We're having a...

BOY!!!!

The funny thing is I had a dream a couple of weeks ago that we were having a boy, but I tried not to read into it.  It proved to be spot on.

So what did Nick decide to do? As you may recall, he was pretty determined for the gender to be a surprise and I wanted to find out what we're having during the ultrasound. I kept saying it IS a surprise, just 4 months early. ;)

Well when we sat down in the ultrasound room he had a change of heart. He said he would rather find out as a couple then have some random friend or family member slip up and say something about me having a boy. Good choice, Nick. Now we can narrow down a name and we can talk about him not just say "the baby." And I can buy clothes without needing to hide them somewhere. :)

Everything went well in the ultrasound.  The baby looked healthy and really, I couldn't ask for anything else.  I chuckled a little when the technician said, "Does he normally move around like this? He's moving around a lot." 

Yep, that's my Sibert baby.  

Please just be a good sleeper. That's not too much to ask, right? :)

Toby is ecstatic about having a baby brother.  Aspen kind of understands but still looks a little confused when I tell her there is a baby in my tummy.  She looks at me like, "You ATE a baby?" All will make sense in a few more months, little one. :)

Just for fun here are some throwback pictures of me pregnant with the other kiddos:

21 weeks pregnant with Toby

21 weeks pregnant with Aspen

Aaaaand 21 weeks pregnant with Barnaby.

I'm totally kidding. 

We are at a loss for names right now. Suggestions are welcome. :)

Toby took these pictures and he was quite the little photographer.  He told me I needed to put my hands on my tummy.  So I did.

 Even with this being my 3rd pregnancy, I'm still amazed my body can make a little human.  It's quite the miracle that I'm humbled and honored to be apart of. 

Yay for another Sibert boy!

Summer has come and passed...

We've had a lot of thunderstorms this summer...and I've loved every minute of it.

So has this girl.

This is the 3rd summer in a row where IM Flash (Nick's employer) has rented out this fun, little water park called Cowabunga Bay. Not only is the park ours for the night, but IM Flash caters in food and dessert and does a drawing for prizes! This year they had Cafe Rio and Schwan's ice cream.  I think that was the highlight of the evening for the pregnant lady who can't go on any slides. I'm so grateful for Nick's awesome employer (especially since I would never pay money to get into this place because I think it's way overpriced).

Our evening at Cowabunga Bay was the end of our summer.  

The next morning Toby started 1st grade. Can't you tell he's just bursting with enthusiasm? 

Actually, he was bugged at me for following him into the school and taking his picture. Underneath that stone face was an excited little boy. Promise.   

Look at how grown up he is.  I love my Toby-man.

Side note: I laugh a little when parents mourn the last days of summer because they know it means getting up early for school.  Wouldn't know what that is like. This boy is usually up before 7 every morning - and wants mom next to him to watch his morning cartoons. So getting up for school was just another morning to us. 

 I wondered how he'd do with being at school ALL DAY. The first day he came home and said he loved school because they had "3 recesses instead of 2 and no homework." By Friday, when things started to become more school-ish, he said he was tired of being at school all day. Oh my little active boy. Luckily fall soccer starts up in a couple of weeks so that should provide another "recess" for him. :)

As for Aspen May, we started potty training. She was doing AWESOME and I really thought we were done with diapers for good. But then she suddenly lost interest.  :( I've gotta get new stickers or incentives or something. Your diaper days are numbered, little one.

This is just a pic of her sleeping with her T-Rex. He was a gift from grandpa and grandma Rarick.  She loves princesses and My Little Pony stuff, but has a special spot for dinosaurs, too. She reminds me so much of me as a kid.  I loved playing with dolls, but I also played with rubber snakes, refused to take baths or comb my hair. She's a little mini-me, I guess.

She will be starting speech therapy in a couple of weeks through the school district.  And probably have some additional therapy through a clinic. She is a bright little girl. She just can't seem to get those words out as well as other kids her age.  It's really hard on me as a mom. I kind of take it personally - even though I know I shouldn't. But that's just what we do as parents, right? Feel like everything our kids do (or don't do) is a direct reflection of our parenting...or lack thereof? *Sigh* All I have to say is, don't take for granted that your little one can tell you things about their day, or what they're mad about, or that they love you.  Because I'm still waiting to hear those words come out of this cute girl's mouth.

And then there's Loki the corgi.

What's not to love about this fur ball?  He is the most loving, expressive, adorable dog on the planet.

And apparently he thinks he's a cat, too. He loves to lay on the couch cushions. 

Just know I take a lot of pictures of him (not shown) because I'm kind of obsessed with him.

The feeling is mutual though.

"Dogs are better than human beings because they know but do not tell." - Emily Dickinson

(Just a favorite quote)

He is such a sensitive and sweet little pup.  Those early months of my pregnancy where I was really sick and having a hard time keeping food down, he would sleep on the floor right next to my bed. And then whenever I sat down on the couch he nuzzled his cold, wet nose under my arm - his way of comforting me. He's just precious and I'm so glad he's apart of our family.

