Fun baby updates...

Although Julie has an appointment this coming Monday, she wanted to share some of her baby moments the past month or so, just because they're fun to share.

1. The baby bump is finally showing through the layers of clothes to the outside world! That's always so exciting! Although she's seen the difference for a while now, her friends can officially see the belly bump.

2. Starting last Sunday, Julie has felt the baby move (really move, not butterflies) about 4 times. Last Sunday the baby gave her a nice drop kick while she was talking to a friend about her belly bump. It was quite appropriate.

3. Ever since we started asking Joseph if it is a baby girl or baby boy, he has said baby boy. There has never been prompting one way or the other, and he has always been very consistent that it's a boy. We hope he's right! We would love another little boy in our family.

Well, if we find out any exciting news at the appointment Monday, we'll be sure to share. Joseph will be going with Julie, so it would be exciting if he were able to see the ultrasound and "see" what the baby looks like. Julie has a feeling he is going to love being able to feel the baby hit and kick once it is bigger and moving a bit stronger. We're optimistic that Joseph is going to be a really great big brother. Although he has his moments like any two year old, he is so tender and caring of others. He practices with Olivia (18 months old) all the time. He also practices with his toys and dolls, putting them to bed, getting them dressed and putting them in time out. We really look forward to how he reacts to a real baby. When his best friend's brother was born last November, he was really intrigued by the baby and since then has always liked babies. We thought this might be a good sign. We just hope it stays that way. Anyhow, those are our little updates for now. Once the belly starts getting even bigger, expect pictures. Julie loves the big belly pictures. :)

For Stacie

Joseph's Journey and other news...

Halloween day Joseph decided to go on a little journey. He told Julie "Go Sheila's house" "Back soon". Sheila is Jordan's mom (Joseph's best buddy). He is obsessed about going to their house. Julie wouldn't put on socks or shoes when he asked, hoping it would deter him and he wouldn't try to leave. Nonetheless, without a coat, he dragged a cooler with a truck inside it outside, down the stairs, and all the way to Sheila's house down the street.

Julie had Olivia eating lunch at the time, so she grabbed Olivia, and started following him. For a long while, he didn't know they were following, but continued on his merry way. (Did we mention it was quite cold outside?)

It was when he got quite a long ways away that he finally caught Julie and Olivia following along. He would wave, then continue on his way. He walked all the way to their house (a good couple of minutes walking with Aaron or Julie) and proceeded to knock on their door. He knew that Jordan and his brother were both sleeping and wouldn't be there to play. (He knew this before he left the house) But that didn't seem to bother him. Sheila was pretty confused at first seeing him without me, barefoot and without a coat. However, she quickly realized what was going on when she was Julie in the distance, and Joseph's "suitcase". He carried it the whole way there, despite its size and weight. We have not allowed him to venture out like this again. Julie was so just so amazed that he would do this all on his own that she had to let him go and see how far he would go on his own. He's never walked this stretch by himself. It crosses the entrances to multiple parking lots, where we always make him hold our hands, but he crossed them all by himself. A brave little guy! (Granted, Julie was watching him the entire time to make sure he was safe!)

In other news, Julie and baby are doing great. She is no longer feeling sick at all (for what little she was feeling sick) and is getting her energy back. That is what excites her most. We don't know when we'll find out the sex of the baby, but are excited for it. Her next appointment is in a week and a half, and he might just do the ultrasound then, but he might make her wait two more weeks until she is officially 20 weeks. Some doctors like to play it safe. But either way we'll be happy and excited for it.

Julie is making steady progress on her class. She set up a schedule so she would be done with her lessons and preparing for her final exam by Thanksgiving. So far she's stayed on schedule. She has 5 lessons to go. Please continue to encourage her! She needs all the motivation she can get!

Earlier this month Joseph and Julie went up to Kalispell to visit Aaron's mom on her day off. Diane planned an amazing scavenger hunt for the grandkids. At one point they were at a park that has ducks and geese. Joseph loved this! He often asks to see the pictures of the ducks and when he does see a picture of a duck, he starts to talk about his cousins. It's really cute.

In other interesting Joseph news, about two weeks ago or so, Joseph started climbing out of bed and playing on the floor (at nap times) until he fell asleep on the floor. Joseph's not the type to fall asleep on the floor. It had actually never happened until this picture. It was so cute we couldn't help but take a picture. After that he would do this regularly at nap time. Then he started doing it at bed time. That was a problem. In response to much of the issues surrounding his play til I drop syndrome, we took a side off his crib, and moved it (so he couldn't turn on his light). So he now sleeps in a toddler style bed. Unfortunately, we had no guard rails. He never cried out at night, so we assumed he wasn't falling out of bed. Then we realized that he would just fall or roll out and keep on sleeping. So Aaron jerry-rigged his crib bumper to serve as a small rail to keep him in bed. It seems to be working pretty well. So our big boy is now in a big boy bed. And no more sleeping on the floor!

