MAY I

May, burning up.  Seriously our weather got up to the 80's.  I know you in the desserts are calling us sissies but hey you're in door with air conditioning, Seattle hardly ever get above 90 so 85 was hot hot hot.  Seattlites are very outdoor people!  Everybody was hanging around the different lakes we have around here, which consists of a lot of lakes thank goodness.  We really appreciated the weather being so sunny though as we needed to get some yard work done.  We finished staining the fence and all but one trellis.  We planted lettuce, peas, cauliflowers, broccoli, zucchinis, cucumbers, peppers, and Brussels sprouts.  We had some broccolini growing over the winter and our kids have really enjoyed picking them to add as side dishes.  We were very surprised that Debrie loved broccolini so much.  She won't touch any vegetables we buy from the store but if you grow it in the garden, she will eat it.  That made us very excited and we added a bunch of green veggies for this very reason.

From the garden to the stove.  I am amazed that my kids will eat those broccolini all because it grew in the garden.  They usually shun anything green!!

 First part of May was simple.   Yard work, then sitting back, crocheting, and crafting.  The yard looked a whole lot better since this picture was taken. 

 I made an appearance in the local newspaper for the playgroup that I run.  Yay!!

 Picnicking with friends on our porch

 Hiking in the trail few hundred yards from our house

 Looking for 4 leaf clovers with friends after school

Then making wishes come true with a kiss.  Brie said "I can't tell you out loud, but I can whisper to you that I wish for a baby brother"

Lots of love was shared.  Making cupcakes and cutting flowers from the garden for friends birthdays

 Playdates with friends

 Buying and eating yummy watermelon.

 And then the best part about May was Mother's Day.  I feel so lucky to have the mothers that I have in my life.  My grandma was like a mother to me.  She raised me because my mother was a full time bread winner and my sister and I were so close in age.  She consistently advised me to take time and be with each of my children, hence my children are 3-4 years apart.  Then when I turned 20 and got married, another wonderful mother assisted me through the temple and became my mother in law.  Mothers are amazing because they do so much for their kids.  Now that I am a mother, I can feel their love for me even more.   Here is a picture I took of my mother at my sister's wedding.

This is my beautiful mother, cute and fashionable as ever!! 53 and still looks amazing after 5 kids. I love her!! She loves me unconditionally and loves my kids more than I have ever seen anyone loves them. So thankful she is my mother. She taught me to always be the best, never settle for less. Reach higher, study hard, work hard, help others in need, live the dream for her.  This woman survived a war and practically raised her siblings. What a hero!!! 

 Dan asked what I wanted to have for mother's day.  He was suggesting like a diamond ring and fancy stuff, but what I truly wanted was for my family to have a good time together.  I took them to the Rainforest cafe, which my sister raved about on her vacation.  The kids even dressed for the occasion.  Thanks cousin Oanh for the cute skirts from last year which still fit.

 The food was great and the kids were amazed at all the decor.

 Then we brought home a bunch of gifts from the gift shop

 For the occasional I had my preschool kids do this craft.  My little ones also made one for me.

 And of course a wonderful part of May was the big ultrasound of our sweet baby.  We went in and gave the sonographer very clear instructions to not mention the gender to us.  Our OB advised that we have the sonographer write it down on a card because he said many of his patients who decided to keep the gender a surprise changed their minds at the end and then had to go pay for another ultrasound.  So we did just that, we had the sonographer write it down.  The temptation was high, very very high.  We asked the sonographer to tell us when she's down there looking at the gender to tell us to look away.  She was down for maybe a few seconds and then that was it.  I asked her "did you already see the gender?" and she said "yeah".  I asked her "are you sure you already saw it?  That was fast".  She said "oh yeah I'm not even guessing".  Then she flipped it over to 3D and I saw this cute face.  I just fell in love and I said "oh my gosh that is my little boy's face".  Of course.  Dan said "I think I saw it when she went down there".  I said "Dan!  Why did you look?"  He said it was so obvious.  Big grin on his face!!  Ok there's our story.  What are your guesses?  Boy or girl?  My observation is this:  It was clear, obvious and easy to tell.  I just remembered with my girls they were trying to make sure nothing was hiding.  They looked around unlike this one the sonographer took maybe 5 seconds on this ultrasound.  Before we open the card to the public, here's your chance to guess.  I told my family what my guess was and everyone agreed...BOY.  I don't think we will be able to last 'til birth.  Maybe on the next baby, or the next next baby, or the baby after that? :)

 Big nose just like daddy.  Cute wide mouth. 

 And how about that?!!  A big high five!!

Everything is looking pretty good.  I feel so thankful and extremely blessed.  Easy pregnancies, fast deliveries.  With the new hospital built that's only 5 minutes away, I better be able to get my butt over there and be able to get an epidural and not do it natural like with Debrie again.  5 minutes of pushing with Debrie though was nice but I'd rather my drug.