It's a . . .

BOY !!!

My new doctor here in Scottsdale sent me to a neonatologist for a complete and detailed ultrasound last week and we finally got the confirmation on the sex of the baby that we had been feeling all along.

This was my fourth ultrasound in three weeks and 4 previous people had said they thought this baby was a girl.   Now nothing against girls, but I have had the strongest feeling ever since I was pregnant with Taite that there was one more boy waiting to be added to our family.  I've had these thoughts and feelings with me for over 2 years now, so to have someone repeatedly tell you the opposite takes a minute for your head to wrap around the whole situation.  I was never able to accept what the doctor, nurse, or technician was telling me because it never felt right.  

The appointment with the neonatologist was pretty long and they were checking lots of other things, before she finally asked us if we wanted to know the sex of the baby.  We said yes, of course and she let us know that it was a boy.  Riley gasped and I thought she was joking, but after several repeat checks he was still a boy.  The one thing I noticed about this appointment that was different for me was how calm I was.  You would think having to be sent to a specialist in light of all the complications I had been having I would have been a little nervous, but I was completely calm the entire time.  I had Riley and the boys there with me and it was a wonderful experience to learn and know together the future of our family.

The other wonderful news it that everything looks great with the baby and me!  My placenta has moved and is now 2 cm away from my cervix.  Amazing!  The masses that they weren't sure what they were are either cysts or fibroids, both very common with repeat pregnancies.

* Warning: partial nudity ahead

Oh the birthday boy!!

Yesterday, August 4th, our little Taiter-D turned 2!!  I absolutely love celebrating birthdays and really try to make them special, so when August rolled around I had never felt more unprepared for a birthday.  I had no ideas for presents and no plan for celebrating.  We came up with the idea to have a bbq and let the boys play in the sprinklers out back.  Sounds like a fun, simple, summer party, but there were a few holes in our plan.  We had sold our old gas bbq before moving and had decided we were going to get a new charcoal one, but hadn't done that yet.  Ok so Riley is in charge of picking up the grill and I will order the cake.

The morning of August 4th - no grill had been bought and no cake had been ordered!  Panic started to set in.  After racing around all morning to clean the house and get the kids down for naps so they could party that evening, I was finally headed to the grocery store at 4:30.  Riley left to buy the grill at 5:30.  Colby and Jessica arrived at 6:00 expecting a birthday party.  What they got was a long wait to eat. 

Luckily the boys had a blast playing in the sprinkler ball on the trampoline while we all cooked.  The party ended up being a lot of fun.  We played, ate, opened presents, sang, and ate again!

Does anyone know why the candles made that reflection? 

 We got him a sand box for the back yard and this is what I woke up to the next morning.  I think he likes it.

A few things we love about our Taite

• He is the life of the party.  
• He is always going and doing.  
• He makes us laugh every day.
• He LoVeS animals.
• He has started to sing or mostly hum with a few words tossed in.  His favorites are ABC's, and wheels on the bus.  This week he started singing "Happy to you, Happy to you"   So cute!
• When it is time to say prayers at night he ALWAYS gets off his bed and kneels and folds his arms.  He is usually the first one 'in position' to pray waiting for the rest of us.

We love you little man!

Grandma Sherl came to visit!

My mom braved the hot Arizona July heat and came out to visit the boys and maybe Riley and I.  It was perfect timing because it was the week before Riley took the Arizona bar and he was MIA most of the time.  We were even able to talk her into extending her trip a few days once we found out Riley had to take the bar in Tuscon, 2 hours away, so I didn't have to be left all alone.  Thanks again Mom!!

Despite the heat we kept ourselves pretty busy going to the park, splash pad, feeding ducks, swimming, going to the temple, exploring a new city and hanging out at home.  We even took the boys to a Diamondbacks baseball game followed by a fireworks show!

