So Dreams DO Come True!!

I will warn you know... This blog post may or may not be a novel. Depends on when baby wakes up.

Yes, that's right... I said baby. Again, most everyone knows by now, because it has taken me ages to get to this, and sometimes I still can't believe it! I am sure it scares all of you as much as it does me to think of me as a parent!!

The delivery was crazy, although I have heard of much worse, and to keep it short, we ended up with a C-section that both Jared and I saw way more of than we wanted to. Our stay in the hospital totalled 4 days, and we could not have been more excited to come home. Not to mention the dog still panics every time we leave the house, worried we may not come back again! Thanks to Brett and Chris for keeping him company. It was way better than trying to arrange a neighbor... I would have worried a ton!

My mom came down for the whole hospital experience, and for that I cannot thank her enough. I want you to know mom that could not have meant more to me. You are my hero, and my best friend. I am so grateful for all that you have done for me. I miss you more than you can imagine, and can't wait to come see you!!

And then there is Robin. Another hero, whose meals were so appreciated, and whose efforts cannot be acknowledged enough. Thank you for everything, from the welcome home to the minute you left. The comfort of having someone around, running errands, and helping me through some rough days is another one of those miracles that especially now I realize I could have been in trouble without!

So here we are, two weeks into this, and on the one side it feels like he has been here forever, and on the other, I can't believe he is real. Carter is my biggest joy and my biggest fear at the same time. I told Jared the other day that I feel like he has already changed our home. He has brought with him the Spirit and invited us to tune in much stronger to Heavenly Father's promptings. I can honestly say I have never prayed like I have the last few nights! I worry so much about him, and that I am doing things right by him, and that my body can make it through the recovery/adjustment phase. I feel so humbled, happy, exhausted and grateful all in one.

But through it all, he is doing great (I think!). He went into the Dr. today for some paranoid first parent worries, and weighed in at 8 lbs. 7 oz. which is 5 ounces up from birth. He has some goupy eyes, which for now are not to be worried about (blocked tear ducts) and a rough voice, which is no biggie as long as it goes away by Tuesday.

I have had a breakdown a day (mostly a night) and I like to blame it on hormones because I hate to think of myself as a goober, but mostly because breastfeeding has presented more challenges than I thought. Once again, thank goodness for an amazing husband! But it has to get better... or so people keep telling me. Patience is obviously a virtue that needs some work with me!

Let me be clear. Sometimes, lack of sleep and constant worry has me sounding a little backwards...

We have the most beautiful son, who through everything and anything that can lie ahead, really is my dream come true.

So here are the pictures, of which there are a ton, because it is our first born~ He He He ~

Here he is!! Daddy was being so brave...

And now all cleaned up!

Puppy-sitter #1...

and #2! (Also known as Uncles Brett and Chris!)

Favorite Froggy Jammies with Grandma!

A very tired mommy who was proud to have found her blow dryer again with her baby!

Who couldn't use a good burp?

Honestly... like father like son!

At least one of us relaxes when they sleep!

At this point, we are not sure who is into the bouncer more...

And lastly... daddy's favorite video. I think he can relate!

Enjoy!

High Hopes... and Temperatures!

All right, so I am supposed to be posting pictures of the nursery completed, but the camera is finally packed in the ever-so-important hospital bag, and now that it is officially ready, I don't dare disturb it! We have really high hopes to be using it soon! I keep pulling things out and then losing them to the laundry or an equally devastating hiding place. I definitely need more fat lady clothes!

Well, I know as of today Britt would be in the hospital if it were Lydia being born, and all I can say is if it were up to me I would be there with her today! The anxiety is killing me, the temperatures are melting me, and my body has just about decided it has had enough. I told Jared next baby is his turn! If only...

We are still, yes still, setting records at 103 degrees this week, and the highlight is that by the weekend we may break into the 90's. I am thrilled. Oh wait, nope, just hoping that at some point this forsaken desert will hit the 80's. And maybe I will finally stop sweating! NOTHING is more embarrassing than trying to teach piano/conduct choir/simply exist with your face glistening while everyone else seems perfectly comfortable. On the plus side, I can actually freeze Jared out for the first time in our marriage! There is an upside to everything!

