Anniversary #5

What not to do on your anniversary:

Don't go to the airport just to find yourself having to wait an hour to check your bags, rush to the terminal to find that no one has boarded then once you've finally boarded sit there for a half hour before taking off, over an hour after the flight was supposed to leave, arrive at your destination an hour and a half after you were supposed to and then find out your luggage has been lost, get a phone call at 1:30 in the morning letting you know that they've found your luggage and will deliver it between 10:00 and 1:00 that day, then get another call at 2:30 in the morning from the delivery man saying he's here with your luggage. Oh well, at least we have our luggage! We were planning on celebrating on Saturday anyway.

Happy Anniversary #5! It's been 5 wonderful years of wedded bliss (for the most part anyway!).

Natalie playing the piano

Natalie has loved playing the piano. She will sit at the piano all by herself and either sing songs that she knows or make up songs on her own. It has been a lot of fun.

Gingerbread Houses

Every year my grandma has all her grand kids come over and decorate gingerbread houses. Since we're 2500 miles away we didn't make it this year, so we did it on our own. We had a couple of Natalie's friends come over and they had a great time. Though most of the candy went straight to their mouths, they managed so get some of it on their houses. So fun!

Catching up

Since it's been over a month since my last post I guess it's time for another one. We had a really nice Thanksgiving. We had dinner with some friends and the missionaries were there as well. It's so nice to have great friends especially when you're far away from family. Thanks to the Rothlisbergers for having us over.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we put up our Christmas tree and decorations. I love the Christmas season! I had Christmas music playing while we decorated all day. I think Adam got a bit sick of it, but not me! The Christmas season doesn't last long enough. I also went out shopping on Black Friday. I didn't leave until 10:00 so I missed the big crowds. It was so fun shopping for Natalie. This is the first year that she really understands what's going on and is excited about everything. She loves to see all the Christmas lights outside. We saw Santa on the street waving to people the other day and she thought that was pretty neat. She's hoping that Santa will bring her some play doh for Christmas. I think Santa will be able to handle that request.

So the weather has definitely gotten COLD!!! It's been SO cold these last few days. I think our high was in the low 30's the other day. Brr...


A couple weeks ago I got a call from a friend here asking me if I wanted her piano! She and her family are moving across the country to Washington and decided not to take it with them. They got it from a friend who was moving, for free, who got it from a friend who was moving, for free, so it's a little beat up, but I love it!And it was free!!! It's been so nice and fun to have a piano in the house. Natalie just loves it. I don't think there has been a day when it hasn't been played. Thanks Laura and Clark!
So my 5 year anniversary is coming up next week and I have no idea what to do. Anyone have any good ideas?

Last night I put on a pair of my maternity pants for the first time since I wore them while pregnant with Natalie. I put them on and they felt funny. So I go and look in the mirror and they look okay. Okay until I turn around and check out my backside. The pants were so tight and just looked awful! I got feeling so bad because I still have 3 months to go and I wore these pants up until I had Natalie. They were never too small. So I was feeling pretty bad until I lifted up my shirt and saw that I had the pants on backwards!!! Maternity pants on backwards is not a good thing! Adam just laughed at me when I told him. So anyway, I don't feel so bad anymore. They fit just fine with room to grow! The pregnancy is going well and our little boy is a mover! He is already on the wrong schedule! He's very active at night, and not so much during the day. Great!

We're going home for Christmas next week and we can't wait! Natalie can't wait to see her grandparents and cousins. I've been telling her for months that when it's Christmas time we're going to go on an airplane and see Grandma and Papa. Now she keeps asking me, "Mom, is it Christmas time?" I'm so happy to tell her that it is!

Our cute cowgirl

Natalie dressed up as a cowgirl for Halloween and I must say she's the cutest cowgirl I've ever seen! Thanks to Grandma Hancock for making her costume!

???

How long does it take a penny to be digested and go through your system? Anyone know? Well, hopefully I can let you know soon. Wednesday night we were eating dinner and all of the sudden Natalie started coughing and then started crying. We didn't know what was wrong. She said that her mouth hurt and that she swallowed money. We had been sitting at the dinner table for at least 5 minutes and hadn't seen any coins. So we weren't sure if that's what really happened. But she was really traumatized by it so I checked the internet (everything on the internet is true, right?) and found out that pennies and batteries are 2 things you need to worry about if swallowed because of the zinc in pennies made before 1982 and the possibility of it getting wedged in the esophagus. So we took her to urgent care and got x-rays taken. Sure enough, there was a very obvious round object in her stomach. The doctor said to give her prune juice and check her diapers for the penny to pass and that if we haven't seen it pass after a week we need to bring her in again to get more x-rays to see if it's passed. Since I'm with her all day I have the privilege of checking her poopy diapers for the penny. Let me just say that it wouldn't be something I would really want to do anyway, but being pregnant makes it 100 times worse. Each time I've had to check I've almost thrown up. Pregnancy+checking poop= not a good combination!

