Be Ambitious

Ever since Robert and I wanted to have children, we knew we'd be the kind of parents who went to the hospital with the name we were intending on using. I am not one to have to see the child before I name it. When we were trying for Nate we had the name Nathaniel set aside if he was a boy. From the moment we confirmed his sex he was Nathaniel. We've followed the same pattern with this baby. We had a girl name set aside that we loved and could agree on. Girl's names seem to be harder because there's so many. We had a really hard time agreeing.

About a month or so ago I was talking with my sister Liz, who was pregnant with her third (and final) child which happened to be a girl. We got on the subject of names. To my surprise three of their favorites were also on our list of favorites (we hadn't found out the sex of our baby at this point cause she was modest so we still had a list of ideas and hadn't narrowed it down to the one). It was fun to laugh about it and hear why she liked the same names we liked.

After two days of starting and stopping labor, Liz finally had her little girl yesterday night. I was so excited and happy for her because it had been a long road. When I got the call from my mom she told me that they had named their girl Charlotte. That was the one name Robert and I agreed on and were going to use! The second our doctor told us it was a girl we started referring to her as Charlotte. My sister called and told me about how the baby was so sweet and hadn't even cried and they just felt like she was a Charlotte. She was worried that I would be mad, which I am not, I LOVE that name. The only thing that popped into my head was what a mystery our girl's name will be now.

I want to be perfectly clear when I say that I am not upset about the whole situation, I know this is a pretty common thing and there are no rights to names. I love that my sister loved Charlotte enough to use it. Now, Robert and I are sitting on the question, what do we name our little girl? I know a lot of you may think we should just sit on it and discuss names as they come to us. We are and we will, but like I mentioned above, I like to have the name way in advance and we have already been calling her Charlotte since we found out the gender. I start to associate the name with her identity so I feel like I sort of get to know my girl. Extreme feeling, I know, but nonetheless, how I feel. So, after a few talks this is what Robert and I are wondering. Is it terrible to use the same name? My parents would have two granddaughters with the same name only three months apart. We don't live close to them so I don't think there'd be a ton of confusion, but you never know where you'll end up and if we do end up close I worry that would be too much. What do you think? We don't really like the names we had thought of earlier so we are literally back at square one. We thought using Charlotte as a first name and then when we're around my family she could go by her middle name. Also, I'm looking for any suggestions on names. If you're worried about the name thing don't worry about sharing, but if you're done having kids or you have all boys or something like that please throw me a bone! I'm thinking naming kids can be the most stressful part about having them!

So I'd love any thoughts on the subject or if you've run into this problem in your family tell me how you resolved it. Honestly, I think we'll just have to love Charlotte as my sister's daughter's name (Robert does not share my feelings on this, however. He loves the name Charlotte), but maybe with a little help we can figure out a way that we can love it as our daughter's name as well.

A couple of weeks ago in Primary during sharing time they were talking to the kids about families. I think they started talking about siblings because the kids started sharing how they had a brother or sister or that they were a brother or sister. I've always felt for Nate during these lessons because he has this blank look on his face like, "What are they talking about?" When I was his Sunbeams teacher he was the only one in the class without a sibling and he really didn't understand what all the kids were talking about. Well, apparently, during this lesson, Nate raised his hand and announced to the whole primary that, "My Mommy is having a sister!" We had no idea what we were having and I have no idea where Nate got that information (well, we really do know). The leaders looked around at each other and were surprised and asked him if I'd found out and just not told anyone. I have a ton of friends in the primary in our ward and one of them raised her hand and said, "Um, Erin doesn't know what she's having yet."

So today was another Dr.'s appointment for me and we went hoping to get the diffinative answer on the sex of our baby. We were in the middle of the ultrasound when the Dr. said that it looks like we might just have another modest showing. I looked at Robert and I'm pretty sure my face mirrored his with disappointment. We just needed to know. The Dr. then said very seriously that he may know why the baby was modest. My eyes shot to the screen because of his tone. I wondered if there was something wrong. Then, in a much happier voice the Dr. said, "Girls always are more modest!" I looked over at Robert again and it looked like the color had drained from his face. He told me afterwards it was because he realized neither one of us know exactly how to handle a girl (we sometimes feel we might have the boy thing figured out) and we're always told how different they are from boys. Plus, now we have to worry about teenage boys and dating and all the other fun things that come along with girls. I think Robert feels he has to be a bit more protective now. I, of course, being emotional all the time, started to get a little misty eyed. I felt like I was in shock. I really thought it would be a boy cause I thought that would be easier. Ha! Joke's on me.
After the initial shock wore off and we took some deep breaths we got this 3D picture of her profile. She has the same nose as Nate. It looks just like Nate's profile did. Anyway, I think we're both really excited and we've already settled on a first name. Now we only have to wait
3 1/2 months before we get to meet our new baby girl!

