Basketball

Beginner vs pro:

Happy Easter

This year we had his and hers Easter baskets. Ellie got some pj's and I think she'll be sharing pretty much all of her goodies with mom. The boys got a couple pieces of candy, but the Easter bunny must have heard their requests for a basketball hoop because we just happened to wake up to one in our dining room!

We caved and let them have candy before church.
I've been waiting for 4 months for Ellie to finally be big enough to wear this dress!
After church we headed to Gram and Paps house. The boys followed in dads olive on the fingers tradition:
Aunt Corrie is so comfy!
How do you get 7 kids to smile at once? You don't!

Wordless Wednesday: Hiding out

A perfect Sam size hiding spot!

Happy retirement

My step dad is retiring at the end of the week. His office had a dinner for him Saturday night to celebrate his 42years in the aviation industry and 17 of those years at Parker Hannifin. It was a nice night complete with a slide show, speeches, a mini roast, silly gifts (and a really nice one), family and friends.

Tonys boss was nice enough to get him an "old man hat and sunglasses" in preparation for those sunny North Carolina days.
It was great to see a company recognize someone so special. Its clear he's going to be missed.

Egg coloring

I'm a little behind on my posts, but thought I'd start the catch up process with Easter egg coloring. The boys loved coloring eggs last year so we gave them each a dozen this year. Anyone want some eggs?

I don't know if we got dud colors or if the boys weren't very patient, but we ended up with a lot of pastel eggs.

Saturday part 2

After the Easter egg hunt, we headed home to wait for Papa. He was going to take Ben to his last swim class while Jon went to the doctor. I haven't been going to this round of classes so I was excited to see how much more confident Ben has become.

I don't think Sam and Ellie shared in my excitement. Sam was hot and mad he didn't get to swim with Papa and Ellie was just tired.

Heres Ben showing off some of his skills:

Saturday part 1

We woke up Saturday morning and were relieved to see the rain had stopped. It was Cross Points first annual Easter egg hunt and we were all excited to check it out. It was windy and cold, but the boys were ready.

They gave the little kids a head start. Sam knew just what to do and went to work. The boys are not fans of people dressed up in animal costumes, but they made an exception since it was Miss Lindsey. Sam refused to smile though. They both left with full baskets and Sam even got a "golden ticket" which won him an extra prize. They both have had a lot of fun going through the eggs and finding prizes. Sam learned real quick that when you shake them, you have to open the ones that rattle first. Those have the candy inside! The hunt was a huge success and the boys are even more excited about Easter next week.

Warm weather

I think the boys are done with being inside. They have been asking to go outside to play for a while now--usually when its pouring down rain or we have a negative wind chill! Yesterday was just what they needed. By the end of the day they were covered in sweat and dirt and loved every second! They are excited to have all the doors open today. Unfortunately, every time we walk out the door it starts sprinkling.

Crib time

Ellie has been sleeping in her car seat since about week one. I think she has some reflux and she's done great in it. However, now that she can roll over, this is how we found her: No more sleeping in the car seat!

The roll

Ellie has been thinking about rolling over for a while now. She would kick a leg up, but didn't seem to know where to put it. After a little coaching last night she's got it and has been going non stop!

Boring

I think I win the title for most boring mom recently. We were just getting into a routine with three kids. We were going out, we went on play dates, we were having fun. Then I found out I was pregnant. Then the nausea started, like the very next day, and it got a little worse each day. My OB gave me medicine that only helps some days. I haven't felt like myself in weeks. The thought of doing most anything sounds miserable. Unfortunately, the kids are stuck. We've spent more time at home the past few weeks than I'd like. They've watched more tv/movies than I'd like to admit. Video games have become an important part of Bens life.

Luckily, they are still smiling. They don't appear to be too damaged.... yet. Even better, its starting to get warm so I see a lot of back yard time in our future. I think I'm slowly going from miserable to tolerable so I hope to be heading out more. I hope to give the kids a little bit of normal before we turn things up side down again.

