Baby Bump Update

 I realize I'm a slacker when it comes to updating the blog. Especially with baby bump pictures and updates on how the pregnancy is going. So here we are. With a few weeks of pictures all at once. And already these are out-dated and I'll be owing you another post with about 2-3 more weeks of pictures for the next post.

Highlights:
-I have more energy! Yay. Still not as much as I'd like, but at least I can get out of bed and pick up the apartment more often than not.
-Feeling my little peanut move everyday. I started feeling fetal movement between the 20th and 21st week. At that time it was inconsistent. But by the 23rd week I feel her move all the time. Mark was able to feel our little girl kick between weeks 22 and 23. It's always special when Mark can feel the movement too.
-My appetite is back, thank heavens.

Things I could live without:
-Number one on this list is tail bone pain. I think it started around week 20, but I honestly can't remember. At first it only hurt every once and awhile. But now it is more constant. Sitting for long periods of time is difficult, heck, even for short periods of time too. Driving from Salt Lake to Orem is even too long if I don't have a pillow to sit on. Ugh.
-Difficulty sleeping.
-Mood swings

Overall, things are great. I've had a very easy and healthy pregnancy so far. Let's hope it continues to stay that way. And below are some terrible pictures of me and the baby bump. But I sure am happy and can't wait to be a mommy!

18 weeks

20 weeks

21 weeks

22 weeks

Singing for the Utah Jazz

Last week we had the opportunity to sing the national anthems of both the US and Canada at a Utah Jazz game. That was on our list of goals for this year as a group, as we sang for a Real Sat Lake soccer game in April of this past year.

Due to my dad's health problems, we weren't able to actually try out in person for the Jazz. Instead, I sent in an audio file of us singing both the anthems. We didn't hear anything from them for two months. Out of the blue, I got an email from the Jazz in November, inviting us to perform at a Jazz game against the Toronto Raptors (The Raptors are the only Canadian team in the NBA and only visit the Jazz once a season). We happily accepted the invitation.

Watching players warm up. Jeff Hornacek and Jeremy Evans are behind us.

When we showed up for the sound check, we spent about an hour on the court, practicing, talking and just watching the different Jazz players who were warming up. It was pretty surreal, but really cool.

They didn't give us any jerseys or anything like Real Salt Lake did, but we got in free and had access only few people have. 

The actual singing went pretty well. The only problem is that the card in our camera ran out of space, so we didn't get the Star Spangled Banner on video. The Jazz did tell us, however, that they'd send us a video of it. Can't wait to see it. (On a related note, I also decided that I really like the Canadian national anthem, "Oh Canada". It is beautiful.)

After we sang the anthems, I was walking off the court and almost ran into Mo Williams, the starting point guard for the Jazz. As I passed him, I said, "Excuse me, Mo." It made me laugh.

Slam Dunk champion Jeremy Evans throwing it down with Enes Kanter looking on.

Anyway, this was a great experience and the Jazz won handily. It was fun to be with the entire family again and share our talents with people. Next up? Who knows. Maybe a Salt Lake Bee's game. We'll see what other opportunities present themselves.

The Baby Name Dilemma

            As first time parents, we are both excited to have this little bundle of joy. It is amazing to see her on the ultrasound and hear her lively little heartbeat. It seems we won’t ever be prepared enough for welcoming her home.

With all things to prepare for, one is extremely important- picking out the name. It is interesting that 75% of the time we tell anyone we are expecting, they ask what we are going to name her. Although we haven’t come up with a solid name yet, there are a few that we like. We usually tell whoever asks that we don’t know yet, which is true. But I think it is important to keep her name (and other possible names) under lock-and-key until she is actually here.

The major reason we don’t tell anyone what names we like is because of family competition. I come from a family of six kids, so when it is all said and done, there will be many cousins and many names. Being late to the game (I have four nephews and two nieces already), some names are taken. But there are also names that other family members like and the competition for those names can be fierce. It seems like it is a race to have a baby and then name them the coveted name, just to make sure you get it.

Another reason why it is tough to find a name is because people have strong opinions on names. When you tell someone a name you are thinking about, it is not really socially acceptable to tell him or her that you think that name is ugly. But you know people think that, when they react with, “Oh…. That could…be…pretty…!”

