An Update...Finally

This pregnancy hasn't been the easiest. I've been pretty sick but had to keep up on all of the things that a mom of 3 has to do. So the blog has gone unattended. But here is a little update.

Avri is still just loving preschool. The past couple of weeks they have been doing a unit on Castles. They had a "Royal Tea Party" and then they built this great castle and spent two days painting it and practicing "patterns" on it. So I had to go up and see the castle and get a picture of my little princess with it.
Valentine's Day was great! We celebrated all weekend. The ward provided free babysitting Friday night, so we doubled with some friends and went to dinner. It was so fun to get out with another couple! We haven't done that in years! We took the kids to Culver's on Saturday to celebrate with them, and that evening Kendall and I exchanged gifts. Then on Sunday we got out all of the candy and had a sugar-fest. We had the missionaries over for dinner that night and Kendall took care of all the cooking, which I LOVE! Here is the heart that we did in Avri's hair, which looked cute for all of half an hour. Oh well. I tried.
Wednesday was my birthday, so we've been celebrating all week long! I got together with some cute friends in the ward on Tuesday for lunch and they threw a little party and surprised me with cake and ice cream and all that. It was very thoughtful of them and lots of fun!

For my birthday Kendall arranged to work from home, and since he doesn't actually do that much "work" while he's working he took care of all the dirty diapers and fed the kids and put them down for naps so that I could just enjoy the day. We went out for a late lunch once Avri got home from school and then we opened presents and had cake. I was totally spoiled. Kendall always goes way overboard and then says things like "You only got exactly what you deserve. I only wish I could do more." He knows I wouldn't let him though. :) The kids were so excited about the presents and they each helped me open theirs.
That night we went and bought a new desktop, which we have been watching for a great deal on. So I guess it was sort of a birthday present! While we were at the store the kids were getting a bit rowdy and very tired. We were fighting them, trying to get them in the car, when out of the blue, Santa pulled up in a car right next to us! He must have been the real Santa because he had a full beard, a big belly, and was wearing a red coat and everything. The kids were angels all the way home! ;) It really was a perfect day. Thanks for all of your birthday wishes, the cards and the facebook notes and everything else! Welcome to my 27th year of life!

As a side note, many of you know that I had a sister who was born and died on my 11th birthday. It was a hard year that year, my mom really had a hard time coping with it all and we had some great friends who tried to make my birthday not quite so tragic. But since that year, my birthday has always been a time to reflect and think about Maria. She would have been 16 now. It's amazing to think how different life would be with a 16-yr old sister running around, worried about dating and driving and all that. Especially now that my parents are empty nesters. Happy Birthday Maria. I can't wait to meet you again.