Memorial Day Weekend

I love long weekends! I got three whole days with Matt and Nicoley. Unfortunately, Matt was sick on Friday night. He stayed downstairs and tried to avoid getting me and Coley O sick. I had a hard time sleeping because I am used to sleeping with Matt in the bed with me. It was odd. Luckily, Matt started feeling better on Saturday and we were able to go shopping together. I have been doing the grocery shopping alone with Nicole lately and it was really nice to go with Matt.

On Sunday, we made lasagna and had Anne, the kids, DJ and his girlfriend Jana overr. Unfortunately, I was feeling sick on Sunday. But, Matt was super Dad/husband and took care of Nicole and made dinner for everyone. I think that Moms should get sick days like employees do.

On Monday, Matt and I had planned a picinic. We wanted to take Nicole for her first outdoor outting. But, we had massive amounts of food, so we invited the parents and Johnny and Krista.

I dressed Nicole up in a cute little sun dress and shot some pics of her.


But, Nicole missed almost the whole event because she slept through it. I guess the combination of being warm and comfortable made her all sleepy. I woke her up right before we were going to leave because Mom and Krista wanted to hold her.

Matt and I cooked burgers, corn on the cob and had other picinic foods that we prepped before hand and brought to the park. We went to Nielson's park by the Walmart in Orem. It is a really nice park and it wasn't too crowded.
Mom and Dad came and brought fresh cider. Yum! Mom even joined in on a game of frisbee with Johnny, Krista, and Matt.
Krista and Johnny came a little late, but it was good to see them after their long trip away.
Nicole did not like being woken up and did not like the sun. She didn't want to open her eyes at all.
I finally got a picture with me and my baby. I haven't liked the way I have looked for the last month, but I've lost 40 pounds and I feel pretty good, so I posed for a pic.
This was as happy as she got during our outting. Matt played her favorite pasifier game with her and she gave a little bit of a smile despite the sun.
It was a good weekend! I loved my time with Matt even though we were both sick at one point.

Pictures

This is Nicole's outfit today. I thought that it was really cute. It is a little big for her, but I kept it on anyway.

These are her little shoe socks. I really wanted her to wear these so I put her in the too big red dress.

Nicoley kind of let me take a picture of her with a smile. She was unsure because the camera was up.

This was Nicoley yesterday. We were playing a game where I say "Hoo" and then she would copy me. It was funny to me. But, I'm her Mom, so I think that everything she does is funny.

What is the difference between night and day?

(This is the face that Nicole gives me every time I hold up the camera. Silly Nicole.)
I don't think that Nicole knows the difference between night and day. Lately, she has been sleeping a lot during the day and then she does not want to go to sleep at night. We turn off the lights and lay her in her bed after she has been stuffed full of milk and she thinks that it is play time. It becomes her favorite game to spit out her pacifier and grunt (because she doesn't cry, she grunts) until Mommy or Daddy comes and puts it back in. Repeat for hours!

We turn on her little mobile for her and that usually calms and entertains her, but it is a wind up mobile and we then have to keep getting up to wind it up again. This is also really annoying! And, she usually doesn't fall asleep until 11pm or 12am.

Then, she has been waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning for a feeding, then again at 6am and again at 9am. This leads to me feeling very exhausted because I haven't gotten more than three consecutive hours of sleep. I'm so tired.

I don't know how to change her schedule or how to make her sleep for longer intervals. I would feed her more, but she often falls asleep during her feedings and doesn't eat until she is full. And, of course, when she is asleep after eating, I set her in her bassinet and after five minutes, she wakes up. Why?!? She was just sleeping and was completely happy.

But, during the day, she sleeps great! I feed her and she falls asleep and I set her on the bed next to me and she sleeps for hours. I don't put her in her bassinet during the day because it is easier for me to take care of her on the bed where I am. But, maybe I am teaching her bad habits and maybe I am the cause for her nightime troubles because she thinks that our bed is her bed.

I know that this will not last forever and eventually she will sleep in longer intervals, but it is wearing. Plus, I have to go back to work in two weeks and I'm just not sure how I will work for nine hours a day if I'm going off of two 2.5 hour intervals of sleep. Ugh.


This is a classic Nicole face. Oh, and she has red eyes. Don't be hypnotized!
This is what Matt did to her hair last night. I thought it was cute.
Here is a picture of Nicole's best friend. She will lay on the bed and smile and laugh with her best friend Fanny.

My Mother's Day Gift

This is the first year that I got to celebrate Mother's Day. It is a little surreal. I often don't think of myself as a mother. Matt came up with the perfect gift for me though. He built me a linen closet. It is an open shelf linen closet in our bathroom. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a before picture. But, there was just a closed wall next to the vanity in our bathroom and Matt punched holes in the wall to see if there was empty space in there where he could build shelves. Luckily, there was!

