An Unexpected Expectancy

I had my last scheduled ob/gyn appointment in Arkansas on Thursday, August 20th. I was only one day shy of 17 weeks at the time, but was ready to beg to high heaven for that ultrasound showing me whether we were having a boy or a girl! The begging worked and GOOD THING IT DID!

The doctor I saw (not my normal one since she was on maternity leave) pulled out his little laptop and began to look through my belly. He got this really confused look on his face and kept glancing over at JT and I.

Doctor: "What exactly did they tell you? When you had your ultrasound earlier..."

Me (with a confused look): "Nothing. Just that we had a healthy baby."

Doctor (confused look and shakes head, then smiles): "Well, you do... but there are two in there."



JT and I were speechless! I was trying too hard to process to know whether to laugh or cry! The nurse laughed after gasping and ran me over a box of tissues. JT kept staring at me to watch my reaction the whole time! After the initial questions of whether they were healthy or not were answered (and yes, they were), the doctor began some more poking around. He told us that Baby B is a boy!!! Kinda fitting huh? JT was thrilled he got his boy. I on the otherhand had visions of two 2 year-old boys playing tug-a-war with the cat! The doctor scheduled me for an emergency ultrasound clinic visit the next morning. We needed to know what Baby A was and whether they were sharing a placenta or not.



When we left the doctor's office JT and I simultaneously called our moms. My mother certainly enjoyed it because she'd periodically ignore me to listen to what JT was telling HIS mom and get excited about THAT. Both our parents were very cute. JT says his parents didn't even believe him at first! My dad just laughed and laughed! We left telling the rest of the family up to them. This is how my dad chose to share the news through email:


Next morning was the longest ultrasound I could EVER have imagined. They found out almost immediately that Baby A was a girl!! Best of both worlds! At least that would mean that baby-shower shopping was now officially failproof for everyone. ;) Oh, and they are NOT sharing a placenta which means I have the best possibility of a complication-free delivery possible--at least with twins that is. Both babies are healthy and even a little bigger than scheduled! A normal single pregnancy puts the baby at 7 ounces at 18 weeks. They were both at 7 ounces a week earlier AND are supposed to be naturally smaller because they're twins! Birth is definitely going to be interesting.

So there we have it! We're having twins!!!!!!!!!!!

Catching Up

These are the flowers JT had waiting for me when I got home last week!

Last month JT and I were surprised to find that Little Rock was refusing to allow APX to solicit, regardless of dues and paperwork already submitted. They decided to knock in cities about 3 hours away while waiting for the attorneys to figure it out. 3 hours is a LONG drive twice a day so they also decided to spend every night in a hotel except Saturday and Sunday nights. It was really sad being away from each other for so long so frequently! JT then came up with the idea of sending me to visit my family in California! I'd go visit and then come back as soon as he was home for good. We figured that would be 2 weeks tops! It all took a little longer than 2 weeks however, and once plane tickets got figured out it had actually been about a month.

While in California I.......

*slept in Jillian's bed

*hung out with my siblings

*watched my mom be superwoman as Relief Society president

*talked with my dad

*went shooting with Mike

*went out to eat with Mike and Bonnie

*had lunch with Kylie and then hung out at her house

*visited Lita and Lito

*visited my cousin J'Lene in the hospital after giving birth to Liliana

*went to the home ward

*visited Los Angeles with Jarom and Wailum

*went to Murrieta for dinner with Mike, Grandma, and Grandpa Trout

*drove up to visit Jillian at Girls Camp with my dad

*had my parents buy me my first maternity jeans

*got a bigger stomach

*trimmed Hunter's fur

*watched Jacob work on his Eagle Scout project

*played piano

*went to Laguna beach with my dad, Jillian, and Jarom

*discovered THE best chinese food restaurant in the world in Laguna (they specialize in HEALTH food that tastes great!!!!)

*ate In N Out

*went to the hospital to wait for Mike to get out of his successful surgery with Bonnie

*learned to crochet with Bonnie

*had wonderful tacos at the Mooney home

*woke up one Sunday morning and made strawberry crepes for my family

*played crazy 8s with Mike and Bonnie

*discovered I'm in love with my mom's cheesy garlic bread recipe

*fell down twice while trying to pet Sally

*got to stock up on baby gear

*watched movies

*ate at Cinnabon with Jillian

*had lunch with the missionaries twice

*went to the theater with my mom, Jillian, Jarom, and John to watch Up! in 3D

*talked to JT on the phone as much as possible!

