The Belly Picture

We had a request, so here is a belly picture.
Julie is amazed at how many people tell her how small she is. Maybe they forget that she's a pretty small person to begin with. There is only one baby in there. We've compared pictures and she was just about the same size at this stage with Joseph. By the end of that pregnancy people kept saying how big she was. Who knows? We think she's just right (and most importantly, the doctor agrees). Granted, Julie's not much compared to her sister-in-law Anna, who is having twins in July. But that's how it should be.

Officials.

It's been about a month, and there's bits and pieces to update on. Our most exciting piece of news is that Julie has officially applied for graduation! We found out late last December that her final exam grade was 3 points shy of what she needed, so she retook it the end of January. It wasn't too long before we found out she had passed and was officially done with her last class. Julie will officially graduate April 23 (the day after her due date). Needless to say, we won't be going to Utah for the ceremony. But having the baby is way better than sitting through any graduation ceremony for Julie.

Speaking of the baby, she officially has a name. It is Emery Salem Denney. Julie just had a doctor's appointment earlier this week. She's now seeing the doctor every 2 weeks (how time flies). He says her belly size is just right, she's not diabetic (woohoo) and has gained the normal amount of weight. So all in all the pregnancy is great. He is planning another ultrasound in abotu 8 weeks to check on the size of little Emery to see if we can tell if she'll be like Joseph (he was 9 lbs at birth) or more in the average 7 pound range. It will be fun to have at least one more ultrasound before she's born. Oh, and she is head down (thank goodness!) so we're not too worried about her being breech (which would really mess with Julie's plans for a VBAC).

In other news, Aaron has started his student teaching, and has started taking over the classes with his own lessons plans, etc. It's only been a week, but he feels good about it. Thanks to his MTC teaching, seminary, and Rialto, he's more comfortable infront of a classroom of teenagers than most (Julie thinks so anyway). His English mentor was impressed with his first day taking over. He tries really hard, and is enjoying the variety of teaching english and spanish classes.

Joseph is doing great. He's getting more and more aware of Emery's coming to our family and seems pretty excited about it. Julie is only watching Olivia 3 days a week (starting the transition to a new care provider) so Joseph enjoys his Mama Mondays and Fridays all to himself. They've been trying to do special things on those days to give him some good attention, and do some fun things before Emery is born.

In some exciting Denney news, Aaron's brother Tim and his wife Anna are expecting twins in July. They just found out late January, but they had a hunch. They recently moved to Elk Grove (Tim just graduated from BYU Idaho) and were switching health care providers, so Anna had not had an ultrasound until late January. That's why they didn't know for sure it was twins until then. We are so excited for them and hope Abram will be a helpful big brother!


In fun pictures, this is Joseph exercising. Julie hasn't done this for months (being pregnant and all) but he must have remembered before the pregnancy when Julie would do these type of exercises. He just got the weights all on his own (3 lb) laid down and started doing "exercises". He's so darn cute.

Catching up already...

It's a new year and we're already behind. Well, we'll start with our trip to California. We left Montana and drove to Payson, Utah. The conditions weren't too bad and we were excited to get to Pomona the next day. Julie drove from Payson to Las Vegas, and made great time. We were leaving Vegas and it started snowing. By the time we hit Primm (2 o'clock in the afternoon) it was really snowing and the freeway had been closed for a few hours for construction, so there hadn't been any plowing yet. Due to that and who knows what else, they closed the freeway for the rest of the day, and the following morning. They finally opened the freeway at noon, but by then there was a ten mile line on the freeway to go south, as well as a line to get on the freeway from the casinos at Primm. We chose to go back to Vegas and spend a few hours with Julie's brother Justin and his family. We had lunch, played their wii, and then got back on the road at 2:30. It was a slow drive, but we made it to Pomona by 8. We were glad to be there. Luckily for us, Joseph was amazing and traveled really well. The picture is right outside of Buffalo Bill's Casino. A few boys started making snowmen. It was nice. The other picture is just past state line. It was a snowy wonderland.

While in California, Julie was able to catch up with a group of friends from High School (two of whom are pregnant as well). It was tons of fun, and she stayed out way too late! Time has flown by so fast from those days, and it's always neat to see how we've all grown and changed in that time.

Christmas Eve was a fun time at Julie's parent's house. The whole family was there (except for Travis and family who just moved to Montana). It was tons of fun. Joseph really enjoyed playing with his cousins. He remembers them all very well. We took pictures of most of them, so we can show him their faces, and keep them in his memory until the reunion next summer.

On Christmas morning Joseph, Julie, Grandma, and Riley made graham cracker houses. It was so much fun. Joseph enjoyed eating the candy more than making the houses. But he still made quite the creation with Julie's help. Then after Riley and Nicholas were picked up to go home, Joseph had his own Christmas morning opening presents from Julie, Aaron and the Denney side of the family. (The Burnhams all opened presents together on Christmas Eve) Joseph got a few really exciting presents. One is a new bike. We didn't bring it to California because of space issues, but he did get a helmet on Christmas, and has since tried riding it around the apartment. He is even understanding the pedals a little bit. Unfortunately, it's still way to snowy and icy outside in Montana for him to get real practice riding it outdoors.

In news since we've gotten home from California, Aaron had his 27th birthday! We had a modest celebration at home, just the 3 of us. It was nice to be home on his birthday.

