Current Kansas Happenings

We've lived here in Kansas for over a month now. And guess what... WE LOVE IT! I feel like this place proves itself over and over again that we are meant to be here right now.

Travis has been attending Cleveland for three weeks now. He comes home every day excited to study. I like to help him study too. The other day he was going over the different names of the bones in the vertebrae. Yeah, it's not just called vertebrae. Crazy, huh? Well I was his guinea pig and he went up and down my spine naming them. It was pretty much a back rub. I'm pretty sure we should review it again soon so he doesn't forget. ;) He truly is loving what he's learning. It's a major blessing. Studying isn't much of a chore for him because he's so passionate about the subject. It's hard material, but he absorbs it so well. Yesterday he was telling me about the quiz they took in class. He was talking about the one question he missed and how easy it was. When he was telling me about it, I was dumbfounded. I never realized how smart my husband is. That sounds horrible, huh? I know he's smart, but he was totally speaking a different language to me. It was attractive.

I got a job a few weeks back. Major blessing! I work full-time (7:45-4:45, Monday thru Friday) at an "Early Childhood Education School". It's a step-up from regular preschools. All their teachers are certified. I teach the two to three year-olds. It's like working in nursery for 40 hours a week. Luckily, I loved nursery! I seriously love the little kids. They all poke my belly and say, "Baby!". Sometimes we dance to some music, and one of the kids will say, "The baby's dancing!". It makes me smile. But honestly, it's hard work. Since it's a big deal school, I have to write lesson plans. I'm getting used to the format, so I should get faster at it. But it's been hard getting used to. I'm on my feet for 8 hours a day, taking care of 15 two year-olds. There's two of us in the classroom, but I'm the certified teacher. So I'm the "big mama" of the classroom. I love kids, and I feel so blessed to have a great job. Our daughter can even come with me to work eventually. The infant room is booked until December, so we have to figure out what to do until then. But from December on she gets to come with me. It'll be awesome. I think I'll start maternity leave once March hits. Then I plan on walking and doing crazy things to make this little girl come out! haha.

Okay, story time. We take Lyla to the dog park in town on Saturdays. I feel like we owe it to her since she spends a lot of the week at home, alone. Last week it was super nice outside. When we got to the dog park there were literally a hundred dogs there. It was super hectic and fun. Travis stepped in the biggest, freshest poop I have ever seen in my life. I died laughing. But don't worry. Karma, folks. I love watching all the big dogs run and play. I especially love labs. This black lab runs up to me super excitedly. I lean down to pet it. No big deal right? Suddenly I feel my leg get really warm. He's peeing on me! He totally lifted his leg up, aimed, and peed right on my leg. And not like a few droplets to mark his territory. I'm pretty sure he hadn't peed for days, so he could save up a supply, and let it all out on me. I know I look and feel like a hippo, but I didn't know I looked like a fire hydrant! Gee wiz. So karma is real.


OH! And here's a present. Enjoy some action shots of Lyla trying to catch snowballs. We love you all!

Is This Real Life?

We set up the baby's nursery a couple days ago. That's when it really hit that we're going to be parents. I kind of had a little miniature anxiety attack. I sat on the floor, holding a diaper, wondering how the heck I was supposed to be a mother. A MOTHER. That's a big deal. I'm crazy excited to meet this cute little munchkin though. Travis put the crib together (with very little grumbling or complaining). It was very impressive. We got the mattress (thanks mom) and set it up with the crib bedding. Ummm.... cute!! I'm in love with it. We found the bedding from someone in Rexburg that only used it for a month. It's in great condition, and it's a 6 piece set. It was a great deal. And I love it more than any other set I found online. So happy mommy-to-be here. 

We had our first baby appointment with our Kansas doctor a few days ago. The doctor is GREAT and the office staff is wonderful. I'm way more happy with these folks than I was in Rexburg. We got pretty lucky. ANNNNND, we got another ultrasound! We weren't expecting it since most don't get another ultrasound after 20 weeks. But this office likes to do ultrasounds with their new patients. So we saw our little girl, and WOW, she's grown. Here's a few pictures. Enjoy!

Look at those chubby cheeks! I just wanna kiss 'em!

I love her little foot.

Not the best profile, her arm is laying along side her face. But still cute. ;)

We're going to be parents! Soon it will be the year that our baby girl is born. That's what I'm most looking forward to in 2013. Travis and I are crazy excited and can't wait to meet her. Only 2 and a half months left!

"You're Not in Kansas Anymore"... Oh Wait!

Yep. We are in Kansas. Travis starts chiropractic school at Cleveland Chiropractic College on January 7th (a week from today). He's super excited and I am very excited for him. He has a deep passion for the human body, how it works, and how to make it function to the best of its ability. He's eager to jump in and learn. And I have to admit, I'm anxious to take advantage of the free chiropractic care we get while he's in  school. hehe.

Can you see the excitement in his face?

We're living right outside Kansas City, KS. We're in a suburb called Overland Park. I can't imagine what it's like to actually live in Kansas City because Overland Park already seems like "big city living" to me. Seriously people, there are three Targets here. YEAH... THREE! And there's a HUGE mall that has over 200 stores. And there are like two or three outlet malls, along with another couple smaller malls. There's a Costco (Woohoooo!), Super Walmart, Super Target, Hobby Lobby, Buy Buy Baby, multiple Panda Expresses, and anything else your mind can come up with. The roads are all 6 lanes and 45 mph. Rexburg's speed limit was 25 or 35mph around town. It feels like we're always speeding. So pretty much this place is huge... and I'm excited to shop! I'm glad Travis dragged me to this place to spend four years while he's in school. There is so much going on. And it meets my criteria for a place to make me happy. It has a Walmart, Target, mall, and Red Robin. We're good.

