Dear Charlie,
Earlier this week I felt you kick for the very first time. I was sitting on the couch, and I felt the flutters. I immediately put my hand on the spot where I felt the movement, and there it was again. And again. I called to your daddy, but he wasn't fast enough to feel your kicks too.
The next day you did it again, and I was overwhelmed. You proceeded to keep kicking me about every two hours in clusters of 3-4 kicks. Each time I texted your dad to say "He's kicking again!!!" But the time evening rolled around, I realized you only moved when I didn't, which I'm sure is a challenge because it seems like I'm always moving.
Today, I went in to work at school for a few hours and amidst my constant moving around, you began to move with me. Only this time, discomfort overwhelmed me when I wasn't overjoyed. Walking soon became too much and I had to sit down and wait for you to relax before I could get up again.
I later realized that this experience is a great way to explain life obstacles to you. You see, when big moments happen in life, sometimes they make you feel great but other times not so much. Much like how I'm learning to roll with your kicks and punches, you'll learn to roll with the punches that life throws at you.
I still have 18-20 weeks left of dealing with the joys and discomforts every time you decide to show me what you've got, but I hope it can prepare me for how to help you deal with life when it makes you uncomfortable.
Life will make you uncomfortable, unhappy, downright depressed, and bring about horrible feelings of helplessness at times. But it can also make you feel beautiful amazing joy. I promise you that the feeling of joy is worth it. Believe me, I spend many days trying to convince myself that the world is a beautiful place despite all the bad things running amok.
You have the choice to see those punches and kicks as either joyous or not. Much like I am doing with you, you can do it too.
Be strong sweet boy.
Mama loves you.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Summer Vacation
I really haven't had much of a summer vacation, but that's entirely my fault. I really wanted to do summer school, which took five weeks of my seven week break. So after summer school ended in mid-July, I was ready to enjoy my two weeks of freedom before returning to the office.
It began last week when I spent the better part of Monday and Tuesday nannying for the #JensenBros.
Victoria had to work and her regular babysitter was on vacation, so I offered up a bit of my time. Tuesday was also my and Sam's anniversary (Two years!!) and my perfectly planned date night did not go as expected (but I'll post about that later).
We put together our crib that arrived the week before, which further demonstrated our ability to work together (or at least my learned ability of letting someone else be the leader).
Of course, now this means our cute little nursery is coming together. I finally finished the nursery painting for my son, after weeks of ideas and changing my mind, a concept stuck and I think it is perfect. Since my son will carry on the tradition of being born into Jewish heritage, I made him a painting with Hebrew characters that say 'I love you.' All that's left is to build his rocking chair and we will be ready!
I also went to visit my friend Connie this week to talk about life (and baby showers!), and to visit my friends Adam & Beth and their month old baby.
I've known Adam since I was 14, his family lived around the corner from mine. Now we live less than 2 miles from each other and our sons will be close in age. It's kind of cool to think that our boys could be close friends the way we were close friends.
Anyway, this weekend also hosted the ward Pioneer Breakfast, a baptism, a wedding reception, and finally getting our internet installed!
We've been in our house for almost a year, and we finally decided that it was time to get our own internet service.
I'm glad we did, but I'm also glad that we made our financial decisions the way we did at first, because it warranted us the financial freedom to do other stuff for our house (new blinds, new couch, rugs, etc.). Additionally, we are paying Sam's car off before winter (which is like two years early!) and before the baby comes. I've had to defend my internet choice to many people, but at the end of the day I made the choice that was best for my family, and now we are being rewarded. I think we appreciate all the things we can do online now that we've gone without it for awhile.
It will be nice to blog more frequently, so stay tuned for more adventures!
It began last week when I spent the better part of Monday and Tuesday nannying for the #JensenBros.
Victoria had to work and her regular babysitter was on vacation, so I offered up a bit of my time. Tuesday was also my and Sam's anniversary (Two years!!) and my perfectly planned date night did not go as expected (but I'll post about that later).
We put together our crib that arrived the week before, which further demonstrated our ability to work together (or at least my learned ability of letting someone else be the leader).
