Little Snippets

A friend of mine gave us some free passes to the zoo so we went last week. Did I remember my camera? No!!! I was annoyed about that. It's been since last year since we've gone so I thought Preston would like it more than before. It was a beautiful day and with sunny, blue skies so it was a perfect day for an outing. The zoo wasn't that busy and we saw almost everything. We took along a friend of Kate's and they had fun running around. The kids liked the giraffes, monkeys, penguins, the indoor play area and the elephants. The elephants were playing with a ball even. Usually we catch them getting a bath so it was fun to see them out and about. All the kids ate their lunch good and Preston didn't have any melt downs so it was considered a good outing. ha ha.

Other things we have been up to...Preston had his first real visit with the speech language pathologist (SLP) last week and it was okay. She kept testing his limits and so he was getting frustrated and then sometimes he would try to escape upstairs. This process will be interesting. :) I only worked 2 days last week, but this week I am working 3 days so that will keep me busy. We had our ward activity last Saturday (just call Kyle and I event coordinators!) and we did a Game Show Night. We did snippets from Let's Make a Deal, The Price is Right and Family Feud. It was fun, but not very many people came which was a bummer. The people who did come made it fun and got into it so that was good. For dessert after the games, we had ice cream with oreos, butterfinger, sprinkles, chocolate sauce, peanuts and whipping cream. It was delicious. I have been playing church basketball. Our ward has had a couple games (after the first game I didn't want to play anymore b/c it was SO frustrating with bad refs and too high of expectations) and then every Saturday anyone from the Stake comes and plays together or does drills and I've gone to that once. I almost had to ref a game (yikes), but then no one was there to do the clock and score board so I quickly volunteered for that. We find out next week what we are having and I think I'll bring the kids along. Kate will like seeing pictures of the baby. She's still holding out for a girl so we'll see. I can't believe it's already time to find out!

"I want milk"

Preston is just over 2 years old, but we have noticed he's not talking as much as other kids his age and definitely not as much as Kate was when she was his age and I know boys are different than girls, but this concerned us. Since he doesn't communicate that well he will either whine or help himself to what he wants, if he can reach it, or say simple words. One of the phrases he does know is "I want milk"- when we make him say it- because he LOVES his milk. Along with his speech he has little idiosyncrasies or quirks that are concerning so he will be evaluated in a few months at the UW developmental center. It's good that we live over here so he can get help if he needs any.

The other day, we had a speech therapist come to our house and evaluate him. She agreed he needed extra help so now she will be coming to visit Preston at our house to help him with his speech. We are excited for this because hopefully he can learn to talk better and not get so frustrated and be less whiny. :) We want him to be happy and not being able to communicate is probably frustrating for him. So we will see how the speech therapy goes and hopefully it helps.

Bikes and Bunk Beds

We have been enjoying the mild winter and getting outside more. Last year, we had tons of snow and this year we have had only one time of any snow that we could actually play in. In a way, it's kind of nice, but then it doesn't feel like winter either.

Kate likes riding her bike at the "bike park". That's what she calls this park we go to that has a path around a baseball field and BMX track. Kyle and I pushed Preston in a stroller while Kate rode, but now that she is riding a bigger bike she goes faster so we had to keep having her stop so we could catch up. It's by a park and ride so there can be some shady people around and we wanted to see her at all times. :)

This should be a picture from fall, but it's really winter! They had fun running around. There is also a small playground so we went over there and let them play until Preston started crying because his hands and nose were bright red and cold.

Preston on his new big boy bed

We finally got our bunk beds put together. We ordered one a while ago and it said it was white. Well, we put it up against Kate's bedding and it was off-white and you could tell. So I knew that would bug me. So we kept that one (in case I liked it better than the other one) and ordered a different type of bunk bed and waited for that to come. We ordered them from Walmart so they ship free to the store- fabulous. Well, it came and it was definitely white so we returned the first one. We were nervous how Preston would do in a bed and so far so good. He goes down fine at night and for naps. So far he doesn't get out of it in the morning, he usually waits until we come in there, then he gets up. I don't know how long that will last. I'm sure he'll figure out he can get up and start playing with his toys soon enough.

Kate posing on her new bed. She was being silly.

