Keeping Up With The Wakens

Phillip is 10 months and has learned to crawl up the stairs. Still working on learning to go down the stairs so I guess I can't quite call him a "master" yet.
He is also really good about walking around things and is starting to let go and stand for a few seconds. He loves to push things around the rooms. Avery has a little blue walker that he loves to push around and is getting pretty good at pulling
it back towards him if he runs into something. He is also getting really good at
turning corners with the walker. So fun to watch him learn and figure things out.

This year we spent Thanksgiving with my family, which has been a long time. When Phill and I got married with spent Thanksgiving with his family, the next year I worked, the year after that was with the Wakens, and then last year I worked, so it was nice to do Thanksgiving with my family for the 1st time in 4 years.
This year Thanksgiving was at my parents house and the Hull side of the family came over.
It was Phillip's 1st Thanksgiving and I had him in a cute turkey outfit but the turkey hat didn't quite fit him but he was still cute.
For dessert I made a Caramel Pumpkin Trifle that was really good and I was go glad it turned out well.
We ate dinner around 2 pm, which was delicious, and then spent the rest of the day just socializing with family.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Phillip is 9 months and its fun to think that he has now been on the earth for as long as I was pregnant with him. He is growing so fast. He is walking around objects, holds on with one hand and is starting to let go. He stands for only a second before he falls but I know that its not long before he takes off walking. He drinks from sippy cups, he's excited to eat "big people" food like mashed potatoes (not really a fan of), rolls, he loves cheerios, and puffs. He also really like veggie sticks. He also cut 2 teeth shortly after he turned 8 months, beating Avery who didn't cut a tooth until she was 10 months. He is still our happy smiley boy, and he gets into everything. He likes to chase the vacuum, go towards the fire place, push things around the room, and by crawling and pulling up to a stand on everything is constantly falling or hitting his head but continues to do it over and over. We've had a rough go with naps lately like 10 minute naps or as soon as I lay him down he wakes up. We're working on it and I've found that if he wakes up right away he'll cry for 10 minutes and fall back asleep. He loves Avery and crawls/chases her around the house. His hair is getting long but he has these cute ringlets that I'm afraid won't grow back if I cut, so I'm planning on taking his 9 month pictures with his cute ringlets before I take him for a hair cut.
9 month stats: 18 lbs 12 oz - 20th percentile, 2 feet 5 inches tall - 75th percentile

Avery's vocabulary increases daily and she's so fun with the new things she says:

"No Sydney don't lick my bum" - Avery trying to get in the shower. (we are dog watching Sydney for my parents)

Avery - "Oh Mommy, you have and owey? It's ok Mommy I'll get you a new one"
Me -"A new what?"
Avery - "A new diaper"

"I like this" in front of everything. "I like this chocolate", "I like this bed", "I like this car"...

"I can't see my eyes!" when it's dark

Avery -"Mom, I don't like the poopy rhino, I tried it and I don't like it"
Mom-"What? Oh do you mean the pepperoni?"
Avery-"Yeah I don't like it"

Names for food:

Mo-mos = marshmallows
Scary chocolate = Count Chocula cereal
Ban-bans = bandaids

This year Avery and Phillip were monkeys, I was a banana, and Phill was a vampire in the morning for his preschool classes and then a zoo keeper in the evening. We went Trick-or-Treating at the Trick or Treat Street in the King Soopers shopping center. Then we took the kids to my parents house to show them their costumes and went Trick-or-Treating around their neighborhood. On Saturday I had to work so Phill took the kids to the Webster Lake Wards Halloween party and Trick-or-Trunk. Avery loved running around, and playing the Halloween games.
Overall we had a really good time this Halloween and Avery continues to ask to go Trick-or-Treating.

Monday October 24th was a beautiful hot day at 80 degrees before the snow storm came in the next day. I wanted to take full advantage of the beautiful day before the first October snow so we lucked out with a free day at Botanical Gardens. I had never been there before but my Mom was volunteering at the Gardens for Food Day so Phillip, Avery, and I all went down. Kyle met us down there and it was nice for him to help me. Avery found this globe that you could click buttons and it would turn to the Solar System, or and indepth look at Earth. We went inside the Rainforest Garden for a little while, had a quick picnic in Mitchell Hall, and then spent most of our time in the Children's Garden on top of the Parking Garage.
After the Gardens, we headed to the Zoo and met Phill there. We arrived about 4:30 pm which was the perfect time to arrive. The weather was gorgeous and not too hot. There were hardly any people, and the animals were all out! I mean animals that I very rarely see were all out in the open, wide awake and active. I'm kicking myself for not taking any pictures of the animals especially the rare ones to see. But we saw 2 red pandas, 2 tapirs, the hippo was out of the water eating, the rhino, the elephant, and many others. It was so fun to be at the Zoo with the perfect temperature, all the animals out, and no crowds!

