Thanks Dad

I talk to my dad about once a week. However, I don't get to call him whenever I want or have the chance to see him every now and then like most other people can with their parents. When we talk it is via skype, contingent on my dad's choppy internet connection in Iraq. It is better than nothing; we are very grateful to see him at all.

My dad recently sent pictures and I chose two to post. It is so peculiar to see him in a country so different and isolated while we enjoy our lavish homes with flushing toilets and air conditioning. It's unimaginable to me that for many people, this is normal life. Not only that, but it also very sad. The horrible things that we hear about happening over there (and we still don't even get many details) make me so grateful that I was born in America. It is a true luxury that is easy to take for granted.

On Memorial Day amidst the BBQs and pool parties, take a second to reflect on the people that gave their lives so we can enjoy ours as free people.



Waiting for his ride.



This is where he lives. The far door on the right. Surrounded by concrete barriers. Looks fun, huh?

The Funny Guy

I tried talking to Ty about the baby in my tummy today. He completely doesn't get it. He pointed at my tummy and said, "Big one." Yes Ty, it is huge.

He really cracks us up with the things he says, and of course his little voice is the cutest ever. The phrases I hear the most are:
"Dis way" - When he wants someone to follow him.
"Watch dis" - When he does some sort of trick or something.
"I turn!" - When he thinks it's his turn...which is always.
"Kick it" and "sotter" (soccer) - He loves balls.
"Get it" - Like we fetch or something.

His favorite things to do are throw and kick balls, "fisbee", play "ow-side", watch the garbage truck, wrestle with anyone (especially Macie), dig in the dirt, play guitar, sweep the floor, squirt spray bottles, and see/play/talk about all kinds of trucks and buses. Last weekend Josh took him to the speedway to watch a friend race his baja truck. Sadly I didn't send the camera along, but Ty had so much fun and loves to talk about it. "Cutch (truck- this is the only word he totally says wrong) fall down. Cutch cash (crash). Cutch fast. Cutch big. Etc, etc.



Playing some tunes on the ukulele.

It's amazing to me how rough and tumble he is, yet the next minute he is wearing Macie's shoes around the house. He really likes his mama and gets jealous anytime Josh hugs me, has his arm around me, or lays down next to me. It's kind of funny because he starts to fake-cry every time. It won't be so funny anymore if he doesn't like new baby sister getting all of the attention. Yikes!

I tried to do a simple video interview of my buddy in the backyard and this is as good as it gets. Life is busy when you're 20 months old. Ty's exit at the end is what I typically see these days...his little legs running away from me as fast as he can.

A Little Help Here

I'm starting to feel stressed. I had a doctor's appointment today (36.5 wks) that went fine. However, the news that I am dilated 2 cm put me into a panic. I do contract all the time and dilated early with my other kids as well, but I was always more prepared by this point. When the doctor says, "I'll see you next week, if not before that at the hospital," then you know you're reaching the end. Gee, I guess I should pre-register at the hospital. We don't even have a name picked out, let alone a list a mile long of things I need to do. The frustrating part is some things I have no control over and I don't know what to do about it. (I know, that's very vague.) So yes, I am slightly panicked. Josh and I have ZERO names that we both like. Please help me out and give us some girl name suggestions. At least one. Por favor! 

A Little Bit of Lately

This is not a very exciting post about anything specific, just a few random pictures from the last little bit. I'm horrible at getting the camera out and taking pictures these days. I'm sure it will only get worse once we have another little baby around. Only 6 weeks left by the way...yikes!



Josh has been doing a lot of studying the past several months. We didn't see him much for a while. This is the reason he spends study time at the school, not at home.



My kids at the county fair. This was right after their pony ride.



My buddy loves to play "moo-sit" on my mom's keyboard. And wear her shoes.



Isn't he so handsome? He's always happy. Ty also likes to climb up to the desk and play "pewter".



Macie is great at coming up with all sorts of poses. She likes to do fashion shows where my sister dresses her up and takes lots of pictures. They are hilarious. I'll have to post one of her fashion show slideshows one of these days. If I remember.

