Getting Ready for Baby!

Remember when I posted about us making a countdown chain to help us countdown to the baby? Well, seems like just yesterday, but that was almost 40 days ago! Needless to say, we are getting really close to having the baby. In fact, here's an updated picture of our countdown chain - that's right, just 5 more days to go!


As much as I hate having my picture taken (especially when pregnant), I thought I better put a few pictures on here of how big I'm getting.


I'm feeling very pregnant these days - I'd be lying if I said I felt like anything smaller than an elephant! So you can imagine that I can't wait until the blessed day comes.


That's right - our little active baby boy is right in there, just waiting to join our little family.


We've been busy getting things around the house ready. The first item on our list was to rearrange Zach's room so that there was room for the crib, changing table, etc.


I think it looks so cute in there with both of their beds. Even though the baby won't actually be sleeping in there for a few weeks, we wanted to get it all set up so we were ready. Can I just say I'm so grateful we built a house with BIG rooms?


This is the quilt my Mom made for the baby - she makes a special pieced quilt for every grandchild. Hailey went to the fabric store with us to pick out all the material (that's a whole other story, but I'll not get into it) and she informed us that the new baby really wanted green. So we found some pieces with green, blue (to match the blue already in Zach's room), and brown. I absolutely love it!


Other than the boys' room, you pretty much can't go anywhere in our house without running into something we've done or set up for the baby. The family room has the pack and play (that we use for naps and changing when the baby is really little), the bouncy chair, and


the baby swing.


Up in our bedroom is the baby car seat (which has yet to be installed in the car - but will be this weekend!) and


of course the bassinet.


And of course you can't leave out the baby book we bought to document the first little bit of our little one's life. I was so happy to find a baby book with the exact same colors as the baby quilt my Mom made for the baby - it couldn't go more perfect with it! You can't tell from this picture, but the part that wraps around the spine is brown, so it has all the colors that the quilt does.


And I couldn't help but take pictures of all the diapers I've been stocking up on lately. I forgot to take a picture when they were all stacked in my closet, so now there are some in the downstairs closet,


the boys' room,


and the boys' closet. Don't worry, these aren't all Newborn sized diapers - I remember with my last two that we were in size 1 diapers quicker than I thought, so I made sure to buy a few packages of Newborn sized, but the rest are sizes 1 and 2. Needless to say, we won't have to buy diapers for quite a while! Honestly, I think we have around 25 packages of diapers and the baby's not even here.


Getting things ready has been so much fun. We are lucky that our two boys will be born close enough in the year that we can use all of Zach's clothes that we saved from when he was little. It's been fun pulling out all the baby stuff and clothes and remembering when Zach wore them or used them. The best part has been telling Zach and Hailey about how they both use the same things that our new baby will. They both think that is really neat.

We are scheduled to have the baby C-section on June 3rd - it's been a bit of an up and down past couple of weeks with having a few minor problems in the pregnancy (darn that blood pressure and swelling!), but everything is holding steady and it looks like we're going to make it to the 3rd! As hard as it's been at times, I'm really grateful that we've made it this long. I feel so much better knowing that the baby will be 39 weeks before he's born and shouldn't have any problems.

Little baby, we can't wait for your arrival! As Hailey continually reminds me, it's taken forever for you to grow in Mommy's belly! We're so excited to have you come out and join our family, we love you so much already!

Patriotic Program Highlights

On May 26th, Zach's 1st grade class, as well as 2 other classes, presented a Patriotic Program for friends and family to see. After working for over 2 months on songs, actions, and speaking parts, Zach was so excited for us to come and see him perform.

Here he sitting in his spot, just patiently waiting to get started.


For their costumes, each class was in a certain color (Zach's class was obviously in red). They decided to do class shirts as a keepsake for the year. Each child drew a picture of themselves, then they put them all on the shirt.


Zach's was dead center - the perfect spot! Loved his rendition of himself - especially the ears!


Nana and Papa came down for the special event - which made Zach's day! Here they are with Hailey, patiently waiting for the program to get started.


Here's a picture of all 3 classes so you can see how neat it was to have them in red, white, and blue. Zach is on the bottom row, about half way in the red section.


A little ways into the program, they sang "It's A Grand Old Flag" and as they were singing, they moved into position, making the flag with their colors. It was really neat to see them make the flag!


They did a ton of fun things with the program including slideshows of each class, a tribute to family members serving in the military, etc.

One of the things Zach was really excited about was doing the wave - so we got it on video.



Each child had a part to say in the program. I was really impressed with how quickly Zach memorized his part and said it so well during the program.



During the program, each class had a turn to get up on the stage and perform a number. Here's Zach's class performing theirs. He's in the back row, which made it hard to video, but you can see him in the middle doing all the actions and being so cute!



We had to get a quick picture with Nana and Papa afterwards - we were so happy to have them come down and see the program with us!



And of course a quick picture of our little family. Don't pay any attention to the huge pregnant lady who looks like she's about to burst!



Zach, we had so much fun coming to watch you in your program. We are so proud of you for doing so well in 1st grade - you're getting so big and we can't believe you're going to be a 2nd grader!

WE LOVE YOU!

Soccer Pro

We have been looking forward to soccer season for a few months now. We love being outside and rooting for our favorite little soccer player - Zach. He absolutely loves playing sports, especially soccer.

I have forgotten to take the camera to more games than I'd like to admit, so these pictures and video clip are courtesy of Jeremiah who took them a week ago when I wasn't able to go. Funny how I remembered to send the camera when I wasn't going to be there!

Here's Zach protecting his goal. Technically, they don't have goalies at this age, but his coach is still teaching them to help protect the goal when the ball is down there.


