三十二個星期！

Yeah... that's 32 weeks!

Um... Kirstin's water broke at 32 weeks. And then Rigby came shortly afterwards. I seriously can't believe Colton's already this close to being here but at the same time I can't believe I have around 8 weeks left to go. It's an awkward conundrum how half of me thinks time is flying by too fast and the other half of me wants time to fly by even faster.

My friend Mallory and I had a joint baby shower a few weeks ago; she was originally due July 20th. THEN... her doctor moved her due date up to July 14th. THEN... she found out that her baby will be here on the 10th at the latest. That's next Sunday, dangit. This is the girl that I've always considered to be just a few weeks further along than I am!

I. cannot. wait. for. this. baby.

I was so ready for my cold to go away this week. Yeah... it never did. It's a total bummer to be a speech pathologist with absolutely no voice. However, I made it through another fantastic week at IMC and I'm loving this job (okay... externship. I definitely don't get paid). On the down side... I don't get the fourth of July off and Spencer's whole family will be in town living it up while I'm doing cognitive evaluations, dysphagia treatments, bedside examinations, and modified barium swallow studies. I hope I don't have too many new traumatic brain injury patients (for their sakes, not mine) but I've heard horror stories about the patients that get admitted as a result of independence day theatrics. Fingers are crossed!

So speaking of the in-laws, they're coming to town tomorrow night! This week is going to be quite the extravaganza:

Friday evening, our family's going to meet Emily's family. Emily is Chase's girlfriend; we've spent a TON of time with her but we've never met her family. I'm excited... and food will be involved :)

Saturday = day of craziness. First of all, it's Spencer's birthday! The hubs is going to be a whoppin' 25 years old (he's such a baby, right?!) and I'm excited that a fun day is planned. DeRue and Kirstin are throwing me a baby shower at noon and apparently, plans are on lock down. I'm strictly forbidden from helping with planning and setting up and cooking and such so I'm pretty excited to see what they have in store. It'll be so fun to celebrate the behbeh with all my friends! M'kay, so after that's over I'm sure there will be all sorts of fun birthday hooplah with Spencer and his family. Finally, we're going to STADIUM OF FIRE! This show is supposedly awesome every year and this year will be no different. There will be dancing, singing, fireworks, David Archuletta and Brad Paisley! I'm basically stoked.

Sunday, our nephew Rigby is getting blessed (which is the main reason why Spencer's family will be in town). Babies make me happy, church makes me happy, and family makes me happy so I'm sure it will be a fantastic day.

I'll miss all the festivities on Monday but Spencer gets the holiday off and will join his family and James' entire family in Mount Pleasant. I don't know all the details but I've heard it will involve a pancake breakfast, a parade, a baby contest and another impressive bout of fireworks. Shoot... I hope I at least see some fireworks on my commute home from work.

AND... my mom got her plane ticket! She's going to get here on August 27th and I am so excited. I miss my family like crazy right now. We figured out how to Skype on Spencer's iPhone so we finally get to talk to Jeff, Becca and Paige in England (Spencer's computer has all but bit the dust and mine doesn't have a web cam). I don't think my family will all be together again until we're in D.C. for Christmas so I'm pumped to get a little bit of family time in before December!

Anyhoo... I'm off to zumba. This momma keeps eating chocolate and cookies so I'd better get in my daily dose of fitness. Here's a picture of me from this morning. I look like crap and am still ridiculously sick but focus on the cute baby.

Today an older man that I work with said, "When are you expecting that thing to pop out?" After I told him, he said, "Are you diabetic? Because I'd expect a pregnant girl as big as you to be diabetic." Wow.

At Emma's wedding one of her uncles came up to me and said, "Does the temple know that you stole their basketball?" I thought it was funny. P.S... that's definitely an outie belly button.

We love you all! Till next time...

Attack of the internship

So after all the fear and anxiety of beginning my first internship at Intermountain Medical Center, my first week is over and done! And here's the verdict:
I really do love it! I've been trying to psych myself up for this for MONTHS. After reassuring myself over and over again that I AM trained and prepared for this internship, I finally believe it. It's definitely hard and challenging but I'm really enjoying the work, the people, and the atmosphere. After my first week, here are some high (and low) lights:

• My supervisor is fantastic: she gives me the basics and then throws me to the wolves. She gives fantastic feedback... and best of all, she's FUNNY!
• Ten and a half hour shifts = cankles.
• My patients are darling. I can't go into specifics but I think working with (most) geriatric patients is an absolute riot. Not all my patients have been elderly but a lot of them are and so far, they're my favorite!
• I got to do a complete beside swallowing evaluation... IN CANTONESE. Heck yeah.
• This comment: "Um, you can't mean that you expect THAT baby to stay in for another two months?"
• I spilled a spoonful of apple juice on one (very understanding) patient.
• I saw some very unique cases that my supervisor told me she's NEVER seen the likes of.
  
