P is for Paige

This is the day I have taken six years to prepare myself for, yet I thought it would never come.
Today, I said goodbye, kissed these sweet little cheeks, and sent her off to kindergarten.
Luckily there were plenty of people there to hold my hand. Daddy was able to come home from work, and the four and a half of us walked to school together. We waited on the blue diamond sidewalk and then with blurry eyes, blew our kisses goodbye.
We were able to met Miss Holliday earlier last week for a personal one on one. She visited with Paige and had her to several tests for her, reading, writing, drawing. Paige said there were so many "amazing" things at kindergarten, it was a long week to wait before we could go back!
Paige had a great first day! She loves her teacher, and said she made new friends. There is a little girl in our ward in her class and her little friend, Addy, from preschool is in her class too! She said that all the boys thought she was cute because they kept staring at her, and she is the only one in the class who can read. So she spent her afternoon with kids bringing her books, asking her to read to them! What a great way to meet friends.

A Day at Lagoon

Yes, I know what you are thinking...Brooke, you are 8 months pregnant, what on earth are you doing at Lagoon in August on a Saturday? I had the same thought. Steve's work, who never does anything extra for their employees, decided to host an employee Lagoon day covering tickets, parking and a lunch buffet! Who would turn down a day of smiles for free?We got there about 11 and went straight to lunch. Nothing like filling bellies before they throw-up! G&K certainly wasn't thinking of me when they reserved the farthest pavillion from the entrace, I thought we had walked to Layton and was ready to rent a wheelchair! As soon as we reached the pavillion, our sweetest little friend came running up to us for hugs. Our good friends, the Mathews, were there too. Our kids have grown up together, but since the moves we don't see each other much. I have never seen four kids who love each other more, and who can spend the entire day together without a single fight. When we do get together, they play hard and instantly pick up where they left off the last time they were together! It was so fun to see how big their baby has gotten (ours will be a year younger) and to visit and spend the day with Nate and Ammber. We have missed them so much! The kids had a great time waiting in line all day to ride a quick minute ride. I was able to find a shady seat at nearly every ride and happily toted around my newly aquired Odysea Lagoon mug full of Diet Coke.
We had planned to only stay until around 4, but kept doing "just one more ride". Of course, Steve kept running into people he knew and talking (I can't take him anywhere!). We ended up leaving around nine with Paige in tears about her feet hurting, Claire begging for her purple woobie and Steve and I drenched in sweat with my ankles swollen into the size of cantaloupes! We stopped at Denny's for some "real food" where both girls fell asleep in their pancakes. I guess that is a good sign of a great day.

My Step-Sister's Wedding

Last weekend, my youngest step-sister Emily got married. This was the third Hyer wedding in 14 months! It was a fun experience because she really got us all involved. Mixing families has been interesting to say the least, but planning this wedding really seemed to pull Emily out of her shell! She has been in Ghana for the last several months teaching math and english to deaf children, so she really had to be organized to pull this wedding off!Emily and Al had chosen their wedding colors long before she left for Africa. They were chocolate brown, mustard, plum and olive green. I will admit I was very nervous for this combination, but I was so "wowed" with the results. At the last minute, Grandma Terry surprised us with flower-girl dresses in olive with big plum colored bows. The girls looked so cute! Emily also took all the adult girls in the wedding party for pedicures just before the wedding. She had brought home some pretty sea-glass from Africa and had bracelets made for all of the girls. The boys all wore mustard ties and Al (the groom) even had a chocolate tux!
The girls were having such a great time "exploring" in Al's granmother's backyard and I was having so much fun "discovering" chocolate covered cinnamon bears (to die for! Where have they been all my life!) that I failed to get a decent shot of the bride and groom. Emily looked absolutely gorgeous and was just glowing!
A few of the flower girls got bored during the speeches and decided to check out the decorations. This is the back of all the McClure grand-daughters, excluding Kendyl, who is 13 and didn't get a matching dress. From left to right, Paige, Karlie, Claire and Addy.

My girls are so crazy about their Grandpa BigMac! After he and Steve saved me with delivery from Eat-A-Burger, I was pretty crazy about him too! Thanks Em and Al, for a great excuse to get dressed up and party, the best us McHy's can!

31 Down...9 to Go!

Yes, this is by far the very most flattering picture ever taken, but I have to showcase it so my boy remembers what he did to me, but mostly because Paige is so proud to have been my photographer!

It is amazing to me how easy one forgets the joys of pregnancy. I swear this baby is so much bigger than my girls, but Steve looks at me and says I was definitely bigger before. BIGGER!! Is that even possible? Look at the bright side, right? I might gain a new chin everyday and my stomach may be looking more and more like a road map, but at least it takes the focus off my ever-growing butt!

I am not one to complaing about being pregnant. It is such a miracle to me how it all happens. And it is such a blessing to add another baby to our home. I love the connection I feel with this little person I have never met and the anticipation of seeing his little face for the first time. I love to feel his little kicks (not so little anymore) despite the times they land in my ribs or on my bladder!

