Time to Get Back to it!

So I promised Maegan I'd start keeping up on my blog and it's probably about time I start doing that.  Since the last time I posted was when I was 12 weeks pregnant with Ashley, clearly a few things have taken place since then. For one, Ashley was born.  Ben became a big brother. Ryan started kindergarten. Paul got a promotion. And I... well, I am trying to hang in there with three children.  I guess I should try to fill in a few of the blanks....I definitely need to start documenting my children's silliness again.  I really do want to keep up on this blog, I just need to get back into it.  Try to make it more of a habit.  I'm going to try.

12 Weeks and Doing Well!

You can see the face.....definitely alien looking....I hope she/he grows out of that ;)

Well, after having wondered and waited for the last four weeks to see if I really would miscarry, I had my 12 week appointment. I was really kind of nervous about this appointment, mostly because the last appointment wasn't ideal and I was nervous that maybe the doctor wouldn't hear a heartbeat. Paul usually accompanies me to this appointment since it's usually when we hear the heartbeat for the first time. Well, Paul couldn't come this time because he was in Colorado.

The boys and I spent the night at Kendra & Graham's last night and Kendra watched the boys while I went in this morning. Nervous as I was, I was also excited that I'd made it to 12 weeks to begin with so I felt pretty sure I was in the clear......

Dr. Carn got out the doppler and started looking for the heartbeat...and then he kept looking...and looking....and looking.....the longer it took, the more nervous I got. After a good 5-10 of solid searching, he finally stopped. I think he could see my worry because he quickly explained that it doesn't mean it's not there, the next step would be to get an ultrasound and make sure it was still a viable pregnancy.

The nurse was able to set up an appointment for a hour later at the hospital so I called Kendra and asked her if she wouldn't mind holding on to the kids for a little while longer and then, after a quick visit to a nearby friend, I headed over to the hospital. The first thing the technician said to me after I got hooked up was, "Yep, there's a heartbeat." WHEW!! I was surprised she could tell that so quickly but I could see that there was a baby so it wasn't too hard to believe her. I never did get to hear the heartbeat but she was able to tell me how fast it was beating (156pm) and then she started taking all the standard measurements. I ended up measuring only 2 days smaller than expected, so basically, the baby was right on target!!

I felt so much better after that appointment and I've been pretty excited ever since. Paul called around 12:45 to ask how the appointment went and it was really nice to be able to know the conclusion of the ultrasound by the time he called so he wouldn't have to spend the rest of his time in Colorado worrying while he needed to focus on other things. I finally feel like I can start expecting an actual baby in August. Yay!

It's still too soon to know if it's a boy or girl but of course, we're all hoping it's a girl. The boys have already named her and started referring to her by that name. I keep trying to help them understand that it might be a boy but they've got their little hearts set on a girl so I really hope they're not wrong. And I got the earliest picture I've had of any of my babies out of the whole ordeal!

What Would Ryan Give Jesus for Christmas?

So in during singing time in Primary on Sunday, the primary chorister had an activity set up where the kids were helping to prepare the baby Jesus' manger by adding hay. As they added hay there were asked to tell what they would give the baby Jesus for Christmas. The chorister was so tickled by Ryan's response that she came up and shared this with me afterward. As Ryan put his piece of hay in the manger and was asked what he would give baby Jesus, she was surprised to hear him respond with........a bath! Gotta love that kid!

The Miracles of Poster Board, Duck Tape & Spray Paint

SO, for Halloween this year, I had decided a long time ago that I wanted to go with a Wizard of Oz theme. I would be Dorothy (of course--I being the only girl in the fam) and Paul would be the Scarecrow, Ryan, the Tin Man, and Ben, the Cowardly Lion. Of course, being the procrastinator I am, I never really pulled it together......

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So of course, on Halloween day I had to come up with a costume for Ryan (we already had the lion costume for Ben so that was easy). But not willing to give up on the Tin Man idea, I rushed about, day-of, and gathered what I felt to be the easiest things to create Ryan's costume: poster board, duck tape & spray paint.

