Updates

So I finally have a camera that works so here are some pics of what has been going on with our little family!!

My baby girl turned 4, I can't believe she is already that old.  These aren't pictures of her birthday I will have to post those later, but it was a very relaxing quiet good day :) I cut her hair because it was getting long and stringy and she refused to keep anything in it.  But I love how it turned out it totally fits her personality. I am sad her curls are gone, but she looks soooo much better.

 Joel tested for his Orange belt last Friday and did an awesome job.  He now has passed a white, yellow and orange belt test.  I am so proud of him.  His confidence has really grown and he loves his karate teachers.  He now wants to own a zoo, be a zookeeper and a karate teacher. Awesome goals Joel.

 They also have to do a fitness and concentration test so they have the kids do all these pretty hard physical things until they are worn out.

 This was my favorite part of the night.  Joel passed his test but they didn't have enough orange belts to give Joel one that night.  But this little boy when he got up to receive his orange belt he said he wanted Joel to have it instead, so he gave his belt to Joel, and they had the 2 boys hug and everyone clapped for them, it was so awesome, and yes I did cry.

 I love gardening.  This year we decided to start everything from seeds, I have to admit I am a little scared because I've never done it before so I hope it works.  But the kids loved it!!! I let them pick out what they wanted to plant.  The girls picked out flowers and Joel picked out some veggies.

 We put them in this starter kit, and when they get bigger we will transfer them to the kids own boxed garden and they will get to take care of it. It should be a lot of fun.

 As promised here is my first prego picture!!! This is me at 15 weeks

I think I am over the nausea, but I am still waiting for my energy to kick it.  This has been a harder pregnancy on my body than the previous 3.  I can't seem to shake the fatigue and the urge to nap all day.  There was a problem with my blood test but they did them again and they came out normal.  My blood pressure is also really low, so I am constantly light headed.  But other then that I am doing well. At my 14 week appointment my Doctor took a peek to see if he could tell what the baby was and for now it looks like we are having another............girl. For Joels sake I really hope that something may have been hiding or is just growing slowly. But we will know for sure next month.  But boy or girl I am excited and I have a feeling this little one will be calm, at least for now :)

I almost forgot a Bailee update.  Yesterday she gave me quite a scare when she snuck out the basement window and ran to her friends house to play.  After searching under every bed, closet and corner in the house only to find the window open,  I frantically called friends in the ward to see if she was there.  Then I got in my car and searched the park and neighborhood while the Bishop and his family went out and searched on their bikes. I was in tears but after a little bit of searching we found her at one of the nonmember homes just across the street.  I have never been so relieved but angry at the same time.  The ironic thing was that I was talking on the phone to my mom and I commented on how Bailee hasn't ran off in a while and that I thought she was over that phase.  Then she told me to be careful that I might jinks myself.  Little did I know that at that very moment Bailee was planning her escape, I guess a mother is always right :)

Concerned

After having family home evening, I asked the kids what would they do if a stranger asked them to get into their car with them?   To which I get this very excited response from Bailee....

" Get in the car and go with them!!!!!!!"

Sigh, I wonder if that girl will ever learn.  So Justin and I were very blunt and told her exactly what would happen if she got into the car.  Then I asked what if they said they have a puppy or candy, what would you do?

Once again Bailee response is "Take the candy and go look at the puppy!!!"

Double sigh, I REALLY don't think she is getting it.  I think we will be talking a lot about stranger danger for a while.

But on a funny note Sydney has been sneaking in to the bathroom with Joel when he is going potty.  Much to my dismay and disapproval she has seen Joels little squirt gun.  So now she is standing up when she pees and very proud of herself, but the other day I get asked this question.

"Mom, when will my pee pee get big like Joels?"

Of course I explained to her that boys and girls have different body parts and that hers would never grow big like Joels.  It was a little awkward, but I love the innocence of children.  But from now on I will be watching the bathroom situation much closer.

4 on 2

We are excited to announce that we will be adding another little one to our family!!!!!!!

I am due October 7th which makes me 9 weeks along.  I am so excited because I've known that someone was waiting to come and join us, but it took a while to convince Justin :)  But finally the pleas from his children softened his heart and he agreed and I cannot wait for this little one to get here.  We decided to change things up and tell the kids first, which of course may not have been the wisest choice, but they were so excited that they couldn't wait to tell people.  So we told people early on which ended up being a good idea because at 5 weeks I started my morning sickness, and once I start that I cannot hide it.

