2nd Trimester Update

Well it's time to give another update on the pregnancy!  I'm almost done with the 2nd trimester!  Here are a few highlights and then a TON of pictures.

• A couple times during week 12, week 14 and then from week 18 and beyond I've been able to feel our little jellybean.
• On March 18 (week 20 or 1/2 way!) we found out jellybean's gender!  It's a BOY!  We had a lot of fun at the appointment - first timers doing an ultrasound like that and seeing him move all around.
• Starting Tuesday March 26, or start of week 21, David felt jellybean for the first time!  He was putting his contacts in while I was still trying to wake up, and was on my back, when I felt like I could feel jellybean with my hand on my belly!?!  So I quickly got up, and told David to come try and feel and after a bit, he felt him!  It was very low and I'm sure just barely, but it was another one of those great pregnancy days!  I couldn't stop telling people all day that day!
• Finally at week 24 - 26 my belly really started popping out.  Now I don't have a fat pooch, but there's really a baby in there.  People at work outside my department finally see it too, yay!
• April 17 was week 24 dr. apt for us.  Jellybean was doing well and it was finally the first time they measured my belly since it hadn't been there before that.  He's measuring a couple weeks small, but they said for my size, that it is very normal and there's a 4 week on each side window.  They also gave me a warning about the diabetes test set for week 28 and how I showed signs of it, thanks for making me worry! (more on that later).
• Somewhere between week 25-26 we can now see my bump moving!  He's kicking up a storm some days, and we've had a few family members been able to feel as well.  And so far mostly just me, can feel the rolls and he's getting big enough to see the shifts from side to side.
• Along with the kicks, already before week 24, I'm getting the rib pain.  They said it starts usually mid of the last trimester, but I don't have a big torso, so the uterus is already up in my ribs and it's VERY uncomfortable.  I'll be okay with the pain, but it's just constant unless I stand or lay down, which standing at work happens a lot, and then lying down at home is where I am most nights.
• During this trimester also, I celebrated my first official Mother's Day.  It was just fun knowing that he was in there and changing my life so much already and soon more.  I had breakfast made for me by D and then also a 1 hour massage - seriously the best thing a sore pregnant person could want.  Really.
• We're still not sure on a name for him, and won't till the end probably.
• We've had some fun during this trimester, sickness is all gone, so we've done: cooking nights at Sur La Table, visiting the mummies and just lots of walks and gym time while I'm feeling good.
• Cravings this trimester: Kix cereal, cinnamon rolls (but grandmas only, sad), churros, boston cream donuts, corn (if only it would come into season!), cottage cheese/rice cakes, desserts (but trying to stay away from them too much!)...

And here are the pics....  I know, way too many of one person!  At least the belly grew this trimester unlike the last group of belly pics.  Next time, we're only doing monthly pics, but this was my first time.  Also, for me, those signs are the worst part and what gets us behind!  Next time, no signs, or minimal - tips for anyone else out there that wants them :)

It's a ....

There have been many fun experiences during this pregnancy, but I have to say, one of the best was finding out if our baby was a boy or a girl!  We had an appt scheduled for March 18th and getting to the 1/2 way mark seemed to take forever, but we definitely got there :).  Before knowing the gender we felt a bit on pause because it was too hard for us to make any decisions, like nursery, names, clothes, etc.  And now that we know, some things have been easier, some still not.  But we still have a few months so we'll figure it out.

I was really excited for March 18th to come.  So was D.  He has been saying since the beginning that he'd love a girl because he wanted to have a mini Andrea.  So cute of him to say nice things like that.  I had a harder time saying what I though we'd have.  But since David said girl, I'd say boy to 1) even it out and 2) since he and others said girl, I thought for sure it'd be a boy because that's how it works :).  Well, the day or two before the appt I was pretty nervous because I realize that this first baby would be our first born and help lead our family and future siblings.  Lots of pressure for him/her, but we'd be happy either way really.  I was a girl first, and David had a brother first so we had both.  The day or two before also David was starting to think boy so he wore blue to the appt.  We got there for our ultrasound at 3pm and waited a bit and then soon enough we, or I, was shirt up and gel on and the tech was watching our little jellybean on the screen!  The tech took several minutes checking the basics - two legs, two arms, hands, feet, and all bones accounted for.  She talked us through and showed us what we were looking at, even such as the heart, umbilical cord, lungs, and kidneys and such.  