Baby #2 is mobile! Phillip started army scooting at about 6 1/2 months, and now he is 7 1/2 months and is officially crawling. He started officially crawling on 10/6/11 and he is so excited to move. We went through his frustration stage where he would get mad and cry because he couldn't quite get it, and he'd get really mad if we left the room without him, but now he crawls all over the house and is even pulling himself up to a stand. He really wants to do stairs and will try to lift his leg to pull himself up but he isn't quite strong enough yet, but he loves to laugh and try.

Day 1 - arrived in Polson, went boating and swimming in Flathead Lake. The Burningham's taught me that if you put your life jacket on like a diaper, you'll have a nice floatation device to relax in so you won't be exhausted from swimming. So fun! Then we enjoyed a delcious dinner of grilled chicken and potato salad, had bonding time around the fire pit making smores.

Day 2 - Crystal, Jeremy and there families left for Canada. I stayed in Montana because I didn't have a passport, but enjoyed quiet time to myself, studying for my CPN, walking to Walmart and Safeway, snacking on Mint Tuxedo cookies.

Day 3 - Finished studying for my CPN just before the families came back from Canada, including the newly married Crystal and Jeremy Page. Cooked up some bacon burgers and enjoyed bbq, playing croquet and badmitton, then in the evening enjoyed sitting around the fire pit and making smores.

Day 4 - Relaxed in the morning, made Ziploc Omelets, played more badmitton, got ready for the day and for the reception, played more croquet until Robin, Dwight, Angie, Nick, and Ryan arrived! and to our surprise Amy Bean Harrison! We then sat and talked and helped/watched Crystal get ready for the reception. Later in the evening we arrived and this gorgeous house for the ring ceremony. At the ring ceremony we listened to talks, heard Celeste and Tyson sing a song, and then watched a video of Crystal and Jeremy talking about each other, their dating life, why they looked forward to being married, the engagement story. After the ring ceremony they cut the cake and we enjoyed cake and an ice cream bar, and plenty of picture taking.
I got to spend more time with Angie and Amy which was so nice.
After the reception, we had pizza back at the Burningham's house and then I went to bed and crashed.

Day 5 - packed my bags for the flight home, went out to breakfast with Angie and her family, said my goodbyes to everyone including Crystal and Jeremy as I headed to Missoula with Brian and Mary (Crystal lived with them in Meridian, ID), while Angie and her family headed back to Idaho, and Crystal and Jeremy and their families left for Great Falls, Montana for their second reception. The flight home was really nice and I was met at the airport by Phill, Avery, and Phillip.

I had so a wonderful vacation and am so grateful that I was able to spend time with Crystal, Angie, and see Amy. I love that we were all room mates my freshman year and have continued to be best friends with Crystal and Angie and that we are able to come together each year.
I missed my family too and was happy to come home and be with them again.

Avery is now 2 1/2, I can't believe how fast she's growing. Avery is our little helper and is such a good big sister to Phillip. She helps us clean and sings the "Clean Up" song as she cleans - come out "Clean body clean up". She likes to help feed and burp Phillip and is learning to share her toys. Avery is potty trained and even sleeps at night in her underwear. We are so proud of her for doing so well. Avery loves to dance and sing and we love to hear her make up songs about cheese, the moon, etc. She also likes to sing "I've Got a Dream" from Tangled, "Gitchee Gitchee Goo" from Phineas and Ferb, and "Happy Birthday" which comes out "Happy To You." Avery still likes Cars but has transitioned more to Dora the Explorer, and Phineas and Ferb. Works out well because as a family we all really like Phineas and Ferb, including baby Phillip. Avery loves to cook and help Mom in the kitchen, she still continues to love fruit and is learning to like vegetables - so far broccoli and corn. Avery is very much an outdoor girl, she loves to be outside, playing at parks, and she loves swimming! She is quite the little talker and lately her daily vocabulary includes saying: Oh no, what happened?; Why?; Bye Bye, love you, have a good day, be safe; I'm coming; I'm right here; Look Mom, look; Oh cool; Sorry; I'm hungry; You're welcome; Thank you very much. When she's talking to Phillip she says: Hi boy!, Baby, Phillip, Phillip James, Little Buddy.
We love our Avery and are so blessed to have such a fun, helpful, singing, dancing, little girl.

