31-32 weeks along!

Pregnancy update:

How far along?: 31 going on 32 weeks.

Baby's heart rate today: 128

Total weight gain: 20 pounds. I have told the nurses several times that they should take my blood pressure BEFORE they weigh me, because I can FEEL my heartbeat dramatically increase when I step on that scale! They don't take me seriously though and they really should.

Maternity clothes?: yes, most certainly, but my pants are just not very comfortable this time around. Did that happen to anyone else? I loved maternity pants when I was pregnant with Ila, but this time I just can't get comfortable in them!

Stretch marks: so many. And the really bad one from last time around is getting bad again.

Sleep: Oh that would be great! We did work out a better pillow system in bed though, and that's been helpful, but if I lay in one position for too long it's really painful to move.

Best moment this week: Meeting the new OB and finding out that he is amazing and totally perfect for us!

Miss Anything? Chasing Ila around without getting contractions (braxton hicks) or round ligament pain, or super winded.

Movement: yes, it has REALLY picked up this week!

Food cravings: Cheeseburgers, with extra pickles sound AWESOME!

Anything making you queasy or sick: no, thank goodness!

Gender: girl!

Labor Signs: Just a lot of practice contractions, although they were so strong at Winco tonight I thought for a moment or two I may be going into labor super early! They let up though, when I stopped and took a breather.

Belly Button in or out? halfsies, which doesn't make much sense unless you see it, which you won't because it's kind of ugly looking!

Wedding rings on or off?on

Happy or Moody most of the time: so, So, SO moody.

Looking forward to: Seeing Trent and Ila with this new little babe. And seeing what she looks like, because in her ultra sound she looked JUST like Ila did, but in my dreams she looks like a very feminine and beautiful Trent (so no beard or manly body hair!). Oh, and having a home to bring her too (which will hopefully be getting sorted out this week!).

Sleepwalking?

Praying works! Trent has gotten a job offer here in TF. We are still hoping for an offer or two more (I mean, who doesn't want options?!?!) so if you could keep praying that would be appreciated for sure! The job start date depends on weather though, which is not so great, but it does give him time to do a few bigger jobs with his Dad!

Our housing situation is still up in the air, but not as much as it was last week. We are in the process of buying a house. We put in an offer last Friday and are waiting to hear back today sometime if it's accepted or not. We started low and are pretty much expecting to have to make a better offer, but hey, that's just how it goes, right?!

Ila is doing some new things that are great, like saying a new word or two everyday. It's exciting to see her learn so quickly and to speak in sentences that are understandable (for the most part). She has developed a strange nighttime habit though (which I'm starting to think could be sleepwalking) that is not so great. It involves a trip to the bathroom and then extremely loud crying (like she is afraid) when she gets put back in bed. She seems to be pretty much asleep till the crying starts. It's very difficult for me to get her to calm down too, and usually Trent has to come in and help out. The whole thing is frustrating, but also a bit unnerving. Last night she walked across my in-laws house (and if you've been to their house you know that walking across the house is no short distance) without making any noise. Once she got to the far end of the house she cried and woke her grandparents (and us) up. Her Marma came downstairs and started leading her back to the room, and Trent met up with them in route. I didn't know what on earth to make of all these night wakings until a sister of mine mentioned possible sleep walking. I don't know how to go about figuring out what it is exactly, but I'll pay closer attention to her behavior and see if that could be the case. If anyone knows more about sleep walking or has some suggestions for us, please share away!

A little Q& A for inquiring minds.

Have you missed me? I know I've been gone for awhile, so you're all probably going through ourbeckerfamily withdrawals. That's okay though, it's good to have a little break from things that you just love.

Let's get started though. I know there are loads of questions floating around your minds about our life. I'll do my best to guess what the questions are and give an adequate answer. If anything is unanswered, leave a comment asking and I'll get back to you!

Where are you now? Well, we're here, in Twin Falls Idaho.

What are you doing there? Trent is working with his dad and looking for a job and I'm looking for a place for us to live.

What do you mean? Why are you looking for a place to live, you live in Washington? It has the potential of being a long story, so I'll make it short. After 3+ months of being unemployed, seeking the Lord for direction and thinking long and hard about WHAT and WHERE we want to be at this time in our lives, we decided that Twin Falls (or thereabouts) was the place for us. Trent wants to be a farmer and/or work with his dad. He can be a farmer anywhere, but he can only work with his dad here, so here we came.

