New "Night Night Bed"

Connor got his new "night night bed" today. We were very excited to hear that it came in early (we ordered it from walmart.com and weren't expecting it for another week or two). He's been sleeping in the toddler bed version of his crib, but since we have a new baby coming we knew he'd have to get out of that within the next couple of months. Since we are hoping to move at the end of April we decided to just go ahead and make the change now so that he did not have to deal with a new bedroom and a new bed at the same time. The bed is AWESOME and I am SO EXCITED to have it! It is a twin sized bed but the frame surrounding it makes it seem so huge. It has a TON of storage underneath and although it eats up so much of his bedroom I somehow feel like there is more space in there than ever before. I think I am only going to use 1/3 of the storage space under the bed because Connor likes to crawl under there and play. Anyway, he was thrilled to get it and help his daddy put it together. He is sleeping in it now and it's just adorable to see his teeny tiny body in this huge bed.

Here's a catalog picture of it...I'll post one of his actual room when I have a chance to take one later.

Lake Las Vegas

Marcus and I had such a blast celebrating our anniversary down at the Lowe's Hotel in Lake Las Vegas. During our honeymoon a few years ago we decided that we wanted to go on some sort of little trip together every anniversary...as an effort to strengthen our marriage and keep our relationship strong. We knew we wouldn't always have the money to go away on big fancy second honeymoon's, but the little trips we have been able to afford have been so special to us and really have helped us renew our relationship.

Connor stayed with my mom and he didn't seem to miss us much at all. Grandma, Uncle Tommy, and Auntie Millie really spoiled him and he had a great time. It's nice to be able to not have to worry about him when we're away. He had a blast.

While we were in Henderson/Las Vegas we were able to catch up with my old roommate Kristine and her little family. We spent a lot of time just enjoying the beautiful weather, watching movies we haven't been able to see since having Connor, relaxing, and eating yummy food. It was so nice to spend time away with Marcus, I just stinkin' love him...

Anyway, here is a picture of the best kept secret in the Vegas area...We've been four times in our three years of marriage...it's the best place for a quick get away.

It's A Girl!

After one very disappointing ultrasound this morning I hurried and scheduled a second, hoping my baby would wake-up and move around a little. Well, a thirty minute walk and a lot of the technician prodding at my tummy finally revealed that I am having a little girl!

I'm sure many of you already know this, but when they are determining the gender they look for either very obvious little boy parts or three lines that show developing little girl parts. Well, at this stage of pregnancy the umbilical cord also shows up as three lines and it took a little while for the tech to positively determine the lines she was seeing were not the cord. She was eventually able to show us that when she was on the umbilical cord she could follow its path. When she got to the three lines between the legs they had a definite begining and end and were not connected to the path of the cord. So...a girl it is!

We are going to name her Eden Annine (pronounced aneen) after my grandmother's grandmother, and we can hardly wait to have her here!

Married For A Whopping 3 Years!

Marcus and I had our three year anniversary this last Tuesday. We go on a little trip together each year on our anniversary weekend and are looking forward to celebrating this year down at Lowe's Hotel in Lake Las Vegas. My friend Sarah had a really cute post on her blog not long ago when she and her husband were celebrating an anniversary where she highlighted the different years and stages of their marriage and I'm totally going to copy her idea. Here goes:

The friendship/dating/engagement stage:
Marcus and I met working EFY one summer. In fact, I met him the first day of training that year. We recognized one another's names because we had a really close mutual friend from the year before. We got to know one another as time went forward throughout May and June and became good friends ourselves. I had a boyfriend back in Laie at the time and was certainly not even considering Marcus as anything more than a fun EFY friend. We worked across the country from one another for the rest of the summer (with the exception of the last two weeks we spent in Provo), but talked on the phone often. I broke up with my Hawaiian boyfriend (wondering what I was thinking ever dating him to begin with...totally not my type) and Marcus it was totally obvious to me and everyone else in the world that Marcus thought we could hit it off at that point. I don't know what I was thinking but I totally disagreed. Long story short, we ended up remaining good friends throughout the fall semester and Marcus snuck his way into my heart. We never really dated and yet we never really were not dating...I like to say we just had a romatic friendship that lead to engagement and marriage. Anyway, he proposed and we were married February 19, 2005 in the Manti Temple (even though we somehow neglected to put that in our wedding invitations).





