Boy, Oh, Boy!

We are full of joy to be having a boy! We can't wait to welcome another son into our family in September. He was very stubborn during his first ultrasound. We went in for our appointment. My Dr. was running late, which is rare. The baby was kicking around like crazy for the hour in the waiting room. Once it was time to be on camera the baby decided it didn't want to move around much. It wanted its hands over the face (Jane did the same exact thing) and wanted those legs crossed or a foot in the way of a clear picture. My Dr. tried for awhile to figure out if it was a girl or boy. At first glance he said girl but then said he thought it was a boy. So we left with a it could be either and don't go buy anything for one or the other. We were a bit disappointed! We decided we would call around and see if we could get in for a 3d ultrasound somewhere (my Dr. doesn't do 3d.) We found once place the could see us on a Saturday at the end of May but it was in Paradise which meant an almost 2 hour drive one way. We then heard about one here in town that could get us in the following week.
Thursday finally arrived and we were ready to go in and see our baby and figure out what it was. I brought in the paperwork I was told I needed. The office said it was the wrong paper work and that they didn't know if they could do the ultrasound. I still have no idea what kind of paperwork they wanted. The ultrasound tech said she would go ahead and do the ultrasound. As we went back in she saw that I was only 21.5 weeks pregnant and said that she can't really do a 3d ultrasound until after 26weeks. I told her I had no idea but that whoever works there in the office said it was fine and scheduled it. I thought she'd change her mind and not do the ultrasound at that point. She did say she would attempt but that she wouldn't get a great picture. So as she was starting out we told her we didn't know what it was and that's why we were doing an ultrasound there. She immediate said she could tell what it was and showed/told us that it was definitely a boy. She then told us she would reschedule us to come back next month to get a better 3d ultrasound at no extra cost to us.
We left happy knowing that it was indeed a boy. I thought for sure it was a girl. I was also somewhat leaning towards wanting another girl because I have everything already for a girl and wanted Jane to have a sister close in age to her. So I was a bit bummed for a few seconds then realized that Dawson was going to be SO THRILLED. He wanted it to be a brother so badly. Brad and I decided we would drive to cub scouts to tell Dawson. He was SO happy and jumped up and down and then gave me a huge hug. It was a very sweet moment.
After telling Dawson and making a couple phone calls we met up with Brad's parents for dinner to tell them. They were both so excited and I thought they might cry a little. From dinner we went to Target because I wanted to buy something for a baby boy. Little boy stuff is NOT near as cute as little girl stuff so it was a little trickier. I did find some cute onesies. One said little brother, another said brand new, and I can't remember what the other 2 said. We also have been eying this double stroller we knew we'd have to get. We showed Brad's parents which one we had been thinking about and since they were still so excited about having another grandson they went ahead and bought it for us. We are very thankful for them!
I have 4 months to now prepare for this sweet baby boy. I have no idea where his stuff will go. I'm not ready to move Jane upstairs into a room yet or out of her crib. She can make it up the stairs pretty easily it's coming down that she isn't as good at. Maybe a summer project will be to get some of her stuff upstairs.

Our Growing Family

Yup, We are expecting. We are THRILLED, nervous, excited, scared, all the normal emotions that come along with pregnancy and an expanding family. We knew we'd have another baby one day but wasn't sure when it would be. We were just enjoying all the changes Jane has brought into our lives. Right around Jane's 1st Birthday we decided we'd start trying again in spring/summer for another baby. Well, there was obviously a different plan meant to be for us. I pretty much knew right away that I was pregnant but I took 3 tests that all said negative so figured I was imagining all these crazy things (crying watching tv, exhaustion, headaches, weird cramping, etc.) So a week after I got the last negative I decided I was taking another test and it came back immediately positive. Although I felt I was pregnant it was still a shock. Brad was pretty surprised too. Dawson is SO SO SO excited to be a big brother again-he's hoping for a brother this time but says if it's another sister he'll be happy. Jane is well, Jane, just doing her own thing. The week we found out she decided she was going to start putting herself to bed at nap time and bedtime. It was as if she knew she needed to be a big girl and do that on her own. So for the past month when I ask her if she wants to go night night she runs to her bed and goes right to sleep without fussing. It seems like a miracle to me and I'm amazed every time still. She walks every where. I can ask her if she's hungry or wants milk and she goes either to her chair or the fridge. If I ask her if she needs a diaper she goes to her changing table. It's fantastic and I know I'm blessed with such a sweet daughter. I hope this next one is just as amazing.

Christmas and New Year's

Christmas was wonderful again this year. I am always just so thankful for my Savior and try to take the time to remember his birth and all he did while he was here on earth during the busy holiday season. We woke up about 7am on Christmas morning to a very excited Dawson. We thought Jane might sleep in a bit but she woke up a few minutes after we all did and got to take part of all the fun. She loved her stocking and presents.We hosted Christmas dinner at our house again. We love having everyone here. It was so much fun seeing all the kids open up their gifts and being so excited for their new things. The house seemed so quiet after everyone left.
New Year's proved to be very exciting. It started to snow on New Year's Eve and we all got to wake up to a very white first of the year. Dawson was thrilled and loved playing in the snow. Jane wasn't too sure about the snow but loved being outside. Dawson wishes it would snow here more. I am not a huge fan of the snow but a little snow every few years is manageable.
We are looking forward to this new year and all it has in store for us. 2010 was fantastic and I'm sure that 2011 will be just as great if not better.

