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Top Five Reasons we love Quinn

He was born with a perfect haircut
He lays with his arms down at his sides when he gets his diaper changed
His cute smile when he has bubbles in his tummy
He makes really ugly faces when he's grumpy
He likes to show off his strong legs

I have told Thurm before that he has a very "Hobbes" look about him- especially when he wears strips. I think you can really see the resemblance with Quinn & Hobbes : ) It's the long body.

Quinn the Mighty is living up to his name. The nurses all comment on how strong his legs are when they are trying to draw blood. Between being a kicker and having huge feet, maybe he'll be a runner with his daddy. We still need to go buy him a little jogging outfit. If anyone is dying to buy Quinn a present, he wants a red Adidas retro warm-up suit.

Here he is!

I haven't wanted to post because we are still in the hospital and its been pretty depressing and stressful. But Baby Q is five days old already and he's too cute not to share with the world. The picture is of him on day two however. QT was born June 23rd at 8:55 pm. He was 8lbs 9 oz and 22 inches long. Big boy! I know I touted to the world that I was going to go natural, but really, no one can explain that kind of pain. They broke my water and induced me at 9am and about an hour in I asked for an epidural. However, I hear that the contractions you get with an induction are way worse than regular contractions. I had contractions the night before that I slept through-not bad at all. I pushed for 2 hours and there he was! I asked Thurm to tell me about it all because I already have blocked it out : )
The next morning I had some serious blood clotting going on so I had to be medicated for that. I don't remember that day too much either because I slept alot and passed out a few times. Poor Thurm was really worried, but by that night I was much better. And now I feel perfectly fine except for this ball of dough hanging off the front of me. I'll get right on that as soon as we get out of this hospital.
Right now little QT is in the special care unit. He has had some problems and has been tested and monitored on every part of his body it seems. They've passed him with a clean bill of health basically, except right now he can't keep his oxygen level up by himself. The doctor tells us he'll be here till Tuesday probably. Overall, he is healthy and we are really grateful that all the doctors concerns have been put to rest. We are really hoping that the oxygen problem will clear itself up in the next four days so we can take him home.
He is ADORABLE. I told Thurm I wanted the baby to be just like him, and he is. He looks just like Thurm and is super mellow. He just hangs out and looks around. Rarely cries. He has his Grandpa H's nose I think. And he has ENORMOUS hands and feet. I think the hands might be mine and the feet are Thurms. Maybe he'll be a runner! We are so attached already, its amazing how that happens. I can't imagine life without him and its only been five days. We love him so much.

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow morning they are going to induce me. I'll be 11 days overdue. Every nurse that has seen me can't believe that my doctor would let me go this long. And that actually doesn't make me feel any better to have their surprise and sympathy. It makes me feel like my doctor is a quack. But I've heard from numerous people that he is a fantastic doctor and I'm sure he is. I just think he had weekend plans and didn't want to induce me before he got back from horse back riding in Sun Valley or something.

Anyway- next blog post should be some cute pictures of the baby. Thanks for everyone's well wishes and sympathy : )

Quinn the Mighty

Baby has yet to grace us with his presence. We go to SLC today for a doctor appointment and I'll be in tears if I don't get induced today or tomorrow. I was thinking I'd go natural, but I'm so cranky right now an epidural sounds just fine.

No, no baby yet.

I'm torn between feeling scared and glad the baby hasn't come yet versus my body feeling EXHAUSTED and SO READY for the baby to come. I'm ready to be able to get out of the couch on my own, roll over in bed and not have my body rip in half, wake up in the night not because I'm in pain and need to pee, but just because baby needs to be fed (I might not feel that way in a few weeks). I'll quit complaining, but this last month really does suck like everyone told me it would.

So we moved to Pocatello the first weekend of June and then directly went to Rupert to visit Thurm's parents. I love going to Rupert because the scenery is beautiful, the food is always great, and the company makes us feel loved. Thurm's main goal was to asparagus hunt. I went with him last year and it really is hunting. You have to search for asparagus along ditch banks. To sum up the experience I quote what Thurm told me last year, "where there is one, there might be two." Exciting. He really was excited and got about 8 or 9 grocery bags full. He gave some to his family, pickled a bag, and brought the rest home. While in Rupert I found out I have some more loyal readers... so welcome Rupert Readers! : )

Saturday night we went to the new Indiana Jones movie. I liked it, thought it was fun. It was just like all the other Indiana Jones movies, far fetched. But I went into it with no expectations and thinking it might not be very good. I think sometimes a movie experience is half your current state of mind.

