Bragging Rights

Today was the Ward Primary Program. Marshall memorized his part really quickly this year (homeschool is paying off - we do memory work a couple times a week). We practiced and practiced, even after he had it down pat, just so he would be comfortable saying it once he got up to the podium.

The presidency member who was up at the front helping kids with their parts had gone up to usher Marshall's class down from their seats and up to the front. He was the first speaker in his class and arrived at the podium before she got back down to cue him.

He knew what he was supposed to do and did it! He just got right up there, said his part, and walked back to his seat! I was so proud!!! He said the part perfectly, too! I was beaming :D

His part was, "Article of Faith number 3 says, 'We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."

Thanks for making me one proud Momma, Marshall! I love you!

"Amelia Bedelias"

Do you remember the Amelia Bedelia books from early elementary? Amelia is a maid for a family and takes everything quite literally. When the family goes camping and tells her to "pitch a tent" she literally throws the tent. Anyway, here are some of the boys' Amelia Bedelia moments:

Me: "We are going to catch up on history today in school."
Marshall: "Ketchup on history? Ah ha ha ha!"

Coen: "Me eat this Mommy?" as he holds up the patty from his hamburger.
Me: "Put it between the bun."
Coen: Kneels up on his chair and starts to put the patty between his buns.

Coen's Third Birthday

My "baby boy" turned THREE on Thursday! I really wanted to go all out with a Monster themed party (see my collection of all things "monster" on Pinterest), but our tiny apartment (and budget) wouldn't allow for it. Instead we decided to invite our friends, the Morris family, over for dinner and cake. Their two boys are 5 and 3 and are Marshall and Coen's best friends. The four of them play so well together, despite the age differences. Jeanene was kind enough to bring her camera and capture the night's events for me because I couldn't find my battery charger! Thanks, Jeanene!!

The big 3 year old!

A remote control Big Foot!

I love this picture, it perfectly describes little boys and their goofiness and inability to hold still for long! Greyson (top left) Christian (top right)

The Imaginext Sky Racers Carrier

and 2 Sky Racer Planes to go with it.

The boys had fun playing with the new toys.

I love that there is so much detail in the Imaginext toys. Here is Coen discovering all the cool tricks the plane can do.

What the cake was supposed to look like:

How it actually turned out:

The cake: The top picture was what inspired the Monster theme in the first place. It is so cool looking and looks relatively easy compared to some of the cakes I've done. I kept procrastinating on looking up exactly what decorator tip they used for the frosting and what candy they used for eyes. By the time I got done with what I thought the frosting was supposed to be like though, I couldn't have cared less! I had THREE disposable frosting bags pop open on me (literally, on ME!). Finally I just finished up by smearing the rest of the frosting on how you normally would - and swearing this was the last attempt I make at cake decorating. From now on it's plain old sheet cakes and frosting around here!

The birthday boy loved his "Monster Cake" and that's all that matters! He had talked about this for weeks!

YUM!

Happy Birthday, Baby Boy! No matter how old you get, you will ALWAYS be my baby! I love you!

Pregnancy

Conception: Let me just say...Blessings come from attending the temple!!!

John and I both knew when I got pregnant with Coen that there was another baby in Heaven for us. A couple times since then either he or I have felt that still. The last time was a year ago, September 2010, when we decided to start trying to get pregnant because it was time for another baby.

In July while in Utah, we were able to go to the temple one evening with John's entire family. While we were there I was planning on spending some time in the Celestial Room with John, praying and hopefully having it confirmed that yes, there was still a baby waiting for us. Unfortunately we didn't have time to do this, but the prayer was in my heart the whole time. One thing stood out to me during the session and as I look back, I think this was a confirmation to my question.

Well, the baby is due about 40 weeks from that night!!!

Baby, 1st Trimester: My OBGYN was monitoring my pregnancy closely, so they had me come in for blood tests, 48 hours apart, to make sure my hormone levels were increasing as expected. The first blood draw was on a Monday, the next on Wednesday. I had just gotten back from the Wednesday appointment when they called and said that the results from Monday looked great. I was stoked! But on Thursday when they called, they said the levels from Wednesday weren't as high as expected and they wanted me to come in for an ultrasound to see if they could determine what was going on.

Scared and in tears, I went in alone because John had a meeting at work. On the way to the office, I prayed for comfort. I instantly stopped crying and felt that everything would be okay. The ultrasound tech found an embryonic sac and yolk, good signs, but no baby. The doctor said it was either too early to see still, or that there was no baby. So I came in 5 days later, with John this time, and luckily they found the baby! I was so relieved!! They calculated my due date - March 18th! I was 5 weeks pregnant then.

At the next appointment the doctor couldn't find the heartbeat with the doppler. She had me come back for an ultrasound an hour and a half later. I tried not to panic and focused on the feeling of comfort I had felt up until this point, that everything would be okay and exercised faith that because of the circumstances surrounding the conception, that this really was it and we were having a baby. Again, the ultrasound tech found the heartbeat and everything looked great!


Me, 1st Trimester: I nearly died. No. Really. The first few weeks I was nauseous, throwing up, dizzy, had migraines everyday, vertigo, and could barely open my eyes I was so tired. This had never happened before in my pregnancies, so I didn't know how long it would last. I missed my mom being there to take the boys while I rested and didn't feel well and I cursed the day we left Utah and wondered why on Earth I wanted to get pregnant.

I was miserable and went to see our family doctor for my migraines. Lo and behold, I had had a sinus infection the whole time that was causing all my misery! As soon as that cleared up I felt a lot better. I was still exhausted and nauseous until about 11/12 weeks, but I survived ;)

I have an aversion to sweets and rich desserts. I cannot eat cooked vegetables unless they're in a casserole or other dish of some sort. The first time I tried to eat steamed broccoli this pregnancy, I started dry heaving. We use whole wheat spaghetti, but I couldn't handle the texture. Marshall had a scab on his back that was wet from swimming one day and I again dry heaved when he showed it to me. Usually scabs, blood, and owies don't bother me like that! Even John's beard smells bad to me right now!

Baby, 2nd Trimester: Just this week I felt the baby start kicking and moving around. Truly the best feeling a pregnant mom can feel!

Me, 2nd Trimester: I finally feel normal again. So far my cravings include french fries, Pretzelmaker pretzels, french fries, bagels, and french fries. Oh, did I mention french fries?

I have to wait until 21 weeks for my diagnostic ultrasound, when we'll find out the gender. I'm also trying to decide if I should do I repeat c-section or try for a VBAC. If I do a VBAC, I have to find a new doctor which is such a hassle! I've given myself until 20 weeks to decide what I'm going to do.

Anyway, that's what's happened so far in my pregnancy! We're SO excited to have another baby around!