Boy or Girl?

We loved leaving the gender a surprise when we were pregnant with Harper, so we've decided to do it again. But you can weigh in with your prediction using the poll in the upper right corner of the blog.

So what do you think this time: boy or girl?

New Doctor

When I went in for my first OB visit for this pregnancy, I was nervous. I was beyond nervous. I had been searching for a doctors and hospitals that were VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) friendly, and came up with so little useful information, except that the closest hospital to me was not supportive of VBACs. Time was ticking away, so I made a desperate appointment with a doctor at the University of Utah. He was the only one available at short notice (that should have been a cautionary flag right there).

He was horrible. I don't doubt his competency, but he was not what I was looking for in a doctor. I won't go into detail, but I knew immediately that I wouldn't be going back to him.

The hunt was on again. Because this doctor said that he was willing to "try" a VBAC, and I didn't want to have to start from scratch, I decided to search within the same practice at the U of U. I made an appointment with someone else, and I have to say... I LOVE her. Love Love Love Love her. She was thorough, sweet, understanding, attentive, and incredibly supportive. She spent about thirty minutes with me, taking her time discussing my history and needs. I don't have enough good things to say about her. Jeff and I are both so relieved.

So in a couple days I'm headed into the second trimester and am feeling much better. My morning sickness is all but gone (typing that better not jinx anything), my fatigue is starting to lighten up, and I'm feeling really optimistic about everything. It's incredible what a difference a good doctor can make.

Beaded Knitting

This is my first beaded knitting project: fingerless gloves for my mom. Sure sure, she'll see this post, but she already knows that I'm making them. So mom, here is your sneak peek! Though not the best photo, this is a closeup of the cuff (the bottom is the base of the arm).

The fingering weight yarn is Stroll Hand Painted in Lullaby by Knit Picks, the beads were an Etsy purchase, and the pattern is Rolling Thunder Gloves by the extremely talented Silvia Harding. I can't wait to see how they come out! The variegated yarn may not have been the best choice to see the lovely stitch definition in this pattern, but I'm still enjoying it nonetheless.

I can't wait to see how they turn out after completion & blocking.

So This is Christmas...

It was indeed a Merry Christmas, though it wasn't a white one. We spent our holiday at Jeff's parents house, which is always a great time. On Christmas Eve, Mr. and Mrs. Claus made their annual visit. Even though they brought him a Buzz Lightyear straight from Santa's workshop, Harper reacted exactly as we anticipated. Hmm. Maybe next year.

Christmas morning was mostly quiet. Harper woke up around 8:30, so we had a lazy, slow start. Once he opened the "vrooms" from his Auntie Shelly, he wasn't too interested in opening other gifts. You can even see his new cars in this picture, which he has scarcely put down since he received them. He made out like a bandit this year, and he's since been playing with all his new loot. A big thanks to my parents, Jeff's parents, and all of his aunts & uncles (including his Auntie Kristen) and of course good ol' Saint Nick.

So what did Jeff and I get? Well, in these last few years since tightening our budget, we always set a monetary limit on Christmas that we've been good about keeping. This year we had a bit of a difficult time staying within that limit. Let's just say that I sure have been enjoying my new goodies from Knit Picks. I also have to mention that my in-laws got us our very own dehydrator, which has already been put to good use. It was quite possibly the most thoughtful gift of this season, as my mother-in-law Carol likely knew that these three (and a half) vegetarians wouldn't want to borrow anyone else's meaty dehydrator. :) And yes, there is tofu jerky in our very near future.

But more than any consumeristic gift that we could give one another, we celebrated all of the things we're thankful for including love, health in our family, and the happy life we share. I know, so cheesy. But it's difficult not to be with this kind of fun in your life:

I hope everyone had a great holiday, and I wish you all a happy, prosperous New Year.

Trick or Treat

Okay, here's the deal (not that you necessarily care). Our photo library at home is connected to our external hard drive via Jeff's Mac. Sure, I upload the photos to our library from our camera (somewhat) regularly, but I don't like blogging from the Mac. I prefer the comfort of my monstrous PC with Windows 7. I decided to stop being lazy & do a holiday post, but what did I find? Halloween pictures that I couldn't pass up. So yes, for your viewing pleasure, I post pictures from Halloween... two months late. (And for the record, this post is brought to you by the letters "P" and "C".)

Serious about this pumpkin carving operation.

Photos don't tell the entire story. He was actually transferring the seeds and pulp from the bowl to the hollow pumpkin.

Disappointed with his red licorice (he was hoping for a 1UP mushroom).