That pretty much wraps up our summer/school happenings.  I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some cooler temperatures, corn mazes and beautiful fall colors. Bring it on!

Sibert summer part 1

The end of June my mom threw a little baby shower for my sister, Vanessa.  She has 3 girls and her 4th will be a boy! It was fun mingling with my aunts and friends.

L to R: Aunt Beverly, Kathy Eaton (fam friend), Aunt Laurie, and Mama Rarick

A couple of days before the 4th of July, Nick had his tonsils taken out.  The reason? His tonsils were twice the size they should be and kept both of us from getting quality sleep.  He would also get food stuck back there frequently.  So we thought it was time to get 'em out!

 I've heard the recovery for a tonsillectomy as an adult is extremely painful...

...I think these pics are a pretty good indicator on how he felt.

It was a rough 3 weeks for him. And for the pregnant lady.

As you can imagine, July 4th was very low-key for us. Every year, the neighborhood sets off TONS of aerial fireworks. So there is really no need to go anywhere to watch them.  Our front porch has a great view of them all.

The T-man spent several days with grandma and grandpa Sibert while Nick was choking down jell-o and slurping smoothies. We missed his crazy and fun personality. 

On July 7th, my sister, Vanessa, moved to Canada.  She used to live about 1 mile away from me. We would go to parks together, talk about parenting and pregnancy woes, and we loved to watch and laugh at movies and shows together.  It was so hard to see her and her kiddos leave. I miss her so much and wish her the best in her new adventures.

Toby lost his 1st tooth a couple of weeks ago.  He was one excited, toothless boy.

And just look at how cute he is.

We've hit a few splash parks this summer. The last one was at The Gateway mall in SLC. The kids had a blast.

Last week we visited my brother, Tim, and his family in Rexburg, ID.  It was our first real road trip as a family. On the drive there, I was reminded what a rare boy I have. We had packed DVD's to watch, iPhones to pass the time, toys to play with, snacks to munch on, and books to read. Toby watched about half of The Lego Movie before he asked, "How much longer?" From there we gave him snack after snack to try to avoid answering that we had about 3 hours of driving left.  I offered him my iPhone to play games. He lasted about 10 minutes on that. I then asked if he wanted to read some books. He thumbed through one book and said, "I just want to look out the window." 10 minutes later: "So how much longer?" *face palm*

This kid craves physical activity. I can't tell you how many times he has had friends come over, friends want to play video games, he indulges them for about 30 minutes, and then he'll inevitably say, "Let's go outside and kick the soccer ball or ride our bikes." He doesn't care if it's 0 or 100 degrees outside because being active is his outlet. He rarely complains about being tired or hungry or too hot or too cold - because those things just get in the way of rollerblading, skateboarding, biking, sledding, having a snowball fight, playing baseball or soccer, or running around the park.
Or climbing drain pipes on the side of the house to retrieve a boomerang that he tossed on the roof.
True story.  

As much as I take pride and love his enthusiasm for staying active, he is one exhausting kid to parent! I can't keep up with him. I run out of ideas of what else he can do to occupy his time when there isn't a friend to play with. I have to bribe him to take some down time, eat something or watch a 20 minute show.  All I know, this kid is going places. Literally. Because he doesn't stop. :)

So yeah, back to the road trip. Did I mention my kids never fall asleep in the car? As you can tell, long car rides are hard for our family.

But hanging out and playing with cousins, hiking and tubing was like a dream come true for Tobe and Aspen. They loved every minute of it. 

This was the first place we visited. Beautiful Mesa Falls.

Tubing in the Warm Slough river. The kids loved it.

Aspen and her cousin, Eleanor.  They are about 12 days apart in age and so adorable together.

We ended our trip by going to the Teton Vu Drive-Inn. Such a fun night! I hadn't been to a drive-inn since right after I graduated high school. I loved being there with my little family.

We loved visiting my bro and his fam. I'm sure we'll be making this trip an annual thing.

Now that it's August we're just trying to figure out how to milk and make the most of the last days of summer before Toby goes back to school on Aug. 12. 

Toby thought of something early this morning.

How would you like to wake up to this face? :)

A few days ago, my parents took me and Toby to see "Mary Poppins" at Hale Center Theater. This was Toby's first play and when I told him what it was about he immediately said, "That sounds really boring."

When it was over he had a change of heart and said that it was "pretty fun to watch."

Thanks grandma and grandpa Rarick for the fun evening!

Nick is still taking care of his bees. We're hoping to have a good amount of honey in the next month or two. When he's checking out his hives, the kids and I feed the horses that are always roaming around.  

As for me and the pregnancy, things are going great. I still gag on certain foods, I can't seem to get off Zofran because I immediately start throwing up, and the extreme temps wipe me out...other than those things, I'm doing really well. I can eat a good amount of food now (and enjoy it!) and I can feel the little flutters and kicks of my baby. It's exciting and precious. I'm a happy (and at times cranky and hormonal) pregnant lady. 

Stay tuned. More Sibert summer posts to come... :)