Trip to the lake

While we were in St. George we all went out to the lake for a fun day on the boat and playing in the sand.  I only have pictures from the beach since my doctor said no bouncy boats for me.  Haydn did have his first tube ride and loved it.  He said it was like a bucking bronco and he needed his cowboy hat.  He also got all the hand signals down for going faster or slower.  

Half-way there

Well I am officially half-way through this pregnancy and can't wait to get it over with.  Every time I turn around there is a new hurdle to get through.  While we were in St. George we had a bit of scare when I woke up one morning to a pool of blood.  Not such a good sign.  Riley and I threw on some clothes and raced down from Pine Valley to the hospital.  Now with my previous two pregnancies the Dr and nurses always say if you have any problems to go straight to Labor and Delivery so that is what we did.  When we got there the intake nurses sat there debating over whether I was far enough along for me to stay there or if I should go across town to the ER.  This was after we had driven over a half-hour to get there and it was barely 7:00 A.M. so there wasn't exactly a rush of patients trying to be seen.  They finally decided to let me stay and got me to a room.  When the nurse came to try and find the heart beat there was silence FOREVER.  Well probably not forever, but it sure felt like it.  She was finally able to find the heart beat and said everything sounded o.k. and she would call my doctor.  

My doctor ordered a full ultrasound to try and find out what caused the bleeding.  What they found was that my placenta is completely covering the birth canal and I have two "anomaly" masses attached to the wall of my uterus.  So basically they don't know what they are.  My doctor said that as I continue to grow 'hopefully' the placenta will move out of the way.  While it does that it will most likely tear and cause more bleeding leading me to panic and run to the hospital again.  If it doesn't move enough, which is very probable due to it's current location I will most likely have to deliver early and have a c-section!  

Luckily everything looks fine with the baby and we are grateful we were in St. George where I could see my doctor since I didn't even know where the closest hospital is to where we are now.  We were also grateful that we could leave the boys with Grandma and Aunt Dayna and have one less thing to worry about.

So hopefully this second half will be less dramatic than the first. 

Happy 4th of July!

After living in our new place for two weeks we packed up and headed back to St. George for the 4th and a reunion with Riley's family.  We apparently weren't the only ones that wanted to escape the excessive heat we have been having here for the long weekend.  Our already long 7 hour trip turned into 10 hours with all the traffic trying to get out of town.  We finally made it up to Pine Valley and enjoyed getting to spend time with family.  It isn't very often that we are ALL together since each brother lives in a different place and Riley's parents crazy schedule so it was a real treat to have all the cousins play together and have a great time.

It's a tradition in Riley's family to have a reunion on the forth of July and if you are in the area you better be there.  It is a day filled with activities and great food.  The kids had a treasure hunt, made crafts, decorated cookies, played baseball, and lots more.

The next morning we attempted a big family picture.  My kids were so exhausted from the traveling and all the fun they had on the fourth they wanted nothing to do with it, but we pulled it off.  Look at all these cute kids and to think this picture will be out of date in just a few months. 

What are ya up to?

So much has been going on and I have been such a bad blogger I feel like the days just pass by and if I don't get my act together soon I will have a whole year with nothing to remember it by. So here are a few things that are family has been up to that I don't want to forget.

Taite (22 months) - He is quickly entering the terrible two's and keeps me on my toes every second of every day! As naughty as he can sometimes be a millisecond later he gives you "the look" with his big eyes and wraps his little arms around your neck while giving you kisses. How can you stay mad at that? He has lots of interests compared to Haydn's single obsession with cars at this age. He loves animals, tools, shoes, music . . . He is the ring leader between him and Haydn, he comes up with the ideas and Haydn is happy to join right in. He isn't much of a talker, but definitely knows how to get what he wants and continues to pick up more words, but no phrases.

