Baby Ava Renee'

Yep...she gave up the goods :-) We had another ultrasound today and found out that it is definitely a girl! She will be named Ava (Aaron is happy there is another A name) Renee' (which is mine, my mom and my neices middle name!).

Below are two pics...not great...one is her beautiful face and one is her hand waving! She is breech right now and SO active that they had a hard time with the ultrasound again:-) But they are sure it is a girl. I am doing okay but putting on weight like a whale. They think it may have something to do with my medication but aren't sure. In a few weeks we will do labs and make sure that it is not the dreaded d word...diabetes. But... we know that Ava is healthy...and that is ALL that matters!!!!

Here is Baby Ava's face...blurry but beautiful!

Here is her wonderful hand...if you look closely you can see all five fingers. She is actually holding her foot in this pic but you cannot see that part....she is definitely a mover and a shaker!

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful Christmas holiday. On Christmas Eve we went to my uncle's house and Christmas day we went to my mothers. Both days were such joys. Malia was overwhelmed by all of the gifts as were we.

Malia and Daddy loved the snow! Malia wasn't a fan of the cracking sound that came with a lot of the snowy areas...she wanted to be held quite a bit.

Our home...there was SO much snow!!!

Here is Malia with her cousins. They are SO good with her and she definitely adores them!

Here is Malia with the bike that Santa brought her. She loves it but has not had a chance to ride it outside yet!!

Malia and Santa!!

Malia went to see Santa today and it was wonderful. She literally RAN to him when it was her turn (no bashfulness in her) and climbed on his lap. When he asked her what she wanted for Christmas she said a bicycle. He told her she would have to keep her room clean and she just smiled at him. It was so adorable!!!

Here she is meeting Santa and telling him what she wants for Christmas.

Still talking to Santa...I think she forgot there was a line of people waiting. :-)

What a cutie...she did great!

SO EXCITED to be with Santa!

It is so hard to believe how much Malia has grown since last year. Not just her hair:-) but her personality as well. We included last years picture with Santa to remind everyone of Malia's changes. We feel so blessed to be starting this journey again with another baby as well.

24 weeks and growing...

24 weeks and growing!!! Baby, Malia, Aaron and I are enjoying the snow. I am a little antsy...not knowing the gender of our baby but appreciating the excitement of it all!

Here is where baby Ava Renee' or Ramsey Michael is developmentally:

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Getting Ready for Christmas!

It was so fun getting ready for Christmas this year. We have a fake tree (at least until the kids are a bit older) and I never really thought about it until Malia said, "Daddy's building our tree!" Then I did feel kind of bad:-) Malia was pretty good about taking our holiday pic...Aaron wouldn't get his head in half the pics. Ahhhhhh....the joys of Christmas. We are looking forward to Christmas break to get ready for the baby and enjoy. My nesting has TOTALLY taken over. I went from relaxed and laid back TO...we need a nursery NOW! Thank God for my mom. Life is great.

Malia loved helping with the ornaments. There is no rhyme or reason to where the ornaments are on our tree....and that is how we like it. I guess the only reasoning is that the less breakable ones are the bottom. :-)

I love this picture. Malia is so excited to be a big sister. She goes back and forth between wanting a brother and a sister. We can't prepare her either way...because we are just not sure!

We found out we were pregnant with Malia on Christmas morning. This holiday is extra dear to us because of that. She is the best present we have ever received.

We owe my mom big for taking our pictures. I am so picky about them (I am a picture freak if you didn't notice) and I always want a ton. She is such a great sport...so is Malia and Aaron!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well...we have a lot to be thankful for this year. I see so many families struggling financially...losing their homes...and I am SO greatful for all that Aaron and I have. We are able to provide for our family, and we have a great home. We also have a wonderful family and fabulous friends. Here are some photos of our wonderful holiday!

Here are the pies that Malia helped me bake. We made them homemade and she had a blast. She is pointing to tell me that she wants apple pie.

What a cutie!!! She was so excited to go see her cousins for Thanksgiving!

She was fascinated by these.

Here is a pic of my bro. It is not the best quality(a pic of a pic) but he did such a fabulous job. He and my sis in law hosted Thanksgiving and the spread was delicious!

NKOTB....

So....I have been taking quite a bit of dogging because of my devotion to NKOTB (Uh...New Kids on the Block if you aren't in the know...they go by The Block now). Last night was the concert...to say it was amazing would be putting it mildly. It was everything and more. I think Jordan looked right at me.Prefunking before the concert in our hotel room. Yes, we really did stay at the Murano (Sheraton) because we thought they were staying there. And yes...that really is in Tacoma...10 minutes from my house:-)

The two mommas out for a night on the town. Our girls are only hours apart!

This was awesome...they moved to this stage in the middle halfway through the concert. Becky has her original t-shirt from the 1990 concert. That rocks. This time though...she could drink her beer.

All five are there!!! Jon, Jordan, Joey, Donny, and Danny!!!!!!!

Celebrating 20 weeks!! Baby Q loved the concert and danced the whole time!

My girls from college...gotta love them!!!!!
You probably can't tell but this is where Jordan pointed at me.

Maui Memories!!

What a wonderful birthday! We got the opportunity to spend time as a family in Maui. Since Mel has moved there it has been really hard. She is working her butt off in the police academy and is very busy. It was a dream come true to spend some time with her and the fam. My mom and Michelle came as well...my birthday included beach, golf, and good food....what more could I ask for???Malia and I....what a view from our place!

Nope...that is not a hat on his head.

Tiger Woods???? Nope....but a darn good swing nonetheless!!!
Good times! What a cool course! This is the third hole. This hole you get to choose which green to shoot for....awesome!

MAN....I MISS this girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just me and Baby Q!

The whole fam!

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween! We had a wonderful time this year with Chad, Keri, Makenzie and Claudia.
Malia was a giraffe and loved her costume. This is us with Makenzie...she is so great with Malia!

Here we are with Claudia! She was an 80's diva but TOTALLY looked like early Madonna.

Here they are...the three girls!

What a giraffe!!

Here is Malia saying "Cheese!". Also, here are our pumpkins (hers is the one made of potato head parts!)

16 weeks!

I am 16 weeks today and feeling so blessed. Also, feeling quite big. You don't have to be polite...I can tell how much weight I have put on but I can't seem to truly care. I am ecstatic about our baby and that is all there is to say about that:-) We had a dr. appt this week and everything looks good. We have our ultrasound on the 17th of Nov. and we should find out the gender then! I can't help but think about its true purpose...to make sure our baby is healthy. That is first and foremost for us. Malia is getting so big. Very soon now her "paci" will be bye bye...another transition for her. She is going to be a great big sister.

Here is some info about the baby:

How your baby's growing:Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

Pretty amazing!!

What a Wonderful Weekend!!

We had such a great weekend! We had Jazz and Andre' stay the night Fri. We had a family dinner and they loved seeing everyone. Jazz and I had a shopping day on Sat. for her birthday...she just turned 13 which is a big deal.
Andre' was pretty excited by the donuts (we ALWAYS get donuts when they stay the night...and Andre' has a thing about routines...I really like this one!)
I can't wait to see them again when we visit in Nov.

I also got a chance to golf this weekend. I always say that I never golfed better than when I was pregnant and that still holds true. I shot a 45 (we only played 9) and it was great. I love that time with family. With Malia I golfed until I was 38 weeks pregnant...we'll see with this one:-) Life is good...no make that great. Our thoughts are with Mel as she pushes through the police academy. It takes a lot of hard work but we know she can do it. Much love to all.