Life update for ya! (Author: Jason)

As you may be able to tell by the background song ("Baby, baby"), our lives right now are very centered around that particular theme, and we are both very excited to welcome our son into our family. It's been fun trying to get ready for the big day in the hospital. We're looking forward to the many new adventures of parenting that lie ahead.

I've been blessed with the chance to spend a lot of time with Melody lately, since I have a new job. The weather has made it so that I cannot do landscaping anymore, and I have been able to get a job at Melaleuca: the wellness company, and I don't work (or travel :) for nearly as long as before. Since I only work 5 days a month, we've been able to spend a lot of time getting ready and also relaxing before the many responsibilities for us come ahead. Also, I'll be working the 5 days a month while I'm in school as well. I can't complain!

School starts on January 7th, and believe it or not, I'm actually very excited about some of the classes I'll be taking (like Advanced First Aid and Hospital Administration). My major changed recently from Spanish education to Health Science, with an emphasis in Public Health. My minor is still Spanish, so those classes still count for something. Since I don't have to do student teaching anymore, I will be able to graduate a few months earlier than when I had intended. I'm really happy that I figured out how to major in the health field w/o taking longer to graduate.

Just recently, I received a new calling at church. I am now the stake assistant executive secretary. It seems like I'll be working with many great leaders in our stake, and I'm curious as to what I can learn from them. Once school starts again, I'll have early-morning meetings every Sunday, and I'll have to arrive at church at 6:00 with the other secretary and others to get ready for the meeting at 7:00. Plus, I'll be speaking in a different ward every month, so I'll have lots of practice giving talks.

In short, life as I know it will change forever very soon. AHHHHHH! Just kidding, it will be good having more responsibilities and being heavily involved in things I enjoy and love (my family, church and new major).

38-week picture

I just wanted to post the 38-week picture. It was taken almost a week ago (so I'm nearly 39 weeks now), but oh well.

Jason and I went to the doctor on Thursday, and he said he could come anytime - maybe within the next week. I hope it's sooner than later! I want him out!

Anyway, here's the picture. Enjoy!

Oh man! (Author: guess who?)

Andrew's due date is two weeks away, and I want him out NOW! It is getting really painful and uncomfortable, and I'm not getting much sleep. I have my next doctor's appointment on Thursday... I may have to speak with him about a possible induction or something. I don't know if I can hold on much longer.

Outside of that, nothing is new. Jason and I spend our days at home, not doing much of consequence most of the time. Jason still enjoys his work at Melaleuca (all five days a month he works), and is excited about it most of the time. I'm glad he likes it so much. Also, Jason was just sustained today as our stake's new assistant executive secretary, a calling that is sure to take up a lot of his time. I think he's up for the challenge, and while it might be difficult for me to let him go when I want help with our baby in the first few months, I think both of us will grow from this calling. As for my calling, I've gotten a new one (on top of my visiting teaching district supervisor one) - I'm the ward chorister! I like this calling, especially since I'm the one that gets to choose the music in church. :)

I'd post a pregnant picture, but I haven't had one taken since the last one at 35 weeks. I keep trying to get Jason to take one, but we either forget, or I don't feel like I've put myself together enough for a picture to be taken. Haha. How vain. Anyway, I'll try to get one soon.

In case I don't post before the baby's born or before Christmas, Merry Christmas! And I'll post baby pictures as soon as I can. :)

35 weeks! (Author: Melody)

I think I'm going to be the primary author of this blog. Oh well.

I just wanted to post a picture we took of me today. I'm 35 weeks along! Craziness. 5 more weeks to go, but I'm actually kinda hoping he comes before Christmas... If that be the case, it'll be more like 3 1/2 - 4 weeks away. Wow.

Ta daaah! Isn't it fun? Well, it is, outside of the aches + heartburn. Lovely.

It's November! (Author: Melody)

It's November! I can't believe it. That's crazy. It feels like the year just started, like Jason and I just moved into our first apartment, and like the school year was just about to begin. Now we're in our second apartment, and we're both off-track. Wow.

