Our precious present!

Our beautiful Rachelle Dwynne was born on Sunday Dec. 21 at 7:45 pm. She was 7 pounds 4 ounces and 20 inches. Both Rachelle and I are back home and doing well. To view the photos that they took for us at the hospital go to http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?BirthId=443f0083-f020-465d-8990-a452a08b55b3 The password is rachelle. There will be more pictures to follow when I have a little more time.

I love snow!

Later on Wednesday it started snowing again and we actually got a good amount of snow! We went and played out in the large snowflakes and had a better snowball fight. It got dark before there was enough snow to make a snowman so we were hoping it would still be there in the morning, but it was pretty much melted by morning. Oh well! It was wonderful to be able to have snow this year! I absolutely love the snow! Here are some fun pictures from our snow day!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Aaron woke me up this morning by saying "Mommy, it snowed last night!" I know it is hard to believe since we are living in Texas, but it did. Aaron was really cute because he asked Mikey "Is it Christmas?" when he saw the snow. I guess he thought that it was such a miracle that it must be Christmas! After getting ready for the day, I bundled the boys up and they were able to take advantage of this rare opportunity and have a snowball fight (followed by a nice cup of hot cocoa!) I love hot chocolate especially after being out in the cold! Here is a little video of it:

Shhh... Don't Tell

So my doctor would probably not like it very much if he found out that I went on a 2 1/2 hour trip to go visit my cousin Starla (who has always been one of my closest friends) in Seguin, TX this past weekend since I was 36 1/2 weeks along, but I did anyways. That may sound really stupid, but I also took the precaution of mapping all of the hospitals from here to there just to be sure that we would be able to find one if it was needed. Starla's husband Dave is a linguist in the Air Force and is being transferred to Germany for 3 years so it was my last chance to see them. I haven't seen them in a year and a half since they have been living in Monterrey, CA. They were there in Seguin visiting his parents before they take off so I just had to go! Anyways, we had a blast and were very greatful that we were able to go and have some fun with them before they leave! Dave's parents live on 5 acres of land so we had a lot of fun looking around and exploring and were also able to go to Landa Park in New Brunfels (I'm not sure if I spelled that right). They had a little train that rode through the park so Mikey and the boys rode on it. We will miss Starla and Dave, but we had a great time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We sure did. We were able to go down to Spring (near Houston) to visit my cousin Adam for Thanksgiving. Most of his family (except his older brother Mark) were there too so it was great to see everyone and spend time with them. It went too fast in my opinion, but time flies when you are having fun. My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is to just spend time with my family! Being 8 months pregnant, I am so grateful that Adam lives there right now (less than 2 hours away) so that we could still spend Thanksgiving with family.
I want to say thank you to all of you out there who are such good friends and family to me and my family. I am so blessed to know and love so many wonderful people! There are so many things to be greatful for this year, I could go on forever, but I will just list a few. I'm greatful for all of my wonderful family and friends, for our baby on the way, for our new van, to own a house, that Mikey is able to go to grad school and is loving it, and for the gospel of Jesus Christ that shows me how to be a better person and gives me hope and joy even in times of trial.
I hope all of you have been able to find joy in counting your blessings this Thanksgiving and that you will continue to have it in this joyous Christmas season!

Dress up fun!

We have been having a lot of fun with dressing up this month! First of all, the boys got super hero capes from Grandma earlier this month and have had lots of fun "flying around and saving everything". It has even helped with clean-up time because they are always happy to put on their capes and "save" the toys from Darth Vader and put them in the "safe" (their closet) before he can get them.

Then on November 13th I was teaching Aaron's preschool group and we went on a field trip to the fire station. It was right next to the College Station Airport so we were able to see their special fire truck for putting out airplane fires. It was a lot bigger and carried 1500 gallons of water in it. Crazy huh? Anyways, we also saw a regular fire truck and got to see the whole fire station. We also heard the alarm that alerts them that they need to go. The kids all got fire hats and stickers and had a great time. Nathan and Aaron have been wearing those around a lot too!

