Baby Girl Fun

After our big ultrasound we had to stop at Carter's Outlet, of course, and then we went out to lunch. Liam was very excited about the pictures of his baby sister. He was proud to show her off. :)
One of the many fun things found at Carter's...
Our original ultrasound wasn't scheduled until June 1, but the ultrasound tech had to reschedule it, so not many people knew that we were having it that day. We decided to surprise our family and make cupcakes to tell them with what we were having. Wes injected pink frosting into white cupcakes frosted with white frosting so that when you bit inside you saw pink!
Liam's baby cupcake:
GG knew what was happening, but Grandpa-Great ate the whole thing without looking inside. ;)
It's a girl!
And a baby belly shot from 17.5 weeks! She pokes out some days and sits back others. :)

A Bouncing Baby...

GIRL!

That's right, we're going to be welcoming a sweet baby girl in November! We had our big ultrasound on Thursday. We took Liam with us and he was just thrilled to 'meet' his baby sister... You could have knocked me over with a feather with the tech told us that we'd be having a daughter. I thought for sure that we would be having a boy, but nope, he told us he was positive she's a girl. I made him confirm because I knew I'd be buying a *few* pink things. ;)


I can't tell you how many times I've looked through these photos over the last two days. I know to most of you they look like every other ultrasound photo you've ever seen. But, seeing her up on the screen moving her little feet and seeing her profile, it's magical. I feel that way each time I look through these photos. I remember feeling the same way after Liam's ultrasound; just enamored with the beautiful little baby growing inside of me. It's amazing how, as moms, we know that our children are beautiful and perfect in every way, even just from a 2-d black and white image of them.

Here is baby girl's profile shot (her head on the right):
Looking straight ahead:
Waving Hello! Liam saw this one and said, "Hey, My Baby Sister is Giving Me a High Five!" Then he proceeded to wave at the screen and yell, "Hi, baby sister!"
She already has "Fawcett" legs. They are nice and long, with what looks to be like a big foot as well. :)
We feel so blessed! She is perfect and healthy and everything looks just beautiful from the ultrasound!

Now the name discussions begin! With Liam, he wasn't named until shortly before he arrived, and I'm sure this will be a similar situation. Liam insists her name will be Chester, therefore, that's what she is know as for now.

We can't wait to meet you, Ms. Chester!

Motherhood

I enjoyed a beautiful Mother's Day. Breakfast in bed, flowers planted in my garden, beautiful primary children singing at church, what could be better?! Well, this handsome little boy with his arms wrapped around my neck, that's the very best thing. If that was all my Mother's Day had consisted of, that would have been enough.

“The ability and willingness properly to rear children, the gift to love, and eagerness … to express it in soul development, make motherhood the noblest office or calling in the world. She who can paint a masterpiece or write a book that will influence millions deserves the admiration and the plaudits of mankind; but she who rears successfully a family of healthy, beautiful sons and daughters, whose influence will be felt through generations to come, … deserves the highest honor that man can give, and the choicest blessings of God”
-President David O. McKay (1873–1970)

Scriptures

Have I mentioned how much I love Liam's primary teacher?! She focuses on the scriptures and encourages the kids to bring them to class if they want to. Liam's friend Neal brings his to class so Liam INSISTS that he brings his Book of Mormon to church each week as well. He takes it very seriously and loves that he can participate with his scriptures. We were getting ready for church on Mother's Day and I wanted to take some photos on our porch. Liam was not cooperating because he was so into looking at his scriptures. These completely not-posed photos are now some of my favorites! I hope he continues to grow to love the scriptures and uses them in his life.

Swim School!

I've been wanting to put Liam in swimming lessons for about a year, we just hadn't had the opportunity to do so yet. Nana wanted to get him a couple of lessons for his birthday this year and now that life is calming down a bit, we went for it! He is signed up for the "Panda Bear" (beginning three year old) class at Silver Bear Swim School. We went our first time last Monday and he LOVED it. The class was amazing. He picked out some lime green goggles with his teacher and away he went!

It was "Dinosaur Week" and they had the pool filled with dinosaur floaters and there were little dinosaurs on the bottom of the pool for the kids to look for, to encourage them to put their faces in. He had a great teacher and there are three other three-year-old kids in his class. When the lesson ended, the parents were allowed to come in the pool area from watching from behind the window and they got to show us all that they learned to do during their lesson. The teacher said he couldn't have hoped for a better first lesson with a kid and that Liam did great. One of their goals in the "Panda Bear" class is to have the kids learn to hold their breath for up to 10 seconds. When Liam showed me what they learned with his teacher, he did it for the full 10 seconds. He was so proud of himself. He was very sad to leave lessons that day, but I assured him we'd be back next week. He can't wait!

Here are a few photos of him before his lessons. He was so excited!

I'm hoping to get some photos of him after his lessons, but it's hard to get him out, showered, dry and dressed while photographing. ;) Not to mention the kid is about impossible to photograph these days. However, I'm really looking forward to watching him learn and grow in his swimming as his lessons progress!

Husbandly Duties

I had to take a few photos of my handsome husband doing his manly yard duties. :) He finally bought us a lawnmower and mowed down our jungle of weeds/grass mixture we had going on. The problem is not solved yet, but at least it sort of looks like we have grass now and we can walk through our yard. It's a work in progress, but someday we'll have the yard we've dreamed up in our heads. Have to start somewhere, right?