Anyway, since last updating, lots of things have happened!

Jason and I went on a week-long trip towards the end of October. Well, it's more like two, because we both left Rexburg at the same time, but we went separate places: I went to Ohio, where my family lives, and Jason went to Las Vegas to visit his oldest sister, Holly. The reason for the separation is that I was the only one going to leave originally - my family was going to have a baby shower for me, and figured Jason was going to have work and not be able to come with me. Well, Jason figured that he didn't want to be home by himself, so he went to visit Holly! Going home for me was really fun, but that was the longest I'd ever been apart from Jason. We've both decided we're not doing that again, and that if either of us goes anywhere for more than a day or two, the other is going with them! :)

When we got home from our trips, Jason worked a few more days doing the landscaping thing, and then stopped working the last day of the month. We both decided that with the weather changing (and with him not having a definite day when the landscaping job would end), it would be best for him to stop working there then so that he could get another job closer to home with a definite day he could start. Perfect timing too - Melaleuca called him during his last day of work and told him that they'd love to have him work for them now because they had a job opening! Hurray! I mean, it's only a hot-shot shift, meaning he only works 5 days out of the entire month, but it's still a job. He's been training for that since Monday, going from 4-10 pm each time. Those aren't my favorite hours for him to be gone, but it's just for this week.

The elections... well, what can I say? I'm not very happy with the presidential, senate, or house results (yeah, I'm not a democrat...), but I CAN say that I'm happy that Proposition 8 passed in California. Thank heaven above! At least one good thing happened on Tuesday night, right? I'm just concerned for the future of our country, especially since it'll be in the hands of people who want to take us straight into socialism. I didn't vote for that. *sigh*

And I'm 32 weeks. 8 more weeks to go, and I'm starting to get nervous. Nervous about the labor, nervous about the lack of sleep, and the multitude of diapers that will need to be changed on a changing table we don't have. Oh, the joys of being poor students! Don't worry though - I know we'll survive it, and having our first son will be well worth any sacrifice. :)

Yay for November.

29-week picture (Author: Melody)

This update is just for a picture - my 29-week picture! I'm slowly but surely getting bigger!

Just an update (author: Melody, of course!)

Just so you know, I am now 28 weeks along! I can't believe there's only 11 1/2 more weeks of this. It is getting a little uncomfortable now though. I have a hard time getting off couches and my bed, eating whatever food I want = really bad heartburn, and sleeping is difficult. Sometimes I can't wait for little Andrew to come out so that I can go back to my normal size and go back to eating whatever I want without the heartburn, but I know I'm never going to get a good amount of sleep ever again. Probably the rest of my life. Haha.

Oh! Just so you know, I got my first stretch mark. I'm sure you wanted to know that. :)

And as for "nesting", I haven't started that yet. I wonder if it will ever hit me. The cleaning thing is getting a bit easier for me, but yeah... I think it may help when we've gotten all our baby stuff, and when I'm closer to the due date...

Jason's doing wonderfully. He's enjoying his job doing the landscaping thing up in Driggs, but he's been having issues with his hands. The skin at first just got dry and rough, and now it's starting to peel and crack. Fortunately, this last weekend, we were able to see Shauna and she gave him some tips to heal them. Hurray! And it's been working. Slowly but surely.

We saw Shauna because of General Conference! It was wonderful, wasn't it? Jason and I went down to Salt Lake to attend a mission reunion and also to go to a session in the conference center. It was also great because the three of us got to stay with an aunt and uncle of mine, plus my cousin who is a buddy of mine. I never saw them growing up, so it's nice to be close enough to them now to be able to see them once a year or so. :)

Ummm... anything else? Once I become 29 weeks, I'll make sure to have Jason take a picture of me so I can post it for you guys.

Weird... (author: Melody)

Jason and I decided to try out for the musical fireside group From The Heart on campus again on Wednesday. Last time, Jason made it and I didn't. It totally bummed me out that I was cut, but fortunately through the socials they had, I became pretty good friends with the members of the group and didn't feel completely left out.