Congratulations are due!

So much fun news! First of all, October 8th, Julie's sister Heidi had her baby Carly Ryanne. She had a fast labor and delivery and was able to delivery Carly VBAC (she has had 2 c-sections prior to Carly) We're so excited for the sweet addition to their family. Check out her blog (in the list on the right) to see pictures and read her birth story.

More fun news. Julie took her midterm last week for her very last class to finish her bachelor's degree. She hasn't received her grade from the midterm yet, but it'll come soon. She's confident she passed the test. That's all that matters. She's so excited to be done with it. She's already started on the next half of the class. Wish her luck!

The last of our exciting news is:


Julie's about 3 months along now. We're so excited to have this addition to our family. Her due date is April 22nd. Joseph is vaguely aware that Mama has a baby in her tummy and she takes vitamins for the baby. Julie has been very fortunate to not suffer from much morning sickness. Just the constant exhaustion/nausea. But she's just starting to get her energy back and is feeling more ambitious about activities with Joseph and spending nap time doing homework instead of resting. We will keep you updated to her progress and any fun pictures we get. Her first sonogram pictures were really dark and she accidentally left them at the doctor's office anyway. So maybe we'll post some after the next sonogram. And once her belly starts to really show, we'll make sure to post those belly pictures too. Julie loves to see them from others, so she'll share hers.

School has started

Aaron's school year has officially begun. He quit both of the jobs he was working over the summer so he could take a bigger class load this semester. He is quite busy with homework, and it will be busier later on in the semester. We still enjoy having him home every night. Joseph is starting to enjoy having him home more often, and is taking advantage of more Papa playtime. Aaron has also started teaching seminary this semester. He teaches seniors and juniors from the surrounding area. It has been a challenge getting up so early, but he's doing great! He just received his assignment for observations. He'll be going to a local middle school to do observation hours as part of one of his classes. It should be fun!

Great news for Julie's schooling! After starting a Math class, we found out that Julie did not need to take it! Julie was extremely excited because math is her least favorite subject and after one day of starting her math class she was already frustrated! All we had to do was fax Julie's SAT scores to BYU, which would fulfill her math requirement. It took about 3 faxes, but we finally got it done and Julie officially has ONE class left! She's getting close to her halfway mark in her one class, HUM 202. It's not too bad. She just finished HUM 201 over the summer. Our goal is to have it finished before Christmas. It is getting harder and harder for Julie to stay motivated, but she is determined to finish and have her bachelor's degree done!

Joseph is doing great. He's stretching out quite a bit and we're starting to notice that he's getting skinnier...finally! His vocabulary is skyrocketing. It's so fun. Just yesterday he finally said "milk" instead of "mum" which is what he used to say. He is just getting the "k" sound. He learned it from "Frank" in the movie "Cars". Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Burnham. He watches it once a day. Only because we won't let him watch it more. Thankfully he's starting to want to watch other things. We don't really have much, but at this point Julie will take anything other than Cars. After 2 months of Cars everyday, anything is better than hearing Cars.

In fun news, Joseph has gotten pretty good at having Family Home Evening with us. We started playing "Find Jesus" a few months ago. We have a picture and we'll hide it in a room and he goes and finds it. He really likes it. We also started reading scripture stories from a scripture picture book. He really likes to look at the pictures of Jesus, and baptism. It's so sweet!





In outside our family news, Julie's sister Heidi is due to have her baby girl Carly September 30, but is feeling like she'll be the first of her babies to come early. We can't wait to meet this precious little lady. Aaron's mom had an emergency surgery over the summer which has put her in recovery at home for a few months. It's been tough not being at school teaching her third graders, but she's keeping her spirits up.

Oh, and in old news, Cyrus moved away back in August. Julie hasn't taken many pictures lately, so we just uploaded the pictures from her camera of his last day. His dad is finishing up his med school in Seattle. Joseph sure does miss him, but luckily he only asks for him every now and then. It would be so sad if he asked for him everyday. But Joseph and Olivia are getting along great! She recently got over an ear infection and ever since she started her antibiotics she has been a new girl. Julie's job arrangement couldn't be smoother. The kids love each other and both take great naps at about the same time. It's awesome!