Last Years Christmas Project

Last year for Christmas my sister, Lauren, and I made felt food for all of our nieces. One of Seth's cousins started to make these crafts and posted them on her blog. When I saw the post, I thought that they were so cute and looked reasonably simple. Lauren and I had a blast making them and I hear that our nieces really enjoyed them. Here are some pictures to show your our handy work.

Breakfast: Pancakes and Eggs

Lunch: Quesadillas and green beans

Dinner: bow-tie pasta with red sauce or white sauce

Dessert: S'mores

These tastey looking morsels are not as tastey as they look. They are all made out of felt fabric. Hope you enjoyed our project!

30 weeks and still growing....

Here is a picture that I took last night. I really don't see much of a difference between the 28 week picture and this one. What do you think?

Everything in the Harp House hold is going pretty well. The pregnancy is going great and I am feeling really good. I am ALL FINISHED with school. I am now unofficially a college graduate!!! I am so glad that I don't have to worried about finals, paper, projects, or presentation any more! This is the best feeling ever!!!! I really did enjoy my student teaching experiences and especially getting to know the students. I will Cherish my time with both my kindergartners and my 6th graders. I promised my sixth graders that I would bring Anna in with me to visit in March or April. They saw me grow the most through out my teaching and are really invested in this little baby. I was sick a couple of weeks ago and had lost most of my voice. Once day after I had taught my lesson and started the students on their independent work, one of my students came up to me and said, "Mrs. Harp you sound awful. Are you sick?" I replied that I had come down with a cold and then she asked, "Is you baby OK? Are you sure that you being sick won't hurt her?" It was so cute how worried she was about our little Anna. This statement brought warm fuzzy feelings into my heart. I will truly miss them.
On a sad note, on Saturday Seth was walking out to the car through our back yard and he noticed that my Bike was missing. Yep, someone broke into our backyard and took my awesome bike. This is very sad because I have not been able to ride it during my pregnancy but was looking forward to riding it after the arrival of Anna. Sad, sad day! : (
Other than that, we have been getting into the Holiday season. We went to our ward Christmas party on Saturday night and enjoyed spending time with our ward family. We are planning on going to SLO for Christmas this year. We are so excited because it has been a long time since we have been up there and I really miss it and my family. I hope that everyone is having a Happy holiday season!

28 weeks... last weeks picture

Hello friends and family,

Here is a picture of me at 28 weeks pregnant:

Sorry, No more red wall! : ( We moved a couple of weeks ago and had to leave the beautiful red wall behind. A blog on the move is soon to come.

So, I am now 29 weeks pregnant, that means that I only have about 11 weeks left before we get to meet our little Anna. I really can't wait and I often find myself day dreaming about holding her in my arms. I know I am a dork but I really can't wait for that day!

As most of you know, this semester is my last semester of student teaching and thus the last semester of SCHOOL!!! YAY! I am so excited because Tuesday the 8th is my last day of student teaching and then I am a graduated student!!! It has been a long road but it feels go good to be almost done. I am really glad that I decided to stick with it and complete everything is 4 1/2 years! After Tuesday, I Will have about 2 months to get everything ready for the arrival of our little Anna. I have been looking at decorating ideas for her room and even have entertained the idea sewing some of the decor myself (We'll see how that goes). We want to make the room a jungle/rain forest theme. I have been looking at bedding and I think I have found the best non-boy-ish and not to pink option. It is called Jacana by Cocalo. I also want to put up some jungle wooden letters that spell out her name on the wall. If you have some cute ideas that you think would look good with this bedding, please feel free to let me know. I would love your input.

I have started to do my registry at Babies R Us and that is overwhelming. Who would have known that there is SOOOOO much that we will need for this tiny little sweetie. I am so grateful of my friends and family members who have already had babies and been through the same preparations. They have been very helpful in letting me know what we will really need.

I have so much more to say but I will create a couple more posts to keep you all updated with our doings!

The ultrasound pictures that I had promised!

Here are the utrasound pictures that I promised about 3 months ago. Sorry it took so long but I guess they are better late than never!

Three months, I guess that her little head must have itched! lol

Here is her first profile picture! look at that little nose! (3 months)

Look at thosee cute little legs!!! (3 months)

Hello little Anna! (5 months)

The doctor did this 3D image with out any warning and I think that it is quite scary! Our little one head has not fused yet, so that is why there is a big gash down her head. (5 months)

This one is my Favorite!!!! I love, love, love her little foot!!! (5 months)

25 weeks and Family Update

Warning: Blog Backup- since I have been such a slacker on blogging, this blog is overwhelmingly long! Sorry...

Pregnancy: Today I am 25 weeks pregnant. All of a sudden everyone started to notice that my belly is a "pregnant belly." A couple of nights ago, while grocery shopping, a lady let me go through the door first because she said that I had a "cute pregnant belly." The while I was checking out, the cashier asked me how far along I was and I knew if it was a girl or a boy. I guess I am past the "I just look FAT stage!" Yeah!!!! My sixth graders have also started to notice. They are so cute and are very interested in the details. They always ask me to bring the baby in when I have her. I like that they are so interested in me! Also, I keep hearing about the count down to the Olympics. Every time I hear that number I get so excited! It is only SIX DAYS before I am due!!! We will have a BABY GIRL during the Olympics. That makes me so excited!!!!