Well, this time around, I made it! I'm really excited about it! ...but Jason didn't make it. I think at first we were both just kinda in shock. He'd been in it for two semesters... how did he not make it this time? So THAT bummed us both out. :(

The more we think about it though, it may be better this way. This is really the only time during the week that I get out of the apartment for anything substantial. Jason, on the other hand, has work, his calling as our ward's executive secretary, and two ward sports teams, would have a difficult time with the commitment.

So yeah. Kinda weird how things turn out, huh? I'm not quite completely convinced that this is the way it should've been, but hey, what can ya do?

Just for pictures :) (Author: Melody)

So my mom likes having me take pictures every other week to see how my belly is growing. We took pictures a couple days ago for the 24-week mark, and I just wanted to let you see them!





So yay. My belly bump is getting bigger. Only 3 1/2 more months to go! Haha.

Big Stuff for the 8th! (Author: Melody)

Hey everyone! There are three pretty big things going on today:

1. I'm 24 weeks! Only 16 more weeks to go. :) I'm going to have Jason take a picture of me today so I can post it later.

2. I had a doctor's appointment today, and everything seems to be good. I get to take the gestational diabetes test next month, and I am NOT looking forward to drinking that sugary stuff for the test. Yuck.

and...

3. Today is Jason and my one-year anniversary! We got married a year ago today! I can hardly believe it. The time has passed so quickly. And we're still as happy as can be. Sure, sometimes things got hard, but we worked through them, and we're all the better for it. Hurray! Happy for us!

Anyway, I hope life is great for all of you!

Big update! (Author: Melody)

Hey there, everyone! I just wanted to give you an update on what's been happening lately.

Jason has a job! And it's NOT at Melaleuca like we were originally planning. He's working at this Ranch in Driggs, doing landscaping work. It's been a lot of physical labor for him, but he's excited because it gives him a workout without having to go to the gym. It also seems like he's making some pretty good friends, so that's exciting.

He's also getting burned, much to his dislike. He's putting sunscreen on (and wearing a "do-rag"!), but he's turning into a redneck!

Yikes!

As for me, I had another interview on Wednesday. This time it was at Madison Middle School for the assistant accompanist job for the choir there. I thought the interview portion went relatively well, and then I sat down at the piano. I haven't played the piano for at least a month, so I was really rusty. I let my nerves get to me. :( They said they'll probably have their decision made by early- to mid-next week. I'm crossing my fingers, but I'm not getting my hopes up too much.

Alright, I think that was just about it. Yay for Jason's job! And please pray that I'll get this job!

To My Parents: Congratulations! (Author: Melody)

I just wanted to tell my parents congratulations! They were married this day in 1978, meaning that they've been married for 30 years! Way to be.

Susette's 24th birthday is also tomorrow, and then her husband, Josh, has his 24th birthday the day after that, so happy birthday to you guys too!

PS. Wish me luck - I have an interview with Madison School District tomorrow!

Hurray! (Author: Melody)

Wonderful news! After having waited since Jason's birthday at the end of June, his new license FINALLY came in the mail! He can now drive!

I need to clarify: I love driving. Normally. But I learned to drive in an automatic vehicle, in a minivan, nonetheless. So when Jason's license expired on his birthday, it was suddenly up to me to drive us everywhere in this little white car that was a stick shift (and I didn't know how to drive one at the time). Let's just say I learned quickly, and much as I enjoy driving, I can't wait for the day we can afford another car - one that's an automatic. :)

So hurray for Jason! He can drive. And I can relax.

Relaxation (author: Melody)

Well, these last couple weeks off from school have been very nice and relaxing, but it's getting to the point where we're starting to get restless. Jason has yet to hear from Melaleuca, and we haven't ventured out enough to find a job that might suit me as a pregnant (and soon to be VERY pregnant) woman.

