Third time is the Charm.

So I kept debating whether or not to post this.  I finally decided I would.  Chad and I are expecting a baby boy at the end of the summer.  We are all very excited!!  We just found out last week that it was a boy and couldn't be more happy.  Our two boys bring us such great joy and we are excited to add another to that fun.  Nicholas got to tell us at the ultrasound what the gender was.  We had the technician write it down and she printed out the picture and gave it to Nick.  He had a big smile on his face and said "I knew it was a Boy!!"  They are both looking forward to helping with him and teaching him all kinds of fun things.  We feel very blessed:)

January 2013

This month has been fun but tiring.  We had such a great vacation it was hard to get back into the daily schedule of school and speech.  Chad's been so busy with work.  Busy is good but again.....tiring.  He keeps busy with his church calling  and all the other "Dad" and "Husband" things that need to be done.  Nicholas has been working hard in school.  He loves Math (he gets that from Daddy.) He is also really good at Spelling.  Almost every spelling test he's gotten 100%.  We are so proud of him.  He started in a new class at church and really likes it.  He just got his very own CTR ring on Sunday.  He was excited to wear it to school today to show his friends and his teacher.  He is such a good example to us and his little brother.  He also lost his 6th tooth last week.  He is looking more like a young man and less like a little kid now.  As happy as we are that he is growing up it is also sad since he will always be our baby.  Jacob is one busy kid.  He really likes preschool.  His best friend at school is a girl named Emily.  She is a lot like him (more on the quiet side) so they just love to sit together and play.  The teachers say that they hold hands almost daily.  It is just so cute.  He is also keeping busy with speech therapy.  I have seen such an improvement in how he pronounces his letters.  So have his teachers and other family members.  He tries hard and make time to practice at home.  Only a few more months and he'll be off to Kindergarten.  Chad and I were discussing that the other night and just can't believe how fast the time goes.  I am keeping busy.  I work two afternoons a week.  I also help Nicholas' teacher with all the party planning that needs to be done in their classroom.  Young Women's has been getting more and more busy with camp coming up.  I know its still months away but there is so much we have to accomplish in the next few months it doesn't seem like enough time.  I am so thankful for my counselors.  For awhile it was just me and my first counselor (who is just awesome!!) Then in December we were able to get a 2nd counselor and we are all so excited that she is able to be with us.  Our Young Women are so great, we all feel so blessed to be able to serve them.  Well that is pretty much it.  Keeping busy with life and trying to enjoy the ride.  We hope everyone is enjoying 2013 so far.  One month down, 11 more to go!!  

New Years Eve and January 2013

This New Years we spent at my Dad's house.  It was extra special because my brother and sister in law and their kids, came out from Illinois to spend it with us.  It has been over 2 years since we have seen them.  Nicholas and their son Nathan (who is 5) were best friends in about 20 seconds.  It was so cute.  Nicholas doesn't have a lot of boys to hang out with his age on Chad's side of the family so having another boy who loved all the same things was just heaven.  The kids went sledding together with Chad and my brother Kyle.  The had a blast!  We had a fun "Christmas" with my Dad and Debby since we didn't see them for actual Christmas.  The boys got cool digital piggy banks with some money in them.  They LOVE earning money now and watching the amount go up.  They also got some awesome cars (also very loud!!) from their Aunt and Uncle.  They love playing with them. New Years started with Chad watching the ball drop in NYC.  Everyone else fell asleep.  I made it to about 11pm and couldn't stay awake a second longer.  This is the first year I haven't stayed awake since as far back as I can remember.  Oh well.  We also went and visited my brother Brian and his wife Carrie.  They have 2 girls and a boy.  The kids were so excited.  Especially Jacob who seems to have a sweet relationship with Olivia.  They are just adorable together. We got to hold our newest nephew Owen who has to be the most calm baby ever. Unfortunately, we had to leave later that day because the boys had school in the morning.  I loved hanging out with my family and seeing all my nieces and nephews.  Kyle and Stacey called us later that week and decided to get a hotel down our way one night and go swimming and invited us to come over.  The boys were so happy to be able to spend time with them.  They swam for over an hour and then we went back to the hotel room and had pizza and watched a movie together.  Hopefully it won't be another 2 years until we see them again.  January has been quiet.  We had some snow.  Not too much but enough for the boys to play.  Getting back into our school schedule has been harder to do.  Vacation was just too fun.  Well that's all for now.  Happy New Year Everyone:)             

Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas!!!  We had such a great Christmas this year.  My mom came down on Christmas eve to celebrate the holiday with us.  We had them missionaries over for dinner and then afterwards we went to Washington park in Albany and saw the Christmas lights displayed.  It was a really fun night.   All the different lights were just beautiful.  When we got home the boys were anxious to go to bed.  They didn't want to chance Santa skipping our house because they were awake.  After they were in bed, we set out the cookies and milk and all the presents.  We were in bed about 10pm.  Christmas morning.  Nicholas came in our room about 6:30am.  He knows we don't get up until 7am but he was so excited Santa came.  He came out in the living room and went through his stocking.  When we came out at 7am he had already had about a dozen mini reeses peanut butter cups!!  He was a little hyper.  We had to wake Jake up but as soon as we told him Santa came he popped right out of bed.  We had to wait a few more minutes until Michelle came over.  By that time the boys couldn't wait any longer.  Chad passed out he presents and they began tearing away at them.  Nicholas got a remote control helicopter and a scooter from Santa.  Jacob got a Batman cave and scooter from Santa.  They probably could have stopped there and been happy but they got a lot more from their grandma and aunt.  Jake also got a Jake and the Neverland pirates ship with action figures.  Nicholas got a board game called Catan Junior.  We have played it A LOT!!  It was a fun morning and a relaxing day.  Chad's brother and his family came by and gave the boys slippers.  Nick had Darth Vader and Jake had Yoda.  They are so cute.  We got to skype with a lot of our family all around the world.  My youngest brother is in Korea right now and it was nice to see him.  We had a wonderful day and was so glad to spend it with family.  I love Christmas and the spirit of it.  It was such a great day:)       

Nicholas and Jacob's Christmas Parties

The boys both had Christmas parties at school thins year.  Thankfully they were on different days (not so lucky with other holidays) and we were able to attend.  Nick's was on December 19th.  Jake and I got to the school and went to his classroom.  He was so excited to eat lunch with us.  They had pizza and veggies and LOTS of cookies.  We socialized for about an hour and then we all went into the Gym and ALL the first graders (there are 5 classes) sang us some songs.  It was so cute.  Then Nicholas gave us a present.  I told him I couldn't wait until Christmas (and I'm glad I didn't) and opened it when we got home.  It was a wreath he made out of clothespins.  It is seriously so cute and replaced our real wreath and was immediately put on our front door.  Jacob had his party on the 20th at dinner time.  Chad brought the boys over and I met them over there ( I was coming from work.)  The class sang some songs (Jake didn't sing ONE word even though he has been nonstop at home) and then a special visitor showed up.....SANTA.  He was carrying a big bag of toys which was when I realized I forgot to bring a toy!!!  Worst Mom ever!!!  I told the boys that Santa had given me their presents earlier and I forgot to bring them.  I said as soon as we got home I would get them.  They were totally cool with that.  I love my boys for not making me feel so much worse than I already felt.  Anyway, we had a great dinner and headed home.  The boys got teenage mutant ninja turtle action figures. I'm pretty sure "Santa" didn't realize how much noise they made until that night.  Oh well.  They loved them and that's really all that matters.  I didn't get very many pictures unfortunately.  I am so thankful for my sweet boys and all the joy they bring to my life.   

Nicholas' News December 16, 2012

Look who lost another tooth today??  That makes 5 now.  The tooth fairy has been busy at our house the last few months.  

Gingerbread Houses December 9, 2012

Last weekend we went to my brother and sister in laws house after church and made gingerbread  houses with the kids.  They were the smallest, cutest houses.  Perfect size for little kids.  They all got to decorate their own and eat lots of candy in the process.  It was a great day and time spent with family.