Big Belly

I am now coming up on the end of my pregnancy journey. Thank goodness!

I would like to say its been wonderful, but...lets see, morning sickness, the stomach flu-twice! Every cold and bug that the kids could possibly bring home.

And the icing on the cake-gestational diabetes. (Not that I can have cake anyhow, hehe) I am totally ready to be done. Don't get me wrong though, I can't wait to have a new little one to love , and all the sick in the world is worth the end result. I think that we are as ready as we can be. The kids love to talk to the baby and touch my belly. Its very sweet.

Heath was a good sport and took some pictures of my enourmous belly. I am sorta nervous to put this big belly out there for all the world to see, but maybe someday, this baby will think its cool that there are pictures of big ol pregnant mom! Yeah, what kid doesn't think that!

The kids thought it was pretty cool too. I love the pictures of the kids and my belly- kinda captures their personalities.

Beauty Sleep

Sometimes a princess just needs a quiet spot to catch up on her beauty sleep.

My cuties!

Its pretty much a miracle any time the two of them hold still, look at the camera and smile. To get them both to do it at the same time, virtually impossible. I love this picture.

T-Ball Game

Hayden had his first T-ball game last night. Big Excitement!!! For days he has been asking, "when is my game?" Even Sage started saying with total disgust in her voice, "Wednesday!" Then he wanted to know when Wednesday would come, and made tickets to hand out. Very cute. He wanted to put on his t-ball clothes the second he woke up but somehow I convinced him to wait. What a long day for a little boy.

When game time came the Green Wolves were fired up. They fielded first, and Hayden was catcher, not just any catcher, but the most aggressive catcher in T-ball! If that ball fell off the T, or the kid hitting didn't hit it out of the batters box, Hayden was on it, putting it back. And what a good sport too; he always encouraged the batter to "Whack it hard!" His coach had to keep him restrained a few times because he would dive after balls with the other kid still swinging.

He got to bat twice and hit it like a pro. When running the bases the other team all crashed into each other in the middle of the base line. Didn't slow Hayden, he just plowed right through them.

He loved every minute of the game and is looking forward to the next game. Next week he has a bye, and I am hoping that in two weeks the weather will have warmed up because it was COLD!

Not sure how many games we will be able to convince Sage she can't play. She is begging us to get her a Dora glove so she can play "T-ball day" too.

More Easter shots

Oh, one post just wasn't enough, how about some more of my family. Here is Mom and her girls. Always a must have photo, I think almost every photo I have of me and my sisters was taken on Easter. That is one of the best parts of this holiday, everyone together, looking good and the spring flowers make for great backdrops. If only the little kids would hold still and smile!

Hayden and Sage checking out the candy basket. Mmmm, peeps!!! Turns out both kids don't like peeps. More for Grandpa, he prefers them a little stale. Hope he doesn't mind the little fingerprints.

Sage is a lover! Auntie (Ampy) Angie gets big hugs and we caught her smiling. Hayden was not into the photo shoot and did a lot of camera dodging. Not much of my boy to show off.

Caught him. Boy, this was a shot of a lifetime. The pictures that didn't make the highlight reel are hilarious.

Smile Avery! Heath is very proud of his picture of Avery, I think it was one of the best of the day. The look on her face is priceless, and that dress is phenomenal! The peanut gallery. No egg hunt picture montage is complete without the onlookers. Great vantage point.

Easter

SoI stink at the whole blog thing, I know. Its been a rough few months for me dealing with pregnancy and all its complications, 2 very busy kids and everything else life throws my way. I don't mean to complain, really thats not what I am doing, just trying to make excuses for my guilt of not blogging in 2 MONTHS!!! Promises to do better-we all know thats not likely to change, especially with the arrival of number 3. But who knows, maybe her arrival will get me going again. We can only hope.

So, Easter was very memorable this year. We headed for Seattle Friday after staying home sick from work. Sage and I had caught a nasty cold. Low and behold, many of my family members in Seattle were sick with the same thing, so the worry of passing it on was lessened. So sorry to any of you who were previously healthy before our arrival and got more than just a chocolate bunny for the holiday.

