Cade Michael Ratcliffe

He is here!!!!! He arrived December 26th, 2007 at 7:36 p.m. I was induced just after noon and he came about 7 hours later! Things went smoothly and we are grateful for no extra excitement. Cade was 7lbs 9 oz and 20 inches. Initially we thought we had a red-head, but as he has gotten a little more it looks to be a light brown. Woo-Hoo! Here are a few quick pictures with more to come. We also added a couple little snippets of his cuteness. We are grateful to have him in our little family safe and sound!

Waiting Patiently

Ok-well maybe not that patiently. At the end of every day I am disappointed our son is not here yet!! We are very anxious to hold our new baby. I will spare you my woes with being 8 1/2 months pregnant-anyone who has kids already knows. But the foot is doing better. I am off crutches and just hobbling around in a boot. It is healing slower than I would like but it has improved some. I was talking to my mom today and she asked if I was any bigger so I decided it is time to post some pics of me at my biggest. I made it through the end of school which was good and Cole is done with finals!!! We have been greatly enjoying our break but are very anxious to have a baby to enjoy it with. You can see in one of the pics that we put up our very small tree but we are very happy that the holidays are here and that we get to celebrate it by adding to our family!! (hopefully soon!!)

Ratcliffe Update

Just when I thought being an 8 1/2 months pregnant lady was about as bad as it could get-it got worse. I am now an 8 1/2 months pregnant lady hobbling around on crutches! Oh and it is quite a funny sight! I was walking out to the car Monday morning to go to school and I slipped on the ice. I sprained a major tendon in my foot. So just to add to my awkwardness and uncomfortableness I have crutches and a boot in addition to my very large belly. I guess I have been humbled-I feel like I should have never complained about anything before this incident! But not to worry-I am in good hands. Cole is doing a master job of taking care of me and helping me with everything I could possibly need-not to mention his own load of school work.
The latest on the baby-head is down and I am about 3cm dilated already! The doctor said she could almost guarantee a 2007 baby and that it really would not surprise her if he came any time now! My goal is to make it till the 19th. That is my last real teaching day before our break starts and about the time Cole will finish finals.
It has been a very busy month for Cole and I-sub plans for all of January, getting baby stuff ready, finals, grad school applications, and then classes and teaching all day! We have barely even thought about Christmas coming! But we are getting through it and look forward to our upcoming son! (We are so curious about his hair color! Kind of hoping he does not get his mother's genes!)

Once upon a time I was tagged...

So I think I have been tagged for this by three different people quite a while ago so I am now finally getting to it. I wanted to list things that are not that obvious and that people maybe would not know but it was hard. I had Cole help me so here it goes:

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. Teeth: I really like to take care of my teeth. I like brushing and do several times a day. I like flossing which I do most days of the week. I love to go the the dentist for cleanings. Running out of toothpaste is kind of an emergency. I still wear my retainers from when I got my braces off faithfully every night. (Kinda a shocker for Cole when we first got married because they glow in the dark!) I am very concerned that they will go crooked again. I think this stems from working on teeth over the past several summers at my dad's orthodontic offices.

2. Pills: I know this is quite childish but I still have a hard time swallowing pills! I hate it! Little ones I am able to barely get down with lots of concentration. For bigger ones like vitamins and things I usually take them with a spoonful of applesauce-oh it makes it so much easier!!! I always have applesauce on hand just in case.

3. Phone: I really do not enjoy talking on the phone. In high school I never spent hours on the phone like most girls did. I just really find is so much easier and less awkward sometimes to just talk face to face. That is what I prefer. Obviously, that is not always possible but if I had my choice I would always prefer face to face. If I have ever returned your phone call-feel special. If not-sorry its not you!! I just hate calling people!

4. Decisions: I am an extremely indecisive person! When I lived at home I remember my mom getting so frustrated with me when we would go shopping because I have a hard time making decisions! I am somewhat practical and so I also think about what the more practical option would be. But then sometimes it is fun to frivolous! Now this is not just for shopping-this usually goes for just about anything! I just don't make decisions very fast! How do you choose between 2 good options sometimes?! Cole is trying to help me with this!