Phillip is 6 months and weighs 16 lbs (25%) and is 28 inches long (90%!). He is getting so big and I can't believe that he is only 6 inches shorter than Avery. He is definately outgrowing his car seat and I don't think he'll be able to face backwards until he's 2 according to the new carseat law. He is my little smiley boy and he loves to play and laugh. He loves to grab onto things, play with toys, and he loves to suck and drool on everything. He was a big fist sucker, but now that he holds onto toys those go in the mouth. He loves to be with the family and hates it if we leave the room. He loves his big sister Avery. He lights up and giggles when she comes near and is eager to get moving to chase after her. He rolls from side to side and is really starting to roll all over. He's working on his sitting skills which he's not a fan of - he'd rather be moving than sitting, and he likes to scootch, or move on his back by using his feet. He will turn a full 180 degrees and I have yet to see how he does it. He is working so hard on trying to crawl. Right now he can push himself up on his arms and legs and is starting to rock back and forth. Only momentarily before he figures it all out and will take off. I don't know if I'm quite ready for him to be mobile. He is such a boy and loves to tackle and wrestle Avery, but she is a good sport and likes it when Phillip tackles her. We've also started him on solid foods. Tried rice cereal and he was not a fan of the texture nor is he a fan of the Gerber peas or green beans. But he really likes pears, squash, bananas, and sweet potatoes. I think he is going to be more of a fan of the fruits like his sister.
Phillip is a morning riser. No matter what time we put him to bed he wakes up between 5-6 every morning. Every now and then 7, but most often 6. But he wakes Phill or I up by kicking his feet, and talking/singing in this high soft tone that is so cute. He'll roll onto his belly and when you walk in the room he'll lift his head just above the crib rail to see you, then he'll give you a big grin and hide his head back down and smile waiting for you to pick him up. He also has his favorite blanket which was Phill's when he was a baby so it makes the connection so special. Phillip is such a fun and wonderful addition to our family. We love him so much and count the blessings of having him here.

For our Honeymoon Phill and I stayed at a cabin called Sunnyside Knolls just on the outside of Downtown Estes Park.
Our 1 year anniversary we went to Colorado Springs,

Our 2nd year we went to Water World,

Our 3rd year we went on a family vacation to Boise and Yellowstone.


This year we celebrated our 4th year together and Phill set up a surprise day for me. He took me to a lake/park in Westminster and we had a picnic. He brought a blanket to sit on, Sparkling Cider, ham and cheese sandwiches he made, bbq potato chips, and the portable dvd player with the movie Rio that I had really wanted to see. The weather was perfect at 80 degrees with cloud cover so it wasn't to hot or too cold. We enjoyed our food, watching the ducks on the lake, watching the movie, and spending quiet time together. About half way through the movie rain drops began to fall so he took me shopping at Kohls. I tried on several dresses but didn't find anything I really liked but it was still fun to try them on.
After Kohls we checked in to the Westin hotel in Westminster.

We were on the 9th floor in room 938 with a beautiful view of the lakes and parks in the area. We could even see the lake we just had our picnic at. The room was nice with a king-size bed that was comfy and tried to finish Rio. We got about 3/4 through the movie when the portable dvd player battery died, and there surprisingly was no dvd player in the room but Phill was hungry and wanted to eat dinner anyway.
We walked through the Westminster Promenade and had dinner at Rock Bottom. I enjoyed a delicious Strawberry Lemonade and Chicken and Mac N' Cheese, and Phill had his usual - Bacon Cheeseburger.
After dinner we went to movie theater and saw Cowboys and Aliens

Phill really liked the movie, it is totally a guy flick. Phill edited the movie for me by closing my eyes through the scary/violent scenes. I don't like scary alien movies, but the story line was interesting and I like Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig. Plus Phill did rent and watch Rio with me.
But the time the movie was over it was almost 10pm and we were tired. We went back to the hotel and enjoyed the quiet time together, watched a little television, read
scriptures and went to bed.
In the morning we slept in until 8:30 am, got ready for the day and had breakfast at IHOP (International House Of Pancakes). We shared a delicious apple-cinnamon funnel cake with cheesy eggs, ham, bacon, and hashbrowns.

