update on life

I realize I updated this not too long ago but I was just so excited that I finally updated my chalkboard too... I'll be 18 weeks this Friday. So close to finding out gender and so close to hopefully soon feeling some kicks!?
I can tell my stomach is changing. But so far not a whole lot changing that's noticeable with all my clothes covering it. But you can tell in the tank top pic its starting to maybe poke out a little right?

Garth and I are so ready for the semester to be done. We had an overwhelmingly busy last couple of weeks and we just want it to end! 3 weeks left of classes 1 week full of finals. WE CAN DO IT!
The only sad thing is that after that we have 1 week of break and then we are back to a 14 week semester. So lame.
The 7 week break is going to be so great. We are due the end of it, so hopefully Garth won't have to miss class for our baby's arrival.

I'm so excited to find out gender. I tried to convince my doctor to do it earlier but he's leaving town so we had to wait. Lame!
I just want to start planning the nursery and picking our name!
I have a couple favorites for each gender, but Garth won't be a fully active participant until we know gender. (men).

I'm sad to report the sickness actually isn't over. I always think it is because I'm heavily medicated and don't feel sick anymore, but I tried to ween myself off (doc said to start when I thought I was done being sick). We decreased the dose and the first two days I was totally fine which was an improvement. But then it went downhill quickly until I was back to running to the sink. I guess I'm just one of those lame people who don't get magically cured around 12-14 weeks. Oh well [:

Garth and I are doing well beyond the baby. We have been having a stressful semester but also one of the more peaceful semesters. A lot of school work--but we've learned how to manage it really well as a team and to tackle things together. I love the days he comes home for lunch and we get to just talk for a little bit in the middle of the day before going on to our classes.

This is my complaint for the week [: so you may choose to skip it if you'd like haha:
I've learned that miscarrying changes pregnancy for each spouse a little bit. Cramps and pains make you really nervous, especially before you reach that 12 week mark. It makes you cringe when people announce pregnancy really early, It also makes your husband worry more.
First off, Garth is just Garth. He's the type of guy who doesn't let you open your own door, and doesn't like you to carry the heavy things if you don't have to because you're his wife and that's just Garth. Which I love about him. I think its cute and gentlemen-like. But then if you add in our first pregnancy and how active we were, I still ran and swam laps and worked out almost daily (which is fine, its not WHY I miscarried) of course at some point I know Garth wondered if he let me do too much. So now, when you put that all together you have a very attentive husband on the second pregnancy. He doesn't like me to carry the groceries if he can help it (I still help though promise!) he prefers I do things like walk and ride the bike at the gym, and if I get cramps and he can tell oh my goodness I don't get to lift a finger. Lol. Which yes sometimes I have to tell him to just calm down and I'm fine [: BUT that's MY job. There have been a lot of people who tell him to not do this or not feel this way or who roll their eyes or act as though he's weird. He's not weird, he's just had different experiences that make him feel differently about this pregnancy--I wish people understood that. I love him. End of story.

Also question for everyone:
What type of stroller do you have or prefer?
I want a stroller I could go jogging with. But I've been reading that they don't recommend you jog with a baby until they're six months anyways. I've also read about the downsides weight and size wise. So I'm wondering if you have a jogging stroller, would you still want the basic travel systems? Or would you just use your jogging stroller for everything etc?
Just let me know please!!!

A moment to remember

I'm mostly writing this post for my memory--so you'll notice I didn't post the link to facebook.
There are small moments that occur that are probably extremely significant to me, and silly to everyone else--BUT I want to remember them regardless.

Last week Garth and I had an experience where we were trying to make a fairly large decision. Every time one of us decided, the other switched sides or points of view. We discussed it all week and finally realized that we both knew what we were supposed to do but that we were being stubborn. Garth talked on the phone to his dad, while I talked to my mom (it was her birthday) and we were just coincidentally talking to them at the same time it wasn't about anything in particular. After getting off the phone we sat down on our kitchen floor (yes we have a table--it was really late and we were tired). We talked about the decision and laughed about the whole process. I made us scrambled eggs (in the middle of the night remember) and we just sat on the floor and ate and laughed about life and different experiences we have had.
We talked about our future and joked about what kinds of things might come. We comforted each other on some fears we had in the future and we just enjoyed the small moment. It didn't matter that we had to get up early the next day or that we had homework to do, we just enjoyed that moment together laughing and discussing our life, eating our scrambled eggs.

