Another belly pic, and school update...

Wow...I never realize how big i've gotten until I see a profile...looking down I don't look big at all! Here i'm GIGANTIC!!

See? This is what I see sitting down and standing up...no big deal.


Then I pass a mirror or a reflection in a window (I KNOW i'm not the only girl who pays attention to reflections...) and have to try my hardest not to let my jaw drop to the ground!

In the second picture, if you look closely, you can see sparkly pink toenails...Mitch paints them all the time, but gets to pick the color :o) So, I let him go to town :o) He's so good!

Our little Nathan has been a good boy to his mama so far, which we've all been grateful for. Despite 14 weeks of throwing up, everything has been smooth sailing! And the 14 weeks of puking is normal, or so i'm told! :o) Right now he's sitting at 34 weeks and 2 days, but he's measuring around 32 weeks. Apparently this is nothing to be concerned about since both our moms had small little babies. Good boy, Nathan! We don't mind a small baby! :o) Oh, and his other shining accomplishment of being head-down is grand, too!

Mitch and I have been working really hard in school. We've been trying to sluff (sp?) away old, bad habits of "skimming" material instead of actually reading it, doing the minimum amount of work, etc. We're getting really good grades so far and learning to manage our school and work schedules. Every once in awhile we'll slip, but we're nowhere near making a habit of it. We didn't design the most "fun" semester--we're both mostly knocking out Generals--but hopefully the grades will make the work worth it!

Look at me and my petite little post. Yup, time to get back to homework! :o)

Oh, by the way...I found the CUTEST little baby coat today at D.I. Baby Gap. $2. Yeah, it's living at our house now! We don't have many coats, just lots of warm outfits and blankets for our little arctic baby!

I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello...

...hello, hello! Oh, Beatles...love that song.

Our family has had two exciting new editions in the last 24 hours, but it meant saying goodbye to two of our favorite little "members" of the family...

...let me tell you a story. (Ignore my un-makeup'd face and unflattering figure! :o))

My little laptop has had quite a rough existence. Mainly it's put ME through a rough existence. In the 3 years we've known each other, his hard drive has crashed once, his operating system has crashed once, and his hard drive has been reformatted twice. Oh, and i've been through two charging cables with this poor guy. The repair guys say one in four computers is a dud...I guess we found one! The poor little computer always worked so hard for me. Never gave up when I was writing a paper or in a time crunch for a deadline. Never told me to go back to homework when I was on Facebook (or Blogger!).

So, I was quite disappointed to find out yesterday (by three repair places), after my computer refused to charge for anything, that the charging port inside the computer was shattered to pieces. Apparently this is a very fragile part of a laptop, and my laptop has been quite mobile over the last three years.

Last night, Mitch and I made a very "adult-like" decision...since my computer was going to be $250 to repair, we decided to break down and buy a desktop. I was lucky enough not to lose any of my information, (i've already done that TWICE!) I was just told that at the end of its battery life, may or may not ever charge again. So, with me taking a full load of classes, including 4 online classes, something had to be done.

We decided on a desktop because 1) i'm a year and a half/two years away from being done with school and wouldn't need a laptop much longer, 2) my major doesn't require me to have a laptop in class much, 3) they're generally cheaper, and 4) they generally last longer, if you don't tote them all over the United States and subject them to horrible treatment on airplanes like mine was.

So, it was off to the store. And the internet. And our pocketbooks...thank goodness for financial aid, right!? This is the exact reason we are so grateful for grant money, and I feel like it was the exact use it was intended for this semester!

Mitch mentioned on the way to the store that he didn't want his computer anymore if we were getting a desktop, but he WILL still need a laptop. His laptop is beautiful; it was a $900 HP a few years ago when he bought it, and NOTHING has gone wrong. However, it also weighs as much as a baby elephant and is very bulky and wide (ya know, he got one of those cool ones that has the HUGE-O screen for movies and fun stuff...)

So, we made another adult decision. Turns out, after turning 21 on Sept. 20th, the adult decisions are now swarming me (and Mitch, who's been and "adult" for awhile now)...computers, babies, marriage, jeez! When did I become an adult? Oh, right. September 20th.

We decided to sell both mine and Mitch's computers to a computer repair place in town and buy a desktop and a simple laptop. We wanted a netbook, but lots of the anatomy programs Mitch has to have won't display on the small screen.

It was kind of sad to see them go this morning! The money we got from mine bought a new monitor for our desktop, and the money we got from his basically paid for the desktop itself and part of his laptop. Sweet deal, huh?