Then on November 18th we went to the hospital for a sibling tour where they showed the boys around the hospital (including looking at the babies in the nursery) and taught them more about what to expect when the baby comes home and how to be good siblings. I thought it was a great idea and we really enjoyed it. The boys even got back packs with gloves, hat, and mask that the doctors wear. They have had lots of fun playing doctor too.

I've been tagged!

The rules are:

1. Link to the person who tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.



7 Random facts about me:



1. I used to be really ticklish, but ever since I got pregnant with Aaron I have not been ticklish except for on my left foot.

2. I learned how to crochet from my roommates in college and we all would crochet together while we talked or watched movies.
3. I took Polynesian dancing lessons for about four years when I was a kid.

4. I have craved nectarines this pregnancy. So tangy and yummy!
5. I organized my kids closets by making labels with pictures so that they could know where to put them.
6. Mikey was the first guy I ever kissed.
7. When I was in Bobby Socks (t-ball for girls) I won 2nd place in a hitting contest. It was a pledge drive thing where people would pledge money for each foot or inch you hit the ball or something like that so my parent's were proud, but also had to fork out more money.

I tag:
Cambrie
Starla
Jami
Maryann
Charity
Adam
Matt

Ultrasound pictures!

Hi everyone,
I went in for another ultrasound this past Tuesday and we got some really good pictures of our little Rachelle, especially her face. The top two are of her face. The bottom left is of her foot and leg. The bottom right is the profile of her face. We think her face looks a lot like Nathan.

Happy Halloween!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! We did! Aaron got to wear his costume for four different events and Nathan for 3. First of all, we went to a pumpkin walk in downtown Bryan last Saturday where we viewed all the entries for a pumpkin decorating contest. The theme this year was Dr. Suess so there was a lot of different and interesting pumpkins. A lot of the schools participate so I think we will try to have Aaron enter a pumpkin in next year's contest.
Then on Wednesday night we had our church Halloween carnival and trunk-or-treat. Aaron and I made decorations and decorated the trunk of our newly bought 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan. (We have been thinking that we probably needed a minivan with the new little one coming and we found a great deal and bought it on Monday.) The boys had a blast at the ward party and our trunk turned out great!



Thursday morning Aaron dressed up again for his preschool Halloween party at the park. Nathan and I ended up staying so I guess we should have put his costume on too, but he was okay with wearing a Winnie the Pooh sweatshirt. Then of course on Friday we dressed up again to go trick or treating in our neighborhood and transferred our trunk decorations to our doorstep. We didn't have much luck finding houses giving out candy, but that is okay. We all had a lot of fun anyways and we got plenty of candy at our church party.

Happy birthday Nathan!

We went to the Houston Zoo on Monday for Nathan's birthday and had a blast. I didn't realize how big the zoo was before I looked at the map, but we were able to see the majority of it. We were there from 10 am until about 3 (a very long day especially for the boys and Mommy). Boy was I sore by the end, but it was well worth it. View a slideshow of our trip at

http://s470.photobucket.com/albums/rr63/beccabug2000/?action=view&current=6b9ec1cb.pbw

We blew out his candles and opened most of his presents the night before at our house before we went to stay with my cousin Adam's family down in Houston. To watch the video I compiled of his cake and opening presents (both at our house and Adam's) go to http://nathansbirthday.blogspot.com/ (It's kind of long so it wasn't working when I tried to put it on here. ) Enjoy!

Made by me!

After many hours of work I finished my own maternity shirt (now that I'm in my third trimester). I had to show it off since I'm very proud that I was actually able to make something that looks good and fits. So thank you to all those who contributed to my birthday money so that I could buy myself a new sewing machine. Also a big thanks to my little family who put up with me while I was making it!
Oh, and here is a picture of my pregnant belly for all of those who haven't seen me pregnant this time!

My big helper!

