Ryan, Katie, Joshua, Carter, Landon & Cole: 2010

The waiting game...

We got the results back from the amniocentesis and the baby's lungs weren't developed enough for us to be induced. So we weren't, and who knows when the little guy will come out. I was feeling a wide range of emotions last night; obviously we don't want the baby to come if he's not ready, but it's hard to keep him in there when we're worried about the placenta. Anyway, we're playing the waiting game. I wish he would've been ready so I wouldn't have to worry, but we'll take it one day at a time.

Me and the boys posing in front of the Rockefeller tree. You would not believe the crowd!

Early Christmas Present!

We love baby boys!

Joshua Ryan

Carter Evans

Most of you know that I'm diabetic. It makes having babies a lot more interesting, but luckily I've had really good control throughout all of my pregnancies. (We've received help from above, I know). The difficult parts about diabetes and pregnancy are this: Consistent high blood sugar early in the pregnancy leads to congenital birth defects and high blood sugar late in pregnancy leads to big babies with underdeveloped lungs. Insulin lowers blood sugar. Insulin is a hormone. I probably don't have to explain it, but pregnant women have a lot of hormones going crazy throughout their system, and it makes it harder to keep your blood sugar under control. Also, the placenta kicks out a hormone that is insulin resistant, and it gets stronger the farther along you get. That's why some women get gestational diabetes when pregnant. Anyway, the later in the pregnancy, the more insulin I'm giving. In fact, I usually give 2 to 3 times more insulin than I do when I'm not pregnant. However, this past week and a half, my blood sugar levels have been going a lot lower, and I've actually lowered the amount of insulin I'm giving. The doctor said that's a sign that perhaps the placenta isn't working like it should. Luckily, Landon's moving around a ton, so we know he's okay, but tomorrow I'm going in for an amniocentesis and if his lungs are developed then we'll be induced Tuesday, at 36 weeks 5 days. I've had a few experiences where I got the feeling that we'd be having this baby early, so I'm not as nervous as I might be otherwise. As long as he's okay, we're all excited to have Landon here with us for Christmas. And this means that my mom come out to see him, so she's excited too. It's been fun trying to get everything, or the vital things, ready for this little guy. All I know is that I'll probably get the best Christmas present this year out of all my friends. :)

Update

Posing in front of the largest crayon in the world. We headed out to the Crayola factory when Ryan's dad came out for Thanksgiving. We are sure missing Grandpa!!

Whoops. I guess it's time to do another post. I kind of fell off the blogging bandwagon for a little season. Luckily, most people don't really care about our day-to-day happenings (besides grandmas), so why worry, right?

Ryan was growing his hair out to see what it would be like. When it wasn't smoothed down he could really get some height!

To begin, Ryan's doing well with school. He's studying for his final boards, which makes me very proud of him. They're a little over a month away, and he's working hard to make sure he's ready for them and not cramming last minute. That's a good thing, since I'm due to have the baby in the middle of his 3 tests....The boys are both officially daddy's boys. Josh has been for a long long time, but I've been able to hang onto Carter's affections for a while. Not so anymore. I'm not too sad about it, though. Whenever dad's home, the boys want him to do anything and everything. And Ryan's awesome with the boys. We have a lot of sword fights and wrestling matches. Gives me a nice rest!

I had other pictures where the top of my head wasn't cut off, but at this stage of the game, I'm going with whatever picture is most flattering, not what might actually the best quality picture...tell me I'm not the only one who does that.

As for me, I am 35.5 weeks pregnant. I'm feeling really well for the most part...except that I've got cankles now. Blaah. I went to the doctor's office and they were like, "Hmm, you've gained a lot of weight; did you enjoy that Thanksgiving turkey dinner a bit much? (Real funny fat joke guys.) Are you retaining water?" I said, "Well last time, the nurse who weighed me was nice and rounded down my weight, and this time she was mean and rounded up." What I really wanted to say was, "I don't even count your weight measurements anyway because I always weigh myself in the morning after exercising and clearing out my system, before eating or drinking anything, and without 5 pounds (give or take 4 pounds) of clothes on." Anyway, needless to say I'm beginning the joyful swelling stage of my pregnancy. I've been exercising/running (aka doing the pregnant shuffle) up until now, but we'll see how long that lasts . I carry my babies so low that I don't think it's necessarily kind to the baby to be bouncing his face against my hip bones...maybe light smushing is okay?