Then she asked if we wanted to know the gender...  YES!!!  So after a bit she took us and said, you ready?  Umm, here we go - I thought!  And she showed us the legs, bum and on the screen she put up... It's A Boy!!  As soon as I saw that, I felt immediately, yes, of course, he's a boy in there!  Like I had always known and that it felt right.  Even though we may have said we wanted a girl at one point, or boy, or just either as long as they were healthy - both David and I were very excited once we found out.  I looked at David and he just couldn't stop smiling.  We got to watch jellybean a bit more as the tech had to check for more heart stuff (which by the way, wasn't the most pleasant for me because jellybean was moving a lot so she had to keep going over my belly harder and harder, but I survived).  The Doc came and and said he looked good and everything was there and no issues.  He said with measurements from their tech, they'd guess he'd show up between Aug 5 - 9.  Yay!  We walked out and were just so happy.  On our way home we pulled up the name list and immediately realized, we didn't have boy names as much as girl names - and this is one thing we are still working on - we just haven't found the one yet I guess.

We went home and called friends and family that were not here in Utah and gave them the news after getting their guess written down for our memory book.  Everyone seemed excited.  Most of my family seemed to guess a girl, total opposite of David's family, which they guessed boy.  Here in Utah we planned a quick "gender reveal" party for our local crew on Saturday at 3pm.  We got lots of pink and blue for decorating and I had fun just putting it all together.  I actually was pretty bad and only took pictures of the place before everyone got there - too busy chatting while they were there I guess.  We had the Clark group and then Jan, Steph, Tony and the Williams, Shayla and Reynosas.  After having some snacks we decided to show everyone a bit of the ultrasound dvd and then reveal the news on the screen like we saw - it was fun and neat to see or hear reactions from everyone.

So, we are just VERY excited for our little man.  He's very wiggly already and he's sure to bring lots of excitement when he gets here, since we are already so happy to have him in my belly right now.  Jellybean, sorry that may be your nickname, hopefully not your name if we can figure one out by August - but we're just so happy to have you coming here to be part of our family soon enough!

A Tribute to Grandma Ginny

It feels like not too long ago I was writing another post similar to this one - and I'm not so happy about having to write about another one.  But definitely want to remember the experience and feelings, so here we go...

Virginia Vernon Everts (aka Grandma Ginny)
August 8, 1916 - March 4, 2013
Just shy of 96 1/2 years old

Grandma didn't want a written obituary, so I'm going to write just a few things I gained from some history and my dad's talk at the services held March 9, 2013.  Virginia lived 96 1/2 great years, accomplished so much and did it even while going through many hard times/trials.  We all know she's strong willed and just has a spicy spirit about her, but that's part of who she was, still very loving, just a very strong woman.  She grew up with a brother and sister in Morgan, Utah.  Later she married her first husband LaVell Eddington.  They had a son Jerry and later divorced.  Virginia then worked in Ogden and met her future husband Henry Everts.  Virginia moved to SLC to become a waitress at Hotel Utah and soon married Henry and they had 2 sons, Steve and Mark.  During their marriage Virginia worked and was a great mother to her sons - supporting them in school work, making band outfits, and even helping Steve financially through a mission.  Her example as a mother and grandmother motivates all of us to be better.  She has 11 grandchildren all grown up, and many great grandchildren as well.  Henry passed away in 1978 and Virginia continued to be there for her children and grandchildren and continued to care for her house, yard/garden, and do ceramics until the last few years of her life.  Over the last few years of her life Virginia dealt with dementia and was required to leave her Bountiful home of 54 years in May 2011 and move to the Memory Care Unit of Legacy Village in Taylorsville UT for her health and safety.  Her physical health was fine otherwise and she remained in good care with Jerry visiting her several times a week and her other family visiting as often as they could as well.  Her memory continued to fail and her body was slowly catching up; as February 2013 came, she was ready to leave this life.  She passed away on March 4, 2013 with family by her side at the Memory Care Unit.  As described in the services, Virginia could have been compared to Job in the Bible; she actually had many trials from an early divorce, being a working woman, raising children with a husband always traveling and not in the church, then losing her husband years early, and lastly losing her memory of those she loved.  She had everything taken away from her by the end and while we will miss her dearly, we are happy to know she now can be with Henry and her siblings that passed before her, with her health and memories all back.  We will continue to celebrate her life by remembering her ability to strongly press on and will follow her footsteps.

