First Snow!!!

It SNOWED!!!!  I was so excited yesterday to wake up and see snow!!  I was a good boy yesterday morning and went to wake up Mommy instead of sneaking downstairs and getting into stuff I'm not supposed to, and Mommy told me to look out the window!  I spent the whole time Mommy was waking up looking out the window and watching it snow!! 

So I drug Mommy outside and we played in the snow!  It was so much fun!!  Mommy showed me how to shovel the driveway so I can help Daddy this winter.  I thought it was more fun to shovel the snow on the grass and put it on the driveway, but Mommy said I was doing it backwards. 

Then we went in the backyard and let the doggies run around . . . well, let Mowgli run around - Piper's not much of a snow dog!!  And Mommy helped me make a Snowman!!!  Actually Mommy did most of it, but I made the balls to start with so she could roll them.  We had to make it a couple times, cuz it kept falling apart or falling over.  Finally we got it standing with a face and hat.  Mommy hurried to take some pictures!!! 

Then Greg was playing outside too, so we went over to play with him and Lacey and Jaxon.  We tried to make another snowman, but mostly we just played with Callie and ate snow!!  Then we went inside to warm up and play some more.

When we came home I was bugging Mommy about some Hot Chocolate so she made some, and it was YUMMY!!!  Mommy found a recipe to make her own Hot Cocoa Mix, and since we drank almost the whole first batch already we made some more.

That way Daddy could have some too when he came home for lunch.  Yep - Daddy came home for lunch yesterday!!  Isn't that cool that Daddy works so close he can come home if he wants too!!  Then he can have a hot lunch and hang out with us if he wants!!  Also, last night we went and did some shopping.  Daddy made Mommy a promise a while ago that she could get something special if he got a good paying job, and since he did we went and got the something special!!  Daddy's going to pick it up today, so I won't ruin the surprise - I'll let Mommy tell you about it when it comes and she can get pictures.  She's so excited!!  And so Thankful to Daddy!!  Speaking of thanks - Turkey Day is Coming!!!  Mommy made a Thankful Turkey for us.  She'll have to take a picture to show you.  It was a MOPS Craft.  It's a turkey with a lot of Paper Feathers for the tail.  Each day we take a feather and write something we are thankful for on the feather then stick it in his tail.  Then when we sit down for Thanksgiving dinner we can read off all the things we have been thankful for this month!!  Mommy's so smart!!  I'm thankful for her and Daddy!!  So have a Happy Turkey Day everyone and Watch for an update on Mommy's Surprise!!

Another Scary Night

Well, it just wouldn't be a pregnancy without some sort of pre-term labor issues for me!  Last night Cameron and I spent most of the night in the hospital trying to make sure that Jayce wasn't going to arrive 6 1/2 weeks early.  I started feeling contractions late in the afternoon yesterday, and by 5 o'clock they were coming about 5 minutes apart.  Since we are still working through some insurance logistics I wanted to avoid a trip to the hospital as much as possible - especially since I had just had a Doctors appointment earlier that day and everything was normal!  So I laid down, tried to relax, drank lots of water - but by 6 o'clock they were still 5 minutes apart, and every 3rd or 4th one was coming at 3 1/2 minutes.  So I called the on-call nurse for my Dr.'s office, and she said since I'm still pre-term any having that many contractions it's time to go to the hospital. 

Thankfully, Lacey was generous enough to let Riley have a "last-minute sleepover" with Greg last night!!  We packed a bag for him, pulled dinner out of the oven to sit and wait for us to return and headed out!  By the time I was hooked up to monitors in my room, it was about 7:30 and the contractions were about 2 1/2 -4 minutes apart.  They gave me a shot to stop the contractions about 8 o'clock, but those medications only last for about 30 minutes max.  The nurse told me they would make my heart race, and did they ever!!!  For those thirty minutes I thought I was going insane!!!  My arms wanted to shoot off my body and do a dance all of their own!!  And of course, once they started wearing off I got a horrible headache!  But they did their job, and stopped the contractions.  The Doctor continued to run a couple tests to see the likelihood of me delivering within the next two weeks.  When all those tests came back normal (or negative) they released me from the hospital.  It was about midnight before we were back home in our own bed. 

Riley stayed all night at Greg's house - there was no point in waking him and Greg's parents in the middle of the night.  And I've only had a few contractions today, nothing major to cause concerns.  Cameron was quite the trooper last night!  Staying with me, and trying to sleep in the most akwardly uncomfortable chair I've ever seen, then getting up at 4 am as usual to go to work this morning!!  I really blessed with a great family and group of friends!  So hopefully everything will return to normal and this little guy will stay snug for another couple weeks. 

