The Big Update

There is so much I want to update here I just don't know where to begin! Ever since early August our lives have really had lots and lots of changes and I'm just so happy to finally get all of them up here!

It all started in the first week of August when Jeff and I were thrilled to see two lines show up on an at home pregnancy test. On the first one the two lines were a little light so I went out and bought a few more, four tests later we were pretty sure that I was definitely expecting our next little bundle of joy. We were and are thrilled to be growing our familly. Johnathan will be 2 years and 9 months old when he will become a big brother and we are sure he's going to love it. We had planned on waiting to tell everyone the big news until after our first appointment which would have been about 6 weeks later, but just couldn't make it that long. We told our parents the first week of September by inviting them out to dinner and having Johnathan wear his brand new "big brother" t-shirt. It took Jeff's parents and my mom a few seconds to really read the shirt before it all sunk in! They were so surprised and excited!



Up until this point we hadn't even talked about the new baby with Johnathan since he doesn't understand the idea of a secret. Well that night we tried our best to explain everything in 2 year old terms and Johanthan totally got it. He started pointing to his shirt saying "big booother, big, boooother" and if we asked him "who's going to be a big brother" he would point to himself and say "him". So cute! He wore the shirt to day care the next day to share the news with his friends and was very proud to show it off all day long. Since then Johanthan is very excited to say that he is going to be a big brother and when asked where Mommy's baby is he will point to my belly and kiss it. I've asked Johnathan whether he thinks its a girl or boy and he always answers with "Emma" who is a friend of his in school and a friend of the families daughter. Only time will tell if it's a boy or girl and we definitely plan on finding out! Of course we would be happy no matter who is growing in there and are very excited to find out!

This pregnancy has been so very different than Johnathan's! To begin with I have had some major morning sickness only all day long. (I don't think whoever created the term morning sickness ever had!) I have since been told by my doctor to stop taking my prenatal vitamins for a little while and that has definitely helped a lot! Another difference is that my belly is already sticking out there! I was so surprised to find my pants fitting a little too tight only weeks after finding out. I guess once your body's been through it once, it just jumps right back in full force! I've also been absolutely exhausted! I've seriously been in bed no later than 8:30 every night for the past few weeks. I am up at least once or twice a night for the bathroom which is another thing, my bladder must have shrank (shrunk? shrinked?) in the past few weeks too! More than anything else I'm feeling so very grateful to be pregnant again and to have our new little babe growing inside of me. It's such an amazing feeling and I'm loving it!

On September 8th we were lucky enough to get a quick peek at the little peanut with our first ultrasoud. We saw a little lima bean with a strong hearbeat of 183 bpm. It was very difficult to make out the shape of a baby but the technician said everything looked perfect and right on track for an April 18th 2011 due date! Here's a photo of what we saw!


And yes I asked if there was definitely only one baby in there and the tech said "yup, only one, it's the first thing I check!" I guess it's a common question! :-)

In addition to all of this wonderful baby news, I am also very excited to say that I have decided to make some major work changes. After nearly six years of working for Homes & Land magazine, I decided it was time to move on and challenge myself to find a new career. I looked into many different directions but ultimately decided on applying with the school district. It was not an easy process for me since I had never worked in a school or with children before, but I was persistant and didn't take no for an answer! I initially was hired as a non-instructional substitute and was thrilled to be given the opportunity to work on a daily basis hopping from school to school helping where I was most needed.

During that time I spent a day at Mike Davis Elementary school and fell in love. This school has an awesome staff, an amazing principal and an overall feeling that welcomed me and made me feel "at home". Everything seemed to fall in place when less than a week later a full time position opened up! I immediately applied for the position and was hired days later. It just felt so very right! I was thrilled to have a full-time "home" and to belong to a school. My official title is "general assistant" and I have yet to have a "normal" day, I'm finding that the one thing I can count on is change and I like it. I honestly had no idea how fast pace a school day is! I show up at 7:15 and before I know it, I'm helping with car line at 3:15 thinking where did the day go. I always respected teachers before, but now I seriously take my hat off and bow down in the "I'm not worthy" (Wayne's World) type way. Teachers you ROCK!

After a year or two of some rough times with tough decisions I can finally say that things are looking up. Way, way, WAY up! It's as if someone is saying "okay you can move on now" and thank goodness for that! Through all of this I am happy to say that we have only grown stronger as a family. Johnathan has really been the joy of our life and we are just so happy to give him a best friend to play with. I can only imagine how our hearts will grow over these next few months. I feel like we are in such a great place right now and I'm seriously excited about what's in store for our future.

Finally I want to say a big thank you to everyone who posted such sweet messages on facebook when we broke the news. It's wonderful to have amazing family and friends like all of you! You certainly know how to make us feel loved! Thank you!!