Here are the shelves in phase three. It was an open hole for a while and Matt had to frame and drywall the shelves. He is all amazing and stuff.
Here's my man hard at work. It took him only a week to build the shelves, he was determined to finish before mother's day.
Stage four, with the boards up, but pre paint.
Matt also fixed some spots on the wall in the hallway.
Completed shelves! We kept them open so that it would have that "spa" look. I ruined the look with putting a bunch of stuff on the shelves.
I have top and bottom shelves. I forgot to rotate the pic.
Here's me with my new shelves! I had a great mother's day! We relaxed, went and saw my mom and came home and bathed Nicoley. It was a good day.
In other news, here are my latest pictures of Nicole. Here she is sleeping on the bed. I thought she looked so cute with her hands clasped like that.
This pic os from Mother's day. Coley O was smiling for me. It is rare when she smiles, but Matt was able to snap the pic because she didn't see the camera. When shse sees the camera, she usually stops smiling and looks confused.
This is Oley O just hangin' with Mommy during the day. She often gives me this look. I don't know what it means.

My Nicoley Oley

It has almost been six weeks since my Nicoley Oley was born. I love her sooo much! Everything she does is so exciting and new to me. I love being a mom and being able to take care of her everyday. I am often tired and it isn't easy, but I love it because I get to see all the moments of my little girl's life. I am not looking forward to going back to work for four weeks. I'm going to miss my little Oley so much.
Nicole is starting to play and smile. I can lay her down on the bed and she "plays" by watching me make faces at her. Sometimes she will give me one of her rare smiles and it makes my heart happy! Nicole's favorite toy is the ceiling fan. We lay Nicole at the end of her bed and she loves to look at the ceiling fan whether it is on or off. She just stares and stares at the fan and gives it more smiles than she gives me. I'm glad she has a friend in the fan, but I wish more smiles were for me.
Last Sunday, Matt and I went to a baby blessing after party for Carrianne Bacon's son Jason. He was born just three weeks before Nicole. So, we took a picture of them together. It was Nicole's first event with lots of people. I thought I would be more nervous, but I was okay. We just kept Nicole in her car seat and then people didn't ask to hold her.
Here is a picture of Matt with Nicoley at the baby blessing party. We missed the blessing itself because it was at 9am. Getting up and getting myself and the baby ready by that time is not yet possible. I'm going to have to adjust when I have to go back to work in four weeks.
Nicole seems to be getting more personality all the time. She has a lot more expression in her face and she lets us know her likes and dislikes. She loves taking a bath. She is always so happy in the bathtub. But, she really dislikes getting out of the bath. I'm not sure whether it is because we are taking her out of the bath or whether it is because she is cold, but she cries and cries when we take her out of the bath. She is only consoled by eating after a bath. Otherwise, she just continues to cry. Her sad looks break my heart! When she gives me the teary eyes and the quiver lip, I feel so bad! But, it isn't going to stop me from bathing her.

Nicole, my spoiled little baby, loves to be with Mom and Dad on the bed. At night, when Matt gets home, we let her hang out on the bed with us while she is awake, but we put her to her own bed when she falls asleep. She wakes up and fusses, so I bring her back to our bed and she immediately falls asleep. I think that she thinks that our bed is her bed. But, Matt and I always put her back to her bed when she sleeps during the night. Neither of us could sleep with a baby in the bed. Nicoley takes up too much room and she makes noise all night.

I'm sleeping a little better. Nicole only wakes up once during the night, but she has problems going to sleep. She doesn't go to sleep until midnight most every night. I don't know how Matt functions on only 6 hours of sleep, but he does it.

Matt and I are going on our first outing away from Nicole tomorrow. We are going to see the new Wolverine movie and Marie is going to watch Nicole. I'm excited to go and spend time with my husband and I'm trying not to be a paranoid mother who is going to be seperated from my baby for the first time. But, I need to prepare myself for being away from Nicole for nine hours a day when I go back to work. I am the protective/crazy mother that I made fun of prechildren. So, I am sorry to those other mothers that I mocked before. I now understand.

Am I a Seperate Person?

One of the things that I was most excited for when I was pregnant was to be just one person after the pregnancy. I never really felt like myself when I was pregnant and I was looking forward to being me again after the baby came. Now that the baby has come, I am still looking forward to being just one person. I feel like I have a baby attached to me all the time still. I haven't figured out how to have time to do the things that need to get done around the house or to do the things that I want to do during the day because I have Nicoley to take care of. I really have to get a handle on this Mom thing.

I think some Mom attributes come instinctively. Like learning what each of her sounds mean and figuring out what she needs and being able to give it to her. But, managing my time for myself is not instinctive. It is like I don't even realize that all my time is being given to Nicoley because I want to give it to her. I want to make her happy all the time and make sure she has everything she needs even if that means I have to sacrifice for myself. I think that I had the right of it when I was pregnant. Babies ARE evil! They make you want to care for them and entertain them and make them happy. But, I'm not even sorry or resentful. I really feel like all I want is to make her happy. A truly evil plot the babies have concocted. They get us and even if we realize that we've been gotten, it doesn't make us want to change our actions. Diabolical.

I would like to get into a routine soon. I like to be on a routine and I'm sure that Nicole will like it too, I just have to get her into one. Everyday seems to be a surprise right now. I'm never sure if she will sleep or will be fussy or if she will eat at the same time of day that she did the day before. It is very tiring for me. But, I am starting to do the things that I used to love to do pre baby. Sarah and Mark came over and made us lasagna last night and we are going to our dinner at Marie's that we used to do once a month. Now, if only I can get my game nights back, I will think myself a multi-tasking successful Mom.

