Happy Birthday!

So here starts our crazy fall around our house.  Birthday after birthday after birthday.  It all begins, well with my father, then Aaron.  The boys are so into birthdays.  Everyone needs balloons, cake, candles, and a song.  On Aaron's birthday the boys picked up donuts (of course) with my mom and created their own cake for Aaron with candles and all, I really wish I had gotten a picture.  We had some friends over for dinner and ice cream cake, Aaron's all time fav.  Happy Birthday Aaron, We love you!

What We Have Been Up To

So we did it...I think.  So far so good.  Lane was showing interest in using the big boy potty so I went with it.  He was probably ready about a month ago but I wasn't.  I finally had 3 days off in a row to get the job done.  I used the 3 Day Potty Training method with Zackary and it worked great so I thought I would try it again.  And we did it!  He is doing great, just a few issues here and there but nothing major.  He tells me every time he has to go, if there is a problem it is usually my fault.  The photos are in order of each day.  1, 2, & 3.  Day 3 we were out in the street riding bikes and scooters in underwear (I know dub T) but they had fun! 
I'm so proud of him!

Cleaning

   I really wish I had a picture before this poor garage got cleaned.  I have been trying to get things in our lives organized if you recall from here.  Slowly but surely it is happening.  Between 2 busy boys, work, and life it seems to be taking much longer than I would prefer.  Once I get something in my head I have to do it (I know I am impulsive) and I hate when I don't have the time or energy to tackle a project.  Now with baby #3 coming I really need to get the organizing in gear.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to find out what we were having but I'm in a purging mood (stems from watching Hoarders on TV).  If it is a girl, I'm ready to get rid of so much boy stuff, mostly clothes, but that entails lots of totes to be cleaned out.  A whole new project to tackle!  Now Big Blue can park in its old home.  I just need to add some storage shelves.

The Ultimate Ultrasound

As I mentioned on FB, I just had the Ultimate Ultrasound. It was absolutely amazing. I am 13 weeks (when this posts, almost 14), and we pretty much saw everything! I got to lay in a pretty comfortable chair watching a big screen TV that was all about my baby. No neck ache after from looking sideways to see the ultrasound screen. Aaron thought we just needed popcorn. It really was one of the best experiences with a pregnancy I have ever had. My doctor is amazing and does several ultrasounds so I get to see my sweet baby frequently, but this one was impressive. My ultrasounds with the boys were pretty mellow, quiet, the techs weren't very talkative or really excited to do their jobs, but this one was different. She loved her job and made us feel so good. I even came home with several pictures, a CD and a DVD of my sweet pea. Above is a great picture of the little legs and below are the 5 little fingers on one of the hands and a great picture of the brain.

 The pictures and images were so clear we could see everything.

This picture has significance, but I will share it in the future.

And the 4d. This picture is actually a movie of the baby dancing and moving all around. It is crazy to think this little 3 inch baby is moving like crazy and I can't feel it. Soon though.

I really like how a friend has posted for every week of her pregnancy here. So I am going to copy it and share week by week what is going on.

13 Weeks

Best moment this week:

Of course the Ultimate Ultrasound

Gender:

I have a feeling...I would like to know what everyone else thinks. One of these pictures actually reveals what it is. But it is so early I'm not announcing it. I was right though... But you never really know, if you remember I was told my Zackary was a girl. Oops!

Movement:

Not yet, but I've seen this little one just about doing back flips!

Food Cravings:

Paradise Bakery Iced Tea and Chicken Tortilla Soup...I know random

What I miss:

Nothing now I love being pregnant. Oh wait maybe not getting up 3 times a night already.

What I look forward to:

Actually having a pregnant belly, right now I just look like I have a big belly that I can't suck in anymore.

Fun with Papa

Papa and Zackary have an amazing relationship. They have so much fun together even if it is just running errands. I love that my father is so involved in my children's lives. Tuesday is 'their' day. My dad usually picks him up around lunch time and takes him somewhere they they both love somewhere that has hamburgers or hot dogs. As Zackary calls it, "the hamburger store." Then they head out to do something fun, however sometimes it is just running errands, usually for the hardware store so Zackary gets to see fun hardware goods. Since Zackary started preschool my dad drops him off for us (such a big help for me) however, I've been told that it is cutting into their 'time' together. On Tuesday my dad made reservations for them to tour a hanger and an airplane at Gateway Airport.

Zackary's grin says it all! It warms my heart to see them so happy together.

Pumpkin Chili Fest

We headed out to the Pumpkin Chili Fest with some friends over the weekend. The kids had a blast! They loved all the rides, the train, the hay ride, ponies, petting zoo, and just running. We have gone every year since we had Zackary. I think it is becoming a tradition. The kids love picking out the pumpkin at the end of the night on the way out the door. Zackary was remembering things from last year I just love the little memory that kid has...just like his Daddy.