We bought a new mattress from Costco for Kate's bed and gave Kate's old mattress to Preston. It's a joke because the old mattress is awful. It's hard and not comfortable. Several of our family members have slept on it and we regret not spending more money on a nicer one. When we bought it we were trying to be cheap and figured Kate wouldn't care. Well, she didn't, but our visitors did! They were good sports about it, but now we can honestly say that Kate's bed is very comfortable! It makes me want a new bed even more since ours is 10yrs old. I think we'll eventually put the beds together to make it a bunk bed once the baby comes. Kate is SO excited to sleep on the top bunk. We will find out in a few weeks what we are having so once we know then we can plan out the bedroom situation.

I have been feeling good except yesterday at work I threw up- not pregnancy related either! I started shaking while cleaning my patient's teeth and I knew I was about to throw up. I just excused myself and said I'd be right back. Afterwards, I just went back to my patient and started where I left off. I didn't tell her where I was either! I felt better after that though and stayed and finished out the day. I was so wanting to take a nap during lunch time. After work, I went home and relaxed and didn't eat anything. I finally started eating today, but even then nothing sounded good. Kate threw up Monday night as well. I was with some friends over the weekend and one of them got sick so I'm thinking I got it from her, not sure, but I'm hoping Preston or Kyle don't get it. At least, the sickness didn't last long and it went away fast. It makes me even more grateful that I don't get morning sickness during pregnancy where I throw up b/c that would get hard working on patients and having to run to the bathroom all the time. Yuck.

Example Goes a Long Ways

My brother Jared is a stud. He is 16 years old, goes to seminary, plays sports and does a good job in school (right Mom?). But what amazes me most is how he is such a good example to other's at school. He is playing basketball right now and there is a kid on his team that used to drink and swear. He told Jared that since he has known him he hasn't sworn or drank for over a month. How cool is that? Because of Jared he stopped doing those things?! I don't think Jared told him to stop those things, but he just saw Jared NOT doing them and wanted to follow his example. When Jared told me this story I kept asking him questions and analyzing it because I was so impressed with it. Also, Jared let this kid borrow his tie because he didn't have any (they dress up for game days) and I told Jared to just give him the tie and Jared was like "i will." I also told Jared he should invite him to Church. :) What a cute brother I have.

On another good note...I went to Old Navy a couple weeks ago to take advantage of the 50% off clearance sale and got some good deals. Well, I went back today because I needed to return some things that I bought for Kyle that didn't work out and they are having this 2-day 30% off sale this weekend. I returned the things and asked for a price adjustment on some prego capris and a swimsuit for Kate that I bought for full price. Well, the lady said she could do it, but it would take a while because she had to return everything I bought 2 wks ago and then "buy" it again and my receipt was long. Well, she finishes and tells me how much I'm getting back and I'm like sweet. Well, once I left I looked at the receipt and saw that she had not only given me 30% off the items I had purchased at regular price, but she gave me an additional 30% off all the clearance items I had bought!!!! I got back an extra $25 or more than I expected! Woo hoo!!! I kept telling Kyle how cool that was and how nice it was of her to do that for me. So I got 50% off the clearance price and then another 30% off that price! Amazing deals!

I'm enjoying a yummy butterfinger blizzard right now thanks to joining Dairy Queen's Blizzard fan club and getting a BOGO free blizzard. Join!

Princess for a Day

Thanks for all your comments and congrats on my last post! I'm 12 1/2 weeks along and have been feeling pretty good. I am lucky and didn't get sick at all with my other kids. With this pregnancy, I have been feeling nauseous once in a while and, of course, tired. Smells really bother me sometimes too. And with working (especially in my profession) things have been making me more queasy than usual, but overall I can't complain. Kate has informed me she wants it to be a baby girl. I told her we get what we get (and don't throw a fit)! I'm kind of wanting a girl for her, but we'll see. We want to find out...I need to know...I like to plan. Plus, we have this bedroom situation and decorating situation that I want to figure out before the baby comes.

After Church on Sunday, Kate modeled the new skirt Gma Vicki made for her! My Mom probably whipped it up in 2 minutes too. It is a really cute skirt.

