*S u m m e r t i m e* 2016

Here's a big jumble of pictures from my iphone from over the summer. I literally don't think I pulled out my real camera once, which is kind of sad!

From strawberry picking to raspberry picking, beach days at Lake Coeur d'Alene, water balloon fights, plenty of belly shots!! And lots of naps for me and Logan! Just a few snapshots I don't want to forget about!

OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY!

Three boys!!!

Here I am at 21 weeks pregnant and this last week I found out that we're having our third boy!!! I really thought it could go either way but I was worried going into the ultrasound that I would be disappointed if it were another boy. But how could I possibly be disappointed?! He was so cute wiggling around on the screen, playing with his feet. He was just so cute and I just laughed as I watched him. I wasn't sad at all. Just felt joy that he was healthy and kicking.

The boys were so excited too! Cole said from the beginning that it was a boy and he told me "Mom, we're going to have to start all over again, aren't we?!" He takes full credit for teaching Logan how to walk and talk and pretty much do everything and he's excited to be able to do it again!

We can't wait to meet you baby boy!!! October 30th can't come soon enough!

March + April 2016

When I look at these pictures, I just instantly feel that nausea in my stomach because that's how I felt during all of March and April. It was a crazy time because two of Steve's brothers got married 4 weeks apart! We traveled to San Antonio the end of March and then we drove to Utah the end of April. Both wedding were beautiful and I'm so happy for Steve's brothers and their brides but OH MY GOSH, it was such a stressful time for me. I do not function well when I feel like I'm going to throw up but I'm still expected to act like nothing's bothering me. I'm so happy that I'm no longer in my 1st trimester! And these are pretty much the only pictures I took. I have zero drive to take pictures, especially with my nice camera when I feel like a dead person. I'm just glad I have anything to show for that time haha! :)

Let's have another baby!

Well here I am. 17 weeks pregnant with our third child. I wanted to do some cute pregnancy announcement but when it came right down to it, I just didn't have the energy. So I just had Steve snap these pictures of me on our way out to the temple this past Saturday. (Long live iphone pictures!!) For the record, that dress makes my baby bump look way cuter than it actually is! I am so big this time around but the scariest part is that I truly don't care. I'm just so glad to not be feeling like a sick dead person anymore. My only ailment right now is that I just can't seem to get enough sleep! I am almost always exhausted and it's getting old! I'll take exhaustion over the nausea though, any day.

Our baby is due the end of October. Right around my birthday actually! October 30th is the official due date. I wouldn't mind if we actually shared a birthday because that would mean that my baby would come two days early! Every pregnant girl's dream!! It probably won't happen though. My babies do not come early. I'll be lucky if this baby actually has an October birthday and not a November one.

I just started feeling the baby move inside me and I'm as giddy about it as the first time I was pregnant :)The one and only good thing about pregnancy. LOL. Along with the amazing thick hair. Everything else I can do without. Like the heart burn and the swelling and the weird pain I get in my face when I put water on my face. (!!) Seriously weird stuff. But yes, that weird symptom is back just like my other two pregnancies.

I've been giving this calling of motherhood a lot of thought lately. Like, wow! It is so hard! It's wonderful and fulfilling but so hard at the same time! How do people have lots of children?? And how do they have their children so close together?? I can't even THINK about having another child until my baby turns two. Like, not even a thought. It probably has to do with the fact that I nursed both my boys until they were 20 months old. It just happened that way. They weren't ready to be done until 20 months. So for four months after that, I have my body completely to myself! No pregnant body, no nursing and at that point my hair isn't falling out anymore. For four months I can feel like myself! Like a normal person! And then when my baby turns two, I start thinking about another one, and a couple months later, I'm pregnant again and feel like puking 24/7 for the next sixteen weeks.

So, when I think about it like this, I think it is truly amazing how people have their children so close together! Hats of to them! Kudos to you! I'm just not cut out for it, I guess. I just keep thinking about how women and mothers are amazing. We go through nine months of discomfort and no one really talks about how awful it really is. And then we do it over and over and over again. We don't really get enough credit do we?? And on top of it, we need to make sure our older children are taken care of and that they're well behaved and that they don't watch too much tv and that the house stays clean and that dinner's on the table and that we don't neglect our friends and that we fulfill our church responsibilities and that we put make up on so we look decent. All while feeling like throwing up all the time! It all just overwhelms me. But somehow it's been done since the beginning of time. So moms, you are simply amazing. I hope to measure up, especially since I'm now going to have three. ♥♥♥

I find out on June 15th what I'm having!!!! Can't wait!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

^^I told them I wanted a "snuggle picture." I think they loved it as much as me!

^^Cheesy smiles all around!! At least I know where they get it from ;)^^
^^I'm all heart eyes for these flowers Steve picked out for me! ♥♥♥^^

If only these pictures were what our life looked like the majority of the time! Ha! Not even close. But on Mother's Day I force them to take a picture with me. It was their present to me this year :) Along with Cole surprising me by taking a Sunday nap. (He NEVER takes naps anymore!) And lying down with Logan for his nap was pure heaven. I do it almost every day these days and it's my favorite part of the day haha.

Life is hard and life is exhausting but life is also good. Being a mom is so hard but the most rewarding and so it's worth it. There's nothing else I would rather be doing, as hard as it is. I hope they know how much I love them, imperfect as I am.

And a big shout out to my mom. I have no idea how she had seven kids because sometimes I feel like I'm barely keeping up head above water with two! She truly is amazing and I love her for all she has done for me and now for my own kids. Mothers are amazing!

♥H a p p y F e b r u a r y♥

I'm not going to lie, I feel like we have been hibernating this month. It's not freezing cold anymore, but now that the snow has melted, it's left the world looking a little bland. A trip to Hawaii right about now would be nice, but that's obviously not happening. ;)

When the sun showed its face after days and days of rainy, gloomy weather, we couldn't not go outside! We soaked in every ray of sunshine that we could before the sun dipped behind the mountains. This is our third winter here but this is the first winter where I feel like it's actually getting to me a little bit. I don't remember feeling this way before. I just feel a little cooped up!

I am trying to make the best of it and celebrating Valentine's Day definitely helped. We didn't do anything all to special on our own, but our ward hosted their second annual Valentine's Dance and they went ALL OUT! (That's where our cheesy heart balloon pictures are from:) It was like a mini wedding honestly; it was super nice with amazing decorations, Italian cream sodas and the most delicious variety of desserts :) And we actually danced! We're not very good dancers but it was still super fun!

Steve and I weren't sneaky at all with the gifts we got each other-- we were just at Walmart doing a family shopping trip and Steve picked out new white sheets for our bed and I picked out some pretty Vera Wang perfume that I looooove! And we got a new bed spread too! The one that Logan is on in that last picture. So, really it's the little things that are getting us through the gloominess. I really don't have anything to complain about but I'm ready for the sun to come out and stay out!

Happy half way through February!

*Sun + Snow*

Honestly, I'm a little sick of the cold, but now that the snow has completely melted, I just feel like the cold is totally pointless. I'm hoping it snows at least one more time for this little boy's sake. We want to make a snowman, have a snow ball fight and go sledding at least one more time! We need to put that sled that Santa got us to more use!!

(*These pictures are from the beginning of this month.)