Boy or Girl?

It feels like we have been waiting to know the answer to this question forever. I don't know if it was dumb luck or or what, but we found out about Baby Squire earlier than usual. I was probably somewhere between 2-3 weeks along.

With the first trimester, I was concentrating on not letting others notice how tired and terrible I felt, and being right in the middle of a move, and looking forward to just telling people, that it seemed to go by pretty quickly. But now that the news is out and life has slowed down, the days tick by slowly and I probably spend way too much time thinking about what we might be having.

The thought of having a girl terrifies me. Sometimes when I think back on what kind of little girl I was, I have to think that my parents must have wondered what in the world they were handed. I often cried to my mom that being a girl was no fun. I wanted to climb trees, throw rocks, and built forts like my brothers. I wanted G.I. Joes to play with in the tub, and can label each scar to a competition or dare. Bruises and breaks don't scare me. Boy talk and emotions do. So what would I want for my little girl if I were given one? And how in the world do I raise a child, boy or girl, once they pass the age of 5?

To help get my mind off of obsessing over what gender our baby might be, I have been thinking about what I would want for our baby, whether The Nugget is a boy or girl.

-Confidence: It kills me to see so may girls and boys put so much worth into looks and how many compliments (facebook friends, likes on a photo, or attention)they get from others, and not the very voice inside their head and the feeling we are so abundantly blessed with. The thing I will work hardest at as a mother will be helping my children (boys or girls) discover confidence in themselves. For my child to know themselves and find absolute strength in that, would bring me more happiness than any other thing they could do.

Passion: It can be hard discovering your passion in life. I am sure during childhood their interests and passions will change nearly everyday, but I would rather have our children explore them early, so they would know what to pursue later on in life.

A Love for Learning: I was meant to be born when President Hinckley continually urged the youth to get as much education as possible. I hope my kids would find excitement at the possibility or learning and experiences that education can bring. Whether it's learning through a telescope lens or from a book, I hope learning is exciting! I was able to meet people, go places, and see things I dreamed about because of my education. I look forward to the day I can continue my education and hope that my kids will take every opportunity education can give them.

Kindness: This is something I personally have to put hard work into, but I know how happy it makes me when I know I have helped someone else. I hope my children learn how helping others and showing them kindness will bring them happiness.

and of course A Personal Relationship with God: There are only so many things Ronnie and I can do as parents, but one set of parents is never enough. Our children will need their Heavenly Father more than us at times. He can do much better than us, and there may be times we just have to turn things over to Him, but I can help them learn how to get to know Him.

This next little part might be strange to some, but I find it completely normal think about and consider. (I have been working in this field and know it is always a possibility). What if our baby doesn't come as expected? What if the ten fingers and toes come with a complicated and rare syndrome, or an extra dose of unexpected?

Of course it will be a shock, and a struggle, but I know we would love our baby no matter what. I know my family would celebrate the perfection of our baby, no matter what form perfection comes in. The abundance of love from those we love would help us get through the unexpected, and our dreams may be a little different, but I would still want all of the above for our child. Learning may look different, but it will still be just as important. Confidence, kindness, and passion will be things I learn more perfectly than I could possibly teach.

So with just one week left, it is time to get your guesses in!Comment and let me know what you think we are having, and I always love hearing why!

Another cabin retreat

This weekend we retreated back into nature, but this time, in Wyoming. One of Ronnie's favorite friends from his masters program was going to his family's cabin just an hour and a half drive away from us. Matt and his wife Val were kind enough to invite us along and Matt's family willingly let these two unknowns join the party. Within minutes of meeting everyone, we felt right at home.
Matt and Val are expecting their second little girl in November and we fell in love with their other spit fire little girl, Berkley. All weekend long, we kept saying, "We wouldnt' mind a all if we have a girl and she is as fun as Berkely." Val is a talented photographer and pulled Ronnie and me out into the beautiful fall leaves and snapped a few photos of us. (I promise my belly isn't a massive as it looks, the shirt I was wearing is pretty tent like and exaggerated the round happening everywhere)
It was fun being able to sleep in, relax, stay up way too late talking about Mexican food, go canoeing, and go swimming at a pretty amazing Rec center. We had so much fun with the Dahlin's and left the weekend feeling like we had another set of wonderful friends and loved ones. Thanks so much Dahlin clan and we hope to see you again soon!

