(Long Lost Pictures!) Ice Skating, Santa's House & Tan's Chrismas Party

I had totally forgotten about these pictures until I was sorting through all of our many memory cards and discovered them! We took Tanner (and Troy) ice skating and what a time! Tanner was so excited to go and get his fancy skates on, but when it was time for him and Adam to climb onto the ice, he started freaking out. They made one lap around the rink and Tanner was crying so much that Adam decided they were done. We had heard that Santa was supposed to be skating that day too, but after all the tears and an hour later we gave up on waiting for his "big arrival". I think Tanner would have enjoyed skating more if he would have been able to push around a five gallon bucket and skate on his own, but for some reason the workers there were allowing a ton of these older kids to use them. Lame. Maybe when Troy gets bigger we'll try again ;)

Tanner was very relieved that they were done skating!

Troy couldn't believe how much there was to see!

After leaving the ice arena, we hoped to catch Santa at his house... of course, he was out for lunch when we came and it was so brutally cold that we decided to go home. We did get the chance to look around where he spends (part of) his day. The boys loved it! Sadly, this is the first year that we haven't gotten a picture with Santa, but we're going to make sure that next year we get a good one with all three kiddos!

Here's the idea that I came up with for the treat bags for Tanner's Christmas party at school... I honestly can't take credit for the making of these beautiful bags because, well, I was in the early, tired, nauseous stages of pregnancy, so my good friend Stephanie made all of these bags, while I sat by and watched and oooo-ed and awwww-ed over her really cute baby!

I didn't get any pictures at all of Tanner's actual party at school but I did get a picture of him in front of the classroom's Christmas tree, in the really cute tie that I made him! He's such a cute little stud!!!

Of course shirt is untucked... he's a rebel.

Troy wanted to pose in front of the tree too! He's so stinkin' cute!!

Bath Beauties

I haven't taken pictures of the boys playing in the bath in forever! So, here it is, our cute, clean boys!

Preschool Pajama Day!

This past Friday (the 28th) Tanner had Pajama Day at Preschool and he had a blast!!! He told me on the way to school that he was also supposed to bring his pillow and favorite blanket. Uggggh. "Tanner, we've already left the house and I'm sure no one is going to bring a blanket and pillow with them to school." Well, every once in awhile I am wrong. It's rare, but occasionally it does happen! We walked into the classroom and I see every single kid with a pillow and blanket and I felt my entire body go dizzy. I hoped that Tanner wouldn't notice and so I casually sign him in and when I turn to look at him and tell him goodbye, he's balling! I felt terrible!!! Thankfully, his teacher planned on having a parent like me, so she brought extra blankets! That helped out a ton! Tanner also brought his new monkey that Grandpa Kenny and Grandma Judy bought him to lounge with!

much happier after Mrs. Jessie saved the day!

This is Tanner's best little buddy, Caleb. They are too stinkin' cute together, but from what I've seen, I think these two get together and make for a pretty ornery twosome!

Caleb and Tanner

I arrived to Tanner's classroom about 15 minutes early to get more pictures (you don't think I'd miss capturing Pajama Day do you???) and when I got there, all the kids were sitting quietly (except for Tanner....) on their blankets drinking hot chocolate! Tanner was sharing with the class how his mom is pregnant with one baby, not two. He told all of them how he and his mom both wish that she had two babies in her tummy, but there's still only one... That kid cracks me up! His teacher thinks he's quite a character and I'm sure the kids love this stories from home!

After hot chocolate, the class played a game where someone would sit in the front of the class with a blindfold, the teacher would then pick someone to take the toy from under the chair, everyone would then hide their hands behind their back and the person in the chair would go around the classroom trying to guess who had the toy. I remember playing games like this and all of the kids enjoyed it just as much as I did when I was their age!

Tanner and Allie both loved this game!

Tanner's turn!

Here are some of the boys in Tanner's class. They're quite the gang, aren't they?!!

Tanner, Mika, Henry, Kolby

Larsen Update

Dang, I feel like I haven't posted in forever!

Catching up on things... this is what we've been up to:

• Troy has learned some new words! "Bye, bye", "Buzz" (as in Buzz Lightyear), "Wash" (when he needs to clean something)

• Tanner's out-growing his imaginary friends! Sad day for mommy. It's hard when you're around the kids 24/7, you at times don't notice when things come or go because there's always so much going on. Tanner, today while painting, mentioned his friend John. Right when he said the name, my heart just about fell. I thought, "I haven't heard of John or Michael in forever!" It made me so sad, because I realized that he's out growing them...

• The belly button has officially popped! A few days ago, while I was getting ready and examining the big belly, I realized something that most pregnant women don't notice until much later in their pregnancy. My belly button has officially become an "expose-y"! The type of "button" I have, thankfully, won't become a full blown outtie (how is that spelled??) so we'll call it an "expose-y"!!

