Rose Colette Laitinen

Our baby girl was born July 6th at 5:18 p.m. weighing 6 pounds 10 ounces, measuring 19.5 inches. We are so in love with her.

Raimo getting pumped up after 14 hours of waiting













One day old



Home from the hospital







Recouperating
Riding in the car (1 Week old)
an outing (Target)--first time shopping
First baseball game
With Papa
With her 3-month older cousin, Parker



3 Weeks old
I have pretty much retreated from society and am just enjoying my baby girl every day.

Update

I'm washing tiny baby clothes! They are SO adorable. My baby girl is going to have a new outfit every single day of her life.

I have been feeling very cramp-y lately. It wakes me up in the morning. Also I have contractions all the time, but they aren't painful. Also, the acid reflux has returned and eating isn't very fun.

I'm reading a ton and trying to enjoy being bored. Baby will be here very soon!

Reviews

I watched A Month by the Lake yesterday--there is a ridiculous deal going on at Blockbuster right now where you basically get unlimited free movies till July 4. Check it out. So we have been watching tons of movies and this one was beautiful!!! It takes place at Lake Como in Italy. The scenery is gorgeous. It makes me wish I had an upcoming trip to Italy so I could visit this place! And the story wasn't so bad either.

Places I'd like to visit (or revisit)
-Lake Como, Italy
-Switzerland
-Venice
-Napoli
-Nice/ the South of France
-Greece
-Spain
-Morocco
-Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Russia

We could probably cover the Mediterranean on a cruise ship--I think that would be amazing! We'd have to do the northern countries on a separate trip. Oh, and I also want to go to Australia. Better start saving.

Anyway, back to reviews. I'm also reading a book called The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted by Elizabeth Berg. It is a collection of stories and I'm really liking it. There were a couple of unnecessary swear words and a few lewd references, but this woman really understands food and I identify with her writing/humor in a lot of ways. It's enjoyable, and you only have to read one short story at a time if you want to.

I also read the final Emily book in the Montgomery series and enjoyed it. It's the kind of book I'd buy for my 12-14 year old daughter I think.

I read a few other books from the library but I don't think they're really worth mentioning. I didn't love them.

P.S. I walked to the Provo library for some exercise. It wore me out! It will be interesting to see how well I can handle exercise after a baby. Thankfully, only 29 pounds gained at this point. My doctor says I ought to have a shirt made that says I am 5'4'' and weigh that at 9 months.... anyway. He applauds me every appointment and makes me feel pretty good about not overdoing it. He gave me a warning at about 6 or 7 months that really freaked me out--I guess it's really easy to pack on pounds at the end. (Instead, I indulge myself in foodie books that describe all things delicious HA!)

P.P.S. We have a bassinet set up now next to the bed and it makes me all the more excited!! Can't wait for her to come! I am just waiting.

Sentimental

As I mentioned, I have been going through bags and bags of old photos, cards, and letters and organizing all of our stuff that has collected during the last 3 years. I have re-read some really sweet cards and notes that loved ones sent me, and I am glad that I am putting them in notebooks where they'll be more accessible to me in the future. Some of the dearest letters were those sent during Raimo's and my engagement, some birthday cards, and some of them are notes from my grandmas, who always offered praise and encouragement and would send a little "extra" cash or a little "dance money." However, one of the most special things I found was a high school graduation card just from Grandpa (Grandmas always wrote the cards.. usually). It was typed up on the inside of a card in that typewriter print he always used:

Jessica: I wish you lots of success in your new venture. I am very proud of you. I'm sure you have heard me say that after high school I continued to work. Later I went to Weber College for one semester mostly for the music program (I actually don't remember hearing any of this from him before) . I since have realized what a great advantage a college education is. Enclosed is a special gift for you, it is an emergency fund yours to use when in need, it is also to help you learn to control your money. If you find yourself in a bind, look at the bill... then try to work out the problem without having to use the bill. By working extra, budgeting, or maybe even going without. Here is my special offer, at the end of the school year you have been able to control your finances and still have this bill in your possession, I will double it with another one.. OK? Good luck. I love you a whole bunch and will be praying for you. Grandpa