I've enjoyed MANY memories with grandma, I really couldn't even start to name them all.  But mostly I think about visiting her in Bountiful, either with family when I was young, or traveling on my own or later when at college.  We'd do ceramics together or I'd play in the yard with the birds while she moved the hose all over...  She treated me like I was her favorite grandchild, and after the services in March, I realized ALL of us grandkids felt that way - but no way, I'm the favorite, still very sure about that one :)  And even when she moved to the Legacy Memory Unit, I loved visiting her.  She still had her spunky personality and every once in awhile you'd feel that she understood that you really were her granddaughter and she'd light up for just a second.  Plus those last years were some of the funny ones when she'd still tell us something like she thought my husband was cute or something else just like the old days.  I sure love you grandma and really enjoyed all the time we spent together just talking or painting or even being there for my first period (I know!) as well as listening and seeming to understand the hardships I have gone through as well - which now looking back makes me think I should have asked more stories from you!  The hardest part of her leaving us right now is that I always wanted to bring a baby to grandma because she just loved them, and finally we're pregnant and she isn't going to meet our little man here, but she must be getting to know him on the other side, I really hope so!

Here's how the last few months have gone for her, and us:  Back at the end of 2012 she lost some weight and after an overnight visit in the hospital, they had her fluids back up and the weight loss stopped.  And medicines changed.  Sadly, we didn't get much of a chance to visit her (my fault or my queasy fault for the last few months) in 2013.  We got a call from my Dad on Sunday 2/24 that Grandma had lost some more weight and he'd be talking with the doctor this coming week.  Crazily enough (or meant to be) he was headed up to Utah that coming weekend to visit us and grandma as planned a few weeks earlier.  Well, again, Dad called Monday saying that Grandma had lost about 28 pounds and was down to about 86 pounds total.  She wasn't eating and with that much weight loss, and her not gaining weight back when she loses it - she may have other plans rather than living much longer.  They did blood work and as the time went on, it was said that Grandma had probably 7-10 days left.

So Dad came up Feb 28th as planned and from 2/28 - 3/2 we spent most of our time hanging at Grandma's or at lunch/dinner.  Grandma was mostly unresponsive by this point.  If only I had known, I would have visited her earlier in the week if possible.  But visiting her while she slept in her bed, she would still move around and open her eyes every once in awhile.  It was definitely like she was telling us hello and was happy to have us there.  Sometimes she'd say a little something or just look at us and we'd talk to her.  But man those nurses could get her to talk - they'd come move/adjust her and they'd say Hi Virginia, and she'd say "What" or "Hi" and have a small conversation!  It was good to hear her and know she was really still with us, just probably partially tired and ready to be done, and going fast.

