And Baby Makes 5!

This may not come as a big surprise to many of you, but it's time to officially spill the beans! We are adding one more to our brood sometime around May 10, 2009. Jon and I went to my first prenatal appointment yesterday and were able to hear the heartbeat and even catch a quick glimpse of the baby via ultrasound (picture above), which was neat since I've never seen any of my babies at that early in the pregnancy.

We told the kids last night, and got a pretty funny reaction from Jacey that we should have recorded on video. When we told her that she was going to get a new brother or sister, she said,"Oh no! You're going to have a baby?!?", and then proceeded to bawl. We probably didn't pick the most opportune time to tell her because she was already upset about something else, but I didn't expect that reaction! She didn't really tell us why the news upset her at first, she just said that she didn't expect it. When we showed her the picture of the baby and explained things a little more to her, she got more and more excited and now seems excited at the prospect of having another sibling. Brooklyn is still oblivious to what is going on, although she did come with me to have my blood drawn yesterday and told the nurse "Thank you for fixing my mom!" Pretty cute.

On a side note to all family members who are groaning at the prospect of another baby born so close to June, all I can say is that we tried our best to avoid it! I actually miscarried back in July when I was about 5 1/2 weeks pregnant; that baby would have been born in March. It was a good testimony builder for me to trust in the Lord and know that my timetable isn't always his. We are grateful to have another chance for a hopefully healthy, happy baby, which, based on past results, will likely be another girl!

Brooklyn starts Preschool and Dance!

I'm a little bit slow in posting this, but a couple of weeks ago Brooklyn started her little Preschool class and she loves it! The first day that I took her to school she told me that I couldn't stay there and that I needed to leave! It would have been nice if she would have shown just a little apprehension about me leaving, but I'm glad that she at least has fun and feels comfortable there. Her teacher is "Mrs. Whoa-sey" (Mrs. Woolsey, I just love to hear Brookie say her name), and she goes two mornings a week for 2 1/2 hours each, so it is just enough time for me to run a few errands before I go back to get her!

I also decided a couple of weeks ago to have Brooklyn try out a dance class at the same studio that Jacey goes to. I wasn't sure about her interest level or attention span at first, but after a couple of weeks she has quickly gotten the hang of things and seems to have fun.

GO BYU!!!

There's no doubt that if you live in this house you'd better be a die-hard BYU fan. I'm just glad that at least this year BYU is giving us a lot to cheer about (things are a lot less tense on Saturdays when they are winning their games convincingly).

Last week Brooklyn found Jon's BYU hat on the counter and put it on. She looked so cute I had to post a picture!

Jacey's 6th Birthday!

Jacey had a great 6th birthday today (actually, it was more of a birthday weekend!) "Red Grandma" and "Grandpa Broken Legs" came down to visit us over the weekend and brought down Tara and Jenna, two of Jacey's cousins. The kids had a ball and played all weekend. Since they had to leave to go home earlier today, we had a little family party on Sunday. I made Jacey a cool butterfly cake and we opened up her presents. Her favorite present was definitely a big Disney princess dollhouse (she has been wanting a dollhouse for a long time). After G & G and the cousins left today, we went out shopping to buy Jacey some school clothes, and then we took the kids to a new rec center to go swimming. The kids had a blast there and especially loved going down the water slides. We topped off the day by going out to eat at Golden Corral for dinner (Jon and Jacey's choice, not mine). Jacey had a great birthday weekend and kept saying "Thanks Mom and Dad! This is the best birthday!" Those are the best words a parent can hear, but I hope that we haven't set too high of a standard for next year! Thanks to Cathy and Mike for making the effort to come down and for bringing to cousins with you. It sure made Jacey's day more special!

P.S. I decided to copy Stef's idea of doing baby and old birthday photos as well as the new birthday pics for this year. It's quite touching and amazing to see how fast my little girl has grown up!

7 Things You Will Never Hear From Us. . .

So, awhile ago Amy tagged us to come up with 7 things you would never hear us say. I did mine right away and kept pestering Jon to get on and come up with his 7 things, but he never did so I just did his for him. Here they finally are!

7 Things Nicole would never say:

1. Bedtime is my least favorite time of the day.
2. Sure Jacey and Brooklyn, I would LOVE to play Polly's (or Barbie's) with you!
3. Let's get together at my house for scrapbooking night!
4. No thanks. I'm skipping dessert tonight.
5. It's Conference weekend! Let's go to Ladies Night at Deseret Book!
6. Jon, could we please watch college football all day?
7. Let's go adopt a cat at the animal shelter.

7 Things Jon would never say (from Nicole's perspective):

1. I will not be watching the next BYU football game.
2. Teenagers give me great hope for the next generation.
3. I love early mornings.
4. I am not really sure who BYU is playing this year.
5. I would love to accompany you on your next shopping trip!
6. No, you really don't need to rub my legs tonight.
7. I hate ice cream.

1st Grade Girl!

It's hard to believe, but the summer is already over and school is once again upon us! Jacey started 1st grade yesterday and I am trying to get used to the idea of my sweet girl being gone all day. Since kindergarten was only a few hours a day last year, it just felt like an extension of preschool to me, and now it feels like Jacey is officially growing up. I thought that she might struggle with being gone for such a long day (8:30am-4pm), but she really seems to be enjoying it thus far and says that the day seems to go by fast. Brooklyn is feeling kind of lonely without her "best sister", but preschool starts up in a few weeks so that will give her something of her own to do!

California Adventure

We took our annual family summer vacation down to Southern California at the end of July and had a great time with my family! It was fun to be able to be down there while my sister Stefani and her family were there, and the kids had tons of fun with their cousins. I just wish that we were able to see them more often! We played at the "castle park", took cousin's pictures, rode the go-carts at the family fun center, went to Wild Rivers Water Park, went to the O.C. Fair, went swimming, and shopped. Jacey was also able to go up to L.A. to the American Girl store, and California Grandma spoiled her with a couple of new outfits for her doll. Jon and I even snuck away one night to go to Knott's Berry Farm, and I discovered that while I still love roller coasters and thrill rides, I am not quite as young as I used to be! The weather was great while we were there and I miss living in a place where there is so much to do! All in all, it was a great trip and the kids can't wait to go back to Grandma's house!