Wednesday, December 31, 2008

year end summary

2008 has come and nearly gone- only about 14 hours left in the year. i can hardly believe it. so here it is.. the year in review.

best of 2008:
deciding to have a baby/getting pregnant quickly.
having a healthy and complication-free pregnancy.
starting evapaul and having success there we didn't know was possible.
celebrating our first anniversary. one down. eternity to follow.
finding our love for san francisco.
date night every friday with very few execptions.
being close to family while living in idaho.
our summer trip to bakersfield for my Nana's 80th birthday and going to my favorite childhood beach with nic.
taking classes together- learning and growing and stretching ourselves to do well in school.
nic finding a career he loves {graphic design} which makes him excited about school.
working 6 inches away from each other, at the same desk.
discovering that we love to read. its awesome.
shopping for clothes for Daphne.
celebrating birthdays-- my 24th, nic's 23rd.
thanksgiving with the Andersen fam.
valentines day and getting a wedding band :)
our california adventure. not so great this year.. but still fun.
christmas with the Binghams. it was so much fun- i was sad about another Christmas away from my family but it's silly.. the Binghams are my family. i am looking forward to Daphne's first Christmas in CO next year though.
mothers day. my first one as an almost mom... plus we got to talk to blake on his mission and let him know he would be an uncle. that was awesome.
telling everyone we were pregnant. i think madisyn's reaction was my favorite. she has been SO excited our whole pregnancy- keeping track of what week i am and trying to feel Daphne kick whenever she gets the chance. its so cute. Daphne is going to have great aunts/uncles all around.
moving into our new place. we are renting which kind of sucks but we love having a house, 3 bedrooms, a carport to park in, storage, a washer and dryer and a little more room to breathe.
getting Daphne's room together. we're going to take pictures today- i am in love with her room.
loving nic. i love him more everyday. he has loved me more too even with every extra pound and mood swing- i could not imagine a better husband. i have the best.
going to emily and tony's wedding in October. thanks for flying us out :) we loved being able to be there- even though i was a huge bridesmaid.. ick.
finishing the semester! it feels so good to be done even though we loved our classes.
getting a new camera- a 30d which nic totally loves. i love it too- but i am still afraid to hold it.
being in several different wards- the church is the same everywhere but that doesn't make it any less awkward to go to church parties.
buying new {and old} furniture for our house.
finding out we are having a girl! I know we would be just as happy to have a boy but i love thinking about our little girl. it is going to be so great!
new movies. tv shows. music. life enriching stuff...
blogging! i nearly forgot. i love reading about other people's lives and writing our own history.
learning about paper, printing and design.
the anticaption of being parents. i haven't really LOVED being pregnant, it's been hard, but I am so excited for Nic and I to have a baby :)
making Janell's yearly scrapbook pages. i make a page of each of her kids every year and give it to her on Christmas. She always cries and is grateful and it makes me feel really good.
learning new recipes. you might be surprised to know how much i like to cook.
no alarm clocks for the past 3 weeks. since we got out of school we only had to set the alarm a couple of times. that really makes the day better though we are not nearly as productive as we wanted to be... maybe after the holidays. i hear newborns really make you productive :)

(the bold entries do not make them more important... it was just an effort to make the list easier to read also i can't figure out how to make some of the stuff not huge.. it just won't work so i am publishing it anyways)

Worst of 2008:
who wants to dwell on the bad? it's over... I just want to remember all the good things of 2008 and there were so many. I feel really blessed as I think back on a great year- our first full year of marriage. I am so lucky.

Monday, December 29, 2008

january 2nd!!

we went to the doctor today and got only good news!
I am now ALMOST a 3 and the doctor partially stripped my membrane. I don'treally know what that means but it hurt like hell. seriously. it sucked so it better do something! He said if i was at a 4 it would probably make me go right into labor but since i'm at a 3 it should at least get the ball rolling. If not, we're all set up at the hospital for a 11 am induction on friday- jan 2nd. My mom is flying in on thursday and we're excited to have her here till next wed the 7th. I looked up other awesome stuff that has happend on January 2nd- none of which seems as good as Daphne being born. But, here it is:

2001 - Sila Calderón becomes the first female Governor of Puerto Rico.