I woke up on Friday morning and looked out my window and the first thought that came to my mind was, "What? Wait, where am I living?" It was SNOWING!!! And not just a little bit, a lot a bit. When we moved here everyone told us, "Oh, yeah, you moved here during the miserable part of the summer. Just wait though, because winter is awesome and it's, like, 70 degrees everyday." Seriously? You lie!!!! Just kidding. It has been really nice here. It's just been this last week where it's been unseasonably cold.

Of course Nate's nose was glued to the window and he begged to go outside and play. Well of course we'll go play outside! But where? There really aren't any big open areas to run around in close by so I suited him up and we went down to our lap pool. Yep, the lap pool. It was the only open area we could find that wasn't ankle deep in gooey mud.

The snow was so wet. Everything was soaked. The snow immediately turned to slush when it hit the ground. That made for a lot of fun stomping and splashing.
Can you go outside in the snow and not try to catch it in your mouth? Nope, you can't. That's a prerequisite for playing out in the snow. Nate didn't find it very amusing because he couldn't get enough in at once so he walked over to the sun chairs and grabbed handfuls of slush off of them and would lick it like a Popsicle. I know, dirty and gross, but it's about having fun and I'm pretty sure he's eaten grosser things!
It snowed for a good half of the day. We even got accumulation on the roof.
We had fun even though we didn't last long. It was so wet and cold. If it hadn't been so wet we would've played longer but once you got wet you froze. We hear this is only the 4th time in 19 years that it's snowed here in Houston so we tried to make the most of it since it may not happen again during our stay here.

This year we stayed in Houston for Thanksgiving. It was really nice and quiet. We had some friends come over who also stayed in the area and we feasted. Seriously, so much food. What more can a pregnant lady ask for? It was a great day.
This year I made the turkey. It was first I'd ever made. It turned out pretty well, but next time I'll make a few adjustments.
After dinner we rocked out with some Guitar Hero. The kids had a blast and they do surprisingly well.
On the Friday after Thanksgiving we went camping with our friends. They knew all the places to go so we just packed up our little car and followed them into this great park called Brazos Bend. It's sort of shameful, but I have to admit, this was our first time camping since we'd been married. We even had a tent, lantern, and sleeping bags that we've packed around the country but never used. It was so fun and our friends had a great time teasing us about how seriously we camped.
Of course because we'd never camped before neither had Nate. He LOVED it. It was so fun to be outside to run and get dirty and mom didn't even care! He loved roasting marshmallows for s'mores but he loved burning marshmallows more. He takes after me a bit and doesn't particularly enjoy eating the s'more, he just wants to roast/burn the marshmallow. By the time we took his roasting stick away we had more s'mores than we knew what to do with.
I loved watching the kids. They really made it fun. We listened as they talked to each other through the tents until they fell asleep that night. We worried that they would freeze, but they were resilient and didn't even seem to notice the drop in temperature overnight.
We had tinfoil dinners for the adults and hot dogs for the kids that night. They loved standing around the fire watching their hot dogs sizzle. By the time the food was ready it was way past dinner time and they were starving. They were a good bunch. They waited pretty patiently and played with each other.
Apparently, Brazos Bend is known for alligators. They are supposed to be everywhere. So, in the morning we decided to go looking for them. The weather was cooler than usual so the alligators were in hiding. We only saw two from a very far distance. That's probably a good thing because the signs warned not to annoy the alligators. You never know with 4 year olds...
Look a Croc! Get it? Ha ha. I know, not very funny. I thought it was though. Robert just rolled his eyes.
Nate was so into keeping his eyes peeled for alligators. We are going to go back sometime when we know we'll see more of them.
There was a tiny museum with local wildlife facts and activities for the kids to see and do. Nate found a turtle shell. Must have something to do with a tortoise being around all the time.
There was an exhibit that taught the kids how to see the difference between a crocodile and an alligator. They weren't as interested in that as the buttons they could push to make the jaws mechanically move.
There were even baby alligators that they let the kids pet. Pretty cool. I really enjoyed myself.
This year's Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving weekend was a really great one. I think Nate will remember it for a long time. We had so much to be thankful for. We got home pretty tired and worn out but it was so worth it to spend time with good friends, experiencing new places and making memories.

So yesterday was my 27th birthday. It was a great day. I had so much fun. I got home and was so wiped out. We started the day dropping Robert off at school. Nate and I then went to the library for a playgroup of story time and crafting. I love the story time there because in between books they have the kids get up and wiggle. Usually dancing and singing. Nate loves the songs and always asks me to sing them with him and most of the time I have no idea! After story time they pulled out the Wii and did Wii fit for families. It turned into just the kids practicing heading a soccer ball. They got really good. Nate had a blast. It was about 1:30 by then and we needed lunch. Nate suggested Taco Bell and what pregnant woman would refuse that? Especially since we can both eat a ton for less than $5.