**

I hurried home to put my brilliant idea together.....it wasn't--unfortunately--as easy to work with the duck tape as I would have hoped but I pulled it together anyway. (I later learned what would have been the easier, less complicated way of making it not only work, but actually look better, but I'm not that smart on my own and the advice came too little, too late--thanks a lot Lissa, next time could you get me the info on time please? ☺)

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Anyhoo, I had a time limit as the ward party began at 4:00 and we had to be ready. I put the pieces together, Paul got it painted, and Ryan got to try it on! Of course, to be the Tin Man, the finishing touches, such as the face paint and hair color, are somewhat an important element so at about 3:20, after having finished making the costume, I ran out to get the hairspray...(I did have the face paint already). I made it back within 20 minutes! (Paul was shocked I made it back so quickly, I think) and got to work getting Ryan ready. We suited him up in some grey sweats and then put the costume on Ryan--it took both Paul and me to get it on and off him every time--I sprayed his hair, painted his face and we put his "hat" on and......VOILA! The Tin Man, here now for your viewing pleasure! Along with the Cowardly Lion,

of course!

(Needless to say, Dorothy and the Scarecrow never made an appearance.)

We're Still Alive!

Okay....I guess I've been out of it for awhile.....well, we're still alive and well! But even now it's getting late and I don't really have a lot of time to type much...since I really should get some sleep and rest up for tomorrow. We're going to Lagoon tomorrow for the first ever Digis Family Picnic! We're pretty excited about it! I'm not pregnant this time so I can actually enjoy more than just Laguna Beach. The boys are so excited they can hardly wait! And we're pretty excited to see their reaction when they realize what "Lagoon" actually is!

Anyway, now that I've made it this far, (getting started--or in this case REstarted, is always the hardest part) I promise to come back and write in a few updates and try to be more consistent.

"Thankful for Ryan"

A few nights ago Paul, Ryan, Ben & I knelt down to say our family prayer before putting the boys in bed. It was Ben's turn. For some reason, Ben has stopped self-starting his prayers. He always wants help now and lately, Ryan enthusiastically volunteers to help Ben say his prayers. The other night when Ryan was helping Ben he went through thanking Heavenly Father for everyone in the family. Ryan would say, "Thankful for Daddy," and Ben would repeat, "Thankful for Daddy."
Ryan: Thankful for Mommy. Ben: Thankful for Mommy.
Ryan: Thankful for Ryan. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.

And everything went fine until Ryan said, "Thankful for Ben."

Ryan: Thankful for Ben. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.
Ryan: Thankful for Ben. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.
Ryan: Thankful for Ben. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.
Ryan: Thankful for Ben. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.
Ryan: Thankful for Ben. Ben: Thankful for Ryan.

And you may think typing it so many times is excessive but the truth is, this went on for several minutes--a lot more than five times...(Paul & I were laughing too hard to interrupt!)...but Ryan started getting frustrated that Ben wasn't getting it, (that he was supposed to be thankful for Ben) so we finally stopped them and explained to Ben what Ryan was saying so Ben finally said, "Thankful for me," and then Ryan was happy.

Ryan frequently likes to help Ben say his prayers so that time has not been the only time the same thing has occured but it was the funniest! It's fun watching my boys learn to pray and I love their enthusiasm. Any time it's time to pray they both beg for the opportunity. In fact, just tonight we had our home teachers over and when we knelt to say the prayer before they left, Ryan jumped in and started praying before Paul even had the opportunity to invite anyone else to offer it! It surprised us all but it was really sweet. I really am thankful for Ryan!...and Ben too, of course!

Christmas in California!

So we had a wonderful Christmas this year!! We got to see everyone, stay with both Tim & Amanda for a couple days and Doug & Becky for a few more. We got to see Paul & Christa's new house. AND we got to take a huge family picture with all of us there! Lots of fun! On Christmas Eve the kids all made cookies for Santa and that night each kid put a cookie on the plate for Santa and then Keilana put the plate on the piano. They were so cute and excited!
Ryan, Dylan, & Ben all LOVED each other and had so much fun hanging out while we were there. You'd think they saw each other everyday.

Doug also took us for a tour of McDermmott which was AWESOME! Very impressive. Maybe someday we'll have an opportunity to go and play some laser tag or something!