It's Most Likely a Girl

I had the official ultrasound today!

Everything looks good, and it looks like it could be a girl.

I know that does not sound very convincing, but the baby was not letting the technician get a good look between the legs. What she did see looks like a girl.

The doctor said we will try looking again at another appointment, but I have felt like this is a girl for a while so I am comfortable saying.....

IT'S A GIRL!

Draper Temple Open House

Last night we took the kids to the Draper Temple Open House. I had heard from a few people that the wait could be long so we went a little ahead of our scheduled time to wait our turn at the assigned chapel. We ended up only having to wait a few minutes before we were ushered into a room to see a video and then loaded on a bus to go up to the temple.

When we arrived they gave us a brochure about the temple with a few pictures in it. Joseph decided this was a map and used it like one. When we went into a room he would look at the brochure to see if the room was pictured. In a way this worked because the pictures were in the order of the tour.

Joseph was also impressed with how many pictures of Jesus there were in the temple. Emily really liked the chandeliers. The two favorite spots for the kids were the Baptismal font and the Celestial Room. I have to admit those are two of my favorite rooms also.
We had to get our tickets in early January and unfortunately when the day came Josh was not feeling well. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for letting him stay with you so we could still take the other kids.

I loved going through the temple with my kids and talking to them about it. After we were through Emily said that seeing it is person was a lot better than the pictures. I agree.

The Little Boss is in Charge!

When Emily was little she decided that she was the boss and was constantly telling Ryan and I what and how to do things. It was a constant battle with her about who the boss was and who was in charge.

Finally we told her that we were the big boss and that she was the little boss. The big boss was in charge of most things, including her, and the little boss was in charge of her toys and belongings. Emily was satisfied with that for a day or so, but after that she told us that "The Little boss was in charge.

When Joe joined our Family he was content to let Emily be the boss. Emily turned her attention to him and stopped trying to boss us around as much.

Luckily The little boss phase has passed with her. Although I still find myself telling her she is not the mother every now and then.

I thought that Emily went through that stage because she was an only child for so long but, In January Josh turned Three and Once again we have a little boss at our house.


He is constantly telling (not asking) Everyone what to do right down to how many ice cubes to put in his drink. At church last week every time it was time for a prayer he would tell Emily to fold her arms. (Josh did not fold his)

His favorite thing to do is to tell dad how to play the Wii. Even if it is a game Josh has never played he always knows how to play it better than dad and sits and tells his dad what to do.

I now hear Ryan telling Josh that he is not the boss. It brings back a lot of memories. I hope his boss phase is a short one.

We Love This Turkey

I know Thanksgiving was a few months ago, but I kind of missed it because I was not feeling well. So you will just have to endure me.

A couple of years ago Ryan's mom was sent an ecard with this on it. The next Thanksgiving we could not find the Turkey. Well now she's back and worth a good laugh.

Fireman Josh

Josh still loves trains, but over the past few months emergency vehicles have become his passion, especially the fire engines. So for his 3rd birthday we thought it would be fun to go visit the fire station.
Ryan's parents are friends with the Battalion Chief so Grandpa set our visit up through him.


We started off our visit at the Chiefs house where he showed us his truck and even turned on the lights and sirens. Then he let the boys ride over to the station in his truck. I think Josh was happy just doing that





When we arrived the fire fighters were there to give us a tour. We went inside to see the living quarters, but the Fire Engine was the most exciting part. They took us around the fire engine and opened up all of the doors to show us what was inside. This became serious business as Josh studied everything.

When they showed us where the ladder was Josh walked back to the side of the engine to see if they had one there also, because his fire trucks at home do.

Then the kids took turns driving.




Now when Josh plays with his Fire trucks at home the person calling for help always requests that Engine #32 comes to help. Thanks to the firefighters of Engine #32 for a fun and memorable day.

Christmas

We had a really nice Christmas day full of lots of fun, family and laughter. There were three highlights to my Christmas day.......

Watching the kids open their presents.

Josh got his new Fire Truck.

Joseph got his Transformer Helmet.

And after much searching and research Santa found a DS game called Animal Doctor that he brought for Emily. She was so happy.

The second was when Ryan's mom put on the Transformer Helmet and sang the Munchkin song from the Wizard of OZ. I didn't have my camera with me, but I wish I would have got it on video. The voice changer in the helmet makes your voice sound higher and multiplies it a little.

The Third Highlight off the day has a story behind it. In Ryan's Family there are two boys and one girl. Tracy is his sister and she is the youngest in the family. For as long as I have known them the brothers have always refereed to her as "The Princess" When Tracy was in kindergarten she made a glittery star with her picture in the middle of it out of paper. Ever since then that star has been at the top of their family Christmas tree. (This bothers the brothers). This year Ryan's parents put up two trees and just to tease the boys (who are both grown men.) They put a decoration with Tracy's picture on top of the second tree also. It worked. Ryan stopped by his parents house one night and saw the two trees with Tracy on top. He then came home and told me that his parents had two trees this year, and that Tracy was on both of them. I find this amusing because I know how much he is irritated by it.

Now back to Christmas day. Tracy gave Joseph a Nerf gun for Christmas this year. While we were all visiting and opening presents Joseph was trying to figure out how his gun worked. He suddenly shot a ball out and it went straight to the top of the tree and took Tracy's star right off the top. There was much applause and laughing that Joseph had dethroned the princess with a gift given to him by her. (Don't worry, the star was not hurt, and no Ryan did not tell Joseph to do it.)

I hope you all had a nice Christmas.

Christmas Activities

Visiting Santa at Grandma's office is always a fun way to start off the Christmas season. The kids were all willing to sit on his lap this year and tell him what they wanted. Josh wants a fire engine, Joe wants a Transformer helmet and Emily wants a Veterinarian Kit . Santa is not sure about Emily's request but she promised not to use the scalpel on her brothers. We will have to see if Santa comes through for her.




Last weekend our ward had breakfast with Santa for the ward party. Grandma and Grandpa Lay were in town for a visit so they were able to join us. The gift requests for Santa all stayed the same. I guess they know what they want this year

This week was started off with Joseph's preschool Holiday Concert. All of the songs had actions and Joseph was good at all of them. This is a clip of them singing. Sorry I was not very steady with the camera. (Josh was on my lap.)

I hope you are all having a fun Holiday season.