After lunch we headed to the mall to do some Christmas shopping for Robert. Nate was an awesome sidekick. He helped me make a grueling choice between one of three things. I think he nailed it. After shopping for Robert we headed to Motherhood. My favorite store ever! Nah, not really, but I am serious when I say getting dressed has become difficult and I just wanted to get some things to make it easier. Nate got bored there (me, too) so we went to Dylan's Candy Bar and I let him pick a candy cane. He chose some tropical flavor and was in hog heaven. I love how simple things like that can paste on a smile for hours to come.

We went and picked up Robert from school at 4 and Nate passed out in the back seat. Seeing him asleep in the car reminds me of when he was a baby. He would sleep all the time in the car. Now, when we want him to sleep he will do anything but.

When we got home we fixed up a babysitter and made reservations for dinner at Prego's. We dropped Nate off and Robert took me back to Motherhood and let me pick out some new clothes. I now have a couple new outfits that I can mix and match. Love Robert!

Dinner was amazing. Thanks to Matt for the suggestion. There were great breads to dip in olive oil and garlic while we waited for our salad. Robert ordered smoked mozzarella ravioli with cremini mushrooms and vodka sauce and I got a chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto and fresh mozzarella on a bed of soft polenta and steamed garlic green beans on the side. YUM! We were so full we didn't get dessert. Instead we shared a small smoothie. I ate way to much but I couldn't stop myself.

After we picked up Nate we went home and got him to bed and then I took off to go play some volleyball at the church. It turned out to be half court basketball because we didn't have enough for volleyball and I complained about having to run a full court. I get bad contractions if I run too much. We played until 10 and I came home and snuggled on the couch with Robert until we went to bed. If I could repeat that day again I would.

Thanks so much to friends and family who called to wish me a great day. Thanks to Robert for taking time out of finals week to spoil me. You really know how to make this girl happy. Food and clothes... :)

Last week I went in for my first Dr.'s appointment and ultrasound. Robert was able to come, too. We were so excited and nervous to find out if everything was going well, but we were most anticipating finding out the sex. The ultrasound showed the baby perfectly. It's right where it needs to be in development and we got an awesome view of the spine. The only problem was that it was hanging out in the stink-bug position so we have no idea what it is! Crazy modest baby! Argh! We want to know whether to name it Phoebe or Phoebo. Now we have to wait another month! My biggest lesson so far with this pregnancy is learning to be more patient. I feel like I've had to wait so long for everything to happen! Anyway, I just wanted to share because I know that I've not been awesome at keeping everyone informed. I will, I promise, I'll post any further information on the sex as soon as I know.

This can barely be called a post, but I was so happy I wanted to share. Nate slept until 8:30 this morning! It was AWESOME!

This past weekend was Robert's 28th birthday. I think he's starting to feel old. He mentioned more than once that he couldn't believe it. I am kinda excited about getting older. I have this hope that I might be able to get it all together better as I age. Anyway, we had a great weekend. On Saturday we went to this great Spanish tapas resturaunt. It was so fun. We went with some friends and just ordered everything that looked good and shared it all family style. That way we got to try more food and enjoy more of the menu. I got so full! I so over-ate. Robert was like a kid enjoying to food he remembers from his mission. I love to watch him in those moments.

After dinner we headed over to the babysitter's who happened to be some more friends of ours. They were nice enough to let us do the cake and ice cream with them so we could share the big event with all of them. This year I asked Robert if I could deviate from the classic Rainbow Chip cake he always asks for. I ended up making a cannoli cake. It was really fun and really sweet. On the way home I asked him how it compared to the traditional Rainbow Chip. He said he still liked the Rainbow chip more. Bummer. I learned my lesson, though, it's going to be Rainbow Chip from now on. I want him to really look forward to his cake every year and it seems that Rainbow Chip is the way to accomplish that goal.


We sang "Happy Birthday!" and everyone got some dessert. Even the kids got in on the sugar rush.
Sunday was his actual birthday and we were awakened by a phone call from his family to sing him "Happy Birthday!" It's a good thing they called because we had forgotten to set an alarm for church after all the fun we'd had the night before!

After church we went and played games with friends and let the kids run crazy. I love that Robert got to play Settler's of Catan again and that I didn't have to!

I think Robert had a great birthday weekend and we really enjoyed all the company that we had. We feel really lucky to have made friends so quickly that we could share this day with. Birthdays are always more fun with people around! Thanks to our friends for making this birthday a fun and memorable one for Robert.

