Exciting news....Finally!

I have been hoping to make this post for a long time and now that it is finally here and happening I can't believe it...I am so excited to announce that we are expecting!! It took us a long time to get pregnant this time around and it has been a difficult pregnancy so far but we are thrilled and can't wait to welcome a second child into our home this August. I am 14 weeks along now, I have been really sick with this one so the last two months have dragged by. I am slowly starting to feel a little better with each day, I am back to cooking dinner some nights of the week, going to the grocery store and cleaning my house occasionally. Its amazing how much we can take for granted feeling good and full of energy to do these basic things each day, I am so glad I don't always feel like this and that I know it will end soon. I appreciate Shane's help during this time, he has really jumped it and taken over so many things that I just couldn't do while being so sick, he is a darling dad to Makena and she adores him. I also owe my mom a ton, she has taken Makena to give me time to rest, brought us dinners and even helped clean my house, I am so grateful to her. We are not really sure how much Makena understands other that we keep telling her there is a baby in my tummy and this summer after her birthday we will have a little baby at our house. She looks at my growing belly with wide eyes and points at it and likes to look at the ultrasound pics of her new baby. She loves babies and is such a sweet girl so I am sure she will be a very helpful and excited big sister! They will be exactly three years apart, at first I was getting so stressed when we were having trouble getting pregnant because they were going to be so far apart but now I feel that the timing is just right for us. Makena is so easy now, we potty trained her in December and she does so good, she never has accidents, she sleeps through the night and is usually a great little helper. She is a bit stubborn which both Shane and I swear came from the other one...ok the whole family is a little stubborn. We have an appointment one week from today and I get to have an ultra sound so we may get to find out what we are having if they can tell. Even though the last few months have been a challenge I am so thankful that I am pregnant and that we get to have another sweet baby come into our family. This is such a fun time in our lives! Stay tuned next week to see if its a girl or a boy!


Here is the first pic of our baby. When I went in for our first appointment I thought I was 8 weeks along but found out I was really 11 weeks along! This was a big suprise and brought a lot of relief to me since I was feeling so sick.

NEW YORK

Over Thanksgiving Shane, me and Makena joined my parents and traveled to New York to spend the holiday with Jake and Whitney and Mandi and Cole since they are all back there going to school. We started out by heading up to Buffalo, New York where Jake and Whitney live. It was so fun to see their darling apartmen and the University of Buffalo where Jake is going to Dental School and to just get an idea of their life in Buffalo. We went to Niagra Falls one day, and then to Palmyra another day to see the Sacred Grove, Hill Camorah, and the Grandin Press. Our time in upstate New York with Jake and Whitney was so much fun. I really loved going back to the church history sites and having Shane and Makena with me this time, there is such a special feeling there. Here are some pics of the first leg of our journey.

The beginning of our amazing trip. Makena was very excited to get on the plane and had fun watching them out the window until we took off.



When we arrived in Buffalo we went to Jake and Whitney's apartment which is so cute! They had a delicious dinner of "real" Buffalo Wings for us. It was great to be with them in their home.

Niagra Falls. This was a very cold and wet day and Makena wasn't thrilled with being all bundled up. Luckily it was the only day that had bad weather.

The boys looking at the falls.

We toured Jake's school, it was cool to see all he is doing to become a dentist.

The Visitors Center at Hill Cumorah.

Walking up to the top of Hill Cumorah.



Visiting the Smith Log Home near the Sacred Grove.

Our little family on the Smith Farm by the Sacred Grove.

Walking through the Sacred Grove, it was so peaceful. It was a cool day but clear and so beautiful.

Fun times just hanging out in the hotel, Grandpa loved giving Makena a bath.

Room Service for our princess! One night when we got home we didn't want to run out to a restaurant to get Makena something to eat so we order her a Peanut Butter sandwhich through room service and it came up on this fancy try, she thought it was pretty cool!

