It's a Baby...

Boy!! So on Nov. 15th we got to go and have our ultrasound. Baby is totally healthy and quite the little mover. I haven't scanned the ultrasound pictures in yet, but it's definitely a boy. And unlike with Sophie, I already knew what the name was going to be if this one was a boy. So, we're excited to say that this little man will be called Noah Joshua Dickinson.

I have always LOVED the name Noah, so I thought it was a great pick for this little boy. I was really shocked that it's a boy--I totally thought it was a girl (maybe because everyone in my family is a girl). But since Josh comes from a family of all boys, I guess the odds were in our favor. At least we know for sure we'll always have one of each. :) Now onto the clothes shopping since everything we have is totally girlie.

Sophie was so cute during the whole ultrasound. She kept saying, "Bebe, bebe!" She already gives my belly kisses and asks to see my "bebe" multiple times a day (I actually think she's trying to say bellybutton, she thinks it's really funny to see our bellybuttons, but I like to pretend that she's talking about Noah). haha I guess that's my right as a mother to make things up! But we're so excited to welcome this little man into our lives. Now I get to learn about scouting, the different priesthood levels, a mission, and all that good stuff that comes with having a son, although with girls you get to plan their weddings. :) And as Grandpa Dickinson said, at least we know the Dickinson name will live on. My poor dad has to rely on his siblings' kids to carry on our family name of Bateson. Sorry dad! But girls really are the best. :) Anyway, we can't wait to meet you Noah sometime around April 6th-ish.

P.S. Sophie better learn to share by April 4th, 2011 because...

we're...

!!

Yep, that's right, Baby Dickinson #2 is on the way.

Eek! Two kids?! What was I thinking...at least this one was planned.

Here's what Sophie had to say about the whole thing, "I'm not ready to share my mommy!" It's ok, she'll learn...hopefully.

D-Day for this little person is April 4th, 2011. I'm about 15 weeks along and showing quite a bit already. I've heard that happens when you have 2 kids close together. You find out you're preggo and then 2 days later--POOF! At least that's how I felt. I'll put up belly pictures soon. I want to be better about documenting this pregnancy week by week with pictures. I've been feeling great, I don't get very sick with my babies, sorry for those who do. Some days are worse than others, but overall I feel less tired with this baby. Even though I have Soph, with my first pregnancy I was working, in school fulltime, and had a hefty church calling. Now I still have a hefty church calling and a baby, but I don't have homework, I don't have to walk to and from school in the snow everyday, and even though I work 2 days a week, it's not bad at all. I do need to be better about exercising though. I feel fat--without the ph. But I'm grateful to be able to have children. We're so excited for this little person. I hope it's a boy, I already have a name (which I'll reveal once we find out the sex in mid to late November). I guess I'll be happy if it's a girl....j/k! At least we already have all the girl stuff. Healthy, happy, and a good sleeper is all I care about. :)

The Last Little While

Soooo, here's a little something to satiate those tastebuds of yours. I've just come to accept the fact that this is more of a quarterly blog, not a daily, weekly, or even monthly one. ;) But I am more determined to capture the moments in ours and Sophie's lives. So here's some pictures and a couple of videos, hopefully they load, of the last little bit.

At the Puyallup Fair with Spongebob. She liked him, surprisingly enough. She kept trying to pet him like a cat.

At the beach in Cali with mommy. Ow ow!

Eating leftover strawberries and chocolate from the wedding. Yum!

Sophie carries on her mother's legacy. Don't ask. :) And don't worry, I didn't actually let her eat any...I think.

The happy couple holding the cutest baby (although she was pretty wiped at this point in the day, we all were)

Isn't where we live BEAUTIFUL? This is a new walkway they opened up going down to the beach that we love!

So handsome and pretty. :)

Sophie at my sister Cheyanne's wedding getting a kiss from her cousin Jordan. Muah!

At the beach in Cali--how I miss nice beaches with sand instead of rocks and dead jellyfish.

Sophie and Jordan playing in the sand.