Where are you going to live? Well, we are hoping to find a perfect place to move. Something permanent would be nice, but all the ducks have to line up just perfectly for that. We are looking at rentals too, but nothing is coming around in our needed size and budget yet, so prayers would be super appreciated in that area specifically.

What about your awesome OB in Prosser? Well, thankfully I have a mother-in-law who just happens to be a nurse AND a sister-in-law who WORKS on the OB floor at the hospital here in town. I got the insiders scoop on doctors from said sister (who has the same outlook on birth, interventions etc. as we do!) and have an appointment with one she HIGHLY recommended on Thursday. I am sad to leave our Prosser doctor, but so pleased that there are a few in TF that will work for us!

So, how is Trent's job search going? Much better here then it was in Washington. He had two interviews yesterday and has been able to at least get his foot in the door in many places around town/surrounding area. We are praying something works out soon though, as finances are running low and having that said job would help us get a permanent place to live.

Well, aren't you going to miss Washington? That questions answer is actually one of the things that helped us make the choice to move to TF. We figured out that we had 3 reasons to stick around. 1. Our neighbors are the greatest neighbors you could ask for. We were super blessed and even thinking about moving away from our neighbors is difficult! 2. Our church. Oh how we love Grace Fellowship in Prosser! Great people, great fellowship, sermons, worship, and food! I had also just started a bible study that I was super excited about. Thankfully we have a church here that we love, but it's hard to leave one for another. 3. My doctor, but as you can read above that is not a problem anymore.

So when is this big move? Oh how I wish I knew the answer! I will go back to Washington and start packing when one of two things happens. 1. we find a place to live. 2. trent gets a job. We thought that #1 would have happened already, but alas, it has not. We know we need to move sooner then later, as I am now 30 weeks along in this lovely pregnancy and we need to get moved and settled before baby B joins us!

How do you feel about moving again? Oiy vey. Not super great, but I've been thinking of it more like this: we are moving back to a place where we have family. When you think of it like that, it's much better. Plus Idaho feels more like home. The cost and work of moving is pretty daunting though.

So there you have it. Hope that answers all your questions! :)

RLW, Change

Today I realized that in May of this year I'll have been a college graduate for 5 years now. That got me thinking HOW MUCH my life has changed in 5 years. Here's a little random list for you, to paint the picture of my life in the last 5 years!

1. I wasn't even dating Trent. I was madly in love with him, we were good friends, but we were certainly not dating! We started dating at the end of February in 2007.

Here Trent and I are, washing the dishes together at a retreat in fall of 2006.

2. I was childless. No Ila, no baby in utero, no miscarriages. Life was still fun, but I didn't know HOW MUCH MORE fun it would be, 5 years later with little Ila running about!

3. I had never lived out of the state of Idaho. I traveled a lot, I studied abroad one summer, but I never had a residence outside of the great state of Idaho. Now I've lived in 2 other states (Louisiana and Washington) and another country (S. Korea).

Here I am, sitting on The Great Wall of China, back in the summer of 2006.

Here are a few of us from Chi Alpha on a mission trip in Japan. I LOVED this outfit, but probably wouldn't wear it now. That was my ALL TIME favorite shirt in college though.

4. My goals in life were to graduate, move to Africa and maybe, just maybe, date that wonderful and handsome Trent Becker. Oh, and to make sure I was on Trent's team in water polo in Friday's swim class. That way I wouldn't have to guard him, or vice versa, because that would make me nervous I'd have to practically hide in a friends armpit!

We did it! we graduated! That's my awesome apartment in the background there.

5. I would do laundry at my best friends house on Wednesday (or was it tuesday?) nights while we ate cookies from the co-op and watched a movie while my roommates had bible study in our apartment. Living in the same town as my BFF was such a treat, one I wish I still had!

One of our more awesome Chi Alphas. 80's night! I still have this outfit in our costume box, in case we get invited to any 80's parties! The lady next to me is my BFF, Kara, who is looking quite stylish if you ask me!