• It's ironic that an explosively pregnant woman has to spend so much time in radiology (don't worry, I double up on the leads and stay the heck out of the x-ray's way).
• An old man may or may not have tried to kiss me.
• This comment: "Are you sure you're not having twins? Because I had twins and you're already bigger than I ever was!"
• I want to make a shirt that says this: Yes, I am. 7 months. August 30th. Boy... because I'm sure I say those four things more than anything else.
• The IMC cafeteria is delectable. AND cheap.
• I need to find a temporary wedding ring because mine is tearing my gloves to pieces and is currently covered in the Avagard hand sanitizer I have put on 20 times an hour.
• I contracted a WICKED cold on day one - I've been trying to battle it with major medications and a TON of sleep--as in, I get home at night and immediately fall asleep (we're talking 8:00/9:00). It's divine but I'll bet Spencer's pretty bored.
• This conversation with a 23-year old male tech: "Wow, you must be ready to pop any day now."--Me: "Hah, I wish! I still have two more months to go."--Male tech: *squirming* "Oh, I didn't mean 'day,' I just meant that you're really pregnant."--Me: "Thanks?"
• Barium simply cannot taste good, even if it's "flavored."
• Stairs are my friend, and in a 14-story hospital I get to hike up lots of them.
• Commuting isn't really that bad when you only have to do it 3 days a week.
• An internship that lasts all day is a GREAT way to escape the sweltering 90+ degree summer weather.
• I really could be happy doing this job for the rest of my life (after the behbehs are old enough to go to school).
  
• I survived!

I'd give you a Spencer update but with all my sleeping I haven't seen too much of him this week. He's still working hard, looking good, and taking good care of me.

I was sicker than dog (and swollen from a long day at the hospital) when I took this picture, but here's little man in week THIRTY-ONE!


The three of us love you all! Till next time...

Holy Smokes! Week 30!

I can't believe this baby will be full term in about 7 weeks. Holy moly, we are so excited!

This was me this morning (yes, I actually defied gravity and hovered sideways):

Check that sucker out! He's a big boy but man, I love him :)

And just for fun, this is what I see when I look down at my feet:

Can you see my toes? If you look REALLY hard you can see them... wait, no. No, you can't.

This week has been wonderful:

• Spencer's been training his female counterpart at work and continues to impress me with the time and effort that he puts in for his new job.
• I'm officially done with ALL classes. Yeah. For the rest of my life.
• Lyndsey Hansen threw Mallory Peterson and me a joint baby shower on Saturday! Several of my good friends were able to come and brought AMAZING food and some really awesome baby boy gifts. (diapers, onesies and pacifiers, oh my!)
• I start my internship on Monday and I'm officially in "terrified" mode. I'm sure the excitement will return but probably not until after that first day/week/month/whole internship is over.
• Chase turned 27 and all the Cornett kids went out for delicious Indian food. It's my favorite... and it makes the baby dance!
• I resisted Cheetos. High five.
• ALL my backlogs at work are caught up: storage, theses, damaged books, FastCats, etc.
• It's been in the 70s and occasionally 80s outside. How perfect is that?!
• We scored some free groceries.
• My house is clean!
• Sure, it hasn't happened yet but this is what I have to look forward to this weekend: Emma and Kyle's wedding, playing with the sister, and a pool party/bbq!
  
• Spencer finally shaved. HE might not think this is wonderful but I assure you that it is :)
• Guess who's become a CHAMPION at eating all her daily servings of fruits and vegetables? This girl.
• Still no stretch marks (hallelujah)
• Utah state reimbursed us for what we've spent on BYU health coverage since I became preggers.
• Spencer and I didn't run out of milk before my weekly grocery store trip. We chug that stuff so that NEVER happens!
  
• I brushed my hair every day this week. That may sound gross, but it's a significant milestone.
• DeRue will be glad to know that Spencer and I went to Babies-R-Us and updated our registry. That store makes me so excited :)
• I wore high heels to church. Because I could.

Honestly, I don't have any horror stories or bad experiences to talk about... unless you count the pre-internship terror as a horror story (which I do, but that's a personal battle). I can't believe how fast time is flying by but I know it's about to pick up even more once this internship starts on Monday. Before you know it, Spencer and I will have a behbeh!