October: Ok, this past month we made the decision to move up the street to a new complex. The rent and utilities are cheaper and we would like to save as much money as we can. The biggest down side is that we are not going to have a washer and dryer any more. I am really going to miss being able to put a load of laundry in when I leave and changing it when I get home. The upside is that we are going to have a backyard. I am excited about this. I can start a little garden! YEAH!! We already have the keys to the apartment, so we have been moving things over a little at a time. All of the baby stuff is already over there. Our official move date is November 21st.

Student teaching: Student teaching is going well. Starting this week, I am taking over 5 of the 8 segments of the day. It has been amazing how much I have grown to know and love my sixths graders. They are so much fun to talk to. I was so afraid that they would be non-responsive and that they wouldn't like me but it has turned out that they are very responsive and like when I teach. I am half way done and can't wait for school to be over. I have one more major assessment to do that is due on Saturday and then it is just down hill from there!! YEAH!

Golfing: Seth bought me a set of golf clubs for my birthday. I said that I was willing to give it a try. Then last night Seth took me to the driving range. I was a little afraid to go because my past experiences were not very good. To my pleasure, Seth was very understanding and patient. He used my "softball stance" to help me become a better at my golf swing. With his guidance, I was able to hit the ball farther than two feet in front of me. I actually enjoyed it! THANKS SETH! I think that is great for him too because now I am willing to go again! The only thing that felt weird was trying to put my arms over my growing belly! I soon figured out how to overcome this awkwardness.

Baking: I have been making Cinnamon-rolls like crazy. I first made them to give to a friends who has been so gracious to give us a bunch of baby stuff (which is such a blessing and we cannot thank them enough). Then we made them for dessert one Sunday and then again for my class the next Sunday. I am getting pretty good at rolling them! However, sad as it is, I am getting kind of sick of them. I know it is crazy to think, but maybe if we lay off of them for a little bit, I begin to enjoy them again.

Calling: I was teaching the 9 and 10 year-olds and then I was placed with the 4 and 5 year-olds. It is definitely a change and I will miss my other class but I do love the younger children as well and I am excited to learn more about them!

Sorry for the information over load and lack of pictures, I will try to be better at taking more pictures!

22 weeks

I am now a little over 22 weeks along. It is crazy how fast I am changing, so I decided to post a picture every two weeks. This will allow you to keep up my growing belly! It is nice that I am getting bigger because people are finally starting to believe me when I tell them that I am 5 months pregnant! Our little girl is doing great and getting so strong! Seth and I are really busy and trying to stay on top of all of our responsibilities. I will post another more detailed blog when I get more time! Here is the promised and awaited picture!

20 Weeks

Being twenty weeks pregnant has brought many great things:

1. I am now HALF way through!! Yeah
2. I feel the baby kick ALL the time
3. We were able to determine the gender of our child.
4. I am finally starting to look pregnant!!!!

Me at Twenty Weeks (Sorry for the poor picture, I have an old camera)

On Friday the 2nd of October, Seth and I drove down to the Ultra sound offices to find out the gender of our baby. Once we walked into the ultrasound room we became very anxious to find out. The nurse started to check all of the babies organ and informed us that she would let us know the gender as soon as she could see. Our baby was sitting in the worst position for determining the gender. It's legs were crossed and we could only see the top of it's head. The nurse spent a half hour checking it's heart beat, heat, brain and showing us all the different parts of our baby but still could not determine the gender. She told us that the umbilical cord was sitting right down the middle of it's legs, making it hard to see the gender.

She finally gave up and had me go to the bathroom and drink some water to help the baby move. So I did just that and was now even more anxious to know if we were going to have a boy or a girl. I laid back down hoping that our baby would cooperate. To our dismay, the nurse still could not see. She told me to turn on my side and wait until the doctor could come in to help find the gender and to look over the baby as well. So I laid on my side waiting for about 10 minutes (Felt like forever). When the doctor came in, he was determined to tell us the babies gender. At first he encountered the same difficulties as the nurse but soon was able to maneuver around them. He and the nurse both agreed on the the gender and said.... " You are Having a GIRL!!!"

What a shock. I thought for sure that we were going to have a boy and so did Seth. We were both a little bit disappointed but mostly really exited for the adventures to come with our little girl. I am so excited for the dresses, bows, and little girl shoes. We already love our little girl so much and really can't wait to meet her. She has already brought such happiness to our lives! : )

Seth and I comparing bellies, I think I have him beat!

Meet the newest member of our family.