PS- He looks really thrilled to be doing it doesn't it? He acts like it's a pain, but I know he secretly enjoys it. ;)

12 weeks

2 weeks ago, so when I was 12 weeks along, I had another midwife appointment. She thought for sure that we'd be able to hear the baby's heartbeat with a doppler but because I have such a retroverted uterus and the baby was wayyy back there, we had to do another ultrasound. She had a hard time finding the little one, but once she did we saw him/her kicking away. It was so amazing to see the little legs moving around. And you can even see the little toes. Baby is very stretched out and comfy near my back. If you are having trouble seeing the baby, the head is on the left hand side and the little feet are on the right hand side.
We also, of course, got to see the heartbeat and everything looks great! When we were in Murphys, I had my mom take my first 'belly shot.' I was 12.5 weeks here. The picture actually makes my belly look bigger than it is, but sometimes baby moves forward a bit and pokes out and other times seems like he/she retreats back a little and hides. :) Nonetheless, here it is:

Heavenly Weekend

Sometime in the middle of April, my mom and I spontaneously decided that it would be amazing if my sister, mom and I could go to my Aunt's cabin in Murphys, CA for a girls'/Mother's Day weekend with no kids or husbands (except Peyton) and we could scrapbook and sew to our heart's content, all the while enjoying the beautiful area surrounding the cabin. By some miracle and great husbands, we were able to accomplish just that! We left on a Friday afternoon and headed over the hill. Peyton was an angel the entire way.

We arrived in Murphys and got set up. Man, we brought a LOT of stuff (pictures at the end of the post). We decided we wouldn't put any pressure on ourselves to do anything in particular, just whatever we felt like.

Peyton was a gem. He, however, puts everything into his mouth! It's like nothing I've ever seen. So, we decided to take photos of all the things he puts in his mouth throughout the days. It's not a comprehensive list, but funny nonetheless. So when you see a photo of him with something in his mouth, we were documenting his obsession. :)

See the drool running down Heather's arm?


One afternoon we went on a picnic to Ironstone Vineyard in Murphys. The flowers were seriously unreal. It was a gorgeous day and the weather couldn't have been any better. Here are some photos from our afternoon there.










And here are the photos of all of our stuff and our mess. We got a lot accomplished! Heather cut out and basically sewed the whole top of a table runner. Mom finally finished Heather's wedding album. I did a few nursing school pages and cut out three rag flannel quilts I am going to make. I also got some great knitting stuff from a shop in Murphys. I think everyone got a bit more done than I did because I chose to spend a lot of my time doing nothing at all, laying in bed, etc. ;) Such is the life of a pregnant me. :)


The pictures really don't do the mess we created justice. But, we really did have a wonderful time. We ate when we felt like it. Didn't have to cook unless we felt like it. We browsed the fun little shops and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful lilacs, irises and tulips. It was just so relaxing and enjoyable. What a great Mother's Day Treat! Thanks Mom and Heather for a truly wonderful weekend!!

Easter Weekend Eggstravaganza!

What a wonderful Easter weekend we had! It was jam-packed with fun! The weekend started early for Liam and Izzy who were able to stay themselves with Nana and Papa Thursday and Friday night. What lucky ducks! I'm impressed they didn't turn into giant fruit snacks after those two days. ;) Thanks, mom and dad! We appreciated the breather!


They, of course, got to lick the beaters when I made my fruit dip. Yum!
The only reason Liam was excited for mom and dad to get to Nana and Papa's house was so that we could dye Easter eggs. The kids had a blast with it!
Look at those colorful fingers!!
Izzy dipped and redipped this same egg about 2738943 times. She had lots of fun doing it.
Our beautiful finished eggs!
The kids got some fun new bath paints for Easter and had a lot of fun with them!
Story time with Papa. Sweet, isn't it?
Easter morning, the kids were awake nice and early and in bed with Nana and Papa. They got to enjoy some cheddar bunnies in bed. Papa looks a little tired doesn't he?
Sneaky Easter Bunny hid their eggs early in the morning!
Liam had fun finding his basket this year. We finally had to play the hot and cold game with him though because I seriously doubt the kid could find his own two feet if they weren't attached.
He found it! He was thrilled! The Easter Bunny brought him new trunks, Gordon the Train, Toby the Train, a lollipop and a few other goodies.
The Easter Bunny brought Izzy these beautiful, light up, glass slippers. The girl was in Heaven.
The Easter Bunny brought daddy a cheese slicer that he's wanted since we've been married.
The kids then decided to play dress up and have a little ball. He's the handsome cowboy swimming prince and she's the Pajama, light up Cinderella.

He decided that his lollipop would make a good guitar.
The Peep crew needed a Peep break. I think Liam and Izzy are the only people in the world that love Peeps as much as Nana.
I brought mom these beautiful tulips for Easter. We thoroughly enjoyed them.
We tried to get a decent picture of these two, but this is the best we got before their hunt at Nana's.
On the prowl...
These couple of eggs are the eggs that I dyed with the silk ties. They came out really neat. Goodwill had some good options this year. I couldn't believe they even had a Mickey Mouse tie!
My handsome Easter Boy.

Good hunters, aren't they?

Our attempt with all three kids. This was the best we could get. Poor Peyton.
Our new tradition is to go to the town egg hunt. I told Liam to find the golden egg, so he decided that he would ONLY pick up the golden egg and was really upset when he didn't find it. Ooops! We finally did get him to go for other eggs as well and assured him it was OK that he didn't find the golden one.

We had such a lovely Easter. We hope everyone else did as well!