• Troy has helped The Terrible Twos Stage live up to its name. Man, he's such a pill these days. And not one of those easy teeny, tiny little pills that are easy to take... one of those big, honker horse pills. Uuuuuuuuuugh. I fight him every time I change his diaper or get him dressed. He even yells at me when I'm not getting him fed fast enough! He's such a stinker right now! But you'd never know it from that adorable, ornery face!!

(boogs and all!)

•  Troy is such a Daddy's Boy! Man, does that little guy love his daddy! I'm not even allowed to put him to bed or get him in the morning because he screams at me and yells "Daaaaaa!" Since I get Mommy and Troy time ALL DAY LONG, while Daddy's at work, I'm okay with the fact that I'm second best when Adam's home!

• I sure do love scrapbooking! I've been hard at work! I've been busy with my brother Joe's scrapbook for his graduation gift. IT'S LOOKIN' GOOD! I'm so excited for him and my mom to finally see the finished product!! I just finished these bird silouette pictures for our bathroom.. I LOVE how they turned out and I love the frames that they're in. The frame on the left was gold and the frame on the right was a natural wood color, now both are black and lookin' awesome! Now I just need to find an amazing shower curtain to go with these and the new towels and rug Adam and I just bought!

(looks dang professional, if I do say so myself!)

• Adam has been doing an amazing job! He's built a wall in Fred and Jan's basement, giving them a second bedroom down there. Now that the wall is complete, he's getting ready to move onto building the closet! We're very excited for the day this project is complete, given the fact that we're staying with his parents, so we'll finally be staying in a two bedroom place instead of cramming into a one! 

 (Adam has a little "Dr. Evil" going on... or something ;)

• Tanner's getting ready for kindergarten!!! His preschool has sent us home some prep work for kindergarten! We need to buy him a folder this weekend so he can start bringing homework home (which he is very excited about)! I can't believe he only has four months left of preschool and then he's onto the big world of grade school! Eeek!
• It's exhausting looking up baby names. I dread looking through all those baby name books. It's page after page of Uganawa and Selfinia or whatever... you know what I mean. The weirdest, most ridiculous names ever and I scan through every one... trying to sound out most, but then usually giving up. I've come up with 27 boy names for Adam to look at (only 3 start with T!) and 14 girl names. He never likes anything I come up with but I'm pretty impressed with the boy names!! I hate looking up girl names because I have the hardest time. Is this a sign??! I'm destined for boys...
• The boys finally have a bunk bed!!! And I built the entire thing myself! Once I buy drywall anchors and get the canopy over Tanner's bunk up, I will post a picture. It looks so cute, and it screams All Boy! I love it!
• We now have a 55 gallon fish tank! And it's huge! Along with working on the bedroom, Adam has been building a beautiful fish tank stand. As soon as he has the doors completed, I will post a picture of the masterpiece! p.s. I picked out the fancy handles!!

• Adam is becoming a beast! So..... my dearest husband has decided to let his face (ALL OF IT!) grow wild with hair (did I mention, the more it grows the more RED it gets! You know I love you, babe.). He's letting it grow for a whopping 8 weeks! So far, this is the result of 2 weeks..... oh dear. Poor guy has terrible genetics. It's coming in so dang patchy, but he's still cute as all get out. He has also decided (this one, I'm not too thrilled with..) to let his head hair grow for an entire year with no trims in between. I have to make it all the way until January 1st, 2012, with this mop getting longer and longer. I've noticed that he gets great joy from the stress it's taken over me... 

• Reunited and it's gonna feel so good! My mom and Dave will be bringing a moving truck with all of our things in March! I'm so ecstatic at the thought of finally having our belongings again! I can't wait to pull out the boys' scrapbooks and start working again!!! (I have 9 months to catch up on!)

I have a doctor's appointment next Monday for my 12 week check up. I can't believe we're making the move into the second trimester!!!! I'm very excited! I will post another belly picture next week so you can all see the growth of this little boy/girl! 

Adam has started training for a new position at work. Material Handler. He's been working 12 hour days for the past two days and will continue doing so the rest of this week (including this Saturday and Sunday) and then all next week too. I am so proud of the work that he does for his family. I know I couldn't bear the hours he does away from home. It's been hard the past couple of days with him gone, because I've been sicker than a dog. It's so tough being sick while pregnant and not being able to medicate yourself! Anyways, we're very excited about his new position! Once all of his training is complete, he will work four days on, four days off, which will be awesome to have him home two more days out of the week! We're keeping our fingers crossed that the days he does work stay days and don't turn into graveyard :( 

 

Well, I think that pretty much covers everything for now! 

This is what I need today!

