It's a...

This past weekend my Hart cousins, aunts, and Grandma went on a girls' trip to St. George. While we were there we went to see the Little Mermaid at Tuacahn (which was excellent) and we also decided to go have an ultrasound for me to find out the sex of the baby. Luckily, Jake went along with it (with some pursuading from me) and we made an appointment in Las Vegas at Baby's First Image since we were planning on going there Saturday anyway.

Here I am on the phone with Jake getting ready for the ultrasound. My parents were able to be there via Skype on my cousin Jenny's phone so they got to see the ultrasound as it was happening. It was awesome!

The room was very big and held all 13 of us very comfortably. I asked Maria, the ultrasound technician, if that was the biggest group she'd ever had but she said they'd had over 30 before (probably when the ladies from Sister Wives came in with all their family!). My Grandma Donna had never seen an ultrasound before in her life so that was so special to have her there along with my cute cousins and aunts.

Aunt Lori, me, Ali, Mindi, Gabi, and Cookie waiting for the ultrasound to begin.

You can't see this picture too clearly but the baby is on the screen in 3D. So here's how the ultrasound went: Maria turned down the lights, played some music, and looked at the baby real fast at first and told us she knew what sex it was. Since she saw it so quickly I thought it was a boy for sure. But then I thought, she is a trained technician so either way she'd know what it was real fast anyway. She said we'd look at the baby for a few minutes and then she'd reveal what it was. My heart was racing because I was nervous for some reason. I just wanted to know if that cute baby in my tummy was a boy or a girl. We listened to the heartbeat and looked at its limbs and face. It was amazing!

Finally, she said it was time to tell us what the sex was. She knew I had two boys already and she had said something earlier to me like "No matter what, you are very blessed and you have lots of your family here." So again I thought it was a boy and she just didn't want me to feel disappointed (which I wouldn't have been anyway). Well, she asked, "Who thinks it's a girl?" and only a few people raised their hands (including Maria). Then she asked, "Who thinks it's a boy?" And I raised my hands along with the rest of the group even though I had really thought all along it would be a girl I just couldn't admit it. Then she typed on the screen these words: "Guess what? I'm a prince...then paused for a few seconds and typed 'ss'!" That's right, a PRINCESS!! A GIRL! Everyone cheered and cried! We were so excited! I couldn't believe it! I can't even explain how excited I am to have my two beautiful little boys and now be able to get a baby girl. I feel so blessed! And to have my cousins, aunts, and Grandma there with Jake and my parents on the phone made it just perfect! It truly was one of the best and most exciting moments of my life!

Jake has said since the moment we found out we were pregnant that he was 92% sure it was a girl so when he heard the news he said, "I didn't need you to have an ultrasound to know it was a girl because I have known all along." He's so excited to have a little daughter! She is going to love her Daddy SOOO much and Jake will spoil her rotten I'm sure. I can't wait to see what he's like with a little girl!

Throughout my whole pregnancy I have just set my mind on this baby being a boy mainly so I didn't feel bad if it wasn't a girl. I also thought that because my mom had 3 boys in a row maybe I'd just follow her trend. But I had a feeling it would be a girl because everyone I know right now is having or has just had a baby girl so maybe I would follow the trend. I also dreamt that it was a girl and with both Bridger and Graham I only dreamt about boy babies. In one dream I had I was at the ultrasound and they told me it was a boy and I didn't believe them. I said, "Are you sure it's not a girl? Will you check again?" But I didn't want to plan on a girl. So when I saw the ultrasound and there was definitely no penis and she typed "I'm a princess!" I wasn't really surprised but I was SOOOO excited! I just can't believe it. A girl. Bows, dolls, dresses, cute hair, princesses, etc. How fun! I can't wait to meet this sweet little baby!!

Maria took a picture of the whole group after the ultrasound was done. Back row: Jessie, Mindi, Ali, Suzy, Grandma Donna, Me (Jake and my parents on the phones), Cookie, Gabi, Michelle. Front row: Jenny, Lori, Madie, and Megan. My cousins Megan and Michelle are also having baby girls so it was truly a girls' weekend!

Hart Halloween Party

We had a wonderful Halloween party with the Harts! Even though my mom wasn't here to put on the party Brooke and I stepped up and hosted the party ourselves. Thanks to everyone for pitching in and bringing food and treats! It was so fun! We ate yummy soup, salad, breadsticks, and TONS of treats, decorated sugar cookies, watched the Headless Horseman and just hung out together in our costumes and enjoyed each others company. My mom got to join us via Skype again so she didn't miss out completely. My dad was busy taking some Elders home but he did get to say "hi" later in the evening.

Some of the fun treats we made.

Ivy was a butterfly

Brooke was a witch and Skyler was a scary masked man

Barry was a Cowboy Sheriff

Makenzie was Christine from Phantom of the Opera

Eliza was Snow White

Bridger was a cowboy on a horse

Grandma was Chef Donna. You can catch her on the Food Network.
Turk was...well, Turk
Cookie forgot to dress up :)
Audrey was a ghost
Suzy was an Angel's fan, Whitney and Jessie were zombies, and Parker was Pedro

Madie was Minnie Mouse and she fit into her costume from 4th grade!
The headless Horseman made a visit. That's Jake under there.
I was a mummy because it was easy and I could be fat/pregnant in it.
Michelle was a clown
Scoot was a Ringmaster and Logan was a tiger but I didn't get a good picture of him.
Driggs was a cowboy too
Graham was a little monkey
While Bridger was eating dinner at the table he slowly fell asleep. Poor thing was too tired to party!

I tried to wake Bridger up a little while later so he woudn't miss the party but he just laid down again and went back to sleep. He didn't have a nap that day so next time I need to make sure he's well rested for the festivities!