Ahhh morning sickness, what can you say about that.  It last all day and never goes away.  But thankfully I am on a wonderful drug called Zofran which is AMAZING!!!!!!!!  Instead of throwing up 10+ times a day and getting IVs, I can pop one of those babies and be perfectly fine.  I wish I had that with Joel, Bailee and Sydney life would have been 10 times better.  Despite that I know that this is all worth it and I would do it again and again for my kids. (although sometimes I need that reminder from my mom on those really hard days).  The really sad thing is my kids have seen me throw-up so much, that they get a cup of water put some water in their mouth and run to the bathroom and "throw up", it's become a favorite game at our house.  Oh well what can you do.

The kids are very happy and they make sure that they give my belly hugs and kisses everyday, and they keep asking if they baby is okay and when my tummy is going to get bigger.  I love it Sydney asks me to open my mouth so she can check on the baby.  The only problem is we are already having "wars" over if the baby is a boy or a girl.  I hope for Joels sake it is a boy because he is surrounded by girls.  They all have names picked out already.  Rapunzel- Bailees choice, Carter- Joels choice and Sydney-Syndeys choice are all in the running.

This is a very special pregnancy for me because I know that it will be the last one.  After this the oven will be closed for business.  So I can't wait for the growing belly, the ultrasounds, being able to hear the heartbeat, feeling the movement and of course to hold that precious little one in my arms.  And for the first time I will actually take pregnancy pictures and post them because I want to remember everything!!!!!

Happenings!!

Since my camera isn't working and I can't post pictures I'll just write a few things that have been going on.

I got pulled over for the very first time and I must say it is pretty unnerving.  So much so, that when the officer asked me for my drivers license and I handed it to him he, he handed it back and said

"Umm, Mam I don't take Visa."

Oops!!!  Luckily I got away with only a fix-it-ticket because my headlight was out. The Officer was kind enough to look over the 5 year old in the front seat without a car seat, the 3 year old in the back who had unbuckled and was wondering around in the back, and the lack of glasses on me, which on my drivers license specifics that I need them to drive.  Did I forget to mention that it is the law to change your drivers license 90 days after you move to Utah,  it's been a year and I still have a Washington license.( I guess I'm not ready to let it go and be officially considered a Utah driver)  That could have been bad, but he let me go and I will be forever grateful for that nice officer who could have given me a lot of fines and tickets but didn't.

Parent /student teacher conferences were this week.  Joel who is struggling didn't even wait until we were out the door before he yelled " I hate this school" then broke down and cried for 30 minutes.  Poor kid, he breaks my heart when he is so upset.  Can't wait until this year is over and he gets a new teacher.  Luckily we have karate which he loves and is doing very well at.  He is now a yellow belt and is half-way to getting his orange belt. Last month he did 382 chores to earn a red star, way to go Joel!!!!

Bailee's was the complete opposite.  She was happy going in and just as happy coming out.  She is doing very well in school and loves her teacher and class..  On a grading scale of 1-4 she is getting mostly 4s with some 3s, she is a little miss smarty pants.  However she is soooo boy crazy, she has 3 boys that she is already planning wedding's with....sigh.. The next 15-20 years could be very long filled with a lot of drama.

Sydney...... where to begin......She is 3 (that explains a lot) and still struggling with her multiple personalities.  We take her moment by moment, but I love the hugs and kisses and sweet moments when I get them.  I love the time I have with just her when Joel and Bailee are at school.  Her favorite thing to say if she wants me to do something is, " I'll give you a mommy treat if you......."  She has learned the art of bribing.

I wish that I could say Justin was doing well, but once again he is at that point in life where he isn't happy, and doesn't know which direction to go in life.  Not quite sure what to do with him other than love him, pray for him and try really hard not to strangle him. 

But I am pretty lucky because for Christmas Justin gave me a gift certificate to a massage therapy place with 4 different massages on it.  I've used 2 of them and love it, I come out of there so happy without a care in the world.  My favorite is the hot stone massage, if any of you haven't had one yet, get one they are amazing!!!! I would give up my chocolate to have more of those, and we all know how much I looovvveee chocolate.

And that's a wrap!!!