A girl?!!

Well, I'm officially announcing that we are having another baby and according to today's ultrasound we are having a girl. When we told the boys last weekend about the impending arrival they took the whole thing in stride. Jacob asked, "What if it's a girl?" and after a few minutes decided it was okay because at least he'd be older than her. Joshua was ecstatic to be the oldest of 5 and Andrew looked at me wide-eyed and said, "There's gonna be 5 babies?!" In the end Joshua determined either gender would be fine because it'll either be a boy or a Tom-boy. His glass is always half full. Oh, my due date is March 1, 2011.

Boys

They are in so much pain I feel bad laughing, but the cause is really quite funny. I was talking to my sister this afternoon when I hear a whimpering coming from outside. Joshua and Jacob both walk in and Joshua very calmly states, "I think this is an emergency." In a search for adventure Joshua and Jacob hopped on Andrew's big wheel at the same time and headed off down the hill that is our street. I guess at some point they figured out they were in trouble because Joshua tried to bail but his foot got stuck. Anyway, to avoid a bush they somehow crashed the big wheel and both met the pavement with extreme force. Jacob's main complaint is his face (although there are many other wounds). I was most concerned about him initially because Joshua just looked to have a skinned knee. However, when Adam got home and we took a closer look at Joshua we realized that it was a very deep cut. He and Adam ended up in the ER and 2 stitches later (and only 90 minutes :-)!) they were back home. We are going to have some very sore boys tomorrow. I wonder if they'll think twice about riding a big wheel uncontrollably down a steep hill again. By the way, they would both want me to mention that there were no tears. Joshua only screamed once at the ER and that was when they numbed him up. Jacob had a hard time eating (which, if you know Jacob is a true hardship) and was whimpering all evening, except when he was at the computer :-).

Lake Tenkiller

At the beginning of July we met my family in Oklahoma and headed to a place called Lake Tenkiller. We stayed in a great little resort and while the decor and gift shop haven't changed since Alicia was a child (it's exactly as she always remembered it) it was a great place to stay. We had fun being on the water and playing together. At first it seemed the weather wouldn't cooperate but it turned out to be perfect.

WAKE SURFING

This was our new experience. You literally surf behind the boat. Even though the surfer is seen holding a rope, you aren't actually being towed. It was really fun. Ben was a great teacher - so good that even the littlest kids were able to try it out.

On the boat - Samuel actually liked the boat a lot, he especially loved all the time he got to be with Daddy.

This guy just melts my heart! He was so proud of this seat. It's above the regular seats so he had to hold on tight :-)

We actually flew into Dallas and then drove to Tulsa. Joshua was in his glory with a great collection of Geotrax and Uncle Brian has the perfect hallway to build in.

He's eating!!

I know it's weird to document the first time your child eats a PBJ sandwich. However, those of you who know Sam know this is a BIG deal. This is the boy who lives on pretzels, Danimals, and chips with some random fruit thrown in. This one day he decided to eat a sandwich after helping Adam make it. Now I know most of you are thinking, "Ah! If he makes it he'll eat it." I was hoping that was true, however, in the following days a repeat of this performance was no where to be seen. Sam will gladly help anyone make a PBJ sandwich day or night, just don't ask him to eat it.

Happy Half Birthday, Andrew!

No, we don't celebrate half birthdays for everyone, just Andrew. His birthday is Dec 23 and we prefer to spread out the presents a bit. We still recognize the day but he only gets grandparent presents on that day. Anyway, after a 5:30am workout (that's right, that's REALLY early) I came home to a very eager Half Birthday Boy. He let me (Adam too) rest for a few minutes and then it was present time.

The traditional breakfast choice - Lucky Charms

We cleaned up Jacob's old bike last week and Andrew's been riding it ever since, but we made sure he knew that his bike was his main birthday present. By 7:30am we were at the park for our family bike ride. Everyone loved it and 7:30 is the time to be at the park to avoid all kinds of discomfort (like heat and humidity - although, I really can't complain, it's been beautiful!!).

This is my favorite part of the day. As Andrew rode around the track he sang at the top of his lungs. The words of his song were so appropriate (to a point) that I couldn't help but smile. He sang, "I feel so free that I could soar (that's the appropriate part) I'm not an egg anymore!!!" It's from a Backyardigans episode. Anyway, it was great.

Joshua - He finally admitted riding bikes is fun.

Sam is his own man - I don't think I have to worry about him following the crowd in future years. He has taken to removing his shoes no matter where we go, the grocery store, the park, the movie theater, church, you name it.

Andrew and Daddy

The rest of the day was filled with Toy Story 3 - fun movie - the book store and pizza for dinner. We came home and had an ice cream treat for his cake. Candles were placed in everyone's ice cream that wanted to blow (mostly Sam). All in all it was a great day.

Ice Cream

One of the doctors at work gave Adam and $25 gift card to Friendly's Restaurant. She is pregnant and having a very difficult time. Adam has been nice and I know she appreciates it. We decided to splurge and just do ice cream. It was quite a treat. Although I don't think I'll ever figure out Samuel's eating habits. He refused his strawberry shake altogether.

Freezing?!

I just had to post this and point and that on June 17 my boys were freezing. If you look closely, yes, that is Samuel in a winter coat. Andrew was in tears and Jacob was nice enough to lend his bathrobe. Joshua stuck it out and Jacob refused to be photographed in his jacket, but it was there. I guess this explains somewhat why they were dying when it finally reached 80 degrees.