 

I just love this picture. I'm pretty sure the kids didn't know what they were doing but they sure thought it was funny. I love Lane's expression and the fact that Zackary is just hanging off the back like he just caught a ride. Always on the go...that's Zackary!

This is something I never want to forget about Lane.  The kid really has no fear, of real things that is.  You get this kiddo on a carousel and he white knuckles the whole time, but you put him in front of the real thing and he is all in, ready for the ride, no Mommy needed.  Go figure, he is all boy. 

Halloween Projects

I was feeling the need to do some fun art projects with the kids for Halloween.  So I headed to Joann to get some fun crafts that 4 and under could do and invited the kids' friends over for some messy fun.  They painted pumpkins and wanted more so I got out some animals and cars to paint.  They weren't satisfied with that so they all decided to paint their hands and bellies.  What a mess it turned out to be but sure a fun one.

Then we went for the glue project.  They made little pumpkins, witches, and ghosts with foam pieces, sticks, and lots of glue.  I forgot how much fun glue is when you are a kid.  Good thing it is washable and cheap!

Zackary and I made this for our front door the next day.  I think it turned out so cute. 

Big News at the Allans

 

Yep, there you have it. Little baby Allan #3! After 6 pregnancy tests and 3 ultrasounds, I felt it was is a good time to announce it on the blog. I am officially 12 weeks 2 days today and everything is looking great. Our sweet new baby will be arriving some time in April. Hooray! We will finally get our spring baby we have been talking about. The official due date is April 25, 2011.

I am really excited to be pregnant and I'm feeling great! I love being pregnant, except for my constant worry that I seem to get the second I pee on the stick. I'm very lucky to have a wonderful OB who totally understands my worry and will see me several times before 12 weeks. I have been lucky enough to get to see my sweet baby 3 times already. Next week I have the 1st trimester screen, I can't wait to see the baby even more. Here we go!

More Wedding

Here is some of my favorite shots of the 4 cutest little additions to the beautiful wedding. Reese and Ryan were the beautiful flower girls with perfect little tutus. And the boys with the khakis and button down shirts...irresistible. Aren't they just delicious? I think this picture in black and white is just perfect.

It truly captures the moment.

Now, we wouldn't normally take our babies to a wedding however in Mexico we really didn't have any other options. But all of them were sure troopers, they really helped get the party started. They were on the dance floor before everyone. Mind you, they might have been playing with their zoo animals and snatching seashells off the head table, but they were out there having a great time. Zackary was loving dancing to the music and learning the line dances. I thought it was so cute to see him having a great time dancing and cutting in to get the R & R for himself to dance/run with.

Thanks Kyna and Eric for a great time and letting our children crash your wedding! It was beautiful!

Rocky Point 2010

We headed down to Rocky Point for a fabulous wedding of some good friends of ours, that my sweet boys got to be a part of. They were the official ring bearers. They did such a great job, followed directions, and even stood up at the alter for quit a while during the ceremony. I was quite proud of them. You never know what your going to get out of little boys. The wedding was beautiful, sunset on the beach, what more can you ask for? All the guests wore white, ivory, or tan which makes for a beautiful setting.

This was our attempt at the end of the night to get a family photo. I'm not sure why we didn't try earlier in the evening on the beach when every one was in their prime. We waited until they were all danced out and wanted nothing to do with a picture. But hey, this is how we roll, totally random!

Great Choices

Lane is beginning to somewhat care about what he wears. Usually I give him two choices between shirts and shorts. He gets to pick one and he is happy that he made the decision, most of these choices stem from a great parenting class we took over the summer (more on that later). However the other day he was having nothing of choices and made is own decision, 2 different shirts, I explained to him that it was 2 shirts and no shorts, but I got over it and put on both shirts...this is an affordable mistake (same parenting class), well in his eyes this was surely not a mistake. So I threw on a jean diaper and we went about our day and he was as happy as can be...whatever works right?

This is his other new thing, whenever I bust out the camera he covers his eyes. I'm not sure what happened because he used to do a big cheesy grin and say cheese for the camera.

A Few Minutes

Now that the boys are a little older...I can make some popcorn put on a movie and bam! I get a few minutes to go get ready or get something done. I love that they sit in the chair together and share the same bowl of popcorn and drink. I hope these little moments last forever. These boys sure have a great time together. While they do have their moments of torturing each other, for the most part they are having great times together. I love it!

Dino Museum

Zackary, Derek, Ryan, Dillan, Lane & Katelyn

Today we spent the morning at the Natural History Museum in Mesa. Of course the kids call it the dinosaur museum. We met up with my sister in law Celia with her kiddos and Liz with her kiddos. We had a great time checking everything out. The kids got soaking wet panning for gold but could care less about that.  I loved watching them walk around covering their little ears frightened by the dinos roaring. 

They were all so good and enjoyed all the fun activities there was to do.