July Fly By

 Seriously.  I don't even know where July went.  That's a lie.  I spent the majority of it lying on the couch, pleading with God not to puke.  And, as long as I didn't move my head or body even a millimeter, I didn't.  So I spent the month watching 'The Hubs' and Gigi entertain 'The Littles' and when they didn't, I watched 'The Littles' destroy the house.  Eh...what can ya do?  I usually get a little teary when a month passes us so quickly but, this one...good riddance!  We had some good times, though (some of us, anyway)...

 ...making messes out of dinner when Mommy is laying on the couch...

 ...showing off her first pigtails...

 ...flying a kite on a blustery day...

 ...modeling the newest fashion...anti nausea wrist bands...and I have no idea whether or not they worked... I was too scared to take them off to find out...

 ...celebrated like, a hundred birthdays...

...with the famous caramel apple cheesecake...

...and a batman cake for cousin Trever (I did not make it and could never be as crafty as Maria to pull this off)...

...meeting Kristen,  our newest cousin...

...and posing for the first belly picture of baby #3...@10 weeks...I know, huge already but that's what happens in your third pregnancy when you haven't given your uterus the mandatory 2 year rest period.

Oh, July...you came and went.  Thanks for taking the incapacitating nausea with you.

Six

 We tied the knot.  It was the best day of my life.  It was beautiful as told here.  But it was real and you know how reality goes.

Six years ago...

...I forgot to wear sunscreen to the rehearsal and got a little sunburn...

 ...we picked up 10 tuxedos and realized that one (my Dad's) vest was missing an hour before the ceremony...

...'The Hubs' hit me in the head with the wedding gift I gave him (accidentally, of course) at the rehearsal dinner...he made up for it with jewelry and tickets to see Celine Dion...

...while we had a pre wedding cake fight, Ryan and Rachelle "borrowed" a golf cart and almost got arrested when they got caught...

...Rachelle arrived at my Mom's house at 7 am the next morning to get her hair done so she could attend a funeral before the ceremony...at least we didn't have to bail her out of jail...

...we rode in a limo to the wedding site...the air was broken and we couldn't roll the window down because everyone's hair was already done... 

 ...they wedding site put wrinkled chair covers on every chair and my Mom insisted they be ironed an hour before the wedding began...

 ...Kiona arrived with a seriously red eye and we spent a long time trying to cover it up...

 ...my jeweler insisted on tying knots between each pearl on my necklace and subsequently, no matter how much we tried to fix it, there were big gaps in between them...

...as it turned out, I'm allergic to lilies and had watery, burning eyes during the whole ceremony...

 ...we completely forgot to hand out the programs we had spent so much time creating...

 ...we ran about an hour behind and left our guests just hanging out in the sweltering heat...

 ...a breeze kicked up during the ceremony and it took almost a whole song to get the unity candles lit...

 ...we gave our parents roses as a sign of our appreciation and on the wedding video you can hear 'The Hubs' (who was wearing the mic) say, "I don't get it.  I don't remember rehearsing this part"...

...I underestimated how much force was required to ring a mission bell and it nearly sent me flying...

...but in the end, it was still magical!

Happy anniversary to the best man I know.  These few years have been wonderful and I am so thankful that I get to share this life with you.

Summah-time

 This summer has been pretty mild for us.  The weather hasn't been horribly hot and, due to some severe morning sickness, we have been just lazing around the house instead of on the usual move.  This year, we have spent plenty of mornings drinking coffee (or laying on the couch, trying not to puke) on the back patio watching the kids play around in their pjs.

Playing ball...

 ...she loves the playhouse...

 ...working on that swing...

 ...making breakfast for Mommy...

We have also spent a lot of time running after the kids (laying on the concrete trying not to puke) while they splash in the sprinkler or the pool.  They both love the water!

 ...this is the best you are getting from me for a while...

...splashing... 

 ...engaging in some guy talk...

 ...playing with some pool toys...

 ...how cute is that face?

Even my new roses are thoroughly enjoying the summer.  Hope everyone is having a wonderful season!

Plans

You know how they say, when you make plans, God laughs.  Well, I had a lot of plans for the next few months and none of them included what God had planned for us.  We had a trip to Hawaii planned, a half marathon in December, numerous sushi dinners, and more skinny margaritas that I care to admit to planning to drink.  Much to my disappointment, my plans aren't exactly going to work out right now. 

I am pregnant...again. 

When I was pregnant with 'Munchkin', I was positive that she would be our last.  After she was born, I felt that maybe we could handle just one more.  Then, a few months ago, I started to get jealous when I found out that people were pregnant.  And by people, I mean celebrities.  I knew that I wasn't done.  I just knew I wasn't ready yet.  'The Hubs' agreed and we decided to wait until 'Munchkin's' second birthday to start trying.  Well, on the day of 'Munchkin's' first birthday and mere hours before her party...I got a plus sign.  God's plan...not mine. 

Needless to say, despite our knowledge of how babies are made, we were both incredibly surprised.  'The Hubs' beamed with excitement.  I sobbed and sobbed and they were not happy tears.  It took me some time to come to terms that God's plan was good and He would not give me anything that I could not handle. 

Today, we visited Dr. D.  I am exactly 9 weeks.  We saw our little one for the first time and it felt surreal.  The shock that I was back in her ultrasound room when I had last been there just 13 months before.  The excitement to see our baby and its heart fluttering away.  The joy that two parents shared in watching their family grow.

 I am due February 19th.  A week that was spent in a hospital saying goodbye to my Dad two and a half years ago.  From my sadness, joy will rise.  God is good.  And so are His plans. 

  

Fourth of July

 This year, we spent most of the day recovering (our whole family) from the stomach flu.  We all got wiped out and it was rough.  It had been a few days wince any of us had been sick but we still didn't feel the greatest.  We had such good intentions.  We had planned to go down to Coronado and spend the day there with Dane and Janelle and the kids.  They got wiped out, too.  So the best we could do was pack a picnic and headed to the Temecula sports park. 

We set up a little spot and chatted and watched the kids play.  It is so hard to watch after 'The Littles' when you just don't feel good.  Someday, they will be older and appreciate how we sucked it up so they could have a memorable holiday.

All pics are with the phone camera.  Sick mommies don't remember to charge the battery in their nice cameras.

 'Munchkin' loves Capri Suns.  She kept picking up the leftovers the older kids left on the ground.  It was actually pretty comical.  I still can't get over how well she can already drink from a straw.

'The Boy' was completely entertained by this beach ball for hours. 

At 9, the best fireworks show started.  It was so long and we had a front row seat.  We loved it.  Next year, we plan on coming back here to celebrate.  We'll see how that one goes.