I had totally forgotten about this promise, and I don't think I took him up on that offer at the end of the year! I have no idea where that bill is, or how big it was, but I am grateful for the lesson he offered me. I'm sure it did not stick with me that particular year as I did not work my first year away from home and was always wanting to spend, spend, spend. But since I have become totally independent of my parents and have had to learn how to save and budget, this piece of advice really rings true. I am going to try harder to hang onto my savings, and when I'm in a bind, I'll see what else I can do before using it. Unfortunately, my savings account has acted more like a checking at certain times of my life. I have good intentions when adding to that fund, but I need to leave it there!!!

One extra little perk: I found some forgotten cash among my high school graduation cards!! From Aunt Nancy, Gramma & Grandpa, Grandma Lupe & Grandpa Joe. It was a little treat after 6 years (can it have been that long already??) !!! It also made me feel a little sentimental seeing cards that still included my grandpas' names. I also found "a little dance help" from Grandma Joan that I had saved last year, and then never used! Those extra bills are definitely as helpful now (if not more so) than they were when I received them, and now I need to decide where to deposit them! I ought to put them away as my "emergency fund"...

Very busy couple of weeks

So at the end of May I found Manavu apartments in Provo, which normally house single men but have contracts for marrieds from April to August. They are two bedroom, two bathroom, have a very large kitchen and living space, lots of closet space, and--best of all--have a kitchen table and chairs!!! And they are 125$ cheaper per month than our Nantucket apartment (granted, it means we have to move again in August, but that was kind of the plan anyway) AND we don't have to pay any utilities. I listed our apartment on Craigslist just to see if we'd get any bites, and after one weekend we'd had 3 couples come to see it, one that was ready to sign a contract for June, and one that was also quite interested. So we called up the landlord to let her know we were moving out (we were at the end of our contract anyway, but I had sent the check already for the next month so basically we were out of contract but would need a refund). But I was feeling good that we had found her renters and it shouldn't be a problem. Well, she had decided she was going to raise the rent by 100 dollars!! Needless to say, she lost all of those interested renters with the new price.

But I went ahead and signed the contract for Manavu for the summer because I just felt good about it. So we got our keys right before Memorial weekend, and I headed over there to clean the heck out of it. After about an hour and a half I was exhausted. Haha. I had no idea how hard it was going to be to move an entire apartment at 8 months pregnant. It made me realize how much I appreciate my usual, non-pregnant, strong body. As a single person, I had been able to pack up all of my belongings and stuff them into my car every single spring and clean up in just ONE day. We have SO much more stuff now--all the wedding gifts and kitchen stuff, furniture, memorabilia, clothes, blankets, food, and junk have just been collecting for the last 3 years has ballooned into many many truckloads. We started kind of slow--Raimo helped me clean after work, and we brought the first few loads of stuff over that day. We rearranged all the beds and furniture in the place to make room for our stuff, and that was kind of heavy too--again, seemed like it should be no big deal since I rearranged our furniture all the time without Raimo in the old place.

It ended up taking 6 days to get everything moved--it would have been less if I had done more packing beforehand, but it was such a quick decision to move so I wasn't very prepared. We had some help from the home teachers to move our bed, from Brendan to move a few large items, and from Raimo's dad to get the biggest stuff transferred on the last day. That last day was the worst--we still had to clean the old place, and it hadn't really had a deep clean in the 3 years we were there. But we had to get it done because we were leaving the next day for California. SO we cleaned the heck out of it-- I was pretty done. I kept saying to Raimo let's just not clean it and we'll give up the 250$ cleaning deposit. But we finished, and we went out to dinner at Red Lobster.

(PS still haven't gotten that deposit back, still haven't gotten a refund on that month's rent. I'm still hopeful--supposedly the landlord is in town this week so maybe we will get it after she checks out the place.)

