Well hey there little man

We confirmed your gender last week and got this sweet little picture of your genitals. :) You're a squirmy little dude and the ultrasound technician had to chase you around to make sure you have all your necessary parts... but these parts, your pride and joy, were the easiest to find.

Here are some more cute little pictures of you at almost 20 weeks old.




As far as we can tell, you are perfectly healthy in every way and you already weigh 11 ounces! Technology is amazing now days. We got to see your little 4 chambered heart pumping blood correctly with this colored movement sensor thing. And we saw your kidneys working correctly that way too! Amazing. Your brain looks fully functional and proper and your arms and legs are proper lengths and moving like crazy! Keep it up little champ. I just can't wait to kiss those cute little feet.

We thought maybe you were a boy at the last ultrasound but the technician said sometimes the cord can be deceiving at that stage, so we waited to find out for sure... we still called you a "he" most of the time though, even though it wasn't for certain. Like in this shot, sure looked like a wiener to me!



Well, you are quite the mover and I absolutely love feeling your kicks and punches. Most of the movements still feel like tickly little strokes, but I get a few good kicks each day. I can feel you getting stronger. Sometimes you make me jump right out of my skin when you decide to do a whole sumersault as fast as possible. I can't even describe the feeling, but I love it, even when it startles me. You used to mostly move in the morning, but you are adjusting your schedule a little and now I feel you more at night. You bonded with Daddy the other day and gave him some of your best kicks. Sometimes his hand calms you, but you still showed off a little. That really put a smile on his face. I can't wait for you to meet him, he is amazing. You are one lucky kid to have him for a father.


I just ordered some cute new pregnancy clothes the other day. I'm really excited about them and think I will do a "half way" photo shoot in some of them. I still fit in pretty much all my clothes.... except my skirts, but I am definitely looking to be more comfortable and fashionable. I bought short sleeve, lightweight shirts. I am already feeling really hot and its not even april! The other day our house got up to 80 degrees. We are working to get that air conditioner fixed so that your mother survives the hot summer in Kansas.

I'm thinking chocolate brown and blue for your room.... I know, real original right? But I'm a simple kind of gal and can't venture too far out of the box in a rental house. You won't ever question your gender though, or your dad's interests because your room will be full of trucks, tractors, and tools! Maybe a motorcycle or two as well. I'm thinking something like this picture below. I hope you like it and that you don't think you are destined to be a construction worker. I mean you can be if you want, but I am thinking maybe you will want to be an engineer and an extreme hands-on hobby type of person like your dad. He can't wait to teach you all about tools and tractors and electric vehicles and controllers and stuff.


Also, I am buying some cute little wooden tools for your room. I think they will make a cute decor, and probably excellent chew tools.... I mean toys. Well we might have to get ones with less seemingly sharp edges for at first, but you will enjoy them more when you are older. I found them on overstock.com. They are out of stock right now, but have no fear... they will be yours as soon as they are back.



I babysit a little 6 month old 3 days a week, his name is Dean. You like to kick him when I hold him. I think you guys are going to be really good friends. There's a bond there, I just know it.

I'm starting to get used to these pregnancy pains. I just have to take it slow and easy and ensure that I don't get constipated or that my bladder doesn't get too full. Lots of things can really trigger the pains, but I am learning. I am also figuring out how to get comfortable at night. I take up a lot of room on the bed with my necessary pillows like the boppy, but luckily your father likes cuddling with us and the boppy. He takes such good care of us and is so excited to be a dad. I like being pregnant with you and am so excited to be a mom. Pregnancy is really neat, such a divine calling. Not always comfortable, but its absolutely amazing.

19 wks

Well everyone is really excited to meet you in August. I know Grandma Walker is already on the hunt for fabric and ward members here already plan to take real good care of you and me. You are going to have some amazing people in your life... and you will probably be way too spoiled.

The brighter side

I'm sick of being sick. Today is like the perfect storm of every pregnancy symptom herefore experienced, but all at once. I would classify it as a very bad day.

Water makes me puke, but somehow pancakes do not. Strange? Everything is strange right now.

My house is nowhere where I want it to be and still needs a lot of work and organization. It doesn't help that I am a walking (more like sitting or laying) pregnant zombie half my days.

I am starting to really miss our families....and the mountains....and the snow.

Mark is leaving me in Kansas... Alone in kansas.... for a week long training.

I still hate the smell of our kitchen.

The brighter side? The lovely brighter side? The continual tender mercies of the Lord side?

- The gospel is true and we can feel the Lords constant guidance.

- We heard our beautiful baby's heart beat yesterday. What a miracle life is. It's unbelievable.

- Mark has a wonderful job making enough that I don't have to jump right into work to further sustain us. I can endure 1st trimester from the comfort of my home.

- We have a couch downstairs... And it will soon be a comfy hangout pad without pink walls.

- The ward here is amazing and are super nice and super welcoming.

- Mark gets to play with tractors and people really like him there.

- I at least have some good days and can eat most food most days.

- There may be no mountains but this place has beautiful sunsets and sunrises everyday.

- There are 50 different churches in Newton. Everyone is so openly religious and loving and don't care if you go to a different church. It is so fun.

- We found an amazing midwife who will see us until we get insurance and will be our support through the whole thing! She also works with an incredible doctor who we will also be seeing.

- Mark met an elementary principle who says she will be looking for my name and can't wait to get me in to substitute.

