Another New Addition . . . It's A Kumquat!

That's right! We are expecting another baby on October 20! I am 11 weeks and right now this baby is the size of a kumquat.

I went to my second doctor's appointment today. We got to see an ultrasound at 6 weeks and saw the little heart flickering. Today was another ultrasound and the baby was so much bigger and more developed (head, hands, feet, etc.). The heart was still flickering and I could see the baby bouncing and moving around like crazy. This is simply amazing every time. It has made me happy all day.

We are totally thrilled. This actually came as kind of a surprise. We talked about having a baby in October but then decided to wait a few more months. Too late. I was SHOCKED to see a positive pregnancy test on the very morning, just hours before, I was called as Primary President. Those were some overwhelming days and nights. We are all settled with the idea now and couldn't be happier. Ava will be one month past 2 years old. Both of us love the month of October - it's beautiful and it's baseball playoff time. And now we will have all of our family birthdays lined up in August, September, October, November and December.

I have really felt GREAT! I've often been worried that I'm really not pregnant (because I don't feel anything), but just gaining a lot of weight at a rapid pace. As of this week all of my size 8 jeans and skirts are put away. This is the only symptom really. I am so hungry! When I get hungry, I get absolutely frantic, shaky and desperate to get some food in my stomach. I guess I feel tired, but I do take a nap every afternoon when Ava goes down, so I'm fine. I did have a few afternoons of feeling kind of nauseous (I'm sure there a number of you that hate me for this) and now Brie complains of having a baby in her stomach and it's making her feel sick.

I can't believe we'll have three kids soon. I'm kind of scared, but this is EXACTLY what I want and have always wanted. I'm so incredibly grateful!

South for the Winter

We headed south to St. George last weekend and had a blast. It was 85 degrees!!! Our friends, Matt and Clair, invited us to go with their family. We stayed at their condo. It was perfect. They have daughters exactly the ages of Brie and Ava.

We spent the first day swimming at the aquatic center. So fun. There was a huge slide, floating lily pads, spraying fountains, a lazy river, etc. We all had a good time. The day was so warm and sunny. Later, the dads graciously stayed home with all five kids to watch the Utah basketball game while Clair and I got to go to the outlets for shopping. Awesome! I found the cutest new dresses for the girls and everything was 70% off. We had a great time, but the dads were grumpy and exhausted when we returned.

We spent the next day in Zion National Park. I love this park. It's gorgeous. We started with a picnic lunch and then went on the Emerald Pools hike. We were just going to do the paved part to a waterfall, but once we got to the waterfall we dumped our double jogger strollers and hiked all the kids up the mountain. We made it to the middle pools and then kept going to the upper falls. They did great. Brie did the whole thing by herself. Me pushing us UNDERNEATH the back side of the waterfall. So cool.
The top of the middle falls. We made it!
After a lot of rock scrambling, we made it to the upper pools. It was beautiful!
Going down. This is how Brie went down the whole way. She jumped from rock to rock. Thankfully we had had a very long and detailed talk that morning about how princesses CAN wear pants to hike. Thank you for the book Jessica.After our hike we left Zion and went to visit Grandma Great. We ate In 'n Out Burger! Thank you Grandma.Ava with her very own In 'n Out Burger.We spent Sunday morning at the St. George temple and Visitor's Center. Scott showing the girls how snap dragon's talk. They loved it.
Number One!
And . . . after all that fun in the sun . . . this is what we came home to all this week.
Now I'm ready to go even further south to California!

St. Patrick's Day

Here are some pictures from our St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

We displayed our Shamrock plant. This Shamrock come from Ireland. I believe Fred's mother brought it with her when she moved here to the U.S. Rama now has it and gave me some for my own a couple of years ago. Thankfully, it's beautiful and thriving.The girls and I wore wigs and hats for our dinner and then Scott joined us later. We had green punch, corned beef hash, cabbage, spam (for those that don't like corned beef. the girls downed it.), mashed potatoes, kiwi (because it's green) and green shamrock shaped jello jigglers for dessert. We listened to Celtic music and had a great party!

It's a Boy!

We have a new addition at our house. A little Shitzu dog named Maestro! I never thought I'd see the day that I would have a dog. I've never had a dog before, but we have all fallen in love with this guy.

It all started awhile ago when we saw the CUTEST creature ever made in the pet store. He was a little Shitzu puppy. We would go visit him and get him out and play with him. He was adorable, but also cost $800. So, we started liking the idea of having a little dog, but were not going to buy one.

A few weeks ago we heard of a family in our neighborhood who needed to give their Shitzu away. They bought him from a breeder at 10 weeks old. He is full breed. They have loved him and trained him. They got him through all the puppy stuff and now that he is almost three, they have to give him up. So sad. So good for us though. He is SO cute!!!! He has the softest, curly hair. No shedding or allergies because it's hair. Yeah!! He is very clean because he stays inside. He doesn't bark except one little bark at the back door when he needs to go out and go potty. He loves to be wherever we are and sit close. The girls totally love him! Ava has full kissing sessions with him. She gives him a big MWA! kiss on his nose and he licks her back. She laughs hysterically. Brie likes being his mommy and had a full tea party with him. She even spoon fed him his tea.Ava keeping her stuffed animal dog away from him.
Brie dressed up the pretend dog before Maestro came. Can't wait to see what she does with him. She already wants to call him "Jewel".I do still have some hesitations. Maybe because I've never lived with a dog before and I'm a little nervous. I don't like that he gets excited and jumpy when a new person comes in the front door. I don't like that when I go to other people's houses and I don't want people to feel uncomfortable or nervous when they come in our door because of a dog. I also don't really know yet where his "home" will be. I don't know where to put his little pen.