Saturday morning we had tentatively planned to go to an egg hunt with the Kimballs, but poor Avery was not feeling up for it, so we scanned the newspaper and found one close to my dads house at a church. Not really feeling all that great still, Heath and I were probably not in the best of moods for an egg hunt, but it was for the kids and they were pretty excited. My mom tagged along, and it was an amazing time. The hunt was very well planned, tons of eggs, small crowds and they were going to divide into different age groups and stagger the starts so that camera wielding moms like me could get pictures of both kids as they hunted. Great plan, however turns out that the 4-6 year old age group sorta jumped the gun and finished before the toddlers even got going. Sorry Hayden, no pictures of your hunt. Sage was thrilled to hunt on the little tot playground. She filled her entire bucket in minutes. There were still tons of eggs left but we decided to show a little restraint and quit. Some of the eggs had coupons for prizes. Sage got a ticket that said Grand prize. She won a really "cute" bunny. It plays a "cute" song and does a "cute" dance. Ask anybody in my family, they can sing you the song and show you the motions. She loves it! She strolled it around in her little doll stroller and slept with it for a few nights. Hayden did really well too. Same story, tons of eggs, filled his basket and then decided to help other kids that didn't have as many eggs. Heath says he picked the cutest girls to help. His dad was proud.

We had a blast dying eggs at Jamie and Kyles house that night. Hayden was pretty tricky with the two toned eggs, while Sage was soley into pink eggs-who needs a dipper when you got fingers?! (very bright pink fingers). Easter morning when I cracked open an egg, Hayden was very upset that I would eat one of his masterpieces, while Sage was disgusted that it was not pink on the inside. My funny kids.

The whole family gathered for a wonderful brunch. It was good to have such wonderful company to distract me from all the candy. However, my blood sugar control was excellent throughout the day even with a bite sized snickers and a couple of peanut M & Ms. GDM sucks!

We had another egg hunt, with more candy. The kids were very cute hunting. All in all it was a wonderful weekend. Got lots of great family photos, I was reluctant to take much with my enormous belly, but as everyone told me, thats how i look right now, its a true reflection of the day.

Valentines Day

A day to tell those you love how much they mean to you-with lots of chocolate. We started the day with a special valentine treat-maple bars from Yokes! Yum. Sage was covered with chocolate before we even walked through the daycare doors. I took a little break mid day to join the kids for an icecream social at daycare. mmm, more chocolate. The kids each had parties in their classes. I went to a valentine social at work with the girls. There were cookies that had been dipped in chocolate. I got my sweet heart a big box of Sees chocolates (which i don't think he has opened yet, I'll check into it). And he got me a All American Chocolate cake from Costco! Chocolate heaven. Total calorie intake: who cares, its Valentines day!!!

A dash of Sage

Seems that this blog is heavy on Hayden and lacking of Sage. So let me add a "dash of Sage." Yeah, I know, cheesy.

This girl emulates all things 2 years old. She insists on doing everything "self," even the things she doesn't have a clue how to do. She is quite stubborn, so she may spend 10-15 minutes trying to figure out how to open her Gatorade bottle. If Hayden can do, by golly, so can Sage. She loves Dora the Explorer. She is absolutely tickled with her new Dora diapers. Each time we change her, its like Christmas all over. She has her brothers sense of humor, and do those two ever converse! I LOVE riding in the car listening to them chat to one another. She loves her Haydee, but some times he gets really mad because she loves to interupt his stories. She will sing the ABCs over him as loud as she can. When she is naughty and is told to stop doing something, she replys with an "OK Sage." Typically "OK Sage" means "yeah, right." We adore our little princess. She is hard to catch on film as she is constantly in motion and will not pose for pictures.

Monster Fun!

Last week Heath saw an ad for the Monster truck show coming to town. We laughed about it, but Hayden got pretty excited. Heath decided to take one for the team and get tickets (lets not forget that I took him to Wiggles). So all week, we counted down to Friday night's show. Hayden was pretty pumped. Friday he even took a nap!!! We found a monster truck shirt and he was set. At 5:30, 2 hours until show time, the will-call folks called to tell us that the show was cancelled. Whoa, major problem. Because of all the snow and poor travel conditions in the surrounding states (we have no snow), the trucks were stuck. Heath pointed out that they are Monster Trucks are they not? How can they not get through a little snow? Hayden was crushed, there were some tears and even the offer of dinner anywhere he wanted didn't seem to help. He picked McDonalds. We offered to do movie night instead. Him and Sage picked Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas. We even took him to Baskin and Robbins. His Rainbow Sherbet actually seemed to perk him up a bit. It was sorta sad, every few minutes a truck would pull into the parking lot and out would come a family with kids who had long, sad faces...yup, all monster truck ticket holders with no show. Bunches of depressed kids eating ice cream, now thats how to spend your friday night.

