April 2018

We've made it to April!

Thinking back on it,

most of what I remember was

that it was colder than I would have liked,

and that I finally made it far enough

into my pregnancy to get my hands

on some blessed Zofran.

My mom teased me and told me

I sound like a drug addict when I talk about it,

but I DON'T CARE.

That stuff transforms me from

and unrecognizable blob in the fetal position 

on the couch,

into a functioning human being.

No more puking.

Do I feel 100%? 

No.

But I feel well enough to actually 

eat some food,

and to drive the kids places,

and to carry out a conversation

with my husband that isn't

just grunts.

So, to whomever invented Zofran,

I bless you and thank you.

Anyway,

on to the picture recap.

The first day of April we spent

watching General Conference

and celebrating Easter with my parents.

They, of course, were required

to entertain the kids:

It was a really nice day.

Best part?

I was able to eat the ribs

AND

keep them down.

#winning.

Also in April,

Kale started soccer!!!

The above picture was after his first day.

It was a little cold...

The beginning of his soccer season was rough.

Lots of cancellations because

it was cold and raining.

He was really nervous about his first day.

I mean, REALLY nervous.

But he made it through.

We had some rough bumps

along the way getting him used

to listening to his coach

and not throwing tantrums when he lost.

No idea where he gets his competitiveness from.......

This was a day when

I was not feeling great,

(no Zofran yet)

so we stayed in our pajamas

and watched TV all day:

 Because of the circumstances

under which we found out we were pregnant,

my doctor had to guess how far along I was.

So, at what she guess was my 12 week point,

she had me come in for a check up

and also for an ultrasound so they could

measure the little one and determine

how far along I was:

And doc was right!

I was measuring right at 12 weeks.

A lot of times when we went to Kale's

soccer practice,

Ellory would fall asleep on the way there.

 

Most of the time I was glad she did this,

because then I had to stay in the

car with her.

It was still really cold, and although

I had my medicine now,

I still wasn't feeling that good.

But I was always able to get a parking 

spot where I could see Kale's practice.

Not long after we got the ultrasound,

we texted our siblings

to let them know the happy news.

When we were at Dain's reception,

I had had a conversation

with Heather (Kyle's wife)

about what was going on with me,

and I had said the words to her,

"I've come to terms with the fact

that I probably won't have any more kids."

She was so happy for me

when I told her I was pregnant.

And just a few days later,

I got this from her in the mail:

It was the sweetest thing.

And she was the one dealing with

having her husband shipping off to Afghanistan

for 9 months,

but she took time to think of me

and send me a little something.

She really is the best!

Oh look,

Ellory fell asleep again:

One day, after church,

Kale was just too cool for anything:

Look!

I actually watched soccer

from the sidelines!

 

Slowly but surely,

the weather was trying to warm up.

One day Kale went to a friend's house

after school to play.

When I picked him up,

his eye looked like this:

No, he didn't get in a fight with his friend.

That is what happens when he 

comes in contact with peanuts.

The friend's mom had no idea

how that had happened.

I gave him some Benadryl,

and he couldn't help but fall asleep.

Which was weird because

Benadryl has never had that effect on him before. 

Anyway, I thought it would be good to 

let him sleep it off,

and it didn't seem like it was getting any worse.

Well, when Tyler got home,

he looked at it and it had gotten worse.

Off to the ER we went!

Long story short,

they decided to prescribe him a steroid,

and that knocked it right out.

Poor guy!

We got some coupons in the mail

for free pizza at a place in Ames called

Smokin Oak Pizza.

So ya, we went and checked that place out!

And brought McDonald's for Ellory:

It was delicious.

Nana and Pop-Pop came over

to celebrate Pop-Pop's birthday.

But first, 

Nana gave the kids some presents.

Like this Yo-Yo:

It took Kale 23 seconds to break his yo-yo.

I think it took Ellory about 8 minutes.

Kale made Pop-Pop a birthday card:

Ellory helped unwrap the present:

Which was a puzzle!

The kids picked it out themselves.

The plan was to go to a park and have a picnic:

But, per the theme of this April,

it was COLD and WINDY.

And then we went to Perfect Games

to dink around:

And do some bowling:

Ellory didn't like bowling.

When I told her too bad,

guess who she went crying to?...

Ya, she has him wrapped around 

her adorable little finger.

And we all know it.

Other than Ellory not enjoying bowling,

we had a really fun time!

And I was grateful that 

Mom and Dad were willing to 

come to us since

driving still was really difficult for me.

At about this time,

Tyler and I embarked on a crazy adventure...

house hunting!

Boy that was stressful.

One day, while Tyler was traveling,

there were a couple open houses we were interested in.

So I took the kids to them,

and I promised there would be a visit

to a park if they were good.

Well, they were good enough:

At Kale's school,

they did this thing called "Mileage Club."

One recess a day the kids could

choose to run laps around

the school and rack up miles and earn different rewards.

Kale loved it!

And Ellory and I went to help 

with keeping track of the kids'

earned tokens.

Which meant....

picnics!

We didn't start volunteering to help

until the weather got nice.

Ha!

Also in April,

we made our happy news public knowledge!

I don't remember what's happing

in these pictures,

but she's cute:

Ellory had her friend, Thea,

come with us to Mileage club one day:

I can't remember why we took this picture:

I would bet Kale was excited 

about something he had accomplished.

And possibly wanted to have the picture

sent to Tyler.

But I'm not sure.

Ellory and her cheetah,

just swingin life away:

Then it was time for Dain and Heidi's Open House!

We went to my parents' house for a few days

so that we could spend time with them,

and so I could try and be

somewhat helpful.

It was so fun!

Jake surprised everyone but me by showing up,

(he told me he was coming),

but then Caree (Jake's fiance)

surprised me by coming with him!

It was an awesome surprise

and we had so much fun together that weekend.

Also, Tyler surprised me by showing up

at the Open House!

He had to work that morning

at the Drake Relays,

and when we were texting it didn't sound

like he was going to come.

I was pretty bummed.

But then he showed up

and I couldn't have been happier!

All in all,

it was a really great weekend.

The weather took a turn for 

the gorgeous,

so we could start walking to and from school again.

Which was great because driving

still was making me carsick.

Kale was a sweet boy and

offered to push the stroller for me:

And that was April!

By the end,

Spring had actually sprung,

and we were getting ready to count

down the days until summer!!!!!