As for the anxiety, I no longer sleep. Partly due to the reflux, partly due to the five point turn around (I mean rolling over) that has become a ritual every five minutes, and partly due to the fact that I lay there wondering if what I am feeling is fake, real, important, or just my imagination. Don't worry, I know that if I am wondering, it is not real, but somehow that doesn't help at 2:00 in the morning! Remember when my doctor told me I was a relaxed, easy going person?? She clearly knows me well.

And my body? Well it is safe to say I am large with child...

• as previously stated, constantly sweating - check
• swollen feet- check
• painfully numb and swollen hands - check
• aching knees and hips - check, but only if I go on a long walk... my bad!
• constant headache - check
• nightly Mylanta dose- check
• weight gain - double check
• grunting with every movement - check
• chocolate being the only food group that sounds good still - check
• tying shoes - negative... no longer an option... really considering a revival of Velcro!
• ribs feel like they are breaking - check
• wondering why any mother does this more than once - triple check... I hear one can be prone to forgetting quickly. God knew what He was doing there!
• And lastly, dreaming constantly of what the next phase will be like - check, check, and check.

I know that every pregnant lady goes through this and probably much more, so sorry to sound to whiny, and to have a post solely about me and baby, but as it turns out that is where my life's focus is now. I do know how blessed I am and have been with a healthy, overall problem free pregnancy, and now, with 15 days till due date, I am more grateful than ever. I am just trying to convince myself that it really is not just a waiting game. As all of the mother's before me have said, I really need to focus on enjoying the stage I am in now.

Work is going well for both Jared and I, although we are both battling a bit of a cold. Seminary is still early, and the puppy is still cute. Not much else has changed. We miss home, miss fall colors, and miss cool breezes. Above all, we miss our families, and hope everything is treating them well.

Today, I am really thankful for phones, as I was able to talk to my sister for over 20 min for the first time in months. Thanks for calling Ton! Thinking about you!

Stae

Early Morning Does Not Even Begin to Describe It!

So, it is finally come and gone... our first week of early morning seminary. I wasn't even there for most of it, but boy can I tell you, it was an adventure. Jared has faithfully gotten up at 4:15 to run the dog for 25 min so that he doesn't kill me when I take him for a walk/waddle an hour later when the sun comes up while it is still in the 90's, and then off to pre-class teacher devotional starting at 5:30. The sad reality is, I don't sleep so well anyways, so once he is up, mostly so am I. That means our bedtime has shifted from 10:00 to us climbing into bed acting like we are dying at 8:30, not to mention that whether we are on the phone, eating dinner, or getting ready for bed (which sums up any time we have together these days) it seems all we talk about is planning for the next day of seminary. We have officially turned 80.

So here is the good stuff...

Day 1 - Get to know the students. You have your classic "I dunno" types, your "everyone here is weird" types, and then your "I promise you don't see me eating in the back" types. Overall, it's actually looking to be a great class. 17 high school freshmen, who make it there on time (this week anyways), of which only 5 are girls. Should be interesting.

Day 2 - Get to know the Knudsens. Jared asked me to come that morning, and since I am up anyways, I figured why not! So we put together a little power point of our lives together up to this point, and then opened it up for questions. Question 1: "Brother Knudsen, when did you lose your hair?" Question 2: "Sister Knudsen, do you like him better with hair or without?" Question 3: "What made you decide to shave it?" End of the open question session.

Day 3 - Rules day. I am pretty sure it was the quietest day yet. Probably the kids favorite too. (Yup, keep telling yourself that!) The CES guys have made it very clear they really want the teachers to be strict, so off Jared went, trying to make it feel like Unity was more the topic than rules. In preparing, he tells me "I am going to use that U.S. hockey team from the movie Miracle for an example" to which I reply "Nobody will have seen that movie.. use Remember the Titans". Total students who had seen either one of them? 5. We really are starting to feel old, possibly a bit outdated!

