Bump Pictures and Gender Revealed

 Survival Tip #16: A picture really does tell a thousand words.

So, here it is! My bump pictures! In honor of tomorrow marking the half way point of my pregnancy, I thought I would finally share our pictures with you. Vander has been taking a monthly picture of me and I finally uploaded all of them and made a collage. This has been a bit difficult because I hate using the flash on my DSLR because it washes everything out, but it has been SOOOO continually cloudy this spring there was not much sun to help things out. So forgive me for that :). Anyways, let's start with month 1.

Month 1

I had no clue that if you find out you are pregnant the day of your missed period, you are already 1 month along! Crazy. So this is a few days after we found out. Look how happy I am!

Month 2

Ugh. Can you see the look on my face how sick I feel. I tried to smile, but look how pale I am. That is not just Washington weather. That is constant puking for you. I had actually lost 6 lbs at this point. Boo.

Month 3

Okay, feeling a bit better. This was actually a week into the fourth month. I had been on Zofan for one week and it was remarkable! I was finally able to eat and keep food down. At my 3 month appointment I had lost another 5 lbs. so there wasn't any gain in padding, but I had just popped a bit. It was funny because it just happened all of a sudden. I thought it would be a slow, progressive thing, but one day I was really bloated, and then 2 days later the bloated feeling went away and the bump stayed!

Month 4

Remember what I was saying about everything just popping up? Yeah, that continued this month. It feels like every weekend I get a bloated feeling and then I get bigger. I LOVE my bump! It makes me feel more maternal, even though it is a totally physical thing, and it not related to how I interact with the baby. It makes me feel more pregnant, and not just sick.

So here is the collage of all four, to see them side-by-side.

Gender

   And the results are in! We had the best ultrasound appointment. Last Wednesday the anatomy scan took us an hour and we soaked up every minute we got.  Before the scan I had been feeling like we might be having a girl, but I thought that was probably just because I am a girl and I don't understand what it is like to be a little boy :). Then we got the appointment and I started to think we were having a boy. I mentally began to think of the baby using the terms "he" and "his". We found out the gender pretty early in the appointment. I was looking at the screen and thought I saw some boy parts, and started to get a little anxious.  While I was staring at the screen the tech said "See right here (gesturing with the cursor to an area I was not looking at)? That means this is a little Girl."(Did the pictures give it away for any of you?)

    I instantly burst into tears. It was such a primal, out of body urge to cry. Later a second tech came in to confirm the first tech had all the right photos and get a few more. She was looking at Baby and said "Oh yeah, that's a little girl!" At one point I looked over and told Vander that I thought he was going to be the best dad to our little girl. He looked at me with the saddest face and said "I just know she'll break my heart some day." It was so sweet and tender. I really can't wait to see him parent our daughter! 

    We are going to keep her name a surprise for as long as we can, hopefully until she is born, unless we let it slip. Please pray for our daughter as she continues to develop. We cannot wait to meet her!

Baby Update

Survival Tip #15: Take time to slow down and reflect.

First I will So things with baby seem to be going well! We're 4 months along now, or 19 weeks. (I'm counting by 4.5 week calendar months by the way, not 28 day menstrual cycle months. I can't stand the idea of thinking I'll be pregnant for 10 m.c. months!) I finally really popped and have moved from not looking pregnant to having a fair spare tire or "food baby" right in front. I am loving wearing things that show off the bump! It makes me feel so feminine in a whole new way. And to top things off, Vander is so sweet and says he loves the bump too :). I just bought a bikini to wear this summer until stretch marks rear their ugly blotchiness, (I am trying everything I can to prevent them, but you can't fight genetics so time will tell).

