Thursday, February 24, 2011

lull

it is the end of february in utah which means? (drumroll please)......not much new! life is just kinda rollin along right now. not much new or exciting, just plugging along and doin' the usual.
valentine's morning
caitlin had her 2nd grade program tonight and she did fantastic!
her teacher scooted into the isle right in front of her about 2 songs into it, so i wasn't able to get any good pics or videos after that. but she did so good! unfortunately nate was on-call. :o( but my mom came with me and gave us hot fudge sundaes after, so caitlin was happy about that!
um...emma? get off caitlin's lap. don't you know this is a professional performance?!
update on my knee: so my meniscus is torn, and a few days after my last appointment i took a small spill down the stairs and landed the worst way possible on my bad leg. needless to say it worsened the pain and swelling immensely. i had my follow-up appointment yesterday, and despite being pregnant she drained my knee and gave me a steroid injection to help the pain and swelling for right now. i really have been using my leg as a wooden leg the past few weeks, i haven't been able to bend it or use it other than that. the doc is now researching into options of arthroscopic surgery and trying to find a surgeon that will perform the surgery on a pregnant woman such as myself. risk of clots goes way up having surgery while pregnant, but she feels the tear is bad enough it needs to be done asap. the second trimester seems to be the safest trimester, so she wants to get it done soon. and let's be honest...there's no way i could have knee surgery right after having a newborn, and nate being gone all the time. it just wouldn't work! so i'm kind-of in limbo waiting to see what's going to happen. but as for now, the steroid has already lessened the swelling and pain, which is A-MAZING for now. so there ya have it...i'll keep everyone updated as we figure things out.

i've finally weaned emma off insisting that i lay by her until she falls asleep, be it during naps or at night. (i means she IS only almost 3....) this DOES mean however, that she tends to play and sing and sneak around the house before she falls asleep. this day (pictured) i found her in her bed later with her 2 babies by her, wrapped in blankets, and she gave each of them a toy to sleep with. what a darling emma is! she makes us laugh all. day. long.
let's see....the baby still looks like a boy. :o) and YES i've found a couple cute clearance outfits for baby boys...so i'm starting to get excited. we have our REAL ultrasound in a couple weeks, so hopefully then we'll know for sure for sure for sure. i'm feeling so much better pregnancy-wise though, so that's been awesome.
i think that's it for now. you can tell how down-and-out i've been with my knee lately, and how little we've done in the past few weeks, because i went to the 'february picture file' and so far there are 7 pictures total from the whole month. we have missionaries getting home, baptisms of friends and family, people coming to visit, and all of our birthdays coming up soon, so we'll be busier than we can handle pretty soon!
that's all for now folks. hang on to your seats...spring is coming soon. right? please???

Thursday, February 10, 2011

you be the judge

nate did another ultrasound on sunday, and the above shot is the best 'gender' view we were able to get. it looks like a little more equipment than our girls have....but we'll see for sure. (if it IS a boy...nate is THRILLED with all caps.)

this baby NEVER stops moving. or doing somersaults. OR sucking it's thumb. we just missed in this bottom pic getting a shot with thumb in mouth. so crazy!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

family vacation!!

well we did it! we made it to disneyland, then to blissful arizona, then back. the trip went without a hitch (if you don't consider my knee a hitch ;o). we were surrounded by good friends the whole time, and we had a blast. an absolute blast. it's amazing how much more important family vacation is when nate isn't around very much. we met up with the stansfields at disneyland, and the girls had the time of their lives!
caitlin immediately became attached to dylan. she is going to be SUCH a good helper when we have this baby!
i love how these girls just took up where we left off in arizona. still best friends...they had a blast.
we came across pocahontas with no line to meet her. she spent so much time with these girls...5 little princesses. i love how lily was helping emma be included in the conversation.
had to document that sweet dylan was in fact at disneyland.
my little minnie. she's growing up!
the girls and dad...this was the longest line of the entire trip. 25 minutes for the autopia cars that you inhale more exhaust than you will in your whole lifetime.
emma was so thrilled that she was finally big enough for gadget's go coaster!
she's still a lover of small world. not hard to please these girls at disneyland.
nate took the shooting rides extremely seriously. i think he broke the world record. or something.
emma and i went on this when the others were on the big rides. probably 10 times. she loved it. i think she single-handedly defeated zurg.
even cinderella gets all worn out.
cuuute friends.



