It's Official!

Ever since our last ultrasound I have been excited about having a girl, yet still wondering if maybe our third little boy was playing an April Fool's Day joke on us. Well, it's official! We're definitely having a little girl! Hooray!!!

Like most mother's of boys, I am more than a little excited to dress her in frilly dresses- so excited, in fact, that I stopped at the store after the doctor to buy a few cute girly things.

The one on the left Brad and I actually picked up when we were in Hawaii in 2005. We weren't yet expecting any children, but hoped they were in our future, so we bought a little boy and little girl outfit. Jason and our new little baby should be able to wear them both together. Anyway, the two other dresses I picked up today. I can't wait to make matching flower and bow headbands and buy ridiculous things like rumba tights and sparkle shoes!

I'm not quite 20 weeks, but I definitely look very pregnant. The more children you have, the more you show rule definitely applies to me. Parker was my energetic photographer, but you get the idea.

One of the things that I am most looking forward to is seeing Brad with his little girl! Parker is thrilled about it as well! Anytime we mention it he squeals in excitement! We still have 4 1/2 months to wait, but we'll all have a lot of fun preparing! Let me know if you have any favorite places to get your little girl things!

An Amazing Photographer

For any of you looking for an incredible photographer, check out my sister-in-law Jackie's website at Jacklyn Belle Photography.

She will shoot at any location you prefer. She also has a lot of favorite places if you aren't sure where a good location would be. She is in the Salt Lake area, but has traveled up to Ogden as well.

She gives a fantastic deal! She'll take a 1-2 hour photshoot and give about 100-200 posed and candid photos of you or your family (including mutiple children) and give you an edited CD with the copyright so you can print off as many copies as you'd like. All of that for only $75! Check out her amazing work!

Here are some of the ones she has taken of us to give you an idea of the amazing quality.

The Baby Horse

Today was such a beautiful day outside we decided to take picnic lunches to a nearby park. Jason is basically entirely independent. He climbs up the stairs and slides backwards down the slides without any assistance from me. He only comes running to me when he trips or wants a drink. Even then he only sits with me for 10 seconds and then is ready to head out again. Today we went with our friends Chelsea and Kate. Parker and Kate make up games as they're playing and racing around (at least Parker considers it a race). After lunch and playing on the slides, we headed over to see the horses next door. Jason especially liked the baby horse. He kept pointing and watching intently.

Here are Kate, Parker and Jason admiring the beautiful horses.

Why God Made Moms (and Dads)

I got an email that had 2nd graders asking questions about "Why God Made Moms", so I asked Parker the same questions(plus some about fathers). Here are his resonses:

Why did God make mothers?
'cause people need mothers. Otherwise bad guys will get them, but some people don’t have mothers and they have to get their own food.

How did God make mothers?
He put bones in them.

What ingredients are mothers made of?
I don’t know.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
‘cause He knows I love her. I’m glad she’s my mommy. Some people don’t like their mommies, but I do. Why don’t some people like their mommies and they want a different one like you? Why?

What kind of little girl was your mom?
A kid.

What did your mom need to know about your dad before she married him?
That she loved him.

Why did your mom marry your dad?
'cause she loves him.

Who's the boss at your house?
Daddy’s the boss as long as Mommy’s okay with it.

What's the difference between moms and dads?
Daddies play and Mommies play. Mommy does the laundry and Dad goes to work.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
What spare time?

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
She needs more food and more laughing.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
I don’t want to change anything about my mommy. I love her and don’t want to change her.

Why did God make fathers?
‘cause God’s nice.

How did God make fathers?
Put ingredients.

What ingredients are fathers made of?
Salt . . ., bones and muscles.

Why did God give you your dad and not some other dad?
‘cause our Daddy loves us.

What kind of little boy was your dad?
Like me.

What did your dad need to know about your mom before he married her?
He loved mommy.

Why did your dad marry your mom?
He loves Mommy. Kisses (giggling) . . . he loved Mommy.

What does your dad do in his spare time?
Go to work.

What would it take to make your dad perfect?
Tickling him.

If you could change one thing about your dad, what would it be?
I don’t know. I love him and don’t want to change him, ‘cause that would make him worse.

Does your mom and dad like being your parents?
They love it!

I was pretty impressed with Parker's answers. The "Who's the boss?" question is kind of a standing joke at our house, but apparently he's pays attention, because he repeated it exactly. All of the others are just whatever he said.

I'm glad he likes us, because we're pretty attached to him as well!

