Is it a boy or a girl???

Okay, so you didn't honestly think I was going to simply just tell you what the sex of the baby is did you?!... I have to leave you guessing for a little bit longer... Here's a hint: In India, this new baby would bring our family no additional honor, but in China, we'd be the envy of every couple awaiting child... You'll have to figure out the puzzle below to see whether we're expecting a boy or a girl. Good luck!

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33% of voters in our baby poll thought we were going to have another BOY
66% of voters in our baby poll thought we were going to have a GIRL

So maybe you used your brain power and figured out our exciting news by solving the puzzle for yourself or maybe you gave up as soon as I mentioned that the answer was in a puzzle and thought you'd just wait for me to "blab" and give the answer to you. Well, matter of fact, yesterday morning (Monday January 28TH) we found out that come June, we'll be expecting another BOY!!! I KNOW, I KNOW, I couldn't believe it when I saw it for myself during the ultrasound, but there was no mistaking that little knob, and it looks like I'm definitely going to be outnumbered in my home by a bunch of boys. Truly, I'm happy and really very excited! I kinda wanted this baby initially to be a girl, but in the last few weeks, I decided it was only for selfish reasons... I only wanted a girl to dress her in cute clothes, but come on, lets be honest, I'm not a huge fan of Barbie Dolls and the whole Disney Princess marketing thing has gone way over board- the princess movies bore me anyhow. I'm a fan of Pixars "Cars", "Bugs Life" and "Toy Story". I've always thought that being a "soccer mom" would be hip and fun, and now in 3 or 4years I just might have MY chance of becoming a "soccer mom" !!! I can't wait to take my boys to their soccer games, or swim meats, or sit in the stands watching one of their baseball games!!! (I love the ball field!!! When I was little I remember spending A LOT of my time there on weekends and weekday afternoons while my brother played in games or my Dad coached baseball games. I LOVE concession food; nachos, hot dogs, Big League Chew Gum, Toostie Rolls; and I love the smell of the outfield). I can't wait to see the boys on their bikes or little skateboards and I especially can't wait for them to be in Cub Scouts and go on their Father/Son camp outs! I think it will be really fun having 3 boys under 3. Sure it will be stressful, but imagine how FABULOUS it will be once their all of age and they're all out on their missions around the same time as each other. (It will be a "bank breaker" moment in our lives but Spencer's a hard worker and hopefully by his example our boys will learn to start working hard from a young age to save for their missions).

I really am thrilled this new baby is going to be another boy. My hope is that "the boys" grow up as best friends. I imagine there will be a bit of wrestling in our home and maybe a few "slug fights"- maybe I'll buy a couple of pairs of boxing gloves to keep around when things get heated between the boys as they get older...

It should definitely be an adventure having 3 boys so close in age in our little family!

I thought I should mention that Spencer accompanied me to my appointment for the ultrasound. We also brought along Noah and Ian. I asked Noah Sunday evening whether he thought he was going to have a brother or a sister, and he said he thought he was going to have another brother. The morning of the ultrasound, while we were waiting our turn, I asked Noah again whether he thought the baby would be a boy or a girl, and once again, he said it would be a boy. It's so funny, but sometimes I think these little kids, ones who are Noah's age, may actually know way more and have better insight into matters than we adults do.

So I'm feeling pretty good. I still depend on the Zophran to get me through my days, but the nauseousness is no longer crippling. My migraines have gone away for the most part (thank goodness) but the not so comfortable acid reflux state has just begun (it is especially bad any time after I eat). My baby bump is beginning to become more evident when I wear my every day normal clothing. I've had a few people at church ask me suspiciously if I was expecting, but there's still quite a few who are totally clueless until I tell them (it concerns me a little because I wonder if they just think I'm getting fat for no apparent reason). My pants are beginning to get too big, and my shirts and tops are beginning to get too short or tight (why is it my jeans and pants are always way too big and falling off of me while I'm preggers???)

Spencer left early this morning to catch his flight to New York City for the A.W.P. Writers Conference. He'll be there for a week until next Monday night, and then the following day he's leaving to Denver for three days with a couple of his buddies to catch a Utah Jazz/Denver Nuggets game.

We left for the airport at 5 a.m. this morning, and since we've been getting lots of snow and wind recently, the roads were pretty bad at that hour. I think I counted 6 accidents on I-15 just on the way to the airport. Spencer drove us to the airport but I had to drive myself back home on the freeway. I was really nervous to drive home because there was ice covering all but one lane of the freeway south bound. I found myself wishing I was driving a Zamboni (that big monster machine that smooths the ice at ice skating rinks) and not our Mountaineer. Eventually I made it home, knuckles white, from gripping onto the steering wheel with all my dear life.

I wish I could have joined Spencer and toured around the city on the weekend there with him, but he said he's really only interested in attending what ever readings he can during the conference. Boring... Had I been able to go, I definitely would have visited Dylan's Candy Bar on Third Avenue (it's a modern day Willy Wonka Candy Shoppe). I think since I didn't go, I'll send Spencer off to visit the store for me and bring me back a sweet treat.












