Santa

Melina got to go see Santa! We waited for an hour in a loooong line until it was finally our turn. We were a little afraid that Melina would get scared and not go up to Santa, but she did great. She went right up to him and sat on his lap and told him she wanted a dollhouse. Then she got really upset when we left because she thought she would get a dollhouse right then and there. We had to explain to her that she was there to tell Santa what she wanted and then maybe he would bring it to her for Christmas....if she was a good girl:)

Melina's first haircut

Well, we finally did it. We took Melina for her first haircut. With the exception of her bangs, her hair had never been cut. I was afraid of cutting it and losing the curl, but it was just getting too unmanageable. We only had a couple of inches cut off, but it has made a huge difference when brushing it out. The good news it that there is still curl in her hair, we just have to let it dry fully before she sleeps on it (which actually doesn't happen very often since we usually give her baths at night before bedtime, but oh well.) Here are some pics. We took the camera with us, but the battery was dead, so Russ had to take the first few pictures with his cell phone. Enjoy!

Fun in the Snow!

Melina got so excited about the snow and just had to go out and play in it. So we bundled her up and out she went. It wasn't the greatest snowman making snow, maybe next time.

Logan

We took a little trip to Logan, just for the heck of it. We visited Pepperidge Farms, Gossner's Diary, Casper's Ice Cream, etc. We were hoping to go on some tours, but none of them do it anymore. Oh well, we were still able to visit the stores. We also went to the temple and tabernacle.



Melina had a queen sized bed all to herself and she told me I had to take a picture.


And of course I had to take a picture of her actually sleeping (when else do I ever have the opportunity to do so?) Isn't she precious?

More Halloween Fun!

The week after Halloween we had another Halloween party since my brother and his family were visiting. Since the kids are getting a little older, we decided to do some of the things we did growing up. We bobbed for donuts (or whatever it's called), played pin the nose on the pumpkin, and got dressed up (well the kids did). It was lots a fun.



And just for grins and giggles, I had to post this adorable picture of my niece. She loved the "Y" graphic on Russ' shirt.

Fall and Halloween Fun!

Here's a slide show of some of the fun Fall activities we've been able to do. We went to a Pumpkin Walk in Stansbury Park that had a hay ride and went to see the witches at Gardner Village. And of course we were able to participate in our ward Trunk-or-Treat and then Melina went Trick-or-Treating with her cousin Ethan.

Half Way!

I'm half way through my pregnancy! Yay! All is well, except I think I'm experiencing a bunch of Braxton Hicks contractions, ugh. Anyway, I decided to take a belly shot now that I'm showing. Actually, I'm not just showing, I'm huge! All I can say is that I'm in trouble. Here I am yesterday at 20 weeks.


And just for the heck of it. Here is a picture of me towards the end of my pregnancy with Melina.


Um...not that much different. Like I said, I'm in trouble. I didn't really take any pictures of myself when I was pregnant with Melina, so I'm going to try and be better this time. The only reason I have the above picture is because a friend took it (thanks Em). I will try and post a new belly shot every month.

It's a.....

I had the big ultrasound today. As far as I know everything looked good.

And for the news that you all want to know (if you don't know already)....

It's a boy!

Pictures

We finally got Melina's 3 year pictures taken. She did really really good and we got some great shots. I just thought I would share some of them.

Trying to get a jump shot.

There was a motorcycle in the room and of course Melina just had to sit on it.

Zoo

We had a fun time going to the Zoo a couple of weeks ago. Melina did a lot better than last year. (She was afraid of the animals and would cover her eyes.) She had fun seeing all of the animals and of course didn't want to leave. We saw some of the baby animals...the baby elephant, a baby giraffe, the lion cubs who aren't so little anymore, and the snow leopard cub (we couldn't get a good enough view for a pic).


Melina got to go on the carousel and she loved it so much that she threw a major fit when we told her she couldn't go again.


How does Melina measure up? Apparently she is about the size of a "juvenile primate."

The Great Outdoors!

I am finally getting around to posting this. Over Labor Day weekend, we went camping at The Spruces with Russ' family. It was a relaxing weekend for the most part and Melina had a blast. Here are some pics.

Mm...Chocolate milk!

Melina and her Daddy
Russ with his dad when they went hiking

Melina "cooking"
Elizabeth all bundled up with Grandpa
Here we are just before we went home.

Update

Well, we've had a lot going on lately, so I figured it was time to do an update. Plus, I have some cute pics to share. Sorry, it might be kind of long.

First off, let me just say that I am doing much better. I'm still feeling nauseous, but I guess that's normal for after having surgery. I've been a little stressed lately (we all have) because there has been so much going on and I have been super super busy with work. I am finally caught up and it feels so good. We are also gearing up for our camping trip this weekend with Russ' family (Melina is so so excited). I had an OB appointment on Monday and my fears and paranoia were relieved (I was a little worried about the baby after the surgery and because of all the medication I had taken). All is well with the baby. Actually he or she is quite active. My doctor would find the heartbeat, but then would have to find it again because the baby moved. We are down to less than 4 weeks until we get to find out what we are having. The big ultrasound is scheduled!

We had a fun filled day last Saturday with a reunion and a swimming party. The reunion was for Russ' family on his mom's side. Here's a pic of our little family.


Melina had fun playing on the playground and she found a little friend (a distant cousin) named Brooklyn.


We then went to a swimming party for Anni's birthday. Melina was so excited to go swimming. This was the first time she had ever been to a big swimming pool (I know, I know we've been slacking) and well....she got a little scared. She wouldn't go in--all she would do was sit on the edge and splash her feet.


This was the extent of her getting in the pool and she immediately wanted to go back to the edge.


She actually fell in once, luckily Russ was right there to catch her. That didn't help any in trying to get her to go in the pool. She had fun playing outside of the pool though.


And she of course wanted to go back to playing by the pool once we were done and dressed back into clothes.


Then on Sunday we went to dinner at my parents. As usual, Melina had fun playing with her cousins. When we left, we discovered that somebody had hit our car.


It was parked on the side of the road and I guess someone got too close when they drove by. The mirror was completely broken off, there was a dent and a bunch of scratches, and the hubcaps were broken off (one of them was in pieces). The person that did it was gone, but luckily she came back and we were able to get insurance information. I took it in yesterday to get an estimate to get it all fixed and lets just say we're really glad we don't have to pay for it.

Well, that's about it. We're headed into another fun filled weekend. Yay! I packed up Melina's backpack and she had to put it on. The thing is half her size!


Here are a few more random pics that I wanted to share of Melina "holding" her baby cousins. Too cute!