I'm having a baby.

It's true! I have been planning to announce on Thanksgiving for sometime now, but I honestly couldn't wait any longer. I am the WORST at keeping secrets. We are so incredibly excited to add another person to our family. We feel so blessed. Will is excited, although he thinks I'm giving birth to a motorcycle (let's hope he's not too disappointed). I am due July 9th, but even that is a story. It is really interesting how all of the cliches are true- "No two pregnancies are alike."

AINT THAT THE TRUTH.

Will was smooth sailing all the way through (minus the epidural wearing off during delivery). This baby has been a roller-coaster ride from the beginning. I have a feeling this one is a girl because of all of the drama that has already come about. (Bless it's little heart).

It all started on Nov. 7th when I experienced some spotting and called the doctor. I went in for a routine ultrasound to make sure everything was okay and that there was a heartbeat. I was 7 1/2 weeks at that point. Everything went well- that little flicker on the screen brought tears to my eyes. 147 BPM. Blessings. They thought the baby looked a little smaller than what it should, so they decided to do another ultrasound in two weeks to come up with a more accurate due date. (At this point, my due date was June 20th).

Two weeks passed. Two very long weeks (as goes the game when you are very sick and pregnant). I was 9 1/2 weeks along and hoping to be able to see a little more of what looks like a baby at this ultrasound. My appointment was Thursday, Nov. 20th. They measured the baby and came up with a gestational age of 7 weeks. YES, I TYPED THAT CORRECTLY. 7 WEEKS. The tech ignored me when I said I was concerned about the growth of the baby. She finished the ultrasound like someone had rung the fire alarm, and I was left to wait for the answers from my doctor. In the meantime to say that I was horribly worried would be an unjust understatement. I tried to call my doctor, but he was in the ER all day and I would just have to until the next day.

After talking to my doctor on Friday afternoon, he explained to me that at the first ultrasound the baby was very small. The growth between the two ultrasounds was normal, and that the baby was perfectly healthy at this point- with a heartbeat of 175 BPM. I was relieved... and depressed. Where I thought I was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel for this morning (more like all day) sickness, I am back in the throws. I am only 7 weeks 3 days today. I'm still getting used to that. (I liked the sound of 10 weeks 1 day much better). This has been confusing because I have long cycles. It's a curse I think.

So, there's the news! Congrats to all of you that have read it all the way through (you must have had a baby, or are pregnant, to be interested in this story for this long!!!)

PS. The baby in the ticker to the right is kind of scary. Don't you think? Miracle and all.

Twilight- better than I anticipated.

**May contain some spoilers.

Yes. I was one of those people last night. Those who know me were aware that I had pretty low expectations for this movie. The trailers were cheesy and I couldn't figure out how they would make Edward's diamond skin not make me want to roll into the aisles laughing. Somehow, they did it; they exceeded my expectations. The movie was definitely not the best movie I have ever seen, but it also wasn't the worst (don't get me started on the latest Indiana Jones). Here are some points that I loved:
-Victoria. She was spot on for what I had imagined. She gave me chills.
-Jacob Black was so Jacob Black! I'm glad he had a few more lines so that we could see his smile and his fun loving and warm personality. (Can you tell I'm on team Jacob?)
-Alice. She was also perfect.
-Edward was much more Edwardesque than I thought he would be. By the end of the movie I actually really liked Robert Pattinson. (He's still not nearly as gorgeous as the Edward I had imagined, but who is???)
-Charlie. Yay for protective Dads and pepper spray.
Now for the things I didn't love:
-Waaaaaay too much of the creepy stares. You'll know what I am talking about if you have seen it. We get it. Your vampires. We are also supposed to be hopelessly attracted to you and not freaked out. Remember that.
-Remember how Bella wasn't supposed to be afraid of Edward? Well, she did an awful job of not acting scared during the scene where she confronts him on being a vampire. I blame the director. Hardwicke should have fixed that.
-Stephanie Meyer, I love you, but you are NOT M. Night Shyamalan or Alfred Hitchcock. Your presence took me out of the movie.

All that being said, I'm glad I went at midnight. If you liked Twilight you should definitely see the movie. I hope they make New Moon. I need more Jacob.

Jewel

All of the grand kids on my Loder side have a chance to take my Grandma Jewel out on her dime- we call it "A Day Out With Grandma." Last night I took my Grandma to dinner and we went to see The Scarlet Pimpernel at Davis High. (I know she loved it even though she fell asleep...) It was so nice to really make an effort to see just my Grandma and spend some time with her. We are so lucky because my Mom takes care of her so we get to see her often. She has been such a great influence in my life and has always set an example of the importance of family. It was fun to be able to treat her, even though I was the one being treated. Thank you Grandma. I love you.

The Presidential Curse

First off, if I don't have your e-mail then you better get it to me. We'll be going private in one week.

Have I mentioned yet that I love school? I love it because my history professor informs us of the facts, as well as a few superstitions and conspiracies. Here is the latest...

Back in the day, we're talking just before the war of 1812 (and if you can't figure out when that was, then I'm un-inviting you from reading my blog), General William Henry Harrison was a Native American fighter. He became famous from the war of the Thames as well as Tippecanoe. It was during this last battle with the Indians that Harrison negotiated a treaty (to, of course, take more of their land). He got them drunk on alcohol in order to get them to sign it. Chief Tecumseh was so unhappy that he supposedly left a curse:

You will attain the position that you most aspire to, but you will not live long enough to enjoy it. Those who come after who do not fix the treaty will also be cursed.

That isn't word for word, but you get the main idea. Well, are you ready for this? The problem lies with the president that was elected during the election year that ends in a zero. Here it goes:

1840- Harrison was the first president to die in office, only one month after inauguration.

1860- Lincoln was assassinated.

1880- Garfield dies.

1900- McKinley was assassinated.

1920- Harding dies.

1940- FDR dies.

1960- JFK was assassinated.

1980- Regan narrowly survived his assassination attempt.

2000- George W. Bush....

The current president has about 60 days left in his presidency... let's hope the curse is broken. (And yes I say hope because no matter how much you may hate Pres. Bush, you really don't want him dead.)

Another interesting fact about this little curse; the only other president to ever die while in office was Zachary Taylor. He died in 1850. He was Harrison's aide at the Battle of Tippecanoe and was there when this treaty was signed and Harrison was cursed.

Spooky...

We're Going Private

The time has come. We are trying to make sure our family is safe. I NEED YOUR E-MAIL to invite you to my blog. If I don't have it, you can leave it as a comment, or I set up an e-mail at nicollprivateblog@yahoo.com where you can send it to us. Don't be shy! If you blogstalk me and haven't spoken up, now is the time to do so! I will wait a couple weeks before we make the official change. Please don't forget! We want to keep in touch with all of you.

We voted.

Did you?