Baby William

   We got to see William today in 3D and he's a cutie. Stubborn, but cute. His hands were in front of his face the whole time and we were only able to get a few pictures with them put down for a minute. He would suck on his fist, rub his eye, and he even grabbed onto his toes at one point! :) We're sure excited for him to make his grand entrance into this world!
    We had a great Christmas this year. We went to my parent's house and had the quickest opening of the presents we've ever had :) My mom and dad spoiled us with things for Liam (and ourselves)! We got so much from them, and from my brother Jake and his wife April-thanks guys! I go into Liam's room several times a day and will unfold and refold all his clothes and blankets, feel all his soft outfits, and try to imagine what it's going to be like to have that room occupied and never be without him again...it's kind of overwhelming at times...
   We're getting ready to do what is hopefully our last project for his room. We're going to sand down a dresser and paint it fun nursery colors and we're going to use that for a changing table as well. It should be a fun process! :) Pictures will follow.
        Here are some pictures of our bun in the oven.

                                                                           foot

33 Weeks

A little over 33 weeks along and the sleepless nights continue....

Dishwasher Magic

Wow, I say!!!! Wow!  We moved into a new apartment and our dishes have had a gloom about them ever since.  At our last apartment we had the same problem so I took apart the dishwasher, submerged my had in the the most disgusting cold slimy liquid, pulled out gobs of gunk, only to find my heroic attempt at fixing the dishwasher was in vain.  So this time around I decided to take a different approach.  I went to Walmart, our handy go-to store, and purchased two products from Jet Dry®.  The first miracle I grabbed was Finish® Jet-Dry® Dishwasher Cleaner, a cleaner that you run alone in your dishwasher to unclog those hard to reach, and those "I don't want to reach" places.

This alone was wonderful.  When the cycle, which was set to the hottest and longest possible, ended I opened the dishwasher and fought back tears as I finally smelled the savory aroma of cleanliness.  I then was so excited about this new phenomenon that I was eager to start my first load in this newly reborn dish-vessel.  So I loaded up the dishes, and attached the second product Jet-Dry® Rinse Agent Baskets to the right corner of the upper tray and waited a second time, impatient for the result.
Elated a second time, I unloaded the dishwasher, savoring the warmth and grip that each fresh dish emitted.   To my marvel, the dishes were wonderfully clean.  They sparkled like new and I again took pride in my dish ware.  We use Cascade Complete® Gel Packets for detergent, but next time I head to the store I'm going to try a Jet-Dry® brand detergent to see if it's a triple threat.  Until then, farewell to you all and good luck with your dishwasher endeavors.  Joe

32 weeks

         We're getting closer! And from what my doctor said  last week, our due date might be earlier than what we expected-by about 2 weeks. I guess we'll see what happens! My doctor readjusted my back and hips-he said my alignment was way off- 2 inches! No wonder I'm in such pain. It helped for the first few nights sleeping, but I can feel my back and hip pain coming back, so I'll probably get readjusted every few weeks now. 

          Joe and I are a sight to see right now. He got surgery on his ankle Saturday for his tendonitis, so we're both hobbling around, being miserable together. But he gets 6 week off of work and he'll be home for Christmas and hopefully he'll be healed by the time William gets here. Joe was pretty funny when he was coming out of the anesthesia. The nurse came and got me right when he woke up and said he was ready to go and asking her all sorts of questions about his surgery, which she didn't know the answer to, and that was getting him frustrated. :) That sounded like Joe, he always has so many questions for everyone and always wanting to learn. When I got back there, he was sitting up and trying to get out of bed. He wasn't very happy she was making him stay there, and his endless questions kept on coming-repeatedly. :) When the physical therapist finally came with the crutches, Joe was all ready to leave, but the therapist made him walk around with him with a safety belt on. Joe was hauling through the halls and up the stairs, and the therapist kept telling him to slow down. That's Joe for ya. He's insisted on continuing to do things on his own and even for me, opening all the doors and such. I've got such a sweet husband.

       Last night we had a huge scare. Joe woke up with excruciating stomach pains, and I've never seen him like that. From what he was telling me, I was afraid his stomach was bleeding. I got his prescription instructions and read signs of overdose, and we think that's what happened. He usually took one pill with food, and if that didn't work after an hour or two, he would stagger another one, because the amount is 1-2. Well, he ended up taking 2 right before we went to bed without food, and the food usually dilutes its effectiveness a bit. He noticed right away he was super dizzy and drowsy, and then he woke up with these pains a few hours later. We got some food in his stomach and the pain slowly went away. Whew! I told him today I was ready to call an ambulance to come get him because he was too stubborn to go to the ER, or Redicare. I'm glad he's okay, and he's only taking one pill at a time now. :)

        Here I am at 32 weeks (or 34 for the size William is) He sure is active. He's always kicking and pushing out at me, and now he's kicking up in my ribs. But it makes me glad that he's healthy and active. We have been very blessed lately. We're grateful that Joe is still mobile after his surgery, and especially thankful that we didn't have to pay for his surgery! (He got injured in the Army, so they're paying for everything) We're so thankful that William is healthy and that he doesn't have the cysts in his brain anymore, and we're praying that he continues to do well after he's born. We're thankful that we're finally out of debt! After Joe's dad died a few years ago, Joe was left on his own, and had a hard time climbing out of his financial struggles, but it's great now! We're so thankful for our family members that have kept us in their prayers and been so helpful to us before our new little family member arrives. Thank you all! We love you!

