Showered with love

I have to say that at the time of our last posting, Trent and I were freaking out. I mean, we were excited for this little baby and eagerly anticipating his arrival, but it sunk in how QUICKLY his due date was approaching. And it scared us to death! At that time, we had 1 box of diapers, a bassinet, maybe 4 outfits, a crib without a mattress, a changing table and quite literally nothing else. No bathing stuff, nail clippers, blankets, onesies, pacifiers....NOTHING!

Since then, between paying for secondary applications for medical school and transitioning to a one income home (Trent received a raise that allowed me to quit work), we have been accumulating things that we need here and there. 

Just in the last month, we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of so many people. One afternoon, Trent's friend dropped off two large boxes of baby clothes on our front door. I nearly cried! (Thank you, Erin!) From baby showers we have received a stroller, infant car seat, blankets, clothing, a high chair, bath time stuff, first aid kit, a play mat and DIAPERS!! My sister brought over a baby swing that her neighbor was giving away. Suddenly our very empty nursery is filling up with gifts and things that this little baby needs. We have been showered with gifts and they have all been given in love. We feel very loved. This is something that financially we could not have done for ourselves. 

Thank you to everyone who has helped put our minds at ease as we prepare for this little man. I'm feeling pretty good these days physically. I'm so big, though, that everything takes twice as long to accomplish and some days I get stuck if I sit on the floor for too long :) Restless legs are an every night occurrence now along with a new symptom: carpal tunnel! I don't think the baby has moved head down just yet; I feel his head up in my ribs on a regular basis. He likes to "lounge" at an angle, with his head in my right side. It's his favorite position, but unfortunately, one that makes it hard for me to breathe!

The "Work In Progress" nursery :) 

On a side note, I would like to update you on Trent's medical school progress. He has applied to over 20 schools. Eight schools have requested secondary applications. A secondary application means they are interested in learning more about Trent. The secondary applications contain a separate set of essay questions unique to each school, along with a lovely price tag ($50-$100). The interview process for many schools has already started. They typically interview between mid-October and January. We have our fingers crossed that he will receive some interview invitations in the coming weeks. The bummer is that you pay your way to fly out for an interview, so we will be giving the offers prayerful consideration. This entire process has been very lengthy (since May) and expensive so we really hope to not have to repeat it next year. The schools currently on our radar are located in Virginia, Florida, South Carolina, Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Arizona. 

I'm pulling for the school in Florida.....Shocker, right???

WEEK 30: T Minus 10 weeks and counting

I've never really been a fan of the "week by week" pictures throughout a pregnancy. So, you won't be seeing any of that on our blog. Sorry!! But I AM a fan of reading what's going on with the baby in the current week of pregnancy.

Every Sunday Trent pulls up the week-by-week calendar and sees what vegetable or fruit the baby has morphed into this week, along with how much he weighs and how long, etc. He gets so excited. It's almost like an advent calendar for him: Every week that goes by, he gets a new surprise and more fun facts to tell people about our little boy.

We have acquired baby furniture and transformed our second bedroom (office) into a nursery. It's still a work in progress, but it's exciting to think this baby will be here soon!

This past week, we celebrated our 4th Anniversary. Looking back, we have been so blessed at all the things we've been able to experience, places we've been and things we have accomplished. We have been blessed to meet wonderful friends and couples along the way. If you're reading this, you are someone who has made an impact on our lives, so THANK YOU!

As an anniversary gift, Trent asked my sister, Kristen, to take some pictures of us. We haven't had "family" pictures since we were married! I've included some of them below. None of them have been edited yet, but I couldn't wait to share some of them!! It was a great day and I think Kristen did a great job! Not to mention, she had two incredibly good looking people to work with....  ;)

I have the most handsome husband.

JULY 2013

We had an awesome July!

I'll cover this post in pictures, since it was a crazy month full of traveling, Trent's birthday, and baby development :)

28th Birthday Dinner, Cafe Trio, Salt Lake City

Trent's Birthday, my first bump picture @ 16 weeks

Beachin' it @ Del Coronado, CA

Boating with the Rahn Family in Fresno, CA

Boating accident in Fresno. We think Trent may have broken his two fingers.
He's a little daredevil when it comes to being pulled behind a speeding boat. 

Trent & Logan in San Diego Gaslamp District

Ghirardelli's

Dad's first attempt at longboarding, STANFORD UNIVERSITY :)

America's Cup Trophy, San Francisco, CA

TWO FIRSTS: Trent surfed and was nabbed by a stingray. What luck!