We then picked up the kids - big thank you to Amanda and the Wakens for watching Avery and Phillip for us. We had a great time and it was so nice to get out of the house and have just an evening for the 2 of us.
Happy 4 years and counting!!

Phillip is now 4 months and weighs 13 lbs (25%) and 25 inches tall (50%). He is such a good baby and is quite the smiley face and chatterbox. I love his cute smile and love that he talks up a storm. I've even heard him say "mama", "hey", "da" I don't think he really knows that he said it but I heard it so it counts. He also loves to stand and is really strong. We're working on his sitting skills because he'd rather stand than sit, but the Bumbo chair is helping. And he is now sleeping through the night! He goes to bed around 8 pm and wakes up at 7 am and we love it! So happy to have a happy, sleeping baby. We love our little boy and we are so blessed to have him in our family.

Our baby boy is 1 month old!

Phillip is now 1 week old and home from the hospital. We were lucky to get discharged from the NICU just shy of being there 1 week and we are so happy to be home as a family.

Strong Man pose


Avery and Phillip getting to know each other


Bonding in chair time - yes I know he's in pink but the chair was free and that's the smallest sized blanket we own


Still on oxygen but doing really well




Shortly after turning 1 week old Phillip was able to be weaned off of his oxygen and we are all so happy.

Phillip's happy to not have something in his nose that he was constantly trying to take out, and Phill and I are happy not to have to carry the oxygen tank everywhere.
Our handsome little man.

Avery stayed the night at Grandma and Grandpa Waken's house the night before her birthday because we were still in the hospital with baby Phillip, but Phill and I were there bright and early to surprise Avery in the morning with her birthday gifts. Phill bought Avery this giant Disney Princess balloon that actually sang "Happy Birthday" to her - coolest balloon ever! We also bought her 2 Zhu-zhu pets that she thought were funny, a Princess memory game, and Phill found her Mack and his trailer from Disney's Cars that you can put Lightning McQueen in the back and Avery loved it!

Later in the evening we had a birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa Toth's house and Avery was showered with gifts from her Grandparents, Great Grandma and Grandpa Hull, Aunties, and Uncle Kyle.




She also enjoyed her cake that Daddy decorated for her with Cars.


What a great day! Happy 2nd Birthday Avery!!

Avery turned 2 on February 20th. I can't believe my little girl is 2! She brings so much joy into our lives and we love her so much. Here is what our 2 year old is up to:
Weight 25lbs, Height 33 inches tall (25% for both which is where she usually is)


Favorite Foods: chicken nuggets, cheese, fruit - Avery is a fruit-a-holic and will choose fruit over any other food to eat. Cheerios - her favorite cereal and she eats it just about everyday.
Favorite things to do: Avery loves to dance. Anytime music comes on she runs to the middle of the room and jumps around, spins in circles, rocks side-side, and at the end throws her hands in the air and shouts "Yay!" then claps her hands. She also loves to color and uses every crayon in the box. She also is into acting out movies as she watches them and she's pretty good at acting out scenes from Finding Nemo, Princess and the Frog, Despicable Me, and Madagascar 2 (So cute to see her dance to the "Alex on the Spot" scene). She also likes to jump on the trampoline and loves to be outside. She also loves baths and washing her hands.
Favorite toy: Lightning McQueen, Mater, and Sally cars. Avery loves Disney's Cars and has quite a few but these three are her favorites and she carries them everywhere.


Favorite movie: Disney's Cars, Madagascar 2, Winnie the Pooh's Christmas, 101 Dalmatians. These movies she never seems to get sick of and she cycles through them weekly.
Favorite things to say: "Where is it?", "Where did it go?", "What a mess", "Hi Baby!" (too baby Phillip), "More". Avery learns new words and sentences every day and I'm always amazed at the things she says. She's pretty good at her colors and likes red, blue, and green. She also likes to sing and make up songs. Her first song was, "I like cheese" and she'd sing it over and over to different tunes - so cute! And in church she just belts out something. Others may see it as she's yelling but really she's singing to her own tune!
Avery has also taken an interest in potty training which we have been taking slow. She knows the routine and what to do, but hasn't quite mastered telling us everytime she needs to go. She'll get there though she's a smart cookie.


Avery we love you and are so blessed that you've been in our lives for the past 2 wonderful years.