We have our 19 week anatomy scan tomorrow and we hope to find out if we are having a boy or girl. I cannot wait to know! At our last ultrasound Baby was measuring about 8 days ahead, but we did not change the due date. I think were are just destined/doomed to have a huge baby. Have I mentioned before that I was 10lb 4oz when I was born? Or Vander was 9lb 11oz? And both my siblings were 10lb+? Yeah, I think Baby Corley is just going to be large and in charge. I was nervous about having my scan at only 19 weeks (which can be early) but with Baby measuring big, I feel more confident the tech will get some good images.

I've been confidently feeling the baby move for about 3 weeks now. I love it soooo much! Sometimes it feels like a kick, other times like a flip and yesterday I finally felt what my mom described feeling: almost like the baby was rapid-fire karate chopping my abdomen. Weird. And wonderful. I have loved every nudge. And I'm so thankful to feel so much movement, especially considering some women don't begin to feel movement until now.  The baby seems to respond to pressure. For example, I will feel it kick at my waistband on my jeans when I sit down. Sometimes I can simulate this pressure with my hand and the baby will kick it. Vander hates when I do this. He's scared I'm going to "pop the sac".

Two last pregnancy things: nose bleeds and puking. I am still experiencing both. I had never EVER heard of pregnancy nose bleeds before getting them. I haven't had one for a few days, but sometimes when I blow my nose (did you know pregnant women make more mucus too?) or when I throw up, I get a nose bleed. It's all about pressure on the sinuses. And I am throwing up but my Dr. prescribed Zofran for me about a month ago and it is fabulous! I am finally starting to put on weight instead of losing it. If I start to feel like I'm going to throw up or already have, I can take a pill at it will usually (99% of the time) stop me from vomiting. I don't know how it works but praise God for it. My doctor decided to run some tests to make sure I am just experiencing unfortunate morning sickness and not a liver/gall bladder/thyroid malfunction. I am at a point where while I detest vomiting, I feel like I could go like this for the rest of the pregnancy. It is weird though to throw up or bending over like that with a growing baby bump. Vander is making me promise to bring a chair into the bathroom when I puke so that I don't squish the baby. :)

So that is all the baby news for now. Pray the ultrasound tech is able to get clear pictures of Baby tomorrow and that if there is anything wrong with the baby that we should know before they are born that it will be apparent. Hopefully Baby will be relatively perfect, but if that is not that we will be accepting of God's will.

Easter and California Baby Shower

*Updated thanks to Josh: 

Survival Tip #14: 'Everything in moderation...including moderation'

Lordy, Lordy! Over a month since my last post! Geez. And it's not like I even have the excuse of being busy at work anymore. Did you know I struggle with time management? Well, I do. It has almost made being at home more difficult, because now all my time is free to my discretion and not structured for me. To top it off, I'm unorganized and a procrastinator. I am working towards getting better at this, but have a feeling this won't be the last time I do such a poor job at keeping my blog updated, but here goes!


So today I'll talk about Easter, and tomorrow I'll give a pregnancy update. From there... we will see how things go.


We were able to go to CA for Easter! It was so nice, not only to be warmer, but to visit with family and friends. Most of the time when we go to my home we are so focused on trying to spend time with family that friends are neglected, but not this time! My sweet step-family threw me and Baby a shower (with a "nesting birds" theme), and I was able to spend time with so many friends I don't get to see often enough! I would have been just as happy if no one brought a single gift and we were able to just eat and chat, but Baby and I were extremely blessed with some great gifts too!

Colleen, Natalie, Alia and Ashley. First visit with them in years!

beautiful decorations

It was funny to register because we are going to find out if we're having a boy or girl, but 1) don't know yet and 2) don't know much about baby things in general! I was able to read some websites (lucieslist.com is awesome), read friends' reviews of products, and ask for a bit of advice, but still have a lot to learn! Tomorrow I have my four-month check up, and from there we will schedule the anatomy ultrasound that will tell us if we are expecting a little girl or boy! It will be so great to be able to envision our baby in a new way, not  that we will know his/her hair or eye color or things like that; I just imagine it will be different.

