Back to School

After a 3 year break from school Jake started up once again. Last week was his first week of medical school. Here he is heading out the door for orientation. Hannah and I left for California on his 1st day of classes, so this picture will have to do. Hannah of course wanted to get in on the picture taking.

Jake was very excited to take a picture

Of course Hannah wanted to get in the picture. Excuse the just-got-out-of-bed head.

And an adorable picture I took of Hannah. She is turning into a little girl!


The week of orientation there were picnic's in the evening for the medical student's and their families. We ate yummy barbecued food and met lot's of great people. Jake discovered that there are 4 other BYU graduates who are in his class. 2 of them are from Provo, 1 from BYU Hawaii, and the other from BYU Idaho. The 2 from Provo are also married and one of the couples has a 4 month old baby boy. It has been a lot of fun getting to know them and we are looking forward to becoming good friend's as we begin this long journey together.

At the first day of orientation the med student's went around and introduced themselves. The head of the program guy (Dr. Turner) mentioned that every year there is a baby born during the school year and they are referred to as the WWAMI Baby (WWAMI is the name of the program Jake is in for Med School). So when it was Jake's turn he stood up and one of the first thing's he said was "My wife and I will be having the WWAMI baby in February". Everyone laughed. From then on I have been known as the pregnant wife. When I came to the BBQ Dr. Turner came up to me and said that early February will be a great time for me to have the baby because there are no exam's until later that month. He also said that Jake can take a few day's off and have people take notes for him in class. I thought that was a very kind thing for Dr. Turner to say because of course I have been worried about Jake being there for me and this new baby. But he helped calm my fear's. Look's like there is nothing to worry about....right? :-)

Our New Home

I miss Utah. I miss the mountain's. I miss our friend's. I miss the house we were house-sitting because it felt like home. I miss having family close and being a convenient drive away for family member's who lived further away. There are so many thing's I love about Utah. But Jake and I are starting to see how this new place can feel like home for us over the next year.

First of all, Moscow is gorgeous. It reminds me a lot of my home town in northern California. Lot's of green tree's, evergreen's and hill's. But here there are rolling hills of beautiful golden wheat field's too. So beautiful. There is more civilization than I anticipated as well, haha. There is a mall! Which I was totally not expecting. And even a Walmart! Which I kind of expected :-) It has a small town feel, because well, it is a small town. Jake and I both love that. The driver's here are so much more courteous and actually drive the speed limit. Unbelievable I know.

Secondly, we love our apartment. Our complex is a bunch of 4-plexes. We have 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The bathrooms are fairly small, especially our shower which is basically a 2 1/2 foot square cubicle which seems to have been designed to improve flexibility :-) But our bedrooms are HUGE! So much bigger than we're used to. Jake will have plenty of study space in his office/workout room. And Hannah's bedroom has lots of space to keep her toy's from taking over the whole house. Yay. Our kitchen and living room are completely put together, even with pictures on the walls. The bedroom's need some work still. But I have plenty of time.

Jake started medical school today at the University of Washington. Well, technically it's just orientation. But it is all day today, tomorrow, and Saturday. They don't mess around. Saturday is an all day mandatory rafting trip. Nothing better than a team building exercise to help them get through the next few grueling year's. I am so excited for Jake. This has been his dream since the day I met him. I had only known him about an hour and I remember sitting across from him in the Wilkinson's Center at BYU when I asked him what profession he was pursuing. He said he wanted to be a doctor, specifically an anesthesiologist. And here he is, after 7 year's of hard work, living his dream. Now he just has 7 more year's of hard work :-) Wish us luck! We are embarking on quite the adventure. Stay tuned for pictures! As soon as I find where we packed our camera....

Wooohooo The Move Is Over!

The past 10 days have been CRAZY. But the whole moving process was made one hundred times easier with the help of family and friends.

