BABY #3

Paige finally had her 20 weeks ultrasound on May 3rd (but she was actually 19 weeks along). We were so excited to finally see some more images of our little baby! It's always such a relief to see the little baby moving and to see that they are growing and developing normally and naturally. And then of course, to find out the gender! We had originally arranged for a babysitter, but Bryce decided he really wanted the kids there (Paige did too, but since she'd be laid up on the table and not able to help with them much, she left it up to Bryce), so we canceled the babysitter and took the kids along too. CJ was so excited to see the baby on the tv screen, and his interest definitely lasted longer than Mattie's :).

After the ultrasound, waiting for the sonographer to come back with the images

Baby's tiny feet

Sucking their little thumb - so cute!

Baby's profile

In order to really be able to share the news of the gender together, we decided to have the sonographer not tell us the gender right then - and we looked away when she checked that area. Instead, she put it in an envelope for us to take home and open together. We couldn't wait to get home! Once we got home, we set up the camcorder, sat around the table together, and then let the kids open the envelope. The sonographer was so cute and surprised us by putting two suckers and two stickers in the envelope for CJ and Mattie, which they loved. And then we pulled out the picture of our little...

...BOY!!!

(and it is most definitely a boy! in fact, we debated about whether this picture was too graphic to put on the blog :)

APPLE BLOSSOM YOUTH PARADE

The Apple Blossom Festival is kind of a big deal here in Wenatchee. And apparently the youth parade is pretty huge too. CJ's preschool, Little Learners, got to participate in the parade a couple of weeks ago, along with 91 other entries. That's a long parade! Thank goodness CJ's school was 9th to walk. Anyway, they were able to ride on a boat and some of the parents (including Paige) walked with them. It was CJ's first parade and even though he was a little intimidated at first, by the time they actually started moving, he was smiling and waving...and kept it up the whole time. He did great! And his preschool took 2nd place overall for their float/parade entry!

CJ (kneeling by the sign) and most of his preschool class

Practicing their waves

CJ really like playing with that fake fishing rod :)

Bryce and Mattie cheered from the sidelines and speedy Bryce was able to catch up with Paige and CJ multiple times!

Mattie got to snack on a crunch pak of apples, and even be interviewed with Daddy for a Crunch Pak commercial, while waiting to see CJ

Proud of our little parade man

Happy Apple Blossom!!

TO THE BEST MOM I KNOW

Today was supposed to be a special day.  A day where Paige could relax and enjoy thoughtful gift after thoughtful gift from her husband and kids...where she could be pampered.  Unfortunately, due to a busy weekend (a result of my overplanning and carelessness) and a husband with the foresight of a twig, today has turned into a pretty pathetic excuse for a Mother's Day.  Not to mention the fact that both our kids are sick today and Paige had to go to church all by herself.  In a last ditch effort to salvage the day, I am doing something that Paige has wanted me to do for years...publish a post on the blog. 

Paige is much more eloquent and whitty than I am, so I've always been hesitant to throw in my two cents to this masterpiece that is the blog.  But if I'm going to post something, I figure it's best to talk about something that comes easily:  talking about the love of my life and best friend. 

This isn't meant to be a slight on my Mom (who is the best mom I've ever had :) ), but Paige really is the best mom I know.  It always amazes me how much she loves our kids.  She spends the majority of her time caring for them and thinking about them.  She is an amazing teacher, always taking time to teach our kids important things.  If you were a fly on our wall, you would quickly learn that CJ and Mattie know scores of primary songs and nursury rhymes, they have entire books memorized thanks to Paige's insistance on reading to them, CJ can quote the 1st Article of Faith, and (most importantly) our kids can recognize the Savior in any picture and understand that He loves them. 

Paige has the strongest desire to make special occasions (birthdays, holidays, etc.) the best ever.  She spent hours (seriously...HOURS!), baking Spongebob, Ladybug, and other cakes that our kids barely took a bite out of.  She is also constantly thinking about what to get people for their birthdays.  I can almost guarantee that somewhere in her purse there is already a Christmas list in the works!  This past Easter we had enough candy to give an entire elementary school cavities for the rest of their lives.  You would think, at first glance, that Paige just liked to shop and had very little self control, but you'd be dead wrong.  I've learned that the painstaking time, effort, and energy Paige puts into these events is a result of the deep love she has for her family and her overwhelming desire to make them happy and feel special.  And she's never let us down on that front.