P.S... this funny video got me through studying for my VERY last final EVER! Enjoy:



Till next time...

Woof... what a week!

Holy Moses, where do I even start? How about here:

I feel pregnant... oh, so pregnant... I feel pregnant, and heavy, oh yay!

This was the first week where I've actually felt pregnant. Here are some examples for you:

• Zumba on Monday about killed me. Really. I almost died.
• I'm pretty sure I have shin splints and plantar fasciitis at the same time.
• While walking, I frequently trip over my own feet and occasionally full-on biff it (there are bruises to prove it).
  
• I can't "scoot" by anyone or through any skinny places anymore.
• My dysphagia teacher asked me if I was due in a couple of weeks (yeah... if a couple = 11).
  
• My cute baby plagues me with constant Braxton Hicks contractions--they don't hurt... they're just there.
• Water retention has arrived! It's not horrible but my ankles aren't quite what they used to be.
• I've gained about cough*twenty*pounds. It's right on track, but boy... I feel it.
• I. Am. Hungry. All. The. Time.
• I take pee breaks about every 45 minutes. It makes my two and half hour classes REAL fun!
• I have a baby shower this Saturday!
• I think my love for cardio-fitness runs in the family because little man is a mover and a shaker.
• My doctor told me there's pretty much no chance our baby will be breech (yay!) and pointed out how baby's head was straight down and forcefully pushing against my bladder.
• I'm taking a birthing class BEFORE my next doctor's appointment.
  

It's all really new to me and some of it isn't pretty but it's fun! Here are two pictures... the first is from yesterday before zumba and the second was taken this morning--it's week 29!!!

I couldn't flip this picture... I tried!

"Proud-of" Accomplishments:

• Spencer is amazing and LOVES his new job with Calloway Labs. They finally found his female counterpart (because he can only test males) and Spencer will start training her next week.
• I will be done with classes FOREVER in just a few days!
• My backlog of theses at work is up-to-date! (If only you knew how awesome this truly is).
• I made chocolate-chip peanut butter cookies and they lasted longer than 24 hours.
• Zumba/yoga/cardio classes are still happening every day but at a MUCH lower intensity.
• Spencer's volunteering on campus doing research with his environmental biology teacher.
• Spencer and I planned every meal this week and actually stuck to the plan.
• So You Think You Can Dance started up again last week... It's not a personal accomplishment but I'm pretty excited about it.
• I'll say this now because Game 5 happens tonight but The NBA Finals are 2-2 right now and the next game' is in Dallas. We REALLY hope the Mavericks win it.
• I learned that the part of little man that likes to stick out and move around all over the place is actually his little bum :)

How I Became the Worst TA of All Time:

It all started this morning. I had my Doctor's appointment at 9:15 and when I got out of the office I checked my phone and had FIVE missed calls and voicemails. I saw a bunch of phone numbers I didn't recognize so I decided I'd better listen to my messages. Sure enough, I had a couple from frantic students asking me to call them back as soon as possible and wondering where their final exams were.

Wait, what?!

I am a teaching assistant for Dr. Fujiki's ComD 636 class - all about the multi-cultural aspect of speech-language pathology. This entire semester I've been in charge of grading quizzes and make-up papers for all the students in my class. A few days ago, I met with Dr. Fujiki and he asked me to be in charge of distributing the final exam via email and making sure that the students finished the final within a two and a half hour time limit.

*The following conversation has been modified. The quotations are not completely accurate but the conversational content is true.*

"When should I email the final out?" I asked Dr. Fujiki.
He replied, "The last week. Thursday--during their normal class time"
"Okay. Finals Week. Thursday. 8:20 to 10:50 a.m. Does that sound right?"
"Yes," said Dr. Fujiki. "Let me know if you have any questions."

Well apparently, by "the last week" to two of us had very different interpretations. I figured this meant next week on Thursday because... well... next week is the "last week" before the semester ends. In addition, next week is finals week and originally the class had their final exam scheduled for next Thursday. At the same time, Dr. Fujiki figured this meant the last week of class. By his interpretation, "Thursday" translates to TODAY! More specifically, this morning. Ack.

So basically, I had a ton of frantic students calling and emailing me because they were up at 8:20 this morning prepped and waiting for the final exam that they never got. Needless to say, I felt HORRIBLE. I had to call Dr. Fujiki... in the morning... on his cell phone... while he's on vacation... in California. Student of the year award, right?! We got the whole situation straightened out and realized that miscommunication, not forgetfulness, was to blame (thank goodness). So much for being a communication disorders major, eh? As a result, I've been sending the final out on an individual basis and making sure each student gets two and a half hours.

