Christmas Eve

We decided to get a real tree for Dylan this year. It turned out a lot bigger than we planned, so the decorations are a little sparce. I think we will keep that tradition up. It was fun for us to go to a tree farm and pick out a special tree for our son/brother. Then we all decorated it and took it up to the cemetary. We opened up our secret baby envelope at the cemetary as well. It was a special moment for all of us.
Later on, at my parents house, we re-enacted the Christmas story again. I had thought about just skipping it this year, but the kids would have none of that! All three toddler nephews wanted to be wisemen this year, so that meant that Uncle Adam got to be the star!
What a good sport! The kids were hilarious and very intrigued.
At least it is fun for them to play a part in the story. Hopefully someday they will actually understand what it is they are doing! Baby Matthew was Baby Jesus this year. Maya did a good job of holding him.
The boys really got into the fact that we were calling Matthew, Jesus.
The kids got PJ's again for Christmas eve.
You've never seen kids more excited to get a pair of pajamas.

How many preisthood holders does it take to assemble a treadmill?

Well, five in our case! We got a treadmill over the weekend and we asked a few of the men in our neighborhood to help us bring it in. They were nice enough to stay and help assemble it. I was very, very grateful for that because it would have taken me hours upon hours to put it together! They were hilarious to watch putting the treadmill together. There's something about men and instructions, oh yeah, they don't follow them! I feel bad they were at our house so long, but it was greatly appreciated.
We have been waiting and waiting to get a treadmill. I can't make it to the gym everyday, so this way I can still get a workout in. Plus, Brian makes it to the gym maybe once a month! This will be a great addition for us! We've already used it several times!

And the winner is....

The girls!!! That's right, we found out yesterday that we are having another princess. The girls decided since there was already 3 boys and 3 girls in the family that this baby was the tie breaker. So, the girls dominate! I was fine to keep waiting until the end, but I was outvoted by the kids and Brian. They wanted to find out for Christmas.
I think Brian is a little disappointed, but he loves his princesses, so I am pretty sure he is still excited. Now we just need to go shopping for everything because we got rid of almost all the girl stuff. That's an awful shame let me tell you!

Baking, Baking, Baking

I have been trying for a few weeks to think of something to give my neighbors for Christmas that wouldn't cost a whole lot of money. I really didn't want to have to make something because I am just so tired all the time right now, but I finally gave in and decided it would be fun to make everybody Cinnamon Swirl Bread like they sell at Kneaders. (This is way good if you haven't tried it there!) Needless to say, I have been baking for two days to make 20 loaves of bread! It turned out really good. My kids have been eating it like crazy! They probably aren't as wonderful and perfectly shaped like they are at Kneaders, but I was happy to finally have something to give out! Hopefully they tasted good to the neighbors!

Rub A Dub Dub, Three Men In A Tub

My brother-in-law had to have some surgery done on his arm, so we kept two of my sister's little boys for the day and overnight. I have to say that having 3 little toddler boys was a lot of work for this very pregnant mother! They had a good old time in the tub together. Carter (in the middle) is the youngest, but he is a character. He was washing the two other boys while they were playing. They kept giving him dirty looks, but he was just smiling and having fun washing their backs and their hair. Getting them all dried and dressed for the night was quite the challenge. Gavin and Austin are potty-trained, but that isn't to say that there isn't urine all over my toilet! I am pretty much done with the whole aiming and missing thing! I kind of wanted another boy, but I will be grateful at this point for another girl!
Luckily they all played well together, so it wasn't too much of a challenge. Feeding everybody was my biggest challenge. It felt like I was making, and cleaning up food all day long. I was exhausted by the time they got picked up. I hope it helped to have them at my house. They are welcome anytime!

A Whirlwind Weekend of Joy and Sadness

This last weekend was really crazy. Brian's niece Mylin was born, and his cousin's baby boy Trevor passed away. We drove up to Idaho late Friday night so we could be to the funeral on Saturday. We got to see our new cute niece, which was very fun! It was bitter sweet since a baby was lost on the same day. We felt like we should go up to Idaho because it meant a lot to us when people came to support us at Dylan's funeral. I have to say that it was far more difficult than I could have imagined. I was OK until we pulled into the cemetary. Then I lost it. I don't have much control with all the pregnancy hormones, but being there was just so sad. It's not right to have to bury your child. I was mostly crying because I knew what that couple was going through. It's a rough road. I don't know if it helped for us to be there, but I was grateful to have went. After the funeral, we had to rush home to get to the girls' dane recital on time. They have been talking about it for weeks. It was fun to go and see them dance. Those two love performing more than anything! Gavin and my niece Savannah were super excited the whole time. You can hear them clapping and shouting during the performances. Gavin stood and danced the entire time!

