Easter Egg Hunt

We did our traditional Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. Last year it was fun, but this year it was even better. We had TWO little fellas that understood enough to make it fun for Dave and I to do the hunt for.
We divided the eggs between the front and back yards. Drake went first and literally ran out the door ready to begin.

Then it was Carson's turn.

Drake got bored during Carson's hunt and attempted to climb the slide...

...the operative word being attempted.

Carson searched long and hard and only needed help on a couple of eggs.

Here are the boys showing their spoils. We tried to get some cute smiles out of them, but I could see after three pictures, we weren't going to get ANYWHERE.

This was our best shot.

Drake has been super willing to "cheese" it up for the camera. Anytime we say "smile", this is what we get.
When the hunt was over, we sat the boys down with their baskets and let them have at it while giving them a lesson on Easter and the Resurrection. It is something I really hope we do every year...
...then we took their candy away.

Preoccupied

I went in for an OB appointment last Friday. I was 33 weeks 2 days. I endured the lovely Group B Strep Test (I was positive with Carson and negative with Drake...). Then, I heard Brooks' heartbeat at 140 bpm. Lastly, I was to be measured.
"31.5" the doctor said. "You didn't grow from last time."
Initially I was pleased because who wants to walk around fat all the time?
"I'm not too worried about you; as long as you are between 31 and 34, I think that is good."
I thanked the doctor and we parted ways.
The rest of the day I wasn't too concerned, but Saturday rolled around and I was becoming more and more "preoccupied" by it. By the time Sunday hit, it was on my mind the vast majority of the time. To top it all off, I wore a dress to church that I shouldn't have. It accentuated more belly than I actually have.
"I can finally tell you are pregnant!" I heard 500 times.
The fact that I HADN'T grown in 3 weeks made this statement so much worse. While everyone's intentions were nothing but kind, I still wanted to scream, "oh yeah! Then how come you didn't say that THREE weeks ago when I ACTUALLY grew! I'm STILL the same size!"
I never thought I would actually want to be bigger.
I called the Dr. Sunday evening and left a message, then again Monday when I didn't hear back.
I was scheduled for an ultrasound on Wednesday.
The tech wouldn't tell me much even though and grilled and pushed her as much as I dare. What I did learn was that the baby was measuring at appx. 35 weeks, or 5 pounds 3 ounces. I was tickled pink to hear these numbers. I also learned my fluid levels were at 15. Between 5 and 20 is good.
The two things I have been most concerned about are my placental condition, and fluid levels. Both seemed to be just fine. I haven't heard back from the doctor, but I think that is a good thing.
The only thing I can reason for being "so small" is that I am simply carrying an average sized baby. By this point, but Carson and Drake have been humongous. I have measured small with them as well, and they were even a couple of pounds bigger, so with a smaller baby, I have an even smaller tummy.
I am now more certain than ever with all three babies, that Brooks is a boy. It's been very obvious with all three, but some things were more clear than ANYTHING else on the ultrasound.
Lastly, my favorite part of seeing the baby was his puckered lips. I have gotten pretty good at reading ultrasounds and noticed what seemed to be Brooks "kissing" my uterus.
"Is he puckering his lips?" I asked.
The tech started laughing heartily and trying to capture the moment for me. "He totally is!" She exclaimed.
Little Brooks had such a kissy face with majorly puckered lips it almost seemed fake. He had his luscious lips out as far as he could get 'em.
All at once it stopped but it was sure enough to make my day :).
I'm so grateful yet again for a healthy baby. I am still preoccupied, but it is by all my wonderful blessings!

My Marvelous Mel

Just a quick note for Mel. I appreciate all she does for me and my family. I am grateful for all the wonderful wives and mothers out there who work so hard for their families. Your work is invaluable to those lives you bless.

I love Mel for a lot of reasons:

• She cooks great meals and always keeps the family fed
• She cleans the house
  
• She does the laundry
• She makes lunches for me sometimes and brings them to work
• She makes great treats for me to eat... sometimes to share :(
  
• She cuts my hair
• She works day in and day out with the boys while I go to "work"
• She pampers me when I am sick or hurt
• She plays the piano for me when I want to sing show tunes
  
• She likes to do things with me, be it work or play
• She brings the boys and comes to visit me at work
• She likes to let me do things I like to do
• She is supportive and encouraging
• She gives good hugs (and I hug her a lot)
• She is patient with my shortcomings
  

I am grateful to have Mel for a wife. She is good to me, and a super mom for the boys. One of the things I admire most about her is her perseverance, the way that she quietly suffers through her trials in life. For those who don't know, Mel has a bad knee. Her knee is always causing her pain, sometimes worse than others. The only time I hear about her knee is when it locks and she can't bend it, or when it hurts bad enough she can barely walk. Sometimes I forget she even has anything wrong with her. This week, I have had a sore muscle in my leg. It was causing a constant, dull pain that was really distracting for me. I can only imagine how hard it must be for Mel to work so hard everyday, playing with the boys, running errands, doing chores, making dinner, being pregnant, etc. on a knee that isn't fit for a 90 year old, let alone a 26 year old.

