Picture for Nana!

Here is our family picture with our stockings per Nana's wishes. Nana made both Tanner's and Clark's, while mine was made by my Grandma Carter 26 years ago.

A Very MERRY Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas morning at the Birdhouse. We had a great time opening presents, and Clark just had a blast opening presents from Grandma and Grandpa Nielson as well as my parents and us. His favorite gift was definitely the race car track from Santa. Tanner and I were surprised at the end of present opening by a gift labeled to us from Mom, Dad, Tricia, Dan, Melanie, and Spencer. Tricia and Mel had told me a gift would be waiting for us at my parents house that was their 'thank you' for all the babysitting I have done for them. My parents had Tanner and I for Christmas this year, so they all decided to get us one big gift together. It was a Wii!!! We couldn't believe it, but we were so excited! I don't normally like big surprises on Christmas because it usually means I am getting something like a Michael Jackson poster, but this was a GREAT surprise. Thank you family!

A Very MERRY Christmas Eve

This year we spent Christmas Eve at The Birdhouse. It was kind of nice because it was just us and my parents and Bonna. We are normally busy little bees getting dinner ready all day, but since it was just us we didn't feel hampered by any kind of schedule. I made the rolls and Bonna helped me with the apple pie too. My mom made the rest, and it was YUMMY! We had fun afterwards playing games and having our little Christmas Eve spiritual thought as well.

We also thought it was a good time to announce that we have FINALLY decided on a name for the next little guy...which will be Andrew Douglas Nielson. My dad was a little happy about that. ;-)

Clark got his Christmas PJs to wear...all that was left was for Santa to come! look at those abs of steel!

Gingerbread House

For Family Home Evening tonight, we decided to make a gingerbread house. Clark loved doing it and was actually very creative in his placement of candy around the house. Daddy had to stop mommy from trying to 'fix' everything so that it looked symmetrical. Clark's system was basically eat two, place one on the house. At least the makers of gingerbread houses know that so there was plenty to go around.

Swing Those Hips

Some of you may or may not know this about my husband, but in high school, he was on "The Dance Team". I was pretty shocked when I first found out, but have since seen some actual footage and decided that his masculinity is not in jeopardy. For better or for worse, we usually play 'our kind' of music around Clark...he definitely has some favorites and he definitely likes to swing his hips and even tries to make his own music every once in a while. I don't think he will have any problem making "The Dance Team" in high school do you?

2 AND 30

This is my cute boy at 2 years old. We went for his checkup and he is actually now ON the charts. He is still in the 90s for weight, but has dropped to the high 70s for his height. His belly is getting flatter and Tanner and I are a little bit sad that the baby is disappearing, but we think the little boy that is emerging is pretty darn cute.

This is me at 30 weeks pregnant. Only 10 weeks to go! This is probably one of the last pictures I am willing to post of me pregnant. This is about the time when people stop telling me how cute I look pregnant, and start saying things like "You look SO ready to have that baby"...which is fine, I get it, but just don't expect me to do things (i.e. post pictures of me acne ridden and swollen) that will actually elicit that kind of response. I can honestly say I love being pregnant...for about 10 weeks of it.

Those 10 weeks have now passed.

Connecticut In Review

Melanie and I got to spend the last day together before Clark and I flew out Tuesday night. We went to the mall to shop and the kids had fun playing on the toys in the food court.
Melanie and I talked about her trip and I told her all the good, bad, and ugly stuff from our end. There were a few things I learned from this experience that I expected and some that were unexpected:

Expected

1) Boys are fun...nuff said.

2) TV is a lifesaver...or at least a sanity saver.

3) I enjoy warmer climates.

4) I love helping out my sisters in their time of need, but I also love going home at the end of it too.

Unexpected

1) I will not have a dog in my house until my children are at least in middle school and can take care of it themselves. They are lovely animals, but they are like children, and children are enough for me for now.

2) I keep other people's houses much cleaner than my own, even when I know they won't be coming home for days. What's up with that? I am sure my husband is wondering the same thing. New goal for the new year!

3) It takes an hour to get three kids dressed in snow clothes to go out and play for 30 minutes. Worth it? Yes. Tiring? Yes.

4) You can be in earnest prayer and swear at the same time, but only in an emergency.

