REMEMBER WHEN?

Okay, so I read McKenzie's blog and read her "Remember" post. I left a memory, so maybe she'll leave one too! Anyone else is welcome to leave memories as well!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

HORRIBLE COLOR!

I started painting my bathroom and the color is so WRONG! These pictures actually look good compared to what it looks like in person. If it really looked that good in person, I might consider keeping the color! I was going for a teal/turquoise that was light and airy. That didn't happen. I started painting and felt very nervous, but I just kept going hoping it would darken when it dried. I was almost done and just felt like crying! So I took a break thinking that when I came back it wouldn't look so bad. Was I wrong! It looks like toothpaste smothered all over my walls. I had to avoid the bathroom the rest of the day because it made me sick. I know it's just paint, but when I'm in my bathroom it feels like a swimming pool! I don't know how it went so wrong. Anyway, I'm going to paint it brown now. I'll probably want to cry again when I see the results of brown paint, but at least it won't feel like a swimming pool!

PERINATOLOGIST VISIT

Yesterday I went to see the Perinatologist and I actually got some good news! The antigen M antibodies are very rarely bad enough to have to get a blood transfusion for the baby while still in the uterus. That is a relief to know the possibilities of that happening are very slim. However, they checked the amount of blood flow in the baby's brain and because of the results, they want to see me weekly. I had no idea how that worked, but they measure how fast or slow the blood flows in the brain and then put it on a graph to see if it's flowing normally. There are 4 different zones; A, B, C, & D. Zone C is normal blood flow while zone D is too slow. Zones A & B are too fast. If the baby's blood is flowing to fast, it means they are at risk for anemia. I'm not sure what it means if it's flowing too slow. The baby's blood flow landed in zone B, which is too fast, but not fast enough to take action. We just have to monitor. If it gets to zone A, then we will probably have to do an amniocentesis to see how anemic the baby is. Hopefully it doesn't get to that point. And as far as we know, we are still "possibly" going to have a girl. Who knows. The baby is about 1 lb 10 oz. This ultrasound was so cute. The baby was opening it's mouth and then closing it and sucking. I have never seen a baby move like that in an ultrasound. Very cute to see it's little mouth open and close! Overall, it was a good visit. Much better than I had expected!

4TH OF JULY

This year for the 4th we wanted to go 4 wheeling, but Asher's 4 wheeler broke down! So we went to the parade instead. Asher and Hallie got a ton of candy and got to see all of the fun floats. Mark actually admitted the parade is not that bad. That's a surprise! Afterwards we went to Jackson to ride the Alpine Slide. That was pretty fun. It also gave the kids a chance to sleep on the way there and back. Of course we had to celebrate Kelsie too. Her birthday is on the 5th so she gets fireworks for her birthday! Anyway, we had a BBQ at Jennifer's house before the fireworks. Honestly, I think the Idaho Falls fireworks are awesome and anyone who misses them because of all the people is crazy! The fireworks were a bit loud for Hallie, but I thought they were great! Overall, we had a fun 4th of July. Can't wait until next year.

FUN IN THE SUN

Today was so HOT! We pulled out our fun sprinkler and had some fun in the water. Mark has banned pools because I always buy one but it blows away, fills up with leaves, or kills our grass because I don't move it! That's okay because sprinklers and water guns have proven to be just as entertaining as a pool.
Everyday Hallie asks me if it is summer so she can play outside with the water guns. They have been anticipating the warm weather for so long!I actually got a smile out of Asher! He likes to make funny faces instead of smile. I actually catch him in front of the mirror making faces at himself. It's pretty funny.
July is almost here! Tomorrow will be the 1st. Before I know it, it will be time to send my kids back to school. At least we still have 2 months of summer to play in the water.

A NEW ADDITION

As everyone knows, we are having a baby. Unfortunately, I have no idea if we should expect a little boy or a little girl. That's frustrating because I want to go shopping! If it's a girl the seasons are off from when Hallie was born and I'll have to buy all new girl clothes. If it's a boy, I'll think we'll be okay for awhile. I have an appointment in 2 weeks to see a Perinatologist to check the baby's blood flow to see if it's getting too many antibodies from me. Hopefully everything will be fine, but I'm not sure how serious things will get so it's a little scary. On the plus side, maybe the Perinatologist will check the other end of the baby during the ultrasound to see if we've got a boy or a girl coming! I think Asher needs a brother more than Hallie's needs a sister, so a boy would be nice, but I'm sure it's a girl. I don't think I'm ready for that! There's such a big gap between this baby and Hallie I feel like I've forgotten how to take care of a newborn! My counselor in Primary just had her baby. 9 lbs 9 oz. Can you imagine? I thought Asher was big at 8lbs 5 oz. She has a small frame too and she is short so they had to do a c-section. Looking back, I was a huge baby too. My feet were bigger than Asher's when I was born, if you can imagine that! I guess the nickname Chewbacca does fit me well!