Yesterday we went to SLC for a doctor appointment. I'm only dilated to 1.5 cm and 50% effaced, so I think its going to be a while. We go again next Monday. Thurm also had an appointment with Utah's head of licensure-- we found out great news. Basically Idaho has a different short cut to getting a teacher's license than Utah. But we found out that in the last couple weeks Utah has adopted the same program as Idaho. So he'll kill two birds with one stone!!! Its going to save us 2 years of classes and tuition to get his Utah license. Why are we getting Idaho & Utah licenses? Because we don't know what state we'll end up in and he needs to have or be working towards his license this fall no matter where we end up. You'd think with all the education they make teachers get that they'd pay them a little better.

We also swung through Logan to visit my friend and see their new house last night. I haven't driven though that part of Idaho in 8 years since I went to school at Utah State. I forgot how beautiful it is. I wouldn't mind living in Cache Valley at all.

Thurm has had a few interviews in various towns, all of which sound lots better than Wendover : ) Not that we've hated Wendover, we haven't. My attitude really changed after I switched jobs to the school. We've made alot of friends there and have gotten involved in the community... church, scouts, school, etc. Its just that its an ugly dust bowl in the desert hours from civilization. Hard to love. But the benefits are REALLY hard to beat. So we are still WAITING (the story of my life) to get any offers. So everyone pray for us that life will turn out perfectly and we'll have no trials or hardships : ) Thanks.

Ch..ch...changes....

Thurm is done teaching!!! YAY! And I was done on Wednesday. We've been packing and cleaning. We are packing to spend the summer in Idaho. And also for the fall--- because if we stay we'll be moving apartments and if we go we'll be moving towns. So regardless, we'll need to be packed. So our house is half packed and we'll pack the rest in August.

The biggest and only perk (that I can see) of teaching is summers off. That is so cool-- I am SOOO excited to have the summer to hang out with my family, play with our new baby, go hiking and camping. I mentioned to Thurm that potentially I could be done working for the rest of my life. I saw fear creep into his eyes as he realized he might be the only bread winner. Haha : ) I was mostly teasing because I can't see myself being at home after my kids are in school. I'm not really the scrapbooker type.... I don't craft...I don't bottle my own fruit....

Ideally I'd like to have a photography business out my home. I still have a long way to go, but I think after a few lighting seminars I might be able to pull it off. And actually I've gotten quite a bit of professional experience here in Wendover. But I will need to have something to do or I'll go crazy. And it might as well be something that will bring in extra money.

A few women that I go to church with and work with, threw me a baby shower on Wednesday. We got alot of cute stuff, toys, diapers, outfits, blankets, etc. I'm always so impressed by how generous people are. I was talking to my friend and she asked me if we had anything for the baby yet. She told her husband, "Knowing Natalie, she probably doesn't have anything and the baby will be sleeping in a box." Haha-how well she knows me. When we were roommates, I had a mattress on the floor and some lockers I got from the DI and painted red. I just hate collecting material crap and hauling it from apartment to apartment. Having couches(given to us by a neighbor, whom I'm sure felt sorry for us sitting on the floor) and a queen bed is killing me : ) Once we are settled into a house, then I'll buy some furniture. We actually haven't bought the baby anything except a "I Heart NYC" onesie. We are getting alot of hand-me-downs from my sister-in-laws and now we have shower stuff.

Last weekend, a weekend of bordem, Thurm suggested that we watch my DVD's of "Dawson's Creek." I told him I didn't think he'd really like it. Much to my surprise, we've watched almost the entire first two seasons in one week. I think I'm going to get him a "I Heart Dawson's Creek" shirt. We were driving somewhere the other day and out of the blue he says "so tell me what you think about Dawson..." and before he could finish I burst out laughing. Either he is REALLY bored or his snobberies aren't above a little teenage soap opera.

Ana

Man Hands

My feet and hands have been so swollen the last couple weeks. I keep catching glimpses of my man hands and hobbit feet. Not pretty.

Instigator

Somehow I always end up being the leader in whatever cause my fellow co-workers are fighting. In Taiwan, my fellow kindergartner teachers and I felt very strongly about how the secretaries at the school disciplined the kids. Everyone felt really strongly, so I wrote up an email, had the other teachers read/agree with it and sent it. This action pegged me as a trouble maker from the beginning. I guess because I don't like JUST complaining, I want action taken. I can think of two other jobs where I stood up for a righteous (in my mind) cause.