December Happenings

December is always a busy month. Our house is all decorated inside and out as well as our Christmas trees. We have our nice tree when you walk in and a small tree for the kids to decorate with their things. Dawson loves having his own tree to be in charge of. I hope he doesn't mind sharing it as Jane gets older!
We have decorated gingerbread (graham cracker) houses with the Daw family. Jane enjoyed eating 2 crackers while the other kids worked. We also attended Cascade Christmas. Well, Jane was left with Brad's parents so we could actually enjoy the show. It was so much fun.
Jane went into the Doctor for a check up and weighs 18lbs6oz and is 29inches long. Her cousin, Lea, has been coming over twice a week for a couple hours. It's been so much fun playing with her. Jane has been off the bottle since her 1st birthday. The first couple days were tough but she has adjusted. She did get rather upset when she saw Lea with a bottle and needed some mommy time and fell asleep. We had done so well with her pacifiers. She has rotated through 4 different ones and we haven't lost any. Someone since her 1st birthday we have manged to lost ALL of them! I don't know if it's because she is more mobile and hides them well or if somehow she spits it out when we are out and about and I don't notice it. Needless to say it was frustrating trying to find the pacifiers and now she just has 1 that we are hopefully NOT going to lose....well at least for another 6 months when I attempt to take it away from her.
Dawson is doing excellent in school. He really has been enjoying learning how to play the recorder. He practices it ALL the time after school. I like hearing him play but after about the 20th time of the same song in one afternoon it does start to drive me crazy. Dawson is still an amazing big brother. He has such a loving sweet spirit. I don't know how I got so lucky! He still loves to snuggle up with me, holds my hand in public and will run up and hug me at school (most of the time) when I am there. I know it won't last much longer so I am trying to enjoy it as much as possible.
The rest of this month is going to go by so fast! We are looking forward to a wonderful holiday season spent with family and friends.

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving at my (Betsy's) parents house on the coast. It was a small gathering for us but very nice. We didn't have Dawson this year-he was with his dad which always bums us out a bit. We missed his sweet spirit. Jane somewhat enjoyed her first real Thanksgiving dinner. She LOVED the pumpkin pie and for her birthday party with my family she had a slice of that instead of cake. I figured it counted as a vegetable for the day :) Jane had so much fun playing with her cousin, Iris. It'll be fun once Jane can walk and keep up with her! She did check out her smaller cousins Josie and Isabelle but wasn't too sure about them. What we really loved about Thanksgiving is thinking about all we have to be grateful for. We are so blessed. I am most thankful that for that opportunity to be a mom to my children. It is the greatest blessing I have been given. We were also thankful that Brad got a whole week off work to hang out with us!

What fun-Jane is ONE!

I know, I know! Where did the last year go? I can hardly believe that Jane is already one. Her birthday was Sunday and being the Sunday before Thanksgiving all the talks at church were on gratitude. I just kept thinking how grateful I am for a beautiful and healthy family. Jane has brought us much joy and has been such a blessing.
She woke up on her birthday in a great mood. She was in a great mood all day until bedtime when I wasn't going to give her a bottle. I did break down and give her a bottle to help her go to sleep. She wasn't so happy today (the day after her birthday) since she hasn't had a bottle all day. She takes her sippy cup and just throws it and screams. I hope that this only lasts a couple days and then she will be fine.
We had a small party for Jane Sunday night. We had Brad's parents, his sister and her family, and Mary and her family over for tacos, cake, and presents. I think dinner turned out great. The funfetti cupcakes are always a huge hit with the kids and I attempted to make a chocolate butterfly cake for Jane. It turned out ok but slightly possessed looking. Oh-well, I tried. She did get butterfly shaped ice cream though. I couldn't mess that up with a cookie cutter! Jane LOVED her chocolate cake and spent forever eating it. She went straight into the bath after wards. Jane also really enjoyed opening up her fabulous presents. She wasn't sure about it at first but by the end was loving it. She had so much fun playing with all her new toys and her cousins too!

This is what the big 1 year old is up too:

*Stands alone
*Crawls so fast (especially if you are chasing her)
*Loves to sing and listen to music
*Laughs like crazy-mostly at her brother
*Pretends to read
*Eating more table foods--hates when I feed her baby food
*No more bottles (hopefully!)
*No weight/length check as of recently
*Takes a 2 hour nap most days
*Sleeps from 9:30-7 with one wake up for some milk or a pacifier
*Has 3 (almost 4) teeth
*Wears clothing sizes anywhere between 6months and 18months (depends on what it is.)
*Has developed some stranger anxiety
*Can get in and out of her swing and bouncy chair (both low to the ground)
*Loves her blanket at nap time and still wants to be rocked to sleep
*Overall Jane is a very happy little girl

The pumpkin patch and Halloween

I figure I should blog about Halloween and the pumpkin patch before Thanksgiving! Time is flying by. We did our annual trip out to Hawe's Farm with Mary and her family. It's always still so warm so in our pictures we are still wearing summer clothes. Dawson always has a blast and Jane enjoyed it this year too. Dawson picked out pumpkins for everyone in the family. We only carved two. Dawson carved a warewolf and we carved Jane a butterfly. Jane was a butterfly (of course!) and Dawson was a skeleton/ninja. He put together 2 old costumes we had and made up a new one so we didn't have to buy another one. I was happy about that!
The night before Halloween we had our annual chili cook off/trunk-or-treat at church. This was the first year since Brad and I have been married that we actually went. It was so much fun and although it was raining the kids loved seeing the church classrooms decorated and just walking in a large circle collecting their goodies. We also spent a couple hours at the annual school carnival. Dawson had fun as did Natalie and Cora but not any of us adults or babies. We might just take them all out to do something else next year. Too many long lines and after 2 hours and 10 pieces of candy and a cupcake it just wasn't worth it.
On Halloween night it was sprinkling and cold so Jane didn't go out. Dawson went out with Mary and her family because Brad was sick and I was taking care of Jane, their son Asher, and Brad. We didn't have as many trick or treaters as usual which we were okay with.
All in all we had a fantastic Halloween once again!