WEEK 26

01/31 WEEK 26

Happy Birthday to me! I get to celebrate being 25 years old and 26 weeks pregnant. This week was pretty good. I think I had the flu for like two days. It was a mild version of the flue but none the less the flu. Azalia is moving around like a crazy person. She moves 24/7 it still kinda feels like grumbles in my tummy when Daniel feels it but at least he is feeling her move. We are getting very excited to have her arrive and I feel like its forever away. Even though the pregnancy is going fast the time it is taking her to arrive is long. I went shopping for nursery stuff and needless to say I bought more clothes to add to her already large ward robe. I still need a lot of stuff. Missy is giving me stuff she used when Teagan was born but I keep forgetting stuff she said she has and is giving me. Plus, she doesn’t move out here for a few months so I wont have it until then. We still need anything and everything. I feel like all I have are diapers and clothes….and not even a lot of diapers. Aunt Connie has done good with pre stocking our diaper supply! J I have been looking at bassinets, cribs, dressers, chandeliers, bedding, fabric, etc. I feel like it is a never ending list of things I need and that is just the beginning. We have NOTHING! I have a crib in mind and also a dresser or two…I haven’t decided if two dressers (a side by side chest of drawer with 6 drawers and a tall 5 drawer dresser) would be too much. Daniel doesn’t give much input. I think I might make him go to the fabric store with me to look at fabric for her bedroom. I think I have changed the colors slightly. I was going to do vintage white and lavender. I think I might do more of a bright white and different shades of purple from light to dark. I really like this idea and it doesn’t venture far from my original plan. Who knows though. I need to start buying stuff so I can have my mind made up.

My Bithday!

I got a ton of text messages and Facebook messages to wish me a happy birthday. I of course worked my normal day of work and then after work Daniel, Maddie, Jakob and my family went with me to have Café Rio as my birthday dinner. For my birthday I got a necklace and scarf from Shelly and Jake; a cardigan and a scarf with lace trim from Maddie and Jakob; a summer dress and caramel popcorn from The Valley Fair mall (my favorite popcorn place)from my parents and brothers; Aunt Connie said she will let me know when she has my gift and LaReine has something for me so I am super excited; then roses from Daniel and good old cash from my grandma Helen and also my grandma Nelta and Mike. I am getting a sewing table from Daniel it just isn’t here yet. It is a double sided craft desk for my sewing machine and my serger (my serger was also a part of my birthday gift; it was Christmas/birthday from my parents). With the money I am getting a Zebra print office chair to use with my new desk. I know it seems sorta silly but I am super excited for my chair and desk.

WEEK 25 and 2 DAYS

01/26 BONUS…WEEK 25 and 2 DAYS

So, we just got some fantastic news at the doctor’s office. I am further along than we thought. So I got to take a bonus picture and post twice this week! We went into the ultrasound appointment first. The lady checked the height and said she was big and that I am most likely further along than they thought but she will leave it up to my doc to make the final decision. Then she checked all health related stuff. She looked at the lips and said they look great. Then the heart and said it has all the right valves and is fluttering great (it looked like a butterfly stick in a hole). She also checked all the chords and said they checked out great. Also, she is already head down so that was a bonus. The lady said she is still a girl and a healthy one at that.

We then went and had my blood drawn to test me for pregnancy diabetes. Every pregnant lady has to get this done because apparently you can develop it around now in the pregnancy. I had to drink a bottle of this orange liquid. It reminded me of those kool-aid drinks they used to have in the little barrels with foil to keep them closed. I was never allowed to have them because they had too much sugar. Ha! So, I found it funny that to test you for diabetes they make you drink liquid full of sugar.

After that we saw my doctor. He measured me and sure enough he changed my due date. The original due date was May 16 and he said I was roughly 10 days ahead of schedule so he moved my due date to May 8. I asked him how far he will let me go if she doesn’t come on time and he said he will induce me on May 15 if she hasn’t arrived. So either way she is coming before we planned even if she is late. He didn’t seem to concerned that she will be late. Daniel told him that him and I were both over cooked 3 weeks and the doctor said not to worry it won’t be happening with Azalia. Apparently now days they will induce you at two weeks no matter what. I am happy mine will induce a week later it is comforting. I asked my doctor about heartburn and he said to start taking Prilosec and not to suffer through the pain and if that doesn’t work then he will prescribe me some medicine that will help. So, after the appointment Daniel went and bought me some. We shall see if it works.

