Easter!

Because Easter was a little later than normal we had several opportunities to have some Easter fun. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we kicked off the Easter season with an Easter egg hunt with my brother before he left for basic training. Next, Bailee gave us an Easter Family Home Evening lesson she had prepared herself. That was one of the highlights of the whole season. Hearing her testimony through the lesson. Proud mom.

Here you can see our next fun family activity. Easter egg monsters. The one problem...trying to convince the kids that the eggs were to eat, not new toys.

I baked some spring cookies with the help of my niece, Tyler.

The day before Easter we had an Easter egg hunt at Damon's parents house. The kids were just a tiny bit excited.

Trey said he needed binoculars to help him find the eggs easier.

Brit found his loot in the food storage room. Smart guy.

Dumping out the candy to separate.

We braved the freezing cold (at the end of April I might add) for our egg toss.

My kids are going through this face-pulling stage. It's practically impossible to take a pic of them without the crazy faces. As long as I can snag a couple normal ones, I really don't mind too much. It just shows their happiness/goofiness.

Easter morning. The kids waiting in the hall outside of their rooms for their dad. Couldn't handle waiting to see the mess the Easter Bunny left.

Bailee likes the Easter Bunny to hide her basket really well. She found it hiding in the dryer.

Trey was very concerned that his Easter basket would be hidden. Much to his relief, it was in plain sight along with some things for Nash. All 3 kids got monkey jammies. Lucky Easter Bunny...finding matching things for the kiddos.

Mom and Dad's less exciting baskets.

New Easter clothes. I love this part of Easter Sunday! I'm not gonna lie though, it was difficult taking pics of the kids with their face-pulling and the sugar high they were on.
Good thing those kids are so unbelievably cute!

Handsome as ever!

Beautiful girl!

More craziness. It's amazing that I got any normal pics at all.

Can't live without these 3!!!

I finally got the perfect shot.

I'm so grateful for my life. I'm the luckiest girl in the world for what the Lord has blessed me with. Nothing could have been a better reminder of the Savior's atonement than being able to spend this Easter Sunday with my little family. Without his sacrifice I would have NOTHING, which also means I wouldn't be able to feel the love that I feel for my little ones and my eternal companion. I'm asked so little in return.
I hope all of you had a wonderful Easter and were able to feel the Spirit of the day as I did!

IT'S A......

...well, isn't it obvious?!

In case you're blind, our little baby is a BOY!

On Tuesday we had another ultrasound to verify the sex of the baby, and most important, to make sure he's okay. Each thing the tech checked ended up being perfect, and of course we couldn't help but be relieved and extremely grateful throughout the ultrasound. Bailee was a little sad that it was a boy, but having the 16 week ultrasound prepared her quite a bit and she did much better this time. Yesterday Bailee said, "mom, I'm excited now that the baby is a boy. It's okay that I'm not gonna have a sister." I'm so proud of her and happy that she is excited to be the big sis of another brother. Trey of course is thrilled that it's a boy. He's even excited that he gets to share his things!


Baby's profile.

Baby's lips. Mouth wide open.

Baby's healthy spine.

Baby's face.

Sweet baby boy!
One last thing........we'll be naming our little guy Nash. Little Nashy. Not quite sure about the middle name yet. We're so excited about the name. I can picture the baby with the name and can't imagine anything different.

Proudest Sister in the World

On Tuesday my baby brother left for boot camp. OK, so he's obviously not a baby anymore, but I can't help but be a little protective of him. He returned home from his mission in October, 2009 and moved in with us shorty after. He only lived with us for about 6 months, but in that short time we really got to know each other for the first time. John and Trey became the best of buddies and even after he moved out, he made a huge effort to spend the night on Thursdays so he could spend Friday with Trey. What young adult does that for their 4 year old nephew? Not many would, and Trey is going to miss John so much. I don't think Trey really understands just how long his uncle will be away. John has been very motivated in trying to discover his career path since he got home. He made the huge commitment of joining the National Guard and is focusing on intelligence. After basic training for two months, he'll be studying intelligence for 5 months and then Arabic intelligence for 18 months. It will be 2-3 months before we can do much communicating, but eventually we can visit him and he can come home for Christmas. I seriously can't express how proud I am of him.
Last Sunday our family had a going away party for him with a massive Easter candy hunt for the kids. John changed into his uniform for pictures and we loaded all his pockets full of candy and watched the kids attack him. Unfortunately I can't post any pics of him in his uniform and can't post any other info about what he's doing in the Guard than I already have. I'm gonna frame one of the pictures of Trey and John and put it on his dresser. The poor kid asks about John every day.
Well, I know this is just a big brag-fest about my bro, but I really am proud of him. I will miss him so much. The late night laughs Damon and I had with him, the selfless help he did for me, all his advice-seeking (it made me feel smart), and the time he put into playing with our kids. I'm totally sad that he's not gonna be able to see our baby till it's a little older, but as Damon keeps telling me, I know I'll survive. Barely.
Love you, John!

Throughout Our Week

This week we saw a glimpse of SPRING! Everyone and everything just seems a little brighter now that we've seen the sun peek out again. After enjoying a little shopping last Saturday I came home to Damon playing outside with the kids and giving Bailee some golf tips. I love watching Damon interact with the kids. It means the world to them.