Trying to dry off and stay warm at Sea World

First Trimester Part 2

Pregnancy: Week 14, day 1 (July 1, 2013)

Last Friday, we met with Dr. Harrison for our first appointment. She came highly recommended by my friend Jackie and I must say, she is awesome. Dr. Harrison searched for the heartbeat, but was having a hard time finding it. Trent and I were a little nervous.

What if there is no heartbeat? What if we aren't really pregnant? 

Then we heard a strange wooshing sound and saw her knowing smile. She went to the hallway and grabbed an older, low-tech ultrasound machine and we actually got to have a look-see! We weren't expecting to see the baby for another couple of weeks, but she was curious to get more information. The baby was much higher than she was expecting. The baby was wiggling and jumping around. It was so strange to think the little ghostly-white jelly bean was inside my stomach!

We had our second ultra sound this morning. Dr. Harrison ordered a "formal" ultrasound be done with a tech to make sure 1) I wasn't further along and 2) that there wasn't another baby (twins) inside! Well, there was only one baby to be found (thankfullly!!) and we actually found out the gender at this stage.

Needless to say, I was totally shocked. Trent was beyond excited. He was giggling and absolutely ecstatic. I really thought that we were having a girl. I was almost sure of it. Poor Trent; I tried so hard to be excited about this shocking news, but it just wouldn't come. I think I almost cried a few times. What am I going to do with a little boy? I don't know anything about boys! 

In truth, it probably took me a whole month to come to terms with having a little boy. For some reason, I just couldn't wrap my mind around it!

First Trimester Part 1

Continuing on with my journals from the first trimester....


Pregnancy: Week 10, day 3 (June 5, 2013)

This is the third time since telling my supervisor I was pregnant that I've had to call in sick. [oooh boy, if I had known that was only the start!!] I've been sick since my birthday [May 7] and it's just not letting up. It's not just the nausea that gets me so down; it's the absolute exhaustion. I cannot sleep at night and every morning I'm just dragging. Sometimes at work, it is all I can do to stop myself from slumping on the desk and taking a nap. I read somewhere that lack of sleep exacerbates symptoms. Oh goody. What a perfect storm.

On a side note: I feel really badly for this baby's due date. I mean, it's going to be sometime around Christmas. Everyone I know who has a December birthday hates it. I think I'll hate it, too, along with our daughter/son!! Trent and I have already discussed the idea of doing half birthdays in July. That would be cool. :)

**Current food obsession: Del Taco's Crunchy Taco Deluxe ... I usually get three of them. ;)

Just some of my many cravings.....

Pregnancy: Week 12, Day 3 (June 19, 2013)

Why does it seem that halfway through my weeks, I crash? It's the strangest thing. I think work has something to do with it. I would take a few naps every day except for the fact that I work for 5 hours. I am also not sleeping at night.

Even worse is that I  have developed restless legs. I can't even come close to falling asleep without my legs jerking and me thrashing them all around to get the jitters out. Thrashing never helps, but it's like scratching an itch: It's a temporary fix that puts your mind at ease. Somehow in the delirium of sleep and frustration (where you just want to cry it out!), I find a few hours of sleep.

 It's usually like this: Go to bed at 11 and find yourself awake at 12, 2, 4, 5 and 7 am. Somewhere around 7:30 I crash and don't wake up again until 10:00, thankfully. Some days I wake up around 10:40 and then I have to rush to get ready for work. That's a comical thing: Getting ready for my day takes forever!! I literally spend most of my morning worrying about what to eat and what I think might sound good. Somewhere in there, I'll take a cat nap on the couch because just getting out of bed wears me out, apparently.

**Most recent food obsession: macaroni & cheese and Wendy's baked potatoes. Yep, keeping it nutritious over here. This is definitely the most I've enjoyed junk food in my LIFE.**

We recently told Trent's extended family about the addition to our family. Half of them already knew because it leaked out, while another few found out through reading a Mother's Day card my MIL left out at her house. She forgot it had the bit of news in it.  We have yet to tell my (smaller) extended family the news. It's coming soon :)

We're PREGNANT!!!!! Well, I am, at least :)

I just realized I never put up a post about our most exciting news! WE ARE PREGNANT! Things have been a whirlwind around here. Since the last post Trent has taken the MCAT, applied for Medical Schools, supported me through my first trimester and I've been sick for much of the time while growing a baby inside of me.