We are in love with our new computers, and having a little "office" space set up in our apartment makes us feel all the more grown up! Our baby room was an office for awhile, but we never sat down at the desk. Here we have a place for both of us to sit and do homework and feel very organized! Everything has a little place and has fit well so far.

We also are in LOVE with Windows 7! I had XP on my old computer, and Mitch had Vista (but never had a problem with it! Lucky guy!) However, I LOVE all the fun little tricks! There's Home Sharing, where we can access each other's files when both the computers are on, etc. It is something to get used to to have two family computers, not one of "mine" and one of "his."

We had to make a few minor adjustments; we took the leaf and four chairs away from our table. One of the chairs sits at the computer desk now, (which is now in the dining room instead of the baby room) and the three other chairs are spread out around our apartment--one in the baby room and two in our room.

We still have a few adjustments to go: hanging a bulletin board or picture or something over our awful gray electrical box, etc.

One day we'll have more room to spread out, but we love our little apartment, even if it does get a little tight! We're just college students...we don't need it all :o)

(PS--another reward is well-deserved by the people who make it to the end of my long, jabbery posts!! Sorry I don't have a picture of our new laptop...it's in Mitch's backpack at nightclass with him! :o)

A huge kick in the pants...

Today is Saturday. We just finished our first two days of a new semester. Mitch is taking online and evening classes, since this is his off-semester, and I'm taking online classes and three that are only half a semester long (they end October 22nd; i'm due November 7th...don't come early, baby boy!).

This will definitely be the hardest semester we've EVER had, complete with more self-motivation than Mitch or I feel like we have (yay, online classes!). We're both carrying a full credit load, we both have jobs (Mitch has two), we have a baby coming smack in the middle of the semester, and i've never had as much work to do at church as I do now!

Ooh--another fun stressor...no Pell Grant or loan money has been seen yet!! Our financial aid dept. decided it was a brilliant choice to switch their software programs right before this semester started. When I worked in an office on campus last semester, we were upset about having to make the switch in the middle of last semester. Financial Aid is the only office that refused to change...so, now we all get to pay for it! (Literally! They may not have the money to us by the time tuition is due on the 16th!)

*Sigh...* Okay, onto a more positive note! Wow, that was depressing!

Mitch and I went to see my boss on campus the other day, and she sent us down to another office run by another lady we've both worked for in the past. She offered Mitch a job right there on the spot!! He starts on Tuesday, and it will give him 12 hours a week, which will help us greatly! Plus, after I have our baby he can take over my campus job and keep his, too! This new job works out perfectly with his schedule. I mean, it's incredibly perfect! What a blessing!!

We love being back in Rexburg. As much as we miss family, it's nice to actually be able to buy a week's worth of groceries without having to think about what will go bad while we're gone! Plus, we'll get to see both our families a few times before the year ends, so we shouldn't have to miss them too much! :o)

Well, I think that's it...we've set up a very strict schedule and we're trying to keep our heads above water. We both have a huge determination to get the best grades possible this semester (something else that I think is divinely inspired!) and, so far, we're lined up to get them. I know it doesn't sound like much since we're only in our first week of school, but I think in the last week we've had more asked of us than in a month of school during any other semester!

My Sweet Man!

I just wanted to take a post to talk about my sweet husband! :o) I feel like I don't give him enough attention on this blog, and that it's all about my random (disorganized) thoughts and feelings.

Tonight we are preparing for tomorrow's special Sunday meeting (in our church, called a Sacrament Meeting) with Mitch's family. Mitch and I were asked to talk for 10-15 minutes on the topic of strengthening families. This was a perfect topic for me specifically, and I was excited as I thought all week to write down my thoughts and get a talk ready. My minor is Marriage and Family Studies, and, because we're currently expanding our family, the topic of strengthening families has been on my mind almost constantly.

As Mitch and I went to our room to talk about this subject, he told me that he had a great scriptural reference that would complement our talk well. He started telling me his thoughts and ideas on this subject, and I was shocked at how much thought he had put into it. Not that I expected him not to, I just didn't realize how much instantly came to mind for him, that he could relate to this topic and apply in our talk.

I realized then how grateful I am that he worked so hard as a missionary for our Church. He devoted two years of his life--every minute in those two years--to serving the Lord and spreading the Gospel. Because he worked so hard (it takes a lot of self-motivation to keep going for two years!) and gained so much knowledge of the scriptures and Gospel topics, he is able to serve our family very well. I am seeing the beginnings of this as we prepare to teach his own family.

I am so grateful that he served a faithful mission, when he had the choice not to, or to serve a lazy, selfish mission. He is showing a great example to our little baby already, and i'm sure he'll continue to show a fabulous example to our little family, and to those around him.