30 1/2 Weeks

I got this cute "farm girl" shirt when me and my friend Nicole went preggo shopping yesterday. LOVE it :)

Thanksgiving

This year we had a quiet little Thanksgiving at my parents house. The highlight for all of us was probably my SUPER cute nephew, Dallin. Someone always wanted to be playing with him and he was smiles the whole time he was here. I sure love that kid.

With Grandpa

                                                  Getting a "car ride" in a plastic bucket from
                                                                            Uncle Joe

Getting fed olives from Grandpa

                                                      

                                                                     Happy boy

                                               Max bored while doing homework with Dad

                                              Our baby... He's such a good boy and wants to
                                                                 be human so badly :)

             I've already felt the winter blues setting in. When Joe's gone at work all day I just feel like I'm in a rut. I'll take Max outside to play, but the extent of my playing with him is throwing his ball in the snow and waiting for him to find it. Luckily he finds the snow itself pretty entertaining and can spend forever out there romping around and playing in it. Hiking through the snow isn't the easiest task these days. It's getting really difficult for me to lift my legs. I have a huge fear of falling on ice because it's hard enough for me to get up inside, let alone on a slippery ground.
             Liam's due date is quickly approaching and I'm already feeling like I have to ''nest''....which is tough considering since our move over a MONTH ago, we still only have the kitchen and our clothes unpacked. When we moved in, our master bedroom smelled like dog urine, and we told our Landlord about it, and he insisted it only smelled musty, even though we have had 6 other people attest to the awful smell. We requested that he have a carpet cleaner come back in to shampoo that room, and he ''conveniently'' had the carpet cleaner called, come in, inspect the carpet with a black light, and leave--all in the hour that we had stepped out of the house. He told us the carpet cleaner didn't smell anything but they decided to spray a ''neutralizer'' on all of our carpets in the whole house, and then douse that room heavily! To this day, we cannot open that door because the stench is so stinging to the nostrils. Luckily, the rest of the house just had one layer of this nasty smelling perfumy Febreeze smell and faded within the day. After telling him the smells are unbearable and the room is unlivable, and that we still have a garage full of our belongings waiting to be unpacked, he pulled his usual unprofessional, immature act: He ignored our calls and messages for 2 weeks. After many many calls and messages later, I left one letting him know how unhappy I was with him. When he called me back 2 days later, he gave me an ultimatum: either A: deal with it; B: pay someone yourselves to clean it; or C: Move out... Wow. So I called the owner to actually get something done. He must have said something to clean up this guy's act, because this week we're having the carpet cleaners coming to pull the carpets up :) This guy is such liar and a cheat, we have not gotten ONE thing out of him that we have been asking from day one. From the first day we moved in we told him atleast 6 problems, and he has yet to fix ANY of them. Joe has even offered to fix them himself if he would just provide the supplies! (He would even make excuses about the missing lightbulbs: "Well, most tenants like it darker. Most tenant just wait for them both to burn out."...well I don't. I was tempted to move out and get a full refund, but where would we go? How would we move again? Moving in the snow would be HORRIBLE... SO! That is my treacherous story. Anyone wanting to help us TP this guy's house? jk
         I guess I'm just trying to get the point across that...I'm panicking! We still have so much to do and so much to get ready..but we're completely STUCK. I can't find anything, unpack anything, or prepare for Liam to come...argh!!! There has been lots of tears this last month and 8 days since we've "moved" in, and I'm just hoping my perseverance in these matters pays off.

All is well!

     Today at my doctor's appointment we had a follow up ultrasound for Liam's brain. When we went in at 20 weeks they found cysts on each side of his brain. They couldn't find anything else wrong to pair it with, so they said we'd just do a follow up one at 28 weeks. We did today and they weren't there anymore! Yay! We are pretty relieved. They said don't worry about it, but of course, we did. He's still healthy and strong. He's measuring at almost 30 weeks instead of 28! wow! Big boy! Hopefully his growing will stay in the normal range from now on :) He had the hiccups for a few minutes while we were having the ultrasound done, and that was the first time I had ever experienced them, plus we were able to see him while they were happening. The past few ultrasounds he's been making a kissy face with his lips and swallowing. He's getting some good practicing in for eating and breathing, and it's so cool to watch!  

    He was in an odd position today so we didn't get the greatest pictures of him. Here's a profile.

