August Birthday Festivities

We had dinner and Midnight Delight ice cream cake from Coldstone for my birthday with the sibs yesterday! Our church time went from 8:30am (horrible) to noon (better, but way harder for the babies), and adjusting to that for the first time yesterday was super weird. I didn't even get to sleep in because Tenley got up at 8am like usual. So after making scrambled eggs and dressing for church, we pretty much just waited until 11:50 and then walked to church. I taught Relief Society first hour and then was exhausted the rest of the time from chasing Tenley around the halls and up and down the stairs (she figured out how to climb up and down from things recently). I should be going to bed at like 9:30pm so I'm not so exhausted. Naturally though, that was impossible yesterday with a paper to write. As a result, I was up until 1:30am. Horrible idea. I knew it would be but we were so busy this weekend I had no time!

I am really happy and excited to celebrate Tenley's first birthday tomorrow! It's going to be a great day and we have a surprise that I will hopefully share later in the week! ;-) Today after my classes/first final, we brought Dalin to work for the night (Monday nights...they're pretty lame over here :[ ) then Tenley and I went to Babies 'R Us and Toys 'R Us for like the first time in a long time. I never went there to get stuff for Tenley before/after I had her but they have some pretty great stuff at both places. We spent two hours in the two stores combined. Mostly at Toys 'R Us as I tried to find gifts for Tenley's bday that she would love. It was hard. I haven't been a one-year old for a while...and Tenley seems to be a little different from the norm. I put a bunch of toys in the cart with her to see what she played with while we were in the store but that turned out to be less productive than I was hoping. She was mostly just interested in the things around her and the book I put in there. I guess it's good that she loves to read though.

Note: The above part was written yesterday, Monday, which is why the timing doesn't match up. The next part is from today, Tuesday, Tenley's birthday!

This has been an exciting day! It was Tenley's first birthday and we were determined to make it a great day. When she started crying this morning I went in and got her (instead of making her wait it out until 8am like usual--we didn't want her sad on her birthday!) and brought her into bed with me for cuddles and a little extra rest.

When we got up and got dressed, I gave her a bottle of almond milk (which she loves...) and then we went to Einstein Bagels to get some bagels for her, Daddy, and Mommy. We picked Daddy up from work and went over to Auntie Shaina's house to pick up her and Brooklyn. Tenley opened her first present in the car (it was the baby doll from Nana Searle). Then we went to the South Towne Mall in Sandy where the Fetal Photo Studio is! I'll write the details of that in the next post.

After that, we drove to the aquarium to use our free passes from the last time we visited a few months ago. We spent like $4 on snacks and drinks total there so that was pretty great. Tenley loved pointing at the fish and sharks and other sea creatures that she saw. She was definitely most entertained by the water animals. Shaina and I liked petting the stingrays and little sharks they had. We also really liked looking at the brightly colored little tree frogs in the rainforest section. They had some that were the length of a penny and were so cute! After the aquarium, we grabbed some lunch (Taco Bell for Shaina and Dalin, Arctic Circle for Tenley and me), and then we headed home to rest for a few hours and have Tenley open some presents before going to dinner.

Tenley loved the baby legos and play food. She also loves the baby doll, mostly so she can poke it's eyes (which close when the doll is laid down), and give it slobbery kisses. We also gave her a mother rubber duck with three tiny rubber ducklings.

We had dinner with Tenley's great grandparents from Arizona, her aunt and uncle, and some cousins at Marley's at the Riverwoods. The sliders there are delicious. I got a turkey-cranberry-avocado one and it was amazing. We took some pictures with the group and Tenley got a sweet pink Minnie Mouse doll and matching dinner plate from Gramma and Grandpa Gunnell. We love them!

Afterward, we headed back to our apartment for Tenley's birthday cake and to sing to her as a group, though I had sung to her several times throughout the day already to help her realize it was an extra special day. (Side note: we saw two baby dear on a little grass hill in Wymount on the way home...they were really cute;) I made Tenley a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting hoping it would be a little bit healthier for her. I had meant to decorate it with cute carrots and even a bunny but time got away from me. We had two cakes--a rectangle one for everyone to share and one in a tiny heart dish for Tenley to devour. She LOVED it! It made me so happy! She ate more than half of it and made a huge mess that I didn't even mind that much because it was her birthday (and the pictures GG took made them worth it:).

