Vacation

Jason and I recently drove to Irvine, California to visit my parents. My dad got a new job in a brand new company so he and my mom have been traveling back and forth for the past several months. We had a great time sight-seeing and relaxing with my parents. Here are some highlights:


We visited a mission that had beautiful landscaping!




We saw lots of beautiful beaches and cities.




We walked along the beach on Balboa Island, got our feet wet in the freezing cold ocean, and watched a large group of sailboats preparing for a race.



We went on a boat tour around Balboa to see the $15 million houses and that evening, we went on a gondola ride complete with romantic music, treats, and a beautiful sunset. I really wasn't trying to match the gondolier when I got dressed that morning...

We saw lots of beautiful sunsets.

Flowers

I am going to pretend like it hasn't been snowing and cold the past couple days and post pretty pictures of the flowers that have been blooming in our yard.

Spring is here!

Not only is it finally warm, free of snow (I refuse to talk about the forecast for this weekend), and beautiful outside, but I am done officially done with Winter semester! Jason takes his last exam tomorrow morning and then it will be vacation time (for a few days until Spring term starts).

The horrible pain I was experiencing is gone now! It was pretty bad for about a week, but then progressively got better. I am so grateful that it doesn't appear to be something I'll have to deal with the rest of my pregnancy and I'm so glad it wasn't anything serious.

Here are some pictures since it's been a while:
March 8: 22 weeks, 4 days

April 18: 28 weeks, 3 days












Here are some things we've bought for her.

Amazing Story

This is an incredible story of a young man born without eyes and with a severe, crippling disability and his incredible father who has devoted his life to his son and his son's ambitions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qTiYA1WiY8

Just when I thought this was an easy pregnancy...

On Tuesday morning, around 3:30am, I woke up to some bad pain in my lower right abdomen going through to my lower back. I thought maybe I was sleeping in a weird position or something, so I rolled over and went back to sleep after a few minutes. When I woke up I still had pain, but it was not as bad so I went to school. After my first class I headed to work. I was running a little late so I walked pretty fast. The intense pain in the same spot set in again. I thought if I could just make it to work, it would probably go away, but it didn't. About 15 minutes into work I couldn't handle it any longer so I left, sobbing.

On my way home I called Jason, but he didn't answer because he was in class. I left a message and sent him a text to call me. Many things were going through my head: "what if the same thing happens to me that happened to Andrea...what if my appendix ruptured...what if they have to do surgery? They can't do surgery, I have a baby inside! what if something's wrong with the baby?" I was so scared and was in so much pain. Shortly after I got home Jason called and said he'd come home right away (he walked all the way home from his class because he didn't want me to get up and drive). I began pleading with the Lord that everything would be okay.

While waiting for Jason to get home, I called my doctor's office and they told me I should go to the hospital so they could check things out. We spent about 4 hours in the hospital while they asked me a hundred questions, hooked me up to machines to monitor the baby and me, and took a bunch of tests. Although I didn't realize it, I was having contractions along with the worst times of pain. They decided it wasn't pre-term labor and the baby seemed to be doing fine. They didn't really figure out what was going on. They found some bacteria and thought it could be an oncoming infection, or I could have pulled a muscle or tendon and my body was reacting badly. They sent me home with an antibiotic and told me to "take it easy." That's easier said than done when you're in the second to last full week of the semester and working...

Things seem to be improving. I have less episodes of intense pain and contractions each day. The pain rarely completely goes away and is aggravated by moving, standing, and walking so I'm beginning to think I injured myself. Although I'm still in a lot of pain, I'm so grateful it wasn't anything serious or threatening to the baby.

Grandma Cook

Last week, Jason's Grandma Cook passed away from a heart attack. We went up to Oregon for her funeral this past weekend. Donna Fae Cook was an amazing lady. She was hard-working, loving, fun, and made a special impression upon all she came to know, including me. She has an amazing legacy, too. She has 8 living children, 57 grandchildren, and 76 great-grandchildren. She lived with her husband in Oregon where they worked on their farm. They also served four missions for the Church.

We last saw Grandma Cook a few weeks ago when she and Grandpa drove down to Utah for the sealing of Jason's sister Kelsie, her husband Rick, and their baby Owen. Grandpa Cook performed the sealing. Just after seeing them, I told Jason that Grandma Cook treated me like her own granddaughter. She was always so loving toward me and was always interested in my life. I felt a special connection with and love for her. I think everyone she knows has felt the same way. We all love her and will miss her, but we know she is in a better place and is no doubt sharing her love and testimony with those on the other side.

Updates

Okay, I've been seriously slacking with my blogging so here's an update. I apologize for the monstrosity of this post, but a lot has happened since I last posted!

3 Weeks Ago: Jason and I went to St. George for the Utah Music Educator's Association conference. I learned a lot myself and felt inspired in my teaching. Also, it was a really nice get-away for us. This was one of the few Fridays Jason could get away with missing school because he had midterms that week and finished them early. Also, while we were down there, I felt the baby move for the first time!




While there we visited the temple. It looked so white and beautiful compared to the red rock surrounding the city. Unfortunately none of my pictures show the red rock. As you can see, we didn't get the warm, sunny weather I was hoping for, but there wasn't any snow there and it was a little warmer than Provo.

On our way home, we stopped at Cove Fort. In 1867, Brigham Young asked Ira Hinckley to build a fort in Cove Creek to serve as a resting station for the many Saints who passed through on their way to settle in Southern Utah. Ira and his family lived there for several years to maintain the fort and serve as hosts for the travelers who stayed there.




2 Weeks Ago: We had a three-day weekend for President's Day and Valentine's Day. Jason and I spent most of the weekend celebrating Valentine's Day. On Saturday Jason pampered me with gifts, took me out to lunch, took me shopping for some maternity clothes, and then we watched a movie that evening. Sunday was mostly spent at church and with his family. On Monday evening I made a special dinner. We ate on our China with candles. It was a wonderful weekend.

1 Week and 3 Days Ago: Jason and I found out that we're having a girl!! This came as a shock to many people (including Jason and I) who were convinced we were having a boy for various reasons. I took digital pictures of the ultrasound pictures. They're kind of hard to see.

This is a profile picture showing her face and part of her upper body with her arm on top.






This picture shows her face with her arm across the bottom of the picture.




Here's the proof that she's a girl. As the technician said it, "nothing pointing North...it's a girl!"




There are her cute little legs and feet (her feet are crossed at the ankles).

So far, Jason and I are thinking of naming her either Callie or Clara. Which do you like best?



1 Week Ago: Jason and I had dinner with Stefani and Nathan. Stefani is Melissa's sister-in-law and one of my good friends from childhood. They went on a cruise this week and we agreed to dog-sit for them, so they had us over for dinner and games so we could meet their cute puppy, Tinkerbell. Stefani and I haven't had much interaction since her family moved away when we were younger, but we had a great time that night! They made the most delicious Alfredo (Jason's begging me to get the recipe) and we played Uno Attack. Jason and I don't do much with other people because of our crazy schedules (and maybe we're a little anti-social), but we had a lot of fun and hope to do something with them again soon!

This Morning: Jason felt the baby kick for the first time! It was also the first big kick I've felt. Although I've felt her moving for a few weeks, I have to be laying on my back and concentrating on nothing but feeling her move and it's been subtle even then. It's so amazing feeling life inside. It makes it feel much more real. I love this sweet baby so much and I just can't wait to meet her!