In happier news!  Riley finished his swim lessons today!!  (yes, we went - but I just lounged in the pool with the jets - I have learned what back labor is, and it's not fun!!! - and the teacher was wonderful to work with Riley so he could finish everything!)  He got a certificate of completion, and had a blast!!  It's so great to see how much he has improved in the last 4 weeks, from being completely terrified and clinging to me like an octopus to laughing and playing and swimming like the rest of the class today!  There were no tears, or even screams today!!  I hope this helps him in the future, and he doesn't regress between now and the next time we get in a pool.  But he's at the age he can start the Pre-school class now, (which is Mommy free) so maybe we'll do that in the spring to keep him conditioned!!  Well, that's all for now!  We have absolutely nothing planned for the next couple weeks except for a few small things (Like a Massage for me - YAY!!!) and a birthday party next weekend.  So things will relax a little around here.  And we are all praying that Jayce stays comfortable until at least Thanksgiving!!  Have a good weekend everyone!

Happy Halloween!!!

Hi Everybody!  I hope you all had a happy and safe Halloween this year!!  I had a Blast!!!  Wanna hear what all I've been up to the last couple weeks?  Ok - let's see, Daddy started his new job, so Mommy and I have been spending lots of time together!  We've been going to swimming lessons (which I've learned isn't so bad after all - except for the going underwater part that Mommy makes me do!), and the library, and grocery, and painting!!  I miss hanging out with Daddy, but Mommy and I have a lot of fun too - and Daddy's usually home by the time I wake up from my nap which is really nice!  Daddy seems to like his new job a lot!  He has a lot of responsibilities, and has to get up really early, but it sounds like the people he works with are really nice, and the insurance and other benefits are so great!!  Which is good, because those were the worst things about his last Job! 

We went shopping last week to get Daddy some new work clothes, and Mommy got something for Jayce (and part of my Halloween outfit).  This outfit is for him to come home from the hospital in, and for Christmas too.  Isn't it really cute - it has a reindeer on the butt!!! 

Oh yeah, and Mommy FINALLY finished Jayce's room.  She's still adding a few 'accent' things, like a night light and name picture like in my room, but all the major painting and moving of stuff is done. 

And Last Weekend we went up in the mountains to play in the snow!!  Mommy wanted to take some pictures for Christmas cards (yes, I TRIED to tell her it was a little early!!!), but I had fun just making footprints!  It was snowing really hard up at Cameron Pass (up the Poudre Canyon) and they had almost a foot of fresh powder!  

This weekend was SUPER busy!!  Yesterday I helped Mommy plant some bulbs and bake all day!!  She coordinated the Bake Sale at church this morning to raise money for MOPS, and so I helped her make Owl Cookies (my favorite fall cookie!!) to sell.  Thankfully, she made some extra for me and Daddy too!! They were Yummy!! 

Then last night Daddy and I carved my pumpkin - yes, a little last minute!  We only got one pumpkin this year to save money, and a couple gourds for Mommy and Daddy, so we only had one pumpkin to carve.  Daddy helped me, well, ok, did almost the whole thing.  I didn't like the goopy insides.  Mommy made me touch them for a picture, but they were yucky!!  I immediately washed my hands!! 

Then today Mommy left me at home with Daddy when she went to church so she could work the bake sale all morning!  They made a lot of money for MOPS, and Mommy brought home some of the leftovers - YUMMY!!!  And tonight was my FAVORITE PART!!!  TRICK OR TREATING!!! 

 Here's me in my Mickey Mouse Costume.  Mommy put me in pants instead of shorts (partly cuz she had a hard time finding red shorts this time of year) so that I'd be warmer too.  It was a warm night though, so I didn't even have to wear a coat.  Daddy took me out, and Mommy stayed home to pass out candy.  We went all the way around our block, over to Trevor's house and back again.  I got almost my whole pumpkin full of candy!!!  But Mommy and Daddy only let me have a few pieces tonight.  I hope they leave it out again like last time so I can eat it all in the morning!!!  hehehe  but probably not! 

Well, that's all that's been going on here.  We have one more week of swimming lessons, and Mommy goes to the Doctor again this week.  Then after that we are relaxing until Thanksgiving!! 

