PROGRESS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

This morning, I had another Dr.'s checkup, but this time (about 3 weeks from my due date), they're doing actual exams to see where we are in the process. I'm dialated to a 2, the baby is in the right position, and all is well. Now, we'll see when he chooses to make his grand entrance - cause we all know who is in charge in these situations.

FIRESTATION

Today was Ms. Betsy's preschool's annual trip to the firestation. I was a driver for this event, which is something I love to do. It's fun to be a part of what my kids are doing, and I try to offer to attend as often as possible. This year, knowing that we'll have a baby almost a month from now, I probably won't have as many chances to tag along, bummer. When we drove up, the firefighters directed me to park in the handicapped spot - not sure why (other than the parking lot was packed full of cars and there wasn't really any other option), but I took it... I figured they told me to park there, we weren't going to be there long, there probably wouldn't be anyone else coming to the station, and I wasn't about to turn down a good parking spot. The kids were all lined up behind the pumper truck (large fire engine that pumps the water), meeting all the fire fighters at this station that were on duty, and then the guy assigned to do the presentation started. He was really funny and the kids seemed to love him. He went over what they do during the day, who is required to go on calls, how many people they usually take with them, where all the tools were etc.

After his presentation, the kids were able to get into the fire truck, see all the equipment, then a different firefighter put on all the gear and let the kids come feel how heavy their helmets are, etc. When the firefighter was in all his gear, he turned on the oxygen in his mask so that the kids could hear how it sounded, and then he invited the kids to come up and give him a high 5. Most of the kids were intimidated by him with the sound, the gear etc., but Ethan announced that he sounded just like Darth Vader, and he walked up and gave him a high 5. Note to self: Star Wars is beneficial when trying to teach kids to feel comfortable around search and rescue crews. ( :

Then the kids were able to walk through a fire fighter/ paramedic ambulance. They talked all about the machines they use when someone is hurt, how they check people's hearts in a trauma situation etc. I've been to my fair share of

Fire Stations, and have walked around a number of the trucks, but I've never seen them go through all the machines in such detail. It was great, and the kids loved it. Ethan used to be completely enchanted with fire trucks - so watching dvd's from the library, such as "Lots and Lots of Firetrucks" sure paid off when it came to his (and my) knowledge about the machines and their functions. Just for the record, those shows also taught all of us a number of catchy tunes, like "Dial 911, Emergency". Brynn even loved the field trip and stole the hearts of some of the fire fighters.

After we dropped the kids off at school, Brynn and I went to run some errands. We stopped to grab something at WalMart on our way back to get Ethan. While we were in the checkout, I kept seeing Brynn up on her tippy toes adding little treasures she wanted me to buy. I would remove them and put them back almost as fast as she put them up. The sucker in the photo was her last attempt. We didn't buy it, but I did get a picture to document just how funny it was.

PERFECT BEGINNING

Ethan's preschool class for this year. Aren't they all so cute? (Back row, LtoR: Ms. Betsy Mullison, Sophia, Brooke, Cole, Aiden, Ethan and Emy. Middle row: Sammie, Lucy and Lily. Front row: Reed and Andrew)

All things spiritual

- Ethan told me today, while working on his paper airplane, that it was "great and spiritual".

- We went to the Wildlife Experience museum today upon Ethan's request. As we were leaving, I asked Ethan and Brynn if they wanted their picture taken by this statue that they had been spending a lot of time looking at, and Ethan said "no, but I would like my picture taken by the Grinch at the front of the museum." Priorities.

ETHAN'S FIRST TAEKWON DO TESTING

He was AMAZING!! At times it's challenging to have a 4 year old boy focus on paying attention through an entire TaeKwon Do class - let alone an exam...but we had been working with Ethan to encourage him to stay focused and concentrated while they were conducting the test for advancement in his belt color. We had never been to any of the testings prior to this morning, so we had no way of knowing just what we were in for. I forgot to grab my big camera and camcorder (HUGE bummer). As we were headed for the freeway, I mentioned this fact to Ethan who said "Well, what are we waiting for - lets turn back around and go get it." Sweet, but I didn't have time to do that.