1999 - A brutal snowstorm smashes into the Midwestern United States, causing 14 inches (359 mm) of snow in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and 19 inches (487 mm) in Chicago, where temperatures plunge to -13°F (-25°C); 68 deaths are reported.


1974 - President Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum U.S. speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.

1872 - Brigham Young is arrested on charges of bigamy for having 25 wives.
{I'm so happy this made it into wikipedia... great}

births: 1983 - Kate Bosworth
1940 - S. R. S. Varadhan, Indian-American mathematician {if you haven't heard of him... you're crazy}
1978 - Toyoguchi Megumi, Japanese seiyuu -voice actress {one of the best}

And lastly- these important holidays.

Basically, we are SO excited. 3 full days remain between us and a baby! We're going to go dye some onsies, pick up a bed for my mom to sleep in, spend some time with the fam in IF and check out the rain gutter that just fell off half the roof. that's a full day... no time for mas blogging. <3

Saturday, December 27, 2008

update


i washed the lasagna pan.

i just thought you deserved to know.
my back is killing me... and my mom always tells me that's where labor starts. we'll see!

Monday, December 22, 2008

january 2nd

will {supposedly} be the day.

we went to the dr. today and nothing is moving. in fact, daphne is really high. he said he couldn't break my water at this point if he wanted to. not great news. i went into the appt. really hopeful- i was thinking: well, at the worst, i'll be induced on the 29th and maybe i am dilated now and can get a baby for Christmas. I really haven't even imagined Christmas coming and going while still being pregnant. Apparently, that was just wishful thinking. So, the dr. said if we wanted to, we could still probably get induced on the 29th but the chance we would need a c-section would be a lot higher so of course we didn't want to do that. (see, i am not THAT irrational about not wanting to be pregnant anymore) so, we have another appt. on monday (the 29th) and as long as i am "ripe" then they will proceed with the induction on Jan 2nd (next friday) it is all scheduled through the hospital- 11 am on jan 2nd. Let's hope for some ripening over the holdiay.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

another

even day has come and almost gone.
perhaps this girl just wants to be odd.

who can blame her?

but, even at its worst (if she doesn't come before i'm induced) we'll have a newborn in 8.5 days.

ahhhhhhh

Thursday, December 18, 2008

it is 11:59 on december 18th... so not today i guess.

december 18th, 2008

i think today should be the day. let me tell you why.