Dressed up

The kids were looking extra cute on Sunday so we had to bust out the camera. They are too much!

10-25-11

I had my first OB appointment today. It was pretty routine. We had our first ultrasound and confirmed I only have 1 in there. However, the measurements were off so she moved up my due date. The new due date is 10-25. That puts my c section around 10-18. Yep, three days after Sams birthday. As of tomorrow I will be 9 weeks along.

It was great to see the heartbeat. At this point their isn't much else to really look at. The boys thought the picture was cool. I'm still working on the excitement, but we'll get there.

No itch here

Today, Jon and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary. We kept it simple this year. Gram babysat yesterday while Jon and I headed to Mongolian BBQ for lunch. We ate way too much, but it was fantastic. We spent the day today relaxing and watching basketball (Go DUKE!!!). We are about to keep with our tradition of watching our wedding video and dancing our first dance. I'm wondering if their will come a time when we skip the embarrassment and let that part of the tradition go. Life has thrown us some curve balls (aka a third pregnancy), but I wouldn't want to go through this with anyone else. I love you baby! Happy anniversary.

Happy St Pattys Day

A week ago:

Today:

Arkansas

A year ago, when we were at the expo for the Cleveland half marathon, Emily suggested we do a run in Arkansas. I told her I was not going to drive 14hrs to run in Arkansas, but she guilted me into it. Not only would we get a break from the cold, but we would get to see Holland Chapel, our sending church. She only ended up being half right.

We dropped the boys off with my parents and the dog off with some friends. We drove into Kentucky and decided to stop for the night. The next day wasn't bad. We were on the road by 8am and at our friends in Arkansas by 5pm. Jon and I stayed with Jeremy and his family. The house was beautiful, the people were nice, but after a long dinner and some chit chat, we were pooped.

A treat on the way down!

Emily and Courtney were flying in Saturday. Unfortunately, they had a delay and didn't get in until early afternoon. That gave us plenty of time to experience Arkansas donuts. A friend of mine always complains about how donuts in the north don't compare to the south, and I always ignore her. Not anymore though---they were delicious! They are soft, sweet and melt in your mouth. Imagine Krispy Kreme donuts right after they are cooked, but about 1,000 times better!
Once the gals got in, we headed to the one and only sight we were interested in seeing, Central High School, sight of the Little Rock Nine. The school is amazing. Its big and beautiful. They opened a small museum and have preserved the gas station across the street where the reporters would call in their story. It was really exciting to experience the history, but sad to know that happened.
After the school, we headed to the race expo to pick up our bib #'s, shirts and look around. Once we figured out how the relay would work, we drove to the hand off points and through Emilys section of the race. Emily, took the longest stretch, which was also the most difficult. It was one hill after another. We were a bit concerned for her.
After another home cooked dinner this time by Leeannes (the 4th member of our relay team) mom, we headed home.
We were up at 5:30am race day. We somehow managed to find the Calaway brothers in the crowd and got our pre race Crosspoint (and Dan) picture. Jon and I started the race. All the races started together and on the same track so Jon got to run my whole leg with me. I was nauseous and it was cold. It was in the low 30's when the race started, but we made it. Jon finished his race in about 2.5hrs. He was sore, but he did it. Courtney flew through her section, Emily did an amazing job with the hills and Leanne finished us strong. we finished at 4:45:19--just a few minutes behind Todd and Dan.

The start/finish line before the race.

The gang.

Jon crossing the finish line (in the middle).

We did it!!!

Church was Sunday night at Holland Chapel. Todds other brother, Nick preached. The church is amazing. The southerners refer to it as a campus, and it is. We got a tour, met a lot of wonderful people and then headed to dinner with all of our Arkansas friends. It was great to not have to worry about the race anymore and just relax with friends. After dinner, and a nerts lesson (we're coming for you Ami), it was off to bed. We were back on the road before 6am on Monday and made it home by 9:30pm to see three kids awake and waiting for us!
Its great to be home. We had a lot of fun experiencing something new, but I'm glad we're home.