For a little taste of how pleased the students were, here's what one of them put for a status update on facebook this morning:

"worst final ever: the one you we all show up early in the morning to take, and then it's never sent out... we demand blood"

Um... I think some students are going to be getting some "I'm sorry" cookies from a very neglectful TA next week.

Luckily, I'm a Cornett... which means I have a tough skin. I won't let it bother me TOO badly. And other than that little incident, I'm doing great! I start my internship in a week and half... I'm definitely terrified but I'm even more excited. Now I just have to tell my internship coordinator that I'm preggers... and that I'm due 4 days after I finish my internship. YIKES!

The three of us are loving life... we hope you all are, too! Till next time...

That time my in-laws came to town... and babies.

Whew... what a weekend! Where should I begin? I literally got NO homework done but I had a good time doing everything else under the sun (er... rain clouds). This week was full of spontaneous occasions and countless changes of plan.

Spencer's parents came to town and SPOILED us rotten! I got a sweet, sweet vacation from cooking and grocery shopping because the in-laws treated us to some fine cuisine including: all-you-can-eat sushi, Texas Roadhouse, IHOP, Village Inn, El Pollo Loco, California Pizza Kitchen, Applebee's, and a few others. Do Spencer and I deserve this kind of special treatment? Absolutely not. But Kent and DeRue are amazing like that.

For Memorial Day, Kent's parents (who live up in Rexburg, ID) have a family tradition of visiting the local cemetery and planting flowers in front of family gravestones. Spencer and I kept Kent and DeRue company and accompanied them on a very unplanned and impromptu road trip up to the Burg. I hear that Provo was cold and rainy all weekend but I promise you, Rexburg had it worse! It was fun to see the home were my father-in-law grew up and spend some quality time with Spencer's family. I didn't get to see Tuck and Hugh (sorry!) but I tried.... I'll catch them later this summer, I'm sure :). Kent's parents fed us, gave us a great bed to sleep in, and let me play with their dogs and one of their many pianos. That house is like an antique shop... the four of us poured over old pictures and trinkets for hours and never ran out of stuff to look at. It made me wonder what Spencer and I own right now that might still be around when we have our own great-grandchildren.

We went to church in Rexburg as well. It's awesome to realize that the church is the same no matter where you go in the world. It's not that Rexburg is a far-stretch from Provo, but even in Hong Kong and Hawaii and Maine the little things are the same: the way the deacons pass the Sacrament, the way either the organist or chorister will without fail take the hymns dreadfully slow, the way the speakers always start with some joke about how they thought they were off the hook until they got a call from the Bishop, the way people always forget their manuals, etc. It's just cool. It's not just the Gospel that's consistent universally, it's the Church itself as well. Oh, and ward choirs will always be desperate for more members!

Moving on...

Real quickly before I forget, I have to mention my amazing parents. Yesterday was mom's birthday and she turned... older :). Do you know what she did for her birthday? She went visiting teaching. Mom, you're amazing. My dad's not so bad, either... he's off in Afghanistan for the next few weeks and he still takes the time to talk to my mom every day even though I'm sure the phone bill will be nasty-expensive. I love these two:

See? Aren't they cute?!

Moving on again...

I love babies. This weekend, while playing with Kent and DeRue, Spencer and I also had time to visit with Spencer's siblings and our new nephew, Rigby! For those of you who don't know Kirstin and James Norman personally... I have to show you this little piece of perfection:


My apologies to Kirstin... I yoinked this from your facebook page! Rigby was born 6 weeks early on April 12th and as you can see, he's beautiful. I hear from DeRue that this little boy looks JUST like Spencer did when he was a baby and I can't tell you how excited I'd be to have a little boy who was a) just as handsome as his daddy and b) just as cute as this little guy. Spencer and I got to hold Rigby a couple of times this weekend and it's making me even more anxious and ready for Colton to get here. Shoot, I'm already in my third trimester... just one hot summer and one quick internship and he's here! :) In addition, Kent and DeRue booked the same photographer who took Rigby's pictures above to take our little boy's in September. I don't know how she makes cute, perfect babies even cuter but she does.

Speaking of Kent and DeRue... they hooked us up with some cute baby clothes and THIS adorable bedding set whilst they were here:

Um, yeah. It's pretty awesome.

So Spencer and I may not have had a productive Memorial Day Weekend but we had a good one. Because I'm trying to be better about documenting how cute my baby is before he's even born, here's a picture of me this morning in week 28!

