Happy New Year and updates

Mitchell and I had a great 2 week vacation in Seattle with the Harris family! We drove out after finals and seriously enjoyed the break from school. Not only that, we were busy having fun with the family and seeing the sights in Seattle. Due to my extreme forgetfulness lately (sorry daughter, you are taking the blame for that) we didn't have our camera so there are no pictures of any of the adventures in Seattle. We saw 2 movies in the theater and 2 plays, Mitchell helped with a house construction project and I shopped with my sister in law, we celebrated Christmas and Mitchell and Tyler's birthdays, ate yummy meals, and saw beautiful things. The afore mentioned forgetfulness is causing me to draw a blank on many of the fun details but it was a great trip!

Oh, Mitchell learned a new skill on Christmas Eve! He learned how to replace the starter in our car. Apparently we have bad luck with car trouble while traveling on holidays. Last year on Thanksgiving our alternator completely died in Middle-of-No-Where, Idaho. We found out that there are exactly 0 mechanics open at 8:00pm on Thanksgiving in Middle-of-No-Where, Idaho. Well, this year we were a bit more fortunate that the starter went out in the driveway of a friends house and there was 1 auto parts store open on Christmas Eve. Mitchell was feeling adventurous and the testosterone in his system told him to tear out the old one and replace it himself. It was a success and the car was running in only a matter of a couple of hours later. Good job Honey!

Baby update: Most people already know that we are having a girl! It's so fun to know her gender now, it all seems a little more real. The frequent kicks and somersaults also remind me there's a growing baby in there! I have to say that is the best part of pregnancy so far! The second best part is seeing how much Mitchell already adores her. He loves to feel her kicks and talk to her. On Sunday he decided he was going to have a Fast Sunday Interview with his daughter. I wasn't invited (there was a pillow placed over my face) so I don't know all that went on but it was very sweet. Before we left for Seattle I found a great deal on some beautiful crib bedding and took advantage! It is so pretty. I have included a stock photo from the manufacturer since we don't have a crib yet. It's hard to tell from the photo but the fabrics are very luxurious. It is satin, silk and minky, all machine washable of course!

Mitchell is so happy to be back in school and at work. He loves to learn and work hard! I am enjoying the time off. I am working rotating shifts but still have plenty of time to myself to finish projects and read books! I'm definitely enjoying the time to read! Life is great!

Check out the baby!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVSHOCytneA

YOU be the doctor? Can you tell if its a boy or girl?

Surreal

Well, today was my last college class of my undergraduate education. I have one take home, open book final then I am completely finished with college. This feels kind of weird, not real. I'm definitely ready for the semester to be over but what will I do when I don't start classes again in January? ...Oh wait, that's right, I remember now. I am going to finish my paintings, finish my sewing projects, read books that I choose, grow a healthy baby, plant a garden, SLEEP IN, actually keep up with the dishes and laundry, probably have to work a little (like at a job-ugh), exercise regularly, get current on world events, give service, study my scriptures meaningfully...etc. Wow! I have a good feeling about this. I am thinking that these next 4 months will be my only time in life to really just do what I want and enjoy this freedom. So far I have no hard personal evidence that life even continues after school but the plans I have are really appealing. I think I'll give it a try. I have said many times recently that I will be totally happy with my bachelor's degree and never go back to school but... If I know myself like I think I do, I suspect I will find myself a student again someday. I can't believe I am going to allow those words to be recorded but we shall see. All I know is I will be seeing a lot less of this...

In other news, only 4 more days until we find out the gender of this baby! Will it be a Timmy or a Suzie? We will find out on Tuesday! For the last 2 weeks or so I have felt isolated baby movements. However, they were faint and hard to differentiate between other gastric movements. Last night though, I felt little Timmy moving all over! It is the most amazing feeling! He was poking and prodding on one side so I put my fingers there then I felt him move over to the other side! I love it! During the night I even woke up feeling a tight pressure on one side and with my hand I could feel either a head or a bum protruding from my abdomen. I even woke Mitchell up for that one! It is so fun to feel the baby moving around in there! I am in awe that what I am feeling is my child! I don't think that has completely sunk in yet. I really think feeling baby movements is magical! Every time I sit down all day today I feel him move around. I'm a happy momma.

