Dad's Fly

Lest anyone should think Shayne has stopped fishing here's a pic for you.

It's not a fish...though he would much prefer it was...it's the fly he was using to fish for Steelhead on the Kasilof with.

Unfortunately fishing this spring has been slow for Shayne...and the fish. This was his first outing and he didn't land anything, but neither did anyone else he saw.

But...I don't think he's complaining, b/c as long as he's on a river casting a fly, he's pretty content. :)

Hopefully, we'll have some fish pics to post sooner rather than later though...it's about that time of year.

36 Weeks!!

Here I am at 36 weeks. I kinda forgot to take a pic in the morning, and there's a reason for that. After hauling around that belly all day, I don't look so good in the evening...I'm ready for bed. :) So, these pics aren't my best pics...and Shayne wasn't helping!

He was trying to get a genuine smile from me, which is kinda difficult at this time of night for the reasons mentioned above. :) So, at one point he told me to stand on my tippy toes...and for whatever reason, I listened to him! Now, it may not be a great pic, but it's a genuine smile right?

Anyway...I'm feeling pretty good. I started having some different, more uncomfortable, contractions. I've had contractions throughout the entire pregnancy, but this week they are different. So, I called Doc and he just informed me I needed to take it easy and stay down if that's what was helping. But...I'm not too concerned. They aren't real regular or consistent and she's still sitting at a diagonal and and way up under/over my right ribs. So, she hasn't dropped and believe me I'd know it if she had. I can hardly breath or eat or bend b/c she's so high and in my ribs. I wasn't quite this uncomfortable w/ The Bug...he didn't sit nearly as high.

I'm also still swelling pretty bad, but my blood pressure has been perfect so no concerns there. I'm just very uncomfortable, have cankles, hot dogs for toes, and marshmellows for hands. I have a hard time with my hands, and am still experiencing some carpal tunnel symptoms, but I just keep telling myself there's an end to it all and it's not too far away.

I've stopped gaining weight, which is wonderful! And...I'm measuring 40" even though I'm only 36 weeks along...lovely. It's all good though...right?

I try not to complain, and really am so grateful for the symptoms I have, b/c it means I'm pregnant and that is the greatest gift we could ask for right now.

Only 4 more weeks!! (Or a little less if you count my c-section date...but who's counting?)

Happy Easter!!

Yeah for Easter!!

The Easter Bunny didn't show up to our house until after church and The Bug had taken a nap. The Bug's nursery leader thanked me for not bringing him in w/ a sugar high. :)

I should have taken a bunch more pics of him looking for his easter eggs, but I filmed it instead. There were some hidden in the house, and then some more outside. It was great not having snow on the ground...yeah for a very late Easter! The Bug LOVED looking for the eggs. He would squeal and shout every time he found a new egg. It was pretty dang cute.

The pics above are of my two good looking boys. They had matching shirts and I made the tie for The Bug...now we need to find a matching one for dad. The Bug loves his ties, b/c they are like dad. And, he loved showing it to everyone too.

I must say, I love both my handsome boys!!

Happy Easter!

Coloring Easter Eggs...

Of course I have to post coloring Easter Eggs. Last year we were flying back from Idaho the Saturday before Easter, so we didn't get to color Easter eggs. But, this year I knew The Bug would love coloring them, so I busted out the coloring kit the day before Easter.

We didn't do anything fancy, just the basic egg coloring kit w/ vinegar for us. It was so much fun, and I was right...The Bug LOVED it!! We only had one incident of spilling the dye, and I got most of it back into the cup before it ran onto the floor, so we could finish coloring all the eggs. I was amazed we only had one accident the way he would keep pulling up the eggs out of the cup with his spoon to see how they were coloring. He was just amazed at how they were changing color. Evey time he would lift one out, he would tell me what color it was. It was pretty cute.