Reunions and Goodbyes

Melanie came home Monday night, and I was pretty sure that EVERYONE was excited...everyone except Elliot that is. Elliot had been the chill man all week long, but when she walked in that door, he was clearly not happy with her. For a two year old, he sure knew how to give the cold shoulder. I thought it was funny, but understandably for the mom, it was not. She spent the rest of the night trying to make it up to him, and by the end of the night, he decided to forgive her. If only we could all forgive each other that fast!

I was very happy for Melanie's return for a number of reasons, but mostly to be off of dog duty. Clark was also starting to get to be quite a handful, and the boys had nicknamed him Swiper from Dora since he was always stealing toys from Elliot. I think he was ready to have HIS mom all to himself again. Clark also had to go through pacie detox while we were there because I had only brought one with me, and Toby stole it one night and chewed it into two pieces. I rescued it so I could talk to Clark about it and give the pacie an official send off. I explained while holding a piece of it in each hand that the pacie was "broken" and that we needed to throw it in the trash and say goodbye. Clark was very solemn and I took him over to the trash and I threw one piece away and waited for him to throw the other hard plastic part away when he turned and said "NO!". I let him go back and sit down and he solemnly held and looked at his nonfunctioning pacie for another 5 minutes before he finally got up on his own and walked toward the door where the trash was and said "Mama, door!" I opened the door, and he threw the pacie into the trash and said "Bye Bye Pacie". It was such a cute moment, and I was just hoping he would be okay when he went to go to bed that night. When I put him in bed, he looked at me and said "Pacie!" I said "No, remember it broke, and you threw it in the trash and said Bye bye". He got a big smile across his face, giggled, and went to bed. What a shocker! We had to go through this routine at nap and bedtime for the next couple of days, but he never really cried about it again. So the pacie is gone and guess who I have to thank for it? Toby the dog!

Church and Truisms

I was secretly hoping for a huge storm to hit Connecticut on Saturday night so that I would be spared from going to church, but it was not to be. It actually ended up being quite a pleasant experience. I made sure that Clark and Elliot sat on either side of me with their own toys and their own snacks. I even kind of kept up a barrier (using one of the coats) so they couldn't really see what the other one was doing and get mad that the other had a toy that surely belonged to them. Truman was a very good boy as well, and I didn't have to leave sacrament meeting once!

Throughout the week, Tru had been having a difficult time and was missing his mom and dad quite a lot. After the first couple of days of this, I decided to take a different approach than "Tru, I'm sorry you miss your mom and dad, and they will come home, but it is going to be a long time". I can't believe that didn't work! ;-) Instead, I finally asked him if he thought it would be good to pray to Heavenly Father to help him not to cry. He thought that was a great idea, and every night, he would pray that he wouldn't cry. And he didn't the rest of the time I was there. He is such a faithful little boy! The other thing I loved about Truman is that after dinner every night, he would say "This is the yummiest dinner I have ever had!" I felt quite chuffed about this until after Melanie came home and we were eating pizza at the mall food court and Truman said "This is the yummiest dinner I have ever had!"

Snow Day!

Since it snowed most of Friday, we woke up on Saturday to a blanket of snow outside. The kids eyes were really starting to glaze over from all the tv watching, so I got them all in their snow gear and we went outside and played in the snow. They were all so cute, and Clark had an especially good time since he had never played in the snow before (that he would remember anyway). Even now after being home a few weeks, he will look out the window and say "It's snowing!"...yeah right, keep dreaming son, you live in Florida.

I even got a cute picture of Tru and Elliot that Mel used for her Christmas card. By the end of the day, the snow had melted because I think it got up to a balmy 40 degrees in the afternoon, but we had fun while it lasted!