I had planned to drive up to Rexburg tomorrow (Wednesday morning) with the boys to visit my friend Sheena for 2 days. Since the weather has been so unpredictable and ice is on the roads, I decided to delay those plans for a little while. I really wish I could have driven to San Diego to visit my family this week too, but the weather isn't great there either for the moment being and I don't think I'd be able to concentrate on the road for 12 hours driving. So I'm home bound this week... It's actually not too bad sticking around the house. I've been telling myself I'm going to start "potty training" Noah but I wanted to wait until I had a week where I didn't have too much planned that would keep us away from the home. I started yesterday by having him sit up on the toilet, wipe, flush (he's got that part mastered) and wash his hands. He does all the steps I mentioned very well but with one minor exception, he still has yet to actually "wee" in the toilet. Maybe I should keep my fingers crossed that by the time Spencer comes home Noah will be potty trained. That would be a dream!

I have a huge candy jar that sits next to our television that I keep Cinnamon Gummi Bears in. I've been meaning to use the Bears as treats or rewards for after Noah uses the toilet. The other morning, just after I'd gotten out of the shower, I spotted Noah with a fist full of these Cinnamon Bears. I followed him back into the living room where I found that while I was in the shower, he had emptied all of the bears out of the jar and thrown them ALL across the floor!!! There's were HUNDREDS of Cinnamon Bears EVERYWHERE; there were even 2 between Ian's toes!!! I have absolutely no idea how many of the bears Noah ate before I entered the scene, probably 20 at least, cuz he was still stuffing his mouth full of them when I started to clean them up!!! He's such a character! The picture below doesn't even show half the mess- Noah had already started to clean up by the time I took the picture. It seriously looked like a land mine had blown up in our living room (note the ugly couches I HATE in the background.)

This last Sunday was the worst Sunday ever!!! Now that it's a new year, our ward meets at 11:30. Not bad, much better than 9 o'clock church cuz I can sleep in a little bit longer, but it's terrible because it interferes with Ian's sleep time. This last Sunday he was a MONSTER and getting the boys ready for church was a disaster. They had a great time taking their baths, but when it came time to put on Ian's shirt and clip on his tie, he let loose and threw the WORST temper tantrum EVER! I was literally WRESTLING IAN into position so I could just button up his shirt. It totally wore me out too! He's a big kid, probably 25 pounds, maybe a pound lighter than Noah. By the time we got to church, I think I looked like I'd been in a blizzard- I was disheveled after my wrestling match with Ian, and he only got MORE difficult to hold and handle during sacrament. We sent Noah off to Nursery after sacrament, I stuck around for Sunday School but by the end of it, just before Relief Society, I had had enough and I made a Bee-line for our car to head home. Ian slept as soon as I got him home and he remained asleep for most of the afternoon. It wasn't until later that night that I noticed he had just broken his first tooth in that day. I was relieved to find out there was some sort of explanation for his terrible behavior.

Ian's still not crawling- well not in the right direction that is. He'll rock back and forth a lot on his knees. Occasionally, he'll creep backwards- mostly he likes to roll to things he wants to get at, and his new thing is bouncing to get momentum while he's sitting up and the momentum propels him forward inch by inch. He actually gets around by doing this. He has to use a little more caution though, because a couple of times he threw himself forward too quickly into a face plant! He never used to like the jumper we had set up in one of our doorways, but in the last week, he's taken quite the liking to it!!! He'll jump in it for 30 minutes at least each time I set him in it- sometimes an hour!

It was funny and sweet, the other night Noah was playing in the living room and he passed by Ian, who at the time was rolling around on the floor. Anyhow, at the moment Noah passed Ian, he looked at him, chuckled and said "cute" in an observatory manner, and then he carried on with what he was doing. Although Noah's only 2 years old, there's been a few times I could have swear he's 60!

I had another doctors appointment for Noah last week I had to take him to. This one was with the Geneticist up at Children's Primary Hospital in Salt Lake. It was just a follow up appointment- no major concerns, but since he's been seeing the doctor since he was only a month old, his Geneticist likes to have follow up visits every 6 or 12 months to make sure that as he develops and matures, there are no NEW concerns or problems Noah's faced with. (If you weren't aware, when Noah was born he had quite a few problems, and since then he's faced a few problems both physically and developmentally. He's seen every kind of specialist and he's had lots of procedures preformed to test and be sure his abnormal physical anomalies are NOT potentially dangerous or challenging for him. I intend to write a little biography on Noah's first two years of life some time later since I never documented any events for memory's sake). Anyhow, I was hoping this would be Noah's last visit to the Geneticists since I think he's doing really well for a kid his age, but the doctor still wants me to bring him back in another year because he's not ready to just CONCLUDE that Noah's totally fine. He doesn't WANT to have to diagnose any syndrome or disease, but he doesn't want to ASSUME normality when he can wait another year and see again if he should have any suspicions. So in the next week, I have to take Noah in to get his blood drawn and the lab will test every one of his chromosomes to see if they're normal. At one time, more than a year ago, the geneticist suspected that Noah had a deleted chromosome, if I remember correctly it was Chromosome 22, I could have it mistaken though. It wasn't Chromosome 21- he didn't suspect Downs at all, and when I say deleted- I don't actually mean that the entire chromosome 22 was missing- it just means that a little bit of it was missing. Anyhow, they tested to check that particular chromosome and everything was fine. The geneticists wants this time around to draw blood to check EVERY CHROMOSOME and it can check for any abnormalities and if there is an abnormality in any of his chromosomes it could help the doctor reach a diagnosis quicker. At this visit, the doctor was a little suspicious that Noah could have a disease called Williams Syndrome, it's in relations to Chromosome 7. The doctor wasn't quite sure because Noah shares A LOT of the same features children with this disease exhibit, along with a few other symptoms, BUT NOT ALL. One of my favorite symptoms children with this disease apparently have is "an unusually cheerful demeanor and ease with strangers" or otherwise sometimes referred to as "cocktail-party syndrome", and apparently these children also have a unique LOVE FOR MUSIC- that's definitely Noah. I guess it will be nice once these chromosome tests are done and we know the results because we'll be able to move forward from there seeking treatment if necessary.

