Laila's little sister

yup we are having another little girl and we couldn't be more excited! Laila refers to her only as HER little sister. I told Landon he was going to have a little sister and Laila said no that she was only hers. I hope she realizes this means she is going to be sharing all of her things for a really long time. This is the first time I have been wrong about guessing the sex. I knew with Laila and Landon but this time I thought boy again. Actually Brad and Laila were the only ones who thought it was going to be a girl.

I could go on and on about all of the cute things Laila did that day because of her excitement but there is one cute story I will share. My mom bought Laila a pink heart balloon that says it's a girl to tell Laila she was getting her sister. Laila asked why it was a heart and I said something like oh because it's cute(lame). Laila said, " I think it's because they knew how much I would love my little sister."


Is it weird that through all this excitement I felt a little sad? Sad for Landon. I guess I would probably be a little sad either way. At least he doesn't know what it means to be surrounded by girls yet. :)

well now we need a name.....

a little bit of snow fun

Yesterday morning the kids went out for a little while. Laila has been crazy about wanting it to snow and when she saw the very first flakes fall she was ecstatic. There was just enough to make this little snow man. It sounds like he will be around for another week or so.



Then last night we headed over to a friends in Hiawatha and went sledding down a hill nearby. Laila and Landon both loved it. It was too dark to get good pictures of the actual sledding but I am hoping we will get another chance to go and take video. Laila went flying down the hill all by herself over and over. I don't think I have been more scared and more proud of her all at the same time :)






She is wearing Brad's gloves. That is why they are huge! Hers were soaked within minutes.

looking forward

I am excited for......

*taking my kids to the parade this saturday(except I hear it is supposed to rain...so that could put a damper on the fun)

* hopefully seeing zoo lights in the next couple weeks

* finishing my Christmas shopping...I actually really like this part of the season

* finding out if I am carrying a boy or girl just before Christmas

*getting to see my brother and sister in law this Christmas

* making Christmas cookies and candy

* finding my christmas cds( I think my husband threw them away)

* January 11th

My 4 year old daughter is AMAZING

Yesterday morning Laila and I were reading some of her bible stories which of course always leads to questions and a big discussion. She pretty much always asks so God knows everything??? I said yes and then I went on later to how he has a plan for all of us and how he knows what she will be when she grows up and who she will marry. (sidenote:Any other parents feel any panic when they think of their children getting married?) Anyway, Laila said "but mom I am not going to get married for a long time. " I said oh of course not...and Laila says, "I need to find love first." AWWW yeah that pretty much made me really proud. Now I just need to make sure that my daughter is taught exactly what love is.

Later when Brad got home I told him the story with Laila sitting right there. Brad said...uhhhhhhh? and then "that is scary"....Laila got all huffy and said "no it's beautiful!!!" hahaha......my girl cracks me up.

Hair

I was just looking at old pictures and found these in our camping ones from last summer. I think it's pretty funny that Brad and Landon have the same hair style.

What's new??

Here are some of Laila's latest "funnies"

* she told Brad the other day when she grows up she is going to drive and eat candy for breakfast like mommy. (oops..I thought she didn't notice)

* The other morning I was snuggling with Laila and I told her she smelled good and she scowled and said.." mom! people do not smell good in the morning"( I dont' know why I think that is so funny...apparently we stink in the morning)

* Today she told me she is going to get married so she can go to Disneyland( I am assuming she heard Uncle Derek and Aunt Alyssa got to go there on their honeymoon)

Landon is starting to talk more and more..little by little...his new favorite saying is "are you ok?" I was pretty nauseous the other day and had a lazy day of sitting on the couch and he came over and said "are you ok?" and then kissed my hand.

My house is finally becoming presentable. I spent a week sitting in my chair reading all day long the Twilight series. I couldn't put the books down. Now that I am done with them I can get back to my normal chores:) I am looking forward to the movie Twilight coming out November 21st. I think Brad is looking forward to the movie coming out too so I will stop obsessing and talking about it.

