Another non-picture pregnancy post

I know, I hate to disappoint, but there is no picture to go with this post either! We hit 26 weeks on Sunday, and my belly is definitely showing it! Baby boy is getting so much bigger and stronger and sometimes it feels like he is pulling on my belly button! He kicks a ton at night, so we are going to have to fix this whole sleep through the day, wake up at night thing before he makes his grand entrance into this world! 

In anticipation of moving I boxed up all my non-pregnancy clothes. Silly me I tried on some of my pants before I put them away. I was able to still get most of them on, but buttoning them was a joke! I still have a pair of jean shorts I can fit into though. I envy all my friends that "never had to buy maternity pants", but baby boy is riding pretty low, so that's not an option for me. Thanks to my mom and mother in law my maternity wardrobe is ever growing, and quite stylish too! 

I can't believe that in 14 weeks we will have a little one in our family. What a blessing. We have big dreams and hopes for this little guy and can't wait to meet him. I can imagine one of his first outings will be to some major sporting event. He is going to be his father's child! 

Gma, Gpa, and the Tanners

We enjoyed a great visit from my grandparents and Kelsey and Grant. Though I was sick, it was still fabulous to have them here. Gma and Gpa even took me to Red Robin (my favorite restaurant!). We spent a lot of time going around looking at antique malls trying to find my grandpa some old baseball games. Gma and Gpa were so generous in buying us groceries, and just like when I was little, they said, "Get what you want!" I was a little nervous without a budget but Taylor told me to "Just enjoy it like me!" and that was it. We went a little crazy with a roast, oreos, and other things we usually don't buy! 

I felt bad that I was so sick and honestly didn't take ONE picture of the eventful weekend, but it was so fun to have everyone visit us before our Wichita adventure was over! Thanks for coming guys! 

A little update

I think it's about time for a little update. First, and most exciting, I actually had a snow day on Friday. It was about 6:15 a.m. when my phone rang. On the line was the Superintendent saying that "Due to weather conditons, school has been cancelled for today." Poor Taylor was dead asleep until I yelled, "YES!". Needless to say, it was kind of a lazy day, but it was so nice to just relax, especially since my dear little first graders had been kind of a mess that week.

I could really get used to this 4 day week thing. The week before last we had Monday off for Inservice, this week the kids have early release for 3 days for conferences, next week I get Wednesday off to go to First Aid and CPR training, and then the week after that I have inservice on Friday, and Presidents day on Monday. Two weeks of full school and then a four day week, followed by Spring Break. Unfortunately after that It's 5 weeks straight, but then it's the end of school (CRAZY!)

In other news, we get to find out what flavor of child we are having in two weeks! I am so excited. I don't know how people go all nine months without finding out! I've already found some options for strollers, carseats, pack and plays, etc. but I want to wait to find out the gender just to make sure. Taylor has been so sweet thoughout the past 5 months. He talks to the baby and makes sure I'm comfortable, that I've taken my vitamins, that I get to bed early, and that my cravings are all satisified. Like Saturday, we had planned to use our gift card to Olive Garden, but I suddlenly had a craving for a cheeseburger and fries, and my wonderful husband, despite his desire to be healthy, ate at Freddy's Steakburgers with me. That's love folks!

One thing we haven't done is taken a belly shot. I've always been self concious about that area, and now I'm supposed to show everyone how big I've gotten? Considering I'm almost 20 weeks, I'm nowhere near where pictures tell me I should be, and the doctor keeps telling me I'm "measuring small", I think I'll hold off on showing the world my "chubby" belly for a little while longer. Though, today I am wearing a maternity shirt and I've had 4 people tell me I've "popped out". We will see.

On Taylor's horizon, he still isn't feeling better from the beginning of the month so it was back to the doctor. They put him on another round of meds, so hopefully he will be getting better soon. He has a job interview this week, and we are praying that it works out. We need to start the "baby fund." We are doing good, half of us are healthy, and we haven't frozen in this ridiculous weather, so we consider ourselves lucky and blessed!

