Officially Official and More

A few weeks ago we had the "big" ultrasound and found out baby number 2 is officially a girl! Since all previous ultrasounds were leaning in that direction, it was more a relief to know than a big surprise.  Now we are in a serious name dilemma.  I admit, I was planning for a boy, so names were more along the male gender lines.  With Lily bug, we pretty much had her first name the whole time. I, of course, had to go through several other options before finally deciding to go with it.  Adam loved Lily the whole time. And we are out of girl names.  Suggestions are strongly encouraged and appreciated.  In fact, we may have to have a vote later on! Ha ha

In other news, we are all still settling into the new house and new routine.  Adam has been really busy at work, (getting home at 2 or 3 in the morning!?), but things have slowed down so its nice to see him a bit more - not to mention no more waking up in the middle of the night thinking he crashed on the way home or some other nightmare.

Lily is getting old.  She no longer seems like a little baby, though I still spend lots of time snuggling and kissing her when she will let me.  She is quite the talker.  Most is still unintelligible, but she says lots of "real words" too.  Its so amazing to watch her grow and learn everyday.  She is so independent and funny.  She can break out the whiny scowl in a heartbeat when things don't go as she pleases, but can giggle and perform silliness just as quickly.

I am getting really excited to have two little girls in our home and can't wait to meet the new addition!  I am slowly trying to get our house decorated and unpacked, but between Lily and being pregnant, I admit my motivation level is pretty much nil.  I have decided if I can just get the baby's room done before she comes, all will be well.  Other than that, my walls, floors, kitchen and pretty much every other room will remain blank (and very boring) slates to be filled at a later date. No judgment please...

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Imagine

Adam and I were invited to go to an event sponsoring the Blind Center of Nevada! We had a fun time getting dressed up and attending one of our first formal functions together. 

The night started off with a silent auction where we won tickets to Le Reve, a show at the Wynn Hotel and dinner at a fancy steakhouse! It will make a perfect anniversary date.



The current and former mayor of Las Vegas (they are husband and wife) made an appearance, sadly they were serving drinks, so we didn't have a reason to go over to their table.

One of the former American Idol finalists, Scott McIntyre, who happens to be blind, performed at the event, along with some other famous people, including a chef (who cooked, not performed), who are also blind. 

We ate dinner at the top (yes the very top, which looks really high in this picture but really is only 16 stories) of the World Market Center. Our table looked down over the "Old Strip" and was a spectacular view!

We were right by the window and got to see all the lights below.  It was pretty exciting for us, since our dates usually consist of taking Lily bug to Taco Bell.  Ha ha now that she is mobile and VERY active, we don't get out as much as we used to.

We had a great night and are grateful to Adam's cousins for taking on Lily for the evening so we could go out!

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Quick Updates

We have had a few things happen over the past weeks that failed to make it into the blog.  Here is a short attempt to get them in!

Our first niece was blessed in the middle of August.  Since Lily is a little baby-crazy we got some shots of her interacting (mauling) her cousin Ava.

Next we had our friends Ben and Heather come for a long weekend.  They also have a little one, so once again Lily had a great time playing big sister.  She is going to either love or hate our own little baby in a few months!

This final event probably deserves its own post, but since I only managed to get two pictures, I'll add it.  My family is moving up to Idaho, so we had our very last trip to Arkansas.  Since my little brother is leaving on his mission at the end of the month, all the siblings went out to say goodbye to family and friends and to hear his final talk in our home ward.  It was a bittersweet trip.  On the one side, I am sad that I won't be going back to my hometown, but on the other, its great to have my family closer!

Lily and Ethan had a blast together and spent the time playing outside and with the dog.  Poor little dog.

So farewell to Spencer (almost) and Arkansas!!!

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Someday, Maybe, We'll Figure All This Out

So these last few weeks have been full of craziness.  Let's see if I can remember everything that has been going on. 

First, we bought a house! Now this in and of itself constitutes immense amounts of change in our lives, but throw in a few other things and craziness ensues... 

Second, we bought a car.  We once again are a two-car family.  I love being able to go wherever, whenever. Not that I ever really go anywhere.

Third, we are having a new baby! She should be arriving in March so we will have two little March babies! I say she, because my last ultrasound at 13 weeks looked like a girl.  The tech said she can't sure since its still pretty early, but for right now we are going with it!

So I think that about sums up our life.  Someday, I'll figure it all out.  For now, my house is still full of unopened boxes, half finished rooms and no decoractions.  Its cool.

Also someday, I'll get decent looking pictures up.  Until then, this is as good as it gets.

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Maui 2

Here is the completion of the Maui trip! Lily, Uncle Justin, Papa Bob and Grandma Gaylynn spent many hours playing in the sun, sand and water. She loved being chased all around, actually, much of the day she insisted on being chased.  All the while she batted her eyes and flirted with Justin and every other boy who walked by.

