Exciting News

We are expecting baby #3! We just found out and are excited to share our happiness with everyone. We told Emily and Ashley first. We thought Emily would freak out with excitement but instead got serious and said, "okay, I have an idea for a plan." Ashley said she's going to share her crib with the baby since she's in her toddler ("toller") bed now. She's also going to share her high chair and help change diapers. Emily is very interested in the baby process and asks- "What is the baby doing in there?, Is the baby putting on its Pjs?, Is the baby hungry for dinner too?" and she loves to pat my tummy and say, "go to sleep baby".Emily thinks the baby is a girl and we should name her Alice. Ashley thinks it's a boy and we should name it Shakena; to which Emily replies Shekeno for a boy. We think the due date is July 2009, but we will be confirming that at a doctor's visit next month. We plan to find out the gender if possible.
I am feeling more nauceous than with my previous two. I found myself taking 2 naps today at 9am and 3pm- awesome! (I did get up early and go running, but still makes me laugh). My other complaint is I think everything is so stinky! Here are the girls as we told them the news.

Tagged

8 things I did yesterday:
Ran 3 miles
Took a nap
Did laundry
Ate
Took another nap
Talked to my mom
Cooked dinner
Attended a wedding reception

8 things I look forward to:
Book Club
Taking naps
Sunshine spots on the carpet
Holidays
Dates with husband
The day I am organized
Desserts
Zion

8 Favorite Restaurants:
Cafe Rio (sweet pork burrito, pinto beans, mild, not smothered)
Olive Garden (all you can eat salad)
Little Caesars (Hawaiian for $7)
China Platter ( sweet & sour chkn)
Royal India (a yummy adventure)
Costco (convenient, cheap, kids love it)
Great Harvest (huge slices for $.50)
Wendy's (not my favorite but I sure eat here the most)

8 things on my wish list:
warm wheat muffins
a miracle for Spencer (selfish and unselfish reasons)
hire a maid
decorating skills
nobody gets the flu this year
girl's hair to not be a daily ordeal
help people
desire to serve more

Octob-where?

Where did October go? I am pretty sure I've been living it, it's just gone by so fast.
After our trip to AZ, my mom came back to Utah with us and stayed for a few days. We loved every minute of having her here. We had a very early snow and on Sunday the 12th we built our first Frosty of the season.

The girls and I started swimming lessons again (Emily level 2, Ash and I in a mommy & me). When Emily got chicken pox we missed our summer session so they rescheduled us. After getting into the water, I know why no one else signs up for fall- it's freezing! Emily is like a fish and loves every minute of class and for the first time Ashley is kind of liking it. So we will keep going until mid November.

Joyschool is in full swing and going great. Their Halloween parade with songs was cute. From left to right- Cami, Nathan, Sarah, Brooke, and Emily (holding a broom). We did a field trip to the pumpkin patch and we all picked out pumpkins- very fun.

I've been keeping up with running 3 times a week and although I hate running, early mornings, and the cold- the regular friends therapy and the exercise payoffs keep me going. Both Bryan and I have chosen not to run the half marathon.

My 28th birthday was on the 22nd. Happy Birthday to Maegan! It was a nice day with a lunch date with my sweetie and lots of nice phone calls, cards, and some fun presents. The girls picked out their presents for me: a care bear washcloth, a 1" plastic birthday cake, and party hats. They also helped make me a cake and loved helping with candles. Bryan built me an arts & crafts table for the basement. He worked really hard and the result is so beautiful. Bryan is totally a carpenter. My b-day party in Provo was at aunt Stephanie's house and my girls absolutely adore their bird.

Arizona Adventure

My sister, brother and six other people drove up from AZ to watch Conference in downtown Salt Lake City. I took advantage of the multiple co-pilots and drove back with them to Arizona. I thought it we would spread out the trip over 2 days, but my girls did so well in the car that we made the 14 hour trip in one day.
While we were here Emily went to school with Grammy in second grade. She loved it! She got her own desk, talked about our bodies and learned how to spell whoooooooo (who). She raised her hand and asked questions, got to eat snack, go out for recess, line up, draw on the white board and play with math blocks. Ashley also loved going to school and sitting in her desk.
We also went to the Arizona Desert Museum and saw some really cool stuff. The girls loved riding around the little strollers, looking at all the animals, climbing through rock and cave tunnels, and getting shoulder rides from their uncles Wes and Garrett. My favorites were the otter, beaver and butterflies.
We will see how we do with the drive home on Thurs/Friday. Luckily we'll have Grammy along and so it should be good times.

In other news- Bryan's sister Stephanie Lee had a healthy baby girl on Tuesday October 7th and named her Melody Kate. The Hanks grandchildren now total 7 girls and 2 boys .

Autumn Time

September 21st was the first day of autumn and we have been celebrating. The girls understand autumn and they love it! Emily collects fall colored leaves and so we made a leaf wreath and have it hanging on our front door. For Joyschool we are learning about the Joy of the Earth and we went on a field trip to a state park on Thursday. The kids collected a bag full of treasures and it was a good time.

We moved Ashley into the room with Emily and into her new toddler bed. She was waking up frequently crying in her crib and so we thought we'd try it out. There were a couple nights when the girls would wake each other up and play from 3-5 a.m., but once that got under control it's been great. And no more Ashley crying in the night and she doesn't get out of bed either- yippee! I was hugging Ashley and saying she was my sweet baby. "No mom, I am a toddler!" she informed me.


Bryan and I have decided on a half marathon race. Saturday January 17th in St. George, Utah we will be there running 13.2 miles. Anyone interested, please come and join us. This week is our first week of training.

I tried canning peaches by myself for the first time. Thanks to Grandma Judy for the equipment, aunt Amy for the peaches, and my friend Julie for watching my kids and helping cut peaches. I think all 7 jars turned out. I haven't actually tried them yet but they all sealed and they look beautiful! I also did peach freezer jam this year. 'Millions of peaches, peaches for me.'



The last news for our family just happened this afternoon- Ashley peed on the potty! We tried potty training in May- didn't work. Before today she wanted to wear panties but has refused to sit on the toilet. Today she woke up an hour early and was crying to put on panties. This morning we had 4 accidents within a couple hours and I was ready to give up, but she kept wanting to try. And then it worked! She got candy, stickers, hugs, cheers, etc and was feeling pretty good. Unfortunately we are headed on a road trip on Sunday to AZ and so maybe it's not the best timing, but the girl was obviously ready to do it. Yeah Ashley!