Marvelous Mom's

Believe it or not the picture below is not of baby items received at a shower, but rather, items that have recently arrived in the mail from my Mom. She is always thrilled to hear news of a new grandchild arriving but in the final few months she gets increasingly more excited and apprehensive. She, along with my wonderful mother in law, both call after each and every check up to see how things went. Over the past few weeks however I would receive an additional call from my mom later that day from "Babies R Us" to tell me about all of the wonderful things she was finding. I guess that should have been my first clue but I didn't think you could prepare that well without knowing the gender. I explained that she really didn't have to worry about anything until we see if it's a boy or girl and her reply then was, "Don't worry, once we know the gender we'll really go shopping."


Believe it or not the picture below that is what filled the second box that arrived. I have prepared surprise "gift bags" from the baby for Ryley, Kadyn, and Thatcher to receive when they come to visit me at the hospital. Each tote bag has their name on it and is filled with games and toys to occupy them while Mommy is away. My mom asked if she could help with filling the bags and boy did she ever! I'm not sure the kids will even notice I'm gone with all of this to keep them busy. The cute thing is knowing that Grandma will be just as excited as the kids to run home from the hospital in order to play with their new things.

Kadyn's First Kiss?

Kadyn practices soccer on Thursday evenings so yesterday we packed as normal and headed down to the fields. Everything was running as usual. The coach was playing a game where each child has a number and when your number gets called you run for the ball and attempt to score. One of the little boys next to Kadyn (Daniel - also the coaches son) took his turn and while running back to his spot fell down. He quickly jumped up though and things seemed fine until I witnessed the following take place. Kadyn looks over at Daniel and then looks down at his scrape. She looks back and with all the confidence in the world walks right up to him, takes his face between her two little hands and plants a big wet one on his lips!! The other parents and myself all froze. Daniel stood there stunned for a moment and then ran to his Mom waving his hands in the air and while half crying, half screaming, proclaimed that Kadyn had just kissed him on the lips. By now the adults were all laughing and I was running across the field to speak with Kadyn about the subject of kissing - a topic I wasn't yet prepared to have with my four year old daughter in the mist of a soccer practice. I knelt down and said, "Kadyn sweetheart, I know you think Daniel is cute but we don't kiss people on the mouth, alright?" She looked up at me with her innocent sweet face and said, "Oh Mom, it's not just that he's cute - I love him!" She then ran back on the field and continued to practice as though nothing had happened. We spoke a bit more of it after returning home but I wanted to be careful so as not to embarrass her. Her actions were so honest and genuine. I think now she has a little more understanding of the proper way to show affection to others. You know, like a nice pat on the back or a "Good job pal", at least until she's in college!

Holiday Happiness

I love Labor Day weekend. It's so fun and relaxing. Ryley asked Steven on Friday why we celebrate Labor Day and he said, "It's a day for Americans to celebrate their hard work by not working". I thought that summed it up pretty well. We decided to spend the break doing the two things that our children love best. Amusement parks and the zoo.

The fair came to town recently so on Saturday we headed there with the kids and had a fantastic day. They had great rides for their heights and ages and fun additional attractions as well. There were many rides to choose from but after awhile the girls had "favorites" and rode the same things over and over again. They had a great time and already are asking when the fair will return again. On the way home Steven and I were excited to discover a "Wing Stop" restaurant. They had one in Colorado Springs and we missed it a great deal, so, while he put the kids to bed I snuck back down and grabbed us some yummy food and we ended the evening with a movie and a great meal.

Monday morning we were awakened early by the pitter patter of footsteps. Thatcher had successfully completed his first night sleeping in a "big boy bed". He didn't get out of bed once the entire night. Now we just need to teach him the importance of staying in the bed past 6 AM. The kids played quietly allowing us to rest a little longer and after enjoying breakfast (Steven makes awesome waffles) we got the kids ready and headed out the door for a day at the zoo. As always we had a great time there. We forgot our camera this trip but if you'd like to see zoo pics feel free to look back at our numerous other entries. I have yet to show a picture of the hippopotamus catching and devouring an entire watermelon in an instant so next time I'll try to capture that moment.

It was a relaxing and enjoyable holiday weekend and typically disappointing to wake up the day after and return to more mundane endeavors. I guess when you really think about it that's what makes holidays so special.

XX or XY?

