Spring Training Baseball

We love it when Daddy takes some time off during Spring Break (March 14-18) so we can sweat our living guts out to watch an afternoon Spring Training Baseball game. We watched the Arizona Diamondbacks play the Los Angeles Angels at the new Salt River Fields Spring Training facility in Scottsdale.

We always sit on the lawn and Stella lasts almost 3 innings before we have to start getting creative with our entertainment and she starts getting creative with her shading techniques.

I brought snacks and games and stuff for her to draw on and we made it to the 7th inning without Stella crashing into any innocent lawn baseball fans as she rolled and cartwheeled down the hill. Can't tell you who won the game, but we won some time as a family and some ice cream at Sugar Bowl and we love it!

20 Weeks Pregnant

March 26, 2011
SICKNESS: none
CRAVINGS: Peanuts and Bananas
FEELINGS: We're SO excited to be having a little BOY! However, I'm being driven crazy because we don't know his name yet! With Stella we were tossing around Olivia or Stella and right during the ultrasound when they said she was a girl, Elliot decided her name was Stella. I still wasn't sure (you know, because everyone thinks they have to see their baby first), but Elliot just started calling her Stella and praying for Stella . . . so she became Stella. With this little guy I THOUGHT we had a name picked out, but then my sweet lovin' husband was virtually silent on the subject . . . until last night. He mentioned a name after the ultrasound that I vetoed (we'll talk about the other names that were vetoed later), but now that we've gone over our family history books, the prophets of the church and the presidents of the United States, we still haven't decided. I guess you'll know when we put his name on the ticker or when he emerges from my womb. I think he's still a little shocked that it's not a girl. At my last appointment, I had gained 9 pounds since the last appointment. That makes 12 pounds total. Good thing I'm over the Hershey's Kisses and Fried Chicken cravings phase. In other news, I'm almost 99% sure that I'm going to change providers and go with a midwife and have a natural birth. There you have it. You are invited to keep your "she's crazy" talk and negative comments/stories/experiences about childbirth to yourselves lest you be put on our list of people we cannot talk to for the next 4 months. I have begun to enter my "Bubble of Peace" as I learn to allow my body to do as it was designed to do . . . give birth and do so peacefully. I need Elliot on board with this one too, so think of him as in my bubble as well.

P.S. I love my own belly and the little guy inside there.

Stella-Looney

Stella woke up so incredibly CRAZY this morning and has not stopped TALKING or moving since! By the time we were done with breakfast, my eyes were bulging out of my head with all of her CONSTANT CHATTER so I told her to go outside and run 400 laps around the grass. Dad shortened it to 6 laps . . .

. . . but she did 20.

Don't Punch . . . Our Car

We've watched it 50 times and still laugh like it was the first.

Writing From Kindergarten

Piles and piles and piles of paper! I had no idea how much stuff kids would bring home from school as well as the fact that Stella writes on EVERY piece of paper in our house. I didn't have a plan to organize this volume of paperwork that would be coming into my home each day, so it has just piled up since the beginning of Kindergarten in 2009 and now she's halfway through 1st Grade! Sure, some of them made it into the recycle bin, some were quickly retrieved from the recycle bin by Stella, and then made it back into the pile. I finally had the desire to go through the pile (while Stella was sleeping so that the recycle could be emptied before she awoke). I found some gems:

"I really want to be a sister because my mother wants me to be a big girl, Love Stella"

"Clark, I am really sorry that you broke your arm. I am bringing you a letter like you bringed me a letter on my mom's phone. Bye Bye." Along with a heart with "Stella & Clark" and permission on the top for him to draw on the back of the paper.

"Dad is handsome. Dad is brilliant. Dad is funny. Dad loves us. Dad is the best." It's true.

I LOVE this one. I was so impressed with my little girl's faith that she knows that Jesus is there with her even though she can't see him. Then she told me she just didn't finish drawing him.

Now I have pictures of them and no pile. Until Monday, of course.

5K-IMMIE 2011

I have an ever growing list of favorite people and my friend KIMMIE CURRY has quite the prominent place on that list. I have met very few people who are as completely sincere and honest and delightful and happy and REAL as Kimmie. I LOVE HER!

For instance, who organizes their own free 5K? Kimmie does. And then she makes all of us 5K-IMMIE t-shirts. By the way, Stella really calls it the 5K "immie". In fact, I know there are so many people who love her because they all still came to support her 5K-IMMIE even though it was exercise at 7:00 on a Saturday morning!

Elliot and I both wanted to run the 5K (even though I haven't practiced) and so we had Stella on her scooter (the bike had a flat tire). I'd say that Stella and I made it about a mile before we decided to make ours a FUN RUN and head back to the park for the following reasons:

1) The ear buds for the iPod wouldn't stay in Stella's ears. Lots of complaining.
2) Stella didn't want to hold her own bag of Fruit Loops and I refused to hold it for her. Lots of complaining.
3) Everyone was very far ahead of us and Stella was angry they weren't waiting. Lots of complaining.
4) Stella was mad I made her come even though she could have been playing with Emma the entire time at the park. Lots of complaining.
5) I haven't run for a very long time and 8th Street was a short-cut back to the park. Lots of rejoicing that we were going back and knowing I didn't have to carry a scooter for a mile and a half.

We got back just in time to see Tim Johnson come in to the finish line FIRST . . .

. . . followed shortly thereafter by miss speedy Lynnae Fosburgh. Man, everyone was running so fast! Also, NO Johnny Reading didn't turn into the Chick-fil-A cow . . . that really is the Chick-fil-A cow. Apparently Kimmie keeps them in business, so they agreed to come to support her 5K-IMMIE and also handed out free spicy sandwich coupons.

I was looking out for Elliot to come in when all of the sudden he was behind me. He lost track of us on the path and decided to come back to find us. How romantic. However, Rob had to write "didn't finish" next to our names on the list even though I tried several times to get him to write "FUN RUN" instead. We're still in negotiations.

Kimmie and Em ran the entire way and this was my favorite FINISH! See, still happy even after running over 3 miles. I love Kimmie and her 5K-IMMIE.

I can't wait until next year!

IT'S A . . .

BOY

Is he just the cutest little BOY you've seen today? I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE HIM!

Jury Duty

I have been summoned for Jury Duty several times, but have never actually had to go until last week. I was actually kind of excited. It was a little inconvenient to have to hurry and arrange a ride for Stella as well as miss my afternoon nap, but it was an interesting experience.

I didn't get chosen, probably because I have too many family members in law enforcement, but I'm grateful for the chance to almost do my civic duty. Duty is a funny word.