Baby Girl Peanut

So yesterday was my 21 week ultrasound. We were hoping that the baby would cooperate so that we could find out if it was a little boy or a little girl. First though I had to drink a large amount of water so they could see the birth canal and everything. I was a good girl and drank it quickly and waited...and waited...and waited. I had to go to the bathroom so bad that I could barely walk. I didn't have to do that in Germany with Jeffrey, it was a whole new experience. Baby didn't like it either and was very uncomfortable and wiggly but after a quick potty trip we were all much happier!

We are going to be having a baby girl in September. Everything looked good to me during the ultrasound, I saw two arms, legs, feet, hands. The technician couldn't comment on anything, I should get the results from the radiologist at my next appointment, but she was a cute little girl to me.

The first picture is her profile...anyone want to guess if it's my nose or Cory's? And I posted a picture of her feet, any little girl of mine needs to have good little dancing feet!

We're all very excited and I think it seems more real to Cory now that he can start thinking about names and the fact that it will be a little girl. We're going to keep our name choices a surprise again, it was so fun to be able to introduce people to Jeffrey that way. Though if you ask Jeffrey, we will be naming her Hermione and we're going to change his name to Harry Potter. (I think he's been watching The Mysterious Ticking Sound a little too much!)

So now I get to shop for pink and ruffles and enjoy playing dress up with a sweet little girl.

Mother's Day

 "I have a surprise for you mom, but I can't tell you what it iiiiiiiis," I've heard that every day since Monday this week. Jeffrey was making a project for mother's day in school and had obviously been told not to tell me what it was. So every time I picked him up or every time we sat down to dinner he would tell me about his surprise.

He gave it to me today when I picked him up from school he couldn't wait until Sunday. I thought it was sweet and of course got all emotional because I'm pregnant and playing the single parent role for a while. My mom has a hand print from my sister and it still hangs on the wall. I am totally going to find a shadow box for this bad boy and find somewhere to hang it up. I am totally one of those moms.

I am very blessed to be mommy to this adorable boy who tests my patience on an almost daily basis and then reminds me that he loves me and wants to be my friend. There are so many times when I feel like such an inadequate mom and not at all worthy to be Jeffrey's mommy. But I know he was sent to me to help me grow and to remind me how much my Father in Heaven loves me and to bring me so much joy.

Last Day of School

Today was Jeffrey's last day of preschool. He has learned a LOT in the short while he was there. He knows all the letter sounds and can sound out some easy words, though I don't think he's quite got the sounding translated into reading quite yet. We have his kindergarten appointment tomorrow and I'm not as worried as I once was that he would count to 10 and be done.

I post his school projects mostly for daddy to see and partially because I am that mom who is so proud of her kid's sneezes that she would praise them for the world to hear. So enjoy.

The letter of the week was M. Like mouse, like the mouse that Jeffrey insisted on being when I took his picture. He makes me laugh so much!

 All the kids wrote their name in glue and then put beans on the letters. In true Jeffrey style he refused to write his whole name and went for just a J.

 His shape caterpillar.

A rainbow.

His triangle made from sand. He likes to tell me that the sand is colored purple and is very sparkly.

 Oh the many silly moods of Jeffrey! He loves having his picture taken and when the flash goes off (and probably makes daddy cringe 12,000 miles away) he makes the silliest faces on purpose.

We always have to sit "criss-cross applesauce" now. Sometimes before we eat, we have to play "open shut them" too.

Making the Best of Time

Since arriving to FOB Lightning I have made a good daily schedule. I have time for scripture reading, school work, photography, interacting with people, making videos for Jeffrey, working a full day, gym time, and enough sleep to do it the next day.

I am working with two great Soldiers. One is a Sergeant that will walk away from here with some great skill for organizing, and seeing the big picture of how the army operates. The Specialist will leave here as a Sergeant. My officer is a great leader that is taking our efforts in the TAC in the right direction. No time wasted here.

Kansas City Temple Cultural Celebration

Today the Kansas City, MO temple was dedicated. I've never lived in an area where the temple being dedicated was going to be my new temple. The whole thing has been an incredible experience. Thankfully we were able to go as a family to the open house before Cory deployed. 

