15 weeks pictures

It's a...

BOY! We are so excited for our little man and have already fallen completely in love with him. We had an appointment to find out at 16 weeks, however, I found a place that said they would fit me in early that same day! I could not turn it down. I rushed over to see if Keith could get off early. I had to wait a couple more long hours and then we were on our way. I ate a FunDip on the way up while taking sips of Keith's Dr. Pepper. I wanted to make sure this baby was not sleeping with crossed legs! As we were walking toward the scan place I had such a nervous feeling in my stomach. The ultrasound tech took us back to the room and I layed on the table. Keith was sitting in a chair across from me, however, the tech was between us so I couldn't see his face. She put the probe on my stomach and the babe was sitting like this:

She said (in her Ukrainian accent), "Well that's a weird position." She kept saying, "Come on baby. Uncross your legs! Come on baby! Come on baby!" Other than a few movements of the arms- this baby was staying put. I said, "Maybe Mommy needs to set an example." I uncrossed my ankles and right away baby's legs uncrossed. I shouted, "It's obedient already!!" just before the tech said, "oh that's definitely a boy!" I didn't see what she was seeing. It took a bit of time to convince me, all the while I was trying to see Keith's face to see his reaction. From his voice he seemed very happy :) It felt so surreal. We called our families and they were all ecstatic!

And now here we are at 17 weeks!

How far along? 17w2d

Total weight gain/loss: 5-7 pounds gained

Maternity clothes? I got some maternity leggings that are super comfy! Other than that still mostly in dresses.

Stretch marks? Nope! Using baobab body butter every night to pretend I'm preventing them. My mom didn't really get many so I'm hoping I got those genes of hers.

Sleep: I seem to be sleeping better, however, I can't lay on my back anymore. I was hoping I would be one of the lucky ones that feels fine on her back the whole way through but my big boy is growing strong and is definitely starting to crush my abdominal aorta when I'm on my back! 

Best moment this week: Feeling what I think was my son moving a little bit!

Miss anything? Hot dogs, cold cuts, medium rare steaks, and being able to fit into all of my clothes. 

Movement: About 4 or 5 times over the past week or two, I feel like a big bubble popping in my stomach. That's the only way to describe it. It is certainly a foreign feeling so I'm pretty sure it's baby. It's usually late at night. Last night our neighbors were shouting...at 2am...and I woke up startled. Right after I felt a "bubble pop"! He should be able to hear by now and even be startled by loud noises so I'm wondering if that did it! 

Food cravings: Lay's BBQ chips! I had to stop myself from eating an entire party sized bag yesterday. 

Anything making you sick? Still just waking up. I still throw up every morning. I'm up to 96 times total. 

Gender: BOY! Loving him so much!!

Labor signs? I sure hope not!

Belly button in or out? In and I think it'll stay that way for quite a while longer. 

Wedding rings on or off? On :)

Looking forward to: Really feeling some strong movement in the upcoming weeks!

Hey BABY

That's right! We'll be growing by two feet this October. Since November I've been getting pregnant and being sick. It's been a rough time but totally awesome! Let's play catch up:

 At the very beginning we were scared the pregnancy was ectopic due to some intense one-sided pain I was having. As a paramedic my thought process when I approach a patient with these symptoms is "one-sided pain? not appendicitis or a kidney stone? maybe ectopic pregnancy? Well that can be life-threatening so we gotta go!" Yeah...that didn't make me feel better...  We got a few rounds of blood work done and then  found out our baby was most likely going to be viable! 

Too busy throwing up to be in the pictures at this point. And yes I've tried crackers, ginger ale, sucking on hard candy, 3 different prescriptions, having something sugary before I get out of bed, eating small meals throughout the day, and you get the picture...you name it, I've tried it. If you suggest something to me at this point I might go crazy. You'd be surprised how many people suggest crackers and ginger ale to me still after I've thrown up like 80 times. (Not exaggerating.) I know they are just trying to be helpful but, really?? You don't think I've thought of that already? 

 Here at about 11 weeks we had our first doctor appointment with my actual doctor. He is awesome and I feel really lucky.

The doctor couldn't find the heartbeat with the doppler (and surprisingly I was actually able to stay calm about this) so he ordered an ultrasound to make sure the babe was doing okay. During the ultrasound we were able to hear the heartbeat! And when I saw the tech type "viable intrauterine pregnancy" in her notes I felt so much relief. Here's our babe!

