Who are we getting????

Okay, who's it gonna be:  Addalyn or Jackson?  I'll let the ultrasound speak for itself--it you are anti-ultrasound-genitals, please scroll over it!

I don't think it's hard to tell!  We will be welcoming Jackson Ammon to the family in November!  This was actually the first pic the ultrasound tech got, literally within the first two minutes-still pretty easy to tell.

We definitely were hoping for a girl, just to even the family out as we expect this baby to be our last.  But lo and behold, the Lord has a little boy waiting to join our family and we couldn't be more happy about that!

 I realized quickly that we have a good setup for sharing rooms-Jackson and James will share, Karianna and Sara are currently sharing, and Jordan and JD are currently sharing-perfect. We also like the fact that Jackson and James will be buddies that are close in age, just like JD and Jordan.  Hopefully they can be just as close.  Most of all, I feel in my heart that having a boy will be a good thing for me.  I feel like I missed out on those early, newborn memories with James.  I have memories with him, and they helped me create an unbreakable bond with him-they were just very different than what I expected given his extended hospital stay and all the tubes, IV's and instruments keeping him alive after surgery.  I feel like this boy will help me bridge a little gap in my heart that still, to this day, misses those newborn moments I never got with James.  I could have had that with a girl, but for me, there is more meaning in it now that I know we are having a boy.  It's a complicated set of emotions, but at the end of the day, we are just so grateful for this baby, and for all our babies.

Here's Jackson's hand-he's giving us a very clear thumbs up already.  :)

The ultrasound took a long time given it was a level 2 ultrasound.  The tech took very details measurements and pictures of everything on the baby, but really focused on the heart, looking for signs of any defects.  The first thing she said to us was, "Wow, he has a beautiful arch!"  Talk about tension reliever!  That was James' most pressing issue.  It was such a relief to hear right off the bat that a major part of his heart was looking great.  I think I still held my breath through the rest of the ultrasound though, just hoping and praying everything else looked great.  Thankfully the tech wasn't under any gag orders, and she kept telling us what she was seeing-and how good everything was looking.  I am so pleased to say his heart looks PERFECT at this stage of development.  So does everything else, developmentally speaking.  Such a  beautiful blessing from the Lord.  We will still monitor heart development carefully, as there are certain defects that could be present or become present that just aren't visible by ultrasound right now.  I'll have a fetal echo in a few weeks to continually monitor development.

We got to see some amazing 3D images, even got to watch Jackson move around on 3D for awhile-it was AMAZING!  We have never seen a 3D ultrasound, and now I see why people love them so much.  Jackson was "kissing the placenta" most of the time-his face was smushed right up into it! The resultant 3D image made him look like a Death Eater--it looked like he has a hood pulled over his face.  He still looks a bit skeletal, so anytime his face did peek through it still looked odd.  We got one good look at his head though when he moved away from the placenta for a minute, and it was just beautiful.  His skin is still transparent enough so you could see where his brain and his heart were-I was always transfixed watching the pumping action of his heart.  He started hiccuping, and you could see his chest jump up and down as a result.  He also started opening and closing his mouth a lot, like he was swallowing-that was amazing as well!!!!

As you can tell, this was such a good experience for us.  I just loved seeing Jackson, as did Jared.  Every bit of him is miraculous, and we are so in love with him already.  We had a perinatologist come in to chat with us afterward-she actually did some scanning too, and we really loved her bedside manner-she seemed to completely reflect our joy and excitement.  She gave us some more 3D time as well, while she explained to us how good the baby looked.  We left with lots of pictures, a CD of images, and came home with a gift bag for the kids to open. Karianna was sad at first that it was a boy--she told me she would be fine with a baby boy, but she didn't want the baby to grow up, just to become another brother that would bug her.  I had to laugh at her concern while reassuring her it was okay to be a little sad.  The other kids were immediately overjoyed, especially JD and Jordan.  We are an excited family, that is for sure!

We are getting a BOY!

Random Quirks

Today during lunchtime, I was getting ready to eat a really hot piece of pizza. I was reaching for something and accidentally stuck my finger straight into the piping hot cheese.  I yelled out in pain, and a few seconds later, JD and Karianna burst into my room.  JD yelled out, "What's wrong???  Is it the baby?"