Play Date and Pumping the Breaks

Melanie has very nice friends. Not only did one of her friends pick up AND drop off Tru on the days he had school, but we were also invited by Mel's friend Kayla to come over to play and have lunch. It was a VERY nice break for me, although I ended up spending a lot of the time rotating between Clark and Elliot who decided they each needed to poop 3 times while we were there. There was a forecast for snow in the late afternoon and Melanie and I had even discussed about how I should leave and get home as soon as I could if it started to snow because it made me very nervous to drive in the snow in a car that was not mine and with two children who are not mine. It started to snow while I was there, but it didn't look like a lot. All of the sudden I stood up, and saw that the snow was sticking to the ground and I started to panic slightly. We rounded up the kids and loaded them into the car. It took me an hour to get home because everyone was being so careful on the roads...which is a nice change...at least CT people know how to drive in the snow. I was .2 miles away from the house, when I came down the last small little hill and I put on the brakes...wait the car is still moving...there is a car up ahead that is stopped to turn right....lean on the brakes harder....still sliding toward car in front...cue the coronary. Luckily, the kids were all asleep in the car so they didn't hear the quiet expletive the squeaked out as I was panicking. All of the sudden I had the thought to pump the brakes (what a novel idea!), but it is actually a scary thing to do when you are sliding toward another car because if you take your foot off the brake you slide faster toward your doom. But I did it anyway, and it worked, and I stopped! Phew...that was a close one. So then, I just had to worry about how I was going to pry my fingers off the steering wheel once we got home.

Zoned Out

This was how we passed a lot of time during the week. The favorites were Dora The Explorer and Little Bear. Thankfully, Melanie had recorded 25 hours of these shows to watch...and I think we watched them all....at least twice.

It was SO COLD outside, and just the thought of getting all the kids dressed warmly and loading them in the car made me tired...remember, I am 7 months pregnant. Meanwhile, I was doing more discipling of Toby the dog than the kids. He likes to chew stuff up...i.e. my slippers, Clark's pacie, and any other toy he could discreetly destroy. We developed a love/hate relationship. I couldn't stand having to constantly monitor his activities during the day, but I enjoyed his company at night once the kids had all gone to sleep and he would lay next to me on the couch.

Advent Bribery

So, one of the ways Mel and I figured we could keep the kids happy while not overtly bribing them was by putting special treats or activities in the advent calendar every day. I woke up on Tuesday and was in the mood for some donuts, and since Melanie was so kind to point out exactly where the Dunkin Donuts was by her house, that was the advent treat for the day. First, we took Tru to his swimming lesson...I guess only in Connecticut is it normal to have swimming lessons when it's 20 degrees outside, but at least it was indoors! The kids were great while we waited for Tru, so on the way home, we stopped off and got our donuts. As you can see, they could barely contain themselves to take a picture before diving in.

Babysitting in CT

I offered to come up to Connecticut to babysit Mel and Spencer's kids (and their dog) while they flew out to San Diego to find themselves a new place to live. We flew in this morning and Spencer and Melanie flew out later on . I really wanted to make a good impression on Truby and remind him how much he loves me! So, we made a big gingerbread house together tonight, but it backfired on me. At one point I could tell he was getting sad. I asked him what was wrong and he said "I miss my mommy". I realized that he is used to doing fun stuff like this with his mom, and there was no way I was going to be able to substitute for that. But, we made the best of it and still had fun. Truby and I did the finishing touches while Clark and Elliot graciously offered to lick the frosting off the beaters.

Clark and Elliot sized each other up pretty quickly, and I realized I was going to be doing a lot of refereeing between these two this week. I loved Toby the dog...on the first day.

O Christmas Tree

After celebrating Clark's birthday, we spent the rest of the evening relaxing and I helped my mom decorate their Christmas tree. I started to get really sad thinking about how I was going to leave to go to Connecticut on Monday morning and we wouldn't have our own tree up and decorated. I didn't want to leave without having my house decorated, because I certainly didn't want to come home on December 11 to a house had no Christmas feel to it. I asked Tanner if we could pick up a tree on our way home Saturday night. We didn't leave until late, and I think we got to Wal-Mart at 10pm to pick out our tree. We actually found a good one, and I was even more excited to decorate it because my mom loaned us her straw ornaments. We spent Sunday afternoon decorating, and I was so happy I got to enjoy the tree if just for one day before I left!!!

Clark's Birthday: Part 3 of 3

Now for the final installment of Clark's Birthday! We spent the weekend up at the birdhouse with Nana, Papa, and Bonna. Tanner, my Dad, and I spent a good hour or so putting together Clark's BIG birthday gift....

He was pretty excited, until he realized that his feet don't reach the pedals all the way, and while Papa's goes all by itself, his requires physical labor. While he waits for his legs to grow longer, he is content to sit on it and pretend to ride it around, and he loves to park it in front of the tv while watching Elmo.

It sure is fun being TWO!

