Bike Rides

It is official. Kyson can now ride his bike! (with training wheels, of course). He got the bike for Christmas, but his little legs were too short. (Definitely from his father. Because Lexi and Kendri have never had that problem!)

I've been taking him outside to play this week and naturally he wants to do what his sisters are doing. So we've been teaching him how to ride! I was pretty impressed with how fast he picked it up. By the end of the week I was running after him. (Well. "Running" is perhaps a little generous at this point. It would be a more accurate description to say "jogging" or perhaps"hobbling". ) We went for our first official bike ride a few days ago. We went all over the neighborhood and he did great! By the time we hit the home stretch though, he couldn't go any further. His poor little "bum" had had it. He kept trying to get back on his bike and pedal but as soon as he'd start he'd scoot off the seat and say, "Bum. Hurt." Needless to say we walked the last block home! Way to go, Kyson!

Big Sleepover

The other night we heard Kyson wake up at 8:30 and come out of his room. That never happens. He did not, however, call for either of us but Ryan went upstairs anyway. Kyson was trying to sneak into his "Sissies" room. Ryan caved and let him crawl into bed with the girls. As you can see, he dragged his pillow pet in there too ;)



He slept through the night with his sisters and I heard him wake up at 5:30 am.......and knew I was in trouble. I tried to be fast enough to get him before the excitement of finding himself in a new bed hit. There was no way. He was giggling and yelling "Sissy!" before I even had the blankets thrown off. But still I tried. I grabbed him and took him into his room. He cried. I didn't care. I kept thinking that there was no way I wasn't getting back into bed. I finally got him to stay in his room only to hear Lexi and Kendri whispering to each other. It was hopeless. Ten minutes later Kyson was back in their room and I was back in bed. I never did go back to sleep. And we did make it to school in plenty of time!

And The Verdict Is.......

We went to have the big ultrasound last Monday. Everyone was very excited. Lexi and Kendri had talked about this appointment for at least a month. I had talked it up telling them how awesome it would be to see the baby in 3-D and all the fun things they would get to see. Well. The appointment was still fun but I will say it was slightly disappointing. And not due to the gender. I call this baby my "lazy baby". There just isn't as much activity going on as there was with my other babies. And possibly I am forgetting. But I don't think so. Anyway, the baby is very low in my pelvis. So low that the ultrasound tech couldn't get any measurements until she had laid the bed down at an incline so my head was lower than my feet. Rather uncomfortable even without a baby nesting inside you. And then she couldn't get the head measurement until she repeatedly shoved on the baby in an upward motion. On my full bladder. She finally got the measurements she needed. So we called the rest of the family in for the big reveal.

But the baby's back was to us and it wasn't moving. With a little more prodding we finally saw the defining aspects to our little baby but the umbilical cord was right there so we couldn't say what we saw. After about 4 different glimpses (each on less certain than the last) the umbilical cord finally moved and we could "safely" say it was a girl! Unfortunately, we didn't get to see her in 3-D because of how she was positioned. We also never got a good profile shot. What a little stink! With Kyson, we had a full face shot. It was amazing. I thought he looked just like Ryan when I saw him. He wasn't camera shy at all. But I guess that's just the way it is! We are excited about our newest little girl coming and Lexi and Kendri are convinced that she should be in their room. Too bad there isn't any room in there for another girl.....I think it would so fun to have a huge girly room that they could all share. You know. Like the ones in Pottery Barn............

Winter Wonderland

Last week was the Daddy-Daughter dance at the elementary school. Kendri was heart-broken when Lexi told her she couldn't go because she was only in preschool. Kendri insisted she was "a daughter and they could share their daddy" during the dances. I thought she argued her case well. So I let her go. I decided if anyone was mean enough to send a little girl home because she loves her daddy then I would deal with it in a nasty-pregnant-hormone way. Luckily that didn't have to happen ;) Both girls went and had a ball! The theme this year was Winter Wonderland. Apparently there was a "snowball fight"......girls against Dads. They threw crumpled up paper. The girls won, although Ryan insists it was rigged! They also did the limbo, ate snowball cakes, and ran around until they had blisters. Another successful dance!

Kyson's Experiments

Do you want to know what Kyson has been up to since I was in Seattle? Experimenting with our plumbing. Here is a run-down of what he has flushed down the toilet in the last 2 weeks.

1. a stick of chapstick

2. Lexi's Littlest Pet Shop, the Ostrich

3. His beloved binky (And yes, there were tears when the realization of what he'd done hit. But now the mangled binky rests in peace and Kyson is learning to sleep completely without it.)

And I think this has suffered the same fate, but am not yet sure.......

