Our little family is growing again!

I have been eager dying to announce to the world that we are expecting. Although, to be honest, I think my mother has been faring even worse than I have. She cannot wait to be a grandma, and I think she's been waiting with baited breath until she could shout it from the rooftops--which she started doing about three minutes after I posted the news on Facebook.

My 12-week appointment was this morning, which was our predetermined "announcement day" so long as everything was well. Baby Holley is growing and has a healthy heartbeat, which was fun to hear. Actually, at my 8-week appointment, the midwife used a handheld ultrasound machine, so we got to see the baby--or rather, the bean-shaped thing with a heartbeat that they told us was our baby. But we weren't complaining!

The baby is due on April 8th, which seems like a lovely time of year to have a baby. I suppose any time of year is nice to have a baby. Or maybe it's just nice to have a baby, regardless of what time of year?

And to answer your question, dear reader, yes I have been sick, though I have tried to keep up my normal routine as much as possible. I have also been reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally tired. Imagine me, who has always been a complete night owl, going to bed at 10:30 every night, because I literally can't function any more. I try to snag naps when I can. The nausea has certainly been the worst part. I haven't actually been throwing up a whole lot (except for that time on our cruise when I lost it on a street corner in Puerto Rico...) but feeling so sick really takes it out of me. But I'm very, very, very hopeful that here moving into the second trimester, that part will fade. Cross your fingers for me!

Anyway, James and I are both incredibly excited. You should see his face light up when he talks about becoming a daddy. It just melts my heart. And I, of course, am overjoyed to become a mommy (at last!) We're excited for what the future has in store for our family!


PS: To our Taekwondo friends--
A few have already expressed concern over whether I will continue teaching after the baby is born. And I'm here to assure you that yes, I intend to continue teaching. That said, I can't plan for the future indefinitely. James and I are committed to Black Belt Testing in January 2015.  I will for sure continue teaching until that time. After that is more of a grey area. I love Taekwondo, and I love teaching at the studio with all my heart. It's a little hard for me to imagine life without it. However, my family will always be my first priority. So for now, I'm leaving our post-Black Belt Testing plans undetermined.

Life of Late

Some of the things that have been occupying the time of the Holley family lately:

-I attended the inaugural Salt Lake Comic Con with my co-author Sam Stubbs, where we occupied a booth for three days promoting our books. It was awesome!

-James is back in school at BYU, enjoying some of his classes (being bored by others). While the transition was difficult (I was soooooooo spoiled having him to myself for two months this summer) its been good because....

-I've started actively writing my third book again. Seeing as how Book Two is being released in November (two years, four months after the release of the first book) I am eager to complete the trilogy in a timely manner.

-James and I are both facing a slight change in our schedules at the studio. This past week, I took on a new class: coaching the school demo team. I'm eager for the new challenge. Starting in a week and a half, James will also be taking on a new class, his first "curriculum" class (he's been teaching Weapons for some time, and working as an assistant instructor in several other classes). Even though I will be there as his assistant, it's exciting, for me at least, to see James really growing into his own as an instructor.

-We've started preparing for Halloween. More on this once we actually start decorating and whatnot--which cannot come soon enough, as far as I'm concerned.

-Oh yeah, it was my birthday a few weeks ago. It was lovely. My birthday was on Sunday, so on Saturday, we went on a double-date with our friends the Pages, on Sunday my mother made birthday dinner, on Monday we went out to dinner and I got my first present from James, a printer, and on Tuesday, I got my second present, a couples massage, which was heaven. I felt very spoiled.

-We have been thoroughly enjoying our Shadow puppy. He is darling. We've had a few mishaps, but pretty minor stuff, considering that he's 6 months old and new to our family. He and I go on walks when James is at school, and he is the most curious creature I think I have ever encountered.

That's the bulk of it. We stay busy teaching and learning at the studio, plus school for James and writing for me. That and enjoying one anothers company. And Shadow's company. :)

Shadow McSneezsters Holley

When we bought our house, James and I decided that we wanted to adopt a dog. We determined that we would wait until after our cruise, so as not to abandon a new pet for a week. And so, Monday after returning from our cruise, we visited the Humane Society of Utah. :)

We wanted to adopt a dog from a shelter. This made it difficult to know exactly what we would end up with. James wanted a big dog. I was nervous about getting a big dog. Especially where we're planning to have children in the near future, I was hesitant to get a dog that could knock over my toddlers. We figured that we would get a "medium" dog. 

When we arrived at the Humane Society, we walked through the Small Dogs room first. There was this little black dog in the first kennel that caught my eye. (Besides him, there was a little terrier, and then the rest of the room was full of chihuahuas. Oy.) But we moved over to the Big Dogs room. We walked a pit bull named Alaska. She was a pretty dog, and VERY enthusiastic. A little too enthusiastic for me, actually. She about knocked me over. James really liked her, but I again expressed my worry about having a big dog while we have small children. We looked around some more, but there were really any "medium" dogs there. They were all big, or small. That's about when I asked James if we could go look at the little black dog again. :)

I fell in love immediately. So immediately that the worker told me we had to spent at least twenty more minutes with him before we'd be allowed to adopt him. I was happy to spend more time with this little pup. Soon enough he was on the way home with us!

We named him Shadow. He's a Dachsund mix (mixed with what, we don't know!) about 6 months old. The Humane Society rescued him from a shelter in L.A. that was going to euthanize him. Can you believe that? A 6-month-old puppy, as sweet as can be. But apparently this shelter, like many others there, has a 3-day turnover. Three days, and if nobody claims the dog, they euthanize. So sad. The Humane Society sends their people down frequently to rescue dogs. And we're so glad they did!

Shadow turned out to be an apt name for our baby, not only because of his coloring. Shadow follows us around everywhere. It is amazing how fast he has bonded! And he is one smart cookie. He's only had one accident (at James' parent's house--he was mortified!) and has been very good about going potty. He is darling with kids--he likes to lick their faces--and hasn't nipped or growled once. He has nipped and growled at other dogs, mostly when they come near me. He's a little possessive of his mommy!

He also figured out how to use the kitty door all by himself. We left him outside when we went to work the day after we adopted him, and it rained while we were gone. I was so worried! But he figured out the kitty door--which we had thought was too small for him. It's pretty funny to watch, he has to contort himself to get through. We'll probably invest in a larger door at some point, but for now, the kitty door works!

Shadow has little quirks, of course. At the moment he has kennel cough. The coughing itself is so sad, his whole little body shakes. The worst part is actually his sneezing--he sneezes constantly and often violently. Ergo his nickname "McSneezsters."

He loves laying on soft things. It's not often that he will simply lay on the floor. He prefers laying in our laps, but he'll settle for anything comfy. His favorite spot has become a rocking chair in our front room. Most afternoons, he claims the chair for a nap. I find it incredibly cute.

Yesterday we went to the Holley's for dinner. Upon arriving, we learned that James's youngest brother Daniel had just gotten a new puppy, a little cocker spaniel he named Birdy. We were worried about how Shadow would get along with the other dogs there. We had the little accident, which might have been the result of Shadow's first interaction with a male dog since we've had him--their Corgi named Pooka. But Shadow did just fine with little Birdy--she followed him around all over the place, barking at him half the time, and he basically ignored her. I actually really enjoyed watching them together.

Birdy & Shadow
Photo courtesy of Shaylee Holley.

At any rate, our little Shadow is a delight. He makes me very happy, and I love his company. He's just a complete sweetheart!