Symptoms: Extreme Moodiness, Tired, Feeling Yucky 24/7, Protruding Belly

Diagnosis: PREGNANT!

I know, you can pick your jaw up off the ground. Yes, I am pregnant. Here are the answers to your burning questions: Yes, Trent JUST turned 1 (last week!) No, it was not planned (do you think we are nuts?) Yes, we are excited (now that the shock has worn off.) Yes, I am freaking out (I will have 4 kids with the oldest barely 6 years old.) The baby and Trent will be 18 months apart...I think that covers the basics. :)

How could we not be thrilled? We have been blessed with another child and didn't even have to try. I have so many friends who have to try for years to get pregnant. I, too, have used in-fertilization treatments to get pregnant with Wade and Trent so this truly is a blessing.

Yes, it will be crazy. Yes, I am a control freak and OCD so this is REALLY going to be crazy.

If you have seen me, you already know I am pregnant. There is no denying my ALREADY bulging belly. It is borderline embarrassing when I tell people I am only 12 weeks along. I have, literally, been showing since 7 weeks. I told my OB that I was a "big fatty" and he just smiled. He said that since my babies are so close in age, my stomach muscles didn't have enough time to "tone up" again.

So, bring on baby (boy, most likely) #4! Hopefully the sickness and moodiness start to wear off around week 14 (which typically happened in my other pregnancies) for every one's sake :).

Another trip to the Happiest Place on Earth

We just returned from another Disneyland adventure! We had the pleasure of going with Matt's entire family this time. It was a lot of fun! We had a big group with a wide variance in grand kid ages (1 year to 23years), but managed to have a fantastic time anyway.

I am sure you would agree that Disneyland is probably one of the most accommodating places in the world and does appeal to every age. We always enjoy catching up and hanging out with Matt's family and this time was no exception.

Here are a few "firsts" this time around:

Trent eating (and loving!) a Chicken Nugget
Trent on the carousel (he grinned from ear to ear the entire time!)
Watched "Bug's Life" with the Bushnell's (scared Wade to death, but Seth and Trent loved it!)
Wade and Seth were pulled out of the audience to be in the parade!
Spencer drumming along to the parade beat!

We also went to see the "Aladdin" show in California Adventure and loved it! Wade was awe-struck the entire time and the Genie was hilarious!

The trip seemed to fly by (as they always do), but we had a blast and loved seeing everyone.

My Little One Year Old

My baby is ONE! Time has flown so quickly and I CANNOT believe he has been here for a year. In my eyes, he still seems so small and baby like, but the fact that he is crawling around like a mad man, pulling himself up on furniture and out growing his 12-18 months clothes indicates that he isn't so little anymore!

Trent has been such a joy for our family. I have mentioned before that I have REALLY been able to enjoy him in a way unlike I did with my others. Wade was the child who introduced me to everything, Seth came when Wade wasn't even 2 so I had a crazy toddler and a newborn, but Trent opened my eyes in a new and wonderful way.

I have learned that this time goes by so quickly. That those newborn clothes only fit for what feels like a few days, the snuggling and long naps while being held are gone in a blink of an eye, the sweet gurgling and a first laugh come and go without hardly any time. I am grateful I learned this with my first two because I feel I have relished these moments with Trent. I have snuggled a little more, held him a little longer and have loved being a mom more than ever this past year.

This "different" outlook on mothering has perhaps been what has turned my child into a MAMA'S BOY! If I am around, it is me he wants to be with. Of course he loves his dad, brothers and other family members/ friends, but nothing compares to me. I love it! Some moms might find it annoying, but he will still go to others so I don't feel burdened by it. He just makes me feel like I am coolest, best, most perfect person in his life--who wouldn't love that? :)

Trent is such a mix between his brothers--in looks and personality. All my kids look very alike and Trent is no exception. Trent's personality is pretty easy-going with a small, feisty flair. He is usually up for anything and pretty much has to be that way since he spends most of his days running errands with me or at sports games/practices. He is happy and easy to please.

