February and March... and happy humpday!

Happy humpday!  I promise I've had many a happy Wednesday in my blogging off time... just no posting about them!  What makes me happy today?  Catching up on my blog.  :)  Here are some random things we did in February and March. 

1st family bike ride.  All of us on our own bikes.  We didn't go very far, but it was awesome and it made us feel like a real, legitimate family... instead of two silly people taking care of these really cute kids who everyone thinks are ours.  :)

Van picked his nose on the bike ride.  I know, you're shocked. 

Em and dad went on a date.  Just the two of them.  She insisted on getting all dressed up.  They went and got ice cream.   She got cotton candy ice cream and talked about the whole night for a week.  She loves her dad. 

Family dinner.  Uncle Bry has been around a lot.  Which we love.  He's hilarious.  The kids ADORE him.  And he makes ridiculous faces for pictures. 

I used underage child labor to get my house clean.  Thanks Van....

And Em and Jayne.   They actually did a really nice job of the kids' bathroom.  Hand a 4 and 5 year old girl pink rags and they'll do almost anything.

We had a yard makeover.  Just some lovely plants (that will eventually fill in the space), took out rocks and put in bark.  Very simple, but our space out there is so much cleaner and more appealing now!

We tested out the new rain gear we got the kids at end of season clearance at REI ($2.83 for each piece - tops and bottoms for both kids).  Worked great and we all had a blast running around in the rain!

We went to two shows - both for free.  I love free.  We saw Viva Elvis (a Cirque du Soleil show) with Aaron's co-workers in celebration of them completing the year-end City Center audit.  (Viva Elvis is AT City Center.)   In March we saw Phantom of the Opera at The Venetian compliments of some friends of ours... who got them free from another friend.   Both were really fun and now we feel like we can really call ourselves locals since we've seen a show together. 

pregnancy thoughts

I'd like to officially welcome myself to the 3rd trimester (earlier this week...)!  Just a few thoughts on this pregnancy for posterity's sake.

• It took us about 14 months to get pregnant this time around.  Compared to... no months on the other 2 (okay... maybe a month or 2 with Van).  I'm really thankful it took us a while.  I'm not a newborn person - I really enjoy them more when they get to about 4 months - but I'm completely craving a newborn.  It's been a while and we worked really hard for this one.  I appreciate the experience of being pregnant more, too.  I feel like its the complete miracle it really is rather than something I'm just really happy to be doing.  I'm still crossing my fingers she's an Emery-style newborn, but if she's like her brother I will love, soothe and kiss her grumpy, crying little face more than should be legal.  And I can't wait. 
• It's interesting the difference between babies - even in utero.  I feel her on the scale I felt Emery (who was a scrawny 6lb8oz baby) but nothing like the strong, forcefulness of her line backer brother (almost 2 lbs bigger at 8lb3oz).  He was a doozey to have kicking in there, I tell you.  I feel like she'll be somewhere in between weight-wise, but she's more girly and gentle like my Emery.  
• I have had a really easy pregnancy.  I LOVE being pregnant with a girl (way more tired and sick with boys... and have to eat red meat in large man quantities)!  I don't even need 8 hours of sleep.  I wake up wide awake at 6 almost every morning, no matter what time I got to bed.  I'm not uncomfortable.  I'm so blessed.  I DO have my same pregnancy woes that I always have... heart burn (my babies have hair!), lots of braxton hicks contractions (since 15 weeks this time... whoa), those crazy middle of the night leg cramps, waking up with my hips aching when it's time to change sides (I'm clearly a back sleeper).  Same ones every time!  But really, that's a very short list.  I'll take it. 
• Have I mentioned how much I love my doctor?  I was really dreading the blood glucose test.  It's so gross.  Much to my surprise my doctor said she wasn't worried at all about me having gestational diabetes and she isn't going to make me do the test.  YES!!!  Dream come true.  And she's just great all around. 
• Girl names are easier for us.  Or I guess I should say USED to be easier.  And then my cute husband got really, really opinionated. :)  He has pretty much eliminated all names but one.  And now that's what we all call her.  Argh.  I don't like to name my babies before they are born.  (I recently added another name we both like to the list, but I think only to comfort myself with options.  I think I'll have a full scale rebellion on my hands if we don't stick with this name!)
• Emery is an angel.  And her brother is a little stinker.  People stare at me chasing after him with my belly bouncing around.  :)  Ha.  
• Last, but not least, I can't believe I'm almost 29 weeks already.  Let the single week count down begin!  I can't believe she'll be here for us to hold and squeeze and snuggle so soon.  Her little life is a miracle and we can't wait to meet her!

A Week with Miles

Remember Miles?  Emery's cousin who is just 2 weeks younger and they just love each other... but he moved back to Massachusetts last summer.  :(  He came to visit for a week (the week before we went to UT) and after Bounce U, Run Plus Fun, the Springs Preserve, lots of park, a bike ride, unbelievable amounts of make believe and a sleepover with no fluff because the kids were too tired, this is how Em and Miles felt about each other.  These two make my heart melt!