The first Monday in August Jake's mom drove up from Idaho to help us pack and to keep Hannah happy while Jake and I packed. I despise packing. It is especially hard if you procrastinate because you are in denial that you are actually moving and leave yourself a few day's to prepare :-) But the good new's is we got it done. Jake's mom was a great help and just the motivating factor we needed to get stuff done. My mom and brother David drove up after dropping off some furniture at David's new apartment in Rexburg for him and his soon to be wife. (My little brother is getting married! How can he be old enough? 23 is too young, hehehe) My dad was able to fly up the day before the big move. Basically we couldn't have gotten everything done that we needed to in such a short amount of time without our wonderful families. Our good friend's the Bellow's came over Thursday night to help pack. Jared helped move things out while Jen and her boy's kept Hannah entertained. Thanks friends!

We planned on pulling out of Provo with our 26 foot moving van on Friday morning. But we didn't actually make it to the car's until 5pm. And we were lucky to get out that early. My good friend Ashley came over to say bye but ended up staying to help us clean and do last minute packing for a few hours. I love that girl. She saved my sanity, haha. Friday was a rough day. 10 hours of packing and cleaning before a 6 hour drive. Ouch.

The drive to Moscow, ID is about 13 hours from Provo. But Jake's family lives in Boise which is almost exactly half way. Perfect. Hannah slept for 2 hours of the drive. Even more perfect :-) But when she woke up about 15 minutes before arriving at Jake's parent's house she was not happy. And cried pretty much the rest of the way. Quite the traumatic experience for my brother David who was in the car with Hannah and I. We got to their house about midnight and everyone but Jake got a good night's sleep. Jake had to wake up at 6am to head to Moscow because the property management company we rented through closes at 2pm on Saturday's. Thanks babe for taking one for the team :-)

Jake's mom had a wonderful big breakfast for us in the morning. We took it easy because we were in dire need of a rest. We ended up rolling out of Boise at about noon. After a few stops for snack's and lunch we made it to Moscow at 6:30. The drive didn't seem very long because it was SO beautiful. I loved it. Hannah did even better this time around. I owe a lot to my mom on that one. And Tigger and Pooh DVD's. My mom made sure Hannah had everything she needed when she needed it and even let us stop at a park for a little bit to let Hannah run out some energy.

When we pulled into our apartment complex Jake's cousin and her husband (who live in Moscow) were waiting with 5 or so guys from our new ward who were all there to help us move our stuff in. What a blessing that was. They got everything out of the moving van and into our place in an hour!! 1 hour! Incredible.

My parent's and David stayed in Moscow for a couple of days to help us get our furniture put together and in place. The morning they left for home they came to our apartment and cleaned for 2 hours. Now if that isn't love I don't know what is :-) That night Jake's parent's drove into town and they have been a great help getting settled in. They even babysat Hannah last night so Jake and I could have one last date night for a long while (Jake started medical school today). We went to the movies and finally saw Inception. Wow. What an intriguing story. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hannah has definitely enjoyed the visitor's and attention the past week or so. She is constantly saying B, Day, Mimi n Papa and Gama Geri. She sure loves her family. And so do we. We are truly blessed.

Ready or Not......

....Baby #2 is on its way! Yup you heard right. We are expecting another little addition to the family. I am 12 weeks along. With a due date of February 5th...which just happen's to be the same day as my wonderful dad's birthday.

I remember a few day's after Hannah was born Jake asked, "When can we have another??". To which I replied "I'm thinking 1 is plenty". Having a newborn is hard physically, mentally, and emotionally. Sleep deprivation pretty much defines life those first couple of month's.

But once that little newborn becomes a toddler, you start to forget all those trial's and just reflect on the good things. Like the first time the little princess smiled at you, or started using her hand's to reach, or the first time she slept through the night, or that first little laugh that melted our heart's to pieces. I can't wait for those things to happen all over again. And to meet this little boy/girl for the first time and fall head over heal's in an instant.

There have been a few differences in pregnancies thus far. Morning sickness never really made an appearance when I was pregnant with Hannah. This one is a horse of a different color. It has been all day sickness with an emphasis in the afternoon and evening. Saltine cracker's quickly became my best friend. Now that I'm getting closer to the 2nd trimester I'm starting to get my energy back and I'm feeling a lot less nauseous.

