Misc March

Misc March

 At the beginning of the month we were able to have our 20 week ultrasound.  My mom was in town for the girls' play so I was able to schedule it the day before she left.  Matisyn ended up not feeling up for school that morning so she came with us too.  Matt met us at the office.  It was fun to have them all with me.  I love to have my mom with me for things like this, especially since it doesn't get to happen too often since we don't live close.  It was special for Matisyn to get to see the baby like that too, although I think she thought when we said pictures of the baby that she would literally get to see pictures the way she is used to seeing them!  I was so relieved to find out all was well with our little one, and they confirmed that it really is a girl!  I still wasn't convinced at that point, DNA or not!

 Lucas still makes "shooters" out of everything!  Here he is making a shooter out of the bristle blocks.

 Lucas got his first hat!  While I visited home for the weekend to help my mom go through my Grandma's house, the kids were shuffled around with family and friends.  They ended up going to a BYU football event at the stadium with Megan, Wendy, and Cassidy one Friday night.  They had so much fun, and Lucas was especially excited to get his very own BYU hat!  I'm very thankful for friends and family to help me out for these different things.

 Lucas loves collecting things in bags.  One day he found a grocery sack and decided to put some of his prize possessions in it and carry it around for the day!

 Matisyn's I have a dream speech.  I love that she ended it with "I will be a scientist."

 The week after my weekend home to California the Helquists were in town for a visit.  It was so much fun to spend time with them.  The kids all got along so well together.  Alison also took a day to watch Lucas for me, and then came home to meet the girls after school, which was amazing of her.  I had my last two day class, a technology conference, to complete before I renew my teaching license in June.  My friend Ashly took Lucas the day before, and Megan and Wendy shuffled Lucas around for the two days I was in California.  Ashly also helped with the girls after school that first week, and my friends Emily and Leah helped with the girls the second week.  It was a very collaborative effort! Alison and I got to escape for pedicures and dinner together that night!

 Even though Lucas has a sandbox he loves, I still can't keep him out of my potted plants!

 The girls got their ears pierced!!!  Grandma Karen took them for an early birthday present to them both.  They were both super excited, and maybe a little nervous.  Emilyn went first and jumped right up on the chair.  She was a little unsure, but really did great.  She choose her April diamond birthstone to get them pierced, and a set of Frozen earrings when she has had them in long enough to rotate them.  Matisyn on the other hand was a mess by the time it was her turn!  I ended up having her sit on my lap, trying to calm her down.  At one point my mom and I thought we would just have to buy the earrings and skip the piercing for her.  My biggest fear was that she would end up with only one side pierced and refuse to do the other side!  As it turned out she finally calmed down, and the lady was able to pierce them.  She was fine after it was done, and said it hurt, but it was alright.  I was so proud of her overcoming her fear and anxiety with the situation.  She chose little teal blue flower earrings.  They both look so cute with their new earrings.  They had to wear their hair up the rest of the month to show them off!

 This was Emilyn's most panicked face.  It was very temporary, the smile came quickly afterward.  I was sitting with Matisyn so I didn't capture her panic, which is probably better!

 Thanks Grandma Karen, and happy early birthday to the girls!

 It's pretty crazy that Matisyn is getting braces!  A while back our dentist said she would probably be a candidate for two phases of orthodontics.  Lucky us!  She was still 8 when we started the process.  She had three appointments to get the process started.  This was the first one where they measured her mouth and got things prepped for the expander.  She had to have spacers put in to make room between her teeth for the expander and get the mold stuff put in her mouth, which were her two least favorite parts!  She actually had a pretty good attitude about it the whole time, until right before it was happening and she started to get nervous.  The expander is so that we can shift her mouth on top and make more room for the adult teeth that have no space to come in.  Then she will get four braces along the top.  We have to crank the expander one turn a night for the first month and then leave the expander in for another 4 or 5 months so the new bone can grow together.  When the expander comes out, she will get braces along the top of her mouth for the rest of the year.  Then we wait 18 months or so after those come off for the rest of her teeth to come in, and we're ready for a full set of braces in phase 2!  So this is the beginning. . .

 Speaking of teeth...Emilyn lost her first tooth this month!  She was beyond excited.  She lost it at school, and said it was the greatest day of her life.  She was so happy when the tooth fairy visited and brought her money and a letter.  I guess that first tooth, bottom middle, was holding in the other bottom middle tooth because she lost her second tooth a couple of weeks later.  She has since announced that she can't wait to lose all of her teeth!

 Three kids with new haircuts!  The balloon and the sucker are always the highlight.

 Lucas got into his steroid ointment while I was trying to pack for my trip.  I thought he was being so sweet to quietly play in his room and let me pack.  He was really spreading the steroid ointment all over his hair (it is a pretty serious hair gel), and wiping it all over his dresser, crib, floor, and clothes.  He had to go in the bath, and I got to work wiping everything down.  It took about 10 hair washings and it still wasn't out.  It made for some easily spiked hair after his bath!

 Because he is just that cute!  I love that he fell asleep with his arms behind his head!

 Matisyn looked so adorable.  I found her fast asleep with her Humphrey book resting on her face!  She is loving the Humphrey books right now.

 Last shot of Matisyn before the braces went on!

 Look at that huge piece of metal on the roof of her mouth!  She has been a trouper, hardly complaining!

 My barely nine year old with braces!

 Matisyn's best friend Alena's birthday party.  Emilyn got to go as Alena's little sister Vivi's guest.  They had a great time swimming and celebrating at the rec center.

I was a little late planting my Christmas amaryllis from Alison because of how miserable I've felt from the pregnancy, so I enjoyed the blooms in March!


I seriously steam burned my hand from the oven during a meal swap night.  It took forever to heal and I had to sleep the first night with my hand in ice water.  It was pretty painful.

Among the piles of papers and things to get rid of at my Grandma's house we found some real treasures.  My favorite find was a box of postcards from my Grandpa Lewis (who I never met, he died the year before I was born) to my Grandma Anne from the war right after they were married.  They were a priceless find, my grandma hadn't even shown them to her daughters.  We also found some baby clothes that belonged to my mom and aunt, an awesome hat of my Grandpa's from when he was a Mason.  I made my mom wear it for a picture!  It was neat to go through things and get snapshots of my Grandparents life that I didn't even know about.  I wish my Grandma was still here so I could ask her questions about all the things we found.

 The ancient hair dryer that I couldn't part with, I remember using it as a kid.  I brought it home to try it out on the girls!

 I found this certificate that my Grandma saved from working in my classroom in the 2nd grade!

 I just loved the outlines of the people in this picture.  I'm pretty sure this was not the set of instructions from my Grandma's current washer!

 A night out to dinner with my mom and brother to celebrate all our hard work!

 As luck would have it Matt ended up with sick kids while I was gone.  Lucas threw up for the first time in his life that I can remember all over the garage floor as Matt was carrying him in from the BYU game, and Emilyn started the next day.  He was super dad taking care of everything while I was away!

 Lucas had to lay down in the bark at one of my OB appointments to closely examine a bug that was crawling by!

 A much happier Emilyn a few days later after she was feeling better!