We decided to bathe her on the porch after, so we stripped her cake-covered clothes off and stuck her out in the tub in her birthday suit (conveniently because of the day;). The bath ended up being really fun for Tenley and for us because it was pouring outside so we got to enjoy the rain while Tenley took a warm bath in her little baby tub and played (for quite a long time!) with her little rubber ducklings in the water! She really, really liked them! And she was so clean and snuggly after that we put her in pajamas for the first time in many weeks since summer began basically then let her hang out with us for a while before bed (she usually doesn't need pjs but the nights are finally getting cooler!). She played with her toys (like really played! It was so fun because she was way more interested in her birthday toys than she's ever been in her old ones) for a while before bed and then we kissed her and told her we loved her and she went right to sleep.

That girl is such an angel. I cannot believe she has been in my life for only a year. She is one of the best things that has ever happened to me personally as well as to Dalin's and my marriage and family. She is the happiest, sweetest, (sneakiest;), and smartest little one year old I know and I'm incredibly happy that she is ours forever.

I am thankful daily--repeatedly--for the blessing it is to be her mom. She is truly fulfilling the joy of motherhood that my Patriarchal blessing mentions. I am sure that when her little sibling arrives, she will prove an even greater blessing than I could have imagined. Dalin and I sure think she's great and are so grateful she is the first in our family.

We love you, Tenley! More than you can possibly know!

Loving our little girl,

14 Weeks and Weekend Happenings

It's been a busy weekend and the rest of August is even busier. I'm excited for our plans but a little sad that our family of 3.5 all caught colds this week. Sore throats, stuffy noses, too much mucus, and headaches (at least for me as a result of the medication, which is an antihistamine) basically sums up how we've been feeling. Being pregnant and ill is the worst. My immune system is so weak, it's very annoying because I'm bound to get sick if I'm around sick people. So if you get sick, please stay like ten feet away because it is miserable for a pregnant lady--mainly because there are so few medications we can take!

Anyway, we didn't let the colds interfere with our schedule, however. On Friday, I worked at King Henry for a few hours (though I had to leave for a few hours to go to Urgent Care with Dalin and Tenley--so annoying because as far as we could tell, Tenley was fine, but she had to have her blood drawn as a safety precaution. If you didn't hear, she may or may not have (we really do not know for sure) put a used needle in her mouth as a result of a nurse improperly storing/disposing of them. But since we don't know, she has to get three blood tests over the next six months to be tested for Hepatitis and AIDs. It's ridiculous and makes me sad because either way, she's enduring a lot for either something very serious or for no reason at all). Then, Friday evening after Dalin got done at a work dinner, we hurried to William Ayer's wedding reception in South Jordan. It was wonderful and even though many people had left, we so enjoyed seeing those we knew and getting to eat some of their yummy turkey sandwiches and salsa. So good! Tenley loved the food, the snowcones, and dancing! She had a fun time. 

Today was my 23rd birthday. Yippee! Haha, I've warmed up to 23 considerably in the last few weeks, especially now that I'm pregnant and will be having a second little baby before next year! I'm so happy about that! Here are some 14 week belly photos. Sorry that we used our iPhones...we're a little lazy...

14 weeks!

Just a lemon-sized baby in there!

The first picture which we took with flash. The iPhone's flash stinks. 

Anyway, I think you get the gist from these pics. Tomorrow I teach Relief Society about eternal families, then next week is my last day of class, finals, Tenley's birthday, among other things ;-) I can't wait to tell you all about them.

Oh, also my birthday has been great despite us being sick. Dalin made me pancakes and I had breakfast in bed. For gifts, he got me some cute clothes (half are maternity!), a gorgeous bracelet with magenta stones, and a really cool, really sweet book he designed called "The Reason We Love You" by Dalin and Tenley. I didn't cry when I read it (which is surprising since I do tend to cry at random things more often--though not as bad as with Tenley's pregnancy, that's for sure) but I had a huge smile on my face and it made me really happy. I love it. And the graphics he chose (mostly stick figures) are hilarious! We ate at a delicious, authentic Chinese restaurant on Center Street in Provo and picked up a Midnight Chocolate ice cream cake that we are going to eat tomorrow after Church! Dalin had to work this afternoon, and though I missed him, I was glad we didn't have to do anything else because I was exhausted (I got in bed as soon as we were home) and then I did some reading, light homework, and played with toys with Tenley. We also played chase-the-other person and Tenley is surprisingly fast and it's scary when she runs (well, crawls) at you and attacks you. I gave her a peanut butter and fluff sandwich for dinner (I'm just a nice Mom, I can't resist even though fluff is basically melted marshmallows) and put her in bed. Now I just plan on picking up this place a little before Dalin gets home and we go to bed. I'm so glad Church is at noon now, let me tell you...even though that means I'm teaching first hour! Ah!