One Month Old! Well, Almost

Nicole holds up her head so well!

Tummy Time on the Boppy 3 weeks

Cute outfit 2 weeks

Bath time 2 weeks! She loves the bath.

Nicole with Pacifier at 2 weeks

Hawaiin Nicole at 2 weeks

Well, not much has been going on right now. Me and Nicole are starting to get into a routine at home. For the past three nights she has slept for five hours straight at night. This is a huge accomplishment! I was waking up every three hours to feed her, but now I get a five hour block of sleep. I hope that it lasts. Then, Matt leaves early in the morning for work and I feed Nicole and we go back to sleep until 9 or 10am. I feel like the laziest mom because I sleep most of the day still. I'm thinking that once I am fully recovered from giving birth that the sleepiness will ebb. My day is feeding Nicole, burping Nicole, changing Nicole, and then feeding her again. Occasionally, I get to rock Nicole in the rocking chair. It is repetitive, but I love it because I love my little girl.

Hopefully, we will get to doing more things, I'm just too exhausted to do much. Nicole went on an outing with Matt and I, her first that was not a trip to the doctor's or the hospital. We went to Walmart. It was scary for me because I constantly worry that she is going to pick up diseases. But, she survived.

Well, Nicole is awake and hungry, so that is all for now.

One Week Old

First sponge bath

First ride in the baby carrier

4 days old

4 days old in her boppy (which I love)

In the hospital with Daddy

Well, I haven't posted in a while because I haven't had the energy to even walk downstairs to our office to post on the blog.  It seems like I am always feeding, burping, or changing Nicole.  Then, when she is sleeping, I am also sleeping.  It is all very tiring, but that is okay because I have my beautiful baby girl.

I will start with labor and delivery for my catch up, even though many of you know what happened because you read Marie's blog.  Matt and I got into the hospital at 6am on the March 30th.  They started me on the pitocin around 7:30am.  I started to really feel the contractions around 12:30pm, at which time I got my epidural.  I thought about waiting to get the epidural, but Matt convinced me that there was no point in prolonging my pain, so I got the epidural.  Which was surprisingly not very painful.  I thought that it would be much more painful because they put a needle in your back, but it really wasn't that bad compared to the contractions.  After the epidural, I was feeling very good, though my legs were very numb and I had no control over them.  I'm sure it was very comical watching me try to switch from my left side to my right side with numb legs.

At 1pm, my doctor came to break my water, which was painless cuz I was all numb.  But, alas I was still only dialated to a 3 at that time.  That was very disheartening.  I thought that since I had been having contractions all morning,  I should be at least a little more dialated, but alas that such was not the case.  But, after she broke my water, things went fairly quickly and I was fully dialated by 6pm.  But, they didn't want me to push yet, so I sat until 7:30pm when they finally decided I was reading to start pushing.  Pushing is hard!  Pushing has to be the most exhausting workout that I have ever done.  I was exhausted after only the first few times that I pushed.  After an hour of pushing, I was convinced that I was doing it wrong because the baby was just not coming.  But, the nurses assured me that I was pushing well, she just was coming very slowly.  Matt was wonderful in the delivery room.  He was reassuring and supportive and just amazing.  But, I was discouraged after 2 hours of pushing with no baby, so I called my Mom into the room.  She was waiting outside.  I just got to the point where I really wanted my mom.  

Finally, I was given the option  of calling the doctor and having her help me get the baby out with a vacuum.  I took it because I wanted that baby out!  Plus, I was exhausted and didn't know how much longer I could push for.  The doctor came, she vacuumed her and Nicole finally came!  The doctor said that if I didn't get her out with my last set of pushes, they were going to take me into surgery, so I had determination that my baby was coming out! 

There was immediate relief after the baby came out.  Then, the doctor gave my little girl to me and I immediately loved her.  I worried for much of my pregnancy if I would love my little girl enough because the pregnancy had so many unpleasantries, but I loved her right away.  I have never felt so much love for a little baby as I do for my little girl.  

The stay in the hospital seemed very brief because I slept through most of it.  So did Nicole, which was very nice.  I am very much the new mother.  I worry about her all the time and I don't like to be seperated from her.  It is difficult to be in a different room than she is.  I just lover her so much and I want to protect her and make her happy.

Nursing was difficult at first because my Nicole couldn't stay awake long enough to eat, but once we got home she caught on quick and eats very well.  Nursing definitely hurts a lot more than I thought it would, but it is worth it because it is for my baby.

Mom has been with me the last week and it is certainly a blessing.  Mom has helped with stuff around the house so that I can have time to take care of Nicole and sleep excessively.  I know that I will get my energy back eventually, but I am so tired right now.  Nicole is sometimes a good little sleeper and sometimes not.  Sometimes she will sleep in 3-4 hour blocks at night and sometimes she wakes up every hour and wants to eat.  But, she is a lazy eater and takes forever!  It often takes her30-40 minutes to eat because she is so lazy.  So, my sleep patterns are all off right now.  I feel bad for Matt who has to get up and go to work every day regardless of how much sleep he gets.  I try to take care of the baby on my own so he can sleep as much as possible.  But, sometimes the finess of mothering is beyond me and my wonderful husband jumps in to help at 2am.

