Having two kids means...

the chances of having a decent picture have gone down significantly

 I like how it looks like she is smelling her finger in the one above. Taking pictures is really just that boring to her I guess.

but I'll still try =)

Summer B.D.

This summer, before Dorothea was born we...

toasted Johann's defense date being set 4 minutes before the deadline

visited grandpa and abuela and played in their spa 

gave their dog a bath in an attempt to prove we should get a dog  

did lots of library activities, including reading to service dogs 

 went to the apple valley airport to watch planes take off and land and had lunch at the airport bbq restaurant that just opened up 

rode outside on the tricycle, usually in undies... 

and got a brand new water and sand table at grammy's. 

Since Johann was working on his thesis and then out of town for a week defending and then editing his thesis and I was having the 3rd trimester blahs we didn't do too many big activities before the little miss came. Being at my mom's and having a front and backyard for Henry to play in made the days much easier though. Also, Bill Nye saved me during the hot hours when he couldn't be outside playing. My mom has a thumb drive with all of the Bill Nye episodes on them and she was wonderful and would watch them with him so I could catch maybe a nap or continue getting organized. That pretty much sums up our summer before Dorothea came. 

The end of an era (and really lame blog posts)

That's right folks, I'm afraid there will be no more posts about Johann's thesis because it is finally, Finally, FINALLY done!!!

Friday morning (I'm talking 12:45am) we had a bit of a crisis with submitting it to the online database, it was rejected but Johann couldn't reproduce the pdf issues that caused the deans office to say it wouldn't work but then after simply resubmitting it, it worked-hallelujah, because Friday was the last day to submit to the database.

Now his thesis is in the library offices and they just have to make it officially apart of their database etc but Johann's part is all done. After 3 years of working on it almost daily and 7 months of freaking out about it nonstop, it's over and Johann will graduate in August.

We are beyond happy and relieved. Thank you again to everyone who had kind words or a prayer for us. We absolutely felt them and needed them. So here is to the end of the era of the thesis!
Good riddance! =)


And now to begin posts about 'tiny baby princess ears' as Henry calls Dorothea and what we've been up to this summer. Much better topics than the thesis.

PASS and a bit more on the 'T' word

It actually happened. Johann was able to go out to Utah this past week to defend his thesis and he passed.

!HALLELUJAH!

He defended on Monday, was passed with minor revisions (pretty standard) and spent the rest of the week in Utah sorting out the edits, getting forms signed, meeting with people in the dean's office and an editor and then on Friday morning was able to hand in his hard copy to the dean's office and finally come back home. We are so thankful to his parents for going with him and providing a place for him to stay and work, food to eat of lots of moral support and encouragement. 

Now, does this mean the end of the 'T' word? Unfortunately not. Now the dean's office will go through it and either accept it or ask for revisions and resubmission. The secretary there asked him if it was his first time submitting it, so that gives you a good idea of how frequently they ask for revisions. Boo. 

But hopefully since he had an editor recommended by the dean's office, there won't be any big changes that need to be made. 

Once the dean's office finally does accept it, he has to get a cover sheet and some other form printed off and hand delivered to the graduate studies office. He'll have to ask someone there in Utah to do this as we'll have a brand new little baby at that point. 

After the graduate studies office receives the forms, they'll put it on the database and THEN, he'll be done. 

Whew. 

Yet, the worst part is over and I am more grateful than I can adequately express. This was a nightmare in a way I've never really experienced and I am very happy it's mostly over.

Now, hopefully, we get to take a few days to enjoy being a little family of 3 and prepare to become a family of 4!

Sincerest thank you again to anyone who said a prayer for us, thought about us or helped in any way. We really have appreciated it! 

Set

Yesterday was a big day for this little family.

We...
scheduled the date and time for the csection (July 6th, 7am)
finally got around to renting a storage unit for all our stuff in Henderson
finally reserved a moving truck to move said stuff into the unit in Henderson
got a call from CCSD's school psych in charge of hiring who said she had some good news for Johann
and last but certainly not least, were able to set a defense date for Johann's thesis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you've missed my whining and grumbling in the past, this means graduation is now a definite possibility, so long as he passes his defense...and finishes his portfolio which is he feverishly working on right now. We already know 2 committee members will pass his thesis, it's just the third (who also didn't give her okay until 4 minutes before the deadline yesterday) we have to worry about. But chances and hopes are the other two can, along with Johann, convince her.

