Trip to the Oregon Coast

My parents flew up from Utah to spend the week with us. Abby and Maddy loved the extra attention from Grandma and Grandpa. Abby woke up early one morning and was wandering around the house saying "Where is my little grandpa?" My dad was wonderful and used his expertise to help us get our first garden underway. After spending the weekend here, we left Jared to work and the rest of us drove down to Depoe Bay, OR.

We stopped and hiked to a beautiful waterfall along the way. We stayed in a very nice condo right next to the ocean. Unfortunately it was still too cold to enjoy the beach, but we enjoyed beautiful ocean scenes, swimming, trips to aquariums, delicious seafood, and shopping.

Here are the girls in one of the tunnels at the aquarium. Abby got really excited and sang at the top of her lungs "Under the Sea!" from the Little Mermaid.

Abby was afraid to touch the sharks, but was brave enough to touch the starfish and anemones.

Abby in her favorite position (on top of Grandpa's shoulders) looking at the fish.

Abby and Maddy loved seeing the live animals--especially the octopus, the otters, and the seals.

One of the workers let Abby help feed one of the turtles. Very fun!

The weather finally warmed up on my birthday and we made a trip to a few lighthouses (Abby really wanted to climb to the top of one) and Maddy couldn't help but stop to pick a few wild flowers. My dad was nice and watched the girls for me during nap time while my mom and I enjoyed a nice lunch out and shopping without the girls. That night my dad cooked up a delicious crab dinner and we topped it off with Snicker's pie and chocolate ice cream. Yum! We drove home the next day, but luckily we got to see some whales from off our balcony right before we left.

When we got home the girls were excited about the surprise Jared had been working on while they were gone--a new swing set. When Jared told Abby over the phone that he got her a surprise she said, "A new princess dress?" "No." "Is it glittering jewels?" "No, Abby." "What is it?" "Wait and see," I said. "It must be a princess dress!"

It still isn't finished, but they are having fun "helping" him build it.

It's a boy! and other good news

So we got an ultrasound on Tuesday and were very happy to find out that we are expecting a baby boy! Mary thinks it will be fun to have a boy and is happy she won't have to repaint the baby's room. Jared is happy to have a boy to do erector sets and legos with. He loves his girls but I think he is getting a little tired of princess dress up. Maddy is happy because she loves all babies. Abby unfortunately was very upset. When the ultrasound tech told us it was a boy she yelled "No! It's just Audrey!" (the girl name we had picked out). She had her heart set on a little sister with a pink ribbon in her hair. Unfortunately most of the boys she knows are not very nice--they tend to hit her in Nursery. We are sure she will love her little brother once she gets used to the idea. Here are some of the pictures from our visit.

Isn't he cute!

Our other good news is that Abby went up to Spokane for her VCUG and we are happy to report that she has outgrown her urinary reflux. Yeah! Also Jared is happy to report that he will be transferring over to Kadlec's neurosurgery department in the next few months. They are offering him a much better life (hours and schedule, not to mention nicer surgeons) and he is jumping at it.

Easter and Abby's Birthday

Abby's birthday was on Easter this year, which made for a fun party on Saturday complete with egg rolling and bunny hopping races, tape the tail on the bunny, and of course an Easter egg hunt. Very fun!

Abby loved wearing her new Cinderella dress from Grandma Collett and having fun with all her friends.

On Easter morning, Maddy absolutely loved the stuffed dog from Grandma Donaldson and insists on sleeping with it now.

The girls looked darling in their Easter dresses from Grandma.

Abby and Maddy had fun with their Easter baskets which had a few eggs, but which were mostly filled with stickers, crayons, and craft supplies (an attempt to cut back on their sugar intake).

For her birthday Abby got a princess treasure chest with more play dresses from mom and dad, so she can now wear fancy dresses everyday and her happiness is complete.

Mary and Jared April Update

So my sister complained that I only give updates on the girls, and not on me and Jared. We can't promise really cute pictures, but here is our update.
Jared is working as hard as ever, but he feels better about things since he knows there is an end in site. Right now Jared is most strongly leaning toward a job with the neurosurgery group that he used to share a building with. They would keep him at the same salary but give him much better hours and schedule. Originally they offered him a 8-5 M-F office job but Jared expressed a desire to do more surgery. He loves surgery and feels a strictly office job would be extremely boring. The only thing we are waiting on right now is for them to work out how they are going to schedule his office and surgery time so that Jared knows exactly what he is getting into before he decides to accept their offer. We would love to move closer to family, but feel it is probably better to stay put while we are trying to pay off student loans since we have our house here and the salaries here are higher and the cost of living is lower. I guess you will all have to just come visit!
When Jared isn't working, he is busy taking care of his girls. Abby is always asking him to dance with her, then Maddy usually wants to join in too. They love to play with him in the yard, and I enjoyed 2 hours of peace as they "helped" him plant our new blueberry bushes. He also has been a great help to me with doing fix up projects and giving me massages since I seem to be especially achy this pregnancy. If we leave him any time to himself, he enjoys sleeping and dreaming up projects to be energy efficient and alternative ways to make money so he can quit his day job.
Luckily I have gotten over my nausea and am feeling great--as long as I get my 10 hours of sleep. I now have a little pooch and people look at me and wonder if I'm pregnant or just getting fat. I don't know if it's related to pregnancy or not, but I've developed some sort of allergy to all my eye make up. So for now I'm trying not to feel fat and frumpy. I'm excited to find out soon if we're having a boy or girl.

When I'm not busy with the girls, I'm trying to finish a bunch of projects before the new baby comes. I just finished a quiet book which Abby loves to play with at church--I just hope it lasts. I'm also trying to get our house looking a little nicer. I'm sewing new curtains for our bathroom and master closet, but I'm afraid my painting projects will have to wait until after pregnancy. My goal is to at least get our living room furnished, decorated, and looking nice before the baby comes. We should get our living room couches soon, and then we'll go from there. It's fun to finally have my own place to decorate! In my free time (after the girls go to bed) I enjoy reading and watching 24 with Jared--yes we are addicted.