Love that little one.

At 14 weeks we had our next doctor appointment and it went smoothly as well. My mom was able to come so she got to hear baby's heartbeat too! (This time it was very apparent with the doppler and was 155-158.)

 And now here we are currently at 15 weeks. Now that we're all caught up I'll get a little more specific:

How far along? 15w0d

Total weight gain/loss: 3 lbs up from pre-pregnancy weight according to last doctor appointment (which he was super happy about considering how sick I've been!) 

Maternity clothes? I have a few things but not wearing them yet. Soon I'll need to! Mostly just wearing dresses because my pants are starting to be uncomfortable.

Stretch marks? Nope! Using baobab body butter every night to pretend I'm preventing them. My mom didn't really many so I'm hoping I got those genes of hers.

Sleep: So hard to fall asleep but boy am I out when I'm out. Then I wake precisely at 8:20 every morning without fail to pee. Then I fall back asleep and wake up later to throw up. Every. Single. Day. 

Best moment this week: Booking a week off work this summer so we can have some baby-moon time! Even if it's a stay-cation.

Miss anything? Breakfast. Ha! For real though. I would love to be able to enjoy it in the morning but it would be a waste of food and come right back up. 

Movement: ONCE I was sure I felt a flutter but I haven't felt it since. Really excited for it!

Food cravings: Salsa from sonic. On eggs. With cheese. Give mama an omelette! And coke slurpees seem to be the only thing to help me feel better in the mornings. It's usually the first thing I try to stomach every morning.

Anything making you sick? Waking up! And certain smells. And really just anything. I think I've thrown up over 80 times since I was 6 weeks along.

Gender prediction: Girl! At first I thought boy, then I thought girl, then I had no clue, and now I'm back to thinking it's a girl. Hubby says he has no hunches. 

Labor signs? I sure hope not!

Belly button in or out? In and I think it'll stay that way for quite a while longer. 

Wedding rings on or off? On :)

Looking forward to: Finding out the gender next week! 

Welcome FALL!

We are so blessed to live in Utah during the fall. Every single day I think about how nice the weather is! And all the colors are to. die. for. Keith and I took advantage of all this and took a trip to Fish Lake to enjoy time with each other as well as some fishing.

My man is an expert fisherman. He always catches way more than me even though he spends most of his time trying to help me figure out what I'm doing. He rocks.

I wish these pictures did the beauty of the scenery justice. It was warm enough outside that we weren't too cold but it was cold enough outside that there were NO bugs! It was awesome!

Since we've moved into our new place I've been taking on a lot of little projects to make it feel more homey. Here are a few: 

I recovered chairs for the kitchen. I'm all about finding something cheap and then making it your own. It breaks my heart to break the bank. All this took was a staple gun and some upholstery fabric.

 Painted the ugly white washer and dryer with Rustoleum protective enamel paint so they would match the bathroom. It worked so well! (Not quite done. Going to add some stenciled designs and still working on the control panel.)

My friend Katie (who I am also doing the Insanity workout with- 4 weeks down!!) and I made these mason jar soap dispensers! Super easy and so much cuter than the regular plastic bottles. By the way- B&B Works Creamy Pumpkin hand soap is amazing.

Our door came with this big hook on it so I decided that was a great excuse to make a wreath. I've never done it before but I think it turned out alright. I feel like it is missing something though. Red ribbon around the burlap has been suggested- I just haven't gotten around to it.

It's been a pretty busy month, but since I've graduated it's been busy with fun things instead of school! I do miss it though. I don't miss waking up at 4:30 to go to a 48 hour shift at the fire department which was followed by work and then an overnight shift in the ER to then go back to work. I like the sleep I'm catching up on. But I'm anxiously waiting for an employment opportunity in healthcare because I really miss patient care. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Keith is also working really hard trying to get a few more promotions. Hopefully they are right around the corner! 

It's about time

I am done with school and it feels GREAT! SO AWESOME!  I felt like my performance on my national final was very middle of the road. I couldn't imagine how I performed in any outstanding way either positive or negative. For the next two hours I was constantly checking the NREMT website to see if my status had changed. Finally, I gave up and threw myself dramatically on our bed declaring that I was sure I had failed. Keith asked if I would like him to go check again for me. I grunted out of despair and he took that as a yes. From the other room he called, "Amanda, come here." I asked if I passed and he said he couldn't tell. (They weren't very obvious about it.) We figured out where to look but it took me a few minutes to actually believe it. Once the reality set in, I was happy-dancing around our house for the rest of the day. It was awesome. Here is me (having a bad hair day) with my diploma!