Mitchell is also looking forward to this semester being over! He took 4 graduate level computer science classes this semester, when 2 is plenty to stay busy. Next semester he will be taking 2 so the load will be a lot more manageable. Let's hope. Mitchell has such a generous and wonderful boss! Today he gave us a huge gift that was literally an answer to our prayers. He offered to continue to pay for both of our health insurance premiums even though mine will increase considerably because I will have graduated. What a wonderful answer to our prayers! We weren't totally sure what we were going to do because the monthly premium is going to cost more than our monthly rent! How grateful we are for his kindness and his concern for us. Thank you Dr. Olsen! Well, thats the current news. Thanks for tuning in.

Summer

It's been a while since I have posted anything about our niece Summer! She is doing great! Her surgery went very well and she is recovering quickly! She loves to smile and play with Daddy. She loves to holler and sing when Mommy is on the phone with Aunt Melanie and her favorite thing to do is be cute. And she is darn good at it! Here she is showing you all that she is just fine!

Thumbs up!

Change of plans...

Get your votes in quick on the boy or girl poll! I thought the midwives wouldn't want to do the ultrasound until my next appointment, the first week of January. However, this morning she told me to make a special appointment for the 20 week ultrasound and gender check for the week before Christmas! The appointment is at noon on the 15th of December! Hooray! We are so excited! Of course, we'll keep you posted!

Black Friday...

Hello! It has been quite a while since we have updated! Life has gotten busy with the end of the semester and with applying to 4 different PhD programs for Mitchell. It has been a wonderful week off for Thanksgiving though. We have enjoyed sleeping in, spending time together and with family. We have cooked too much food, eaten too much and wasted too much time but it has been a wonderful contrast to the busyness of the last several weeks.

Last night after a wonderful feast at Grandma and Grandpa Harris' house we drove past several stores in a strip mall on our way home. We scoffed as we noticed that there were shopping die-hards camping in tents in the parking lot outside of Best Buy and other stores. We swore up and down that we would NOT be going out in the frenzy of Black Friday. Heh, heh. Well, we did end up shopping today, though at 5:30pm most of the frenzy had died down. We happened to go out to get ice cream and drove past Office Max and remembered that we have been needing to get a more comfortable chair for our computer desk. For the last year and a half we have used a kitchen chair and it gets really uncomfortable after a while. Mitchell usually goes back up on campus to write code or get homework done because our chair is so uncomfortable. It seems like a waste to have gotten such a good computer if he can't use it. We walked out of the store with a great chair! It was a great price too! Hooray for Black Friday and hooray for new found comfort!

This is the chair before...ugh.

...and after...ahhh.

Speaking of comfort...I am feeling so good lately! No more of the "morning" (more like all day) sickness! And I decided to make the switch over to maternity pants and I have once again found the meaning of comfort! Sometimes I wonder why people wait to get into the maternity pants!?! Amazing! Many people have requested a baby bump picture. I will finally post one now that the tummy looks kind of round and not just chubby. Sometimes I laugh when I look down and see a round belly where my flat tummy used to be. I will say I have definitely felt life in there although it is hard to differentiate between normal gastric movements and baby movements. I suspect that soon I will feel a strong kick and know for sure that Timmy is making himself known. :)

Plans for later tonight: set up and decorate the Christmas tree! Read the children's Christmas books that we have acquired over the last year and a half! Oh...and there will probably be some hot chocolate involved too!

I'm Winning

Go all you people who voted Boy. We're up 4 to 2! Keep it coming. I, Mitchell Harris, haven't posted at all lately because I've been busy with my graduate application. That's the story. The truth is that now that I'm supposed to be doing them right now, I'm avoiding the work by posting here.