I am finally 12 weeks pregnant. yay! Nausea is decreasing but not completely gone.

Thank you God!!

I got a wonderful surprise today. I had my OB appointment today. I am only 10 weeks 3 days so I wasn't expecting them to hear the heartbeat. With both of my other kids they didn't hear it that early. However, my doctor tried just in case, but assured me most of the time they can't find it. She tried really hard for me. It was almost as if she knew I really needed to hear it. With everything else going on in life right now it was just what I needed. Thank you God!!

Name names names

One of the best parts of being pregnant is thinking of a name for the new baby. I have been thinking ever since we decided to try for another. I can't usually make any kind of decision until I find out the sex. Narrowing it down helps me a lot. Anyway, I am still thinking...but nothing feels like the one yet. People keep asking if it will be another L name. We don't know. If we really like a name we won't ignore it because it doesn't start with L. These are my thoughts so far......

BOY:

I really like the name Finnley. We would call him Finn. I guess I shouldn't say we because Brad really doesn't like this name at all. However, I can definitely picture a little Finn Hanson running around.

The only name Brad has come up with is Wade....I vetoed it before he could say another word about it..ick! sorry dear. Like I told him, I picture a 40 year old man in khaki shorts and penny loafers, hitting on younger woman and likes to drink too many beers.

So I thought of L's...the only boy name I like that starts with L is Lucas. However, it's not feeling right.

GIRL: I always seem to have a list of girl names. The first two are my favorites.

Tove(was on our list before we knew landon was a boy)....it's pronounced Tova if you didn't know.

Avanlee( I made this name up, I think. I have never heard it anywhere or see it in books or websites..but I love it...Brad isn't sold though)it's pronounced a van lee

Tessa, Skylar, Ashlynn

L names have been vetoed by Brad but I thought of Lydia and Lacey(my middle name)

Let me know what ya think? We won't obviously base our choice off of others though. Noone in my family liked Laila before she was born...now they do!

fire drill

Around 7:15 this morning I was in bed, Brad was in the shower. Beep Beep Beep, 2 smoked detectors started going off. I wish I could say I didn't lay there in a daze half asleep when Brad yells from the kitchen for me to get up now!!!His direct demand got me right out of bed and into the kitchen where the kitchen was aglow. The stovetop, toaster and nearby countertop items were on fire. The entire house was full of smoke(due to its smallness), while Laila was screaming in her bedroom. Luckily, Brad was able to get the fire out with water. He lost a stack of folders and a binder of CCI papers, our toaster and some other insignifant things.

Everything is fine now. I am so glad our smoke detectors worked. I don't know when I would have woken up or when Brad would have gotten out of the shower otherwise. Our house smells like a campfire and we need a new toaster but the house is in tact. Laila thinks I need to buy a pink toaster...I am not so sure.

Wondering how this little fire started??? I don't want to name names here but someone got up and turned the stove top on to heat some water before they went into the shower. They meant to turn on the front one but accidentally turned on the back one which the toaster was way to close to. Basically this wouldn't have happend if our counters weren't so crowded.

See dear it pays to be paranoid sometimes and vigilant in checking to make sure smoke detectors work:)

noteworthy things

Yeah this is about my kids.....

Landon shocked me the other night at my parents house. He still does not have a very large vocabulary. I have a feeling he knows a lot more than he lets on. My parents have little blocks with letters on them that Landon was looking at. He pulled about 7 blocks out one by one and said each letter correctly. Maybe Super Why is good for something??

