Nate's Inspired-he already knew

A couple of weeks ago in Primary during sharing time they were talking to the kids about families. I think they started talking about siblings because the kids started sharing how they had a brother or sister or that they were a brother or sister. I've always felt for Nate during these lessons because he has this blank look on his face like, "What are they talking about?" When I was his Sunbeams teacher he was the only one in the class without a sibling and he really didn't understand what all the kids were talking about. Well, apparently, during this lesson, Nate raised his hand and announced to the whole primary that, "My Mommy is having a sister!" We had no idea what we were having and I have no idea where Nate got that information (well, we really do know). The leaders looked around at each other and were surprised and asked him if I'd found out and just not told anyone. I have a ton of friends in the primary in our ward and one of them raised her hand and said, "Um, Erin doesn't know what she's having yet."

So today was another Dr.'s appointment for me and we went hoping to get the diffinative answer on the sex of our baby. We were in the middle of the ultrasound when the Dr. said that it looks like we might just have another modest showing. I looked at Robert and I'm pretty sure my face mirrored his with disappointment. We just needed to know. The Dr. then said very seriously that he may know why the baby was modest. My eyes shot to the screen because of his tone. I wondered if there was something wrong. Then, in a much happier voice the Dr. said, "Girls always are more modest!" I looked over at Robert again and it looked like the color had drained from his face. He told me afterwards it was because he realized neither one of us know exactly how to handle a girl (we sometimes feel we might have the boy thing figured out) and we're always told how different they are from boys. Plus, now we have to worry about teenage boys and dating and all the other fun things that come along with girls. I think Robert feels he has to be a bit more protective now. I, of course, being emotional all the time, started to get a little misty eyed. I felt like I was in shock. I really thought it would be a boy cause I thought that would be easier. Ha! Joke's on me.
After the initial shock wore off and we took some deep breaths we got this 3D picture of her profile. She has the same nose as Nate. It looks just like Nate's profile did. Anyway, I think we're both really excited and we've already settled on a first name. Now we only have to wait
3 1/2 months before we get to meet our new baby girl!

Snow?!

I woke up on Friday morning and looked out my window and the first thought that came to my mind was, "What? Wait, where am I living?" It was SNOWING!!! And not just a little bit, a lot a bit. When we moved here everyone told us, "Oh, yeah, you moved here during the miserable part of the summer. Just wait though, because winter is awesome and it's, like, 70 degrees everyday." Seriously? You lie!!!! Just kidding. It has been really nice here. It's just been this last week where it's been unseasonably cold.

Of course Nate's nose was glued to the window and he begged to go outside and play. Well of course we'll go play outside! But where? There really aren't any big open areas to run around in close by so I suited him up and we went down to our lap pool. Yep, the lap pool. It was the only open area we could find that wasn't ankle deep in gooey mud.

The snow was so wet. Everything was soaked. The snow immediately turned to slush when it hit the ground. That made for a lot of fun stomping and splashing.
Can you go outside in the snow and not try to catch it in your mouth? Nope, you can't. That's a prerequisite for playing out in the snow. Nate didn't find it very amusing because he couldn't get enough in at once so he walked over to the sun chairs and grabbed handfuls of slush off of them and would lick it like a Popsicle. I know, dirty and gross, but it's about having fun and I'm pretty sure he's eaten grosser things!
It snowed for a good half of the day. We even got accumulation on the roof.
We had fun even though we didn't last long. It was so wet and cold. If it hadn't been so wet we would've played longer but once you got wet you froze. We hear this is only the 4th time in 19 years that it's snowed here in Houston so we tried to make the most of it since it may not happen again during our stay here.

Thanksgiving...a little late

This year we stayed in Houston for Thanksgiving. It was really nice and quiet. We had some friends come over who also stayed in the area and we feasted. Seriously, so much food. What more can a pregnant lady ask for? It was a great day.
This year I made the turkey. It was first I'd ever made. It turned out pretty well, but next time I'll make a few adjustments.
After dinner we rocked out with some Guitar Hero. The kids had a blast and they do surprisingly well.
On the Friday after Thanksgiving we went camping with our friends. They knew all the places to go so we just packed up our little car and followed them into this great park called Brazos Bend. It's sort of shameful, but I have to admit, this was our first time camping since we'd been married. We even had a tent, lantern, and sleeping bags that we've packed around the country but never used. It was so fun and our friends had a great time teasing us about how seriously we camped.
Of course because we'd never camped before neither had Nate. He LOVED it. It was so fun to be outside to run and get dirty and mom didn't even care! He loved roasting marshmallows for s'mores but he loved burning marshmallows more. He takes after me a bit and doesn't particularly enjoy eating the s'more, he just wants to roast/burn the marshmallow. By the time we took his roasting stick away we had more s'mores than we knew what to do with.
I loved watching the kids. They really made it fun. We listened as they talked to each other through the tents until they fell asleep that night. We worried that they would freeze, but they were resilient and didn't even seem to notice the drop in temperature overnight.
We had tinfoil dinners for the adults and hot dogs for the kids that night. They loved standing around the fire watching their hot dogs sizzle. By the time the food was ready it was way past dinner time and they were starving. They were a good bunch. They waited pretty patiently and played with each other.
Apparently, Brazos Bend is known for alligators. They are supposed to be everywhere. So, in the morning we decided to go looking for them. The weather was cooler than usual so the alligators were in hiding. We only saw two from a very far distance. That's probably a good thing because the signs warned not to annoy the alligators. You never know with 4 year olds...
Look a Croc! Get it? Ha ha. I know, not very funny. I thought it was though. Robert just rolled his eyes.
Nate was so into keeping his eyes peeled for alligators. We are going to go back sometime when we know we'll see more of them.
There was a tiny museum with local wildlife facts and activities for the kids to see and do. Nate found a turtle shell. Must have something to do with a tortoise being around all the time.
There was an exhibit that taught the kids how to see the difference between a crocodile and an alligator. They weren't as interested in that as the buttons they could push to make the jaws mechanically move.
There were even baby alligators that they let the kids pet. Pretty cool. I really enjoyed myself.
This year's Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving weekend was a really great one. I think Nate will remember it for a long time. We had so much to be thankful for. We got home pretty tired and worn out but it was so worth it to spend time with good friends, experiencing new places and making memories.

