that I signed up for. Not doing so great considering that I only have 1 month left, but we'll see how it goes. In fact I should be doing homework right now instead of posting, but oh well. I still haven't heard where I will be student teaching next semester, and I'm getting a little worried, but this is how it was last semester so I'll just see what happens.

I have been working at the country club for four weeks now, and while I would rather not be working right now I have to say that this job is pretty great. Today we had 3 kids, sipped iced tea all day, decorated paddle balls, and spent two hours tanning and chatting (while watching the kids of course.) We usually have more kids, but even then it's not too bad.

We got a new dog a week ago too. At first when we got him home we were thinking we might have made a mistake (we even considered taking him back,) but now he is really growing on us. He is a lot smaller than Abe (even though he is supposedly the same breed) and he is such a friendly dog. He came with the name Moe, but we had a hard time agreeing on an official name for him. Jesse liked Moe or Moses, but I thought he looked too pretty for a name like Moses. I like the name Jack. We had a bunch of friends out for a b.b.q. the other night and asked them to weigh in on the name thing. After trying out Larry, Fred, Jack, Moe, Moses, Axel, and others for a while we finally settled on Jack. Here are some pictures of him and Abel.

7 Random Things

I was tagged by Sherry, and so here are 7 random things about me:

1: I can't stand hearing or even seeing someone scratching their jeans (or pretty much any other fabric.) It is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I hate the way it feels to scratch fabric, and when I hear it or see it being done I just cringe.

2: Every night before bed I have to straighten the sheets. If they feel wrinkled or twisted I can't sleep, and I just have to get back out of bed to straighten and smooth them.

3: I only like to use crayons if they are new. I hate coloring with a dull crayon.

4: I am a scab picker. Dead skin grosses me out so I have to get it off as soon as I can.

5: My husband Jesse calls me "gor" which he says is short for gorgeous. I keep trying to think of something else for him to call me because I think "gor" just sounds so weird.

6: I kind of collect tea pots. I didn't mean for it to happen, but every time I see one that is really cute I have to buy it.

7: I wash my hands all the time. I don't know why, but when I'm cooking a meal I might end up washing them ten times. Any time they get sticky, have something on them, or if they don't have that clean soapy smell I wash them. I guess that I am a little o.c. when it comes to hand washing, but at least they're clean.

Wow, that was hard. I had to get help from Jesse on that last one because I was having trouble thinking of something to write. Anyway, I think those were all pretty random. Hope you enjoyed reading them.

P.S. For the Goldsmiths: I love the Love Sauce.

Update

Well, nothing much is happening around here. I got an e-mail the other night saying that we now have to student teach through the week of the 6-11th of May. I didn't have any huge plans for that week, but my brother-in-law's wedding is that Saturday (we are having some of the wedding party staying with us later that week), and I am going to be packing for a 2 week vacation that I am leaving for on Sunday. I thought it would be nice to have that week off for packing and cleaning, but oh well.

Also I went to one of my sister's fashion shows the other night with my mom. She was a model for a Denver version of Project Runway (the one where the designers have chalenges where they have to make an outfit using crazy stuff.) I got to go to the finale and it was so much fun. Her designer won the challenge for that night, and then won the whole thing. He got two tickets to fashion week in N.Y. and he decided to take Michelle with him. Check out her myspace to see photos of some of the stuff that he designed. Most of it is a little too high fashion for me if you know what I mean, but it was pretty cool still.

I finally found the camera charger though so here are some pictures of the chicken coup and our new ducklings. Yeah, we got ducklings. Jesse saw them at the feed store last time we went, and he thought they were sooo cute, so we bought a couple. They really are cute!

Three Weeks Left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, it has been a while but I hope someone is still checking to see if I have posted anything so that this will be worth my time. I am so excited to be finished with this semester of student teaching! I know I have said how fun it is, and how I am learning so much, but it is really tiring and kinda stressful. All I can say is that while I am sure my first year of teaching will be a lot of work, it will be nice to have my own classroom. It is a lot of work trying not to step on someone's toes. Anyway, three more weeks and then I get a vacation to Idaho and a summer full of chilling by the pool at the country club (while watching the members' kiddos.)

Also on Sunday Jesse helped me finish the chicken coup and put up a fence around it (day of rest my butt.) So the chickens were outside for the first time today. Not to brag, but I have to say that my chicken coup is pretty awesome. I had a lot of help from my dad building it, but I will take all the credit for the wonderful color coordination and the cute design. I probably shouldn't take credit for the color coordination because it is the same color as my parents house, but it was the only free paint that I liked. I wish I could take pictures, but our camera is out of batteries. Anyway, it was the chickens' first day out and about. I don't think they even came out of the coup until I visited them after work and coaxed them out, but after I got them to venture out they started to explore a little more. I thought it was great until midway through our dinner and Scrubs Jesse, looking out the window, said "What is going on out there?" Our neighbors on the west side have two pit bulls and one of them had gotten loose and decided to come over to our house. I was freaking out because our chickens had finally decided to come out of the coup and now there was a pit bull running loose right by them. Well, the neighbors finally came over and got him, but I think we are going to have to talk to our landlord (they rent from Walker too) about that dog. This is the second time that the dog has been loose on our property. Now that we have chickens, I'm not to thrilled about the visits.

My last little blurb is about a video game. Jesse got Guitar Hero last week. He was really disappointed that he couldn't buy a second guitar so that I could play with him, but I assured him that that would never be something that he would have to worry about. Well, I was wrong. I rock!! Actually in comparison to some people (Kyle Walker) I'm not good at all, but I feel pretty good about my pretend guitar playing when he is not around. I am so addicted to that game. I don't know if it's any indication that I would be a good real guitar player, but I was thinking about having my dad teach me to play a real guitar. At least I would have the timing down.

Well, that's all for now and probably for a while until something interesting happens.