We had a few more exciting times the past two months. First of all, we moved! Not too far away from where we were but the house is bigger, nicer, and the location is much better. We've had fun with it.

Also, we celebrated out first anniversary. Keith was so great- he planned such a fun day. In the morning we went to ihop for breakfast. After that we drove up to SLC and visited Hogle Zoo.

We decided to be nostalgic and have dinner where he took me on our first date. We enjoyed gourmet pizza at Settebello's where we exchanged gifts. He got me Juicy Couture perfume and I got him a watch. The best part of the trip was staying at the Anniversary Inn. They have these awesome rooms that are all so unique. We stayed in the "Enchanted Forest" and it was great.

Both of us would whole-heartedly recommend this bed and breakfast. Food was light but good, jacuzzi tub was so cool, and the overall atmosphere was perfect. It was a great way to spend our first anniversary together. 

More exciting happenings here in Utah- my brother left for his mission! He and my dad came up here and stayed with us for a couple of days before we dropped him off last Wednesday. He will be serving in the Salt Lake City West mission and we are so proud of him! I bawled my eyes out when we were dropping him off but it's okay because I wouldn't want him to be anywhere else. He will be such an awesome missionary!

We've been having so much fun living here and even though most of this summer I was studying we still managed to find ways to sneak some fun in there. Last weekend we got to enjoy a fun hike with some friends. Living in the mountains is really such a blessing. It is so beautiful.

Ups & Downs

This month has had a lot of ups and downs. Here are a few of the highlights:

 (Not in any particular order) Down #1- not done with school as quick as I had anticipated. Hopefully just a few more weeks. Done talking about that though.

Up #1- We got to see a ton of my family on a cruise to the Mexican riviera! We visited Puerto Vallarta and Cabo san Lucas. It was so awesome. I originally was worried that the timing of our trip was terrible but it was for the same reasons I was nervous that it ended up being just what I needed.

We got to see the less "tourist-y" parts of the cities, Keith got to use his Spanish a ton (which is so cool), we took a boat tour, went snorkeling, rode jet skis, ate at Senor Frogs, played mini golf, went down a water slide, listened to some comedians, and got called "honeymooners" about 47 times...a day. The last day it was kinda rainy on the boat so we slept in, had breakfast in bed, and watched movies. It was so nice to not have a single care in the world for once.

 

Up #2- We got to come home to a new niece! Keith's sister Katie had her first baby and her name is Claire. She is absolutely perfect in every way. So beautiful.

Down #2- There are currently 6 active fires blazing across Utah. It is raining ashes, smells like a campfire, and there's a ton of smoke in the air. Thank goodness we haven't been really affected by it, but we are keeping the firefighters and their families in our prayers.

Up #3- Ryan got his mission call! He will be serving in the Salt Lake City West mission. We are stoked for him.

Down #3- I'm having to learn how to come to terms with my brother being gone for 2 years :(

Up #4- Keith and I got to see both our fathers on Father's Day!

Down #4- We are in a limbo period waiting to figure out where we are going to live and where I'm going to start my career. It gets pretty frustrating.

Overall Up- We are still just loving life and having a blast!

I guess that's actually not too much of a roller coaster month. Nothing we can't handle. Things are good in the Larsen house :)

Almost done!!

That's right... only 3 weeks left of school and then I'm officially DONE! I've been working pretty dang hard and I'm ready to have a normal life back. I'm excited to not feel guilty for not studying every time I try to do something fun. It's gonna be great! I've been doing fire rides every weekend the past month and I've got 3 weekends left. In the meantime, I finished the rest of my clinicals! It's been a great experience and I've really enjoyed it. I've learned a ton (or at least I've been trying to learn a ton!) I'm excited to continue growing and learning.

I'm going to have to re-introduce myself to Keith next month because we haven't gotten to spend much time together. He's awesome though and is so supportive.

I've been pretty homesick lately. Just missing Texas and my family there. I'm not sure when we'll be able to go back and visit which makes it a little harder I think.

On a really happy note- I'm going to get another niece next month! Keith's sister is having a baby and we're so excited for them! So we have a lot to look forward to in the near future!