The Harp family is proud to present our newest member. She came to us abused and uncared for. The day we saw her we knew she was the one. A brilliant and succesful doctor told Katie he knew how to tend to the abused victim. With much time and love she could be on her feet in no time. After hours upon hours of backbreaking surgury, the doctor was able to get her feeling like a champ. She still has many more minor surguries down the road but we are told she will recover from her troubled past.

How many of you thought we were talking about a baby? Haha, I thought this would be an entertaining way to talk about our new car. We wanted to buy a bigger car for the baby. I was able to sell the Jetta one day and buy the Volvo V70R the next day. Since I, Seth Harp, am writing this blog I will now bore all you women with details about my pride and joy. This is a 1999 Volvo V70R. It is the top of the line V70 Volvo produced that year. It has around 260 horsepower and is all wheel drive. Can you belive they made a high performance station wagon? It has been my dream to own one. Katie is excited to drive a new car and also have extra room for the baby. I am excited to play with the new car at work, when its not busy.

New Baby Poll, Baby movements, and family updates

Hello friends and family,
Seth and I are going to be finding out the gender of our baby in about two weeks. We thought that it would be fun to put a poll on here to see what you think we are going to have.

Just a quick update on our family:
Pregnancy:
* I am 17 weeks and 5 day along. I feel like I just keep getting bigger and bigger. This, in a strange way, is very comforting. It reassure me that our baby is growing bigger and and stronger.

*The other night I was sitting on the couch with my feet tucked under me and I felt this strange sensation in my tummy. I first though it was a stomach spasm but It felt deeper. I waited for a little bit and it happened again. I quickly realized that I was feeling the baby's movements. OH WHAT JOY!!! These movement/ KICKS are very strong for our little one. Many told me that it would like tiny butterflies but these feel popcorn popping. I love feeling it's movements and it reminds me that our precious baby is still in there and that it is strong and healthy.

* Like I said at the top, we find out the gender in about two weeks. I can't wait. I don't like calling our baby "it". I can't wait until I can say "He is kicking" or "She is kicking".

Mr. Seth:
* Seth is doing great! He has recently got into golfing. He really enjoys it and goes about once a week. For his birthday, he got a new set of golf club that are XL's.

* Seth missed the registration time for the community college and because of the states economic situation, he was not able to drop into any classes. Therefore, he is taking this semester off... Bummer.

The Credential Program:

* Oh man, this semester is my last semester of school and of student teaching. Since I was placed in a Primary grade last semester (kinder), I had to be placed in an upper grade this semester. I was really afraid of being put into a Sixth Grade class. Most of the Sixth graders are bigger than I am and they are pretty intimidating. To my dismay, I was placed into a Sixth grade class.

* Tuesday was my first day and it really was not as bad that I had made it out to be. My master teacher is really nice and has been teaching for 37 years (Yeah, longer than I have been alive).

* The students were not as intimidating as I thought they were going to be! I am looking forward to this opportunity of growth. It will be a big change of Kindergarten but I believe that I can do it!

16th week picture

... and now for the rest of the story...

IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN OUR FIRST POST, STOP READING NOW AND VIEW THE VIDEO!!!!!
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Okay, for those of you who have seen the video you know that Seth and I are expecting a baby in February. It was so HARD to keep this secrete. I am so glad that I don't have to keep this one any longer!!!!!! Last Thursday Seth and I went to my OBGYN thinking that we were about 11 weeks and 4 days along. Then as our doctor was doing the ultrasound he told me that was measuring as 12 weeks and 4 days along, a whole week further than we had thought. That put our due date as February 14th (Valentine's day). We were excited to hear that we were further along than we thought. However, I went in to get my first trimester ultrasounds done today and the ultrasound tech told me that my due date should be around February 19th. I am going to see what my doctor says and then go from there.
Seeing our baby today was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I saw and heard it's little heart beating like crazy. Seth was not able to go because he had to work, so the doctor video taped the whole thing and printed out some pictures for me to show him. I was so excited because I want Seth to be able to experience seeing our baby's heartbeat and movements as well.
During the ultrasound the tech was having trouble getting the baby in the right position to do his test. One time as he was having me turn on my side and cough he said, " I am having to chase this baby around, maybe this is a little glimpse into what it will be like future." Uh Oh..... Lol. The doctor told me that everything looked normal and that I was right on track! YAY!!!
Overall my pregnancy has been great. I did not have morning sickness during my first trimester, thank goodness, and still able to work at my summer job (Counselor at a sports camp). Before I started the camp this year I was worried that the sun would make me feel nauseous but because I had the group of 5 and 6 year olds, I was able to stay in the Gym for most of the day! YAY again!
Seth has been so kind, helpful, and supportive during all of this. He always asks me if I still feel pregnant. He loves being a part of it and listening to all the interesting changes that my body is going through. He is a great husband and he will make a great DAD as well. We wanted to thank everyone for their wishes. We are so happy that we are able to share our excitement with those we love. We will make sure to keep you all updated with all our happenings.

I will go to the library tomorrow as scan the ultrasound pictures so that I can upload them on here for everyone to see!

Finally something to blog about...