The Belly

I know you've all been wanting to see a picture--here it is at long last. This isn't the greatest picture of me...but Emily, Ben does want me to accidentally forget to give you back this shirt...he's a big fan. So anyways, here I am at about 27 weeks...6.5 months. I'm not wearing a maternity skirt because well, the one I have doesn't fit yet. But, I am sure it will because on average a baby at this stage only weighs 2 lbs-ish and so that means we have 6 more pounds to go! At least I still have a great tan!

Mom's Birthday/LalaGlendooza

What a great birthday weekend we had! Ben surprised us on Friday and announced that he had finished all of his homework and was taking the morning off! The city of Glendale had planned a big (FREE) Western activity for preschool age kids and so we were off to the park after a scrumptious breakfast (yes, I got my b-day donut). Xander got to pan for gold, catch plastic ducks, go through a maze and we all got free rootbeer floats! We would have ridden on the ponies, but while we were in line, a girl got thrown from the horse, so they put the horses away. We had a blast though--especially watching the blacksmith. Then after an afternoon of rest and meetings (I volunteered as the treasurer for the Thunderkids club--so we had a presidency meeting) we went to dinner. Tonight we'll celebrate with our friends and have strawberry cake. Other than that, life is fantastic! The school had a regional night celebration last night so we dined on foods from Asia and enjoyed entertainment by those from Asian countries. Xander especially liked the dragon dance, the Korean drums and TOFU! He is definitely my son. So we had lots of parties to celebrate mom hitting the quarter century mark--maybe we could make this a tradition?

Homecoming 2007

So, I know Xander isn't 16 yet but it was a picture op we couldn't miss. This is Sierra--one of Xander's favorite friends. Sierra's mom is having #2 on Wednesday and so we had them over to dinner tonight to give her a break. (Dad is away on an interview). Don't they make a cute couple?? :)

Favorite Activities

The camera decided to work today so here are a few shots of Xander's favorite activities: trains, coloring and bubbles. Although since it is starting to cool off (don't hold your breath they say) we may try and head outdoors a little bit--at least in the morning. We still swim daily though. Xander is a natural little fish. Ben was elected to First Tri Rep for Student Gov--yeah Ben! And we joined a few of the other clubs on campus as a family (the French club, Soccer club, International Women's Club etc). We will definitely be staying busy down here.

Alas, No Pictures

Well, I know you are all dying for a new post...but our camera broke (again) and so I have put off posting anything new. Some exciting things though: For Me: I'm the proud owner of a Kitchenaid stand mixer now. I know Ben bought it because it means I'll cook certain favorite treats of his, but I have one...that's all that matters. :) I have also become the Treasurer for the Thunderkids program here...so I'm important:). For Ben: Student Council elections were this week and Ben ran for First Tri rep. We'll get the results some time this weekend. School is tough but Ben keeps plugging along. His first foreign excursion will probably be to Mexico in Feb. And for Xander: (Aunt Kayley can be proud) if you ask him what a shark says he sings the Jaws theme!! He's learning new words all the time and memorized one of his favorite books and reads along now. He also counts to 5 and is speaking more French and Spanish daily. That's really all...I know some of you requested belly pictures but well, I'm still barely fitting into maternity clothes--to date, I've only gained 11 lbs (compared to the 20+ I was at w/ Xander by now) so there isn't much to see. Hopefully we'll get a new camera soon and we'll post then! Take care!

Daddy finally got his guitar out!! And it's Xander's favorite activity now--the boys will sit and play and sing for minutes at a time. :) Amongst other treasures we've found unpacking, Xander has picked up the harmonica and coloring. He really is growing up fast--I guess he's almost 2 though. --SIGH--

Haircuts for Record Breaking Days

Well, after 30 some odd days over 110 degrees here, we decided that Xanders curls, while very handsome, were not suited for the heat. So, Xander got a buzz this week And I think he aged a few years as he shed his locks. Things are going well here though...We have lots of new friends from all over the place. To beat the heat today we had our family outing at Cabela's--Xander loved looking at all the "stuffed" animals and the live fish aquarium. We even got to watch them eat. Ben enjoyed his Bison burger and we all had fun practicing our shooting. All while in an air conditioned facility. Our new addition is still doing well--she is a very active kicker--so she doesn't let me worry too much. I know she is doing just fine.