I am, actually, thankful for his little feisty side. He is a hair puller and pincher and will let you know when something is bothering him (which isn't often.) The reason I am thankful for his feisty side comes from my perosnal theory of your "child's behavior": Wade was your average baby--he was pretty good, but went through some hard times too. Because he was pretty equal, he has stayed that way as he has grown--pretty much a sweet kid with a bad moment or two mixed in every now and again.

Seth was an ANGEL baby. He was SOOOO good. I remember thinking having 2 kids was so easy because Seth was perfect. He was "perfect" until he was about 22 months and then like a light switch those "terrible twos" kicked in and we are still going strong even though he is 3 1/2 years old! My theory is that he is making up for lost time and since we had almost 2 years of perfect behavior, it has to be balanced out.

So, I am thankful for Trent's hard moments because I would rather have them equally dispersed over his first year rather than all at once a couple years down the road. That is my theory...we will see how it pans out:).

Trent's birthday party was fun! We went to dinner with the Bryner's and came back to our house for cake and presents. Trent is a great little eater and will try almost anything (and like it!) you give him. He was, however, reluctant to eat his cake.

I made him his own that he could dig into, but I think it scared him a little or it could have been that he was tired and over-stimulated by this point. After stuffing a piece of it into his mouth between his cries, he discovered he loved it! He ate a whole piece and cried for more.

His was pretty disinterested in his presents. He liked the wrapping paper and his cousin Dane a lot more!
Logan, however, LOVED Trent's presents!

It was so funny! We were thankful to spend the evening with our fam and had a great time.

So my baby is one. It has been a wonderful year and I look forward to a lifetime more. I am so thankful to be a mom. It is the most wonderful thing I have ever or will ever do.

What Trent is doing at one:

crawling
waving hi and bye
pulling himself up on furniture
crawling up stairs
has 6 teeth
drinking cow's milk
eating almost ANYTHING I give him
sleeping through the night
babbling lots (ba, ma, hah, da, ahh)
throwing a ball back and forth
enjoying stroller rides
loves watching brothers play

Let's Play Music

Wade just completed his first year of an amazing music program called "Let's Play Music." The program is designed to teach young children the fundamentals of music by teaching them to sing and recognize notes on key, understand rhythm, read notes and eventually prepare them to play the piano.

We have LOVED this music class! His teacher just had the end of year recital where each of her classes performed five or six songs. To Wade's delight, my Dad happened to be in town for business, so Ampa (along with the Bryner's) got to see Wade's recital!

(Trent enjoying the show with Uncle Ben)

They sang songs (Wade showing the sign for the note "Mi.")

and played their bells.
Since it is a class for younger children the audience was FILLED with young families. There were about 100 kids running around, but, to my dismay, Seth happened to be the ONLY kid to raise some havoc (no surprise!)

I was standing near the front and to the side so I could snap some pics and Seth insisted on staying by me since "he couldn't see." Let me also interject that the concert didn't start until after 7pm which is when my kiddos are usually tucked into their beds so we were dealing with that factor too. He kept running up past me and trying to play with the keyboards that another class uses. Of course, I kept pulling him back while shooting out idle threats warning him to be good.

He didn't listen (no surprise) and ran up again, this time stepping on the cord to the CD player, pulling the plug, DURING a song. The music stopped and what felt like a million pairs of eyes flung over to where Seth and I were standing. OHHHH, why my kid? :)

It was a quick fix and the kids started the song over, but I still can't understand why out of that many kids, mine is the only one that could affect the show. The only thing I can say is..oh well, what can I do?

Wade's teacher did not seem upset (she has 4 kids of her own) and we look forward to another year of musical education!

6 for 6

My baby sister, Ju, is pregnant and due in September. Yesterday was her highly anticipated ultra sound and she is having a...............BOY! Wow, can't anyone have girls around here? That is 6 boys out of 6 grandchildren from a family of 3 sisters and NO BROTHERS! Wow! We are excited for Ju and John and know they will make great parents to their little guy.

