Merry Christmas! 2011

We celebrated Christmas with my side of the family the weekend before Christmas. We had our 2nd annual soup and sandwich dinner, with a story read by Aunt Lorie, and gift exchange.

This is our nephew Duncan's first Christmas with us. He got to be the first to open a gift.
My mom and princess Rylie. She thinks a "pretty princess" dress is a must when there's music to dance to.
My mom got Jordan a Jessie doll!
The next pictures are from Christmas with Justin's side of the family. Every year, we go to his sister Stacie's house and spend the night Christmas Eve. We are spoiled with ribs and shrimp for dinner, and then open presents from each other in the evening. Then Santa (over)fills the stockings after the kids go to bed.

Jordan and Rylie got a lot of doll house accessories this year.
Rylie is "helping" her older cousin Jake open his present. Rylie was a bit attached to both Jake and Luke...they are great older cousins that loved on her well! One time she was looking for Jake, but was saying Luke. We said, "There's Luke, right beside you." She looked up and said, "Where's the other Luke?" The boys look more alike than their sisters that are twins do:)

Justin, his sister, and niece Hope all cuddled up with the girls Christmas morning. Hope and Madison are also GREAT older cousins that take care of Jordan and Rylie very well.

With only about 6 hours of sleep the night before, the girls were all tuckered out by the time they got home. It's almost 4:00 right now, and they're STILL asleep. Notice their beloved toy story dolls. Justin's mom got Rylie the Woody doll, so now they each have one.

Hair Stylist

Jordan did my hair "so pretty" the other day! (I can't believe I'm posting these pictures!)

Rylie is Silly

Rylie is pretending to have a baby in her tummy in the first video. So FUNNY! For just a little while, if you asked her where her baby brother was, she would lift up her shirt and say "in here" and point to her belly button.

The second video is of Rylie playing with a roly poly she found. She carried it everywhere, put it in her purse, carried it in her lunch box. What a fun little girl:)

8 Months

I totally skipped my 7 month belly picture and update, so here's my 8 month shot. Today, I am 36 weeks, 3 days. Just a few short weeks, and we'll be meeting our first son. We are still not totally committed to a name (well, I am, but Justin is not yet!)

At 8 months...

...there is no problem gaining weight! I think I've gained at least 30 lbs, and it's everywhere! I can even feel it in my face, and can feel it especially when I talk--it's weird.

...our little guy moves quite a bit. Sometimes it's painful, but most of the time it's just cool.

...I think this is the biggest my belly has gotten in all my pregnancies.

...I have a lot of braxton hicks contractions. I start to feel them coming on by the change in my breathing and my face getting flushed before I actually feel it in my belly.

...I'm getting used to being up all night! I've been sleeping on the couch since month 7, propped up with tons of pillows, but never comfortable. On top of just plain not sleeping well, I have to go to the bathroom all the time too:) So, I take a nap pretty much everyday!

...the reality that we are having a baby soon is starting to sink in. I think I've been in somewhat of denial about it:)

...we've been beyond blessed by several friends and Justin's coworkers who have provided all things "boy" that we might need, especially clothes! Now, he won't have to come home from the hospital in a pink outfit:)

...Jordan still tells everyone she sees, even family who she's told multiple times, that she's going to have a baby brother and he's in mommy's tummy. She is still VERY excited about it!

Gymnastics

Here are a few pictures of Jordan doing gymnastics. She does gymnastics once a weak for an hour at the Y. These were taken the day before Thanksgiving, when daddy got to come and watch. The only thing she could talk about in the days leading up to this class was that daddy was going to be there and she couldn't wait:)

The girls are learning to get onto the balance beam by pushing themselves up and swinging one leg over.
More balance beam work.
Flipping over the bars. I think Jordan is best at the bars. Yesterday, she was *this* close to flipping herself over without any help.

DIY Christmas Gifts

So, I've been busy working on some Christmas projects. Here are two of them. There are others, but I can't post them because the people they are for actually might read this blog:) The first picture shows the project that is on it's way to becoming a magnetic bulletin board for a pre-teen girl. I made a couple of others (that I can't show) using paint, scrapbook paper, and mod podge on top of a sheet of flashing cut to fit the picture frame. I learned that fabric, like the one in the picture, is SO much easier, and will not be as problematic as the other two have proved to be.

This next picture is a gift for Justin's mom. I found the frame at a garage sale, bought some chicken coup wire, painted the wire, and stapled it to the back of the frame.
Then I made some cute little clothespins to hold pictures, cards, notes, etc. to the wire. I hope she likes it:)

The rest of our morning

Hot chocolate to warm us up...