Clark's Birthday: Part 2 of 3

So we celebrated Clark's birthday in Washington, and we had plans to celebrate his birthday with my parents the following weekend, so I wasn't really thinking we would do much of anything on his actual birthday. But Tanner had a different idea and came home from work wondering what happened to the party. I felt sufficiently guilty enough to run to the store and pick up some pizza and a little ice cream cake for the three of us to enjoy. I also couldn't resist the Elmo balloon I saw near the checkout stand.

We had a great time, and Clark was really good at blowing out his candles! When he first saw them lit up he said "Mom, Hot!" like the cake was on fire or something, so I think he felt a great incentive to blow it out so it didn't ruin his dessert. He is also getting the whole opening presents thing down to an art form, although we do have to rush him along since he likes to take his time unwrapping his gifts on tiny little tear at a time. We got him some play-doh and some squishy balls to throw around (that won't destroy anything or hurt anyone). We had a great time playing with his new toys!

Clark's Birthday: Part 1 of 3

The day we left Washington, we celebrated Clark and Brianna's birthdays with the family all together. Brianna's birthday is on November 26th, which is actually kind of kookie because my niece not only shares the same name as my little sister, but the same birthday as well. Clark's is on the 28th, so why not have an early party? The kids decorated cupcakes and Clark and Brianna opened their gifts. Clark got a pair of Spiderman pajamas, winter clothes, and some wooden blocks from Grandma and Grandpa. When he opened the blocks he looked up smiling and shouted "Cool!" Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for the Cool! gifts.

Thanksgiving in Washington

This year we were able to fly out to Washington to see Tanner's family for Thanksgiving! The 5 hour+ flight from our layover in Atlanta to Portland wasn't my idea of fun (or Tanner's and Clark's for that matter), but we knew we would have fun once we got there! While Washington is definitely colder than Florida, it was actually pretty mild with temperatures in the upper 40s most days. The real benefit was that it wasn't cloudy and rainy the whole time, which is always a good thing!

On Sunday, Grandma Nielson was able to come over for dinner and it was great to see her and talk to her. She was so cute with Clark and the rest of the kids and she was especially excited that she is getting two more great-grandkids this coming year.

The little cousins had a blast playing with eachother and with all of Grandma's toys and the Nielson boys even managed to break out the bouncy castle for all the little kids. Clark loved it, and clearly didn't care about the cold weather. Clark also took a particular liking to Emily who is Heath and Stephanie's oldest. He would go and grab her hand and make her go wherever he wanted. She was such a good sport about it, and I have never seen him latch onto another kid like that. Tanner's mom did a fantastic job preparing Thanksgiving, and she let me make the rolls my mom always tasks me to do every year, and I also got to do an apple pie! I really don't consider myself an avid cook or baker, so I have to post my successes in this area whenever they come along for posterity sake. Whenever we visit Tanner's parents, all my meals are supplemented with homemade fudge and rolls. I can pack it down, just ask Tanner's mom. She saw me continously cutting pieces off to eat while we were having girl chat one day. That stuff is yum.

Tanner's mom is also very cute with all of the kids and did such a cute job with family home evening and doing chocolate turkeys on Thanksgiving with them. Clark loved it...shocker there.

The food was great, the company was great...what more could you ask for on Thanksgiving?

Lunch with Dad

Ever since Tanner started work, we have wanted to go meet him for lunch in the park across the street from his office. It is a beautiful park with a lake, a playground, and a "nice fountain" (Carters are all about nice fountains). It has been so hot for so long that we didn't do it until today when it was actually quite chilly out (for Florida anyway). We picked up sandwiches at Panera Bread and walked across the street and sat on a bench by a little pond. Clark had so much fun chasing the ducks and wildlife. Tanner and I had so much fun watching him and it was so nice to just spend 45 minutes with Dad in the middle of the day.

Dad and Clark feeding the birds

Clark met some other little boys while we were there, and they ran around together chasing and feeding the birds. Boys will be boys.

Tuckered Out

Sometimes Clark likes to play for a little while in his room before he decides to take his nap. I don't mind because he does it quietly, and usually, when I go in to check on him, he has climbed into his bed and fallen asleep. Today, however, when I went in...I saw this...

I think his bed is more comfortable.

