Ultrasound, Carnival and Naked Ethan!

Well, I went to the doctor on Thursday and after a 90 minute wait, I was finally seen. While in the waiting room I was thinking "Man, if this is normal I'm not sure I want to keep with this doctor. I mean I'm going to have to get a babysitter every time I come because who knows how long it's going to take and if it's going to bleed into Ethan's nap time." Which it did, he had to half sleep on the couch in the waiting room while people were slamming doors and babies were screaming. So I was taken back to the exam room. Is this a real doctor's office? I mean, there are purple velvet curtains and silk pillows and an ultrasound machine in every room. I was really impressed. The doctor came in and apologized for the wait, she had to run next door and deliver a baby. At this point I decided the wait was worth it and next time I will get a babysitter. I was very comfortable and the doctor was extremely nice. I stated my concerns about possibly not being pregnant and she said "Well, let's have a look then." I expected her to whip out her special stethoscope thing and try to find a heartbeat but no. She got the ultrasound jelly out and gave me a free ultrasound!

YES. WE ARE PREGNANT!!! :) We are actually not as far along as we thought. My new due date is October 20th, which is also Jon's birthday. He was pretty excited about that. Oo, I'm going to put on the baby ticker after I'm done with this post.

This weekend was a fun one. On Friday night we went to Sears to buy Ethan a big boy car seat, Thank You Jen and Jason! Ethan peed through his pants and then we also had to keep him occupied while Jon tried to install the new seat in a dark parking lot. Fun. ;)

On Saturday we went to the Redondo Beach Springfest. I thought it was going to be bigger than it was and Jon expected it to be smaller than it was. It was like a mini version of the Western Idaho Fair. We walked around, saw some Hawaiian dancers, looked at some farm animals, and got food. I was hoping that there would be all kinds of carnival and ethnic food to choose from but instead it was 5 or six booths of pizza, hotdogs, or mexican. Jon got a polish dog and then proceeded to dress it with bbq sauce. He didn't realize the lid was no screwed on and so when he shook of the bottle bbq sauce went everywhere. All over me and all over Ethan. Luckily we were all having so much fun and I was so glad to be out of the house that I didn't let it affect my attitude, he got off easy. :) When we got home we had to give Ethan a bath.

Introducing Curly Hair Ethan! Isn't he cute?

Showing off his good side. :)

You are what you eat.

http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/

I came across this website the other day and was appalled. At the same time I was tempted by some of the food... completely grossed out by others. It really got me thinking about my eating habits, are they good or bad?

Good Habits:
1. Since we're so tight on cash, we never eat out. In the two months we've been here we've made a McDonald's trip, a Subway trip, a Starbuck's trip, and a local burger joint trip. And this was only possible because we got some unexpected funds that we automatically set aside to eat out. So because we don't eat out, I am not taking in high grease and sugar foods.
2. Since we're so tight on cash, my grocery buying habits have been forced to change. Since we have moved here I have not bought one sleeve of cookies or one candy bar. This is a huge step. In the past we would normally have one dessert item a day whether it was cookies and milk or a candy bar at night. Now, we never eat dessert food and I usually turn to a yogurt for a nightly sweet snack.

Not so Good Habits:
1. I seem to have some issues with my digestive system. This started when we were living in Nova Scotia. Every time we would eat out, especially fast food, I would have to spend the rest of the day on the toilet. (Not throwing up... the other thing.) I figured this was because I was in a different country (Ha, Canada) and wasn't used to maybe the different cooking oils or foods I was eating. But it has carried on here as well. I can't eat out. No matter what it is, even Subway, I have a horrible night because of it. I have also noticed that this happens when I have any home-cooked food that has any kind of fat in it. Like the other night I wasn't really up for cooking and so made some mac-n-cheese, bad idea. Last night I made breakfast for dinner and used no butter and no cheese and it still happened. The only foods that my stomach really handles well now are low-fat, low-carb, foods. So I am stuck to a bowl of cereal in the morning, a tuna sandwich and yogurt at lunch, and snacking on fresh fruits and veggies all night. This may sound like a good thing, but I'm not feeling very healthy and I'm in a lot of pain when my stomach is so sensitive.
2. Lack of exercise. I am at home all day everyday. I sit on my butt and play with Ethan, I sit on my butt and play on the computer, I sit on my butt and read. I occasionally take Ethan on a walk to the park, but that's about it. I don't feel fat and I don't certainly look fat but my muscles, except for my left arm from holding Ethan, are gone.

