fall overview (August-November 2014)

We told the kids we were expecting a baby by framing a photo from my first doctor/ultrasound visit. The younger kids had a hard time figuring out what it was, but Burke got it right away. It was really fun to see how excited they were.

Order up!

Burke receiving several awards at a court of honor:

The Andelin family moved to Chandler in August and stayed with us for a few months. The kids loved having their cousins around to play with.

They came right after I started feeling sick which was great timing as we REALLY appreciated all of the help we received! Sue took on more and more responsibility as I got feeling worse and worse in September. She did all sorts of things like help make school lunches, drive my kids to and from school, laundry, cooking, etc. etc.  We joked about Sue being my "sister wife" as she and Rob made a great team keeping everything running and even packing us up to move!  

The fantastic brother/sister duo!

 It was tough to move from our Elmwood home, but we got a great deal on a one-story home that I can picture living in forever. I miss many things about this place--CENTRAL VAC (but am finally starting to feel more at home here):

Tosh taking a break from packing up boxes:

Liv dressed up as an artist for "Community Helper Day" at kindergarten. She is looking more and more grown up!

This was taken just before leaving for our primary program in sacrament meeting (late October). Liv was really hoping to wear her bunny in this great style she came up with. Also, for the record our primary presidency was released a couple of weeks after the program. I had been the first counselor in primary for about 3 and a half years and now I am an instructor in the Relief Society (fourth Sunday--Teachings for our Times). 

This is a really cool thing Tosh brought home from school. Made me chuckle:

Speaking of Tosh, we chopped his mop off (his request)! He looks like a different kid.

We carved pumpkins for family home evening the Monday before Halloween which was fun (but too early as it was hot and they started rotting before Halloween hit just a few days later). 

All of the kids were really good at cleaning out their pumpkins:

Cool jack-o-lanterns! 

Tosh wanted to be "Steve" from Minecraft for Halloween. Aunt Sue is the best and helped him make the coolest costume out of a box and paint samples! 

The finished product:

Liv was a mermaid fairy:

Burke and I laughed about this candy he received--clearly leftover from Valentine's Day! Poor Robbie...

Liv was listening to some of Rob's music one night (after our neighborhood festival--thus the face paint) and when she heard a song with me singing said, "You sing, Mom?" Where has she been? Ha!

Liv and August taking a rest while playing outside:

Silly cuties:

Probably the best thing about our new home is that it is across the street and next to HUGE fields! It's like living on several acres of grass that we don't have to mow or take care of! The kids have spent so much time playing outside and it's fantastic!

I just had to document this event as it is likely to never happen again--simultaneous foot rubs by Tosh and Burke!

On "Auntie Duty" one day with Kiefer and August:

Liv missed a day of school due to an ear infection in November. After going to the doctor we went to Subway before picking up her prescription. Liv was super excited (she loves Subway!) and toward the end of her lunch she said, "When we're done eating can we talk here for a little bit?" She is such a sweetie. I just love and appreciate having a little girl.

Rob took Liv's training wheels off one night in November. He simply came in and announced that I should come outside and see Liv. She was such a pro--she can ride and pose (smile) at the same time!

I discovered this gem while going through a stack of Hewitt's school work; the assignment was "Draw the superhero you would like to substitute in your classroom." I can't get enough of Hewitt's drawings (and I love how much he likes to read!):

hewitt turns ten!

Hewitt turned ten on the 2nd of October. He is such a sweet and wonderful kid. We feel so lucky he is in our family. 

We had a birthday party after fall break was over. We decided to go with a "Nerf" theme:

Aunt Sue helped set up all sorts of sweet stations for the kids. We used various things such as little figures, plastic cups, moving boxes, balloons, etc. as part of the shooting range:

According to Rob, Tosh actually had a the best shot (got the most points) of all the boys! Grandpa Pete would be so proud!

Cute little August taking a turn behind one of the barricades:

The party turned out great and the boys had a great time. We sure love Hewitt!

fall break in california (october 2014)

It's been so long since I've blogged that I almost forgot we spent a week in California during fall break in October. We stayed at a resort in Escondido, CA and spent a few days at the beach. Here are some photo highlights:

Tosh's moppy hair made for the perfect "surfer" look:

 Me looking pregnant!

 

 

We were there over conference weekend and went to the Mormon Battalion site in San Diego after watching conference on Sunday. We enjoyed the visitor's center and Burke and Tosh were happy to assist in the presentation:

We all look a little somber about 'joining the battalion' except Tosh who is always up for an adventure (ha!):

Panning for gold:

We had our monthly video conference call with all of the Dunnings while we were there. The kids were excited to sing the song they wrote for their cousins: 

Air Hockey at the resort: 

Playing Phase 10 Dice in the hotel room (one of our very favorite games):

Post tennis scooter ride:

 The resort had all sorts of pools and a big, cool water slide. Catching some shots at the bottom:

It was a fun trip and wonderfully relaxing!

oh baby!

We got some pretty big news on July 7th of this year:

It's an awfully long (and personal) story, and I still don't feel quite right about sharing it all on here, but... In a nutshell, I felt a strong feeling at the end of May while we were in the temple that there may be another child to join our family.  It was very surprising, yet I knew two things for sure-- the feelings came from my Heavenly Father, and that it would be a great blessing in my life (should I chose to accept).  Rob was shocked when I shared these things with him (I mean, we were done. done. having kids). I joked that maybe this was just an Abraham/Issac situation and that the Lord maybe wanted to just test us to see if we were willing to align our will with His, and test our faith. Well, we decided to take a leap of faith and leave a very small window of opportunity open and needless to say, I was pregnant within a couple of weeks. There have been so many feelings, fears, emotions, doubts, as well as moments of peace and confirmation, etc. associated with this experience. I'm not kidding that this has probably required more faith than any other decision I have personally made.

I am now almost 30 weeks along and it is still slowly sinking in-- we are really having another baby!?!

The nausea started around week 7 and got worse until it finally eased up around week 18. That was a really rough time in bed, but we all survived (thanks to the help of Rob, my SIL Sue, and good friends that brought in many dinners).  I actually threw up less than any other pregnancy (which was a miracle, really), but I think it was because I just stayed in bed to avoid throwing up constantly.

At week 12 I took a blood test and found out we were having a boy! The feelings I had in May seemed very specific about the child being a girl, so that was also a bit shocking and I have to admit to feeling really guilty about crying about the results (I REALLY wanted to give Liv a sister and I was questioning my personal revelation skills!). When Rob and I had a chance to talk about it in private later that evening, he got a little emotional (rare) and shared with me that he had felt very strongly that we were doing the right thing and he had felt confirmation that we were supposed to have this baby. When I asked him why he hadn't shared this with me before (it seemed like he was just going along with the feelings I had received), he simply said, "Probably because you needed to hear it today." I have felt at peace from that moment on. We've been blessed with some pretty terrific boys I must say, so I consider it a great privilege to raise another son even though we now have SEVEN more pinewood derby cars in our future.

I started feeling better at the beginning of October. Here is my little baby bump at week 17:

Ultrasound at week 19:

Yesterday I was wide awake from 4-6AM and decided to get the baby's room put together. We got a smokin deal on some furniture from our friend's neighbor and I went to Lowe's and picked out paint (to cover the ugly red/brown wall) and had the painting done by last night. Liv and I washed the bag of newborn clothes and have everything put away in the dresser and ready to go.  Here is some of the room so far:

We still have 10 weeks to go, but getting ready now is making me feel excited and is also a great distraction too.  I grateful that everything seems completely healthy and normal with the baby (and me). I'm fairly certain that mid-March will be here before I know it!