Julie has been busy finishing up that last class for her bachelors degree. Unfortunately, she has to retake her final exam. She was 3 points shy of getting the grade she needed. But she is determined to get it done. It has already been reordered, and she will take it again at the end of the month. In the meantime, she is a studying machine, and will not be set back again!

Julie has also been busy relaxing, and in her downtime has been working on a blanket for Joseph. She started it months ago, but in the last month has finally been putting the pieces together. It was just finished last night, and she is so proud of it!

Last, but definitely not least, Julie had another doctor's appointment yesterday. We are still expecting a girl! She is so extremely active. She wouldn't stop moving for either ultrasound. But we were finally able to get a decent picture of her, which was exciting. Julie's doctor even put the machine into 3-D mode, and printed a really neat 3-D picture. (He is a really great doctor!) She still doesn't have a name yet, but Aaron and Julie are working on it, and Joseph contributes when he can. Although so far, the only names he has come up with are Carly and Kaliya (his cousins).

Finally...the news!

It's A Girl!!

There you have it.

Julie's doctor is going to do another ultrasound in January to doublecheck, but at our last ultrasound, it was definitely not a boy. We are extremely excited to be welcoming a baby girl into our family, and are adjusting to the thoughts of pink, bows, and frills. Julie is getting more excited by the day, and already feels more feminine just knowing she's got a little girl on the way.

In more exciting news, Aaron officially has a student teaching position for next semester. He will be teaching 3 periods of English, and 1 of Spanish and Loyola Sacred Heart Christian School. He is teaching with 2 mentor teachers, all classes are the 10th grade. We are so excited that this has come through, and feel relieved to know that the next stage of his schooling is in full swing.

As most of you know, we came to California to celebrate Christmas. It was Julie's incentive for finishing her class before Christmas. (She did take her final exam. Results still to come.) Unfortunately, we happened to hit the Las Vegas snow storm on our way to California. We stayed the night in Primm, Nevada (the Nevada/California border), then spent the next morning waiting to try and get on the freeway, then giving up and going back to Las Vegas and spending a few hours with Julie's brother Justin and his family. We did finally make it to Pomona after 3 long days of travel. Needless to say, we were so glad to be here. It must be said that Joseph was an absolute trooper the entire time and didn't once get mad at how long it was taking to get to Grandma's house. We are now in California (which is why pictures will have to wait until we get back home).

That is most of our big news. We will be in Pomona for about a week and a half. We are enjoying the sunshine! Hopefully, Julie will be able to see some of her friends during the trip. (Email me if you want to hang out!) Our schedule isn't very busy, and that's the way we wanted it. So there's lots of time for sitting around and chatting and that sort of thing. Anywho - We'll probably save the next post for when we get back. So until then, have a great Christmas, and a wonderful New Year!!

P.S. No names yet. We'll let you know.

Thanksgiving and giving thanks

Here's a belly picture, taken by Aaron. Julie is 17 1/2 weeks here. She's almost 20 weeks now, so it's a little bit old. The belly is continuing to get bigger and since Thanksgiving time, Julie has been able to feel soft kicks and not so soft kicks, more and more often. She's very grateful for them, because they help her feel like everything is okay in there.

For Thanksgiving the small Denney family went up to Kalispell to spend the holiday with the bigger Denney family. All of Aaron's brothers were there, along with Grandmas, nieces and nephews. It was a great visit. Joseph is getting more and more familiar with Aaron's family and misses them more and more whenever we leave.

And in exciting Denney family news, Aaron's brother Tim and his wife Anna are expecting their second baby! Anna is due in June (We're pretty sure). Abram will be about 18 months old when the new arrival comes. We're so happy for them!

In the name of being thankful, Julie came up with a cute game to play with Joseph to help focus on Thanksgiving, and being thankful. We all sat on the floor and rolled a ball between us. Whoever gets the ball says something they're thankful for, then passes it to the next person who says one thing they're thankful for. Joseph just loves this game! We don't think he really understands what it means, but he gets really creative and asks to play it often. In the hope of having a Thanksgiving decoration, Julie adjusted the game. We played it again, and wrote down all of the things we were thankful for. Then we made paper chains and had a great big chain of "Thankful Things" to hang on our wall. It was really fun and we'll definitely play again next year.

Joseph is also learning bits and pieces about Christmas and getting more and more excited for that. We tell him we'll be sharing Christmas with his other Grandma, and other cousins. He understands it a little bit. He is definitely excited. Saturday evening we all decorated the apartment with our Christmas decorations. We only have a small collection, but we like them. We got a small 3 foot artificial tree to hang our ornaments on, with lights and garlands. It looks beautiful! Joseph enjoys the lights too.

We are looking forward to our Christmas holiday in California. Julie is finishing up her class, as promised, to earn this vacation. She finished her last two essays, and now has one day of reading, and then studying for the final exam! Her final is scheduled for December 8th (her mom's birthday). Please remember her on this day and keep your fingers crossed! Passing this test is the last step to being able to apply for graduation. Well, we will try and post again before we leave for California. Our current departure date is December 16th. Oh, and Julie is having her ultrasound on December 15th! So we'll have some exciting news in just two weeks!

p.s. leave your guess in the girl vs. boy war! We'll find out who wins in 2 weeks!