I love you, Mitch! The last year has been amazing, and i'm grateful every day that i'm lucky enough to be your wife! :o)

Fun at Lake Chelan!

Mitch and I spent the last week in Chelan, Washington. Our brother-in-law's parents have a lakehouse up there and their family graciously invited to host ours. It was SOOOOO much fun! I can't imagine a more relaxing way to end our seven week break before the semester starts! Especially because this semester will probably be the hardest semester so far for both of us. We're both taking online classes and then, just as midterms end, our baby comes! So, needless to say, this was a much-needed relaxation! :o)

We spent the week relaxing all day on the beach/park by the waterfront. At first, I wasn't too excited because I figured there wasn't much i'd be able to do. However, it was SOOO fun watching everyone else jetskiing, tubing, etc. and riding on the boat that I hardly noticed!

Mitch had never ridden or driven a jetski before and was so excited to try it! They'd had tons of fun with four wheelers before, but not jetskis! It was so fun watching him having fun on them all week. He, his brother Ethan, and their dad had so much fun spinning and riding crazy fast all week. In fact, by the end of the week, their dad voted them more fun than four wheelers!

(This is a picture of Mitch and his dad on their first jetski ride! They were so good at driving them right off the bat!)

Danny (our brother-in-law) and his family are experts at everything boating on Lake Chelan. Their lakehouse was a walk away and they took us all over the place. What perfect hosts! It was fun to see them in all their expertise, teaching us and showing us how to do one of their favorite family activities. One day we boated up this long, narrow lake to the very end. We had tons of fun jumping off of one of the short cliffs and into the (freezing cold) water! Danny showed us how it was done...

Then Mitch and Ethan jumped off a 50 foot cliff, twice! It was awesome watching my brave boy jump right off!The cutest part of the week was a little family of baby ducks. There was a mama and her five babies. They loved being fed anything we had and would climb all over our legs, towels, etc. We even held a few of them!

Mitch managed to have a lot of fun last week, despite his ankle that he sprained pretty badly while we were staying with his family at a bed and breakfast on the way to Chelan. It was swollen all week and is just starting to get better. Poor guy!

We had SO much fun, and Danny's family was a blast to hang out with all week! Thank you, Bean family! :o)

Constantly learning to adapt...

...that's what the past few months have been all about. A good friend just posted an entry about her thoughts on pregnancy and how it's made her feel, and I realized that, 1) she had practically read my mind, and 2) I haven't done that anywhere yet! And, since we're 10 1/2 weeks from our due date (!!!) and I also happen to be terrible about journaling, I thought i'd at least write something here.

I remember feeling insecure about my body before I got pregnant. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY. Hello!? I hadn't grown much at all since about 8th grade, I could still wear jeans from my freshman year of high school, and I could shop in the kids' department and get away with it.

This picture was taken about 8-9 months ago, before I had any idea how much my body could change in such a short amount of time! (By the way, the massive "movie gun" as I call it, that i'm holding is apparently--as explained by my husband--and AR-15. He wants one really bad! He loves exploring his dad's massive arsenal and hopes to have one just as impressive one day!)



I guess it's always easy to find something to be insecure about. When I started "showing" I was thrilled: finally, all the puking, nausea, heartburn, and weeping was going to be worth it, because I actually had evidence that all that work was being put to use creating something amazing. However, all I got were looks of, "wow, you need sit-ups!" I called this belly my "lunch belly" because it looked like I had just eaten way too much and was still trying to squeeze into clothes. (The second part of that statement is true...oh the things I grew out of, so much faster than expected!).

Towards the end of last semester (end of June/beginning of July-ish) it was pretty obvious that I was pregnant. And I totally milked it: I wore the empire-waist shirts, etc., mostly for my own comfort. I didn't want anyone to think I was just out of shape, but that I was, in fact, pregnant. (Again, I had the body of an eleven year-old before I got pregnant! In fact, on our honeymoon, someone thought I was eleven!!)

This seven week break between semesters has been wonderful. I fully enjoyed my second trimester. The nausea subsided as soon as the second trimester started (almost to the day!), I finally had a belly I could show off, and it made me feel like all the work i'd done so far was going to be worth it, and that I didn't just have some tapeworm or disease or something. I've also changed a lot physically. I have to smile when people can't refrain from saying things like, "you're huge!!" (because again, they've known the eleven year-old version of Alaina and nothing else!). I don't take offense to it, because I remember doing the same thing to people.

I don't mind people touching my belly. I think it's funny, especially because our little man is quite territorial. He doesn't like anyone in HIS space--he even gets mad at the bathroom counter when i'm trying to put on mascara. We laugh and say he's going to be "that kid" that's terrible at sharing...