Well, the good news was that the show would go on on Saturday night. Hayden got to hang out in the pits with the drivers before the show. Heath said he took it all in, not saying much. When he got home he had a whole lot to say. Easy Rider was his favorite. As for me and Sage, well it was a trip to Safeway to get some goodies and home to watch Dora in our jammies. Laugh, go ahead, I will take Dora over loud stinky monster trucks any day.

Walmart Special!

Hayden's teacher told me the funniest story today. He has been on vacation for about 3 weeks so they were pretty excited to have him back. His teacher told him that she really missed him. He told her that she could go to Walmart and get her own Hayden. "They sell them for $5. Well, actually, its not really a Hayden, but its just like a Hayden, it's called a Layden. It has blonde hair and looks just like Hayden, just doesn't know as much about the Seahawks. You could get a girl though if you wanted. They only have blonde girls though. Girls cost $6. If you give them more than $6, you can get change back!" (Picture taken on Hayden's new camera)

Thumper

It seems that number 3 is going to be a football fan herself. She was kicking up a storm tonight during the Seahawks game. Heath got lots of good whomps. Sage did too, but she was doing so much thumping herself that she didn't appreciate the thumping she got. Names? None really so far. We mostly enjoy coming up with the most aweful names possible. Heaths best (worst) one is Mohinder, my favorite not-a-chance names are Agnes and Eunice. She is still several months away. Due date: May 10th. Thats plenty of time to come up with names, good or bad.

Sage has taken to pulling out her belly and proudly exclaiming she has a baby. I think that she is really going to like being the big sister. Hayden is a pro at the whole big brother thing.

We are trying to get ready for our new arrival. Lots to get done, but we are slowly plugging away. So far, the whole room transition situation has gone very well. Sage is completely in love with her big girl bed, which sounds more like "big ol bed" when she says it. She marvels at herself each morning when she finds herself in it. "I woke up!" Each night before bed she tells us matter-of-factly, "no fall out." If only. A third Gardner. We think its going to be great.

New Year

Well, what happened to the last two months??? First, our computer blew up. Yep, take notes my friends; when this happens, you lose EVERYTHING. New years resolution #1: archieve often! We had to get a new computer-Merry Christmas! I hate technology. Well, the machine arrived by UPS late one Thursday night in December; I don't think the delivery guy was accustomed to being met in the driveway by an ecstatic 2 and 4 year old and their mom cheering him on to the door. He was a good sport and seemed to leave with a big grin on his face. Unfortunately, December is not my month. I had great intentions of getting back here and documenting all the wonderful, cute, fun things that have happened, but, seeing that my last entry was November... it just didn't happen. We had a fantastic Christmas, this last week was great as well. But how to squeeze it all in one entry, well, I guess that will probably not happen. New Years resolution #2: Blog more, scrapbook more. Don't worry, I have plenty of catching up to do.

Blue Eagles

Despite his undying devotion to the sport of football, we have gotten Hayden to broaden his horizons by signing him up for basketball. He plays in the 4 and 5 age group. We really don't know for sure, but sorta suspect him to be one of the younger guys on the team. His team is called the blue eagles and there are about 10 wiggly little guys that are in constant motion for the hour a week we go. There is a Hayden, Brayden, Kaden and Aiden on the team. That adds to the challenge for ol' coach Steve. "hey, Hayden, come stand over here!" All four come bouncing over, three of them leaving the spots coach Steve just assigned them. They practice bounce passes, chest passes, dribbling with each hand ("your other right!"), and shooting. They play with an 8 foot tall rim, and some of them can shoot it up there. Not Hayden. He tries with all his might, but is lucky to graze the bottom of the net. We have only gone to three practices, but he improves each week. I don't think it will be too long before he is swishing them. Today they divided up into two teams for a little scrimage. Coach had Hayden's team take their shirts off and be "skins." Skins agains shirts. OH MY, how cute. The skins were very shy and hesitant to take off their shirts, in fact, I was a little unsure of it myself. Well, coach is no dummy, he knows he was going to need help so he had a few dads come help and of coarse Heath was the first to jump up and volunteer (but he kept his shirt on). Hayden was so excited. At one point he came running over to me in the middle of the game and exclaimed "Mom, Dad is the coach!" It was very sweet. Hayden is quite sure that the skins won, however I am not sure how we should have kept score, it seemed to be a hybrid of football, soccer, basketball, and wrestling. All-in-all it was very cute and I couldn't be more proud of my little super star.