Thus far, I love being a mother.  It was so much more rewarding than I could ever imagine.  I love Nicole so much and I am so happy.  Hopefully, I will be able to keep things more updated.  

Nicole Marie Kimball

Newborn Nicole

8lbs 9oz

20-1/2"

3/30/09 10:09pm

Baby on Monday!

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday.  It went very well.  I am at a 2.5 and 85% effaced.  I was just happy to have progressed a little bit.  But, in addition to my regular check up, I scheduled an induction for Monday the 30th.  Monday is the day of my due date and I am far enough along that I qualify for an induction, so I am doing it.  I am one of those people who like to have a plan.  Then, I like to carry out the plan and be ready.  This whole uncertainty with the baby has been killing me.  But, now I feel a lot more possitive about the situation now that I have a plan.

So, on Monday morning, Matt and I will go into the Utah Valley Hospital and hopefully have our baby girl before the end of the day.  We shall see.  Yay!  I'm so excited that the end is very near.  Now it is just a matter of being patient until then.

Sarah is out of town tonight and tomorrow, so hopefully Nicole does not make a surprise appearance.

Baby Never Coming!

This baby or my body hates me.  I've decided that the baby is never coming.  My body must not know how to have a baby, because if it did, then I would have a baby by now, but I don't!  I went to the doctor yesterday and got my membranes all stripped, but it did not yeild contractions.  It wasn't as painful as I thought it would be, just a lot of pressure, but it made me all hopeful that something would come of it.  But, it has been almost 20 hours and... nothing.  The doctor said that if it had worked, I would start feeling something in 24 hours.  Bubkis!  

I know that I am still 6 days from my due date, but I am more than ready to be done.  Jasmine told me to not get anxious in this final week, but apparently, my emotions do not take good advice.  I'm all frustrated and anxious and I want the baby out.  I am still only dialated to a 1 and 85% effaced.  I've decided that these numbers mean nothing.  They are just cruel ways of saying that the baby is still not here despite my minimal progress.

I have another doctor's appointment on Thursday.  I've decided that I'm just going to schedule an induction after that appointment.  Pregnancy is just the worst.  I want the reward already.

In other news, today is Me and Matt's 2 year anniversary!  Yay, I've been married two full years now.  It feels a little weird to think that I have been married two years, but then it also feels like I have been with Matt a lot longer because I could not imagine my life without him.  We really aren't doing anything to celebrate our anniversary because I'm enormously pregnant and uncomfortable.  But, we will probably take time this summer when Nicole is a little older and we have gotten used to the parenting thing and celebrate then.  I guess the only thing I can be grateful for right now is that the baby is not coming on our anniversary.  I didn't really want to share the day.

Maternity Leave

So, I was suppose to start my maternity leave next week.  I was suppose to work all of this week and then have a week off before my due date.  But, after having gone to work just one day this week, I've realized what a silly plan that was.  

I get very tired very fast and it is just exhausting trying to be at work for 9 hours.  I don't know how some women do it.  Plus, I can't sit like a normal person in my office chair because my belly hangs so low that it hits my legs and I feel all smushed and the baby starts to move like mad when I am squishing her.  I don't think that she likes it.  So, it is just painful for everyone involved, especially my coworkers that get to hear me complain all day.

Plus, my contractions (Braxton Hicks) are getting more and more painful and I don't really care for them.  It is hard to relax and time contractions when I'm also trying to do work.  In conclusion, I decided I would be better and more comfortable at home.  So, I'm taking three more unpaid days than I originally planned.   This does mean that I will get three less days on the other side when it is time for me to go back to work, but I think that it is all worth it.

I'm going to have to say that this last part of pregnancy, the part where I am waiting in uncertanty as to when the baby is coming, is probably the most nerve wracking.  I hate waiting and not knowing when the baby will come and I hate timing contractions because they get my hopes up and then dash them when they stop completely.  I wish babies could be more of a scheduled event.  I know I could do the whole induction thing, which is kinda like scheduling, but I'm hoping that she will just come on her own.

I've got another doctor's appointment tomorrow.  I'm crossing my fingers that something will be new.

No Change

Went to the doctor and there is no change from last week. I think that Nicole is just being a girl. Stubborn and dramatic. She will come in her own time I guess. But, I'm going to do everything I can to try and get her here. If you want to see prego pics of me, see Marie's blog.

TMI?

Well, this may be a TMI post, but I'm excited, so I'm sharing. I went to the doctor's yesterday and I'm 80% effaced and dialated to a 1. Which, really doesn't mean much, or so I am told, but I like to think that it means that I am in the home stretch.

Mom and Jill have revised their guesses and have said that they think that I am going to have the baby next week. I'd like her to hold on until my maternity leave starts. We shall see. Feel free to get your baby guesses in now with this new information.

