Orlando 2011

We recently got back from a very fun-filled week in Orlando. It included the Magic Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, (including the new Harry Potter section), and Sea World. We had a wonderful time, despite the cold weather. We had 2 relatively warm days, in the high 60's, but the rest of the time we had jackets on all day, and it got downright cold at night. Boo! We still had a blast though.

My mom was able to come along, which was great. She was able to help with the kids. Since I'm pregnant, I couldn't ride a lot of the bigger roller coasters, but she and Kevin enjoyed pretty much all of them! The lines were never very long. She also got us in to Sea World for free, since she works for Southwest Airlines. Thanks, mom!

Here are a few of the pics. To see MUCH more, go to my facebook page.

and the gender is.....

.....a BOY!!

And we are so excited! I'm 15 weeks along, which is when a lot of those ultrasound studios can do the gender determination. So today we went to Fetal Studios at the mall to find out that we are, indeed, having a boy! We kind of had a feeling.

So we will have 2 boys and 2 girls. We couldn't be happier!

Now we just need to agree on a name.....

I've always wanted one of those

I've always wanted one of those fun "Baby Tickers" that pregnant people put on their blogs.

I started my blog after Ryker was born 3 years ago, so I haven't had the chance to add one, until now! See it?? See it?? ------------------->

After miscarrying in October, Kevin and I immediately were able to conceive again, and we're officially 11 weeks along, due on July 24th!

We found out on November 29, just after Thanksgiving. I was pretty surprised. It was such a blessing to get pregnant again so soon after the miscarriage. (We actually were NOT trying at that time, and were told to wait a month or two after miscarrying. Oops.)

We have been trying for a while, almost a year now, and I'm glad we didn't have to wait for months and months to conceive again.

The kids have been really excited about it. Bailee loves to touch & love my belly and she just says "baby". Trinidee wants a boy and a girl, but we now know that probably won't be the case. I keep telling Ryker that there's a baby in mommy's belly, and he says, "No there's not". But lately I've been asking him if he wants a baby boy or a baby girl, and he always says "baby girl". I always thought I'd have another boy, but I guess we'll just have to wait a few more weeks until we find out.

This pregnancy has been pretty similar to my other 3. I have been nauseated off and on ALL DAY LONG, especially when I was hungry. But I never really threw up, except for when I had a 24 hour case of the stomach flu.

There are times when I don't feel like eating anything, and other times when only one thing sounds good. And I have been super sensitive to smells. I even thought Kevin smelled like cigarettes one day, but he swears he hasn't taken up the habit. ;)

In the afternoons, between 1:00 and 3:00, I feel like I have been drugged or hit by a truck, and could literally lie down wherever I am and fall asleep. I have to fight to stay awake during those hours. Some days I don't fight it, and take a little nap if I can.

I feel like some of those symptoms are already starting to fade away, a little bit. I still get super tired, and I never feel like making dinner, because nothing ever sounds good. But the nausea is fading, thankfully.

Here are some of the foods that I have been able to stomach without getting nauseated. I could usually eat these things on any given day.

Grapefruit (sprinkled with salt) is always welcome in my belly! I also like the tartness of green apples most days. For lunch or a snack, I love to eat a stick of cheddar cheese, wrapped in turkey, dipped in ranch, with a can of V8. Pickles in ranch are also heavenly!

I've also been enjoying Vanilla yogurt with Winco's french vanilla granola. Yum!

And one of the "fast foods" that always sounds good is the Soft Taco Supreme from Taco Bell. Some days it's the only thing I want!

Kevin and I feel that our family will be complete after this baby is born, so this will most likely be our last child. I'm trying to document all I can, and cherish every moment of the pregnancy. I'm going to miss it. It's so much fun, and there is so much excitement involved with the unknown, and the anticipation. I've always been blessed to have relatively, for lack of a better word, "easy" pregnancies, although they are not easy. I have a lot of discomfort an pain near the end of them, just like anyone else, but never any serious complications.

I have just enjoyed each of my pregnancies. I LOVE going to the hospital and giving birth. It's like Christmas! And nursing is one of my favorite things in the world.

Here is a picture from today's ultrasound. We took Bailee and Trinidee with us, and they seemed to enjoy watching it! Baby looked like a little peanut with arms and legs. It was so fun to see it moving around in there. Now it really feels real!

New Years 2010~2011

On New Years Eve, we headed over to our friends house, the Garrett's, for their annual party. I can't quite figure out how many years in a row we've gone to their house on New Years Eve, but it's been at least the past 5 or 6 years. We always have lots of yummy food & we play lots of games. We also bring our kids along so we don't have to get a babysitter. They had some fun games and activities planned for all the kids.

I had forgotten my camera, so thanks to Shannon for the pics!

We usually go home shortly after midnight, but not this year! After the clock struck 12, we just kept playing and playing. We do look a little worn out in this picture though......

We started playing Nerts, and once you start, you can't stop! We ended up staying till 3:30am! That almost killed me. I can't stay up that late anymore. Especially when I'm pregnant. But somehow I did it that night! I was just having too much fun I guess.

The next day, I was happy that the whole family was able to sleep in. I slept till 11:00! It was nice. :)

Here's to 2011!!