Bounce House = Life Saver

Did you ever imagine that you would have a bounce house as a child? I guess we did have trampolines, but the bounce house has the added feature of indoor jumping during the winter and it's a perfect combination with a 2 year old! Thank you, Mr. Bounce House maker.

The first thing Mia did was adorn her bounce house with stickers, moments after it was blown up. I couldn't tell what she was doing, but quickly I realized the importance of the bounce house as she placed small, glittery stickers with dogs on all sides of it.

It's...it's a....

Girl! Just like when we had the ultrasound for Mia, it was pretty obvious that it was a baby girl!! My thoughts hadn't wavered over the past few weeks, I thought it was a girl (Travis wasn't sure) and it was all confirmed today with the ultrasound. Travis was excited (even though he's clearly outnumbered) and overall, we were most happy that everything measured right on with no issues. It's amazing to see her little body and heart just pumping along. It's a miracle, every time.

Melt My Heart...

I came home last night to hear a sweet story about a conversation my daughter had with my husband. Not much needs to be said about the outcome other than it melts my heart.

Quote from Mia:

"Daddy, I make you happy." [pause]
"You make me happy, too!"

Could it be a girl?

At this point, we better hope so! On a whim, I've purchased some lovely crib bedding with butterflies and flowers and several matching shirts for Mia and her little sister...the problem is...we still don't know if it's a girl or a boy! I think we've just given in to the reality that all the grandkids are grandgirls and boys are hard to come by. Interestingly enough, all the pregnancies that I've heard of lately are with boys - so maybe it will rub off on us? Plus, the myth says a slower heartbeat (which this baby has) and how I haven't thrown up once (which is unlike my experience with Mia), we might be having a boy. Do you believe in wives tales? Yeah, we don't either.

The ultrasound is scheduled for the afternoon on February 18th so check back and we'll post the outcome or we'll send a mass text if I know you will receive it. :)

St. George in January

We're beginning to get used to the common practice of heading South for the winter (just like the ducks). :) Thanks to some good friends who have invited us before, we were able to spend the long MLK weekend in St. George. Boy, we really needed it and it was refreshing to be in the sunlight away from smog! Mia even got to participate in some foot zoning with Chelle and Shana!

Lastly, I wanted to show you a picture of my Mary. Around Christmas time, Mia started draping blankets, towels, whatever she could find and then say, "Look, I'm Mary!" I think she got the idea from one of her board books, but in the end, I really think this girl is going to love dressing up for the Nativity in future years...I just hope she gets picked to be Mary!

Twenty Ten

H - How can it be 2010? I'm still partyin' like it's 1999!
A - Another year older, but hoping for good health and happiness
P - Pregnant, preggers, PG - whatever you want to call it. :)
P - Praying for sun since it's been the coldest December in 70 years
Y - Yes! You read it right, we're pregnant and find out what it will be around Valentine's Day!

N - New Years Resolution to write down 1 thing we're happy for each day
E - Expecting Travis to skip out on the Mr. Mom gig any day now
W - Wishing our 2 year old would potty train herself!

Y - Yearly reminder to workout regularly, but for some reason we only remember it once a year!
E - eBay continues to be good to us - 7 years and counting!
A - Always thankful for our friendships, family and cuddle time with Mia
R - Remembering what's really important in life and what's not

Merry Christmas, 2009!

I know, I know, it's been way too long since we've posted so this will be one massive post getting us all caught up! Thanks for the gentle reminders that I haven't posted in a while. :)

Since November, it's all been a blur. It started with Travis turning 4-0. That's right, someone is officially OVER the hill and so we celebrated in style with friends & family and finally finished the pool room. We played a little Travis' Top 40 Trivia which surely embarrassed him (oh wait, I forgot that he doesn't get embarrassed), but it was fun and ended with his very own skydive at the Ogden Airport. The skydive was impressive, so impressive that I have vowed to NEVER do anything crazy like that. His family was in town from Boise to see the jump and the worst part is that he now has the itch and 'thinks' he's going back up again!

For Thanksgiving, we took the trek to South Carolina to visit with Travis' Dad and family. It was so nice to be in 65 degree weather and to enjoy the Fall scenery. We took a buggy ride through Charleston, visited family in Rock Hill and loved spending time where Travis' dad is clearing out some land they recently bought just behind their home. Beautiful trees as far as thee eyes could see, cotton fields and strong Southern accents. I hope we get to go back!

Once we returned from South Carolina, I've been spending most of my evening time at the hospital with my mom. She was admitted the last week of November and just recently moved to a rehab facility on Christmas Eve. It's been a long haul and I think we're all ready for her to move back to her home. She's had pancreatitis with some complications, but she's now on the road to recovery even if it feels like it's been forever.

We originally had planned for family to visit from Boise for Christmas, but it ended up just being my brother and us. Travis cooked the turkey and we had all the fixins. I even planned to watch Mia tear into all her presents, but she opened the My Little Ponies first and that was all she could handle. We had to force open a couple and over the past few days following Christmas, we've successfully opened up a present a day. I think there's only 1 or 2 left under the tree. Let's just say, that was not the behavior we were expecting. :)

Our favorite remarks from Mia on Christmas morning were: "Can you get some scissors, please? I need some scissors to open my ponies." Scissors? Are 2 year olds supposed to be asking for scissors? She had some special requests for "pumpkin pie" and when asked to do most things, she responded with, "Sure!" I hope she's just as accommodating when she's a teenager. :)