She Had A Birthday Shout Hoo-ray!

I always say this, but I can't believe how fast my little girl is growing up. Macie is now a full-fledged girl of four. I rarely backtrack, but I didn't want to skip what was probably the biggest event of the year for her. All month long discussions seemed to include her birthday and it was taking FOR-EV-ER to arrive. Here's a brief re-cap:

Her actual birthday was March 20th, and we celebrated early with a quick trip to Disneyland.



Macie and Ty with Princess Jasmine. Yes, Ty has a black eye.



Josh took the kids on the teacups and they loved it. I could hear Ty yelling, "weeeeeeee, weeeeeeee" the whole time. And by the way, the little guy was almost not invited for the trip, but I'm glad we took him because he was SO good and had a great time.



March 20th, approximately 7:30 AM. She ran in our room and asked, "Is today really my birthday?!?" This was the response. I love it.



We had a small party at the park in the afternoon, meaning my sister made the cupcakes and a few friends were invited. It was GREAT because I didn't have to decorate, entertain, or do any other hard work like that. The kids played and ate strawberry cupcakes. Here's several of the friends waiting patiently for a cupcake. Macie wanted to wear her crown and I love it.

I tell Macie all the time that she is growing up too fast. She tells me all the time that she has to keep growing up so she can be a mom. I guess she's right, because being a mom really is the greatest joy.

The Most Handsome Dentist I've Ever Seen

We stopped by to see Josh in action at his dad's office. He and his dad both did some fillings on each other. It was Josh's first time working outside of school, so I decided to make it a family visit. The best part about the whole office was my conversation with Macie on the way there. She had lots of questions like, "Why does Drandpa have tavities? He doesn't brush his teeth?" and "Will Daddy wear his white coat? Do I have tavities?" etc, etc. She knows too much about dentistry for a 3-year-old if you ask me. I love her interested face in the background here.

Macie really liked her dad checking her teeth. Plus, she gets to keep the disposable mirror afterwards so that's always a bonus.

Ty wanted to sit in the chair and have his own mirror, so Josh took a look in his mouth too. He only has 8 1/2 teeth so it didn't take long, which is good, because he only thought it was funny for a minute and then wanted down. I'm sure he's the cutest patient they've ever had.

This is not related, but it's super cute. Ty loves to give hugs. He always wants to hug other kids (or tackle them). He is generally a happy little guy so it's pretty easy to get smiling pictures. Sitting still is another story. 

My Little People

I was playing on the floor with the kids this morning, our usual post-breakfast pastime, and it went something like this:

Macie: Put this trown (crown) on Mom so you tan be the tween. Pretend I'm the princess and I live over there. (She points to the entry way.) But now I'm here in your land. Say, "Who is that dirl in my land?"

Me: Who is that gorgeous princess that came to visit me?

Macie: Hi it's me, Princess Aurora. Is this Unitorn (unicorn) Land?

Me: Sure. Do you want to live in Unicorn Land with me? You can be my daughter and I can be your Mommy.

Macie: Oh yes! I love Unitorn Land. It's my favorite. 

Me: Well what land do you come from?

Macie: The land over there, um....that one.

Me: Did you live by yourself in your land? Who else lived there? Will they miss you?

Macie: I lived with, um...Heavenly Father. He won't miss me.

I love this girl. 

And so I don't leave out my little buddy, he had a cute moment the other day worth noting. He is really becoming quite the communicator. His language is really developing and he tries to repeat most things I ask of him. It's great to have him telling me what he wants with his voice instead of signing it, because he adds great little inflections as well. For example, when he says 'please' it comes out in a really high voice saying 'pees.' It is the cutest thing I've ever heard. 

Whenever Ty hears me come in the door after being gone he starts screaming "Ma! Ma!" over and over and comes running to get me. I usually stand there and wait because I love to hear him yelling my name with excitement and his little feet padding across the tile as fast as they can. It is one of my favorite things about my little boy. The other day I came in and, like usual, I hear him start calling me and running to the door. Except this time was different. He rounded the corner, saw me, and stopped and stared for a second. Instead of running up to me for a hug he yelled, "NAAACK!" and turned the corner and was gone. Apparently I came home during snack time and he was letting me know. 