Year One:
Marcus was teaching seminary at Provo High School and I was working as a unit counselor at Heritage Residential Treatment Center. We moved into our little California Ave apartment (and we're still here). Throughout the year we painted, decorated, and furnished our little place (and got rid of the pheasant patterend hand-me-down couch we first started with). Marcus started the new Exercise Science program at UVSC and dropped out of the BYU Family Studies program he had just gotten in to. He was offered nearly full-time hours teaching seminary in South Jordan...but chose not to take it. This is when our life plans changed big-time. Marcus began working Nightwatch at a Provo Canyon Schools and it was nice because we were both able to pretty much work the same hours each week. We took my little brother and sister on a trip to Texas during the summer and it was so much fun to spend that time with them. We found out we were expecting a baby that fall and we were both happy to discover I feel GREAT when I'm pregnant...no morning sickness, no moodiness, just super happy and energized (for the most part). We got our first little pet, Bevo, and I discovered I actually like cats.





Year Two:
We start year two a little less than one month away from having our little Connor (we think we have a little longer however). I start feeling what we termed "punk"...sort of sick but not really all the time. I figure this is just what it feels like to be eight months pregnant. Eventually I get a killer headache that won't go away for the life of me, I swell up 32 pounds in about a two week period of time, I starte puking my guts out, having seizures, lose my vision and eventually end up dilliriously in the emergency room. Connor is born very quickly via emergency c-section. I remember almost nothing for days, but eventually catch onto the fact that I have a baby...it was like the movie "50 First Dates" for a while...I just kept getting the suprise that I was a mother over and over again. Marcus decides to take the summer off of school to spend time with me and Connor (as well as use the tuition money to pay some of our ginormous medical bills...we had excellent insurance but still met our annual out-of-pocket maximum). We had a blast spending time together and watching our little guy grow. I get most of my vision back by June...I think this is a good thing...I like to see. I think I have a fresh grasp on life and decide to go back to school full-time with Marcus in the fall.





Year Three:
I am not working anymore (although I was only working very part-time after having Connor). Connor is growing up so fast and is totally a little boy now. I love to be a mommy so much. Marcus gets an opportunity to be a paid Teacher's Assistant for a professor he really likes at UVSC. The professor allows him to do most of his work (grading, powerpoint presentations, writing tests, etc.) while he's at his nightwatch job. It's very nice to get paid for two jobs at one time. Connor starts playing with our neighbor Abigail nearly everyday. They swim outside all summer long. We decided we'd like to have two cats so they could keep each other company and Bevo wouldn't be lonely anymore, so we go out and adopt Hemi. Bevo is thrilled, Hemi is not so sure. We got to go on the Oprah show as a family in October and it was a total blast. The semester ends quite stressfully and I decide I officially dislike going to school at UVSC...Marcus loves it though.





Year Four:
I'm pregnant. We are in our last semester of school. Marcus is applying for jobs. WE ARE EXCITED TO FINALLY MOVE even though we have loved our time here in our little apt.

Boy or Girl? We'll know Soon...Hopefully

After begging Dr. Gourley to let me have a gender check ultrasound before my first scheduled fetal survey he gave me the phone number of the person he partner's with and told me to just call and set an appointment up. Well, I tried calling all day Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday but just kept getting an answering machine that just gave the phone number I had reached and then said, "If this is a medical emergency call...., otherwise go ahead and leave a message". I didn't leave a message because I figured the office was closed for some reason or another and I figured I'd just keep trying and eventually would be able to talk to a secretary or something. Well, after days of trying I finally left a message and was suprised to get a phone call last night around 9:00pm from the ultrasound Doctor. Apparently Dr. Gourley gave me her personal cell phone number (he really should have told me that), and she told me she would do my gender check whenever I wanted it. I chose to go in tomorrow morning during the 10:00 hour and she said she'd fit me in. So...hopefully we'll get an answer tomorrow. I'm a little hesitant to get too excited because we had such a difficult time figuring out what Connor was. We'll see what happens!