My Birthday

So yesterday was my 27th birthday. It was a great day. I had so much fun. I got home and was so wiped out. We started the day dropping Robert off at school. Nate and I then went to the library for a playgroup of story time and crafting. I love the story time there because in between books they have the kids get up and wiggle. Usually dancing and singing. Nate loves the songs and always asks me to sing them with him and most of the time I have no idea! After story time they pulled out the Wii and did Wii fit for families. It turned into just the kids practicing heading a soccer ball. They got really good. Nate had a blast. It was about 1:30 by then and we needed lunch. Nate suggested Taco Bell and what pregnant woman would refuse that? Especially since we can both eat a ton for less than $5.

After lunch we headed to the mall to do some Christmas shopping for Robert. Nate was an awesome sidekick. He helped me make a grueling choice between one of three things. I think he nailed it. After shopping for Robert we headed to Motherhood. My favorite store ever! Nah, not really, but I am serious when I say getting dressed has become difficult and I just wanted to get some things to make it easier. Nate got bored there (me, too) so we went to Dylan's Candy Bar and I let him pick a candy cane. He chose some tropical flavor and was in hog heaven. I love how simple things like that can paste on a smile for hours to come.

We went and picked up Robert from school at 4 and Nate passed out in the back seat. Seeing him asleep in the car reminds me of when he was a baby. He would sleep all the time in the car. Now, when we want him to sleep he will do anything but.

When we got home we fixed up a babysitter and made reservations for dinner at Prego's. We dropped Nate off and Robert took me back to Motherhood and let me pick out some new clothes. I now have a couple new outfits that I can mix and match. Love Robert!

Dinner was amazing. Thanks to Matt for the suggestion. There were great breads to dip in olive oil and garlic while we waited for our salad. Robert ordered smoked mozzarella ravioli with cremini mushrooms and vodka sauce and I got a chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto and fresh mozzarella on a bed of soft polenta and steamed garlic green beans on the side. YUM! We were so full we didn't get dessert. Instead we shared a small smoothie. I ate way to much but I couldn't stop myself.

After we picked up Nate we went home and got him to bed and then I took off to go play some volleyball at the church. It turned out to be half court basketball because we didn't have enough for volleyball and I complained about having to run a full court. I get bad contractions if I run too much. We played until 10 and I came home and snuggled on the couch with Robert until we went to bed. If I could repeat that day again I would.

Thanks so much to friends and family who called to wish me a great day. Thanks to Robert for taking time out of finals week to spoil me. You really know how to make this girl happy. Food and clothes... :)

And the baby is...

Last week I went in for my first Dr.'s appointment and ultrasound. Robert was able to come, too. We were so excited and nervous to find out if everything was going well, but we were most anticipating finding out the sex. The ultrasound showed the baby perfectly. It's right where it needs to be in development and we got an awesome view of the spine. The only problem was that it was hanging out in the stink-bug position so we have no idea what it is! Crazy modest baby! Argh! We want to know whether to name it Phoebe or Phoebo. Now we have to wait another month! My biggest lesson so far with this pregnancy is learning to be more patient. I feel like I've had to wait so long for everything to happen! Anyway, I just wanted to share because I know that I've not been awesome at keeping everyone informed. I will, I promise, I'll post any further information on the sex as soon as I know.

I'm so spoiled!

This can barely be called a post, but I was so happy I wanted to share. Nate slept until 8:30 this morning! It was AWESOME!

Robert's 28th!

This past weekend was Robert's 28th birthday. I think he's starting to feel old. He mentioned more than once that he couldn't believe it. I am kinda excited about getting older. I have this hope that I might be able to get it all together better as I age. Anyway, we had a great weekend. On Saturday we went to this great Spanish tapas resturaunt. It was so fun. We went with some friends and just ordered everything that looked good and shared it all family style. That way we got to try more food and enjoy more of the menu. I got so full! I so over-ate. Robert was like a kid enjoying to food he remembers from his mission. I love to watch him in those moments.

After dinner we headed over to the babysitter's who happened to be some more friends of ours. They were nice enough to let us do the cake and ice cream with them so we could share the big event with all of them. This year I asked Robert if I could deviate from the classic Rainbow Chip cake he always asks for. I ended up making a cannoli cake. It was really fun and really sweet. On the way home I asked him how it compared to the traditional Rainbow Chip. He said he still liked the Rainbow chip more. Bummer. I learned my lesson, though, it's going to be Rainbow Chip from now on. I want him to really look forward to his cake every year and it seems that Rainbow Chip is the way to accomplish that goal.


We sang "Happy Birthday!" and everyone got some dessert. Even the kids got in on the sugar rush.
Sunday was his actual birthday and we were awakened by a phone call from his family to sing him "Happy Birthday!" It's a good thing they called because we had forgotten to set an alarm for church after all the fun we'd had the night before!

After church we went and played games with friends and let the kids run crazy. I love that Robert got to play Settler's of Catan again and that I didn't have to!

I think Robert had a great birthday weekend and we really enjoyed all the company that we had. We feel really lucky to have made friends so quickly that we could share this day with. Birthdays are always more fun with people around! Thanks to our friends for making this birthday a fun and memorable one for Robert.