Jude is ONE!

My baby. It seems like just yesterday I was texting Zach from the hospital telling him it was baby time-- now Jude is walking, talking, exploring, and growing up way too quickly for this mama. His birthday party was a huge success! He loved everything about it-- from playing with the balloon animals, to opening presents, to eating almost all (eek!! so so so much sugar!) of his smash cake. He was so happy all day long!

Birthday Highlights--

Jude would "share" his balloon animal (elephant) with everyone around him. Or at least he pretended he would, only to steal it back while giggling.

Jude loved opening presents & it seemed that with each consecutive present his "ooooo" would get louder and louder. He was so happy & took time to play with each gift.

Jude also LOVED his cake. At first, he barely touched the frosting & when it got on his hands, he glared at me and tried to flick it off. When Zach moved his hand to his mouth and he tasted the sugar deliciousness there was no going back. He dug right in and was so sad when we had to take it away.

We are so grateful to those that were able to come and celebrate with us!

Looking back on this first year with Jude-- there is so much good! He is so loving, so sweet, and such a happy boy! Here are a few of the things he loves & has been doing lately.


He loves exploring with his pops (grandpa).

He loves his dada & always grins from ear to ear the second Zach gets home from school & work.

He loves snuggling- as long as it does not get in the way of his exploring.

He loves giving kisses-- which include biting your cheek with his teeth & slobbering up your nose so you can't breathe. So if you are ever in the neighborhood-- stop by for some intense loving!

He loves doing whatever we have deemed "naughty". Playing with decorative candles & picture frames are at the top of the list.

He loves loves loves balls. Basketball, football, baseball. And he is finally getting the hang of throwing.

He loves music. If he is having a rough day, music makes him happy. And it makes me happy.

He loves mama- and let's be honest, I LOVE when he asks for me & wants to snuggle.

Most importantly he loves Jesus. He has a picture in his room & he always points to it so he can see it up close. When we were at my Aunt Jill's house for Christmas, he was crawling around. There were some pretty cool sparkly decorations that he could have gone for, but instead he reached for a picture of Jesus. It was so touching. How grateful I am that even at such a young age he can recognize someone so important to each of us.

We LOVE our JudeDude & are so grateful we get to have in our lives. Happy Birthday to my baby!!

2015

We are alive- I swear! I just realized that the last blog post I actually posted was from my ultra-sound of my sweet Jude. How does that happen? Life just seems to be going too quickly- and there is nothing I can do to slow it down. I should probably give a short update on our year- our very first year with our JudeDude, and I promise this year to try to do better at updating!

Zach has been working at Thumbtack.com and it is seriously the best company. They gave him two weeks paid paternity leave, after only working there for two weeks! It was such a treat to have so much time with him! He has loved working there, and is loving the team he is working with right now! He has also been going to school full-time, and he worked so hard to get a 4.0 this last semester! He flew out to St. Louis for an interview with a Track Coach at Lindenwood University. He was not only accepted into school, he received both an academic scholarship and an athletic scholarship!! We will be moving out there this summer. He never ceases to amaze me and he really can accomplish anything he sets his mind to. I am so proud to be his wife and he is the best Daddy to Jude.

Jude is growing like CRAZY! He talks, is working on walking (though he has realized that at this point he can destroy at a much faster rate with just crawling!), loves singing primary songs, loves reading books, and of course he loves getting into whatever he is not supposed to! He is turning ONE in just a couple of weeks and it kind of hurts my heart. I love that he is growing and I love each new phase, but I find myself wanting to slow down time a little. I want to keep him as my little baby. Since I know that it doesn't work like that, I am just trying to enjoy every second I get with him!

As for me, there is not much to update. I am me. I am here. I am trying to be a little healthier-- exercising with an infant in winter is hard people! But I am running more, eating a little better, and loving life. Being a mom to Jude has been the best thing for me. I have grown so much and learned so much about who I want to become. I have picked up a hobby of sorts-- I hand embroider. Many have tried to convince me that there are machines for that kind of stuff, but it is so relaxing! It is me time, and time to just think as I listen to conference talks or just watch tv.

Needless to say, life is wonderful. We have so much to look forward to this year! Hope you all have had an amazing year!

Jude Michael Mitchem

This is my sweet Baby Jude. He is all smiles. Probably because he knew that in about five seconds he would have the time of his life making things incredibly difficult for the poor ultrasound tech. :) he already has such a fun personality, and I love being able to see him on the monitor....I just cannot hardly wait until I get to hold him!

I have had a lot of questions about cravings, weird habits, and general mommy to be questions....so I thought I would answer some of them on here.

How Far Along-- 27 Weeks. Almost typed 37...I wish! :) 

Food Cravings-- I love bananas and grapes lately. Cereal has been a constant throughout the pregnancy, and for a good amount of time was one of about three things I could keep down. My special treat is root beer. Weird, yes. I didn't even like root beer or soda before the pregnancy, yet here we are.