All the kids in the group shot were testing for different belt levels. The way the testing works, the children all test with people moving up within their skill level (or belt level). That said, Ethan only tested

with a couple other kids. We thought it would be ok for us to watch from the side so that we could snap a couple pictures - but as the testing began, we realized it was a bad move cause Ethan kept looking over at us. I'm sure it wasn't proper protocol, but when we noticed he was distracted by us, we made a b-line back to the viewer area. He focused through the remainder of the test and did everything perfectly - even moves that were above his level.

Brian Galke, the son of Grandma Judie's cousin, is the owner of the Tae Kwon Do school and also Ethan's instructor. After the testing, Brian said Ethan did everything perfectly, and was very impressed with his flexibility. Way to go buddy!

He should be awarded his yellow belt during his next class.

*UPDATE PHOTO: Ethan earned his yellow belt! Congratulations little bug!

During the testing, Brynn kept asking Grandma Judie to put items of makeup on her.

Blush, lipgloss, a little light eyeshadow - she looked like a dream, just in time to go with the crew to celebrate Ethan's accomplishment with donuts.

We ended the day on a completely different note. Brynn has been interested in all my spices lately. I keep most of them up in the cupboards out of reach, with the exception of the spice drawer that came with the house. Brynn helps herself to the spices in that drawer regularly - just for a sniff typically. She will open different spices, smell them, and then return them to the drawer.

Well, today I came into the kitchen to

find an empty spice bottle, spices all over the kitchen floor, and Brynn dancing in the middle of the mess. I know she looks a little concerned in this one picture, but she was dancing with complete joy. At least one of us was pleased. ( :

TEMPER TANTRUMS AND TOILET TRAINING

We've been working to potty train Brynn. I use the words "we" and "work" because I really mean it - it takes a village to break through the iron will that she has, but if it's her idea... At any rate, when she couldn't get anything to come out on the potty today she'd say "it's not working". Hilarious.

This morning, she wanted to get in the shower with me. I told her to try and go potty first...when I walked into the bathroom, she was standing in front of the toilet trying to pee like Ethan. The best part was when she added her new phrase "It's not working". I wonder why. ( :

What I didn't find as adorable today were all the temper tantrums we endured. Ethan didn't act at all like this when he was 2... but clearly Brynn is a different story. We'll make it through, but she's got the drama figured out (and honestly, she could earn an award for her acting - she can turn it off an on like a switch). I only hope she gets it out now, and doesn't have a relapse of this behavior when she's a teenager. She's still a keeper though - I love her, tantrums or not.

Ethan spent nearly his entire Tae Kwon Do class tonight with one hand up to his mouth. I couldn't figure out what he was doing. Turns out, something was wrong with his fingernail - but through his entire class, I was really wishing he would've excused himself for a moment to get whatever it was taken care of, or waited till after class. It's much less intimidating when you're only fighting with one hand. ( :

*This pic has nothing to do with the aforementioned stories, but I loved seeing the kids on Scot's lap the other morning, reading stories in their PJ's... or in Ethan's case, his Batman underwear.

WILL WE USE THE NEW EASEL?

Yes, we will - almost daily... unless of course it's windy. One day we use paintbrushes, the next day we do finger painting. We like to mix things up. It did take a while for the kids to get used to the idea of finger painting, but once they adjusted to the messy fingers it was game on. I love watching these kids in their creative mode, they are adorable. (I wasn't favoring Brynn in these pics, Ethan was actually at school while we were painting on one of the days).

BEAUTIFUL GIRL

I took this picture the other day and just love her sweet little face, and her pig tails. It's so fun to have a little girl. XO

DRIVING RANGE

What a fabulous day we've had. Our Stake put on a Community Preparedness Fair today - which was so much fun for the kids. They had all sorts of firetrucks, ambulances, snow rescue vehicles, SWAT team vans and equipment, a blow up house (looked like a bounce house) that taught about fire safety and what to do to get out if you were in a fire, played fire extinguisher games (where the kids could aim and shoot a fire extinguisher at balloons to see if they could put out a "fire"), etc. There was something for everyone, and if that wasn't enough, there were fresh scones, hot dogs, drinks & a whole lot of people. I do love scones and honey, and my kids were sticky enough afterwards to prove that they do as well.

This afternoon, we decided to take the kids to the driving range. It was a beautiful day, and the

early evening was even better. Scot bought Ethan his second set of golf clubs after thinking that Ethan might be favoring a lefty swing, so we packed both sets up in one bag and headed off to the range to give them both a try.