Working on Christmas tree decorations. I don't know about other moms, but I get a little stressed when we do crafts at our house. It's really that I just don't like the mess. And glue + glitter = big mess! However, I know that crafts are so much fun for the girls, so I deal with it:)
Our strips of paper drying so that after naps we can make a paper chain and hang it on the tree. The girls LOVED doing this. Thanks, Mom, for the hole punches...they were a big hit!

Our first snow fall of the season

The girls were SUPER excited about the first snow fall of the season! Jordan was getting Rylie dressed and telling her all about making snow ice cream, snowmen, and snow forts. Too bad there was not enough snow for all those things...especially the snow ice cream...that sounded pretty good! But, the girls made do with just eating the little bit of snow they could. It took us quite awhile to get out the door. I was a bit pessimistic about the whole thing...thinking, "It's taking us an hour to get ready to go outside, but how much you want to bet you girls won't last five minutes?" Well, they proved me wrong. We were out there nearly an hour. It was ME that couldn't last and finally had to coax the girls inside with the promise of hot chocolate:) I made some "from scratch" and it was pretty delicious!

Cute Girls

These pictures were taken this summer and I ran across them when I was looking for the picture of Justin and the girls while updating the blog design to match the season. They were so cute, I just had to post them! Rylie, Fallyn, and Jordan. Can you tell they're related? :-)

My 30th Birthday

I turned 30 two days ago on Thursday, Nov. 17th. I had a great two days of celebrating. I think after 10 years together, Justin has finally come to terms with the things that I would enjoy in celebrating such a "special" day. You see, Justin LOVES to celebrate and he will celebrate by making a big deal and a big production. I LOVE this about him. If you've ever been to one of our kids' birthday parties or witnessed our engagement, or ever just been to a party where Justin is involved, then you've experienced some of his great energy and excitement. It's great!

Me, on the other hand, enjoy a much more laid back type of celebration. And guess what? Justin followed through without making my birthday a big production...and I LOVED IT! On Thursday, we got to eat dinner with our best friend, David, eat cake and watch a movie at home. It was nice and relaxing. Then, last night, we got to go out on a nice date with two of my brothers and their wives-without kids!-and we had a blast! PF Chang's and a movie! We haven't gotten to all go out together without kids for a LONG TIME. I LOVED IT.

Guess what movie we saw? We finally got to see "Courageous." And, oh my goodness, you just don't stop crying! They packed a lot of emotion into that movie. If you haven't seen it, you need to go see it! It is one of the best you'll see. And, the best part of my birthday is really the best part of my life...I have a husband and my children have a father that is "courageous." I kept thinking that during the whole movie--Justin lives up to being the leader of our family that the movie is challenging men to be. He loves God more than anything and that flows into loving and cherishing his family. I will follow him anywhere, because I know he is following God anywhere. I know that I can trust Justin because he trusts in his Savior, Jesus Christ. That is the BEST birthday present ever. I thank God everyday for giving me this man of courage. Thanks for a great birthday, Justin!

Veteran's Day

Justin and I have been wanting to get to know our neighbors, because sadly, we only know the retired Chinese couple that live right next door to us. We think they are GREAT neighbors and have even gone out to eat with them before and will often go over to their yard/house and chat. But knowing only one neighbor is kind of sad! So, we devised a plan to at least be able to knock on their doors and introduce ourselves without seeming too weird. We decided to "celebrate" Veteran's day by baking and handing out some pumpkin bread and cake pops. The result: we still really only know the Chinese couple!

We did get to meet a family (the dad anyway) that has lived in their house down the street for about a year, though, so maybe we can call that a success? Another house was quite interesting...we met his hand as he held it out to take the goodies. I guess he was not wearing clothes, so he hid behind the door:) And finally, we got the same response as we always do with the house right next door on the other side. We briefly talked to the mom and then left. We've tried to get to know them a few other times, but I don't think they really want to get to know us. Too bad, because they have two little kids that Jordan loves to talk to over the fence and always asks to play with. I guess we can just keep trying and not give up.

Here's a picture of us getting the goodies ready. Don't expect to be receiving any cake pops from me in the future...I will NOT be making these again!

New Nieces Coming Soon!

My brother and sister-in-law are in the process of adopting two little girls from Uganda and are selling t-shirts, along with other items like children's bows, to help raise money for their expenses. They already brought home our newest nephew in May. So, if you haven't heard (though most of you that read this blog also read theirs!), go ahead and check out their site http://www.hopeshirts.blogspot.com/ and get your cool stuff today! You have to order shirts by Wednesday, I think, so you only have one week left.

Jordan Reading

Jordan is reading her -an family book to daddy. She learned the -at family last week, and yesterday was introduced to the -an family. She has also learned a few sight words that are in each little book. I'm not sure how much of her reading is actually reading and how much she is just memorizing!