Days 4 and 5 - First days that required actual prep, as they were the first official lessons. Topic: Plan of Salvation. My day? Typing up his handouts, as I can do it 10 times faster than he can... that is, when my hands aren't numb!!! His day? Fill in the blank with the kids. He said it went really well, and I can honestly say, I don't doubt him. However, we have had to re-evaluate how often they get handouts!!

Overall, it was a great week, and I only had two major anxiety attacks thinking about keeping up this schedule with a newborn. We will just have to keep praying!

Today, I am thankful for big, big pillows!

PS - You should all know, Jared has been assigned to teach in the nursury, which means no piano. Did you notice the hymn books?? Let's just say, Jared is practicing up for his big solo during the next Sacrament Meeting!! (Not really, but 6:00 AM is not an ideal time for teenage choir practice... I won't even start in on the pitch!)

It's All About Time!

Well, the summer ends, and here we go!

Life is about to change in the most dramatic of ways for us, and we are a mess of emotions!

First, tomorrow is the last official day of summer, and after that the school year starts. Now, granted, I am not going back to school, but Jared is this year! He starts teaching his Freshman Seminary Class on Monday, and is pretty nervous. It was really interesting as I was looking online for ideas for him, of which there are plenty, when I stumbled accross a letter by the CES asking a few of the blogs to stop posting ideas, as it is up to the teachers to use the Spirit. And so I lovingly told my husband he will be an awesome teacher, and I will help in any way I can, but it really is all up to him! What liberty for a teacher! On the other side of the coin, what responsibility!

However, if any of you have ideas, we would still love to hear them!! Studying D&C this year...

Preparing for baby has not made much more progress either, although I did finally finish baby's first (and possibly only) blanket from mom! - Weird, just called myself mom! Here are the pictures!

I am just a bit proud... Really.

Then there is piano starting up again, which I love, but always brings a bit of anxiety. Then there is my new calling in church, for which I am super excited and just a little overwhelmed. I am now in charge of not only the ward choir... yes leading it... remember how I never went to that college class (or just went and slept!)? But I am also the ward music chair, which means searching out all of the stinkers like me that don't like to volunteer for things and convincing them to share their talents! It will be an adventure!

Other than that, life is pretty normal. Getting antsy for baby to come, and majorly nervous at the same time. Miss everyone up at home, and as soon as we are out of the 100's, I will be sure to let you all know!

Today, I am grateful for an a/c that works!

24th of July Magic!

Well, I have a confession: all I really want to eat these days is chocolate cake. I have resisted the temptation so far, mostly by avoiding Costco, as their chocolate cake is a sure heart attack, and by not turning on the oven, as it will melt our house to do so in this heat. However, that doesn't mean I don't actually have dreams about it. I think my problem started when I saw my first episode of the Cake Boss where he made the most amazing looking cake I have ever seen. Good thing it is not winter, or I might have been tempted to try my hand at it!

The summer is more than half way over, and we are now officially into our third trimester, and sadly, my life of summer projects does not even have a dent in it! Jared would call this overwhelming and depressing. I just think it means I will never ever get bored. Trying to remain optimistic!

I guess what I really wanted to post was our awesome weekend. We were fortunate enough to be able to take a few days and make a long weekend this last one, rationalizing that we needed to be in Utah, as that is the only place it is a holiday! So, Wayne and Robin being our saving angels, we used the Knudsen Condo and went up. With a little persuasion, we talked my mom and the twins into coming down to the heat, and we had a blast! Every time we are together with those guys we end up with two things we hate: Sour Patch Kids (or Starbursts), and laughing because our cheeks hurt! Here are some highlights to remember!

It started with some serious pool games. Mom and I stopped at the store and couldn't resist grabbing a pool volleyball net that was on MAJOR sale, and when we finally got it set up in the lap pool, we had quite the audience. Yes there I was, prego as ever, and the Knudsens took on the Haynes boys. Needless to say my jumping has never been at such a low, but it was awesome playing in the water. That first game spurred the decision that it would be so much more fun if we all had goggles, so off the boys went to get some.