I enjoy these moments because I'm sure they'll be what I miss. When we are more financially stable, or have a more established family it will be these little times that we sat on the floor and laughed together for no reason at all that I cherish from our newly wed life. It'll be that time we went outside and did companion scripture study on a blanket in the grass just because we wanted to. It will be those times that we sat down on the floor to talk (we seem to prefer the floor when we are stressed) and both fell asleep next to each other. It will be the times that we played Super Smash on nintendo 64 like little kids. The simple little moments together are generally so much more important than the planned events.

So next time you're sitting there alone with your spouse just laughing about life or talking about nothing--enjoy it. How often do you get to focus on nothing but just your spouse?

16 Weeks and 4 days.

This below is a lovely shot of my tank top so you can get a better idea of what I look like, 

because my shirt is new and a little loose so I have room to grow [:

So just an update about me:
-I am starting to really enjoy being pregnant.
-I'm having more energy these days.
-I can't wait to have a bump.
-I can still button all of my jeans, but I hate sitting in them in class all day because they're starting to get a little tight so I sometimes cheat and use a scrunchie to close them so that they don't squeeze me.
-I am able to see a difference in my belly for sure.
-I can't wait to find out what gender this baby is! We don't find out til april 3rd though!!

First trimester recap.

This is my first trimester recap real quick
Things I liked:
1. Hearing the heart beat and seeing a healthy baby. I was SO nervous for the 8 week appointment. I may or may not have been super lame and cried when I heard the heart beat. No one noticed though.
2. To tell Garth we were pregnant I made a movie. It had all our pictures we've taken in order from the dating phase up to married life. At the end there was a slide that said "And now this summer they're renovating their apartment..." and the next said "They're adding two feet" then the next was a picture of baby feet and the text said "the kind of feet that walk" then it ended. And Garth didn't get it. He didn't realize for about 2 minutes what I was saying. So that was awkward.. lol
3. Making it to the 12 week mark. I've been so nervous at any sign of cramping or pain, I just wanted to make it to this point so I could relax a LITTLE.
4. How badly Garth wants a boy, and how badly my siblings want me to have a girl. All for weird reasons. Anna because she wants Paris to have a friend, and Kyle because he wants to be able to have the first boy. Haha [:
5. How if there's ANYthing that sounds good to me to eat (its rare for me to find something I actually want) Garth wants to go get it right then always. Sometimes I feel awkward, but he loves me.
6. Kyle and Bailee brought me a first trimester survival kit. It had all my favorite things. Goldfish, airheads, popsicles--yum--and more, and each had a purpose. Probably the airheads were eaten way too quickly though. 
7. The satisfaction my husband gets out of seeing me sick. Now before you judge him--let me explain. He doesn't like seeing me sick and in pain, but its comforting because me being sick means the pregnancy is progressing. I wasn't super sick my first pregnancy. So one day when I threw up all day Garth got a little excited and said, "Maybe we are having a boy!!" (My mom was much sicker with the boy than the girls). Haha. ALSO the first time I threw up there was a little smile on his face. Which you can bet I didn't like at the time.. lol

