I Am Alive...

My excuse used to be that I was too busy with school (planning lessons and creating my portfolio) to blog...but I finished my Student Teaching over a month ago and finished my school projects the last week of April--so my new excuse is that I've been (and am) tired. :) A lot has happened over the past 3 months...You can read it all if you'd like...or just look at all the pictures :)

1. 3 Baby Showers (2 of which were surprises)
2. I finished my Student Teaching
3. I GRADUATED!!!!

Now I'm just waiting...waiting...waiting for this baby to make his debut!

Baby Shower #1:
Paul, Jennie, and James came out for a quick visit at the end of February and with their help distracting me in the morning, Diana managed to surprise me with a wonderful Baby Shower.

The funny thing is that I really was super surprised...I'm telling you pregnancy does funny things to your mind. When Paul, Jennie, James, and I pulled up to the Andrews' house I even mentioned to them that it was odd that there were so many cars there. Paul smoothly played it by saying that the Andrews may have family visiting...and I didn't think anything of it! When we walked in the door I should have realized something fishy was going on when Brother Andrews started acting so "surprised" to see us...anyway we started going downstairs to "look at a family photo" when the "SURPRISE" was shouted. The biggest surprise though was seeing my mom's big smile at the base of the stairs. :)

(Jonathan was in San Diego at a convention...we missed him--but still had lots of fun! Thanks everyone!)

Baby Shower #2:
As you know I student taught in the 6th grade and the students in my class wanted to do something special for me before I left. On my last day they gave me a wonderful scrapbook with a personalized page from each of them and they threw me a lovely party full of baby games and presents. While I'm glad to be done, it still is pretty weird not seeing their cute faces everyday...

My favorite part of those two showers was the dirty diaper guessing game--the following pictures will reveal why:

Baby Shower #3:

I flew out to California the week after I finished my Student Teaching and spent a week of leisure at the Peterson Home. I was able to take a bath in their new jetted tub and witness the completion of their other beautiful bathroom. The day of the shower we were beginning to worry that no one would come because so many people had stopped by in previous days to drop off gifts, but there was an amazing turnout! Had anyone else come there wouldn't have been much room for them to sit! It was a lot of fun. Mom and Dad threw me a wonderful shower and they surprised me with flying Diana out to help with the festivities.

(notice mom hiding...)

Stephanie was the one going around and taking all the pictures...so I unfortunately don't have any good ones to include of her! (Dad and Steven escaped to an Angels game of course...)


Student Teaching:
Again...glad to be done! My last week at the Elementary School we had two field trips...great way to end!


Graduation:
I graduated May 8th...pretty exciting day! Mom, Dad, and Baba drove out for the festivities and Diana, Jeff, and Grandma and Grandpa Whatcott took time out of their day to join us as well :). During the ceremony I was announced and asked to stand as ranking second in my class and for receiving the honor of Summa Cum Laude--pretty nifty stuff!



I tried my best not to waddle as I walked across the stage...while concentrating on not falling on my face! I'm happy to say that I did neither. I was tempted to stop in the middle of the stage and pretend my water broke...but decided against it. After the ceremony we made our way to Happy Sumo per mom's request (not that I complained! Yummy Sushi!). We were joined there by Gramma Peggy and Glen.


I'm sure you're tired of reading and if you've even gotten this far reading everything I'll be very impressed...but here's a picture of my cute pregnant lady graduation dress that was hidden by my gown the whole day...

So now we wait...and continue to prepare as much as we can for the baby! He's dropped and the contractions are coming more frequently...but not quite consistent enough to be too excited. It's hard to believe that it could be only a matter of days that he'll be here...

Popcorn and Poetry

On Thursday night, we had a "Popcorn and Poetry" night to finish off our poetry unit. Students in my class memorized and recited poems by a famous author and then presented a poem they themselves had written and memorized. We had a great turn out of students and parents. We only had one student not show up.

Here are some of their personal poems that they chose to share:

Bananas
by Michael (Inspired by Brady)

Bananas are yellow,
What a friendly fellow!
Bananas that are yellow
go good with Jell-o.


Garden
by Andrea

I think about our garden
with it's pretty purple peppers
the bright crisp cabbages
and tall tomato vines.
I think about weeding.
How boring it is.
But I also think
about the salad
in the end.

Fish on a Hook
by Natalie

I am a fish,
Dangling on a hook
Struggling,
Struggling,
On a hook.
I can hear a voice in the distance,
Voices,
"I got one, reel it in!"
I am a fish,
Dangling,
Dangling,
Dangling,
Goodbye.

Food
by Camden

Food is yummy,
Food is good,
Food is like happiness
Filling.
Delicious.
Some foods however,
such as spinach, brussel sprouts, broccoli,
these foods you cannot eat.
For they will make your life bad.
Horrible.
Disgusting.
Nasty.
You must never ever, ever, ever, EVER
ever eat these foods.

The Emu
by Dallin

The emu runs across uneven ground,
as its feet quickly pound down.
Then it makes quite an odd sound,
as it sticks-it's-head-down-in-the-ground.

Kyle
by Nathan

Kyle is a tree,
always growing taller.
And he's not like me,
because I'm getting smaller.

***I liked this one because Nathan and Kyle are like me and Claire growing up... :) ***

Sixth graders are funny you know...often clever, but usually just weird.

I look super tired in this picture (which I am--I got to school that morning around 7am and got home just before 9pm), but I wore one of my new blouses that I got from my mom that night and so I figured it should be shown off :). I feel like I have an entirely new wardrobe! I definitely already have a few favorite tops that I've worn more than once... )


This top is loose, so you can't really see my belly, but apparently it is finally pregnant looking enough that people feel comfortable asking me when I am due. For the first time this past week I had someone I didn't know ask me that question. When I told the girls that I student teach with that this had happened, they informed me that I should be prepared next time and make the stranger feel a little awkward first by saying "What do you mean when am I due?" before actually saying the date. I haven't decided yet if I'm cruel enough to try that...but it would be pretty funny!

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...