I often say that Noah's going to be an Engineer when he grows older- reason being because #1 he loves to build things and #2, he LOVES TO COUNT!!! He loves numbers. He's been counting for a couple of months now, but never completely in order. Just last week he surprised me and counted all by himself from 1 to 11! He forgot the #12, mentioned #13 and #15. If only he could get his ABC's right. Right now, he sings the melody using only letters like "R" and "S" and "W" and "K". He doesn't even realize he's missing another 22 letters of the alphabet!

He's been pretty well behaved lately. He's been staying out of the bathroom and he hasn't disposed of any full cans of baby formula in recent weeks. He's become OBSESSED about having his HANDS CLEAN!!! Last week on our way to the doctors, just before I buckled him into his car seat, he'd been playing with snow and some of it was a little dirty and it left his hands a bit dirty. I didn't have time to unbuckle him and take him in to wash his hands, so I suggested he wipe his hands off on his pants. He FREAKED OUT!!! I suppose maybe he inherited a little bit of his "cleanliness obsession" from me...

Spencer and I just informally celebrated our 4 year mark from the day we decided to get married (January 26Th- Saturday of this year). I don't think Spencer remembered it had been 4 years since we decided to get married, but I'm funny like that and I remember silly dates like such. If you haven't read the story already of how we met, you'll have to, it's kinda funny and you wouldn't have guessed it. Click here. . Anyhow, we celebrated by finally buying life insurance and choosing a retirement plan and purchasing new coaches (two very big investments)!!! If you've been reading any of my recent posts, you will understand that this is quite a treat, one I've been praying for, especially since Saturday morning Noah spilled all of his yogurt cup onto our old couch cushion and proceeded to smear it into the cushion! The sectional we purchased is FABULOUS. It's 100% Italian Leather and the cushions are filled with Goose Down Feathers!!! I was a little saddened though to learn that even after we paid for it we were told we'd have to WAIT 4-6 weeks for it to be delivered!!! Such a bummer to wait especially when I'm so impatient.

Before I close, I thought I'd mention, particularly to inform those of my family members who aren't LDS but are familiar with our Church's prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, that he passed away on Sunday evening. Spencer and I learned the news just seconds after our Home Teacher, Rex, finished offering a parting prayer. The news sort of struck me, because I remember just before ending the prayer that Rex asked for a blessing to be upon the prophet and his family; how ironic just a minute later to find out President Hinckley had passed away with his family by his bedside. I admit, I got a little choked up upon hearing the news. It's quite a disappointment too because just earlier in the week I managed to get Noah to finally say President Hinckleys name and now he recognizes him as the prophet. I'm sure he'll be a little confused with the changes that will come in the leadership of the church.

I admired President Hinckley and his teachings, and I especially admired his CHARACTER. He had a grandfather charm about him, that almost had me convinced at times that he was like my own grandpa- (not really, but you know what I mean). One thing I will remember about President Hinckley that I loved learning about him was that he loved to work in his daughters garden once a week with her by his side. How precious is that thought? The prophets granddaughter Sarah Dudley, President Hinckley's youngest granddaughter, attended BYU-Idaho one of the same years I did and she actually lived just two floors below me in the same apartment complex. She shares a lot of her grandfathers features- you could see the relation. Anyhow, once I learned that she was the prophets granddaughter I remember asking her if I he usually had the time to call her on her birthday. She said "yes" of course, so I remember asking her if I could be the one to answer the phone the day he called to wish her Happy Birthday. It never happened but how cool would that have been?!? Anyways, I asked Sarah once to tell me something about her grandfather not many church members new about him, and I remember her telling me that once a week she could count on looking out into her backyard to find her grandpa, the prophet, busy at work along side his daughter, planting in the garden. She said he was pretty faithful about always setting aside time in the week to work in the garden with his daughter. Isn't that impressive?! I would have thought he'd be too busy or too tired after traveling to do something like that, but it was a hobby he enjoyed and his family was a priority in his life...
Anyhow, I will miss him and my thoughts go out to Sarah and the rest of the prophets family at this time.