Jordan put about a full cup of cheese on his cheese crisp for today and another full cup on Sara's.  When I told him that was way too much, he said, "Oh.  So that's why we run out of cheese all the time....and that's why we are not a rich family, because we spend too much money on cheese!"

Conversation of the Day:
Karianna: Am I skinny?
Me: Does it matter?
Karianna: I just want to know.
Me: Yes, you are. But sometimes that's not a good thing-some skinny people are not healthy. There are better questions to ask. Do you exercise?
Karianna: Of course, I swim every single day....and wrestle with the boys, does that count?
Me: Yes, you get plenty of kid exercise. Do you eat healthy?
Karianna: I think so.....
Me: Do you eat fruits, veggies, meats, milk, yoghurt, cheese?
Karianna: yes, except for cheese, cheese is gross.
Me: Do you eat 3rds and 4ths at every meal?
Karianna: No, you would never let me!
Me: Than I think you are doing just fine. Doesn't matter if your body is skinny or big, as long as you are eating healthy and getting exercise, that's all you need to worry about.

Whew. Important conversations.

JD

Dear JD,

Don't ever change.

Love, Mom

JD comes up to me last night while I was lying on the couch, admittedly not feeling well.  He lays right next to me, puts his arms around me, and just hugs me for a few seconds.  He sits back up, but keeps his hand on my left arm, and starts rubbing it affectionately.

JD:  Mom, you need a lot of help, don't you.

Me:  Well, when I'm pregnant, I am tired a lot and don't feel good all the time, so having some help is definitely a good thing.

JD nods sympathetically:  I know Mom, it sure is.  I'm going to brush your hair, okay?

Me:  Okay, sounds good.

JD proceeds to get a brush and a cup of water.  He carefully takes out my bobby pins and the flower that was in my hair from church.  He very carefully puts some water in my hair with his fingers, and apologizes for getting some drips on my book and my dress.  I chuckle and tell him it's completely okay.  He continues to brush my hair-puts a new part in it, brushes each side until it is perfectly smooth, and holds up a mirror for my approval.  He then carefully puts one bobby pin in on one side, and then slips the flower in right on top of it.

JD:  Okay mom, you are done-you look beautiful.  You better show Dad-he's going to be amazed.

Me:  I bet he will be JD.

JD:  Did I do a good job helping you?

Me:  You did an amazing job, I feel so much better.

JD:  I can do this every day if you want me to.

Me:  That would be awesome JD.  I sure do love you.

JD:  I love you too.

....................hence why I began this post the way I did.

Tonto Creek

This weekend we drove up to Payson for the day.  It was the first REAL test drive for the van, but it was also a great chance just to hang out as a family, and we were so grateful for that chance. Jared and I couldn't help but comment on our way home about how lovely the trip was, and how much we enjoyed ourselves and the kids.

We stopped in Payson to eat lunch at Denny's.  We had planned to eat at a restaurant with the kids on that fateful trip to Flagstaff in May....which never came to pass because oops!!!!  the transmission went out!  We have been promising them ever since that we would find another occasion to go out to eat together-thus our stop at Denny's.  We haven't been to Denny's in forever-and it was actually pretty good (we have always been "Denny's People" anyways).  As I was paying the bill, the guy at the register told me I had the most well-behaved children he had ever seen.  My response:  "You should have heard the talk we had in the car before we came in".  It was a nice compliment though and the kids really did so very well.

Our next stop was the fish hatchery that both Jared and I had been to for 5th grade camp years and years ago.  The kids thought that was a blast.  We got some fish food and watched the fish flip around manically for those little pellets-it was crazy seeing how fast they could go, though that makes sense with how densely packed they were.  We wandered around the small visitors center, looking at all the huge fish models mounted on the wall-wish we could have seen the fish eggs, but oh well.