Laila was brushing my hair this morning and told me to "keep my eyes closed like doors" (where does she come up with this stuff)

I think Landon is going to be a great big brother. He has been playing with Laila's baby dolls a lot lately. He feeds them with her bottles and the other day I watched him put one baby in her bed, kiss it and say night night.

cravings

I have a bunch of apples that are in need of eating. Lately, it has been making me feel ill to eat them plain so I decided to go to the store while Laila was at school to get some caramel dip for them. Also on my list was a pepsi. I know some people think caffeine is a no no during pregnancy. I have tried to stay away but for some reason pop(only pepsi or coke) works wonders for settling my stomach.

Well......the cravings have started to kick in pretty good. Remember I was getting caramel dip and a pepsi. This is what I ended up buying...it's sickoning..

2 pepsis
the caramel dip
a bag of doritos
creme filled chocolate cup cakes(lil debbies)...why?!? I have had like one in my life
peanut butter M&m's

After I bought all of this junk I got into my van, opened the bag of doritos and drove around for a few minutes before it was time to pick Laila up. I had a mouth full when my wonderful husband drives by with his tour guide for work. I was caught!! We smiled and waved at each other and were on our separate ways. Seeing him at such an unexpected time made my heart happy.

I'm officially prego!

I say that I am officially prego because I think it has finally hit me. I guess it is kind of hard to ignore that fact when I am nauseated pretty much all day, pee every 20 minutes, cry at the drop of a hat, and seriously look like I am 5 months pregnant already. All this and I will only be 8 weeks on Monday. I have a feeling this is going to be a long pregnancy but I want to enjoy every last bit of it in case this is the last time.

Today I came across two great finds in the Tacoma mall at Motherhood Maternity. I found a pair of jeans on sale that are actually cute. They are so comfortable that I am going to wear them tomorrow and maybe every day after that. I think I may never wear pants with buttons again. Due to my nausea I decided to test out the preggie pop drops. They let me test one before I bought any and they are actually good. Tastes just like candy. I am not really sure why they work but the lady swore by them. We will see I guess.

a random thought by Laila

Laila is always thinking and she likes to tell me pretty much everything that pops in her head which sometimes I love and sometimes I could really do without. Anyway, this morning on our way to school :) Laila goes, "we are small mom"....I think I just kinda went ummm??? She went on to say "God must have really big eyes to be able to see us all." haha. I love it when she thinks about God/Jesus and says things where I can explain the truth. Although, it is very difficult to explain the concept of Heaven to a 4 year old. Also, that God is everywhere we are and knows every move we make and thought we have. Everytime I attempt to explain this the lyrics to the song about Santa comes into my head..."he knows when you are sleeping..he knows when you're awake." However, we all know there is no comparison between God and Santa. I'ts unfortunate I feel like I have to say that on my blog so people don't start rumoring that I tell my kids that God is like Santa.

the perfect wedding present..according to Laila

This afternoon my brother in law Derek called to talk to Brad and we briefly discussed Alyssa's(his fiance) shower next weekend and how Laila would be coming with. When I got off the phone Laila asked where she was going. I explained that we were going to a bridal shower for Alyssa because once her and Uncle Derek get married they are going to need a lot of stuff for their house. I asked Laila what she thought we should get them.....she thought for a moment before she blurted out.."I know..nails. " I dont know why but my first thought was that she meant fake finger nails. So I was like what? nails? Laila matter of factly responded by saying..."yeah mom..nails to keep their house from falling apart." Isn't she thoughtful?? :)

Puyallup Fair

Brad stayed home today so we could all go to the fair together. I think Laila had fun. What do you think? :)

4 years old!

Laila Mari was born at 4:42 am 4 years ago on September 16th.

Awful two's?? what's worse than terrible

This morning I was going to write about Landon's terrible two behavior lately. He has been acting like this for a couple weeks not just magically two days ago on his birthday. He throws himself on the floor in fits, hits, bites, screams and cries because his mommy doesn't know what drink he wanted. He is getting into EVERYTHING, making messes constantly with anything he comes in contact with. I wasn't really going to give any examples of this. I was just going to complain to everyone and ask for prayers. However, then this happened.This was all Landon. There was also an egg under the door. I guess he opens the fridge now. NO strike that...he won't leave the darn thing alone!!!!!!!!!!!

