Tuesday, March 31, 2015

8 year anniversary


8 years... wow. I say this every year, but the time really has gone quickly. It has been a big year of change and challenges for our family, but I see now that even through the hard parts, having a partner by your side that loves you and wants the best for you is the best way to get through anything. Happy anniversary Pete! Here are my 8 favorite memories with him (in no particular order):

1. Applying for law school was a fun process. He worked so hard to be competitive for several great schools, and with no kids in tow, the world was our oyster. I really loved traveling to a few different schools and thinking about the next chapter for us. But my favorite moment was when we had just arrived back from Christmas vacation in San Diego to our little apartment in Utah, and we had a large envelope waiting for us... from the University of Michigan (his dream school). It was so special. We then went for a late night dinner at Macaroni Grill to celebrate (I told the waiter our news, but he probably thought I was lame for being so excited).

2. While we were good friends in high school and we never actually dated in high school. Being a grade older, I came back from college to watch his spring choir concert his senior year. It was Disney themed which was super lame to a bunch of high school kids, but I think they all had some fun with it (excluding the Mickey Mouse club shirts with their name on it). Anyway, I was in the third row in the huge concert hall, and he could easily see me from the stage. Interestingly enough, his girlfriend's parents were sitting right in front of me. During a Newsies medley involving some impressive dance moves, he kept eyeing me and winked at me. I think he got a little flack for that from the gf's family. Don't worry, they were planning on breaking up after graduation anyway:)

3. After he returned home from serving in Spain, we decided to make homemade tortillas together. His brother was also there and he gave us such a hard time about how impractical it was to make them, when we could spend less time and money just going to the store. We would not give in! Too bad they tasted terrible in the end.

4. This is not an isolated memory, but a prolonged one. After he left for his freshman year of college at BYU and I returned to Point Loma for my second year, he decided to email each other every day. Cell phone plans being what they were at that point, the minutes were limited and this was the most economical way to communicate. We wrote each other EVERY SINGLE day! I even printed off all of the emails he wrote me. We came across them the other day and they are hysterical. He thought he was such a hot shot. Hilarious.

5. Our wedding day is one of my most favorite days ever. And one thing that stands out is when he sang to me. Not only did I love hearing his sweet voice singing me a love song, but I pictured a lifetime of singing together and with our future children. It's what I always dreamed of.

6. I'm going to lump together the births of our two boys. As much as he does not enjoy the childbirth process (who does????), I loved having him by my side (err... head) and welcoming our boys into the world. I love that Parker looks just like him and Aussie looks like me. And as the boys get older, I have seen Pete come alive as a dad and enjoy seeing the fun bond he has with them.

7. Binge watching shows. Mostly in our pre-children days, we would find a TV series to watch and go nuts watching episode after episode. In those days, we would track down dvd's at a Blockbuster and have a marathon. We watched 24, Jailbreak, Lost, etc... So fun!

8. And last but not least, we met when he was only a freshman and I was a sophomore. We were both up for the "kids roles" in the Musicman and were paired up for the dance audition. After meeting at that point, we reconnected in choir when he was a Jr and I was Sr. I was auditioning for "Joseph" and I knew we were desperate for good boy voices, so I recruited Pete Dahlquist, that cute choir boy who had a great voice. I told him there would be an easy, short dance audition, but it was no big deal. I was surprised how easy it was to get him to agree to participate (apparently he loved me even then), and when he told me he couldn't dance, I didn't quite understand the level to which he was talking about not being able to follow choreography. It was a disaster and he basically free-styled the whole thing, but I loved that he never gave up. He had such a good attitude and those months of driving together to rehearsals was one of the most special times of my life. I didn't know him very well, but I could tell very early on that he was a true friend. I loved being around him and we would just laugh and talk. That was the beginning of our love story.

A story that will continue on forever...

Monday, March 30, 2015

Night-time discussions

As I mentioned, the boys love chatting before bed. Here they are "reading" together and chatting. Oh the love!

PS... Austin told me I was his best friend today. Be still my heart! And he told me the baby in my tummy loves me too.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Happy Sunday

Oh how I love little boys in suit coats and ties. 
 He said, "I look like a boss!"

 And then there's little brother... not so cooperative. The coat didn't actually make it to church and required some gummies just to get this pic. But it was so worth it!





Thursday, March 26, 2015

Gold coins

The boys love to play "eye spy" with every book we own. They don't care about the stories, they just want to find things in the pics. Here was a little discussion I had with Austin about the treasure in a treasure chest one day.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

St. Patty's Day

I did not plan on doing a darn thing to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. That was until Parker came home all excited because his teacher had been talking it up, and he was so excited that the leprechaun was going to visit our house, turn things green, mess things up, and leave gold coins. Uh... is this day actually a big deal? 