Wow, I did a lot more than I realized! I'm sure I missed something. I'm grateful for the time I was able to spend there. It was nice to be apart from JT for once in my life without having a ton of anxiety and stress to go with it. Mission accomplished Honey. ;) I've always been closer with my mom and Jarom so it was nice to really get to spend a lot of time with my dad and Jillian. JT says that we're going to attempt one more California visit before the baby comes. We'll see how we manage to pull that one off!

The day I left California I boarded my plane at 2:30 pm and arrived in Little Rock at 10:30 pm. Bear in mind that there's only a 2 hour time difference. Yuck. I wasn't actually supposed to get in until 11 pm so JT hadn't even left our apartment yet! It was really nice to see him again. It's strange how many little things I take for granted. For instance, I used to always be aware of JT's personal smell--not his cologne. I especially loved it while we were dating. I'd go a week waiting for him to come home from base. He'd jump in his car and come see me as soon as they let him go! He was always still wearing his camis. Those especially smelled like him. He laughed at the airport when I told him I missed his smell. There was even a bouquet of flowers waiting for me in our apartment! Like I said, it was nice to visit my family but I loved coming home.

A blog to promise to blog

I will blog! I promise! I visited my family in California for a month and am now back in Arkansas. After I get settled in I will definitely be updating this. Stay tuned!

Day at the Museums

The 5th of July had Katie and I off on an adventure to as many museums/historic places as we could handle! Realistically, that meant we went to 3 sites. But it was cool!! Our first stop was the visitors center and museum for Little Rock Central High School where 9 Black students integrated in 1957. I loved it and poor Katie had to wait as I took my time at the exhibit. There was so much to see! They had SO many recordings that there wasn't time for me to sit through them all. I took a picture of some quotes I liked.

"The best of American history is made up of people...who experience a moment of revelation that inspires them to fight against injustice." Juan Williams

Her name escapes me at the moment, but she was SO brave! She didn't go to school with the caravan and sat alone at the bus stop with the mob.

"The challenge is yours...to prove your maturity, intelligence, and ability to make decisions by how you react, behave, and conduct yourself in this controversial question. What is your answer to this challenge?"

We weren't allowed inside the school because it's still a functioning high school. It's beautiful! Hard to believe that so many angry people filled this place.

It's me!

It's Katie!

This was Dunbar High School--where the Black students originally attended school. However, it wasn't open in 1957 and was soon converted into a magnet middle school. We snuck inside! Turns out they transported anything of historic value downtown.


We then went to visit the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library. This is an exact replica of Clinton's oval office. I got chills looking at it. I wish they would've let us inside!

We then visited the cabinet room.

"Central Intelligence Agency"

"President of the United States"

"Department of Defense"

"President of the United States"

"White House Chief of Staff"

Shout out to Leo McGary!!!!!

Regardless of the ginormous astronaut suit boot, Armstrong's feet are SO much bigger than mine!

After the museums we headed back to the apartment complex to pick up Lacie for lunch. We've been wanting to try eating at The Purple Cow and it seemed like the perfect opportunity! It was the CUTEST little 50's diner!!! The shakes and food were yummy. I was a little surprised that my sandwich was going to cost $8 but realized it was worth every cent when it arrived! Their sandwiches are HUGE. They stacked multiple sandwiches on top of each other and held it together with tooth picks. It definitely held over as a yummy leftover.

Later that night we 3 girls were a little bored and Katie & Lacie's sweet tooths were awakened. Since they were in the mood for cheesecake I suggested we go to Arkansas' version of the Cheesecake Factory! So at 10pm we jumped in the car singing to songs we may or may not have remembered all the lyrics to. The restaurant was still open and the girls ordered their cheesecake while I enjoyed my banana's foster--enjoyed means I took 2 bites and was full. I've become the QUEEN of leftovers. We had SO much fun eating there. It was one of the best nights ever in Little Rock. Thanks girls for a fantastic day! We'll have to have monthly girl nights in Utah!!!

