Four.

Ellisyn's year leading up to becoming a four year old has been full of new experiences and growth. She has obviously grown physically, but she continues to expand her ever growing vocabulary and personality. The past year has brought a new level of independence as she moved into the Sunbeams Primary class at church, joined a soccer team, began Preschool, and started a ballet/tap class. The fact that she thoroughly enjoys and excels at each of these doesn't surprise us at all. A few of Ellisyn's favorite things are her two Grandmas, princesses, dancing, cousins, dessert, and being the center of our world. It is so fun to experience old things through new eyes with Ellisyn, because she finds joy in just about anything. Ellisyn is truly a lover of life, and she has been proving it ever since we first held her in the NICU four years ago. It has been the best four years, and we love her more than she will ever know!

Ellisyn's four year birthday request was bowling, unicorns, and donuts. I couldn't think of anything more fitting, so that is exactly what we did! We had family (even Grandma and Grandpa from Arizona) join us for a night of bowling followed by donuts and presents the day before her actual birthday. I think it was heaven on Earth for our sweetest four year old. Once it was officially October 11th, we continued to celebrate with treats at preschool and a special Red Robin dinner with just the birthday girl and her grandparents. Ellisyn has so many people that celebrate her every milestone and love watching her grow!

Boy or Girl?!

The morning of July 13th was filled with so much excitement and anxiety. The sunny Thursday morning was the day of our 20 week ultrasound. This appointment is always greatly anticipated, because the gender of the baby can be determined. Prior to the appointment, Daniel and I had decided to have the technician put the gender of the baby on a piece of paper sealed inside an envelope. We did this so we could find out the gender of the baby along with our family the following day. 

The gender of the baby quickly fell to the back of my mind as the ultrasound began. A huge aspect of the ultrasound is to check the baby for any worries, problems, or potential dangers and is always a little stressful. Daniel and Ellisyn were sitting together watching the black and white screen with me as we counted fingers and toes, measured legs and arms, and listened to the sweat heartbeat of a perfectly forming baby. I am always so grateful for a healthy baby report after any ultrasound, and this was no exception. Once it was confirmed that everything was looking good, we left the clinic with the envelope that would reveal whether we would be welcoming another baby girl or a new baby boy!

The gender reveal party wasn't until the next evening, so in preparation we bought 12 cans of pink silly string and 12 cans of blue silly string. We delivered all the silly string and the coveted envelope to Daniel's co-worker to see the gender and return the correct color silly string to us with the lids removed. By removing the lids, the color of the silly string was unknown. It was all we could do to not cheat a little and find out for ourselves! 

Friday night finally arrived and we were all so excited! Our family members came to our house to enjoy cupcakes and spraying us with silly string. Before the big reveal, we had everyone take a vote by standing on the pink or blue side of the table. We then gave everyone a can of silly string, counted to three, and found out...

...that a sweet baby BOY will be joining our family!! Daniel could not be more thrilled to have a son, Ellisyn can't wait to have a forever playmate, and I'm just looking forward to finally having my mama's boy. It is going to be such a fun change to our family dynamic. We feel so grateful and blessed!

Ice, Ice...BABY!

The first trimester. Woof. I can feel that pregnancy sick feeling just writing about it. Normally, the first doctor's appointment is between 8 and 10 weeks, but due to my previous pregnancy loss, I was able to go in for blood tests and an ultra sound at only 5 weeks. We were able to see a teeny, tiny bean shaped baby. It was such a relief to see that everything was actually inside my uterus this time and we could see the littlest flutter of a heart beat.

After my appointment, I was dropping Daniel off at work when we received a frantic phone call from Daniel's family. Daniel's grandpa had fallen in his garage, hit his head, and was in critical condition. We immediately rushed to his house to find that he had quickly and painlessly passed away. It was hard to comprehend that within the hour we had experienced the excitement of new life and the horror of a life lost. Our hearts ached, but we found comfort knowing that Grandpa Tubbs was the first to know our precious news.

By about week 6, the pregnancy symptoms started to hit full force. I'm lucky enough not to get too horribly sick, but it still isn't the most pleasant three months of my life. I would eat because I felt sick, and then immediately feel sick because I ate. It's a vicious cycle that I know so many others experience while expecting. My two main food groups were buttered toast and Jolly Ranchers. Daniel would bring me a bulk bag of Jolly Ranchers from Winco, and those were the only things that held me together while trying to keep our exciting new secret.