Haydn (3 1/2) - I recently had someone tell me that Haydn had an old soul. I thought it was a strange comment at first, but he is so much wiser than his 3 1/2 years old. He has been the biggest help since I have been so sick. He frequently rubs my back while throwing up or offers to go and get me the bucket. He brings me his blanket when I don't feel good and makes sure I have the soft side. He is very considerate and thoughtful. He has done amazing with the move and loves his new Arizona house. He continues in his Star Wars phase and can turn basically any object into a light saber. His memory is amazing! He remembers things people said from weeks ago, songs he has only heard a few times. We are constantly amazed at the things he brings up and remembers. He continues to be convinced that he is 5 years old. Anytime anyone asks how old he is he always says 5. If Riley or I try and correct them and say that he is 3 he gets upset and says he is 5. This all started because I told him he has to be 5 to go to kindergarten. Needless to say he is over the moon about starting preschool in the fall.

Erika - I'm now 4 months pregnant and starting to feel a little better. I have several days that are nausea free before being hit by a car and having a day or two where I am completely useless. It is frustrating and I feel like a horrible mother/wife. I have basically stopped doing everything I was doing 4 months ago. I haven't even picked up my camera in forever which leads to more guilt - no pictures of the aforementioned cuteness. I try and do as much as I can on the good days to make up for my absence the last several month, but it is difficult. I am so grateful for an understanding husband and loving boys. I am really enjoying Scottsdale so far. Unpacking is never any fun, but I do love to make a new place my own.

Riley - The newest up and coming associate at Ballard Spahr law firm. He really likes his new job. It is going to entail a LOT of hours and some travel which I am not thrilled about. It is a different dynamic going from a St. George firm to solo practice to a LARGE nationwide firm, but he really likes his section and that is who he will mainly associate with. His office is on the 18th floor of a high rise in down town Phoenix. The commute can be a pain and frequently makes him late for dinner. Another thing I'm not crazy about. On the otherhand he has been a champ staying up late after everyone else goes to bed to help get our house in order, cleaning kitchen and bathroom cabinets, hanging cabinets, hauling out boxes.

We really are excited about making this new place a home and discovering a new area together.

Here We Go!

Riley here - since Erika is still laid up,  I hope you will bear with me as I attempt to fill in.  Our home is sold, and in less than a week we will be in our new place in Scottsdale, AZ.  I don't know if I dare call it our "home" just yet because (a) we don't actually live there and (b) we haven't actually seen it in person.  Give us some time and we'll let you know.  It looks very promising.

As for our final week in the only place our boys have even called home, we have a lot to do.  Luckily, we have been packing in increments to try and get the obvious stuff behind us.  We have also had quite a bit of success selling some of the stuff we don't want to move on Craigslist.  The thing I am most dreading is taking apart the trampoline, but I'm sure there will be other things come up that we haven't even thought of.  One way or another, we will soon be posting from "even sunnier" Arizona.  Here's a preview of coming attractions:

Since I am not as good as Erika on the whole picture arranging thing, I'll try and explain - and you match the explanation to the picture you think best fits (answers will be provided up-side down in really small letters at the bottom of the next post!)

One is of our new place, one is of Riley's new office building, one is of Cardinal's Stadium (where we will hopefully be able to catch a Vikings game), and one is of the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park which I am sure we will be visiting in the very near future.  Wish us luck!

San Diego

We had such a great trip to San Diego.  It was our first official family vacation.  We met my parents in San Diego, which was so much fun.  Also, helpful to have some extra hands.  The first day we went to Lego Land which was probably my favorite 

day.  It is so much fun and the boys loved it!

Highlights were the 3D Bob the Builder movie, rides, Lego Darth Vader, and mini town.  We also went to the San Diego zoo and Coronado Island, but I will have to get to those pictures another time.

Photography Workshop

I am in need of selling my seat to an upcoming photography workshop with the ultra talented and fabulous children and senior photographer Amy Wenzel. The workshop is June 8-10. Amy is a well known children photographer and has had her work published several times. The workshop sold out in 24 hours!! This is an awesome opportunity for any of you photographers looking to grow your business and talent. It will be on a first come first serve basis so let me know if you are interested ASAP! You can check out her website HERE

Any questions e-mail me at erika.snow@gmail.com