Back when I was 9 week's pregnant I had my first doctor appointment and we got our first pictures of the little munchkin. It was so neat seeing his/her little heart beating strong and fast, and to see those little arm's flailing. We couldn't be happier.



And to keep with tradition here is Baby #2 Bump at 12 Weeks

Buster

This adorable stuffed animal that Hannah is playing with is Buster (aka "Bubba").

Buster is Hannah's comfort object. She takes him e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. Today I learned something new about Buster. This cute little stuffed dog is absolutely vital for Hannah to fall asleep.

Buster was in dire need of a wash and when she shoved him down by her dirty diaper in the middle of a diaper change I decided that no time was better than now. So I gave her a baby as a Buster replacement when I put her down for her nap.

Bad idea mom.

She played with baby for an hour in her crib. Apparently baby = playtime. She finally did fall asleep, but for a while there things were looking pretty hopeless. From now on Buster will A) stay off the changing table and B) never be washed when Hannah is going down for naptime/bedtime.

I have another realization to share. We need to invest in a back-up Buster.

"Come what may, and love it"

Remember how yesterday was mine and Jake's Anniversary? Well, it kinda didn't turn out as planned. I shall give you 2 scenarios, and you take a guess which one really happened...

Scenario 1: Jake comes home from work at his usual time. He bring's home hand picked flower's and a sweet card. We BBQ steak, chicken, and veggies and eat in the backyard. We watch Hannah play in the sprinkler's and then go out for ice cream. After ice cream I take Jake to Lowe's (because he loves that store and we never go). When at Lowe's I surprise him by letting him pick out whatever wood and supplies he need's to build us something for our home (because he has always wanted to).

Scenario 2: Jake comes home from work at 4:30 sick and in pain. I give him time to rest and get him things he need's. He wasn't able to move from the couch until late in the evening. Hannah is out of sight for a few minutes and when she return's she hand's her dad a big wad of wet tissue. I go to the bathroom only to find the trash bin empty and the toilet bowl full to the rim with soiled soaking tissue. I put my gloves on and spend the evening picking out trash from the toilet, washing off the floor, and scrubbing down our little girl. Hannah and I walk to the store and on our way home stop for a snow cone which end's up spilling on my cell phone and damages it. Jake and I have a hard time falling asleep and don't get to sleep until the wee hours of the morning.

Which one did you pick?

Answer: Scenario 2

Needless to say it wasn't a great day. The day I pictured didn't happen. The celebration I hoped for turned into a normal day in the life of a young family. Jake is feeling much better today and I have managed to keep Hannah occupied so that another "incident" hasn't taken place. Yay.

As the day unfolded there were times I wanted to cry...I know pity poor me. But I realized how much I have to be greatful for. And if yesterday was the worst day ever, I still have it pretty good. There are mom's out there who go without eating to make sure their children have enough to eat, or husband's who go to war and have to leave their families, or homes where abuse and neglect take place, the list goes on and on...I have a lot to be thankful for.

I was talking to my mom on the phone yesterday about all that was happening and she pointed out that she was glad I was laughing. Laughing is so much easier than crying. If you want to read a great talk on overcoming adversity go here and read Elder Wirthlin's talk titled "Come What May, and Love it". It is a talk that has stuck with me over the year's. I am so thankful to be a member of this church and to have modern day revelation that seem's to be instructions directed right at me.

4 Year's and Counting

4 year's ago today Jake and I were married in the Oakland California Temple. What a perfect and special day it was. A great beginning to a wonderful marriage. I didn't think it was possible to love Jake more than I did that day, but I do.

Watching him become a father multiplied my love by about 9434789 times. He does so much for our family and still has the endless energy to play with our girl until bedtime. When he is home and Hannah has a dirty diaper he immediately changes it without being asked and even without a second thought. When he serves her, he is serving me. When he does the dishes he is pretty much winning over my heart all over again.

Yup, Hannah and I are lucky girls. He not only expresses love through service but verbally too. "I Love You" is definitely the most common phrase used in our house. I love that.

Thank you for 4 wonderful year's Jake! I can't wait to see how much more I will love you next year.