Miracles

The miracles just don't stop coming lately (O.K., so I'm using that word loosly). But for the third night in two weeks someone has called to ask Marcus if he wanted to take the night off because they wanted to pick up extra hours. So far Marcus has not had to go to work at all this week. Hooray!

Tagged...Middle Name Style

My wonderful sister-in-law Dawn Shereen tagged me. I have to think of words to describe myself that start with each letter of my middle name. Well, my full legal name is now Julie Anna (first) Osmond (middle) and, of course, Poole (last). Just thought I'd let you know before ya'll try to tell me I was supposed to do my middle name and not my maiden name...it is my middle name.

O.K. I don't know how exciting this will be, but here goes.

O-Overweight...hopefully not for the rest of my life however. (Sorry...that's just the only thing I could think of, and I still have another O to do...drats).
S-Student...but I can hardly wait to not be anymore for a while.
M-Mom...or as Connor would say, "MOM, MOOOOOM!, MOM, MOM, MOOOOOM!"
O-Optimistic...It's true, I'm an unfailing optimist.
N-Needed...what would Bevo and Hemi do without me, or Mr. Fish for that matter.
D-Dedicated...to things that matter most to me.

Man, that was hard...even with Marcus' help.

I'm going to tag Marcus JEREMY Poole...you really need to post something new on your blog anyway.

Three Years

Hey Anna,

I hacked into your blog just to say Happy Anniversary, and I Love You! Happy three years, I have really loved spending them with you and I look forward to this next year together and all the new things it will bring. There is no one I would rather spend it with than you.

Love,
Marcus

Baby Update

I had a good Dr.'s visit today and was able to convince Dr. Gourley to let me do a gender check only ultrasound before the scheduled fetal survey that is still a few weeks away. I just can't wait to find out if Marcus, Connor, and I will have a little boy or little girl addition to our family. I get to call the ultrasound tech tomorrow and try to snatch her earliest available appointment. Now, if this baby is anything like Connor, this ultrasound will do me no good. He was hiding the goods really well when I was pregnant with him and we didn't know we were having a little boy until I was seven and a half months along. I know I have A LOT of ultrasounds coming up throughout this pregnancy, and I'm sure I will survive if I do not get to know for sure this week...but it sure would be nice!

The Big Boom!

Many of you Utahn's may have seen this one on the news, but last night a little before 10:00 a pipe plant just across the street from our apartment (about a half mile, if that) exploded. Oh my goodness, talk about LOUD! My little sister (who was staying with us last night), Marcus, and I were talking in the livingroom when it happened. I can't even describe the noise very well, it was just sudden and loud. Our entire apartment was shaking HARD and it felt like the windows were going to burst. It lasted only about ten seconds or so, but it was scary. We looked out our window and front door when it was over but couldn't see anything but a lot of lights turned on and other people standing outside trying to see what happened. Marcus finally noticed a huge plume of smoke barreling into the sky at the plant. There was no fire and we later found out that was because it was a chemical explosion. Just from the sound and power of it we were afraid it probably killed whoever was in the building for sure, but luckily we were totally wrong. 11 people were injured but none of the injuries were life-threatening. Anyway, it sure caused some excitement in our neighborhood. Craziest thing about it was that Connor slept through the whole thing...I HAVE NO IDEA HOW, but I'm not complaining about it.

P.S. This is not an actual picture of the plant explosion, it was too dark to take any photos, but this one I found googling "chemical explosion seems to look very similar to what we saw last night.

The Boy Who Cried "Owie"

The last few days Connor has been coming up to me and Marcus with a really pouty look on his face and whining, "Owie, Owie, Owie". He looks so genuinely sad when he does it and we just can't help but reach down, pick him up, give him some loves, and all the sympathy he thinks he needs. Well, it's obvious that nothing is really wrong with him...that's just his new way of cuddling (which is fine with me since he's never liked cuddling very much). Anyway, he's such a faker but it's my new favorite thing he does.