The only reason I'm writing this post is for a record of that flight. So much has happened and so much time has past that it seems unreal that this really happened. Nonetheless, I think my son and future children, and possibly others, would like to know the story.

We were in Idaho visiting for my youngest brother's wedding. It had been a long, tiring week preparing for that event so we were happy that we had a couple of days after that to rest up for our return journey home to Houston. The day started out perfectly and our first flight from Boise to Salt Lake went flawlessly and Nate was an angel. He's gotten so good at flying.

We landed in Salt Lake with just enough time to grab a sandwich before boarding our connection flight from there to Houston. Nate and I were lucky enough to be seated in the 6th row. I love being close to the front of the plane because once we land Nate thinks we should de-board immediately and that gets hard when you're in the 30th row. So we got settled into our seats and I checked the time and was elated we would be home on time! This rarely happens for us. We began to taxi to the runway for takeoff while the steward and stewardesses did their "In the event of an emergency" presentation. I remember thinking, "I should have this memorized by now because I've flown so much. So should Nate. I should pay attention...next time. Nothing ever happens." So I busied myself with getting snacks and toys within reach for the 3 hour flight home.

We had been in the air for about an hour and the beverage service was beginning when Nate laid his head in my lap and started to get drowsy. Score! He was going to sleep! Even if it's just for a few minutes I pray he'll sleep. Things were going really well. I closed my eyes, reclined my seat and tried to get comfortable. I open my eyes when I see the beverage cart being rushed back to it's spot and the steward gets on the sound system and makes an announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are heading back to Salt Lake."

I was livid! I hate airports and Nate only has so much in him to be a good boy. Once he's tired flying with him can be very hard. There was an audible groan throughout the cabin as the rest of the passengers processed this information. No one was very happy. Without warning, almost immediately after the announcement, the nose of the the plane dipped. We were going down at such an angle that everyone started looking around to see if everyone else had noticed. We began to gain speed as we were pressed into the backs of our seats. Everyone had white-knuckle grips on the arm rests as the noise of our acceleration filled the cabin. Something was very wrong. We went on like this for what seemed like forever. I stroked Nate's hair and begged him not to notice and stay in my lap. We'd be falling for about 5 minutes when a loud crack filled the cabin. I stared at the oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling in front of me. There was no denying it now, we were going down. The confusion and noise forced Nate up to see what was going on. I couldn't make sense of what was happening until I looked across the aisle and saw the masks on my neighbor's faces. With my hands shaking almost uncontrollably, I place the mask on Nate's face (I know I'm supposed to do mine first, but that wasn't in my thoughts at the moment). I tightened the straps around his little face and then proceeded to put my own on. After that I wrapped my arms around Nate and looked down at his tiny, calm little body. I realized if I needed him to stay that way I had to keep it together. Show no fear and be brave for him. He calmly took big breaths. Maybe this was because he wasn't fully awake yet, but he was so brave and all of the commotion didn't seem to be bothering him. We continued to fall for another 10 minutes or so and we knew the ground was getting closer. We couldn't see out our windows due to smoke and clouds outside the plane. The woman sitting in the window seat across from Nate and I removed her mask and said, "We've lost an engine." At that point I panicked. I hate to admit it, but I did. I wasn't strong enough for myself, let alone my son. Quietly, I couldn't help it, tears started to run down my face and my breathing became quick and shallow. Nate looked up at me and saw my reaction. I could see the worry come across his face and he began to get nervous.

At this point, I had a million things, fragmented thoughts, running through my head. What do I do for Nate? Should I throw my body on top of his? Will he remember how I couldn't keep it together if he survives? I've never known what it felt like to have no control of my child's safety up to that point. It was terrifying. He had so much more ahead of him and he's too beautiful and special not to be here anymore. What if I survived and he didn't? That thought crippled me. I was aware, though, of what I believe. If I lost him I knew he would be safe and happy and secure in his salvation. Me on the other hand? I hope so. Thinking about Nate of course got me thinking about the baby still inside me. Five months along. I still didn't know what it was. Was I going to miss out on meeting another little boy? Would I know what it would be like to have a daughter? I felt like it wasn't fair. I have wanted this child so much for a long time and I am not going to get to raise it here on Earth with my husband. My husband... Nate and I were traveling alone. Where would this leave Robert? He would lose everything. I know he'd pick himself back up and continue to live a wonderful life and possibly start over with someone new, but all I could see in my mind's eye was his big blue eyes staring at me. I wanted him with us so bad. I needed him holding me, helping me to be brave. But then I realized it was good that he was safe. He was going to be with us forever no matter what. I was going to be his wife forever, even if I've only been his wife for a short time in mortality. Maybe it was because I'd just attended my brother's sealing, but I was very aware of all the promises and blessings Robert and I had been given the day we'd been sealed. That brought me some peace.