Really, REALLY?!!!!

Brian has been whining, (yes whining!) about wanting to get two monitors for our computer at home. On Black Friday, I went shopping all night long and got some really awesome deals. When I got home, I guess he was feeling left out because he didn't get anything so I told him to check online to see if his monitors happened to be on sale. Well, to my surprise they were on for an extremely good price. So I told him to order them for himself for Christmas. They got here the other day, and let me just say "HOLY CRAP!" Just one of these monitors is almost twice the size of our old monitor, but there are two mind you! So we have this tiny desk (not that all this would fit on any desk!) for two monitors, the case, and whatever other computer parts we need! I guess I should have checked the size myself before he ordered them! Needless to say we have two massive monitors now that would probably dwarf our tvs! What am I getting for Christmas you ask? Oh didn't I mention, apparently one of the monitors is mine! Thanks honey, it's everything I ever wanted!

Dance Central Diva

Over the Thanksgiving holiday we spent several days at my mom's house hanging out with family. My brother-in-law brought his X-Box 360 with the new Kinect. If you haven't seen this yet you are missing out. It is really cool. We especially liked playing the Dance Central game. Maya is quite good at it. You imitate the dancer and the Kinect picks up your movements to see how accurate you are. It is pretty funny to watch people play any of the games, but Dance Central is especially funny. The girls really enjoyed dancing with the game over and over and over! They say the games on the Kinect are a workout and they are not kidding. You can get pretty worn out dancing, running, jumping, etc with the games on this thing. We had a blast playing with it.

Saying it how it is

I'm at that point in my pregnancy where you just feel really fat and not so cute. Brian wanted to go out on Friday night, so I thought I would get dressed up for the occasion. I did my hair and got all ready. I thought I was looking pretty cute. As I was looking in the mirror, Maya came in and said, "wow mom! You are really fat!". Isn't so awesome having kids to keep you in reality?! Well, that wasn't exactly the compliment I was going for! Brian told her that someday mom will be old and skinny and that you (Maya) will be pregnant and fat and we are going to totally make fun of you! At least he tries to make me feel a little better.

What a week!

So it's taken me forever to get these Halloween pictures up! The week started off as Red Ribbon week. So the school had several theme days. They did crazy sock day, red shirt day, backwards day, and crazy hair day! They had fun getting dressed up. These hairdos were kind of special!
Friday, they had to wear their costumes. I had to get up early to get everyone in their costumes, including Brian! Kaitlyn was Cleopatra, so I had to flat iron all her hair. Maya was a witch and wanted her hair crimped. Luckily, Gavin and Brian just needed their costumes on. No special hair! When did Halloween get so complicated?! I had to make cookies, popcorn, etc. for all the parties. Basically, I was exhausted by Friday morning at 9:00! Then I had to get ready so I could watch the kindergarten parade of costumes!

We had a ward party on Friday night for Halloween. Yes, I squeezed into this Sleeping Beauty dress!

The things we do for the kids! I could barely breathe in that thing! It was fun, and I was glad we went, but never again will I try to squeeze into clothes while pregnant!
On Saturday the school had a fundraiser carnival. It was actually really well done. The kids had hours of fun running around to the rides. Is anyone surprised that Gavin rode this train over and over and over?!
He would not get off! Even when the other kids piled on, he still just stayed there. Luckily the operator of the train didn't care that he never got off!
Trick-or-treating was a little cold with the rain and all. I am just happy to have survived all of it!

A Whole New World

Maya has been telling us for awhile that she can't see the board in her classroom very well. I had thought she was making it up because she has passed the vision screenings at school for three years, and none of her teachers have said anything to me about her not being able to see. I finally took her in last week while she was off of school to get her eyes checked. Sure enough, not only can she not see, she has pretty bad eyesight. I thought maybe she would need glasses just to see somethings far away. The doctor says she actually needs to wear them all the time. He says that she will be shocked at all the things she didn't realize she couldn't see because she didn't know any different. We tried to pick out some cute ones. Hopefully she doesn't get teased too much!

National Lampoon's Vacation?