I loved having the little Home Depot apron for him, though I should have shortened up the neck strap instead of pulling up and tying the apron, oh well. As you can see from the colored fingers he definitely "got into" it. :) I was experimenting w/ my camera, and had the shutter speed too slow while taking pics of his fingers, so after I got it adjusted to where I wanted it, it was just easier for me to tell him to put his finger on his nose so he would hold still. :)

He also wanted to put stickers on his eggs, and happened to have some on his hands already that he thought he could pull off his own hands and put on the eggs. He was disappointed when the didn't stick very well on the eggs. Good thing the kit came w/ some stickers. And believe me...he covered a couple of eggs with stickers.

After getting them all colored he wanted to eat one, so he peeled it and attempted to eat the colored shell part...not so good. He did eat most of the egg, but doesn't like the yolk, so I got to eat that. Looks like I"ll be eating a few yolks over the next few days. Reminds me of when I was younger, and my little sister, Maysi, didn't like yolks either. I ate a lot of boiled egg yolks around Easter time. :)

Anyway, it was so much fun coloring eggs with The Bug. It's exciting when they are so excited and into the fun. Makes it so much more fun for us to watch him get excited about the fun things we are doing.

Play Group Easter Egg Hunt

Notice my kid...not following instructions about staying on the sidewalk until we said "go." :)

I kept asking him to show me his basket of eggs, and this was as close as he got to stopping to show me his eggs. This was after all the excitement, but he still wouldn't stop to show me. Oh well. :)

So, our ward has a little pre-school play group that meets on Monday's. It's awesome b/c it lets The Bug get out of the house and socialize with kids his age, and he gets to play in the gym wh/ burns off lots of energy.

Anyway, the Monday before Easter Sunday, Emily & Angela decided to surprise the kids with an Easter Egg hunt outside...b/c we could...b/c there wasn't any snow on the lawn...b/c Easter is so late this year!!

The kids loved it!! The Bug didn't get it at first, but after seeing the first egg he caught on real quick. The nice thing was that after we were done, we went in the gym and informed the kids that everyone needed to have about the same amount of eggs and we were going to share. The amazing thing was that most of the kids all had the same amount so it turned out pretty even.

It was so much fun, and The Bug had a blast hunting for those eggs.

Thanks Emily & Angela for doing such a fun Easter Egg Hunt!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

I didn't post what we did for my bday last year, and I don't remember what we did, and that made me sad.

So...I'm posting what Shayne did for me, b/c it was so nice...and I want to remember.

While I was showering and getting ready for the day, Shayne & The Bug colored me a birthday card. It beat ANY store bought card you could find...it was so cute! Then The Bug came upstairs carrying my presents...a new fishing shirt (which I will be loving this summer) and a very cool new pink Carhardt cap (I'm definitely a cap wearer.) Shayne had also ordered me a Kindle to read books on, but it hadn't shown up yet. So...I scored in the present department!!

Then, Shayne found a baby sitter for The Bug, and we went on a drive to Homer...just the two of us. It's such a pretty drive, especially when it's sunny. And it was sunny!

It was a beautiful day...BEAUTIFUL!! The sun was shining and it was warm too. So, we drove down there, and while we were there we checked out a pop-up camper for sale we're interested in getting for camping this summer.

We went to a bookstore and browsed around, and then ended up having dinner at the Land's End Restaurant...I thought it was so good. I ate more than I truly could fit in my stomach being almost 35 weeks along, but it was so yummy!

We didn't get home until 7 or 8 pm that night, and The Bug had a blast at the Pugh's. Thank you Jeannette & Dan for watching him for us.

It was so nice spending time with my best friend for my birthday. I could not have asked for a better birthday...

Thank you Shayne and The Bug! I love you both LOTS!!!

Anchorage Zoo!

Just chillin' with the sunglasses while we were driving to Anchorage...and of course, the binky, but that's a whole other story.

