What a stubborn little baby...boy!

This was the morning of the anatomy scan, the big ultrasound where we would finally get to find out if our little one is a boy or a girl. I was a *ahem* great mother and tried to hop the baby up on sugar before we went in - just a glass of orange juice (and a chocolate egg). Do you think it worked? Of course not! The little turkey was sound asleep and folded completely in half. 

The ultrasound tech did manage to wake him up (boy was he mad), but it wasn't for about another ten minutes that he showed us his little manhood. Yep, no doubt about it, we're having a baby boy! We're very excited, and since this is our first we were happy with the thought of either one! He's growing perfectly, weighing in at just under a pound so far, with five fingers and five toes. Here are some snap shots of our little Emmett Bradley:

Here's his profile. What a cute little chin!

And he even smacked his lips and yawned for us!

Here's a little hand, blocking his face. He's camera shy!

And my favorite, a teeny tiny baby foot!

Drama City

Drama? In Kaysville? Not usually, but we sure did have some last night. After dinner Josh and I decided to make a trip to the grocery store for some milk and some potatoes for our Sunday dinner. On the way to the store, we passed the motel that is about three blocks from our house. We noticed a fire truck, ambulance, and several police cars, all lights flashing, in the parking lot. We thought that was an odd number of police cars for a regular health emergency 911 call, and wondered if something was going on.

On our way home from the store, we saw that the number of police cars had actually grown, and there were now cars stationed at several points on the surrounding streets as well. We had two on the street adjoining ours. On these streets, the police were out of their cars and wandering up and down the sidewalks. It seemed as if they were looking for someone. I mentioned it to my parents, but after that we didn't think anything of it. There was nothing on the news, so we had no idea what had happened. An hour or two later, I noticed that I heard a helicopter, and realized that I had been hearing it for quite some time. I listened a bit longer and realized it was circling. I mentioned it to Josh, and we decided it had to be connected to the problem at the motel earlier.

We looked on the news again, to see if anything had come up. This time it had. A man was shot and killed at th hotel, and the police, along with SWAT and that helicopter, were looking for the suspect. SWAT was knocking on doors, warning people that someone armed and dangerous was in the area. Josh and I locked the doors and took the dogs upstairs for the evening. A little after midnight the helicopter seemed to get more distant. We got news this morning that, after searching most of the night, the suspect was caught, though they still haven't found the murder weapon.

What a sad event, and a bit scary for the neighborhood! We're glad the guy was caught though. Way to go SWAT!

Tasty New Discovery

I guess we we were feeling adventurous last night, because we decided it was time to try a new recipe that I found online.

Crockpot Salsa Chicken:

Pour a layer of salsa in bottom of crockpot.

Add frozen chicken breasts

Pour remaining salsa to cover chicken.

Add 1 can black beans (drained) and 1 can corn (drained)

Cook on low 4-6 hours

Serve over rice (we used brown) and top with shredded cheese.

It was SO good and filling! The chicken just fell apart with a fork, so we both ended up just shredding our pieces and mixing it in with the rice, beans, corn, and salsa. No pictures available. Sorry! It got devoured too quickly.

My Little Cousin's All Grown Up and Getting Married!

I'll be honest. I like weddings. I like looking at the decor, the centerpieces, the bride's gown, etc... It's my girly side showing through, I guess. I especially love when they are family weddings, so be prepared for a picture overload. Ailene married Alex Kubricky yesterday, and after finding a fantastic fairy princess dress, she decided on a fairytale themed wedding. The gown really was beautiful on her, and she is the ONLY one of us girls in the family that could pull it off. Alex was the prince of course and even wore a sword during the ceremony. Here are some highlights:

The colors were purple and green. Here is one of the centerpieces.

A glass Cinderella coach

One of two sign-in tables

Their card box was a fairytale book

The bride by the castle cake. EJ painted all of the backdrops around the room to look like castle walls. What a nice uncle Ailene has!

My hubby and my sister.

Behind the scenes...the kitchen!

The bride and groom by the duck pond. Ailene collects rubber ducks, and wanted them involved in the wedding. So they had a whole "park" set up with a duck pond, trees, and a bench, where the gifts were placed.

Cutting the cake

They were dancing, and he dropped her. Oops! Way to go Alex.

She forgave him pretty quickly.

Mother & Daughter

My artsy photograph

Aww...

EJ stole a dance with the bride

And so did her brother Ian

I settled for a picture together!

Congrats Ailene & Alex!

Happy Valentine's Day!

It was for us! Josh was a busy man today. He cleaned the living room and the kitchen, and set up this beautiful romantic table for two in the living room!

When I got home he banished me upstairs while he finished cooking dinner. I wasn't allowed to know the menu until it was finished!


Main Course: Homemade chicken cordon bleu, baked potatoes, and apple slices with milk (my favorite drink these days!) served in wine glasses.


Dessert: Chocolate covered strawberries.


He's such a good cook! Here's a picture:

There were candles all around the living room, and of course, Valentine's Day roses for me!

I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful sweet husband! He spoils me rotten. I think I'll keep him!

February is the busiest month...

Sometimes I really think that February is the busiest month of the year for us! (Busier than the holidays? Maybe so!) First, I would like to note that my family typically celebrated everyone's birthdays - though as we grandchildren start to have children of our own that may change! Whose birthday is in February (on my side)? Ailene, Andrea, Darren, Josh, Joshua (on the same day even), and if I remember correctly my sister's boyfriend even has a birthday this month.

Josh's side has also instituted an annual Chinese New Year party, which does not always fall on the Chinese New Year. We will be celebrating that this year. We had lots of fun last year, with Chinese food, fortune cookies, and fireworks! We're looking forward to that this Saturday.

And then there's the wedding. Yes, another one! That makes 4 weddings for my family in the past year. Andrea & Brian, Talon & Angelee, Ian & Victoria - and now Ailene & Alex! We're excited for their wedding, coming up at the end of this month. Ailene even found her fairy princess dress. Here it is BEFORE the alterations (I'm sure it looks even more awesome now!):

She really is the only girl in our family that could pull off a gown like that. But it looks great on her!

As for us? Well, we're just along for the ride these days. Josh is, of course, in school and studying hard. He has also taken over my teaching time at the dojo because morning sickness and karate certainly don't mix! He's a trooper because he has also taken over a lot of the household chores. Baby and I are doing well (aside from the morning sickness). Tomorrow makes 15 weeks, and I am now officially showing. Making a baby has proven to be hard work, so I am really quite proud of my little bump. We heard the heartbeat again last week, and are counting down the days (more like weeks) until we have another ultrasound and find out what we're having.

In other news, there have been some major changes at my office that have placed a huge decision before us: to quit or not to quit? EJ already has, and I've now been demoted back to runner. I don't feel I deserved that, nor did I ask for it. In fact, I kind of feel like it's a slap in the face after 3 1/2 years here. Of course there are bills to pay - so who knows what the near future will hold? Right now I'm just trying to get enough writing assignments to help us pay our extra medical bills.

Well we went to the doctor...

...and finally saw this little miracle!

We were so excited to finally catch a glimpse of our little one, and we were so grateful that it had a strong heartbeat and was growing right on schedule! This was our first ultrasound and we were so amazed to see those tiny little arms and legs! And yes, I cried when that little one-inch human being started to wiggle around for us to see! We even got to see a cool 3D view:

Here the baby is being a bit shy, hiding it's face in its arm. How cute! We were also able to hear the heartbeat, which pleased the doctor (who didn't think she'd find it this early). What an awesome sound! Go baby go! So far so good. Healthy, measuring right on schedule, and due on August 4th!