IT'S A BOY!!

We are so excited to be having another little boy. Sam is delighted that he will have a little brother to share a room with (eventually). Here are some pictures from our ultrasound yesterday:

Head profile and hand (the growth, as Brandon calls it, coming out of the forehead)

Foot
Arm and fingers

High 5's

Sam is such a happy and helpful kid. He is so smart and picks up really fast on everything that we do and say. He is even so cute with comments about the baby. He always shares his fruit snacks with the baby (via mommy), gives my tummy hugs and kisses, sings and talks to the baby. He is convinced that the baby is going to share a room with him, at first sleeping in the corner in its crib and then moving up to the top bunk. The other day I was putting on my make up and he chastised me for leaning over too far over the counter and squishing the baby.

Over the last couple of days Brandon and Sam have been able to feel the baby kicking. Sam likes to put his hand on my tummy and say the baby is giving him "high fives." I love the way he thinks .

This is now, so we will see if this positive attitude continues once the baby is born and Sam has to share our attention and time.

We find out whether it will be a boy or girl next Monday!

Lola and Sam

Topher and Sam

Cute photos Nicole took

Dodge Ball

A Christmas break favorite were dodge ball games! There were three or four games when most of the family, not including anyone pregnant or named Sam, went to the church and played target practice with each other. There are no pictures of the actually events because the only one with a camera accidentally erased all of them. But in ode to the game and a favorite ball this comic was made and Sam wanted to participate in these posed photos.

Dog Pile

New Year's Eve was celebrated in style at Michael and Bekah's house with some friends. There was lots of junk food that we ate way too much of, a killer game of Settlers, and five crazy kids (Dale, Andrew, Jaxson, Kaisa, and Sam) running around and watching movies. Part way through the night we heard the kids say, "Now everyone pile on me." It was the friendliest dog pile I have ever seen.

Merry Christmas

We were so excited for Christmas for the break from our boring everyday life, but also because lots of family was coming up to visit. Tim and Haley came up from Portland and Taft and Shauna flew in from Rexburg. And Christopher and Nicole both came home from BYU for the break. I am finally getting everything in the house back to normal, so it has taken some time to update our blog.

We started out the festivities with " The Singing Christmas Tree" concert. It is a full on concert with choir, dancers, synchronized lights, live nativity and real donkey, goats and sheep. It is put on by the Life Church in Tacoma. It was fun and interesting, though we left before the raise of hands to be saved.

Christmas Eve at the Koontzes'. We had our traditional family dinner. It is the same every year for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas and we LOVE it! Mom attempted to change the menu this year, but we wouldn't let her. After dinner my sister Nicole (the absolute worst when it comes to Christmas morning and presents. She is always the first to wake up and then wake up everyone else) got Sam to attack my parents with questions of when we could open presents that night. We all know the questions were more for Nicole than for Sam.



We visited Grandpa Koontz for his Christmas night. Sam was now being pressured by all of my sisters to ask about opening presents. The only way we got him to stand in the picture was to tell him that was next. He didn't even realize what "opening presents" meant and how fun it was until he was actually able to do it.


After getting home from my parents' late, I just wanted to "help Santa" and go to bed. I climbed up the stairs and was looking forward to crashing on my mattress on the floor, but to my surprise it wasn't there. It had been replaced with a beautiful cherry bedroom set. Brandon gave my Christmas present early and had set it up with the help of my dad and my brother Christopher. Thanks guys! You are the best! After 5 1/2 years of sleeping on an air mattress or two twin beds pushed together we are so excited to have a comfy bed.


This was our first Christmas morning in our own house!!! Sam doesn't realize proper Christmas morning etiquette consists of waking up early and sneaking down to see the tree and open presents early in the morning. And I am not complaining yet! After Brandon and I got up around 8:30 or 9, got showered and dressed we had to wake up Sam. Here is Brandon and Sam in his Christmas pjs on their sled in front of the tree. Our first mistake was having Sam open a little monster truck before all of the "boring" clothes gifts. He would have been content to just have gotten the truck and driven it around all morning. And we actually gave up on getting him to focus and saved some of the presents for later when he was more interested.

We love the way that our "Christmas" is spread out over two days. It makes it feel longer. Christmas afternoon we went over to the Dormans' for dinner, a great game of Wacky Sixes, movies and opened gifts. Grandpa Roger helped Sam build and fix things with his new tool set.