We went to Anchorage the weekend of April 8-9th to help Ty & Liz in moving to their new house, but b/c of how things go when purchasing a home, they were unable to move in until the next weekend. But, this meant we had all of Saturday to just hang out with our friends in Anchorage, which we haven't done in almost never!

So, we all decided to meet up for lunch and then went over to the Anchorage Zoo. When I say all I mean: Ty & Liz and their two boys Zachary, and Xander, Kaye & Jared and their two kids Malia & Tyler, and then us with The Bug. So...it was pretty much an outing for the kids.

It was such a nice day with the sun shining that it was pretty much perfect weather for the beginning of April.

It was our first time to the Anchorage Zoo, though the other families had been there before. The Bug not only loved checking out the animals, but he had a blast running around with Malia and Zach. The other two were stuck in backpacks. :)

Notice The Bug and his new sunglasses. He loves them. We were worried about getting him a pair, b/c last year he mutilated the pair we got him. But, this year he loves to put them on and just chill with them. We keep them in the truck and he knows to ask for them, and then that he has to put them away. When he gets tired of them on his eyes, he pushes them up onto his forehead...it cracks me up. And...we don't go anywhere w/o the hat either. And, lately it has to be this particular orange hat...it's his "bobber" hat b/c of the bobbers on the front. But, he kept the glasses on the entire time we were at the zoo. It's nice he knows how to use them now, b/c it makes it so much easier for him when we're driving and the sun gets in his eyes.

Anyway...as far as the zoo...we saw polar bears, seals, otters, brown/black bears, yaks, 2 humped camel, lots of birds of prey, foxes, wolves, coyotes, etc...most of the stuff has to be able to tolerate the Alaskan winters, b/c it's not the biggest zoo you've ever seen. :) So, even though we didn't get to see a lot of exotic animals, it was fun for the kids just to run around and see the fun animals they did.

We are excited to go back another time. And...it was so fun to be able to spend time with our friends in Anchorage too.

Our Sweet Boy...

Could this boy sleep with any more toys and books? Seriously?!

Just waking up

That's some crazy hair!

Of course he found the binky...little does he know Mrs. Sparklenose is going to be taking this one VERY soon. :)

Not a big fan of me taking pics. He usually likes to take 10-15 minutes chilling in his bed, waking up, before yelling to get up. A little bit like his mama in this regard. So, me being there right when he woke up had him all sorts of messed up. :)

While I was taking pics of the nursing covers I decided I wanted to get a picture of our sweet little bug while he was taking his nap. He was actually in the process of waking up from his nap, so I promise I didn't wake him...though it sorta looks like it.

I was reading through our blog book from 2008 the other night and read all kinds of fun little things/mile markers about our Bug, and it made me realize I haven't done that recently for him. So, while posting these sweet pics, I thought I would put some fun information about him as well.

At 2 1/2 he's such a smart boy...seriously. He knows ALL his letters...he can recognize them anywhere. He sings the ABC song too. He also know almost all of the sounds they make too. In fact the other morning he was waking up, and I could hear him over the monitor saying, "J. Jah, jah, jelly bean. I. Ih, ih, igloo." So, if you ask him what letter makes the "quah" sound, he'll tell you, Q. Or the zah sound...and he'll say Z. If you say M, mh, mh...he'll finish with "mouse, or mom". It's pretty amazing.

He also knows all his colors and identifies everything by color. It's not just a car, it's a red car, or orange car. It's not just shoes, it's brown shoes. It's a green shirt, or yellow hat.

He also recognizes quite a few shapes. Triangle is his favorite. But, it's not a stop sign, it's an octagon. But he also recognizes hexagons (he mixes up the octagons and hexagons, but who wouldn't), circles, stars, hearts, squares, and occasionally can point out a rectangle and pentagon. I'm pretty sure I had no idea what a hexagon was until I was in high school! It's all Sesame Streets fault I tell you!