       He's all bunched up in a breech position on my left side and has been there for a while, that's where all the movement is I've been feeling.. In the middle of it, he changed his head position and it was cranked to his side, which didn't look very comfortable. Joe said he's already getting the Gutke nose. :) I said we made a bad combination with both of our big lips and noses, ha! He'll be cute anyway :) 

         Last week I had soooo much laundry to do! As usual, Max picked a pile of dirty towels and plopped himself on down. :) He'll find anything with our scent on it and cuddle on it for hours. He's been particularly cuddly yesterday and today because we had him kenneled over the weekend while we were in Pocatello for Joe's army drill. When they brought him out he was whining because he couldn't get enough loving fast enough. :) (I think I had more separation anxiety than he did, I had a really hard time away from him for almost 3 days) :) we gave him some good ear rubs and he just sat there grunting and  moaning and loving all the attention. We sure love our firstborn furry son :)

         I also had my first wart experience. We got wart remover liquid and bandaid and kept that going nonstop for a week. After my shower one night, I took off my bandaid and it ripped off the majority of the skin that had been killed. I found Joe hadn't been too meticulous to where he was putting the liquid, but oh well, it provided some fun  for me :)

                                            It was some THICK skin that it had taken off.

                              After I finished taking off the rest of the skin and a bit recovered.

 Max being cute and cuddly with his new friend, Doggy. We took him to the pet store, and one of the clerks squeezed the squeaker on it (which Max with go NUTS over) and after that, he wouldn't let the dog go, so we got it for him-he's so spoiled.  :) He's forgotten about all his other toys and will take this friend, who is almost as big as him, everywhere he goes. The squeaking gets annoying at times, but he loves it and it keeps him out of trouble :)

                      My sister in law, Jonette, sent us this canvas today. She painted it herself and it looks great! and I'm sure it's going to apply to William :) It's a line from Harry Potter, which Joe is only SLIGHTLY obsessed with :) We're going to the midnight premiere this week.... :)

               She also made these onesies. All the Gutkes  love The Office, so anyone that knows of The Office will appreciate these. They made some for her kids as well- too cute! :)

                                       "Bears eat beets. Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica"

 

My Boys

    I just realized the other day that once Liam is here, I'm going to have 3 boys to take care of...oh dear...I need a girl in my house. :)  But I still love them and I'm excited and nervous to see how I'll be able to handle a baby boy. I'm not used to boy stuff, just really girly things.
    I've had a rough time sleeping at night, so I bought a full body pregnancy pillow. When it was delivered, Joe thought it was "so stupid" and didn't think it was going to do anything...well, he cuddled up with it, and minutes later he was out, and when he woke up he said it was super comfortable. I've only slept with it 3 nights, but it is so comfy I fall right asleep and I don't move until I wake up to go to the bathroom. I wake up the exact way I fall asleep. What a great restless night's sleep! It's great because while I'm on my sides, it supports me enough that my arms don't fall asleep and my shoulders and hips don't hurt anymore. It's a miracle pillow! :)

Here's Joe on my "useless" pillow :)

        We have started to become more and more annoyed with Max's hair all over the floor, getting on our clothes and everything, and yesterday we had had enough! I said let's just buzz him! We took him outside and buzzed him to one inch all over. It didn't take too much off his back and belly, but his fluffy tail looks kinda silly going from feathery four inches to buzzed one inch! Other than that, his back and belly look really good, and he doesn't have his lion's mane going on now. He looks a little more puppy like now in his face and neck. Here's a before and after pic, although he wasn't about to hold still for me.

Before

                              

After

                                                                          

Before

                                                                        

 After

                                                        What a cute boy! :)

27 weeks preggo!

      Being pregnant is great. Little William has been kicking a lot lately! He's my wake up call at about 4 a.m to go use the restroom and will keep kicking for about an hour while I try to fall asleep again. Once I wake up again he's still kicking. When I'm falling asleep he's trying to bust out, too. Pretty much whenever I'm laying or sitting down he's punching and kicking. He sure is strong! He'll move my whole belly around. Joe and I think it's pretty cool to watch. That's our night and morning activity...staring at the big bump moving. 

My belly is getting more and more awkward, though. :) I'll underestimate how far away I need to be from something and bump into it. I have to pull out my chair a lot farther now. :) Joe's having more run-ins with it too and we're noticing it blocking us from a good hug, haha! I'm a little clumsy and off-balance with it sometimes, too. I almost fell over in the movie theater tonight as we were leaving and rammed into a chair, haha! (btw, we went and saw "Despicable Me". Hilarious movie! worth seeing!)  I'm noticing people staring at my belly when I'm walking by, too, although I haven't been to overrun with belly rubs...thank goodness. I did get stopped by a lady in Wal-Mart the other day complementing me on my cute belly, which made me feel a little better about it...I haven't felt too attractive since it's been getting bigger...lol.

Here's some pics of my ever growing belly!

New Blog!

Alright, here it goes. I am attempting a blog since everyone's doing it. :) I've wanted to do it for a while, I just can't seem to figure it out. I'm not on the computer enough, so I thought this would help add to my time sitting around filling my time. ;)