Back to California. We were also able to spend LOTS of time with family. It is amazing how fast life changes in so little time. The niece and nephews are growing up so fast! I woke up Saturday morning to little Jackson babbling away "Uncle Vander. Uncle Vander. Where's Uncle Vander?"So cute! Melanee was visiting from New Zealand to work on wedding things and visit family. I also really enjoyed bonding with my family as a pregnant woman. Lots of good advice was shared (I wish I had a tape recorder)! Stacey is about 8 weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy, which is fun and exciting!

Can't wait to put this on our sweet baby!

Another highlight, I was able to eat LOTS of yummy food! It is amazing! I indulged in everyone one of my pregnancy cravings I can't get in WA: In N Out and King Eggroll! I pity the people who have not experienced the yumminess. After consuming 6 eggrolls and three #3s in a weekend, I am so glad I do not live in CA anymore; I would certainly be HUGE by the time October rolls around.

*quick aside: I am typing this while watching The King's Speech. It makes me want to use proper language as I type. If I slip into using a voice that does not sound like my own, now you know why.*

We had a lovely Easter. We were able to attend church at CCCM, the church I went to (and worked at) when I lived in CA. Afterwards we picked up Jesse (my brother), had a pizza lunch, and headed off to Rita's for celebrating. More yummy food, the kids had an egg hunt and then the grown ups had a hunt of their own. This year, for the first time, we hid eggs for the grown ups that either had money, candy we didn't want the kids to eat, or nothing in them. It was fun and we actually got Marshall to participate :).

On the way home we were able to grab coffee with my mom in Redding. It was nice to see her and catch up, even if it was just for a little bit.

It was too fast a trip, as always, but it was really fun and we came home feeling really blessed. I didn't take too many pictures this trip, but here are a few more from the shower! It is hard to think to take pictures when you feel crummy.

Melody!

Kim and I in our prom pose

Baby, Baby, Baby Oh!

Survival Tip #13: The more the merrier!

We have officially announced it; I'm pregnant! Crazy, I know! We're really excited, and scared, and nervous, but I suppose everyone feels that way with their first pregnancy. Baby Corley is expected to make his or her debut in mid-October. As of Tuesday we'll have finish the first thirteen weeks and boy has it been a long road!

It took two weeks after we found out I was pregnant for morning sickness to kick in, and it did so with a vengeance. And as any woman who has been pregnant knows, it is not just morning sickness, but can be an all day, never ending puke-fest. I always imagined myself as being that glowing pregnant woman who is the happiest she's ever been, but instead the only glow I have is residual sweat from throwing up. You may have noticed that I have done a terrible job at updating my blog. I found out right after writing the last post, and in two weeks I went from feeling like I could not NOT write about it, but then quickly began throwing up so I could not find the energy to write about anything.

That being said, things do seem to be picking up! I am more good days and really bad days are rarely back to back. Vander has been so supportive throughout it all! I have never asked but if I am throwing up Vander will bring me a chair to sit on and pat my back. He is really kind to say the least.

Everyone says that if you are sick it means the baby is probably healthy, and ours seems to be. We have had several ultrasounds because I am lucky, not because the pregnancy is high-risk. A woman at our church whom I adore named Kathy volunteers at Care Net as an ultrasound tech. Care Net (among other things) seeks to provide alternative options for women who are thinking about abortions. Kathy provides ultrasounds not only so women get information about the health of their baby, but also just see their baby (that they might consider aborting) is a little person! Kathy gave us our first ultrasound so we would have peace of mind before revealing the news to our families. Since then I had two ultrasounds through my doctor and one more last week with Kathy. It is amazing to see our baby's nose and fingers and heart, so clearly developed. When I have seen the baby moved I feel overwhelmed by how amazing it is that God allows me to participate in creating this baby! wow...

It is so crazy to type out and admit after keeping it a secret and trying to make sure the news did not get online for so long! It was so odd going to church today and having people greet me with their congratulations, and have it be okay that everyone knows! Anyways, I appreciate your prayers for this sweet baby developing inside me. It's exciting to let you all know!

