36 Weeks

I had a high resolution ultrasound last week to check for early signs of eye tumors...just a precaution...our chances of having another child with retinoblastoma is very tiny. Thankfully, everything looked great. Here is a 3D face shot of our growing little girl. Check out the chubby cheeks!

I had my 37 week appt. today and nothing is happening yet...which is a good thing because we're not quite ready!

Nolan 's New Trick

The other night I told Nolan I'd give him $5 if he could put both feet behind his head and spank his own bum. It's a hidden talent I've always had, but I didn't think Nolan was blessed with my freakish flexibility. But I found out within about 10 seconds that I was wrong! I had to keep my word, so the next day he got to go buy a new Star Wars toy. I've learned my lesson...I'm no longer a betting woman.

Happy Birthday Nicole!

Nicole turned 4 on September 11th. We had a fun week of celebrations! The night of her birthday we went to Casa Bonita (a birthday tradition for most people who live here). She felt pretty special when the Mariachi Band came to sing just for her! We had a princess tea party with four of Nicole's little friends. Aren't they cute?!
We served heart-shaped finger sandwiches, mini bundt cakes, and fruit with pink dip. Oh, and pink lemonade was our "tea". It was a fun day.
I thought I was doing great by making her cake the night before her party...so here it is right when I finished it:
...And here it is 2 hours later, being held up by two dowels down through the top and a rod through the back, braced by a heavy bowl. I'm so glad I married an engineer! I was literally in tears (it was the end of a long, tiring day...and I'm very pregnant/hormonal), but Kevin saved the day. And I'm so happy to reveal that the cake survived the night and most of the next day until her party!
I don't know why I insist on trying to be Martha Stewart with my kid's cakes every year. It's just so darn stressful, and I'm reminded very bluntly every year that I am not, nor ever will be Martha. Nolan's birthday is next week, and I'll admit it now...he's getting a store bought cake. But I'm sure I'll feel guilty enough that I'll try to be Martha again next year, so no worries.

Back to School!

School started on August 12th. Nolan is in 1st Grade and Nicole is in her 2nd year of preschool (Pre-K). Nolan was most excited about eating lunch at school and about having 2 recesses! Nicole was most excited to paint.

Summer Fun

Here are a few snippets from the end of our summer:

One day I heard Nolan shouting, "HELP!" from the backyard, so I looked out and found him stuck in the hammock. His foot was caught and he really couldn't get out. When he saw me grab the camera he was pretty ticked off!

We went to Utah in July, and we got tickets to the Days of 47 Rodeo. This is Nolan on our trainride home:
After the rodeo, we went to The Old Spaghetti Factory with Nana and Grandpa Stephen. The kids were goofing around while we waited for our table. I thought this picture was cute:
This is Tammy's Great Great Aunt Irene on her 108th Birthday! That would make her my kids' GREAT GREAT GREAT Aunt! Not many people can say they have one of those! For those of you who keep track of my ancestry, Irene is my Mom's Dad's Mom's sister. She is such a cute lady! Nicole asked her what is wrong with her hands and she said, "Oh, honey, my ugly old hands are the least of my troubles." Every time we visit Grandpa Richard (Tammy's dad), he has some prizes for the kids. This time they were introduced to the one and only Whoopee Cushion. It provided several hours of giggling and pretending like the house was stinky.
In August we took the kids boating with some of my Young Women. Nolan was brave enough to ride the Banana Boat with them!

Grandma and Grandpa Miller came home from their mission in June, and since then they have been making up for lost time. When Nicole became potty trained last year, they promised her that they would take her to Chuck-E-Cheese when they got home to celebrate. So this was the big night, topped off with a visit to Krispy Kream. What a lucky girl!We took Nicole to Philadelphia for her 35th surgery in August. Grandma Miller came with us. Here is Nicole a few hours after surgery (she slept all day!), while we were waiting to head to the airport to go home.

Random

Yesterday Nicole and I had this random conversation:

"You know what, Mom?"
"What?"
"I know why Sleeping Beauty is allergic to burps."
"Burps?"
"Yeah, burps."
"Okay, why?"
"Because she doesn't know how to do 'em!"

(As you read, you have to imagine her scratchy voice, her lisp, and how her l's are pronounced as w's.) Random conversations like this happen every day, but I can usually figure out why she's thinking/saying what she's thinking/saying. But this one baffles me...I have no clue!

I have a lot of pictures to upload from the first day of school, etc., but I can't find the USB cord to get them off my camera. So stay tuned for more updates soon!

10 Years!

August 15, 1998August 14, 2008

Kevin and I celebrated our 10th Anniversary last week. We just happened to be at the Salt Lake Temple for our niece's wedding the day before, so we posed for a picture. Yes, we've gotten a little older, a little wider, but we've also become much more grateful, and a definitely a little wiser. We can't wait to see what the next 10 years will bring!