P.S. The wearing of the blankie like a toga is another Connor favorite now a days.

Valentine's Day

I know a lot of people dislike Valentine's Day for a myriad of different reasons, but I have always LOVED the holiday (even when I was single and EVEN when I broke up with a boyfriend the day before...I still LOVED celebrating it). I know that we shouldn't NEED to have a certain day set aside to express our love to those we do love, but I think it's great to have a special day in addition to every other day of the year. Anyway, I'll now get off my soapbox and get to the point of this post.

Marcus, Connor, and I (and even Bevo and Hemi) had a fun Valentine's Day today. Marcus only had to go to school to teach three classes this morning and then we were all able to be together the rest of the day. I made Connor some heart shaped pancakes this morning and he thought that was just so cool. I'm not sure what it was that impressed him so much exactly, but he giggled all the way through breakfast and ate FOUR pancakes (he usually eats 1/2 of one). It was fun for me to see him so happy about something so insignificant.

Marcus gave me the "Father of the Bride 1&2" DVD's and I LOVE THEM! They are my two favorite movies and I still watch them on old, jumpy, VHS tapes. Thanks Marcus! Connor sent Valentine's to his cousins in Texas and Oklahoma (and has Valentine's to bring to his Utah cousins when he sees them this Sunday). He also brought a flower and a plastic heart necklace and bracelette down to his beloved Abigail...SO CUTE! Marcus and I gave Connor a little Valentine Card and a little toy. He sat and my lap and made me read the card to him over and over and over again. Then he walked away hugging it and then gave it a kiss before throwing it on the floor (which is where he likes to keep all his important things I guess). Connor and I gave Marcus a card and little gift and then we ended the night eating our traditional heart shaped pizza's. Marcus and I have had these pizza's every year since we met. Aside from having fun phone calls with some of our family members, eating yummy candy, and Bevo and Hemi going crazy for a catnip laced scratch-mat they got, that pretty much sums up our celebrations.

Anyway, I hope every one of you had a happy Valentine's Day as well!

A Bummer of a Night Turned Great!

Our downstairs neighbors invited us to go to a new Jump place and we were planning on going last night. I had been bribing Connor with it all day long and he couldn't wait to go and "Jump with Abby" (his little girlfriend from downstairs). Unfortunately, about a half hour before we were planning on leaving it started SNOWING HARD and didn't let up for hours, so...no jump place. Boo hoo. After Connor and Abigail both whined and whined because they wanted to play with each other so bad we decided to just get together down at their apartment and we ended up having a total blast! Connor and Abigail just played the way little kiddies play while Paul, Jessica, Marcus, and I played Rock Band for a few hours. I got hooked on the drums (SO MUCH FUN) and Marcus got hooked on being the lead singer...who knew he had such talent (you should have heard him...so entertaining).

The night only got better when Marcus recieved a phone call from one of the supervisors at his work. They asked him if he wanted to take the night off because they had another staff member there that really wanted to pick up the extra hours. Well, Marcus has available paid time off to use so he VERY GLADLY accepted the offer and got to stay home last night! WAHOO! It's important to note that in his entire three years of working at PCS they have NEVER called out of the blue to just offer him time off...it was like a Valentine miracle.

Anyway, what started off as a bummer of a night sure turned out to be a great one. And I think I'm addicted to Rock Band.

Old Friends

So last night a little after 11:00 my phone rang and it was a number I did not recognize at all. I usually do not answer if I do not know who is calling, but with it being so late at night I was worried it might be an emergency of some sort. Nope, I was wrong. It was no emergency, just a funny, totally unexpected phone call from my long lost friend Tien Duong! (Those of you who know her can appreciate how funny this phone call went).

When I answered the phone I just hear this loud, drawn out, "OH...HI!" I say "hi" back having no idea who I'm talking to. Tien again loudly screams, "Hi!" then she tells me I still sound the same and she just saw my husband. I STILL have no idea who I'm on the phone with and it's kind of weird. I finally just ask and as soon as she says Tien I am so excited I could possibly die (ok, so I couldn't really just die, but I was really excited). At that point Tien starts whispering because she is still at work (apparently she just started working at the same treatment center my husband works at...they had just ran into each other...hence the phone call). Anyway, she whispers "I want to hang out sometime". I tell her that would be great and then she says "goodbye" and hangs up on me. Yep...that was definitely Tien. For the love...