You know your vacation is not going well when your husband says, "Do you feel like we are in a National Lampoon's vacation movie right now?!" But that is just how our little getaway was this last weekend. The kids had school off for a few days, so we thought it would be fun to get a hotel and just play. It started out pretty good. We stayed at a Springhill Suites, which was really nice. When we checked into the room we decided to go swimming. I had the kids use the restroom before we went swimming. Well, the sliding door for the restroom would lock you in if you shut the door. At first, I just thought the kids couldn't get it open, until my husband then locked himself in there. So each time we had to bust people out. You'd think we'd have figured it out after the first few times, but no, i had to make sure for myself and got locked in there too!
Then we went swimming in their indoor "heated" pool! YEAH RIGHT! That water was freezing! So we called the main desk and complained. They took almost a 1/2 hour to fix the problem and by then we were all blue and freezing so we left. When we got up to the room I turned the heat up so we could get warm. Next thing I know the heat completely shuts off and the thermostat is blank. So again, we call the front desk. They send someone up to check on it, he says he knows what's wrong and then leaves. NEVER TO RETURN! Four hours later, it is getting really cold in the room, so we call the front desk and complain again! They tell us they can't fix it so we need to switch rooms. AWESOME! I just love packing and repacking! They did give us a complimentary lunch in their restaurant though.
We rented "How to Train Your Dragon" and watched it in the hotel room.
It was a really good show that everyone liked. Here is Gavin packed and already to go home!
When we had everyone get ready for bed, he packed up his bag, put it on, and said, "Ready! Let's go home!" I guess we just don't travel with him enough or something! I thought it was just camping, but the kid literally wants to sleep in his bed at his house. It took a little coercing to get him to get in bed to sleep at the hotel.
The next morning, we go downstairs for the breakfast. The kids are loud and crazy as usual so I don't really care. Then they all need to go to the restroom. So I ask Maya to take Gavin with her to the potty. Well, Gavin strips completely down to naked in the middle of the breakfast room. Maya grabbed him and rushed off to the bathroom, and I had Kaitlyn follow with his clothes. After breakfast they wanted to go swimming. The pool was shockingly warm!
When they got back, Brian took a shower with Gavin. There was not a non-slick floor in the tub or a bar, and Brian slipped and chipped his tooth on the tub.
So guess who got another visit from us, Oh the front desk! Such an awesome vacation!
So we went for our free lunch, which Brian could no longer eat.
Then the afternoon got a little better because we took the kids to see "The Magic Flute" an opera by Mozart.
They do a special matinee in English on Saturday. It was fun. That is one of my favorite operas. Leaving the opera though, we tried to take an easier way out with less stairs, but Brian tripped over Gavin and fell flat on his face on the concrete of a tunnel. I decided then that maybe we should just leave daddy behind! So we all sat down and waited for daddy to figure out how he was going to get up. Needless to say, I was very happy to be back in my house in my own bed that night!

5K Race

I normally don't race while I am pregnant because I am not allowed to go very fast (nor could I!). The competitive side in me just can't slowly jog in a race. I run 4 times a week so it's not difficult to run 3 miles, I just like to race if I am going to race! I was kind of obligated to run in the 5K on Saturday for Brian's work. It was one of those optional, but not optional charity events! Since he obviously can't run it, I get to volunteer! It wasn't too bad. I probably could have run it faster, but I also probably ran it a little to fast! I finished in 33 minutes, which is slow for me, but I did beat some people. I even passed one of Brian's immediate bosses, which was awesome. I made sure to tell him that he was being beat by a pregnant lady! Next year, I'll beat the big bosses! It was fun. I was exhausted when I was done, but glad I could participate. I think I just look chubby and not so much pregnant though!

So Far, So Good

Well we are halfway there! I can't believe I am already over 20 weeks along. The time is moving far too quickly for me!! We had our ultrasound this morning. All looks really good. The baby is super cute! Of course it is super cute just to see a healthy heart beat. The baby was sucking it's thumb for us too. It was fun to see a healthy perfect baby. I have been freaking out because I haven't felt any movement, and I had before now with my other pregnancies because I am not very big. The tech said that my placenta is right in front so it may be awhile before I feel movement. That was a huge relief! You could see the baby moving like crazy on the screen. This picture of the baby pointing was kind of fun! They do a few 3D pictures of the baby, so it was fun to get to see it's face a little better. Of course the baby had it's hands over it's face most of the time!
So, I am sure you are wondering what the sex is after all that! Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we didn't find out. Yes, you read that right. It was mostly my decision. I have to be honest and say that it wasn't so that we could be surprised in the end. This is my way of emotionally protecting myself a little longer. If I don't find out the sex, then I don't have to name it and buy things for it. Packing up all of Dylan's brand new stuff was one of the hardest parts of our loss. His stuff is still boxed up in my basement and will probably remain there. I can't go through all that emotion right now. The less time I spend stressing, the better for all of us. If the baby has a name and becomes a real part of this family, I will be in constant emergency mode to keep this baby alive. It's probably best for the family if I am not that stressed out quite yet! We had them write down the sex and print a picture for us, and we will open it at a later date.

