It's a.... Boy!

Yep, we're adding another boy to our household! We had our ultrasound and, of course, had to know what we were going to have. I have never been one for surprises. I find it much more enjoyable and much less stressful to anticipate what will happen, and am a deer in the headlights any other way. I must admit, this whole boy, girl, boy pattern we are setting up has me a bit confused, coming from a family of all girls and all. We are all pretty excited. However, when I told Peter he was going to have another brother he replied, "I already knew that, Mom." So, whether we knew it or not, we are all happy and busy anticipating!

A Movie Date!

The last movie Mike and I went to with just each other may have been....the First Star Wars. I remember because I was super pregnant, and we stayed up way too late and I only got 4 hours of sleep before I went into labor and had Peter. That would have been almost 4 years ago! It is quite pathetic, but the movie that finally got us out of this dry spell was the long awaited Star Trek. Mike and I got a babysitter and everything and went out on the town. It was great just being with Mike, but to add to the excitement, the movie was completely entertaining and fun. I loved seeing how all the characters developed, and best of all, seeing the real Leonard Nemoy. It was so well done and I could watch it over and over. It was a huge hit with Mike and me. When we came home, the babysitter had put this happy, loving magic spell on our children. They were laughing and so excited, and Elsie kept giving Peter hugs over and over again. It was too cute. I tried to capture it, and this was the best I could do.

A Fun Weekend!

A week and a bit ago was a fun packed weekend for this girl! Friday evening I had my sister, Becky, and her family come up from Provo and spend the night. I had a great time being with my sister and playing with Eden, who is a week older than Elsie. I love watching the little munchkins run around everywhere! Eden's a champ runner these days for sure! As much fun as I had, Peter was in heaven spending time with his Uncle Micah. He kept saying, "Uncle Micah, I love you....I missed you." This is the ultimate compliment from Peter because he is constantly telling his 'far-away' grandma and grandpa, "Don't worry, I won't miss you." Once he even told me, "Mom, if you died, I wouldn't miss you." Thanks bud. Glad to know you would be okay. So, apparently, he connected with his Uncle Micah.
On Saturday we had big plans to go to the zoo and see elephants and giraffes! We had read and sang songs about them all week long. However, those plans quickly got scratched, because we would have to leave Uncle Micah, and he was much more fun! So, we spent the morning bonding and playing and then by late morning we left to head down south for a small high school friend reunion. I had so much fun seeing good 'ole friends from home! Stephanie, Amanda, Jordan, and Severin with all their spouses. I was the only one with kids (for the time being) and was soooo appreciative that everyone was willing to put up with their energy and exuberance. Mike was really good to help as well, and I had a great time catching-up and chatting with good 'ole friends. It was a great day!

A Broken Arm

Last Sunday Elsie took a fall from a kitchen chair and landed on her stomach and hands. She cried for a while and seemed concerned about her hand. Mike and I held her and made sure everything seemed okay and sent her on her way. That day everyone was sick and we had mostly stayed home from church. Elsie continued to act fussy, but we chalked it up as being sick like the rest of us. Well, she cried through part of the night and continued to into the morning, just wanting to be held. Mike and I couldn't figure out if this was her being sick or if something was truly wrong with her arm. At about noon we decided to take her into her pediatrician. After looking at the x-rays, the doctor said, "Well, it looks like we have a broken arm." The big bone, right below her wrist joint was broken over half way through. Ooops. Elsie is a very small 16 month old, barely fitting into her 12 mo clothes, which meant figuring out how to imobilize the joint took some thought and consulting. Finally they decided to cast it. She held SO still as her doctor bandaged her up, and when he was done she turned to him and said, "Thank you". It was pretty cute. Once we took her home she was running around with it like nothing ever happend. I'm just wondering how I'm going to keep her out of the mud and water for 3 weeks. Yikes, it could get ugly!

No Training Wheels

Mike and I had a really busy Saturday planned. We got up early and started on our chore list: mowing the lawn, cleaning the garage, etc. A little after 8:00 Peter informed his dad he wanted his training wheels taken off. You don't turn a request like that down, so by 8:20, all chores had ceased, and Mike was helping Peter onto his newly solo 2-wheeled bike. Peter got on and took off. Mike ran with him around the corner and up a hill to a neighbors house, where Peter turned around and came back home. He took to it like a fish does to water. We were so proud! By noon he was riding his bike everywhere and making all sorts of obstacles for himself to ride around. It was the highlight of our day. Funny how something like this makes you realize how menial your "to do" list really is.