Doctor Appointment, Moving and Stretch Marks

I had a doctors appointment on Friday. The doctor said I'm a good 1 1/2 cm dilated and the baby is really low. She said she was surprised I wasn't waddling more when I walked and whenever the baby decides to press the button he will be ready to come. I told her my husband didn't want the baby to come for about another week (so he can get more done at work before paternity leave). She said that he better not have me doing any lifting or hard work then.

Well, guess what Derrick and I did on Tuesday night? We picked up a desk and tv we found on craigslist. I didn't help with moving them into the car because the people we bought them from helped Derrick with that. But what to do when you get to the apartment? You guessed it, I helped Derrick lug a desk up the stairs and then a 92 pound tv.

Another thing, I have really bad stretch marks. They keep getting worse and I can feel when I'm getting more of them. Cocoa butter did not work for me! I told Derrick that hopefully my stomach losing it's cuteness will just go into the baby being more cute. That's how it works right?

Almost Home Sweet Home

I thought I put up pictures of our new apartment since some people have been asking. Nothing is in there yet except for baby stuff, a metal bed frame (you'll see it in a picture) and the cable line for tv and internet.

So here we have the front door. We are on the second floor in apartment #16.

Here's what you see when you walk in the front door to the living room.



Here's the front window in the living room...nice tree right there :)




Our lovely kitchen. I still don't know how we're going to fit a dining table but I guess we'll work something out.

Here's the bedroom. We are a corner unit and have a huge tree right outside our window there on the left and the managers told us it keeps our apartment a little cooler in the summer...something we'll definitely need with a little baby.

We didn't take a picture of the baby room yet because it's pretty cluttered. As soon as we get all settled in I'll take a picture of the nursery!

Me now

I've got to keep taking these right? I just think I look bigger in the last picture than I do in this one. Oh, well. One month to go!

Mom's Visit

My mom came up last weekend for my baby shower. We were really busy doing a lot of fun things. Thursday night when she got here I showed her the apartment we're moving into in 2 weeks. On Friday Derrick, my mom and I biked around Stanford campus. First we stopped at the Hoover tower followed by lunch at a yummy frozen yogurt place called Fraiche. My mom said the last time she had yogurt that tasted like that it was in high school. I was glad we could bring back a memory from her past. Then we biked over to the Stanford Church where we walked around the inside. Every time I see it I can't believe how beautiful those windows and tile pictures are. We all loved it.


After the art museum Derrick stayed home to do homework and my mom and I went to the Winchester mansion. It was a crazy place and definitely interesting to walk around. They said at the end we had walked over a mile and through 110 rooms. After that we went to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes.

You're probably thinking this is the last of the Friday activities but there's more...after dinner we picked up Derrick and went to the Stanford theater to watch an old sci-fi movie. We got in free because our housing complex was putting on the activity...not only a free ticket but free snacks too! Can't get any better than that.

Wicked!

February 25...I finally get my Christmas present--tickets to Wicked! I've wanted to see this for over 2 years now. So, we went and saw it today at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco. We both loved it.

We had something kind of funny happen during the play. Derrick and I were holding hands in my lap so that part of Derrick's arm was touching my belly. Caleb totally kicked Derrick's arm during one of the good songs and Derrick looked at me and I confirmed it was a kick. Derrick replied that Caleb was enjoying the music.


Here's me super excited to go see the play!

Valentines Day

Derrick and I had a nice Valentines Day. After lunch I opened one present from Derrick--chocolates (which I asked for). Unfortunately, Derrick's present didn't come in the mail yet so I had to show him it electronically. It's a Get Fuzzy comic book. He just finished his Calvin and Hobbs book and he was ready for another one. Derrick always reads a few comic cartoons right before he falls asleep. He always goes to bed happy that way :)

Right before we went out to dinner that night I opened another present from Derrick. A chick flick movie, Sense and Sensibility. Perfect for Valentines Day.
That night for dinner we went out to PF Changs since we had a gift certificate there from Christmas. It was yuuuuummy! We even bought a piece of their 6 layer chocolate cake to bring home for later. We just had some today and it was fabulous!