So, I hope we actually get together sometime soon! I love seeing old friends, especially ones that are as stinkin' irreplacable as Tien Duong. Believe me, if you haven't actually met her, I'm sure you've never met anyone like her, she's one of a kind.

P.S. I googled Tien just to see if a picture of her came up that I could put on this post...Why was I not suprised when one did? Apparently this is a photo of her when she was in high school making a diversity video about people who live in Philadelphia's Chinatown.

Terror at Cafe Rio

I remember Marcus and I talking several times about how we were going to raise our sweet little Connor to be a well-behaved little boy. I thought for sure he would NEVER act the way I saw some unruly kids act out in public. And for some crazy reason, I thought I actually would have some control over that. WRONG! I have realized that all I have control over is the way I chose to react to his behavior. I will never have control over the way he actually chooses to behave. Duh.

Anyway, point of this post:

Last night Marcus, Connor, and I went to Cafe Rio for FHE. Connor really likes the food there and I had no suspician that the night would turn out so crazy! After all, C usually does really good going out to eat. Well, not the case this time! After we got our food we went and sat down at a little table. A nice lady who worked there came and tried to give me a high chair to put Connor in. Connor hasn't liked sitting in high chairs for a long time, so I tried telling her we didn't need it. She looked confused and then finally took the high chair away. Little did I know that would become a decision I would soon regret!

My little Connor hopped up on his big boy chair and proceeded to take all of the rice and beans that he had and throw them all over the table and floor. He was tossing handfuls of them up in the air like someone throwing rice at a wedding. Within seconds the place was a disaster and I was SO EMBARRESSED! Marcus and I rushed to clean everything up and tell Connor "No". Connor thought the whole thing was funny and began running all over the place. You wouldn't believe how much ground a guy his size can cover in mere seconds. By the time we caught him he had climbed up on a table the nice lady was sitting at folding napkins. Connor grabbed a handful of the folded napkins and threw them on the floor. Thankfully the lady continued to be nice...what patience. Marcus grabbed Connor and then I grabbed a high chair to strap him into. He whined a little and then reached for a cup of water and dumped it all over his food, our table, and the floor. At the point, enough was enough. Connor got taken out of the restaraunt by his daddy and I tried desperately to clean the mess up. The lady came over and told me that I didn't need to clean anything, but I tried to anyway. I finally left Cafe Rio, feeling so embarressed by the way my child had acted. Holy cow! I'm just thankful the workers there were so nice to us.

So, there you have it. Aren't you glad you weren't eating at Cafe Rio with us last night?

Thank heaven for little boys.

Weekend Recap

I had a dentist appointment in Mt. Pleasant on Friday to get my chipped tooth fixed. Because Mt. Pleasant is just 15 minutes away from my mothers house we packed a bag and stayed the night.

Tommy, my 17 year old baby brother, babysat Connor for Marcus and I while we went to our appointments. SO CUTE! Connor adores Tommy, and it is so fun for me to see Tommy take care of Connor. He wasn't quite sure what to do to entertain him so he turned "C is for Cookie" on from itunes and let it play 29 times in a row...seemed to do the trick.

Anyway, I got my tooth fixed and I AM SO HAPPY! I can't write in enough words how much that stinkin' chip bothered me (even though it was in the very back of my mouth). Marcus and I both found out we have one cavity...bummer...so we have to go back in March to get them fixed.

We had a VERY LAZY time at my mom's house. Everyone there played with Connor and Marcus and I just relaxed and had fun with the fam. Marcus and Tommy spent I don't know how long watching "Flight of the Concords" (which I have to admit is pretty funny) and playing the wii. Good times.

Today we made it through 1/2 of stake conference and then have enjoyed a SUNNY day at home. I even begin to express how much I loved the blue sky and MELTING SNOW today. It gives me hope that this miserable dirty, snowy, gray weather will eventually come to an end.