Daniel and I could hardly wait to tell the world our news, especially our families. We decided that it would be a unique opportunity to tell Daniel's parents and siblings while they were all here in Idaho for Grandpa Tubb's funeral. Daniel's parents arrived days before the funeral and met us for dinner at Costa Vida. Before leaving dinner, we gave them a wrapped present with the ultrasound inside and explained that we got them a little something to lift their spirits. They were ecstatic to see that we were expecting a healthy baby in early December! It was so fun to see everyone light up and embrace in happy hugs. We told the rest of Daniel's family over the weekend, and everyone was delighted at the idea of a new family member.

My parents were equally as thrilled when we told them. They were at our house around bedtime so we decided to say our night time prayers with my parents. Ellisyn said the prayer with my help. She repeated the usual nightly prayer until she asked, "Please bless the baby in my mom's belly to be healthy and strong". You could feel the whole room light up with excitement! My parents were so pleased to add a sixth grandchild to the ranks.

At this point, my siblings did not know about our growing family. My sister and brother-in-law have been very vocal about the fact that they are done having children, so we thought it would be a fun prank to have my sister wrap my positive pregnancy test and give it to him, as if it were hers, in front of the whole family on his upcoming birthday. When his birthday arrived, he gladly opened all of his presents before my sister left the room and came back with one last present. It was the pregnancy test. He suspiciously opened it and in complete shock and after a few swear words, my sister gave him this card...

He was instantly relieved and my entire family was left feeling full of joy and plenty of laughter!

We waited until I was officially out of the first trimester to announce our new babe to the rest of our friends and extended family. The announcement was based on the one and only Vanilla Ice and his popular "Ice, Ice Baby" song. It was such a fun way to embrace one of my favorite jams and the happiness this pregnancy has brought to all of us! The miracle of pregnancy is such a precious experience. I feel so honored and blessed to experience something so wonderful, and I'm grateful to be able to share it with the ones I love most!

Six Years.

Daniel and I had a wonderful and whirlwind of a year. Our sixth year of marriage was met with so many great memories and one really scary ectopic pregnancy. My ectopic resulted in the removal of my right Fallopian tube, which really put a damper on our hopes of growing our family. I only ovulate every other month now, so the chance of getting pregnant is practically cut in half and the time it could take to get pregnant is essentially doubled.

Once I had recovered from surgery, we immediately continued trying to get pregnant. The months slowly went by as the negative pregnancy tests filled the garbage can. My baby fever was getting more intense and my frustration grew with every passing week, but positivity and hope remained thanks to Daniel. He so easily comforted me and reminded me that things would happen in the Lord's time.

When March rolled around, I had tried to convince myself that I was not going to take a pregnancy test. I didn't want to face the disappointment of another single pink line shouting at me that I wasn't getting that baby I wanted more than anything. However, the morning of March 30th, I felt like the pregnancy tests in my bathroom cupboard were haunting me. I tried to stay occupied with Ellisyn and the sweet little boy I babysat every other Thursday. We did a craft, played games, and ate lunch together before I couldn't wait any longer. I had to know if I was finally pregnant...

While the two kids were distracted playing together, I snuck off to the bathroom to take the dreaded test. I took the test, placed it on the counter, and left the bathroom debating whether I should even go back and look at it.  It's frightening how much emotion a tiny plastic stick with urine on it can create! I paced around the house for the required two minutes that seemed more like twenty. I cautiously crept back towards the test anticipating one line, but secretly hoping for two. I took a quick glance, followed by a disbelieving double take. It was faint, but it was positive! Tears filled my eyes as my hand cupped my mouth in awe. It was happening! I was going to be able to experience the miracle of creating life for the second time! I felt so overwhelmed with love and gratitude to our Heavenly Father! I could hardly wait to share the news with the world, but especially Daniel and Ellisyn. 

The next while was filled with almost unbareable internal excitement. I always have the intention of telling Daniel I'm pregnant in a cute Pinterest worthy way, but I'm obviously too impatient because I quickly resorted to texting him, "I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant!" He was just as surprised and thrilled as me. He quickly came home for his lunch break to see those two beautiful lines for himself. We spent the remainder of the day making plans, scheduling my first appointment, and daydreaming of what our future would look like with a new baby. 

Two days after confirming the very best news, we went with my sister to take our six year anniversary photos. This is one of my most favorite traditions. We take family photos every year around our anniversary, and it is so fun to look back and see how much our family has changed and progressed over the years. This year's pictures are extra special.  Every time I look at them, I think of how excited Daniel and I were about the little pregnancy secret that was still kept between the two of us.  The past six years (and previous four years of dating) have been the best years of my life. Daniel and I have experienced and accomplished so much together. I'm so grateful and proud of the life we've created, and I can't imagine doing all of this without him by my side!