another favorite of the girls. heimlich's chew chew train is QUITE the thrill ride. take some dramamine before this bad boy. ;o)
the other carousel was closed (boo...one of emma's faves). so this one had to do. still adorable. well...at least the girls are.

now THIS is a fashion statement. for sure.
jumpin jellyfish. yet another fave, and yes another extreme thrill ride.

it got up to about 60 degrees, but nate and cait went on grizzly river run SEVERAL times. they had to go to the hotel to change they were so drenched.
awwwwww.
this was probably emma's TOP favorite ride. but seriously, she just loved them all.
nice ride, right? yes, this is real. my knee flared up monday, and by tuesday i could hardly walk. gary comp'd us a wheelchair, and this was my mode of transportation. finally saw a sports med doc yesterday, and she said it looks like i tore my meniscus. oh boy.
newport beach! i could sit on the beach and listen to the waves for the rest of my life. i absolutely love it.

it was pretty chilly, so i thought if i told the girls to roll their pants up, they'd stay clean and dry. yeah. right.
lovers on the beach
in arizona caitlin got to play at her best friend katie's house all day. oh how she misses her! they had so much fun...and katie has gotten so tall!
we stopped by meg's house as well, how abby misses this girl!
of course we had to go to our old park by our house. i sat in the sun and reminisced of the good ole days. haulin' the kids and brody to the park and letting them play almost every day. those were the days!
we also went to the traditional superstition mall, got snacks, and let the kids play outside by the waterfall area. they were so happy to be OUTSIDE playing on green grass!
and this is me. soaking in every last drop of sun outside, and willing that day to never end. it was bliss. (yes, those are palm trees in the background. i miss them!)
we stopped by katie's parent's house to visit her and see her kids. we met bowen and he is a doll! a very chunky doll ;o) it was so nice to see people we haven't seen in soooo long!
we also stopped by justin and maile's, and they fed us all a scrumptious GF dinner and dessert. thanks guys for the good food and company..and sorry i forgot to bust out my camera!!

on our way out of town we stopped by my grandma's in surprise, and yet again i forgot to get my camera out. she fed us a great lunch and we had a good time visiting.

a HUGE thank you to danny and lindsay for letting us stay at your house and being such wonderful hosts!! we miss you so much already.

abby is a girl of her mother's heart. once we left and started the long drive to utah, we looked in the back of the van and abby was sobbing. we couldn't figure out what happened, and she finally told us she never wanted to leave arizona. :o( we love that place!! if we missed visiting anyone...we'll catch ya next time! can't wait for our next visit out there...it puts a smile on my face.

Monday, February 7, 2011

nine

from this....
to this....
....the past 9 years of my life have been all i could have ever dreamed of and more. the day i married the man of my dreams began a wonderful journey of companionship. a journey of love, laughter, trials, faith, dreams, hope, and support. and now we are a family of 5, soon to be 6. i never imagined how my life would be 9 years later, but i wouldn't change a thing. i love my sweet amazing hubby more than words could ever describe. happy anniversary 'buns'...you 100% complete me. without you i am nothing, and i am so grateful for the life you have given us together. i wish we could spend this day together...maybe i'll sneak up to the hospital and we can have a romantic dinner in the hospital cafeteria. ;o)
here's to many more wonderful years of togetherness to come!

a new favorite song for our anniversay:
SMILE (i LOVE this song...you really do make me smile!)
You´re better then the best
I´m lucky just to linger in your light
Cooler then the flip side of my pillow that´s right
Completely unaware
Nothing can compare to where you send me
Lets me know that it´s ok
Yeah it´s ok
And the moments when my good times start to fade

You make me smile like the sun
Fall outta bed
Sing like a bird
Dizzy in my head
Spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night

You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold
Buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Oh, you make me smile

Even when you´re gone
Somehow you come along
Just like a flower poking through the sidewalk crack and just like that
You steal away the rain and just like that

You make me smile like the sun
Fall outta bed
Sing like a bird
Dizzy in my head
Spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night

You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold
buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Oh, you make me smile

Don´t know how I lived without you
'Cuz every time that I get around you
I see the best of me inside your eyes
You make me smile
You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold
Buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild

You make me smile like the sun
Fall outta bed
Sing like bird
Dizzy in my head
Spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night

You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold
Buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Oh, you make me smile
Oh, you make me smile
Oh, you make me smile