Sophie does all kinds of stuff right now. She's running around like crazy, she's started climbing things, oh dear, she says all kinds of words, and she's learning karate. That's right folks, she's a ninja! And it's the cutest thing I've ever seen. Sometimes I look at her and can't the baby that she once was, it's amazing how they change and grow. I always wondered what she would look like as she got older, and now it's so neat to see who she's becoming. Her baby fat is starting to disappear, he legs are slimming and straightening out, and she's starting to look more like a little girl and not a baby. :( Sad, but good at the same time. Her hair is getting longer, and she has tons of teethers coming in. Her little toothy, gapped smile is so endearing to my heart. It's the best smile in the whole world. Some of the words she says are: bapple (apple), nana (banana), dogdog (dog), kitty (I hope you know what this is), uvoooo (love you), bapa (grandpa), mama (mom or grandma, depending on who she's talking to), brapes (grapes), Dat (Uncle Matt), Dadam (Uncle Adam), Drew (Uncle Drew), she doesn't really say her auntie's names cause she never sees them (sorry!), and I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of them right now. She'll repeat, or try to repeat, pretty much anything we say.

Anyway, I love her and I am so thankful that she seems happy and is heathly and is showing me how to love the simple things in life again. I love being a mom, I have people ask me that sometimes, "Do you like being a mom?" I think, you have to ask me that? I LOVE being a mom! The sleepless nights sometimes are the hardest part for me, but I love just about everything else. She has helped me to be excited for the littlest things again because she is excited for them. I worry about teaching her to stand for what's right in a world that makes you feel bad for doing so, but I know that if I teach her the Gospel and lead by example, the rest will follow. I am so grateful to have the Gospel as my guide. And she goes into Nursery in December--I CANNOT believe that! We're excited for the holidays because she's old enough to kinda get them. We're gonna be the Flinstones for Halloween (her hair is perfect for Pebbles!). Now I just gotta make the outfits. Blah! But at least we'll look hott! Woot woot! Anyway, toodles! I'll try to post more throughout the holidays!

P.S. Josh got laid off about 2 months ago and we still haven't had any luck with a job, so if you hear of anything near Tacoma, WA, let us know!

Sophie's Pink Little Pony :)

Here's a video of Sophie riding her little pink pony. Grandma and Grandpa Dickinson got her this pony for her birthday and she loves it! It's so funny to watch her ride it. She truly is my daughter, she loves horses. That's my girl! She cracks me up! Love you soo much Sophie! I can't believe I uploaded a video! It actually worked! Yeah! Many more videos to come, but for now I've got to go. Toodles!

4th of July

So the Fourth of July here was ridiculously cold--no, freezing is more like it! We took some pictures to document just how cold and windy it really was. The fireworks really weren't even that great, but it was still fun to have Josh there. This is the first 4th of July he's been with us in about 3 years or more. Every year he has to work on the 4th, so I loved that part. Of course, the week after the 4th it was blazing hot. Washington weather is so weird! But I still love it here, it's beautiful and so unique--I mean, I got to watch fireworks over the water for free at a golf course! So cool! I loved the way it lit up the water and Sophie would just say, "Oooooo!" Everytime one went off. It was soo cute! She fell asleep right before they went off because it doesn't get dark around here in the summer until like 10 or 10:30, so she was tired. But she woke up part way through them and loved them. All in all, it was a lot of fun. And cold. :)

Our family!

Matt trying to fly. I love this picture because the blanket is blurry, like it's moving, but he's not. So cool!

Daddy and Sophie.

Everyone playing on their gadgets trying to stay warm and waiting for the fireworks, it took FOREVER!

Grandpa and Sophie. Everyone wanted to hold her because she's like a little heater. :)

Cute girl! We got her a bow to wear to church for the fourth, I love it! She's so cute!

Mommy and Sophie! I love how her eyes are soo blue, and mine are so brown, looks kinda cool in pictures.

Mommy and daddy getting blown away!

She really does look like she's getting blown away.

Sophie and Grandma, look at her cute hair!

We missed all of our other family that we couldn't be with on the fourth, i.e. my family. But you were there in spirit! Love you all and happy fourth! I'm so thankful to all those who fight for our freedom and to be able to live in a country where I can worship how I want. The Gospel is so important to me and I can't imagine living somewhere where I wasn't allowed to live it. I am proud to be an American.

Lotsa Stuff!

So tons of stuff has happened since the last time I blogged, what was it now, 3 months ago?! Holy cow! We moved, got an awesome new iMac, which I'm still adjusting to and learning how to use, Josh got a full time job at Wild Waves as the Foods Manager (hallelujah!), and our baby turned 1! Where did the time go?! So here are a few pictures to satiate your tastebuds. ;) I'll be trying to post more over the next little bit. We've done A LOT of stuff!

