Las Vegas Summer Heat is FUN (Not so much)

I am 8 months pregnant and counting the days until it starts cooling off. Unfortunately that will probably not happen until after my little boy arrives. The heat usually does not bother me too much, but having a little extra heater inside has not made this summer easy. So I have been trying to be creative as to what activities we can do inside to keep these kids out of trouble. In this department my parents (especially my mom) has been a LIFE SAVER. So as often as time permits we have been trekking over to her house and hanging out there. The kids have discovered some new toys. My mom pulled out some old blocks that we played with as kids, buckets with water and a Popsicle in the mouth is a new found method of getting some fresh air without too much work. And then there is a favorite of running into Papous' office to see what new and exciting things have popped up in there. Even Emily has decided that sitting still is no longer entertaining, she has become quite mobile and loves to eat real food, just like the toddlers.

My friend gave me a coupon to get some free pics, so I couldn't turn down the offer. All the pictures turned out so cute a had a hard time just picking one. This is the one a put on my wall.

This one is the one I picked to give as gifts to grandparents and such. I love it because you can't help but smile when you look at it. I also like it because you can see how much progress he has made in the tooth department. All i had to do to get him to smile like that is play peekaboo behind the photographer with his blanket, monster noises always does the trick. Kaleb has such a great personality.

Here are some of the other pics that were taken at this photo session. Enjoy!I wish I was this photogenic, what an adorable smile! I LOVE him so much! He is definitely a keeper forever!

It's My Body

Just some thoughts that have been on my mind that I would like to write down...

As most women know, from the time that a girl is born, we are exposed to all kinds of ideas about our bodies and how we should treat them. Like most women I am not alone in the search to find the Truth and find a balance about how it really should be. Over the last month this has really been on my mind. I know that it makes Heavenly Father sad when women do things to their bodies that tries to make them all the same. He did not create us the same for a reason, therefore we should not try to become identical. Now when I see magazines in the store, it makes me sad to see what role models and doing to their bodies, it isn't something I aspire to in any way. I have grown an appreciation for my body over the years. Heavenly Father gave me my hips, hair, face, legs, feet, tummy, and every other part of my body as a gift, he created it just the way he wanted it to be. I can finally say, I love my body just the way it is! Yes, I still have my moments of weakness, but the fact that it wont look like it did in high school, in this life, it is okay. I don't have to be a model with no figure, I will never look that way, nor do i want to. No one in my life or in anyone else's should be setting unwanted expectations on what my body should be other than being healthy. So here is what I do care about, I want to take care of my body and be as healthy as Heavenly Father will allow. This does not mean running 20 miles a day, it does not mean I am never going to eat chocolate or anything that is not good for me, this means, all things in moderation, and I am not going to be ashamed of what I look like because in Heavenly Fathers eyes, I am beautiful, I am gorgeous beyond anything I can imagine (or I have the ability to be)and that is the only thing that matters.
My body is a gift, and with it comes the gift of motherhood, and with motherhood comes sacrifice. And with motherhood comes, change of body, that is all it is, change, it isn't good or bad, just change. Yes, weight gain is part of it, and it isn't bad. Even after the baby is here, your body is never the same, it is changed, and that is how Heavenly Father intended it to be.
Being a mom has been the best change I have gone through in my life, it is why we are here. It is so exciting to watch Kaleb learn and grow! He is worth every pain I have felt on his behalf.
This gift that God has created, was created especially for me, he knows what I need and has created it accordingly. It was a customized gift that he made just for me, how could you not love a gift made with so much love and potential?

He's Here

My sister Amber had har son at around 11am on Easter. He was 7lbs. 1oz. They named him Mason McKade. He looks just like his dad. Because of all the crazyness of the weekend, I only got one pic of him, (it is in the slide show at the end, it isn't very good) Amber had quite the weekend, she was in labor for a little over 30 hours. She too wanted to deliver natural but because of the length of the labor had an epidural three hours before he arrived. They are both doing wonderful, and Amber is loving every moment of finally being a mother of her own.

What have we been up to? In a nutshell, quick, and easy

Guess What!!

I'M PREGNANT!! It seems along with everyone else, I am also due in Sept, on the 14th. That makes me almost 14 weeks along (3 1/2 months for those who are not female and don't want to do the simple math) I am in my second trimester. The first wasn't to rocky, pretty much just extreme exhaustion, but in the last couple of weeks my energy has returned and I feel a little more human and have a little hump to show for it (no, it isn't very noticeable yet, but it is there). I have also been able to feel the baby move a few times, which was a surprise to me so early, but I guess I know what to feel for, this time around. Kaleb already knows about the baby too, anytime you ask him (except when too many people are watching or when Emily is around) where the baby is, he will point to my belly button. Who knows how much he understands or will understand before the baby gets here but it is fun to think he is going to be an older brother and I want him to be excited when the baby does come. So the next question you probably have is, was this planed? Well kind of, we had "stoped preventing" it for the last six months and "tried" for a couple of months, but because we were into Sept, and up against Matt starting school in another state (potentially) we stopped and prevented it again, and low and behold here I am, pregnant and due in September. So we have some things to work around and help from family might (okay, will) be needed, but we will make it through, and we are both excited to welcome another spirit into our family!
I had my first doc apt, and it went well, the baby seems to be healthy and strong. We probably wont have the ultra sound until about 20 weeks, so we have a ways to go before we know the gender. We are hoping for a boy, but of course will be thrilled with a girl too! Going off the fact that this pregnancy is almost identical to Kaleb's, my guess is that it is a boy, but we shall see!

She's Here!!

Julia Faith was born on March 3rd around 10:30pm. She was 6lbs. 11oz. And she is beautiful and both Megan and baby are doing great. They are home from the hospital and enjoying their time together as a family. Congratulations to Megan for delivering her first child naturally, especially since her doc accidentally broke her water at her weekly check up, so they had to give her drugs to start labor. They sent her directly to labor and delivery. She was hoping to do most of the labor at home. Everything turned out great and Julia is here and healthy. Congrats! Mike and Megan on your new arrival. She is beautiful!

Mini Van

One thing that has gotten pushed aside, is the fact that we bought a mini van! That's right, (disclaimer, Matt will not drive it) It has been fabulous. We did it for many reasons, 1) we wanted to buy while we have the money 2) Now is a great time to buy a vahicle 3) With me watching Emily that would put me at needing three car seats in the car which the honda would not fit, therefore leavinging me stuck at work everyday 4) We want to have more children, and they are really nice for lugging stuff around that comes with them 5) it is safer, for the kids, no worrying about one getting hit by a car while i am strapping the other one in 6) it was in our price range, if we are buying a vehicle for more seats why pay extra for it to be an SUV, mini vans are cheeper and just as nice 7) I love the sliding doors, expecially the automatic one, no more worrying about kids slamming doors into other cars. and i think i could go on and on but you get the point, we are excited about our new (to us) Mini Van!