Josef is getting Big

Eating Outside

The weather was warm enough to eat dinner outside tonight, yippee!

The Little Chickies

Gumdrop Game

I saw this online http://thecraftingchicks.com/2012/02/gumdrop-questions-game-free-printable.html a couple of months ago. I finally bought some gumdrops today, and made a couple of these to take to some friends. I need to make a set for my family, I think it is a fun way to play with the kids, and find out about their day!

Thursday Mornings

I look forward to Thursday mornings all week long. It is my only time all week with just Josef. The morning is usually filled with errands to run, but we always have something for breakfast. It is a time that Josef and I can sit at a table and chat. He is so observant, and comments on different things that he sees. This morning we went to Kneaders, and shared a breakfast sandwich. It is so much fun to spend time one on one with Josef. He is such a well behaved little boy when his brothers aren't around! While we were in line to order our breakfast, we both saw these cute cookies, and decided to take some home for the kids after school. Nothing says Spring like little chicks!

We got all of our running around accomplished, and Josef crashed on the way home. Oh how I adore this little boy. With a new baby coming, I am trying to really cherish this time with my Josef!

Wilson's Recycling Project

All first graders had to complete a recycling project. They had to take something that was going to be thrown away, and make it into something useful. Poor Wilson has a very uncreative mom! I have been gathering up all of the boys ripped jeans, and was planning to cut them off for shorts. I thought, "hey this can be Wilson's project!" It is interesting that 6 out of the 8 pairs of jeans had the left knee blown out, the other two had both knees blown out. I guess Wilson is not only left handed, but left kneed too!

Wilson did a great job helping, and writting his report! It is always a great feeling to have a project finished:)

Quad Screening Blood Test

The results were NEGATIVE for the quad screen blood test. So what does that mean? Now the chance of Aurora having DS is 1 out of 950. All of these tests just frustrate me, because there are no clear cut answers, and since I am 40 there is still the higher risk of having a DS baby. I look forward to the next ultasound to see how her kidneys are functioning, and then I guess we will just wait until she is born. Although this has been frustrating, I am grateful for the continued peace I have felt!

Aurora

It is A LOT more fun to shop for a baby girl than a baby boy! It might be, that for the last 8 years, I have been banished to the small section of boys clothes, granted there are some cute little boy clothes, but NOTHING like there is for girls.

I have done a little shopping for Aurora, and so has my mom, and a few friends.
Yes, there are two Ute shirts (different sizes of course!)...I love it when stuff is on clearance! Hopefully, this little one will be a Ute fan with her mom!

On a more serious note, on Wednesday I went for another ultrasound. I was hoping to walk away with another clear confirmation that this baby is a girl. The baby, I still believe is a girl, because of the last ultrasound did not want to spread her legs like she did the first time. There were still three very distinct lines, and nothing poking out, so until proven otherwise this is still a girl!
They did find that her kidneys are dilated. It is a soft marker for Down Syndrome. Ken and I had chosen not to have the quad screen test, but with encouragement from this doctor I ended up having it done right after the ultrasound. I hate my veins, the phlebotomist blew out the vein in my right arm, two veins in my left hand, and then finally got a vial of blood from my left arm!The results from the quad screen should be back by Wednesday, but all that really does it tell us if we have a higher likelihood of having a baby with DS, so it will not give us a concrete answer. The only way to have a concrete answer is to have an amniocentesis, which at this point I don't have to have done. I am scheduled for another ultrasound on April 5, and hopefully by then her kidneys will not be dilated. The doctor did say that everything else from head to toe look perfect. Since receiving the news about the soft marker, I have had a few difficult moments. I am amazed at the peace that I have felt. I don't know whether it is because Aurora is just fine, or that our home will be blessed with a very choice DS daughter.

Conversations around the House

We have had some interesting conversations around our house lately. Of course, they always include at least one of the boys. I cherish these conversations, and I never want to forget them, so now they are being written!

Holden and mom, right before dinner.
Mom, "Holden, we are having hoagie sandwiches, sweet potatoes fries, and fruit for dinner. What do you want on your sandwich?"
Holden, "I just want a banana!"
Mom, "you can have a banana after dinner, but what kind of sandwich do you want?"
Holden very adamantly, "my teacher said!!!" pause
Mom, "What did your teacher say?"
Holden even more passionately this time, "MY TEACHER AT CHURCH SAID WE ARE FREE TO CHOOSE FOR OURSELVES!!!!! I AM HAVING A BANANA FOR DINNER!!!"
Mom trying to keep a straight face, "you are right, you are free to choose for yourself, but dinner is not one of those choices."
Of course, then we had a lengthy chat about what choices he is free to choose. Holden is one smart cookie!

Wilson and mom when we found out our baby is a girl.
Wilson, "how do you know it is a girl?"
Mom, "girls and boys have different privates."
Wilson, "what?"
Mom, "girls don't have a penis."
Wilson, "won't she grow one?"
Mom, "no, she won't ever grow one. Boys have a penis, and girls have a vagina."
Wilson, "how will she go pee?"
So, from there I some more explaining to do! It will be interesting to have a girl in the house with all of these boys! I am sure my boys will learn a lot from their baby sister!

Wilson and Holden while watching Lion King. When Simba goes back to Pride Rock, and it is destroyed, Holden said, "Wilson it looks like they are having a famine!" I love it when the boys are able to remember and apply something we have learned about in the scriptures to something in their life - I know it was to a movie, but it still helps me know that what they are being taught is sinking into their minds!

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess

Friday would have been Dr. Suess' 106 birthday. Last year, one of my friends had a Dr. Suess celebration with her kids, so this year I decided to do one with mine. The kids get out of school at 1:25pm on Fridays, so it was a perfect way to fill the afternoon!

The kids colored their own Cat in the Hat hat...
I made cool aid playdough...
They had a One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish for a snack...

Wilson made this Cat in the Hat at school, so cute I had to share!

The weather was beautiful, so they ended the afternoon playing outside in the snow and building two snowmen - Ken came home early and surprised us, so he helped with the snowmen!

A Bit of Catching up...

We have had a fun couple of weeks. My mom came to visit for a week for Heidi and Dane's open house (good excuse to come and see us!) It was fun to spend some time with Erin, Blake, Whitney, and Matthew. They are all doing so well. Seeing them reminded me how much I miss them, and makes me excited for July 2013! Ashley was also here, and I loved spending time with her. We went baby fabric shopping with Aunt Becky and my mom. Ashley and I get the fun part of picking out the fabric, and then Aunt Becky and my mom get to sew the quilts! I didn't even take pictures of the really cute fabric for Aurora's quilt! I have been terrible at taking pictures, so there are not many photos to go along with this post.

I do have pictures of us enjoying frites and waffles! We sat outisde and enjoyed them..can you believe that in February?? After a while, we all did start to get cold, and of course Holden was FREEZING!