Trick or Treat

Well, halloween has come and gone. Good times were had by both the pirate and the monkey. It always amazes me how the weather can be in the 70s the day before halloween, but with out fail, it will surely fall well below freezing the night of. Rumor has it the temp was in the upper 20s at trick or treat time, but not sure if that is fact or not. I was wishing I had a full body fleece monkey suit too, however it might not have been as cute as Sage. She played the part well!
Hayden had many pirate friends; we knew that it was going to be popular this year, and sure enough. Turns out that several of his friends were dressed identical to him. (bought the costume at Costco, guess I am not the only one who shops there!)
Hayden has got it down, he knows how the whole trick or treat thing works. Sage is a quick learner. It only took a few tries before she could yell out trick or treat, well maybe it sounded more like treat-treat!

Know a good dentist?

Sleepy Head

Sage played hard Sunday morning. When she had finally had enough, she found herself a sunny spot and cuddled up with her "meep meep" and had a little rest. So cozy!
I know all moms think that their children are brilliant, but let me tell you that this little girl is phenomenal! She has taken to singing the alphabet. She knows most of her colors. Green seems to be her favorite. Her daddy likes to wear green shirts because he knows she will poke him and say "neen!" This girl can color too! I am amazed at the time she spends hunched over a sheet of paper with a crayon pressed in her pudgy little hand creating wonderful squiggles (Jess, Brenton, and Grady might say squiggling :) haha, guess you would have had to be there). She always spots Nissan Titans on the road and yells "Daddy!" She used to get excited about diesel trucks, but now not so much. And what a sweetheart, the other night her brother was on timeout, and she kept taking him pieces of popcorn. They look out for each other. She loves her Haydee. Tonight she got a package from her Grandma F, and she was tickled with the princess slippers and light up bracelet. She insisted on wearing the bracelet to bed; I am sure there will be a light show all night long. Her teachers at school tell me that she has amazing verbal skills, well, I guess I shouldn't be to surprised about that, I know her big brother :) Besides, she's my brilliant girl.

Football, Football!

Well, its football season! We are getting into the action around here. Hayden is obsessed. His dad took him to a high school game on Friday night. He was soooo tired, but managed to keep his eyes open through most of it. He was so excited to tell me about the game the next morning. He is begging us to buy him a helmet so he can be a real football player. I thought maybe a Seahawks jersey would be a good alternative. He was so excited to get the shirt, but that just made him need the helmet even more. We had a Seahawks party tonight. Well, we called it a party, but Hayden was quick to point out that we didn't have any friends come and that we didn't play and games or go to the park. (what a lame party!) The Hawks didn't help our situation either. It is amazing to have my little guy tell me about shotgun plays and such. He seems to have a good grasp on the game. He even does the worm when he scores a touchdown. (sort of looks like an epileptic seizure) Sage has apparently been taking notes when we all play in the back yard because last week at daycare, her class played football one afternoon and the teachers found it hilarious when she grabbed the ball, bent over and yelled HIKE! a few times and then tossed the ball. She likes to tackle :)

All about me

Aloha, so I notice that it has been awhile since I have posted anything! I have had a little vacation. It was mostly wonderful as any trip to Hawaii should be. The picture above was what I saw when I stepped out onto my lanai at the Sheraton Waikiki. I have lots more pictures, unfortunately, they are not downloaded yet. Hopefully that will happen tomorrow! I got to go to a conference (Yee Haw), surf, swim, eat everything i could get my hands on, and build a sandcastle. My next trip to Hawaii may not include much time in Honolulu, however I think it would be a good time to climb diamond head, missed it this trip. The free Trolley to Hilo Hattie was about the coolest part of the trip!
But it wasn't all fun and games. The stupid airline lost my luggage and so i spent half the time worring and trying to replace the missing stuff. That stunk! But, it was Hawaii, so I guess I can't complain too much. Next time i will write about my cute kids, I promise!

Wordless Wednesday