Horton hears an AAAAh! and Baby News

This is our fish, Horton. We have had him quite a while and the boys are surprisingly fond of him. When changing his water we typically only have to change about a third, but the other day we decided to completely change it because it was so dirty. While Andrew was pouring some of the water out into the sink, and before he could get a cup underneath, Horton decided to take a leap out of his fish bowl and strait into the garbage disposal. If it were just me I would of had to declare the poor fish dead (I have no idea how to take apart a garbage disposal.) But luckily for Horton, Andrew was the one changing the water and immediately decided he had to be rescued. So Horton spent the next 20 or so minutes in the garbage disposal while Andrew was banging on the pipes trying to get him out. He finally completely removed the gargage disposal and turned it upside down to get Horton out. To my surprise and the boys relief, Horton lived through the whole ordeal and lives to die another day. I think next time we will be a little more careful when changing Horton's water.

On a completely unrelated note, today I went to the doctor and had an ultrasound and the baby is already measuring over 7 lbs! Carter was only 5 lbs 14 oz and Parker was only 6 lbs 2 oz. I am technically only 36 weeks so I can only imagine how big he would be if I had to go another 4 or more weeks. After the ultrasound the doctor checked me and I was 2 centimeters dilated and we started to discuss my due date, which was originally the 16th and was later changed to the 23rd. Some how without even trying I talked the doctor into inducing me the 13th of August (really I wasn't trying he just volunteered) Truthfully I would much rather go into labor on my own, but having family here to watch the boys has been a big concern and something that has been stressing me out quite a bit. With a scheduled delivery we can better plan to have someone here to help out while I have the baby. So, we are probably going to be having our baby on August 13th unless I go into labor earlier or we change our minds and cancel. We will make sure to keep you posted :)

Naptime troubles

I love Parker. Let me just say that before I go into how frustrated he has made me lately.

This is our afternoon nap routine. I lay Parker down, read him a story and then say, "Stay in bed and go to sleep." Parker responds cheerfully, "OK mommy!"

1-2 minutes later he walks out of his room with a big smile on his face. I chase him back in his room and sternly tell him he has to take a nap, only for him to come out a minute or so later. We will practice this routine for about an hour or longer until I finally give in and let him stay up.

Normally I would just say that he has grown out of naps, even though his four year old brother still asks almost daily for a nap and goes down without any trouble. The problem is he hasn't grown out of them his body just seems to work on a schedule where he doesn't get tired until about 4:30 or 5:00 pm. Then he will either be EXTREMELY cranky until bed time or fall asleep on the floor somewhere, and then when bed time rolls around we start the whole thing over again, because he just woke up 2 hours earlier and is not yet sleepy .

I am at a loss at what to do, this has been a problem for a long time. One I would like to remedy before the new baby comes, and before I go insane. Any suggestions anyone? Please help!

Our trip to Utah

We had a great time on our last Utah trip. We had a family reunion with Andrew's family and were able to do a lot of fun things. We were also able to spend a lot of time with my family as well. My sister had her first baby, very exciting! The boys were also able to go fishing with Andrew, my dad and my grandpa on my grandpa's fishing boat. They were each able to catch a fish and had a great time doing it! My only regret was that we left our camera at my sister's house and weren't able to take any pictures of their first fishing trip. We also did a ton of swimming, although we didn't take pictures of that either.

I was going to do a slide show but I ended up not doing one (truthfully, I haven't figured out how to yet) so I know there are a lot of pictures but I hope you can enjoy them.

This is us (Andrew's family) at the Marriott center in Provo waiting for the Stadium of Fire fireworks to start. Great fireworks!

For the family reunion we did a talent show. Half way through I forgot I was taking pictures of it, so I didn't get very many pictures, but here is my favorite one. This is Andrew's brother and sister doing a skit.

Carter went out on a tube for the first time. He was so funny, the above picture is a before picture and the picture below is an after picture. He looks a little more calm in the second picture don't you think?
By the way that is Andrew's sister on the tube with him, you can't really tell but she is about 34 weeks pregnant. What a trooper! I felt silly having her take him instead of me, knowing that we are both due at the same time. But I guess it didn't bother me enough to switch places with her.


Parker also went along with us on our boat trip, but he wasn't feeling very good so he just sat on my lap with a grumpy face the whole time we were out.

This is the boys catching candy shot from a home-made rocket launcher at Andrew's mom's house. All the kids thought it was awesome.

Who wouldn't love catching candy that was falling from the sky?

And last but not least this is Carter holding his newest cousin. Amy did a great job and had the baby in record time, after only a couple hours in labor and a few pushes! Not bad for her first baby! He weighed 6 lbs. 10 oz. and is as cute as can be.

I Love My Dad

As I remember my Dad Verlin's Death 1 year ago today I wanted to post some thoughts and feelings pertaining to his life as I remember it. He was a good man, who often felt like he was trying his best, but always sought to improve and do more. I have had many feelings for Dad and often feel close to him, but it has been very good for me to view my other Family member's blogs expressing their thoughts and feelings. I remember him often taking time to discuss spiritual matters with me, and trying to help me understand concepts I might have had questions about. I admired his hard work, countless acts of service, thoughtful prayers and priesthood blessings, love for his family, joy in play time/time with family, and love for the beauty of the earth. Most of all I knew he loved his wife and although I often tried to remind him how lucky he was to marry such a wonderful women, he never needed to hear it because he was almost always thinking about it already. He was pleased with his childrens accomplishments and loved to help us out in times of need. I often feel in my heart that I need to live a better life and work harder to let him know that I do remember him and that I love him. I think the best way to honor someone is not only to talk of them, but to mirror their actions in our own lives. This is why I call him my hero and role model.