We loved getting to see him in the sonogram, in all his details and boyishness. It was hilarious seeing one of the views on the screen, where he's spread eagle and pointing to his boy parts...yep, he's a boy alright. Don't worry, Nathan, we took note!

I can't believe how insecure i've felt about my body, especially after spending a great week at Lake Chelan with Mitch's family. The only downside was seeing all the skinny, cute girls in our family in their swimsuits! I felt huge all week.

And the worst part is that, through the past seven months, I don't feel huge when I look down at my belly from an aerial view; it's in the mirror or in side-shot pictures like this that I feel gigantic. This picture was taken last night at 29 1/2 wks.


The ONLY thing that keeps me going through this--well, the only two things--are 1) little Nathan kickin up a storm and squirming around all the time and showing us his little personality, and 2) my wonderful husband, always telling me how much he loves my belly and complimenting me every day. I never believe him, but it still helps! :o) I don't know what i'd do without Mitch! He's just the best, and he never stops telling me how much he loves me. I am so glad I don't have to do this alone! I always have him to support me and always impressing me with how thoughtful he is.

I loved vacationing with him over the seven-week break. We have two last trips scheduled before we add little Nathan to our family, and we couldn't be more appreciative of the time we have left just to be together. We're sleeping in as much as we can before school starts and enjoying having a spontaneous schedule before we worry about diaper changes and feeding/sleeping routines.

I guess the lesson i've learned is that doing this for our family is what makes it worth it. If it were just me wanting a baby for myself, I don't know that it would be worth it for me right now. I know there's a bigger plan out there for us than what Mitch and I can see, and this little man will make our lives that much more wonderful.

By the way, we had our first anniversary on the 13th. It has been one wonderful year and we still act (and feel) like newlyweds everywhere we go...sorry, people of Rexburg! :o)

Home Sweet Kansas!

We just got back yesterday evening from an amazing trip to Kansas City to spend 9 days with my family! It flew by so quickly and I can't believe I hadn't been home for a year!!

My parents are moving (slowly, but surely), and my dad is in between jobs right now, so the stress at home was high. They've been handling everything really well, though, and hopefully will be able to move everything fully (it's only six blocks away) by the goal date of 25th-ish (can't remember the exact date!). They're so ready to be DONE and in the new house, but after not moving for 16 years, there's a lot of work to be done in the old house, and a lot of storage, etc. to go through.

Mitch and my dad worked and worked (and WORKED!) hard all week! He and my dad built a room from the ground up, which got painted the day we left (so yesterday). They have plywood subfloor in at the moment and will put the hardwood in after they paint, then the trim can go up and it'll be done! This room was built in the back of the new garage and connects onto the dining room and will be a beautiful home for their grand piano. They're painting it sage green, which I think will look amazing against the brown piano wood! Mitch worked hard and learned a lot, too, and amazed me all week by the energy, self-motivation, and knowledge he has. I had no idea he was handy at all until after we were engaged! Growing up with a dad who is very handy made that an awesome perk--it wouldn't have been a dealbreaker by any means, but a perk definitely!

My mom and sisters and I spent the week sorting through things that had been in storage forever, doing other "to-do's" around the house, and getting Natalie and Melissa's room packed up, gone through, and ready to move. Their furniture is being moved over today, I believe. My mom and I also bought all the fabric for our little man's room! They're giving us a really nice crib that happens to be a few inches longer than a standard crib, so I figured why not just make the bedding myself!? Plus, I don't want anything too babyish that will need to be redone by the time he's 2-3 years old. So, now I can get started! The fabric is beautiful and my mom was wonderful to drive the two of us everywhere and scout out the best deals, along with who had enough yardage for us, etc.

I had a wonderful baby shower while I was there. It was so fun to see everyone that I haven't seen in so long!! Thank you to everyone who came and made it wonderful! Mitch is jealous of our little man because he has more clothes than Mitch now... :o)

When we got home we had a quick dinner out (since we left ourselves with NO food waiting at home!), went grocery shopping and ran other errands. As much as Rexburg still doesn't feel much like home, it was good to be back in our apartment, which DOES feel like home to us!

Grocery shopping was a bit awkward because we'll only be in town until Saturday morning, then it's off on a trip with Mitch's family to Lake Chelan in Oregon! Woo hoo!

So, until then, it's all about unpacking, washing, repacking, celebrating our first anniversary on FRIDAY, and driving to meet Mitch's parents! It's going to be a busy week!

(PS--my family wasn't much for pictures this weekend, considering we were working all week and not exactly looking our best! Sorry for lack of pictures!)