Baby Larsen

20 Week Ultrasound

20 weeks profile shot

Happy Daddy to Be!


Today (June 9th)was a very anticipated day for us. We were anxiously awaiting for today to come so that we could find out what we are having. We'll be welcoming BABY GIRL Larsen on October 22nd. Jeff and are so excited. Jeff was mildly disappointed but that changed half way through the ultrasound. He enjoyed every minuted of watching her move on the screen. He was asking a bunch of questions about the measurements, and stuff like that. So cute, already a concerned daddy! The ultrasound showed that everything looked perfect. That's all could ask for. A healthy baby. I'm really excited to finally be able to shop gender specific. It's really hard to shop for a baby when you don't know what the sex is. I have to apologize for the ultrasound picture. Once again it's a picture of a picture. It turns out that they don't offer digital copies at my doctor's office, and I don't have a scanner at home. However one of the perks of working at a hospital and more specifically the Radiology department, you know all the Ultrasound techs pretty well. Jeff and I stopped by there today to spread the good news and I mentioned to them that if they needed anyone to practice OB ultrasounds on that they could use me. Well it turns out that they have a couple of new students that need the experience. They also said that I could burn the images onto a disk. So clearer ultrasound pictures to come!

Half Way There!

I can't believe that I'm already half way through my first pregnancy. It's gone by so fast. I honestly don't even feel pregnant right now. I just feel fat. Maybe I'll feel more prego when I feel the baby kicking or something. There have only been a few things that my body has told me that "Yes you are for sure pregnant". For the sake of journaling I'll share what those things are:

• I have only thrown up once. This is a huge plus for me, I HATE throwing up. Because of this my mom thinks we are having a girl, because she never got sick with me. Well we'll see mom. Jeff is really hoping for a boy, but will be happy with either.
• I get tired easily. If you ask Jeff this isn't anything new, I can pretty much sleep anytime, anywhere.
• I don't have any weird food cravings. It's mostly been food turn offs. There have been several times where any kind of food just didn't sound good, but I was starving so I would eat a bowl of cereal and be satisfied. Does that count as a craving, even though I don't "crave" it?
• I'm just now having to look into wearing larger clothing. I'm not really at the point of wearing maternity clothes just yet, they'll just look like mumus, but past the point of feeling comfortable in my own clothes.
• To Jeff's relief I haven't had any hormonal mood swings.

That's pretty much it. I guess it's more of a list of things that AREN'T going on with me. It hasn't been too different yet. As long as everything continues to go well, and the baby is healthy, I couldn't ask for more. I'll be sure to post pictures of the baby bump soon.

Night Owl

I have officially become a night owl. I've always known that I was more of a night owl than an early bird. I hate waking up to an alarm in the mornings. For the last 5 years I've had to wake up between 3am and 7am to get to work. Those 4am shifts are killer! For those of you who don't know, I work as a Phlebotomist (one who draws blood) at a Hospital in Lafayette. Hospitals are open 24/7 so therefore we are drawing blood at all hours of the day/night. I recently switch over to the night shift. I LOVE WORKING THIS SHIFT! When I tell people what new my shift is, most of them give me this look like "I could never do that", or "Oh I'm sorry for you". Well if you are thinking that right now, STOP!. This is the shift for me. These are the reasons why:
#1- I get to spend so much more time with my husband! I work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Jeff works Saturday, Sunday, and Monday days. Jeff is gone at work while I need to sleep. Then we get to enjoy the next 4 days off together. Before we didn't have any days off together because I was M-F, while he worked the weekends.

#2- Like I said, I hate alarm clocks. It really sucks having to drag your body out of bed when your half awake. Then, having to shove contacts into half open eyes is always a challenge: it really burns sometimes. With the night shift I'm already awake, I do try to squeeze a nap in before I go, but even if I don't get one I still make it through the night.

# 3- I have no problems sleeping during the day. This is another area that people tell me they would struggle with. Well, that's where hanging a dark blanket up over the window comes in really handy. I can pretty much sleep anytime, anywhere. Oh, and being pregnant really helps in this area too!

#4- I would do a 12hr night shift over a 8hr day shift ANY DAY! The night shifts go by so fast for me. Especially because the last 3 1/2 hours of the shift are the busiest part, so it makes it go by even faster. The day shift just DRAGS on, and looking at the clock every hour wondering how much longer until I get to go home gets really old. I LOVE how fast my 3 night shifts go by.

#5- Last but not least, Less hours for more pay. 'Nuff said.

Do you still feel sorry for me? I didn't think so.

Telling the Parents

This was so priceless! My dad's reaction was so funny. He didn't get it at first but then it clicks. A very memorable moment for all of us! Enjoy the video.

Hawaii

We were very excited to be going to Hawaii

Cam and I in Hilo

Dorks in a Banyan tree

Totally random picture.

Jeff pretending to "Snot Rocket" the waterfall...so gross!

Dorky tourists!

Akaka Falls


The last stop on our long drive...What a way to end the day!