Luckily, we've decided to be more proactive today, so we're going to be driving around running some errands and also looking for potential employers. I've seen these signs for this maternity store that's either about to open or has just been open for a little while, so I might look there. Since it's for maternity stuff, they might be kinder to me with hours and such since I'm pregnant. I'm crossing my fingers for that!

Something fun we were able to do yesterday was have lunch with Aunt Ivana. Apparently her mother lives pretty close to Rexburg, so while she and Uncle Lee are in the area visiting her, she came to visit us, which was really nice. We love it when family comes to visit. :)

Oh, and I've been craving chocolate. So family, if you'd like, send your chocolate to us! We - or rather, I - will have it gone in no time! Haha, just kidding.

Ok, just thought I'd add a little update. If we take any more pictures, we'll be sure to post them.

Outrageously Excellent Jason News

With all the other hype and commotion happening right now for Melody and me, I have some individual things I'd like to tell you about. It looks as if I will be starting to work full time at a new place called Melaleuca, and I'll have the opportunity to take inbound calls from Spanish-speaking customers. I love that because it will be easy to keep up with the Spanish I was able to learn while being a missionary for two years in the El Salvador East mission. I'm way excited about that.

As far as things are going here at BYU-I, I have changed my minor and also the career I was originally intending on pursuing: dentistry. After having done some job shadowing in two dental offices, and picking the brains of a few dentists, I realized that that career isn't best suited for me. I still like the field, but I am going to now be doing something totally different. After coming to my conclusion, I changed my minor to Health Education. My major is still Spanish Education. While I was planning on going to dental school with my major (with a minor in Chemistry ed.), I am now going to go into teaching, most likely at the high school level.

Since Melody is from Ohio, and my family is based in Washington but scattered all over the place, and since I want to be close to family wherever we end up, who knows where we'll actually settle. Maybe I'll be original and be out in the middle of nowhere or something, only time will tell. I won't graduate from BYU-I until December of 2010, so we have awhile to figure that all out. Plus, I may go to grad school somewhere first, so we may not be in a permanent place right after I graduate.

We know the gender!

Hey there, everyone. Melody had a doctor's appointment today, and as a result, we finally know the gender of our baby - we're having a little BOY! Andrew Tyler McBride (his tentative name) seems to be in perfect health and even seems to be working his way to being very cute. :)

Here's a picture of his profile:

It's a little baby in there!

Anyway, we're very excited about having a son, and can't wait for him to come into the world! He really could be a Christmas baby too, because the nurse said he's a little big for his age. Or maybe he'll just be a big boy. We'll have to wait and see.

Picture Time!

Hey there! Here are pictures of our apartment:

This is our bedroom...

The computer room, which will eventually be turned into our baby's room!

Our bathroom

Our living room, part 1

Living room, part 2

Our kitchen, part 1

Kitchen, part 2 (looking from the table and window)

And for a bonus:

Melody at 19 weeks!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! We'll probably post more later.

Hello to All!

We decided to make a blog together to share what's going on in our lives with friends and family.

Look for:

*Updates on Melody's pregnancy
*Pictures of our apartment (since none of you really have seen it)
*Stuff about our lives
*And so much more! (haha)

As of today, July 30th, Melody is 18 weeks pregnant, and definitely feeling it. She's still not showing very much, but the maternity clothes seem to be getting a lot more use now. Her next doctor's appointment is next Thursday, and we'll be able to find out the baby's gender with the ultrasound that's scheduled. We're really excited to find out whether we're having a little baby boy or baby girl.

Another exciting thing in our lives is the McBride family reunion this weekend. We get to leave Idaho for a day or two and have some fun splashing around a water park in Utah with the family. Jason can't wait to see his siblings and their families again, and Melody even bought a maternity swimsuit for the occasion.

Since we're both done with school for the time being, we're looking for jobs. Jason has hopes for work at the call center at Melaleuka (spelling?) speaking Spanish. Melody hopes to find a job that won't have her on her feet too much since she'll be very pregnant before long.

That's about it for now. We'll post pictures and such later.