In other news, Ethan and I have our first doctors appointments this week. Ethan is behind on his vaccinations and I'm excited to see just how much he weighs! I'm seeing the OBGYN and I'm a little nervous about it for several reasons. 1. I'm not sure if I'm pregnant, I don't look pregnant and I don't feel pregnant. It's also emotional... I just don't think things are right in there... so I'm anxious to find out exactly what's going on in that department. 2. I have been talking to newly made friends about their experiences with OBGYNs in this area and I'm sad to say that it's all been negative. Doctors that treat you like trash and can't understand why in the world you would want to be pregnant, have kids so close together and be so young. Doctors that yell at their staff. And if it turns out that I'm pregnant with a non-growing fetus and need to go through all that drama, I'm scared of the doctor's lack of sensitivity and how that's going to affect my oh so fragile emotional state.

Ethan 6-9 Months

Well lots has happened in the past three months. As seen in our Nova Scotia post, Ethan started saying "dada" around 6 months. Now he is saying all kinds of "words" including "mom" when he is whining.

Also, he can sit on his own and can chew on large pieces of fruit. Here he had just destroyed an orange slice.

He also can walk around in circles in this toy. He loves to help mom sweep, even if only a circle of floor gets clean. :)

Our favorite new trick of his is imitating mom and dad. This is got to be one of our all time favorite videos. 

He also loves to bounce.

He has started to fall alseep at random places.

AND... without further adieu, Ethan's attempt at crawling. He's ever so close!

 

Welcome to LA!

We are finally here! After a month in Nova Scotia and another month in Boise (we had so much fun!) we finally made the 15 hour drive to our new home. We stopped for a night in Provo, loaded up the Penske truck, then drove ahead in our car to Vegas where we stayed another night (Thank you again, Gma and Gpa for the night in your time share.) and then finished the last leg to LA.

A BIG thank you to my dad who was cramped in our small car with us to Utah and then drove the truck the rest of the way. He had a crazy experience in Vegas when a car of Mexicans drove up next to him on the freeway and were yelling at him. Thinking he might have something wrong with the truck, he eventually pulled over. The car of Mexicans also pulled over and then were jumping all over the truck!!!! They were looking for work! Ha! Oh, the things that happen to my dad. :)

I had booked a hotel for us to stay in while we looked for an apartment near the airport since my dad would be flying out and Aunt Ranee would be flying in to help us in our search. Needless to say, I should have researched my areas a little bit more because our hotel was in the dangerous neighborhood of Inglewood. It was definitely one of the shadiest hotels I had ever stayed in.

God was really looking out for us because we ended up moving in to a new apartment within a couple of days of arriving in LA. It was the first apartment we toured. We filled out an application and then found out that we had not been approved because they like to have their tenants earn more than 3 times the monthly rent... and we made less than twice. Luckily, the lady who ended up approving our application was LDS and even though she had no idea that we were also, I know she was lead by the Spirit to make that decision. :)

Moving in was a breeze. We had stopped in St. George to see my dad's childhood friend who ended up selling us our couch and bed. We had so little stuff from our tiny basement apartment in Provo that when the ward showed up to help us move in, we were done within minutes. One thing we learned about apartments in California is that most of them make you provide your own fridge, weird. That was a cost we didn't expect but ended up getting a pretty good deal at the Sears Outlet.

Our apartment is great. We have a dishwasher, 2 bedrooms, nice carpet, and a large cement patio out front which is just beckoning for Ethan to come and play. On the other hand, it's REALLY expensive and it's forced us to live on more of a tight budget than we already were as poor college students. At least in Provo we could eat out every so often, here it's out of the question. That's the trade off for the nice weather, eh?

Our city of Torrance is beautiful, we live minutes from the beach and across the street from a park. We've been to the beach twice since moving in. Our ward is also great. We were automatically introduced to some other great families and invited to all kinds of get-togethers.

We're in Nova Scotia!

Hello from Nova Scotia! Jon will be receiving an offer from DHL via email any day now, wahoo! It's comforting to know that we have a job. We'll let everyone know when we receive the location! Thanks for all the prayers.

Ethan is turning 6 months this week and misses his grandma. He's talking up a storm, mostly "Dad". He has also learned how to fake cry (it's absolutely adorable) and fake cough. He'll be crawling any day now and is chewing on everything!

Last Night in Provo

I don't want to be packed up!

Well, we're moving. Where to? Still don't know. All we know is that we're spending the holidays in Nova Scotia (hooray) and that we're waiting to hear about job offers.... Patient, my young padowan (spelling?). Surprisingly, I'm not too nervous. Maybe it's because all I can think about is how excited I am for Christmas in Canada with Ethan.

"Touched by such tiny hands, and oh, such tiny feet."

In early November 2008 we found out we were pregnant! Before seeing a doctor for a definite due date, I plugged in the dates online to get an idea of when to expect our first born.... and what date did it pop out? July 25th, our wedding date!!! Eventually, I got a more accurate due date of July 15th. :)

We were both hoping for a girl and were a little shocked when we found out it was a boy... but by the next day we were in love with our little future Ethan and haven't looked back since.

For one of my art classes I had to take a self portrait and couldn't pass up the chance to show off my startings of a belly. Little did I know just how big I would get!!

