Politics

My brother Chris shared this with me today and I thought it was so funny, I had to share it with you all. While he was driving, he saw a bumper sticker that said: "Vote for Monica Lewinsky's ex-boyfriend's wife." Yup, just about sums it up right there.

24 week visit

It seems so strange to go to the doctor and not really have any news to report! Especially as far along as we are now! But Baby is doing great and my body is hanging in there. My cervix hasn't changed at all, so they'll check again in two weeks, but after that, as long as things stay put, then they'll stop monitoring it every two weeks. At the rate we're going, we very well make it full term or at least pretty darn close!

Here are baby's latest pictures! (spine and head on top, arm and hand on bottom)

We signed the initial paperwork for the house last night - we're going to do it! Right now we're waiting for the initial sales offer to be excepted, then we'll start getting our house ready to sell. Then comes choosing colors and upgrades, all the exciting things! So we'll cross our fingers, hope we're doing the right thing, and hope that things work out for us. Wish us luck as we embark on this new adventure!

Another day, another story

We've heard yet another story with the house we want in Saratoga Springs. (Did I mention how I'm not a fan of the sales guy?) So now they're back to just wanting a $500 deposit to start the process, then once our house sells we would put down the construction deposit of $3500, which after our house sells, not a problem. Now we are still trying to decide if we want to go ahead with the house still and start getting our townhouse ready to sell. We really like the floor plan of the new house, the location is great for Jarom's work (about 10 miles away), and it seems like it would be a great neighborhood to raise our family (the park, church, and elementary school are all within easy walking distance). Hopefully we would be able to sell our townhouse without too much hassle and we'd be on our way. But being pregnant also complicates things, but I guess it will be inconvenient to move both before and after the baby is born. So we'll see, but we are still seriously thinking that it would be a good move for our family.

A few things...

Ammon, this picture is for you.

On Friday for playgroup, we took the kids to the open play at Backyard Adventures in Draper and Isaac had a GREAT time! They have an area with lots of playground equipment with ladders, climbing walls, play houses, tunnels, and swings. Then there's a bouncy area with slides and jumping areas. The open play lasts for an hour and a half, and I was concerned that Isaac would want to play that long, but when time came to leave, he did not want to go home! At least he took a nice nap after we did make it home, whew!

So last week we had a few days of great success with potty training, but since then, Isaac didn't want anything to do with briefs and only wanted diapers. (his words) So it looks like we're not making as much progress as I though, but that's ok. We're moving at his pace and keep encouraging him when he does want to go potty.

Last week we found a new housing development in Saratoga Springs that was very appealing to us. Prices were reasonable, the location was great, and we found a floor plan that would work wonderfully for our growing family. We had talked with the sales guy a few times and were planning on putting a deposit down on a lot this morning. Originally, the sales guy said that we would only have to put down $500 and that would hold our lot until we were ready to start building, but then when Jarom talked to him this morning, his story changed and he said that it would actually be $500 at first, then another $3500 within a week to complete the contract, and that would only hold the lot for 2 months. Wow! We would be ok with the $500, but $4000?!? They don't like contingent buyers and wouldn't even start digging a hole until our existing home is sold, so no matter what, we would have to move twice, which would be hard being pregnant or even with a newborn. So needless to say, we're a bit disappointed today that the house that we were really getting excited about is now out of our reach. I don't want to try to sell our townhouse right now being pregnant. We were hoping to start building towards the end of spring then move in the middle to end of summer after the baby is born and things are settled. We probably will still try to find a bigger home after the baby is here, but for now, we're just not going to worry about things. This whole experience has been so disappointing.

At least the pregnancy is still coming along well. Baby has been so active the last few days! Jarom can even feel her kicking which is so neat. I'm so grateful that my body is still hanging in so well, much better than we could have even imagined. My next appointment is on the 17th (next Thursday) and I'll be 24 weeks by then. 24 weeks is the big milestone because any time after that point, if she is born, she would most likely make it through just fine. At the rate we're going though, we'll make it much farther than that. Every week when we go in, I keep expecting to hear that my cervix is shortening, but each week I am so surprised. It's amazing to experience what a normal pregnancy must feel like, or at least close to normal! :)

My big boy!