Turns out he seems to swing better right - which was where we started. Either way, it's good to know. Brynn loved every moment of it as well, she seems to be a bit of a natural. We got a small bucket of balls, which as it turns out is quite a lot when you're only 4 and 2, but eventually we made the most of them.

Scot did some driving with the mini clubs, Ethan decided that he would use the golf head covers in lieu of the actual club (which was hilarious), and Brynn decided after a while that it was more fun to chase the balls that Daddy hit than to try to hit any more of them herself. All in all, it was a fabulous night - we'll certainly hit the driving range with the kids much more frequently.

As we started to wrap up our driving range fun, Ethan hit panic mode because he had to go to the bathroom SO BAD. (He decided to wait to inform us until the very last possible moment). Scot took off with Ethan in the direction of the restrooms while I gathered the golf clubs and took Brynn back to the car.

Across the parking lot I could see Ethan and Scot talking to an older gentleman with white hair and a beard... turns out Ethan met Santa, and even got his business card (it was Santa Bryan at least - I'm sure he was trying to drum up some business). Ethan was so excited that he had actually met Santa, he couldn't stop talking about it. Funny...

SLEEP NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD

So, here we are - the long awaited day of Ethan's sleep study has finally arrived. Ethan had school today, then we ran a bunch of errands, followed by play time with the neighbor boys, Evan and Cameron, dinner & last (certainly not least) a trip to The Children's Hospital in Aurora for the main event of the evening. Sleep. Ethan has been rather anxious about this sleep study since his 4 year old Dr.'s appointment in April (in the nervous...not excited way). It has taken us 3 months to get in for the study, so he's had plenty of time to think, & dare I say worry, about it.

The hospital only allows one person to

accompany the child, so we told Ethan he needed to choose - Mom, or Dad. (Would it imply that the parent chosen was his favorite? In my opinion, it depended largely upon who he chose.) He flip flopped back and forth, and finally chose to take me along. (Yup, the favorite indeed. ( : kidding.) It was a tough decision I'm sure - but Scot was going to have to take his CPAP to sleep, and in my current state (at 35 weeks along), we figured it probably wouldn't matter where I tried to sleep... plastic couch bed was good enough (well, for one night anyway).

When we arrived, Ethan was still unsure of what it was going to be like, worried about making sure that I would stay with him the entire time etc. We got out of the car and headed into the lobby of the Children's Hospital, and Ethan ran over to these bunny statues and said "Mom, take my pictures with these huge bunnies". So far, so good.

We checked in, and waited in the sleep study waiting room until we were called back to get prepped. The nurse that was assigned to Ethan was awesome. She was so sweet and careful to explain everything to Ethan as she went along.

What she didn't know is that Ethan really does seem to do fine as long as he knows what is going on ahead of time.

Not only was she great at providing him with information, but she let Ethan choose a movie to watch (he chose Astro Boy) while she prepped all the wires etc., which he really seemed to enjoy.

When all was said and done, he had electrodes all over his head, in his hair, all over his face, a mesh covering to keep the wires in place, topped with gauze and tape around his head to keep everything in place. wires secured down the leg of his PJ's to the wires and tape on his feet and toes, belt around his waist and chest with sensors,They finished the set up off by placing a little tube in his nose and a sensor down over his mouth to watch his breathing.

It was quite a production - and with all those wires, I have to admit, I was worried that Ethan was going to have a hard time sleeping because he moves around so much. It was lights out before 9... which meant it was lights out for me too. Did I mention that the sleep rooms did not have a bathroom?

It wasn't the plastic couch pull out bed that worried me, it was the bathroom at this stage in

my pregnancy that seemed kind of important. I survived, and only had to make the trek down the hall to the bathroom a couple times during the night. At least Ethan slept well, but we didn't even get a chance to sleep in or anything cause we were sent packing at 6 am. Oh well.

Ethan slept through the night, which was much better than I expected. The nurse wasn't allowed to tell us about what she saw through the night, but she did say that Ethan didn't need oxygen - which was a good sign. We should have results within the week. [*NOTE: Verdict came back - Ethan has obstructive sleep apnea. We will now be heading to next steps with a Peds ENT at Children's Hospital].

