Christmas Dresses

Okay mom here are the pictures of the girls dresses:)

The Stache

So we went to the dentist today and at the end the girls got tokens they could put into a machine for prizes (just like what you see in the front of the grocery store.) Well you know... you just don't know what your are going to get sometimes.  Well Lily was lucky enough to get a stick on mustache... yes a mustache. 

I was about to take pictures of the rest of us sporting the stache, but tragedy befell it.  Now rest assured we had hours of fun and laughs with it before tragedy struck.  Best prize ever!

October happenings

I have been bad at posting lately.  I have a bunch of photos and things to share so I am just going to power forward (are you ready?)
So one of Kaylee's favorite games is trying to dress herself.  This day she found a pair of daddy's socks and decided she wanted them.  I mainly took this picture just to show James when he got home later from work that day.  But then I showed it to him and Kaylee saw me show it to him, so she decided to go find the sock and put them on again.  Silly baby.

With the cooler weather my girls have had a hard time waking up.  I finally got them out of bed one day and they came down stairs.  A minute later I found them like this.

I had Erin and Lily doing some chores one day (washing walls and fun things like that.)  Well Kaylee thought it looked fun and she decided to help them.

Another Kaylee picture (sorry but she is just at that age where she cracks me up.)  I made some jello worms for a neighborhood Halloween party.  They ended up looking really real and I had some left overs because some people couldn't even try them.  Kaylee was very pleased with the left overs.

We got to our local pumpkin patch early this October and it was wonderful, great weather, great pumpkins and the girls had a blast.

And finally Halloween costumes. Erin wanted to be a bat and Lily was changing her mind every day.  Than Erin saw a picture of a 'baterina" and wanted to be that. Lily loved the idea and decided she wanted to be that as well.  I wasn't in the mood for exact matching costumes so I convinced Lily to be a ghost ballerina instead and then we finished it off with Kaylee being a pumpkin ballerina.  They turned out super cute.

I hope you all had a great Halloween.  Now that it is November it is time to think of Thanksgiving.  If you want to join in our family tradition check out my craft blog for more details.

Some Ultrasound Pics of our Baby Boy

So at my first ultrasound this baby boy was measuring 2 weeks later (it has happened with all my babies thus far.)  The good part about that is I get to go in for a second ultrasound. So today we went at did that.  His measurements give him the same due date as the last ultrasound so he is growing good and healthy.  This officially puts my due date as Feb 29th.  The thought of this excites James very much.  Today the lady gave us a disc with pictures which is kinda fun so I am going to share some of them with you.
Here is a typical cute profile shot.

He is most definitely a boy.

I love cute baby feet :)



 They did some 3D images.  At first these were harder for me than a typical ultrasound but after a moment they were perfectly  clear.  If you have a hard time I will explain this one a bit to you than you should see it clear and have no problem with the rest.  Both his arms are tucked up one covering his ear and the other covering an eye.  But you see one eye, his nose and his mouth all cute and snuggled up.

 Similar to the first one but we see his little ear in this one.

 He put his arms down for this one and tucked his chin in.

I am so excited for a baby boy.  Every thing looks great and healthy.  I am amazed at all the things they could see and tell.  His feet look great (my side of the family tends to have messed up feet), He doesn't have a cleft lipped (James' side).  All 4 chambers of the heart are beautiful and healthy.  He just looks perfect.

James is AMAZING!

This past weekend our family took a little vacation up to Layton so James could do something crazy.  He ran the Layton Marathon. I am so proud of him!
Here he is in the wee hours of the morning getting ready to go.

 Now hours later here he is approaching the finish line.  Still running, but definitely tired.  He said the last 5 miles he couldn't really think about anything but just keep going.

 The girls did make him signs to cheer him on.  we are so proud of him!

It really has been an awesome process to see him go through to train.  But his motivation and discipline are things to admired for sure.  Love you babe!!!

We are having a....