I just have to mention that one thing that CJ loves about his mommy is "hugging her" (he just told me that).  She really is a great hugger :)

Unbenownced to Paige, she already has experience with raising three kids, myself being the biggest child of all, requiring constant care, encouragement, instruction, and re-instruction.  Despite how frustrating it must be to have to parent a grown man, she does it lovingly and patiently.  I can honestly say that Paige makes me the best me I can be.  Besides just flat out making me happy, she constantly encourages me to do the right things and grow personally and spiritually.  I honestly don't deserve her and will be eternally grateful to a loving Heavenly Father for blessing me with her. 

Paige, if I am not able to give you anything else today, I hope that I can at least help you to know that you are loved.  Your kids love you and I love you more than anything...and will forever.  HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

- 4/27 Today after lunch CJ got a time-out for hitting Mattie. It was about nap time anyway, so I just took him in for his nap and we stopped in the bathroom on the way to his room. As he was sitting on the toilet and I was waiting for him to finish, he caught me off guard by saying, "Mommy...I just love you." Talk about softening my heart! It was the sweetest thing I've heard! (and I'm glad I finally got to hear it because I know he's said that to Bryce before already :)

- This week we had BLTs for dinner one night, with sliced watermelon and some carrots and cucumber with ranch. Low-cal, low key, and usually a crowd-pleaser. I guess I didn't realize how much of a crowd-pleaser it was until CJ looked at me and said, "Thanks for making the best dinner, Mommy!" Wow! I could use that kind of appreciation a little more often :)

- Bryce and I made a tough decision this week, one we've been struggling with. We decided not to go to the reunion of our law school friends. When we graduated last year, we all were so close that we discussed having reunions. Even then, Bryce and I thought that having a reunion the first year was maybe a little quick because we'd all still be poor, but we knew we'd be on board regardless. Every one was in favor of having a reunion this year, so after months of planning, the date was set, condos were scheduled (including Bryce's great aunt's condo at the family rate), plane tickets were bought, calenders were marked, and we were ready to go. But as we drove home from Seattle last week (Bryce had a CLE downtown, so the kids and I spent the day with Gramma) and had the 2 1/2 hour drive to discuss our finances and everything going on this summer (Courtney's wedding in June, Scout camp in July, Cameron's wedding in August), we both finally said out loud what we'd been feeling months: we really shouldn't be going to this reunion. As much as we didn't want to say it, once we both admitted that's how we felt, we knew we couldn't go. We just felt like we were being really irresponsible and frivolous and that, at this stage in our lives, we hadn't exactly earned such a trip. And that's not to say anything about our friends -  especially since most of them will not be spending the amount of time and money that we would have had to - but just what was right for us. We've probably known all along we shouldn't be going, but we so didn't want to miss out on seeing our friends. These are some of the greatest people we know and we miss them terribly and the more I think about what we'll be missing, the more I cry when I think about it. So I try not to think about it. And Bryce and I better be doing some crazy-fun stuff that weekend or I'll go crazy with envy that we're not basking in the sun in St. George, enjoying a poolside BBQ or a great pedicure, and sleeping in for 3 days. Anyway, we're doing the right thing. Just gotta keep telling myself that. We're doing the right thing...

- Mattie has been ultra sensitive about her fingers lately. Her fingers or her "nickles" (knuckles) always seem to be getting hurt, and then when we don't find the exact place to kiss, she takes over and shoves her fingers/hand on our lips over and over until she's satisfied. It's pretty funny.

- We discovered last week that Mattie can crawl out of the pack-and-play (4/23), which is going to make visiting Papa and Gramma a little more difficult. Ugh. But so far she hasn't utilized that information to get out of her crib, thank goodness! We're hoping she never really figures it out ;)

- On Thursday night Mattie was sitting next to Bryce and me and I was talking about the baby. She leaned over and kissed my belly. It was very sweet. Then she asked if she could, "Please I see it?" Hopefully we'll have ultrasound pictures soon that will keep her satisfied for a while.

