All's Well...

I finished Spring Term with flying colors! 4.0! I loved my classes and I am excited to get a break from school for a little while. I have been working these past couple of weeks and I will continue to work off and on during the summer whenever I am needed. Josh is enjoy his summer and is already getting a head start on next school year (I told him that he needed to get the first two weeks so that he can be available for the arrival of our little one). On the days that I don't work, we have been going to the mountains and keeping active. I'll post some pictures below of our adventures.

We had our follow-up ultrasound last Friday to measure baby girl's growth and the amniotic fluid: she is growing fantastically--right on track!--and the fluid is in the normal range (the high end of normal, but not too concerning--they will check the fluid again when I get closer to the due date). It was fun getting to see her again. The doctor showed us her face then moved to measure the fluid and when she went back to her face, baby girl (womb child as Josh said) was covering her face with her arms...no pictures, please! We are getting excited. Only 9 weeks left!

We registered for baby stuff a couple of weeks ago and we cannot believe we will have a little girl in our home soon.


Here are some of our pictures from our day-trip to Silver Lake by Brighton ski resort:




Yes, friends, that is snow! Cool...literally.


We babysat our nephews the other day and here are some pictures from that:

Lucas did want to wear his "leash" so Josh put it on and had Lucas hold on to him.


Left to right: Lucas (3), Parker (7) and Nick (12)

Is claustrophobia a side effect of pregnancy?

So, my family (Post) have been planning on going to Lehman Caves since Katie was a baby...that is a long time my friends. So...here are some images from the long-awaited trip!









This weekend we went to Lehman Caves in Great Basin National Park, Nevada. It was cold (32 degrees), it rained and we had a blast! Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

Above is the sunset that welcomed us into Nevada.

Above left is a cave shield. They don't know what forms these disc-like stalactite-wearing formations, but there pretty awesome!




Here are Katie and Annie coming through one of the claustrophobic spaces during the tour of the caves. I admit, I got really nervous and dizzy when I was walking through here...mostly because the line of people stopped when I was in the middle of it. Very nervous making!


Josh is making kissy faces. Mmwha!

After the ranger took notice of Parker and listened to one of his comments, Parker followed him around in this cavern for five minutes.

Below, there is a stalactite that had fallen and now looks like a creature...can you find the alligator?









(Below )The girls...minus the top half of Sissy's (Melissa) face.







Not the best picture, but this is called "cave bacon"...any ideas why?







Here's Josh next to a stream that ran along the "kitchen station" of the camp. There were no mosquito (thank goodness) but there were a lot of mice and voles--little fat mice with short tails (Josh's mom would have loved that!). There is one said mouse in this picture...can you find it? The best part of this moment was as Josh watched this mouse another mouse scurried up and between Josh's legs. Good times.






Hashbrowns anyone?!? Here's Katie cookin' up breakfast in the rain Saturday morning.








This is the most famous cave shield in the cave. Amber lighting for dramatic effect...check!!

Who needs more sleep when pregnant?

I had my 28 week check up today, glucose test and all! The glucose part was not as bad as everyone made it out to be. Who knew?

Everything is going great. I am measuring "big" for the first time (meaning uterus-wise), baby girl is growing well and I did gain some weight this month (4 pounds) so I have gained only 9 pounds total this entire pregnancy. I have a pulled muscle on the bottom of my ribcage that is making some of my movements interesting--in other words a little painful, but other than that baby girl and I are fantastic!

I set up an appointment for a followup ultrasound (June 25) to make sure that the baby is growing well and two weeks after that I will start getting natal stress tests to make sure that all is going well.

I have been looking at various names just for fun. Some I like, some I don't, and some I don't know if Josh will like. We'll see.

Peace!

Ultrasound Update: 21 weeks and counting....

I did not mention this in my last blog because I had not yet discussed it with my doctor. During the ultrasound it was discovered that the umbilical cord only has one artery and one vein (normally 2 arteries and one vein). This occurs in 5-6% of all pregnancies. The ultrasound doctor did not give me a lot of information regarding the affects of this, but my doctor did call me the day after the ultrasound to talk about it. Unfortunately I was in a class and missed her call. We played phone tag for a week until I was able to talk to her yesterday.

She had nothing but reassuring information for us. She said that most babies with this "condition" are fine, and since the rest of the ultrasound was normal and looking great, she did not have much concern. What will be done is an ultrasound every month from here on out to measure the growth of our precious baby girl, which the doctor anticipates to be fine, as well as weekly fetal monitoring from 34 weeks until the end of the pregnancy. She said that it is unlikely to cause any problems with the baby, but the monitoring will make sure that the blood flow stays normal and that the fluid around her does not change.

I have had some very faith-promoting and wonderful experiences as I have been guided in my personal gospel and scripture study since finding out about this. I know that this baby girl is a blessing and is very special, that Heavenly Father is excited and joyful for Josh and I to be parents, and that my understanding and testimony of the Atonement is and will continue to be a strength to me.

Congrats...it's beginning to look like a baby!