We both got dressed up. I cut Derrick's hair that morning and he wore my favorite sweater. Which we call "the money shirt." I curled my hair, wore pink and white and even put on special earrings (something I don't do enough). That night for family prayer Derrick said that we were grateful for a day to celebrate our relationship. It really was. I did think about how much I love the boy and why. What a great day!

Stanford Basketball

Derrick and I went to Stanford men's basketball game vs. Washington State on Thrusday. While there, it was the first time I ever saw the mascot. It is hideous! A Christmas tree with a face. The real mascot is cardinal (the color) but it seems like the tree is the one that represents. I thought Derrick's high school mascot was bad...beet diggers (he claims he likes it). Boy am I grateful BYU is cougars. Cosmo never seemed so cool to me before.

While at the game, Derrick leaned over to me and said, "Remember the last time we were at a college basketball game?" I did. It was 2 years ago on Valentines Day. It was a BYU game. Right after that game is when we decided to start dating. I responded to Derrick, "Yep, and look where were are now." Then I patted my belly. Since that BYU basketball game my life has never been better.

Is this guy kidding?

Derrick and I were laughing so hard at this we were literally crying. There's a project due on Thursday in the class Derrick TAs and some kid seriously emailed this to the staff:

4 hot Australian chicks are visiting Stanford tomorrow to see both me and one of my partners.

We are requesting an extra 24 hours of padding (for the project to be due Friday at midnight instead of Thurs) because if we were given late days in this class we would opt to exercise one of them for this.

Tomorrow we would like to spend our evening with them at EBF instead of with each other at our normal Wednesday night hangout spot in the basement of Gates.

Again, that's 4 HOT Australian chicks.

Thank you,

Kyle

The professor of the class replied:

Umm... I think that's more information than we needed to know, but okay, you can have until Friday night if need be.

David

Doctor Appointment

I really enjoyed my 30 week appointment today with the doctor. Mostly because I didn't gain any weight since last time...which is a good thing because at my last appointment I had gained 8 pounds in a month! Christmas was too good to me :)

When the nurse took me into the room she said to me, "You seem really happy. There are a lot of pregnant women who are miserable." It sounded like she had quite a few cases of them. The doctor made a similar comment about me being really happy. I am!

I actually saw a different doctor than I normally do and I liked her a bit better than my other one so I'm thinking I'm going to switch. I came with a list of questions (I had never done that before) and she answered them really well and wrote down on sticky notes things that I wanted to know.

As always, it was good to hear a nice healthy heart and hear that things are looking good.

What's not to love?

Even though we haven't had too much going on lately, I am loving life! I'm not going to post any pictures with this one but just say what we've been up to.

School
First off this is Derrick's last quarter of school and we are way excited for him to graduate and start work at Microsoft! He is A LOT less busy than he was last quarter and so we have a lot more time for each other and other people. Last quarter we would do our companionship scripture reading in the car, I did almost all the chores, we didn't have as much time for our calling as ward missionaries and life was crazy. Now, Derrick has so much more time and it is wonderful!

Baby
What can be more exciting to a girl than getting married or expecting her first baby? I am loving life but I really can't wait until the baby comes. People tell me to enjoy myself now and that everything will be so different but I'm too excited! Planning baby shower stuff, getting baby things, seeing other people with their babies...I can't wait. I'm not feeling uncomfortable yet, acid reflux has gone away and Caleb is moving more than ever. We can now see him move from my stomach, not just little kicks, but actually moving...it is the coolest thing ever. We've also been lucky with Derrick's job offer because he's going to get a 4 week paid paternity leave. Can't get better than that. 2 1/2 more months to go!

10K Training
Derrick made a new year's resolution to train for and run a 10k this summer. He has a calendar printed out and on the wall of what he's supposed to do everyday. He's on his 3rd week now of training and has kept up really well with the schedule.

Salvadorian Food
Derrick and I went out with a friend from school to get some Savadorian food last week. We had pupusas and some other stuff. Really good!