North Carolina (my other home)

Clark and I have gone to visit Trish and her family twice in the last month, and it has been a blast. The first time was for us to go and see So You Think You Can Dance, which you can read about on her blog...I have nothing to add to her blog since I helped her write it! The second time wasn't really planned until about a week before when her babysitter flaked out on her and she needed to find a babysitter asap to come watch her kids for two days while she went up to NYC with Dan. Enter me (and Clark), stage right. Apparently I am the go-to babysitter for the family in a time of great need (look for me in Connecticut in December!) , and I am happy to do it, until child number 2 shows his face.

I got to BE Tricia for 3 whole days, and it definitely gave me a glimpse into what my life will be like if I end up having 5 kids under the age of 7 (which is SO not going to happen...but not because it wasn't fun because it was...most of the time). I did school runs every morning and afternoon, cleaned up poopy underwear (thanks for that JB), and did homework with two kids every night, which I really enjoyed actually...but I am sure that could wear off after a while. After Carter got home from school one day, I took Clark, Bella, and JB in the red wagon, and we went and watched Carter ride on his bike with no training wheels! Go Carter! They also played in the back yard a lot, and Courtney was so nice to make sure Clark was safe on the slide.



We pretty much just had a blast. The kids also decided that they needed to pile on top of each other every night while I was making dinner, and it was just the funniest thing to watch. They each had to take turns being on the bottom.


My favorite quote from this trip was:

Carter: "Chez, I just love living on Earth!"

Don't we all?

Numbers, Shapes, and Colors Oh My!

Clark knows his numbers 1-10, his shapes, and his colors, although we can really only take credit for the numbers and colors, while a shout out must be given to Baby Newton for helping Clark learn his shapes. He still thinks red is orange and blue is purple sometimes, but we figure that is close enough. He is a pro at green and yellow, and I actually think green is his favorite color because he knows green means GO! when we are in the car. I can't believe how fast kids learn...it makes me wonder what he knows that I don't know that he knows...

I can dance, I can sing...

The videos say it all...

Oh Oh Oh It's Magic!

I have some major blog catch up to do...so here goes...

October 10, 2007

Tanner received tickets from work to go see a pre-season Orlando Magic basketball game. We were so excited to take Clark to his first b-ball game. We had a great time and Clark loved watching the ball and climbing on the seats. He even tried to grab some guy's beer when he wasn't watching!

The Orlando Magic have a very interesting mascot named Stuff...I guess it is some kind of magical creature/dinosaur? Clark loved him, and he was very entertaining.
They came out a couple of times to throw t-shirts into the stands, and between my and Tanner's skillish moves, we caught one!
The magic won the game and we had a great night out together!

Profile

Check out Tanner's attorney profile that was just posted on the firm's website!

Treat!

We originally wanted Clark to be Superman for Halloween this year, but I was unable to find a Superman costume that would fit him in the proper way that would adequately show his bulging biceps. So as I was walking down an aisle in Target trying to decide what to do, all of the sudden, Clark starts pointing and screams out ELMO!!! And he was right, there was Elmo...at least a red furry thing with a Elmo face on it. I just had to get it after seeing Clark's reaction. I got home all excited to try it on Clark, but he would have nothing to do with it ON his body...he just wanted to carry it around with him. So, after days of both me and Tanner wearing the 'Elmo hat' (Clark loves hats, so we figured if we called it something he liked, he might
wear it) around the house, Clark was sufficiently happy to wear it for Halloween. We spent Halloween at my parents' house and went trick-or-treating in a neighborhood close by. It was actually a lot of fun because there were a lot of people around, and it reminded Tanner and I of the 'old days' when everyone would walk the neighborhood with their kids and it was just good clean fun.


Clark really enjoyed ringing the doorbells, and he wanted to go into every house to hang out...especially if he heard a dog inside. We couldn't get him to say trick-or-treat...but he would say "treat!" He would wear the Elmo hoodie for the initial door opening but would inevitably pull it down while standing at the door. The funny part was, he got more of a reaction from people when he would take his hoodie off and people would see his blonde hair underneath! He wanted nothing to do with his trick-or-treat bag, until he saw that people put candy in it...and then he wanted to carry/drag it everywhere. We had a lot of fun!

Conference Weekend

What, am I late?

Yeah, I know I have been a major blogging slacker...but I'm pregnant so back off. (Hey, I can only use that excuse for 9 months so I gotta get it in as much as possible.)