Less than 4 Weeks

Well, I am less than 4 weeks away from my due date. Yay! Last week was a really bad week because I was in a lot of pain as the baby continually gets bigger. This week I am feeling a lot better and growing used to being in pain. This is how it has been the whole pregnancy. I feel terrible one week as a new/unpleasant pregnancy symptom appears and then the next week I am used to it. So, I should feel pretty crappy again next week when I get some new experience from this pregnancy.

In other news, Matt has had the opportunity to do a little short term work for the last week and a bit. My Dad had needed some help at his office as he gets taxes done for the company and Matt went and helped him for a week. We were very grateful for the work and the pay that comes along with it. Matt still has not been able to find a job yet. As more and more people get laid off, the competition for jobs is really rough. My company had one opening and over 150 people applied for the job. It is just really tough for a lot of people right now. We count ourselves lucky that I still have a job.

My maternity leave starts in 3 weeks and you can bet that I am counting down the days. As nice as it has been that I have been healthy enough to handle working this long whilst pregnant, I look forward to the days when I can relax and get things ready for the baby. Matt and I very much hope that he will be able to find a job before the baby comes as I will not be making any money while on maternity leave. Curse the lack of laws in Utah for pregnant women! But, on the other hand, it would be nice to have Matt home with me for the first little while when the baby is born. He really has more experience with babies than I do. Being a younger child, I never really had to take care of babies.

We discovered a couple of days ago that our dishwasher is no longer washing our dishes. It fills up with water, makes a weird sound for two hours and then stops, but no water hits the dishes. They just get all steamy. So, Matt is going to take it all apart and try to figure out what is going on, but we will most likely have to buy a new dishwasher. It kinda sucks. We have to do the dishes by hand until it is fixed or replaced. I've lived with a dishwasher for so long, I forgot how annoying it is to wash things by hand. I've been spoiled. Plus, with a giant belly, it is difficult to wash dishes as I can't get very close to the sink. I end up with a very wet belly by the end of the dish washing.

Well, that is all the new news for now. Hopefully, things look up soon. Like, maybe my baby will come in like 2 weeks. That would be awesome.

Too Big Clanky, Too Big

I think that I am getting too big. My back hurts, my hips hurt, my legs hurt, and my belly hurts. I attribute it all to the fact that I am just too big. My body was not made to carry this kind of a weight. I would venture to say that my body was not designed for pregnancy. It is WAY more painful than I thought it would be.

I heard a lot of formerly pregnant women talk about how uncomfortable they were in their last month, but it goes beyond mere discomfort. This is just outright pain in all the lower half of my body. My body hates me almost as much as my baby does and there is slight relief.

I've found that there are a few positions that give me relief from my aches and pains, but they are not comfortable positions. I can't even sit in my chair at work and be comfortable anymore. My chair has become my enemy. Leaning back in it causes the baby to get all active and kick me a lot, causing me pain. So, I sit up, but then my belly hits my legs and the baby is getting squished, causing me pain. So, I slide forward to the edge of my chair and sit like a man and let my belly kinda hang, but this puts a lot of pressure on the bones in my bum, which quickly go numb and... cause me pain. I cannot win!

This last month of pregnancy is just cruel. To know that I am close to when I will be out of my current misery, but not actually knowing when it will happen is close to torture. I'm ready to be done, but I still have a little over 4 weeks until my due date. And, I might even be late, which would be beyond wrong. But, I'm suppose to be positive... so, yay! I'm having a baby! Then she will be mine and I'll get to keep her and not give her to her mother when she is crying because I will be the mother. But, maybe she will like me best. Positivity is hard. How bout I'll be positive when I get to see the fruits of all my labor.

Every Single Day the Same Arrangement

Life has become a little monotonous lately. Which is better than crazy and awful I guess. Because I'm at the end of my pregnancy here, I am feeling less than wonderful more than a small amount of the time. So, I go to work in the mornings, suffer through the day, and am exhausted and in pain by the time I get home. I suffer because of the baby, not because of the work. I really love my job, I just don't love how very uncomfortable being pregnant makes me. By the end of the work day, I hate my chair because I cannot get comfortable in it.

Then, once I'm home, all I want to do is lay down and put my swollen feet up. So, Matt makes me dinner and I lay down until I fall asleep. I feel really lame. Like I should still be having a life even though I'm enormously pregnant, but I just don't have the energy to do it. Thus, life seems monotonous.

We usually go and see Ree and Anthon once a week or once every two weeks, but they are all kid having currently. I don't currently have the patience for children. I really don't have much patience for adults either, but children are worse. And, kids cry when I get all frustrated and speak sternly to them. Yep, I'm going to make an awesome mom. At least when I snap at adults they just ignore me. Or maybe they go in the other room and cry, it is difficult to say. I don't think I'm handling the end of pregnancy hormones well.

Plus, I miss my Baby. She is all boyfriend having now and I see her so much less. Plus she has school and work. She is a very busy baby. But, she made time to come and borrow some shoes from me last night. What a good baby.

Happy Birthday to Me

Today is my birthday. I am 25 today. I'm having a low key birthday this year. No big party, no theme, just me and Matt and my ever growing fetus. I just feel too pregnant and too tired to throw a big party this year. So, it will be a calm birthday. Normally, I make it a big shabang, but this is going to be an odd year.

