The countdown begins...

19 days approximately until the due date. I'm not going to do a countdown, but rather wanted a reason to post and put up a few pictures since it's been so long. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of me (because I'm generally the one behind the camera, of course) but I'll make Aaron take one soon. But since I brought up the countdown, I did have a visit to the doctor Tuesday and I have started dilating. Only 1 centimeter so far, but I am sure my body will slowly progress. Seeing as I have about 19 days, we're not too worried. This coming Tuesday we're having an ultrasound to check on Emery's size. Since I was the average size with Joseph's pregnancy but still managed to have a 9 lb. baby my doctor thinks it will be helpful to check on Emery too. I remember them saying I was "all baby" last time, and now I know why they say that. I may not be gigantic (I've seen a few of those pregnant types and I tell ya, I didn't know pregnant women could do that) but that doesn't stop our babies from filling out. I tell Aaron that my body must know something I don't. I figure if my tummy just got a little bit bigger the baby would have more room and I might be a bit more comfortable. However, maybe if my tummy got bigger, I wouldn't be able to stand up straight, or I'd just fall over. Or maybe I'd have horrible back problems. I am only 5'3 mind you. Anyway, that's the pregnancy countdown news. I'll update next week after the ultrasound and let you all know how big we think she might be (they're only so accurate, but do give you a good idea if you should expect "big"). Well, here's a few pictures of Joseph. Enjoy!He made this tower all by himself.Joseph and I doing some painting and sponge-lettering.

Everything Emery...

Time is flying by fast, and we know it's only going to go faster. Since our last post, Julie celebrated her 25th birthday with a great BBQ thrown by Aaron with some close friends and family. It was tons of fun, and Aaron's a great chef at the BBQ.

Julie's pregnancy is going along great! Her doctor thinks Emery will be a little bit larger than average, but not as big as Joseph (9 lbs). Julie has started to experience Braxton Hicks in the last 3 weeks, which she didn't have too much with Joseph. This has gotten her wanting to prepare for Emery's birth even more. They started out with just a couple each day, but now they're pretty much all day long. Emery's position used to cause Julie quite a bit of rib discomfort. Her little bum was next to a rib and kept her in pain if she sat for more than an hour, or laid down. Unless she was standing or on her hands and knees, it hurt. But luckily last week, Emery decided to drop! Julie heard that after your first, babies tend not to drop until labor, but are we glad Emery did anyway! Julie is sleeping much more comfortably now (and not taking Tylenol every 4 hours) and hopes that Emery's being lower will help the Braxton Hicks be more productive. As of her last appointment (last Tuesday) she was not dilated, but was effaced 50%. Her doctor says that she's on schedule for her due date and that's just fine for us!

In other Julie news, Julie is officially unemployed! Last week was her last week watching Olivia. After 19 months of taking care of other children besides Joseph, Julie hardly knows what to do with herself. Not really. She's very ready to have one less thing on her mind, and it makes the necessary shopping trips, etc. that much easier. It's hard to believe Julie watched Olivia for so long, and at the same time it's hard to believe it's over! But we're ready to trade Olivia in for a little girl of our own!

Joseph is doing well. He is very excited for Emery to "come out of Mama's belly". We think he has a really good grasp on what's going on. He took the hospital tour with us, and helps us get ready as much as he can. Her clothes are in the closet, bed is up, etc. Joseph is excited for her to come out so we can have her birthday party. Then he talks about all of the things he wants to do with her when she comes home, like take a bath, watch a show, and drink milk. Joseph is also really excited for the grandparents who will be coming to stay with us when Emery comes out. He talks about that almost more than he does about Emery. We're so excited for this next stage and know it will be a great new challenge. We think Joseph is up for it, and hope we don't have any dramatic attitude adjustments to deal with after Emery comes.

Aaron is doing great in his student teaching. He passed his mid-term a few weeks ago, and has one more observation to complete (his University advisor watches him teach). He is working really hard to finish everything possible before Emery's birth. All of his mentor teachers, advisors, etc. know about Emery's coming and seem really sympathetic to the demands on Aaron's time. We're hoping that they'll be lenient with Aaron's time after the birth and that he won't have to be gone too much. Here's hoping!

The countdown begins. 3 weeks to go!

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).