This kid also only swings a bat left-handed, though he is a very right-handed kid. He loves to play soccer in the yard, and kicks with both feet. He also loves to throw the football with dad. He's a very good catch, and is working on catching with his little mitt too. He's got a great shot in basketball, and he should he plays it all winter with dad on his hoop, that dad has raised up so he actually has to shoot the ball. So, sports are his favorite thing!!

He loves his dogs and loves to spend time laying on them, riding them, feeding them, giving treats to them, and chasing them around the yard. He's always very concerned where they are and what they're doing.

He loves, loves, loves cats! I think it's b/c we don't have one. There are two cats where I go to get our raw milk, and he loves to go see and pet the cats. Anytime we are at someone's house with a cat, he leaves the toys to follow the cat around. It's pretty funny.

He's a picky eater...unfortunately. He won't try new food, even though I know he'll like it. I have to be sneaky about the new food I'm giving him. Thankfully, he loves quesadillas and I can hide all kinds of things in those. :) The food he does like is healthy, so again I'm thankful for that. So, here's a list of foods he will eat: Salmon, hamburger(sometimes), eggs, oatmeal, pancakes/waffles, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, broccoli, yogurt, cottage cheese, black beans (or any sort of bean), cheese, peanut butter & honey (sometimes), ANY fruit (LOVES fruit), milk, bread, hot dogs (sometimes), and that's about it. He doesn't like pasta of any type, chicken (unless it's sneaked into a quesadilla), potatoes, rice, ramen noodles, meat (in general, other than salmon), green beans, cauliflower, or pretty much anything else that isn't on the "like" list.

He loves to snuggle and always has. He still likes to climb in your lap and be read to or watch a movie. He loves to lay with his dad, or just chill on his shoulder. He gives kisses and says "I wuv you." Or "Te Quiero".

He's learning Spanish from his dad, but doesn't always like to agree with the words he's learning...they have frequent arguments about what something really is. Example: It's a shoe. Zapato. No, it's a shoe. Zapato. No! It's a shoe!!! He usually wins the argument, b/c mom gives dad a dirty look for making him mad. :)

He's a little bit OCD...ok, maybe more than a little. He puts his toys back in the exact same place when he's done, loves his routines, has to have doors closed, and knows where everything goes, and if it's not there, kinda freaks out about it. He gets this from me unfortunately, we'll be working on easing him up on some of the OCD stuff. :)

He LOVES to be read to, and knows his favorite books very well. He finishes the sentences for you and knows when you've skipped a page or a paragraph and demands you read it correctly. He also loves to sing Primary songs, and a few of his favorites right now are: Bring the World His Truth (Helaman song), I Am A Child of God, I Love to See the Temple, Families are Forever, I Hope They Call Me on a Mission, and I Am Like a Star. He sings along with you, and it's so dang cute! He also loves other toddler songs and dances and sings along when he hears them.

Ok...there are lots and lots of other things I could go on and on about, but I have to stop somewhere. He's such a special sweet little boy, whom we love so much! We've had so much fun watching him grow and learn and discover his world. We can't wait to see how he's going to interact with his little sister. I'm sure I'll have lots of fun and not-so-fun stories of the two of them in the future.

Nursing Covers/Hooter Hiders/Udder Covers...Pick Your Poison

So, I need some 2nd & 3rd opinions...

Do, these reversible nursing covers I made scream..."I HAVE A LITTLE GIRL UNDER HERE?!"

Because that's what I was going for. :)

Is it sad I have two of them? I found the fabrics, but couldn't decide which I like more, so I just bought them all.

I actually made three more of these for my friends who are also having babies...2 boy ones and another girl one. But, I forgot to take pics of them before I gave them to them.

BTW...I got the idea/pattern for them from the blog www.makeit-loveit.com. It's my most favorite crafty blog...I've made lots of things from this website.

Our First Geo Cache

I was amazed at how well it was hidden...pretty good camouflage.

