We are PREGNANT!!

I found out that I was pregnant when I was only 3 weeks and 4 days along March 23rd--3 days before baby Asher was born (Mary's son.) I was so happy to find out that I was pregnant. I might have been in a little denial for the first few hours because it was something I had been wanting so badly for so long. I had a dream Sunday night about taking 2 pregnancy tests and the first one saying "I was a little bit pregnant" and then taking another one that said I was. So when I woke up Monday I decided to test. I took one and the line was SO faint that I swore it wasn't there. I took Dawson to school, came home and went back to sleep for another hour or so. I woke up and decided I should take another one because that first one was a cheapy dollar tree test. I took another one (not a dollar tree one) and there was for sure a line. So I was feeling pretty excited about it. I went to Mary's house to talk to her about it because I was a little bit freaking out. We went to Target and I bought a digital test and took that one around noon and it clearly read "pregnant". I was SO THRILLED. It seemed to take Brad forever to get home from work so I could tell him. I left him a baby bib and a card in his office saying "congrats daddy". He was so excited. We decided not to tell anyone until I was able to go my Dr. and to see the heartbeat. The Dr. scheduled my appointment for May 14th (11 weeks!) I was going crazy thinking something was wrong with the baby. I met with the nurse on April 22nd (7weeks6days) to confirm pregnancy. I told her my concerns and fears and she told me that it was just a waiting game. I left the office feeling so down. I was in the car and just started driving away from the office when the nurse called my cell phone and told me to come back, the Dr. would do a sonogram. I couldn't believe it! It was truely and answer to my prayers. I quickly (and safely) turned around and went back. The Dr. came in and I got to see the baby (we are calling it a blobby because it looks like a blob and a baby right now.) I was able to see the heartbeat right away and it was so amazing! I have to admit I got a little teary eyed. I don't know if the Dr. or nurse knew how much this meant to me even though I tried to express my thanks to them....sometimes words don't cut it. Brad and I are happy to finally be able to tell people that we are expecting on December 3rd. Dawson is so HAPPY and prays everyday for our baby to be healthy and strong. He is going to be an amazing big brother. Before we told him I was pregnant he prayed every night that I would have a baby. Brad has already gone a little bit baby crazy and bought a cradle, crib, and amroire. We did find them all for a good deal online though. We figure we would by that stuff because we have PLENTY that we will need. I haven't had TOO much morning sickness yet--I just have a little here and there. I'm sure it will get worse because it didn't get bad until later on when I was pregnant with Dawson. I'm always SO tired though and could sleep 10 hours every night and still take a nap or two during the day. I don't really care for chocolate either (mentally I think I want it but then I put it in my mouth and it's gross---I wish it was that way ALL the time!) Keep wishing us luck in this pregnancy! We hope it all goes smoothly.

Cora Daw. Isn't she absolutly adorable! I hope one day I have a daughter as cute and as sweet as her.

After the egg hunt....Dawson got the most eggs this year I think (thanks to his fast little legs!)

The Easter Bunny came! He was super excited (just not to have his picture taken)

Myself, Dawson, and Brad---Dawson was annoyed that we wanted a picture with him. He had better things to do (like go through is eggs.)


We had a fantastic Easter Sunday. My mom and all my sisters and their families got together. My dad had to stay home and my brother was in Utah wit his family. We went to church then had an egg hunt and BBQ. It was a ton of fun--especially with baby Iris and Asher. Cora was loving Easter this year--in fact I think she ate chocolate most of the day.
We had the week off of school so Monday morning Brad, Dawson, and I woke up and went to Sunriver, OR. We were there until Thursday. We had a great little vacation with Brad's parents. It snowed the first 2 days (didn't stick) and was pretty cold. When we got back into Redding the weather has been in the upper 80's which is a nice change.

The past month sure has gone by fast! I worked a few days teaching but spent most of my free time with Mary before she had her baby Asher. Asher was born on March 26th at 12:29pm weighing in at 6lbs 7oz and 19in long. He is adorable and I love him as much as I love her girls. I was fortunate enough to watch Natalie and Cora from Thursday morning until early Sunday afternoon. We were busy and had a great time. They are both so excited to be big sisters. Cora just loves to kiss her new brother. It is always so excited to add another baby into the growing family. Dawson also is in love with his new cousin and is looking forward to teaching him new things. Before Mary had Asher he told Mary that he needed to just find the hole and pop out. I don't know where he got that idea from but it sure made us all laugh! If it was only that easy right?
Dawson has started his second season of baseball. This year he is in the FARM league (slow pitch with the pitching machine.) He is doing pretty good and enjoying it. I forgot how time consuming baseball is compared to soccer! 2 hour practices and games...the poor kids get so distracted. It is fun to see how much more they can understand and do this year though. Mike is helping coach which Dawson loves. His cousin, Tyson, is also on his team (the Cardinals) so they are having a lot of fun together.
Lori's daughter, Iris, is already getting so big. They stayed the night one night last week on their way up to my parents house. It was so nice to catch up with them and hang out. I just wish I lived closer to them so I could help them out more when Lori goes back to work.
Mary and Ben are settled into their new house (well my parents house that they are renting.) They are loving it and I LOVE having them so close by. I feel like we see each other almost daily. I'm blessed to be able to watch their children grow up.