I've recently received emails and calls in regards to our pregnancy and why I haven't posted a picture actually showing my belly. I guess in the last months, when your not feeling your cutest, it's easier being the one behind the camera instead of in front of it. Nevertheless, I'm taking the risk of stepping out of my comfort zone and posting a pic.

My due date is around the end of September so if all goes well I have three weeks remaining. If my body does as it did with our last three miracles however than I'll have a bit more time than that. Either way I'm feeling great with the small exception of some major swelling in my hands which tends to make them constantly numb, tingly, and ache. Only a few more weeks to go though and with the amazing gift you receive at the end I'm sure I can take just about anything. We are VERY excited for the upcoming arrival and almost have everything in place and ready to go, whether it's a boy or a girl! I say almost based on the small problem of having no ideas or even possibilities for boy names. Oh well, we'll do what we've done with all our children thus far and name them as we sign the paper work to leave the hospital!

A Little Bit of Everything - Our Most Random Post Yet

Alright folks. We're up and running with photo access and I'm learning the in's and out's of the Mac. This thing is cool! So, here are some pictures to accompany the post below and then a few extra as well. First up is a picture of Ryley's first day in first grade. Then we have some pictures of soccer practices. Their actual games begin a week from Saturday so when those take place I'll post more pics.

We also returned to the "Incredible Pizza" place last week and this time attempted it with Thatcher. I was a bit nervous to be in such chaos with three children but I must say that Thatch has come along ways when it comes to running off. We couldn't get him to ride any of the rides but eventually talked him into giving the bounce house a try. Once that happened he was hooked for good. All three stayed right beside me the entire time and it ended up being a very stress free, fun afternoon.

I'm also adding a few pictures of myself getting down and crazy as I joined some wonderful girls from our church in the midnight release party for "Breaking Dawn". Please excuse my appearance - I ran from a day at the pool straight to the party. It was very exciting and fun and I'm still amazed at the fact that I lasted past 9:00pm.

Below that is a picture of the kiddos. We had some extra time before church so I grabbed them together for a quick photo. I'm also on a Peter Cetera kick right now which is why he is the music of choice for this post.

I warned you this was going to be random!

No Picture Available

Hello everyone. We finished off last week with swimming each day and preparing for the start of school. On Friday evening Steven and I attended a medical benefit downtown. It was fun to get all dressed up and enjoy a relaxing night out.

Ryley started first grade on Monday. She got a really great teacher and is loving it already. She wakes me up each morning around 6:45AM dressed and ready to go. It's fun to see her excitement - I'm sure it's like this from now throughout high school, right?!

Soccer practice started this week as well. This year we talked Kadyn into giving it a try also. She appears to be timid but that little girl is quite a go getter. When Ryley wrestles Dad she's in it for the fun, when Kadyn wrestles Dad, she's in it for the fun and the win. It's been exciting to watch them play and interact with their teams.

There is a good reason there are no pictures to view of the above mentioned events. While I have been experiencing some major "nesting" moments it seems I have rubbed off onto Steven who must be experiencing "sympathy nesting" as well. I wonder if that's medically possible? Anyhow, his sympathy nesting has been much more exciting than mine. While I find it comforting to relax in our home that's been sanitized from top to bottom again and again, Steven has caught the shopping bug. My sister would be so proud. Don't get me wrong. We haven't gone crazy by any means. It has been fun however to complete our bedroom and Steven finally made the long awaited plunge into buying himself an iMac. It's been fun to use thus far. The kids have loved talking to Grandma and Grandpa Ballard and actually being able to see them face to face via the computer and I love how easy it will make editing pictures and video. Thus, stay tuned for Steven to add the software and Lynette to figure out what in the world she is doing.

1 out of 3!

We officially have a swimmer on our hands. At the beginning of last week Ryley went from timid to courageous and decided to test her swimming abilities by jumping off the diving board into deep waters below. We were at our neighbors pool and I'm not quite sure what came over her but it was both awesome (and terrifying) to watch. She had never before tested her swimming skills so we were uncertain of what to expect. I waited on the side and told her once she hit the water to start swimming for it and if by chance she sunk to the bottom than Mom would be right there to grab her! She jumped, held her breath (I found myself holding mine too), and not two seconds later she popped to the surface and was swimming like a fish. Since that afternoon my morning alarm clock has been Ryley at our bedside begging to go swimming. With school starting soon I can't bring myself to deny her request. Kadyn and Thatch love it as well and are trying hard at their own levels.

I definitely think one of the greatest parts of parenting is seeing the face of your child as they strengthen and master skills that they've worked so hard on.