Swim Lessons - Yuck!!! Candy - YUM!!!

Hey everyone!!  Hope you are having a good weekend!!  This week I started Swim Lessons with Mommy.  It's a Mommy & Me class, meaning Mommy helps me the whole time.  I HATE IT!!!  I like it better when we just go and play at the baby pool, where it's only comes up to my knees and I can just play.  Mommy and Teacher make me go in deep parts where Mommy has to hold me.  I don't like that, cuz then I can't do what I want.  They also make me do stuff like make swim arms and kick my feet.  Mommy keeps trying to dunk me under water too, and I REALLY don't like that!!!  I think the only part I like is when we get to play with toys.  Mommy says I'm supposed to throw my toy and "Swim" to it, but why would I throw it when it's already in my hand and I can play with it!!  Duh!!  Oh and I like Jumping off the edge into Mommy's arms (even though I cheat a little and make Mommy hold me before I jump!!)  Mommy said I did better on day 2 than day 1, and I guess I was nicer about it, not screaming in Mommy's ear as much.  But I only have to do it for 6 more days!!!  Yippee!!!  I just hope that Mommy doesn't get the idea of doing this again next year!! 

Yesterday we went to CSU's Homecoming Parade!  It was so much fun!!  I got to see firetrucks, and floats, and cars, and get CANDY!!!  The Rangers that Mommy used to work with were in it (Mommy was sad she couldn't be with them this year) and so I got to see the new Ranger Truck and Steve's Horse - she's pretty!

  And Colby gave me candy!!  I didn't get a whole lot, but what I did get I polished off this morning before Mommy and Daddy got up!!  hehehe - I thought for sure they would hide it after I went to bed last night, but when I woke up, there it was still in the bag laying on the floor where I left it last night!!  So I ate it all before Mommy and Daddy could take it and hide it!!  Aren't I smart!!

Here's a picture of Jayce's Room.  Mommy finished the second wall.  Now she just has one left to do.  It's the wall by the closet - she's just doing three Monkeys hanging (like in the game Barrel of Monkeys).  Then she's all done!!  I bet she'll be happy to be all done!! 

Oh, I almost forgot the MOST EXCITING NEWS!!!  DADDY GOT A JOB!!!!  It pays really well, and sounds like the insurance is really good too (whatever that is - Mommy and Daddy were excited about it!)  But best of all Daddy will get off work at 3 everyday!! That means he gets to hang out with me more!!  I guess that means he has to get up really early though.  Mommy says it's even earlier than she had to get up this summer!!  I hope he's not too tired to play with me when he gets home.  Anyways, I think he's gonna start this week sometime.  And one more thing to tell you about.  Mommy wants me to tell you that she has a Doula now to help out when Jayce is born.  Mommy's friends with my Friend Ashlynn's Mommy, and Ashlynn's Grandma is a Massage Therapist (I don't know what that is, but Mommy was excited) who's training to be a Doula.  She's already taken a bunch of classes on prenatal massage, and is learning other techniques for helping Mommies in labor.  But before she can be certified as a Doula she has to be at 3 births, and so Mommy and Daddy are let her be at Jayce's birth to help her out.  I guess she's going to give Mommy some massages too, which Mommy is SUPER Excited about - and all this is FREE, since she's not certified yet!  Mommy was a little worried about having someone other than Daddy and Doctors there, she said I couldn't come, but after meeting the lady and learning how much help she can be, (not to mention Mommy likes to help people out too) she realized that this can't hurt any, and it's Free, so Why Not!! 

Well, that's about it for this week.  I still don't have my Halloween Costume finished, so I'll have to bug Mommy about that this week so I can show you.  Have a good rest of the weekend everyone!!

Oh the Stories. . .

Hi Everyone!  Boy have I got a lot to tell you about today!!  We have been so busy this last couple weeks.  Before Daddy's Marathon, My Mommy's Aunt Gayle and Uncle Ed came to visit us.  They were on their way to Las Vegas, and thought they would stop in and chat!  Wasn't that nice of them.  They wanted to drive out there, so Daddy gave Uncle Ed some pointers of where to go and what sights to see along the way.  I hope they had fun!!