I think Josh was trying to do a cool superhero pose. Each time I tried to take his picture, he'd pull out a pose and a tough guy look.

Josh is doing great. He's loving his joy school, and he's definitely not as shy as he used to be. He's asking a lot of questions and wants to know specifics. He says the cutest things. I was asking him the other day what he wants for Christmas, trying to get him to want what we got him...(a scooter). He thought about and said, "Hmm.....I want anything that we don't have." Honestly he gets that from his dad. One other funny thing, is that he's very into style. If he doesn't like a shirt, he won't wear it. Ever. There are some really cute shirts in his drawers that never see the light of day. He always says, "I don't want my friends to see me in this!" Sweet guy.

We dressed up for our ward party. Josh wouldn't wear the head thing (because he didn't want his friends to see him...hah) but Carter loved it! He looked like this the whole night. So cute.

Carter is still growing up too fast for me. He's his little brother's shadow, and luckily Josh is a patient big brother. For the past couple of months, Carter has started getting an attitude. He started throwing temper tantrums and really likes the word "no", but he seems to be calming down again, much to my relief. He is pretty hilarious very sweet when he's not showcasing his stubbornness. He talks a ton, not all of it understandable to the outsider, but great for the most part. If we can't understand him, we'll say different words until we get to the right one and he'll say "Uh-huh!" He signs quite a bit, so that helps as well. Both he and Josh love the missionaries. They'll run up to the missionaries to give them a five, trying to make it sting.

I'll finish up this post just by saying how much I love the Christmas season. We love the stories about Santa and the reindeer and all of that, and we love the story of baby Jesus and talking about the gifts that He's given us. It's such a happy time of year, and we wish you all a very merry Christmas. (Just in case I don't post again for a while!)

29 weeks

So I am now 29 weeks prego. I'll just go ahead and pat myself on the back for making it this far, again. 3rd time around starts to get a bit more difficult. I've still had a pretty easy pregnancy, so I can't complain, but I will anyway because that's what pregnant women do, right? Hah! It seems that my body knows this isn't the first time doing this. Just like me, it's starting to complain more often than it used to. Ryan and I ultimately want six kids...here's to hoping, right? :)

This is a picture of me at 27 weeks. And yes, I'm kind of hiding my belly by accident. I don't know how to take professional prego pictures, I guess.

....And here I am at 29 weeks. Did something happen in there? I don't feel like I've gradually gotten bigger; my tummy growth seems to happen in spurts. And I'm not going to lie...I'm kind of hiding my belly again in this picture, but I looked skinniest in this one...and thanks, babe (aka Ryan) for taking it farther away, I think it helps. :)

Princeton, NJ

Yesterday we were spontaneous and decided to take a trip to Princeton, NJ to see the university. Luckily, the Rasmussens and Gedges were willing to be spontaneous with us. It took a little over an hour to get there. I'm always surprised at how close things are back here in the east. Now if only traffic would cooperate...Anyway, we spent the afternoon walking around Princeton University's campus. A few facts about the University: it's an Ivy league school, it was founded in 1746, originally the college of New Jersey located in Elizabeth, NJ. It moved to Princeton ten years later. If you've seen "A Beautiful Mind", that was filmed at Princeton. I couldn't get enough of the beautiful buildings and greenery. It was absolutely gorgeous. Besides dragging along 7 kids who each took turns causing trouble (mainly Josh having to go potty...there aren't a lot of those on campus), and making it to a pumpkin patch just as it closed, the trip was a success and one of my favorites. Take a look and see if you think it's as beautiful as I do.

