Wednesday, November 28, 2012

It’s a Girl!

Little Feet

June 20th I went to the doctor because I had been having horrible stomach pains every afternoon and night for a week.  We were getting ready to go out of town and I didn’t want to feel sick while we were gone.  I mentioned to the nurse that it was possible though pretty unlikely  that I could be pregnant so they had me take a pregnancy test.  (Unlikely because after $2,000 of testing, a fertility specialist told us in May that we had a 1% chance of conceiving on our own – one of the worst days ever). 

I will never forget the feeling of sitting on the table in the exam room and the PA and medical student came in to talk to me.  She had a funny look on her face and she said “well, the test was positive – you are pregnant!”  I felt absolutely shocked and happy beyond description.  It was a surreal feeling – I literally felt like I was dreaming.  I think I even said that out loud.  I had to pull myself together and act like nothing had happened because Mom and Celsea were waiting for me in the waiting room.  I didn’t want to tell them until I got to tell Scott.  I felt so sick that whole afternoon and had to act like I felt fine.  Celsea and I went swimming and painted our toenails and the whole time I thought I might barf!

When I told Scott later that we were having a baby he said “Oh, really?  Ok.”  I was so disappointed with his lack of excitement.  He literally did not believe me until I explained the whole story to him.  Then he reacted a bit more…he kept saying “Oh my goodness,” with a smile on his face for the next few hours before we went to bed. 

We went to California with my family for a few days and the cooler weather was very helpful in keeping my morning sickness under control.  I decided that even though it was pretty early to share our news, I wanted to do it while so much of my family was together so we could see their reactions in person.  After spending a lovely morning at the beach we told Stephen and Boston that we were going to have a baby.  Stephen wanted to know how many days and Boston didn’t really get it.  Not wanting to spill the beans to the rest of the family until the right moment, we told them that it was a secret and that they shouldn’t tell anyone else.  Boston fell asleep in the car and I thought he would forget all about the big news. Our plan was to tell everyone while we were out for my Mom’s birthday dinner that evening.  When we got back to Aaron and Rebecca’s house, everyone was just sitting around eating lunch and relaxing.  Boston walked over to Rebecca and said clear as day, “Rebecca, did you know that my mommy has a baby in her tummy?”  Everyone kind of stopped and stared at us and Rebecca said “is that true?”  We were only too happy to confirm it.  (Note to self: Boston CANNOT keep a secret!) 

A few days later we were celebrating Scott’s mom’s birthday and our gift to her was that cute little card “Our little family is growing by two little feet!” She was so shocked, “do you swear??” Scott got a video of her reaction but for the life of me I cannot figure out how to share videos on here so these little snapshots from the video will have to do.

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He he.  She is wearing glow stick glasses and ears (a gift from some of the grandchildren) which makes it even funnier.

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I was much more sick with this pregnancy than with the other times.  While I only threw up once, I was absolutely disgustingly nauseous a majority of the time.  The blistering Arizona heat did NOT help my morning sickness and the best I felt was when we were in California where it was nice and up in the mountains for the family reunion.  Thankfully, the sickness began to subside right as the wedding plans for Allen and Courtney ramped up and I felt great by the time Chery and Stephen’s wedding rolled around in October. 

On October 10th I had an ultrasound and found out that we are having a girl!  Well, that explains why I was so much more sick this time!  Scott, Stephen, and Boston were all there for the big news and Stephen was quite disappointed by it.  You see, he wanted a brother named Stephen.  Boston claimed that he wanted a sister but when he found out it was a girl he was mad too.  We are so excited to welcome a little girl to our rambunctious family of boys.

Baby girl 

I went to the Carter’s store a few days before we found out what we were having and fell in love with these cute little dress and sweater sets.  I have managed to control myself and so far have just done window shopping.  I don’t know how much longer that will last.  Smile

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Friday, November 9, 2012

Stephen turned six!

 

September 27th was Stephen’s sixth birthday.  He wanted a “guitar” cake for his birthday.