The Bump

I figured it's time to do a pregnancy update, though I'm not sure that many people, other than my family and in-laws actually care. Taylor and I went to the Doctor yesterday, after waiting what seemed like forever since our last appointment!

The doctor weighed me and I have only gained a pound since my last appointment, a small miracle after surviving Christmas and New Years (plus, I feel like I'm constantly eating!) The doctor also said I'm measuring small, and once we can actually get a decent belly picture I'll post one. I've felt silly posting one, because it kind of just looks like I ate a really big meal, not a baby bump.

The first nurse (the same one as last time) couldn't find the baby's heartbeat at first. She had the doplar clear up by my chest, I swear! Then she brought in another nurse an she found the heartbeat within a few seconds. I had been having some wierd pains in my chest so I was estactic to actually hear the baby's heartbeat. It was beating at 158 beats per minute, and according to an old wives tale, anything above 140 promises a girl....we will see.

We go back February 15 to see what "flavor" our little "dino" is. I'm so excited. So place your bets now!

What's Goin' On?

It's been awhile since we updated, so I figured I've give you all lucky readers the low down of our lives in good ole' Kansas.

We had so much fun going home to California for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to be with family, and to be with Taylor for five whole days. It was just the vacation we needed. The morning after we got there we had family pictures. Taylor is not a fan of pictures and thinks that our wedding pictures should fill up the picture quota for the next 10 years, but he made it through and there were some really cute ones. The next day, we had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner, complete with fancy table settings, chocolate turkeys, tons of food, and delicious mashed potatos (my favorite). By far the highlight of the weekend was getting to see Wicked in San Fran! My in-laws knew how much I wanted to go see it, so they got tickets for the girls to go. The guys drove us down and then decided to go too! It was great that Taylor got to go cause he has heard me talk about it non-stop, and he liked it more than he thought he would. I think his exact words were "That was better than that modern dance show!". We loved being with the McFarlands for Thanksgiving and can't wait to see them again!

This past weekend Taylor and I roadtripped down to Norman, Oaklahoma for the UofA vs. Oaklahoma basketball game. We stopped in Oaklahoma City for lunch and to check it out. After leaving we were thankful that we are in Wichita. Sometimes I get homesick, but Wichita isn't that bad! We feel fortunate we ended up here, out of all the other choices. Overall it was a fun day, but all the driving reminded me of our endless roadtrip this summer (and coming again next summer!) We watched a blowout game, but to Taylor it was the "game of a lifetime!" Can you tell he loves sports?

We are gearing up for Christmas, and 13 whole days with my family! I am so excited. Only a week and a half of school to go! Today we got our first taste of a "Midwest Winter". It was freezing rain today when I left, and the roads were so icy. To me a winter storm isn't a storm without snow, but today was pretty scary driving into work. They are even talking about cancelling school if the weather gets worse! The best part is, we wouldn't have to make up the day later!

It's hard getting in the Christmas spirit without a tree, without my mom's decorations, but knowing that I get to go home and see family and friends, makes it feel a little bit more like Christmas!

A Photo Catch Up

As promised, here are a few photos of the last little bit of our lives. One rainy weekend we decided to go to the Kansas State Fair, about an hour away. We enjoyed walking around and seeing the exhibits, eating the yummy fair food, and going to the petting zoo. Though we were quite disturbed that they were selling hamburgers in the same place they had the cow exhibit. We did not consume any that day!

My mom came for a visit. She, a newly empty nester, couldn't stand the though of all her children being so far away, so she said she had to come to "stock our pantry". She also treated us to Sushi, a movie, and almost bought a nice "pleather" (plastic and leather) jacket for herself at Target.

Tay and Me at Sushi

Mom loves the popped collar...seriously.

That weekend we also created a Facebook Monster: MOM. She is now on the good ole' FB. I never thought I'd live to see the day. She's pretty cool now. Watch out.