Here's our little number 12 getting instructions from the assistant coach. We've been so proud to see him listen and follow the instructions that they give to him.


And here he is chasing down the ball. He really has some speed when he decides to kick it into gear.


And here's a little video clip of him in action.



He has really done well this year. It's been fun to watch him add new skills to the ones he's already learned in past years playing. He scored 4 goals his first game and at least 1 per game since then. I think he's really having a fun time playing, I know we sure are having a fun time watching and cheering for him! GO ZACH!

Our Little Dancer

These last few months, Hailey has been going to a 3-4 year old dance class at the local Community Center. And after 4 months of learning to dance and practicing their dance number, they had a dance recital last Thursday for family and friends.

She looked so cute in her little dance outfit.


And of course, we can't forget about the make-up she was wearing. Her teacher told them in one of their classes that they should wear some make-up when they did their performance. So Hailey had been WAITING (not so patiently) since she found out to wear her make-up. A little bit of eye shadow, blush, and lipstick really made her feel wonderful.


I was worried that she'd get nervous up on the stage since it's the first time she's done something like that, but it didn't faze her at all, she got right up there and wasn't afraid at all.


I was amazed at how well she remembered all of the dance steps.


They did their dance to the song "I'm a Big Big Girl." It was the perfect song for their dance and the cute little dancers.


Here she is in 1st position (or 1st pedition as Hailey calls it).


Moving side to side while waving her arms.


Shaking her arms to the sides.


I know I'm biased, but she really was the best and cutest one there. She remembered every step and was right on cue with every new move.


Here are a few video clips to see the best dancer in action:





Afterward the performance, she got flowers from her Dad. She was so excited since it was the first time she had ever gotten flowers. Daisies and a single red rose - one that stood out amongst the others, just like she did that night.


And our little family with our favorite dancer of the whole night.


I thought I had, but I guess I didn't take a picture of everyone that was there to support our little dancer. Thanks to Nana, Papa, Great Nana Bybee, Aunt Kylie (Awa), Uncle Bubby, and Aunt Afton for all coming down to be a part of her special night.

It was such a fun night to see Hailey all excited and happy. She had a permanent grin on her face all night. She did great and we all can't wait until the next performance!

Hailey, we are all so proud of you and want you to know you were the cutest dancer there!

WE LOVE YOU!

The Question Is ...

Seriously, how on earth did I end up with the cutest girl ever?


Not only is she darling, she's got a personality that rivals no one I've ever met. She can be sassy and onery one minute, then sweet and caring the next. It amazes me sometimes at how fast her mood can change. But despite all of it, or maybe even because of it, I love her so much I can't even express it with words. There's no one like my Hailey.

The Countdown

Yesterday I was talking with Zach and Hailey about our baby. We were talking about how the baby was going to be born in just over 6 weeks. I could tell from the looks on their faces that they didn't quite understand what I meant by 6 weeks. We've been saying "6 months," "4 months," "2 months," etc for the past little while and I thought switching to weeks would help them get a better grasp of how long. Unfortunately, that didn't work, so I thought for a little bit yesterday about how I could show the kids something visual about how long it would be before the baby got here.

I tried showing them on the calendar, but when I had to turn multiple pages, I could tell that wasn't helping them understand. So I had the idea of making a countdown chain for the number of days left. We've done this for various other things like Christmas, Easter, or even birthdays and it's been pretty successful. So after church and lunch yesterday, the 3 of us sat down to make a countdown chain for our baby. My first thought was to have each of them choose a color so that if we alternated them on the chain, we would always know who's turn it was to rip a link off (I always seem to forget). Zach chose a dark green and Hailey chose a dark blue - both boy colors, they informed me.

After we cut up the paper and got out the stapler, we were all ready to go. They both were so excited and insisted that they "help" me staple the links together. This took about 3 times longer than it should have, but they were so excited, I just couldn't say no. After we finished the chain, the kids loved it! I couldn't help taking a picture of them holding it - they were so proud!


Once we finished, we hung it up in the kitched where we all could see it every day to remind us how soon our baby will be here. It's a good thing I didn't do this any earlier, the chain is definitely long enough.



Even though Hailey still tells me the baby is taking forever and that our chain is really, really long, I think both her and Zach have a better visual idea of how long it will be until the baby gets here. If not anything else, it gives them something fun to do every day as we get ready for our new little baby boy. As of today, only 44 more days to go!

Let the Countdown Begin!

Run Zach Run!

Last Friday, Zach's Elementary School recently had a walk-a-thon for all the kids. It was to promote good health and give the kids something fun to do outside. They sent home a flyer telling the parents and families of the kids they were welcome to come and watch or even participate.

Unfortunately, being over 8 months pregnant, the walk across the playground was enough for me, so we planned to just watch Zach run. We told him we were coming, but I loved the big smile on his face when he walked outside with his class and saw Hailey and I there to watch him.


The first thing they did was have the kids do some stretching exercises.


After that, they got ready to run. At the last minute, I was asked to help keep track of how many times the kids ran around the course they had set up. I guess they were short on volunteers and were desperate. I agreed, so unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of Zach running because I was busy making a mark on the kids' cards each time they ran around the course. But let me say that he was so cute! He would run around and when he got back to where I was standing, he would come running up with a big smile on his face. Here's a picture of him proudly displaying his card showing how many times he ran around the course. He was one of the top finishers in his class - there were only 2 or 3 other kids that made it around more times than he did.


Hailey and I just love going to watch his school activities. He just loves school and is always all smiles!


After the run was finished, each class did a Snow Springs Elementary cheer. Here's Zach's class doing their cheer:



We're so proud of you Zach - you are an excellent runner! Thanks for letting us come and watch you!