Don't ask me how I'm supposed to stretch that sucker out even more in the next two and a half months... it'll take a miracle.

Love you all! Till next time...

Evolution of the belly

First things first... I am NOT a photographer. In fact, I'm not even sure where the charger for my point and shoot digital camera is and I don't think I've seen it within the past 6 months. I hope it's still around the house somewhere!

Luckily, telephones exist. Almost all the pictures that Spencer and I have taken in just over two years of marriage have been on our cell phones. Sad? I know. But I DO have a couple of belly shots that I've taken in front of various mirrors with my cell phone that I'm finally going to post. It's better than nothing, right?

I've been told time and time again how sad it is that I don't have week-by-week pictures of my belly expanding... but I've had a lot of other things on my mind. In reality, I'm just lazy. My attempt to justify my laziness is two-fold: 1) I never get home until AFTER Zumba, Yoga, Cardio, etc. so any attempts that I made earlier in the day to look cute have been dashed to pieces by the time I can take a picture and 2) my photographer, AKA Spencer, doesn't get home from work until 9:30 pm, by which point I'm usually showered and wearing his pajamas. So consider this a disclaimer: almost all these pictures are post-workout and I basically look like a bum.

Either way, I'm THRILLED to show off my bump. I am in love with this little boy. He kicks like crazy and Spencer and I spend time almost every day watching my Buddha belly move around like it has a mind of its own (and I guess it does, right?) So without further ado.... I present the evolution of my ever-expanding midsection:

This was at 11 weeks right after Zumba. The world found out about little man about a week and half later!

This was taken Taylor Building bathroom at 15 weeks. Guess where I was heading? Yup... zumba! My smile was genuine because morning sickness was FINALLY gone.

Same bathroom... same headband... different day later that week.

16 weeks! And I'm not wearing workout clothes! This was the week we found out he was a he.

17 weeks! That's right... we took pictures for 3 consecutive weeks. This was the last week I was able to see my feet while standing.

This was at 19 weeks up in Rexburg for Tuck's AMAZING Senior Recital. My sister is a B-A-B-E.

Yeah... two girls and fetus can fit in James' pants. You can't see anything very well but this was at 22 weeks... and it's also when the outie belly button began!

Whew... 26 weeks. Can you see my outie now?

And this was tonight, post zumba... in the throes of week 27.

I think I'm going to have a big baby :)

Calling all Mommas... and Poppas... and otherwise "knowing" individuals...

It's officially crunch time! Colton Cornett will be here in T-minus 3 months (and hopefully no sooner due to internship requirements) and Spencer and I are so excited! Being pregnant has been a TON of fun, (yes, I DID say fun. My 2nd trimester has helped me completely forget about 1st trimester nasties.) but I can't even begin to imagine how much better life will be once he's finally here.

So here's the deal: Spencer and I are poor. We won't have enough money to do any sort of "theme" for our "nursery" (which as of now consists of a crib in the office) and all I really care about is making sure we have the the essentials. I'll consider it a bonus if any of our furniture matches. I just want a happy baby and I know you don't need a lot of "stuff" for that. I have received advice in the most random places about what baby things are or are not required to get a passing grade in Parenting 101 and I'm asking for yours.

I know every baby is different but I also know there's a lot of crap out there that's purely for convenience or luxury. Yeah... I don't think we'll get any of that unless it's a shower gift. Googling "essential baby stuff" just makes me laugh... and feel more poor. I guarantee our baby will survive without half of those things. Now I ask you: What have you found was a life-saver? What did you get and NEVER use? What do you wish you had? What are some things that people told YOU you would need and you really didn't? What's okay to buy used (because I LOVE me some Craig's List and KSL Classifieds...) and what needs to be new? Hit me with your best practical advice.

We're not planning on buying anything until AFTER any baby showers (the Ward is throwing another girl and me a joint one in a few weeks) because... well... because we truly can't afford to spend money on something we might get for free otherwise. In the meantime, we've been gratefully accepting freebies and hand-me-downs and scouring local garage sales for free or dirt-cheap baby things.

This is what we have so far:
Crib and mattress (thanks, Kent and DeRue!)
Car seat (thanks, tax return!)
Stroller (see above)
A few little outfits (thanks, lots of people!)
Baby monitor (thanks, Jeff & Becca!)
Changing table (it was SUPER cheap. And we needed another dresser anyways. Bonus!)
... and except for a few other little things, that's about it.

We're off to a good start but I'm pretty sure there are some other things we're going to want or need.

So what do you think?

P.S... You're all wonderful and I love you :)