Dinosaur Park with Janelle, Chase, Jada & Kade

Today Janelle and Chase came up with Jada and Kade! It was so fun to hang out with them! We went to the Ogden Dinosaur Park and had a great time exploring the past.

Jada and Parker are showing their tough faces to proove they're brave, even by the T-Rex.

Our little family is about to be lunch!

The boys loved this slide! They would laugh going down, but also all the way back up! They went on it 20 times before we distracted them with the swings. Digging for fossiils!

Afterwards we came back to our house for a fun barbeque! Please come again and visit us anytime!

Lately

We've been having a lot of fun lately! Last week we went to library story time for the first time in a while. We're going to try to make it regularly again. Both boys love it!

Jason likes to stay near me while I fix dinner. He wanders around, but before long he's back again with that adorable grin!

We've been playing outside a lot and enjoying this wonderful weather. We are lucky to have many neighborhood kids that live nearby. This is Riley, Jason, Isaiah, Braxton, Parker and Taevon.

Of course boys love to wrestle!

I love jogging with all of the "popcorn" trees! Today I let Parker ride his bike while I jogged. He slowed me down a bit today, but I'm sure I won't be able to keep up with him soon!

Today we ate our tuna sandwiches and slices apples out on the back patio. I'm sure we'll be doing that a lot this spring and summer!

Fun with Jada

We're so lucky to have Jada in town again! We got together on Sunday evening for rootbeer floats and tons of fun! Brad, Jake and Jackie took turns chasing after all the kids!

Next we went outside for a little nature walk. Jada, Isabelle and Parker have so much fun together! Unfortunately Eric, Jen and Adam couldn't make it, but we got a picture of all of the kids we could! We're looking forward to spending more time with Jada soon!

Simple Joys

Sometimes it's the small things that make me happy. A little over a month ago I bought a little flower box and mounted it on our front porch railing. I planted tiny sprouts of Daffodils and Tulips. I had to bring it in to the garage several times because of inclement weather, but I am glad that the flowers are thriving. Everytime I walk past the window or come out the front door the flowers bring a smile to my face. Well, I'm not the only one. The other day Brad said that he liked looking out at flowers so much, I should go out and buy another window box and flowers. Here is how it looks now. I like the Gerber Daisies and Geranium, but I think I'll move the violas to another planter box and get another large flower in it's place. We also have planter boxes in front of our garage and on our back patio. I love the little pot of Blue Hyacinths. Their fragrance makes it smell so "Springy". I love that too!

Because we always lived in aparments without great sun or space, last year was my first real try at gardening. I decided I really enjoy it! (At least on the small scale I've attempted.) Last year I planted Petunias, Geraniums, Dianthus and Parker's Lima Beans from Nursery. Over the winter I just left the pots outside to get covered with snow. This spring when I started planting I noticed the Dianthus hadn't died. It was still alive and starting to grow again. It still hasn't bloomed, but it growing very well and am excited to have them survive since last year.

This year I'm also attempting strawberries and cherry tomatoes, so wish me luck!

Today after church Parker asked me to get down the round puzzles again. He asked me how to do the math side. I showed him the easiest +1 addition puzzle and he proved once again that I should never underestimate him!

Right now he's in his room working on the picture side of all the puzzles singing songs to himself. So far I've heard, "Teach Me to Walk in the Light", "Popcorn Popping", "Old MacDonald", "Pop Goes the Weasel" and "I Know that My Savior Loves Me". He makes me happy just listening.

Fun Trip to the Zoo

On Wednesday my cute sister-in-law Jackie invited us to go with them to the zoo! Luckily for us Grandma and Adam were able to come too! The kids loved seeing the cute baby elephant! Jason would get as close as he could and then point to all the animals.

Adam decided to get a nice ride in the shade- shady until I pulled up the shade for a picture. The classic zoo wall picture spot has been updated. Parker is about as tall as a juvenile, but of course his arms aren't near as long. Everyone had fun on the train! Thanks for a great time at the zoo! Afterwards we went to my parent's for a while. the boys had fun playing with all of the sports equipment!

We ended the day hanging out with Nina, Joey, Austin and Conner, but we were having so much fun I forgot to take pictures! The pictures in this post also show off my new haircut!

Photoshoot Attempt

We had Stake Conference on Sunday at the Ogden Tabernacle so we tried to take a few photos of the boys in their Easter suits.

Well, at least Daddy is looking in this one.

They sure are cute, even though they won't look at the camera!