Look Who's 2!

Our little Joshie is now 2! He is such a ham and so much fun to be around. It was so fun to see his excitement today whenever someone would mention his birthday. We had fun watching him open his present from the family and from Spring. Spring wanted to buy him a present just from her. She was so cute taking a long time to pick out the perfect mathbox car for him. We also had such a good laugh as he tried to open his card from Aunt Alanna. He also loved his balloons. Mary chose his birthday dinner of cheese stuffed shells and Spring chose his cake, Texas Sheet Cake and chocolate ice cream! He was happy with all of it. It was a fun evening and it is fun to see the kids get excited for him. They were talking about one of the coolest things of having a big family is there are so many birthdays to celebrate.

Some of our favorite things about Joshie right now:

*We love the way he says "car." We even got it on one of the videos.

*Whenever we are going to cross the street he will look both ways a few times and then

looks up at us saying, "No cars" shaking his head.

*He gives the best hugs and kisses.

*He will call for me from his room when he wakes up in the morning. I will go up to his room

to get him but he will not let me pick him up out of bed. He has to climb out of his bed by

himself.

*He loves cars and carries handfuls of them wherever he goes.

*He loves taking his turn to read scriptures at night as he tries so hard to repeat after us. We

love to hear him try to say words like "commandments", "abominations", and "wherefore."

*He loves to wrestle and he can take down any of the kids with relative ease.

*He can hardly wait to get to nursery but he will only let Mary take him to nursery. The two

of them head off together after Sacrament hand in hand and they always make it there

somehow!

*He absolutely loves the library. He loves his storytime, singing songs, and playing with the

train set at the library.

*We love this sweet boy that brightens up our home. He is a blessing from heaven to us.

Seeing some of our Country's History

We had the wonderful opportunity to meet up with my parents for a couple days this past weekend in Washington DC. We went to Arlington on Friday. We were able to go on a tourmobile of Arlington National Cemetery. We learned a lot of the history of this wonderful place. We were able to see the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This was an incredible experience. How grateful I am to the men and women who have served our country and given their lives for the freedom we enjoy each and every day. These grounds are hallowed and the reverence they expect and receive is well deserved. We also saw the Iwo Jima War Memorial. After a few hours in Arlington we went to downtown Washington DC. I never thought I would ever be this close to these places. We didn't get many pictures but we were able to see the Capitol building, the Washington Monument, Lincoln Monument, Jefferson Monument, and many other landmarks and buildings in downtown DC. Thomas and Spring especially loved seeing these places that they have learned a little about in school.

The following morning we went to Gettysburg. We went on an auto tour of the battlefields of Gettysburg. My mom had done a lot of reading and researching of this time period so it was great to have her teach us and tell us so much about what had happened. I only wish I had paid more attention when I was in school. I was in awe of how large this area is and as we learned of the thousands of citizens that died in this great battle I was again full of gratitude and respect for these wonderful people who were willing to give their lives for a cause they believed in. We really are so blessed to live in this great country.

It was a fast weekend as we headed back home Saturday evening to be at church Sunday morning but how grateful we are to have been able to spend this time with my parents and with our children. I am grateful we have the opportunity to see some of these places that I have always thought I would only see in photographs.

Waiting for the Bus

Yesterday while we were outside waiting for Thomas and Spring to come home from school the kiddos were riding their bikes. Now, Joshie for some reason is fascinated by riding Mary's pink and purple bike even though he has a blue and yellow one! Hopefully he will outgrow that soon. Joshie and Mary also were taking turns taking Scout on a walk. I love the look on Joshie's face as he is walking with Scout. He is so proud of himself. There were a few times when he dropped the leash and it was hilarious to watch his little legs run as fast as they could until he had the leash in his hands again. Sammy also loves riding the big bike now. I love to see their excitement when they see Thomas and Spring after school. They rush to them and almost tackle them with loves. It's crazy for the first few minutes after school as the excitement level and noise level increase tenfold; however, I love having them all home together again.

Popcorn Popping at our Home

Joshie has a new favorite song..."Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree." He walks around the house singing it during the day. When we go to Target as soon as we walk in the door he turns my head towards the Cafe and starts singing this song because he wants me to get him popcorn. Tonight we decided to record his sweet singing with the song. Joshie really seems to be growing up and becoming such a big boy and not our baby lately. We love his sweet smile and all the fun things he is learning and discovering each day. I love being a mom.

A Sunday Afternoon Nap

Joel is taking an unusual Sunday afternoon nap right now. It has been months since he has done this. The kids and I decided to have a little fun while he was sleeping. He is still asleep so we will see how long it takes for him to discover our "handy"work after he wakes up.

Pictures from the Womb

I had a routine check-up yesterday morning and my doctor was concerned because I was continuing to measure on the small side. I was not concerned because this is very normal for me; however, she wanted me to go in for an ultrasound that afternoon. So, Joel met the little ones an I for the ultrasound a few hours later. I am so glad we were able to do this. The lady doing the ultrasound was wonderful and we saw so many great shots of our little one. It was confirmed that there is NO doubt we are having a little boy. Towards the end of the ultrasound she asked if we had ever had a 4D ultrasound and we hadn't so she asked if we would like her to get some shots of the baby for us. It was incredible! It was so fun to see our little boy's face. His cute little hand was right up against his face and we just could not get him to move it. The doctor confirmed that the baby is growing just fine and there is no cause for concern. We are even more excited now to welcome this little boy into our family in a few short weeks.