i love the date.
i have this thing about even numbers. i really like them. nic is the same way actually, which is a cute thing we both have in common :) when we were dating, he was kind of crazy about it. on the volume in his car- it HAD to be on an even number. If i would turn it up or down and leave it on an odd number, he would change it. i don't think he does this anymore... but we both like the evens. i think a week before Christmas is def. not ideal, but it is better than 2 days before..or a day after. december 18th. is today THE DAY?
i am breaking down.
Julie warned me of this day- when all i could do is cry and think that i just couldn't go on. i haven't cried yet today- but i did yesterday. janell texted me to ask me how was I feeling and for some reason that nice act really sent me over the edge. how am i feeling? miserable. stretched. child-less. anxious. nervous. impatient. excited. sick to my stomach.
my ankles are going to get stretch marks.
my ankles/legs/fingers have been really swollen for the last 4 months or so. my feet are especially bad. i can only wear one pair of shoes- my red vans. they are the only things that will fit and even those took me about 5 minutes to put on yesterday. i do have one pair to wear to church too- they look horrendous. my chubby little feet are spilling over the confines of the flats. not pretty. we went to the hospital on sunday. did you know that? well, i was feeling pretty crappy at church so we left after Sacrament meeting and went to walgreens so i could test my blood pressure. it was high, of course. 155/95. so, we called the on call doctor because i also hadn't been feeling Daphne move as much as she used to- so that worried me too- he said to come in. so, we did. the nurses were really sweet. they checked me out and monitored Daphne. She looked good. Nothing to worry about. My blood pressure finally went down after being there for an hour and 1/2. they took some blood, ran some tests that all came back good and then sent us home. babyless once again. When they were examining me they looked at my swollen ankles and you could tell they felt really bad for me. And really bad for for Nic and anyone else who has to see my legs without pants on (including themselves) they said my swollen ankles were a "plus 2" I asked if that was like the max you could be puffed up. She laughed and said: oh, no! But inside she was probably saying: yes, but i don't want to break your heart, you already have cankles, i don't want you to completely lose your will to live.
our bags are packed.
and they are waiting anxiously for us by the front door, wanting to make themselves useful at madison memorial hospital. we packed them up on sunday for our first hospital trip, just in case. i have so few things that i can wear that i have to do laundry every like 2 days in order to keep our bag packed. its a joy.
the house is clean.
nic is amazing, if you haven't heard. he has been working so hard lately. as i write this he is cleaning the toilets. what a gem. the house is looking great- daphne's room especially. it is all ready. last week when i thought i was really dying to have the baby (now i know that THIS is what dying to have the baby really feels like) the house was a wreck. it wouldn't have been as fun to bring a new baby home to- or let my mom and mother in law in our house. now, we're ready and so is the house.
it is sunny today.
ever since the last day of school, its been snowing like crazy. i am already sick of winter, and it won't even officially be winter till next week. awful. nic's plan to move to costa rica is sounding better with each dip in the thermometer. today, while there is still a foot of snow on the ground and a thick layer of ice/snow packed onto the road (rexburg doesn't plow... it's awesome) it is sunny! i'm excited. i love the look of snow with sun. it reminds me of..... COLORADO!!! (i bet you couldn't see that coming) There are even patches of our driveway that are clear- you can see CEMENT! what a huge improvement.
bad night/ good morning.
last night when we were going to bed nic said to me: i hope your water breaks tonight. i concured. i am not going to blame him for my lack of sleep last night, but i couldn't sleep! i think it was a mixture of things. I got up 3 times to go to the bathroom- not cool. then, from 3:30-5:30 daphne was kicking LIKE CRAZY. she was seriously trying to bust out of my skin. (i am not sure knows which direction to make her escape- but it is NOT through my ribs) I really love feeling her move around. I am going to miss that- but last night- mixed with all of my excited feelings it just meant i couldn't sleep. then, i got hungry. then i was just feeling weird things happening... i really thought we were progressing! but alas, no. I think around 8:30 i got up for the 4th time. when i got back in bed, nic had switched me places and pillows (his pillow is awesome) and for some reason, that's all i needed! So, we slept in till 11:30. i know, lazies. But, if we do go into labor today at least i am well rested.
bangs{check} eyebrows{check} eyelashes{check}
i am weird. i picture things in my mind and then want them to be exactly that way. there is so much of the unknown in my mind about labor/delivery so i want to pin down the things i do know. for the past couple of weeks, when i picture holding daphne for the first time, i have straight-across bangs (not my normal to the side bangs) so, on sunday, i cut my bangs to match this picture in my head. I also knew i better catch up on the simple grooming habits that i occassionally (ok.. all the time..) let slide. like my awesome pedersen brows. i knew they would have to get some attention before the birth- because i have a sneaky feeling i won't have all this free time on my hands anymore. then, on saturday we were watching TV and saw this commerical for mascara. did i need new mascara? NO... but, i didn't matter. I just HAD to have this stuff! Its the kind that is white and extends your lashes by 60% and then you put on black over top. I was seriously tempted to break the sabbath to buy it- i REALLY wanted it- and after I saw that ad, a new element of my daphne's birthday picture in my head was added- i had to have super long, awesome lashes. well, as of monday- i've got them.

Monday, December 15, 2008

update

i have no idea when it's too much...
i went to the doctor today and i want to shout it from the rooftop what's happening in the progression of our pregnancy- but at the same time, do people want to hear about centimeters, effacing, dilating, induction (he isn't going to induce us till december 29th.. so we're hoping it doesn't come to that!) ect? I just don't know.

all i can say i guess is that i am happy things are progressing... she's moving in the right direction. Today little Daphne is FULL TERM! She weighs aprx. 6.4 pounds and is over 19 inches long.
It's the final countdown (Gob Bluth is my hero)

Sunday, December 14, 2008

this will in no way talk about Daphne.

except the title. she is not here yet... i wish she was. now i am done.


last night the Alexanders came over for dinner, laundry, dessert and love actually. I've always wanted to see that movie and they had rented it from clean flicks and brought it over... i LOVED it. wow. so much. what made it even more enjoyable was the fact that I made a new treat last night that I've never made before and now I am obsessed with. Caramel popcorn. My dad made this a lot while we were growing up so I guess I have found memories. I had a good caramel recipe and 2 bags of buttery popcorn so i got to work. it was easy and delicious.