Yesterday we had a few people over for key lime pie, which served as my birthday cake. Matt got me a Cafe Rio key lime pie a few weeks ago and I liked it soo much that we decided to try to make one ourselves. It turned out really yummy. Key lime is my new favorite pie, so sorry pumpkin pie.

Additionally, I've been craving cupcakes for a week now, so Marie made me some white cake cupcakes with cherry frosting. Marie makes the best frosting! It was soooo yummy and satisfied my craving. My sister loves me.

Matt has been sick this past week and I've attempted to take care of him. It is all very difficult when I don't feel well myself after working all day and growing a baby. I really hate how pregnancy drains me of all my energy. I'm super sleepy today, so I'm glad that it is a low key birthday.

Why I Can't Sleep

So, I had a really lazy weekend, which are my favorite kinds of weekends. I work all week and I get really exhausted, so I try to make up on sleep and comfort on the weekends. Unfortunately, I'm 8 months pregnant and have an unruly fetus, so sleep is sometimes very hard to come by.

Recently, my feet, hands and the backs of my knees have been swelling a lot. If I stand too long or sit too long or do anything for too long that isn't raising my limbs above my heart, they will start to swell. Not only is this really uncomfortable/ugly, it is also sometimes painful. I really do not care for this part of pregnancy. Not that I have really cared for any other part either. Pregnancy all together has been one non fun symptom after another. Pregnancy is a torture device for women. It is evil and if I don't get a super cute baby at the end of it, I'm going to be really upset.

So, along with this, I can only sleep on my sides. Unfortunately, I only have two sides. I usually fall asleep on my right side, then I wake up after about an hour because my side has gone numb and starts to hurt, so I roll over to my left. Then, I wake up after an hour and that side hurts. I would roll back to the right, but that side is still sore from when I was lying on it before. So, no matter where I turn, it is a painful sleeping situation. To remedy this, Matt moved the love sac into our bedroom. This provides me with a third sleeping option. I can't sleep on my back in the bed because the baby crushes my insides and I get leg cramps because the blood stops flowing to my legs, but I can sleep on my back in the love sac because it is really more like sitting in a full body cushion. But, once in the love sac, it is really difficult to get out of the love sac because my weight is all right there on the stomach. And, my stomach muscles don't really work right now. In conclusion, sleep is very difficult for me as of late.

Additionally, the baby thinks that bedtime is awake time. It never fails that as soon as I sit down or lay down, she "wakes up" and begins kicking me and turning inside me. Not only is this uncomfortable and painful, but it is extremely difficult to sleep through. I compare it to trying to sleep while someone is consistently poking you in the ribs awake. You really just can't sleep through it. Supposedly, she is suppose to get so big in the next month that she won't be able to move so much because she won't have any space in there. I don't know if this will be more or less uncomfortable. But, I've found a short term remedy for the night time kicking. I've found that if I play Dianna Krawl for my stomach, the baby settles down and stops kicking. Whether this means that she likes or hates the music I don't know, but I don't really care as long as it works.

With all my night time shiftings, in addition to my constant bathroom trips, neither Matt nor I get really good sleep at night. Luckily, Matt doesn't have to be anywhere first thing in the morning, so I don't feel that bad about keeping him up. I guess his lack of a job is kinda a blessing for now because he gets a little extra sleep after I go off to work.

Have I mentioned how I am so ready to be not pregnant anymore?

25 Random Things

So, I did this for a Facebook tag, but I thought I would put it here too. Here are 25 random things about me. Some of them are weird, some are pregnancy specific, but they are all true.

1. I like to eat candy in even numbers. I don't have to, I just like to. I can bite a single candy in half so that I have a pair of things in my mouth and I'm okay.

2. I never drink the bottom of a bottle or can of liquid. I blame my sister Marie for this.

3. I enjoy being spoiled. If no one will spoil me, then I'll spoil myself. I feel that I am that important.

4. Cooking is one of my favorite things to do with my husband. I don't like cooking as much when I'm doing it alone, but I love to do it if Matt is there with me.

5. I love board games more than most things. If people are invited over to my house, I make them play board games with me because I only get to play when people come over.

6. I'm competitive, like the other members in my family. If someone wins too much when playing games at my house, they don't get invited back.

7. I really dislike pregnancy. I love my baby who is growing and growing, but I dislike the fact that I have to carry her.

8. When I say I'm doing "okay," what I really mean in "not okay." But, people don't usually want to hear that, so I redefined the word.

9. I love getting my picture taken. I especially love it if my sisters are in the photo with me. But, I prefer face only shots to full body shots.

10. My ideal job would be to design clothes. But, it probably will never happen because I don't actually know how to create patterns and stuff.

11. I have a scarf obsession... or maybe it is a tassel obsession. I love tassels and scarves have tassels, so we go well together. My husband is not too fond of my obsession.

12. I like to talk on the phone while I'm driving. I think it is because I get bored in the car. I need more books on tape to keep me occupied.