Aside from not divulging the name too early, it is tough to even come up with a name and agree about it. Naming a baby is sometimes a tough choice is due to name connotations. Some names Airin likes I don’t, simply because I knew a person with that name that I didn’t like for one reason or another. I don’t want that to follow my child. But maybe I’m being petty about that one.

Most importantly is how they will like their name and be treated by their peers while growing up. One of my coworkers told me his parents went to school with a girl whose first and middle name were: ‘Easy Bananas’ (Apparently her parents were hippies). You don’t want to have a name that is easily made fun of. Bullies don’t need any additional ammunition.

And another problem we’ve encountered is the popularity of names we like. With a handful of names we like in the top 100 names of 2012, we don’t want our daughter to grow up with six classmates or friends with the same name.

From http://baby-names.familyeducation.com/popular-names/girls/

I know we’ll come up with a name for our little pumpkin, but it is a hard process so far. One thing is sure: we know she’ll be as cute as a button and have a great name.

The New Addition

This post is certainly long overdue. Warning! This post is long and has lots of pictuers. Peruse at your leisure.

Without further ado, I wanted to introduce the newest addition to our little family. Our baby will be joining us in April. The official due date is April 3, 2013, but we'll see if our baby decides to come anywhere near that date (since I know first babies are usually late).

We did a little photo shoot last week. It took awhile to decide how we wanted to announce it to the "world." Well the Facebook world anyways...

Mark came up with this brilliant idea to take a picture with our little pumpkin. I'd say it turned out pretty darn cute. (And we did it without a tripod or anyone behind the camera!) 

Our little pumpkin

Excited parents-to-be

We've taken some baby belly pictures, but I'll admit we haven't been as diligent about it as I would like. I'll have to make a more concentrated effort to get a picture every week. Please ignore the faces I am making in these pictures. 

14 weeks

15 weeks

16 weeks

Luckily, the women in my family have relatively easy and healthy pregnancies. I haven't had any morning sickness at all! I get nauseous at times when I've eaten more than I can handle. So I certainly don't eat as much as I used to. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. But I certainly have A LOT of fatigue. I'm tired ALL the time. I could probably sleep all day and all night. I'm sure it doesn't help that I work nights on top of it all. I'm still waiting for that second trimester energy to kick in.

Cravings? The one craving I've had is Top Ramen. I love that stuff. Good thing it's cheap. Maybe I crave soda a little too...I'm trying not to cave into that craving as much.

I'm participating in a study called the nuMOM2b study. Honestly there is not much that I have to do other than give a few samples each visit and go to additional appointments outside of the normal check-ups with the midwives, but as compensation we get to have ultrasounds (with picture print outs) each time we go. And sometimes a DVD of the ultrasound. Getting to see our baby is the greatest treat. I heard my baby's heart beat for the first time at 9 weeks and it is music to my ears with each appointment. Last week, Mark and I went in for a study appointment at 17 weeks and we got to find out what our cute little baby is going to be a little early. Our baby is going to be a girl! We couldn't be more excited! Our families are both heavily male dominated, so it's nice to interject a little more feminism. My favorite parts of the ultrasound were seeing my baby girl move and watching Mark's face. He's so in love with his baby girl already. Melts my heart.

Of course I have to post the pictures of my little girl. I know they are fuzzy and not much to look at. But they are my favorite thing to see each day.

Baby girl at 9 weeks. Just a little peanut.

Waving at us. As if to say, "Hi Mommy and Daddy."

Baby girl's sweet profile

The evidence :)

She's got a healthy heart beat

Her sweet little face

In two weeks we go in for the "big 20 week ultrasound" to check out all of her anatomy and make sure everything looks good. I'm excited to see my little baby girl again! Thanks for bearing with me and all of my excitement in this post.

Wayne Brown Institute

In August I ended my internship at the Gallivan Center. It was a good experience for me to learn a little event planning and more social media platforms. My coworkers were great and they definitely loosened me up a bit. But I decided I didn't want to do any more event planning. It was too crazy.

So as the school year was just about started, I began applying for different internships. My goal was to improve my writing by (hopefully) publishing press releases and working public relations for a company or agency. I got a call back from the Wayne Brown Institute (WBI), who was interested in having me be an intern. I wasn't quite sure what they did, but I was pretty excited and happily went to the interview. (Incidentally, the WBI is adjacent to the Gallivan Center. I can see Gallivan Plaza from the WBI office.  Kind of a crazy coincidence.)