A few hours later they came back, and told us how they had narrowly dodged the pressure from the sales lady to buy Batman goggles and a shark fin, but they had managed (with the help from a lady who didn't actually work there) to get a good deal on some great goggles. That is of course after Jared learned a few words in Spanish at the check out. I love seeing him flustered!!

We then moved on to playing some pool (on the pool table this time), where again it was Knudsens vs. Haynes, and let's just say the twins won by default, as I couldn't seem to do anything but scratch on the 8-ball! Grrrr...

And food?? My favorite topic? All weekend we were looking forward to some fantastic brownies, but we ran into a little trouble there. First, Jared accidentally used all the eggs making what ended up being fried rice oatmeal that we were all way too grossed out to eat. So he went and bought more. Then I accidentally used all the eggs to make more hard boiled eggs (loved it Britt!!!) not thinking, so Jared had to buy more! Finally, after two trips for eggs, we ended up making brownies for lunch not wanting to risk waiting for another egg fiasco. Who would have thought it could be so hard?

It was an awesome break, and it was good to see Jared relax and enjoy himself, and we are so grateful for every chance we get to get away from Vegas in the summer, even if it is to 101 degrees! Now we just have to kill this week getting things done and we will be in even better weather next week! We can't wait!!

Today, I am grateful for crock pots!

Stae

Nursury Fun!

As Promised... Pictures!

Just a few things to point out...

An always helpful puppy that we love!

And an unfinished baby room, but how cute are the monkeys?!!

We LOVE them!

June Buggies

Well Helloooo!

June has to qualify as a crazy mad month! In a snapshot, oh wait... not possible... here it is!

• June 5th, school ended.. happiest day ever... also my birthday. Dinner with friends and an amazing "all things chocolate" cake made by the one and only Jared. Turning 27 ended up being ok.
• Next week spent preparing for summer camp, and then the arrival of Tonya, Nate and boys. Lots of swimming, hot dogs (not for me of course), swimming, naps, and more swimming. It was awesome, and I have never seen the dog so tired!
• Next week, summer camp. Went by pretty fast, culmunating when the scorpion crawled over my screaming first grader in the classroom. Nice. Love the desert.
• Next week, Utah trip. Wow, never will remember quite how much I love cool mornings till I am in them! Walks every day, dog chasing golfers, birds, and now we can add dead snakes. Lots of cards with the boys (no worries, Brett and I remain champions at Sequence), shopping with my one true shopping inspiration (Robin, that is you!), and Patrice having her baby! Highlight - watching Patrice and I trying to bend over and pick up a dropped cell phone... never a good thing for two pregos!
• Getting home... fixing the car, catching up on teaching, moving Jared into his new office (which I aided by spilling the first smoothie all over the brand new carpet), getting geared up for seminary meetings to start, adjusting to the heat all over again, and lots panic about the lack of preparation for the baby!

Which brings us to last weekend, or the first weekend of July!

• Friday, panic about Jared's office move... feels really far away! Go buy first baby item... pack and play at 50% off... can't argue with that!
• Saturday, buy paint for upstairs, go to baptism, come home and start painting...(all things sage green and monkeys!) finish in time to go to the Baird Manor for an amazing dinner - thanks Charmaine and Cory! Come home and pass out.
• Sunday, break in time for church, come home and clean the disaster that we were calling our living room and kitchen just in time to make another disaster with dinner. Stand upstairs and watch about four fireworks, then pass out again.
• Monday, finish painting upstairs (pictures will be coming soon), shopping for a suit for Jared, and spend way to much at the Bath and Body sale. I had better not need hand soap again for a while!

These are the weekends where at the end you feel like you need another weekend. We got a ton done, but are both sore and tired. We really missed being with family, and spent a good amount of time lamenting about the poor timing of our family visits, and how we tend to plan them missing the holidays. It's just not the same without all y'all. But we love you and now, if you come to visit, we won't have to stick you in the white-wash warehouse that was our 2nd floor! Someday, we will get on the ball and plan our visits better.

Today, I am super grateful for couches, as I really don't intend to leave mine much!