Saturday morning scene

Making breakfast with Dad

 Yummy eggs, some bacon, hash browns and salsa!

Dan is off for his long run while we go to the gym and play outside.

Oh, maybe I should do some cleaning, too.  Or maybe not.

The weekend

Nothing special, but I just love it when we get to spend so much time hanging out, doing nothing and when Dan and Sam get to play and run around together. 

 Friday we had our cousins (who aren't in school) over to play and decorate cookies. 

It was fun to have them all here!

 Of course, he had to spend time in a box.  He LOVES to sit and play in any sort of box.

Had Pho noodles again.  Oh my, SO good.  

Since Dan ran for 5 hours earlier in the day, he ate every last bit of that HUGE bowl.  

Just what he needed!

Made a special little love treat.  Also very good.

Overall I'm feeling back to my normal self here at 16 wks along.  I'm tired, but not nearly as tired as I was last month.  I've been getting to spin class, lifting some weights and try to go for walks with Sam when we can.  My left hip hurts a lot, but other than that and an ever growing belly, I'm happy!

Tonight is date night!

Oh, and I think Grandpa Mike is coming to visit and help with another project in the next couple weeks.   

Can't wait!

sort of a Thankful Thursday...

This will all be very random and long today.

First of all,  I've been feeling extra thankful the past few days.  

And I wanted the grandparents and family to see some Sam videos and pics of his new bed.

So onto the thankful parts...

We had a scare on Tuesday that shook us pretty hard (thankfully everything is OK..). I had my 16wk apt.  I was so excited to see one of our midwives and hear the heartbeat!  We chatted and talked about how things are going.  I asked some questions then we got onto laying down and getting Sam close to hear things.  Everything the midwife does in a monthly pre-natal apt. is the exact same thing an OBGYN would do...exactly.  So we listened and listened, changed positions, listened more and nothing, nada.  No sign of a heartbeat at all.  Inside I was dying after 2 mins of not being able to hear it and after about 10 mins of trying, nothing.   

So while I'm freaking out, the midwife is checking to see what hospital can get me in the soonest for an ultrasound (their ultrasounds are done on Mondays, I was there on Tuesday).

So, for two hours I was devastated.  I imagine this is the way I would feel and cry if one of my close family members or friends had passed away.  I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed.  Poor Sam kept saying "mommy, little bit sad."  Ugh, my heart!

Thankfully, I could run over to Ali's and waited there until Dan arrived and we left Sam and headed to the ultrasound.   The whole time I was thinking what would I do if at over 15 wks there was just no baby?  So many thoughts were going through our heads.  In the end, everything is great and I am SO very thankful it was just a scare and that I have Dan and Sam in my life.

We saw baby moving and the heartbeat was strong...although my placenta is right over my stomach, basically blocking much of hearing anything from baby at this point.  The ultrasound tech said it's fine though and it should be moving up as baby gets bigger.  Let's hope so!

We tried to see the gender, but it was a bit too hard to tell.  Kind of thinking girl from what we saw, but we'll find out for sure on March 5th!

Alright, onto happy fun things...

We got Sam's big boy room ready.  He's a tiny boy in a big bed now and we just love it.  There's nothing like seeing your child grow and become more independent, even at two years old.  Dan put together his drawers and bookshelf.  Thanks to Justin and Kerrah for the bed as well! 

He is so excited to jump on the bed, play in his room and now it's actually a place where we spend a lot of time reading and playing.  He's adjusted great.  He rolled out one night so I quickly put him back in (didn't even phase him) and one morning he was on the floor when we went in.  Other than that, it's going great!  Of course I was worried he would be up lots at night and his naps would suffer, but it's the opposite.  He sleeps like a rock and his naps have actually been longer all week.  I'm sure as the weeks and months go by he'll figure out he can play and try to open the door... instead of sleep :)

Love this.

And here are some random videos, just cause I love them. 

Road trip!

Dan was out of town all last week for work.

We decided some fun in the sun and a bit warmer temps would be a good way to pass the time.  It also helps I'm feeling better these days, so it didn't seem too daunting to take a trip with the little guy by myself.

Ali's in-laws have a house down in St. George that we luckily get to take advantage of.

Thank you again Ali and Mark for a fun trip!

Packed and ready to go!  (sorry for the blurriness) 

All three kids did pretty well there and back.  

Sam was grumpy pants on the way home but we made it just fine :)

The minute we got down there Siri and Sam got on their bikes outside and after naps, inside too.  

 Two of the days Sam insisted on being "nakey boy" while they played outside. 

It was pretty adorable, especially when Siri also wanted to do the same.

 We played outside A LOT.  He took a liking to golfing for a bit.

 Jane LOVED playing in the rocks, grass and dirt. 

Loves

Such a happy family.  Love them.

They all ate so well together at the island.  Sam only fell off those high standing chairs like, 5 times.  Ha!

Lots of fun time at the parks with Ali and Siri.

Ali kisses

We swam some too.  Cute cousins.  He pretty much just wanted to jump off the side to me the entire time.  He'll be quite the fish in the summer.  I'm excited for it!

Went out to a nice dinner. 

He was SO proud that he had stacked his crayons AND truck on top of his cup.  

So silly.

Tuckered on the way home.  Can't wait to go back sometime soon!