WEEK 24

01/25 WEEK 24

I am getting there!! Closer and closer to the finish. I have a Doctor appointment tomorrow with the gender/size/health determination of the baby. Since we went to Fetal Studios to find out the gender we are one step ahead of the game. A little confirmation is always nice with her being a girl. You never know if 4 weeks will determine a different gender. We are still pretty positive though considering everyone that looks at the ultrasound pictures say there is no mistaking she is a girl.

The Lucky One

Alright.....everyone knows I love Ashton Kutcher and Ryan Reynolds. Well, I have a new love..Zac Efron! He is in a new movie called The Lucky One. Just watch the trailer I wont have to say anything else. It does good all by itself!!

http://theluckyonemovie.warnerbros.com/index.html

Cali!!

Leaving on a plane to Cali!!
We arrived in Cali at like 8:30 their time. The flights were absolutely horrible. We had a connection in Phoenix and the flight from SLC to Phoenix was the worst flight of my life. I sat down in the middle of these women who both had to ask for extensions on their belt buckles. Then as the plane took off it was a bumpy ride to say the least so I stated to get nauseous. Then I started getting hot flashes and I could barely squeeze my arms up to reach the air because of how tightly I was crammed in between these ladies. So I finally had air on my face and I was sweating so bad at this moment that I thought for sure I was going to faint. This happened pretty much the entire first half of the flight. The flight was only an hour and so for a half hour I thought I was going to die!! Normally I do wonderful with flights and I have never gotten sick from flying. I will say that the odds were against me this time. The second flight from Phoenix to San Diego was great. I was sitting next to Daniel and I the flight was smooth sailing…I think it had something to do with the fact that it was a female pilot! ;)

Anyway when we arrived in San Diego I was exhausted and Daniel practically ran to the curbside pick up to meet Josh and I felt like I was sprinting a marathon through the San Diego air port. I made him slow down because I could barely keep up. We waited for Josh for about 20 min from the time our plane landed and then we drove to their house. Right when we arrived at their house Josh was so excited to tell Daniel some amazing news that he could hardly stand it. He handed him a ticket to a concert. (Daniel had no idea that I had secretly been planning since July to come to California because his favorite band, Nightwish was performing. Missy bought tickets for her and Josh and she generously let me buy hers so Daniel and Josh could go together. We have been keeping it a secret forever! That is the main reason for this trip and Daniel had no idea.) When Josh handed Daniel the tickets Daniel was super thrilled and stared at them for a while to make sure they were real or something. Josh and Missy then gave Daniel and I a little basket filled with baby essentials and it was super cute. They even through in a joke with a mask and nose plugs and such for daddy Daniel. Then after all the excitement we went to bed to conquer the next day.

Friday morning we woke up and Josh was working so we went to lunch at Jack in the Box. It is Missy’s favorite place and there isn’t one in SLC so it was nice to eat somewhere different. Then we visited until Josh got home. When Josh got home we got ready and went to Sunset Cliffs and we hiked around there for a while and we even hiked down to the beach. It was quite funny because Josh, Missy and Daniel were all in charge of a child… I was considered one of the children to help up and down the massive cliff that we hiked. We took pictures and watched the sunset and it was very pretty. Then we went to dinner at Outback Steak House and ate until we were sick. I had two and a half loaves of their bread by myself thank you very much. It was absolutely amazing wheat heaven! Then we went outside and there is a giant chess set and Daniel and josh played a round of chess with the huge game board. While they played Missy and I went shopping. Then Teagan got her first haircut from me when we went home!! After that we called it a night and went to bed.