A week ago today we went to get our first ultrasound! It was incredible. What was I expecting the baby to be, boy or girl? Well, to honestly answer, a girl. However, the week leading up to the ultrasound I was beginning to wonder if it might be a boy. I know that is what Josh wanted, a boy, though when we were first talking about getting pregnant he said he wanted a little girl. So, as I lied on the table, stomach all gooped up, rolling thingy pressed firmly against my already weak bladder, I was not too surprised by what I saw.

The technician when straight for the good stuff to reveal the all to present question: so...what is it? When she found the proper view, looking up at the tiny bottom, I knew exactly what I was looking at. She asked "so any guesses as to what you're having." Josh just looked at the screen, looked at me and smiled, like he had no clue what he was looking it. I said, "well, not really...." when in fact I did. She then said "It's a girl" and the phrase "I'm a girl" was placed on the image. IT'S A GIRL!!

It was an incredible experience to finally "see" the baby. It was a little strange to see her moving so much, and hear the technician comment on how active she is, but not being able to feel the movement. That has changed in the past week. I can feel her moving more and more. Kicks, punches, flips. There have been a few times I have been sure that Josh would be able to feel the bumps on the outside, but he has not felt it yet...soon, though, very soon.

It was fun telling everyone what we were having. It seemed everyone "knew" what we would have, and some "knew" what they wanted us to have. My dad was positive it was a boy. So positive that when I told him over the phone we found out he said "it's a boy" I said, "no, it's a girl," he replied "a boy then." He has said that ultrasounds have been wrong before, I think to make himself feel better. My mom also said it was a boy, though she was holding and looking at the images from the ultrasound. No, Mom, it's a girl. "Oh!" she exclaimed! "Can I go shopping now?"

Needless to say, we are very excited and look forward to meeting this precious angel.

I finished with all my finals yesterday afternoon and I have some time off, until next Tuesday when Spring Term starts. I am only taking 3 classes and I will have a lot more time to rest. The play finishes this week, which is always a bitter-sweet experience. Josh has a state debate competition tomorrow and then his schedule should get a lot better as well.

We miss all of you and hope all is well in your lives!

The Wallaces

Chuckle...I don't have to go through any of this!

Incredible moment the other day!!! I was taking a test in my directing class and, no, that is not the cool part, I felt the baby move!! At first I thought it was a muscle twitch since my body does really odd things lately. I shifted in my seat to see if that would remedy the twitch, but it kept going. I then realized what it was!! It was, in a word, amazing. How do I even articulate what it is truly like?

I was looking at "What to Expect When Your Expecting" when I got home later that day, and I read the part that said that women feel the baby at varying times, anywhere from 14 to 20 weeks. Well, put me in the 15th week column.

When Josh got home that night, I was doing homework and trying to relax on the couch. He picked up the "Expecting" that I had left on the coffee table and started to read. Suddenly, he started to chuckle. I thought, okay, I really didn't find anything very funny in the book. I continued to do my homework. Soon, he started to laugh again; my curiosity got a hold of me and I asked him what he was laughing about. He said, "I don't have to go through any of this!" He then started to list things he had found funny. I dryly looked at him, held my tongue and started to do my homework once again.

Later that night, I was thinking about him laughing, feeling like he didn't really care about all that I am going through, that he will never understand and then it hit me: it is actually kind of sad he doesn't get to go through it. #1...it is my role as a woman in the plan of salvation and #2...he will never feel the life and connection as I do. So, maybe I should randomly chuckle and tell him "You don't have to go through any of this!" I think he is ready to "feel", palpably and through my skin, the baby move, but it will not be for a while and it will not be the same sensation or experience for us both. After I told him I had felt the baby move, he said "when will you feel it kick?" He may be laughing on the outside, but I can see the jealousy. Jealousy of my stomach aches, headaches, constipation, fatigue, dizziness, loss of appetite, lack of want to smell certain foods, nausea, of my ever increasing waistline (even though I am maintaining weight now because I cannot eat too much still), and my unpredictable mood swings. Yep. Jealous!!!

Being a woman is A-MAZ-ING!! This has been one of the most wonderful experiences yet in my life.

And so it begins....

14 weeks. We are now 14 weeks into our first pregnancy!!! We are so happy and are excited for our family to grow.

Two weeks ago I went to see my doctor and get my check-up (happy-pappy and all...yea me:). Everything looks great! We also experienced something amazing. We heard the heartbeat for the first time! Dr. Stevenson found one of my arteries so that we could hear the difference between the two: mine was like a giant meandering around and the baby's was like a squirrel hyped up on caffeine. A-MAZ-ING!

I am now a couple of weeks into the second trimester and feeling a little bit better. I still feel sick in the morning and a little bit at night, but my herbal tea helps me out a lot! I find all the side effects of pregnancy..."interesting." But, I am happy, excited and loving life!

Josh's middle school's basketball team he coaches won their division (if that's what it's called). They played the semifinals Saturday at 2 and then the final was at 4, also on Saturday. The first game was an easy win but the second game was exciting! They won it in the last two minutes after falling behind in the first and then switching the lead the rest of the game. He enjoyed it, but he's glad that it's done.

Play rehearsals are going well for me (Twelfth Night). I am having so much fun and learning a lot, but I do physically check out around 8 p.m. Baby and mama get tired being on our feet all day. We open in less than a month, but it is coming right along.