- BBQ is better, and cheaper, in Kansas.....yummy!

I want to look more toward the brighter side, the happier side. Happier even when it seems like days are being masked by the seemingly bad.

I love that all good comes from our Heavenly Father. Start counting all the good and then you realize how loved you really are. It throws me into a more eternal perspective. I wish I could just constantly have that perspective. Wouldn't life just make so much more sense? Wouldn't our trials seem so manageable and seemingly easy?

Have you ever met someone like that? I have. Am I one of those people? Absolutely not.

Still....I am going to more often strive for that happy, eternal state of mind. I'm going to start by stepping into the brighter side.

How we told everyone

We considered telling the Glades at Ken and Kim's Christmas party with the family, then Kim's son announced their second pregnancy. That stopped that idea real quick. We didn't want to steal any thunder here. We decided that night that it was still really early on and that his family wouldn't be upset with a phone call later.... they are chill like that, and they already have 8 little grandchillins running around.

The question now was my family. We wanted to tell them in person, being the first grandchild and all, but would they keep a secret until we were a little farther along? We decided to go for it and see what happened. So here is how we did it. We were making a Christmas video for my missionary brother Justin in California. (I let him know of all this before hand.) We got my whole family together and just let them talk to him for like 15 minutes and then Mark announces the good news. Its kinda fun to see their reactions. Here is a short clip of the joyous occasion.




Well....obviously they were excited and wanted to tell the world as soon as possible. So we took almost all of Christmas calling Mark's family and texting people so that my sisters and mom could post their excitement. It ended up working out really really well and we had a ton of fun telling people.

For facebook and text messages we gave this picture and said "Cassie passed all her tests this semester. Merry Christmas."

We ended up doing 4 tests, but here is three.....because I know you all love seeing a good pregnancy test.

Ok, no more pregnancy posts for a good while.....

Pregnancy Questions? Answered

I am going to lay out this post in a question and answer format because people love to ask lots of questions when they find out someone is pregnant.


Were we trying to get pregnant?
Oh yes and man did it happen quick. There was lots of prayers and fasting and our answers came with "knock you over" strength!

When did we find out we were pregnant?
Aunt Martha comes pretty regularly in this home. Once I had missed by three days, I knew it was time to take a test. I took 4 over the next 2 days and all were unmistakeably positive.

How did we tell everyone?
Next post. Will be done today. Watch for it.

Do I feel sick?
Yes. Very lightheaded and some days very nauseous. For a couple weeks I only felt really sick when I was hungry, and I was hungry almost constantly. I would wake up 2 or 3 times in the night needing a snack. Luckily that is mostly gone away and I am left with my fair share of nausea and that joyous lightheaded feeling. Still, I feel my best between having felt sick from eating, and being sick because I am hungry.
Eating food = sick _________small window of feel good opportunity________ sick because want of food.

Do I crave anything?
Not that I have noticed. I just have LOTS of food adversions. I shop the grocery store in a completely different way now.... I walk down the isles, and when I see something I could stomach, I put it in the cart. Mark says feeding a pregnant woman is expensive. I do not argue.

How's my sense of smell?
I cannot stand the smell of my kitchen, its a terribly painful subject. I hate being able to smell everything within a 20 mile radius. Its quite incredible, really.

What other symptoms have I noticed?
Terrible low back pain - especially when I sleep. My sister in laws say its time to get a body pillow, so I shall.
Frequent urination - no further comment.....inevitable.
Very tender tender, almost painful breasts - I know you have two other questions in your mind.... yes I need a new bra, yes he loves them.
My stomach is so hard - This is so cool. This makes up for all the difficult pregnancy symptoms. I love to wake up and before I eat, just explore my new belly and dream of the little guy inside.

Have we met with a doctor yet?
I have gone into a health center to get the pregnancy confirmed but that's it. Since our insurance doesn't start til March, we needed it confirmed so that we could make a payment plan so that we could make an appointment. We are already finding out how fun it is to be caught in the medical system, insurance system, financial assistance system mumbo jumbo. Another painful subject. So! until we get it all worked out, I am meeting with a midwife. We might just stick with the midwife for the whole thing instead, since we will probably be paying for most of the baby with cash anyway. Also, I really want to do a waterbirth. We are still tossing lots of ideas around and will continue to fight our way out of the medical rat race and will come up with a more for sure plan later. As of now, I have an appointment with a very highly esteemed midwife on January 19th. She may be the only person that will be there to answer all our questions and walk us through this crazy process and help us get what we want.

When am I due?
August 8th. I'm only 10 weeks along and still in the crucial stage, so keep us in your prayers. :)

Do we want a boy or a girl?
Well, we really would love either. But if I had to absolutely choose, I would say girl. I think its because Mark has always been so sure that we will have a girl first. But, they're both favorites.

Are we excited?
WE ARE SO EXCITED!! We both love kids and were super excited to have our own. I think Mark is more excited than I am, if that is possible.

Are we scared?
Terrified.

Any more questions? I hope I answered all yours and then some. :)

P.S. I will do a blog post about our home after we get it set up. Unpacking everything is going really slow for this sick woman. Also, we found roaches in our stove behind the circuit board, and we have been trying to rid of the kitchen smell (or train my nose to like it). That has really slowed progress down.

P.P.S You may also be wondering about Mark's new job! Who better to hear it from than him! Give me a couple days of persuasion, I will get him on here.

Oh dear.... It's real

So excited.... So nervous

Yay!