The Month of October

October is going to be one busy month! But, most of everything that's happening is very exciting!

This week isn't too bad. I'm just very busy with scouting. I wish I could love this calling. Our ward finally got a cub master, and holy smokes he wants us to do a lot. I almost feel that we have to use all our den meetings to get ready for pack meeting. Yeah. So this morning, I have been throwing out email after email getting ready for tonight (den meeting) so we can get ready for pack meeting in two weeks. So, I am stressed to say the least. Oh. Have I mentioned I know NOTHING about scouts? Yeah. My brother is almost 10 years older than me, so he was almost out of cub scouts when I was born!

Then a week from Friday (the 9th), Craig has a half day and we're going over to California for my niece Sophia's baptism. She is my brother's second (and middle) child and I can't believe she's turning 8 on Friday. I am so excited for that! I love going over there!

Then, two days (the 13th) after we get back from CA, Craig has a whole day off and we will be finding out whether the baby is a boy or girl. I'll be happy with either, but is it bad that I really want another girl so I can use Ella's old clothes again? We got so many from others and they are all very cute. Besides that, it will save us a lot of money and since Ella and this baby will only be 21 months apart, it would be nice for her to have a little sister close to her. Obviously I can't do anything about it, but I can hope. Knowing my family and Craig's family, our chances for a girl are pretty high. Between our parents, they have about 13 grand kids plus two on the way (mine and my sister's), and only about four are boys. We still don't know what my sister's baby is either. She's a few weeks behind me. But, if it's a boy, we will still be very happy.

Anyway, now that you know our family genetics, the next weekend (the 16th), we're going camping with Craig's family! I'm always excited about camping, but I can't help but worry about the temperature. We're going up north, in the middle of October. To me, that screams COLD! I hate being cold. that's why I could never live anywhere else. 50 degrees is freezing for me. I will just have to bundle myself up and hope it's nice during the day. And not rainy. It rained the last two out of three times Craig and I have gone camping.

So that's about it. Busy, but exciting!

Ella's New/Old PJ's

Ella got some new pajamas yesterday. They are special pajamas, and not so new. I used to wear them when I was a little girl, so my mom gave them to her! She is so cute in them, and a bonus is that she loves Sesame Street! I let her watch about 15 or so minutes of it sometimes, and it makes her very happy. Thanks Mom!

Oh! I have some good news! First of all, it's officially been one week since I have had morning sickness! Yay! I was miserable for about 9 weeks. Yuck. The second piece of good news is that in three weeks (Oct. 13th), we get to have the "big" ultrasound to find out if Ella will have a little brother or little sister! Then, if the baby cooperates, I must start thinking about names. I hate doing that because I'm way too picky. Ella is very lucky she has a name!

Labor Day

This year for Labor Day, we decided at the last minute to go on a day trip up north somewhere. We haven't really gone anywhere for a while by ourselves, so we thought it would be perfect. At first, Craig wanted to go to the Grand Canyon, but I really didn't feel like driving that far in one day. So we decided to go to the Petrified Forest instead. It's a bit closer, and I have never been there. Well, I have never been to the Grand Canyon either, but I did not want to drive that far. Anyway, the trip up was pretty quick once we got out of town, and it was pleasant. Ella even fell asleep for a little bit.

When we got there, I didn't except it to be as beautiful and awesome as it is! We drove through the park and stopped at almost all of the points of interest and was were just awestruck at how beautiful it was. A little over half way through the park, Ella had a meltdown because she was so exhausted and would not fall asleep, so we were not able to take too many stops. We decided that maybe it would help to let her out and walk around. We stopped at an outlook in the Painted Desert where nobody else was, and let her go free. She was as happy as a clam.

It was getting late by that time, so we decided to head home. And guess what? Ella went right to sleep and slept for almost two hours until she got hungry. At this point, we were stuck in terrible traffic (as in it took an hour to go about three miles). We put our GPS, Flo (yes, we named it), to work and found ourselves a detour and probably saved ourselves 30 minutes. The traffic put us an hour behind as is was, and it took almost five hours to get home. But, it was worth it!

Here are some pictures.