We headed home on Thursday. This required MORE packing, but thankfully just a suitcase. I was surprised that the drive wasn't too uncomfortable. We made it in time for Reed's promotion, which was Friday morning. He was probably the tallest 8th grader out there! He is going to do great in high school. We went to lunch at Farmer Boy's, which I haven't eaten in years. The fried zucchini was such a treat! I never get to eat that! On Saturday I had a baby shower-- I was so surprised how generous everyone was! I was totally loaded up with baby clothes and stuff from my registry. I feel so much more prepared for a baby, and now when people ask what I still need, I have a much better idea of what to tell them. Just a few things, but honestly they are more of conveniences, not even needs. We are pretty stocked up and that is exciting. We stayed a few more days, spent some time in the sun, and came home on our 3 year anniversary. That drive was not quite as pleasant--I was really glad to get out of the car and just be home. I put all my baby stuff in our baby room (which is also the study and craft and guest room). It is really nice that everything has a place! In Nantucket, I had to keep all the baby stuff in the living room and in boxes. And everything is just more spacious in general. We can actually walk around in our bedroom and I will be able to make sit-down dinners.

So I have been spending my days in my pajamas just trying to clear the mess we made when we moved in. I have been finding a place for everything and actually re-packing a lot of stuff that we won't need before the next move in August. I've been organizing and throwing out a lot of things we don't need. I may not be nesting exactly, but I'm sure de-junking everything. I had 3 huge drawers filled with pamphlets and letters and cards and photos and all kinds of things I thought I would put in scrapbooks. Well, the scrapbooking hasn't really happened at all during college, so today I just put all of it in sheet protectors (in order by date) and filled three 3-ring binders with just memorabilia. I re-read some really nice notes and cards. I put most of our photos in albums already--I'm only about one year behind on photos-- but I plan on getting caught up and starting my baby's album!

Today I've been feeling some lower back pain--probably sat in the chair too long. For about 3 weeks in May I was having acid reflux. I just felt like I couldn't eat anything or else I'd feel it creeping back up my throat all afternoon and night. Thankfully that has not been as much of a problem lately, but I still can't eat too much or I suffer the consequences. I am looking forward to getting this baby out and getting to see her! I'm looking forward to bending over and being able to do everyday things like a normal human being. Oh, and to having wardrobe options again. I'm even excited to have a baby wake me up in the night because then I get to hold her!

Haiku and two very silly poems

I would sleep but thoughts
cling to my mind like beetles
that will not shake loose.


I have been a little preoccupied the last few weeks, worrying whether we should move or not and where to and if we should sign any contracts, considering the ultimate goal is to get a job outside of Provo. And still the answer is... I don't know. But we have some things in the works--we'll just have to see. Patience has been the name of the game these last 4 or 5 months.

I ran across this very insightful quote today while packing up some old notebooks:

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."

The keys there are moving forward, being confident, seeking out the life which we have imagined. But is it that easy?

I also found in the same notebook a bunch of my first poems. They are all so whimsical and dreamy...

"Living in a Castle of Sand" by Jessica Contreras

"I want an adventure!" said Maryann to her dear friend , Betty-Liegh,
"Let's move from the city
to somewhere more pretty...
I know!"exclaimed she, "To the sea!"

So they packed up their bags and set off for the coast. The feeling of freedom felt grand.
They took shovels and pails,
not hammers and nails,
and built up a castle of sand!

In the castle they live, eating crabs and squid, and sleep in the sand on the floor.
Their life is quite wild
and shows that a child
can live happy and well on the shore.

So perchance to the seaside you plan to go, remember to look for these girls!
They live in the sun
and have oceans of fun
and wear bracelets and anklets of pearls!



Maybe Raimo and I could just live in a castle of sand. If only I were 12 again :)


One more for fun:

"Fairies"

Blossoms bloom round April-May
and fairies pop right out to play.

They breeze about on fragile wings
like eyelashes a-fluttering.

Their wee voices are heard when'er
a flower is plucked for someone's hair.

They feast on berries, sip the dew,
but always leave some there for you!

