It's a.......GIRL!!!!!!!!!

On Monday we had my 20 week ultrasound. Justin and I were both so excited that we couldn't sleep the night before. The first thing Justin said to me when he woke up was, "All I keep thinking is, do I need to start saving for a wedding?" :) The appointment went great, the baby is healthy and everything looks normal. She had her mouth open the whole time and the tech said, "Looks like a communicator already." We had the doctor write down the sex and put it in an envelope (just like with B). We considered waiting and opening it together on Xmas morning, but like Justin told the doctor, "We are 2 Leo's - we can't wait and need to start planning!" After our appointment when we were alone together in the car, I opened the envelope to find a BLUE piece of paper folded up. I looked at J and said, "It's a boy." He said, "Well open the paper!" I could NOT believe my eyes. It said 'Congratulations you're having a baby GIRL.' I screamed and burst into tears. I have never been so excited in my life. We both wanted a girl so bad, but didn't get our hopes up since they told us at my 13 week ultrasound that the baby was probably a boy. I started getting used to the idea that I would be a mom with 2 boys and would soon convince J to adopt a baby girl from Asia. HA When we picked B up from the sitter and told him he was going to have a baby sister he replied, "No mommy, a boy." :) I've already bought a few pink outfits, a pink blanket, selected her bedding and picked up some wallpaper samples. I should be concentrating on decorating B's new room, but I can't help it. Girl stuff is so much more fun! Poor Justin has no idea how expensive our life is about to become!

Gingerbread House

We got together with some classmates, Lucy and Liv, yesterday to make gingerbread houses. The kids LOVED it. I'm not surprised that more candy ended up in their tummies than on the houses. :)

Stickers!

Into the mouth goes the candy.....

Busy at work. Liv and Lucy wore cute little aprons. B refused - he's SUCH a boy!

Mmm mmm mmm

B's first gingerbread house. He refers to it as "my castle". HA!

A Visit with Santa.....Sort Of

B has been talking about Santa for weeks now. I can't tell you how many times a day I hear, "Santa big truck, big truck." So this morning we headed to the mall to meet the big man in red. After waiting in line for 1 hour and all the anticipation......B wanted NOTHING to do with Santa. He didn't cry or scream or anything, just wouldn't sit on Santa's lap. I think Justin and I were more disappointed that we had to wait in line for an hour and didn't quite receive the outcome we were hoping for. After a few minutes of negotiation, B agreed to sit next to Santa if he was on my lap. Okay, I'll take whatever photo opp I can get with B and the big man. :)

Trees & Tailgating

Yesterday we headed to Santa's Tree Farm in HMB for the 8th annual Moretti Tree Cutting & Tailgate. After a long hunt, we finally found the perfect tree.

B was really into the tree hunt this year. Before we left the house he had to have daddy's measuring tape clipped to his jeans.

I can't tell you how many trees he measured (we were there 4 hours!). He would say, "Mommy, what a cute tree, pretty tree or this one tall."

Lining up the trees for the award ceremony. The kids get bags of candy and the adults get wine. B grabbed my hand and walked me to the prize table, pointed to the wine and said, "Mommy, want that one." Smart boy - maybe in 19 years?

Helping Daddy. Don't worry, I only let B hold the saw for 2 seconds while I took this picture. :)

The winner

Playdate with 1st Graders

On Monday, Justin and I took B into my sister's 1st grade classroom. Bennett had a ball and waltzed around her class like he owned the place. Val put J and I to work. We helped kids with their spelling assignments and listened to them read their latest journal entries. What fun! Wish I lived closer to help out in her class more often.

B during Q&A in the hot seat.

He pointed the giant pencil and then the kids would read the vocab words.

Future teacher?

It's that Time Again......Carter Day

As part of Carter's Christmas gift, I plan a special outing where Justin and I take him out and do something fun for the day. It's more a gift to us, just to spend some quality alone time with our sweet nephew. This year we took him to Big Al's, probably the nicest, coolest bowling alley and arcade I've ever been. Let's just say that Justin had so much fun that he requested his next birthday party to take place at Big Al's. We were supposed to start our day with some hot chocolate at Moonstruck, but Little C was so excited to get to Big Al's that we headed straight there. I can't tell you how many times that morning he asked me, "Auntie Stacy, are you ready yet?".

Getting ready to bowl.

The guys.

After bowling 2 games, we headed upstairs to the arcade. We played games for about an hour and then Carter got to trade in his tokens for some prizes. This was a highlight for him.

Shooting hoops.

Our last game. Carter requested to eat lunch at Big Al's. I don't think he wanted to leave.

We Are Thankful

We headed to Oregon to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with my family this year. Bennett and I spent 12 days at home and Justin joined us for 7. I must admit, I was probably the most excited to head home I've ever been. I'm always excited to go home, but after being cooped up in the house sick for the past 2 months, I couldn't wait to get home and spend time with the special people who I miss SO much throughout the year.

After everything we have been through lately, I am so thankful for our wonderful families! Justin and I are SO blessed to come from two amazing families who give us so much love and support. A special thanks to The Simons, especially Michelle, who has taken such good care of me and Bennett during these past few months. I don't know what we would've done without her! And thank you to my parents who came down for a week to give Michelle a much needed break, for building beautiful closets for us, and organizing/cleaning my house. I can't tell you how many times Justin and I talked about how lucky we are to have two sets of awesome parents who are so incredibly generous and not to mention, total work horses. I hope I have the same energy that my mom and Michelle do when I'm a Grandma!

Making rollups with Papa in the morning.

It's not Thanksgiving without some football! Love B's new puffer coat from my BF Katie. Thank you Katie! Both B and Justin got new puffers from REI while we were home trying to stay warm in the freezing cold.

Carter and B had a blast with the older guys.

Sweet cousins. :)

Uncle Kyle reading to the kiddos before dinner. Di fed the kids first and then turned on a movie so us adults could enjoy a peaceful meal. Smart plan Di!

Being silly. Wherever Carter (a.k.a "Calliou" as Bennett calls him) was, Bennett was close behind. He follows Carter around everywhere which was kind of nice for a few days to give my Dad a break. B was a bit 'stalkerish' with my Dad. ha

Lots of hugs. Love these three.

Miss Kennedy is an EARLY riser. Uncle J was kind enough to get up with her. When B walked downstairs he wasn't too happy seeing his daddy cuddled up with Kennedy so he made sure to jump right in.

HP & The Pumpkin Patch

I feel like such a deadbeat mom lately and so behind on everything! I was finally feeling well enough last Saturday to take B to his school Halloween Party. B had a lot of fun playing with his classmates and eating lots of treats. It was fun to see the kiddos all dressed up. And I'm happy to say, we finally made it to the pumpkin patch yesterday (the day before Halloween). Never too late right?

Party @ the Pumpkin Patch