Bella's Halloween

Bella has a navy blue velour skating outfit that she calls her "Halloween" (pronounced How-een). I don't actually know why she calls it that, she's never worn it for Halloween, maybe she is planning in advance for next year. She wears it all the time.

She loves it.

Here she is at the park...in her Hoween, I forgot to put sunscreen on her back and she got a little circular tan/burn on her upper back. See- here we are at the store, Bella is in her Hoween, I did insist that she put on some pants..this time. Going to the store with mom is fun. She will let you eat a big sugary donut.

Ok, she did have shoes on too, but they kept falling off,

really, she had shoes. I promise.

Same outfit, different day.

If you come to our house Bella will put her Hoween on and do a beautiful dance for you.

Happy Birthday Matt

Happy Birthday! Thanks for being a great husband and dad! We love you so much and appreciate all you do for us.

Today is a crazy day

Woke up to snow falling outside...more snow. How delightful, we surely haven't had enough.

This is a bright spot on this cold, damp morning a cheery pot of flowers in my warm, cozy kitchen while the big fat flakes fall outside.
Bella was naked in her crib when I woke up this morning. Then she put on her swimsuit. As you can see, I just went with it.

My tulips are covered in snow, Matt was all, "Oh goodie, more moisture. This will be good for the yard." (Of course he didn't say "oh goodie" but he might as well have from the delighted expression on his face.) I'm thinking... I know what else would green the yard up...they're called sprinklers. I'm a little bitter this morning, can't help it. I long for warm, sunny days.

Spring in Idaho- ya gotta love it. It's 10:12 and I'm still in my pink striped pajama bottoms. That's just not right.

Our baby boy!

That's right, we are having a boy! We are so exited.

I know sometimes it's hard to tell what your looking at on ultrasound pictures. This picture is a little leg, in side profile, labeled for your convenience. I think the flex of the little tiny foot is so amazing. He was all over the place when we scanned him last (I guess I should have held off on the ice cream.) We didn't get a good side profile picture of his face, but I thought this was still pretty cool.

What are we having?

Can you tell from this ultrasound picture what the baby is?
Can't tell? (Seriously?!) Stay tuned...

Glorious Easter

We had such a fun Easter. The weather was beautiful, Matt's sister Pam and her kids came from Twin Falls. The food was yummy ( I love ham.) We had plenty of time to do everything because Pam ussually runs at least an hour late. I even had time to get my Easter decorations out.

Here are some fun pictures of the kids enjoying the day:

Bella got to fly (with cousin Travis).
Bella got a ride with Aunt Pam
The Easter Bunny brought Grace this cool fairy kite.

The wind kicked up enough for McCade to fly his dragon kite (with help from his cousin Candice).

Bella was adorable finding her eggs and putting them in her bunny purse.

Grace's Bunnies from The Bunny.

The Easter Bunny brought Bella wings...so cute!

It just wouldn't be Easter without dyed countertops..I mean Easter eggs.

It was a great day. I love celebrating this holiday that represents the literal breaking of the bonds of death for all mankind. Easter has more meaning for me personally since my dad and father-in-law have died. President Hinkley said, " These simple words—“He is not here, but is risen”—have become the most profound in all literature." I agree. Those simple words fill me with hope and peace as real as the feeling I get when I feel the first warm breeze on my skin and know Spring will come, no matter how long the winter has been.

Matt's rehab: update

The boot:

Matt had another doctor appointment and an appointment with his physical therapist. He is now mostly wearing shoes but with a lift in the heel, he only wears his big boot when his leg gets sore. He got exercises to do. The best thing is that he got the go ahead to start on the exercises bike. He and McCade drove to Pocatello yesterday and bought an Airdyne (the bike that has the arms that move) they found on Craigslist. McCade was so cute getting ready to go with him. He packed himself his lunch box full of snacks and water for the road (and assured me he would share with Dad.) He told me when he got home that he didn't even get bored. (5 hours in the car).

Matt is building up his time on the bike and was so happy to be sweating again. I don't entirely get it because I'm perfectly happy without getting my heart rate going, but clearly Matt has a little more stress than I do on a regular basis. I mean seriously, probably my biggest stress is what we are going to eat for dinner and what book I am going to start next (Ok, the book thing doesn't stress me out at all I just said that to get my point across about my relatively stress free life.)