4. His Sunday tie. (Is that even possible???? I'm not sure, but I'm starting to think it is.)

The reason I think it went down the drain is because he had 2 ties out on Sunday trying to decide which one he wanted to wear. (The above picture is the missing tie. And, no it is not actually that long. It was a bad tying job on my part, but I left it on anyway :) Anyway, Kyson came to me with a pitiful expression on his face (something similar to I-Don't-Know-How-This-Possibly-Could-Have-Happened......But-It-Did) and presented me with one of his ties, dripping wet. And then he told me he "flushed". I ran to the toilet and indeed it had just been flushed. However, I thought we got lucky and the tie just didn't make down the drain. I still thought the other tie was downstairs. Now, 6 days later I'm not so sure. I still haven't found the tie and we've been cleaning out closets and corners and nothing has turned up. I wouldn't have thought it possible......

So in essence, I'm waiting for the back-up at anytime.

Seattle in a Nutshell

I did something I have not done since I've been married. In fact, I don't think I've ever boarded a plane completely alone.......until last week that is! Amber (sister) and I finally made it out to Seattle to see our brother. We've been talking about it for a few years now and we finally just did it. She flew out of Denver and I flew out of Sacramento.

I can't even begin to tell you how fast I zipped through the lines at the airport. Seriously. Zipped. I patiently waited for a woman who had about 5 trays she was struggling to fill and push through security. But I didn't judge. Even though I only needed 2 trays (I have an extra big purse that requires one all by itself. And extra big feet which requires another all to themselves.) Who am I to get irritated when I am usually lining up 10 different trays and frantically stripping my children of jackets and shoes and backpacks? Who am I to judge when I am usually the one that has backed up the line so badly that strangers start to push trays through for me in hopes to get me out of the way. Nope. Not this time. I breezed through security like it wasn't even there. And then I had an hour and a half until boarding time. Unheard of. An hour and half of uninterrupted daydreaming. Or reading. Or perusing over-priced stores. I sipped my coffee-free vanilla bean frappucino with caramel and whipped cream in peace. And I didn't have to share any. Ahhhhh.

Back to my vacation outside of the airport......we got to Seattle Thursday night and left Monday night. We were able to hit most of the main events, I think. Due to the rain there were a few things we couldn't do and due to my pregnancy there were a few more things we couldn't due (mainly kayaking which I'm not entirely sure I'd want to do anyway.......goes back to my fear of drowning. I can't imagine flipping upside down and being okay with it. Makes me shudder just thinking about it.) So here are some pictures of the things we did and saw.

Stopped here for a little treat......(thank you marshmallows rolled in cookie crisp and chocolate)

This was Snowqualamie Falls. It was awesome even in the rain!

A quick night shot of the Seattle skyline.

A giant starfish I couldn't stop staring at. Bizarre.

Just getting ready to walk downtown Seattle.

Beginning our tour of the city. (There's Amber, leaving me behind. No mercy for pregnant and slow.)

This is Phil's horse, Shelby. We brushed her and played with her. He has another horse, Peach, who is going to have a baby any day now. Amber rode her. I rode another horse named Sport. I didn't post a picture because I look like a giant mushroom riding a horse. No one needs to see that.

After the horses, we treated ourselves to a seafood feast at the Crab Pot.......It was delicious!
(Even though we didn't eat until 8:00. We were city living!)

Overall we had a great time and got to see some fun things. And I had more energy than I thought possible. It's amazing how easy it is to just take care of yourself. I stayed up late and slept in and it was great! I went shopping and did what I wanted. I loved it. But I missed my family and was ready to come home. Thanks Phil for the tour and thanks Ryan, for watching the kids! It was certainly a good bonding experience for everyone ;)

Happy Birthday Lexi!

We just celebrated Lexi's 7th birthday! My, how time flies! We didn't get the cake frosted until she was home from school which suited her just fine......don't worry, Kyson and Kendri still managed to get their fair share of licks too! Every time I turned my back someone had a finger in the frosting. I had to banish them from the kitchen so I could finish the cake! We decided this year would be a family party. It was very low-key but Lexi didn't complain at all. She picked tacos for her birthday dinner and was happy to wait until after everyone had showers before starting the party. The main thing she wanted was an easy-bake oven so here it is!

The birthday party guests.......

and the turtle cake! Lexi drew out what she wanted and I put it on the cake. She pointed out to me that there are "7" hearts on the the turtle. I thought that was very clever of her.

We had a great party and Lexi is lucky enough to have another tomorrow at Gammi's house. All of her Reese cousins will be there. Who could ask for more?

Some things about Lexi.......Right now Lexi is in Girl Scouts. She just had softball tryouts today. She is not sure she will like it but because she is already enrolled she's going to find out for sure! (Meaning the next few months could be "fun"!) She is very social and loves to play with her friends. She is an awesome big sister......she is always willing to help Kyson and always includes Kendri when she has friends over. Lexi loves to read and play "school". She is very concientious of pleasing others. She really, really wants her ears pierced and does not feel that showers are completely necessary. She will do anything I ask her to do but also has a bit of stubborness to her. We love her and the dyanmics she brings to our family! Happy Birthday Lexi!