6. I lead bible study, worship and helped plan fun events for Chi Alpha, the Christian group on campus I was super involved with. If I wasn't doing school work, I was doing something for Chi Alpha....or was it the other way around?! I sure was busy, in a completely different way then I am nowadays.

A group of Chi Alpha guys and Kara's 70's surprise birthday party. This was RIGHT before Trent and I started dating.

Here I am at the same party. You can see the look of desire in Trent's eyes. He was like, totally in love with me.

7. I was about 25 pounds lighter (at least, uhg!) took time to do funky things to my hair, wore awesome coats in various colors and had an eyebrow piercing. NO WONDER Trent finally stopped resisting my good looks and charming personality!

8. I could drink beer/wine/alcohol whenever I pleased without worrying about being pregnant, breastfeeding or breaking the law.

My birthday in 2007. We were dating then, and had a nice party with friends, before heading out to a bar to shoot some pool and have a beer!

9. I went to bed late and slept in, and didn't feel guilty about either! I'm thankful that this has changed though, I like having a more normal schedule, although when Ila sleeps in I certainly do too!

It seems as if these changes occurred overnight. I had to think long and hard about life without Ila, and without Trent as my husband. I'm so thankful for the time I had to become the woman I am today, and also for the changes that gave me an amazing and loving husband, a beautiful daughter and another one on the way! Change has given me a lot of chances to grow, to experience a different life and culture (korea and louisiana count here!) and to make the best out of life circumstances! So thanks for the change Lord, I guess change really isn't as bad as people say it is!

so what about you? what has changed in the last 5 yeas of YOUR life?

Hi Honey!

I blog about our sweet daughter often, and that's because she is so sweet and cute and when you have kids, they seem to be the most exciting thing to report on anyway. Now that she is in the toddler stages, there seems to be new things to report everyday.

These days she is really into babies. Babies don't have to be dolls though. She treats many things like babies. Dolls, elmo, small plastic horses, Rapunzel barbie, trolls and stuffed animals are all babies from time to time. Her favorite things to do are to feed them, and tuck them into bed. Right now she is tucking herself into bed with them. She uses all sorts of things for blankets. Actual blankets, towels, arm protectors from the couch, and bits of fabric laying around the house. She tucks them in sweetly and says "night night" while smothering them in long kisses. It's great seeing her be so sweet with these inanimate objects.

Repeat and mimic. She has entered the sponge years. Trent and I both really need to watch our actions and words carefully these days, because Ila likes to act just like us, and she sure as heck wants to say whatever we're saying. Thankfully nothing terrible has come out of her mouth and that could be because 1. we never say anything we wouldn't want our kids to say or 2. she can't enunciate well enough to make clear what she is saying. We all know that the first couldn't be right, so the second it is. We stomp, she stomps, we raise our voices, she raises her voice, we say something sweetly, she says something sweetly, we hug, she hugs, we kiss, she kisses. On and on it goes.

A few days ago I said something to Trent, and I said "honey" instead of "Trent" or "daddy." Ila then walked up to him and said "hi honey." It is so cute, because she says it PERFECTLY. She's also shown me that I call Trent "honey" quite often, because if I say it, she does too.

Ila also likes to "help mommy." Her favorite ways to help mommy are unloading the dishwasher and putting the clothes in the dryer. I was surprised to find that her help is actually helpful and she gets so much satisfaction from it. It's also a time of learning. She knows all of the dishes names now and reminds me it's time to do laundry by dragging the dirty clothes baskets from the bedrooms. She wants to help mommy with a lot of other things that mommy does not want help with (like sewing and cooking on the hot stove) yet, but we'll get there in due time!

In some ways she is growing up too fast. She asks for beer from time to time and is interested in watching movies and going to town. She has a love for shoes, getting her picture taken, lemon drops, and being chased by boys (well, just her daddy, but still!). We certainly cherish this time with Ila.

RLW. Thoughts for a sunny winter day.

RLW this week brings you a list of random thoughts and updates from yours truly.

1. Does anyone else wish that during the State of the Union address, the President would give his speech without all the clapping? I wanted to watch it last night (and I did watch some of it) but when I asked Trent if he wanted to he responded "it's just a bunch of clapping." Ila sat down and watched about 10 minutes of it and was actually entertained because when the people started clapping, she clapped too and thought it was some fun game. I wonder if it's always been that way...with the clapping.

