It's a Baby Shower!

We were so priveleged to have a baby shower thrown for our upcoming addition. This baby is special in that he gets all new (or new to him) stuff! Since this is our 4th child a lot of our baby things were worn out so we had gotten rid of a LOT of it. And since this is our 3rd boy, well let's just say it was time for some replacements! We are so grateful to our family and friends who contributed and made this night so special...

The Spread - everything was delicious!


A baby shower isn't complete without cake!
(yummy chocolate mousse cake from Costco)

Thanks, Mom, for hosting!!!

Let the fun begin!

Michelle & Cody - looking cute!

Sam & Amanda

Terri

Karina & Lisa

Modeling the sweet blanket Carla made for our baby - precious!

(I promise he will look waaaaay cuter in it!)

What a fun night!

Me & Angela

This onesie is packed in the hospital/diaper bag (seen below) - too cute!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who made me feel so special and helped me actually get excited about having ANOTHER boy! We feel so blessed and loved. :)

Baby Cody

He's finally here!

The newest addition to our family...
Baby Cody
(less than thrilled at the prospect of Nathan holding him)

Doesn't our family look complete??

I absolutely adore this picture - Natalie and Nathan are mesmerized by this tiny baby (and you can see in the above pic that Tyler doesn't know what to think)

OK, in case you're trying to do the math and thinking "Gee that baby looks big and I thought you were only 7 months along Anna..." I will now put your doubts to rest - Baby Cody is my newest NEPHEW! So technically he is the newest addition to our family :) I just didn't give birth to him... that would actually be Dan's sister, Michelle (way to go Michelle!) We were lucky enough to go visit them in the hospital back in July when he was born. It's amazing how time flies so quickly and he's not a little newborn anymore!

Our little guy is still cooking away in my oven and has about 8 weeks left. Considering how much I still need to get done before his arrival I am completely fine with him staying right there for now! Now that I'm in the final countdown of the last trimester it's really starting to hit me that there's a new person about to join our family. I'm getting excited and can't wait to meet him! But I'm definitely going to need that 8 weeks :)

First Day of School!

School has officially begun! Woohoo!!!! We had a crazy and fun summer together, and now we are all ready to get back into a schedule and back to school! Natalie and Nathan got to meet their teachers the week before school started and discovered they had gotten into the BEST teacher's classes (it really pays to be involved at the school) and even better yet - their classes are right next to each other! Since their school is older and was built during the "open floorplan" period that means there's no walls between classes. They have dividers but that's it. So Natalie's and Nathan's classes have a little passage at the back where they can see each other - how fun is that?!

All ready to go on their first day of school!

Natalie = 2nd Grade, Nathan = Kindergarten

Natalie insisted I take a picture of her shoes...

(let's face it - they'll never look that clean again!)

They were all smiles as we headed out - so eager to start school!

Since I took them that morning to school, Dan picked them up in his truck (very big deal to them) and we met up at Burger King for milkshakes and playing on the playground. I kept trying to get them to tell me everything they did that first day but all I got was, "It was fun!" or when asked their favorite part of the day, "Lunch! Recess!"

It wasn't until that night as Nathan was saying his prayers that I learned all about the day, "Please bless my new friend whose name I don't know that has the Batman backpack and I really like him..." and then "Please bless I colored pictures but I didn't get to bring them home and it was really fun..." and so on. I love how he prays - I learn so much that way!

It's been so quiet around the house with only Tyler home during the day, but I know he's loving having Mommy all to himself and no sharing with older siblings. The days seems to go by a lot slower so I'm finding projects to fill my time - like get everything ready for this baby!

I'm so thankful Natalie and Nathan have such great teachers this year and are so eager and happy to go to school each day. Of course there hasn't been any homework yet, we'll see how they feel once that starts! Here's to a wonderful new school year!!

Nine Years Together

Nine years ago at the Houston, Texas Temple

Here we are today...


The time has gone by so fast!

This year we decided to make each other's cards - which means I made one for Dan (pictured in the center above) and Dan bought one (pictured below)

This may be inappropriate to put on the blog, which is why I have it unfolded in case young eyes are reading - but it makes me laugh every time I see it!! I think it pretty accurately represents our marriage :)

I love all the roses we received for our anniversary (Thanks Mom & Dad!)

And I am especially thankful for these past nine years I've gotten to spend with my best friend.

Through all the ups and downs there's no one I'd rather have spent it with. Especially this past year with all it's trials (moving from a place we loved to live with my parents, trying to find a place of our own, adjusting to never seeing each other between school and working nights, losing our baby), I know I couldn't have survived without you babe. You are the best husband and father and I hope you know how much we love you!