 Then Daddy had his Marathon, so Here are a few pictures from that.  Me and Daddy before the race:

 Daddy at the Start:

 Coming through the Blue Sky Trailhead:

 Daddy's knees are feeling much better now.  He even ran 13 miles yesterday and said he felt really good.  So he's still on track for trying the marathon again, just without all the hoopla of a race.  He just wants to accomplish it!  Mommy said that she and I would be there to cheer him on at the finish again!!  He's so cool!! 
Then on Monday Mommy and I went to church for her MOPS planning meeting.  We've been running around all week collecting stuff because for the craft at Monday's meeting the MOPS are packing boxes for Operation Christmas Child.  (Click on the words to find out more if you aren't familiar with OCC) We have been to every single shoe store in Fort Collins looking for shoeboxes!! 
On Tuesday, Mommy and Daddy took me to Rocky Mountain National Park!!  We went to see and hear the elk bugling, but we must have missed it, or come at the wrong time of day.  We only saw one herd of elk, and they were kinda far away.  But that's ok - the day wasn't a total loss!!  Fall River Road was still open, along with Trail Ridge Road, so we got to drive up there and get some pretty pictures.  This is the latest in the year we have been able to get up to the Alpine Visitor Center.  And Daddy said it was nice going on a weekday for a change because there was no one else there!!

 On Wednesday I went to Story Time at the Library with Greg and Jaxon.  We went to the park too!!  It was so much fun!  I like playing with Greg!  Mommy wanted to show Lacey Jayce's room since she finished one wall of the mural.  Here's what it looks like. 

 Mommy says I should tell you a little about how She and Jayce are doing now.  She's 30 weeks along, so only 10 weeks left!!  She's excited about that.  She's having trouble sleeping now, and has the bed FULL of pillows - I don't know how Daddy sleeps in there too!?!?!  But I like sneaking in there and playing with all of them!  Anyways, at her last Dr.'s appointment the Dr. said her belly was measuring a couple centimeters bigger than usual.  This can mean a couple things: -Jayce was stretched out that day, throwing off the measurement, -Jayce is going to be a big baby, -The measurement is off only because Mommy saw a different Dr. last week and she measured different than Mommy's usual Dr.  So we'll have to wait a couple more weeks to see if it holds true to any of these theories!!!  But everything else is looking good, Jayce is still kicking up a storm and driving Mommy crazy!!  That's one reason she's having so much trouble sleeping.  She gets up to go potty between 2:30 and 4 am usually, and that wakes up Jayce too.  Then he thinks it's time to play and keeps Mommy up for the next hour and a half or 2 hours while he has a party in her belly!!!  Mommy's hoping that's not going to be a permanent addition to his schedule! 
Let's see now . . . back to other things!!!  Oh, Daddy's been refinishing our Deck.  The stain he did a couple years ago wasn't looking too hot, and after a massive hail storm in August it was about toast!!  So he sanded down the WHOLE thing and is going to repaint it!  Here he is working hard:  (I'm helping too - see me sweeping on the deck?) 

On Friday, Mommy and I went to the Fall Festival at church.  Daddy was working on the deck, and Mommy was working at the Pumpkin Decorating table so I had to sit in the nursery most of the Festival.  But then Mommy's friend Cathy was so nice to come and get me!! I got to decorate a pumpkin with Mommy and jump in the bounce house for a little bit.  Sorry we didn't get any pictures. 
Then yesterday we went to Greg's Birthday Party!!!  It was at the Park in Windsor.  Now he's 3 like me!!  He had a Car's party like I did!!  We got him a cool remote control tractor!  I can't wait to go to his house and play with it!! 

So as you can see we've been doing a TON of stuff since Mommy is done with work now!  Oh, which reminds me, Mommy says to pray for the rangers she worked with and people living around Horsetooth Reservoir.  There's ANOTHER wildfire at Horsetooth this time (the last one was at Carter Lake in Loveland).  It's still pretty small, and conditions are better - we had some sprinkles a couple days ago and temps are a lot cooler.  But the wind is picking up and there are houses in the path.  Mommy's sad that she can't be there to help - these kind of situations are what Rangers are trained for, and she can't help out at all.  We'll try to keep you updated. 
Next week is going to be just as busy!  I start Swim Lessons with Mommy!!  So twice a week for the next 4 weeks Mommy and I get to go swimming!!  I'm so excited!  Then next weekend is the CSU homecoming parade (more candy- yay!!!).  After that Mommy says we need to work on my Halloween Costume.  I'm going to be Mickey Mouse with the ears that Mommy got me when she was in Orlando.  Well, Mommy's painting in Jayce's room, and I have to help Daddy pick up my toys, so I'll update you on more later!!  Have a good week everyone!!!