We were pleasantly surprised this morning to find that Aaron had changed Nathan's diaper (a stinky one nonetheless) and had gotten him all dressed for the day! I can't believe how big and responsible Aaron is getting! I was very proud of him for being such a big helper and he got two magnets on his chart for being such a big help. (When he fills it up he gets special Mommy-Aaron time).
Oh, and yesterday he counted all the way to 120! What a smart boy.

Dancing

After church yesterday Nathan started dancing across the floor and posing with his feet spread apart so we got out the video camera. He wouldn't dance at first, but after Aaron started he joined in. Notice also their almost matching outfits. We have some handsome boys!

Hurricane Ike

I just wanted to give an update for those that are worried about us in regards to hurricane Ike. They said we had some hurricane force gusts, but mostly just a tropical storm. It is still raining and a little windy, but the storm is far enough past us that they have taken us off of tropical storm alert and flash flood alert. It was a little worrisome hearing the wind whistling outside, but there has not been any damage done to us or our home. We haven't even had a power outage. We are very greatful that we are safe and out of the danger. They said on the news that this is the worst hurricane that has hit this area of Texas since 1961. We will be continuing to pray for those that were not as fortunate as us especially down in the Galveston area and hope that you will join us!
We were also very greatful to be able to get two trees in our yard taken down yesterday before the storm hit. One was hollow on the inside and the other was split down the middle from lightning so they very well could have fallen and done some damage to our house if they were still there. Have a great day!

#1 Mickey fan!!

Aaron:

December 2004

August 2008

When I caught Aaron sleeping like this again with Mickey Mouse I just couldn't resist taking a picture! He absolutely loves Mickey Mouse as does our whole family. In fact when we were potty training him a couple of years ago we would call "Mickey Mouse" every day to tell him how well he was doing. He absolutely loved that and now we are doing the same thing with Nathan. I know, it seems a little early since he isn't even 2 until October, but he has been really interested and actually started trying to go himself. He has been trying for about a month so I decided this week that we would get serious about it and he has done really well. He hasn't had any accidents yet today (It's 3:00) and I am very excited!

Pink Bows and Frilly Dresses

If you haven't guessed by the title, we are going to have a little girl! We had the ultrasound on Friday and are very excited about our coming addition to our family! I'm so excited to be able to get all the cute little girl stuff!
Sorry about the absence of blogs from me. We have had a very busy, but good month. We moved into our new house on July 26th so most of the past month has been spend packing and unpacking. We are mostly unpacked now (Thank goodness!) and we love it! It's so much fun to own our own house! We have a lot more space and it is great having a fenced back yard for the boys to play in. We got a little wading pool and the boys love it!
Between all the packing and unpacking, we were able to take a trip up to Oklahoma for Michael's cousin James' wedding! It was busy, but lots of fun! It was so nice to see some family and to meet Shawnee (the beautiful bride). They make a very cute couple!

Boys will be boys!

Yesterday when we had our home teachers over we let the boys go play in their room while we were talking. They took their water bottles with them and filled them up in the sink. I wasn't too worried about it because the water bottles are spill proof, but then all of a sudden we here rushing water. Michael ran back to see what was going on and they had taken the lids off and poured one in the middle of the floor and the other in their closet! Aaron was jumping around saying something like "It's water. It's water!" and they both thought it was hilarious. I guess next time they tell me they want a bath I should listen or at least make sure that they don't have water anywhere that I can't see them! (Oh, and just as a side note, they were clean, they just wanted another bath. They love baths! They would probably be in the bath all day if I let them.)

Ages

We had a funny little conversation the other day at lunch. I asked Nathan how old he was and before he could answer Aaron said "He's two." I said something like he's almost two, but he's still one. Then I held up my finger and said "Nathan you're one!" and he countered it with "No, I two". It was hilarious because the whole day every time I asked him how old he was he would say "I two" and if I tried to straighten it out he would say "No, I two". He's gotten it straight now, but I thought it was hilarious!

Independence Day!