At this point my logical side is screaming at me. There's no way this can end in a crash, that's nuts. That hardly ever happens and for it to happen today on this flight seemed impossible. I was overreacting, I kept telling myself.

We continued to fall and Nate got increasingly nervous. His eyes started to fill and he began clawing at his mask to get it off. We were all getting a little claustrophobic and this point and the steward got on the sound system again and said, "Check your neighbor and make sure they're still with us. Please continue to breath deeply through the mask." That felt like an impossible request as I pulled myself out of my thoughts of just Nate and I and looked around at everyone else around me. People were panicked. In an effort to calm Nate a bit I offered to sing him Primary songs. He seemed to like that and I started to sing, I am a child of God. I couldn't even get the first line out before my throat closed up on me. I knew I couldn't sing so we started to count. It seemed to be helping.

Just when I didn't think Nate would keep his mask on any longer, the steward announced we could take off our masks. The plane slowly began to decelerate. We leveled out as we all let out a sigh of relief. The gentleman across the aisle from me started to talk to Nate and handed him a bag of M&M's for being such good boy. Everyone else around us commented on how well he handled everything. I turned my attention to Nate as I watched him double fisting the candy. I felt a tap on my arm and looked to see the same guy putting his mask back on. I hadn't even heard the announcement to put them back on. I looked at him in disbelief and seriously thought he was teasing. Not a funny joke, I thought. "Seriously", he said,"we have to put them back on." At that moment the plane dipped again. Nate freaked. I quickly put my mask back on and then tried to put on his. He wouldn't have it. He screamed and screamed. I tried pinning his arms so I could loop it over his head but he would shake his head so violently I could not get the mask on. He was so upset he crushed the M&M's in his hands. We went on like this for a while with the guy across the aisle trying to talk to him. "See, it's just like your Halloween mask. Can you put on your Halloween mask?" No luck. The guy seated behind me said, "Would it help if he was in your lap?" Before I knew it Nate was in my lap and the guy behind me was lengthening my belt and buckling us in together. I continued to try to put the mask on him while he screamed, "I just want to take a nap! Can I take a nap, mommy?" I was really upset and crying now. What would happen if I didn't get this mask on him. In my mind at the time I HAD to have that mask on him. I kept looking out the windows only to see nothing. The pilots and stewards were telling us nothing and we all knew the ground was getting closer. How close where we? In the middle of Nate and I struggling the man behind me said, "Just let him pass out. Let him take his nap and then you can just hold the mask on his face." Logical, but it sounded terrible to me. I relinquished my quest to get the mask on his face and let him rest his head on my shoulder. He was so tired and upset. I tried my best to calm him to sleep. I looked around and noticed smoke filling the cabin. We were told to keep the masks on and breath deeply when the smoke started coming in through the masks. The steward told us to keep the mask on and breath that smoke and not the smoke in the cabin. Also, some of the generators from the oxygen masks are falling out of their compartments. Don't touch them, they are very hot. All I could think was, "Great."

Not too much longer the pilot tried to make an announcement. He couldn't get through it. After a couple seconds the co-pilot got on and told us that we weren't going to make it to Salt Lake. We'd have to make an emergency landing in Grand Junction. I felt a little relief until I heard her say we were another 10-15 minutes away from that airport. The way things were going, that short amount of time was way longer than I was comfortable with. Please, just let us make it there.

We did make it. Honestly, I don't remember too much of the landing because Nate was really struggling. He wanted to be done with this experience. We all sighed with relief when we came to a stop and expected to be able to de-plane immediately. We had been told nothing up to this point. We didn't know why any of this had happened and what exactly was wrong with the plane. One of the stewardesses made an announcement when the plane came to a stop. She said we couldn't de-plane due to protocol and we'd have to wait in our seats until further notice. The plane was full of smoke, they turned off any air circulation and all the lights were turned off. Gratefully, they came around and served water to us. Most people called their families at this point and I called Robert to tell him we would be late getting home. He thought I was joking when I told him the story. It wasn't until I sent him a picture of Nate in an oxygen mask that he understood what had happened.

It started to get hot, then it got a lot hotter. We were stuck in the plane for at least another hour and people were getting angry. Nate seemed to be doing okay but I was getting dizzy and really sick. I hadn't eaten enough and was starting to get sick. The combination of heat and pregnancy in a confined space was not going well. No one knew I was pregnant. I watched as the pilots and the stewardesses joked and laughed with each other while standing next to the open cockpit door enjoying the cool air. I was really angry. We couldn't leave our seats and they were up there? It was just lame! I finally said, screw it, and got out of my seat, took Nate's hand and walked up to the open door. I would tell them I was pregnant and was going to be sick if they gave me any grief. Just as we got up there a Grand Junction airport worker came to report to the flight staff. He said it would be a while longer. I wanted to cry. One of the stewardesses said, "No, we aren't waiting any longer. These people aren't going to make it if we ask them to wait any more. Let them off the plane!" I could have hugged her. We all collected our things and got off the plane to be herded into the one terminal, six gates, one vending machine airport.