Tricked??

Let me get one thing straight here. I did not "trick" Krysta into going to a car show. I called her from work and told her of a neat little Amish market in Pennsylvania that we could go visit. We could shop and eat some good homemade food. After she committed I broke her the news that there was also a car show at the Amish market. I know, a car show at an Amish market, who would have thought? But it was fun. FYI, the DeLorean was no where near as cool as some other cars. One day I will have that 1981 Ford Fairmont (100% vinyl covered bench seats of course) that I have always dreamed of. ha ha ha
I am sure my siblings will get a kick out of the Fairmont sarcasm.

A DeLorean? For real?

Alright all you children of the 80's, you should remember this! Remember the time machine from Back to the Future, the DeLorean? I thought it was just some car that they made up for the movie but I was wrong. It's for real! Adam tricked me into going to an old car show last weekend and we saw one! The doors open to the top just like they did in Back to the Future! "Great Scot" as Doc. Brown would say! So cool!!! I just had to get a picture.

Picking apples

Saturday we went and picked apples at Baughers. It is a "pick your own" farm that, depending on the season, has strawberries, cherries, peaches, peas, and other things. Natalie had fun picking the apples and we all enjoyed eating them. Our new favorite kind of apple is Mutsu. Which we had never heard of before. They made for a good apple crisp last night too. There was a petting zoo, playground and little farmer's market going on there as well. We also had to get some cotton candy. Yum!

Baby Update

We went in yesterday and had an ultrasound to check the baby out. She said the baby looks great and everything looks to be normal. We also found out that...

Nana comes to visit!

Last weekend we got to see my Grandma! One of her sisters lives in D.C. and she and her other sisters decided it was about time they came to visit her. So Adam, Natalie and I got to visit with her while she was here. It was so great to see her. I've missed my family so much! Nana, thanks for coming and making some time for us! We love you!

"All by myself"

Natalie is really growing up and is becoming very independent. She has started saying, "I want to do it all by myself!" And she says it all the time, referring to pretty much everything she does. The only exception is when I tell her she needs to clean up her toys. Then she says she needs my help. What a smart little girl.

What a deal!!!

This morning I went with some friends to a consignment sale that they had been raving about. It happens twice a year and they can't wait for it! Now I see why! I needed to get Fall/Winter clothes for Natalie. I came out of that sale with 3 pairs of jeans, 3 sweat outfits(tops and bottoms), 2 sweaters, 2 shirts, 3 pairs of shoes, a pair of slippers, a bag of mega blocks, a book and 2 Disney movies!!! It was so much fun and I got it all for $40.00!!! I don't know where else you'd find a better deal! The next sale is in April. By that time I'll have another little one too look for! Oh the fun!!! My Mom will be so proud!

"Let's Wrestle!"

Natalie can't wait for Adam to get home from work each day. As soon as he walks in the door she goes running to him and says, "Daddy, let's wrestle!" She loves it, and I think he does too!

Grandma and Papa Rawson come to visit!!!

Last week my parents came to visit us. It was so great to see and spend time with them. Our time just went by too fast! This was my Mom's first time in Maryland so we visited many of the historic sights around here. Three days in Washington D.C. still wasn't enough time too see all that we wanted to see. Oh well. They'll just have to come visit again! We wish they could have stayed longer. Thanks for coming, Mom and Dad. We love you!

Potty Training- Ahh!!!

Adam and I have really wanted to potty train Natalie for the last few months. Unfortunately she has no desire to. She likes to sit on her potty and read books. Or move it around the house and use it as a step stool for turning lights on and off or to get to things that were out of her reach before. It's her new independence. And not in the way we had hoped! Today I decided to put her "big girl" underwear on and told her that she needed to let me know when she needed to go to the potty. She was doing fine for a while then all of the sudden she says "ah-oh". I look down and the carpet is wet with urine. Yuck! I've decided that she's just not interested yet. We've tried to bribe her with treats and stuff and that hasn't worked. We've told her about her friends and cousins who use the potty and that hasn't seemed to help either. I think I'm just not going to force it and let her show me when she's ready. But any advice would be appreciated. I was hoping that potty training would be as easy as getting rid of her binky. No such luck!

