You just never know what your going to get...

Well thats a motto for motherhood but its what I have been thinking about this afternoon after getting home from the doctor's office with Brayden this afternoon.

I took him to his pediatrician because he's been hoarse for a few weeks now and is starting to lose his voice from time to time. That doctor sent us to an ear nose and throat specialist who put a tube down his nose to look at his throat to find his vocal chords "injured". He first thought it must have been from a viral laryngitis which I shook my head at insisting he had never even had a cold and then he said sometimes he'll see a high school student who has really yelled in the wrong way or had some violent cough that could cause that damage. Of course as soon as he said "violent cough" it all made sense. Poor Brayden always struggles with a cough due to asthma but late this winter he definitely had some extreme coughing episodes I would definitely classify in the "violent" category (he often breaks all the little blood vessels in his face- leaving him looking speckled). Well I was happy to hear this diagnosis. I can handle that. Some steroids and "vocal rest" and he should be okay. I know- those of you who know Brayden well are probably laughing now as I did when the doctor instructed him to try not to talk (unless necessary) for 2-4 weeks. We'll see what we can do :)

Okay so my point in all this is that a trip to the doctor often takes turns you dont expect. For example Makenna has gone to the doctor for just a rash and been told she has strep throat. I've taken her in for a fever (last year) and been sent to the hospital for pnemonia, a UTI and suspicions of diabetes. Seriously- did not expect that. And then more recently I took her in for her third bout with pnemonia and they wanted to test her for cystic fibrosis- which was of course negative but really- who would have seen that coming? Oh yeah and then there was Brayden with the swine flu- another shocker.

AND MY KIDS ARE HEALTHY! I guess its just part of having kids- never know what your going to get- day to day. Parenting is an adventure. Got to love it!

First Trip to the Dentist

Last week, I took the kids to the dentist and it was Brielles first time to be a patient too. She was so excited. She watched the older kids- who are great examples and couldn't wait to climb up on the chair. She amazed me and the hygenist too by being so well behaved. She climbed right up on the chair and turned to the hygenist and opened up wide- all on her own. It was pretty hilarious. Usually with two year olds, the hygenist says she usually just uses a toothbrush to get them used to being at the dentist but since she was such a willing patient- Brielle got a full big kid cleaning- and she LOVED every minute of it. She was even laughing as they cleaned her teeth. When they did the x rays, she followed every direction perfectly and held completely still. The hygenist said she had never seen a two year old do this before. I was pretty surprised myself. But like everything in life, if her brother and sister do it, then so can she! What a cutie!

Ready for Bed!

In an effort to make our kids more responsible we have taught them to get Brielle ready for bed. They can put a clean diaper on her and get her pajamas on. Last time they went upstairs to get her ready for bed- this was the end result. I think its pretty clear Brielle was the one calling the shots!

Touchdown Brayden!

We are 3 games into this Spring's flag football season and Brayden already has 2 TDs. Not bad...We have a really solid team this season and each kid is doing well. Melissa accuses my co-coach and I of stacking our team (we brought back 5 kids back from last year's team and recruited 3 more from our basketball team) but I like to think of it as savvy recruitment :-) The team is 3-0 so far and they have outscored the opposing teams 84-12. The attached clip is of our team's first play from scrimmage yesterday and happens to be a touchdown run by Brayden! It's an exact replay of last week's first play of the game, which also was a touchdown run by Brayden (unfortunately our team videographer didn't have the camera ready so we missed that TD).

Brayden is lined up as center and after he snaps the ball, he quickly turns around to receive the handoff from our QB and then he beats the defender to the corner and simply outruns the rest of the defense! Watch closely and you can see the determination and focus on Brayden's face - priceless! Also, if you listen carefully (and if you can hear anything at all over the yelling of a particularly proud Father yelling "GO GO GO") you'll hear the "THUD" sound the last defender makes as he dives in vain for Brayden's flag :-)

Enjoy!

Our little Peanut

So whats this your looking at you ask? Well it is what it looks like- the newest to be addition to our family. Hip Hip Hooray. We are very excited. We are all brimming with joy (well okay when I am miserably nauseated which is most of the time -"Brimming with joy" may not be an accurate description- but as for the big picture stuff- I am indeed brimming with joy.)

This was an ultrasound taken at 8 weeks when all he/she looked like was an itty bitty peanut. I am still just 10 weeks along now but I am outing myself- not by choice- simply because...well... because I look really pregnant - I'm talking like 4 or 5 months along- and so whether I would like to keep it to myself a bit longer or not- people are starting to ask questions... which means many more people are wondering in their minds if I have put on weight lately or am I pregnant. Well yes to both to all you inquiring minds. I guess with the fourth my body has just given up on holding things together- so I am just trying to embrace it ("trying" being the operative word).

As for family reaction- Makenna is thrilled. She seems to love me all the more these days and gets a funny little grin on her face when she looks at my tummy. She is really looking forward to mothering this baby. She's even told me when this baby is born she is going to be the mom- so we'll see how that goes.
Brayden is excited and very adamant about it being a boy. He actually gets really mad when anyone refers to it as a girl. I really would love a boy or girl- either way is fine by me- but for his sake- a boy would be good.
Brielle is, of course, to young to get it. The day we told the kids she came up to me and pointing to her hip- said "your baby right here?.... at that point my hip area may have been larger than my stomach so I could see her logic. Since then she hasn't mentioned it.
Kevin is happy- a proud dad who loves his kids and has been wanting another baby for a while now- finally got his wish!

What a Spring Break!

We had a GREAT Spring Break this year because we were lucky enough to have a visit from Grandma, Aunt Julie, and cousins Ben, Daniel, Lucas, and Sadie. It was a house full of fun! We kept busy seeing all Omaha has to offer. Our agenda was:

Saturday- airport greetings and dinner at Red Robin
Sunday- church
Monday- Boingz
Tuesday- Egg Dying and The Amazing Pizza Machine
Wednesday- A Picnic at the park and then Culvers for Frozen Custard, and then some water bouncing on the trampoline and a barbeque
Thursday- Winter Quarters- Trail Center, Cemetery and Temple
Friday- Swimming and dinner at California Pizza Kitchen
Saturday- Easter Egg hunt, Conference, Easter Egg Roll, More Conference
Sunday- Family Easter egg and basket hunt, Brunch, Conference, Ham dinner
Monday- Park, play at home and pack, dinner at Wheatfields
Tuesday Morning- a sad goodbye

Spending a week with my mom and sister was wonderful. I am so blessed to have such great family. My kids adore their cousins and so they were in heaven with them here.

Here are some photo highlights:


Coloring the Eggs.The Amazing Pizza Machine
The majority of the kids time and pizza machine points were spent on this crazy claw machine as the kids were in desperate pursuit of Pokemon animals. In the end everyone got one (except Brielle who didnt care too much) so I guess it was a success.

The Picnic at the Park and subsequent trip to Culvers...
The Mormon Trail Center
Winter Quarters Temple and Cemetary

Our little pioneers

The easter egg hunt.

Our Easter Egg Roll. Brayden named himself this years winner.

What fun we had!