The Verdict is IN.

We realized recently as we've been preparing for Brooklynn's arrival just how much stuff is needed to prepare for a baby's arrival.. We've been running around like chickens with our head's cut off with our rare free time and getting things we needed for Brooklynn, We're about half way there, and while the excitement and stress are climbing as we race to get ready before she decides to debut, We went for a drive to check out baby bouncer's the other day and ended up getting the "soothing vibrations" pink baby bouncer with high hopes that it will work as explained On the way to pick up the bouncer, we drove past "Porters Place" with a line going out the front door, This line was not there on the way home so we stopped off to eat dinner at "Porters Place" in Lehi. We've been spending some of our free time watching "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" on the Food Network, so the idea of eating at a "Dive" with a line out the door got us quite excited, Derek ordered the Bison Burger with Baked Beans, The Best He's Ever Had, (Yes Better than our own home-made). I ordered the French Dip with Fries, They cut the potatoe into 4 and fry it, It was great!!! They cook the food right at the bar in front of you, We thought that was pretty cool as well. We submitted the place online to the producers of the show, Maybe it will show up on a future episode?

...And finally, We decided on and bought a stoller system, The verdict is the Chicco Cortina Travel System, This thing is GREAT! The car seat fits comforably and easily into the stroller system and base. It's the only one we've seen with the ablility to fold the stoller with a single hand and it stands freely on it's own when folded. The safety points of the car seat are the highest of any out there, and the best part.. We got a Screamin' deal! Woo-Hoo! ( A special THANKS to Derek's Mom for hitting up the JJ COLE Warehouse Family Sale and scoring some awesome things!)

Belly.

I've had requests from several people for some more updated belly photos. Its fun feeling her kick. At this point we get to go into the Dr ever 2 weeks instead of once a month.This is me at 30 weeks along, Just 10 more weeks to go!
I'm in a race with Brooklynn at school to see if I can get done and have some relaxation time before she comes.Here's a fun picture, Looking up at my belly.

As many of you know we recently went to California on a trip for a baby shower and Paramedic School Interviews for Derek, The shower was great! Lots of fun clothes, but we need so much more before we're really going to be prepared, This having a baby stuff is quite a task for those of you who haven't already gone through this and figured that out ;) Derek is enjoying working at Northstar alarm as a credit agent. The days are going by slowly for him with hope that it picks up soon.
Here is the good news, Derek got accepted into Westmed College of Medicine's Paramedic Program and starts school in September. We will be moving to California in August for school, He is VERY excited to have been accepted and is looking forward to school, He's also got a job waiting (Paid Call) with San Juan Fire.

What Now??

Hey, Sorry to anyone who actually follows our blog. We have been really busy with our lives and haven't had much "Blog worthy" activity going on so we haven't been posting. Here is what's new in our lives. Amy is going to school now Full-Full time at Paul Mitchell, She's putting in 13 hour days at school on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, as well as still going to regular school hours on Monday and Friday. She's still working weekends at Goodwood. Our baby girl is really active and moving and kicking all the time, It's really fun to feel her kick, The best part is that she will follow Derek's hand and voice to either side of my tummy and kick there.

We celebrated Derek's 25th birthday on Conference Sunday by cooking a tri tip dinner with home made baked beans that were delicious, We had some friends over and played a game of Cranium, Boys Vs Girls, and of course, The girls won as usual when we play. We also baked a cheesecake and the crust got stuck to the pan because we swirled carmel into the graham crackers.

Derek finally got a good job, He'll be working as a credit authorization agent with Northstar Alarm company, It should be a good job, he will be working 6 days a week but certainly isn't complaining after nearly 4 months of job searching in Utah County where it is near impossible to find a job.
For those of you who didn't hear, Derek tested with West Valley City Fire and out of 640 total applicants for the job, he was placed #10 overall on their hiring list, That's great, but not great enough because we doubt that they will reach that number in the next 2 years, However he contacted West Valley Fire about the job and his performance, he was told that if he had been a Paramedic he would have been offered the job, This is because most Fire Departments now days are looking for Fire-Medics..
As a result, Derek and I have decided on a Paramedic school, Westmed College of Medicine in San Jose California, We are traveling out this week to finalize everything that is needed to finish enrollment and acceptance into the school, We are really excited, and think that this will be a wonderful opportunity to get out there and play, We'll be back in California which makes both of us happy, and Derek will also be working with The San Juan Fire Department during school.

Weeks at a glance

This week has been filled with anticipation, excitement, and also some nothingness. we finally managed to have a Date-Night which included going to Babies R Us and getting educated on Cribs, Strollers, and other necessary baby equipment.