Our nurse had been so worried about me sleeping that she offered me a bed in a room that wasn't being used. I had to reluctantly turn it down because I was worried about leaving Ethan alone in case he woke up and wondered where I was. After all, I HAD promised him that I would be right there the entire night, so I couldn't break my word. Have I mentioned how much I love this kid? He's the best.

SHOW NO EMOTION

This morning, Ethan woke up extra early, and was playing with my face promptly by 6 a.m. I love hearing him giggle, so I didn't mind his extra special attention. (hard to believe at 6 a.m. huh?). I got up and helped Sarah to get off on her bike ride, and then grabbed this months Ensign that arrived in the mail yesterday and headed up to hang out with Ethan in his room. He did his thing for a couple minutes and then climbed upon the lovesac with me and picked a story that he thought he wanted me to read. I got started into the story (which was fabulous), and Ethan said "Stop right there, where is my magazine with the pumpkin on it?" (speaking of the Friend, which we read cover to cover yesterday). I guess the story wasn't quite as enchanting as what he's used to (but I enjoyed it). Then he flipped through the magazine a little more and found another story that he thought looked good. We started reading, and it was a touching story about how a young family started investigating the church just prior to the wife/mother getting sick and passing away. The father and son ended up joining the church and a year and a half or so later they took a trip to attend the temple for the first time. While they were there, they had the work done for their wife/mother, and were sealed as a family. At any rate, I was reading the story to Ethan out loud, and the end of the story was very touching. I got a bit choked up, and a little teary, but kept trying to get through the story without letting it effect me that much. That's when Ethan turned to me and said "Stop right there. Close it up." I couldn't stop laughing. I adore this kid.

We went to "Aunt Sarah's park" this afternoon. The kids call it that because it's the spot they found when they were on a run with Aunt Sarah... and they love it. They also refer to it as their "special park". The kids decided they both wanted to try out a swing that is for handicap children. They loved every minute of it, and I was grateful to have a break from giving underdogs, which is not an easy task when you're pregnant. I love watching my kids play together. They really do love each other, and for that I am so grateful.

CUTIE PIE

(Brynn's attempt at a wink)

FIRST OF MANY...

Ethan and I have been reading the Book of Mormon together for a couple weeks, and tonight - we finished reading it. I'm so proud of him - he loved every minute of it & would request that we keep reading most nights until we had read 3 or 4 of the stories. I'm excited to keep re-reading it with him, and tomorrow while he is in school - I'm off to buy the OT and the NT so we can read those together as well. What a great kid.

We spent a few hours today at Chuck E. Cheese, which isn't amongst my favorite places on earth, but today it was great for the

kids. I enjoyed watching them get so excited about everything they played and did. It was a fabulous 2 hours out of the 97 degree heat. We met my friend Merideth Likes and her 4 kids there - but Merideth and I were not able to hang out at one of the tables and talk cause our kids are too small to manage all the games on their own. Someday - we'll get there...it will be a few years, but that's fine with me. I already think my kids are growing up way too fast, I'll enjoy every moment with them while I can.

It was a challenging day for me, and I felt a bit overwhelmed at some points just trying to figure out how to get Ethan to listen to me, and obey without me having to ask him repeatedly. I decided that it's a work in progress, and we'll just have to find a way to work together. I can't get too upset or frustrated because that won't do any good - but I need to get this figured out before our number 3 arrives. I'm sure with some prayers, and guidance from the Holy Ghost, I'll have some resolution in no time. ( :

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 2010

It was Ethan's first day of preschool (for the second year). We love Ms. Betsy's Preschool - not only can I see her house from our backyard (which makes getting to school easy and quick), but she's so good with the kids. Ethan borrowed a scooter from Grandma Judie and Grandpa Steve a few days ago, and insisted that he ride it to school today. I ended up carrying his backpack - he said it just wasn't "comfortable enough" to ride with.

Brynn adores Ethan. I love watching them together (and they're nice to each other most of the time). This morning when we were getting ready to take him to school, she wanted me

to leave her at Ms. Betsy's too so that she could be with Ethan. Sweet. Next year precious.

This afternoon, the kids helped Aunt Sarah wash and clean out her car. She's preparing to sell her Accord, and wanted to make it as squeaky clean as possible -

good thing MY kids got involved. ( :

They did help with the washing of the exterior, but also enjoyed (almost more than anything else) playing with the water.

I'm not sure what was more wet by the end - Ethan, or the car.