Pregnant Bellies

I've been informed that I need to be like other pregnant women and broadcast the occasional belly shot. So here it is:

While this belly is getting more and more uncomfortable, the morning sickness has finally taken a turn for the better and I now only have an occasional yucky day. He's become more active and I CAN FEEL HIM MOVING!!!! His movement has been pretty random and sporadic, but I noticed the other day that he starts moving more when there is music playing. I was in the classroom and we had some song on to relate music to poetry and a few seconds after the song started, the baby started going crazy! When the song stopped, so did he. It was pretty funny. He's done it a couple times since then, and I have no idea if it's a coincidence or not--but I'd like to think that he already has a passion for music. :) (Maybe he'll follow in his cousin James' footsteps!)

Last night Jonathan and I were able to drive down to Provo and spend some time with Paul, Diana, and Jeff. (Unfortunately, Jennie and James did not heed my request of tagging along in Paul's suitcase...) Diana made a lovely pork chop dinner and we played Ticket to Ride (and I WON! The only reason I feel the need to state that is because I never win, and I probably never will win again, so let it be known that I won once...and for the record, I did play guitar hero or rock band or whichever game Diana and Jeff own.) :) We had a lot of fun and wished we could have spent more time down there, but we all had an early morning today...


(I am not flipping the camera off...I promise I am just pointing at Paul and Jonathan...)


Good Times... :)

Medieval Banquet

Kingdom of the Lollipop Warriors...

(I promise that all the spelling was correct on their rough draft of this tapestry... ;-P)

For the past two months, the students in my class have been learning about the Middle Ages. We went through a variety of phases to learn about Feudalism, Manorialism, Knighthood, Life in a Monastery, The Crusades, and Guilds. We made tapestries of what we learned and finally had our culminating event this past Thursday--our Medieval Banquet. That morning, the boys made crowns and the girls each made a hennin and we were wooed by a variety of entertaining acts.

The parents served us a fabulous 6 course meal consisting of nuts, bread and cheese, baked apples, grapes, chicken, and cake. Here's a picture of the boys devouring the second course consisting of bread and cheese...


Fourth course: Grapes


The day felt longer than usual, but it was fun!


...and entertaining :).

It's a Baby!

A baby boy to be exact... :)

I had an ultrasound today and it was quite the experience. I arrived with a full bladder and I was ready to pee in a cup when asked. However, they didn't need me to pee in a cup today...they needed the full bladder to help them see certain things better. Who knows... Anyhoo, after viewing that, the lady doing the ultrasound said that I could use the restroom before we continued, but I had already gotten a glimpse of the baby and I definitely didn't want to stop just to go to the bathroom--so I held it. :)

Here are a couple of the ultrasound pictures...

(Profile)

(Foot)
(Leg)
(Arm)
(Alien-face)
(Lips and Nose)
(It's a boy)
(Another Profile)
It was the most exciting thing to watch! I could not believe how active he is. He moved around so much that the lady doing the ultrasound had a difficult time getting a few of the measurements right away. She said he looked healthy and that's all I wanted to hear. I was able to watch his little heart beat and see his little hands and little feet move in every possible direction. She pointed out other important organs, but I had no idea what in the world I was looking at! I'm just glad she did. She told me how big he was, but I don't remember exactly what she said. She did however inform me that while a few days small, he was right on track developmentally. While this was all exciting, there were a couple of times I thought I was going to pee my pants because of how much pressure she was putting on my bladder! The moment the ultrasound was over I RAN to the bathroom. No need to worry...I made it!

WE'RE HAVING A BOY! :)

Field Trip Adventure...

This past Tuesday, our 6th grade class went on a field trip. The purpose of this field trip was to utilize our public transportation system in Utah. It was quite the interesting experience to say the least. The first bus we got on was about a block and a half away from the school and it just so happened to be the commuter bus that comes all the way from Ogden. It was so full that it was standing room only when we got on. The 6th graders thought it was great! However, some of the people on the bus didn't think it was so great.... :) We got off up at the University of Utah and had a lovely tour of the Museum of Fine Arts. I was soooo bummed that we didn't get to go through the "Monet to Picasso" exhibit! Sad day...

After the museum, we hopped on another bus which took us a few blocks away from the Hogle Zoo. Once we got inside, we split up into our groups, and we went on a little scavenger hunt for a few animals that can be found in and around Egypt. (That was our excuse for how we tied it to the curriculum...) My group consisted of five of the cutest girls in the world. We managed to find a brass gorilla, and for whatever reason, they were completely amused.

***Annoying sidenote...the night before the field trip I charged the battery for my camera. That morning I was in a bit of a rush and I grabbed the camera...but not the battery. SAD DAY! What a loser! I missed out on so many wonderful pictures!***

Here's a picture I managed to get off of my cell phone...


Anyhoo...when our zoo extravaganza was over, we walked back to the bus stop and...we missed our bus. We were actually on the wrong side of the street. ;) (ps. it was not my fault) We immediately got on the phone with UTA to find another bus to get home. We had to walk a few blocks, but we managed to get on another bus that took us back to the stop near our school. We got back a few minutes after school got out...but WE MADE IT! Field trips are fun...but stressful! :)

Lonely...

Kristina is lonely...Jonathan is in Detroit...

Day One...

So...today was my first day of school as a student teacher. I felt like one of those Kindergarteners on their first day of school. You know...the ones that are crying and clinging to their mother's arm, hand, or leg--whatever they can grab onto for dear life...only I had to drive myself and I definitely had no hand to hold through the door...(Jonathan would have been there to do it, but by the time I got to school he had already been at work for two hours...)

**Paul please note our room number**

...and yes I decorated the door ;)

Anyway...I was sooo nervous! I spent the past week helping my host teacher, Mrs. Marchant, with last minute preparation and it was super hectic because almost our entire class roster changed. I had been told back in May that I would be student teaching in a fifth/sixth split class, but due to the high numbers enrolled in fifth and sixth grade this year, the District decided on August 15th that they would no longer have the split. They switched us to just sixth grade and they hired on a new fifth grade teacher (I am so glad I'm not her! She was hired on Thursday and had basically three days to set EVERYTHING up!) I was amazed at how much we had to do to accommodate this change!

In our class we have 29 students, and I have to admit that they are pretty cute. I worried that I was going to regret requesting not to be put in the lower grades, but after today I'm pretty content. Most of the girls remind me of Stephanie :), and the boys--while stinky--are quite a good group of guys. I assumed a lot of them would be taller than me but much to my surprise only one towers over me and several of the girls make me feel tall! (I didn't know that was possible ;P)

Overall, the day went fairly smoothly with no disasters ;) and I think they like me (so far). Now I just have to survive the rest of the year! I'll be at the Elementary School all of this week and then I jump down to just Monday's and Tuesdays until January when I take over all day every day. The program kind of eases you into it so I should be grateful for that!

Jonathan is itchy...

After coming home from our fabulous trip, Jonathan started itching. We soon realized that he had somehow come in contact with poison ivy! (At first we thought that he may have gotten it from the Sacred Grove...or maybe from Niagara Falls when we hid behind that building during the rainstorm...who knows...?) Anyway...apparently he's crazy allergic to it and within a day or two of us returning it had spread all over his body. The other night Jonathan was about to put on another layer of calamine lotion...when I noticed that his leg was oozing...yes oozing!


We finally got him to the doctor and they gave him a nifty old shot and most of the outbreaks seemed to be drying out and going away...but of course this morning more decided to appear on other parts of his legs. He's so itchy...and all that I can really do is bring him his calamine and benadryl...

I feel extremely helpless...