“No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility. … It is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.” - Orson F. Whitney, in Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle (1972), 98

I have learned a lot from my wonderful wife, and I have a lot left to learn. Thanks Mel for being a truly amazing person, I love you.

Poor Ben!

I have two brothers. Both are serving missions. David (21) is in Tempe, Arizona and will be home in 8 days. Yahoo!!
Ben (19) is in St. Louis, Missouri and has been out for 7 months. Last night Ben wrecked his bike...bad. From my limited understanding, he was riding pretty rapidly down a hill and trying to signal with his arm at the same time when he lost control of his bike and hit the wrong brake sending him head over heels.
The bike slid a number of yards finally resting somewhere in the street. Ben landed on his head and right shoulder and proceeded to slide appx. 20 feet (according to his companion). The miracle of it all was whilst the bike went all crazy and flew into the road, Ben landed and slid all on a two-foot-wide strip of grass. (You know, the thin strip of lawn that lines a number of roads and occasionally has landscaping in it like flowers, shrubs, or trees.)
Ben's poor companion was a little freaked out by the situation, but who wouldn't be?! He called the police who came to the "scene" and then called an ambulance which took Ben to the hospital.
Ben tore his clothes up and broke his right collar bone but was otherwise unscathed. I was utterly relieved to learn that was the extent of his injuries. It could have and should have been a lot worse but fortunately was not. Collar bones heal. 100%. Phew!
*the moral of the story is to wear a helmet...and serve a mission :).

March Pictures - Just for Fun

I have no clue where he gets it, but Carson LOOOOOVES to make funny faces. Drake was trying to make the same one :)

This is how Drake fold his arms to say prayer. It's not a great picture depicting it, but imagine both hands doing what his right one is. He curls his little hands up underneath his chin and pokes his elbows out. It's pretty stinkin' cute.

A BIG Transition

We have decided to put the boys in the same room. We have less than two months before Brooks arrives and need to get ready. We transitioned Carson to a twin bed when he was 18 months old, but Drake just didn't seem ready so we decided to try converting his crib to the toddler bed it can be. Below are pictures of the process...they also depict the most amount of time Drake spent actually laying in the bed.
We moved Drake into Carson's room and prepared for a long first night. Drake was so out of control that we ended up putting the crib back together that night so Carson could get some sleep. Drake would NOT stay in bed. We put a child lock on the door so he couldn't get out and the results were crazed screaming and door pounding for an hour and a half. We did go in a number of times to put him back down, but I could tell we were getting nowhere.
It was still a long night, but at least we was contained - right?
Each morning this week the one or both of the boys have woken everyone up at 5:30 am. Needless to say, it's been a very long week, and I am very tired (read cranky, and zombie-like).
After a couple of days, I realized just how much bigger Drake's room was. The debate to begin with was closet space. Carson's room had a big closet as well as a storage room off of it wherein we kept a lot of toys. Drake's room is a lot bigger with no storage/play room, and a much smaller closet. Thinking the bigger room would accommodate beds better, we decided to switch them up again. Now they are in Drake's room and seem to be doing better. Carson is a good sport and will try anything. He has been very good and patient with the process. Drake is STILL struggling quite a bit, even in his own room, but that is why we are doing this now, instead of when the baby gets here. I'm not gonna lie, this whole thing has been a huge pain, but it had to happen sometime. Hopefully this next week will prove better than the last.

They both have the same cheesy smiles. I love it :)

My Manly Man and His Deck

So we decided to tackle the back deck this year. It was essentially a big splinter trap and ugly to boot. We planned to just sand and refinish it, but then we had some fun and cut it down by about half so that we could have more yard to play in too (that is our next big project).

Here is phase 1 - demolition

Phase 2 - Dig out the posts

Phase 3 - pull out all "popped" nails, and screw down all the boards. (the deck had minimal screws to begin with...it wasn't well built initially)

Phase 4 - Sand, sand, sand
Phase 5 - do the final cut across the end and add finishing boards

Phase 6 - Stain it. Sorry we don't have a full shot, our camera died. And check out Carson's awesome jump shot!

Thank you, Dave for all of your hard work. You did a wonderful job!

Belly Shots

28 weeks pregnant

31 1/2 weeks pregnant

**I am currently 32 1/2 weeks pregnant and had someone tell me today I was "looking ready"... the only thing I can figure is that she was looking at me from behind. I know I hide the baby well, but my bum certainly looks bigger :).

I about died...

...LAUGHING!
We have put the boys in a room together. It has not been a pretty transition (more to come on this), but sometimes listening to them is super entertaining. Last night as they were pretending/trying to fall asleep they were both singing...wait for it... Les Miserables. Together. So Funny!!