- Speaking of baby, I think we've got names figure out for baby #3. I better not say what they are yet, at least the boy name, because Bryce is still deciding whether he likes it or not. He said he doesn't not like it, which is a good sign. I just need to be a little patient and give him some time to get used to the name :)

- I went to see the doctor last week for my monthly visit and to my relief, not only did the baby have a strong heartbeat (160 beats a min), but according to the doctor, was very active. It had been over 5 weeks since I had been to the doctor, and since then I had had my episode of spotting and cramping, plus I haven't really felt the baby move much, so it was a big sense of relief to hear that rapid little heartbeat on the monitor (sigh). On a not-so-great note, I'm getting fat!! I've already gained 20 pounds and I'm only 18 1/2 weeks. My sweet doctor didn't say anything, like I expected, but just asked if I was making "healthy choices." I said I'm trying and told him about the mile and a half hard walk I had just gone on pushing my two kids uphill for half of it. What I didn't tell him was that last month we celebrated 3 birthdays, last weekend was Easter (which I think is probably worse than Halloween because of all the food on top of the candy), and this weekend is the Apple Blossom festival, which I have been waiting two years to attend (festivals = super healthy food, right? :). Thank goodness I walked in a big parade and then we walked all over town for the festival. And now that the weather is starting to get nice (except for the wind), we'll be out a lot more going to the park, going on walks and hikes, riding bikes, etc. So to the second half of my pregnancy I say, Bring It!!

- Yesterday would have been my dad's 76th birthday. Love you, Dad! Miss you like crazy!!

- After a two day delay, my brother finally boarded a plane out of Afghanistan. His deployment is finished! Right now he's in Manas waiting to leave for the U.S. in a couple of days. I'm glad he's out of Afghanistan - especially since the U.S. killed Osama Bin Ladan yesterday and who knows what kind of up roar this is going to cause. But I can't wait for him to just be back on American soil. I will breathe easier and sleep better when I know his plane has touched down here in the good ol' U.S. of A.

- We find out tomorrow what we're having!!!! I think it's a boy, which probably means it's a girl (that's how it was with both CJ and Mattie). Bryce doesn't really have any inclinations, and of course, CJ wants it to be a boy and Mattie wants it to be a girl. We'll keep you posted!

Happy Monday!

SOME APRIL RANDOMNESS

4/25 This picture is great because it shows what Mattie and CJ look like most of the time around the house: Mattie in a "silly hat" and CJ pant-less

4/25 CJ was so excited to finally use all his rain gear (he doesn't need to know that puddle came from our sprinklers and not the rain :)

4/25 Drop by our house after 8 PM on a Tuesday night and this is what you're likely to find. Yes, Bryce delivers papers once a week. He knows how to bring home the bacon :)

4/26 Bryce had a CLE (continuing legal education) class in Seattle, so we all headed over for the day. Mattie and CJ had a blast playing with Zack in his bouncy ball pen.

4/27 Spring is the windy season in Wenatchee. Great time to whip out the Buzz Lightyear kite that the Easter Bunny (aka Gramma) brought CJ.

4/27 Our neighbor's much-talked about "goat and ducks" that our kids ask to see on a daily basis (goat not pictured)

 4/28 Why are the kids smiling? Because they both got their toe nails painted. CJ wouldn't let Mommy get away with painting Mattie's toe nails and not his and he was positive Daddy was going to love it despite Mommy telling him otherwise. Daddy's exact word was "hideous." Oh well. It took less than 24 hours for CJ to decide for himself that he didn't like it and whine until Mommy took it off. And then only a few hours later to ask for it again (don't worry - Mommy didn't make the same mistake twice).

4/29 We put Mattie's hair in curlers for the first time. They were a little too big so they just made Mattie's hair wavy. Oh well. She still looked adorable, as always.

4/29 The kids had apples at lunch and Mattie kept asking Mommy for more. Mommy was really happy Mattie was eating the apples so well until she saw this...

MATTIE'S 2 YEAR PICS

 (not a fan of the ugly stuffed animals from the studio that Mattie is holding but she refused to let go of those things, so if we wanted some smiles, we had to let go of not wanting them in the pictures)