The Bug picked out a quarter and was too excited to show dad what he got. :)

After General Conference was all over, we decided to get out of the house and try our luck at geo caching. We've tried once before w/ Kaye and Jared and it didn't go so well. But, they've done it quite a bit since, and love it. So, we thought we would give it another go.

Shayne also got a new GPS and it has special features just for geo caching. Well, he loaded up some cache's on the GPS and away we went!

It still didn't go so well for us. Part of the problem, is that some of them aren't so accessible in the winter time...or during spring break-up, with all the water every where.

We were about to give it all up, but decided to try one more on our way home. It seemed like it was a little more accessible and had some good hints to go with it.

As you can see...we found our first geo cache!!! It was a perfect one too, b/c it was a large one with items inside, so The Bug was able to pick something out of the can and take it with him. We did find something random in the car to put back in, but Shayne wants to start carrying some fly-fishing flies with him to leave in these larger geo caches.

We actually tried another one ofter this, but it was a micro-cache and I think we found it, but we weren't sure. We like the big cache's better...so does The Bug, at least at this point.

But...now that we have the monkey off our backs, we are excited to try some more this summer! And I know Kaye & Jared will be doing them right along with us. :)

Mom's Helper

So, during General Conference weekend, I felt like making cinnamon rolls (with chocolate chips...is there any other way to make them?), and Shayne didn't object...neither did The Bug.

In fact, he was quick to jump up on his chair and "help" me make the cinnamon rolls. Judging by the amount of time his fingers spent in his mouth I'm not sure how much he helped...other than to taste test. :) He did love using the rolling pin to roll the flour around.

They turned out YUMMY!!!

The Bug thought so too, b/c every time either mom or dad had one, he ate most of it off our plate...sheesh!

Floaties...

...And I don't mean the kind you find in your glass of water after letting a 2 year old drink from it.

I walked by the dog dish one day and found some of his little animals sitting in those big plastic stacking rings floating in the water.

I asked The Bug was his animals were doing, and he informed me they were swimming in their floaties.

I'm assuming he's learned about floaties from his favorite PBS show Word World, and a favorite Sesame Street book that has a picture of the characters at the pool with their floaties.

Anyway...he decided he could fit more in the bathroom sink, so I helped him out by plugging the sink so they could swim. He quickly got the rest of his animals and a floatie for each one.

I was so impressed by his little imagination I had to take pics. He's done this a couple of times since and the first time Shayne saw it he thought it was pretty ingenious too.

Now...we just have to travel somewhere warm enough to go to a pool so he can use an actual floatie! :)

Sorry some of the pics are a little blurry...I had to readjust my shutter speed after taking some other pics.

Baby Shower

Kaye's sister Monica had these digital announcements created...I loved them!!

That's the "Hooter Hider", "Udder Cover", or just plain ole' Nursing Cover I made for Nae. After having two boys, I wanted to make sure everyone knew she had a little girl under that cover! :)

So, on Saturday, March 26th a couple of ladies in our ward put on a double baby girl shower for me and Nae Lepule. It originally started out as a baby shower for Nae that Julie Kincaid and I, her visiting teachers, were going to give her. But, since we both have already had boys (Nae has two boys) and we were both having girls, we decided to just combine it. It was such a fun shower, and it was nice to share the lime-light with Nae.

Because we both have most of the essentials needed for a baby, we mostly got lots of VERY cute little girl clothes. Seriously...little girls have the cutest things! So excited to dress her up when she gets here. :)

Julie hosted it at her house, and provided most of the food as well. Angela Massey came up with a fun game of decorating onsies with all kinds of cute scraps of material, ribbons, and buttons. And Becky Hansen used my camera and took lots of fun pictures. We had a great turn out, and had a really nice time.

It's always fun to mingle with the ladies in my ward...it's such a great ward. It's our second family, that's for sure.

So, thank you Julie and Angela, and everyone else who helped...and all the ladies from Soldotna Ward!!