Sunday 3/3 David & I visited Grandma in the evening after church after all of Mark's family had been here and left.  Jerry was there for a bit, but we also had some time alone with her, perfect.  We walked in and grandma's eyes were wide open and she was staring out at the window (which was open, unusual) and looking at the sunlight.  It was a nice day out there.  She was still mostly unresponsive, but she kept those eyes wide open, so I'd sit in front of her stare and she'd move her eyes a bit like she didn't want me to block the sun!  It was fun to know she really was there and I bet she just wanted to be out of that room and in the spring weather approaching.  Well, I moved slightly out of her view and then just sat and talked with her for awhile.  David and I told her updates on our life (like we're having a baby! and maybe moving, and David got into dental school - lots of updates!) and then we just sat and held her hand and rubbed her arm if it seemed like she wanted that.  I'd ask if she was in pain, but she seemed okay and I think by this point she had some medicine to help with that.  Before we left I gave her a big hug and kiss and told her we'd be back tomorrow, but also told her that if she couldn't be here or needed to go before then, we're okay with that and we'd rather have her not suffering for so long.  It seemed right to say, but also hard still since everytime lately we wondered if we'd see her again.

Monday 3/4 Dad texted at 12 that he had just talked to grandma's nurse and said she had taken a turn for the worse and thought she'd be gone within the next 24 hours.  Well I was at work and headed to do a manager training so I just kept her in my thoughts and headed in.  I did the training till 2, but at 1:33pm I had a text from Dad that said, "Grandma Ginny just passed away 10 minutes ago.  Finally she is free!"  So I was a little shocked because really it wasn't more than 1-2 hours from the 24 hour period left.  We had planned to see Grandma as soon as work ended, but I guess I barely missed her, but we had a great goodbye the night before.  Rebecca Everts and Jerry was with grandma and they said I could still come by and they wouldn't pick up Grandma till after 5, so I left work early and David and I headed to Legacy.  We were the only ones there with Grandma, but it was very obvious that Grandma wasn't really there anymore in her body.  Maybe she was really close, but with the room being quite empty, my guess is she was enjoying her freedom and doing some quick checks on other family further away.  It felt different, but we just stayed with her until the mortuary came and took her away.  I couldn't watch that actual process, so we were there, but we took a walk down the hall to get a coke, just like we normally did with Grandma most days that we visited with her.  We came back and she was headed out to get ready for her big event in a few days.  We were left to an empty room, and we sat there talking to my Dad on the phone, gathering a few items for memory sake.  I felt out of place and finally we left and grabbed a quick dinner and just chatted about the special experience we got to have over the week.

The rest of the week flew by as family made plans to visit and attend the graveside/funeral services.  Dad and I had visited the mortuary the week before so everything was all set up that way, and grandma had specifics all written down - from no big funeral, pink and red flowers, and cheapest casket, to also that my Dad would talk and dedicate the grave, Mark would play and Jerry could do whatever he wanted :)  The 3 brothers decided to ask me to plan the family luncheon after the services; I felt honored but also I was in Utah and so I definitely had the time.  I picked Bountiful Sizzler as the place because that would make Grandma happy.

The services were held Saturday March 9th, 10am at the Sophie-Jenkins Mortuary in South Jordan Utah.  Dad, Rebecca, and Eric & Amanda traveled from AZ to be here with us and Dad.  Diane was present by FaceTime as she had surgery the week before.  They arrived Friday night and we had dinner, chatted and met up the next morning with us hosting Eric & Amanda at our place.  Honestly it was so nice of Eric, Amanda & Rebecca to come.  I really appreciated it for me and for supporting Dad especially.  Grandma deserved us all to be there for all that she's done for us in her life.  Mark and all of his kids came, except Jake who was stuck in Hawaii, so their group was rather large!  Eric filmed the event and the rest of us sat together while Dad welcomed and did his part up front with Mark.  Dad's words were very sweet and I'm sure Grandma was proud, and Mark and Kathy sang a beautiful song that brought us all to tears.  They gave time for anyone to get up and say a few words so most of the grandkids did, including me, Eric and Rebecca and it was a very nice tribute.  We then headed to Bountiful where Dad dedicated the grave and we all went around and introducted ourselves to Grandma's neighbors and friends there.  There were many special moments, but one for me was the casket: Grandma asked for the cheapest one and so that's all we told them, and when I got there Saturday morning and sitting there at the grave as well, the casket was light pink and had flower type designs all over - just totally looked like Grandma.  I'm not sure if this was the only cheap option, but either way, it seemed very fitting and worked so well.  It was nice meeting Grandma's neighbors and the Rice children since I usually only see their parents.  And it turned out to be a beautiful day while the forcast said rain, it never did.  Sizzler was very nice as well - we all sat at 2 long tables for the 50+ group.  We spent a few hours there and then everyone headed their own way.  Dad took Rebecca to the airport and then the rest of us met up to spend the evening together before they headed out on the flight the next morning.