Our First Doctor's Visit

At week 8 we woke up and hit the road for our morning doctor's appointment. Well...2 hours later we finally found the hospital. Awesome. They had a huge stack of required paperwork and weren't even sure if I could get in to meet with a doctor anymore! Luckily, they squeezed me in. The nurse was really nice and interested until she found out I wouldn't be giving birth in Arkansas. Apparently that means we're no longer best friends. *sigh*
I laughed when my doctor walked in and asked how I was feeling--she was soo pregnant she looked ready to pop!!! She did a really quick check-up and said all the blood work and tests would be performed in July. Each time she left the room JT tried to play with her equipment! He's such a big kid.
Then the BEST part: she popped open a laptop, squeezed jelly on my belly and proceeded with a spur of the moment ultrasound!!! I don't know if this is standard, but I was shocked! We saw our little baby. It was the sweetest thing I could ever have imagined. I started crying as soon as the doctor left the room. JT just held me. Even though we didn't plan this and definitely weren't hoping for it...we were so strangely happy. It seems like I've always loved JT like I do now. I almost can't remember a time that I didn't want to marry him and have a family with him. Those two things would comprise the whole of my happiness. I have to admit, I don't do too well with my dreams coming true. My cynical nature makes it so that I'm always anticipating the next day will take away everything I've worked for. JT has had to hold me many times as I've cried about how happy I am and how impossible it seems. I do get scared, and quite easily. So to have the whole of my dreams coming true was surreal. I have the man I love and the baby that will be the start of our family. I still tear up everytime I think about it. It's really happening.
So, the aforementioned cynicism left me terrified that the doctors would find something fatally wrong with my pregnancy. As scared as I was, I never voiced my fears. JT didn't even know. To see the baby and hear that it was perfectly healthy was beyond amazing. I had been looking at pictures of a 8 week old baby/fetus for weeks now and easily recognized the head, arms, and torso. I feel silly writing this, but it was the best thing ever.
Parenthood is scary and I still cry when I think that the pure selfish (oxymoron?) love I get to experience with JT will forever change in a few short months. But I am grateful that I get to tackle this new task ahead with JT at my side. I couldn't be paired with a better and sweeter man. It is a blessing and because of him, I know I will never have to worry. No matter what happens, JT and I can handle it together. Oh I can't help lovin that man of mine...:)

Kamikaze Kitty

I've been holding back on blogging because I wanted to wait until I had pictures to go with it. Today I realized that I was just letting life pass me by unnoticed. So if I ever get pictures for anything I'll just post it and refer the reader back to the blog about it. Here's where we begin:



One Sunday JT and I came home and noticed that our cat Snickers was nowhere to be found. We figured she was in deep hiding and soon forgot about it. HOURS later we realized that she had still not made an appearance! We began to tear the house apart. We vividly remembered the last time she got stuck in a wall or under the couch. We figured this was just a repeat. We had no such "luck". She was definitely NOT in the house! I decided that I was ok with it. Since she wanted to escape us that badly, she could have the outside world! Good thing we hadn't declawed her! JT was a lot more concerned than I was. Eventually my humanity won out and I realized that she was probably scared somewhere.
Then JT noticed the window was open and the screen was jiggled loose. We were 3 floors up!!! JT headed down into the brush to find her and I went to find a flashlight. We were honestly looking for a body by this time. Suddenly, JT heard a faint meow! She was 100% ok and hiding in a bush!!!
It wasn't until a day later that I noticed a cut with dried blood on the back of her neck and the limp she had developed. We took her to the vet who was shocked to see her alive! The vet said her injuries were from a fight with another cat. Her back paw had been bitten. SO sad. She survived a 3 floor free-fall only to have her booty handed to her by a tough outside cat! What luck.

Jonathan's Patience

Last week we stopped by the mall for some window shopping and a haircut for JT.  It was a lot of fun and I even got a new pair of workout pants out of it!  On our way to the salon JT brought up the nursery we would need to start prepping when we got back to Provo.  He asked me if I had any thoughts on color schemes.  Notice: he asked for thoughts.  I promptly responded, "Yes. It's going to be seafoam green and white. We'll have a white molding on the bottom third of the wall and the top 2/3 will be seafoam.  We'll paint the wall to look like panels by alternating with a gloss. If we have a boy we then add blue decor.  If a girl, then the decor is pink. Either way, there's no major remodeling when the second kid comes along." His eyes got BIG.  I guess I'm gonna have to get better at including him in my decision making......*sigh*. I'm hopeless.