THIN MINTS

Girl scout cookies...how we LOVE YOU!!

EASTER

We had a weekend of Easter celebrations. On Friday we went to the Park with the Anderson family and colored eggs and had an egg hunt. Grandma helped Kate and J.J. color the eggs and they did a great job. They were very careful and didn't make a huge mess.

Then they had an egg hunt. Thank you to uncle Matt who helped Kate hunt for her eggs. She didn't really know what she was doing but caught on by the end.

She figured out where all the goods are stored and it wasn't long before all the eggs were empty and her basket was full of garbage.

Then on saturday we went to my parents house for another easter hunt with some of her cousins. She is the kind of kid you want to have an easter egg hunt with because she's not that aggressive, as you can see. She is taking a rest on the couch right in the middle of the hunt to check out her spoils.

Then we decorated a few eggs at our house (on the ground or coarse so I can participate easier). By this point she knew what was going on and loved decorating and hunting for all the eggs.

It amazes me how quickly kids can make a mess of things.

What a fun long weekend with the family. But we were really tuckered out.

DOCTOR VISIT

Well, I had an outing today!!! I went to the doctor and everything is going great. They measured our little girl and gave us an estimated weight of 1 lb 14 oz which puts her in the 40% range. So we are right on track and she is growing great. Last time we did an ultrasound she had her foot in her face and she did again today. Just the thought makes my back hurt but I guess it is comfortable for her. Yesterday she was moving like crazy ALL day. I think she wore herself out because she hasn't moved as much today. I am at 26 weeks now and am excited because I have 10 more weeks to safety. If I can make it to 36 weeks then all is well and she is big enough to stop worrying. Then I get to get up at 37 weeks; if I haven't had her by then. So we're on the count down!! It's amazing to think that she's growing inside me and in 3 short months she will be in my arms. I am excited to see her and figure out her little personality. We were talking at our appointment today about how this child will change my life more than I will change her life and it is so true. Brad and I have grown up so much since we have had Kate and I can only assume that we will learn and grow so much more with girl #2. I look forward to it!!

I know Kate is going to love being a big sister. She loves babies and talks about them all the time. Her new favoriate show is Elmo's World. She'll tollerate the first part of Sesame Street but she really is waiting for Elmo's World that comes on at the end. Every time the music starts she looks at me and says "Elmo ask baby!" There is a part in there where he asks a baby a question and she loves it and looks forward to it every time. Any time there is a baby around she has to say hi to it and hold it if she is lucky. Here she is with her cousin "baby saa" (sara). She loves her and talks about her often. She is coming down to visit this weekend and I know that Kate will be talking about her for the next few weeks.

OUR LITTLE GIRL IS...2!!

Kate turned 2 on April 1st! We had a party for her and for her cousin Camille a few days earlier with the family. Camille was turning 4. My niece Talia was staying with us for the week to help out and how greatful I was for her. I wouldn't have been able to do all I wanted for Kate without her help. Thank you Talia!! She had such a great time with her cousins and got some cute gifts.

Kate didn't want to blow out the candles, but she did have lots of helpers!

The girls got matching tutu's made especially by grandma. Kate loved it and ran all around and had to wear it the rest of the night.

On her actual birthday we had her open presents and she loved it. She loved tearing open all the gifts and wanted more and more. Thank you to everyone for making it such a special day for her and for the gifts.

Bradley went to a chairity event for work last month. His work does the printing for them and then we get to go to the event. They are usually a lot of fun and we get to see some fun people. Here's a picture of Bradley with Shawn Bradley at this last event. Bradley Anderson 5'10'' and Shawn Bradley 7'6''. He's the second tallest man in the United States! Amazing!

Well, when I went on bed rest Brad told me about this event and I knew I was going to be SO sad to miss it. Well, the day arrived and I was right. I waved by to Bradley with a sad face as he went off to see BRIAN REGAN. Now, I've seen him live before so it's not like I've never been but I really do LOVE listenting to his jokes. But the sad part in this whole thing is that it was going to be for a small crowd, he geared all his jokes towards sports because it was for the Steve Young Foundation, and BRAD WAS IN THE 6th ROW SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE!!! (I'm getting sad just thinking about it again)


I have been able to go to lots of other fun events though. This one was for the Suns chairity's and we got to meet the players and coaches. It was really cool. Most of them were very nice and friendly. Brad got to talk to Barbosa in Portuguese. When Barbosa's mom heard that she just kept talking to Bradley about Brazil. It was good for Brad to brush up on his Portuguese.

I loved it because I never have felt so short. Something I don't feel very often. Oh and if I scooted my chair back too far during dinner I would hit Steve Nash's chair. I was most excited to meet Grant Hill. I just think he is such a nice guy. He was talking to a guy forever and there wasn't a good time to talk to him, but when we went inside I went up and shook his hand right before dinner. Some of them are very nice and down to earth while others think they are better than you. It was nice to see that most of them are just down to earth guys that just play excellent basketball.

But back to Brian, Brad told me all about it and how funny the jokes were and I did laugh a lot, but it just wasn't coming from Brian. I'll be ok though, right? I hope so.

BACK ON BED REST AGAIN

When I was pregnant with Kate we found out that I have an incompenent cervex and that I don't hold my babies past week 13. So, I got a cerclage (a stitch) to keep me closed and I got to spend the next 6 months on bed rest. Well, we are on round two now and things are progressing well. I am 25 weeks, in my 6th month and have been on bed rest for 3 months. So, I only have 3 more to go!!!!!!!!! This time around is a bit different, actually A LOT different. Last time I just took care of myself and kept myself occupied with different things. But this time I have Kate and she keeps me busy. I have wonderful family that help me every day to take care of Kate and keeps her occupied. It is going a lot smoother than I thought it would and that is due to all the wonderful help we receive every day!! I am so blessed to have so much family around to help but even if they weren't around I have the best neighbors that take such good care of me also. They are constantly checking in and doing things for us. I am blown away by all of their Christ-like service. Thank you to all of you for your help and examples!!!

Kate has adapted so well and whenever people ask where her mom is she says "inside on chair." She is my best helper and really helps the time fly by. She loves playing "horsey" with me because I can crawl around, so I spend a lot of time on my hands and knees. Which I have come to understand again how kids feel being short. You just can't see things so well from down here and by the time you get to a higher level to see what's so special, it's all over.

Bradley is AMAZING. He amazed me last time with how happy and how well he could handle everything and is amazing me now even more. Brad needs no help running the house. He does it with ease and does it better than I can with his help. His positive attitude really helps me out on those days when I am just tired of laying. You really start to miss the little things like preparing food, shopping, driving, cleaning. So much so that I dream about them. I have very vivid dreams when I am pregnant. I have been grocery shopping, flying in the mall (yes everyone around me was jealous!), swimming (which I can do if I can get to the pool and when I get there I LOVE IT) and a few scary ones where Brad wakes me up because I am wrestless and moaning, yelling or hitting the pillow. I'm glad I wasn't hitting him!

So here's to 3 more months!

KATE THE ELF

You like sugar, huh? .... ........ .....

........... Is there sugar in syrup?

Yes. ................................ .... ........

...........Then YES!