The past couple of weekends have been busy. Mary and her family moved into my parents new house. It has only been a week so far but it's awesome to have them less than a mile away. It's less than 2 minutes to their house now. I'll miss it when they have to move out but at the same time that means my parents are going to be there so that is just as awesome. Hopefully Mary and her family will find a home near here too.
Brad and I got Rock Band 2 for our playstation3. We were in Circuit City the other day and got a great deal on it. We are having fun playing in our new band we created "Nannerpuss" after the Denny's commercial that is on TV right now. Dawson is learning to sing and play guitar on it and is doing quiet well. He's on the easy level and getting an average of 60%--not bad for a 6 year old....and probably better than what I would be getting. It's a fun family activity.

The past month

Iris and I

I haven't updated my blog in over a month. I don't have a real excuse. January was a pretty slow work month for me. I got to catch up on my sleep which was great. Lori and Jayson had their beautiful daughter, Iris. She was born on Lori's birthday (Jan. 22nd.) Mary and her family are in the process of packing their rental house up and are moving next weekend to my parents new house they bought on the west side of town near me. I am looking forward to having them 3/4 of a mile away. Cora started saying "Brad" a couple of days ago. So she pretty much says: hi, bye, dad, and brad. It's pretty cute when she says it but I wish she was saying Betsy and Mary wishes she'd say mom.
Dawson is still doing a great job at school. He was sick for a couple of days but didn't miss school. He then got me sick and I've been fighting this sickness for over a week now. Brad is doing well. He is taking classes towards his Master's degree. I feel like it will never be over but hopefully by this summer his classes will be done and he will start his project. He just had his yearly celebration of the arts at work where a couple of his classes performed and did an excellent job. He really does a great job teaching music. He has some great students and parents that support his program. My job was to hand out See's chocolates to each person. It was a great job because it meant I got to try all 3 kinds they had (yum!)
Our living room is now finished and looks awesome! I should take a picture to post it on here. Penny (Brad's mom). It's all red and gold (not shiny gold) and just looks really modern and gives the room a wow factor that we wanted. I have enjoyed just sitting in there and reading. It's also nice to see people sitting in there when they come over--they feel like they can enjoy the room now.

Since we had another week off at Christmas we decided to go to Brad's parent condo up in Sunriver, Oregon. It's a great place to vacation (not to mention CHEAP for us.) Dawson had a blast playing in the snow. The weather wasn't too bad---and as many of you know I am NOT a fan of the cold. I had fun going down the sledding hill once with Dawson and then he was off on his own loving it. He said his bum hurt the next day and he wouldn't sled the next day we took him. He really loved making snowballs....and throwing them against the window when we weren't expecting it. We have another 2 days of vacation and then back to school and work. It was a wonderful two weeks off together and we enjoyed our time together as a family.

The month of December FLEW by. I hardly had time to sit and think. I have been subbing for a 2/3 combo class for a teacher who had knee surgery. I have one week left after break. I have enjoyed my time with the students but am really missing working in Dawson's class once a week.
Brad and I offered to have Christmas here at our house. My mom just had reconstructive surgery on her arms and chest. We have yet to see the full effects of surgery but what we can see she looks awesome and she seems so happy. We had to do a lot of work to get prepared for Christmas here. Everyone helped pitch in so I wasn't stuck with a TON of work. I was really thankful for that. We had about 29 people here for Christmas dinner. I hardly got to sit down that day but it was so worth it. I loved being around my family and loved ones and providing a wonderful Christmas for them.
Dawson was spoiled as usual--it is hard not to spoil him when he has so many people who love him and care about him. We are thankful he has so many awesome people in his life. He got to spend time with everyone the week of Christmas. I had him on Christmas Day and enjoyed watching him come downstairs to see what Santa had brought him.
Brad and I also have redecorated our living room this month. His parents big Christmas gift to us was recovering our 2 sofas in there. They were in excellent condition just pink and teal (can we say 80's?) They are now red and we love them! Brad's mom made us new curtains and recovered our piano bench as well. It looks amazing and looks like a totally new room. We also finally found artwork we love for that room and got it hung and bought new coffee table--the other one was just way to big for the space. We are thankful for all that his parents do for us. Our lives are so blessed with having them close by. I look forward to the day when my parents live close to us as well.
We really missed having Lori and Michael and their families at Christmas. Hopefully next year. Lori is due in less than a month with baby Iris--we are looking forward to seeing her and took bets on when she would be born and how much she will weigh. Mary has 3 months left until Asher is here--I'm happy that they are having a baby boy.
Brad and I have one week left of vacation before returning to work so we are taking Dawson up to Sunriver, OR to play in the snow. It should be a lot of fun as long as we can actually make it up there.