Once we all got inside they announced that a mechanic would go to our plane, fix the problem, and then we'd re-board and be on our way to Houston. No one was about to re-board that plane! After a two hour wait it was announced that the problem was bigger than expected and the plane was grounded. We could go get a hotel room because there were no flights back to Salt Lake or Boise or on to Houston out of this airport. We were stuck. Luckily, a friend had lent us a DVD player for our trip so I plugged Nate into a movie as we all tried to figure out what we were going to do.



We had no choice but to sit and wait. I got to know everyone pretty well. I had a great time talking with people and they were so good to Nate. He was the only kid on this flight and everyone loved him. He's such a good kid and I really felt lucky to have him with me. They ordered us pizza and we ate while we waited for word. Nate played with his Lightning McQueen toy and raced him down the terminal.

There was one especially nice guy that even raced Nate down the terminal. Everyone there did their best to make the best of the situation and I really appreciated how patient and good they were to Nate. After they raced a few times this gentleman sat down with Nate and watched Kung Fu Panda.
After a ton of hours (I honestly don't remember how many), it was announced a flight crew from Salt Lake was coming to pick us up and take us home. Whoo hoo! I was so happy, but not thrilled about getting on another plane. I seriously thought about renting a car and driving home.

Anyway, our flight home went off without a hitch. We landed at about 2 am. We were all exhausted but I was so excited to see Robert. We practically ran off the plane. Nate saw him and ran an all our sprint into his arms and I had to hold back from doing the same. I was so happy to see him and feel him hug me. Oh, family is so nice.

Although it's not an important part of the story, I do get asked frequently if there was any compensation to the passengers of this flight. No, there has not been. I personally feel like there should be, but there was no offer. Also, we were never able to get a direct answer as to what really happened to the plane. I still don't know. All they told us was there was a small cabin pressure problem that caused the plane to dive and that became a larger problem.

I really feel like the most important thing about this whole post is recognizing the amazing people, who were complete strangers to Nate and I, that pulled us through it all. I want to thank them all even though they'll probably never read this. In fact they've probably already forgotten about us, but we'll never forget them. Thank you to the man across the aisle who shared his candy with Nate. Thank you to the woman who sat in front of him during the flight and spoke to him so kindly. Thank you the man who sat behind me and helped me with Nate and buckled us in together. Thank you to the gentleman who helped me get enough pizza to Nate before it was all gone. Thank you to the lady who check on us to make sure we got enough food. Thank you to the men who talked with me about their families. Thank you to the man who gave advice for me to pass on the Robert about pursuing a PhD and teaching at a collegiate level. Thank you to the guy who had the best sense of humor who made us all laugh and in turn helped the time pass quickly in the airport. Thank you to the man who raced cars and raced Nate down the terminal and thank you for taking time out of your life to watch a silly movie with my 4 year old. These are all amazing people and I feel blessed that I got to spend time with them. I hope that someday they might know how much they touched Nate and I that unbelievable day.

Some of our friends here in Houston have organized a baby-sitting co-op. Once a month we take on 5-7 kids in exchange for three childless date nights! Pretty sweet deal. It was our turn to babysit this weekend and it was a blast.

Two of the kids we watch are twins and they awesome. Tonight they spent a good amount of time and effort hunting monsters with light-sabers. Apparently there are numerous monsters who had to be disposed of living under our couch.

One of the highlights of the night was when we asked who wanted to watch a movie. That is like asking me if I want chips and salsa! We then asked them who wanted popcorn and, of course, the vote was unanimous in the affirmative. They all sat together and watched Finding Nemo eating their popcorn. Nice.

Thanks to Disney for providing quality cartoons capable of capturing children's attention. Overall, we had a great time watching the kids and they were all great. Those who handle this many kids on a daily basis....wow. Kudos to you!

This Halloween was our first in Houston and it is so nice! I loved being outside in just a t-shirt and mild temperatures with little noticeable humidity. I'm so excited for the next few months because everyone tells us it stays this way for a while.

Anyway, Halloween was so fun. We have made so many great friends that we definitely had people to spend it with . One of our new friends holds a Halloween party every year for the moms and the kids. We had two costumes for Nate this year, so we dressed him in the first for the Halloween party.

A chicken costume? Seriously, hilarious. I don't know if you can really see the fake legs hanging over the side of the chicken, but this costume is epic. I laughed so hard.