Maestro waiting for the food to drop.
Scott is sooooooooooooo excited and the girls are sooooooooooooo excited. So, I guess I'll get over my little concerns and we'll just enjoy having this new little addition to the family. Good thing he is as cute and good as he is. We already love him!

The Scowl

Upon request, I present the scowl.

Ava: A Lover and A Fighter

Ava just turned 18 months old. Her 18 month appointment was this week and her stats are: 19.8 lbs. (still not on the charts, but getting closer), 31.3 in. (50th percentile), head is 17.6 in. (5th percentile).

All of a sudden she seems like she is growing up so fast. She went from a baby to a walking, talking toddler very quickly and she keeps going. Ava has such a funny personality. She cracks us all up. She is definitely a lover and a fighter.


* Ava LOVES her mommy. She is ALWAYS within a 1 foot radius of me. If I'm cooking, she's holding on to my legs whining for me to hold her. If I'm in the shower she sits herself on the step right outside the shower door until I am done. If I'm on the computer she is hanging on me/climbing on me whining to be held. If I'm sitting down she is ALWAYS in my arms, usually with a book ready for me to read.

* Ava gives THE DIRTIEST LOOKS known to man. She can scowl at someone like she really hates 'em. She does this when she's mad or when anyone that is not me, Scott, Tawna or Brie looks at her.

* Ava gives really good kisses. She kisses everyone before she goes to bed or down for a nap. She blows kisses and says, "See ya!" when we say good bye to anyone.

* Ava totally beats up on Brielle. I can see this being the case for many years to come. Brie does not usually provoke it, but Ava will go right up to her and pull her hair, kick her or hit her. The other night they were in the bath together and Ava jabbed her finger up Brie's nose and gave her a gushing bloody nose. This all results in a lot of crying.* Ava loves balls. She yells "BALL!" when she sees one and gets really excited. She can kick a ball really well. This morning she was dribbling a bowl with her feet around the kitchen. Scott can't wait to see if she will be the soccer star.

* Ava is already dressing and undressing all day. With her and Brie together we have little girl clothes all over this house. She always takes her pants and shoes off. I get her ready to walk out the door and the next thing I know, all of her clothes are off. I just have to tell her to put it back on and she happily does though. A couple of days ago I put her down for a nap in pants, shirt, sweater and zipped in her sleep sack. I went up to get her afterward and she was standing in her crib BEAMING with only a diaper on. What a trick!* Ava says: mommy, daddy, ball, Tawna, "di di" for Brie, "di di" for baby, see ya, "di da" for chupa, pa pa, "loly" for birdy, bath, sock, hat, doggy, out, hide, sings "where aaaaaare you?", sings "clean up" and makes the sounds for a dog, monkey, cow, bird and duck.

*Ava likes to help clean up. I think it makes her feel big. She is the first to volunteer to pick up a mess and sing the "clean up song".

*Ava LOVES to have books read to her. She usually has a book in her hand and is begging for one of us to read it. The problem is that she throws it right at your face to tell you she wants it read. I'm always flinching in fear of having a book hurled at my face when she is around.

*Ava is starting into the girliness. She walks around in the princess high heeled slippers, carries a purse, loves to wear bead necklaces and rocks and feeds her babies like a good mommy.

* Ava really lets you know when she is mad or doesn't like something. She flings herself onto the floor kicking and crying. Hilarious.

Loves to the Potata!

Wedding Dress

We went to a wedding reception on Friday night. It was very nice for us (chocolate covered strawberries), but it was heaven on earth for Brielle. A wedding reception is Brielle's FAVORITE thing to do. I told her about it when we went to buy the gift and then she talked about going for three days straight. She was SOOOO excited. The day finally came and it felt like we were going to Disneyland. She chose what she was going to wear (a big puffy white dress too) and what Ava was going to wear. When I showed her the dress I was wearing, she told me she didn't think that was such a good idea and chose something different for me (which actually was cuter).

At the reception, she and Ava danced and twirled on the dance floor. When Brie got to meet the bride it was exactly like meeting one of the Disney princesses. She hugged her and was thrilled. We stayed as long as possible, but then had to go. Brie cried the whole way out saying, "But I want to see them dance. But I want to see them dance." So sad.

So, the next day we dressed up in our wedding dresses for our own dance. Brie has been asking me to do this for a long time and we finally had a dress up day. I came out in my wedding dress, Brie came out in her wedding dress and we danced and danced to Disney Princess songs. Ava rocked out with a mohawk and a ballerina tutu.
So fun. Now, let's hope it's another 5 1/2 years before I have to get into that dress again!