So I went in for my ultrasound last week to check this little baby out.  They are healthy and active (although measuring 2 weeks later than what we thought.)  So after receiving the news it was time to share the news. 
I was originally going to tell my family on Saturday but those plans did not work out so I went over there on Friday after my appointment.  My mom had surgery a few weeks ago and is still recovering so before I went over I went and bought her some flowers.  Then in the flowers there was a big balloon that said "Get well Soon."  And in the back of the flowers was a tiny balloon that was either pink or blue and said either "Baby Girl" or "Baby Boy" 
When my mom received the basket she was thankful and thought the flowers were lovely but she was slightly confused on while we would wait until now to give her get well flowers.  But then she spotted the balloon and was thrilled to receive the news.

On Sunday James' family came for dinner and I decided to wait and tell them then.  So I made a cake and the frosting between the layers was either pink or blue making the announcement. ( I first saw this idea on pinterest but then I saw another friend do it and I though it looked fun.)  I made James' mom close her eyes while I cut into the cake and served her a slice.  When she opened her eyes this is what she saw:

Yep we are finally having a boy.  We are all excited (it did take a moment to convince Erin to be excited though).  James is floating he is so happy.  Lily is so cute about it.  After seeing the ultrasound and knowing she is getting a brother she keeps running up and kissing my tummy and yelling into it "Hi Baby Boy!" 
So we have a whole new set of adventure in front of us and I am excited to embark or them (although I am also a little nervous.)

P.S the recipe for the cake I made is found here.

Labor Day Weekend

This Labor Day weekend was full of fun, food and most importantly family.  On Friday and Saturday we went up to Heber Valley Camp and it was wonderful.
We did a ropes course called shark island that was really fun.

 We zip-lined or just got to swing for a minute.

 The kids played in this huge awesome sandbox.

 We canoed on the lake.

 Well I really ended up wrestling this little one for an hour because all she wanted to do was swim.

 And on Monday we had a super yummy pancake breakfast and did relay race games.

Lily's 1st Day of Pre-School!!!

Lily started pre-school today.  What a wonderful wonderful day.  I love that monkey, but after this summer I am exhausted and I am ready for school to start.  Here she is all cute and ready to go!

She is getting so big.  I am going to miss her but we both love her going to school!

p.s. Thanks for all your ideas for school lunch a few posts back.  I compiled a list in a post over at my other blog full of ideas for school lunch.  Go check it out if you are interested.

Erins First Day of School

Wahoo one child in school and next week the other one starts.  I have to admit I am very ready for the end of summer and school to begin.  Yet at the same time it was no surprise to me that as we walked to school this morning I started to tear up a little bit.  I sure do love her and I can't believe she is growing up so fast.

It's Offical: I am a Soccer Mom

Erin has decided she wants to play soccer, so we have hung up the ballet and tap shoes and bought cleats and shin guards instead.  I must admit I was rather worried about Erin starting soccer.  I was worried she would give up or  get frustrated really easily.  But she has been doing rather well (for it being a completely new thing to her.) 
She had her first soccer game this past Saturday.  She wasn't the best on her team, but she tried and kept going.  And that is what really matters.

 

Dear Baby:

I love being a mother.  It is certainly full of rewards and challenges and I wouldn't change my job for anything in the world.  There are certainly times that are more reward and times that are more challenge, and lucky for you we start off together with a challenging time:)  You see to begin with my sense of smell has gone haywire.  Sure the normal stinky things really get to me.  Things like your sisters diaper, daddy's breath (all you moms know what I am talking about)  and an old container in the back of the fridge.
 But things that I use to love to smell now make me sick.  The smell of wood, garlic and butter cooking, my favorite scentsy scent (lavender and lilacs) and while dads breath might stink mouth wash stinks worse.  Much worse.
Also the lovely pregnancy hormones cause my body wash to stink on me and if that not enough I can't find a deodorant that works.  So I stink all the time despite showering and putting on deodorant.
Luckily I haven't been quiet as sick as I was with your sisters but the nausea is constant.  I certainly look forward to the day that I am not thinking about what I can eat without feeling sicker.
Not to mention that at 14 weeks I am wearing maternity clothes.  Yikes. 
So while I may complain from time to time about being pregnant and while I might question my sanity occasionally for being willing to go through this trial, have no fear because I wouldn't trade this trial for anything in the world.
You see at the end of this trial called pregnancy comes one of the biggest rewards of all time.  At the end I get to hold a piece of heaven, I get to smell a piece of heaven, I get to kiss and piece of heaven and I get to have a piece of heaven love me unconditionally back.  And the best part is, this piece of heaven grows.  Yes baby you are that piece of heaven and just like your sisters I love you more than I ever thought possible.
Love,
Mommy

