Doctor visit and update

Sooooooo... I went to the doctor today. It was a special doctor that does a lot with cysts and high risk pregnancies and such. I was there to determine whether or not Paul and I would be able to have any more children after this, and whether or not I would need to have my uterus and ovaries removed after this child was born, etc. Well, here's the info: The cyst is completely gone and the bleeding has stopped, the baby is healthy and VERY active, I will NOT need to have anything removed after the baby is born, and there is NO risk of a reoccurrence of having this type of cyst again! It was all good news. Hooray!! Thanks to all the prayers and well wishes for my health and the baby's health. They worked.

Then the doctor asked if I was interested in knowing the sex of the baby. Hmmm... I had mixed feelings on this until I learned that I would be able to have another one, and maybe that next one could be the surprise. Paul wasn't there to help me decide, so I asked if she could take a picture and put it in an envelope so I could bring it home. While she was taking the pictures on the ultrasound, I asked if she was SURE about the sex. A few of our friends got a maybe or a 75% chance it's a _____. But the doctor reassured me that she could DEFINITELY tell what it was, 100%. She kept emphasizing that, and how active the baby was. The doctor printed out a sheet of pictures and put them in a huge envelope.

When I got home I told Paul about our great visit. He was just as excited to see what the baby is too... Especially since I was the one who wanted it to be a surprise in the first place. So much for that. :)

We tried to figure out a fun way to open the envelope, but in the end we were much to excited, and set up the camera to film our reactions. Paul wanted the baby to be a girl, but was wavering back and forth on what it would be... and I thought the baby would be a girl, although I mostly just wanted it to be healthy. Watch for yourself and find out!

We are SO excited and eager to welcome another baby into our family.

Easter activity #5

Our final Easter-y activity was on Easter itself. In the morning before church we opened cards from grandparents. The boys got "The Little Mermaid" which Matix loves and has now watched at least 3 times already. :) They also got a cute Easter book, which I then used in my sunbeams class and have read enough to have it memorized. Thank you guys! :)

After church and lunch and naps, the boys woke up to find that the Easter bunny had been there. First they looked for their baskets in the house. Each got a couple little toys. Hawken was mostly excited about the ball (of course) and Matix was mostly excited about the train (of course, again).

While they played, daddy went outside to check and see if the Easter bunny had left anything outside for the boys to hunt for... and he DID! I told the boys and out we went to our front yard. They were excited and got all the eggs faster than I thought they would.

Then we sat down and and ate up all the candy. YUM. Sadly, after all the jelly bean colored drool, those nice white shirts are now rainbow dyed. :) Oh well.

Here is a video of the day, from cranky after the nap to wild sugar rush after the candy. Happy Easter!

Easter activity #4

Easter morning the boys got to wear their new Easter shirts and ties, Paul and I wore our new Easter clothes too, but I am not fooling myself into thinking this blog is for us, we all know it's all about the kiddos. :) Anyway, they looked SO handsome and I had to take some pictures. Of course they were all giddy and silly and could barely sit still... So this is what I got:

After a while, I got them to settle down enough to get these three great ones. One of each boy alone, and one together. I think these turned out pretty good, considering I am working with a 2 1/2 and almost 1 1/2 year old. I love these little men. They are growing up way too fast for me.

After pictures and before church, we skyped with my family. It was so nice to see everyone. We called at just the right time and got to see my mom, dad, step-dad, grandma, little sister, and her two kids. SO FUN! I can hardly wait for our summer adventures when we can see them in person, plus my other sisters and nieces and nephews... hooray!

I also took a few pictures at church so you can see what that usually looks like for us. Since our ward combined and is now spanish and english speaking, those of us who are not bilingual have to wear head phones to hear the translation. Usually each Sunday we sing songs, hear talks, and everything in both languages, which means we are all (minus Hawken) wearing these beauties. :)

Easter activity #3

The Primary at our church had a huge party for the kids on Saturday. I am the Sunbeam (3 year olds) teacher, so I was expected to be there, but I wouldn't have missed it anyway. :) It was SO much fun, pretty chaotic, but fun. First the kids listened to a little lesson on the real reason we celebrate Easter.

Matix helped lay the palm branches, like they did for Jesus.

After the lesson, the egg hunt began! Our church has a small courtyard that is completely enclosed with the classrooms and chapel surrounding it. The boys had already had some practice with hunting, so they did great. There were lots of big kids running around, and I thought they would only get 1 or 2, but they both found WAY more than that.

After watching them stuff themselves silly with all their loot, I thought maybe it would have been better for them to have only found a couple eggs... :) Oh well.

After that we got our faces painted (I couldn't get a good picture of that though) and dyed some eggs. Matix made all of his blue, but then told me his favorite color is "orange and ye-yow like daddy". Hawken, preferred a much more hands-on method and had a green hand all day. :)

After that, we had a picnic lunch with friends, then we went home and all enjoyed an extra long nap. :)

Easter activity #2

We made some treats and the boys made an Easter card for our neighbor friend Barbara. We didn't get any pictures of her or the handing over of the goods, but I did get the making of the card.

The boys were very excited (as they always are) when we bring her things. She is so sweet. She talked with Paul and I for a while and we found out all her family has already died, and she is the only one left. She was very happy we came over and thankful for the treats and card.

cute

Sleeping babies are the best, aren't they? I just LOVE the way they look asleep. So sweet.

Easter activity #1

Happy Easter! We have been busy busy busy with many Easter-y activities these past few days. I can't post about them all right now, because I am tired and I want to spend some time with the hubby. :) So, I will start with our first Easter adventure...

The Seaquarium had a great day planned for Easter. They called it the "bunny palooza". We talked about going there all day and when it was finally time, the boys were SUPER excited. They picked out their own outfits, hats included, and dolphin accessories too.

We met up with some friends, Andrew and Megan. Andrew is in between Hawken and Matix in age and is in Matix's nursery class at church. When we arrived we saw this, TONS of festivities ready for us to play on! Once you were in the door most everything there was free, and since we had our season pass, it was just the right price. :)

There were rides (swings, a small ferris wheel, slides), egg hunt areas, activities, you name it. It was crazy! There were also a ton of people there, but not too busy or chaotic. We had a fun time. Bounce houses were first. There was this little toddler sized one, perfect.

Then it was off to the "little kids egg hunt", they had a special one for kids under 5. I thought that was nice. The boys waited semi-patiently while watching the eggs be dispersed.

Then they opened the gates and all the kids (and parents) in the line ran in and went to town. The boys both understood the concept and did a great job of collecting eggs.

They got so many eggs, that they each got a prize! Hooray! In their prize bags they got a little stuffed baby manatee to match with the dolphins they already have. They were SO excited. They also got candy and loved that almost as much. :)

They also got their first tattoos. First Matix, then Hawken. Usually I have Hawken do things first because he is a good leader and less nervous about new things, but for this, Matix did just fine and was even happy about it. They both got fish tattoos, fitting for the Seaquarium, I think.

Then we went around doing lots of other, less Easter-y, more fish-y, activities, like peeking for dolphins in the tank. Sadly, this is the only picture I have of the 3 boys together. Left to right is Hawken, Andrew, and Matix. Andrew and Hawken are wanderers, although I think Andrew has Hawken beat, as far as curiosity goes... but they were usually wandering in different directions, which means, far fewer pictures than I usually get.

We also went to some shows. First it was the top deck dolphin show, then the flipper show. The boys danced to the music and clapped and cheered at every trick. I love watching them enjoy themselves. Such a fun day.

happy

Mornings at the park with my 2 favorite little guys. I love this part of my life. :)