These lions sit outside the Nassau Building, the oldest building on campus. It was built around 1754 I believe. I was being an awesome tour guide and told Joseph and Catlin that the building was actually moved from the original college in Elizabeth...Joseph was pretty surprised, and I was saying things like, "Yeah, isn't that amazing? Who knew they could move things like that back then?" Well, they didn't move it, I just thought they did when I read about it on Wikipedia...

The best family picture we got that day. Which isn't too bad considering there are three boys!

I can't really tell you what the rest of the buildings are. Just that they're pretty.

I'd be willing to travel far and wide to get a look at this beauty anytime.

I was standing with our friends while Ryan was taking Josh on one of their many bathroom breaks. I mentioned to them how the campus reminded me of Hogwarts, and they all gave me a look/snort that said I was a big geek face. I might admit it's not the most mature thing to talk about Harry Potter like it's a real thing, but what is all that wrong with having an imagination I ask you?

Latest Happenings

To review our past few months, we headed out to Utah during the last part of August and beginning of September and had a blast. We spent a little less than a week at both parents' houses, and to me, it wasn't quite enough time. Hah, I don't know if that can be said for the grandparents, but we'll pretend like they love to have us crash their homes for long periods of time. Josh and Carter did really well -except Carter got a cold (probably from the lack of sleep imposed by the unthoughtful parents)- and both Ryan and I thoroughly enjoyed the lack of responsibilities we had on the trip. We don't have a ton of pictures from our section of time spent in North Ogden, because Ryan bought a new, very nice, new camera (thank you army for that purchase) that was delivered to my parent's home. However, we had a great time at both spots, and trips like this remind me of how much I miss our families.

Josh playing at Park Discovery in Cedar City. Josh met a boy there and tried to hold a conversation with him. It got kind of difficult when the boy said his name was Rock Dude. Josh didn't think he could understand him (because who is named "Rock Dude", honestly), and kept asking him over and over what he was saying. (Can you see Carter in the background? Cute.)

Carter was able to keep up quite well with his bigger brother!

Ryan likes to say this picture is a tribute to my pokey-out ear. Not funny, Ry. Maybe I'll find a picture that's a tribute to something of yours!!

Somehow we luck out to be in Cedar over the Shakespearean Festival almost every year. I love taking the kids to the Green Show, and this year I think they actually enjoyed it. Maybe it's because we bought them a tart this time...

He's getting to be so big. But really, he is.

Eating some corn from the garden. Man, store-bought corn does not compare! I'd like to say that it's because we're in New York that I don't garden, but actually I'm not what I would call an avid get-things-done kind of girl. I think I have a few more years I can get away with being a bit more lazy....

Ryan loves the Green Show. Carter too. :)

One of our favorite activities was playing in the sandbox. One day the boys were outside playing, and I ran inside to grab something. I feeling extremely guilty the whole time, allowing kidnappers the opportunity to swipe my kids. New York has forever changed me.

We found a potato bug, or a roly-poly if you prefer. I was proud of myself for holding it. I don't know why I've become one of those wimpy moms, but I do not like bugs. Maybe it's just the gross bugs with lots of feelers or legs...although potato bugs have a ton of legs...

Josh and Carter with their cute cousins Avery and Hayden. Josh and Carter, but especially Josh, were in heaven every time the girls came over. Now another girl has been added to the mix: little miss Ella. The girls are all sisters. We are totally in competition with them to make more boys than they do girls.

Private...Sort Of

Many months ago I created tabs at the top of our blog to share things about our boys individually. I was so impressed with my skills that I couldn't stop patting myself on my back. It looked a little something like this:

But I'll be honest, those little buttons took me at least an hour to do. When it comes to making websites, I'm completely illiterate. But for all that hard work, I think my precious buttons went unnoticed. Anyway, now that I've pointed it out, I'm sure everyone will begin flocking to our boys' sites...

However, all good things must come to an end. I'll be making those links private. If you're not a weirdo, and don't plan on using things we post about our boys for nefarious purposes, leave a comment and I'll consider putting you on the VIP list.

