Pink or Blue?

We went to find out the sex of our baby today. And sadly enough, the baby was not cooperating and we weren't able to tell the gender. Just kidding. We are happy to announce that Tayden is going to have a baby brother! I seriously, could not be happier. I woke up this morning just knowing it was a boy. I haven't had any idea of the gender until this morning, and it was so strong. I told Scott on the way to the ultrasound that I was nervous for my reaction. I wanted a girl so bad, and I was terrified that when the doc said it was a boy I would be devastated . But, when I saw that little boys heart beating....I swear mine stopped. I fell in love for the third time (first being Scott than Tayden) in my life. The thought of a little girl went out the window, for now. I didn't know how badly I wanted a little boy until I saw mine on the ultrasound screen. I know it honestly is a huge blessing from our Heavenly Father. We are finishing up the last year of school and not exactly rolling in the dough, so how great is it that we having everything we need. We don't need to buy a thing. That is the biggest blessing ever. Plus, I am so excited for Tayden and this little boy, who has yet to be named, to grow up together. I am so excited to see Tayden as a big brother. I am so excited to meet little brother. Ah, when Doctor L. told us it was a boy....sweet perfection. Now, its just a waiting game until our little guy makes his big debut.

Pregnancy Ramblings

Remember back in jr. high/high school when your English teacher assigned you to free write? To basically write what you are thoughts as they come, no punctuation, no order, no structure. That is what this post is going to be... so I will not be offended if you choose not to read. For those of you that you do, enjoy a peak into my chaotic thoughts.

Pregnancy. Oh, sweet pregnancy. To tell you the truth, I am struggling with this go around. I am struggling with the hormones, with the zits, with the weight. Especially with the weight. I know that its my second pregnancy and I am supposed to show sooner, get bigger, blah blah blah. But lets be honest, it doesn't make it any easier. I feel huge 100% of the time. I feel like I look like I am 7 months pregnant not 4 1/2. However, with that said, let me tell you what I know. I know I FEEL huge, but I know more than anything how blessed I am. I know this feeling won't last forever, but our sweet little baby will. Stephnie Nielson from the NieNie Dialogues said, "I am not my body". How true is that. I am so much more. I am determined to not let my body get in my way of enjoying every minute of this miracle. I love being pregnant. I love feeling the baby move. I lay in bed at night, when s/he is most active...and fall in love again and again. I love dreaming about my sweet little baby and thinking of s/he growing up so close with Tayden. I love how my perspective turns eternal. How the important things change and I see life for what it really is. I love how Scott prays for the baby every night. Speaking of Scott, have I mentioned how great he is? He is the greatest thing in my life. Truly, my best friend. I didn't think I would ever love him more than I did when we were first married. But it grows everyday. It is a deep, pure love. I can't wait to share all the adventures life has with him. One adventure being raising two kids. Wow, that sounds weird. I can't believe I am going to have two kids. Weird. I love being a mom. Its hard. It can being really trying. But oh so rewarding. I'm more nervous to raise a two year old than to have a new born again. We get to find out what we are having on Wednesday. I can't wait. Scott and I are thinking girl, but would be extremely happy with a little boy. It would be easier to have a boy since we already have everything we need. But a little girl...ah, I would love a little girl. We will see what the Lord has in store for us. And I can't wait to see what the plan is. We officially listed the home with a realtor on Monday. It showed yesterday, which is awesome, but the couple was looking for a rental property and apparently ours was too nice. I guess they want to rent out a semi crappy place. Huh? But, it sounds like we are going to be showing it to another couple next week, so we will see how it goes. Then there is school. We only have a few more months to make it. Scott is taking 19 credits! We are jobless once again and living on savings. How blessed we are to have it. And how much more blessed are we that it has lasted so long. I can't wait to see where life is going to take us when he graduates. Another thing I know, no matter what happens, with the baby, the house, the job, our life it general, whatever....will all be perfect because its the Lords plan. And because it is his plan, makes it perfect. I am a firm believer that the Lord is on our side and going to lead us in the right direction. Our job is to have faith. My sister-in-laws dad gave her some advice that I think is spot on. He said life is like riding a tandem bike. The Lord is in the front seat steering and our job is to take the back seat and pedal. We have to have the faith that he is taking us in the right direction we have to do the work he is asking us to do. Life can sure be crazy, but I so happy with where we are. Well, that's it. Looks like my thoughts have run out. Hopefully, I have something fun to blog about in the next few days. If not, Wednesday I will have some good news to share with everyone. Stay tuned.

The Lucky 2-4

Today is my birthday. I turned 24 on the 24th! It was the best birthday. Its not even fair to call it a birthDAY, its was more of a birthWEEK.

It all started last Wednesday when my two wonderful sister in laws brought me dinner. They drove all the way to Lava and hand delivered some amazing Thai food to me. It was so good. I might be making a few more trips down south(ish) for some more of that! Thanks girls.

Then, on Friday, my AMAZING husband loaded up the car and took Tayden and I to Salt Lake City. It was thee most fun I have had in a long time. We went to the Zoo, ate at some great restaurants and stayed in a beautiful hotel. I am still having camera troubles, so all we have are pictures from our phone, but they work.

We got a few laughs from strangers as we were walking around the zoo. I looked at little mister to see what was going on and got a good laugh too.

This one is out of order, it was on the drive home. Tayden was all funned out. He put his sunglasses on and fell fast asleep.

Mom and Tayden on the brass lion. He must be getting his two year molars...he has been chewing on his fingers alot the past few days.

Dad and Tayden with the lions.

Tayden taking a little ride on the lion. He loved to roar at them.

Our attempt to take a family picture on the train. Yes, Tayden's shirt is soaking. He spilled his water.