5. Terminology: Sometimes I use funny terminology for random things. I believe this stems from my family. I grew up with some of these so I never thought they were weird until I left for college and other people would question what I meant by something. Here are a few examples.
Fruit snacks: Fun fruits
Kix Cereal: Balls
Ramen with an egg in it: noodly with egg
This yummy dinner with chicken and stuffing: chicken with guts
When something has alot of flavor: it has a-zip-a-zing!
The very last drops of some drink: the grodies!!
Any non-full bathroom like a powder bathroom: the teeny bathroom
The remote control: the clicker
and telling someone they are a "good egg" is a compliment!

I hope my mom enjoyed that. These are the effects from living in the Black household!! Shan if you think of more make a comment!

6. Food: I really like eating! I am really not a picky eater and am usually willing to try new things. It has been so annoying to me that since I have been pregnant I have turned into a high maintaince eater. I have to have certain things at certain times, things I normally like I have not, and other things I would rather not prefer I have wanted! But normally I am not picky!

By this point most of all my blogger friends have been tagged! It took me so long to do it so I am afraid to retag someone so I will just tag a few: Mandy Miller, Debbie & Greg Allen, Katie Black, and Aria Litherland! Happy blogging!

Thanksgiving Break

Here are a few pics from the Thanksgiving break. It was a much needed break!

Here we are at the BYU vs Utah game. It was such an exciting game! This is the group we always sit with: Cole and I, Jeff and Melissa, Melissa's sister Jan, Jeff's brother Paul and his wife Courtney and their friend. (Shan and Matthew were in TX).

Cole and the rest of Provo rushed the field after we won.

Emily came into town for the break so we had a fun little get together. Alisa, Emily and I were in the education program together. Alisa and Ryan are on the left and Emily and Landon are on the right. We had dinner and then just chatted and caught up while the boys watched whatever game was on. I was so excited to see Emily's new baby girl Mylee. She was so precious! I had Cole hold her so he could start practicing! Thanks girls for a fun party!

Pee-Pee Teepee

When my mom was here earlier this week she brought with her a prize for her future grandson. It was a perfect gift considering I come from a family of girls. With being the oldest of the girls I am very accustomed to changing diapers. But there is a slight difference when changing diapers on boys rather than on girls. This gift is designed to protect an unsuspecting new mother. We all got a pretty good kick out of it! Here is what the directions say:

Instructions: Hold feet with one hand so legs are at a 90 degree angle and place pee-pee teepee on wee wee during diaper changes.

A Time for Family

My Grandpa Black passed away a week ago today. He was an amazing man who accomplished a lot in his 73 years. He was a very upbeat person, very involved in service and ran scores of races including 6 marathons. My family and extended family flew in and services were held earlier this week. I have been blessed in that I have not had many family members pass on and this was the first of my four grandparents to pass. Although it was sad to see him go it was a very positive experience because of the spirit that was present and the strength a family can have when pulled together. The funeral was a beautiful service filled with stories and the many lessons Grandpa Black taught us. It really was a celebration of his life. His life was in order and he did not fear to leave this earth. I hope to have that same strength and knowledge in my later years-to know that I have done everything required of me and can leave this earth in peace.

Although we were sad to have to gather for Grandpa Black's passing, I very much enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with family members especially those I don't get the chance to see very much. I am very thankful for my family-immediate and extended and for the fun memories and experiences we are able to share.

The Black side of the family at the grave site. Grandma, her 3 sons and spouses, all the grandchildren and one great-grandchild in my tummy!

The girls of the Mike Black family! (Plus his future grandson!)

All the grandchildren practicing for our song to sing at the service. We sang "I Love To See the Temple". Grandpa loved the temple and he loved this song.

Royal Update!

It has been forever since I did a post so here is a basic update on everything!

Baby update: Well I am at the point now where I will start having my doctor's appointments every 2 weeks instead of 4! Wow-I feel like that is a big step!

Good news: I don't have gestational diabetes, my weight gain and growth is normal, baby's heart beat is good, no major swelling yet, and we are much closer to a name now! Shan also gave me a great baby shower a while ago which was so much fun! Boy stuff can be just as cute as girl stuff! Thanks Shan! (I still need to get the pictures from it though.)

Bad news: Still have pretty bad tailbone pain, always hungry, and still pretty cranky at night. Poor Cole-but he is doing a great job of putting up with me! I also get those Braxton Hicks contraction things all the time which was making me worried. But my doctor said as long as they are not painful and they go away when I sit down then it should be ok.

Update on Cole: Well Cole is finishing his last year at BYU and should graduate in April. Yesterday he took the GRE test for grad school! He did pretty good but may end up taking it again. In January he will start applying for graduate schools for the Marriage and Family Therapy program. Right now some of the top choices are Kansas State, Virginia Tech, and Auburn. There is a lot he is looking at like funding, masters and doctorate program opportunities, and also what the program will generally offer. So the plan as of right now is that sometime next summer we will be moving to a new state to start grad school. That is the extent of the plan right now-not sure what I will be doing regarding baby and teaching.

Our newest addition: We got rid of Cole's car (which we were very anxious to do) and have a new car! It was kind of scary because it was our first really big financial decision we have made together but we are very excited about it! It is a Kia Sorento. It has 4 wheel drive so Shan and I can travel the 30 min to our schools in the snow with somewhat more peace of mind for us and the husbands. It also will fit a car seat in the back very comfortably! Doesn't it look like a great family car!

Teaching: Teaching is going very well. Last week was the end of the term. (There are 4 in the year). So on Monday I will send home report cards. I am very nervous about this because I know I am going to get some angry parents calling surprised that their precious angels don't have top scores in everything. But with the start of the new term on Monday I am going to start implementing some more programs and management techniques. It takes most of my time and is so much work but I am really enjoying teaching. Although I have so much to learn and so much to improve on I feel like I have accomplished something I have worked so hard to do!

Murder Mystery Night: So my cousin got this murder mystery game like forever ago and has been wanted to play it for a really long time. So about a month ago we planned for this murder mystery night. It was at my grandparents house with all our cousins and spouses in the area.(except Cole-he was hunting!) He dropped off invitations at our houses with a specific character on it. We needed to come dressed as that part. Throughout the night at specific points we had to read more information about our character and about the other characters and talk about it with the rest of the group. Dinner was part of the night but our conversations had to be in character. We had to ask other characters questions and somehow come up with who we thought did the murder, how, and with what motive. It was really fun! Shan ended up being the murderer and she did a great job fooling the rest of us!

Left to Right: Daniel (genius guy who was a tease) Grandma (the owner of the mansion we were all at), Shanna (soccer mom-also the murderer), Matthew (mystery writer), Grandpa (successful business man), Me (neurosurgeon), Laura(maid), Paul (his game and he hosted it as the Butler), Scott (fisherman), Gen (movie star).

Homecoming Weekend

This past weekend was Homecoming for BYU. On Friday night Cole and Matthew wanted to take Shan and I to a Homecoming dance. I was a little unsure at first just because it is more of a single person thing. I felt a little out of place going married not to mention 6 months prego! But we had sooooo much fun andI am really glad we got the chance to go. We went to a dance held on the Heber Creeper train in Heber City. There were a few train cars with seats, some with snacks, and then a few empty cars reserved for dancing. The veiw from the train as it went along was so pretty! We had a good time. I was a little wobbly on the dance floor becuase the train was moving and swaying while we were trying to dance and I am already a little more off balanced as it is! Then on Saturday we went to the game. It was a very fun and much needed weekend!

Apartment Pics

Ok here is our new apartment! We are still doing some improvements but it is tons bigger than our old place. We live in a little 4-plex so each corner of the building is its own apartment. So no big apartment complex, no stairwells, and we even have a little square of grass in the front yard that we don't have to mow. There are so many little things to get excited over-a linen closet, a coat closet, a second bedroom, washer and dryer hook ups, no one below or above us, a place for a kitchen table, and windows that let you know the sun is shining! All these things we missed out on in our old place so it is very exciting to have them. It was fun putting it all together but pretty rushed since I started teaching the next week. Cole was an excellent help. I gave him "honey do" lists since he had not started school yet and when I came home in the evening he had everything done! Thanks honey!

The Belly

Ok-I have had way too many requests to see the belly so far so here it is! This is from the other night and I am about 5 months along-and the little thing won't stop kickin me! It is so precious! Oh and this is the first time I wore my maternity jeans and I loved them! They looked like regular jeans and it was the first time I have been able to wear jeans in months! Thanks mom!

One Year!

Cole and I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary on Saturday. We had so much fun! We went out to breakfast in the morning (I love french toast!!), came back and got some things done during the day, and then that night we went to Carrabba's for dinner and then to this place called Color Me Mine in Provo. It was so much fun. You go and pick out a piece of ceramic and then they have all the paints and supplies you need. After you paint your piece they glaze it and put it in the kiln and all you have to do is pick it up three days later and it is done! Cole made me a cereal bowl because I love to eat cereal and I did a cup for him because he loves drinks. We are going to go pick them up this week! I am so excited to see how they turned out! Thinking back we have had such a great year together. We have experienced alot but have had fun experiencing them together. I am so grateful to be married to Cole-he is such a great support to me! I love him so much and look forward to our next adventurous year together!

TGIF

I am sooooo glad it is Friday!! I have survived my first week teaching and am very ready for the weekend. Things have gone pretty well. It is really nice not to be in school anymore and to have everything I am doing "for real". But along with that comes the pressure and responsibility of everything. I only have 24 students which is really nice but I definitely have some that will test my patience! My class room is finally starting to look better and be more functional. ( I will post pics later-there are still some things I want to put up and right now my name place is spelled wrong!) There is just so much to learn and hopefully I get better as I go along. Things that other teachers do automatically just take me so much more time because I am so less experienced. But I am really enjoying it and trying to put my everything into it. It is so rewarding to see your students either enjoy their learning or succeed at something difficult. The hard part is making them enjoy it and helping them succeed! I have a handful of students that I also student taught last year and it has been a big relief to have some of them in my class. That is a handful of student whose names I don't have to memorize. Also it is very comforting to see some of them in the halls and have them say, "Oh Mrs. Ratcliffe your back!" and "Mrs. Ratcliffe I wish I was in your class!" That always makes me feel good! The students are all so funny about me being pregnant. They are always giving me advice and stuff. They also want the baby to be the class pet for next semester!

Summer Summary

So the past month has been extremely busy and I have royally slacked in my blogging so here is a quick update on how the summer went.

We went to Galveston for the 4th of July. It was fun but the beach was pretty nasty due to all the rain we have been getting. But we stayed in this adorable little beach house, went shopping, played on the beach, ate at Fish Tails ( a Galveston tradition), and had a fun time. We were only there a few days but it was really nice to get away for a while.

ITS A BOY!! We found out earlier this month that we will be having a boy! Who would have thought it was possible in my family?! We are still discussing names and nothing is decided at the moment. But I am getting quite the bump and Joel (nickname-Jenna and Cole put together-not the real name) is a very active baby. I get kicked all day.

We went to a Rangers Game with some of our extended family and we had awesome seats. It was really good to see and spend an evening with them. Cole was soooo excited to go-he brought his mitt and everything. My cousin's son, Ethan, was so cute to watch. He just sat there and watched the game like he was totally into it. I can just see Cole taking his little son to games and both being totally into it!

Some people in my past wards from home threw me a quick baby shower right before we left. It was so much fun! Baby stuff is so cute. I have decided to make the nursery green and brown due to the large amount of things I got that were green and brown. They did this cute idea-instead of random baby shower games everyone sat around and made a scrapbook page. Then they put it into a book so all I have to do is go back and put the pictures in! I thought it was a genius idea! Thanks so much to Heather, Jerri and Aria!

Cole found out about this ballroom club in Dallas so we went on a ballroom dancing date. We went with best friend Alexi and her boyfriend Tim. It was a blast! Last year I made Cole take this beginning ballroom, couples only class so we were able to use what we learned from the class. We did the Waltz, Cha Cha, Triple Swing, Foxtrot, and Salsa. Everyone else there was probably between the ages of 40-60 and were single. We kept getting comments like, "Oh it is nice to see some young people here!" In Utah, a place like this would only have young people there. It was so funny to see all these old people dancing their little hearts out. But I must say I was way impressed at how well many of the old men danced!

I guess the latest update is that we have made the drive to Utah and have moved into our new apartment and trying to get ready for the school year. I really like our new apartment-way bigger than our old one. And now I am just trying to get my classroom set up and and get ready for school to start. Students start on Tues. and teachers started on the 15th. It has been a pretty stressful week trying to move, get the house set up and get ready to teach school all in about a week and a half! Cole will start his last year at BYU in a couple of weeks. We have a busy year ahead of us!

My B-day Cake

I know this is from a while ago but I am very behind in my blogging! So after I made Cole's cake for his birthday he decided he would make one for me. I have to admit- his frosting designs turned out much better than mine! I was very proud! I couldn't help but post them! Thanks honey!

For Shan

Random story:
Ok Shan I thought you would get a kick out of this! So you know how for years we have been talking about "noodly with egg". Well the other day after church (in my last blog I was talking about eating and church-that is how I remembered this and I have been meaning to tell you) we all came home to make whatever we wanted for lunch-you know-the snacky lunches? So I guess Kayla has never actually had noodly with egg. So we are all doing our own thing and I walk past the stove and see Kayla starting to boil water to make ramen and then next to her ramen I see this bowl of already scrambled egg. I picked up the bowl and asked Kayla what this was for. She said, "I am making noodly with egg. Doesn't it have scrambled egg in it?" We all just about died laughing. It was cute-she was just trying to make it from what she had heard over the years. I thought you would appreciate that!

Oh Baby Oh Baby!

You guessed it! Cole and I are expecting our first baby!! I am about 14 weeks along and doing well! I am due on New Years Eve. That should work just perfectly with teaching. I will teach the first semester, have the Christmas break for the end part of my term and to deliver, and then take my leave the beginning part of January. So it will be like a long extended break. Then I will continue teaching out the rest of the year. That is the plan so far but, as always, things could change. We will find out on August 1st if it is a girl or boy and yes we want to know. Cole of course wants a boy and I want a little girl! But we will be excited for either one. We have had a lot of fun thinking of names and such.

I don't quite have a distinct bump yet but I am definitely getting a bit thicker and things are fitting tighter. I went shopping the other day for "baggy" clothes and it was so much fun. There are a bunch of shirts now that are really popular that are fitted around the bust and then baggy all the way down. They have been perfect to wear! Pants are getting harder but I am not big enough to wear maternity pants so I am resorting to stretchy stuff. It has been really nice because I wear scrubs practically everyday for work so they are baggy and comfortable. It will be hard to switch from those to nice teacher wear. As for morning sickness I really haven't had any...but I do feel pretty sick and grumpy in the evenings. During the day I always have to keep food and water in me. If I let myself get too hungry I get very dizzy and sick feeling. One time on Sunday while I was still keeping the pregnancy on the "down low" I brought crackers to eat during Relief Society because I knew I would not be able to make it all the way through church without eating something. So I sat down next to my mom right when it was starting and started to get my crackers and my mom totally freaked out. She was like, " unless you want everyone here to know you are pregnant, you better go eat those in the bathroom." I totally had not even thought about that. But yeah in a room full of women I guess it would have been a dead give away as a newly wed to be eating crackers during Relief Society. So went to a bathroom stall and quietly ate my crackers to myself!

The Big Screen

Ok not really-but I had the opportunity to be in a commercial this past week and it was really fun. I work for Apple Orthodontix as an assistant and they were shooting a new commercial. I know alot of the people in the company (including my dad) and so I had the chance to be in it. I played as an assistant (even though I really am) and my little sister played as a patient (and she really is too!) Cole even came on the second day of shooting and was able to play as a patient. It was really cool to see how everything gets put together. They had real hair and make-up people there and directors really saying, "Action", "Cut", and "That's a wrap!" It should air by the end of July but only in the DFW area of course. Here's a few pics from the shooting and look for me on TV!

The set was in one of our offices

Me pretending to talk to a patient

Cole and I waiting around-there was lots of waiting!

Help

So I am not very blog savey. I really want to have links to go to everybody else's blogs instead of always going to Shan's and using her links. Lame I know! SO could somebody or everybody who knows how leave a comment giving very simplistic instructions how to do so? I have tried to look and figure it out but I have failed. I would greatly appreciate your help! Thanks!

Memorial Day

For Memorial Day my family and Cole and I went to IHOP in the morning for breakfast. This is one of my most favorite things to do-go out for breakfast! ( I always fall into the same old habit of getting my favorite-french toast.) That afternoon we had the whole zone of missionaries in our area come over for fun, games, and grilling. At first things were going well. There were boys everywhere playing ping pong, pool, and volleyball in the sand pit. While we were eating it started to rain, well, down pour actually. But that didn't stop the boys. A select brave, Cole included, found this as an opportunity to take turns diving for the volleyball and landing in puddles of mud and sand. All the elders said this was the best P-day ever! My dad got some great pictures and I couldn't help but post them. Cole was so sore the next day.