What I caught the girls doing...

As the end of summer approaches we are all get antsy.  The girls have been a bit naughtier and my patience has been a bit thin.  And then today I caught the girls doing this...

I sure love my girls. (Kaylee was laying with them until she saw me grab the camera.)  I am so grateful for the girls they are most certainly the biggest blessing in my life.

Sack Lunch Ideas

The beginning of the school year is quickly approaching.  I can't believe that Erin will be in first grade and stay there for a full day.  I am excited, nervous and sad all for this upcoming milestone.  One thing I am most nervous for is lunch.  School lunch does not particularly impress me and while they have some healthier options I also know kids rarely choose those options.  So I have decided to make a lunch for her to take.  This is where I get nervous.   What can I put in a lunch box besides a sandwich because how many sandwiches can one kid eat before they refuse to eat any more?
 So I have done a little research and come up with a few ideas.  But I would also love to hear from you.
Here is what I have:
A wrap: just like a sandwich but in a tortilla instead.  One wrap my girls already love is spread cream cheese on a tortilla, cover it with spinach (sometimes I add sprouts and julienned carrots too) and add a few slices on lunch meat.  They love it and when I use low fat cream cheese I don't fell bad about it.
Dip day: Put hummus or peanut butter in a small container.  Add a variety of veggies and crackers to dip into the hummus/pb. 
Pasta salad: You could put it in a pita to make it utensil free too.
Make your own lunchable: get a good healthy cracker and use a mini cookie cutter to cut out some pieces of meat and cheese for kids to build their own.
Question: Do thermoses actually work at keeping things like soup warm and will my kids actually eat soup at school?
For a side dish I saw an idea where you can take you own home made or healthy yogurt and use a food saver to contain it in a tube shape.  Then you can make your own go-gurts that aren't packed with junk.

So anyways that is what I have come up with.  Any other tips/ideas you have would be most welcomed.

Kaylee's new shirt.

I made Kaylee this cute little shirt 2 weeks ago and then we went and visited Grandma's.  What do you think of it?

Both Grandma's were at first confused until I pointed out that I just barley made it. 

Surprise!

7-6-02

This past week James and I celebrated our 9th anniversary.  I can't believe it's been 9 yrs, that makes me feel old.  But it has been a wonderful 9 years and I am sooooo glad I married James.
 We have a tradition that on our anniversary we pick out 1 gift together.  This year we bought ourselves a blendtec blender.  I LOVE it.  It was a great gift for both of us. (It has a tracker of how many cycles you have used on it.  It is less than a month old and it is already up to 150 cycles.)
It's kinda funny, I am the one who flakes out a little more about anniversary and birthdays, so I had considered it done.  But James being a wonderful husband did surprise me with these.

I feel so loved.  Since we have been married 9 years I am going to make a list of 9 things I love/admire about James.
1- I love your corny jokes.  I don't know why but I do.
2- I admire your dedication.  I wish I had half the dedication you do and I know our whole family is blessed by it.
3- I love what a wonderful father you are.
4- I love how patient with me you are.
5- I love that you have a strong testimony and I am so grateful you do.
6- I love how smart you are and I admire your hard work in getting your Masters degree.
7- I love that you are helpful around the house.
8- I love that you wrap your arms around me when we sleep.
9- I just LOVE YOU!!!

Thanks for being a wonderful hubby and a wonderful dad too!