Food Aversions-- Any form of Asian food....and what is Zach always craving?! Poor Zach.... 

Weird Habits-- Poor Zach....I use his body as a body pillow. He tries to escape, and this often leads to him falling off of the bed in the middle of the night. :/ Apparrently he is just very comfy. :) 

Weight Gain-- I started off the pregnancy by losing 28 lbs. during my first trimester. I leveled out, but I didn't gain anything for a month, became very ill and lost another nine pounds, and then gained four pounds. I have not been weighed in almost a month now though, so I am expecting to have gained more! 

Maternity Clothes-- So far, none. I have been told about a couple of boutiques that I may try later, but so far I am still wearing my normal jeans and shirts. :)

Belly Button- Still in....although it keeps pushing further and further out!

Movement-- Whenever I am trying to sleep or Zach is holding my belly.

Something I Miss- Being able to eat whenever I want....and Being able to get out of bed first thing in the morning without being nauseous.

How Did We Choose Jude Michael Mitchem as his name?-- We were lying on my hospital bed at three am discussing names. I have always loved the name Jude, and always knew I would have a son by that name. Zach loves it too, and after making multiple suggestions for Jude's middle name, Zach suggested Michael. He will share this middle name with one of his uncles, and with my best friend from Junior/High School.


Well I think that is plenty about me today! :) I love you all and am so grateful for the love and support we have been shown throughout this pregnancy. Thank you thank you thank you!!

Hospital Visits, Kidneys, and Baby Reveal

I am currently residing in the Women & Infant Child wing of the McKay Dee Hospital.  One of the few perks of my current predicament is that I am on medicine that allows me to deep sleep for about thirty minutes at a time. I wake up having felt that I have slept for hours- when a mere 20 minutes have passed. Imagine the things I could accomplish....if it were not for the fact that I am so drugged I can barely function and when I can function the pain and sickness are just lurking and waiting to snap at me again.

On Monday night I woke up to one of the worst kidney stone attacks I have ever had. They are bad enough without being pregnant and worrying if your pain is hurting your baby. Zach brought me into the ER. My incredible parents met us here at 2 am, just to support. Because of the baby they were forced to do an ultrasound (not the typical imaging of choice with kidney stones)  to see what was going on. When our tech found out I was pregnant he asked if we knew the gender. When we told him we had not found out, he asked if we wanted to know. Who would not?!

After the ultrasound results came back, they knew I had a severe kidney infection which was made worse by having a kidney stone blocking the exit of the infection from the utinary tract. They sent me home with Percocet and an antibiotic, and  we all thought that would be the end. Another kidney stone attack happened only hours later, and at six Zach and I found ourselves again at the ER. This time I was admitted.

There have been a lot of ups and downs. To share some of these we are going to do it as my sister says, "Jimmy Fallon Pro Cons style".....

Pro- I have been able to spend the last couple of days hanging out with my mom. We don't get too much alone time, so it has been great to catch up.

Con- Zach started school this week utterly exhausted from zero sleep two nights in a row....not to mention his Master Certification training for work two  full days this week as well. He texted me and told me he looks like a zombie in his school pictures. And you know what? He does...

Pro- I get to hear my baby's heartbeat daily.

Con- This is to make sure my pain meds are not slowing down the heart too much.

Pro- We found out the gender of our baby a week earlier than anticipated!!

Con- I have been in the hospital going on three days and could not be more ready to go home and be done with the pain and sickness.


With all that being said, we have found ourselves incredibly blessed time and time again. I know now more than ever that no matter what trials we may be called to face, The Lord is with us every step of the way. He sends Heavenly and Earthly angels to guide, comfort, and encourage us when life is at it's most bleak. How grateful I am for a Savior who knows me, who experienced my life perfectly, and who can comfort me when no one else can truly " get it".

My little baby boy, Jude Michael Mitchem, is one lucky boy. He has such incredible support and love- and he hasn't even shown his cute face yet! We are thrilled to be parents- if this is what it takes, it is SO worth it!

Oh Baby!

So many have asked for an update, and so I figured this may be an easy way to clue everyone in.

Zach and I are expecting little Baby Mitchem. I am three months along. The little baby is growing and healthy. I am shrinking and less healthy.... I say that the alien ( what our baby becomes when it misbehaves so I am sick to my stomach 12+ times in a day) hates me. Zach says the baby loves me- it is getting all it needs from me. :/

We are hopeful that the sicky phase is over- thanks to a little help from Zofran. It knocks me out and makes me loopy, but I can finally eat again!

With that being said... So many have asked about cravings and  revulsions.

Cravings--
Piña Colada Shaved Ice
Water
Rootbeer

Revulsions--
Eggs
Meat
Anything that smells gross, which changes day to day.

We are expecting little Baby M in February and could not be more excited.

