Some Days in Our Life

Life is pretty normal around here. Zach is developing rapidly. He says new things every day. We have to start being more careful what we say, because it comes right back out of Zach's mouth.

He is a lot like his dad in that he loves to fix things. "I fick it," as Zach says. Here they are working on the lawnmower together. Both Zach and Corey are very gifted at figuring out how things work, taking them apart and putting them back together. Zach did this with a friend's toy the other day, and the parents were surprised because their older son hadn't yet figured out to do that to the toy.

 He found a comfy seat for watching Mary Poppins, or "Minnie Poffins," as he calls it.

 I came home today to see the boys dressed in their Ohio State game day red t-shirts, and caved and let Corey open his birthday present early. I ordered father and son matching jerseys for them, and they couldn't be cuter! I also can't wait to dress our new babe in a tiny cheerleader outfit next season!

 We tried a dozen times to get a good family photo, but the lighting and focus kept turning out horrible with the auto-timer. Why? Ugh!

Zach and I recently attended a presentation by our local fire department.

He looks pretty somber in this photo, but he is giving the fire fighter a hug. Afterward, he kept saying, "Fireman, love." He's been talking a lot about firemen and trucks and giving loves ever since.

A couple of weeks ago we had some terrible rain and winds that led to tornadoes and floods nearby. This is the park where Zach and I like to take walks about a half mile from our house. I know the picture is hard to see, but the banks of the small lake/pond normally end to the left of the baseball field. It flooded at least 4 feet or so. It went back down within a few days, but it washed a lot of garbage up and smelled awful for awhile.

One fun part of the park flood was that we found this little guy on the sidewalk during our walk. He was just about 2 inches long and far from shore. We took him home for a few hours for Zach to see, and then back to the lake to find his family.

This was a few weeks ago--maybe at around 16 weeks pregnant. I feel bigger than I look, I guess. Some clothes really show it, and others don't. I'm trying to get in my last round of wearing as many normal clothes as possible before I have to put on my stretchy pants.

Yum. With Zach, I didn't crave too many sweets, but this baby girl loves her chocolate! I've been thriving on Cocoa Puffs for breakfast and other chocolate snacks like this lovely mini-cake. She's gonna be a sweetie!

I started another job 2 weeks ago. I am filling in during someone's maternity leave for the next 4 weeks or so. From there, I will probably try to find another more permanent 2 day a week job. I have enjoyed it a lot so far.

Corey is starting in on his first round of exams next week. We are hoping this trimester goes as well as the others have for him. I am so proud of my freakin' smart husband! He doesn't like for me to brag, but he's gotten better grades in chiropractic school than I ever got in dental school, in many of the same courses. And no thanks goes to me for helping him in any way--those are the courses I regurgitated for Boards and mostly blocked out afterwards! Not really. I remember the important stuff, of course. But I must admit the steps of the Citric Acid Cycle and the exact location of the recurrent laryngeal nerve are not at the forefront of my memory.

Bring on the pink, ruffles, frills, and polka-dots!

The verdict is in: Wednesday at my 17-week sonogram, the doctor announced that he was 90% certain that what he saw was a little girl! We are excited, but would have been just as delighted if it had been a boy. And with the 10% chance that it could still be a boy, I'm a little hesitant to start painting things pink, just in case! When I was expecting with Zach, I was pretty sure it was a girl. So sure, in fact, that I bought a complete, darling bedroom set that was a super deal that I couldn't pass up. That act totally jinxed me. It wasn't that I didn't want a boy--I was fine with it once we found out. I just really imagined I was having a girl, and kind of got my heart set on it. So with this one, I didn't let myself get worked up one way or the other, because it all comes down to statistics--there is ALWAYS a 50/50 chance that the child is going to be a boy. Or a girl. It doesn't matter if there have been only 2 out of 9 children on my side that are female, or 4 out of 12 on Corey's side, or even if I had already had 6 boys in a row! So, while I was really hoping for a little princess to dress in pink polka-dots and bows, I didn't get my hopes up at all, because I would hate to have been disappointed in any way if I had learned we were having another boy. I had already decided it would be perfect either way. So the sonogram was actually a little anti-climatic for me, since I didn't let myself get too emotionally attached to the idea of either a girl or boy beforehand. Also, there is still that slight chance that it was just not completely clear on the screen. I am still pretty early, and not planning on having another sonogram. We'll just have to see.

But now it is settling in and I am ready to go shopping.:) Hopefully I won't jinx anything this time (but I'll keep my receipts, just in case)!

T-Shirts

We decided to make our announcement via T-shirt as we headed home to see our families. We thought the indication was pretty obvious, but only a few people caught on immediately. For most, we had to ask how they liked Zach's shirt, or otherwise hint around until they caught the drift. : ) We seriously thought about not telling anyone until I came home from Christmas, as big as a house, but I thought that might be a little mean. Knowing a family member is expecting gives me something to look forward to, and extra prayers from friends and family are always helpful. Also, then I would have had no one but Corey to whine to about my pregnancy woes--I mean, share in the joy! (BTW, I have had a pretty easy time of it so far, compared to many women. I have had the usual, neverending fatigue and nausea, but no actual throwing up or anything serious. Thanks for the good prego genes, Mom!)

We are so happy to be welcoming another little one into our family at the end of February. Zach, of course, doesn't quite comprehend that he'll soon have company, but I'm sure he'll catch on soon enough! When I point to my belly and say baby, he thinks I am talking about/nicknaming the mole next to my navel. So now when I ask where the baby is, he points to the mole. (Don't worry about the gross mole talk--it's a sexy mole, not a haggard one. And it will only become more attractive as it stretches with my growing abdomen.; ))

With our announcement theme being in the T-shirt arena, I found some winners that I liked in the Mommy Division (though I'm not certain I'd actually wear one). Sorry for the poor image quality on some. I'll annotate the captions so you can tell what they say:

I'm so crafty I make people

I'm pregnant. What's your excuse?