Dorks in front of the Thurston Lava Tubes

More dorks at Volcano National Park

Cam and I at Black Sand Beach

Making our way around the island

This was a bull with HUGE horns that we saw while taking a drive around the island.

The girls did a session at the Kona Temple.

One of MANY turtles that we saw.

Grandma Foster and I

Jeff being a dorky tourist! Haha love you honey!

Jeff and I were able to go to Hawaii a couple of weeks ago. We had an absolute blast! Most of my family was there with us which made it all the more fun. There were many highlights of this trip to make it a memorable one, but two that stand out the most. #1 is that we told my parents that they were going to be first time grandparents. We got this on video and it's priceless. I'll be posting that next. #2 happened the second night we were there. Jeff, my dad, my little brother Cameron, my mom and I all went on a night dive/snorkel with Manta rays. My dad and Cameron were the scuba divers, and Jeff, myself, and my mom were the snorkelers. We were told that the night before there were about 20 Manta rays that showed up, so we were pretty much guaranteed to see at least one. Well we weren't disappointed. After about 5 minutes of being in the water we were approached by a huge Manta. We were holding flashlights which attracted plankton, which the Manta's were feeding on. The Manta's were swimming right up to us. We literally had them coming as close as a few inches of us. If we had reached out to touch them we could have, but that's a big no no so we didn't. However there were a few that were bouncing off my dad and Cameron. There were at least 20 Manta's that showed up that night. We got a video of that night, it was soooooooo amazing! One to remember forever, and to defiantly do again! I recommend it to anyone looking to go to Hawaii and that likes to scuba dive or snorkel. We had many more memories to last a lifetime, what a great trip!

Seattle

The week after getting back from California, Jeff and I were able to go to Seattle and visit Jeff's youngest sister JoEllen and her husband Sean, and of course our new little nephew Noah. We had such a good time with them. It was our first time to Seattle so they showed us a lot of the hot tourist spots, some great shopping, and of course awesome food. We weren't sure if we would be coming back since they will be leaving in May to move to Boise for the next 2 years and then who knows where after that. So Jeff and I took advantage of the time we had with them in Seattle. We went to the top of the Space Needle, on a very clear day surprisingly. We went to the famous Pike's Place Market and watched some fish tossing. We did the Underground tour of Seattle, which by the way was a very cool way to see Seattle. If you go there, that is one thing I would recommend doing. We went to Gasworks park, the locks, and even saw the troll under the bridge. Since Jeff's birthday was on the 24th we decided to celebrate a little early and go out to dinner to a nice sea food restaurant "Ivers"...umm yum! Thanks Jo and Sean! We had a great time, we look forward to our next vacation with you!

Goodbye Uncle Frank

A lot has gone on since my last post, so I have a lot to share. First I would like to share is that my Uncle Frank passed away. He was my mom's older brother and only sibling. He died of prostate cancer. He was diagnosed 2 years and one month ago. The cancer was already in stage 4. All they could do for him was treat it and make him comfortable. He spent the last few years traveling with his wife to the places they loved most. I was able to attend his funeral in Alameda California with the rest of my family. My parents, older brother, and grandma were able to say their goodbye's before he passed. Everyone said that he was holding on until my grandma got there. The funeral, or memorial, was a traditional catholic service. It was a little different that what we LDS folk are used to, but good things were said and it had a good feeling over all. I was really proud of my dad, he stepped out of his comfort zone and spoke on our families behalf about how much we loved Frank. It's pretty rare that I get to see my dad cry, it's nice to know he has tears in there somewhere. We will all miss uncle Frank, but we know that we will be with him again. Here is the obituary that was printed in the local newspaper near his home.

Franklyn S. "Frank" Nelson Jr.

June 5, 1956 - March 8, 2009 Resident of Alameda Frank passed gently in his home in Alameda surrounded by many loving friends and family. He was born in San Pedro, California. He was a graduate of the University of Utah and spent many years enjoying the creative process of designing sound equipment for Audio Access, Citaton, and other Harman Kardon Brands, as well as his final years at Cisco-Lynksis. Frank volunteered for ten plus years as a docent with the Alameda Museum. Some of his other hobbies and interest included doing live sound for local bands, organic gardening and travel. He is survived by his wife of ten years Trish (Crowley) Nelson, his stepson Brint Joseph Stewart age 28, his mother Ila Jean Nelson of West Jordan, Utah, one sister Karen (Jeff) Foster . Frank is also survived by his in-laws Josephine and Kenneth Crowley of Alameda, two nephews Cory and Cameron Foster and one niece Nicole Foster. He was preceded in death by his father Lt Col Franklyn S. Nelson Sr. Memorial service and rosary will be held Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 5:00 PM at Greer Family Mortuary. A reception will follow at Linguini's Pizza & Beer. Frank's cremains will rest at his home. In lieu of flowers donations in his memory may be made to the American Red Cross or the Yosemite Fund. Greer Family Mortuary 510-865-3755