Saturday we woke up and Daniel could hardly stand the anticipation of going to the concert. We dropped the kids off at one of Missy’s friend’s house because they were staying the night. We drove to Costa Mesa to go to the Orange County swap meet. I almost cried because they were closed due to rain. It is one of my all time favorite things to do in Cali and I didn’t even get to do it. I was super sad and so was Daniel because even he likes the killer deals that are there. I was dying of hunger by this time so we went and got food. We went to Jack in the Box again then we headed to LA for the concert. Since our day was completely thrown off due to the swap meet being closed we got there very early. We went shopping and Daniel spent lots of money in the new element store that opened at the Universal City mall. I spent money on candy. Yum yum yum. Then we had dinner reservations at 6 at Hard Rock Café we walked around the restaurant and looked at music memorabilia. We had a delicious dinner where Daniel downed a 12oz steak. Then the boys headed to the concert to buy shirts and Missy and I went to shop some more. Missy and I shopped for about 15 minutes and realized we had now been to every store in the mall and we still had about 4 hours until the boys were done at the concert. We had planned on getting a pedicure but there was no salon!!! We were pretty upset. So we went to see a movie, we saw Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close with Sandra Bullock. She is my favorite actress but the movie was slow, boring and dumb in my opinion. Missy liked it and cried like a baby, I was there to give her tissues. The previews for this movie were outstanding however… there is a new movie coming out in April with my newest boyfriend Zac Efron called The Lucky One and can I just say H O T!!!! The movie is steaming hot with him in it. I will definitely be watching that movie on the big screen. Anyway…after the movie missy and I went and ate frozen yogurt for an hour and then the boys got out of the concert after we sat in the yogurt shop for about an hour. They were extremely excited and had their new shirts on we took a pic then headed home! It was like 2:30 by the time we got home and we all crashed to say the least.

On our day back to SLC Josh and Missy went to get the kids we went and ate lunch then they dropped us off at the air port. Hayden cried and cried and it was so hard to leave him. He wanted to “go to Dan-o’s house” he is precious. We checked in and found out our flight had been canceled so they moved us flights to a nonstop flight from delta instead of a 1 stop flight from US Airways. It was nicer that way too. So we had 2 hours before we had to leave the airport so Daniel finished some homework and I worked on crocheting a blanket for Azalia. Then we flew home and when we got here we were welcomed with 30 degree weather and I absolutely loved it. (I really do love the cold) Kelly and Chaz picked us up at 7:30 then we went to my parents to get my car and we visited with them about our trip until like 10:30 at night. We went home and crashed. We both took Monday from work off so that was very nice. Daniel still had school at 1pm but at least we got to sleep in.

WEEK 23

01/18 WEEK 23

I never thought I would get this far! When I found out I was pregnant I figured it would go by super slow. So far, time is flying. I am sure it will slow down in the third trimester but right now I look back and time is zoom zoom zooming by! Not only am I over half way done I am a million times bigger by the minute I feel. I don’t think the pictures do my huge stomach any justice. In California I definitely look huge in all the pictures though and the beach is where my 23 week photo takes place.

Life

Good bye Christmas. Daniel and I finally took down our Christmas decorations on Sunday. It was pretty exhausting. I like everyone to think I am fully on top of every new season and holiday that comes our way so I am always very good about switching out my wreath on my front door. So on New Year’s Day I put up my new year’s wreath. That stays up for about 2 weeks then it gets taken down for Valentine’s Day to take over. After Daniel put all the Christmas decoration boxes up he brought down the Valentine’s Day box. Yay for holidays….even though sometimes it can be exhausting.

Daniel had a meeting with his U of U advisor and instead of graduating at the end of this semester he is going to go two more semesters. We weren’t thrilled about this news but if he were to graduate at the end of this semester he would graduate with his Bachelors degree in his major with is Anthropology. However, if he waits and takes two classes this summer and two classes in the fall then he will graduate with a major and two minors. So, he decided it will be worth it. He will still be taking his MCAT this summer and applying to med schools. So, our life is slightly delayed in the means of his graduation but as far as him going to med school it is what we have planned for. He will start med school in 2013, I am not sure when we find out his acceptance but I am sure I will update when we are closer and when we know more.