At school I've been busy doing lots of weaves and up-do's as well as regular cuts, School is still fun and going well. I cut Derek's hair that he's been growing out for a while as well, he was quite reluctant to cut it but happy to do it. I'll tell you why in a minute.
As far as what we've been doing this week, The both of us have been pretty busy. Our girl keeps kicking me and she's finally big enough that Derek can feel her kicking my tummy as well. The Dr. said she's still healthy and is actually a bit bigger than expected. Maybe she'll come early, Who knows!

Derek spent the week Testing for a very coveted position as a Professional Firefighter with one of the busiest Fire Department's in the State, West Valley City Fire Department. We went up to Salt Lake City together and I slept in the car while he took the written exam, 600 overall applicants took this exam.. The great news is that he passed and was one of the few chosen to advance to the West Valley Fire Physical Agility Test a week later.. This test is NOT an easy thing to pass but he passed that test as well and is advancing to the final stage called "Oral Board Interview Panels" where he sits in front of a panel of Fire Chief's and Firefighter's and gets basically drilled with situational questions, then receives a score... If he passes this next test we'll be staying around here because Derek will be living his dream... We have high hopes!

Its a Girl!

Amy's Belly. At 21 weeks pregnant, Sadly this is the first belly picture that we've taken.

Well, We went to the Dr. today to get our 20 week ultrasound, and found out that Its going to be a Girl! We are both really excited and filled with love for her already. We've included a few pictures from our ultrasound experience and hope that you enjoy them. This was the first time for Derek to see the baby and we both loved every second of it.

She was quite shy for a while and kept wiggling all over the place, It always seemed to be in the opposite direction that the technician wanted her to but she eventually showed her face. In this picture she's even covering her face with her 2 little arms and hands, This was right at the beginning of the ultrasound so it was quite funny.She spent most of the time facing away from where the ultrasound handle was and with some urging and poking she turned quite a bit, but she's always wiggling as has been constantly for the last few weeks. In this next picture she rolled over and showed us her back and spine, Although she was shy for quite a while and didn't really want us to see her she eventually got over it and spread both legs for us to help us find out the gender, (Female) which is what this is a picture of.This is her profile picture, It took some poking a bit to get her to keep still enough because as I've said she was moving all over the place by this point in the Ultrasound.And finally, This one is our favorite. This is another profile picture, only here She's sucking her thumb. No kidding... She's already a thumbsucker, That's going to be a tough habit for us to break her of.Derek is currently working on making a video with some of the Ultrasound pictures so that you can watch her wiggle and we are hoping to get that up in the next few weeks.

Just Time

Well, a few weeks has gone by and we haven't made any recent posts. So here we are per request. Things are still going well, School, Work, etc. I've been busy at Paul Mitchell The School with lots of hair appointment for stuff like Perms (I hate perming hair) and general cuts. Derek's still out looking for a job, Its a tough market, especially in the Fire field, He's had a few offers but we are waiting for Corporate to approval for new hire's so again, we are waiting.. We still haven't heard from LA City Fire but he has an upcoming Test with West Valley City Fire Department later in the month. Derek is looking into Paramedic schools across the west coast and we are attempting to sort out how we can work that out this fall if he doesn't get a professional Fire job between now and then.
We had a fun Valentines day, Didn't do much, We hung out during the day and I worked that night. Be sure to check back a week from Today (Tues. Feb 24) because we will be finding out and posting the sex of our baby! Can't wait! Until then....
-Amy & Derek

Well its my day off from school so I thought I would tell you all about the great adventure we had this weekend...

Derek was able to test with LA fire department as well as 900 people on the same day.. Not very good odds but oh well... It was fun to get out of Utah for the weekend.. We got to play in LA, Hollywood and see the LA temple. We had fun..

On the way home we stopped in Vegas to walk around and get some pictures...we had some fun, and just to let you know I am pretty good at blackjack! Haha
Vegas was fun, We spent time walking through the casino's and catching as many free shows as we could such as the Bellagio's fountain show and the MGM Grand's Lion Habitat (Very Cool) Well it was a little bit on the rainy side and we were keeping our eyes on the weather the whole weekend but when we got to Cedar City Sunday night and it was snowing, so we got a hotel and continued home Monday morning.. and just out side of Nephi, just a few mins from home we were pushed off the road by a Semi and spun out into the middle divider full of snow and mud, in our rental.... Needless to say the trip could have ended a little better but no one was hurt just the car, which is sad because it was cute..
Now we just wait to here back from LA. We'll keep you posted.