Update

I've been meaning to write a blog for a while. I've started to write a blog a couple of times, but never end up finishing them, and I'm never motivated to even save them to finish later. The real issue that keeps me from writing is pregnancy. Pregnancy is actually going very well right now, but my body has been very sore - mainly my upper back, which in turn keeps me from sitting at the computer in the office for extended periods of time. I've found that our office chairs just don't quite offer the upper back support that I need these days. But today Joel is working from home! (yay! I love it when this happens) and that means his laptop is here too! So I am writing this blog today from our couch - much more comfortable than the office chairs.

Here's what we've been up to:

So today I am 30 weeks pregnant! That means only ten more weeks of this! I am soooo excited. I also think that Levi is almost in the head down position at this point. His movements and kicks are in different places now (more on the top and bottom of my belly rather than the left and right sides).

I'm not as irritable as I have been in the past reguarding pregnancy. I still get those comments from people about how I big I am. Yes, they still aggrivate me, but not as much. And occasionally I still want to slap those who speak those comments to me. (You know, I already feel fat, but thanks for the confirmation) These days it is a lot easier to disregard those comments, probably because my hormones have subsided more.

At my last appointment, my doctor said that my weight gain is looking much better than the previous appointment. That made me very happy. All that hard work has paid off. I seriously don't know how some women (like my sister) manage to only gain the minimum amount of weight during pregnancy with such little effort. I have to work very hard at not gaining too much weight. It's a huge challenge. It's even more difficult this week, because it's too cold for me to go walking outside (35 degrees is too cold for a pregnant woman to exercise in, especially when she can't move fast enough to warm up). I guess I will settle for doing yoga today.

My doctor has requested that I count how many times he moves during a certain time every day (Kick Counts) and then write them down. From what I've read, the average baby moves 8 times every 10-20 minutes during their daily "active time". Levi usually moves at least 8 times in about 5 minutes. I have a feeling that this little boy is not going to be very laid back. And I anticipate that he will be a very active child. We'll see.

Last weekend there was an explosion near our house! Seriously. I have no idea what it was, but on Saturday evening Joel and I were on the couch when we heard this massive boom. It was so loud that not only did it shake our house, but also the dishes inside the kitchen cabinet. We never found out what it was. There was no report on the news, nothing on the internet, and it seems we may never find out what exactly shook our house, but I'm dying of curiosity....still.

During the fall we realized that our car needed some seriously expensive work done on the brakes, among other things. We couldn't afford to repair everything at once, so we got the most necessary work done in order for our car to remain drivable (and safe). The funny thing was that when Joel took the car to the mechanic's shop, the mechanic showed Joel exactly what was wrong, and how to fix it (assuming that Joel really had no clue). Well Joel in fact does know how to work on cars, so after we got the most crucial damage fixed on our car, Joel and I decided skip the mechanic shop, and have him fix the rest himself. So over the past couple of months, we've set aside money to fix one problem at a time. (finding the time to work on the car has also been another issue). Last weekend, we finally got one of the last problems fixed on the car. Now all we need to do is get the car aligned. But then guess what happened? Our gas gauge broke! How nice! Ahhh!! Just when we could finally see the end in sight, something else goes wrong! Grrr. That's ok. Joel knows how to fix that too - the big issue will be finding the time to work on it.

Right before Thanksgiving, I did pictures for a three generation family. It was lots of fun. And yes, I am finally getting around to putting them up. Here are a couple of my favorites. The rest you can find on Facebook.

Dear Hips -

Please do not get any larger. I liked you guys the way you were before Levi entered the picture. I have always admired you. I am nervous to see what you will be like after this experience. Please, do not feel the need to expand anymore. This would make me very happy.

Sincerely,
Michelle

2009 Goals

I don't necessarily believe in making New Year's Resolutions. It's not that I'm opposed to them. I completely support working toward improving yourself. I guess what I don't completely believe in is waiting until the New Year to start something that you should be doing now - like exercising more often, changing your eating habits, etc, etc. Why put off obtaining a goal until the new year when you are motivated to do it now, or at least see that you need to change? I've found that when I put off reaching a goal I know I need to reach, the more difficult it becomes to obtain it - mostly because I've gotten myself into the habit of NOT working towards it. I'm more the type of person that works towards a new goal immediately when I realize I need to change something instead of waiting until the new year. That's really why I don't believe in the resolutions.

BUT with all of that said, I have to admit, that today as I was walking, I realized that I too have set goals for myself to accomplish this year. I guess I've been mentally setting goals for myself over the past couple of weeks? Anyway, I thought I would share them with you guys. And plus whenever you voice them, it makes you that much more accountable toward reaching them. So here they are.