Andrue (Daniel’s cousin) left on his mission Wednesday which is so wonderful. We are going to miss him at family gatherings. We know he is doing the right thing and he will be missed. Daniel and I went to his setting apart Tuesday and Daniel got to stand in the circle for his very first Missionary setting apart. The next circle he stands in for a Missionary will be Chaz. Which speaking of Chaz he starts the paper process in September. I can’t believe it and it kind of gives me anxiety and makes me sad and proud all in the same swirling emotions.

WEEK 22

01/11 WEEK 22 So, we received another bag of clothes this time from Missy's mom Lorie. She had a friend with some little girl clothes and once again some of them are brand NEW!!!!

Side Note: Everyone that knows me knows I am very weird about used clothes or things for that matter...Well, I figure since I know the people giving me the used items its OK and not nearly as gross to me as places like the D.I. I know I am totally horrible for even thinking that the D.I. is yucky but I can't help it....I just can't. Don't get me wrong I was raised with a mother who loves yard sales and thrift stores, I however am the odd one out. I get made fun of by my family (mom, cousins, aunts, etc.) for not liking stuff like that. I do however like a good furniture/home decor steal at places like that because you can re-do it and make it how you want it. So no worried I am not nearly as judgey judgey as you thought.

(Sorry for the side note) Now, back to the matter at hand...clothes!!! We now have a total of two bags from people with stuff I totally fell in love with. Then we have some clothes I bought at Crazy 8 a couple weeks ago and then her first online order came in the mail from Carters. Little Miss Azalia got 60 dollars worth of adorable outfits in her online shipment. She is already a spoiled diva and she is only barely half way growing in my belly.

I still want slurpees from 7-Eleven all the time. Pizza was my main craving this week. My best friend=TUMS, can I just say heart burn/acid reflex is absolutely awful. Tums definitely help kill down the burn for a while but I really would love to just guzzle something strong enough to take the burn away for longer than 30 min. I got a couple new shirts this week and I am very excited to wear them. I am happy that there are some styles that are cute enough for me wear that I don't have to buy maternity!!

WEEK 21

01/04 WEEK 21

I am still feeling the same as far as health goes. My clothes are getting much tighter and I am still hungry pretty much always. We have started to collect a small pile of baby clothes. One of my friends at work has a little girl that will be exactly one year older than Azalia. So she has been getting clothes together to give us. We got a whole bag of clothes that we went through and a ton of them were brand new with tags still attached. Oh how we love getting girl things! Next week hopefully my online order comes in! I forgot to mention on my last pregnancy post that Daniel felt the baby move the same day I did and he thought it was the coolest thing EVER!! Feeling 'daddy's little girl' was a very neat experience for him.

WEEK 20

12/28 WEEK 20

It’s a girl!! Azalia Lorraine Ruesch. (uh-zae-lee-uh) I will spell out the spelling for those of you that can’t pronounce it. So, the belly continues to grow. I seem to be getting more and more awful stretch marks as the day’s progress. Lovely, I know. I think I felt her move for the first time. I pushed on my stomach and I felt a very small soft push back so I am pretty sure that she was moving around in there. We have decided to tear apart the house and switch our rooms around upstairs to make room for her. Her room will be in lavender and white and I can’t wait to get started on it. Also, shopping has become a bigger addiction than normal… I love baby clothes!! I am feeling pretty decent other than the continual heartburn and minor sleepyness!! J All in all I am feeling pretty good and I am hungry 24/7!

Busy Holiday Week!!

Ashton's Birthday party from previously in the month.


Rachel graduated from dental school and I was there to watch. Such a wonderful thing for her to accomplish.



Now, here goes the novel of my busy busy week! It all started when we went downtown to temple square to see the lights with Shelly and Jake. We enjoyed taking a lot of pictures of course!

Then Wednesday night Daniel’s cousin went through the temple for his endowment. We of course went through the same session to share that awesome experience with him. Then after we went to Aunt Connie’s for desert it was delicious as always.

