Looking Forward

Claire

We are still getting the sickness out of our house and Claire has been having the cough from last week show back up and we all still have stuffy noses. I'm very done with this whole being sick thing but I'm glad it is happening now and not when we have a newborn in the house which is going to be pretty soon! I don't think Claire understands that there will soon be a baby sister joining her in the house to take up my attention so it will be interesting to see how she handles it. I hope they can be close as they grow up and there won't be too much bad feelings between them, I never had a sister to share anything with but I always wanted one. She loves being involved with everything we do weather we are vacuuming, doing dishes, cooking, or just relaxing on the couch. I'm glad she wants to be 'helpful' and hopefully that sticks around for her whole life!

Working out

I have now had an experience 5 separate times at the gym we work out at where someone comes to me and comments on how impressed they are that I am working out while THIS pregnant. I feel awkward and want to express that it really isn't that hard to maintain the weight I've been lifting before I was pregnant but all I say is "Thank you." It would be more impressive if I was still trying to run as much as I was before! Chris and I have talked about how I'm even able to do more during this pregnancy because my body knows how to handle it better than my first. I remember having to stop bench pressing because it would hurt my stomach and scientifically it was because my abdominal muscles were separating to make room for the baby. Now they already know how to do it so I'm able to do all my normal lifts except squats because I fell like I'm going to pee myself when I squat... Either way, I am very glad we got signed up for this gym where I have more motivation to go because it means Claire gets to be social with other kids and I get a free hour an a half. There is also other amenities that I have enjoyed like their hydro massage beds and their pool for easy cardio swimming.

Work

I'm still teaching in the morning and trying to stay comfortable while doing it for 3 hours by standing and sitting. I've been making decorations for the Chinese New Year to put up in my background and I love them even though less students will see them since not many of them will be taking classes during the holiday. I'll keep them up until I start decorating for spring though so they get some use and the students see my hard work! I've made a lantern, a dragon, envelopes, and what hopefully looks like fireworks! It should be a fun way to help them know I appreciate their holidays since I did decorate for Christmas and Halloween last year.

Everything else

I don't feel like I have much to say because life is just moving along and we are taking it one day at a time, maybe even being impatient as we wait for our new addition. I'm constantly feeling baby kick and I'm starting to get that feeling of anticipation I felt when Claire was a month out. I just want to hold her in my arms already and kiss her! It is still more than a month away until she is due so I have to wait it out and at least it is more bearable in the winter when I'm not way too hot to do anything. I get to be uncomfortable in other ways like when I'm trying to carry Claire, good thing she is still so small because I probably wouldn't be holding her much if she was any bigger. I also haven't swelled as much this time around that I've noticed but knocking on wood so that doesn't start now that I've mentioned it...

Still Rocking the Sickness

Claire

Claire was able to fight off her first sickness and start gaining a good appetite again by Wednesday and is back to her hyper normal self. I've even seen the beginnings of two more teeth in her mouth while she was being goofy trying to eat my shirt! It hasn't been the best for me because my body still hung onto whatever it is and I'm still feeling very congested and trying to find energy to do everything. I can hardly keep up with her as it is while pregnant but I feel like nothing around the house is getting clean now that all my energy goes into this cute little angel. Chris has been a big help and spends time with Claire so I get naps and he has done the dishes and took her to church while I was suffering at home. I'm so glad to have these two in my life.

Life

Chris is becoming the go to man for people to ask to switch or cover shifts so he's getting extra hours and hopefully he's also getting on everyone good side and can ask for switches when he will need them. It's good to have a few I-Owe-Yous stocked up when there will be a newborn in the house and I'll be working a less. We went to an OB appointment and I realized I have so little time now until I start going every week for check ups and could potentially have a baby anytime! I do feel lucky that I have pretty much everything I need for this baby because it is also a girl like Claire and I can reuse all the cloths she used. I have really only put 4 things on my baby list which include a double jogging stroller, a organizer for the stroller, a bassinet/swing chair, and a new diaper bag. Maybe I'm too low maintenance but I can't think of anything else I actually need...maybe more will come to mind.

It's a short week but that's really all I have for you!

