So I am officially at my half way point in this pregnancy! Next Wednesday we go in for our ultra sound and we'll get to find out if we are having a boy or girl and I am totally excited for it. The kids are super cute and are excited that we will have another baby in our house. Zion says he wants a brother when we ask him and Thalia just wants a baby. Thalia likes to blow raspberries on my stomach as well as "kissing" the baby and "hugging" the baby. She likes to carry her own baby doll around the house wrapping it in a blanket and giving it lots of love. She is going to to be a great big sister! Zion is really into carrying around the baby dolls as well. He likes to be so helpful with diaper changes and anything else I'll let him help with.

Zion is following in Nate's foots steps in his love of cooking. About a month ago now we decided to have pancakes for dinner one evening and it was Zion's job to flip the pancakes when they were ready to turn.... he is a pancake flipping pro! At one point after flipping one of the pancakes he accidentally touched the top of his knuckles to the edge of the griddle.... what a trooper he was and was actually proud of his new scars after the initial shock and pain of being burned. Even now if we talk about how he helped make pancakes he will hold up his hand to show you his scars across his fingers and let you know all about it. He is getting so big and growing up so fast. He can totally dress himself these days and is learning to count very well.... and we are not just talking about reciting his numbers 1-20 but actually counting! He is learning lots of new children songs to sing and recites his ABC's almost perfectly. This past month he has also learned some words in sign language as well. He surprises us every day with something new.

Thalia's vocabulary is becoming quite extensive these days. She now has a vocabulary of over 20 words and has also learned some words in sign language. One of her new favorite games to play is "ring around the rosies". She loves to dance! I call her my little dancing diva. She is such a girl.... when she and Zion decide that they want to color she usually thinks it more fun to pretend to put crayon on her face as if it were makeup. she actually sat still for me one day so that I could paint one set of her toe nails pink. she just watched and smiled as I did it and tried to blow them dry like I would do. And can I just say I love the fact that she lets me know when she wants to go to sleep for her nap and even bed.... and she really wants to go down!

There are just so many cute thing that the kids do these days it's hard to remember which ones I wanted to write down.

I can't wait for things to warm up around these parts because I've got the DIY bug. I have been wanting to get into refurbishing old furniture etc. for awhile now but this past week I was truly inspired. We really don't own anything, but what we do own chances are was either found on the side of the road, came from a thrift store, or given to us. So, most of it is not the prettiest, but it all does have potential. I think when the weather does cooperate I will have to show pictures before and after my projects are complete. I am just so excited to get started! I want to get crafty!!!

Baby appointment

So I called to make my first prenatal appointment today. This was a hard thing for me to do. Not because I don't want to have the appointment but unfortunately it will not be with my midwife. Because of our financial situation we have had to be on Medicaid, which has been a blessing for us. And that is what has paid for our last 2 pregnancy's and births .... this time however it will be of no use to us because the Birth Center is no longer able to accept Medicaid. So, we start this process over... finding a new provider that will accept Medicaid. This is a scary thing for me. I am so comfortable with my midwife and already know what to expect with her and her amazing staff and know that I and my baby would be in excellent hands. I don't know how I will do this again. I have heard horror stories of bad midwifery from some and I don't want to be in a hospital hooked up to machines being offered drugs by people who are very "clinical". I don't want to be just another pregnant patient. So needless to say I am scared.... I'm afraid of the unknown......

Surprise!!!

So, yeah.... we are having a baby again! It really is hard to believe. Obviously by this I mean we were not trying to have another baby yet, but I guess someone else had other plans for us. Don't get me wrong we aren't unhappy with this..... just taken aback.

I'm almost 12 weeks pregnant and I'm happy to report that I am almost done with my first trimester! I have only thrown up once but can't shake this sickening feeling in my stomach that I have daily. I do have some decent days, but today is not one of those days.

Here's something fun... I'm not the only one in my family that is expecting! I have 2 sister-in-laws that are pregnant as well! One is due in May and the other in July. My due date is June 21st which means more likely than not I'll have this baby around the 10th! Here's something even more fun though.... My sister Kimberly who has been trying to get pregnant for awhile is also going to have a baby... and her due date...... JUNE 10th!!! I think that that is pretty cool. And my sister will most likely have her baby end of May.

Babies, babies, babies.

So, my little girl Thalia just turned 1! She is getting so big. Zion and Thalia are such good friends it's fun to watch them play together. Some of Thalia's words that she says frequently are: this and that. Generally she uses "this and that" to refer to my boobs when she wants to nurse. She is a funny girl. This little girl already loves talking on the phone and really knows how to throw a fit! She is trying very hard to learn to feed herself with a fork and spoon... and refuses to let us help her. I'm not sure if she will be left handed or right yet because she switches hands often... Zion always used his right hand and we never questioned which way he'd go.

Zion is becoming more grown up all the time. His sentences are awesome and he make Nate and I crack up all the time with the crazy things that come out of his mouth. Zion has really been into fort making lately, and will raid my linens daily to find the fixings for perfect fort making. I gotta say he has become so creative. It's funny to me that he'll make a fort and then sit inside and pretend to watch movies. When it comes to food I gotta love my son even more. Some of the things that he loves to eat most... his fruit and vegetables! One night we had pizza and a salad, and all Zion wanted to eat was salad... in fact he didn't even touch his pizza! On another night we had hot wings with carrots and celery (of course) and all he wanted, yet again, was carrots and celery! I love my kid...