Well...boring as it may sound, that's been our weekend. Tomorrow we're off to take the car to be serviced and then do the Monday grocery shopping. What a blast.

Wedding Ring

After nearly a month of holding on to the hope that I would be able to find Marcus' wedding ring somewhere around the apartment I finally went out and replaced it with new one.

Connor snuck into the bathroom, climbed up on the counter, and then played with everything he could get his hands on back in January. Among the fun new toys he found was his daddy's wedding ring. Unfortunately, after taking the sink pipes apart, moving all the furniture in our house, checking out all of the vents, and everything else we could possibly think of, nothing turned up.

So...Luckily Zales still carried the same band I purchased three years ago.

Aah-Choo!

I have failed as a parent when it comes to teaching my child what it means to sneeze. According to webmd a sneeze is "to suddenly expel air through the nose and mouth by an involuntary contraction of the muscles" and it is caused by "irritation of the nasal passages, as from pollens, house dust, pepper, or other particles". Well, Connor thinks that sneezing is something you do when you get really mad at something or someone and it is done to show your anger and dissaproval. I'm not exactly sure how he figured this one out, but anytime he is angry or upset he throws his hands down by his side, makes a real angry face, and screams "AAH-CHOO". He even nods his head down as he says it to make the appearance of an honest to goodness sneeze. It's pretty stinkin' hillarious. I just hope I don't get allergies or anything this Spring. I don't want the poor kid to think I'm angry and yelling everytime I sneeze.

Oh Baby!

It is true...Marcus and I are expecting another little baby! We are both VERY excited, but a little nervous at the same time.

I developed eclampsia when I was eight months pregnant with Connor. I had normal blood pressure and showed no other symptoms of ever having pre-eclampsia before then, so there was never any reason to suspect anything was wrong, let alone expect I was at risk for eclampsia. Oh well, it happened anyway, and when I delivered a perfectly healthy full-term baby at just 4 lbs 12 oz, 16 inches long it was obvious to the Dr's that I had been having problems the entire pregnancy. Connor was born emergency c-section after I had seziure's, totally lost my eye-sight, had swelling in my brain (not to mention the rest of my body), and had a few other symptoms too gross to want to post. My blood pressure was in the 220's/170's the day he was born. Luckily, the cure for eclampsia is simply to deliver the baby. A long recovery followed, and I was not even able to take care of my baby myself for nearly two months, but at least we were lucky enough to have everything turn out ok.

Anyway, some Dr.'s suggested I never get pregnant again (and we gave it some consideration) but when my Dr. (who specializes in eclampsia) gave me the go ahead we decided to try for another one. I am confident that even if I have problems like I had with Connor that my Dr. will be able to safely deliver the baby and keep me in good health. I will have lots and lots and lots of Dr. visits this time as well as a bunch of ultra-sounds to monitor the growth of the baby (a small fetus is the only sign that was there was anything wrong last time). My baby will definitley be delivered early via c-section again. My official due date is August 1, but my Dr. will deliver no later than 3-4 early, so we're looking towards the begining of July.

So far things are going good and we just can't wait to find out if Connor will have a little brother or a little sister. I am following Dr.'s orders to stay nice and stress free (and I'm not complaining about that order) and I'm feeling great.

Here are a few pictures of my teeny-tiny Connor when he was first born. Although I don't want any problems this time, I half way hope for a little baby again. There is just something fun about holding a person that small.

Hey Hollywood

Connor is obsessed with these dorky plastic sun-glasses he got from my Grandmother's Easter party last year. He wears them all the time...seriously. It's obvious he feels so cool when he has them on. Poor kid has no idea. Of course Marcus and I think it's about the cutest thing we've ever seen. He's so silly.

Sleep Update

Connor's sleep habits have changed drastically this last little while. Since my last post we have actually not had any problems with him throwing fits at night. He has accepted the fact that he only gets water now and with that out of the way he is really only getting up if he needs a diaper change or something and then he goes right back to sleep. Aahh.