Baby Time!

                                                        




The Saturday before I went into the hospital the boys washed the car to get ready for their new baby sister.  

These past couple of weeks have been so long waiting for the baby to get here.  Now she is here! I went into the hospital on Monday night and she was born the next morning, Tuesday May 12th at 11:16am.  The delivery went smoothly, except the epidural only working on my right side, so I guess i can say I had a half natural birth. She was delivered only about 30 minutes after getting the epidural so it wasn't that bad. I am definitely glad to be home and grateful to have her finally here. The boys adore her. The first morning she was home they came first thing in the morning to see if she is awake yet. It is definitely fun having a girl! 

So I did not have to take the dog with us after all. My mother-in-law called the morning that I was leaving and said that she would take care of it while we were away. It was so nice of her to do that for us. We had an enjoyable weekend in St.George it was our last getaway before Jason starts his new job and before the baby comes. 

The boys had fun camping and I met them at the condo and they were able to clean themselves off in the pool. Yes swimming, it was a beautiful day. The next day we went up to Zion's and took the bus tour through the park and got out at various spots for hiking. It rained off and on, so the boys complained that there feet were cold, but they had to step in every puddle they came across. 

Spring Break!

We are having a fun spring break, so far!  We started out by having a fabulous relaxing weekend watching general conference. The talks were so inspiring. It made us feel so grateful for all that we have. My favorite talk was by Elder Holland on the Atonement. 

The boys have had two Easter egg hunts this week. The first was across the street from my in- laws, an annual Easter egg hunt from our old ward. The other was with our ward at a nearby park. The weather was beautiful both days. The boys even got a little sun burned! 

I also forgot to mention that 2 weekends ago while visiting my parents and siblings, I was talked into getting a dog! My sister Julie mentioned before we went down that her friends had a dog that they wanted to give to us. I wasn't sure I wanted the responsibility, being 5 weeks away from having a baby! But the boys wanted him sooo badly and he is a really good dog, I decided to bring him home. His name is Ron. We thought of changing it, but the boys were sure that we could not, so it is still Ron or as they call him Ron Ron or Ronny. 

Jason left this morning to Zion's to take the boys camping. They went with Grandpa Abbott in his big truck. They were so excited, I was also excited for them and also for me, I get a day to myself. I will be meeting up with them tomorrow in St. George. And yes I am taking the dog, wish me luck on our first trip with the dog.  

                                               

                                                Cade, Josh and Luke in Grandpa's Truck.

March Update!

I had my baby shower a few days ago. It was soo nice, lots of great desserts, a very cool diaper cake, and many friends. I am so grateful for those who had a hand in putting it together. I could not have asked for anything more. I received so many cute clothes, quilts , hair bows and two very sheik wipes containers. It is a blessing being surrounded by so many talented people that can create such fun things for little girls!  Oh, and I also received new bedding, which I was totally surprised. I had picked it out and mentioned it to Rachelle, but to my surprise family and friends purchased it for us and I already have it in her room. I will have to post pics later of the shower and baby's room when it is done.

A belly shot for my sister Tracy!

Cade and Josh also finished up their first season of basketball. It was a lot of fun watching them play they really enjoyed it. They looked forward to every practice and game! Josh ended the season with fun treats and a medallion his coaches gave him. Cade ended with a swim party at his coaches house (thanks Troy and Deidra), with pizza, cake and trophies.

Cade also lost his two front teeth this month. He was very excited about it. One tooth had been dangling for awhile and Cade would not let any of us touch it. We went over to Jon and Rachelle's one evening and after talking to his Uncle Jon for a couple minutes Cade let him pull it right out!  We still don't know what he said to him. 

Track Break!

Cade and Josh have been on track break for a couple of weeks now. They have enjoyed being out of school. We have set up lots of play dates, went to kids club at the mall, park, visited grandmas, etc. I have even been making them help me rearrange furniture upstairs, since I can't move anything heavy right now, they have been good little helpers! We moved Cade into his own room! We'll see how that goes. The boys have all been sharing a room, but it is getting too crowded, so he is excited to get his own room and Josh is excited to get to sleep in the top bunk. Everybody's happy!
We also had a lot of fun last weekend, my sister Laura and her family came to stay with us. She has triplets, that are 5 years old. The kids had a blast playing together. We had our primary activity at 8:00 Saturday morning and Cade and Josh's basketball games, we went to Boulder City and had lunch, fed fish at Lake Mead and also took the kids to the park.Jason and Steve even found time to go cycling with the deacons from our ward. I taught Relief Society on Sunday so by the time Sunday afternoon came we were all pretty tired so it was nice to come home and relax on the couch, while watching an exciting Superbowl game!

Luke's Big Milestones!

Luke is officially becoming a "Big Boy!" There have been big changes for Luke these past few months. In November right before the holidays I decided to take Luke in for his first real big boy haircut. He went from his long curls to a short wavy do. A good friend Janie cut it in her salon, we thought he would do better there, but he cried most of the time. I had to have him sit on my lap, so by the end, we were both covered in hair. I guess it was needed, but i really miss 

his long locks!

           Before And After Pics!

We are also on our fourth day of potty training, Yeah!!!! It is so exciting! I tried pull ups a few weeks ago and he kept right on peeing in them, they have never worked for me, so straight to the underwear and not one accident during the night! He loves his big boy underwear and being able to go like his big brothers. Whenever he has a friend come over he asks if they want to see him go pee-pee in the toilet, they usually decline his request. Although the peeing has been going fabulous, he has yet to poop in the potty, hopefully soon! 

He actually went pee in the potty a few months ago for the first time and it happened to be the day after his haircut. Jason attributes his haircut to him thinking he is a big boy. Although I don't think so,  it was because his cousin Colt was over going potty so he wanted to go with him but once he left the interest was gone and I was too busy with the holidays to push the issue. I am just grateful he is going before the baby gets here!

Catching Up!

First Day of School
Okay so it has been a few months, and since sooooo much happens in the fall i need to go back to their first day of school at the end of August.

Cade and Josh were both so excited. Especially Josh! I was not nearly as nervous as last year, since I knew what to expect and had already been through it once with Cade. And Cade had told Josh everything he needed to know about kindergarten. It was also his cousin's Waylan's first day of kindergarten so he was happy about that too. The first day went great it, was the first few days after Josh asked, " I have to go again?" I guess he thought it was a one day deal or something. After a few weeks of adjusting to all day kindergarten, he is doing great!

Cade was also hesitant after a few days because many of his friends from kindergarten were in a different track from him. We switched from being on track 5 to track 2! But, now he has made new friends and is doing great!

Luke also began preschool! It is one a few moms started. The kids rotate once a week to the different houses for a couple of hours of learning and fun. It has been great and something he looks forward to every week.