Dislikes:
1. The fact that when you throw up pregnant there's no "oh I finally threw up now I feel better." Its oh man I feel worse, which probably means its going to happen again.
2. My general bla toward food. I can never find anything that sounds good, therefore nothing is really satisfying.
3. Having my first real craving. For a while I just really liked taco bell. But I never felt like I craved it. Then one day after being sick all day I had a super strong craving for a smoothie I haven't had since high school. I got all shakey and crazy. Didn't have a car so, my lovely sister in law had to go get it for me. I felt really bad, but I learned real cravings stink. Except when they're satisfied. That made the smoothie the best smoothie ever.
4. Garth  not liking me to do anything I don't have to. I finally had to tell him one night that when I feel good I want to clean and I want to cook and I want to do normal things, and he has to let me or I feel like a terrible wife and I'm doing nothing fulfilling.
5. Being in school while sick. I always have a little snack for class, but I've quickly learned that my classes are all very far from the bathroom. So my options for running out of the class to throw up are water fountains and sometimes I get lucky with trash cans.. one time my only option was a potted plant. Luckily I was just dry heaving. People stared, yes.
6. Wanting to work out, but not being able to consistently. I usually do on the days I feel good, and I've been trying to at least walk the track. But it doesn't happen all the time. And I get more sore doing the same things I used to, so I feel like an old woman. [:


My conclusion: I'm not so good at this whole pregnancy thing yet. Don't think my body likes the hormones [: haha. But this is yet another reason God sent such a patient husband my way right? Garth keeps telling me this trimester is going to be better and I'm going to wake up one day like "DING" sickness gone. So far, not yet [:

Secrets

Its 11:50am and I have been reading for 3 1/2 straight hours for homework, so I'm taking a small break to write a little post. 

I've decided its time to stop lying to people...

 

Can you read what that says? Haha. Yes, yes its true. 

So little bit of information-- 

Yes, we did wait the three months recommended by the doctor after we miscarried. That seems to be a frequent question [: 

We are 12 weeks along now. 

We've seen the baby, and everything looks healthy. We are exactly on schedule which is a good sign for a healthy baby, we've heard the healthy heart beat twice, and things are looking great there.  

 Baby Wright is due August 23rd. (For those of you who don't remember, ironically my due date is the exact day I miscarried). Maybe I'm weird but it made me smile a little. 

I will graduate in July. A month before baby's arrival. 

Pre-pregnancy: 

 

Disclaimer: These photos above look awkward because they were just taken to show my friend the skirt. Its a skirt she had us get for her bridesmaids outfits. So I wasn't really planning on a pre-pregnancy photo. But it was about a week before the three months of waiting ended.

 I planned to do the above every week.. but I've been sick so it hasn't happened. 

I will do a twelve week one this week though!

11 Weeks:

Part of the reason I'm announcing this is because I am worried people think I'm going inactive!

This pregnancy I have been SO sick. 

I was really nauseated daily starting week 6ish. 

The day after I became 8 weeks I threw up for the first time being pregnant! Before that it was just dry heaves. I remember running to the sink and thinking oh no, its started. 

After that it just got worse. 

It was once the next day, three times the next day, twice in the morning and twice at night the next, and so on until it was uncontrollable and I found myself hooked up to an IV due to dehydration. 

Needless to say I missed a lot of church and class, and people were starting to ask me a lot of questions. I wasn't ready to tell people because I still have this fear of miscarrying. So I just kind of let them fill in their own blanks haha. 

But after the IV I had this big bruise on my hand, so people started asking if I had the flu and it dehydrated me. I started to feel really bad that no one knew. 

I'm now on medication for the nausea. It works great. I don't throw up if I take it twice a day, just have nausea some head aches and dry heaving. But all of that is definitely do-able.

We have since learned that without the medication I throw up literally every half hour, no exaggeration. And yes--I calculated the average. Before you judge me I was trying to figure out how long there was between each time so I could find a way to keep food down or water and avoid another IV. 

So, all my teachers have had to be notified and most of them are pretty willing to work with me on the whole not being able to attend classes sometimes. (Attendance is a big deal at BYU-I because of tithing dollars paying for our education). Am I extremely behind in school though? You betchya. 

I missed the whole second week of classes, and then half a week again last week. 

BUT I have an amazing husband who is picking up my ever growing slack. He works way too hard, but I can say that all the days I was really sick he kept the house clean while I laid in bed with my bowl. 

He draws on my back a lot, because when I'm throwing up I get really grumpy, its exhausting. Good thing I married a very patient man who loves me very much! 