For the last several months I was asked to help be a dance instructor for the youth cultural celebration. I have heard about the events when other temples were dedicated but I was really excited to be able to help with one. They had originally planned for 1,500 youth to participate but they were completely overwhelmed when over 3,100 volunteered from the temple district. We were responsible for teaching them a dance that they would participate in with three other stakes and then three shorter ones that they would perform with all the youth at the end. 

 

The performance was held last night in the Kansas City Municipal auditorium. It seats 10,000 and was full almost to the rafters! (You can see the missionaries from the mission in the center section up at the top in the middle.) The excitement in the auditorium was amazing! They youth had been there from 6 am preparing for the performance and a lot of the audience had traveled a long distance to be there to see it. 

I was lucky to get tickets this week. The bishop asked if I was interested in going with Jeffrey since I had been helping the youth. I was so excited. We decided to stay last night in a hotel close so I wouldn't have to drive home late at night. 

 

 Our dancers were part of the "Willing Hearts" section of the performance, they were pioneers who represented the early saints. The song they performed to was written by some of the LDS families in Branson, MO who (I think) came to perform live last night at the show (someone was singing live there last night). I was very proud of our little dance. Jeffrey danced along in my lap happy that he knew the song already.

Kenneth Cope was there as well and performed during the section from the Joplin, MO stake which just suffered a horrible tornado earlier in the year. I don't know that there were many dry eyes in the audience at the end. It was a very powerful and compelling. I LOVE dance and love to see it as a way of communicating emotion and causing the viewer to experience something during the performance. The group of amateur youth from Joplin were incredible portraying a disaster and the recovery from it and I was very moved. There were also touching tributes to the military and the missionaries even got in on the action. In true islander fashion the dancers (who were mostly Polynesian) brought down the house during their Samoan dance. (Though they had the loudest supporters!)

The funnest part for Jeffrey was when 3,100 you danced to Popcorn Popping and he could do the dance along with them. He came with me to the last three weeks' practices and enjoyed dancing along with the kids when they were rehearsing.

 My friend also arrived super early and saved us a couple of seats in the section directly below and next to where the VIPs would sit. Jeffrey was very excited to see President Monson and he gave our performance two thumbs up and wiggled his ears for the kids. I guess he approved. It was an amazing weekend and an incredible experience for us!

More School Projects

 

The letter of the week was O and the color was orange. (and the shape was ellipse, which is hilarious to hear J say) and here are the projects he did this week. He was very excited about this octopus, I heard about it all week and he was very excited to bring it home.

He made this one by rolling a ball in paint and then rolling it over the paper in the box. It also doubled as a sail on the way home from school.

The letter of last week was S. So he painted a sun. Jeffrey doesn't have much patience for coloring and he never has, but he doesn't seem to mind painting or doing projects of different kinds.

Pinterest Project

I love pinterest! Like LOVE pinterest! I love that they have a hand app and when I can't sleep I can look at pins all night and pretend to make projects. I found one that I actually did want to try.

This one. I had a couple of these gowns for Jeffrey and LOVED them when he was a tiny baby. My friend is also having a baby in a couple of weeks so she asked me to make her some out of her husband's old shirts. So before I cut into her shirts I tried out the pattern on one of Cory's old shirts (he won't miss it right?). It turned out really cute I think.

I wouldn't have attempted this project before I got my serger. I don't like knit enough for that, but I think it turned out pretty cute. Just needs a baby to go inside in about 4.5 more months. (On Saturday I will be 20 weeks! Halfway there!)

Photography Assistant

So Cory wants Jeffrey to be his assistant when he gets back from Afghanistan. So he has been giving Jeffrey assignments of things to take pictures of when he sends videos to Jeffrey. Last week's assignment was to take a picture of me on the grass. So we finally remembered to do it, we were going to do it the day he asked but it was rainy. Ignore the squinted eyes, the sun was really bright and though you can't see it too well, that's my 19 week bump there in the pic also. And one of my skirts from my summer of skirts! :)

He has a little camera that he takes pictures with too, but like his dad, he's gotten into the habit of deleting them almost as soon as he takes the pictures. So I didn't have any to send today when I plugged in the camera.

Goodbye Preschool!

Our co-op preschool had it's closing social this week. Out of this group I think only one or two will be moving on to kindergarten next year. Jeffrey tells me that he's very excited to start school in the fall but I'm sure he will miss his friends. Especially little C who he will do anything for. Crazy to think my baby is even old enough to be going to preschool let alone kindergarten.