2. It's been a sad week in our house. My friend (Sara) and roommate of 2 years in college lost her mom this week. I knew Jan (the mom) really well as I spent many summer nights at her house. She was an incredible woman and only one year older then Trent's dad, so it's been a pretty sad and emotional time in my life. My heart is absolutely broken for Sara. She really was best friends with her mom, and I know this is just an incredibly sad time for her. It's also been a reminder about spending time with loved ones.

3. Ila has been talking so much lately. It's exciting and cute and frustrating and all those things. She can get a little frustrated about us not understanding her, but she doesn't make too much of a fuss over it, which is really nice. She is generally easy to please, so I think if she is asking for one thing, and we can't figure it out, she just settles for one of the things we've asked about (or maybe we're getting her babbled requests right?!!??!).

4. Job and living place and everything like that are still a bit up in the air. It's been a good time of thinking about what we really want out of life, and then realization of what is currently possible. Some things can really hold you back from living where you want, and how you want and that's been pretty difficult to figure out these last few weeks. It's not really about what we want either, but where and how we feel led to live. But the Lord is directing our steps, and we'll figure it out soon enough....right?!

Pregnancy update!

My sister, who is pregnant has done these little diddies a few times with her current pregnancy, and I like them, and figured you would too. So, here you are!

Is this your first pregnancy? Nope, sure isn't.

How did you find out you were pregnant?: I figured I was, then I took a test, and sure enough, I was.

What kind of pregnancy test did you take?: First Response.

How many?: 1

What were your first symptoms?: Sore chest (like you all wanted to know that!).

Who did you tell first? Trent, of course!

Who was with you when you found out? Trent.

Was baby planned?: Hoped for, tried for.

When was baby conceived?: August, 2011.

How far were you when you found out?: about 2 days shy of 4 weeks (like 2 days before my period was due).

Due date: April 23, 2012

Do you know the sex?: yes

If so, boy or girl? girl

Any names?: she will have one, once we see her face!

Any ultrasounds?: yep, 2.

Have you heard the heartbeat?: yes, and what a beautiful sound it is.

Who do you think baby will look like? Her sister, Ila.

Will baby have any siblings?: see above.

Have you and dad felt baby move? heck yes.

When did you start to show?: I noticed about 13 weeks. But to others, probably about 17ish weeks.

How long could you wear your regular clothes? not very long this time around, I was super sensitive where normal pants sit.

Did you have morning sickness?: yes, so very much.

Do you have any cravings?: yes. Chocolate, coffee, chips, salad with ranch are the most common.

Do you have any mood swings?: oh yes.

Are you a high risk pregnancy?: no.

Any complications?: not really

Formula or breastfeeding? breast is best!

Have you bought anything for baby yet?: some fabric to make a few receiving blankets.

Who will help with baby after their born? Trent

What is your favorite thing about being pregnant? The joy of having life inside me of course!

What is the worst thing about being pregnant? Sciatic pain, and this terrible rash I've developed on my tummy.

What one thing do you miss doing since being pregnant? sleeping through the night without having to get up and pee!

Any days you wish you weren't pregnant?: no

Are you ready for baby? sure.

How many kids do you want?: undecided.

Do you talk to your baby?: yes.

Do you still feel attractive?: yes. more so then when I'm not pregnant in fact. I think pregnant women are so beautiful!

Have you had your baby shower yet?: Well, i had one for Ila, so I'm thinking we wont have one this time around.

Do you like kids? Of course.

How far along are you now?: 26 going on 27 weeks.

Total weight gain: about 3 pounds (but only because I lost so much weight in the first trimester, which was not a terrible thing.) So really I'm up 11 pounds.

Maternity clothes? oh yes.

Stretch marks? yes, new and old ones, and they ITCH!

Best moment this week: the baby started moving so mush my belly moves like crazy!

Anything making you queasy or sick: eating ice cream after any meal. Well, it did a few times about 8 weeks ago but I have not been brave enough to try it since!

Labor Signs: no

Belly Button in or out? in, but really strange looking.

Wedding rings on or off? on. I didn't have to take it off with ila, and I'm hoping that is the same this time too!

Looking forward to: meeting our baby and seeing Ila be a sister and Trent having 2 girls to love!