Flagstaff Snow Trip

Last weekend we made a last minute trip up to the snow! We rented a hotel room and drove up to Flagstaff. On the way there, we watched Christmas movies and listened to Christmas music. The kids had so much fun! At the hotel, we ordered in dinner, went swimming in the indoor pool and just relaxed.

The next morning, we slept in a little bit and then made the drive up the mountain to Snowbowl. We didn't have to go far up the mountain to find some good snow for playing! The kids did some sledding, we had a snowball fight and they made snow angels. We didn't get to make a snowman though because the snow was too fluffy and wasn't sticking together well. Next year! The kids had such a fun time. Taylor was a little bit upset at first because it was really cold but quickly started to have a little bit of fun too. I was so happy I was able to go and see them have such a great time before baby Evan gets here! Here are some pictures!

5 and 7 year Well Checks

The boys had their annual well checks this month! Both growing and doing well! They couldn't be more opposite in their measurements! Andrew is my little guy, 25th % for his height and only the 15th% for his weight. He's growing right along his growth curve though so he's doing well! Connor is my big guy! He's in the 75th% for height and 80th% for weight, also growing along his growth curve and his weight for height percentile is within normal range! YAY!

Andrew had 2 shots at this visit. He was so sad....I mean REALLY sad. He sobbed and sobbed before and after. He continued to sob in the car on the way home and when you asked him about his shots or how he was feeling, he would sob again. Not a hysterical cry, just a really sad cry. Heartbreaking. We opted out of the flu shots for all 3 kids this year. Did not want a repeat of last year where they each got progressively more hysterical as each kid got their shot. We'll take our chances with the flu! Here are the boys on the exam table....gowns and all! LOL!

Cooperstown!

Just had to post this! We took the kids to the museum last weekend downtown and then after we ate at Alice Cooperstown. The kids have been there before and they love the atmosphere. They also have seen people eating the giant 2 foot hotdog and they wanted to try it for themselves! When someone orders one, they ring a bell and make a big deal out of it. Our 3 kids shared one and almost at the entire thing! HUGE!

Schnepf Farm

Schnepf Farm is one of our yearly fall traditions. We had such a fun time this year at the pumpkin patch! We went later in the day this time, which I think we will do from now on! We rode the rides, ate yummy chili for dinner, watched the shows (this year they had a BMX bike show that was WAY cool) and rode the haunted train! Usually we go in the morning and the train is NOT haunted. This time it was dark and spooky! The kids got a kick out of it, especially Connor. Taylor covered her eyes most of the time but she still is talking about the scary train. LOL! Poor Andrew cried because he thought the scary guys in costumes were real (bad mommy). It was actually pretty scary. Even Bryan jumped a few times! I just LOVE Halloween!

30 weeks!

Well I took my 3 hour glucose test and PASSED....thank goodness! With Thanksgiving coming up and the entire yummy month of December, it would have been such a struggle to stick to a diabetic diet!

I also had my third trimester ultrasound this week. It was so cool to see my little man again! He sure is growing! From the 3D pictures we saw, I think he looks a lot like Andrew did as a baby! We'll see! I am measuring just a tiny bit ahead, he was 3 pounds 4 oz give or take a few oz. My due date will stay the same though since the most accurate ultrasound is the very first one for dates back when I was only 8 weeks along.

I'm so glad Bryan was at the appointment. He asked a million questions about the baby to the ultrasound tech.....which I am kind of chicken to do because frankly, I don't know if I really want to know! Just the thought of something being wrong, scares the crap out of me. He asked her to take a closer look at Evan's organs, mainly the adrenals, kidneys and liver. The tech was SO sweet and understanding of our situation. Our baby Nolan's cancer started in the adrenals and spread to the liver, causing his kidneys to fail. The tech called in the perinatalogist herself. The doctor finished the ultrasound by thoroughly scanning all of his organs. No masses, no abnormalities. What a relief. I'm so glad I know that he's totally healthy with no signs of cancer. The only thing she found was that my cervix is starting to efface! AHHH! This never happened with any of my other babies. It's not severe.....I think the cervix length is supposed to be around 3 cm at this point in the pregnancy, mine is 2.3. Good thing I'm not working! The perinatalogist said there is a 99% chance that I will go full term since none of my other babies were early. I just need to take it easy and follow up with my ob. 8-9 more weeks! Hoping to get this baby out at 38 weeks, just before Christmas!

28 weeks and counting!

Yay! Officially in the third trimester! So far this pregnancy has gone very smoothly. I definitely feel more worn out and achy though, maybe a sign of my age! I didn't feel like this with Connor when I was 22. It has just progressively gotten harder with each pregnancy and now with this baby being my 5th, it's been very difficult on my body. I'm only 29.....I can't imagine doing this at 40 or even 35!

