the 10 month old speaks

John has been saying "mama" and "dad" for awhile now but the other day he was crying and I asked him, "Do you want do bottle?" Much to my surprise he stopped crying, looked at me and copying my exact intonation when saying this word replied, "Yeah."

Its that time of year

I just read Mama Marshmallow's reasons why she loves this time of year and now all I can think about is peppermint ice cream drenched in hot fudge :) Anyway so I am now 28 and the day is off to an amazing start. I went shopping, which always puts me in a good mood, and found some great deals at gap which I pre-ordered for Thursday when my 30% off coupon starts :) I even found a cute $8 maternity cardigan- I just love deals! Neil ordered me a yummy lunch from Katz's deli, complete with chocolate cake and after nap time the kids and I are having a movie fest. I rented Toy Story 3 and the latest Tinkerbell movie. And I am suppose to get three packages of birthday goodness in the mail today!!! I love getting mail. Since Neil can't be here he is sending stuff and, lets face it, my love can totally be bought. And tonight I am going to the mall again with the Young Women. Grace and John are coming too so lets all pray they take good naps. My game plan is to let Grace run wild with the girls, she loves them, and to buckle John into his stroller and shovel snacks into his little mouth to keep him happy. If the stars all align he may even fall asleep. Cross your fingers!

WARNING

in a few short hours I will be old. Six hours to be exact. For some reason 28 seems much older then 27. 27 seems young, peppy, and spry with good times ahead. 28 sounds dull and wrinkly with an early bedtime. So in order to get in a happy frame of mind for my big day I am going to make a list of fun things I will do while 28.
1. Buy some awesome skin care products to keep my skin from looking like dried out crusty leather ( i have been happily thinking about this splurge all day :)
2. Read that latest Mocking Jay book
3. Get a new baby (we find out the gender on Friday!)
4. Devour the crab risotto appetizer at my birthday dinner with Neil this weekend (yum yum yummity yum)
that is all I can think of for now. Adios

And then there were three

Little Baby Larson number three started wiggling around a few weeks ago. Well, I suppose the baby has been wiggling for a while but I finally noticed. The morning sickness is gone and except for the occasional acid reflux and back spasm I feel great- most of the time I forget I am pregnant. In a week we find out the gender of the baby so then the real planning can begin. This has been a little bit of a shock to my system, I planned on having a nice two year break after having John before the next baby came. But when John was a few months old I started thinking about another baby. I dismissed it the first several times and then I decided to talk to Neil about it. I was sure he would dismiss it as some weird form of the baby blues. So I called Neil and talked to him and all he said was, "let me think about it." Not quite the reaction I planned on. A little while later Neil called me back and declared he thought we should have another baby but we should start praying for a raise. So we did and the next day Neil got a raise. Things seemed pretty clear we were suppose to have this baby now. My mom thinks the little baby was just really excited to get here and couldn't wait. I am feeling all sappy and emotional about my little kiddos so it is probably the right time to stop typing :) But that, in a nut shell, is why there is only a 15 month break between the kids. You should see the crazy looks I get from people now that I am obviously pregnant and carting around a toddler and a baby. I was at the mall the other day and this lady stopped to hold the door for my stroller so I said, "Thanks, I have a lot going on." She looked at my stomach then at John and Grace and told me, with a voice drenched in disdain, "You have too much going on"! Little did she know my children have been the greatest blessings I have been given. (Hopefully that end isn't too didactic).