We really enjoyed being able to spend conference with my parents this weekend. The no guilt cinnamon rolls were particularly good, even though I questioned my mom's abilities the entire time. I just didn't think it would be possible that the rolls could be good without the required amount of saturated fat and sugar! But boy was I wrong!

Here are some snippets from my favorite talks.

Elder Boyd K. Packer:
There is the natural tendency to look at those who are sustained to presiding positions, to consider them to be higher and of more value in the Church or to their families than an ordinary member. Somehow we feel they are worth more to the Lord than are we. It just does not work that way!

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin:

Brethren and sisters, as you prayerfully consider what you can do to increase harmony, spirituality, and build up the kingdom of God, consider your sacred duty to teach others to love the Lord and their fellowman. This is the central object of our existence. Without charity—or the pure love of Christ—whatever else we accomplish matters little. With it, all else becomes vibrant and alive.

When we inspire and teach others to fill their hearts with love, obedience flows from the inside out in voluntary acts of self-sacrifice and service. (For those of you who saw him give this talk, you know that watching him give this talk was just as important as listening to his words)

Elder Dallin H. Oaks:
Some uses of individual and family time are better, and others are best. We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.
The First Presidency has called on parents "to devote their best efforts to the teaching and rearing of their children in gospel principles. . . . The home is the basis of a righteous life, and no other instrumentality can take its place . . . in . . . this God-given responsibility." The First Presidency has declared that "however worthy and appropriate other demands or activities may be, they must not be permitted to displace the divinely-appointed duties that only parents and families can adequately perform.

Florida Bar Induction Ceremony

Tonight Tanner's firm held the induction ceremony for the admission to the Florida Bar. Tanner and the rest of the new associates had to stand and repeat the words of the Oath of Attorney as given by The Honorable Judge George Sprinkel IV. I thought the Oath was interesting and thought you all might want to read it so that you know what standard you can expect to hold Tanner to:

Oath of Attorney

I do solemnly swear:

I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Florida.

I will maintain the respect due to the Courts of Justice and Judicial Officers.

I will not counsel or maintain any suit or proceedings which shall appear to me to be unjust, nor any defense except such as I believe to be honestly debatable under the law of the land.

I will employ for the purpose of maintaining the causes confided to me such means only as are consistent with truth and honor, and will never seek to mislead the Judge or Jury by any artifice or false statement of fact or law.

I will maintain the confidence and preserve inviolate the secrets of my clients, and will accept no compensation in connection with their business except from them or with their knowledge and approval.

I will abstain from all offensive personality and advance no fact prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness, unless required by the justice of the cause with which I am charged.

I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed, or delay anyone's cause for lucre or malice. So help me God.

I especially liked the part about abstaining from all offensive personality :-) Tanner is now officially an attorney! My parents were also able to attend and we celebrated afterward by going out to dinner. We had a great time if you don't count the fact that I wore my nametag halfway through dinner, and then Tanner spilled two glasses of water at the same time and ALMOST doused my mom, although he did get her purse pretty good.

Who's Busy??

I must admit that the last 2 months of my life have been pretty relaxed. I didn't know the meaning of the word busy, and I lived it up as much as possible. I am still getting over the non- busy hangover because I have trouble looking alive before 9am in the morning. However, 'someone' thought it was time for me to stop being lazy and get off my duff and actually do something productive. So, I got called to be a counselor in the Relief Society in our ward at church. The same ward that we moved into less than two months ago, and yes, the same ward that after 3 weeks, I think I could remember maybe 3 names of other women. Thankfully, the other women in the presidency have been in the ward for a long time, and they have been really great in helping me get to know people and the area better. Of course, when it rains, it pours, and Clark, after never needing a sick child visit to the doctor has now had two in 3 weeks and has been on Amoxicillan for almost 20 days straight. This is how last week went:

