It's a boy!

We found out today that we will be welcoming a little boy into our family in October!! We're extremely excited and welcome any tips- I've gotten so used to pink that I'm not sure I'll know what to do with a boy! Everything looks really good and the due date is still set at October 6th.

Here is a picture of me at 20 weeks: This pregnancy is flying by- I can't believe it's half way over! I'm feeling pretty good other than tired and sore. I've been able to keep running up until now, but I think I'll only be able to keep it up for a few more weeks before it's just too much. We have several things to do before the baby arrives so hopefully we can finish it all!

My growing girl

My sweet little girl is growing so fast! She can be such a mischievous stinker or such a snugly sweetheart. She loves to pull the laundry basket around the house and fill it with her treasures like nailpolish, books, scrapbook paper, dvds, or anything else she can find. She empties all of the clothes out of her dresser at least 3 times a day and carries them out to me with a proud smile as if to say look how much I'm helping you mom! Sneaking in a shower can be tricky because as soon as Lyla notices I'm gone and hears the water, she comes running in and throws whatever she can find in the shower with me. So far we've had slippers, clothes, my cell phone, watch, ipod headphones, deodorant, nail polish, and Lyla's doll all join me in the shower.

We've loved the warm days we've had lately and every chance she gets Lyla loves to ride her little car around our driveway.

A few weeks ago, Lyla suddenly noticed babies. She loves to see babies at the store or at church and she'll put her finger to her lips and say "Shhhh!". She loves her dolls and is such a good mommy to them. She even insisted on holding them while she rode her bike yesterday.

It was difficult to steer but she found a way. I just hope she keeps loving babies so she doesn't get too jealous of the new baby in a few months...

She's my little princess and I love her so much!

Best Birthday Surprise ever!

The morning of my birthday started out well with a call from my family and a sweet b-day song from Paul and Lyla. I was in the middle of blow-drying my hair when Paul called and said the weed guy was knocking at the door and I needed to go answer it. I opened it and saw this:

My cute mom and sister Jeanne had driven all the way up to spend the day together and even to have a sleepover!!

I was so extremely surprised and excited to see them! My hair is a little crazy because it was up in a clip while I straightened it.

Lyla immediately grabbed Nana and kept her busy showing off her toys and looking at books. Nana brought a book that she and grandpa had recorded their voices on. Lyla was scared at first but now she loves it! It's "Guess How Much I Love You" and Lyla loves playing with the bunnies that go along with it.

My sweet Mom took us all to dinner at a Thai restaurant which was so yummy!

Paul surprised me with the complete series of Alias which I was so excited for! Now I can watch my friend Sydney whenever I want! :) He also gave me some pretty jewelry which Lyla quickly adopted as her own and she's been wearing it around the house ever since.

My amazing sister went to a huge effort to leave her two older children and to keep her baby happy for 4 hours in the car. I also really appreciated Kevin keeping things under control at home so that she could come. It was such a unique time to just relax and talk without being completely overwhelmed with children running around! :)

My mom bought me my favorite ice cream cake from Dairy Queen! (By the way- let's just pretend I turned 25 like the candles show...)

The next morning we went for a nice long walk together and then ate german pancakes before they had to take off.

Baby Madison loved hanging out on the table.

It was such a fun 24 hours and meant so much to me that they would go to such effort for me!

17 months & Grandma's funeral

These are pictures we took when Lyla was 15 months. She is such a fun, happy girl and loves to go outside and ride her little bike even when it's only 30 degrees! We're still struggling to get her to eat more than toast and crackers, but we find ways to sneak in vegetables and protein.

My sweet Grandma passed away on April 16th when she was 93 years old. Although it was very hard to see her go, we are all excited for the reunions she's been having with loved ones and for her freedom from the earthly pains she suffered. Here is my family at the funeral although lyla was missing:

All of her grandchildren were there other than my brother Tyson who is on a mission.

The day before the funeral we had some fun Easter celebrations as a family. I'll have to post more pictures later when I get them from my mom. My sweet little girl:

She wasn't extremely interested in picking up the eggs but enjoyed being there with her cousins.

My new motto:

In Sunday school a few weeks ago the teacher said this little phrase that I think I'm going to adopt as my personal motto:



This life isn't the reward, it's the test


Sometimes I get so frustrated with daily life, the hard things I go through, and how tired I get. I guess I sometimes feel that life should be all happy and easy, but I need to remember that this is the time I am learning and being tested to see how I will handle different situations. I need to be better at facing stressful situations with faith and optimism instead of becoming a grumpy, negative person. We'll see how I can do at this as I get big and uncomfortable through the hot summer and then start the sleepless nights again with a sweet little newborn baby! :)

Updates

Here are some random pictures from the last several months- not really in any order.

We had a fun family play date at the mall when Lyla and I visited Utah in March. The kids loved going down the slide together!

Especially after a nap, Lyla just loves to sit while we rub her back and neck. She'll sit there not moving a muscle for up to 20 minutes some times. It's the only time she isn't running all over the house!

Happy girl!

Our family Valentine picture Since I looked gothic in the first picture, i made Paul take one that showed my pink skirt so you can tell I was festive that day.

We had a nice relaxing Valentine's weekend and the best part was the amazing breakfast Paul made! We bought an ebleskiver pan for our joint present and he made some with blueberry jam, some with strawberry, some with apple, and some plain. He also found really good blueberries and strawberries (my favorite but I rarely splurge on them time summer) to go with the flavered ebleskivers. So yummy! I was so excited to eat that I didn't take a picture til we were done.

Lyla has played with our neighbor, Chandler, several times although sometimes they fight more than they play. Here she is settled on a bean bag with all of the toys she is claiming (all of which belong to him of course)

She sees him start to come toward her:

Then she pushes him away. She's a feisty little thing, and she always surprises me with how strong she is!

In the end though they did have fun together.

Anytime I leave the refridgerator open for a minute, Lyla runs over and starts reaching for everything.

Apparently she found something yummy to taste... And you gotta love her tights. We're still wearing them all the time since she refuses to wear socks.

"Look Mom! I got it all by myself. Can I eat it?"

Lyla went with Paul to a BYU basketball game. They had fun together although she looks a little crazy in this picture...

Playing in a bouncy house- or actually sitting there and watching all of the kids climb past her.

Playing with her uncle Jared Hmm...is she trying to tell us something...? I guess we'll find out in a few weeks if she's right!

If it's a boy, should we name him Jimmer???

It's a legitimate question, but before I dive into some sports talk I'd better get down to the real news before Tiffany decides to delete this post :) So we're having our second baby! Right now the due date is October 6th and it will still be another 7 weeks before our Ultrasound will try to determine the gender. We're both so excited, and if Lyla understood when we told her, then she would have been excited too!

In much less exciting news, I've decided that I can become a fan of the NBA again. Since the Seattle Sonics Owner betrayed the city of Seattle (really the whole state of Washington) by taking the team to Oklahoma City, I banned the NBA from ever being watched in our home. I've decided that I will follow Jimmer Fredette and become a fan of whatever team drafts him (of course this excludes the team who shall not be named...). And for all of you doubters out there who think he won't be a contributer in the NBA.....Fredette about it.