We have also enjoyed our Saturday date night tradition and have found some great places to eat here in Wichita. This is Taylor showing off our "Boba" at one of our favorite little Tai/Asian fusion places. It's a smoothie/shake with these gelatinous little black balls at the bottom. It's supposedly all the rage in Asia. I had to try it (What was I thinking...I'm the one who can't handle weird food textures), took two sips and was done. It tasted nasty and then I got a boba, and I was done. Needless to say, it was a waste. But worth the adventure!

Lastly, I have to rave about my husband for a minute. He is so sweet to always come to my school. He usually brings me lunch once a week, and comes when we have special events like popcorn parties and our Fall Party. This little boy loves "Mr. McFarland" and is always quick to latch on to him and not let go. The kids love him, but I love him more!

Life in Wichita is good thus far, though we don't want to be here our whole lives. We are excited for what the future has in store for us. Hopefully in the next few months we will be making some life decisions that will map out the next couple of years. We can't wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas and being with family.

Moving to Kansas

This is the only picture we have from moving. Somewhere in the middle of Wyoming. I had to stop and get a 50 cent ice cream cone!
Yes, it's true, we made it to Kansas. After visiting my parents for a few days we loaded up the truck and made the two day drive to Wichita. We couldn't have done it without my dad and my little brother. First of all, my dad is a MASTER PACKER. I knew we couldn't fit everything in the truck without his help. He made us pull everything out first so we could inventory what we had to pack. Then a few hours later the truck was ready to roll.

We drove through Wyoming, which is gorgeous, but we decided we didn't want to live there. Then we drove through Colorado, stopped to sleep in Limon, and woke up early the next day. Upon hearing that Kansas was compltely flat, Taylor was beyond excited when we saw rolling hills. I heard numerous times, "Look there are hills!" That day we had a special mission: Atwood, Kansas. About an hour out of our way we went to pick up this guy:


Meet Duke. He is a rare Fox Red Lab. He's kind of a strawberry blonde color. We then proceeded on our journey, not really knowing how it was going to work having a puppy in a hotel.

We got to Wichita and were greeted by 50 mph winds and a great thunder and lighting storm. I was slightly nervous about this grand entrance. Wednesday morning Tay and I woke up at 6am to go apartment hunting and had signed a contract by 10:30am that day. As we drove around we saw these yellow ones that looked kinda worn down, and we just passed them by. The second time around I may Taylor stop and look at them. Although they are not the cutest from the outside, we walked in and fell in love. Huge living room, dining room, kitchen. two bedrooms, two full size bathrooms, and.....the clincher....our own washer and dryer! We signed immediatley and were moved in by the next day.

We have done alot in the week we have been here. Here's a brief recap:

• Looked around Wichita State a few times. I snuck frozen yogurt into the computer lab!
  
• Worked in my classroom. I thought my old school was in the ghetto. Was I ever wrong. Let's just say I heard that the staff was very excited to get air conditioning last year. (WHAT?)
  
• Put together our apartment. (Picture tour coming soon!)
  
• Went to our new ward. Trying to remember everyone's name.
  
• Got a Sam's Club membership (Dang. No Costco)
• Looked at all the gorgeous homes near where we live.
  
• Went bargin hunting at thrift stores.
  
• Ate at Jason's Deli (Thanks Leslee and Sean!)
  
• Bought a used X-Box. To keep Taylor entertained for the next month before school starts.
  
• Worked out at the fitness center at our complex.
• Enjoyed (kinda) the most intense thunder and lightening storm ever.
  
• Getting invited over to dinner by someone in our ward (yeah! we will have friends!)
  
• Witnessing a near fire at the pizza place on date night.
  
• Figuring out where the RedBox is. (That's a must).
  
• Enjoying the ridiculously low gas prices!
  

So far we have been impressed by Wichita. We are excited to explore our new town, make new friends, start school and work, and just settle into our routine!