Naturally, Lily loved the spa.  I was worried about her little organs getting cooked, so she was only allowed to spend a few minutes in at time. Of course she would speed off to the water any chance she got, so I was constantly getting in and out of the hot tub.  Ha ha I guess there are worse things in life.

We ate at Cheeseburger in Paradise.  It was yummy.  And crowded.  Once again, there is nothing better than eating on the water.  Especially when it involves french fries.

The Marriott has a few canoes made by masters of the trade and Lily had a good time exploring them with her grandparents after dinner.

We found a little playground and Lily spent many hours climbing up the slide and going back down. And she didn't want ANY help.

There was this neat pirate ship - aptly called the "Yo-Ho-Ho" by one of Lily's friends.  However, it was surrounded by little pebbles, perhaps to give the "real feel" of a docked ship.  Lily hated the rocks.  Her little swim shoes (that she never wore) had holes, so the rocks would get in and poke her toes.  She had to be carried all around the pirate ship but liked to play once she was out of the rocks.  Except for these pictures.  The whole time she kept using the two signs she knows.  Please and all done. So she kept signing "please all done, please all done." Over and over.  We got the point, but not without forcing her to take a picture on the turtle and with her grandma first.

We took a walk down the beach and swam in the ocean together.  Lily loved jumping over the waves, but did not like the taste of the salt water in her mouth. So she kept her little lips sealed.

Adam got to play some golf and had a marvelous time.  He played the Plantation at Kapalua twice, some other course I can't remember and played over on the Lanai island.  On Lanai there are two courses he played back to back called The Challenge and The Experience.  One is at the top of the mountain and the other looks over the ocean.  Here are a few pictures from his trips.  I'm not sure which courses these are from, but all look amazing! Adam was so happy to play - in his mind there is no better addition to a vacation than a few rounds of golf at what he calls "the most beautiful courses in the world."

Here is Lily reading to her baby, although she looks angry that the baby is doing nothing but sitting there.  I can just see her little mind saying, "Well at least pay attention to me since you don't even do anything.  I'm trying to read to you."

And the final picture. It basically summarizes the trip.  Lily sitting on her sidewalk with a mischievous look...

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Maui

We were lucky enough to spend the last week in Hawaii! This was our first family trip over there, hopefully to be followed by many more.  Since we were there for so long, I'll probably try to break this into two posts.  Although, I didn't take many pictures (horrible of me, I know), so maybe it will be shorter than I think.

We got prepared for the trip by outfitting Lily with sunglasses, swim shoes, protective (and cute) swim suits and of course, oodles of sunscreen. I got snacks, coloring books, and all manner of small toys for the plane.



 

When we got to the hotel and the beach, Lily was amazed by the ocean.  In truth, I was too.  I forget the magnitude of the water until I am there seeing it all again.  Beautiful.

Lily soon found another source of amazement... the sidewalk.  This is a beach walk that runs the length of the resort and has spectacular views of the ocean.  There is nothing more soothing than walking along the path  and listening to the waves- in fact this is how Lily took her naps everyday!  Still for whatever reason, she loved to sit directly in the middle of the path with all her toys and play.  Thank goodness everyone thought it was "just adorable" or the "cutest thing ever" when they had to maneuver around her.  Thus Lily was dubbed by the hotel employees and guests alike as the queen of the path.  She was so possessive that she would run to path as soon as anyone was coming and stare them down as if to say, "Excuse me, this is MY path."  Then as they smiled and passed she would wave goodbye like crazy and sometimes follow them. What a nut.

 

Since Adam's parents and brother, Justin, also made the trip a few days in advance of us, Adam and I got to enjoy a dinner out together! I think I can can count on two fingers how many times this has happened since Lily joined the fam. We met our friends Dave and Kirsten at a restaurant on the beach and watched the sunset as we ate.  I forgot to take some pictures at the place, but here are the "befores."

We spent many nights on the beach walk and got to see some beautiful sunsets.  Lily was pretty uncooperative for most photo shoots, so we basically gave up on the whole family picture for the wall thing. 

 Apparently I missed the whole black shirt memo.  Ah well, I always liked to stand out in the crowd.

Stay tuned for more, as Lily has now woken up from her nap and is trying to type in her own version of the story.

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New Niece

My sister-in-law Nicole and her husband Mike had their first little baby a few weeks ago. Lily and I ended our trip to California with a stopover to see the new little one, named Ava!

Lily loved her.  At first she felt like this:

A little scared and nervous.

But soon she was very possessive of Ava and always wanted her.  She loved having the baby sitting on her lap and would give her loves and kisses.

If I held Ava, Lily had to help, or at least be close to see what was going on.  When Ava cried, Lily cried.  Cute, but a little bit loud...

Amazing how much difference one year makes in little babies!!!

Welcome Ava!

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