 

Happenings

Last Saturday we went to the yummiest, cheapest Pho noodle house.  

Asia Palace. 

If you like warm rich broth with yummy rice noodles and meat & veggies of your choice, this is for you!  I wasn't sure I'd like it, but after I tasted Dan's, I SO wish I would have gotten some.  You could go there and split a huge bowl and be totally full for under $10. 

That bowl is HUGE!

 Sunday night we had a fun dinner at Matt and Sheri's.  Like Sam always does, he was jumping off the couch into some pillows and on his last jump, something wasn't right.  He cried for a bit, which is normal but then when he'd try and walk, he'd just cry and you could tell he was in pain.  I ended up taking him to KidsCare in Riverton (thank goodness it was only minutes from their house)  We got some xrays, which was just awful for him, he was SO scared and tired since it was past bedtime.  Pretty much anytime the doc walked in, he cried "go home, go home!"  The xrays showed nothing, but he still wouldn't walk, so we were just hoping he jammed his toes way hard or hurt his ankle a bit.  We made it out of there with a sucker and otter pop, so that calmed him down a bit.   We spent most of Monday morning hanging on the couch watching shows, as he was still limping and saying his toes hurt.  By Tuesday, he was almost back to himself, jumping off the couch at Ali's house :)  He seems totally fine today.

He's also been getting into the tissue box.  I guess he likes to wipe his own nose now.  I walked out of the room for 20 seconds and came back to this.  He was just casually "blowing nose"  Love it.

 He's been a great helper in the kitchen.  I made chili the other night and he was SO proud of himself for stacking all the spices.  He could have played this game all day.

Ali and I took them to a playplace.  That was way fun for them.  They play so well together.

He's been into watching Thomas the Train lately.  He gets into the zone.

I have a growing belly, which I'm so grateful for.  I feel like a big blob, but at least I'm feeling better for the most part.  Tired, but not feeling sick all day, everyday.  I have my first appt. with one of our Midwives on Feb. 7th.  I'm really looking forward to this new adventure and experience when baby #2 joins our family.  Dan is so dedicated to his 100miler training.  He gets up by about 5am 3 days a week, then runs on Friday night and at some point on Saturday goes for a long run.  Usually at least 3.5-4 hours.   Go Dan!

Sunday morning scene

Making brown butter- brown sugar cookies.

He's a good helper.

Such good times AND a two year old

We had the best time with Jane and Kelly.

We SOOO did not want them to leave on Monday morning, but we'll just look forward to the next time we get to see them.  We always have such good times and always do fun things. 

They make Sam's Birthday so fun and I can't thank them enough for being so generous.  

Thank You times 100!

They love Sam so much.  It was really nice to have two extra people around to play with him. He goes non stop and at this point, I'm so exhausted from the tiny baby growing, that I could nap at all hours of the day.  

They helped me immensely!

 One of the things we love when they come to town is all the yummy food and new places we get to try.  Seriously, we at so much good food and thank you Jane and Kelly so much for all of it.   

Have you been to Ruth's Diner?  If you haven't, you must...if only for their biscuits and preserves. 

OH MY WORD.  Amazing!

The best present ever.  His "very own" train tracks.  This was the first set he got in the morning...

 And Grandma Jane added more in the afternoon.  He REALLY loves his trains.

Ate some yummy BBQ on Friday for his bday with Ali and girls and Grandma Carol.  

It's really hard not to smile when I look at this picture.

 Jane and Janie.  Love it.

More yummy food.

 Rode Trax downtown for lunch at Eva for brunch.  You should also go there :)

I love them.

 Party time.  I want that cake, Mom!!!

So happy to see each other.  

Everytime he see's Janie, he gets down to her eye level and says "hi janie, hi janie, hi janie!"  

 So good.

He is so loved.  We are so thankful.

You Sam, are the cutest, most talkative and on the go two year old we know.  We are lucky.

Just a few more things about you at Two...

You talk in sentences. 

You ask please and tell us Thank you all the time.
You give us the best little kisses and loves.

Sing most words to Frosty the Snowman, Ring around the Rosey, Rudolph, Twinkle Twinkle, Rocky Road (the song we've been singing to you since the day you were born) and you can finish all the words in the books we read and you start to say the next sentence without us helping.

Know your ABC's, colors, shapes, numbers, animals...etc.

You talk.  A lot.  Like, all the time.  It's so very nice for us that we can understand pretty much everything you say.  It's nice to know what you need and want all the time. 

You've been skiing five or six times.  You love to ride your bike.  You LOVE your trains, dinosaurs and big trucks and cars.

You tell us when you need to "have poops."  We then tell you to go in the bathroom to do your business (in your diaper) and when you're done, you come say "change bum!!"

You throw tantrums and get frustrated easily, which results in some awesome meltdowns.  We aren't afraid to put you in time out, but don't have to do it often...yet.

I love our nap and bedtime routine.  You go to sleep with no hesitation...unless we've forgotten to put your  blanket on or you don't have frosty or munch in bed :)

You go to bed by 8apm and are up between 7 and 7:30am.  You nap for 1.5-2 hrs each day.  Around 1pm.

 Weight 25.49lbs (20%)

Height 33.27 inches (22%)  

Seriously, we are so lucky to be your parents and can't wait to see you interact with your sibling to come!