In this picture you can see the fake legs. The best part of the entire costume was the tail. When Nate ran it would wiggle with his little bum. Unfortunately, Nate didn't keep the costume on very long. He wanted to run and play and because we borrowed this from another friend I didn't want him getting it dirty. Thanks, Lyn, for the costume. Robert and I had a blast watching Nate in it.

At the party there was so much to eat and do. They had pin the nose on the jack-o-lantern, graham cracker building, pictures and sidewalk chalk. I know Nate had so much fun. Here he'd just finished with his graham cracker building.

Nate insisted we take a picture together.

Nate making history of his graham cracker building.

On Halloween night our ward had a trunk-or-treat. I love these! They are so smart, but at the same time I think it's so sad that it's not always safe for us to take our kids door to door. Nate's memories of Halloween will be so different from mine because of this. Anyway, for the trunk-or-treat, Nate was Obi Wan Kanobi. I don't know if I spelled that right and feel free to correct me any of you Star Wars buffs.

We have such a great ward. There are a lot of families in the same stage as us and most have children. It's so fun to watch the kids play and to get to know other families. Most of the women here are also super talented. I find myself thinking about picking up a new hobby because it's inspiring to see what they can do. The little girl in the green dress and wings came a Tinkerbell and her mom made the whole costume! Also, another friend lent us the robe that Nate is wearing that she also made. Our favorite costume of the night, though, goes to the little girl facing the camera. She's Princess Leia and her costume was so great. I loved her little fabric buns.

Nate and his closest friend here were rivals this Halloween. Of course, there had to be a light saber fight between Obi Wan and Vader.

Who won? I don't know, but those boys know how to wield their weapons.

After Nate got a chance to go around the parking lot trick-or-treating he sat in the van with me and helped me hand out candy to the other kids. As we get caught up in this I don't watch him and the next thing I know when I turn to look at him he's got Nerds open in one hand and licorice in the other. I didn't know his little hands were so dexterous and I have no idea how much he shoved down before he got caught. Robert was so proud...

The trunk-or-treat ended a little early, so a big group of families decided to go together to a safe neighborhood and let the kids do some door to door. It was so nice to go in a group. We wouldn't have gone with out it. Nate had a blast and got a good amount of loot. Ah, Halloween, the only day of the year you can ask for candy and get it handed to you every time. Too bad you have parents who limit your intake and don't let you make yourself sick! Being a kid is rough.

I just wanted to quickly post a big congrats to my youngest brother David on his recent wedding. It was so nice and I love the girl he married. Abby is really good for him and I'm really excited to get to know her over the next many years. Good luck you guys!

So my oldest sister, Liz, has set up a website for her photography. She's been doing our family photos since Robert and I's engagement. She is really good at capturing personality in her photos and I think that's what I like best about her style. She has done mostly family photos and weddings but she's able to do almost anything. Her website is lizbateyphotography.com and you should check it out.

It has been brought to my attention that I have been slacking in blog-world. It's true. I don't deny it. I have a boatload of excuses (pregnancy sickness/fatigue, moving to a new state, etc.) but none are really that good. So, I'm just going to come out with it. I will continue to blog to the best of my abilities, but when I'm pregnant and preparing for a newborn and then taking care of a newborn, I fall off the face of the planet. I'm just not very good at adjusting to that change. So, don't worry, I'm still around, I just don't think you'll want to hear about the days on end that I spend at home because I'm too tired to get ready or the hours that tick away just nursing, changing, and burping a brand new baby. But, who knows? Maybe I'll surprise myself and be much better at it than I'm thinking I will be. Aim low, that way it's easier to exceed expectation, right? :)

A lot of you who live near me and those who are family may know this already, but as for the blogging world, I've been pretty secretive and it's been killing me! I'm going to have another baby! Yay!

We were going to try and keep it to ourselves for as long as possible, but I'm so excited I can't keep it in anymore! I'm 15 weeks along and sooooo happy to be out of the first trimester.

All of the baby calendars and silly old wives' tales are telling us it's a girl this time. I'm still wanting a boy the most, but I'll be happy with either.

I feel very blessed to be having another child and I remind myself of how difficult the last year has been whenever I feel tired or too sick. I can't wait for Nate to have a sibling and he's so ready for it! He prays for the baby everyday and he even tells me his baby is making him sick (while holding his tummy) when he doesn't want to do something! We're all so excited and ready for our family to expand.

P.S. Although I know there's always tons of curiosity, I'm certain there will be no pregnancy pictures posted of me. It's not a pretty thing!

This is going to be me mainly gushing over my son. I can't get over how fast he's grown. Usually, I let these thoughts pass and share them with my husband, but I want to document some for Nate to read in the future. Like every mom I think I look at my child as a miracle. How did he come to me so small with everything in that tiny little body that he needs to become a man? Forget man (that's too far in the future), but a little boy! I don't have a baby or toddler anymore, I have a little boy. I look at him and all I see are these long skinny legs (definitely not inherited from his mother). I love to watch him work his little body and see the muscles activating under his skin. How miraculous it is to witness.