Our hungry little boy thought he needed the whole loaf of bread at Macaroni Grill.

He sure did enjoy my birthday cake from the Packards!

It was so fun to just be with my boys. That was the best gift I could have ever asked for. We just hung out and enjoyed each other. It doesn't happen to often with our schedule, so it was simply bliss.

Sunday, oh Sunday. What a magnificent day. We had Stake Conference and it was just what I needed. It was all about motherhood, the importance of women and daughters of God. Being super emotional these days, I bawled pretty much the whole block. I have been struggling with this pregnancy and the joys it brings (chubbs, zits, crazy hair, etc.) and after the two hours of inspiration, I walked out a new person with a new perspective. It was amazing.

We got a surprise Monday...School was postponed until today. So, we had a one more whole day with Daddy. It was great. We we able to spend 4 days straight with Scott and that was the best gift of all. We went to Inkom that night and my in laws through me a little party. Cake, singing...the whole bit. They got me a beautiful Willow Tree statue of a m0m holding a toddler. I love it. It reminds me of a the true love of a mother and the pure innocence of a child. Sometimes, that is a much needed reminder.

Today, my actual birthday, was great. I spent the day shopping around with my sister. Who got me a gift certificate to the bead store and I made a super cute watch! It was fun to hang out with her and just be lazy. I got so many texts and facebook messages from friends. We had dinner with my parents and had the traditional banana cream pie. My mom and dad took us all to Sea World earlier this year for our birthdays, so I wasn't expecting anything...but it was great to have a little party. I talked to my brother on the phone for a few minutes...who was mad I missed the stripper -graham he sent! (He really didn't send me one, but it was a pretty funny joke.) And, Scott surprised me with the 3rd Glee CD. Man, how blessed am I.

The older I get the less exciting birthdays are. Well, maybe not less exciting, but I see things differently. This year, I was overwhelmed with the love I feel from the people around me. I am just so grateful. Everyday was a new sign of love. I can't get over how lucky I be loved so many people. So I guess it really was my lucky birthday.

Flashback

As I was catching up on some of my blog reading the other day, I ran across a flashback to the 1980-1990s. I had to share with my favorites with everyone. The following is a mix of her favorites and some of mine. To see her full list, click HERE.

Home Improvement. Particularly JTT...oh so dreamy!

Cats Cradle
Chinese Jump Rope

Tee Shirt Clips

Caboodle's

The Oregon Trail

Trolls

Skip-Its

Dark Wing Duck

The Never Ending Story

Pogs and Slammers

Rescue Rangers

Ring Watches

Slap Bracelets

Now, wasn't that totally awesome?
Did I miss anything?
What did you love about the 80-90's?
There's gotta be something.
Leave a comment and let me know.

If Phones Could Talk...

... they would say ...

Stirring pasta on Grandmas counter is fun!

Ketchup makes everything better. Even yams.

Elk are awesome!

It's fun to go on a walk when you see fun things like...

...the fire department burning down a building.

Red Cream Soda taste better in a white play shirt and when moms not looking.

Shirtless cowboys in pajama pants are all the rage!

My phone might not be able to talk, but it sure can tell a good story!

(not sure why almost all the pictures are of a disheveled little boy in pajamas and crazy hair...but I promise I take care of him!)

Today Was A Special Day

It was the first day Tayden ate meat.
(Besides hot dogs and chicken nuggets.)
Like, really ate it.
And swallowed it.

Ahh, sweet success!!!

In the News

The breaking story for tonight: We finally broke down and bought Tayden a fish. His Aunt Sharlee has a beta that Mister T absolutely loves....like seriously loves loves loves. So, we took a family trip to Petco and walked out fish owners. I asked Scott on the way to the car, "Are we going to be that family that has 15 million pets because our kids love animals so much?". He ensured me we won't be. I, for one, am not so sure. What we do for our kids!

In BABY news:
I went to the doctor today. Everything with Baby P is great. Heart beat sounds good and strong. And the best part, I only gained 2 pounds! Which is surprising considering how I eat. All. The. Time. I guess it pays to have a toddler to chase all day.
We find out what we are having in 5 weeks. I can't wait. I really REALLY want a little girl. Almost too much I think. However, as I held one of my besties new baby, Emmett, and Scott held Tayden...I was content with the thought of two little boys. Either way, I love this little baby already.

In TODDLER news:
(Besides the fish) Tayden is growing up at an alarming rate. The other day as I watched him eat his lunch, off a plate rather than high chair tray, I couldn't help but tear up. Where has my little boy gone? I asked him if he wanted more plum and he shook his head and told me 'no'. Which, for those of you that are curious, the eating healthy this is going awesome! My little eater is back and I love it. Tayden has been a bit on the slow side for talking, so these new moments of actual communication have been priceless. He has always been really good at gesturing and showing me what he wants, but the new talking is awesome! He loves to dance, loves animals, and loves his trucks. And, hello, he is 18 months! He is officially closer to two years old than he is one. AH! His new favorite trick is to close his eyes and hide his head if you are asking him to do something he doesn't want to do. Example, changing his bum. He is seriously so much fun and the light of our lives.

In HUSBAND news:
Scott is great as ever. Did I mention he bought me a new computer? He did. He is the bomb dot com. He is working full time for a few more weeks and then school starts again. We are on the last leg and it is so exciting to think about the future. I don't think I tell him enough, but I am so PROUD and so GRATEFUL that he is going to school. It was a hard decision for him to give up such a good job, but it was the right one. And because of it, we are being blessed more than ever!

This has turned out to be much longer than I meant it to be....sorry. I'll post some pictures soon! Well, as soon as I can figure out how to unlock my SD card so I can actually take pictures. But that is a whole other frustration for a whole other post!