Star of the Week

Wade's teacher is wonderful! We love her and are going to miss her next year :(. She has a "Star of the Week" each week where one of her students brings in a poster of him/herself and gets to do all sorts of "important" things around the classroom (like change the calendar, etc.)

This week was Wade's turn. He was thrilled!

All about Wade (in his words):
Favorite Color: Orange
Favorite Book: "The Loneliest Firefly"
Favorite Movie: "Madagascar 2"
Favorite Sport: T-ball
When I grow up I want to be: a Dentist
I'm special because: I'm good
I was born in the state of: Arizona
My favorite food is: turkey sandwich
I have a pet: tiger
The person I most admire is: dad
My favorite school subject is: science

Women's Conference

I got home from our anniversary trip and left the next day with some of my friends to BYU for their annual "Women's Conference." Talk about an AMAZING experience. I LOVED it! It was 2 days filled with several classes to help you be a better person in every aspect you could think of.

Each day has an opening and closing speaker and then offers 3 classes in between. When you do the "in between" classes they have about 15 different choices per hour. No matter what kind of information or upliftment you are searching for, you are bound to find it at Womens Conference.

And, of course, who doesn't like a little bit of girl time :). I had a blast hanging out with my some of my favorite friends while shopping, eating, movie going, late night chatting, oh yeah, and attending the classes :)!

I highly recommend this for any mom. I will be going back for sure! (pictures to come!)

An Anniversary to Remember

Since our honeymoon, Matt and I have never been on vacation alone. We haven't even been on many vacations unless we were with the Roper's (that is what a dental school budget will do to ya!) So, this year we decided we were long overdue for a little trip away from the kiddos.

My sister-in-law's (Marie) husband was awarded an award from the BEA National Broadcast Festival for a radio broadcast he did at SUU. The award ceremony took place in Las Vegas. We thought is would be the perfect opportunity to see him receive his award and fit in an early anniversary get away in a town we know well and always have a lot of fun in!

It was the perfect, pressure free vacation. I say "pressure free" because we have been to Vegas so many times that we felt no desire or need to sight see or any of the other usual tourist activities. We got to do what we do best: eat, shop and sleep!

We stayed at the "Trump Hotel" which was SERIOUSLY AMAZING! You gotta love Expedia! We got an awesome deal and were able to live it up in luxurious surroundings. I have never stayed anywhere so nice. We had a kitchen, living room, 2 bathrooms and showers with 2 heads, a gigantic jetted tub, flat screens in every room--INCLUDING THE MASTER BATHROOM MIRROR!!!! It was so cool. I LOVED it.

Not only were our accommodations amazing, we were directly and conveniently (hee, hee) across the street from "Fashion Show Mall." We had a blast eating at different places and shopping with some money Matt had "secretly" saved for us to use :).

We also saw the "Donny and Marie Show" with Marie and Chris at the "Flamingo Hotel." There is nothing like good-natured, Mormon entertainment. It was wholesome and fantastic :)! I have to admit we were the youngest people attending the show, but it was still A LOT of fun!

One night we got to go out to eat and see Joe/Kenzie and Mandi/Brandon. It is always the best to see some of our college pals. We love them so much and especially love how we can pick up right where we left off, even if it has been months since we have spoken!

We went to a lot of restaurants, but 2 really stood out with 2 thumbs up for deliciousness. One was called "Mon Ami Gabi" which is a French restaurant in the "Paris" (YUM!!) and the other was "Serendipity 3" which is originally in New York City and has now come out West. Famous for their frozen hot chocolate among other delicious things, we ate there with Ju and John and were all very impressed.
We were so blessed to have Matt's sister's and parents here to take care of our kids. Thank you sooooo much, we love you guys! We didn't have to worry about them a bit. The kids had so much fun and that allowed us to have fun too! It is amazing how much support and planning it takes to go out of town now-a-days, but I am so glad we did it. I wouldn't have wanted to celebrate our 8th anniversary any other way!

Easter 2009