Of course, now this means our cute little nursery is coming together. I finally finished the nursery painting for my son, after weeks of ideas and changing my mind, a concept stuck and I think it is perfect. Since my son will carry on the tradition of being born into Jewish heritage, I made him a painting with Hebrew characters that say 'I love you.' All that's left is to build his rocking chair and we will be ready!
I also went to visit my friend Connie this week to talk about life (and baby showers!), and to visit my friends Adam & Beth and their month old baby.
I've known Adam since I was 14, his family lived around the corner from mine. Now we live less than 2 miles from each other and our sons will be close in age. It's kind of cool to think that our boys could be close friends the way we were close friends.
Anyway, this weekend also hosted the ward Pioneer Breakfast, a baptism, a wedding reception, and finally getting our internet installed!
We've been in our house for almost a year, and we finally decided that it was time to get our own internet service.
I'm glad we did, but I'm also glad that we made our financial decisions the way we did at first, because it warranted us the financial freedom to do other stuff for our house (new blinds, new couch, rugs, etc.). Additionally, we are paying Sam's car off before winter (which is like two years early!) and before the baby comes. I've had to defend my internet choice to many people, but at the end of the day I made the choice that was best for my family, and now we are being rewarded. I think we appreciate all the things we can do online now that we've gone without it for awhile.
It will be nice to blog more frequently, so stay tuned for more adventures!
Thursday, July 13, 2017
nearing the middle
I'm nearing the middle of my pregnancy.
I'm currently at 18.5 weeks, and he's measuring almost to the day.
This week was a big one, we had our big ultrasound, I had my next doctor's appointment, our crib arrived, and so did our glider. We will be ending our week by doing our baby registry at BuyBuyBaby, so I guess you can say that this week was jam-packed with baby stuff.
Our ultrasound was super emotional, mostly because it was so much more in depth than the first one, and because Sam was able to join me this time. He held my hand the entire time, but his eyes were glued to the screen, watching our son move around.
It was such an amazing experience. At one point, Charlie turned to us and waved and my heart just melted. As I looked through the pics after the fact, I compared them to the ones my mom had given me of myself. Our profile pics were nearly identical, but the photo below just made me smile.
Personally, the one of me captures my flair for dramatics, but Charlie's looks more like he just rolled over to wave at me.
Looking at the pics just made me realize that he takes after me. Sam even started speculating Charlie's looks; he thinks he will have my exact hair and my eye color, but Sam's eye type and general facial features.
I can't believe I'm coming up on the exact middle mark of the pregnancy, it's crazy to imagine how different things will become in the next month, or even the months following that.
I guess this is just one crazy adventure that I never really thought about. We have finally agreed on his name though, it will be Charles Bennett Elmer. Nicknames will include but are not limited to: Charlie, Charlie B, Sir Charles, and Baby Bee.
I'm amazed at how much love I have for this little guy!
I'm currently at 18.5 weeks, and he's measuring almost to the day.
This week was a big one, we had our big ultrasound, I had my next doctor's appointment, our crib arrived, and so did our glider. We will be ending our week by doing our baby registry at BuyBuyBaby, so I guess you can say that this week was jam-packed with baby stuff.
Our ultrasound was super emotional, mostly because it was so much more in depth than the first one, and because Sam was able to join me this time. He held my hand the entire time, but his eyes were glued to the screen, watching our son move around.
It was such an amazing experience. At one point, Charlie turned to us and waved and my heart just melted. As I looked through the pics after the fact, I compared them to the ones my mom had given me of myself. Our profile pics were nearly identical, but the photo below just made me smile.
Personally, the one of me captures my flair for dramatics, but Charlie's looks more like he just rolled over to wave at me.
Looking at the pics just made me realize that he takes after me. Sam even started speculating Charlie's looks; he thinks he will have my exact hair and my eye color, but Sam's eye type and general facial features.
I can't believe I'm coming up on the exact middle mark of the pregnancy, it's crazy to imagine how different things will become in the next month, or even the months following that.
I guess this is just one crazy adventure that I never really thought about. We have finally agreed on his name though, it will be Charles Bennett Elmer. Nicknames will include but are not limited to: Charlie, Charlie B, Sir Charles, and Baby Bee.
I'm amazed at how much love I have for this little guy!
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