:o)

A great pic of us taken by Julie (I love when she captures us laughing together)!!

I will add more later, as I am off to work?!

10 Week Belly Pics

This little peanut is growing fast! (S)he is about an inch long and weighs a quarter of an ounce! I can still fit into my "pre-pregnancy" pants, but shirts are out of the question! I am definitely carrying higher and wider this time. I also haven't been sick or tired like I was with Isaac, which is awesome!! I ran into an old friend that I used to work with at WS Reed and she guessed that I was about 5 months?! As much as I am anxiously awaiting movement (Isaac was felt at 13 weeks and by others at 16-17 weeks), I am not looking forward to rib-kicks again. I was soooo unbelievable bruised by Isaac - the most painful part of the whole pregnancy, including my Au-natural labor and delivery. The only other pain that came remotely close was when the extremely unintelligent nurse was taking blood during a contraction. The plan is to go natural this time as well, and we will be taking la maze classes again, even though I didn't find them very useful?! I am planning on researching the Bradley Method more thoroughly and hope to find a couple in the GR area that teaches the classes. At the very least, I will get the book from the library and save myself $275 - I love the library! We just got a "baby name book" which has been completely useless. We can't decide on anything!!! I am almost hoping that this one is a boy, because we already have Benjamin Gerald picked out. I have been putting the "name of the day" on the bulletin board and Rob put Cleatus for the boy's name. I think that it's out of the question :o)
Well, I am off to the grocery store - yippee! Although I have found the ultimate winner of a trick to keeping Isaac quiet and good throughout the whole store - the DVD player. I know, let's all use TV as a pacifier for our kids, but hey, if it keeps my stress level down for an hour, I'll take it! We are having Cannelloni tonight, with homemade pasta and sauce. My cravings have subsided, so it's difficult to choose a menu for dinner. However, we decided on the following:
Tuesday: Cannelloni with Cesar Salad (maybe bread sticks)
Wednesday: Tacos with homemade shells and salsa
Thursday: Chicken Sandwiches with pasta salad
Friday: Hamburgers with homemade potato chips
Saturday: Breaded pork chops with Cauliflower and Broccoli
Sunday: Chicken Chili with Cornbread
If any of these sound appetizing, feel free to call me and I will set a place for you at the table :o)

Isaac, The Red Ranger

My Knight in (Not So) Shining Armor

Isaac's trying his best to avoid having his picture taken
This was about the only time all weekend that he took his helmet off!!
Granny & Grandpa Ben celebrating their 50th Anniversary

What a fun weekend!! We were able to visit with Uncle Dan on Thursday night, Rob played in a softball game with my brothers for Fox Ford on Friday night - he hit a triple - it was awesome!!! On Saturday we spent the day at Camp Lake where we were able to visit with the Mosqueda family. The food was delicious and everyone really enjoyed themselves.

On Sunday we went to my parent's house to do laundry, visit and have dinner. John and Sherry came to see my brother Joe and to visit for a bit before heading back to Jackson! Isaac gave us all quite a laugh in the afternoon: You see, he has this "prized" knight in shining armor helmet, which was purchased at a garage sale around the time of his birthday. A couple of weeks ago, it cracked down the middle. Of course, I was tempted to throw it away, but he insisted that we use tape, the sticky kind. I proceeded to tape it up with masking tape, as it was my only resource at the time. All is well; the helmet looks extremely tacky, but works like new! A temporary fix that it was, I was hardly surprised when the helmet broke... again. Only this time, the mask part that covers his chin had snapped off on one side. Grandpa John suggested super glue, but it wouldn't work with that material. Hmmmm, we can see the wheels turning is Isaac's head. He snaps off the other side of the chin cover and goes to his Papa. Papa eases his mind and explains to Isaac that if he can manage to be patient, he will get some "epoxy" and fix the helmet. Isaac will have to wait for it to dry before he can wear it again, but it should be fixed at that point. Sir Isaac agrees, and being the good helper that he is, he goes to the garage and yells, "Mom!" I follow him out there and he is asking me to open the freezer for him. I oblige and he tells me that he wants a Popsicle. I ask what color he wants and he says, "pink". I hand him the pink one and then he says, "Can I have one that I can eat, too?" I reply with, "Well, what are you going to do with that pink one?" and he tells me, "That one is for Papa so he can glue my helmet!"

I was laughing so hard, I almost peed my pants. I could hardly tell everybody why I was laughing so hard, but when I did everyone joined me.

Until a month ago, when Isaac would say Popsicle, it sounded like 'poxeel" Apparently, poxeel and epoxy sounded like they would be the same thing - what a goofy boy! Isaac is always good for a laugh :o) It's one of the many reasons why we love him the way we do!!

On a baby note, we had our first Dr's appointment on Friday and Dr. Pete said that I was measuring about 8-9 weeks, which is right on target. We will be able to hear the heartbeat (hopefully only one!!) at the next appointment in September and will have an ultrasound in November! Everything is still going well, my belly is getting bigger and Rob's beard is getting longer... pics to be added soon!

Happy 50th Anniversary!!

50 years together-

Time passes swiftly when spent in the company of a cherished companion.

Grandpa Ben & Granny officially celebrate their 50th anniversary on this day.

In the short time that I have been in their lives, they have been nurturing, caring, compassionate, forgiving, accepting, and more loving than anyone that I have ever met.

They are an amazing couple and we truly appreciate all that they do!

Grandpa Ben always makes us laugh with his silly comments, especially when he calls Isaac, "Ivan" and tells us to "come back when you can't stay so long" or when Isaac is acting up, "Boy, I'm sure glad I don't have any kids". Granny always keeps us fed and comfortable :o) She is always reminding us to appreciate and love each other, and never lets us forget that "Nobody is perfect, not even me". She relies on her Faith to get her through the day, and she wouldn't be the amazing person that she is without it!

When Rob and I get "stuck" in our marriage, we know that we can turn to them to provide insight as to how to get through things "together". After 50 years together, we trust that they know what they are talking about.

To my own parents who just celebrated 23 years of marriage - thank you! We are looking forward to celebrating 50 years of your marriage in the year 2034...

"Newlyweds become 'oldyweds', and 'oldyweds' are the reasons that families work."

Whitecaps Game

Sleepy boy!

Kylie

Pre-game looking at all of the trash between the fences
Purple tongue
Catch on the field
"tootie trip"
Secrets

Post-game fireworks
We went to the Whitecaps game on Saturday afternoon with Rob's Dad & Step-mom, Aaron & Katie & Kylie, and Matt (Amanda was at Cheer Camp). Everyone really enjoyed themselves, especially Isaac & Kylie!

Joe is home!!

Joe finally came home on Thursday morning. We had a wonderful family dinner on Thursday night and a fun party with friends on Friday night. Sara (Joe's fiance) is a wonderful girl - she mentioned how much she likes Michigan (versus North Dakota), so we are really hoping that they decide to live around here!!! Joe and Jon should be on their way back from North Dakota right now, as they had to drive Sara home to be fitting for a bridesmaid dress for her sister's wedding. Jon tagged along because Sara is a TWIN!! She claims that her sister Susan is the "annoying one" and she also has brown eyes. Wouldn't that just be too funny if Susan and Jon hit it off?!?! I forgot my camera both days that I was there, so I will have to wait until I get the pics from my mom in order to post them! Until then, here's a pic of Jon and Joe together!