caramel {from Sister Esplin's caramel pretzel logs which she makes for her class every semester}
this is a half batch but it was PLENTY for 2 bags of popcorn:

1 cube butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 light corn syrup
a little bit of vanilla (does anyone actually measure vanilla?)


stir constantly over med/low heat. i don't know how long nic and i stirred- maybe about 10 minutes. enough time for both bags to pop and some chatting in between. (chatting is required)


pour over popcorn while stirring. enjoy.

in other news...
there is about 4 inches of snow on the ground and this may mean that it will be on the streets at least till April- there comes a point in Rexburg (and its usually earlier than now so I should be grateful) where once it snows, it will never ever melt until winter is replaced with summer (spring does not exsist) which i must admit, is kind of a downer. (I LOVE COLORADO!)

we are pretty much done with the nursery. we have a few more things to hang up on the walls but we made a little mini art gallery of our work from this semester on one of her walls and i really love it. i'll have to post pictures once it's complete. (I don't think this counts as talking about Daphne...)

I try to fake my sister out by sending her texts saying: she's beautiful! but it hasn't worked.... i wish it would, that would be funny. yesterday she just called me a dork and then kept on talking.

maybe if i post about this on our blog i'll be more motivated to remedy the situation:
about 2.5 months ago... maybe 3 months ago, nic's family came up for Sunday dinner at our house instead of us going down to IF at their house. I made lasagna and then nic and i ate some leftovers the next day for lunch... or dinner.. who can remember, it was months ago! then, i put the rest in the fridge (in the same pan it baked in..) and there it remains. today. probably over 75 days later. it is our only 9x13 pan and there it is... with moldy lasagna in one corner (there is very little left in the pan) and for some reason, i can't bring myself to throw it away. i think once i do the baby can come (opps... i did it) so maybe i'll face my fears and do it today.

school is over! its kind of crazy not having homework to do today... or tomorrow... or EVER! Well, nic will be back in school at the end of April, and I'll be back in September but a 4 month break sounds heavenly. now we just have evapaul to concentrate on. it's going to be fun!

I really can't think of any other news. I've been grasping at straws for awhile now (hence the lasagna story) i think my mind is a bit preoccupied by she is shall not be named.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

the waiting game.

is not really a game, games are fun.
{i know i really can't complain... i still have 3 weeks till my due date and some women go PAST their dates... but, i know she is ready and so am i}
yesterday was the last day of the semester. RELIEF! we are finally safe to have our baby! So, i did what every desperate pregnant lady does... i took castor oil and jumped on our neighbor's trampoline. after some "discomfort" from the oil... we went to walk laps at wal mart. what a party for date night! nic sat at the fabric books and timed me. I was hauling. well, a waddle mostly but i was doing that as quickly as i could. when we got home, we had dinner and watched hours of TLC (thankfully a baby story wasn't on- i still can't watch that show) during every commercial i would pace around the house. when we finally went to bed at midnight, the contractions started. i was in so much pain but was happy deep down that the ball was rolling. but, after about a half an hour of consistancy, they stopped.

nic is helping dave and shauna move right now but i think we'll go back to wal mart for laps when he gets home. i just can't wait!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

tagged.

Jaq tagged me and i am feeling like not working on homework OR client work so this seemed like a fabulous thing to do. My only wish was that it was just a little longer....


6 things that make me HAPPY.


{NIC}
I know he isn't your husband, and I'm sure your husband is 100% perfect for you- but let me tell you... Nic is 100% perfect for me. I am very much in love. He has been especially sweet lately- I think my increasing belly size has something to do with it. So helpful and tender and kind. I appreciate all the little things he does for me and the big things too- He is the best husband I could imagine and now that I've had him, I can't imagine life nic-less. It would be miserable.

{warm car feeling}
you know those cold days that are still sunny? Maybe a little windy too (esp. if you live in Idaho) but then, you get in your car that has been parked somewhere sunny and it feels like you just wrapped up in a down comforter. I LOVE THAT. Its especially good after church I've noticed.