We are so excited to meet our little boy. His room is complete, it's theme is firetrucks. We've bought some clothes and my new Ergo Baby carrier.....very excited to use it! Now we are just waiting on him to hurry up and grow! LOL!

I had my glucose test a couple weeks ago. Just found out I FAILED. It's okay though, I have never passed the 1 hour test before. I always have to take the dreaded 3 hour test. Eww. I have it scheduled for next weeks so I hope I pass. It would be extremly hard to give up sweets and other yummy food! Of course, I would do it if I had to though!

I also asked my doctor if I could have another ultrasound just to put my mind at ease. My doctor is awesome. He wrote me the referral, no questions asked. I go to a high risk perinatalogist for my ultrasounds. The imaging is amazing and they always give me some extra 3d pictures. I can't wait to see him and how big he's getting! He feels like he's getting so big and SO strong. It never gets old feeling him kicking. He's a super active little guy. I felt him flip last week to a breech position and for two days I was getting kicked in the butt/cervix. That wasn't so pleasant. Thankfully a few days later I felt him flip again. I can feel his feet up high once again! Hopefully he will stay put in that position, not that it matters because I'm having a c-section anyway but for my own comfort, I like him head down!

Ultrasound pictures coming soon!!

October Break!

Daddy's girl on the Out of Africa Safari
Holding a parrot! FUN!

Watching the Tiger Splash show
Our family!
Making Spooky Halloween Pizzas
Playing at Airworks with our good friends Gavin and Graham!

Swinging at Tumbleweed Park!

I love having my kids home from school and I love that they get 2 and 1/2 weeks to enjoy in October instead of having a longer summer. The weather has been SO nice and we've been spending tons of time outdoors. Last week on Tuesday we spent the day with some friends from Connor's school. We went to Airworks and played at McDonalds. Wednesday we met my sister at the zoo with her kids. Thursday, I had my niece and nephew over to play. We made crafts, went to the park and played Donkey Kong on the Wii. Nice and relaxing! On Friday we met up with Grandma and went to Scottsdale mall for some shopping. The kids always love going to the mall for some reason. Fine by me because I LOVE the mall too!! Over the weekend we drove up to Out of Africa. We had never been there before. It was a lot of fun. We saw lots of exotic animals up close, went on a little safari and watched some shows. The weather up in Verde Valley was nice and cool. Such a nice family outing!

This is the second week of October break. On Sunday we decorated the house for Halloween. Poor Andrew was sick and wasn't up for helping us much. We saved a few special things for him to do on Monday morning when he felt better (and Taylor was sick). We also decorated some small pumpkins that day and took the boys to the doctor for their well checks. Poor Drew had shots that day. Such a sad day for him. He cried quietly all the way home in the back of the car. My poor guy. By Tuesday, everyone finally started to feel better. We met grandma at Tumbleweed park and ended up seeing a few friends there as well!! I had my 28 week check up that afternoon so the kids went home with grandma and I got to go by myself. That was kind of a treat because I usually have at least one kid with me at all times! Wednesday was another busy day! We drove to Casa Grande to meet up with all of our old friends. It was so nice to see everyone again and it was amazing to see how much all of the kids have grown since we've seen them last (over the summer). We miss them all very much and NEED to get together more often! We practically raised our kids together since they were babies. It would be neat if they remained friends for life!! Now it's Thursday and October break is starting to get a little old. LOL! It's Connor's turn to be sick. Woke up with a fever just like the other two had. Hopefully it will be just a 24 hour bug like the other kids had. We made banana muffins together. I have been cleaning all day while Andrew and Taylor play. Poor Connor has been on the couch all day. I HATE when my kids are sick. We are planning to meet up with a friend tomorrow to play so hopefully he feels better!! Kids return to school next Wednesday. Hoping to stay just as busy for the remainder of the break! Pictures to come soon!!

Maternity Leave!

Yes, already! My doctor and I discussed leaving work for now and until after the baby is born. It was getting way too hard to be on my feet all night long, working in labor and delivery. After discussing it with my totally awesome boss, she agreed to let me have 12 weeks of FMLA with another 12 weeks after the baby is born. I get 6 months off to relax, prepare for baby and spend time with my family. Life is good!

No longer in the market

Update! No longer looking for a house. We decided to take a break. Taking this as a sign that moving is NOT meant to be right now. It was getting to the point where we were having to make decisions too quickly in order to not lose out on a potential house. Then after the offers were being made, we weren't feeling good about buying those houses. I really really want to stay in the neighborhood. I feel safe and at home here. I love the school and feel really comfortable with the teachers and the kids' friends. We will be staying at this house, at least for now and until baby Evan comes. We will start up the house hunting in the spring!