• To have my dog leash-trained by the time Levi is born. And when I say leash trained, I mean not pulling me, walking beside me without stopping to smell every tree and bush along the path. Here's why - I plan on doing a lot of walking after Levi is born, and I want my dog to be well trained enough walk calmly beside the baby jogger. We've been working on this for a while, and we are making significant headway towards this goal. Brody gets better and better on a leash every day.
• To lose all the baby weight I've had to gain through this pregnancy in a healthy way. (I'm sure you guys all assumed this...especially considering all the blogs I've written obsessing about my weight) No crash diets or excessive exercise. And hopefully I will be able to shed all those pounds but I've also read that after pregnancy sometimes you tend to permanently gain a couple of pounds. And yes I do plan to nurse Levi, which will also help with weight loss.
  
• To increase our financial income while staying home with Levi. Joel and I are currently in the process of developing website businesses and selling them online. Joel has taught me the basics of creating the beginning stages of a website, and then he adds the graphics and other stuff. I'm also in the process of learning HTML. We are both hoping to have this process down to a steady routine by the time Levi comes, which in turn would be a steady second income without me having to get a work outside the home.
• To be a good mom. I have confidence that I can do this. I want to be a mom who is flexible, who doesn't stress out about minor injuries on my child, and not too overly protective. I also want to be one who has a "plan" to work towards putting my child on a schedule.
• To make significant headway on the photography course (through New York Institute of Photography) that I am working through, and hopefully to finish it by the end of the year...but I don't know how possible that may be considering the significant change life approaching in less than three months.
  
• To find the balance between my role as a mom and wife, my involvement in our church, and my time spent as a photographer and creating websites with my husband. I have a feeling this may be tricky.
  

So there you go. And now you know what I will be focusing on this year. And by the way today I am 28 weeks pregnant, officially in my THIRD and FINAL trimester, and I can still touch my toes and do yoga stretches standing on one leg. I am pleased. Now if only I could keep my eating habits as good as my exercising habits....

the baby update.

I'm currently 26 weeks pregnant. I will officially be in my third trimester at 28 weeks, which is about a week and a half away. My due date is getting closer and closer. I have also started to count down how many weeks I have left rather than counting up how many weeks I am pregnant.

I had a checkup on New Year's Eve. The doctor said my baby has a good, strong, healthy heartbeat. That made me happy, especially because of my asthma.

We are currently in the process of figuring out how the heck we will be paying for our baby's birth. We definitely have a plan to pay off his birth, however it will be a slow, drawn out process, where payments are made on a monthly basis. I don't think my doctor's office likes our plan. So we are in the process of exploring other payment options. We'll see what happens. Sometimes the issue stresses me out, but hardly ever. My baby is coming whether or not they want him to. Ha ha. They'll get their money - it just may not be the way that they prefer.

The more time progresses, the more I get asked this question, "So how are you feeling about the baby coming?" And this is my answer - I am incredibly excited, and my excitement grows more and more by the day. I'm looking forward to meeting this baby that I've been carrying inside of me for 6 months. I'm dying to know what he looks like. Joel and I don't have everything quite in place yet - like we don't have all the furniture, clothing, etc - but that will come together as time progresses. We have a basic idea of how we plan to raise him (scheduling, feeding, sleeping, etc) but are still spending time informing ourselves so we have more details in place. But emotionally, we definitely feel ready for him. The idea of raising our children does not scare us. We aren't nervous about Levi's arrival. We've known each other for 6 years now, and have been married for four of those years. We feel confident in our relationship and our team working skills and believe that we are ready for this next step in our lives...well...as much as you can be ready without the actual experience that prepares you. We both definitely feel ready for him. I do have a little anxiety, but it's only about labor and delivery, and the physical recovery process postpardum.

We've also signed up for a birthing class next month. I'm looking forward to figuring out what kind of labor and delivery options to choose, but I'm dread learning about the gross parts - like the delivery. Ahh! I have to say, that ignorance is bliss! When it comes to pregnancy, I enjoy NOT knowing all the horrible details that come with pregnancy. It's less to worry about. Speaking of which, I recently came across some women who seem to be very concerned about me in regards to the fact that I have not decided the details of my labor and delivery and my laid back attitude towards informing myself. They amused me. I promise I will make a decision with enough time before labor, just not yet. I really am enjoying my ignorance for the moment. And it's one less thing to worry about.

I could be wrong about this, but I really don't think that postpardum depression will be an issue for me. Why? I think I will be a much happier person once my baby is living outside of me rather than inside. Just a thought.

Joel took some belly shots of my last night. I might put them up. I may not. I don't like them. My face looks fat. That seems to be a problem these days. I don't like having a fat face...ok well...I really just don't like being fat. I may share them. Maybe not.

2008

2008 has proven to be quite the eventful year - and probably the most eventful that we've had together so far as a married couple. Here are the highlights of the past year:

• The Big Move. We moved away from the town we met. Our first big move as a married couple. I learned I do not like moving (never really did anyway) but I learned that more conflicts seem to rise when a married couple has to move. Ha ha. We drove each other nuts through the whole moving process! I consider moving a great opportunity to work together as a team...but I don't want that particular opportunity again any time soon!

