Father/Son camp out & Mother/Daughter social

Our ward had a father and Sons campout last weekend. Dresden was so excited to go camping. It was a little hard for Ava but our ward also had a Mother Daughter ice cream social that same night! 

The ice cream social was fun, they had a station for decorating frames, writing letters to our mother's, a photo booth, and of course eating ice cream. It was so fun spending the night with just Ava. That night Ava and I came home and watched a show together and went to bed. In the morning we decided to get McDonald's breakfast and come home and have a picnic. I didn't get any pictures though. I'll have to post the photo booth picture of Ava and I later.

I missed my boys but they had a great time! They got to play in the dirt, eat smores, play with sticks, sleep in a tent and have pancakes for breakfast! Eric took a few pictures with his iphone. Dresden was such a filthy boy when he got home! He loved that it was just the boys though!

My favorite picture

It's a GIRL

We had our 20 week ultrasound on May 2nd and found out we are expecting a GIRL!!!! I thought the day was never going to get here. Eric took the afternoon off and of course Dresden was with us. We debated about weather or not we should take Ava out of school but there is so much more than just the ultrasound we thought we would just surprise her when she got home. She was so cute that morning saying "today's a special day mom, we get to find out what our baby is!". And she was so excited to tell everyone that we were finding out.
The ultrasound was so exciting. At first she wasn't showing us anything and I made sure to casually mention to the nurse after she asked if we wanted to find out that YES we want to find out and that we were not leaving until we did! :) But after checking all the major organs and parts she finally gave us a good look! For some reason I felt like this ultrasound was a genuine surprise. Not that I knew what we were having with the other two but that I had no expectations! With Ava I wanted a girl and with Dresden  I thought for sure it was a girl, I already had one and wanted another one so of course that's what it would be. And I'm sad to say it now but I was not super thrilled about it. (Of course now he is the best boy ever) And this time I would have been happy either way. It was just so fun!
I was a little nervous going in though. I had not felt any kicks! I am always paranoid anyway but with it being my third and being past 18 weeks I thought I should be feeling something. I mentioned it to the ultrasound tech and she said it was because my placenta is "anterior" which just means it's in front so it's kinda cushioning the kicks and making it so I don't feel them as strong. The Dr. said maybe in the next couple weeks. I'm 20 weeks right now and have just recently noticed what I think may be little kicks but they are not nearly as strong as I would like them to be! 
I have started to get my energy back and haven't felt any sickness since about 16 weeks. I am not as tired as I was in the beginning. I maybe take a couple naps a week or I'm just out at about 9pm!

So here SHE is! A whole 13oz! We love her so much!

I've never had a 3D ultrasound so that was interesting. Hard to see much with the placenta right in the way.

On our way home we grabbed some balloons and pink candy so we could tell Ava.

We had the balloons on the porch when she got home. She was so EXCITED! I love her genuine smile too!

I had to get m&m's for Ava and jellybeans for Dresden.

We were trying to think of a cute picture to announce with. We tried one with Eric and I and Ava actually wasn't a bad photographer but the kids are just much cuter! So that's the one we put on facebook. And Ava really was so happy!

Parents day at dance

A couple weeks ago they had parents day at Ava's dance class. We got to actually be in the room watching them and they talked to us about what the girls were learning. Eric even made it to the last half hour.  It was fun watching her from the front instead of the back which I am usually doing. They also showed us the ballet dance they are learning. They are doing the tap dance for the recital. She is really doing well and is super excited about her dance recital coming in a couple weeks.

Her favorite move!

First tornado warning

I forgot to mention before that we had our first tornado warning while my mom was here! Everyone was asleep but Eric and I when it came on the news. They stop everything and report for what seems like forever about the tornado and all surrounding areas. At first Lincoln was not in the range but about 20 minutes later it was. The sirens even went off! We had always wondered what that would be like. The tornado warning was for North West Lincoln and we are South but it was still very interesting. And that's the thing about tornadoes, they can change direction so quickly! I don't think anything ever touched down but it was our first experience with anything even close. We though about how glad we are that we have a basement but that we should probably have our 72 hours kits put together soon! We went outside and watched the lightning and clouds change.

This it what they were showing on tv at one point.

The next day was SUPER windy! The kids thought it was fun to run through the field in the wind!

Fun with Grandma

I am so thankful my mom came to stay with us! I can't believe how fast two weeks went by. We had so much fun and the kids loved every minute! We put both kids in Ava's bed and then Grandma took Dresden's bed. We were worried about how they would sleep but they did great!
We mostly just got organized and hung out. Which was such a nice thing for me. My mom helped me get everything ready for a kids consignment sale I did and we got alot of the kids clothes sold. Since we don't know what we're having it was hard to pick what to sell and what to keep but we still made some good money. We also got a whole closet organized as well as the kids closets. Not to mention she kept up on laundry the whole time. She kept saying we needed more hangers but I assured her that once she was gone the laundry probably wouldn't be all caught up like it is while she is here! :) We went out for ice cream and to restaurants, including Cheddars, which was amazing. My mom also took the kids to the park so I could clean or take a nap. I think I got a nap almost every day. She even treated Ava and I to pedicures. It was Ava's first time and she could not have been more thrilled! It was especially nice to have her when Eric left for Boston. I don't know what I would have done without her! The 5 days he was gone actually went by fast and we kept ourselves busy. I'm so grateful for my mom. It's hard living away but she makes up for it when she visits!

It was pouring rain outside so we all have wet hair and I decided to just borrow Eric's phone for pictures.

My little bump!

Ava's lady was so cute and even painted her finger nails! She chose pink with glitter on top!

Dinner at Cheddars

They are such crazy sleepers! I loved seeing them together at night!

Eric helped the kids invent a new game! They are obsessed with sliding down this mattress. We remembered that we had an older one from someone who gave us a toddler bed so now we don't use our good one anymore. They are still doing this everyday. It's nice now Ava can push the mattress up to the top by herself.

Ava changed out of her clothes because we were going to dinner but Grandma got to watch Ava dance! Ava was so happy to have her there!