Although we aren't going full throttle on potty training, we have encouraging Isaac to use the potty as often as he wants, and he does a pretty good job, especially going poop. We've hardly changed a poopy diaper in a few months and it's been great! Yesterday afternoon, Isaac went "stinky potty" and to reward him, I let him wear his Thomas briefs for a little bit, thinking he would have another accident like he has done in the past, but he kept them dry the rest of the day - even with a trip to the Home Depot with Jarom! We asked him a few times the rest of the day if he needed to go potty and he usually went when prompted. He wore a diaper over night, then we let him wear his Cars briefs today. He went the entire day without an accident, what a big boy! He may be ready to be fully potty trained after all! I wasn't going to push it too much since I've heard from so many people that potty training and getting a new sibling aren't the best combination, but I guess we'll just continue letting him do what he can and encourage his good behavior. He is so proud of himself after going potty and loves to tell everyone all about it! He always gets a high five and "bones" for his good job. Mommy is so proud of my little guy!

22 Week Visit

I had another doctors visit this afternoon, and as usual, went expecting bad news, especially considering the number of big contractions I've had this week, but yet again, things are still looking good. My cervix is still holding strong and I just don't believe it! I need to really stay off my feet as much as possible though because the more I'm up and about, the more contractions I have. Last night and today have been pretty bad.

This week is a little bittersweet for me because my first little girl Isabelle was born at 22 weeks. That whole experience has changed every aspect of my very being, especially how I look at myself as a mother. Because of her, I had the strength to trudge through Isaac's pregnancy without too many complaints. In many ways, it's kind of hard to expect another baby girl because of the emotions I have attached to my first daughter, but it's just another one of life's lessons that I'm still learning from. And I know that this little girl is not the little girl that I lost, nor do I want to do anything to make her feel that way. But it's hard to not at least be reminded about it. So that's the bitter part of this week, the sweet part is knowing that I'm 22 weeks and still have an intact cervix and that my baby is still safe inside my womb. I don't know of too many things that are sweeter than that. Now the next milestone to reach is 24 weeks, because even if something happens and she came after that point, her chances of making it are very good, and better with each day and week that passes. Considering how well are already doing compared to my past pregnancies, I think this baby will be able to keep baking for quite a while longer.

On a completely different note, I am amazed at how strong the wind is blowing outside!!! My bedroom windows face south and we get all the wind coming down off South Mountain. Sometimes it feels like the wind is going to blow our house away! I don't remember the last time the wind was this strong. This must be some storm on its way tomorrow!

Happy New Year!

Back in grade school, my teacher had us learn this little poem:

Last night while I was fast asleep,
The old year went away.
It won't come back again because
A new one's here to stay.

Why on earth I remembered that, I don't know. Jarom's the one with the freakish memory, but there ya go. And it's not too far off from how the new year went for us. I had an unusually high number of contractions yesterday, even with extra doses of my pills, so I spent the day and night in bed. Jarom took Isaac to the aquarium in the afternoon and they had fun seeing the fish and playing on the inflatable slide that was there for a special new years party. Then that night, we just stayed home, watched a movie, ordered pizza, and had a very quiet new years eve. We stayed up to watch the ball drop in Time Square on tv, shared a new years kiss, then went to bed shortly after that. Not the most exciting way to ring in the new year, but the new year came regardless of our efforts.

Luckily, today I haven't had any contractions, so we were able to go out and spend a little of our Christmas money. Jarom wanted a new, bigger drill, and I wanted to see if we could find any good after Christmas deals on kids clothes, so we went to Sears. Didn't find too many clothes for Isaac, but found some little rompers for Baby. We also got Isaac a semi truck that he just won't stop playing with. I also got some super cozy slippers for me and I love them!

2008 will be an exciting year for the Hatch family. Most obviously will be the addition of our little girl to our family, and every week leading up to that event will be monumental. Isaac will turn 3 in April and will be old enough to possibly start playing soccer or preschool (something to give him an outlet for all his energy!). We hope that Jarom's company will continue to well so that he has plenty of work to do. We have been so blessed this passed year and look forward with faith for all that we have ahead of us this coming year.