Nate, bless his heart is working so hard to support us financially. He works 2 part time jobs and finds in the end we still can't seem to get ahead. It is rare that he actually gets a real day off. I know he misses his kids and hates it that he can't spend more quality time with them. And I know it hurts him even more when Zion asks him not to go.

Christmas will be tight for sure this year but we are looking at the positives... No tree... no mess. And we decided that the kids would love to spend Christmas morning at Grandma and Grandpas house... they have a tree and it would just be more special. We talked with Zion and he has agreed that we will go through all the toys we have and pick some to donate to those who could use them more then us. We decided this will be one of our own family traditions that we will do each and every year.

My Grandma died this last month. She was the last of my grandparents. She had been living with my parents for the past 6 years or so, suffering from Alzheimer and Dementia. My mother and sister have been caring for her around the clock for far too long, a hard thing to do. My parents took her back to California to be buried next to my grandfather. She will be missed. I don't know if my mother and sister know what to do with themselves now that she is gone though their tasks at home never end. I hope my sister decides that she can now further her education. and I hope my mom will at least take a nap.

Well.... I think that is all for now. I will try to be better at this blogging thing. P.S. I did have to go without internet for quite awhile, so it really wasn't me just slacking.

So it's been forever since my last blog entry and it really isn't all my fault. So many things have gone on here it's ridiculous. But I just want to talk about good things tonight. Zion is 2 now! He is potty trained, knows how to count to 10 and is currently working on his ABC's. I don't think that there is a day he is not singing his ABC's.... such a good little singer too. His vocabulary is exceptional and we constantly wonder what he's gonna say next. We asked Zion the other night if he wanted to get his hair cut and he said yes....(we've asked him before but his answer was always no.) so Nate took him into the bathroom and gave him his first hair cut ever! I thought it was going to be so sad to see his hair go... and it was sort of. This hair cut transitioned our baby boy into our little boy. No longer is he a baby and this hair cut really did take him to that next stage of growing up. He is so handsome with his new hair cut and he loves it too! He loves his little sister so much and they are sooo cute together.

Thalia will be 1 at the end of this month! How crazy is that?! She walks and practically runs... she's working on her jumping skills and she can climb on and off the couch and Zions bed now! Thalia has 6 teeth almost 7 now. she is working on her talking skills as well. She says Thank you, duck, mama.... and is working on her ABC's as well, though she is not as advanced as Zion in that department of course.

Thalia is definitely a girl... I mean she loves to wear ruffly tutu's and necklaces. I painted her toes pink for the first time a couple days ago and she loves them. She is sweet and full of love for all of us. She constantly gives us hugs and kisses! This photo of Thalia was taken for her blessing day many months ago.

A Few Cute Pics...

Here is Thalia just a week or so old

Here she is again, but this one is just recent

Just love it when she smiles!

Zion found Mary's heals... what more can I say.

Taking off his pants.

A Shoe Thing

So, this past week has been full of exciting little things that only parents can be proud of.

1. Zion loves to do the potty thing and today we bought him his first package of real big boy underwear in hope it encourages him even further in his training.

2. Zion can pull his pants up and down and remove his diaper all by himself (which is a little frustrating at times because he wants to throw it away after he barely tinkles in it... and we certainly can't afford that!)

3. Zion has been doing it for a while now but he's a shower kind of guy apparently... once in awhile he'll do a bath but he definitely prefers to take showers.

4. Please, thank you, banana, bow, more, book, moo, car, yes, yeah, wow... are just a few vocabulary words Zion has started to really use lately.

And last but not least:

5. This morning when Zion and I where out in the living room, I was checking my email, and I guess I didn't think I was turned around for very long but when I turned around to see what Zion was doing, because he was being so quiet, there he stood in his pajama shirt and diaper trying to put on his coat and scarf... he had already succeeded in putting on his hat and his shoes! This was the first time Zion has ever put his shoes on by himself and it was sooooo cute, he had them on the wrong feet bless his little heart. He was so proud.

Thalia is getting so big now. It's just crazy that she is almost what 7 weeks old?! Time flies when all you do is stare at your children in wonderment and awe and think to yourself what awesome children you were blessed with and how the heck did you ever deserve such.

It's Potty Time!

Nate and I have decided recently that because it's been said it takes boys longer to potty train than girls, (well that and the fact that he seemed to becoming interested),why not start potty training Zion now. So, we bought Zion a little potty and some big boy pull up style diapers. Boy was Zion excited about all of that. After buying all of that there have been some days where Zion has wanted to sit on his potty and others... not so much. Well, as of the last couple of days he has been really gung-ho about it... he wants to take off his pants and diaper and sit on his potty and then wash his hands (washing his hands especially), and he loves his big boy diapers and always wants to wear them. Now when I talk about Zion sitting on his potty that's literally what he's doing... just sitting on his potty, that is up until today! This morning when I noticed the sign of him having to go potty I rushed to him brought him to his little potty took off his diaper and sat him on him down and he did his business! We were so proud of him. I mean what an accomplishment for such a little guy. I cheered for him and he was pleased himself. He sat on the potty several more times today but alas nothing. Oh well, I figure if I can get him to do his business on his potty once a day... that's good enough for me right now.

Zion Has also been expanding his vocabulary! Lately Zion has been calling me by my first name when he wants my attention... Heidi, Heidi! Man I love this kid of mine!