Just a cool shot of the scenery :)

Next up was stopping to play in Tonto Creek.  I wasn't sure how that would go, but it ended up being my favorite part of the day.  We hiked a short way down to the creek and it was a perfect little area for the kids to play and rock hop.  There was even a short little rock slide that Jordan braved.  Sara was completely gung ho at first, not even caring when she got soaked from her waist down.  She was the first one to get tired of being wet, but overall did great.  The boys.....man do they scare me to pieces.  They were scaling rocks at such a speed up and down the creek to make me feel like freaking out every other second!  They always shock me with their agility and lack of fear.  They were soaked from head to toe in seconds, but they loved it.  Karianna was a bit more tentative at first since her stomach was queasy, but as soon as she braved the outhouse, she was good, and she enjoyed rock hopping with the boys and me down to a quieter pool where we found crawdad bones and lots of interesting bugs.  James was awesome-he loved walking down into the water!  He completely just wanted to let go of my hand and wander around himself-that boy is growing up!  Jared and I took turns hanging out with him and walking up and down the creek with the other kids. The water felt so good, and we had such a good time.

After a quick change of clothes, we headed to our final stop, called Paleo Site.  This was an "I'm not sure what this is going to be like" moment. It was billed online as a place where you could go look for fossils-it has been a huge dig site in the past, though Jared and I were pretty sure it would be pretty picked over.  Still, we stopped and hiked around a bit.  Karianna found some great rocks with "crystal" in them.  I helped her try to chip pieces off the bigger rocks--James and Sara helped too :)  Jared, JD and Jordan scared me once again by scaling the mountainside to look for fossils-they found one that does in fact look like a snail shell, it's actually pretty cool.  JD was convinced he was going to find a T-Rex tooth, though he knew it would more than likely be a cow rib.  Hee hee!

We flew around JD's plane right before we headed back to Mesa.  This plane flies great, and the kids had an awesome time with it.  Karianna and Jared were particularly adept at getting it to fly the longest.

Overall, it was an awesome day trip, we had lots of sleepers in the car on the way home.  The van did great, and it was probably the first time I was truly, 100% glad we had it. The kids had lots of space, we had lots of space, it was perfect.  I'll end this post with a picture of the van-if you are not best friends with Jonah or Pinocchio and you have never been inside a whale, here you go-experience first hand what its like to be in the White Whale.  ;)

Father's Day

I'll just let the pics do most of the talking down below, though I do want to note what we did for Father's Day in terms of pinterest inspired gifts (at 5 am....the morning of....but in my defense, I knew what I wanted to do, just didn't get started until 5am).

1. If You Give a Dad a Cookie:  I found this super cute little book you could print off, and as I was reading it to everyone, the kids and Jared acted it out-ie, give dad a cookie, he'll want water, he'll pick you up and hug you for getting it, he'll throw his back out, he'll need a pain pill, etc....the pain pill was some mini reeses I had put in an old prescription pill bottle.  The kids loved it, they all wanted a turn!
2. Cookie Jar:  I filled up a cheap cookie jar with cookies and made a label that says, "Dad is a Cookie Monster!" Simple, but Jared said that was his favorite. 
3. The Candy Card:  I know, not unique, but we've never done it so I did it.  I tweaked the message a little bit and my favorite part was when Jared got to the closing-he read it perfectly:  "Love your favorite-Airhead Rachel, Airhead Karianna, Airhead JD...etc.  We were cracking up!
4. The Can Cake:  this was my favorite.  I made a can cake out of Mug root beer and Jared's favorite-strawberry kiwi snapple (took me 3 stores to find a six pack).  I made one for Jared's Dad too.

And with a few gifts, lots of homemade cards, and tons of hugs, Father's Day came and went.  We did do a huge breakfast spread for Jared, but not until after church was over-it was breakfast for lunch, but not until 1, so way too late to be called brunch.  I love Jared so much and am grateful every single day for the sacrifices he makes as a Dad-right now is a prime example for that. He is so good at taking care of his family, both at home and out of the home, and I can never thank him enough for that.  Of course, my own Dad and my Father in law are perfect examples of this as well-I am a lucky girl.  

Okay, picture time!

 The gifts as described above :)  The kids were SO excited!

 A funny look from Jared, but had to include it-James LOVES taking pictures right now!

 Okay guys, Dad/child picture time! Oh, and yes, please stick out your tongue.  Jared first!