This week I've heard nothing but complaints from the teachers I work with about our housing. The school district provides cheap apartments for the teachers who come here, which is awesome. However, there are lots of things that need to be fixed or maintained. Almost every apartment has a leak, appliance that is broken, bugs & ants, etc. So after listening to everyone complain for 2 days, I asked if anyone had ever gone to the district about it. Nope-its easier just to quietly complain. So I've taken it upon myself to write up a list things that need to be fixed in each apartment and we are sending it into the district tomorrow. I'm a little afraid there might be repercussions or that I might be pegged again as a trouble maker. I'm just trying to help things get done. The good part of this, is that my boss is going to send the email, so maybe my name won't be linked: )

23 days till my due date
10 days till school is over
3 teaching days for Thurm
14 days till we move to Idaho for the summer
3 days till the weekend!
4 hours till bedtime

This is Isabel- she has a softball scholarship to a small college in California. She was beautiful and so easy to photograph.

A few things:

-Thurm suggested we name the baby "Kicky Kickerton."

-One of my 3rd graders noticed my belly for the first time aparently on Thursday and with wide eyes said "WOW THAT IS THE HUGEST BELLY I'VE EVER SEEN!"

-I got a pedicure on Friday and the petite, little Asian pedicurist told me how swollen my feet were and wondered how much weight I've gain in my pregnancy so far. Nice. Alot alright.

-Thurm went to Provo for a state track meet this weekend, so I went and spent the night at my grandma's, who lives in Provo. We sat in the shade on the grass and watched her garden grow. She told me about living during the depression. I took a nap. I balanced her check book. Thurm helped her dig some of her garden. She fed us a TV dinner.

-I have three senior picture sessions lined up for Monday & Tuesday. I am really regretting not charging more.

So far in this pregancy, I think the thing that has thrilled me the most is feeling little feet (or what I think is a foot) push out. One Sunday in church, I could almost reach out and grab it through my belly. Thurm felt his foot the other night and then started playing "this little piggy." He makes me laugh.

The last month has been nothing but track meets for Thurm and baby appointments for me. We have been in SLC every weekend for the last four weeks and will go every weekend until the baby is born. I'm not complaining though. Its alot of gas money, but its fun to have something to do every weekend. I've also been taking lots of photos---senior pictures, dance pictures, day care pictures. If we stay next year, I think I have a small reputation and maybe will get more clients.

Thurm & I took a birth/labor class in SLC at LDS hospital where I deliver. They went over things like real labor vs Braxton Hicks contractions, medicine options, a tour of the hospital labor & delivery wing, lamaze, etc. We probably didn't need to take it, but it was fun and it made the whole process seem less mysterious.

We went to a Real Salt Lake soccer game a few weekends ago. They played L.A., so we got to see David Beckham score two goals. Our team worked so hard to get their goals and then Beckham just seemed to tap the ball in at the precise moment. Though he was on the rival team, the crowd couldn't help but be impressed both times and cheer wildly. I've decided soccer is WAY more fun to watch than alot of sports.

I turned 29 on May 9th and some of my family met us in SLC for dinner. It was really fun to spend some time with my family. We ate at Thaifoons and it was delicious. This year's b-day came and went, however, with not much thought. I went to work, drove to SLC for a baby appointment, met my family for dinner. The thought, "wow, 29!" crossed my mind and that was it. That is an OLD number--it really snuck up on me. I was just 26, how did it jump three years?

More senior photos. Both these girls were natural posers. I love when I don't have to pose people. The one with the white background was at the "Last Chance" dance at the high school. I hated the white and will never use it again--what am I going to do with all that white fabric?

My friend, Megan, designed a these cool logos for me. She has a great eye---megnmemories.blogspot.com
She makes cards, invitations, etc.

I bought some white fabric for a background...I'm not sure if I like it. It sort of has a look of someone's curtains. I asked for Thurm's help to pose for me. He came out of the bedroom in a cowboy get-up. His sense of humor kills me sometimes.

I just found this picture and there is something so cute about it. These cousins couldn't be more different, but somehow get along really great.

Meet McMillian and Cotton Mouth, our fish. They had a rough ride home from Tooele today, so we'll see if they live through the night.


This beautiful tree is blossoming in our backyard! YAY! Life!