This incident was RIGHT after mommy was being so nice and gave him his left over milkshake from daddy last night. Guess what he did with the milkshake??? any ideas?? yeah it was all over my floor..every last drop.

I am off to walmart now to hopefully buy something to baby proof our fridge. I wish that were like a break from destruction on the house but lets face it..he hates the cart now and is Superman. No matter how tight I put the belt he busts them open. NOT KIDDING. Oh and once he busts them open he stands up and jumps on mommy. Then I have to carry him through the store while he leans over to play with the buckle on the cart....why can he not play with the buckle while in the cart?????!!!??

By the way..I do love my little boy. He is just such a pain sometimes. I know we will get through this and before I know it, he will be going to school too:(

Hanson!

So everyone keeps talking about the New Kids on the Block tour. I was never a fan..maybe I was a little too young or maybe I had better taste:) You will laugh then when I say I am going to a Hanson show tonight at the Moore Theater. I was majorly obsessed from about 6(?)th -11th grade. I have been to two of their concerts and even met them while shopping in Portland. Brad would say I was probably a crazy fan but I promise I never squealed in their face or cried. I shared my love for them with my best friend Steph. Her cousin heard on the radio a couple months ago that they were coming to Seattle. Steph's mom was amazing and decided she wanted to buy tickets for us to go. It's an acoustic show so hopefully it will be a lot more mellow than past shows. They all are married and have children now so hopefully there won't be crying, screaming fans. Anyway, I am excited. Too bad my t-shirt doesn't fit anymore......

First day of school

Today was Laila's first day of pre-school. We showed up a little early in case Laila had any problems. We got out of the car and she immediately grabbed a chunk of my pants in her hand and held on from the car into the classroom. She wasn't wanting to talk once we got in but she quickly started playing with Hannah. I quickly said goodbye and was on my way....she barely agknowledged me leave, which was encouraging.

Picking up Laila wasn't quite as smooth as droppping her off. Once Laila saw me come in she immediately ran over to me, I think she was excited to tell me about her first day. Unfortunately, I had to tell her to go sit back down because she had not been dismissed yet. They are very careful about dismissing each child one by one to their parents to make sure noone slips by. This upset Laila and she started to cry. Luckily, Julia was able to explain to her the rules and she was fine. On our drive to McDonalds for lunch she told me everything they did and how much fun she had. She told me that not all the kids listened to the teacher but that she did. I am not sure about that one:)

eeeeek!

Brad's parents called us last night and told us they wanted to pay for Laila to go to pre-school. We had really wanted to send her to the Christian school for pre-school but couldn't afford it right now so needless to say we were like yes!! I called the school first thing this morning, then went and met with Mr. Roller and got Laila registered, went to Walmart to get her school supplies and now I am sitting home feeling all excited/sad that my little girl is beginning a new part of life.....It's sad that her dad is going to miss her first day of school due to work but I am going to make it special and take lots of pictures. :) 

My first sewing project

Today I used a sewing machine for the first time EVER! My mom and I made Landon a pair of jammy pants. My mom guided me through each step and it took about 2 hours. Luckily, everything went smoothly. I think this was a fairly easy thing to start out with. Monday I am planning on making Laila a gown. So far I feel like this is something I could get into.





Laila was very proud of her mommy...she is holding up the pants for me
monkey pants for my monkey
I had to add a picture of my exhausted little boy napping today
pure joy!

Our new thing

Soo I have mentioned in previous posts how my mom and I love shopping together. Ok so it's not just the shopping it's the spending money, buying cute unnecessary things. It's a problem..seriously. Anyway, we have decided that we are out of control and need something else to do together. Luckily, there is something I have always wanted to learn how to do and it just so happens my mom knows how. SEWING!! My mom used to make my clothes as a young child, doll clothes, curtains, pillows, you name it. I wouldn't say she does a professional quality job but good enough that it shouldn't fall apart after a wash.