Ramblings About My Life

Okay, I'm 12 weeks today. Why, oh WHY is my morning (er, all-day) sickness still going strong?! I though I would be over it by now. It seems like it is going to last the whole pregnancy at this rate. Last time, by now I was over it. Of course it was not nearly as bad, but still. I have lost 5 pounds in about two or three weeks from it. I had the extra weight to begin with, so I'm actually happy to have lost weight, but I can't stand being nauseated. It's just about the worst feeling in the world.

However, I promise my life is not focused on the bad. I'm very excited for this baby and I am enjoying the heck out of watching Ella grow up and become a little girl.

I had an doctor's appointment on Tuesday and it went really well. I just have to say I love my doctor's office. There are several doctors in the practice and it's nice to know that my appointment will never be canceled, and that I will always see who I'm scheduled to see. Out of all the doctors, PAs, nurses, and receptionists I have met, they have all been super nice. Besides that, they have about five or six offices, and the one I'm going to is beautiful and fun inside. It's a new building across from Mercy Gilbert Hospital, and it decorated in an old Hollywood theme. Just my style!

Anyway, back to my appointment. I was 11 weeks and 5 days and the nurse said that they don't usually start checking for the heartbeat with a Doppler until 12 weeks, but she gave me the choice of trying to find it. I was only two days away, so I said go for it. She warned me that she might not be able to find it, and if she didn't I shouldn't be concerned. She looked and looked, and after only about two minutes, she found it! The average BPM was 162, and very strong. That was so exciting, and just made it all seem even more real. It's truly amazing to hear a little heartbeat coming from inside of me.

The doctor that I saw was also very nice. And funny, too. When she saw I already had another kid, she looked at me at said, "How old are you?" I told her I was 25, and she said, "Really? You look like you are only about 17!" I thought I had finally grown up and didn't look like a teenager anymore, but hey, I'd rather be mistaken for 17 than 30! I remember when I was in college working at Mesa Frozen Yogurt, I had someone ask me what grade I was in. I told them I was a junior in college, and they were shocked. I was not happy at the time knowing someone thought I was still in high school when I was about 20, but now it's funny! I guess that's what I got for working at a place where most of the employees were in high school. Oh well!

Finally!

I was never able to get the video I wanted to post to actually post. I think I figured out that the resolution was too high or something. So, I made another one on a lower setting. It's actually better than the first one. I also think I need to stop talking on the videos. I cringe every time I hear myself. Oh well! Enjoy!

In Light of Yesterday's Post

I WAS going to show a video of Ella walking, but after almost an hour of waiting for it to upload, I gave up on it. Anyway, here is a cute picture of her wearing her daddy's shirt instead. We couldn't get her to look at the camera. When I figure out what I'm doing wrong, I will post the video as soon as I can.

I Try Not to Complain...

But, I must. I am so excited we have a little one on the way, but when will the first trimester nastiness be over and done with?! I do not have morning sickness. I have all day sickness. Usually, I have been able to eat something to make it temporarily go away, but these days, that's not even working. I just always have this nauseous feeling. I am completely exhausted everyday. Like I haven't slept in two days.

And, I can't even eat like a normal person. I can take three bites and then be stuffed. Fifteen minutes later, I am starving! It takes me three times longer to finish a meal. Oh yeah. If I eat too much, guess what? I get sick.

I have never experienced anything like this before! With Ella, I had a little morning sickness, but nothing like what I'm dealing with now. I wish I could just curl up on the couch and sleep every day, all day. But obviously I can't do that. Ella would be highly neglected, and that's not good.

Speaking of Ella, and to add fuel to the fire, she got sick again this week. She's had fevers since Monday night and she has been feeling miserable. Poor little thing. I can't stand seeing her suffer. Every time she gets sick, I freak out thinking it could be a UTI. For those that don't know, she had a fluke one when she was four months old and had to be hospitalized for three and a half days. Every time she gets a fever, I panic.

She was just sick at the beginning on July, and I took her in, had her tested with a catheter, and got/gave her antibiotics just in case. Thankfully, she didn't have a UTI. This time, I haven't panicked too much. I actually refreshed myself on the symptoms, and she doesn't have any. Except for the fever.

Sorry about the negative post. I just had to get it out. And it probably doesn't make any sense, due to my exhaustion and not being able to think clearly.