For the time our main blog will remain open. I'm not sure my parents know what it means to "log-on", or even "leave a comment". Baby steps...

It's a....

Boy!!!

I'm envisioning three handsome little men, sitting in a row on a church bench, wearing white shirts and ties....three little buddies running around the house, playing baseball together, and building forts...three sweet boys loving on their mom, ganging up on dad in a game of wrestling, and taking care of each other.....three little boys who are all slight variations of their attractive father.....

A girl can dream, right? :)

Happenings

So the first big item news of the day is this: my little brother is married! Tom and Sissi got married on the 13th in Germany, in the Freiburg temple. (I honestly thought it was the Dresden temple, but there is no such temple on the lds.org website so I'm guessing I thought wrong). They'll be living in Germany for around 5 years...that's one incentive for us to move to Germany after dental school! Anyway, I really wish I could've gone; first off to support Tom and Sissi, and second off because I would love to go to Germany. :) Congrats Tom and Sissi!
Okay, so there isn't really any more big news. This week is a big one for us, though. We find out on Wednesday if we're having a boy or a girl (how do people not find out, I'm already going crazy!) and on Saturday we head out to Utah for some family time. We are super excited.

Carter loves wearing glasses. Especially when he gets his picture taken.

He's learned that if he's patient enough to sit for a picture, that he can come up to the camera to see himself after. He even lets me take a few. Smart, cute kid.

We went to play group one day, and Patty brought face paint. She ended up painting all of the kids' faces. (She's awesome like that). Josh was in heaven being a lion for 1/2 hr before he had to take it off for nap time.

We went to Central Park Zoo and Hecksher playground with our friends, the Amorinos, one Saturday. It was pretty fun! The boys kept holding hands at the zoo, but they couldn't coordinate their walk well enough for a good picture, so I had to step in to help steady them.

That's one large bear!

Carter wearing Josh's helmet. It was so heavy, he had to run to keep his head from toppling over.

One of the boys' favorite pastimes.

Cute boys.

Seventeen

Seventeen weeks...seems like I've been pregnant for a long time. How long does pregnancy last again?

Familiar face

I've been told I look like I belong in Ryan's family. There have been a few times that I was actually confused for Ryan's sister Nikki. I've always been extremely flattered and secretly proud to look like an Allen girl; I mean, have you seen Ryan's family? (Hard thing to marry into, my friends). However, it dawned on me the other day, that it's not that I look like them, it's that I look like everybody.
To support my case: In middle school, teachers always confused me with a friend named Heidi. In high school it changed to friends named Mary and Tiffany. At church, people thought my YW leader could've been my older sister. Here's a funny story: the 1st counselor in the Bishopric at my home ward (in high school), came up to me one day and asked me how Lagoon was. I told him that I hadn't gone to Lagoon. Turns out this man had actually gone up to talk to "me" at Lagoon, and came home still believing it was me who (or whom?) he talked to. I have also been told I look like Tara Lapinski, Mandy Moore, and Liv Tyler (Yeah...I think a few were meant as flattery since they came from the opposite sex....hmm...smart).

Since being here in New York, I've been literally confused for Jamie, Katie S., Aubri, Ali, and Catlin in my church ward. Ward members, landlords (apt is in the same house), and neighbors have all told Catlin and I many many times that we look like sisters....really Catlin, it's me, not you.

Maybe all of this mixing-up because I tend to adopt other people's mannerisms. I honestly can't stop myself from talking, laughing, or acting like the people I'm with. -I know I'm doing it, I just don't know how to stop it.- Maybe I'm just a wanderer with no true identity. Maybe I should dye my hair red...there aren't as many redheads in the world...Anyway. I don't know the true point of this post, except now I feel that because I look like everybody, I really look like nobody. At least that means I don't have some huge ugly nose or something...heh, just a pokey-out ear. :)
In all actuality, I look exactly like my dad, except I come in the female version. My sisters looks exactly like my mom. So, funny enough, my real-live blood sister, Erin, and I don't ever get confused for the other. Maybe it's because she has a natural tan. Life can be so unfair.