I know I am way behind on times here. I know practically everyone else makes amazing things already. However, I am tired of drooling and wishing. I don't have a sewing machine or anything yet. Like most hobbies go, this could be a wash and not last long for me so I will wait and see how it goes before spending money on my own stuff.

Today my mom and I went to Joann's and I bought a couple patterns and some flannel. We are going to make some monkey pj bottoms for Landon and a couple gowns for Laila. I'll post pictures when finished.

note to self

Liz,

I know you are feeling very sorry for yourself right now; thinking about all the things you want. Get off the computer and enjoy what you do have. You have a husband who loves you for everything you are(which is awesome) and everything you aren't. You have two of the most beautiful children whom you are LUCKY to have to listen to scream and pick up all their messes. You have a roof over your head which you don't have to worry about it crashing down or not being able to pay for next month. You have TWO families which are easy to love and fun to be around. You always have enough food for your family. You are healthier than most, get over the small stuff. You have many friends who you could talk to anytime because they have probably felt the same. You have a deep desire to have a relationship with Jesus. Most importantly you have been saved.

me

he makes me smile

I would argue that Landon is the snuggliest little boy ever...he fell asleep sitting in dad's lap
I believe he was upset that his trains wouldn't stay connected
he knows he has been caught playing with our computer mouse
at the park..of course he has dirt on his face......and in his teeth
I just think this is cute
he saw his big sister playing on the monkey bars..thought he would give it a try...soon...he is a strong boy

growing up

a couple weeks ago Laila made it from one bar to another by herself for the first time....
not that putting chapstick shows her growth..I just think she looks so old in this picture

this morning she wrote her name all by herself...well with me telling her what letter came next..but she wrote them herself..pretty good I think.

School Daze

School Daze anyone??? I LOVE LOVE this store. It is located on the westside of Oly next to Dollar tree. Both of my parents are teachers so I spent lots of time in this store as a kid. I had not been there in years because once I was old enough to stay home alone, I didn't go on such excursions. I didn't appreciate the awesomeness as much until now. I have been wanting to start some kind of preschooling fun for Laila at home and this was the perfect store to get EVERYTHING. I bought a fun calendar that comes with all the different clippings to change monthly, some cutsie pencils, pencil grips(to learn how to hold a pencil correctly..I had to use these growing up..I still don't hold it right), some tracing paper to learn to write her letters, chalk for our easel that has a chalk board on one side, a dry erase letter book(to trace with marker) and some other random odd and ends. I am excited. We have decided to get rid of our dining table(if you can call it that?) and move our bookshelf to create a special space just for the kids. I am excited!! I suppose I will post a pic soon of that. While Brad was in South Carolina he met a guy who owns an apple store and he is going to hook us up with a computer around 5o bucks just for the kids to use. He also gave us a new keyboard for half price. Our keyboard had been randomly not working. Anyway...I recommend this store and I can't wait to go back kidless!

a little late

A couple weeks ago I think I mentioned the wedding we went to in Montana. Laila was the flower girl for my cousin Aaron and his bride Melissa.  Laila did awesome when it came to walking down the aisle and sprinkling flowers. I sat in my chair, a nervous wreck, wondering if she would walk down at the right time or just plain refuse to do it. The song butterfly kisses began playing and Laila slowly walked down the stairs with her basket of petals. She began sprinkling the flowers at just the right time at the bottom of the stairs, and I never even explained how to do that. Brad and I both teared up, completely unexpectedly. I think it was a combination of the song that was playing and seeing our little girl do something all on her own and perfectly. We were so proud! :) 

The wedding was in the most beautiful location. It was pretty much in t

he middle of nowhere Montana, about a half an hour outside of Missoula at

 so

meone's house. It was peaceful and quiet and pretty much perfect. I didn't get the best pictures of Laila walking down the aisle because my card became full just as she came down the stairs. I had to quickly delete some pictures and try to snap a few of her. Also, she was not the biggest fan of the posed pictures. I am not sure we got much of a s

mile out of her for any of the professional pics. 