Labor Day Weekend

Since the beginning of time, at least in my life, the Webbs have retreated to the mountains for Labor Day weekend. We have lots of birthdays around that time and my parents always rent a cabin or two (to fit all of us) and we have a blast being together in one of my favorite places on earth.

After Alabama and a few trips to see Andrew in Colorado Springs at the Air Force Academy, we kind of lost the tradition. When my parents announced we were going back to the mountains this year, 7 of us 8 kids made it there. It was a blast being all together and breathing in the fresh mountain air.

Between my dad's love for vehicles of every kind and brothers with the same passions, we has several razors and jeeps to go off-roading in. It was fun to drive up mountain trails and take in the beauty. And then there was the pool. When the Webb clan goes to the pool, there are so many of us, we usually drive away most everyone else there. I wish I could say I felt more guilty about that than I do. One of my favorite things about getting the whole family together, is watching all the nieces and nephews together. They are best of friends and I love imagining the trouble they will get into together someday. I also love hearing the little voices call out for Ronnie. They love him! They call him Uncle Boots because of his leg braces and I love seeing them gather around him because they love to tease with him or need a hug after a bang or a bump. When we got to the "cabin" mansion my parents rented, little Dean heard Ronnie was there and started yelling "Unc Boots! I coming!" Dean hasn't seen much of us but he definitely remembered he loves his "Unc Boots".

Here are a few pictures to enjoy of our weekend in Colorado:

17-almost 18 weeks

I know it has been a couple weeks, but the pregnancy has been pretty much the same: congestion, occasional bloody noses, sudden strong hunger, you know, the joys. But I have been getting more used to it and have been sleeping much better at night.

I finally got to meet my Dr. and he seems very friendly and great! He is 1 of 2 (yes 2) OBGYN's here in Rock Springs. I didn't really have much choice but he seems like he will be great. He even offered to write Ronnie a prescription to be extra nice a baby me. Ronnie does pretty well but there were some moments when I wished I could hand him one of those in the first trimester. And most exciting of all, we get to find out what we are having on Sept. 26th at 9:50 am! Can you tell I am excited? Sometimes I have to keep myself from thinking about it too much because it seems to far off and I can hardly wait!

Some of you may be wondering what we do up here other than dream of Baby Squire. Ronnie is loving his job. He works hard and I know his clients love him. They come find us when we are out and about and say hello. These are drug addicts, so for them to recognize Ronnie in public and want to say hello is not an easy thing to do. I love hearing how he plans for the groups he leads and how happy it makes him to be the provider for out family. The other day I thanked him for the wonderful life he gives me and he was BEAMING. He loves being a man, and doing his manly duty.

I had originally accepted a job as a special ed. teacher for preschool aged children, but after we found out we were having a baby, I couldn't feel right about talking the job only to then take maternity leave, and then quit as soon as the school year was over. It would be hard on the school, especially the students. At first I had a hard time not working those first few weeks. I have never turned down a job, even if it meant working a couple at a time while in school. After some adjustment time, I am loving my house wife duties and being able to cook actual meals, do laundry before we are desperate for clean clothes, and spend more time catching up with friends and family over the phone. I am working on getting paperwork in to be a substitute teacher. Wyoming's educational system is actually pretty darn good, so you have to jump through a lot of hoops to work in the schools. It is good to know they don't just let anyone step in the school. It will be nice to have something felixible to do that allows me to earn some extra cash, but take off out of town when we want to.

