34 weeks

This picture was taken at 34 weeks, but I can't believe that I'm already 35 weeks.  Only 5 weeks or less and this little girl will be here.

I've still been feeling pretty amazing.  I've been getting more tired, which is to be expected.  But overall, considering I'm 8 months pregnant, I'm feeling really good.

The past 2 weeks have been really good preparation-wise for me.  Before that I was feeling unprepared, nervous and not ready by any means.  But with a little nesting, rearranging furniture, laundry and ordering some important items (carseat and stroller) I'm feeling pretty good about her arrival.

In preparation for that, I've started working on Hypnobirthing.  Now you are probably thinking, "hypnotism, she's crazy?"  because that's usually the first thoughts that have come to my mind when I think of hypnotism.  But as I've heard more and more great things about this program, I thought I'd take a look over it.  I borrowed a book/CD from a friend of mine, so we'll see how things go.  The more I read, the more I'm convinced that it actually might really help.  It's self-hypnotism and you have complete control over your body the entire time.  To me, it has felt more like a deep relaxation technique than what hypnotism has always sounded like to me. With that said...

These are my goals for this labor/delivery:

1. Labor at home for as long as possible
2. Don't be attached/laying down in a bed the second I get to the hospital
3. Safely deliver a healthy baby

So, I'm not completely adamant about going all natural with this one, but if the Hypnobirthing can get me there then why not try it out.  I didn't have a bad experience with my epidural with Josh, so who knows maybe I'll get one again.  But I've heard recovery time can be faster without an epidural and that Hypnobirthing can be a quick, fearless and painless (yeah right?) ordeal.  So, even though I'm still a little nervous about the delivery date, I hope to be more prepared with coping with labor than I was last time.

Wish me luck!  She'll be here before we know it!

Wedding

I was lucky enough to head down to Utah a week and a half ago to see the wedding/sealing of these two beautiful people:

My brother Enoch is a long time best friend.  We have always been really close and so to witness him turning from "my little een" to a husband of an amazing girl was a really great experience for me (a little emotional too).  They seem genuinely happy and I couldn't be more happy for them and their decision.  Welcome to the family Tacy!  You are both loved!

Because of his schedule, it wasn't going to be feasible to have Jake with me.  So, I left Joshua here with him and had lots of wonderful help from my neighbors.  I'm going to miss having neighbors like these when we move this summer.  Jake was a champ sacrificing so much of his time to watch Josh, especially when Josh was sick and a little out of sorts with his mommy gone.  They were both happy to see me return.  Here is what I was welcomed with at the airport...

  

I love my boys to pieces!!!

my sewing adventure

Between being busy with working for my friend Laura and her bearded beanie business, being a mom, and preparing for the holidays, I've been starting up my own little business like I mentioned here. 

Since that post, I've created my facebook page and my etsy shop and am awaiting my first customers.  I think that this is something that could grow a little, but not go out of control, which is just what I want.  

It's been a lot of fun thinking up ideas of how I can grow my shop and coming up with different ways to customize my superhero cape.  Because some things have been sent out as Christmas presents and I don't want to spoil any surprises, I will get pictures of the changes up shortly. 

In the mean time, spread the word about these sweet little things! They are definitely fun to make and to watch the little ones play in.

Bay Bean Um Bert Who

It took us a little while to figure out a way of telling our parents and family that we were pregnant.  We ended up coming up with this Mad Gab "Bay Bean Um Bert Who" and we actually thought it turned out to be really fun! Glad that we got Jake's parents on tape!

one year down

I can't even begin to express how proud I am of Jake.  He finished his first year of medical school today and he did really well.  He honored a few classes and passed everything else which I think in and of itself is a huge accomplishment.  He has been a great student who, I think, has managed his time very well. 

He spends a good amount of time focusing on school, but he also is an excellent father and husband who is very supportive of me.  He was even gracious enough to help watch Joshua while I worked this past year.  He truly is an amazing person and I look forward to seeing him grow through this career development process.  It will be a long one, but I definitely feel like it is going to be worth it.  Of course you know that if he could make a living to support his family off of climbing mountains and mountain biking he would totally do it, but this is the next best thing.

It seems like yesterday we had just made the decision that we were going to come here, that we just went through the application process and were talking to students and their spouses here getting ready to move up.  It has been incredible to see the relationships that we have developed here.  We have a great group of friends, an awesome ward and a wonderful support group.  I look forward to strengthening those relationships with our friends here and I look forward to meeting the incoming class of 2015 and making more friends.

Overall, this has been a big change for all of us.  Looking back, it didn't seem that bad.  Yes, there were hard spots and sacrifices made from all, but I think we learned a lot about ourselves individually and as a family unit.  I have learned how to live more independently as well as become a house wife who is dedicated to rearing her children in a good home and serving her husband and supporting him through his life choices and challenges. 

So, you may be asking what's next?  Jake will have another year here in Yakima.  Now that he is a "second year"  he will supposedly have less class time and more independent study time.  This year his classes will be different and he will mostly be preparing for his Step 1 Board exam that is next summer.  This coming winter (February) we will be deciding on our Core Rotation spot where we spend years 3 & 4.  They have about 12 different spots ranging from Mt. Vernon/Skagit Valley, WA to Anchorage, AK to Great Falls, MT.  As of right now we are thinking that we might choose Eastern Idaho/Blackfoot for our Core Rotation spot.  That will result being closer to both families, in a familiar part of town, and it also sounds like a good rotation. 

During his rotations he will be working in clinics and hospitals in the area to get some experience in.  He will work in areas such as, Family Medicine, OB, OMM, Pediatrics, Surgery, etc. During year 3, Jake will have another Board Exam (Step 2, Physical Exam in Philadelphia, PA).  During year 4, Jake will undergo "audition" rotations and interviewing for Residency Programs as well as another Board Exam (Step 2, written).  He still isn't sure what he would like to do, but it sounds like he is leaning towards Emergency Medicine / Wilderness Medicine.  He would be great at anything and I support him in whatever decision he does make.

After years 3 & 4, Jake will graduate from PNWU.  But he's not done yet.  After the residency match we will find out which residency program he got into and will move and be in that residency program anywhere from 3-6 years, depending on what specialty he chooses.

 Sounds like a huge mouthful right and a lot of work (which it is), and you may be wondering why I'm making such a big deal about having just 1 year out of all that done, but I feel like it's a great accomplishment.  He passed his first year and we are one step closer to getting done. 

Congratulations Jake!  You amaze me!