Week in Orem

The kids and I got back today from a week in Orem.  We went to run away from our lonely, dad-less house and to see the Hatches (who live in NM and we don't see very often, and who were also in Orem this week) and to see Bekah and Lulu and their new babies.  Such a fun trip even though my kids decided to be bad sleepers all week and are now completely exhausted... and more terribly behaved than they've possibly ever been.  Awesome. Forgot my regular camera, but here's what the iPhone happened to capture!

Grandma spoiled all of us as usual and we had an awesome trip!!  Emery cried for 30 minutes on the way home because she missed Grandma because "she's so fun!".   I told you she was exhausted.  I can't remember the last time she cried for 5 minutes much less 30.  :)

Discovery museum in SLC - Emery LOVES the little house and the store

Van filled up this car at the museum with gas every 5 minutes or so

Em the mail carrier

Lots of smoothie drinking - clothing optional

Caleb (Lulu's oldest), Lukey (Bek's middle) and Van.  The 2 year old dudes. 

Pregnant sisters.  Lindsey is due a month before me.  And obviously isn't as scragamuffin as I am.  :)  And there were 2 more sisters who had babies in Nov and Jan.  4 cousins in 8 months.  Great timing, girls!

GORGEOUS weather for March in UT.  Snacks in the grass with the Hatch cousins.  Emery LOVES these two!

Throwing sand at the Dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point.  Followed by more sand throwing.  Followed by a time out. 

Girls Night.  Ahhhhh.

 

Happy Humpday!

Wow - already Wednesday again!  Time is flying around here!  Lots of reasons to be happy again today!

• I read my scriptures this morning.  I've been bad about morning reading lately.  It really makes a difference in my day.  This morning I was reading in 2 Nephi 9 (Nephi quoting the Old Testament prophet Isaiah).  He's talking about all of these terrible things that people will do and be - evildoers, every mouth speaketh folly, no mercy on the widows and fatherless, etc.  And at the end of several verses it says "For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still."  This is part of what we were talking about after my Relief Society Meeting last night too.  This is a terrible world to live in sometimes.  The media makes everything look terrible and anything desireable unreachable.  Diseases like depression are rampant and are eating people alive.  It's so sad.  But the only person beating us over the head is us.  The Lord never is.  "His hand is stretched out still", just waiting for us to take it.  What a blessing it is to know that.  
• This cousin party I'm hosting is going pretty well (cousin Miles is visiting from Massachusetts and is hanging out with us most of the day all week).  Em and Miles are having so much fun and are so cute together! And all 3 kids were asleep by 7 tonight.  They were wasted!
• I got to talk to my SIL Amy tonight (Miles' mom, not Aaron's sister.  I know, 2 Amys.  I'm lucky.).  I really miss her.  I'm glad they love Massachusetts, but I sure miss having them close.  
• We added another name to our very short list of baby names!!  That makes 2.  I think it just makes me feel better to have an alternate on there.  What if she comes out and I think - "Oh no!  She isn't a _________!"  There has to be an alternate. 
• Book club tomorrow night.  Enough said.  Still Alice is the book for discussion.  Read it and be very afraid (for the future of your memory, that is).  I'm doing dessert for tomorrow night.  Pineapple cheesecake bars it is.  Yummo. 
• This cute face.  Oh my goodness, those eyes melt me.  She 's showing dad that her burnt lip is getting better.  She was trying to "smell the cookies" fresh out of the oven and burnt her lip on the edge of the pan.  Poor girl.  

romance from my accountant

One very, very late night Aaron worked a few weeks ago I got this lovely string of text messages from him over the course of the night.  Romance in true CPA style. 

• You're a lot like inventory.  I just can't stop observing you. 
• You must be a custom report because there is nothing standard about you!
• You must be a fraud risk because you just misappropriated my heart.
• You're my material weakness. 
• My trial balance just won't balance without you. 
• Baby, you don't have to give me a query to generate my love for you.

Accounting is either making him less romantic or funnier.  :)  Love you, babe!

Happy Humpday!

A fabulous Wednesday to you all!   Lots of reasons to be happy today!

One of a million beach pictures.  Play by play to come.  And yes, Van is pantsless.  He was wearing jeans and it got hot so we decided to walk back from the park in the water.  And a wave knocked him down.  Good thing I took the pants off. 

• I'm happy because the beach last week was just what we needed.  And a whole Saturday with dad on the beach too.  Happy mom.  Happy kids. 
• I'm happy because Emery had this conversation with her dad last night on the phone.  E: "Why do you have to go to Reno?"  A: "Because my boss needs me to work here."  E: "Can't you ask your boss for a different work?"  And then this morning she followed up and asked him if he'd asked his boss yet.  For different work.  So cute.  She loves her dad. 
• I'm happy because Van is still on the potty training bandwagon... though he's had more accidents in 2 days than in a whole week at the beach.  And he doesn't have accidents when we're out.  Only when we're home.  Weird?  Except for when he jumped ship tonight - he was sitting on top of the train table.  He was looking a little uncomfortable so I asked him if he needed to poop.  He said no.  Then he pooped on the train table.  Luckily he finished in the potty or I'm not sure what kind of positive potty reinforcement I could have come up with.  The train table?  When I just asked him?  So busted.  Cute little turkey.  

  

  Little dude in big boy undies
  

• I'm happy because today is over.  I'm tired today.  I'm going to go to bed early.