Family Dinners
We are so luck to have Derrick's Aunt Mary and Uncle Mark in San Jose. We get to go over to their Sunday family dinners whenever we want and we always have a good time. We went there this last Sunday and also played a game afterwards. Going there is nice since we aren't close to either of our parent's.

Piano
I feel like I've been on a roll with music lately. I had quite a space of time where I wasn't writing anything and then all of a sudden, one day, things just started coming to me. Those are the times that make creative hobbies worth it.

In Conclusion
I am so grateful for my life. I just read my friend's blog where she wrote about things that made her happy. It touched me because it reminded me of how happy I am. I don't know why but Heavenly Father has given me more than I can ask for. Life is wonderful!

Tummy Pic #2

Here's the updated tummy photo. I really am getting big. It's been so fun to feel Caleb kicking. What I think is funny is when I feel him kicking on polar sides of my stomach at the same time--like he's stretching or something. Derrick's now not only felt him but has seen him kicking too. It's so fun!

Acid Reflux?

Since morning sickness I've been good until now. I'm pretty sure I am getting acid reflux. For the past 5 days around mid afternoon my throat will start burning and get a throw-uppy taste...blah! It lasts the whole rest of the day and unless I'm eating I'm feeling the burn. I wake up in the morning fine but then it comes again. At least I'm still a comfortable pregnant even though I feel like I look huge.

Facebook

I just created my facebook account and that took a good 4 hours. I'm sure it will be easier now. Oh, and anyone that I didn't find feel free to add me as a friend and search for Danielle Cooper Isaacson.

All Things Christmas

Christmas Day
Wow we did so much on our Christmas trip to San Diego! Christmas day we opened presents in the morning, had yummy omelets for breakfast and spent time with my dad's side of the family for dinner.

Like every other girl in my ward, Derrick got me Wicked tickets for Christmas on February 25th!!!! I can't wait. Dun, duh, da, da...da. For those who know the music backwards and forwards like me I hope you could have figured out that was Defying Gravity :)

Coronado
We stayed with my grandparents, who live in Coronado, one night. We went to the Hotel Del and saw the huge Christmas tree they put up every year.

The next day my grandpa gave us a personal tour of the Naval Base there in Coronado or North Island. Derrick was like a kid in a candy store looking at the aircraft carriers, planes, helicopters and buildings.


Friends
I was able to see some of my friends from high school who were able to meet Derrick for the first time because they were on their missions when we got married. I was so glad Derrick met them and we had a lot of fun talking and playing music for each other. My friends are in a band (that I used to be in for about a year). Here's a link to their myspace. I like the song called Loving Without Argument.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=4424426

5k
Derrick ran a 5k with my 14 year old brother Andrew. They both did great (especially Andrew who beat Derrick by 3 minutes) and one of Derrick's new year resolutions is to train to run a 10k.

Holiday Bowl
My dad gave Derrick and I tickets to the Holiday Bowl. Oregon University vs. Oklahoma State. We didn't have a team we were really hoping to win so we cheered for Oregon since we sat on the side of the stadium with the Oregon fans. We were at the 30 yard line and about 30 rows up from the field. The seats were great and Oregon won! Go Ducks!


San Diego Zoo
My parents also gave us tickets to the zoo. They won the tickets in a raffle and gave them to us and bought Jenna a ticket so she could go too. We saw everything except the panda in only about 3 1/2 hours.

Huntington Beach
Before we headed back home we stopped in Huntington Beach for 2 days to visit grandparents, cousins, aunt and uncle. We ate yummy food, watched movies, played games and opened Christmas presents. Caleb got lots of love, or should I say presents. Baby things are so cute! I can't wait until he's here. Getting all the baby stuff just makes me more anxious for him.

Thanks to Everyone who made Christmas so wonderful!!!

Drum Roll Please

Alright, here it is. A few people have wanted to see this so I am posting my belly for the first time. It is showing now and people come up me saying, "I didn't know you were pregnant." At least they know I'm pregnant and not just gaining weight :)

Oh, and I am definitely feeling the baby moving and kicking now. It's not big but it's something. This morning is even the first time Derrick felt little Caleb kick, that was exciting. We're already both enjoying this whole baby thing.