We are beyond grateful that he is able to move forward even if it is at the very last possible moment and know we have received a lot of blessings in large part because of the prayers and goodness of others. We are grateful, so grateful for having this answer to our prayers.

So now, as I type, Johann is completing the portfolio, then we pack, head to LV to pack up the rest of the apartment today, move everything into storage tomorrow, come back to AV, try to organize the rooms we along with Henry will be staying in, go to Utah and defend the thesis (Johann, I'll be 37 weeks at this point), have a baby and decide if we go back to LV for a job or keep trying to find one here.

I'm tired. And need to go pack our toothbrushes. Wish us luck.

A Little Light

So far today has been good. Instead of opening emails that make me cry from disappointment (or lets be honest, over half of the time, anger) we got one that made me cry with relief/happiness. It looks like Johann may finally be able to have a date to set up a thesis defense that will allow him to graduate.

Now, we've been here 1, almost 2 times before and then it's all been shut down or pushed back. But I want to remember if that happens again how grateful I am at this point for what has been done for us and the prayers that have been prayed for us.

I'm so grateful for one of Johann's committee members, who, though not the chair, continued to advocate for him yesterday when it was looking like everything really was done and graduation was no longer an option. Now, I am grateful for what the chair has been trying to do but this other committee member is the only one who has never told Johann, 'well, not graduating isn't the end of the world, lets just wait a month after the deadlines and you won't graduate, but it's more convenient and then you can make sure you have work you're really proud of' type of thing. He seems to understand what not graduating means for our little family and cares. So thank you.

I also know that between tears and frustration and anger I have been blessed with moments of peace and calm that I know have come because of the prayers of family and friends. I think I'd probably be needing to be institutionalized at this point if I didn't have those respites. So thank you.

Finally, I'm grateful that despite acting like a spiritual 2 year old and throwing tantrums Heavenly Father's way almost weekly, He continues to bless and sustain us where and when it matters most.

We're not through this yet, maybe not even close. But at least today there is a glimmer of hope, a possible light at the end of the tunnel. And for that, I am grateful.

Preschool Mothers' Day Celebration

The Tuesday after Mothers' Day, Henry's preschool did a Mothers' Day Celebration. Miss Nancy read a story while all the moms got there and then the kids did their songs. I was shocked that Henry actually sang and was good for the whole thing-woot! We can never get him to sing and usually only hear him if he is in his room and thinks no one is listening so it was really fun for me to hear his little voice! After that the moms and kids got to have a little brunch. ANNND Henry downed his broccoli which elicited a few, "how do you get him to eat that?!" by other moms. Yup, gotta soak these moments up because Heaven knows they are and will be few and far between. =) 

Mothers Day

I can't help it. I'm not a fan of Mothers Day. There. I said it. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that it is always sandwiched somewhere in between Henry's birthday, our anniversary and what seems to be our yearly panic time of not knowing where we are going.
It's not that I don't love my mom or am not grateful for mothers, or my blessing to be a mom, I just get celebration burn out and wish 'they' whoever they are, would move it to August. Is that so much to ask?

Oh and the guilt, there's always the guilt. I especially feel bad for husbands because they have to make sure to do something wonderful for not just their mom but also their wife, because, why exactly? I suppose it's because I am the mother of our children, but really it kind of stinks with the double duty for them, I think.

Anyway, because I may some day change my mind and because Johann feels like he is a stinky husband if he doesn't, we do a little something. Snap a picture, and Henry and Johann make me breakfast either in the morning or for dinner depending on our ward's meeting time. This year we did it for dinner.

 So here I am with the little guy who made me a mama. I can't believe how big he is just compared to a year ago. 

 And here we are with Henry making the best face ever while touching my ginorm 31 week 2 day baby belly. She is definitely growing...yeah and I am too. 

Then brinner. Someone got a little wild with the syrup there, but other than that-delicious.

Despite my less than enthusiastic attitude about the holiday, I am very, very grateful to get to be a mom. More importantly, I am ever thankful for my mom who is always a support and who, as I get further into this parenting thing, I realize did so many things right and taught me about what is really important. 

Happy Mothers Day