We're living in a cute little two bedroom townhouse apartment. It's actually not very little. It's by far the biggest place we've called our own at 1,232 square feet. We just came from 800 square feet, so we're living the dream. Travis' parents and brother were here with us when we moved. They helped us settle in and make this place our home. We painted the family room, picked out some new furniture, and put pictures up. We're grateful for their helpfulness and love that they shared with us. We couldn't have made this transition without them.

Here's our "BEFORE" picture. Boring! (And nasty furniture!)

Travis painting. He worked so hard and fast.

We chose the blue because it matches our furniture.

Travis' dad did the edges and Travis did the rest of it. What a team!

He approves of the chair. :)

And here's the couch. The pillows match the chair.

Here's the "AFTER" picture. We're not done decorating the walls. But it's a start.

The kitchen is small, but works fine.

We found this bird picture at Hobby Lobby. It pulls in the blue from the other room. Random and fun!

And here's the outside. Cute place, huh? We're the end unit, so that's pretty lucky.

We love it here so far. We're excited to kind of be in our own place. Family isn't close, so we have to rely a lot more on each other. We're excited to get to know the people in our ward and make this our home for the next four years.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas was a great success. Travis' parents and brother were with us for Christmas. We just moved to Kansas and are having a blast. I'll post later about Kansas and how awesome it is. Last night we had a family night and read Christ's birth story in Luke. We talked about the true reason of the season and sang TONS of carols. Twas wonderful.

This morning, we got up and opened presents around 7:30. Even Lyla got a couple things. And the baby got some things too! It's crazy how grandmas can spoil a baby before it's even born. Haha. But I'm grateful for their love. Here's some fun pictures from Christmas. Enjoy! I hope you all have had and continue to have a Merry Christmas!

Pregnancy Thoughts

So I'm 24 weeks along today. Crazy shenanigans. Everybody's pregnancy is different, so it has been fun seeing how pregnancy works for me. It turns out it takes me a million years to get a decent-sized belly. It's definitely bigger than it used to be, but it's not huge yet. I'm just playing the waiting game. I'm at that stage where people think I've just eaten too much. I can't wait until people look at me and have no doubt in their mind that I'm pregnant. I know it's weird. Most people would embrace this time when their stomach is not that big, but I say, "Bring on the big belly!". Next week I'll only have 15 weeks left until d-day. That's only 3 and a half months!

I am loving maternity pants. I think I'll wear them for the rest of my life. They're so stinkin comfortable! Holy moly. Where have they been all my life? You can sit down to a great meal, eat way too much, and not have to unbutton your pants to release the pressure. So because you skip that step after overeating, it is a confidence booster. You don't have to be disappointed in yourself when your pants are too tight. I suggest everyone go out and buy some maternity pants. Like, for reals! Pregnancy has also made me really mean. Okay, I was really mean before, but I was pretty good at keeping it inside. Now I just explode with meanness. Mostly directed at Travis. It's sad, but true. I am aware of it and trying to control it. My hormones are just a mess. Which leads me to the point that I cry- all the time. Mostly at night. When it gets to be about 8:15ish, a beep goes off on my hormone radar and my hormones spike. Sometimes I find myself crying about crying. I cry because I hate that I cry. Haha. Crazy stuff. Poor Travis. I was crazy before I got pregnant, but we're at a whole new level of crazy now.

But even with all the craziness, pregnancy is so stinkin exciting. It's amazing that I have a tiny human growing inside of me. She's supposedly a pound and a half now and about 8.5 inches long. And I'd like to add that I just know she's darn cute too! You can say I have mother's intuition. Haha. And she's been kicking a lot lately. Can I just say that it's a super amazing feeling! Sometimes I feel like she's playing with me. Travis has felt a few kicks, but most of them aren't quite hard enough to feel. I know in a couple weeks we'll have a different story to tell. I hear kicks get pretty crazy and hard. So life is wonderful. Travis and I are in awe at how blessed we are. We're excited to be parents, and Lyla is excited to be a "big sister". Love you all!

Thankfulness

Happy Thanksgiving! Our first Thanksgiving was a success! Which is a surprise to the both of us. The meal was excellent, we're very stuffed, and waiting for the dinner to settle so we can start on the pie! Even Lyla enjoyed some turkey for dinner! Travis and I have so many things to be thankful for. First off, is each other. I love my husband and I'm so glad to know, without a doubt, that he loves me too. We're grateful for the upcoming opportunity that we get to be parents. We're grateful that Travis got accepted to a graduate school and our future is bright. God is so good to us! We love life and are excited for all the adventures that await. :)

Story Time

Okay. Have a seat. I'm going to tell a story. I'm going to try and not use the words "idiot", "maniac", and/or "crazy hooligan". But I can't make any promises. Haha.

So I was driving home from work today, listenin to some music. Probably something country or maybe it was classic rock. Anyways, I notice the light in front of me turns yellow. The car in front of me didn't slow down, so I slowed to stop at the red light. The car in front of me then stopped in the middle of the intersection. Yeah, for reals. It's almost like I could see how she was thinking because of the way she was driving. She stopped (like completely stopped) in the middle of the intersection because she realized she ran a red light. I was in the front of the line behind her. And you won't believe what she did next! Her reverse lights came on. She was going to try to reverse! That's when I spoke out loud to her, saying something like, "Yo dawg, you can't backup. I'm right here." She must have heard me because she started going forward again and fully committed through the red light. I was so embarrassed for her. The people that had a green light couldn't even go cause she was just sitting there having a moral dilemma. Haha. I just had to share the story because I was amazed. And if you were the girl driving in front of me today, congrats! You became a story on my blog.