By the end of my pregnancy, I had gained a whopping 50lbs! I just knew he was going to be a big baby. And then there was the puppps.... it's a rare rash that forms in only 1% of pregnancies and yep, I had it! It starts on your belly and is like little lines of hundreds of mosquito bites. It makes it impossible to sleep or wear clothing because the slightest touch will cause the rash to flare up and itch like the dickens!!! By far, the worst part of my pregnancy... even worse than labor. No joke. It eventually spread to cover my whole body, even in between my fingers and toes.

I was so ready for Ethan to come. The rash was relentless and would only go away after he was born. The morning of my due date, my water broke and we headed to the hospital. I was exhausted to begin with since the rash had kept me from sleeping for days. But after 12 hours of labor, Ethan was born! 8lbs 13oz and a full head of dark beautiful hair.

The next 2 months were quite a challenge for me. My mom stayed with us for the first week and after that I was completely alone. Motherhood was different than I expected (duh) but I was determined to get through the rough beginning patch. Ethan was a GREAT infant! Rarely cried and loved to lay in the grass. We would spend most of our time taking walks and sitting on the lawn. 

After 2 months, I was completely recovered from whatever emotional hinderances I had felt and loved waking up in the morning looking forward to my day with Ethan. He's so much fun! Through the fall we would still take daily walks and I loved teaching him about the beautiful sights around him. He learned to smile and then laugh and (his favorite) constantly stick out his tongue. 

As Ethan grows older his personality is shining through. He's in love with his dad who can make him laugh just by looking at him. He loves to play with his feet and stand up and reach for things. We are in absolute LOVE with our baby, he makes us head over heels happy every single day!

Honeymooners!

Ha! So, funny story. When trying to decide where we should go for our honeymoon, Jon was listing of some potential locations to me. He listed Florida and I promptly stated that I DID NOT want to ever go to Florida. He was bummed and I immediately realized that, yep, he had already booked our trip to Florida thinking that I would love it. Well, after some thinking and time, I eventually got excited about the idea. It turned out to be great! Never really want to go there again but, hey, it was an adventure... our adventure. :)

By far the most fun we had was at the beach, boogie-boarding. There was constant overcast, which made it hard to get a much needed tan. I saw a dolphin fin, mistook it for a shark fin, and almost ran out of the water yelling "Shark, shark!" I could have spent the entire honeymoon on that beach, it was so much fun. 

We also went to some of the parks: Disney World, Sea World, and Busch Gardens. Sea World was our favorite, the shows were awesome. I fulfilled my dream of meeting all the princesses and we also enjoyed all the perks of wearing our "just married" pins and bride and groom mickey hats. 

Two receptions and a wedding

We had a PREception in Nova Scotia in Jon's church cultural hall. Although I loved planning my wedding, I was happy that Jon's mum took charge of the Canada reception. It was beautifully decorated in lighthouse and seashell decor to remind us of Peggy's Cove. Jon's family is GREAT! My parents came up to Canada with us which was a lot of fun. We spent most of our time kayaking on Jon's lake and lighting fireworks off his dock. Oh, and United almost made me show up to our reception naked... as in, they lost our luggage which included my wedding dress! Grrrrr.

Our first dance... I forgot to pin up my train and well, you can guess what happened next.

Yep, we fell, in front of everyone.... it was awesome.

Wedding day! July 25th, 2008. Timpanogos Temple.... 93 degrees outside.

We had our second reception in Boise in my parent's backyard. As per my request with had different flavors of lemonade and scones. We also had a family friend, Anita, make food from Ecuador (MY FAVORITE) for everyone who was setting up. It was perfect outside and my family had a blast! 

Will you be my bride?

It was my first time to Nova Scotia. We had been looking at rings before and I had chosen one but was told by Jon that it wouldn't be done in time for our trip. I was sad but kept my hopes up that he was hiding something. The day after Christmas, Jon took me around to see the sites he grew up with. We went to downtown Halifax and visited the temple. The last place he took me to was Peggy's Cove. It was incredibly beautiful, red moss growing on the smooth rocks, a lighthouse and the vivid sunset. For Christmas, Jon had tricked me into thinking he had gotten the ring by giving me a jewelry box. It ended up being a pair of earrings, a Mi Kmaq symbol meaning bride. So now, we are standing there FREEZING but enjoying the beauty of the surroundings and I mess the whole thing up.... I have a habit of putting my hand in his pockets for warmth. Welp, there was a ring box in his pocket and I immediately pulled my hand out, realizing what I had just blown. He smoothly pulled the ring box out, got down on one knee and said "Tara, will you be my bride?" Of course, I got teary-eyed and said yes. :) It was a great day. My favorite part was the drive home. An hour to ourselves, no cell phone reception to distract us, holding his hand with a new edition to my finger. :)

Here are a couple of our engagement photos. We took them in May, when the trees were blossoming.