Birth control is for sissies

And my all-time favorite, because

 it's true:

All I wanted was a backrub

*Just kidding--I've wanted another baby for awhile now : )

Trip to Northern Idaho

Sorry for the crooked picture-it was taken from a moving vehicle. But isn't it lovely?! The entire golf course was covered in fog, and once we drove out of it, it was cool to see how localized it was.

After spending one short night in Idaho Falls, we got in the truck with Corey's parents and started the 8 hour trek up to Blanchard, which is about 40 minutes past Coeur d'Alene and 45 minutes from Spokane. I have never been on this drive before, and had heard good things about it. It was lovely, but LONG! Zach only slept 1 hour of the time, which meant I didn't get much rest either. We were excited to finally arrive and see our relatives we hadn't seen since Christmas.

 Zach had so much fun over the break with all his newfound cousins! Needless to say, they found plenty of trouble together as they raided the pantry and garage every time I turned my back!

Zach loved stealing attention from "Nanny."

And had lots of loves for Papa, too.

So while I thought this was more of a family reunion, the boys organized their annual golf tournament during this time. This left us women alone with 7 children for 5+ rounds of golf over 3 days, plus even a few more rounds after that. It wasn't exactly how I had planned to spend such a big part of my vacation, but on a couple of occasions, the ladies were able to get out on the course also. I have played less than a dozen rounds of golf in my life, and most of those were only 9 holes. I haven't golfed at all since last year's reunion, but I actually had some pretty good drives. My short game was another story, but we had fun. Until the next day, that is, when I contracted a killer cold and the lactic acid started pooling in muscles I had entirely forgotten about. It was a miserable couple of days while I recovered, but I was able to read a few entertaining books during that time.

Cherlyn, Cheryl, and Rachelle on the green.

Look at the daring pro! I loved this shot!

My awesome swing.

Corey made up all the time he was gone golfing by watching all 7 kids (James almost gets an honorable mention for helping:)) while us girls went to Spokane for a temple trip, some shopping, and lunch. He also took me to lunch in Coeur d'Alene for our anniversary.

Did I mention it was FREEZING there? I was craving some cooler weather after sweltering in Dallas all summer, but going from 100 degrees to the 60s was crazy. Some days it even dipped into the 50s. I did not bring nearly enough warm clothes for us, and we ended up wearing the same things for days in a row. Yay for my warm and comfy green hiking socks.

Other highlights: Zach LOVED riding on the golf carts,

he warmed up to his cousin Michael after a day or two, and can't stop talking about him now,

he also adored Kaysha and had fun with the other cousins,

we got to see LOTS of pine trees, mountains, and rivers.

We enjoyed and sincerely appreciated all the time spent with family,

and now I think we're caught up on cold weather and rural living for a bit!

Coming Home

We were so excited to be able to visit our family and friends in Utah and Idaho over Corey's 2 week break. We flew into Salt Lake City and spent the first few days of our trip with the Alexanders, Terrys, and Partridges. The weather was absolutely beautiful--such a fabulous break from the sweltering heat and humidity of Dallas! Corey did as much fishing as possible, I did a little hiking up the Timp Trail with Missy, and Zach enjoyed time with his cousins. We were especially happy to be there when Mike arrived home from his summer sales trip to Alaska. Zach gave him the biggest. longest hug ever!

Sisters in Zion

Nick and Sweet Baby Faith

Zach was immediately attached to his Grandpa

We hiked up the hill behind Tessa and Sam's new house

Girls night out at Paul Mitchell- scalp treatments all around!

Even the little girls came along!

We then headed to Idaho Falls for just one night, where I had so much fun going to dinner with my best friends from childhood. It was great to see these amazing women again!

A beautiful moon rising over the South Fork

*The remainder of our trip to Northern Idaho will be in the next entry

Go Fly a Kite!

Zach has recently broadened his veiwing attention to include Mary Poppins, in addition to his old favorite Finding Nemo. He won't watch much else for very long. I love Mary Poppins, and was raised with my mom singing all the songs to us, and making life just as magical as Mary Poppins did for Jane and Michael. He digs the songs and can't hold back from dancing like crazy, as you'll see in the videos. He especially loves "Step in Time" and "Let's Go Fly a Kite." He caught right on to the words without me even singing them to him. The other day while singing with the chimney sweeps, he came rushing into the kitchen for the broom to complete the effect--too cute! You'll need to pause the playlist on the left to hear his little voice.

Zach's New Favorite Book

Go Rangers!

Our ward got $5 tickets to the Texas Rangers baseball game the 23rd. It was Zach's first MLB game, and one of the first for both Corey and I.

Our cheap seats were in the nosebleed section, but still had a decent view of the field.

(Why don't they ever honor the guys who mow the field? I mean LOOK at that! It is a work of art!)

Zach was intrigued by the loud noises and throngs of people. Over 46,000 were in attendance!

We were meeting a friend there. He arrived late, and a lady gave him 4 tickets to the "All you can eat" section. It was the best score of the game! The seats were much closer and we got free nachos and hot dogs. The home team won--YAY!

Afterward there was a firework show. Zach wasn't quite as excited as he was the first time on the 4th of July, but we all still enjoyed it.

The stadium was huge, and we had to park about a mile away.

In the same area is the new Dallas Cowboys stadium. It looks like the Mother Ship, huh? It is HUGE!

On a completely unrelated note, Zach found this Spiderman costume I got as a Halloween backup, and loved it! So cute!