9 weeks!

This week we went for our first OB appointment. We were most looking forward to our first ultrasound. Our OB is amazing - he completely supports our desires for a natural birth and spent over an hour with us. The ultrasound took our breath away. We could hear our baby's heartbeat and see it on the big screen. That moment was one of those miraculous moments that come along a few times in life; we were holding hands and enjoying the awe of a new life. Seeing baby made the pregnancy feel so much more real - it's really happening! We also found out that we are a week further along than we thought; 9 weeks yesterday. Only three more weeks of the first trimester to go! I hope that the nausea will disappear with the second trimester as miraculously as the baby appeared on the screen. That would be GREAT. I'm feeling better for the most part than I was two weeks ago, but I have moments off and on all day when I feel dizzy, sick, and tired. And I never thought I would say this, but eating every two hours is a pain in the butt when you are sick and nothing sounds good! Although Chinese food (Vegetable delight with sticky rice) has been sounding so good this week - Jonathan took me to a Chinese buffet yesterday for lunch. I seriously put away some vegetables and rice.
The baby is practically all we talk and think about. Yes, we are still in school and have 3 jobs each so there is not as much time for daydreaming as I would like, but it's still fun to share baby dreams and fantasies throughout the day. I'm glad that I have 7 more months to anticipate the baby, and I will have much more time after this crazy semester is over to daydream and nest.
In other news, J.J. turned 3 years old yesterday! We thought we were going out of state for a conference yesterday, so he was with his grandma most of the day and we didn't have time to celebrate. We'll have a little cake and double party to celebrate his and his grandma's birthday next weekend.
I will try to post every week with pictures and news - even if no one is reading, I love looking back on old posts, and I know these posts will be extra special someday.
Hope you all have had a great February - March is almost here!

The beginning of a new chapter...

On January 29, we found out that a much anticipated chapter in our lives has begun...I'm pregnant! Yes, after many years of dreaming, reading, and waiting, my dream has been realized. We were so excited that we took three tests to be sure! The last couple weeks have been a blur. The first week, I had a few minor symptoms, but for the most part I was elated. I am still incredibly excited and overjoyed, but the morning sickness set in during week 5 (two weeks ago), and I've been a little under the weather since then. Fortunately, the vomiting is under control now, so I am only nauseous off and on throughout the day instead of getting sick. It was pretty funny, though - I got sick once on campus and another time at our midwife's house! In addition to nausea, I have the usual fatigue, dizziness, and occasional headaches. The funniest symptoms are the food aversions and cravings. All I wanted for a couple weeks was fresh fruit and raw veggies. None of my usual favorite foods sounded good at all. Since then, I'm still mostly eating fruit and raw veggies, but have also thrown in some strange cravings like macaroni and cheese with pickles (which is really odd for me since I probably haven't eaten macaroni and cheese for many years) and today was Chinese food. It's odd to crave Chinese food when you are incredibly nauseous, but that was the only thing that sounded good.
These first few weeks of being pregnant (or at least knowing that I am pregnant) have reinforced my belief that I have the greatest husband in the world. He has gone out at night to get me things for vomiting, bought food that I wanted at the most inconvenient times, refuses to see me lift a thing over 2 pounds, and has taken over several chores when I've been busy. I knew he was amazing before, but wow. And on top of that, he is so excited about the baby that he has been tempted to tell random students on campus as we walk by.
We have had our first midwife appointment and it went really well. Our first OB appointment is Wednesday and we will have our first ultrasound! We are so excited to hear the heartbeat and see the baby, even if it is tiny. We will be 8 weeks along Wednesday, two thirds through the first trimester! We are expecting in early October, but we will get a more accurate due date after the ultrasound.
We are taking pictures nearly every day of my (now flat but soon to be huge) belly, and I will post pictures and the ultrasounds throughout.
This post doesn't have any of my usual reflection, and I wish it did, particularly given the topic. But it has been a busy weekend - I had to grade 250 multiple choice tests, plus I had a ton of homework, and this is the first time I've stopped to catch my breath. I wanted to plan a more in-depth post to announce our news, but I thought it would be better to post something now than wait any longer.
Oh, and I also had a birthday the week before last. I turned 27! It was a great birthday spent with family. But to be honest, it was hard to be excited about a birthday when I had something else to be more excited about! Thank you to everyone for the lovely gifts, cards, and well wishes for my birthday.
Can't wait to update you on our new journey!

The "semester-is-in-full-swing" and "I can't believe this weather" Post

Well, I haven't been challenged to keep to my "I will see the best in winter" attitude. It has been around 50-60 degrees for the past two weeks with few exceptions! Unbelievable. It's either scary because global warming is in effect, or very cool. I'm enjoying the short sleeves and no coats right now, but a little bit concerned about how many bugs we'll have this summer! And there's always a chance we could have a nice snow-pocalypse on our hands again this year. Who knows!

So the semester is in full-swing. We are working three jobs each (two of which are together) and taking 6 hours of classes each (enrolled 3/4 time for graduate school). This is my final semester of classes - which is completely awesome and crazy and has not sunk in yet. No more homework! No more 30 page papers at the end of the semester! What will I do with myself?! Wait, I know - study my keester off (how do you spell keester?) for comprehensive exams that will take place next semester. So let me take you through a typical week for us.
We work Monday through Friday at the Writing Center, 10 hours per week. It's awesome because we sit next to each other and help great students out with their writing. Sometimes we feel spoiled for getting paid to do this. Then we go to TA meetings and a class that we are teaching assistants/co-instructors for in Architectural Studies. This is so much fun, because the instructor is an amazing older Jewish gentleman whose love for art and beauty is absolutely contagious. We get to listen to 5 minutes of classical music at the beginning of class, sit through amazing lectures with pictures of beautiful architecture from all around the world (which he took himself of course), and then break into our groups. We each are responsible for "teaching" about 22-24 students each. This means we create grading rubrics, explain assignments, and grade about 50 2-3 page papers each week. It is a writing intensive class, so the students have to do two writing assignments of 2-3 pages each week, plus a 10-15 page paper at the end of the semester. We've already graded about 75 papers each and this is only the third week! But we're having fun. In addition to the other two jobs, I am an assistant in an anthropology class, for which I will be grading over 200 exams about every 4 weeks (in 36 hours). Jonathan is also a research assistant in his own department.
Regarding classes, Jonathan is co-teaching a class in his department for credit (teaching teachers how to teach writing) and taking a readings class. I am taking an advanced statistics course and the last class to complete my certificate in Public Health. I'm also really into yoga at a studio in town - I do some yoga at home, and then take the Ashtanga Primary series for 90 minutes at the studio once a week. It's fantastic.


So we're busy. Super busy! But we're having fun, get to spend lots of time together, and are trying to keep the zen mentality in the midst of it all.
Happy February everyone! I can't believe I'll be 27 in just 8 days!