Maryland State Fair

We took Natalie to the fair last Saturday. She loved it and had so much fun. She loved petting all the animals and riding the "little kid" ride and eating cotton candy. We saw horses, cows, sheep, goats, pigs (man they stink!), llamas, chickens, and baby ducks. They had a cute little petting zoo for kids. Adam felt right at home with all the cows. I think he would really like to have a farm someday. Maybe when we make it rich and money is no object. So probably in the next few years. Yeah right!!! Anyway, we all enjoyed the fair.

Baby News???

I think it's about time that we announced that... baby #2 is on the way!!! We are so happy and excited. I am 12 weeks along and due March 8th. Natalie will be almost 3 years old when the baby is born. She is excited for a new baby, though I don't think she really understands. We keep telling her that mommy has a baby in her tummy. But her response to that is, "Natalie have baby in tummy too!" Pretty cute. This last week I've started feeling like I'm getting my energy back and I'm not so tired all the time. Though I really can't complain too much. I haven't felt too bad. My pregnancy with Natalie was pretty good so I'm hoping that this one will go just as well. Though this time I'm really going to try not to throw up at Adam's family Christmas party in front of all his family and right next to his dad eating dinner! Not a pleasant memory for me! Or for him!

Palmyra, NY

We got to visit Palmyra while my sister Kelli was visiting. None of us had ever been there before so it was a treat for us all. We saw the Hill Cumorah (hopefully someday we'll make it to the Pageant) and visitor's center there, the print shop where the Book of Mormon was first printed, the Palmyra Temple and the Sacred Grove. What a neat and special place. The Sacred Grove was so peaceful and calm. We were told that we came at a great time. The weather was so nice! My brother Matt said that when he went there a couple years ago he had a hard time enjoying any of it because it was so hot, humid and muggy. Lucky us!

Kelli comes to visit!!!

Last Tuesday night we picked up my sister Kelli from the airport. It was SO good to see her and have her around for a few days. We took her around to quite a few places and just enjoyed spending time together. I wish she could have stayed longer. Thanks for coming Kelli. We hope you had fun! Natalie misses you and keeps saying, "Aunt Telli needs to come to our house." We love you!

The Beach

Last weekend we went down to Annapolis and played on a beach off the Chesapeake Bay. We decided we love to go to the beach. Natalie loved the waves and could not play in the water enough. The first time we got out all of the white on her swimsuit was brown! Yuck! It looked really disgusting. But it's just mud and sand right??? That's what I'm telling myself it was anyway!

Natalie's New Bed

We could have done this a while ago, but I wasn't ready for my baby to be done with her crib. I know she's definitely not a baby anymore, but she's my baby. I'm such a sappy mom! But anyway we finally did it! We took her crib down and put her bed together. Natalie loves it! And I'm getting used to it too.

Nice shades!!!

Adam brought these home from work the other day. Natalie thought they were great. I think they may come in handy with his new church calling. No, not the ward missionary one. The other one, Nursery worker!!! We didn't see that one coming. Mucha suerte, mi amor!!!

Crusin' in the Jeep

Natalie had some of her new friends over the other day. They played in her Barbie Jeep and had a blast! Madeline (4) drove while Emma (2) and/or Natalie pushed the gas. Natalie and Emma are still a bit young for it, but they had fun riding with Madeline and trying to get it on their own. I wish it wasn't so hot and humid here during the day. I was so ready to go back into my air conditioned apartment by the time they were done. Well, before they were ready to be done really!

Miniature Golf

We took Natalie miniature golfing for the first time. We thought she would have a lot of fun. And she did, in her own way. She decided that hitting the ball with the club wasn't the greatest but thought that seeing how far she could throw her ball was much more fun. She also thought playing on and climbing through the different obstacles was a lot of fun as well.

Nice sweater

We got a package the other day from Adam's Mom. She sent the cutest little crocheted vest for Natalie. She had to put it on right then and show it off. What a cutie!

Slideshow

Gettysburg

Last weekend we went to Gettysburg. It was "Bikers weekend at Gettysburg" so we definitely weren't the only ones there. Adam was wishing he was on a motorcycle riding along with them. But visiting there has encouraged us to read and learn more about what happened there. One of Adam's distant relatives had a lot to do with the war there. There were a couple memorials with his name on them, Winfield Scott Hancock. There was also a road named Hancock Avenue. What a miserable place to be fighting a war (not that there is any good place for war). We were there the same time of year that the war took place and it was so hot and humid. We were grateful that we had an air conditioned car to be in most of the time!