{the time is drawing nigh}
I know I probably shouldn't talk so definitively about having Daphne next week- but I feel like my positive brain power is all I have at this point so I've got to use the Secret and make things happen :) Either way, we're getting close. We are at the precipice of our news lives with our new baby. i am more excited than i have words for.... i just can't wait for the day to come.

{pumpkin bread}

I especially love it for breakfast with cream cheese on it. That may sound weird but its not, its the best. Plus.. pumpkin is a vegetable. healthy. Or, i love it fresh out of the oven (and I always seem to crush it because i can't wait till its properly cooled) with butter. yummm... for awhile there I was making a loaf every week. i think it lasted 2-3 weeks and i think i should bring the tradition back. now.

{pell grants}
I was thinking about this again today because it was our last day of design+color class and our professor talked about how great of an education we get at byu-i and the tuition is so little. and for us- its free thanks to the us government (and you fine tax payers...) I love learning. I complain about homework and grummpy teachers but when it comes right down to it, i love it. i love challenging myself and then having someone who knows far more than me tell me that it's good. today bro huntsman told me to go into graphic design and said: and nic, you support her. it was just something simple but it made me feel so good- I wish so badly i could take it back and get my BFA in graphic design but with only 3 classes till I graduate in communication, I can't throw that away. maybe i can get a second degree... or an MFA... i don't know, but i never want to be complacent and stop learning. i'm just grateful that for the time being its free.

{san francisco}
when we would visit san francisco this summer and then drive over the bridge and back towards home (northen ca) my heart would hurt. i am not exagerating. i LOVE it. there are so many little things that draw us there... and i can't wait to move there someday. perhaps when we have some cash flow.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Doctor's orders...

We're "free to have her next week"
he encouraged us do many thing about it... including but not limited to caster oil and jumping on the trampoline. NEXT WEEK. we'll see what we can do. get excited.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Daphne's baby shower!


Today my fabulous mother in law, Janell and 2 sister in laws {Danielle and Madisyn} hosted a baby shower for Daphne and I. It was so much fun to see all the family that we don't get to see very often. Its sad that we live so close and rarely hang out. A lot of the cousins live in Rexburg even but we never see each other- so today was really fun! We had super yummy food (cinnamon rolls, fruit and these delicious breakfast wontons. so good) and just chatted. Then.. THE GIFTS! It was like Christmas, but better- and miniture! Daphne got hooked up. Super cute outfits, grooming accessories, a teeny tiny bracelet, bows, gift cards, little boots, a stroller, $ for a pack-n-play that we immediately went to target and bought, other $ (which we also immediately spent at target- i got one of those big nursing pillows, a foam pad to turn our table into a changing table), covers for each and receiving blankets, a car seat (my mom couldn't be here but thank you!!!) and probably other things but my feeble pregnant brain just can't remember. I am so grateful for my family in law for making this such a fun and memorable day! Daphne's room is filling up!!


sorry Jenn! I was going to post at least this one picture... but we were running late. It turns out, and this is QUITE depressing to me... I have a double chin now. So, i rejected the other 4 pictures from the shower because I was sitting down in all my double chin glory. I guess I never knew this because i don't sit down in front of the mirror, I stand up- like a normal human. but, if I do sit down something awful and horrible happens... and it was all captured yesterday at the shower. there isn't enough money to pay me to put those pictures up. But this one captures most of the people there. Becca apparently missed the shot, DeAnna's head is hidden by a light and my friends Rayna and Shauna are covered by giant candles. you can barely see me.. but if you could see me any better it wouldn't be pretty :) that reminds me since I doubt I will post tomorrow... tomorrow I am 36 weeks-
N I N E M O N T H S P R E G N A N T. ahhh this is getting exciting!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Daphne

We've created a new blog for Daphne. My brother Mark has one of their daughter, Mia (you should look, its adorable) and I love the idea of taking a picture every month to document how she changes. I also wanted a place I could do some personal journaling, so if you don't feel like reading my mushy letter to Daphne, there is no need to read the first post :)

I just feel like I am thinking and feeling so many things in these final weeks till she is due, and I want to remember, and I want her to know, exactly what was going on...
Later, her blog will be more frequently updated with her pictures and the like, so if you would like, add her to blog roll and keep tabs. Now its just a month till our due date... anxiety is building but more importantly, we're just thrilled and excited to meet daphne.


www.daphneryn.blogspot.com