House Hunting!

Since we will have another family member in just 4 months, we figured it was time to move (again) as we will be needing some extra room and for sure another bedroom! We started this journey about 3 weeks ago. We are still in the same place we were 3 weeks ago! This house hunting stuff is NOT easy! I don't feel like we are being ALL that picky, either! In three weeks, we have probably looked at 15 or so homes and made offers on 4. Either we are just really unlucky or the market is really not as "BAD" as everyone says because there is a lot of competition out there, at least for the houses we have been picking! On two of the homes, we were just beaten to the punch. Someone got their offer in first. On one of them, it didn't appraise and the other we were outbid. BOOO! Well, those houses just weren't meant to be, I guess. A friend of Bryan's said that when he was house hunting, he made offers on 25 homes!! GASP! I don't think we have time to make offers on that many....especially since a lot of them are short sales that will take some time to close anyway! We are already cutting it close.

We thought we'd be able to stay in our neighborhood, which would be ideal. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the kids' school. The houses are just being snatched up too quickly. We had to broaden our search. We are now looking in all of Chandler or Gilbert. Our requirements are that the home be at least 3000 sq. feet and 5 bedrooms or 4 beds with an office. We have to have a pool and I would love to have a loft. The home has to have good schools in the area. I refuse to put my kids in a crappy school....even if it's the perfect house. It would be nice if the house is move-in ready. I do not want to be re-doing floors/paint/kitchens before I even get settled. I am pregnant and will be ready to have baby! Last thing I want to do is home repairs. Most homes do not have a pool fence, that's one thing I am willing to do before we move in. Safety of my babies is #1. See, we're not THAT picky! There are quite a few homes that meet our criteria.....but I think our criteria is the same as a million other people because they are getting snatched up SO fast. Please wish us luck! I'm looking at 4 more homes today. Hopefully we'll have a bid on one by the end of the day. Then it's just wait and see and hope and pray that we'll be the lucky winners!

It's a BOY!!!!

We are absolutely thrilled! It will be so much fun to have a baby boy in the house again! I had my ultrasound this morning and I'm not going to lie....I was really nervous. I just wanted to make sure this little baby was healthy, it was not my concern whether he was a boy or girl. I'm so glad I know though! I didn't waste any time....already bought him two outfits and the swaddle blankets I had my eye on....the boy ones, of course!

After the ultrasound, Bryan took his girls out for breakfast. Taylor was a little disappointed baby is a boy. She kept arguing as if she refused to believe it. Every time we would say she was going to have a baby brother she got mad and said SISTER! LOL! She'll get over it once she realizes she's always going to be the one and only princess in the family!

After breakfast, Bryan went back to work and Taylor and I went to the mall!! We shopped for a couple hours but I didn't find what I was looking for. We headed over to Target and Kohl's and bought the baby some cute new things. As I was walking out of the store, my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number and almost didn't answer. Glad I did. It was the doctor from the Fetal and Women's Center where I had my ultrasound. He was very monotone and serious. GULP!!! Why would the doctor be calling me so soon after my appointment?? THANK GOD he was just calling to reassure me that baby looked perfectly healthy. PHEW! That was friggin scary. So YAAAY! My baby is growing perfectly and has no signs of abnormalities! Time to celebrate!

Above are some highlights from the ultrasound!

First Day of School!!

My handsome guys started school today. They were both super excited! Andrew started kindergarten. We requested that he have the same teacher as Connor had last year. We loved her and she taught him SO much. I walked Andrew into class, helped him to unpack his backpack and then said goodbye. I didn't think I'd cry since he was in preschool 5 half days a week last year. He goes the full day this year though and it's such a HUGE milestone to start Kindergarten. I totally teared up when I walked out and it took all I had not to blubber like a baby.

Connor is a big 1st grader. I'm SO proud of him and he's proud of himself too! I thought I was going to walk him into his class this morning and nobody was there. Before school the kids put their backpacks in their lines and then walk out to the playground.....the big kid playground......all by themselves! I was so not ready for that but he was! He ran right out onto that playground and found his friends from last year. That's one thing about Connor, he's so outgoing that he's always got friends. That makes me feel good about the person I'm raising. He super social and super confident. Those two qualities will get you far in life!

While the boys were away at school, I took Taylor to see the summer movie. We made it through half (it wasn't a cartoon) and then we went to Babiesrus to buy diapers and ooohh and awww over the baby stuff. Then we came home and had lunch, did some laundry, took a nap and it was time to pick the boys up!

They boys were both SO happy to tell me about every detail of their day. Andrew made some new friends, bought his own lunch in the lunch line, did a craft and had his first homework assignment! He really loves his new class! Connor bought the exact same thing Andrew got for lunch (they thought this was cool since they actually have a lot of options for lunch at school), he has an actual DESK to put his things in, he loves his teacher and has lots of friends, new and old, in his class. So proud of my kids.