Dealing with Sickness

Sickness

Being sick is never fun and we have been dealing with sickness in our house this past week...and none of us have enjoyed it! This is the first time Claire has been sick like this starting with a runny nose and then developed a rough cough with it. Chris got advice from the people he works with at the hospital for the kind of medicine to use so we've done our best to comfort her and get her feeling better but now that I've caught what she has its all an uphill battle. I worry so much about how she is doing and hope she can fight off this illness so her immune system can get strong! I have to remind myself that this will pass and things will eventually be better off from it, until then I stare at her as she sleeps through our camera and wonder why she likes sleeping on the beanbag in her room...

Claire

Our beautiful girl was very happy when daddy came home from drill and tried on his army jacket which was so precious! It is fun to see her light up with joy when he gets home from work. She has also been trying other things on that are way to big for her including his shoes and my boots. Besides being sick, she has been a pretty happy and still plays with her toys and draws on the walls like a toddler should. I'm glad she can still find happiness when she's sick and can smile and have fun when she isn't cranky or needy. Unfortunately, she hasn't had much of an appetite and we are worried because she won't eat much during any of the meals we sit down for. I really hope it will pass soon and we can get her back to eating like she used to!

 Everything Else

Chris and I have gotten into a rhythm of sorts and go work out together on the days he isn't working weird hours. We were able to finally go out for our anniversary date too and regret making it on a Saturday because every restaurant was so busy! After deciding not to wait an hour and a half at the Cheesecake Factory, we waited 45 minutes to eat at Red Lobster. It was very delicious and fun to get time together to talk and just be together while worry about Claire with her second time ever being babysat! I was extra worried because of her being sick, but she is too cute and it turned out great. Now we all want to get over this sickness and continue getting ready for baby #2!

New Year Life

We survived the first month in our new home and celebrated 3 years of being married this past week, all while starting the new Come, Follow Me program and keeping up with working out and life.

Work and Money

Chris has continued to like his job at the hospital and comes home with some interesting stories some times that I wish I could be more interested in. My calling was never to be in the medical field, but I've been working as well and enjoying my teaching in the morning. I've changed my schedule and have more classes because we are trying to get a good savings built up before baby #2 joins us in two months. Moving and having the holidays to spend money on got us farther down in our bank account than we have seen in at least a year. One of our resolutions is to save more money this year and come out of 2019 making more than we spent. I still budget and surprisingly when I added the past year up, we only spent about $1,000 more than we made the entire year!

Claire

Our little cutie is really enjoying her Christmas toys that make noise and can be entertained with the little people from her princess castle so easily. She spent the week being a little sick and having a runny nose which only makes her hate me for constantly wiping it. Her nap schedule is all screwy and she had a few rough days being left at the gym daycare because of being sick, but hopefully things will be better now that she seems to be getting better. We notice how smart she is because she has been learning to ask for more and say please really well for snacks and food. We hope she can start learning some more words besides mom and dad soon and start using them because it will make life so much more fun to understand what she is saying.

Anniversary

It has now been 3 years since Chris and I were sealed in the Ogden Temple and even though we didn't do a big celebration because he worked, we made it special by exchanging our favorite things about the past 3 years. We had a special dinner that I cooked and enjoyed sparkling soda toasted to how happy we were with how our lives have been and moved forward. Our real going out on the town date will be next weekend since this past week has been busy with working at the hospital and then going to Idaho for drill. Luckily we are okay with celebrating late and making the best of what life has given us, and we choose to be happy and relax together.

 Family

We got to see more family this week when we met up at the mall and went to eat at The Old Spaghetti Factory. Claire even got a balloon animal from one of the employees and started trying to destroy it immediately by hitting the table and mommy. She successfully unraveled the back legs before the end of dinner and by the time we got home, only the head was intact. It was fun for her though and I'm glad she finally met some more extended family she's never seen before.

Resolutions

I would like to say we've made a ton of goals for this new year but honestly, our life is so happy right now and my only goal is to meet my new little girl! We, of course, have talked about how we want to implement the new Come, Follow Me studying into our personal and family study and start teaching Claire about the Jesus. We don't have to make new fitness goals since we already know we will continue to work out this year just like the previous years. My fitness goal is maintenance until I'm no longer pregnant, then work on a new program to strengthen and drop weight but I'll make that goal when it happens. We plan to continue to love and help each other through all we do but other than that we are very blessed and feel like we don't need much more.