Early on in my pregnancy, I kept a bit of a journal on the things I was experiencing and how I was feeling. Disclaimer: I hated the first trimester, so it doesn't make for very "happy" reading, but since this is a way to document our life, I figure it's appropriate. Below is my first entry:


Pregnancy: Week 9, day 2 (approximately May 28th, 2013)
Some days I just can't get enough sleep. Take today, for instance. I slept for 12 hours last night. I've been awake for maybe 2, and I'm already stretching out on the couch for another nap. How is this even possible?! Because of the sea-sickness feeling and the lack of energy, I haven't exercised in almost two months. When I have to go up stairs, I am winded. I never thought I could be so weak and out of shape.

I have the strangest food aversions. Something that sounded good to me an hour ago, now makes my stomach turn if I smell or look at it. Cooking is most difficult as it requires two things: on-your-feet energy and an exposure to different, offensive smells. I haven't eaten meat in probably three weeks. I can't stand the texture, taste, or smell of it. In fact, one day, Trent made chicken on the grill and I asked him to eat it in a different room because I couldn't handle the smokey BBQ smell. (Who am I...?) I buy things that sound good to me in large quantities and then after eating it once, the food is left to sit in the fridge until it is thrown out. I've wasted more food than I care to admit. The only constant things of the last few weeks are watermelon, apple juice, apples and bread. I can stomach all of those pretty well. The apple juice thing is rather strange since I don't usually enjoy juice at all.

**Funny food news: I've consumed an entire gallon sized container of juice in the last week and a half. My teeth are probably starting to rot.

Toothbrushing is pretty much out of the question these days. I am sad to say that I usually resort to my mouth wash in the mornings so that I don't have to go through the toothbrush-induced gag. I shudder when I think about the taste of toothpaste now. It's horrific.

Poor Trent has had to eat out for the past month. I'm sure he is so sick of fast food. He doesn't complain. I don't know what we would do without him. This last weekend (Memorial Day) we spent the entire weekend at home. He was able to get out and ride dirt bikes and attend a dinner party, so at least he was able to get out and have fun a couple of times. He went to the same fast food chain TWICE yesterday after finding that I was able to stomach it so well. He cleaned the entire house, did all of the dishes, and washed and folded all of the laundry. He's completely amazing. I don't know how I would get through things without such a supportive husband. When I tell him that I'm sincerely sorry I am not able to make dinner, he just says, "It's fine, love. I can take care of you."

Best husband EVER.

The Curious Dating Life of the Boyers

Trent and I started dating some four years ago. At first, because of my schedule (working two jobs; one full-time and one part time) and his (full-time student with part time work) we didn't have time for a lot of things. We would often see each other for the first time around 7 at night. The conversation went something like this: Hmmm...I'm hungry and have no energy. Let's just do dinner and a movie! It was that way for a loooong time. We broke up after a few months of this. It got old really fast and didn't allow our relationship to grow.*

When we reunited two months later, we decided to do fun things together, not just easy and unimaginative activities. I feel this attitude has trickled into our marriage. It's been loads of fun and never makes for a dull moment. And if you are reading this and thinking, Is Ashley implying that she and her husband still date? this is exactly what we are doing! 

 *[I am by no means knocking on dinner and movie dates, however, I really enjoy conversation and situations that are new and sometimes outside my comfort zone. I find that those types of dates are more quality time than most dinner and movie nights.]

Over the last few months, we have had very busy schedules, but we still make time for quality and fun dates at home on our less-than-desirable budget. 0_0  I have highlighted some of the more goofy and memorable ones...

Pop-Quiz!

You would be surprised how many things you DON'T know about each other. We wrote down ten questions to ask each other. It was a quiz. Some of the questions follow: Where did I live in fourth grade? What car did I learn to drive in? What is my Mom's middle name? Who was my first kiss? 

A good discussion followed and we walked down memory lane together since the questions revolved around our past.

Wild Goose Chase :)
Trent came home from work one evening to a small note and a string tied to the front porch. As he followed the string, he came inside to a network of webs formed by the string he held in his hand. Naturally, I made him follow (and wind up) the string throughout the entire house. The "wild goose chase", as he called it, ended with a little note that said, " Tonight's activity will be fort building, dinner, and a movie. It was quite a memorable night. We turned the entire living room into a fort. BEST DATE EVER :)

Sledding at the Park

This one was quite impromptu; We hadn't spent much time together that week and the skies had just dumped snow on our neighborhood. I called Trent at work and asked him to come home early so we could go sledding. I had everything we needed all ready to go when he came home. It was so much fun!! There were mostly families with little kids there, but we didn't really care. We had a blast zipping down the big hills at Rock Canyon Park.