Here is Preston after Church in his manly suit. Gma Dee Ann's boss gave it to him and it's really cute on him. He looks like a little man. The vest is a bit short, but oh well. Of course, Preston already has his socks and shoes off before I thought of getting a picture of him.

Marci and Kate at the movies!!!

Marci came up on MLK day since she had the day off (gotta love teacher's schedules) and she came with Kate and I to see Princess and the Frog. It was a cute movie and Kate was only a little bit scared. Much better than when we watch UP a couple weeks ago. Kate was scared most of the movie! We don't take Kate to very many movies so this was a treat for her. She held the popcorn bucket and ate a ton of it. ha ha. Marci wanted her to dress up in her princess dress and shoes. Kate got many compliments so it was fun for her to feel like a princess for a day (I can't wait to take her to Disneyland someday!). What a fun day for her! Kate has been playing pretend now using the story line from the movie and "Tiana" this and "Tiana" that. :)

Marci found this cute idea online and wanted to make it. So since she was coming up to visit we decided to make them. It's this saying on transparency paper (you have to use a laser printer so the ink doesn't come off) and then you cut it to the size you want, roll it up and put it in the soap dispenser. You use the soap straw thingy to push it around and put it to the front of the bottle. It's cute, but I would highly recommend to use clear liquid soap. This soap I had gets in front of the transparency paper sometimes and makes the words cloudy. Marci did one with clear soap and it looks amazing.

Skating, Surgery and Surprise!

Before some of our friends moved away last year they gave us these passes to a skating rink. Kyle took Kate for her first time. He said she only lasted like 20 minutes and he had to stretch her out for a bit longer to make it worth it. They were home quick! :) She liked it though and was so excited to tell me all about it.

Preston had inguinal hernia surgery on Friday at Children's. It went well and he is doing well with his recovery. He watched a lot of tv yesterday and lounged around. You could tell he was sore because he walked funny and wasn't too interested in playing. Kate had the same exact surgery 1 1/2 years ago at the same hospital (different doctor). It's crazy that both of our kids were born with the same defect in their inguinal canal (where the hernia forms). We noticed it because their were bumps on both of the kids down in their groin area. Kate was 3 yrs old when she had her surgery so she was a bit older.

Me with Preston before the surgery. They gave him some "happy juice" to calm him down and he was all relaxed before they took him back for the operation. He wouldn't part with the blanket so they took it back with him. I felt bad for him because he kept asking for milk and for a snack. He couldn't eat anything so we had to keep him distracted with other things like cartoons.

Preston after the surgery. He looked like a truck hit him! His eyes were all puffy. The surgery takes 1- 1 1/2 hours and he is fully sedated. When they brought him to me he was crying, but calmed down when I snuggled him and scratched his leg (his favorite thing). They gave him a popsicle and it was funny watching him try to get it to his mouth. He did better than Kate did though! He downed the popsicle, it must have felt good to his dry mouth plus he was probably thirsty. They let us go home soon after I got him dressed. We had to check in at the hospital at 7:15am and we got home by 12:25pm so it didn't too long. It's always nicer to recover at home where things are more comfortable anyway.

Our next kid better not have a hernia in their inguinal canal....speaking of our next kid...I'm pregnant! We are so excited. I'm 12 weeks along and due July 31st!

I told my family on Christmas Eve. My Mom and Dad gave all of us kids a gift of our "favorite thing" (it was a tradition they did for us kids growing up). Well, I had gotten an ultrasound a couple weeks before (to give me a due date since I never know when I'm due with my crazy cycles) so we had a couple pictures of the baby. I wrapped a picture up and then gave it to my parents to open as their "favorite thing" gift. It was neat to see their expressions and all my family was so excited for me. Then, on Christmas day when we went up to Kyle's family I had wrapped another ultrasound picture for Dee Ann to unwrap and, of course, they were all excited for us too.

I was nervous to tell people because it didn't seem real (sometimes it still doesn't) so now that I've had another ultrasound and am farther along I'm ready to tell people. We even saw the heart beat both times I've had an ultrasound so that is reassuring. What's funny is that I'm due a week before my sister-in-law Sadie and my due date is the day after Marci and Carter's birthday!!! Our family just likes to keep all our birthdays together. It will be a busy month.