13. I have a tv addiction. I love watching tv shows. I follow so many, but I'm always looking for new shows to pick up.

14. DVR is the best thing that was ever invented. As much as I love tv, I hate commercials, and I hate being limited in my evening activities because I have to watch a certain show. DVR has made me much more social and much more likable to other people.

15. I hate it when people talk during a tv show that I like. Especially when it is an intense or sad moment. It ruins the moment for me and makes me not like the person. DVR has supplied me with a pause button which makes it managable, but I prefer that people don't talk.

16. My best friends are my sisters. They know me, they understand me, and they accept me for who I am.

17. Usually, I love to read. I try to read 50 books a year. But, while pregnant, I really don't like to read. I just don't know why that is.

18. I hardly ever style my hair because it takes too much time. I'll take the time to do my makeup and eat breakfast in the morning, but if something has to give, it is the time I would have spent styling my hair.

19. My least favorite chore is vacuuming. I know it is suppose to be one of the easiest things, but I hate it. I would rather do the dishes or clean the bathroom. Matt vacuums for me.

20. I used to be a Buffy fanatic. I've grown past my Buffy crazed days, but I've been to conventions, oh yes, I have.

21. I hate talking to strangers. If I have to call a company for some reason, I really try to get other people to do it for me cuz I don't want to. Plus, I don't like returning things because I don't want to talk to a stranger.

22. I occasionally change my handwriting just to try something new. Sometimes I see someone else's handwriting and I like it, so I try to mimic it.

23. I also mimic other people's laughs. If I'm around someone often enough, I'll start to laugh like them. I'm not really sure why. Maybe someday I will find my own laugh.

24. I don't like chicken... well, right now anyway. But, I remember liking chicken.

25. I really hate stupid people. They make me want to tell them how stupid they are. Then, they get their feelings hurt and I know that I'm suppose to feel bad, but I don't because they should never have been stupid in the first place.

Baby Shower Number 2

So, I had my second baby shower this weekend. My mom and sisters threw this shower and it was held at my Mom's house. The decorations, food, and games were fantastic! And, a lot of people showed up. I got a lot of clothes for Nicole. She will not be lacking in clothes. Mom got us a crib set (Thanks Mom) and Marie got me that super cute diaper bag in the pic. We almost have everything that we need for the baby. I just have to make a few small shopping trips and we will be all set. We have been very blessed with friends/family who love us (or me).


Here is a pic of me and Mom. I think that I look really uncomfortable in this pic.


Me and the party planners!


I don't think that me and my sisters look alike, but I hope my baby looks like them cuz they are super cute.

Baby Shower Number 1

I had my first baby shower this weekend. My work friend Erin threw the party for me with the help of her sisters and mom. The house was all decorated really cute with cartoons of pregnant women.



Ree and I went together and were the first ones there because everyone got lost and was late. I blame mapquest for that. When everyone was there, we played a game where everyone cut a piece of string to the length they thought it needed to be to go all the way around my belly. Everyone was too big with the exception of Patty (a friend from work), who was right on. Patty got a prize. Erin bought and wrapped all these really cute prizes for the winners.



Then, we played a game where everyone cut out pictures from a magazine and reconstructed them onto a piece of paper to what they think that my baby will look like. They were all a little scary, but Marie and Karmen won that one. I would have posted the pic of the scary frankenstein babies, but I look like an ugo in the pics. So, I will leave it to your imagination.





Then, we opened presents, which was one of my favorite parts because I love presents! I got a lot of really cute stuff for Nicole, including a pink baby bath and a diaper bag. I was really lucky to get so many nice things. I have awesome friends! Momma Brisk even made me a blanket with a crocheted egde. It is really cute, but also not finished, so I will get it back when the baby is closer to being born.





After presents, Erin had an ice cream bar set up for everyone to make sundaes. I love ice cream right now, so that worked out really well. I had two bowls, but don't tell.




Everything turned out really great and I'm so thankful to Erin and her family for throwing me this shower. I have another shower on Saturday at my Mom's house and I'm just not sure that it will be able to live up to the shower that Erin threw me. We will just have to see.

Because I'm the Worst

I know that I haven't posted in a long while and I can only attribute it to me being the worst.

Matt and I have had a hard time the last day and a half. Yesterday morning, Matt had the stomach flu and was throwing up. But, he felt a little better later on and went into work only to be laid off. Codale was making cut backs and Matt was one of the cuts. I left work early and went home to Matt who had a fever of 100 degrees. It was a devastating day for us and even harder with Matt being sick and me being very pregnant, but we made it through the day with a little help from my wonderful Erin and Sarah.

We were very surprised by the loss of Matt's job. We thought that for sure it wouldn't be him if it came to lay offs, but we were wrong. Matt is applying for jobs and we are hoping that he will find something soon that will work for him and for the financial needs of our family. We are very optimistic that he will be able to find a job soon.

Luckily, I still have my job and our insurance is through me, so we don't have to worry about having the baby without insurance. We are both very grateful for my job and that we have an income to work with.

If anyone has heard of any good jobs in Utah County, give us a shout.

Merry Christmas, Here's a Sickness

So, I am late in posting and I don't care. And, I have no pictures because I'm the lamest. I really don't like how I'm looking right now, so maybe pictures will happen post pregnancy. If I ever figure out how to put video up on the blog, maybe I will put up some video of this Christmas.