Today has been rough for this pregnant lady. True story. This morning was hectic with the boys crying, screaming, fighting with one another. Everyone finally calmed down once Tanner and I played a little Wii. Then I took Tanner to school and came back home to a napping Troy. Relaxation time! Sadly, I wasn't tired enough to take a nap so I decided to surf the internet and watch television. Well, then it all started to hit me. I honestly feel like I'm 45 months pregnant! My back aches, I'm nauseous all the time, my calves and feet are retaining water like a sponge, my butt and legs cramp up!... it's terrible! So, anyways, with all of this hitting me  at once those miserable people at Taco Bell show a commercial with this delicious looking burrito! Doesn't that look amazing?! Doesn't that make your mouth water??! I'm hoping that in the near future I'm able to fulfill my fantasy of chowing down on this beautiful creation!!

Thinking of this, helped to relieve some of the pain I was experiencing, but after thinking of eating that burrito for awhile, the idea of a side of curly fries popped into my head and I began to literally drool down the front of me! Sooooooo good! I've always loved fries but this is the first moment in time that I've ever wished I had an Arby's right next door... literally right next door.... And knew the owner for discounts.... maybe even one of the sucker shoot machines (you know, that they have at banks to send the canisters) that go straight to our kitchen... that would be a dream come true!

Of course, after all this dream eating, I began to get a little parched. Washing it all down with a big, chocolate malt would allow me to die a happy, complete woman! Yuuuuum!

After eating, especially a big meal, I become very tired and bloated. A nice foot massage (like the one this very spoiled baby is receiving) would end my day nicely! Adam, my dear, I hope you're taking notes.

I chose this bed for my dream bed... full of pillows.. the blankets look clean and well fluffed. I would love to crawl into this bed and sleep for a week! So, overall, this is everything I need today! And possibly for the next 7 months! 

New toys to play with

Here are a couple toys the boys got for Christmas. I'm so bummed that my pictures I took while we were in Colorado for the holidays turned out so blurry and horrible... anyways, Santa left this huge monkey for Troy and Tanner got his own little kid fort from Nana and Papa. Troy cracks us up when he sits in his monkey's lap and just hangs out! He loves him!

Tanner's fort (or cabin as I keep calling it) took a few hours to put together. As soon as we pulled it out of the box I asked Adam for the directions, "We don't need directions for this!" Were, if I remember right, his exact words. I'm guessing if everything went as I wanted it to, this could have been built in HALF the time! But, it eventually got built and the boys love it!

The door (on the left) has been ripped off of the hinges numerous times.... 

I don't think it's going to make it for much longer. You can see (on the right) Tanner insisted on writing numbers on his clock... it's so cute!

Once it was pretty much finished Tanner begged for us to let him sleep in this little house... we couldn't say no to that cute face, but did tell him not to move too much because he would take the walls down!

Troy was excited to see Tanner sleeping in his house.. Adam and I were worried he would get upset but he thought it was pretty cool!

This is just a super cute picture of Goose. We love her!

Our First Ultrasound!!

Meet Our Peanut!

The top arrow is pointing to the baby's head and bottom arrow to the torso.

Today I took the boys to Baby #3's first ultrasound! What was I thinking??! They were bouncing off the walls. Tanner.... ohhhh, Tanner. That boy is such a talker! I was seriously waiting for the nurse's ears to fall right off onto the floor from all the talking that child did! He had a story about everything! I love when he's personable. I love when he's open and not shy to visit, but dang! Today I must have told him 30 times "Tanner! Shh! That's enough! It's time to be quiet!" Hahaha He cracks me up. Troy, on the other hand, was not friendly. He scowled at the nurses and threw his body on the floor when I'd tell him to stop licking the cabinet doors. And not 10 minutes after arriving in the doctor's office did he poop his britches. Yeesh. And to my amazement, when I asked the nurse where I could take him to change him, she told me that they didn't have a changing table but assured me the doctor would be with us soon.... yeah. 30 minutes later. No wonder that little guy was such a grump, he had to sit in a poopy diaper for almost two hours! 

Finally, we were led to the ultrasound room and prepared ourselves for this exciting time! I was a little nervous at first, because it took quite awhile for the doctor to "locate" the baby. I was so relieved and excited when I finally saw that little peanut shape on the screen and could hear that flutter! I kept telling myself, "Yep! This is real! It's all real!" Tanner was quite excited too! When I showed him what to look for and told him what that sound was that we were hearing he shouts, "OH! I JUST LOVE THAT BABY! I JUST WANNA SQUEEZE IT!!" The doctor, nurse and I just started laughing. It was then that I was so glad I had brought them with me! 

The baby measured a little younger than 8 weeks. About 7 weeks and 4 days so our due date changed a bit. WE'RE OFFICIALLY DUE 8-18-2011, but unlike in Colorado where they schedule a c-section one week before the due date, here they schedule it the following Tuesday. That was fine by Adam and myself.. we want to make sure that baby is done cookin' before we bring him/her into the world! So.... if everything goes as planned and I don't happen to go into labor before then, we will give birth to Baby #3 AUGUST 23RD!! Only two days after Grandma Alice's birthday, two days before Grandma Mary's birthday and three days before my birthday!!! Holy cow!! We're so excited!!!