California Love!

Survival Tip #12: Whenever possible, return to your homeland.

We were unable to go to California at Christmas time this year so we decided to go at the end of January. Things had slowed down and everyone could get together. It was a really nice trip for a variety of reasons, but getting to California included. a few "Jontal Tragedies". 

I tend to be pretty forgetful. With that forgetfulness often comes some comical bad luck. Vander has coined these instances "Jontal Tragedies" and it's too true to not call them such myself. Upon arriving at the airport Vander and I made it through security easy, but as we were waiting to have our carry ons scanned, I realized my bag looked a LOT bigger than everyone else's... That's when I realized I'd always referred to my bag as a carry on, but never checked to see if it really was. It fit on the scanner thing, but it was a bit tight. When we got through I began to panic, just looking at all the other, very small bags. We made it to our gate eventually and I tried to shove the bag into the frame that shows if your bag is too big, under the watchful eyes of the not-so-perky attendant... and it BARELY fit... like I was shoving it in, pounding on it to slide in, when the attendant said "Don't worry about. It'll fit." with a tone that really conveyed "Stop wasting my time and just get on the plane." One tragedy avoided! Unfortunately, just before this we realized tragedy number two was  totally unavoidable: I remembered to bring my DSLR (unlike our last CA trip), but had left on the zoom lens. Drat. It did make it possible for me to take some pictures of the cool art in the food court of SeaTac. 

Jontal Tragedy #3) Forgot to turn off my laptop (aka my electronic device) before take off. The plane didn't crash, but my battery was drained. Enough said.

We made it to SJC safe and sound and were promptly whisked off to In-N-Out. We then returned to my parents house and said our hellos as family members trickled home. Jackson, Nate and Diane's son, is beyond adorable and when we walked in he looked up, pointed and said "Uncle Vandoo?" Jackson is 1.5 and we've spent so little time with him, but he recognized Vander! It was so sweet. Stefen and Chelsea arrived later in the day/night on separate flights so my parents went to every Bay Area airport on Friday. Impressive.

Also impressive: my dad bought a Kinect and XBOX 360 for himself this Christmas. We played sooo much and it was way more fun than I thought it would be! 

Saturday I slept it and felt wrecked for an hour after waking, but after a fabulous breakfast Stefen, Chelsea, Vander, Dad and I went for a walk. We originally just intended to go to Starbucks for a coffee to help wake up, but took a detour by a creek. By the time the walk was done we were so hot we couldn't stand the idea of hot drinks. The walk was nice and provided opportunities to use my zoom lens. 

Saturday afternoon Stacey, Marshall, Logan, Olivia and Krista came over and we celebrated a belated Christmas. We had homemade ravioli (YUM!), popped Christmas poppers, opened gifts and reconnected. It was so nice, I can't even begin to explain. I never realize how much I am missing as Olivia and Logan grow up, or how many general things in the lives of my siblings are happening until we come visit. Boo. Regarding gifts, Melanee had me for Christmas and sent a cute stocking of things from NZ. My parents gave me a memory card for my DSLR and a Nordstrom gift card! Vander got a cool lighter and thermos from my parents. We stayed up late, but it was still not long enough... It never is.

Sunday we went to church and got to see soooooo many people. It was such a blessing to return home and still feel at home. It was actually a good service to attend: Pastor John announced he is retiring this year, which is sad, but I was glad to hear him make the announcement and not just hear it through the grapevine. After church we chatted a bit but had to rush off so we could grab lunch (In-N-Out) and get to the airport. Cue Jontal Tragedy #4: I left my scarf at my parent's house. They were kind enough to mail it to me (Thanks Dad and Laura!), but the trip wouldn't be complete without a JT to seal at the end. 

