The good. the bad, & the ugly

Where to begin?! I stay plenty busy at home with Luke and spend most of my time hanging out with him. Most of the time our days consist of a morning walk/playing at the park followed by play time at home where we drive lots of cars and trains or play legos for hours. Then its lunch and nap time. I try to keep up on my journaling/scrapbooking while he naps...sometimes its nap time for me to! In the afternoons we watch cartoons or go to the store to look at toys which is one of Luke's favorite things to do. Once Thomas gets home from work all Luke wants to do is play with his daddy! I try to stay busy with dinner or craft projects while they have their special time together. Then its dinner and bed time. Luke goes to bed by 7 and I'm usually asleep on the couch by 8. Luke just has so much energy during the day...I swear he sucks it from me just so he can keep going. I am almost 28 weeks pregnant and slowly trying to get everything ready for the baby to arrive. Most of what I have left to do are things you wait until closer to delivery like putting in the car seat, setting up the pack and play in our room, and registering at the hospital. My pregnancy has been really good so far with minimal issues. My blood pressure at my appointments has been slightly high and my doctor highly suggests I go on some blood pressure medication. I am torn whether I should take the medication or not. I have to take my blood pressure three times a day at home and every time I take it, it is within the normal range. What to do?!? I finally had my 20 week ultrasound last week (it was only 7 weeks late! but that's a different story) and loved to see baby Ryan! He was not very cooperative with the ultrasound tech and it took her quite a while to get the images she needed. Thankfully everything looks good and right on track! I'm thinking I might have a big baby this time around...Ryan at 27 weeks already weighs 2.3 pounds! I'm very excited and anxious for his arrival! My activity days have been going really well. We had a stake activity day in April and the theme was Mission Possible. The decorations and atmosphere were awesome! We dressed up as secret agents and gave the girls code names. I taught a class on secret service which I think went well. We had around 100 girls come which is more than we were anticipating which is always a good thing. I am impressed by the things the girls already know and understand about he gospel.

Thomas has been very busy at work the last month or so. He has been traveling about every other week. Its both good and bad. The extra pay he gets when he travels has been nice as we are trying to save up to pay for the baby but it has been hard on Luke. He is a daddy's boy and loves to spend time with Thomas. It has also been hard because the jobs Thomas has been sent to have some serious IT issues and he is taking the brunt of blame for the issues. Its taking a toll on him emotionally and he hasn't been enjoying his job as much lately. I keep praying that things will turn around for him, it breaks my heart to see him so down. Thomas is also working hard to complete a testout program for his certificates. Once he completes the program (hopefully by the end of the year) it should help him at work. When he is home, Thomas has been going paintballing and really enjoys the sport. He loves the thrill of being shot at but not dying. Whatever floats your boat!

Luke like any kid is growing up way too fast! He talks amazingly well for an almost two year old. He is now forming small sentences to be able to communicate. Its rare that I don't understand what he is saying. He can count to 18 all by himself and knows his shapes, colors, and animals. He can also recognize a couple of letters but not consistently. He is very bright! He loves to read books and Green Eggs and Ham is his favorite for now. His favorite show is Little Einsteins and I think he would live in the show if he could! He talks about different episodes all the time. He is getting better at sharing and playing with other kids. It is still a struggle but we have made great strides compared to where he was a couple of months ago. He enjoys playing with our neighbor DJ who is almost three. Luke is excited for the reunion and for cousins to play with. It has taken a while but Luke is finally starting to warm up to the idea of a brother. He still wishes it was a sister and sometimes insists that it what I am having but the more we talk about having a brother the more he likes the idea.

24 weeks

me and my assistants at the stake activity days

Luke's first 4-wheeler ride