The Nutcracker

Through Stanford, Derrick and I got cheap tickets to see the San Francisco ballet perform The Nutcracker. We had never been inside the Opera House before and it was beautiful.

While there we saw a few friends from the ward and from our housing complex. Oh, and there were a ton of little girls! They were cute to see dancing around during intermission, trying to be like the ballerinas they're watching on stage. Here's us in our seats:

Hornblower Cruise

For one of my work parties, Derrick and I went on a Hornblower Cruise around the San Franciso Bay. We took a bus up to San Franciso and hopped onto a ship. We ate an amazing dinner, talked to friends, danced and walked around outside to look at the city's skyline. We went under the Golden Gate and Bay Bridge. It was a beautiful, clear and cold night.

Here's the crazy part: we got off the boat at midnight, home around 1:30am and Derrick stayed up until 6am doing TA work he had to get done. We wake up at 7:30 to get ready for church. After almost a week, he's finally recovering. We're both enjoying Derrick being on break.

The Greatest Show on Earth

Derrick did a family home evening lesson for us in April where he made a power point presentation. He edited this picture used it as the intro to his slide show. We both love it. For those who don't get what it is here's the real picture.



Here's a few great quotes that I love:
"Hi, I'm Michael Scott. I'm in charge of Dunder-Mifflin paper products. But I'm also the founder of Diversity Tomorrow... because today is almost over." - Michael Scott

"Whenever I am about to do something I ask myself 'would an idiot do this?' and if the answer is yes then I do not do that thing." - Dwight Schrute

Michael: Stanley, that's fricken brilliant. How do you know that? Did you learn that on the streets? (stutters and shakes head) I'm sorry.
Stanley: Oh, it's ok. I did learn it on the streets. On the ghetto in fact.

Abraham Lincoln once said that ‘If you're a racist, I will attack you with the North.' And those are the kinds of goals that I carry with me in the workplace." - Michael Scott

"I never smile if I can help it. Showing one's teeth is a submission signal in primates. When someone smiles at me, all I see is a chimpanzee begging for its life." - Dwight

Christmas Party

We can't believe how many people attended the ward Christmas party this year! It was the place to be on Friday night. I ate too many desserts and ran around the building trying to find a Children's Songbook (I ended up finding one hidden in the library). After that, I did have fun playing the piano for the kids while they sang Jingle Bells and Christmas Bells in their cute little blue choir outfits. Here's Derrick and I at the party (sorry it's a little blurry):

Sugar Cookies

I made sugar cookies by myself for the first time this last week!



My mom always made them growing up and I had no idea how much of a learning curve there would be. After trying a few different techniques I finally figured out how to make them come out well. A few people have been asking for the recipe so here it is:

Cut Out Cookies
1 cup margarine
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt.

1. Cream softened butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix flour, soda, cream of tarter and salt together in a bowl then add to cream mix.
2. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
3. Roll dough on floured surface. Cut cookies with cookie cutters.
4. Bake 400 degrees 6-8 minutes (It was always exactly 8 minutes for me). Remove and place on cooling rack.

Here's a few tips I learned:
-Don't be afraid to use a lot of flour for the floured surface. I even kept putting flour on top of the dough to prevent the rolling pin from sticking. The cookies still turned out well with the extra flour used.
-I have an ultra thin spatula to pick up the cut out dough shapes which helped a lot.
-After you're done with the first round of cutting out cookies, brush the flour off the best you can, roll the dough together and roll it out again same a before--lots of flour on the bottom and add flour as needed on the top.
-As soon as you pull the cookies out of the oven take them off the pan--they won't squish together like other cookies will and if you let it cool a bit before taking them off they start sticking to the sheet.

Frosting:
1 stick margarine, softened
1/4 cup milk (I think I used just a little less)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lb powdered sugar
pinch of salt

Remember to use coloring dye and festive sprinkles for decorating!