I love this little dude.

So Yeah, It's True

I have returned from my blogging hiatus for a brief moment. I'm not going to upload dozens of pictures from the holidays or fill the world wide web in on all the aspects of my life. I find a journal more suitable for personal details, not the internet. Anyway, I am digressing. My real reason for this quick post is to end the rumors and suspiscions. I would now like to make the following statements: 

- Yes, I am pregnant. We are having a baby girl in June. I am 19 weeks along and feeling so very tired. 

- Yes, Ty and the new baby will be less than two years apart in age (21 months). 

- Yes, that fact scares me to death. 

- Yes, this new baby will arrive about three years earlier than planned, give or take a few months. 

- No, we don't have any names picked out. We will probably start thinking about that in late May when we have time.

- No, I have no clue how I will juggle three little children. Did I mention the thought frightens me?

- Yes, we are excited at the idea of having a new baby added to our family. Having a newborn in your home feels like a piece of heaven (when they aren't crying of course). We feel very blessed.

- Yes, Macie is excited beyond belief. She has great questions and thoughts all the time about the new baby. She wants to name her Diamond. Ty has no clue, of course, and most likely won't until we bring his new sister home from the hospital. 

Bunch O' Stuff

I am backtracking a bit to give a condensed recap on the month of October:



Macie rode her first ferris wheel. She was very adamant that she wanted to give it a try. I thought she would get scared, but much to my surprise she walked right in with Josh and my mom, and waved to me and Ty every time they came around.



This is what Ty did while we waited.



Amanda, one of my best friends from high school, came to Vegas for our 10 year reunion. I've missed her. We partied like it was 1999...and then I was sick for a week and half.



Our cute kiddos: Elizabeth, Macie and Ty. The girls had so much fun together.



My friend Erin (in the back on the left) put together an awesome party. I almost didn't make it because of all the other things I had going on, but I'm so glad I had a chance to go. Josh was home studying (what a nerd) so it completey felt like high school days all over again. It was fun to see everyone and hear about their lives. Pretty much everyone looked the same, which I didn't expect. How can we be 10 years older if we all look the same? The best part was that all of the boys, when put together in the same room again, still acted immature. Some things never change, or cease to be entertaining. Maybe we will see you again, good old Bonanza, in 10 more years.



When Halloween rolled around I was surprisingly ready for it to be over. I think we had Halloween overload this year (probably only me). Here is my festive witch. She insisted that she was a good witch, and a purple one.



And my handsome ducky. This was Macie's costume 2 years ago and it is still adorable. He didn't want to wear the duck feet, but didn't mind the rest of the costume. What a sport.



I threw a Halloween party for Macie's little friends. Macie doesn't go to preschool and all of her friends do, so I knew she wouldn't have a party to go to like most other kids. She is old enough to be excited about Halloween and I thought it would be fun to have a festive party. By the time you count up her friends and a few little siblings, I had over 10 little kids in my house. They had a great time and I'm glad we did it, but once is enough for me in this lifetime. Aren't they a cute looking bunch?



These were their take-home goodies. A Halloween cup filled with popcorn and a few toys. Boo for me, the no-candy lady.



All of the cousins on Halloween night: Ty (ducky), Sadie Roses (little Red), Gus (Gus-Gus the mouse), Bella (Barbie fairy), Macie (the purple witch). The kids enjoyed trick-or-treating and hanging out with friends from our old ward.



Family picture at the Bulloch's house.



Josh's pizza smile. Your welcome.



And finally, don't be fooled by this innocent face. The best word to describe Ty is crazy. I knew he would give me a run for my money and he is living up to that in every way. Every single day he does something even sneakier than the previous. I love my crazy guy to pieces though.

Birthday Boy Turns 28

Happy birthday to the best looking man I know! I captured a rare moment snapping a picture when Josh took a nap today. He works hard and crashes hard. Love you Josh!