Daddy's First Marathon

Good News: MY DADDY ROCKS!!!!  Bad news: He wasn't able to finish all 26.5 miles of his first marathon. 

We left this morning about 5:30 am.  Mommy and Daddy woke me up a little before that and let me go in my pajamas.  it was about 42 degrees outside.  We got there and Daddy signed in.  The race started just after sunrise at 7:00.  It started kinda in the middle (map Here), and Daddy ran North into Horsetooth Mountain Open Space for about 5 miles, then back to the Blue Sky Trailhead.  Through the trailhead and then south down the Blue Sky trail and into Devil's Backbone.  These trails are ones that Daddy really likes to Mountain Bike on, and here he was running a Marathon on them!!  Mommy told me that the route has over 3,000 ft of elevation gain/loss, which means a lot of hills for Daddy.

So anyways, we were there at the trailhead to watch Daddy start.  Then we waited around until he came through on his way south.  He came through at about 9:00, still pretty good time considering the majority of elevation change was in that first 10 miles.  He told us later that his knees were hurting him by this point already.  When he got to the Indian Summer South aid station he tried to get some Motrin for his knees, but no one had any.  He knew at this point that it was not going to be easy to get around the Devil's Backbone Section of the route - Laughing Horse Loop is rated as a Difficult Trail (one of only 2 in the entire Larimer County Parks System).  By the time he got back to that station on his way north again, he was walking and hobbling pretty bad.  He thought he had missed the cutoff for that checkpoint and wouldn't be able to finish, but he made it by 1 minute!!  Yay Daddy!!  So he iced his knees some, rested, and headed out again.  But soon his right knee said "No MORE - I'm all Done!!"  Poor Daddy, he had to hobble back to the aid station and call it quits.  Thankfully, one of Mommy's Ranger Friends was there and he called Mommy to say that Daddy was coming back in a car, so that we didn't have to keep watching for him and worrying.  Daddy was so disappointed in himself, but Mommy and I reassured him that he did a great job and we were so proud of him!!!  Overall, he still made it over 20 miles, and up until he turned back he was still within the time frame to finish.  He said he felt good enough to finish, endurance-wise, and everything else - it's just that his knees couldn't take the battering. 

So, Mommy and I are going to cheer him on next year!!!  He still wants to run the Colorado Marathon (which starts in the Poudre Canyon and runs downhill the whole way into Fort Collins) next May, and do this one again so he can accomplish it.  He's even thinking about getting a friend (experienced marathon and ultra-marathon runner) to run the Blue Sky route again this year with him.  Mommy and I both think he can do it, he just needs to give his knees a good rest before he tries it again.  That's what Daddy thinks happened, he worked them too hard two weeks ago on his 20 mile training run, and didn't give them enough time to recuperate before doing another big tough run.

So Good Job Daddy!!! We are so proud of you!!!  You are the Best!!  And We Love YOU!!!
(Sorry there's no pictures we're having trouble uploading them!)

My New Room!!

So Here's My New Room Everyone!!!  Didn't Mommy and Daddy do a good job!!  I love it!  It's so cool to have a big boy room!!  Now Mommy just has to finish Jayce's Room - but she's still got plenty of time. 

Well, Daddy had another phone interview this week, but that's the latest news on the job search.  Mommy only has one more week of work left, so Daddy's getting a little anxious.  I hope he gets a job, but I'm gonna miss him staying home and playing with me!!  He plays with me a lot more than Mommy does, she just usually sits and watches me!  Today Daddy took me and Greg to the playground.  It was so much fun!!  He pushes really high on the swings.  Then we went to see Mommy at work.  Daddy dropped me off so Mommy could take me home and he could go running.  Did you know my Daddy's gonna run a Marathon!!!  That's 26.2 miles long!!!  I can't believe it!!  It's coming up in a couple weeks (not this Sunday, but next Sunday).  AND - It's a trail run, so he's not running on paved roads in town, he's running on mountain trails - the same ones he goes mountain biking on!!!  This weekend he did a training run and ran 20 miles!!  Mommy and I are so proud of him!!  He's worked so hard to get this far, I really hope he does a good job on race day.  And even if he doesn't, WOW - can you believe he ran 20 miles!!!  I can't - that's really far!!  My Daddy is so cool!!  I really love him a lot! 