But I have had a great birthday (as great as it can be while feeling lousy) and I'm just kind of looking forward to my birthday dinner of lobster once we get to New Hampshire. 9 days! I can wait.

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! I can tell 23 is going to be great!

Love,

The Second First Trimester

I am so thrilled to be pregnant again! It's so cool when I remember that little tiny baby inside of me growing and kicking around. I love it. I love feeling those little flutters (I honestly believe I felt the baby around ten weeks this time which sounds ridiculous--I'm well aware--(I felt Tenley at 16 weeks) but my body didn't have even a year to fully recover which means my uterus probably started off pushed much further forward than the first time. Plus, I know what gas feels like and that definitely wasn't it...do people really think they feel the same anyway?? To me, they aren't even close). As with all good things though, there are of course hard parts. So far, my pregnancies have been pretty consistent.

Here (for your information and my future reference) are the symptoms I experienced while in the first trimester:

Nausea

With Tenley, I felt nauseous for about four weeks (8-12ish) but never threw up. It was like all-day car sickness in reality. It was miserable, but tolerable. I didn't even end up filling my prescription for Zofran. Thankfully, my early morning cycling class and working full time kept me sufficiently distracted--enough so that I didn't feel too bad until I got home at 6pm when I would just lounge around without distractions.

With this one, I felt really nauseous (I think more so than Tenley but it's hard to remember) for about two weeks, and occasionally nauseous throughout the day for another few weeks. I threw up once this time, but it could have been food poisoning...it seems more likely that that was the case. I also have not filled my prescription for Zofran this time, but as I'm writing this, I'm kind of wondering why I didn't at least try it.

Stomach Sensitivity 

One of my first symptoms of pregnancy both times has been bloating. My stomach gets super sensitive within just a few weeks and wearing pants suddenly becomes an affliction. I have to wear my pants and skirts and everything else low on my hip bones to prevent them from squashing my uterus. Unfortunately, that seems to last throughout the entire pregnancy for me. Even maternity pants by the third trimester feel like they are murdering me.

Headaches/ Dizziness/ Faintness

I was a little anemic last time with Tenley and occasionally I would have dizzy spells when I stood up too quickly or something else, but this time has been much worse in that respect. In the first trimester, I felt lightheaded almost every time I stood up and my eyes start to black out. I am taking 65mg of iron (I think it's mg...if that seems like it would kill me, then I probably have the amount wrong) and my prenatals (gummy, which I'm actually getting tired of because of the after flavor), and I'm supposed to be drinking a lot of water because my doctor and I both believe I'm dehydrated, but I'm the worst at doing things that are good for me, so the water drinking mainly has not been as regular as it should be. It was a really frustrating symptom though, and I don't typically get many headaches so feeling that way was a bit disabling. Especially with a very loud near-toddler. It's a bad combo. Thankfully it's happened much less since I made some changes and since I entered trimester two.

Exhaustion

Just saying this word makes me feel more exhausted. I thought I was tired with Tenley but now I see that I didn't even know what being tired means. I don't have time to nap but I wish for one all the time. Being a student doesn't help either since I have to stay up late doing assignments or wake up early for class. And chasing Tenley of course makes it all the harder. And breastfeeding took a lot out of me. I already am giving all my nutrients to the growing baby and to the milk, so most likely there weren't enough to spare for me. But seriously, I can't even describe how tired I actually am. Just know that it's exceedingly tired. I can't wait to hopefully get my energy back (at least a little) in the second trimester. (Note: it's already coming back little by little--the more rest I get the better. Who knew, right!? ;-)

Bad Skin

My skin, during the first trimester anyway, has sucked both times. Maybe it's a sign that I'm having another girl, which would fit the old wives' tale that she's "stealing her mother's beauty" but this part has sucked. As if I'm not already self-conscious enough with my awkward muffin-top-baby-bump (you know--when you're at the stage where you're starting to show but people can't tell for sure if you're pregnant or not), I don't need skin problems to make it worse.