Pregnant!!!

So happy to finally share the news that we are expecting! I'm 17 weeks and 2 days.....not that I'm counting! LOL! We get to find out on August first what the sex of the baby is. I can't wait! I can honestly say that with this pregnancy I don't care either way, boy or girl, I just want a healthy baby! We weren't going to find out at all but changed our minds pretty quickly. Bryan and I are way too excited to wait, plus, I NEED to shop! LOL! If it's a girl, we already have most everything. If it's a boy, we need clothes, bedding and a new stroller! Either way, I don't care!

I'm so in love with him/her already. I've been feeling the first little kicks for a few weeks now. SO early, I know but this is my 5th baby and it's true, you feel those kicks earlier and earlier with each pregnancy. The movements are getting much stronger now. I don't have to wait hours between kicks, I pretty much feel them every hour at least once or twice. At night, much more! I think the baby flipped sometime last week. I was feeling the movements higher in my belly and now I'm feeling distinct little jabs to the cervix/butt. Bizarre feeling. It almost feels like a small electric shock. It startles me!!

The kids are super excited as well. They are all hoping for a girl. The boys LOVE their sister. Plus, they won't have to share toys! LOL! Taylor wants a sister to play with but I think she would be happy (and extremely jealous) either way. They talk and sing to my belly. All three of them are very curious about this whole pregnancy thing. Taylor goes around saying that SHE has a baby in her belly. If you try to correct her, she get's really mad! LOL! She's so funny.

Everyone at work has been really positive and happy for me! I was worried considering I just started working there. I must work in the right place! Labor and delivery is very baby friendly! I am slightly scared about having my 3rd c-section though. I circulate in the operating room and have seen c-sections first hand. Not pretty when they cut into you and then use their hands to rip the rest of your belly open. Grosses me out every time. Oh, well. At least I get an awesome gift at the end!

I'll post an update once we see the baby next week! Can't wait!!

Connor's field trip

I got to volunteer to go on Connor's last field trip of the year. They went to The Children's Museum of Phoenix. One of my favorite places! I was responsible for Connor and two of his little friends. I love kindergartners and I love seeing Connor interact with his friends. I'm so glad he's so social and makes friends easily.

His favorite room was the grocery store and his favorite part of the field trip was going on the bus! LOL! He made me take a picture of him on the bus. Sorry, you can barely see him through the tint!

It's all worth it!

I often question myself if my job is "worth" all of the sacrifice I am making, simply because I am stubborn and refuse to work a job that I don't like. I am gone 2-3 days per week in Yuma, working in Labor and Delivery. This was the only hospital that I was able to find that was willing to train a new grad to work in a specialty area as risky as L&D. I'm not going to lie, it's been one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Leaving my family totally sucks. I cry at night because I wasn't there to tuck them in or say goodnight. In the end though, it will be worth it!

I am 3 weeks in to my "labor" orientation. I was working in post partum and occasionally floating to other departments like the NICU until last month. Labor has been scary but really awesome. Last week one of the doctors let me deliver my patient's baby. I had her start to finish. I was there from 1 cm to 10cm. I encouraged her through her epidural and through pushing. The doctor stood right behind me and gave me instructions. I delivered her baby and placenta, collected the cord blood, everything. What a rush! What an awesome experience to deliver a baby and place her on her mother's belly. My job is SO rewarding.

I'm hoping to start just working 2 days a week. I will have more time with my family and still gain the experience I need.

I love my little girl!

Just wanted to start off by saying I LOVE having little boys. Love them more than anything in the world but I also LOVE that I have the opportunity to experience having a girl too! I took her for Starbucks and pedicures! So much fun! She's my mini me! My little best bud!

Easter 2011

Easter was a blast as usual, especially for all of the kids. It was bittersweet this year though. We celebrated at my sister's park next to her house and this was the first Easter since her step-son, Josh, was killed in a motorcycle accident. We all had a heavy heart that day but we did manage to enjoy being with our close family and friends.

The night before we colored eggs. The kids woke up early and to get their goodies left by the Easter Bunny. Later in the morning we went over to my sisters to set up for our fun family day. We have a potluck every year and we all bring games and activities to do. This year we brought a humungous pinata to celebrate all of the Spring birthday in the family. We had silly string, bocci ball, bean bag toss, a train ride, over 300 water balloons, squirt guns, etc. At the end of the day, we even had a sand volleyball tournament. My boys talked about playing volleyball with their cousins and all of the adults for days afterward.

Making fun memories with friends and family is what holidays are all about. Easter has become one of my very favorite days of the year. Thanks Hil for making it so much fun for everyone!