30 Weeks Pregnant

I am long overdue for a pregnancy post. I honestly can't believe that we are already into the third trimester! I think that being in school helped time go by quickly. Now that I am done I have thrown myself into baby mode.

I love being pregnant. Sure, the first trimester wasn't always loads of fun, but at least I felt like being sick had a purpose. Now I feel our little boy moving around all the time. And that is my favorite part.

Ian (we are 99% certain that will be his name) is a very active baby. Fun things at this stage include

- He sometimes responds to our voices

- Other times we play a game where we push on a part of my stomach and he pushes back

- It is so fun/weird to see my stomach morph as he makes big movements

- He also has been getting hiccups everyday

- When I lay on my right side at night he throws lots of punches to let me know I am taking some of his space. Once I switch sides he calms down (we learned today that his hands and feet are on that side). He might become a boxer.

Today we had a doctor's appointment. The doctor felt Ian and told us exactly where his head, back, and bum were. He is in breech position right now but babies usually don't get into position until 36 weeks--so we still have time for him to move on his own. He is a mover and a shaker so I don't think that will be a problem.

Ben and I love our little baby more everyday as we talk about him, pray for him, and feel him move. He has taken over my thoughts. We can't wait to meet him.

I hope the summer isn't too hot. June has been nice so far. August can't come soon enough!

Here's a picture for you:

MSW Graduation 2012

I'm done with school! Hurray! Last month I finished my graduate degree in social work. The year went by surprising fast. I am so glad that I decided to pursue my MSW and so thankful that Ben encouraged and supported me throughout the program. I couldn't have done it without him.

I remember praying and really struggling with the decision of whether or not to do graduate school. Ben and I both felt like I needed to even though I didn't really want to. I know that Heavenly Father wanted me to do this and I know that He helped me along the way. He has answered my many prayers and He has helped me to be successful. I can honestly say that I loved my experience. I don't know exactly what I am supposed to do with the degree, but I love that the things I learned not only will allow me to serve other people better, but everything is also  so applicable to family life. I look forward to using what I have learned to serve others, especially my family.

For graduation my mom and Sam came out to celebrate with us. We enjoyed the visit  and had some time to see a few things in DC. We walked a lot. By the end of the visit we were all tired, but happy. We also spent a lot of time talking about the baby and my mom got a kick out of feeling him move. We were sad to see them leave. Here are some pictures:

Just so Ian knows he was there

DC Fun:

Sam used his connections to get us a tour of the East Wing of the White House. This is just outside when our tour was over.

"The Castle"(Smithsonian Institution Building) at the National Mall

The Lincoln Memorial