This is about the most expression I could get out of her
Laila is really good at ignoring people...Everyone was trying to get her to crack a smile. 
Here she comes!

My cousin Aaron(the groom) is the man you can see standing and smiling up front

She had a long day and was exhausted once we got back to the hotel. She slept in her dress and sunglasses all night. 

1st pedicure

Everyone had pedicures for the wedding..even Laila..she did great!

Quack!

We were in Bozeman , Montana most of the trip. This is where my brother goes to school right now where he is working to receive his phd in physics . The campus has this great pond where there are always a ton of ducks. They are very friendly and people feed them all the time. We gave them quite the treat with our bread. See how close they got to the kids? Don't worry..we were careful.

Vacation=over

Well we got home from our vacation to Montana yesterday afternoon. I had such a great time visiting with family and just being in my favorite places. We were busy pretty much each day and I ended up taking over 300 pictures. I am kind of sad to be home but I am already planning all the things we will do next time that we didn't get to do. I think I am just going to blog in order of events so that I don't have one really long blog.

In order to save money I packed breakfast, lunch and snacks for the trip. We left about 4 am on Sunday(july 6th) and arrived in Bozeman around 4:30 pm.

We hit one of my favorite stops along the way; the 50,000 Silver dollar bar at lunch time so we ate in the back of the van and then went and looked around the gift shop.

Laila played soccer(kind of)

Brad led a mini soccer camp wednesday, thursday, and friday at Loop field. They ranged from ages 4-12. This was run through the church but there were a few who did not attend our church and I am not sure if they do at all. It seemed like the kids loved it. I took Laila down to play on friday. I think some of my pictures are deceiving because they look like she was actually playing. However, if I am being honest she would barely tap the ball and then run along to either Brad or I. I left for a little while and apparently she loved the part where they practiced throw ins. OF COURSE she likes the part where she gets to throw things:)
Landon was there too cheering

Laila looks like she is fixing her hair while going for the ball

First day of summer

obviously excited about playing outside and getting to have a Popsicle
Landon had similar reactions as Laila
testing out the new table
just having fun with black and white

Apparently I have a shopping cart obsession

So today it dawned on me..why aren't their brakes on shopping carts like there are on strollers where you can lock it into place so it doesn't roll away? Actually the problem I am facing is my lovely monkey of a daughter. If I stop the cart in the isle to grab something off of a shelf, Laila takes the opportunity to send Landon off with the cart. In other words she pushes the cart down the aisle, which I swear she is aiming for other shoppers to embarrass the crap out of her mom:) I suppose I could whip her into shape(not literally).. which I try...but we are in the phase of her not listening to a thing I say, regardless of her punishments. Anyway..I was just thinking today it would be nice to be able to lock the wheels.

well it's begun

My kids have been having little fights for awhile now. Usually it is if Landon knocks down something she is building. A few minutes ago they were throwing slaps at each other and Laila says, " put him back in your tummy" My first thought was awww how sad. I know she adores her brother but I can tell she is upping the anty with her blows. Good thing Landon had no idea what she said.

Want to know what they were fighting over??

I bought this today for the kids to play with outside. They were fighting over who got to sit on the box it came in.





I am pretty excited about this table. My kids always make a mess when they eat anything and I have to vacuum after each meal if I want the house to look decent. My plan is for them to be able to eat lunches outside on the table...minimal cleanup..yes!! This will be good for their art projects and Play dough too I think!

Jan Bennett is on her way over to drop off the check for our jeep...I am sad...but feel like our prayers have finally been answered. Be sure to honk(or wave) when you see me driving my new purple mini van.