Monday was the start of my 18th week. The baby has definitely been growing! I still can't believe how blessed I am to be feeling well enough to enjoy this time like I have. Bailee had a blast taking my profile pictures. As much as I would like the time to pass, I kinda want time to stop as well. I love this experience.
Loving the baby belly!

Thursday through Saturday were the warmest days so far. The kids spent every available minute outside with the swarm of neighborhood kids. All day Friday I spent doing yard work. I've missed yard work so much! My brother spent the night on Thursday and ended up doing yard work with me. It was fun spending the day with him, enjoying the chatting, the gardening, and of course the sun.

During the past several months the 3rd graders at Bailee's school participated in RAD kids, a self defense program. To finish the program , the kids with 100% attendance went to the school on Friday evening to show off their skills to their parents. Bailee has loved RAD kids and talks about it at home constantly.
Bailee waiting for her turn.

My boys just watching the show.

Bailee making some sweet hits.

You go girl!

Saturday and Sunday were set aside for general conference. In church we talked about King Benjamin preaching on a tower and the people pitching their tents to listen. Bailee and Trey put up their tents in the living room in front of the TV to listen to our prophet. We watched all 4 sessions together; listening, playing conference games, and eating munchies. Saturday we enjoyed a BBQ and some bad mitten between sessions. Unfortunately, we woke up to a couple inches of snow this morning and had to forget about playing outside. Other than the snow, what an amazing weekend. Perfect family time, and we got to listen to our prophet speak.
Precious.

Last exciting news before we begin a new week. Today Damon was resting his hand on my tummy hoping to feel a kick, and he actually felt one. We were pretty excited. Love sharing this with him. And only 1 more week until my next ultrasound.

Then the shopping begins!

Being PREGGERS!

I've been preggers for 17 weeks now. Last week I had my 16 week appointment. Very exciting! I asked my doc if he would be kind enough to do an extra ultrasound so I could find out the sex of the baby early. So much shopping to do! He said yes...hee hee! Once again, very exciting. Damon and I have both been thinking this baby is a girl, and the doc agreed that it is in fact a girl. Well, he agreed for a few minutes. And then the baby moved around a little and gave us a different view. Then he said, "actually, I see something there...it may be a boy." So, it's probably a boy, but could still in fact be a girl. 16 weeks is pretty early to do an ultrasound and boys and girls look pretty much the same in that area that early. So...the ultrasound didn't help much but it's still amazing to see that tiny little baby moving around. Poor Bailee cried until bedtime because she wants a sister so badly. I actually haven't cared if it's a girl or boy, but much to my own surprise, I was slightly disappointed. However, the next day I was over my disappointment and became very excited about the thought of having a little boy. I'm seriously so excited about it! So, now that I'm psyched for a boy it could end up being a girl, and then I'll have to adjust again. Really though, I'll be beyond happy whoever this little sweetie is that Heavenly Father has sent to us.

Maybe Girl

Maybe Girl

Maybe Boy

Maybe Boy

So, I can't say I'm one that enjoys pregnancy...until now. Sure there's still unpleasant things and I know it's just going to get harder, but my other pregnancies were so miserable that I'm sooooo grateful that I'm having this experience. No morning sickness. It's seriously amazing. It's not fair that every mother can't have a pregnancy like this. Hopefully I'm not jinxing myself, but I am really really grateful.
Pregnancy brain is in full force. Some examples. I told a waitress that Bailee was under 6. Then I changed my mind and said she was 9. Neither are true. I really wasn't trying to lie about her age. I saw an add in a magazine with a picture of a clump of dirt and thought it was a brownie. Mmm...brownies. A few weeks ago I left my clients wax on for 2 days, then I took the wax out before waiting for it to cool and spilled it everywhere. It took me an entire morning to clean it, then I went upstairs, mixed Trey his instant carnation breakfast (for lunch), and spilled it...of course all of it went down the crack between the stove and counter. Things like this are constant. I'm worse than a toddler.
Foods I'm craving: FRUIT! Particularly oranges and peaches. The other night I wanted an orange so bad I searched the house desperately looking for anything orange flavored. I found an orange tootsie pop. Not quite the same thing. Also, anything tomatoey. Even pizza, which is strange for me. BBQ sauce, marinara sauce. I'm getting hungry with just the thought. Oh yes, and sandwiches. My food cravings with Bailee were donuts and sandwiches. Food cravings with Trey? Just food in general. Particularly ice cream once I could stomach dairy.
Food aversions: MINT! I can't see it, think about it, taste it, and especially can't smell it without getting nauseous. Food aversions with Bailee were golden puff's cereal and dairy. Food aversion with Trey. Anything tomatoey. Dairy too.
The most enjoyable thing so far started 2 weeks ago. The baby's first kicks. At least the ones that I can feel. Now I can occasionally feel the baby turn. Actually, as I type this I can feel he or she moving around. I keep thinking this is the last time I'll feel a little one inside me so I keep on reminding myself to enjoy the heck out of it, especially before the kicks start to hurt. I try to stop whatever I'm doing when I feel the baby move so I don't miss a second. Granted, it's getting to be more and more frequent so it's not always possible. Just loving it!