There have been so many times during these last 31 weeks where I wonder...what on earth am I doing? I have a hard enough time corraling the two kids I have, why push my luck with one more? I'm sure he wouldn't have been sent to us if we couldn't handle it, but I have my doubts. I worry about late nights when he is up with his daddy and I am at work, will either one of us be able to function? I worry about little boy parts...they are so different from what we are used to. I worry about the girls and how they will feel when all mommy's waking attention has to be shared with a baby who can't do anything for himself? I worry about leaving the house with three kids and I worry about having to sell our "mini-mini" in the next nine weeks and finding the perfect mini-van. And then I worry about driving that mini-van around! I never would have pictured myself in one of those. My newest worry came at my last appointment when my doctor, who has never delivered for me before, told me, "WHOA! This baby is measuring huge!" There could be a bonus to his concerns...I already have him promising to take me a week early, but how about two or three? I can't wait to take a deep breath again, or lay down without getting right back up for some Tums to kill the heartburn.

We are obviously excited, so is it so wrong to count down?

Just a few Claire-isms

Steve and I are always so amused by the things that come out of our kids mouths. No, I don't mean throw-up...I just love the funny little things they say. Even though you think you will remember them forever, my mom always told me to write them down so you would never forget. I have carried a notebook around for the first few years of Paige's life to document these funny sayings, but now I have a blog, so I can share them with everyone.

Claire has the cutest little smile. It is almost like her upper lip is too big, so it totally covers her top teeth. In order for her to show all of her teeth, it is impossible for her to not tilt her head back and smile as big as she can. This of course blocks her vision since her chubby little cheeks force her eyes closed. She has become used to this, but now thinks everyone should smile in this manner. So, if you are not smiling correctly, she will say to you..."Smile up to your eyes!"

With all this playing in the yard, it is a constant battle of keeping the back door shut. I finally understand what my parents were yelling about all these years about cooling the backyard with the air conditioner. I don't understand why it was so difficult to close it, but it seems to be a hard task! This leads to flies who seem to love moving into our house. I truly find them everywhere, and they are fast too! Now Claire is terrified of ants, and she calls teeny bugs that fly "germs" but for some reason she has taken a liking to our new winged pets. She has named them all...and they are all "Mrs. Ali". Yes, Manda...don't be offended, it is after your Ali, she just loves her! She will greet Mrs. Ali first thing in the morning and say goodnight everynight. I'm sure it's not the same one since I kill about 10 a day, but Mrs. Ali keeps reproducing somewhere!

I put the girls in the tub the other day, started to fill it and walked out of the bathroom. Claire began to scream and ran after me. She grabbed me by the hand, begging me to follow her cute little naked bum (who could resist?) She was very excited about something. She told me there was a bug in the tub, "A real one...and it was not cute!"

Claire has two grandpas, my dad and Steve's dad. All of my life, my dad has been known to others as BigMac. As he has taken up geo-caching and taken on life with new teenage stepdaughters, the name has resurfaced and he is now known as BigMac again. Claire has picked up on it and calls him nothing but Grandpa BigMac. I am pretty sure he likes it, he smiles everytime she says it, but who could NOT smile when Claire is talking to you? Anyway...last night I mentioned something about Grandpa. She looked at me and asked, "Is that my Grandpa BigMac or my Grandpa Old Man?"

Needless to say, this girl keeps us in stitches!

Jakob

Yesterday we had the great opportunity of watching my nephew, Jakob get baptized. I will not lie...it was quite the day. It all started with running to my step-sister's bridal shower to make a quick appearance and then making the trek to Eagle Mountain. I will admit that my relationship with Jake started out a little rocky. For the first several years of his life, he was such a trouble-maker! But I can't believe what a big boy he has become! My girls just idolize him...Paige is always wanting to kiss him and he is very sweet to take time out to play with Claire. However, his best friend is his cousin Keaton, who is only a year younger than him. When we found out we were having a boy, I asked Jake if he was excited to have a new boy cousin and if he would play with him. He thought about it for a while, with a wrinkled brow and wearily replied, "I guess, but isn't he just going to lay there?"
When I walked into the church yesterday, Jake was the first person I saw and you should have seen the smile on his face! His dad is very...fashionable, I guess you could say? So it came as no surprise to me that Jake was all dolled up in a grey suit with an orange tie. He looked just like a little missionary! I couldn't help running to hug him where he told me he was pretty nervous. My oldest sister Michelle, Jake's mom, had asked me to play the piano, so I began to play prelude and played, and played, and played. Apparently their bishop was suppossed to conduct and his wife went into labor instead! So, Jake's baptism got a 45 minute late start, but it was a beautiful day. He looked absolutely terrified when he got into the water...partly because it was freezing, but the smile on his face when he got out was priceless! This day presented an opportunity for Paige to think about her baptism and ask questions. She seems to be fascinated by it and has been really thinking hard about the sins that would wash away when she gets baptized. Claire on the other hand thought it was "too scary" and says she never wants to do it!
We love you Jake! Thank you for being such a good example to your cousins.