On Thanksgiving morning all 7 of us boarded another plane and headed to Manhattan to spend the rest of the trip with Mandi and Cole. They met us at the airport and then we went to their little apartment for a yummy bruch and to freshen up before our special Thanksgiving dinner at Times Square! It was a wonderful Thanksgiving being all together in New York and the banquet dinner we went to was awesome! While in the city we did A LOT of site seeing! We went to the Museum of Natural History, the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Phantom of the Opera, Central Park, FAO Swartz Toy Store, Washington Square and so so much more. We rode the metro to get around most of the time we were there and Makena loved this, I think it was one of her favorite things we did. We also saw where Mandi goes to school and we went to church with Mandi and Cole. I really loved just seeing their apartment and how they live in New York City, it is just so different than life in Utah. Its busy, exciting and crowded with lots to do. Here are more pics of the highlights from our trip to New York. It was a trip of a lifetime and we loved every minute of it!

Brunch at Mandi and Cole's. Their apartment is super small but they have it set up so cute. I was surprised we all fit so well.

Times Square on Thanksgiving Day!

At our Thanksgiving dinner. Yummy!



Watching the iceskaters at Rockerfeller Center.

Riding the Metro. Makena loved this!



Jake and Makena checking out the Elephants at The Natural History Museum.



Eating hot dogs from a street vendor outside of Central Park! They were really good. This was so fun!

Ney York Stock Exchange on Wall Street.

The Bull on Wall Street...you may recoginize this from "Hitch".

Riding the ferry out to see the Statue of Liberty. It was very windy and cold on the water but a fun thing to do.

Statue of Liberty

We did a ton of walking through the streets of New York!

Washington Square - this is kind of the central place of NYU where Mandi and Cole go to School.

A guy playing the piano at Washington Square.

We went to a really cute Christmas Market one day and this Farmer's Market was right next to it. These were so neat and things that the locals do so it was cool to experience.

Me and Shane in our seats at Phantom...it was amazing and so fun!

!Going to Phanton of the Opera...you can't really see Shane and I very good but I think the view of the street and all the Broadway Play signs is neat.

Mandi and Cole's chuch

Hanging out in Mandi and Cole's apartment, giving our legs a little break.

Playing on the piano at the toy store...this is the one in the movie "Big"

Central Park...my FAVORITE place in NY

Blowing bubbles and having fun in the park.

More fun in Central Park

Pape and Makena enjoying the nice day! What a great trip. It was so fun to be together as a family!

HaLlOwEeN!!!

We had a 3 day celebration for Halloween this year and it was so fun! Makena was Minnie Mouse and was so excited that she got to wear her mouse costume so much. I even painted her little nose black on the end and gave her little whiskers, I think this was her favorite part...gettting makeup on. We started out on Friday with Shane's family. Amy had us all over for a Halloween party. The kids all dressed up and looked so cute. We had all kinds of soup with bread sticks and it was so delicious. The kids played all the fun Halloween games like the "Mummy Wrap" and the "Doughnut eating contest". It was a great party-thanks Amy! Then on Saturday I took Makena Trick or Treating. I wasn't sure what to expect because last year we only made it to about 3 houses and she was done. Also, it was a little cold that night but Makena surpassed all my expectations and absolutely LOVED it! We were out Trick or Treating for over 2 hours and she literally ran the whole time. She was so excited and thought it was the greatest thing ever she could hardly contain herself. She seriously was laughing and bursting with happiness. We went with a few of our neighbors and their kids who Makena loves so she just followed all the kids and kept up with them just great. I kept asking her if she wanted me to carry her but no way was she going for that, she was one of the big kids that night! It was so much fun, I think I loved it as much as her. She looked adorable climbing the steps up to each door and holding her little bag out for candy. When we got home she looked though her bag and set her candy out and was dancing all around. She was wired! It was so cute and funny! Then on Sunday after church we headed down to my mom and dad's for a little Halloween party. We had hamburger soup and lots of great food. My parents surprised us by dressing up...it was so funny and I never would have guessed their costume. My mom was a hunter (not her favorite thing in the world...the first and probably only time she will ever wear the hunter orange. HaHa) and my dad was the buck. They looked really cute and it was a lot of fun. Makena wasn't sure what to think of Grandma and Grandpa in their crazy outfits at first. My mom had a cute Halloween game for Makena to play and we just hung out. It was an exciting and extra fun Halloween this year!!