We had a very enjoyable 4th of July! We had a ward breakfast in the morning followed by games and a bike parade with all the primary children. Nathan and I only stayed for the breakfast because he had pink eye, but Mikey and Aaron enjoyed the whole thing. Aaron was especially excited about the parade since he decorated his bike for the occasion.

That night we were able to go to a community celebration at the George Bush Library and Museum. They had bounce houses, a blow up slide, and games for the kids as well as live bands. The fireworks display was also impressive and was accompanied by the symphony. We had a very enjoyable time!

Memorable moments!

This month has been full of memorable moments and accomplishments with our handsome boys! Here are the top 10 (listed in no particular order):

1. Aaron made a temple out of clay in primary (shown above). I was very impressed with how much it looks like our temple (the Houston, TX temple) even down to the angle Moroni.

2. Both Aaron and Nathan have joined a summer reading club at our local library and are doing great in it. They both read with Mommy at least 15 minutes a day.

3. Aaron read through a whole book by himself with help, of course, from Mom and Dad in sounding them out, but he figured out all of the words! He is so smart!

4. Nathan brings out books all day for Mommy to read! He loves looking at the pictures and listening to the stories!

5. Aaron gave a his first talk in Primary on Father's Day. He did a great job!

6. Nathan has gotten really good at his manners saying please and thank you. It sounds more like "mease" and "tank oo", but it is very cute.

7. Nathan makes this cute little face all the time (shown above). He keeps on saying "Daddy, Daddy" until Daddy looks at him and then make that face and Daddy will make it back at him. He will also do it to the rest of us also, but mostly with Daddy.

8. Aaron went to his friend's pirate birthday pack and came back looking like a pirate. Daddy and Nathan were on a walk when we got home so Aaron waited for them to get back to our driveway and went charging out at them with his pirate get up!

9. We heard the babies heart beat for the first time this month! That is always amazing!

10.This isn't really just about the boys, but is very exciting! We have bought a house! (Don't worry fellow ward members, it is in the ward boundaries) It is a really cute 3 bedroom, 1 bath house with a big yard and it is closer to campus. Aaron has already decided that we are going to buy a pool from the Dollar General to put back there! We are very excited to own a home!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy (late) Father's Day to all those wonderful Dads out there! Whenever Father's Day comes along it always reminds me of when Michael and I were dating at BYU. We had been dating for a month and a half when Father's Day came along. I was horrified when one of my friends decided to send an anonymous note through our compliment jar to Michael that said "Happy future father of Rebecca's children day!" Obviously he wasn't scared off since that actually came true, but I was worried that he would be when she told me what she wrote. We like to laugh about that now!
On a serious note, though, it never ceases to amaze me how wonderful a Daddy Michael is. The boys absolutely adore him because he makes them feel so special and has lots of fun with them. It is the most attractive thing in the world to see him playing with our kids and taking care of them! I love it and am very greatful to have him as a husband.

Yep, I'm pregnant!

As you can probably tell by the babystrology thing on my page, I am pregnant! I am 10 weeks along right now and am due December 27th! We are very excited to be bringing another little darling into this world. Although we would definitely be excited to have another little boy, all of us are hoping for a girl. Even when I ask Nathan if he wants a boy or a girl he says "Girr". This past week I had my first appointment and was able to see the baby's heart beat on the monitor. I don't know what it is about that, but it always makes it seem so much more real and melts your heart! It's kind of funny because you would think feeling the morning sickness (which isn't really just in the morning) and the fatigue it would already feel pretty real, and it does, but after you see that heartbeat it becomes even more real.
To tell the boys the news (back on April 26) we did a little scavenger hunt at the park. I accidently forgot our memory card so we couldn't record very much of it, but you can see the very end of it and we also took a video of them telling about the scavenger hunt to tell our family shortly after. The video of them telling about it is before the very end of our scavenger hunt since we wanted it to be a surprise.

26 years old!