Smith Pumpkin Party

Each year my Grandma and Grandpa Smith throw a pumpkin party for the whole family. We get together at their house and eat yummy food and treats, visit with each other, and pick out our pumpkins from Grandpa's pumpkin patch. This year we had perfect weather! I didn't even need a jacket!

Grandpa Smith, Bridger, Eliza, and Ivy

Our little family

Everyone waiting to pick out their pumpkins

Bridger sitting on his pumpkin. He picked out a nice one!
Ron, Jake, Lori, Grandma, and Eve

Graham had a great time at the party too!

Graham's 1 Year Pictures

My cousin Jenny took Graham's 1 year pictures for me and they turned out SO cute! This little kid is to die for! I could eat him up for dinner!

This is one of my favorites!

LOVE this one!

Can't Sleep

Bridger has been sleeping through the night since he was 2 or 3 months old. Graham finally started sleeping through the night about 5 months ago. So why is it that I'm the one that can't sleep through the night now?! Is it some kind of funny joke? If so, I don't find it very amusing.

It's 3:30 am. I tried to lie in bed and fall back asleep for about an hour already. Finally, I admitted defeat and got up. Why can't I sleep? Maybe it's because I'm worrying about being called as the new Den Mother while not having a CLUE about what I'm doing. Maybe it's because I'm thinking about the neighbors that I should have over for dinner but haven't yet (I wonder if they're vegetarians?). Maybe I'm just excited for Halloween to come so I can dress up my boys and go out trick-or-treating. Or perhaps it's because I'm dreaming of the little baby that's going to join our family soon...

Yep, we're pregnant! How old is Graham, you ask? Well, if you scroll down to my previous post we just celebrated his 1st birthday. Graham and this baby will be about 19 months apart (just about the same age difference between Bridger and Graham). I will have 3 little ones, ages 3 and under. Am I crazy? I've been wondering that myself but my conclusion is I don't think so. It has been done before and if this baby is as good as my other two than we'll be fine. Luckily, my question was also answered in conference in this talk on children by Elder Neil L. Andersen. Children are a wonderful blessing and I love being a mom! I will take my kids as they come, whenever they come, and thank Heavenly Father for each one of them.

We found out we were pregnant on the night of August 24th. All week I had been getting really hungry and I needed to eat a specific food right when I thought it sounded good (guacamole one night, chinese the next). I started getting pretty moody too and that's when Jake and I thought something was up. So one night after we went out for Chinese food at Manadrin Garden (highly recommend it, by the way--it's in Sandy on Highland Dr. and 8800ish S.) we stopped by the dollar store and picked up a few pregnancy tests (why pay $15 for one when these work just as well?). That night after we put the boys to bed Jake wanted me to take the test but I wanted to wait until the morning so I would still be able to sleep that night. I took it anyway. I wasn't surprised to see that it came up positive RIGHT away! So many feelings flooded through me! The first was excitement, of course! I can't wait to meet this little baby and have him/her join our family! Next came the worry (How will we pay for another baby? How can I have 3 kids under 3? Will it be healthy? etc. etc.) Jake was in shock, I think. But then after we talked about how fun it will be to have 3 little ones to love and take care of we just counted our blessings.

Now, here I am in the middle of the night, wondering if it's another fun little boy or if it'll be a sweet baby girl. Jake says he's 92% sure it's a girl. Bridger thinks it's a boy. Graham still doesn't know what's going on yet. I'm planning on another boy but will be pleasantly surprised if I get a little girl. We have a girl name picked out but are sure having a hard time finding a boy's name (one of the reasons I think it will be a boy) so if you have any suggestions, I'm open to them.

I'm off to bed again. Wish me luck!

The proof

Graham's 1st Birthday

I can't believe my little Graham is 1 already! Where did this past year go? We had a fun day celebrating!

We started out by singing Happy Birthday to him and giving him a bouquet of birthday balloons. He was excited!

Bridger woke up excited too! He knew it was Graham's birthday but he was just as excited. Later in the day when he was supposed to be taking a nap he came out of his room and shouted to me, "I'm ready for the burfday party!"

We spent the day playing and getting ready for the party. We had to clean the house, make a cake, and wrap all the presents. We decided to go take the boys to McDonald's for dinner since we were having an Old MacDonald themed party for Graham. The boys loved playing in the playland!


We dressed Graham up like a little farmer and called him our "One Year Old MacDonald."

What a cutie!


Bridger LOVED having his cousins over to play! Here he is dancing with Ivy while Makenzie played her violin.

Here's Graham's farm themed cake. It turned out pretty cute and was super easy to make!

Waiting for the party to begin

We sang "Happy Birthday" to Graham and he blew out his candle...

...with Bridger's help.

Mmm...cake.

Misty was in town with her kids so we were lucky enough to have her, Eeva, and Mason come to the party with Jake's mom, Lynnadele.

My parents were also able to join the party via Skype!

Graham opening presents. He just wanted to play with the presents he already opened but I kept forcing him to open more or else we would have been there all night!

More present opening. Graham got so many fun toys and cute clothes. He was spoiled!

Makenzie played the music while we played musical chairs.

Bridger as Old MacDonald

Eliza

Makenzie

Cool Ivy

Graham--One year Old MacDonald

Our pinata was a cow and Graham cried when it finally got smashed open.

Bridger taking a swing at it. He loved cheering everyone on. He'd say, "Go for it, BJ!"

Luckily, Makenzie was there to bust open the pinata after all the little kids had their turn!

Look at all that candy!

We had such a fun party! The boys were up late playing with their new toys. Here's what happens the morning after the party when the cake is left out:

And here's the little culprit!

Happy birthday, Graham! You are such a delightful little boy and I'm so grateful you belong to our family!!