I love going home to visit, but I hate it at the same time. It is never long enough, and trips home are so infrequent I want to spend all my time with family, which doesn't leave time for friends. If I was unable to visit with you, please know I wasn't leaving you out. I just need an excuse to spend a week at home. Maybe then it will feel long enough (... but it probably won't :) ).

I love you California. Your colors are muted in a beautifully relaxed way, your weather is warm, and so many of my favorite people live in your land. I pray the land on either side of Eugene, OR falls away in a massive shift of plate tectonics, and Washington and California rush to fill the gap, leaving the boring parts of the State of Jefferson behind. See you  in April!

Time Flew

Survival Tip #11: Don't forget about your blog.

I can't believe the last time I posted was January 14th! And it was a CHRISTMAS post! Geez.

I actually wanted to post more recently but was so excited about the upcoming trip to California (which was last weekend) that I didn't want to write about anything else. And it seemed a little lame to say "Well, we're going to go to California... and that's it." Really, I need to just get over myself and remember that I do have more to say. For example, all of you PW fans probably read the post about Kerianne Brown, a baby photographer. I find her story so touching and her photos so beautiful!  She is a new inspiration for me and I want to let all of you with babies know I would love to hone my photography skills by practicing on your child... Just let me know. :)

Next post will have details from the trip to the sunshine state. I actually left my standard lens at home, forgetting my zoom lens was still attached to the camera body. Just the standard "Jontal Tragedy" as Vander has coined them. Meanwhile, here are a few pictures:

I turned 26 at the beginning of the month. I celebrated with my class by bringing a pile of donettes and telling the kids if they weren't nice to me I would eat them all myself. 

It's been relatively mild this January. Even our one snowstorm wasn't awful. The worms aren't liking the rain much though.

Vander's brother Nate and a friend got 2nd place at the SPU Talent Show. They did a mime act. Sooo fun!

Christmas (part 3)- Christmas and Leavenworth

Survival Tip #10 (cont.): Spend lots of time with family.

Finally! Christmas! I have been telling my students for weeks "Isn't it great that on Jesus' Birthday He lets us get the presents?!" And this kept coming to my mind all day. It is so amazing that we get to exchange gifts with family and friends, but Christ gave us the ultimate gift of all! Praise God!


We started the morning opening gifts at our apartment, just Vander and I. This was the first year I was more excited for him to open his gifts than I was for mine :), but Vander was so generous and thoughtful with his gifts for me. We then took a walk around our neighborhood and spied as we could on other families. I know, we're creepers, but it was so fun to see kids running around their Christmas tree, squealing so loud you can hear them out on the side walk. Then we headed up to Vander's parents. We opened presents with them and then had a fabulous brunch, (cinnamon rolls and bacon) and hung out until June's brother and his family came over for an early dinner. 

Quick side note: Vander's family finally found the "joke" we left for them in their tree. We bought this... ornament, I guess, when we were in San Francisco for Christmas. It sat in their tree for two days before they noticed it. :)

Sunday, after going to church we left for Leavenworth, WA. It is the most fabulous winter vacation in Washington. It's only a couple hours away and is magical. Several decades ago when the town started to lose it's industries (pear and apple processing primarily), the town decided to go Bavarian to revitalize the economy through tourism. If you prepared, knowing you're going to some where that is super touristy, you are going to love it. We always go for a few days after Christmas and stay at the Enzian hotel. We love it sooooo much! Everyone except Shawna was able to make it, (we missed her so much!), and Big V and June were kind enough to divide their two-room suite into girls side/guys side rooms, so Joel could come! We went tubing, cross country skiing, the guys went shooting and the girls relaxed. We sat in the outdoor hot tub while it snowed... and threw snowballs at Emily and Joel while they were in the hot tub :). I'm trying to convince my family to make a trip out some winter so they can experience the joy of Leavenworth.

Before Cross Country Skiing

The Enzian Tree. The real bottom is on the 1st floor;
the tree goes through a hole in the 2nd floor!

What did you do this Christmas? What are your favorite traditions?