Dictionaries and Dresses

I'm wondering lately if Nathan has been reading the dictionary, because the past few weeks I've heard him spout some pretty interesting words including:

partially
comfortable
coincidence
disaster
frustrated
terrible
incident
wonderful
awkward
gorgeous (as in "Hellooo, gorgeous!"...he's such a little flirt...)
amazed
"I just memorized (realized) something..."

Maybe words like these are part of any typical four-year-old vocabulary, but I'm always so surprised when I hear him using them. I think it's because he's been my baby for so long, and I'm in denial about how old he is really getting. He also spends his days in a house of very verbal girls. I'm sure he picks up all kinds of great stuff from us.

Nathan is surrounded by sisters and girl cousins on every side (with the exception of 8-week old baby Gavin...), so he's never short on influence of the female kind. We were at my mom's last month and the girls were getting ready to put on a fashion show with their little cousin, Bella. I heard Nathan's distressed little voice calling me from the playroom, so I went to check things out. When I asked him what was wrong, he said "Mommy, I don't know which dress to wear for the fashion show!" Good thing Daddy wasn't around to hear that. I suggested that he didn't even need to be in the fashion show and that boys and dresses don't really mix, but a few minutes later he was overheard arguing with Bella over who was going to wear the pink dress. We promptly went outside to throw the "fetch" bone to Toolie and play in the dirt...

Good thing this boy is getting a brother!

The Cabin

One of our favorite places to be is up at Scott's grandparent's little cabin up in the mountains of Southern Utah. We were lucky enough to make it up there twice this summer. The kids were so happy to spend time with Grammie and Poppa. Anna loved the fishing, Aimee the 4-wheeling, and Nathan got to be "all boy" playing with lizards and bugs, all kinds of sticks and rocks, and getting super dirty! What a life!

Our little family at the creek.

Riding in Grammie's truck...luckies!


Nathan discovering the 4-wheeler...


The biggest dandelion we've ever seen!


A bath in the tin tub. (We had to at least try to keep this kid clean...)


Horned Toad #1


Nathan was smitten.


Horned Toad #2...affectionately named "Chubby" (this thing was HUGE!)


We had a big thunderstorm one afternoon...it was the best! The kids decided to write stories to pass the time. There is nothing like a rainstorm at the cabin.


Daddy and Aimee

Grammie and Nathan (is that a sucker in his mouth???)

Anna and Poppa

Fishing in the old boat.

Nathan was more interested in playing in the water!

The fishermen (and women!)

Fishing from the shore with Grammie.

Fishing takes lots of patience...Nathan is trying to decide whether or not all of this waiting is worth it!

Aimee had the first catch of the the summer...an 18-inch Rainbow Trout! Anna caught the second (and last) fish of the summer...a big 22-incher. Fishing was slow this year. We're just happy that each of the girls got one!

The Waiting Game

The bouncing baby on my sidebar says 40 days to go, but I've never carried any of my babies further than 8 days before my due date. So I take away 8 and get 32, right??? The past week or so has been really hard physically. The nausea seems to be making a reappearance, I am completely wiped out, and last night I was up for a few hours with false labor. Those darn Braxton Hicks contractions were pretty hard, and they were coming at me every three minutes for about five hours. I remembered this happening some nights when I was pregnant with Nathan. I was able to fall asleep for small periods of time, so I knew it wasn't the real thing. But it sure made for a difficult night! Today he feels super low, and my "contractions" start up whenever I get up to do anything. Hopefully all of this discomfort means that he is coming soon and that labor will go fairly quickly! I am so anxious to hold this sweet little guy and to feel normal again for the first time this year!

This pregnancy almost seems like a dream. It's hard to believe that I've really been through all that I have in the past seven months. They have been so hard, but at the same time we have been so blessed. It will all be worth it for "baby brother." We are so excited!

The BIG "1-0"

Ten years ago today my life changed forever. Ten years ago today I earned the best title ever....I became a 'Mommy!' Our little Anna surprised us by coming 2-1/2 weeks early, just a tiny 5 lb. 9 oz. little baby. She was born sweet, and gets sweeter every year. I have dreaded her 10th birthday for a while now (that's just too old!), but when I see the wonderful, beautiful young lady she is becoming my heart wants to burst. I can't believe she's mine. I am too lucky! I always tell the kids to stop growing up so fast, but I have to admit that I love my relationship with Anna as she gets older. She is one of my best friends, and so fun to hang out with! I am excited to watch her grow in the next few years, to develop her talents, and to continually influence everyone around her for the better. We love you, Annalyn! Thanks for being ours!

Two days old.

First Christmas! Little did we know how much she would love the snow...or how many snowmen she would be building in the future!

Such a happy girl.


And those pretty blue eyes...


First Easter.


So excited to be a "big sister!"


Anna was the perfect Alice in Wonderland with her cute little "White Rabbit!"


Pretty little girl...
(This picture was taken with a dinosaur of a digital camera...hence the 'pixely' look. Still cute though!)

Best Friends

Anna and Baxter

(This girl loves animals. Poor thing hasn't been able to talk us into a dog.....yet.)

Seven years old!

Baptism Day

Her first "real" mountain bike...she loves to go out on the trails with Dad.

Our sweet girl now...Happy Birthday, Anna!

Anna's Ring Toss

Anna had her chance at a business day too. She decided on a ring-toss game with GIANT cookies for the "grand prize." Scott laughed at our set-up...he said it looked like a Relief Society table. We'll take that as a compliment! :) Anyway, she had plenty of customers vying for the giant cookies. A few teachers were especially persistent, and we ended up running out of them. We had to make three more and deliver them the next day.

Anna with her "shop."

Our cute friend, Olivia trying for a cookie (she was one of the winners!)

Anna's teacher (another winner...she kept coming back until she got a cookie!)


Nathan especially liked spending Anna's "money" at all of the other shops. He'd won several prizes and had two ice cream sundaes by 9:30 in the morning. Whoops! Anna was so sweet to share her money. Sometimes she'd take him shopping, but sometimes she'd just hand him the money, and he'd take care of the rest (hence the reason for his two sundaes...) He got the ball through the hardest hole on his first try in the game above and won an Angel's Rally Monkey. Pretty cool stuff for a 4-year-old! He also won a $10 Borders gift card in one of the raffles. Go Nathan!