Treasure Hunt 

Trent told me that he was going to plan our Friday night evening, so I came home to a small sign on the door that was the start of a treasure hunt!! I was romping through snow, walking down to the basement, and looking high and low for the next "clue". All along the way, there were items at each clue that I put into my purse. They were part of the evening's activities: nice glasses, sparkling cider, and a blanket. I was treated to a nice sit-down picnic in the living room. Complete with candle light, salmon, grilled veggies and delicious dessert. YUM. We played some games afterward on the living room floor. 

Progressive Dinner

The plan was to go out to eat somewhere fairly cheap and then come back home and play Canasta or another game. Well, after we were done eating at Panda Express, I was still hungry! We were going to hit up a pizza place and then grab dessert, but we ended up just skipping to dessert at The Cocoa Bean here in Provo. Delish! It was  a lot of driving, but it was fun to change up the places to eat. We were able to get a variety of food and didn't have to pay a tip at either one of those places. Niiiiice. Yes, we are cheap.

Rice Krispie Treat Sculpting 

I feel like this one is self explanatory; I made a large batch of rice krispies and we sculpted the piles to our hearts' content. Sticky, delish fun!

On a smaller scale....

Reading

We recently picked up The Hobbit and started reading it together. It's actually really fun. We pick something we both want to read and take turns reading.  Some nights we make hot chocolate and sip while curled up on the couch reading. This is something we have been doing since we first met. Trent had a TON of reading to get through with his major (English and Social Sciences), so we would take turns and discuss it. 

Make a NICE dinner

Something that we do on a regular basis is COOK together. [Okay, so it's not an actual date for us, but you should try it!!] Trent has more studying to do than ever, but he still pops his head in when I'm making dinner and offers to help. It gives him a nice break from studying and it also gives us time to talk about our day and what's been going on. Trent has become the most competent man that I know of in the kitchen! He is fearless and will buy all the ingredients to a recipe that he's never made before and have a stab at it. Inevitably, Pandora is playing in the background and at some point Trent will ask me to dance while things are simmering on the stove or baking in the oven. Who doesn't enjoy being swept off their feet?

Farr's Fresh
We have a new favorite place for dessert....and we don't usually DO dessert. Farr's Fresh. I go crazy with the animal cookie toppings and Trent goes wild with the caramel. Scrumptious custard in a cup. It's a weekly temptation! 

My husband is one TOUGH MUDDER!

So I am torn this weekend. I planned an awesome date for my husband (WILL post on that later) and so I have earned "Amazing Wife" status. On the other hand, I have procrastinated posting on Trent's race that he did clear back in October. It's been hanging over my head for months.Without further delay, here is the post!!

7 am. These two are so completely [obliviously] happy about the day. Suckers. 

The TOUGH MUDDER Race

Goal: As a team, run 12.8 miles with 22 obstacles including electrically charged wire, pits of mud, great heights, dumpsters of ice, tight crawl spaces, and freezing Utah temperatures

Date: October 13, 2012

Cost: $130

(In a word: Insanity. It's not an activity for the faint of heart. People have suffered broken limbs, extreme hypothermia, and near-death in this race.)

I didn't capture every leg of the race. I calculated it, and I actually ran near the 12.8 miles trying to catch up with Trent as he ran through the obstacles. Trent ran the TM with Kristen (my younger sister) and her co-workers. There were 8 members total. They wore yellow arm/head bands to create unity and help distinguish them from the other thousands of people covered in grayish brown mud.... Yeah, it was a nice thought...

Starting line. You had to push your team over the 8' wall just to get to the starting line. Whaaaat??

Ahhh. Trent's least anticipated obstacle: Arctic Enema. Complete with fresh truckloads of ice every 20 minutes. 

My best capture of the day. I don't know who this sad soul is, but they slipped head first into waist-deep mud.

I enjoyed many laughs courtesy of the participants. hehehe

Before the pits.....

After.

A strange sense of victory...? Six more miles to go,  love!!

Spencer, Kristen's fiance, was making an effort to get Trent warm. Brotherly love :3 

These are the electric wires I was telling you about.

Crossing icy waters with muddy, frozen, stiff hands. Trent was one of the FEW who made it across. 

Running up a half-pipe ...

...covered in mud...

...after 20 obstacles and 11 miles.

LAST OBSTACLE! (50 feet of wires...)

Finished in four hours. No casualties. Narrowly averted hypothermia. Pretty good day. Couldn't be more proud :)