The same weekend as Daddy's race is Elk Fest in Estes Park.  That's when we go and listen to all the elk bugling in Rocky Mountain National Park.  I really like going to see the elk.  It's a lot of fun. And that's all we really have coming up.  Oh, Mommy wants me to ask everyone to pray for my Grandma Wilson.  She's been kinda sick, and so she's in the hospital trying to get better.  I wish I could go visit her and give her a kiss so she'd feel better, I always feel better after Mommy kisses my owies.  So please pray for her, and we'll catch you all later!!

Jayce Moway Louie

After much back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth, I think we have finally settled on a name for the baby.  Jayce Moway Louie.  Mommy has liked the name Jayce for a while, and Daddy finally decided he couldn't find another name he liked better and agreed, with the condition that he can call him Ace!!  Daddy also picked out the middle name Moway, which means Fearless, after some help from Grandpa Louie.  We are all very excited to be able to call this little guy something other than "little guy", or "baby"!!  We've also decided to go with a more narrowed down version of the nursery than when Riley was in it, and have the theme of "Ten Little Monkeys".  Mommy is going to paint a chocolate brown mural on the wall of silhouetted Monkeys and Trees, making the room more brown and green as opposed to the green and blue that Riley had.  That way it's a little more personal for Jayce, and not just all leftovers from his big brother!!  Most of the bedding and everything will stay the same, since it matches with the theme, with the exception of a few additions like the mural, accents, blankets, and possibly curtains. 

Similarly - Riley's room is almost finished!!  The mural is done, including his name in Chinese Characters on the opposite wall, and most everything is cleaned out.  Mommy and Daddy are adding a shelf (high up) so that we can keep some of the more breakable things displayed in the room, and some blackout curtains under the current sheers to help with the heat and sun in the east facing windows.  These will be a trial to see if we want to add them in Chocolate brown in Jayce's room, and perhaps some other rooms as well!!  ;)  We are hoping to get these things accomplished this weekend and have pictures for everyone to see next week - with Riley moved in within that same time frame.  Then we will be starting on Jayce's room!! 

We also wanted to mention Riley's massive growth spurt this summer!!  We didn't buy him any new summer clothes this year, since most everything still fit him from last year (it's amazing the difference in clothes sizes that diapers make!!).  But we knew that he would definitely need some more stuff this fall and winter.  Well, we have barely made it through the summer with his current clothes, and this weekend we decided it was time to try on winter stuff and pack up the old and go get some new.  And it couldn't have come soon enough!!  Over the summer this boy SHOT UP!!  I had supplemented his wardrobe with a few 3T t-shirts, but the long sleeved stuff we had was way to small (I'm talking cuffs closer to elbows than wrists!!).  And pants . . . well, thankfully a friend of mine had given me a pair of 4 slim levi's that she bought but didn't fit her boys, because those are currently the only pair of pants that fit him!!!  Last year on clearance I had bought some 3T and 4T thermal pajamas (thankfully thinking ahead), and we found that the 4T's are doing just fine!!!  So we went to Carter's at the outlet mall (big 50% off sale + Mommy had a coupon = Cheap winter wardrobe for Riley!!), and shopped til, we dropped!!!  Riley got 5 new shirts (size 4T) and 3 new pairs of pants (3T - and adjustable waist - poor skinny kid is so hard to fit!!!) and we even got Jayce a onesie that matches one of Riley's t-shirts - Big Brother/Little Brother.  SO cute!! 

Anyways, that's what's up with us this week.  Hopefully we'll get Riley's new room done this weekend and pictures of it up for you all to see next week!!  So check back by later!!!

Dragons & Parades

Did you have a fun Labor day weekend? I did!!! Mommy got the whole weekend off work so we got to spend the whole time together!! We didn't do anything special really, but that's ok - it was still fun!! Mommy spent most of the weekend on my new room. She painted me a Chinese Dragon on the wall!!! it's sooooo COOOOOlll!!! She even put the Chinese Character for Dragon next to it!! Didn't she do a good job!!! She wants to put my name on the wall too, but she's still deciding where. Cuz there's some other pictures that she and Daddy want to keep on the walls that they got on their trip to China with Grandma & Grandpa. So once they figure all that out and finish it, and then clean out the room and put my stuff in it, I GET MY NEW ROOM!!!! I'm so excited!! I already love it! Mommy and Daddy don't like me playing in there with all the stuff right now, but they don't know that I sneak in there when they aren't looking!! hehehe!! My Favorite part is jumping on the bed!!
Anyways - On Monday Windsor had a parade for Labor Day . . . yep, ANOTHER parade!!! This one was a LOT bigger than the one in Severance, and so I got a lot more Candy!! Yum!!! My favorite things (other than the candy of course) were the tractors and the horses - and there were a lot of horses, but I didn't like the bands and the loud music floats. Those hurt my ears! And guess what, I get to go to ANOTHER Parade in a couple weeks!!! CSU's Homecoming parade is soon, only Mommy won't get to be in it this year. But that means she can sit with us and watch it!