Oddly enough, when the day actually arrived, I noticed many friends on social media that also felt peer pressured into observing the holiday. How funny... anyway, I decided to keep it simple but do what I could to bring a little life to the day.... The boys woke up to green footprints leading to the toilet. And green water!
 Then they went downstairs and saw a photo turned upside down, Lucky Charms cereal, and a note from Leo the Leprachaun. Parker just said, "Oh yeah, I know that guy." Unimpressed. Later we went to the movies with a friend and came back for green pancakes and rainbow fruit. My friend also brought some craft stuff and the boys made Shamrocks. Bless the moms out there who let their kids use glitter:)
All in all, it was a fun day without going too crazy. Hope he doesn't expect me to up my game next year.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Growing boy

Parker sure is growing up and I really love it. His little personality shines more and more as he matures, and I love to hear his thoughts and opinions. He expressed wanting to try karate, so I told him I'd look into it. A center near us offered a "free trial class" which was essentially the ultimate sales pitch. They took us into a back room, helped him put on a uniform and did a little one on one with him. Then they told us it would be $140/month to come in 1-2 week. What?!?!?! For a five year old to develop the punching and kicking skills he basically already does everyday? Sorry Park. But he did look cute in the uniform. 

 How cute is this guy? I love seeing him becoming more aware of making good choices.
 And we are treasuring any good weather days. Good weather usually means about 50 degrees! Running races in the front yard is a favorite thing to do.

 And often Daddy gets involved. (And Austin cheats... but in all fairness... the kid doesn't stand a chance with his short legs and one arm pumping motion).
 Parker also received the "Self-manager" award in computer class, which means he was effectively self-regulating his behavior by listening, staying quiet, and following directions.

Monday, March 23, 2015

24 weeks

It's funny how things change with each pregnancy. With your first, you know down to the day how far along you are, you are hypersensitive to every ache and pain, you have much more time to cater to those aches and pains, and you try to wear maternity clothes way earlier than necessary because well... you're finally pregnant and maternity clothes can be so much fun! 

With the second you get a little less of all those things, and with the third, you are just looking forward to crashing in bed at the end of the day. 

All in all, I am super lucky with the pregnancies because I don't get overly sick in the beginning and things just move along smoothly. But at 24 weeks, I am starting to feel it! Since I've only had winter babies so far, I feel like I should be ready to give birth to this one any day now. Sadly, July is not exactly around the corner. Bummer man. But I am feeling big, though I am working out daily which is not something I did in my previous pregnancies. Mostly I do yoga, but then I have also found prenatal strength training videos on youtube that I like. Pete said it's made a difference... but I don't really see it. However, I know that working out will help me bounce back better following the delivery. I am pleased with my energy level, despite the aches and pains. I find that having wood floors has been especially unpleasant on my feet and legs. Anytime I make dinner, by the end my feet are swollen and in pain. Like all my other pregnancies, I also have sciatic nerve pain and neck pain, but yoga has really helped out with that. And the acid reflux... oh what fun. Sometimes I wake up with a raspy voice because of it. 

But that's the complaining part. I am so thankful that we were able to have a third baby, that he is developing normally, and that the boys are so excited to have a little brother. We are truly blessed. No name yet, but it's fun to talk about. Austin wants to name him Chesapeake Poopyface. 

Here I am at 23 weeks. 
 24 weeks along...

Sunday, March 22, 2015

A little photo shoot

I rarely take non-phone photos of the boys, and due to a battery issue with my camera, I haven't done any good ones in a while. So I forced them into cute shirts and attempted a shoot in the front yard. Parker is so cooperative these days. Austin... not so much. 
 (A lot of these are redundant, but for blog book purposes you'll just have to bear with me.)








 And then we tried to get Austin into the mix. Even though this wasn't the look I was going for, it is an excellent representation of his moody-self these days. He does smile, but he also works the pout regularly.


 He told me if Dad would run a race with him, then he'd smile. Then he tripped and fell, and started bawling. Love a good puffy-eyed pic.
 Better...

 Buddies....


 Daddy making faces behind me sure helps out.

 "Stand up Austin... no, stand up straight. Put your legs together... your legs are still apart..."
 Parker trying to pose him didn't work any better than my directions.




 And then he felt like being a plane.


 Admiring a cute dog. There aren't many kids in the neighborhood but there ARE a ton of dogs.






 "I'm going inside mom. You can take more pictures outside."
Better luck next time.