1. Sophie's 1 Year Birthday Party!

Sophie on her royal princess couch from Grandma and Grandpa Dickinson. Look how popular she is already...haha j/k It was fun to have all those kids running around though.

So these are out of order because blogger is stupid and I don't have time to rearrange them, so work with me here, but here is her demolished cake. I seriously have never seen a kid actually eat their cake like she did. It was awesome! She ate it true fatty style!

After. I don't know what's on her eye, I don't think she got cake on it, maybe it's just the way the picture turned out. Still pretty cool though!

Before. I had to help her dig in, then the rest was history.

Mommy and Sophie on her 1 year birthday.

Her birthday hat and pin.

Her cake.

The cake for everyone. It turned out awesome! Go Safeway! (Nope, I didn't make it. I'm not creative like that. Safeway did a great job for me! haha)

The decorations, courtesy of Josh and his brothers. They actually did a really good job!

2. We went on vaca with my family to Lake Mojave, it's been a few years since I've been there, or seen the sun for that matter. :) haha Josh couldn't come because of his awesome new job! We missed you!

Sophie with her Grandma and Grandpa Bateson (my parents), her Great Grandma and Grandpa Bateson (my dad's parents), and and her Great Great Grandma Wagstaff (my Grandma Bateson's mom). Wow!

Sophie wasn't too fond of the the dogs at first.

But she warmed up. :)

The desert IS beautiful!

Sophie on the beach, she loved it.

We went innertubing! My little daredevil!

First bath camping. Fashionista!

Sophie and Tommy the Turtle. They were friends. haha And yes, that is my sister shaving her armpits in the background--hahahaha The joys of having a blog that your sisters don't check. :)

3. Josh and I went on a date to the temple, I hadn't gone since before Sophie was born! Awful, I know...but it was soo nice to go back!

I love us! Especially him ;)

I love my new dress! Thanks Josh for letting me buy stuff I don't technically need, but really want every once in awhile! I think it's healthy to do that sometimes. =0)

4. Random goings on at our house. The zoo with Josh's brother David, his wife Kimberly and their adorable little girl, Lydia. Etc., etc., etc.

Kimberly and Lydia.

The polar bear was actually awake!

Sophie looks happy.

My crazy little munchkin, oh how I love her. And do you like my pedicure, I did it myself, I was very proud. :)

It's been a lot of fun moving into our own place, we LOVE our apartment, it even has a dishwasher (woo hoo!), having Josh start work again, and watching our baby grow. I can't believe it's already July, partly because time goes way too quickly, and partly because it still feels like it's January--it's been oh so rainy and dreary here. I love my life, sometimes I get lonely staying at home with Sophie all day, but I'd rather be here than anywhere else in the world. It's been interesting managing our own budget again, making our own food again, and being our own family again. Josh's family was so gracious to us for letting us live with them for a whole year, but it's really nice to feel like a real mommy and wife again, I kinda felt like I was faking it when I wasn't able to make meals for my family and really feel the full weight of being a wife and mother. I must say, it feels good to do laundry and take care of my own house; to be alone with Sophie and see how just the two of us interact. It's refreshing. Maybe that's why we had to live with Josh's family, so that I would really appreciate being able to have my own family and being a stay at home mother. I look at it as a blessing now, and not a curse. Not to say that everything's perfect and that I don't get frustrated, bored, overwhelmed, lonely, etc., sometimes, just that I love every minute of it--good or bad. I love the time we spent with Josh's family, but I love my family time even more. :)

More posts to come. Hopefully I can finally figure out how to get videos on here that don't need to be shorter than 2 seconds. :)

Great Wolf Lodge

So for President's Day Weekend in February we went to the Great Wolf Lodge. It was Sophie's first time playing in water besides her bath, and she seemed to like it! We have some great pictures to commemorate the event. Sophie got 2 new bathing suits, which are both soo cute! We had a great time! And please disregard our whiteness--we've lived in UT for 4 winters, and Washington for 2 summers. It was hopeless that we'd tan. :)

Josh on a ride--what a dork! I love him! I know he's hott, but please refrain from drooling over him, he's a married man. :)

Our family! Again, please refrain from Josh's sexy hairyness. I love him!

She's so funny! Love's mouths.

Cheese!

We thought this one was so artistic. I was pretty proud of myself for taking the picture.

Toodles!