I am sure there will be plenty more updates to come! :)

Love Story- Part 6

Probably my favorite part of our story is when we met my parents in Pocattello. We met for dinner at a thai restaurant. I had been texting my Dad and I told him that he really needed to talk with Zach again. The text I got back was, "I think that it should wait until we can sit down at home." Hmmmm... Well we have the temple scheduled for 2 1/2 weeks from now is what I wanted to say, but I just said that we would talk more about it when we met up.

We got to the restaurant. My parents were sitting across from Zach and I. I left to go to the bathroom- mostly to think up a plan of how to drop the news and to say a quick prayer that my parents would be understanding and supportive when I did. When I came back Zach and my parents were talking about Bear World ( my mom wants to go SO bad!). I sat down and instantly Zach left and I knew that it was the time. So I started to tell them the whole story of the movie, sitting outside of the temple, the scheduler, etc- but Dad was still on his phone looking up facts about Bear World which was stealing away both of their attention. Finally, I practically screamed, "We have the temple scheduled for the 25 of January will you please talk to Zach?!" :) Yep. That is how I told my parents. Not ideal, but you know- just like me!

So instantly we all went into planning mode. My mom is absolutely amazing. She pretty much put together the whole luncheon. She made sure that it would look adorable and be special and just what I had dreamed about- and she did this with next to no help from me. Dad also pitched in- he has great foodie skills obtained when he served in the Bishopric of a BYU Ward, so he knew all of the best places to go to get delicious food for a great price. Still I am amazed at all they pulled off and all they did to make the day special. Not to mention Es, who was our photographer and invite designer, even with two small chaos creating boys.

We spent two days apart, but I could not stand it- so I drove all the way up to Rexburg by myself to surprise Zach. For those of you who know me- I HATE driving. That shows how much I love this kid! I got up there and seeing his face as I walked down the stairs was priceless! After that we came down to my house. We got engaged officially/finally! And the next day we took our engagements and Bridals all at once :) needless to say, we did not do anything the traditional way.

The next week plus a couple days were spent back up in Rexburg. Thanks to our incredible family members and friends- we made it to January 25!

**These are some of my favorites from Bridals/ Engagements :)

Love Story: Part 5

After the ridiculously long and torturing drive up to Rexburg- we finally made it. Here I was so terrified to meet his family- and instantly I fell in love with them. They are the perfect in-law family. They immediately treated me like family. I went from only having Tanner as a brother in my life to having Jace, Blake, Austin, Zander, Davie, Brody, and Brandt! (Okay, so I only met Jace, Blake, Austin, and Zander during this first trip- but still!) Boys are so much fun. So much chaos and so much fun! Zander became our little shadow and I loved playing with him.

Mom and Dad Hill are the best people ever. The first night there, Zach and I stayed up watching a movie until we both fell asleep. I woke up around 1 am and went upstairs to go to bed and Mom was still up. We spent the whole night talking and getting to know each other better. It was such a special night and helped me to learn not only more about her, but also more about Zach and where he learned to be the incredible person he is. For as long as I had known Zach, he was always telling me how incredible his mom is and that night I really was able to see why! I also loved Dad Hill. Although he is playful and teases, he is one of the most tender-hearted people I know. He is so loving and cares so deeply. Zach has observed so many wonderful traits from him and emulates Dad Hill's deep love and concern for those around him.

During this trip we went with Aubrie and Dillon to the movie "Saratov Approach". It is such an incredible movie and brought back such great memories of our time serving. There is a part in the movie where the missionaries are led by the Spirit to not follow through with a plan that they had come up with on their own, and instead to trust in the Lord and trust in His plan that He had for them. Instantly I knew that although I was comfortable with waiting a year or so before getting married, that was not the plan that the Lord had in store for Zach and I. Right after the movie was over Zach said, "We need to talk!" We drove up and sat in the car outside of the Rexburg Temple. We talked about what we both learned from the experience of the missionaries in the movie, and decided that we would call the temple just to see what they had available- neither of us really knowing or understanding how that simple call would change our lives so quickly.

We tried calling the Temple in hopes that although it was closed for cleaning the office staff would be there. No such luck. We broke our news to Mom that night around midnight- instantly she did not hesitate and went to work. She started gathering addresses and when we told her of the Temple dilemma she said, "Oh well I know the scheduler, let me give her a call." The next day she called and her friend said that she was at the temple and could schedule it right now if she wanted. Two weeks into dating and we were going to have the Temple scheduled!! Then the real shock came. She said very casually, "We have the 18 and 25 of January available. How soon were you wanting?" See now, I was thinking more like May- and that would have been fast. Zach could tell I was in shock and said, "What do you think sweetheart?" I said, "Well I think Mom Washburn and I would be more comfortable waiting a few months....." And then to his eternal credit Zach turned to me and said, "How about we pray about it?" We prayed about the date and both felt right about the 25 of January.

Minutes later we left Rexburg so that Zach could drop me off in Pocatello to meet my parents- and so that together we could break the news to them.