Sunday: Welfare meeting at church 7:45 in the AM...no one should have to get up that early on a Sunday, even though my dad has been doing it for half his life.
Monday: Dr. Appointment where we found out we were having a boy...and then off to a Visiting Teaching appointment and then massive grocery shopping.
Tuesday: Went to the pool with friends from church, made dinner for the missionaries, got ready for missionary correlation meeting, but it ended up being canceled. I ended up making 3 dinners that night, which I won't explain further except that I am lame when it comes to making meals.
Wednesday: It was actually kind of a slow day...so I at least was able to pick up my mess of a house and treat Clark like my actual son instead of a piece of luggage to be carted around.
Thursday: Relief Society Presidency meeting 10am-1pm. Yeah, it was long but there was lots to discuss...Clark begins constant whine. Clark doesn't take a nap which is unheard of for him...and continues the constant whine, even through Elmo, which means there is definitely something wrong. I finally decide something is wrong about 5 minutes after my doctor's office closes and instead I get to go to Urgent Care, where Clark proceeds to run around happily like nothing is wrong. But something is wrong, and after 2 hours, we walk out with a diagnosis of a severe ear infection and a prescription for antibiotics. My mommy comes to stay with us that night so she doesn't have to wake up as early to go pick up my dad from the airport.
Friday: I go with my mom to pick up my dad, and we have a blast at the mall and going to lunch together...definitely a highlight of my week. I had to hurry back to babysit for a friend in the ward for a couple of hours.
Saturday: Prepare a talk for church on Sunday. Make dinner for my other visiting teachee who had a baby this week. Go straight from her house to the church where we set up for social hour before the Relief Society broadcast.
Sunday: Give our talks in sacrament meeting. Thankfully, my parents were there to help with Clark.

It was a busy week and like I said before, definitely the kind that I am not used to, but better start getting used to. I know that there are many of you reading this blog who are probably thinking that this kind of schedule is your life all of the time or worse. Maybe you have more kids to deal with and/or more stuff going on that you have to juggle, and I say kudos to you, because it is not easy! But I have to say that I felt very fulfilled by the end of the week and felt like I had done a lot of good while taking appropriate time for myself and for fun. President Monson said during the Relief Society broadcast that we should "not pray for tasks to equal our abilities, but pray for abilities to equal our tasks." And then he said something about how if we do that, we would be miracles in people's lives. Being lazy isn't all it's cracked up to be...although it IS nice once in while.

It's A.....

I have to preface this by thanking everyone for voting in the poll, and particularly Melanie who found a way to vote 6 times and completely ruin the integrity of it. But I still love you Mel! If you minus her 5 five votes, it ended up being 15 (71%) Girl to 6 (29%) Boy (unless someone else also voted multiple times). Those results still heavily favored us having a girl. For the few of you who voted for a boy you were...

RIGHT!

IT'S A BOY!!

We were pretty shocked ourselves, as we also thought we were having a girl. It was pretty funny because the last picture here was the first thing that came up the second she put the ultrasound on my belly. She had just asked if we wanted to know, and then we saw this, and she said "Well, can you see?" And I said "That looks like a boy!" And she said "Yep! It sure is!" Despite the shock, we are so excited! I did have to apologize to him though for accidentally calling him a girl a few times. We told Clark he is going to have a brother, and he is trying out the word to see if he likes it, and I think he will!

5 Year Anniversary!

Today Tanner and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary! For some reason, probably due to lack of funds, we have never really been big celebrators in previous years, but we made up for it this year! My gift for him was labor intensive and of course I only came up with the idea 5 days before our anniversary. Since Tanner now has an office, I decided to go through all of our pictures since we have been married and pick ones out that I could have enlarge and then framed for his office. The ones I chose were mostly landscapes and cityscapes. They included our hiking trip in the "Subway" at Zion's National Park, the Grand Canyon, and a group of pictures from Washington D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, and New York with a U.S. History theme. Because some of the pictures were taken back when we only had a 35mm camera, it was a little tricky. But I actually had all of my negatives, which I was shocked about because I am not Miss Organization. The photo place I went to was great, and they did a wonderful job fixing the quality of those photos. I also enlarged an amazing picture Tanner had taken of a lighthouse in the Outer Banks and paired it with black and white photos of us on the beach and the footprints photo that is the header of my blog. I was really happy with how everything turned out and even more importantly, Tanner loved them all!
Tanner told me earlier in the week that he had made dinner reservations for us at Flemings and that he had bought tickets for us to go see Annie! It just so happened that the Broadway National Tour was in town! I was so excited and assumed that was my anniversary gift.
I went and met him at his office and brought his pictures with me, and just before we left he handed me a bag and said "Happy Anniversary". I was really shocked, but happy! Inside was a beautiful ring that has rubies (my birthstone) in it. I love it! The presents were great, the food was great, the show was great, and the last five years have been the best!

P.S. Thank you to my parents for watching Clark!