Mom and Dad Kimball came out for Christmas and stayed with us. We were very glad to have them around! We went up to my brother Jake's for Christmas Eve with my family. Jake and Jill made an awesome dinner of Thanksgiving food. We mostly lounged around and then ate and chatted with the brothers and sisters. After dinner, all of us adult children went into the little front room and opened the gifts that we got for each other. Matt got an electric nose trimmer from Sarah and some chocolate body spray. Both Matt and Sarah thought it was hilarious. Johnny got me Sleeping Beauty on DVD, which is what I asked for.

Mom and Bill got us some fantastic gifts this year. They got us a stroller that our car seat fits into. Norm and Rand our giving us their old car seat. Plus, Mom and Bill got me a Boppy. Which Jill claims is awesome and I will love it. I am forced to believe her until the baby is born and I am able to use it. Plus, Matt and I used some of our credit card points to get a pack n play for free! Now we have a place for the baby to sleep, sit, and stroll. We are very blessed to have so many gifts for the baby coming to us.

Christmas day we spent with the Kimball's at our house. It was a difficult pregnancy day for me, unfortunately, so Matt was left with making Christmas dinner by himself. We were suppose to do it together, but I spent most of the time in bed because the baby was moving and really hurting me. Matt is a trooper and did a wonderful job making dinner; it was delicious. Plus, Matt was making dinner most of the other nights that his parents were with us. He is super husband/son.

We had DJ and Carlos for presents this year and we gave Acquire to DJ and a Wii game to Carlos. I think that DJ really loves his new game. Or, that is what I am going to believe anyway. Matt got a jigsaw from Anne and I got WallE from Carlos. I had never seen WallE before and it was actually really cute, I liked it. I asked for Disney movies this year and I got a lot of them! Mom and Dad Kimball gave us a DVD player (we have never had one, just a playstation and an xbox), and they got us a bunch of Disney DVDs. It will take us a while to watch them all. We wanted to up our kid dvd collection since we have a child coming our way soon. We were very lucky with all the gifts that we received this year.

Matt and I also bought one large gift for each other and one small gift. I got Matt a table saw and Get Smart on DVD. He got me a Singer sewing machine and Dr. Horrible on DVD. I love my gifts! I wanted a sewing machine so that I could hone my sewing skills and make things for the baby. I haven't finished reading the user's manual (yes, I am one of those), but once I do, I'm going to start trying it out. I will probably need help from my Mom while I am relearning sewing because I haven't done it in a few years, but I am very excited! Plus, Dr. Horrible, where's the bad? There is no bad.

So, I can't have a vacation without getting sick. It just wouldn't be me. I started feeling a sickness coming on on Sunday. I still tried to be strong and went to church and all, but by Sunday night, it was over, I was just not feeling good. I've got either a really mean cold or a version of the flu. I went to the doctor's on Monday to make sure that I didn't have strep throat because we know people who have had it, but luckily, I don't. Just a virus; a virus that hates me and wants me to suffer. It is now Wednesday and I have not been back to work. Matt has been sick too, so we were both home on Monday and Tuesday. Matt went to work for a few hours this morning and then came home. We both have tomorrow off work because of the holiday, which is nice because then neither of us have to use PTO. Hopefully, I will be feeling well enough on Friday to return to work. It has been over a week since I've been to work and I've been in bed for three days. I'm growing tired of being in bed all day. I've already made my way through two seasons of Smallville. I start on the third season tomorrow. I think that Matt has grown tired of Smallville, but I could watch through all the six seasons that we have.

Happy New Year Blog Viewers!

Poisoned!

Matt and I were poisoned last weekend. We think that the culprit was Tucanos because we both ate there and both got sick at the same time. So, Tucanos is now on my list of places that I will not eat. We were both sick all day on Saturday and got almost no sleep on Friday night because we woke up sick. I have to say that being pregnant and food poisoned is very unpleasant. Luckily, we survived.

Sarah and DJ came over on Sunday for dinner and games. I like to invite them over about once a month so that I have someone to play games with me. Matt is always willing to play games with me, but it is more fun to have more than two people playing a game. Matt and DJ made some new characters on our Wii using a mii characters website that shows you how to create weird characters like the terminator guy or a guy with a hamburger for a head. I'm thinking that someone has a little too much time on their hands if they are sitting around figuring out how to make a hans solo mii character. But, Matt and DJ had fun making and naming the characters so all the mii creator's hard work is put to good use.

Mom and Dad Kimball flew in yesterday. Matt and I are both very glad that they are here. We were worried that they weren't going to make it in because the Seattle airport was all closed and the roads were all snowy, but they made it. And, then they left today to go to St. George to see Grandma and Grandpa Kimball. They will be back tomorrow though. I wish they were back now. I like it when they are here. Mom is all helpful with cooking and stuff and she is always willing to play games with me and she is really funny. I got lucky with my in-laws. Good thing that Matt has an awesome family that I get along with.

Went to the doctor on Friday. The baby is doing great, but I'm anemic. More meat for me.