31.5 weeks

A lot has happened since this post where I listed some of baby's first milestones. Here are some new ones that have happened between week 13 and 31:

-grew girl parts--yay girls!
-attended her first general conference
-eaten lots of chocolate ice cream
-spent over 500 hours listening to mom talk on the phone about people's debt
-listened to lots of country music
-attended her first college graduation
-received lots of clothes... still more to come!
-gone on every Friday night date with mom and dad
-heard mom practice the piano
-heard her first stories from dad
-spent quality time with new cousins closest to her age, Laila and Parker
-became long and skinny, reaching around 15 inches and weighing 2 or 3 pounds

What I have been doing lately

Girl in Hyacinth Blue
by Susan Vreeland

Rebecca
by Daphne du Maurier

A Town Like Alice
by Nevil Shute

The Shrouded Walls
The Dark Shore
The Waiting Sands
April's Grave
The Devil on Lammas Night
by Susan Howatch

When Christ and His Saints Slept
by Sharon Kay Penman

Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep




I've picked up reading again. I'm still not finished with the last few, but I have been reading more lately than I have since graduation. I enjoyed each of these books, and have a hankering for more. I've been wanting to go to the Provo library just because it is fun to pick out an armful of books, but I have had (and still have) so many books to read on my own shelf at home!

Raimo's Graduation

What a busy weekend.... I found a recap of Richard G. Scott's talk at BYU's Commencement (from the Deseret News by Marianne Holman). I was so hot during that meeting and had a bad stomach ache from eating a JDogg, and we were literally on the very top bleacher in the Marriott Center, but I really loved the talk.

One of my favorite lines by Richard G. Scott was: "Strong character is more important than what you own, what you have learned, or what goals you have accomplished." Obviously possessions will not bring us happiness, but the other two items surprised me. We always put so much emphasis on education (even in church), and yet even in a commencement ceremony, where we are celebrating our academic milestones, the apostle points out to us that even the things we learn and accomplish are secondary to having and maintaining strong character. To me, that means that our life choices and our day-to-day actions, along with the real desires of our hearts, mean so much more to the Lord than any great academic accolades. It was particularly reassuring to me, as I have been thinking a lot about motherhood and the lifestyle I will be living for at least the next 20 years, or longer (feeling a little bit like my life is over!) That day I felt slightly jealous of those graduates in black, about to receive their Master's Degrees. I could have started that path last year, but I chose not to. While that would have been a great and worthwhile endeavor, I was just grateful to be reminded that the Lord judges us according to our character and not by our degree, and that I have many other important things that I will do in my lifetime, particularly as a mother.(I was 7 months on the dot that day)

I also liked the concept of following the same guiding principles wherever you are; don't allow them to change because of circumstance. Be the person you want to be everywhere.

Points 4 and 8 also stood out to me: Let the Lord guide you, and Serve wherever He needs you. Raimo and I are in a transient stage right now and have no idea what is coming next. We have been praying more fervently for guidance and for help in finding the right job and applying for the right locations. We really could go anywhere, start anything at this point, but I know He will help us find what is right for us. Not only that, but He will send us to the place where we will be able to serve the best.

I am grateful to have attended a school where everything is focused around the gospel, rather than on becoming great in the eyes of the world. The whole meeting focused on our life path and becoming people of great character, and I loved that.

Here are photos of convocations. The most magical part to me was when the organist began Pomp and Circumstance and then the dramatic parting of the curtains with all the graduates sitting behind it! The audience just all gasped together and started cheering--it was really beautiful, and Raimo was right there in the center. It was so intimate compared to my convocation in the Marriott Center!
Raimo is so cute


Immediately upon seeing the following picture of myself, I made us take another in a different position. See wide? why?
So anyways, there I am in all my 28-week glory.

Jumping for joy


We had dinner at Texas Roadhouse afterward. Here are Marko and Amanda. We finally met their new baby, Laila!

The "Y" on the mountain was lit for graduation. Can you tell?

I pasted the rest of the talk below:
Individuals must be a force for good in a world that desperately needs it, Elder Richard G. Scott told more than 6,000 Brigham Young University graduates and their supporters on Thursday afternoon.