The day I got my IV he informed me that he missed class that day for the first time since his mission. He's been home almost three years--so I ruined that perfect record! The IV and appointment took almost 5 hours total. The nurses kept getting frustrated that my veins wouldn't take the fluid in any faster. 

This is when Garth had the brilliant idea of playing the "guess what I'm thinking game". That got us through about an hour of it. 

Then our neighbors brought him Jimmy Johns. I was so jealous. I hadn't been able to eat anything in days, but Garth reminded me that I was currently eating through a tube in my vein. Needless to say, he received a very dirty look as he ate his huge sandwich.(I wasn't allowed to eat anything yet).

But that day I was just so grateful I chose Garth. He doesn't complain, he doesn't get upset--he just does. He gave me a blessing that morning, and then called the doctor. We went in just because I had lost 4 pounds in a couple days, but we didn't think I needed an IV. The doctor said I was too dehydrated so we'd have to stay. We weren't planning on missing classes, but Garth didn't complain. He just sat and talked to me and made me laugh. I apologized for how much time it was taking and how much the IV would cost and he just laughed at me. He's a good man. 

Anyways--surprise! Even though most of you were probably expecting it. 

I'm not very good at keeping secrets, but only our family and neighbors knew, so I think I did pretty good... 

So for any of you who were wondering why I cancelled visiting teaching appointments, why I missed church for multiple weeks, or why I sporadically attend class--now you know. 

Corny.

Maybe I'm just in a lovey dovey mood. (if you don't like corny, you can just move on and skip this post)
Or maybe its because Garth has been gone most of the day.
Or MAYBE its because he's gone everyday, and I'm mostly here doing online classes.
Possibly.
But I just am filled with a lot of gratitude for my husband tonight. I probably should say I am always full of gratitude for him--but tonight I'm especially overflowing.
Garth always has a full schedule. His school work is really demanding and hard. We are both students, but I don't have the pressure of perfect grades for grad school so I willingly procrastinate. Garth is currently being trained to be the executive secretary in the ward, and he is beginning to work two different jobs. Somehow he still finds time to clean the kitchen, or make dinner one night, or sit down and play checkers with me. (I destroyed him).
Most of all he always makes me smile.
There are a lot of moments I don't want to forget.

Like that time he planned all the meals for the week, went to the grocery store, and wrote them all out on the menu planner and WOULD NOT LET ME COOK. When I asked him why he wasn't letting me cook he said, "I want to cook for the whole week. Not many husbands can say they cooked dinner for their wife for the whole week."

Or that time I was sick and hooked up to an IV and he said "Lets play a game called GUESS WHAT I'M THINKING!". I thought he was kidding, but he was dead serious. I thought of something easy, and it didn't take him long to guess it.
You just ask questions like "Is it a person place or thing?" "Do you use it in the house?" "Do we own one?" etc. 
What did Garth think of? A window. Who guesses a window? Garth sat there and laughed at me because I had no idea and he was so excited to stump me. My clues were, they're in your house, and you can't drive without them. Really?
So to make it harder I thought of a push pin. Garth asked questions and deciphered things for almost 40 minutes until he finally got it. At this point he wanted to play again and I said "Are you kidding? I thought of a push pin so you would never want to play again."

Or that time that Garth danced with me in the kitchen when I was upset. That's actually happened a couple times...he's a good man.

Or that time I was really really stressed and Garth and Kyle were hanging out in the living room. I told them I was going for a drive. I didn't realize that to men that meant they were in trouble. I came home to an empty sparkling clean house. 10 minutes later Garth and Kyle came back with flowers. When I told him he hadn't done anything wrong he was surprised. He thought for sure I had been mad at him. But hey I got flowers right? [:

Or the look on Garth's face the first time he held my hand. He was terrified. I later found out he had tried to convince himself to do it about three times previous to the time he actually did. 

I even laugh to think about the times Garth and I tried to end things and move on. We were long distance and both thought we were a little crazy. It didn't work.

Or when we got called to be Ward Librarians and Garth's first response was, "YES. Now you get to be the HOT LIBRARIAN. SWEET." haha..

