The Night Before...

Today was the last day of just the four of us. Tomorrow we add our newest munchkin to the crew. The night before I have a new baby I always feel a little sad - like I'm taking something away from Nick before I had Zach, and now both of the boys this time around. It's ridiculous, I know. So I tried to make today special for them by spoiling them every chance I had. I spared nothing today! We had a really fun day full of play and hopefully special memories for them.

One thing I really wanted to do this time was find a way that really included them in the process of adding to our family. It was really important for me to think of something that made meeting a new brother or sister exciting, special, and focused on them. So I thought I would give them "happy big brother" gifts. They opened them today and they received the Fisher Price tough cameras (the ones that claim to be virtually indestructable - I guarantee that will be put to the test in our household). They loved them! I thought it would be exciting for them to come in to meet their newest sibling and able to snap any and all pictures they wanted. What a great way to capture the moment, and the moments to come, through their eyes. Then when things settle down a bit (haha) I want to get them their own small digital photo album that they could keep. So, we had them practice a bit with the cameras this afternoon. I thought it would be fun to show you all a small sample of what they deemed picture worthy moments. They had a blast! Nick was thrilled beyond words to have his very own camera and to snap any pictures he wanted.

So, I think we're finally prepared to bring home this new baby. Wish us luck! Heaven knows we'll need it!

One Week and Counting...

We have officially one week from today until we have our newest addition to our family! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone and there still seems to be so much left to do. It probably doesn't help that I have no idea who I'm preparing for, boy or girl. The past few days I've started second guessing our decision to wait to find out...I want to know now! This is hard! Nick has been so helpful with name suggestions (ha ha). I was informed if it's a boy, his name will be Santiago and if it's a girl then it's Nadya. (We have some fabulous neighbors with grandchildren my kids ages with those names, in case we're wondering where those names came from). I don't know, Santiago Perysian seems to flow nicely, no? I had to write it down in his baby book so I don't forget this. Of all the things I don't do - keeping up with their baby books and little memories has always been a strength. I'm hoping that I can keep it up with the new baby's too. I've also been informed that he is tired of my big stomach and wants me to get rid of it. So nice, makes my heart melt...

The excitement is definitely mounting here and I'm am eagerly waiting to announce the newest member of our clan!

**Edited to add that I tried to include a copy of my ultrasound from last Thursday. I can't get it to work! The baby already has 1 1/2 to 2 inches of hair they estimate, which explains the nearly unbearable heartburn! Baby also has plump, chubby cheeks! I'll try to get it to work before I have REAL pictures of the baby!

Happy Easter!

We hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing Easter weekend. Our weekend was full and we had a great time. We took the boys to see Monsters vs. Aliens at the Imax on Saturday and I think Jeff and I had more fun watching the kids than they did watching the movie. It was hysterical to watch them trying to "grab" parts of the movie since it was in 3D. Every now and again we'd catch them taking off their glasses checking to see if there was really something in front of them or not, or their little hands grabbing the air. I've never seen them sit still for so long.

Sunday after church they had a big Easter picnic at one of the local parks in Gilbert. The kids participated in the Easter egg hunt, which was their first one ever believe it or not. They had so much fun! They raced through the field grabbing as furiously as they could every egg they could find. Typical me forgot to bring their baskets to collect their eggs, so they just ended up with some plastic grocery bags that I had in our car. But they were happy just the same. They played in the bounce house and even had rockets they were blasting off that Nick was thrilled with trying to chase them down after they had launched. Jeff even found himself in the middle of a volleyball game which I thoroughly enjoyed watching. It's not often he gets to let loose like that. It was a really nice afternoon. We later had dinner over at Jeff's parents house and by the time the kids got home, they were zonked. Anytime the kids come home wiped out, it's usually a success in my book! Happy Easter everyone!!

Welcome!!

Welcome to our blog! I've not been great at keeping in touch and updating on how our boys are and what they're doing so I got to thinking I really needed to change that. Everyone is busy, it's hard. It's too easy to make excuses, and life's too short for that. So I got to thinking that this might be a fun way to keep everyone posted at their leisure and to stay in touch.

I'm excited about starting our new family blog and really look forward to staying in touch. We miss you and love you all!