Students from every U.S. state and 72 different countries listened to the apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as he spoke during commencement exercises in the Marriott Center on the BYU campus.

"This world is in serious trouble," Elder Scott said. "The fundamental values of this nation are being undermined. There is a continual crumbling of principle, virtue, integrity and religious values — the foundation stones of civilization and the definitive ingredients of peace and happiness."

But despite the difficulties in the world, it is a solid foundation of faith, character and integrity that will help individuals find peace, joy and purpose in life, Elder Scott said.

"God uses your faith to mold your character," he said. "Character is woven patiently from threads of doctrine, principle and obedience. Character is the manifestation of what you are becoming. Your character will be the yardstick that God will use to determine how well you have used your mortal life.

"Strong character is more important than what you own, what you have learned, or what goals you have accomplished. Your consistent exercise of faith builds strong character. In turn, fortified confidence in conquering the trials of life."

Elder Scott shared ten specific points to help individuals to successfully developing their character and find joy in life.

1. Establish a set of principles to guide every aspect of life — home, church service, profession and community.

"Many people try to compartmentalize their lives and have a standard for Church, another standard for what they do in business, and in other aspects of their life," Elder Scott said. "I very strongly counsel you not to do that. There really is only one set of standards that make sense. Those are the teachings of Jesus Christ which signal to us the importance of faith, service, obedience and integrity."

2. Don't make exceptions to your standards. "Never compromise them," he said. "Be loyal to the teachings that you have received here and have received from your parents. They are the things of greatest worth. ... If you integrate that with what you know about the teachings of the Lord, examples of those worthy people who are role models to you, you will have a solid foundation and you will be productive and do things that are worthwhile for others."

3. Be loyal. Elder Scott said that individuals must be loyal to the BYU campus, parents, loved ones and above all, the Savior. "Success comes when your actions are consistent with the teachings of the Lord," he said. "When you seek work find someone who challenges you, who raises you to higher levels of performance.

4. Live so that the Lord can guide you to where He wants you to serve. "Let the Lord guide you," he said. "He can do that if you live His commandments worthily and strive in every way to be obedient to His teachings."

5. Serve others. "Sharing what you know with others will bring you happiness and bless their lives."

6. Smile. "You will soon learn that everybody has problems and nobody wants to hear about yours," he said. "When you put those things aside and smile, have a good sense of humor as the prophets do. . . . A sense of humor helps you greatly."

7. Don't complain. "Life isn't always fair. That's a fact. But it's always charged with marvelous opportunities if you know how to find them."

8. Always have a church assignment. "Wherever you go in the world, wherever the Lord takes you, always offer your service to the presiding authority. Leave it to that authority to decide where and how. Be connected with the things of God and the ways to serve Him."

9. Go to the temple. "Carry a current temple recommend. . . . It will keep you spiritually in tune, will allow you to remember the most important things of life and encourage you to give great service to others."

10. Use the Savior, Jesus Christ as your example for life. "Use His teachings as your handbook for life. Never make exceptions to them. "

As individuals follow these suggestions, they strengthen their foundation of faith and are more able to lead others to do the same.

"Come to know of the great influence for good that flows from individual acts born of conscience and principle rooted in truth," he said. "Resolve that each moment of your life will reflect your determination to humbly be an example of righteousness, integrity and conviction."

Elder Cecil O. Samuelson, BYU President and member of the Seventy, spoke to graduates about the aims of a BYU education, and the important role it plays in becoming spiritually strengthened, enlarging their intellect and building one's character.

"More than ever, you will be your own teacher and will create your own tests and quizzes," Elder Samuelson said. "Some of what you learned at BYU will be timeless, but other specifics, facts or approaches . . . will change over time and you must be able to keep up ... As your lives become even more demanding and complicated, your integrity and honor will come under ever-increasing attacks. Thus, you must continue to build and strengthen your character upon the already firm foundation of honesty, dependability and reliability."

Other speakers included Chris Feinauer, BYU Alumni Association president, and graduate Paige Crosland Anderson. College convocations were scheduled to be held Friday in various locations on the BYU campus.