HALLIE'S DANCE ROUTINE

This year in dance, Hallie was the only one in her class. There wasn't a recital, which is a little disappointing, but I recorded her routine on the last day. It was with my digital camera, not a video camera so the quality isn't spectacular but it's not too bad either. It is shaky in spots because Asher kept bumping me! Anyway, I thought Hallie was too cute and had to share the video with everybody. I think she was nervous that I recorded her because she skipped parts of her dance and did other things twice. Once in a while you'll see her pause briefly, look at the camera, and smile a really cheesy smile! She has really gotten better at some techniques in dance, so hopefully she will remember all of it when next year comes around!

HALLIE'S BIRTHDAY

Hallie's birthday was yesterday. It rained so much we couldn't do anything she wanted to do. But she had a fun weekend so I don't think it mattered too much. Her party was Friday night. She definitely got spoiled. Thank you everyone who spoiled her! She hasn't stopped playing with her toys yet.

She of course loved the barbie things. She has had to eat every meal at the Dora table. And the Dora tent is all over the house. Once I took out the portable CD player, it was with her all the time. Asher fights over it with Hallie. Now he needs his own.

She wears her charm bracelet all the time and wants to take it every where. I just don't want her to lose it. She keeps telling me she is a big girl and responsible, but I still think she should only wear it at home!

Hallie is very excited that she has Polly Pockets just like McKenzie and Kelsie. I think she'll lose the shoes and small parts, so for now all she gets are the dolls and the horses. And with what Mark and I bought her, she can be a real cowgirl, rope and all!

PRESCHOOL PROGRAM

Hallie's preschool program was last Thursday. She was pretty cute. I think she was the best singer there. As I said before, Asher and Hallie's preschool teacher is the best!

Hallie is in one of Onda K.'s worst classes. Next year I'm putting her in the afternoon class which is one of her best classes. Hopefully she can make better friends. Right now she is friends with the brattiest girls and most annoying boys! I've tried to encourage her to be friends with other kids, but I think they are too quiet and shy so it is hard for Hallie to get to know them.

Now that it is summer break, I'm not quite sure what to do with all my time. I always hear moms say they don't know what to do with their kids during summer and I never understood until now!

Anyway, here is a picture of Hallie doing the waltz with Nathaniel. He is about the only one of Hallie's friends that I actually like! It was really cute to see her dance with a boy. I'm really sad about Asher not being in the same class as all of his preschool friends, but with Hallie I'm so excited to put her with other kids. I think next year will be a good year.

PRESCHOOL GRADUATION

Asher's preschool graduation was tonight. His last day was today. He has been so excited for Kindergarten that he didn't even care about preschool anymore. Today after we got home he was in his room for awhile and he came out bawling. He said he missed Onda K. (his teacher). It almost made me cry too! Asher was so sad! Anyway, I told him it was okay because we would still see her next year when we took Hallie to school and with a baby on the way, we might see her a few years down the road. It made him feel a little better, but not much. So I told him he would get a great new teacher for Kindergarten and he could learn to love her like he did Onda K. It is so hard when good things change, but we can't be the same forever! I think just knowing it's not goodbye forever made him feel better. He was so cute doing the graduation march! Kids are funny no matter what they are doing. The girl he is with in the picture is named Abby. She is Asher's best friend at school and cried all week long because Asher will be going to school in Idaho Falls and not Ririe! They are a funny pair. Abby cut her own hair super short and her mom told her she would have to look like a boy for awhile. That made her upset and she was afraid that Asher wouldn't think she was cute anymore! They were inseparable at school. Too funny. Once in awhile you meet those people who really affect your life, and I know that Onda K. will be one of those people for my children. She wasn't just any preschool teacher. She truly loves and cares for each child and their well being. People think I'm crazy to drive to Ririe every day for preschool, but with a teacher like her, it's worth it.