February 17th = Hours after birth Phillip was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and placed on CPAP - positive air pressure to keep his lungs open. An IV was placed in his hand and started on 10% Dextrose to keep his sugars within normal limits because he was not allowed to eat. An orogastric tube was placed down his mouth into his belly to help remove air that the CPAP was pushing into his belly.




February 18th = Phillip's first feed was through the orogastric tube and they started him on 4ml of colostrum/breastmilk.



Holding hands with Mommy


Throughout the day they had been weaning his CPAP down to 21% and then switched him to a low-flow nasal cannula on 100ml of oxygen to see how he'd do. Since he was off the CPAP I finally got to hold my little boy with joyful tears.

First family picture - minus Avery. Avery wasn't allowed in the NICU to see Phillip but she came daily to see Mommy.


Unfortunately, after Phillip had been weaned to 50ml of oxygen he started to increase his work of breathing and had to be placed back on CPAP.

February 19th = Phillip was weaned from the CPAP to a high flow nasal cannula on 2 liters and 35% of oxygen.


February 20th = Phillip's bilirubin level was 15.7 and increasing so he was given sunglasses and placed under phototherapy to help lower his level. They pulled his orogastric tube and placed a nasogastric tube down his nose into his belly and he was started on larger tube feeds that were increased by 3ml every other feed for a goal of 36ml.


February 21st = Phillip was weaned from the high flow nasal cannula to a low flow nasal cannula starting at 100ml of oxygen and by the end of the day he was on 35ml of oxygen. His bilirubin level was rechecked after being under the lights and his level as still 15.7 which was good that it didn't increase but it didn't decrease either so they added another light.

His tube feeds had been changed to an increase by 3ml every feed for a goal of 48ml and by the end of the day he had done so well with his feeds that we were able to start bottle feeding him for a goal to take 50ml, but whatever he didn't take was put into his feeding tube.

The 21st was the last day that the hospital allowed me to stay so after feeding Phillip we said our goodbyes and left for home. It was so difficult and emotional to leave the hospital without him.

February 22nd = at 11:00 am the Neonatalogist called us and informed us that Phillip was doing great he was only on 25ml of oxygen which is 1/32 liter and could go home on the oxygen. His bilirubin level was 12 and he was taken off the lights, his IV was removed, his nasogastric tube removed and he was eating great from the bottle. And the best news of all - he would be discharged from the NICU and we would room in with him on the mom baby unit before being officially discharged from the hospital on the 23rd.



February 23rd = At 12:00 pm after checking his weight and another bilirubin level we were finally discharged from Good Samaritan hospital. Phill and Avery came to pick us up and Avery was finally able to meet Phillip. She and Phill bought Phillip a balloon and Avery was excited to give it to the "baby" as she calls him.


Finally home!!

Well, after reading my 38 week post, the baby came much sooner than I thought. At the doctor's she stripped my membranes and said that they usually do that at 38 weeks and it can help the baby come a few days early. For me the baby came 12 hours later!
At 2:00am I woke up with contractions but they were irregular - one would be 10 minutes, then 3, then 7, then 5 minutes apart. So I thought it was just false labor caused from the doctor stripping my membranes. I tried to relax and see if they would go away. Well I waited longer than I should of. At 5:00am I was still having these irregular contractions so I got up to go to the bathroom and noted that I was bleeding. Not just spotting I was bleeding quite a bit. I went back to the bedroom and Phill woke up and asked if I was alright and I told him, "No, I'm having contractions and I'm bleeding." He got out of bed and started packing to go to the hospital while I called Kaiser to let them know what was going on. Phill's sister Amanda arrived at the house to watch Avery for us. We said goodbye to Avery and took off.
We arrived at he hospital around 7:00am and the nurse checked me and I was 8cm and 90% effaced. Several nurses ran into the room to start my IV and get everything ready. The anesthesiologist came in and placed the epidural about 8:30am and roughly 9:30 I called the nurse to tell her I felt the need to push and that the contractions were right on top of each other. She came in and checked me and I was fully dilated and fully effaced. They called the doctor in, prepped me, and told me to push. Well I pushed 3 times and he was out! Phillip James Waken III was born on February 17th at 9:51 am, 6 lbs 5 ounces, and 19.2 inches long.