In Other News . . . Daddy has a job interview on Friday. It's for a Temporary job (Daddy calls it a Contract job - whatever that means), but it's better than nothing!! So wish him good luck!! And Mommy does NOT have Gestational Diabetes!!! YAY!! She tested "borderline" at her 1 hour glucose test, so they made her do the 3-hour test!! (she said it was way sucky!!!) She couldn't have anything to eat for more than 15 hours!! But everything came back normal, so she's got a clean bill of health! YAY!! That means my baby brother is healthy too!! Mommy and Daddy still can't agree on a name for him . . . I hope they decide soon! But they did find some really cute Monkey things for him and his room. I can't wait to meet him!! Have a good week everyone!

Mt. Evans with Grandma & Grandpa

Well, Grandma & Grandpa Louie are back home again in Indiana now. I really miss them! We had so much fun together last week! On Sunday it was supposed to be super hot again, so after church we all drove up into the mountains. In Fact, we drove up to the top of Mount Evans, a fourteener outside of Denver. (it's called a Fourteener because it's elevation is above 14,000ft above sea level). The road goes up to 14,130 ft, and then you have to hike the rest of the way to the 14,258ft summit. And we all Made it!!! I was so proud of Mommy (23 weeks pregnant) and Grandma & Grandpa ("flat landers" as we like to call them!!) hehe. We made it to the top and took a bunch of pictures to prove it!! This was my second time up to the top - Mommy and Daddy took me when I was just a few months old. So I don't remember it at all. We also saw a herd of Mountain Goats!! Mount Evans is known for it's Mountain Goats, and we finally got to see some. Mommy and Daddy have been up three times, and only seen 1, and we got to see a whole herd!! Then on Monday we went to a MOPS park play-date. I had so much fun playing with my friends! Greg came, with Jaxon of course, and Harrison was there too. I even got to play with this girl named Makenna!! She was a lot of fun, but Mommy keeps calling her my Girlfriend. Well duh Mommy - She's a girl, and she's my friend - what else would she be! Later on on Monday, Mommy and Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa did a lot of talking. It was really boring, but Mommy said they were picking out possible middle names for the baby. Grandpa was helping them translate character qualities into Chinese so they could get some ideas. Boring!! But Mommy and Daddy said that they have narrowed it down to a couple names. We'll see if any stick!
Anywhoo - Things are getting back to a normal routine around here! Mommy is starting to clean out the spare bedroom slowly. That's going to be my room after Mommy paints me a big mural on the wall. That way the baby can have my room now. Mommy's going to paint a mural on that wall too. She said she wanted to do that for me when I was a baby but never got the chance. So I get a dragon on the wall in my new room (YAY), and the baby gets a jungle scene, or maybe just trees with Monkeys in them - Mommy's still trying to decide. I think she wants to narrow down the nursery theme from jungle to just Monkeys to make it a little more special for the new baby. She's still deciding though!
In other news - Mommy gets to work for 4 more weeks (at least they need her to work that long), but she's getting really uncomfortable and doesn't really want to work that long. She's back on the 6 am shift, so it's hard for her to get enough sleep. But the good news is Daddy may have a couple of job opportunities lined up!! One is the phone interview he had last week (he's still waiting to hear about that one) and the other is a job that he applied for earlier but didn't get. Apparently the guy they did hire isn't working out, so the posted the job again!! Daddy's just waiting to hear back on that one too. So keep you're fingers crossed!!! Talk to ya all later!!

Tie Dye & Severance Days

Grandma & Grandpa Louie are visiting!!! We are having a Blast!! They take me to the playground, and give me yummy food like Strawberries, Raspberries, Candy and Doughnuts!! And today we went to Severance days. It's a festival that the tiny town of Severance puts on every year. So this morning we went to a parade, and then we looked at all the booths and cars in the car show. (Mommy says that Unkie Rodgie should bring his cars next year!!) Then I got to ride on an old time firetruck and a train with cars made out of barrels. Then I played in the jump house and we all ate hot dogs!! Most of the time Mommy sat in the tent in the shade cuz it was just too hot for her, but I had fun with G & G and Daddy!

Me and Grandma & Grandpa at the paradeThat's me in the 2nd barrel

Also, one of Mommy's friends from work/church has his own tie dye business. He was nice enough to make some for me and my new baby brother. Here's a picture of the shirt he made me.

Isn't it good!! My New Brother has one too, it's a little smaller, but it has the same colors. Mommy says we can wear them together next summer and get more pictures. I can't wait!! Thanks Marcus!!

Tomorrow we're going to go up Mt. Evans (it's a 14er) with Grandma & Grandpa. It should be very exciting!! Mommy and Daddy took me when I was a baby, so I don't remember it. I hope I get to see a mountain goat, there are supposed to be a lot up there. More pictures and exciting events with G & G to come . . .

ANOTHER BOY!!!

Profile Shot

Face

Face and arm/hand (he was playing peek-a-boo)

Definitely a BOY!!!

Yawning or Screaming (Mommy's hoping it just yawns!!)

We're having another boy!!!  Riley gets a baby brother!  We are all so excited!!  Baby and Mommy are both very healthy, and happy.  Some little quirks from the ultrasound: Baby is laying completely horizontal in Mommy's belly, He's also laying completely folded in half with his feet up by his head, and he has his arms and hands in front of his face - like he's playing peek-a-boo!!!  This boy's got personality - just ask Mommy - she already knew that by how active he is and how much he keeps her up!!  Add that to Riley's already "Active" lifestyle and we could have one heck of a household!!! 

The tech gave Riley his very own picture of his baby brother, so we took this picture of them when we got home.  Afterwords I asked him if he was happy to have a baby brother and his reply was "I don't have a baby broder", So I tried again, yes you do - are you happy?  He Lifts up his shirt and looks at his tummy and says again "No, I don't have a baby broder, Mommy have a baby broder!!"  So I guess we're going to have to explain that to him too!! 

We have a short list of names that we're still trying to decide on, but you all will know as soon as we decide (hopefully soon!!)  And luckily we already have a bunch of "boy" stuff, so I think we are going to stick with the "safari/jungle" theme in the nursery.  At least we can save some money there!!  Speaking of which . . . Cameron has a phone interview next week for a job possibility - so keep your fingers crossed!!!

Grandma & Grandpa Louie will be here in a week!  And I think Grandpa Louie is going to help us pick out the baby's middle name.  We will stick with a Chinese name or origin for the middle name like with Riley.  So look for updates then to see what all we're doing with them!!!

MOPS Convention

What a great weekend!!  I just got back from my FABULOUS trip to Orlando to hang out with about 4000 Christian Moms!!  I had a Blast!!  I went with 3 other moms from my MOPS group, and we met up with Gillian - one of the Coordinators for MOPS at First Baptist in Fort Collins. 

Who knew that going to Orlando without any kids could be so much fun!!  I got to hear from a lot of Great Christian authors and go to some very uplifting concerts including Mandisa (YAY!!!), Richie MacDonald, Christy Knockels, and The Katinas.  I even got to Meet Mandisa!!  It was such a blast.  They had workshops all day on Friday and Saturday, so I learned a lot about different strategies for raising kids in a Christian environment.  It was so wonderful - I came home with WAY too many books!! 

We also had a little bit of spare time to hang out at Downtown Disney and do some shopping, and hang out by the pool (very exciting sans kiddos)!!  I got Riley some Mickey Ears (which he found in my bag a total of 3 seconds after I walked in the door and screamed "MICKEY MOUSE HAT!!!")  and the new baby a little Eeyore (what a bummer we didn't find out the gender before this trip - I would have loved to get a little Blue Baby Mickey or Pink Baby Minnie instead!!)

Me and my Favorite Disney Princess!! 

Me, Julie, Emily, and Mollie

Me and Mandisa

At dinner in Downtown Disney (Gillian, Emily, Julie, Mollie and Me)

Riley in his Mickey Mouse Hat!

I am already looking forward to the next trip!  Although I think it is still a couple of years out.  As much as I liked going with only other Moms, I know that Riley and the next kiddo on the way would enjoy it a ton too, so I guess we should wait until they are at least old enough to remember the trip! 

Be sure to Check back in on Wednesday evening for an update on the ultrasound and if Riley gets a brother or sister!!  That is if the baby sits still long enough for us to find out!!  I thought Riley was an active baby, but this kid is making me a little nervous!!  ;)