I love that Garth and I can pick on each other and laugh. Sometimes his wit surprises me.

I love seeing Garth with kids. I remember one time watching a movie at his sister Ana's and looking over to see Garth asleep with his nephew Aiden sitting in his lap asleep.

I love that when we were dating I had a favorite song that reminded me of him, and he went home and learned how to play it on the piano, recorded it, singing and all, and sent it to me.

Or that time we had a picnic on a pair of Garths jeans from his car because we forgot a blanket. [:

And that time I told Garth to be careful blowing out the candles, and he didn't listen and got hot wax allllll over his face.

The time he told me he wanted to marry  me, and all I could say was "Oh Okay, thats nice." (didn't feel like I had that answer for myself yet.)
And then I took him to the bountiful temple --my fav-- to tell him I got my answer and I wanted to Marry him too. And he got really nervous when I started talking and thought that I was ending it with him.. haha. I said, "really? you thought I brought you to the temple so I could say 'yeah can't marry you but I'll marry someone else here someday'". haha. 

 Or when I was miscarrying and he just drew on my back while I cried. He gave me countless blessings, each one with words I needed to hear.

I just love him. Best friend I could have ever hoped for.

Thanksgiving and Such

Garth and I had a great thanksgiving. I loved it, but of course missed the family.
I only had classes on Monday last week so I spent Monday night, and Tuesday doing a lot of homework. Then wednesday we both worked in the morning then came home and did some more homework!
We spent the day with Kyle and Bailee (doing laundry, nothing glamorous) and then we went and rented "Deck the Halls". I think this movie is super funny, almost as funny as Christmas with the Kranks.
We came home and made the dough for my mom's famous rolls (most of you have probably tried them). We learned exactly how thin to spread out the dough with each batch so they just got better and better! They actually turned out which excited us.
Then we made chocolate chip cookies and gingersnaps and sat down to cuddle and watch our Christmas flick.

The next day I got up early and started making the pie crust.
After that I made some more cookies, and the fudge.
Then I made my mom's jell-o. Its orange jello mixed with lemon pudding with bananas and cool whip on top. Then Garth and I prepped the turkey to the best of our ability.
We both had never really done it before, so he had to call his dad a couple time just to double check some things.

After I got all the snacks out on the table we sat down and watched a Christmas show together.
After the show I got up and made the pie filling. It was a cream cheese cherry pie.

Then it started to hit me that I wished my family wasn't alone for the Holiday. I felt bad that Anna, Kyle, and I were all gone. It was the first time my family would be alone on Thanksgiving. It made me pretty sad, but Garth knows me well and we just turned on Christmas music and he slow danced with me in the kitchen with the break we had in cooking.
I love that man.
Then we made the potatoes, cream peas and potatoes, gravy, stuffing, corn, and finished up the turkey.

We had set our table all nice, but because we had so much food on such a little table it was just pretty crowded [:
We talked about all the things we are grateful for in the past year while we ate. And we patted ourselves on the back for how good everything tasted!
Then we took a short nap on the couch.
THEN we had pie and more sparkling cider sitting by the tree.

We joked and laughed a lot and I was reminded how much I just love being around Garth.
I'm grateful for very much this year, most specifically my husband and the opportunity we had to be married in the temple.
We drove that night to see his family in Logan and spent the weekend with them. We went black Friday shopping Friday (Garth's first time) and then we just hung out for the rest of the week. We loved being with them, I love his family.
IT was a great week. Wouldn't change a thing.


Now we are almost done with school and I couldn't be more excited. I'm definitely in procrastination mode, which I really need to get out of since I'm taking 20 credits next semester.
I also cut my hair off.
I've been doing it slowly since we got married.
I took 4 inches, then a month later 6, then 3 months later (now) seven.
I'm not positive how I feel about it being short but it has in an odd way given me a big confidence boost. Its something fun and new and I'm learning how to style it. It feels really me, even though I've NEVER had short hair.

I'm enjoying it.
And not missing the length, hair grows. [: