38 weeks

Updates:

• We got a car seat
• We got a carrier
• We took our maternity pictures at 36 weeks but probably won't get them after the baby is here.
• I've gained 23 pounds so far 
• My awesome mother-in-law is coming June 1st!
• I ate a whole watermelon...kinda of my new obsession.

Last picture I took with him and last time I saw him 1/1/12

My sweet grandfather passed away May 7th and it was really sad to be so far away from my family and to not be able to travel either. I felt stuck and useless. I'm so grateful for Bianca and for her to be there for me that night and making me feel SO much better. Later that week I read President Uchtdorf talk from this past general conference titled  Grateful in Any Circumstances and I loved the whole talk, especially this:

"When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation. In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise. In pain, we can glory in Christ’s Atonement. In the cold of bitter sorrow, we can experience the closeness and warmth of heaven’s embrace."

I will tell baby J all about his great abuelo Mario.

Front pictures are almost disturbing haha first we got the linea nigra and then the ackward belly button and then the shape of the belly. Depending on how the baby is, sometimes it's perfectly round and other times my whole left side is a sinking hole while he relaxes on the right side. 

I thought I was big at 20 weeks, then I thought there was no way I'd get any bigger at 30, and now I'm just amazed at how much my body can handle! It really is mind blowing and I still can't believe I'm actually pregnant and due any day now!

Bianca completely surprised us by getting us 12 cloth diapers! From BumGenius to Kawaii and BeeChanged. I love all the colors and patterns she chose. The little stack on the right are the ones Jon and I had. We are so grateful for her and helping us start our stash of cloth diapers. I freaking love you Bianca!

"nothing is more awkward than carrying a heavy plastic car seat with one arm" it's so true. Jon and I hated the idea so after much research we purchased the Boba 4g Carrier. 

The countdown started!

Loving my massive bump

31 weeks flew by so quickly! I feel like I have only been pregnant for like 10 weeks.

Updates:

• I have gained a total of 15 pounds so far and should be gaining like a pound or so per week until baby get's here!
• I love kiwis and croissants and cheesecake but actually I can eat anything on sight :O
• I bought my first maternity clothes (3 tops)
• We ordered our first cloth diapers 
• Got in my first automobile collision! 
• Passed my glucose test

Crazy huh, so the car accident was just scary because I was 30w5d pregnant. So Chewy and I were on our way to pick up Jon from school and this girl fails to yield on a left turn and BOOM, I t-bone her. My poor little Chewy flew and hit the dashboard.  I was going 35 and both cars were not drivable and were towed away. I was transported to the hospital.

Jon heard the call on the radio and arrived at the scene a minute after the ambulance and so we rode to the hospital together where baby and I were monitored for four hours.Everything turned out okay and we are so grateful for that.

So how is the daddy-to-be? Jon is super excited about being a dad. He has been nesting a LOT and I think it's so cute. I love seeing him so happy and excited; he is going to be such a great father.

My favorite part was hearing his heart four 4 hours

Auntie Nathalee

Auntie Anya

enjoying the hospital chair

Over the hump

So I am now 25 weeks pregnant and I can't believe that I am over half way through it! This ride has been fun so far.  It has been a great bonding experience for Jon and I and  it still blows my mind that we are creating a human being, one that will pass our genes to the next generation, oh yeah.

Updates:

• February 7th- Felt him kick for the first time! 
• February 8th- Jon felt him kick and it was magical.
• I have gained 10 pounds
• My belly button is poking out!
• Jeans don't close anymore 
• We think we picked out a name
• We bought our first set of baby clothes!

Thankfully I have a healthy pregnancy and I am able to continue with my life as normal. There are a few things I can't do, obviously, like hot tubs, laying on my stomach or back..wah...there are a few more things but overall pregnant life is not as limited as I thought it would be.  There are a few machines I can't use at gym but most of the things I like to do I still can and will continue to do until the very end (moderating as I grow bigger of course), so here is my pregnancy work out so far:

• Mondays Wednesday (or Saturday) Fridays -
• Stationary bike for 40 minutes. I can't wait for the weather to be nice out so I can ride my real bike outside.
• or
• Run 2 miles, jog half a mile and walk the other half. (once i get bigger i'll do more jogging instead of running if it feels like it's too much for my knees)
• Arms (so general lol I just do whatever Jon is working on that day)
• Squats Squats Squats! 

• Tuesdays and Thursdays-
• Pre-natal Yoga (if you are at BYU-I these are free and great but get your own mat because the ones there are awful)
• Squats

Alright, so aside from being a great experience, pregnancy itself really sucks. I am not a fan of sharing my body as a living space for another human. Unless its Jon, I rather have no one inside of me. It really is uncomfortable. Think about it, your core is small as it is and all your organs are just compacted in there, how in the world is it possible to fit something  else in there without feeling extremely uncomfortable?! according to my pregnancy app my uterus is now the size of a soccer ball; how insane is that?! how does a soccer ball fit in there! and to think that it still has to get bigger! Truly, it is a miracle, there is no way to deny that. I just want our baby out and in my arms already.

Regardless of the physical discomforts; back aches, awful sleep, the hormone overflows, and the body changes, I appreciate this moment in my life and feel extremely blessed to be able to have the opportunity to carry out such a great task.My favorite thing is feeling him kick, ever since he started he hasn't stopped and I love it! I don't think I would be able to enjoy my pregnancy  as much if it wasn't for my  Jon. He has been a great companion, a good listener, a comforter and a great masseuse. Jon has been so involved that, if he could, I am sure he would carry the baby for me. He does everything in his power to keep me comfortable and to keep my love tank extra full.  I just absolutely love him. Without him and the love and support from my family and friends I would be a mess!

looks like Pinocchio but its just his little thumb

He refused to move his hand from his face!

ow ow ow!!

Can't wait to shove those in my mouth!

Anniversary

one year

I have been awful at blogging. Seriously, how do other people do it? I admire them. Anyway, Jon and I celebrated out first year of marriage together about two months ago and to be honest, time completely flew by and I still can't even believe that I am married to this wonderful man.

I heard a lot before getting married that the first year of marriage is the hardest. Bullcrap. Maybe it is if you and your spouse never knew each other before getting married. But we both knew each other inside-out- and head-to-toe and there was nothing difficult about our first year; living with Jon has been a blast. I am not saying we don't ever argue or get butthurt at each other, but there was nothing difficult about it. Jon is the neatest, cleanest guy ever, he can cook, he can fix anything, and I really mean anything- it's really amazing to have him around. He is also super smart and he can have educated convos about anything but he can go on and on about biochemistry and pharmaceutical drugs.What I love about him the most is that he is funny and makes me laugh a lot-- he makes all these funny faces and voices and impersonations and he is just LEEEEENDO. He is also a great father to our baby Chewy and Grandma and Boner. I am still completely in love with my little gold nugget, and I am just so excited to spend more years to come with him. I am excited to experience human parenthood and buying our first home and just excited for the lows and highs of life!

There is nothing better then to be able to live with your lover and share everyday stuff and experience new things together. I am so glad he chose me to be his life and eternal companion and I am extremely grateful to have him as mine. Jonathan is truly my best friend and a great husband and I cannot imagine my life without him (this is not a suicide statement)

So to those who are a little scare of marriage, don't be. There are scarier things in life like human trafficking for example. So as long as you know your partner and you are both willing to work at it, it is possible! 

My next blog will probably be when I give birth.

-Jessica 
 

life isn't always picture perfect, so deal with it

Hello!

This is my first time writing a blog and I am excited to start!

I remember seeing my older sister's blog but I always told myself that I would never be that "type" of person.  Whatever that means.  But after reading her last blog about Best Friends it hit me that I can write about whatever the hell I want! Thus starting "Thegovegang".

I am in an interracial marriage with Jonathan Gove and couldn't be happier about it (Interracial couples rule! Don't agree? Let's fight about it.). He tells people that I told him that I was an undocumented immigrant after we got married and that the only reason I married him was for "papers". Oh how I love my husband! The truth is that I married him because I freaking love him with the passion of a million burning tortillas! And for those of you wondering, no I am not in this country illegally, I was born in the beautiful state of New Jersey in the city of Plainfield or the "Queen City" as it used to be known for.  When I was two years old, my mom moved back to her native country, Guatemala, and we lived there for seven years. We came back to Plainfield in 2000 and have been there ever since, until January 2012 when I permanently moved out. Jonathan is from beautiful Encinitas, California.  He was born and raised there (actually born in La Jolla but same general area).  Our future human babies will hopefully have the same luck as Jon; be born and raised in Southern California.
  I have two awesome sisters Sandra Pleites Laurentino and Thelma Pleites. I love them both so much! We all come from a wonderful hard working mother, Thelma, who means the world to all of us! Our father is a work in progress but I am sure he'll come around, who wouldn't with such awesome girls right?

I also have two other sisters from totally different parents, Bianca Banegas, my best friend since High School and Anya Komar, my Russian beast who I met my first day as a freshman at BYU-I, she is now currently serving an LDS mission in Romania!  

Anyway, now I am blessed to have a second mother and father; my in-laws Lisa and Barrie Gove. Jonathan and I are proud parents of a demon-possessed Umbrella Cockatoo named Precious and a mysterious breed puppy named Chewy.  They may or may not be mentioned a lot in my future blogs.