Hawaii

luke and i are in hawaii! we got here late in the evening on july 24th, my cousin picked us up from the airport and were able to find our apartment and everything just fine. but it has been quite an adventure so far. we have mostly been looking for jobs, a car and housing for fall semester (we are only in our apartment for a month), so we've been really busy with that. we have met some really nice people so far, and that has been a blessing!

it's hard moving to a place and not knowing many people, especially when you don't have a car and you need a car to get certain things done! i'll admit it, there have been times these past couple of weeks where i have wondered if we made the right decision moving out here. i get kind of bummed when i think about the things we left behind...especially with the baby, and knowing that i probably won't get all of the nice things that my friends have gotten for their babies. we'll probably buy cheap used things. and i really wanted to make all these cute things for the baby, like my friends have done, and i probably won't get to do all that i wanted. and i think it's easy to feel lonely in the beginning, just with not knowing many people. but i know that part will change.

but then i am grateful as well, because i feel like being here will help me really appreciate what i do have. i feel like i will be able to learn a lot from being here. it sure is beautiful! it's not quite as nice and organized as orange county, but i expected that. but i love that the ocean is so close, and that i can swim in the water and not freeze to death! and it's so beautiful! it's fun to just see the different places here and just be mesmerized by it's beauty. i feel like i have been a lot more active, just in the last couple of weeks, and i love it! and i love the laid back lifestyle, and people seem to be really friendly here. i don't love the sticky feeling from the humidity, but i'm getting used to it.

i am excited to be here! i think it will be an adventure and that i will get used to a having a different lifestyle here. it definitely has it's perks. but luke and i both felt like this is where we needed to be at this time in our lives.

 100 yards from our front door.

 this was supposed to be me saying "woohooo!"

 our front door

 you open the front door up and there is our room!

a little bit of a storm, ended up not being too bad

gecko! first one i've ever seen

this guy looks familiar (Argentina, where i served me mission, was full of cockroaches)

IPHONE PICTURES

 first night, checking out the kitchen

 our apartment when we first arrived

 this is what happened after walking around all day on our first day. but i am happy to report that that spot is now a tan spot:)

 we just had to buy a wave storm at Costco

 pregnant belly at turtle bay (a hotel and resort)

 i love him.

 this is the highway. 35 mph speed limit, and nothing but beauty

weeks 17, 18 and 19

19 weeks (today)

18 weeks 2 days

 17 weeks

well, the coolest thing started happening...i started feeling the baby move! At the end of 16 weeks i was pretty sure i was feeling him move, but i had to lay and really concentrate to feel him. some people describe it as a butterfly-like feeling in your stomach, mine kinda felt that way. i would say it was more like little bubbles. so, i had been feeling that for about a week, and finally at the end of the week i figured it must be the baby. i felt little kicks as well, but it's so hard to be sure it's the baby in the beginning! by about half-way through the 17th week, i was positive it was the baby!

the kicks are so fun to feel! sometimes if push on my stomach a little, he'll kick. also, laying on my stomach...almost every time i lay on my stomach, he starts kicking. i don't think he likes it, so i've pretty much stopped laying on my stomach (which is hard because that's my favorite way to sleep)! but even luke can feel the kicks already, and if you watch my stomach while it's happening you can see it moving. You can sometimes tell where the baby is too, just because my stomach will be slightly lopsided.

i also have chloasma, which is not very fun; they call it "the mask of pregnancy." chloasma is when dark patches appear on your skin, usually on your upper lip, cheeks, and forehead...and that's exactly where mine are. it's caused from the extra estrogen and will most likely fade shortly after the baby is born. but they also get darker in the sun...and we are currently living in Hawaii, so that's hard because i want to be in the sun!