Sweet Note

Lincoln gave this sweet note to me yesterday. It so doesn't matter that he spelled Mom wrong, or that the picture of me looks like a zombie: I treasure it!

He has said some really tender things to me lately. He asked me about the baby moving, gave my tummy a kiss, and said "I love this baby!" Today, he asked me about when we gave him his name Lincoln, so I told him the story of him being born, and then Drake. He replied, "oh I just love Drake."  This baby girl and Drake are so lucky to have him as a big brother. He also can see when I am sad about something. He will tell me, "I have a surprise you are really going to like," and then gives me a hug.

All of these sweet moments really helps make up for the times he can be a stinker!

Third Time's a Charm

It's a GIRL!!!! I still can't believe it. I still just keep repeating it to myself. I still get excited when I think about buying dresses, bows, and tights with ruffles on the bottom!

I can't ever tell what the ultra sound pictures are supposed to be, but I figure I should post them.

I really thought it was going to be a boy, but I would have these fleeting thoughts like, "you know it just might be a girl." All of my symptoms have been different, but I have always heard, each pregnancy is different. With my boys, I was never nauseous, but I was feeling pretty seasick for 15 weeks with this one. I have also had headaches almost every day and heartburn after certain foods, which I never had with the boys. The one different thing that has been nice is that my skin has looked fabulous! My due date is Jan 16th, but I will go in a week early for my third and final c-section.

Surprise Visitors

Lincoln was bummed to leave New Jersey, so I told him some surprise visitors were coming to our house later that month. He threw around a ton of guesses, but was still very surprised to see Grandma and Papa at the airport. I video tapped his reaction, while I was driving. He started kicking his feet and put his hands to his mouth when he saw Papa. It was so cute!

It had been Christmas since we saw them last, so Drake was a little shy in the beginning. Lincoln talked and talked the whole way back to the house. It didn't take Drake very long to warm up, because I had a Young Women's meeting I had to go to that night, and Dave's flight was delayed. Grandma and Papa got to put the boys down for bed that night.

Dave didn't get in until 2 am, so the next day we took it easy. Thursday, we went to the Aviation Museum and IKEA. The boys always like going to the "airport museum" and it was fun to show Papa around. We even got to try out the inflatable slide/raft.

Our bed needed to be replaced, so it was great to have Grandma and Papa at IKEA to watch kids while we tried out different mattresses and checked out. While standing in the check-out line, I looked over and the boys were like billy goats: climbing all over the boxes and outdoor furniture. It is so nice not to sink into the middle of the bed now!

Friday was our day at the US National White water Center. This is such an amazing place, and it's only 10 minutes from our house! Olympic athletes come to train here and they do time trial events also. Lincoln had been counting down the days until he weighed 45 pounds: even weight to ride on the zip lines. This was a great way to motivate him to eat his dinner! Grandma, Papa, and Dave joined Lincoln on the zip lines.

 Drake was so ticked he couldn't go on the zip lines, so he made up his own rope's course.

 Lincoln also got to try out rock climbing. I am so impressed at how brave he was to try new things!

After lunch and climbing on some rocks, we were excited to go on our "War Canoe."

 Turns out it was more like a scenic ride. We were hoping for some water guns or something!

After a whole day in the sun, we were exhausted; however, we still found some energy to go eat BBQ with my mom and dad! We celebrated Papa's birthday the next day, and not much else as the weather was horrible. On their last day, Papa, Dave, and my dad all drove in the truck to pick up a huge lathe. This was a 3 person job, so I'm glad the 3 dudes could do that together. I can't wait to see the beautiful things Dave will create with that lathe, even though it makes it a little tricky walking in the garage!!

We are incredibly lucky to have such wonderful family and to live during these modern times, where we can travel across the country quickly. We are already counting down the days until we see our surprise visitors again!