The Gallivan Center from the office of the Wayne Brown Institute.

At the interview, I was told they wanted someone to help with events. Ha! The joke was on me.
I made it clear that I wanted to do some writing and they graciously accepted that. So I now the Events Manager at the WBI.

The first month and half were a trial-by-fire sort of experience, but I've learned a great deal. Essentially, I am there to work on confirming speakers, panelists, venues and refreshments for different events. I handle internet registration of those events as well as handouts and PowerPoint presentations.

The Wayne Brown Institute is a non-profit organization based in Salt Lake. It has been around for almost thirty years, and is a venture acceleration program. Basically, we help entrepreneurs find investors, who help polish business pitches and plans. Through a mentoring program, entrepreneurs network and position themselves to be as attractive as they can be to investors.

As a result of this program, businesses are made and funded, which grows the local economy by producing jobs, as well as increasing the tax base. It is a win-win situation for all involved.

The last few weeks I have been able to work on some press releases and they are now distributed, which I'm pretty sure means my writing has been published. So that is kinda fun to see happen.

But overall, I'm grateful to have this internship. I wouldn't have been able to secure this internship without having been an intern at the Gallivan Center. It is a stepping-stone sort of thing, which I hope will continue on until I can secure full-time employment after graduation.

My Dad's Health

As I got off of the bus this past Wednesday, I received a text from my brother. The text told me that my Dad's kidneys were failing and that he wasn't doing well. I just stared at my phone. How could my Father be so sick, so suddenly? Could his time here on Earth be close to ending? I felt too young to have this prospect.

I forwarded the text I received to Airin, who was waiting for me at our apartment. When I arrived home, she immediately embraced me. Airin decided not to work that night so we could go down and visit my parents. I'm so grateful for her support.

Visiting my parents that night was a special experience. My perspective changed; my school assignments and other insignificant things in life seemed so trivial. Being faced with the prospect of having my Father sick changed everything.

My Father has overcome many trials and hardships in his life. From having an extremely dysfunctional family growing up, to beating colon cancer in the early 90's, my Father has persevered through much. And I haven't ever heard him complain about any of those trials.

This time around, we aren't sure what is exactly what is wrong. For weeks my Dad has struggled with energy, fatigue and sleeping. Initial tests indicated that his kidneys are working at a 27% capacity and there may be some sort of tumor in his neck. The Doctor wasn't sure what it was or what effect it has on him.

As I am writing this, my Dad is at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, taking additional tests. I hope they can find out exactly what is going on and how to help him feel better. I know he hates being there, but I know it is for the best.

Me and my Father circa 1988.

So if you're reading this, I ask for your prayers on his behalf. I love my Dad very much and know through faith everything will work out.

Comfort Food

Often times, Mark and I commiserate together about how being a grown-up is no fun. Why is that we always think as children that life will be so much better when we can drive, date, stay up late, move out, etc? I'm sitting here trying to think of a reason that kids think that...maybe because they feel like their parents will be off their backs? I don't know. But now as an adult, I long for the carefree days of being a kid. Or even just a college student. Life seemed much simpler then. Yes, I had responsibilities, but now I have a "real" grown-up life complete with all the stresses that come with it. Some how I'll need to learn how to cope with all of these stresses in ways other than wishing to be younger. Because, obviously, that will never happen. And it never helps my situation or stress level when I dwell on it.

But I have found something that helps me feel better, if only for a few minutes. My comfort foods. I'll admit, I tend to be an emotional eater. I'm working on it. But for now, I'll share a few of my favorites. I think these foods bring me comfort because they are foods I ate as a child and loved. These foods give me happy memories.

Tomato soup....mmmm. Had this the other day with grilled cheese sandwiches and it was delicious!

Macaroni and cheese, the fake kind Kraft, Kroger, or Western Family. Mark hates that I like it, but any other fancy kind just doesn't do it for me.

Mashed potatoes. Potatoes are my favorite vegetable (I don't care if it has tons of starch). Any way you can prepare them, I'll eat it and probably love it. But my all time favorite is when they are mashed and served with gravy. Anyone remember chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes and gravy Wednesday in high school?? Mmmmm....

Here's to hoping that somehow and sometime soon, I find a way to be happy in the moment and decrease my stress level. Until then, I'll always have my favorite comfort foods.