Month 6

Okay, I'm posting this month's picture/update a bit late! I reached six months on Oct. 20th. I kept wanting to get a "good" picture taken, but it never happened. So, here's one that Jordan took! She loves to take pictures, and she did a pretty decent job.

At 6 months, my belly seems to have popped out over night. I finally got out my maternity clothes and I've been gaining lots of weight! I want to eat all the time, but my stomach has much less room...it's quite the predicament!

We haven't committed to a name yet, but we only have one that we're thinking of. It's the same one we thought of when we were pregnant with Jordan if she would have been a boy. We can't wait to tell you what it is once we finally decide! However, if you ask Jordan, she will be more than happy to tell you!

I've started dr. appointments every 2 weeks now. And, it's now standard routine to get a 2nd sonogram at around 30 weeks, so I'm going next week on my birthday to see our little boy again. Pray that it goes well, because they spent quite a bit of time looking at the heart at the first sonogram and they didn't get the view they wanted so they'll be checking it again this time.

So far, this pregnancy has been the easiest for me. No swelling, acne, or constant heart burn like I did with Jordan; no headaches like I had with Rylie. The hardest part has been the first trimester when my hormones were a wreck (my poor husband!). At least that part has been over for several months!

Looking forward to meeting our newest addition, but also cherishing the time before that happens!

Preschool at Home

I found this great site The Moffatt Girls where I found a ton of great curriculum for Jordan. I was getting stuck on what to teach her because a lot of stuff that I was finding was more for maybe 3 year olds, stuff that she already knows. So, schooling kind of took a back seat for the past month or so. But when I found this site, I was excited to get started again. This week, we started our first lessons with sight words (I, and, the, a, see) and word families (-at family). The information for this unit is supposed to be for one week (or maybe two) but it will take us much longer. This is because we're only doing "school" 2, maybe 3, times a week. I've learned that I have to be flexible, especially when I have Dr. appointments (which, by the way, have started occurring now every 2 weeks...yikes, we're getting close to having #3!) and other things that come up each week that will throw our schedule off. Speaking of schedule, I've been thinking and planning hard to find one that works for us, and I think I've finally got one! Just in time for it to be completely changed when baby brother arrives!

Anyway, here it is in case you care!

6:00-7:00-- Get up and make Justin's lunch and have a quiet time before girls wake up (not always great at getting up early, but trying to be).

7:00-7:30--Girls wake up and we get some snuggle time.

7:30-8:00--Get dressed and ready for the day.

8:00-9:00--Make and eat breakfast. During breakfast, read from the Bible, practice memory verses, and pray for kids without mommies and daddies. Clean up kitchen.

9:00--Start "school" for Jordan, unless we have a Dr. appointment, gymnastics, other obligation, or "field trip" to the zoo, library, exploration place, etc. We've been saying the Pledge of Allegiance to start us off.

10:00-10:30--Some sort of P.E. type stuff, like practicing gymnastics or going outside to run and play.

After 10:30--school is "over" and we can run errands as needed, like go to the grocery store.

12:00--lunch

1:00--naps for all!

Afternoon--my time to clean house. My goal is to get at least one chore done per day (sweeping and mopping the floor, vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom). Still haven't figured out the laundry yet, though.

After naps--free time to play, do a craft, or do some baking. Girls will often get to watch a video from netflix while I prepare dinner.

6:00--dinner

Here is a picture of our school/craft area. That little table has been, by far, the best kid item we own. Justin's mom gave it to us. By the way, that table is never this clean! I made a little bulletin board this week using a frame and ribbon so we could have a "word wall." Isn't it cute? Now I just have to hang it on the wall.

Halloween

Halloween was a bit different for us this year. The past few years, we've had people over to carve pumpkins, eat pizza, and pass out candy to all the trick-or-treaters. This year, though, the husbands of the women in my Bible study group got to take the kids out trick-or-treating while us women did our service at the Southeast Good Neighbor Center. It was Jordan's (and Rylie's) first time actually trick-or-treating around to houses and it sounded like the dads and the kids had a blast! Sorry, I don't have any pictures of actual Halloween, but I have a few pictures of the kids decorating their pumpkins from earlier in the month.

Trick-or-treating with the cousins

Last night, we walked from my brother's house to the church where Fallyn goes to preschool to do a trunk-or-treat night. The kids had fun dressing up, and the weather was just about perfect. Justin called Jordan a ghetto angel. Rylie was dressed up as some sort of fairy.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

We got to go to the pumpkin patch today as a FAMILY! Jordan is big on saying we are doing things as a family when we ALL participate in something. It was nice that Justin has a week off of school (seminary, not work), so he didn't have to work on homework today. And the day was beautiful! We almost went to a different pumpkin patch, but Jordan remembered coming to this one last year and was very set on going to it again this year. Thank goodness for military discounts, or it would have been a pretty expensive day!

Love this next picture:)