Mother's Day

Collin made me this cute potted flower in school and used his own thumbprints for the petals. He was supposed to wait until Sunday to give it to me but after all week telling me he had a surprise he was making for me he made me peek the second he saw me after school on Friday because he was so excited!. The Monday after he told me he wished everyday was Mother's Day. Me too!

While taking pictures of Mason at 3 weeks Isabelle of course had to get in on the action and have 'lots of pictures taken of her too'

Cute baby!!

More cute baby!!

More Mason

Mason at 1 week. I love his eyebrows, even when they furrow.

Toes!

Big Brother!

Big Sister!

He made it!

Well, I am not pregnant anymore! Mason came on April 19th after LOTS of contractions and 1 push. He is so cute and we all just love him (sometimes Isabelle loves him a little too much).

The view from my delivery room! One of the perks of living here. It made the process a little more relaxing (only a little).

Mason!
He is so cute and such a good baby (so far). I never want to put him down and thanks to my husband, my mom, and my sister-in-law Kathleen who have all been a tremendous help these past two weeks, I haven't really had to put down.
More pictures coming soon!

'Springtime for Merci in Huntington'

Chocolate!!!I hadn't taken any 'belly shots' this pregnancy and now I know why that has not been a top priority for me! Augh! I am huge! Some teenage boy at church yesterday said that I was 'mego prego' and sadly I couldn't really be offended because it is only too true. I have smuggled my share of basketballs out of the church and other locations. I am waiting for this little guy to make his grand entrance. Well, I always prefer the last bow in the curtain call (reserved for the star) so I guess maybe he wants to wait a little longer to ensure a standing ovation. I really am excited though and will hopefully look back on this picture with fondness...someday.

Collin is in the middle of his first season of baseball (t-ball). He is having a lot of fun, and so is Dad of course. He looks so cute in his uniform. I can't believe that he is growing up so fast and I am officially a mom in organized sports!

Easter!!! I actually dressed the kids up in their Easter outfits 2 weeks ago for church and pictures just in case I wouldn't be available on Easter. As previously documented I was quite available (and large) to attend Easter Sunday so they got to have a repeast but they still look cute! It was a good day.

Pretty Adventurous!

Well, I don't blog much but I am skilled enough to change the colors of my blog! I will soon learn how to actually download a background. Mike is in full support of me branching out on my own and gaining computer independence but I am still too worried that I will majorly screw something up. I chose some eastery colors (I know, I had better slow down, I am being pretty crazy). Upping my blogging skills is a post baby goal but for right now I am working on at least getting my bills paid (which I do do on line)!

Tagged!

So my sister Megan tagged me to make me do another blog before my baby comes. This is me and my parents at the Pantages Theatre to see "Wicked" (which my Aunt Shannon got us all free tickets for - yea! - thanks). The show was amazing and now it is not in LA anymore. So even though this was about a year ago it is still fabulous to blog about. I may have already but I don't remember.

Year End Blog Card

Okay, so I didn't get Christmas card's out this year. You can only do so much right? Anyway, I decided to just do the post on my blog and tell about the year and show some pictures of the year. It was a great year, I can't believe that it is already over!! The older you get (or the older your kids get) time truly flies by. Maybe I am that much more busy or I am that much more tired, I dunno. I did take pictures of the kids in their Sunday clothes by the tree and everything but that is about as far as it got. What cute crazy kids!! They get along great...most of the time and they love to scream and run around the house. I wish I had just an ounce of their energy (I would probably blog a lot more) and they can always make me smile.
Isabelle has done a lot of growing this year. She is definitely not a baby anymore (although she likes to pretend like shes one saying 'wah' and 'goo goo') . She is absolutely a little princess and wouldn't have it any other way. I told her it was time for her picture and she ran and posed herself sitting under the tree perfectly all by herself. She knows how to use those great big brown eyes of hers. She is a spitfire, truly strong willed little girl (My mom told me that she is as stubborn as I was - I guess I had it comin') which of course I love about her but it also wears me out. It is probably a good thing since we are having a BABY BOY next spring and she have to hold her own between two boys (I don't think that she will mind the attention)!!!
Collin of course started kindergarten this year. I look at baby pictures of him and am amazed at the boy he has become. He is so bright. He catches onto everything and doesn't miss anything. He loves to be involved in whatever we are doing. After watching Ratatoullie, he wanted to learn how to cook, oh excuse me, be a chef. He wanted to cook for himself (not just help mom with cookie dough) and he made (supervised) maccaroni and cheese and because he was very exact in his measurements, it turned out better than mine usually does (I just throw some milk and butter in). Collin is a wonder to me. He loves to love and always knows when to give hugs and when to draw me pictures to cheer me up (after hormonal pregnancy meltdowns usually).!!
A rare picture of our whole family. We need more of these! We are very lucky to live where we do. I never pictured myself living in California but it has been a better fit than we ever imagined and we hope that we live here for some time to come. Mike's job is good and we have all made great friends here. It also helps that some of my family has moved closer and that we live in a popular vacation spot and get some visitors (definitely more than in Reno).
I had the opportunity to do a show this year and play Maria in The Sound of Music at a community theatre in Irvine! I loved it! It is a role that I have always wanted to play (doesn't every body?) and it was as fabulous as I anticipated! This picture is pretty much the only proof I have as Maria has a ton of costume changes and is rarely offstage but I had to get a picture of me in the signature nun habbit. Maria doesn't make a very good nun and about 5 weeks into the run of the show I found out that I was pregnant and we are due to have a baby boy on April 21 of next year. It seem like everytime that I get into a groove with my singing and performing and have visions of granduer the Lord brings me down to earth and reminds me of my eternal duties and blessings and my true role . I am grateful though for every chance I have to do a show!! I love and it makes me whole. I am lucky that I do get to 'have it all' in moderation of course.

So there is a brief overview of my 2008 and my life. Hopefully I can keep more resoulutions next year, survive having 3 children with flare, and just be fabulous!!! Ha Ha!