March Madness

Well, it hasn't really been madness, but there is a lot of activity at our house right now. We just finished painting and putting together our bedroom and now we are trying to get motivated enough to start the baby's room. I have picked the colors and the crib bedding is being made. We haven't bought a lot of other stuff, but I am hoping to go shopping by the first of April. It is a lot of work to clean out a "playroom", purge old baby clothes/items, and get walls ready to paint! I have been exhausted, but it will be worth it. I cannot wait to have the baby's room ready so I can start washing clothes and "setting up" the nursery. Hopefully, I will keep feeling well, keep the blood pressure under control, and stay motivated (a lot of days the most difficult part!). I am hoping to get all this stuff done by April 1 so I can spend my "nesting" time doing easy things like cleaning out cupboards and making room for bottles! The real tricky part of the next 9 weeks will be fitting in weekly Dr. appointments, Ultra-sounds, & NSTs along with my full-time job & the kids! I keep reminding myself that we are almost done!

We still haven't found a name for our little guy. We are open for suggestions! We are having a hard time agreeing on a name. We do want it to be a little different, but not weird! I like simple names that you can't make "nicknames" out of. We don't want there to be 5 of them in the same class so it can't be too trendy. The middle name is Robert. Help us out!

The girls are doing well. We are trying to get Ashlyn to learn her letters. She has absolutely no desire to do this. She starts kindergarten in July so we are running out of time! I have made up games, bribed with treats, and even bought a "computer keyboard" just for her. She is doing a little better in preschool so I am happy. Hopefully we can make it through the next 2 months without her hating it too much & actually "graduating"!

Tally is doing well with basketball--her last game is this week. It has been really fun to watch the kids/team progress over the last 6 weeks. Lots better than some of the other sports they have played. She is off-track right now so the house is crazy, loud, & messy with both girls home all day.

Well, that is our life right now. Here are some random picks of Ashlyn playing on the stairs & Tally playing with "Bendaroos"!

My Valentines!

These are my special Valentines! I love them all and couldn't imagine life without them. I have the best girls in the world and a pretty great hubby too. I couldn't ask for more!

Basketball SuperStar!

Tally started to play basketball this week. It is her first time trying this sport. She loves it! We went to her first game Thursday. She made the first basket for her team in the first 5 minutes! It was so cute to see her so proud of herself. She is quite the sporty little thing. I am sure we will have many more photos to post, but here are a couple from her warm-up this week.

Hello 2009!

Well, we are well into 2009! I can't believe the way time flies. New Years Eve was low-key fun. The Kristensen & Lopez families hung out at our house for a few hours. The adults played "Mexican Train" while the kids mostly ran wild. I finally get the Mexican Train game so it was a lot of fun--I even won once! The kids had a blast doing whatever kids do. Ava had a great time exploring our floor and furniture. It was a really fun night. The rest of January has been uneventful. Rob & I are trying to paint our bedroom and get it put together before starting the baby's room. It will be one project after another for the next few months. The girls are doing great in school. They both love going to school and learning new things. Ashlyn is attempting to learn her letters--not the most interesting/important thing according to her--its been a struggle! Between trying to teach an unwilling 4 year old her letters and having to do 2nd grade reading, spelling, subtraction, & multiplication (already, seriously???) every night, there just isn't much time for anything else.

Tally is starting basketball this week. It should be very exciting. She has never played bball before. We are all excited for her to see what she can do. I am still trying to find Ashlyn a little dance studio that will not break the bank. She is completely uninterested in sports so we will try a dance class instead.

Christmas Crazy!

Well, the big day is over and done with. Our girls received everything their hearts desired(Ashlyn wanted "baby poops-a-lot a.k.a Baby Alive Learns to Potty & Tally a Nintendo DS). We actually scaled back this year and it was still overwhelming. Because our girls received less, some other family of children received more(we sent extra gifts to toys4tots). That makes us all feel like it was a successful holiday. Santa even brought Rob some cool new Sketchers shoes & me some new diamond earrings! I am spending my days off clearing out Christmas decorations & finding room for more stuff. We will be having one mammoth yard sale come spring! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday full of whatever makes you happy!

Holiday Festivities!

We have been keeping busy with all of our "Holiday Traditions". We walked through Temple Square and enjoyed the lights before these last few snow storms. We have made graham cracker houses--quite the feat! The royal frosting did not go so well and then we had to wait days for the other frosting to dry. Talk about torture for kids! The girls were so excited to finally get to decorate them. Next year we will find another project, or just buy a gingerbread house kit! The tree is up and the house decorated. We have gone to see Santa and put in our wish list. I think we are ready for the real thing now. We will make cookies and frost them Christmas Eve day. We love the holidays because we all stay home together (as much as possible) and enjoy each other's company. I love to have the Christmas lights on with all the other lights off. I will miss my traditional glass of wine & relaxation on Christmas Eve this year, but we are all really excited to meet our new little son/brother this coming year.
We wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We hope that everyone has a wonderful & healthy 2009!

Holiday Preparation!

We are busily preparing for the holidays. I had to work through Thanksgiving so I am now playing catch-up. Trying to clean (& deep clean/purge) everything to make way for Christmas decorations. I am hoping to at least get the tree up this week. The girls are very excited. They have both been handfuls lately so they are on the "naughty list" right now. Hopefully they can get it together before too long so we can visit Santa and put in our wish list. I love Christmastime. It is my favorite holiday because Tally is off-track so we can do lots of fun things. We have a ton of fun traditions to perform. I can't wait for the coming weeks. Hopefully work picks up so I can work a little extra and finish my shopping. If not, we will still have each other to celebrate with. I am over-ambitious this year trying to make some gifts for people. We will see how that goes!
We tried to have a photo of the cousins taken, but the kids weren't that into it. The outfits my mother-in-law bought are cute though. We will have to try again another time.