Deja vu

For those of you who have asked if Everett looks like CJ...I'll let you decide for yourself:)

(CJ is on the left, Ev on the right). CJ had more hair, so I'm wondering if Everett will be blonde. Only time will tell. But I'm sure Genevieve would love someone to have blonde hair like her!

Genna didn't have any hair either...and now its very blonde and curly! Curly from me, blonde from Cory.

Merry Christmas! And a Happy New Year!

2011 was full of great things, and it flew by. Our kids are growing so fast.

Genevieve is now 3, C.J. is 4 , and Everett is already five months old! And all as cute as can be. Gen even sat on Santa's lap without crying this year. She wasn't completely convinced but she did it! C.J. is so grown up and loves being a big brother.

C.J. made sure to set treats out on Christmas Eve. Santa got Krispy Kreme this year. Yum!

The kids managed to stay on the nice list. Of all the toys, the favorite gifts were scarfs, 2 minnie mouses, and new boots. Those items go with us everywhere!

Everett got a few new toys too, but he was happiest eating the bows.

New Years was very memorable this year. My brother Eddie who works at the capitol, let us watch fireworks from the roof! It was amazing! Thanks Eddie(you read my blog, right?).

The first few days of 2012, we got to check some to-do's off our list. here are some pictures of us painting C.J. and Genna's rooms. The stripe in C.J.'s room was a little scary to do, but it turned out awesome! My Mom is amazing and she helped me paint a butterfly garden in Genna's room, and it turned out perfect. Thanks Mom! and Cory for going along with my crazy ideas:)

It's a BOY!!! Everett William

This is a picture of me a few hours before I went into the hospital. We went in about 6pm Friday night July 22nd. Being my third baby I was positive I was in labor...around 7pm I was sent home! I was really mad, and poor Cory had to deal with that aftermath. He took me out to dinner and we went home. At 12:20 that night my water broke! Contractions were coming strong and close together. We jumped out of bed, and Cory called his dad Carl who rushed over to stay with the kids. We got to the hospital around 1am and I was taken right back. The labor went so well and we welcomed Everett William into the world at 4:51am Saturday morning July 23rd. One day before my due date and Cory's birthday. He was perfect! 8lbs. 4oz. and 20in.

So far he is the sweetest baby. He reminds us a lot of when CJ was a baby, but he looks like his sister too.

CJ and Genevieve cannot get enough of their new baby brother, which is cute...and overwhelming sometimes. Wherever Everett goes, they go. I'm happy they love him!

Cory has been able to take the week off which has been so wonderful! He was a little disappointed that they don't share a birthday, but hey it just means two days of celebrating!

CJ is such a good helper! If he leaves the room he always tells me, "Mom, if you need anything, I will come and get it for you". How sweet is that?

Gen loves the baby but is having a little bit of a hard time not being the baby anymore. We're trying to make sure we don't forget about the two wonderful kids we already have! And so cute!

This is Everett learning to sleep in the middle of everything else going on.

Everyone keeps asking me if it was worth not finding out. It definitely was fun, especially during those last weeks of pregnancy. The anticipation helped me pass the time. And when the moment came it was fun being surprised! But honestly in the moment I forgot that we didn't know beforehand. I was so excited to meet our new son! That's all that really mattered was him arriving healthy and happy. We couldn't be happier with Everett and the rest of our beautiful family! The only thing I need now is sleep!:)

May 2011

The beginning of May was Mother's day and C.J.'s 4th Birthday! It was a great day. Cory made an amazing dinner of fajitas with BBQ shrimp and carne asada and I made a firetruck cake for C.J.. I still can't believe he is 4! Since it was Mother's day too I made some yellow rose bouquets for my mom and cory's mom. Genna picked some dandelions from the backyard and so we added those, which I thought was so cute!

C.J. was so sweet on his birthday. This is him being so patient as our family sings every birthday song we know-which is our tradition. The next morning he woke up and said, "Mom, am I still 4? I am so happy I got everything I wanted for my birthday, a buzzlightyear and a toothbrush that turns on!"

Genevieve didn't quite get why C.J. got a birthday and not her. So this is her opening a small present...and yes she is wearing a bathing suit:)

This is a picture clock that I saw in a magazine probably a year ago. I thought it would be a good way to use some of the many pictures we are always taking. I have had the pictures stacked in these frames for months and I finally got around to hanging them!

Probably because I finally feel like I should be getting ready for the baby. I had my last day of work and now I am working on getting the house ready.

2 more weeks of tax season!

So last night I had Cory Take a picture of me because I realized I don't have many if any pictures of me this pregnancy. That is mostly because I am usually behind the camera, and partly because since I have been showing Cory has been gone a lot, so the picture just hasn't happened. So we took this picture at about 11:30pm last night. I decided to take advantage of both of us being home. I am 24 weeks pregnant in this picture.

Cory loves the new firm he is at, but tax season is still crazy...and we only have 2 more weeks of it! I am only working 2 nights a week now, so we are surviving just fine. The kids and I have been having fun together but we are all ready to have Cory back soon!:)
Here are some pictures of what we've been up to...

Since it was raining non stop for weeks we finally just bundled up and played anyway. The only thing worse than having no husband for a while is being stuck in the house all day with the kids. My mom gave me the idea to take them out in the rain...and it was wonderful! I guess she knows what she's talking about:) thanks Mom!

We also have been making lots of smoothies and smoothie popsicles. Its the easiest and yummiest way to get the kids (and myself) to eat vegetables. They are showing off their muscles in this picture.

Overall CJ and Genna have been so great through tax season. They are getting so big, and they are so entertaining! This morning I cut CJ's hair, and Genna had to have the same set-up even though she wasn't getting a haircut. She just knows that when you get a haircut you get to eat a treat:)

We are all looking forward to a fun summer, and for the arrival of our new baby. I still can't believe we are going to have three kids running around! We are also looking at bigger cars so I will try to keep the blog updated with that. It should be interesting. I think a mini-van is our best option, but I haven't come to terms with it yet. I just don't feel old enough to be driving a van, but I know the kids would love it!

Half Way There!

Here are some pictures from our 20 week ultrasound that we had today. We even got some 3-D ones which I wasn't expecting, but they are kind of cool. Technology just amazes me! Our baby is very healthy, and judging by how active, very happy! I am excited to announce that we are having a..........Baby! We decided to leave the sex of the baby a surprise until he/she makes their debut in July. I have my inklings...but I am having fun not knowing. Knowing that the baby is healthy is enough for me. Its kind of fun trying something new this time around! I can't believe we will have another baby in July-it finally sunk in today!

I almost forgot!

Genna is obsessed with babies, which is pretty cute! She takes a baby EVERYWHERE we go, no exaggeration. The important thing I forgot to write is that I'm pregnant! Our next baby is due on Cory's birthday July 24th. that's how I know 2011 will be a great year. We have a lot to be grateful for. When we told the kids they were so excited, and CJ said, "We're getting a van! I want a big red one like my cousin Ricky!" I'm not sure about that part, but we are very excited!

CJ spilled the beans at church because they were learning about baby Jesus, and so he told his class "My mommy has a baby in her tummy!" I couldn't have come up with a better way to tell everybody...so cute!