 Jordan second!

 Okay, enough of that.  Let's just bring out the Cookie Monster.

 You have no idea how much these boys dote on their Dad

 A blurry shot, but I can't help including this-such a sweet sentiment.

 Reading the candy card, which in part says, "We hope you don't ROLO-ver and puke-if you do, we promise we won't SNICKER."

 Daddy Daughter time-my kids love their Dad!

I Love My Calling

Did you know I love my calling?  I do.  Like, I really do.  I could be the primary chorister for the rest of my life and be just fine.  I love making up creative lessons and games to play with the primary kids.  I love teaching them the music, especially the meaning behind the songs.  I love doing innovative things and getting the kids to love primary, the music, and the spirit.  So awesome.

Anyhow, the week before Father's Day we were reviewing our Father's Day song for sacrament and we played a game where 3 people came up to the board under a "My Dad" sign.  Their job was to draw a picture of their Dad within the time limit of the song-ie, they had to be done by the time the rest of the primary was done singing.  It was so much fun, and I took a pic of each kid with their drawing afterward.  On Father's Day I handed them out so the kids could give them to their Dads.  They sang their sacrament song, "My Daddy is my favorite pal....." and then I had 11 kids come to the mic and say why they love their Dad while mom played softly in the background. It got alot of chuckles and tears.  Sara needed no prompting-she immediately stuck her mouth on the mic and said, "I love my Dad because he helps me".  It was super sweet in her little sunbeam voice.  Karianna was second to last and she got the most laughs:  "I love my Dad because he plays games with us when we have nothing else to do".  That's too true, and the games he comes up with are not your standard run of the mill games.  I'm sure that's why she loves him!  The primary kids sang the song one more time, and they blew huge, "cheesy" kisses to the audience as the finishing touch.  It was adorable, and we rounded off the holiday by playing Pin the Tie on Dad during singing time-during which time I discovered the kids REALLY know the program songs well.  Just so pleased with how things went, and humbled by the calling I have.

Here are the kids' pics that they drew!

2nd Swim Meet!

Today was Karianna's 2nd swim meet, and I am so glad to report it went way better than the first one!  We just dropped Karianna off for warm ups and came back an hour later when her age group was about to start.  We had to fight for seats, but that's okay-I can see long distance.  ;)  We were there for an hour and a half and got to see Karianna's individual heat and her relay-the kids did great, James was fit-free, and the weather was bearable.  Thus success!

Karianna was dong backstroke today, by far her hardest stroke.  Regardless, she time trialed into the faster group, thus her heat was with the faster girls.  A good thing, and a bad thing, as it would make it difficult for her to place well. She placed 5th in her heat (against 10 girls) and her relay team placed 5th as well.  The relay was tricky given the situation.  The heat right before Karianna's had an emergency situation.  It was the last group of 5/6 year old boys.  One of the boys was swimming backstroke and didn't realize how close he was to the wall...he bashed his head into the wall and went under. The whistles blew, the lifeguards jumped in, the backboard was brought out, and within minutes he was strapped to it and the lifeguards were trying to assess the degree of injury (as much as they could).  The ambulance and fire truck got there within 10 minutes and took the poor little guy away-no parents with him as far as I could, which was the hardest part as a parent (though I do think I saw an older sister get into the ambulance while on a cell phone).  The lifeguards handled it very well-I was impressed.

This whole time, Karianna is sitting on the chair in front of her lane, waiting to go next.  In practice this week, she hit her head once on the wall.  Not hard, but obviously not fun.  She told me this evening that she was really worried before her relay.  It showed-as she swam her lap she kept looking behind herself to see where the wall was, and it slowed her down.  The rest of her team was like that too, one girl didn't realize Karianna was already at the wall, and she didn't start her lap until like 10 seconds later!!!! It was a tough situation and I told Karianna I was proud her for being brave and for tackling her hardest stoke as well.

Next week is butterfly and I am excited to see Karianna do that one-she is really good at that stroke which is awesome because I think that's the hardest one!!!!!  I tried to do a video of this week's meet but I just wasn't close enough-hopefully I can get one next week!