Thursday we had an appointment to see the gender of the baby and it’s a girl!!! I got the ultra sound done at Fetal Studios in the mall and I ran into Chaz before the appointment. So I told him the good news about me being pregnant and he was shocked and then he went with me and got to watch the whole thing. She was moving so much it was so cute. After that we went and told the parents. They were pretty excited and my dad was the first we told he was super excited both my mom and Daniel’s mom pretty much told us they knew already. We also stopped by Aunt Connie’s and they were all as surprised as ever. So we had a pretty exciting Thursday night sharing the news with family.

Then Friday was the Christmas party on my dad’s side. We went to my grandma Nelta’s for dinner and dessert. Daniel played the trumpet and entertained us for a little it was pretty neat.

Then Saturday came and we went to Josh and Nicole’s for our Christmas Eve party we did the usual appetizer bar and dessert bar. I told all my family and cousins that I was pregnant and it was super fun. We did the white elephant game and Daniel and I ended up with stupid stuff that I left at the party. Then we rushed over to Daniel’s mom’s house because we were like an hour late to dinner. Daniel told his sisters they were going to be aunts and they all acted pretty excited. We had homemade wheat roll bowls and homemade soup…yum! Then we played scattegories and for dessert…cheese cake! We went home past midnight but it was well worth it because we had such a wonderful time!

Christmas was fun! We saw all the family on both Daniel’s side and my side. We had so much fun with everyone and we got some pretty awesome gifts! I got sewing stuff, shoes, earrings, clothes and a serger from my parents. Daniel got three video games, treats and clothes, my parents gave him new jeans and thank heavens cuz he needed them. Chaz got us shirts with his very own money and it was so cute to see how proud he was!! I love my little brother!! Then we got a few combined gifts…from Aunt Connie and the family we got diapers, a wipe warmer and baby clothes! LaReine made us a snuggle buddy thing that she sewed and it is so soft. Marne’ gave us a disc of Daniel’s first year baby book. It is amazing and it was such a thoughtful gift. My sister gave us a baby’s first book that she put pictures in and filled out slightly along with a teddy bear, a bow and an outfit that says something about her being the best aunt. Maddie and Jakob gave us a rice cooker which I have already used and it made some delicious rice. So overall Christmas was a blast and Daniel and I got all the things we could have possibly wanted and more!

After Christmas life went back to normal and I started picking up overtime shifts at work so working 8-8 is a very common thing these days for myself. Daniel’s friend Chad from high school got married and we went to the wedding with Marne’, Ciara and Maddie. It was downtown and the drive down there was a blast we visited the whole way…Daniel did most of the talking which is normal. Poor Maddie seems to not be able to get one word in bless her heart! We had a fun time visiting with Daniel’s mom and sisters!

New Years was next. We went to my moms and celebrated until midnight!!!!

WEEK 19

12/21 WEEK 19

I look Huge!! Also, I want to eat all the time. I feel like I can’t stick enough food in my mouth. I feel like I eat and in the next 5 minutes I am hungry again. I get sick if I am not constantly eating. Not everything sounds good but I definitely am eating a whole lot more than I did the first trimester!

Week 18

12/14 WEEK 18

Belly is a growing!! First picture!

Chaz's Birthday!!

12/12 This past week was quite the busy eventful week. It all started on Thursday with Brock he had his first middle school orchestra performance and so Daniel and I went to that. Then the events kept rolling in. Chaz turns 18 on the 13^th of the month and he had a Smash Brothers tournament for his birthday party. The rules were you pay $2 to buy into the tournament then through rotation you see who is the best and the winner gets the all the money at the end. It came down to Chaz and two of his friends. One of the friends was the winner. Daniel did not do so well and he was quite disappointed in himself. He was out pretty quick and he is pretty good so he was upset to say the least.

WEEK 17

12/07 WEEK 17

Well, I am feeling more normal than ever which is a good sign. Still I do not feel as normal as I wish. I still am extra tired but the good thing is food does not sound disgusting 24/7. Don’t get me wrong there are still foods that seriously make me want to gag but all in all I think I am finally getting my appetite back!! Hallelujah!