Birthday Boy

Cody turned four,where does the time go? I asked him what it means to be four and he said, "Because I don't cry." Other things include he is big and he can draw circles.

For his cake this year we went and looked at cakes at Walmart and he announced to everyone that he was getting a Dragon cake. But not just any dragon cake, the black one with the boy on it-the How to Train Your Dragon cake. I decided against buying it at the store but this meant there was pressure. In the past, my cakes have been...random. I got smart this time and called for help from my friend, Hailey. She's good. Very good. So, this is the result:

Toothless! I made the fish and some of the moss:)! Oh, and the actual cake inside.

Cody blew the candles out before we could sing and I couldn't get the lighter to work again. He got the job done though!

I love that his shirt is too short in his birthday pictures, it shows how much he has grown in the last year. He just got that shirt for Christmas and it's already too small.

I made him a dragon cape for his birthday, but he won't wear it and says he doesn't like it. He's too honest. Macey was kind enough to model it and I'm going to try to convince him one of these days to wear it!:)

He LOVES his presents from his grandmas and has been fully and completely entertained since he opened them.

I had no idea what a commitment it would be to make a cake, but this was the result:

There was also some poop smeared all over Macey's room, courtesy of Macey.

It reminds me of another birthday before this. Actually, it probably happens at every birthday, but I documented these two!

We love you little (BIG) man!

7 weeks (3) vs 12 weeks (1)

This is me when I was pregnant with my first, at 12 weeks:

Ah, cute...nothing.

This is me at 7 weeks:

with a belly. Not technically "showing," (baggy shirts only work so long) but REALLY?

It appears as though I will be carrying in my typical 'awkward low' where at 6 months every man, woman and redneck at walmart will tell me I've dropped. That happened last time, so I suspect it will again:)

Cody was very curious today not about where babies come from, but how babies get out. I thought it was a good question. But if he really knew, he wouldn't ask...it is not pleasant!

And last, but not least, this is how I found Macey in her crib during her naptime, which was unsuccessful because she didn't nap. I took a picture of the evidence:

Books scavenged from the bookcase right next to her crib, six blankets she insists accompany her to bed, her pants and diaper not on her body, and a large circle of pee (not visible, but there)!

Big Belly, part 2 and 3

For anyone that actually doesn't know at this point, we're havin a baby! I'm due Aug 25.

At 7 weeks pregnant I showed Cody my belly. He said, "Whoa!! You're belly is really full." Then he couldn't resist grabbing it and squishing it around. New prego bellies are so gross. If a three year old can tell, and grab it, I say I was showing.

A week later, he wisely asked me without me bringing it up if there was a baby in my belly. I told him yes. He pointed at Macey, "And her will be gone!" We explained he could have more than one brother or sister.

A couple mornings later he woke up and came in my room. I said "Hi babe." "Where's your other baby?" he asked. I showed him my belly and told him it was going to get a Lot bigger. He said, "Whoa. You're chumpy!"

I am still having raging heartburn so I will take that as a good sign.

Mischief

In the past week Macey has:
Dumped out food coloring in the closet.
Dumped out a box of cereal all over the floor.
Dumped out a container of nuts all over the floor.
Colored all over the floor with marker.
Colored on the floor with pen.
Covered a chair in thick lotion.
Multiple other offenses which include any time I don't hear from her for more than one minute I KNOW she's in the bathroom eating toothpaste.
Peed on our bed.
Peed in her crib at nap time six consecutive times. The first time was annoying, the second time I saw it was going to happen again. The third time was my fault for not preventing, the fourth, fifth were crazy because I duct taped her diaper, the sixth was pure resignation. But now, I successfully duct tape all the way around. Anyone that wants to potty train my child is welcome to come over at 6 am when she gets up and get her out of her crib and take her. I'll be up at 7.

It's like she's two...what a long year this will be!

Update: Just now as I blogged this I heard Cody and Macey say "This is fun!" And then I went out and found spaghetti noodles COVERING our entire house. Guess that's my cue to stop blogging!

Passed

We just found out today that Ben passed his board exams with flying colors! Way to be...officially on his way to Dr. Crosland. Also on the check list-senior paper, he leaves for a month to Montana, then...graduation.

Christmas in Utah - Collage style

Ben had to work, so the kids and I came down an extra week early. One of the highlights is that I got to meet my two 3 month old nephews. Benson was born in Florida and is a cute little chunk...14 lbs at 3 months! Lynette and Jon are there while Jon goes to school to become an anesthetist.

Brody was born with several birth defects and will get open heart surgery in a few months. Here he is being fed through his feeding tube. Steph and Ryan do amazing with everything, they've never complained once. He is a sweet baby.


The kids went crazy one day at Kangaroo Zoo.

They also got a visit from santa at grandma's house. This is significant because it's the first time Cody has sat on santa's lap and enjoyed it. Vanessa clung to her grandpa in a vice grip the whole time.

I took a picture of Macey and Vanessa because I think they look a lot alike- at least they definitely look like cousins.

We took a ride on The North Pole Express with Ben's family up to the North Pole (somewhere south of Heber City).

These were the reactions to santa. I love it. Macey told Santa, out of the blue, that she wanted a bear and Cody said a train.

We had a family party with Ben's extended family. My favorite part was playing Taboo with his grandparents. Ed didn't talk, just did actions until people told him he could talk. Then he said "It goes like this..." and continued to do actions.

LaRae couldn't see her word so it was whispered to her, but she's a little hard of hearing, so we could all hear the word. Once, her word was Loaf and as soon as we all heard it she howled like a wolf.

Christmas Eve

We spent a day at Discovery Gateway. We found out that our Science Center passes here get us in. sweet. It's an amazing place, but super crowded. Ours in Pullman- a little (lot) less cool, but much less crowded. It's a trade off.

We had so much fun and already miss everyone. I'm not sure when we'll all be together again so we really cherished our time, even amidst all the chaos of our children!