1 Girl + 2 Boys

Well the results are in...

We had our anatomical ultrasound this morning.

Most importantly, all looked well with the little one.

Our count now will be 1 girl and 2 boys or if you count Mom & Dad...2 girls and 3 boys.

It's the first time the boys will have outnumbered the girls in our family (even when we had Lucy, our cat, she was a girl).

HK seemed to take the news pretty well considering that she has been calling this baby her sister. Her Daddy told her that she still gets to be his favorite daughter. She seemed to like that as well. Then he continued to tell her that she will be big enough to change this baby's diaper all by herself. I gave him the eye from my seat in the van. I hope he is planning on teaching and monitoring that process. She really will be a helpful big sister this time around. Nolan, well it will be interesting to see his reactions! As long as HK doesn't forget about him he will probably be content.

Let the planning and nesting in our new house (in my head) begin!

Night Time Sweetness

I turned my head last night to this soft, sweet voice saying, "Mommy." Nate remained dead to the world, but I instantly knew the problem. I couldn't find the night light last night for our bathroom. HK had found her way into our bathroom to go, as is the usual night time potty place, but it was really dark in there. So I rolled out, leaving the bathroom light off, and sat in the bathroom while she went. Then we switched places. After we were both finished she placed her little hand in mine and we walked together back to her room. All of this taking place in understood sleepy silence. I was holding my breath not knowing if she was going to go right back to sleep or decide she was really scared. She crawled up in the bed and said, "Mommy my Daddy always rubs my back or my tummy or draws my face." I responded, "Are you trying to say you want me to do one of those things?" In this sweet, sleepy voice, "Mommy will you please draw my face?" I can never turn down that request. Nate's Mom use to draw his face growing up as a boy. Then Nate use to do that to me. Now we made this something that our children love for us to do. I draw her face (which is just gently outlining all of her facial features). I tell her, "Good night sweet angel. I love you." As I am standing at the door, the soft voice says, "Mommy I am a big girl. Tell my Daddy 'I love you'. I love you Mommy." My heart swells with love as I once again echo my love back to her and slip back into my bed. She slept peacefully the rest of the night. I don't mind getting up in the night for that kind of night time sweetness. I want to remember those sweet moments. I will take those middle of the night moments any night...especially over the ones when she decides she is scared. Ohhh the bittersweet taste to a mother of her first born growing older.

I love you HK. I stare at you in your sweet, angelic sleepy state and cannot believe how much of a big girl you are. I always jokingly tell you that you need to stop growing. I only partly mean it. Just grow up loving God and loving people with your heart full of joy and kindness towards others!

Date Night Crew

Date Night...

What a wonderful thing! We are thankful to have good friends that we trade with every week. One week the Slaters go out and the next week it is our turn. You take your kids to the other's house when you go out. You enjoy dinner and whatever else you may have time for after that. Then you pick your kids up bathed and ready for bed. What a wonderful trade!

This week was not our date night as you can tell below. It was our crazy kid night. It's like having two sets of twins. We went on a walk with both double strollers and stopped off at the playground after dinner this night. Nate and I were laughing because we knew people were shaking their heads at us as if we were crazy...two sets of twins and one on the way. The craziness is only temporary and an investment in our marriages!

This week we managed to have everyone bathed and a movie on for down time before Karsten and Brooke got back. I was so excited that everyone was sitting on the couch watching Veggietales...sort of.

Nolan did not seem to be quite as interested in the movie as the other three were.


Nope...he did just about everything but watch the movie. That's okay...he still stayed up on the couch and behaved!

If you can trade date nights with someone...I highly recommend it.

I will be very sad when we can't do this in a few months!

Thanks Slaters for all of the crazy nights you have had with our kids!

We appreciate your friendship!

Weekend In Indy- Part 2

There he is ready to go outside already...even though he is still in his pjs. That doesn't mean much to him!

We all got dressed and headed outside to play. It proved to not be quite as cool as we thought it was going to be. So we got things ready for a picnic and decided to head to the park once everyone else was ready. Check out the chalk in mid-air. Nolan thought it would be fun to throw the sidewalk chalk and it was caught on camera in mid-air.

Grampy joined the sidewalk artists for a few minutes.

That face looks like nothing but trouble...maybe he was gonna take a bite?

HK and her Daddy kicked this ball around the yard for quite awhile. I definitely think a soccer ball is going to be something for her birthday this year. Also, notice the football coming from the upper left corner.

There is the culprit of the football. Nolan does say ball or "ba" and gets excited when he sees one.

"Hey Gramps...watcha doin?"

I think HK was giving her Daddy her game face.

She loves to climb things. Actually she just likes any kind of physical challenge!

Once everyone was finally ready, we left for a park.
This was just one cool part of the park. It was a beautiful place. There were lots of nice walking paths and places to feed ducks. There were tunnels to crawl in, swings, rocks to climb on, and many other fun things. From Memorial Day-Labor Day there are places where there is water stuff to play in and run through...oh boy! HK LOVED the slides. Let me tell you they were fast!

Nolan surveying the scene upon arrival.

There are definitely times that you can tell Nate never had a sister. I mean this because there are times that he pesters me or HK the way only a brother would do. He and I thought it would be fun to get on this interesting looking teeter-totter type thing.

It was fun for the first few times.

Then I was ready to get off. Every time he would lower me close to get off, he would pop me back up into the air. Then he would tell me that he was serious this time and wouldn't you know...pop back up in the air. Normally, I would've just jumped off even if I fell...but seeing as to how I am pregnant, I didn't think that would be the wisest choice. So I whined. Which if you had a brother, you know that's what they want to hear before they quit antagonizing. So after enough whining he eventually let me off while laughing with quite the devilish grin.

So Daddy was off to antagonize/play with another female.

You can see how fast and fun the slides were!

Nolan enjoyed the tractor with a steering wheel, slide, and tunnel.

Nana are you cold? Needless to say when we got out in the open it was much windier and cooler than it had been at Uncle Kent's. It just made the day more of an adventure and something we are more likely to remember.

Here she goes again on the rocks.

Yep...definitely think she's a little chilly!

But so was everyone else. Kenny decided to give the big spiderweb looking contraption a shot.

Uncle Kent got brave and got down at the bottom of the slide to try and capture some cool shots. I'm not sure I would've been brave enough to have done that the way they came barreling out.

Daddy was the only one brave enough to take Nolan down the slide. He loved it too!

Nolan definitely wanted to try and climb the spider web with Kenny, but just couldn't seem to get anywhere.

So Uncle Kent finally felt sorry for him and put him up higher.

Trying to figure out how to get waaaayyy up there.

"I just not sures bout dat!"

You know that HK was going to give it a try!

After awhile she thought it would be funny to shake the ropes while Kenny was way up high.

Just a bit windy and chilly!

We've got to get Daddy some sunglasses so he'll quit that horrible squinting all the time!



Aunt Ang braved the slide with HK.

There was one of Uncle Kent's shots up the slide.

Then we ate our picnic (Thank you Jimmy Johns)! I think after we ate everyone was ready to head out. So we gave the kids a few more minutes of playtime and then warmed up in the vans.

HK also got Uncle Kent to go down the slide before we left. I love everyone's expressions when they come out of the slide!

I didn't mean to be this zoomed in, but you get the picture. HK and UK fell straight to the ground on their last time down.

What a fun day despite the wind and chilly air. Fun was had and memories were made!

Ahhh and the best fun/memory was made after we left...but I have already shared that post with you.