May is my month for presents. Now that I am a mom, I have mother's day and my birthday all in the same month. Mother's Day was nice. I got a rose at church and some nice cards and gifts from Michael and the boys.
My birthday yesterday was pretty fun too! The morning was pretty much the same as any day except that I got an ecard from my mom and a phone call from my cousin. The evening was really fun. Mikey brought me home a brownie fudge cheesecake..... YUMMMMMMYYYYYY! I am a sucker for cheesecake. Two friends stopped by with goodies to wish me happy birthday totally unexpectedly so that was great! I had a nice dinner and enjoyed having our little party with our little family and then got a few more phone calls from family that evening and another email birthday wish!
It's so funny because in some ways 26 years old seems sooooo old to me, but at the same time sometimes I feel like I'm 30 since Michael is and 26 years old seems young. Oh, and when we were about to do my cake and ice cream Aaron said "26 is not old enough to die Mommy!" I think he was trying to make sure that I realized that I wasn't that old.

Happy Birthday Aaron!

Aaron is 4 now! He celebrated his birthday this past Saturday at a park! We played on the playground, had cake and ice cream, opened presents from friends, and had a pinata. It was a very enjoyable party!

Then, on Sunday we had a virtual party with both sets of grandparents, Aunt Katie and Uncle Wesley, and Aunt Linda. They got to watch Aaron open all of his presents from the family. He got lots of fun toys and both he and Nathan are really enjoying playing with them.

To see a video of some of his birthday party on Saturday, go to http://www.motionbox.com/video/player/a099d3b4161de528/39505d113ea1d128

Where I was...

I got this idea from Allison and I thought it would be a lot of fun to look back on what I was doing 1, 5, and 10 years ago. (I thought about going back farther, but thought you would probably get a little bored. )

1 year ago: We were living in Stockton, California. Michael was working at the blood bank and we had already decided on going to graduate school in Texas. Around this date, on April 28, my cousin Julia got married in the Oakland temple and we were able to go there for that and the reception later that evening. We then were able to go stay with Starla and Dave in Monterrey for the night and part of the next day. We also fulfilled a wish that we had had on our honeymoon in Monterrey to take our kids to Dennis the Mennace Park. We had a lot of fun with them there. That is what I miss most about California, being able to be there for family events and spending time with my family!

5 years ago: We were newlyweds living in Provo, UT. We lived in a cute little basement apartment with a card table for our kitchen table (We didn't have much room in our kitchen.) Michael had just barely graduated (on April 25) with his Bachelor's Degree in Biology Teaching. Kay and Ben came up for the occasion and we were able to spend time with them and Katie. That semester I had been working at the Marriot Center as a custodian full-time while Michael was doing his student teaching in Heber. Michael was looking for jobs all over and we really didn't know where we would end up except that we knew we wanted to go to California.

10 years ago: I was a Sophomore at Ponderosa High School in Shingle Springs, CA. I was looking forward to my 16th birthday and being able to date. It's kind of funny to think how exciting that is to a teenage girl! About a month later I had my first girl-boy party at a miniature golf coarse and had a lot of fun. I still have a picture from one of those photo booths where we crammed 5 of us in there!
In the meantime, Michael was serving a mission in Madrid, Spain and starting in a new assignment in the area that the temple was being built. The temple was dedicated less than a year later.

AAAAHH! Don't rock the boat!

So this isn't the safest thing to be doing on the couch, but I had to take a picture anyway! It was just too cute! They do some pretty crazy stuff together especially now that Nathan is running around and can climb. They sure keep Mommy on her toes! I'm so glad they are such good friends though! It's lots of fun!

Texas Blue bonnets.

There are lots of beautiful wild flowers here in Texas, in the spring. The state flower is the Texas Blue Bonnet. We found a big bunch of them on the side of one of the roads and stopped to take pictures. Oh, and notice my new Aggie shirt that I bought the day before. I finally have one too! All of the rest of our family has had one for at least a few months. Anyways, the boys weren't very excited about taking pictures so they aren't the best, but the flowers are pretty!