When he came out they put him on my chest but he was blue so while the doctor was stitching me up - I had a stage 2 perineal tear - they took him over to the warmer and suctioned him out. The doctor told me that when my placenta came out it appeared to be partially abrupted (hence the bleeding) but during labor my vitals and the baby's vitals were stable and the baby did not appear in distress. She said it was good that I pushed him out quickly due to the abruption but that because I pushed him out so fast he didn't have time to squeeze the amniotic fluid from his lungs so that's why he was so blue at birth.
At he warmer Phillip's color was a little better but they called a NICU nurse to come see him.


They let me hold him for maybe 5 minutes until the NICU nurse came and he was still blue and grunting.


She took him in the warmer and ran to the nursery to check him and Phill went with them. When they arrived to the nursery the nurse reported that his oxygen saturation was in the 70's so they would place him under a humidified bubble dome for a few hours.


While Phillip and Phill were in the nursery my OB nurse helped me move over to the mom-baby unit and get settled in. My parents and Phill's parents arrived and shortly after Phill and the Neonataologist came in the room. Phill hugged his mom and began to cry and the doctor told me that Phillip's color was better but he was still grunting and working to breath and so they were going to admit him to the NICU and place him on CPAP.



They only allow 2 people at a time to be in the NICU so Phill and his dad went and gave baby Phillip a blessing. The nurse, Ruby, later told me that the blessing was so beautiful that she teared up a little bit. What a blessing for the power of the priesthood.
Although being quite the emotional day, we are so happy, excited, and blessed that baby Phillip is here!!!

This year since Valentine's Day was on a Monday and Phill would be working we expanded Valentine's Day over the weekend.
Friday night: Phill, Avery, and I went to the Armadillo for dinner. We had gift certificates and thought it would be fun to go as a family. Avery loved the music and spent most of dinner dancing in our booth. So cute to watch. She even did a tap dance to the Mexican Hat song. My girl's got rhythm! She was so excited when they brought out the chips and salsa, and scarfed down almost and entire taco. After dinner we walked over to Borders and looked at books and drank hot chocolate.
Saturday: We exchanged gifts. Avery received purple snow pants and a little heart shaped box of M&M's. I gave Phill a Star Wars T-shirt and Reese's hearts, and Phill gave me Valentine's hand towels for the bathroom and Dove Milk Chocolate hearts. Later that night Phill and I had a movie night and watched Inception.
Sunday: Unfortunately we were all sick with sore throats, coughing, chest congestion, and body aches. Avery actually felt the best out of all of us thankfully. So we rested all day but did go over to my parent's house for dinner. My Dad gave us a little heart shaped box of chocoltes and we enjoyed a lovely chicken dinner.
Monday - Valentine's Day. Phill was at work but came home and surprised Avery with a big soft puppy with hearts on it, and red tulips for me. We had a large ham dinner with potatoes and green beans and enjoyed with goblets of Sparkling Red and White Grape Juice.
I love Valentines!

I am now 38 weeks along and the baby is still kicking strong. On an exciting note at my 36 week appointment I was 2cm dilated, 50% effaced, and the head is down at -2. At my 38 week check I am 3cm dilated, still 50% effaced and the head is still at -2. I am so happy and grateful that the baby is head down and not breech. Also, at our 36 week appointment we finally found out what the baby is. It's a ..... BOY! We are so excited. We thought about just waiting until the baby was born, but Phill really wanted to know and this time the doctor could actually see so we took advantage of it. To be honest I was so nervous before if the baby was a boy and not being prepared. But now that we know I am so excited to have a little boy. Plus, we've been so blessed with friends and family offering to give us boy clothes. I guess we really lucked out that two of our family members are done having kids and they both have all boys so plenty of clothes for us. What a blessing!! Phill and I waited until Superbowl Sunday to tell our families. The Wakens had a Superbowl Party and invited my family too. For fun I bought a baby boy outfit and had it in a bag. During the half-time show we had Avery open the bag and pull out the outfit. Everyone was so excited. 2 more weeks left, maybe even less!

We are now 33 weeks along and the excitement and nerves are starting to kick in. Excited that pregnancy is almost over and we will have a new bundle of joy to add to our family, but nervous about having 2 kids. We still don't know what we are having and in some ways it's fun not to know, but other days I kind of wish I knew so that I could be more prepared - especially if it is a boy. But in the end I know everything will work out for the best and we'll take it one day at a time. I'm grateful for family who have boys and have offered to let us have their clothes which will be a huge blessing. 7 more weeks to go, maybe even sooner!

Well although Christmas was warm this past year, we started out the new year in white...snow!
This was Avery's first snow day that she was old enough to play in and she loved it.