More than just his physical growth I'm astounded by his intellect. I'm always thinking, "When did you learn that word?" I love that he can communicate so well now. I love that he wants to talk to me and carry a conversation. I love that I can understand most of the words that come out of his mouth and he's not making up words that don't exist. This morning he woke up with a bite (always finding bug bites here) on his upper arm. He showed it to me and told me he had a new owie. Some words like "owie" I don't want him to grow out of. Anyway, I looked at it and told him not to scratch it because it was already the size of a silver dollar. The poor boy looked at me with big, sad, blue eyes and said, "Please, mommy, because it's so itchy!"

I also love how independent and helpful he is now. This age is by far my favorite for all the above reasons, but also because he can do so much by himself now. He puts his dirty dishes in the sink, he picks up after himself and knows the appropriate places to put things, he puts his own dirty laundry in the hamper and on laundry days he drags his hamper to the washing machine for me, he insists on dressing himself now everyday, he loves to dust and vacuum, and absolutely rocks at putting the clean silverware in the drawer. It's like heaven to have those small things done and done so willingly and happily. He loves it when he's asked to help and will drop everything with a huge smile on his face and run to me saying, "I can help you?" Of course you can! Anytime buddy! Four-year-olds rock!

Since moving here, we have been really lucky to make such good friends so fast. Some of these new friends called us up just days after meeting and invited us to go with them to the Children's Museum. I'd heard great things about the museum and Nate really needed to get out of the apartment so we gladly accepted. On this first visit we barely touched all the museum has to offer (we've been back with them since and found there is so much more there than you can do in one day!).
Nate's new friend, Isaac, did a great job showing him around. Here they are taking turns driving the ambulance.
There was also a police car. Nate was really excited to sit in the driver's seat and hold the wheel. My mom used to let him crawl into her lap in her car when she was parked and let him pretend to drive for a minute. She'd also blare Elvis on the radio and let Nate rock out. Nate thought that the Elvis music was his "Lilo and Stitch" music.
One of the great things about the museum was the outdoor water area. There were little boats that the kids could float down these little canals. Not to mention fountains and lots of opportunities to splash. I love it because there are seats for the moms and we can just watch the kids play. Nate loves water and I knew he'd get soaked so why fight the inevitable? He'd dry eventually!
Nate and Isaac in the ambulance, again. We had such a good time. We are going to buy a yearly pass to the museum because there's just so much to do you could go every week and still have a great time. Thanks for taking us Heather, Isaac and Brooke!

Nate's birthday was on September 10th. He had been waiting for weeks for the day to come around. Everyday he'd wake up and ask me to sing "Happy Birthday!" to him and he'd look at me with all the anticipation in the world. It's probably kind of mean, but I loved to watch him squirm when I told him it wasn't quite that day yet and he'd have to wait a little longer.
When the day actually came, Robert had school all day so I was even harsher and made Nate wait until his dad got home that night to do any celebrating. I have to say, though, that it was so cute to watch Nate pace and ask every hour or so, "Is daddy coming home?" Also, I sang to him so many times that I think I had that song stuck in my head for a few days after.
His birthday was pretty quiet because we don't know too many people yet. There wasn't a party and the cake was a bit of a let down from last year's Nemo, but Nate didn't seem to care. We had a really nice dinner just the three of us and had a great time opening presents.
Grandma and Grandpa Ross sent a great card that had Wall-E punch-out glasses in it. Nate loved it! They were a little big and Nate would have to pull a funny face to get them to stay on the bridge of his nose. Hilarious!
For those of you who don't know, Nate is a dinosaur freak right now. He loves them and knows all the names. Great-grandma Hinman and Aunt Diane did a great job catering to his love of dinos with a new outfit.
Once again, Aunt Bec and Uncle Jr stole the show with some Transformers figurines. They always seem to be Nate's favorite!
Uncle Dub and Aunt Amy also got this great book for Nate that was about...what else...DINOSAURS! It's called Dinosaur vs. Bedtime and it's hilarious. Nate has is memorized already and we read it to him every night.
Nate's birthday evening was also filled with phone calls from family to sing "Happy Birthday!". He was so spoiled that I think the next few days were a major disappointment to him because nothing revolved around him. Oh well, I think he's recovered and is back to his normal self!

Ticket on the Metro: $1.25

Two tickets in the Upper Level to the Houston Astros v. Arizona Diamondbacks: $12

16 inch Super Star Dog and a regular soda: $10

Watching your son get immersed in the sport for which you are so passionate: Priceless