• New church. What a neat place to be a part of. Before Joel and I had even found this church, we had a mental "checklist" of characteristics in a church that we were looking for in the next church that we seeking. This new church fit our "checklist" to a tee. I love this place.

• New jobs. Joel got a job as an engineer and I got a job as a photographer in a studio. I learned a ton from the studio, but ended up quitting in the summer, due to repeated scheduling conflicts and the fact that we had big change coming our way...
• New adventure. I started doing free lance portrait photography outside of the studio. I had plans to move a little quicker in this business venture, but life interfered.
  
• Pregnant. Our long awaited baby was finally on his way into the world. Many people have assumed that this baby was an accident. But let me assure you that, we've planned this baby for YEARS. Before this baby was on his way, we wanted to make sure that we had plenty of time to spend together as a couple before adding children to the mix. I'm so glad we did. We now have confidence in our ability to work as a team and raise children. And the pregnancy timing was also planned. I planned on being pregnant through the winter to have a baby during the spring time. However, being pregnant wiped me out, and I found it difficult to accomplish my tasks and goals without a nap.

• Reunion. I had no plans to attend my 10 year class reunion, however was persuaded by a close high school friend. I'm so glad I went. I had a great time seeing several of my classmates from high school, regardless of the fact that I was not in the "popular" clique through high school. It also gave me a chance to prove to myself that I was no longer the same insecure girl that I was throughout high school. It was great to have a point of reference to measure my personal growth. I feel proud of myself.

• Halloween. Normally I could care less about this holiday, but this year I decided to take advantage of my "unique" condition. Joel and I dressed up like Juno and Bleaker from the movie Juno. It was hysterical and we had a great time.
  

• Holidays. Oh the holidays. Such a busy time of year, and once again, they were quite busy with various Christmas parties, Thanksgiving with my in-laws, Christmas with my family, and lots of celebrations in between. I was dreading the Holidays this year, due to my pregnant state and never knowing who was going to do what to draw attention to me and make me feel like the awkward pregnant woman that I already feel like. Fortunately for me, none of that happened. And I couldn't be happier. And I also made it a point to be more tolerant of people too - I even allowed someone at my husband's office Christmas party to rub my belly. I didn't even give them a dirty look. I should be rewarded.
  
• Anniversary!!! We celebrated our 4th anniversary this month. It was amazingly exciting for us - mostly because we were able to look at how far that we've come as a married couple and a team. This year has been such a great year for us, and moving provided a great opportunity to us to draw even closer together and solidify our team working skills. I'm so pleased to be married to Joel! And to celebrate our anniversary we ate at our favorite asian restaurant called the Banana Leaf, and then went for a very frigid walk (it snowed earlier that day) on the River of Lights (which is a Biological Park near a river completely decked out in lights for the Holiday season.)

We still have New Years to celebrate tomorrow before the year is officially over. Tomorrow we will be joining several people in our church for a progressive dinner. I'm totally looking forward to it. And you know what? I'm totally going to be honest here, I've caved in over the holidays and allowed myself to indulge in more holiday snacks then I probably should have...so after tomorrow, I'm back to my healthy eating again. I hope my holiday indulging doesn't effect me too much down the road!

4th Anniversary

Tomorrow is a special day for Joel and I. We will be celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary! I have to say that being married to Joel is one of the best things that ever happened to me. I love him so much more than I did when we first got married. He is my best friend, my spouse, my companion, my lover, my support system, still my original rival (in a fun loving non-destructive sort of way) and so much more. Now four years later, we've been through job changes, moved to a different city, changed churches, and are on our way to starting a family. Life hasn't always been easy. We've had some very difficult circumstances to deal with over those years (which have not all been mentioned), but I'm so glad we have each other to lean on (and of course, God!). I am happy. I am happy with my life. I am happy with my marriage. And I am more than happy to be carrying Joel's child. I couldn't have asked for a better man to have a baby with - and the best part is that I'm married to him! I look forward to what is in store for us. I look forward to the fact that our family of two will soon become a family of three. And I know that in a society filled with divorce and infidelity, no matter how hard things get, we have confidence that God will help us through every moment, and we will make it through. Just wait and see.


Here is proof that Joel is not as angelic as everyone thinks he is. This is just a taste of the real Joel.

Two Pictures

Two pictures to share, since I haven't put up any in a while. My photography website is currently down. (Boo) There's some kind of mix up that happened with my website's service provider. (Grr...) AND THEN they deleted my whole site. I'm sad about it. But this is the perfect opportunity to redo it even better. So hopefully we will have it up and running again soon. It may take a while, depending on how much time we can spend on it. But ANYWAY, here are two pictures I took in October at the Balloon Fiesta.