He got to open a few small things before school including this wooden treasure chest (which he fell in love with at Jo Ann Fabrics a few months ago), and two books from Goodwill.  He was absolutely delighted with these things.  I love how easy it is to please kids of this age!

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He got a birthday crown and a chance to pick a prize out of the treasure chest at school.  Such a happy camper!

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Stephen was insistent on having a “guitar” cake.  I have no idea where the idea came from but thank goodness for Party City.  We found this cool gold guitar to top his cake with and we had a ton of fun putting all the candy on his cake. 

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After a quick dinner of pizza rolls (his favorite) we rushed off for his quick soccer game and then rushed back home to have cake and ice cream with our local family.

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I love the blurry picture – it really shows how excited he was!

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As always, my very favorite part of birthdays is watching their sweet face as we sing to them and they get to blow out their candles.

singing happy birthday to Stephen

Stephen blowing out candles

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It was a fun and simple day and we are so happy to celebrate having such a smart, handsome, sweet, and sensitive boy in our family!  These six years have really flown by and it is a little crazy to think how quickly the next six will go and then he will be a deacon!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Being a mom of boys

At the end of September we took the boys on their first (I am sure of many) shopping trip to Sports Authority.

They tried out football pads which I found interesting that they had them to fit such young children.

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They practiced looking tough.

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But ultimately we settled on soccer cleats, shin guards, and a soccer ball.  Stephen started playing Parks and Rec soccer just a few days later and he is loving it!

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We tried to take a self-portrait one Sunday but eventually we needed some help.

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Stephen was in a hurry to get ready for school one morning and it wasn’t until after school when we were running errands that I noticed his major wardrobe issue:

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He put his jeans on backwards and wore them all day like this.  I can only imagine how uncomfortable it must have been to sit on that zipper!  We had a great laugh about it but now I check each morning to make sure he is put together right.  Smile  I will state that he did have his hair combed and teeth brushed before leaving for school.

 

My boys have become quite savvy with wedding plans. It has gotten to a point where they don’t really fight when we have to make several wedding related shopping stops.  They are good sports (usually). Stephen is especially helpful with all of the many projects we have worked on over the last two months.  He helped measure out each ribbon that we used to make this ribbon backdrop for Chery’s reception.  He is a great little helper.

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Monday, September 17, 2012

The day of the wedding arrived

September 7th my little brother, Allen, married a lovely girl, Courtney Cluff.  She is sweet, intelligent, and beautiful and is just perfect for Allen.  They are a beautiful couple and it was such a blessing to share in their joy that day. 

 

Family started rolling into town on Wednesday, starting with Chery and her fiancĂ©, Stephen Ross.  Since she will be getting married in a month, Chery was able to go through the temple for her own endowments on Thursday night. It was a wonderful feeling to be in the temple with (almost) all of my family!  I realized I hadn’t been in the temple with them since the day Scott and I were married. 

 

We had all the usual fun, rushing about, and chaos that comes when you cram a bunch of family into a house together for a big event.  Let’s just say it was nice that we got to go home and sleep in our own beds each night!  Smile

 

Enough words, time for the pictures!

The day before…supposedly we went to help set up.  We were not any help at all!

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It rained all morning but cleared up just as we went inside the temple.  When we came out at 3ish it was cloudy and humid but not too hot.  Then, suddenly the sun came out and it became unbearable!

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My favorite picture of Allen and Courtney.  Just look at the joy on their faces!

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Courtney is the first in her family and so she had no nieces or nephews until Friday.  Here she is with all the little ones.

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Here are my shoes that used to be black.  I spray painted them pink and put glitter on the soles.  They were cute but were a one time wear.  The paint started cracking and flaking after a while.

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The rest of these pictures were taken by Stephen and Anna.  I bring you, “Wedding Reception Through the Eyes of Five-Year-Olds.”

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One of my personal favorites…notice their cute little toes in the picture!

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“W” for wedding.

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