Merry Christmas!

There was a lot that I wanted to do this year for Christmas that never happened. Between Dan traveling, everyone having colds, and me getting a stomach bug on Christmas Eve it was a simple Christmas. But it was a great Christmas. We were together and had fun. And of course, here are some of the pictures. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Quilt

The back of the quilt.

The front.

Trees that we made and put on the mantel.

Sitting by the fire.

Coming downstairs to see if Santa came.

Parker's new Legos.

Ethan's new t-ball set.

Playing at Duke Gardens...we had to get out of the house! (Me..28 weeks pregnant)

Parker's new plane.

Ethan being silly.

Dan winding up the plane for the boys.

Baby Boy #3

I just realized that I never posted about my ultrasound. There he is. I feel bad about posting a picture of his parts, but trust me there is no doubt he is a boy. We can't wait to meet him!

Reactive Airway Disease?!?

Poor Parker has had a cough for almost a month and this week it has gotten a lot worse especially at night. He wakes up several times at night because of it which of course wakes up Ethan. Last night he didn't wake up and when I asked him about it this morning he said, "I coughed a lot. When I cough it wakes up Ethan so I put a towel over mouth so it's not as loud." What a sweet boy. I hope he is always thoughtful of others.

I took him to the doctor today, well a nurse practitioner.  I didn't understand everything he tried to tell me but we came home with medicine and an inhaler. Reactive airway disease sounds like asthma to me but according to him they no longer diagnose children with asthma without multiple episodes. I hope the poor thing starts feeling better soon. 

Parker's 4th Birthday

Parker turned 4 this year. The lucky boy got to have a party at Monkey Joe's (thanks to a random drawing that I entered). He talked about his party for months and then the day before he came down with a cold. He didn't spend very much time in the actual bounce houses but loved running around with his friends and getting presents.

Here are some things I want to remember about Parker at this age:

• He is so smart and loves reading books. He impresses me everyday with the words that he knows. 
• He loves to learn.
• He is sweet. He thinks of other people and shares well with his brother (sometimes). 
• He gets ideas about how things should be and you can rarely tell him otherwise. 
• Now that he is 4 he likes to ride his bike.
• He loves bagels with peanut butter and jelly. 
• He is already planning his next birthday and his 6th birthday.
• He gets embarrassed which I think is so cute.

Halloween

Halloween did happen this year despite my lack of blogging about it. For some reason, I can't justify spending money on costumes so I am happy to report that we spent $3 this year. Parker was a fire fighter and Ethan was his fire rescue dog. They were pretty darn cute. Between carving pumpkins, Parker's preschool Halloween party, the ward Halloween party and trick-or-treating on Halloween I think they had a lot of fun. Dan and I enjoyed eating the candy with them!

More of our travels...

Here are some more pictures from our Colorado trip.

Scott and Grandma's birthday party.

Roasting marshmallows with Grandpa and Grandma.

Grandma, Kristin and Ethan.

Being boys with Uncle Paul.

Parker's favorite thing to do...ride in Grandpa's Miata.

Hiking at Red Rocks.

 

On our very long drive home we got to stop and see my Dad, his wife Sheri, and Uncle Joe. We didn't get to stay long, but it was nice to see them.

Joe and Ethan checking out the horses behind my Dad's place.

Grandpa Parker, me and Parker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lily Pad Lake...pretty hike...disappointing lake

Grandpa and Grandma took the kids to the Colorado Railroad Museum our first weekend and we headed into the mountains with Kristin, Scott, Gaby, and Paul. The hike to Lily Pad Lake was beautiful and of course the company was great! There was still some color in the mountains despite the previous rain. I am glad the hike was so pretty because the lake was very disappointing. The water was really low so the lake was mostly mud and all of the trees around it were dead. We did have fun throwing rocks in the mud at least. And it was nice to get a break from the kids.

the group

the muddy lake

Last Day in Utah

For our last day in Utah we went and hiked in one of our favorite places from when we were BYU students. It is a park in Provo Canyon called Big Springs Park. We used to take our cross country skis up there. Parker even did it once while riding in the bjorn.  :)  Britta, Braxton and Adalee met us there and then we spent the day with them. It is always nice to get outside.

Prego

I think most people know, but this blog is our only form of family history...I am pregnant!  Baby #3 is due March 16th. But given my previous history I am electing to have a c-section so the baby will be here a little sooner than that. So far, the pregnancy has been great. There were 2 weeks around 7 and 8 weeks that I was really nauseous and really tired but now everything is fine. Well, I still get really tired. We won't find out if it is a girl or a boy until we get back from our travels. A part of me really wants a girl and another part of me likes having boys...we'll see!

Weekends in Utah

We tried to make the best of our "free time" while in Utah. Having the mountains so close we couldn't help but go play every weekend. Dan was pretty busy during the week and had residency applications to work on too, but we managed to go on some sort of hike every weekend and spend time with family.

The first weekend we went into Little Cottonwood canyon and hiked to Secret Lake. It was really pretty. Parker hiked the whole thing and Ethan hiked a lot of too. It was fun to go on a real hike as a family and see the boys enjoy it so much.

The next weekend we went to Britta's and spent the weekend with them. We went to a BYU game together. It was really hot and the kids made it interesting but it was fun to be back in Provo. Afterwards, the kids cooled off at a splash pad. On Sunday morning before church, we took the boys to Bridal Veil Falls for a little walk.

Go BYU!

We were not prepared for how cold it would be on this walk so Ethan is wearing Adalee's shirt under his t-shirt. It was pretty funny.

The next weekend we went on a hike around Silver Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  And then we met up with Aunt Carol, Uncle Bill and Jenny. It was really good to see them and catch up. The boys definitely loved all of the attention.

Playing hide-and-go-seek in the trees.

Parker rock climbing with Dad.

Snack time!