These were hard weeks for us all, but always good to be able to see family as well.  It was nice to talk about Grandma and all of our memories.  Dad & Eric put together a DVD of the video Dad had made with Grandma years back, 4 hours!  It has been great being able to watch this as well and bring Grandma home with us (along with all our many ceramics out for Easter now!).  Thanks to everyone who came and supported the Everts at this time.  Below are some older pics and then recent March 2013 event pics.  I'm going to miss grandma tons, she really was the only one I grew up with as the rest passed away when I was so young.  But I am so happy she is in a better place and with our family that has gone before her.  Love you Grandma Ginny!

Summer 2005

Spring 2012

Sept 2012

March 9, 2013 - At the funeral home and then in Bountiful Utah

the Everts & the Carol kids

Mark & Kathy's kids (minus Jake)



Steve & Diane's kids & spouses



With Steve



Us

The brothers - Steve, Jerry & Mark

Our 3rd Anniversary

On Feb 12, 2013 we celebrated our 3rd Anniversary!  It feels like we've always been married (in a good way!), so 3 years doesn't seem right, but oh well.

The 12th fell on a weekday so we pushed our celebrations out to the holiday weekend.  And it was David's turn to plan this year.  So... I got to plan Valentine's Day 2013.  Not knowing how I would be "feeling" we both just planned easy flexible and relaxing stuff.

For Valentine's day I made a game that had about 16 different activities for us to do that evening.  I didn't anticipate them to take too long, but we didn't have time for them all in the end.  We did get dinner at Chili's and then had heart candies and David's favorite Cream Soda to celebrate later.  We also played Nintendo and David's game choice as well as a few back rubs (yeah I had to put that one in there for me too!).

David spoiled me for our combined celebrations too.  I got flowers and several coupons for back/feet rubs - yes!  Just what I wanted since I kind of have to beg to get them now (I may have asked for them too much during the first year or two together... sad!)  I got him the treats and drinks as well as a case for his 3DS.

For our anniversary, I took Friday off of work (just cuz I needed a day) and we drove up to Park City.  David had us go shopping for my soon to be worn maternity clothes!  Too bad it's hard to shop before knowing what my belly will look like, but we did find a few things.  Mostly though I just saw clothes that won't fit me soon enough and that was sad cuz they were cute summer outfits.  Oh well :)  No pictures - just a nice cool day out shopping for a few hours.

We next headed to Provo and David had a hotel there for us.  So we got there and just took a nice rest because I was a little worn out from all that walking (haven't exercised for awhile, shh!)  Then we had dinner at a nice Italian restaurant David knew about.  Sadly, I was so excited but I could barely eat anything without my stomach having a cow so we basically just boxed my meal up.  It was a great place though and someday when I'm not pregnant and having all these symptoms, we'll have to go again.

We exchanged gifts at the hotel and then David had a nice night planned but I fell asleep at like 8 and was asleep for the night except getting up to get ready for bed.  David gave me a t-shirt that says "Baby Love" on it for when I'm big - I can wear at the gym or out and about, yay!  And then he also gave me a crystal statue of the Christus that is similar to something like from my mission, very cool!  I gave him a personalized hot cocoa mug with our picture and a few cute things on it and then two other things to futurely get when he picks them out.

It was a great weekend and lovely to get away and enjoy a few days out of our house since that's where we've been since I've been sick.  Thanks D for planning such a fun outing and going with the flow when I couldn't eat or just slept all night ;)  So glad we have each other.  This is our last anniversary alone!  Someday we'll have to do a big vaca, but I'm thinking that may not happen for awhile with our jellybean on the way.