Circus Time!

It's that time of year again. Time for the circus to come to town! The kids were excited for days before the circus. Even Gavin was talking about the circus everyday. He saw a few commercials for the circus, and was super excited about the animals.
The show was really well done again. We enjoyed ourselves a lot. Gavin was completely captivated by all that was going on. All the kids got glow in the dark necklaces and swords. My niece Savannah kept putting the sword above her head and screaming really loud. She is such a character! My favorite part was the motorcycles in the cage. They had seven people in there riding around in the dark with fluorescent clothing on. It was pretty awesome. Gavin loved the the Elephants of course. They did some really cool tricks with the elephants and dogs. One of the elephants picked up a basket with the dog inside and walked around with it! How do they come up with these things?! At the end of the show they brought out their brand new baby elephant. It was super cute!

Another Trip to Lagoon

It's that time again, time for our annual trip to Lagoon. It is always a lot of fun and something that we all look forward too. I was a little hesitant this year being pregnant and tired, but I still went. Luckily, we had lots of help getting our tent set up and taking care of the kids. This was Gavin's first year to be able to ride the rides. He absolutely loved it. Of course his most favorite ride at Lagoon was the "Choo Choo Train", which also happens to be the most boring ride at Lagoon! You know the train that you wait for 1/2 hour to get on, and then it goes around the lake to where the half dead animals are! Anyway, that was his favorite so we went on it several times. He definitely used his ticket to Lagoon to it's fullest. He was able to ride the rides by himself and also with the girls.
I rode a few of the rides with the kids, but the belts were a little tight with my new belly!

Kaitlyn got to ride The Wicked for the first time this year. She basically snuck on to the ride because she is not quite tall enough to go on it. She had been turned away from some of the other rides, but she was absolutely determined to get on The Wicked. Sure enough, here she is. She was scared out of her mind, but said she enjoyed it! These kids of mine just love the rides. I guess next year Gavin and I will be riding the kiddie rides alone :( since the girls will be on all the bigger rides!

Pink Tights and Black Leotards?

Maya and Kaitlyn are back in ballet again, much to Brian's chagrin since dance is so expensive. They of course are required to wear the "official" ballet uniform of pink tights, black leotards, and a bun in their hair. Who determined that combination anyway? It seems like such a weird combination, yet we all associate that uniform with ballet. I don't mind that they have a required outfit because then I don't have to worry about them taking forever to choose something. They do make the outfits look good though! They enjoy taking ballet a lot. Luckily for me they are in the same class so I only have to make one trip. Maya is a little more graceful than Kaity, but they are both doing well. I am excited to see them progress and learn for their recitals.

Kindergarten Begins!

It has taken forever to get here, but finally it is time for Kaitlyn to start school. It is kind of annoying that the kindergarten kids start a week later than the other kids. She was able to ride the bus with Maya. She even got back to the right bus stop to get off after school was out. She was super excited to start school. She didn't sleep well the night before because she was so excited she didn't want to miss it! She has several friends in her class so she will not be alone. I am happy for her to make new friends and have an enjoyable time at school. I feel sorry for her teacher. Kaitlyn will definitely keep her on her toes!

Ward Campout

It is the first week of school, but we have our ward campout on the weekend. I was really excited to go. I had heard that the campout is really fun. We camped up Heber canyon. It was a lot of work for me though! I had to pack up the car all by myself, then set up camp all by myself when we got there. Needless to say, I was exhausted. I am used to doing most of the work, but usually there are a few people around to pitch in and I am not pregnant! I was so exhausted by the nighttime, I could hardly keep my eyes open! It poured almost the whole time we were there. It rained all night long. At night we gathered in a covered pavilion that has removable walls for some skits and fun. We had picked up Pizza Hut on our way up the canyon, which was a blessing because I never would have been able to cook food too! The kids were still eating the breadsticks during the program!
The night was horrible. Gavin had a really hard time sleeping in the sleeping bag. He was up most of the night. Luckily he didn't wet his bed in addition to being up all night, but when he got up in the morning he was beside himself he needed to use the restroom so bad! I was trying to get dressed and he was whining and holding himself, so I was as quick as I could be and then ran him to the potty!
The ward cooked breakfast for us in that morning.
It was really really good. It was the Bishop's birthday so we sang and had him run through a birthday tunnel.
Then just to make my life even better, the kids wanted me to row them around the lake! It was fun, but very VERY exhausting. I am glad they got a chance to go though. Maya even went across the lake on the zip line! By the time we got back from the campout it was all I could do to just make it to my bed! Then get up the next day to speak in church! What an exhausting weekend!