Loss of Appetite

I know this is not what you typically think of when you think of a pregnant person, but this has occurred to me with both pregnancies only during the first trimester. (Then of course my appetite returns with a vengeance during trimesters two and three so I gain plenty of weight for the baby). Food just doesn't sound good to me. I'll be starving, but I don't want to eat anything. Especially not sugary stuff, blah. I do eat, of course, but I can never really eat a full meal. I eat about 1/4 or maybe 1/3 of a plate and then I can't do anymore. Like when we got Outback a few weeks ago, I couldn't eat more than one bite of delicious steak and my baked potato. I hated wasting the steak but I couldn't eat it. That part is hard for me because I love to eat and cook, but it's hard to dredge up the motivation to do so when you have no desire to eat. But yay for second trimester hunger!

Sensitivity to Smells

This is one of the worst things for me. Our trash can smelled so bad to me that I had to throw it away. Every single time I walked by it, I would hold my breath and almost gag if some scent leaked out. Dalin says it doesn't really smell, but it smells like being in the middle of a dump heap to me, with rotting food and dirty diapers magnified by ten. The worst is catching a whiff of something that smells so bad you have to run for the sink or the toilet for fear of losing that vanilla ice cream drumstick you just ate. Thankfully I never have "lost it" but I certainly wretched a few times (such a pleasant word, right?).

Differences

One big difference is that this time around, I have not experienced any spotting. With Tenley, I had spotting (not implantation bleeding--actual spotting) 3 or 4 times during the first trimester. It was usually after I had done too much, like walked for a long, long time, or played some exercise/dance game with a friend's Wii or Xbox. It scared me every time. I thought I was going to miscarry and would cry as soon as I saw the streak of pinkish blood. I have though (or at least had) a very sensitive cervix so any strain on my body (or a few hours after a pelvic exam) seemed to cause the spotting. Obviously, things turned out great and I had an overall easy pregnancy and healthy baby so I guess it was not cause for concern.

Anyway, I know this list makes pregnancy sound horrible, but really the first trimester (and the waiting at the end of the third) is the worst of it. I would, however, rather give birth than be pregnant any day.

If I could choose just one symptom from the list to get rid of...I think I would choose the nausea. Even though it's a temporary stage and the dizziness (which has been very bothersome) tends to be longer-lasting. Or maybe the exhaustion. It would be so great to get my energy back! Man, I hate feeling so lethargic all day long. But really, these are small costs for growing a person and as I discovered with Tenley it's worth it a million times over.

What were your first trimester pregnancy symptoms?
If you could have gotten rid of one symptom, what would you choose?
Did anyone else have a loss of appetite?

Hoping you're all healthy and well, ;-)

Growing a Little Gunnell :-)

I've been counting down the last ten days:-)

I'm PREGNANT!

Well the cat (or baby?) is out of the bag! I'm pregnant with Gunnell baby #2 and we are incredibly excited! We kept the secret for all of June and July (apart from family and close friends who we did tell over the last few weeks). It was like the hardest thing ever for me to keep quiet, but I'm SO happy I did it because we're now two weeks into the second trimester and it felt like the first part flew by! I might not announce #3 until the third trimester next time...hmmm ;)

I strongly suspect I'm having another girl just because this pregnancy has been so similar to my first with Tenley. I've had the same light nausea and loss of appetite (among other things I'll talk about tomorrow!) and similar cravings such as sausage and hot chocolate early on, but now I feel wonderful again, my appetite is back with a vengeance (which is great because I only weigh 98lbs, yikes), and I'm craving everything, especially protein. I'm a weakling. I was nursing as long as I could (I tried so hard to make it to a year with Tenley but my milk was just gone a week or two ago:( which made me sad because Tenley wasn't ready to stop), but in some ways I'm grateful to have stopped because the extra calories it took out of me were killing me. I've never been more tired in my life. I've seriously gone to bed at 10:30pm the last few weeks because I simply have had no energy to stay up any longer.

So, if you're wondering, Dalin thinks we're having a boy. Last time, we both thought Tenley was a girl so it'll be interesting to see what happens (aka, who is right)! I will be thrilled either way. I would love a boy, but I would also be thrilled for Tenley to have a sweet little sister. So it's a win-win either way! I just want a healthy (cute;) baby with a temperament that is as sweet as Tenley's. Is that too much to ask? ;-)

Anyway, as I said, it's been really hard keeping the pregnancy a secret, and especially this last week since baby decided to make an appearance, not much sooner than Tenley did. If you don't believe me, here are some pictures from 13 weeks. I'll share 14 week photos soon most likely:-)

13 weeks! = size of a peapod

Really happy:-)

Do you like our teeny, tiny blackboard sign? I drew a peapod on it to represent the baby's size at that time. 

Love reading about our baby's growth each week!