PS. Do you feel fall in the air? It is definitely arriving here! And check out this gorgeous Wyoming sunset

A Year in Pictures

After Ronnie and I found out we were moving to Wyoming, our first task at hand was to switch phone companies. Yep, only Verizon works out here. Before we got rid of our old phones, Ronnie put all our pics on my computer. It has been fun to look back at the photos we took over that first year of marriage. I thought I'd share a few of mine because pictures are way more fun than words:

Lots of pics of nieces and nephews

And the black eye he didn't seem to notice much

Our first ER visit

I miss how little he used to be!

And of course, the broken foot

We spotted this gem on a drive to Park City. Be still my heart!

And lots and lots and lots of pictures like this. He is just so handsome I have to steal shots whenever I can

Our ever changing shadows. This was for halloween

"Moochie, take your shirt off and come play" If only, Eli, if only.

I am pretty sure this is the first friendly look he ever gave me

Lots of thrift store treasures

Temple Grandin. What a wonderful experience!

As much as I hate that they love him more than me, I love watching the nieces and nephews fall in love with my Love

We never miss an opportunity to laugh

and lots and lots of moments to fall more in love with the man who spoils me rotten

13 weeks

I have been excited to write this post because it has been a great week. Over the weekend we had some of our good friends, Sable and Lance, come visit and it was so fun to have people who laugh at the same things as you around! We laughed until our cheeks hurt and ate the most delish junk food (think sugar cookie dough, with oreos, with brownies- all layered in one pan!) I am sad I didn't even take one photo, but we were having too much fun checking out Flaming Gorge and laughing to stop to take a pic.

Ok, as far a baby growing, here are this weeks highlights:

-Hungry, hungry, hippo. I try and keep the food intake under control, but starvation has been hitting hard an often this week. It makes me happy to know that our baby is ready to grow!

-Still pretty exhausted and constantly out of breath with everything I do, but I'm not sure if it is the baby, or a fat girl problem haha. Just kidding, but let's blame it on the baby.

-Headaches are happening less often, and a heating pad on the back of my neck does wonders

-FINALLY sleeping through the night. I think we figured out the magic combo of keeping the room dark and cool through the night and clearly defining the sides of our bed with a pillow in between us. 1 year of bed sharing and I have finally figured out how to take back my side of the bed! Yipee!

-I thing my gut is getting guttier. It doesn't necessarily look like a baby bump, but I definitely am having a hard time sucking the tummy in. Ronnie is excited to see a belly and rub it (this girl's stomach is usually off limits but a pregnant belly is a big exception)

SO excited to be in the 2nd trimester!

12 Weeks

Now that the news it out about Baby Squire, i thought I would document how things have gone so far. Not so much that you are interested, but maybe someday I can look back and remember how things were.

The First Trimester:

- I luckily haven't been too sick. I have lost all desire to cook because the smell of food and warm food in general usually starts heading me down the path to sickness.

-I thought I had a good smeller before...I can smell EVERYTHING and the weirdest of things. I feel like a crazy lady sometimes searching out the smallest of smells. If I could I would have a Fa-breeze fan in front of my face all day long.

-Fruit, Fruit, Fruit. I can always count on fruit to be the one thing I can eat. Something about a cold, crisp apple is the only thing that is a guarantee

-Zit City. Oh, Hello Skin. I thought you were supposed to glow? Oh, you want to break out instead? Whatever. I'll just keep you white for the rest of the summer then.

-Headaches. I didn't get them until the last few weeks, but I hate that Tylenol is the only thing I can take. I might as well take a sugar cube.

-My sleeping habits are all over the place. Some nights I can hardly keep my eyes open at 9pm, but then I am wide awake at 4am.

And most of all TIRED: Walk up a flight of stairs? Need a nap. Just woke up from a nap? Time for another.

Now that I am into my 12th week, all of these symptoms are subsiding and I am getting a whole new set. Starving all morning long, less exhausted, but still trying to convince my body to stay asleep all night long.

People keep asking if I'll post baby bump pics. Uh...Fat chance. As is, I will just look fatter and unless you are already a twig, they just aren't that cute. So...don't hold your breath. Sorry.

Stay tuned for future updates!