Well that's that! I'm so thankful for that the second trimester is here and that things are going as well as they did with Tenley. Trimester two is seriously is my favorite part of pregnancy (unless you count giving birth). I am so happy to be hungry again and that my doctor encouraged me to eat lots of fatty shakes and ice cream to get my weight up (he did the same with Tenley since my weight was low to start). I'm not going to complain about that! I love being pregnant, I love feeling those tiny kicks (yes, I've already felt them a few times, I'm positive), and I love that our family is getting bigger and bigger! Just five more pregnancies to go, right dear? ;-)

Also, if you were wondering if this baby was planned, it's technically none of your business, but YES he or she was 100%. We wanted our babies to be 18 months apart and that is exactly what we're getting! I wanted a February baby (I got my August baby so Dalin needs a February one), and I will hopefully just make it to February. Our official due date as of now is the 6th, the day after Dalin's birthday and the exact day of his sister Cassie's birthday, but I'm shooting for being induced on February 1st so I'll get my February baby and not have to wait a second longer ;-) 

Anyway, we're really looking forward to meeting this little one and determining the gender so we can start preparations (we have zero boy stuff...). It's such a happy time and even more so knowing little Tenley will be so close in age to him or her! Also, I cannot contain my happiness at being mostly pregnant during the fall and winter. After we get our February baby, we are aiming for early spring every time because I do not particularly want another summer baby (swollen ankles and everything else, I'll pass). Stay tuned for more pregnancy updates over the next couple weeks before New Hampshire (and then we'll see how well I do at blogging)--I have quite a bit to share from the first trimester and the first few weeks of the second! Thank you for reading! We couldn't be happier!!!!!

Wishing you bundles and bundles of joy,

Little Signs

Our house is a little chaotic today. Dalin worked grave shift last night so it's just Tenley and me for the next four and a half hours. But who's counting? (ME--I need a break from our little angel. Just for like thirty minutes). I've been trying to get things accomplished--what else is new--but it's totally harder than it sounds because while I'm picking up one thing, Tenley is in the next room, pulling all of our decorations off the shelves, along with every one of her books. Or she's in our bedroom trashcan pulling out every piece of paper or tissue in there (which is disgusting, I know, but what can you do? She's too smart to be tricked). Or she's simply sorting the dirty laundry from the laundry bin to the floor for me. Sigh. My OCD is kicking in a little more than normal lately, but it's hard when you love being clean and your one-year old (in one week! Ahh!) loves being messy. It's worth it though. Totally. I just count cleaning our house as my workout now.

But certain things around here have been reminding me that fall is coming! (Some of these things are my doing, but oh well). For one thing, we had clam chowder the other night (it was Tenley's first time) and she really liked it! The only trouble was I was feeding her from my bowl which meant I was sacrificing a lot of deliciousness because she wanted another bite as soon as I took the spoon out of her mouth. But I guess I'm glad she likes seafood. My parents used to joke that they hoped none of us would like lobster or steamers so there would be more for them. But no such luck. I'm pretty sure it's the favorite food of all five of us--and six if you count Dalin now (though he is not a huge fan of steamers yet).

I've had our Spiced Pumpkin candle (easily my favorite fall candle) on the warmer for the last week so the house smells amazing when we get home. I also put together a little decoration with our scented pine cones (which also smell amazing) and hung them from a green ribbon by our bed so we can catch a whiff of autumny-ness when the breeze blows in the window over our bed. The nights are getting cooler (I woke up with a sore throat this morning which I blame partly on being sort of freezing last night, but I was too exhausted to get up and slide our window shut), which means our orchid flowers are starting to fall off, which makes me a little sad, but also happy that the weather is changing! I've worn three sweaters in the last week. That's a good sign. It may only be August, but whenever there is cooler weather, I embrace it. And maybe best of all, the Farmer's Market starts this Thursday and I am dying for some yummy, fresh kettle corn and delectable berries. I love going to the Farmer's Market by the BYU stadium. It seriously makes me so happy. It's weird to think that last year not long after this time, I was carrying my little newborn around in my arms and everyone was admiring our little beauty. It's going to be fun when she is trailing along behind me like a big girl. I can't believe she's almost one. That had to be the fastest year of my life. I don't even remember not having her in my life.

Anyway, that little baby mentioned above is being a little bit whiny today (but I'll forgive her because her molars came in and she's not feeling well, poor baby) and I need to get more than this done today because I told myself I would and because, really, what is this doing for me besides proving therapeutic.

Oh, P.S., important things happening tomorrow. You probably will want to read about it.

Love,