We're Both Having Sea Horses!

Well, its official... my sister and I are both having sea horses from the look of the sono pix. My sister just emailed me her new sono pix, so I thought that I would post them here. She's currently 14 weeks and may even have her gender identification appointment before me. That would be so fun for her. I think her sono pix are much better than mine... maybe I should go to her OB... although that's two states away. Pretty sure I wouldn't make that if I went into labor. Oh well! These are pix of my adorable niece or nephew. So weird that I have a niece/nephew... so cool cause I've never had one before. :)

This one looks much more like a baby than the blob photos I posted first. Too cute. It looks remarkably like mine.

I couldn't see what this picture was at first... amazing 3D pic of the back of the baby... so adorable.

Not sure why there's a picture of cord insertion... but I'm guessing that's a good thing.

This one looks very alien like... also very much like mine... they must be cousins.

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww! All cozied up.

Grandpa's House and Hose Adventures

This morning started off a little rough... we were supposed to have swim lessons for both Dustin and Dakota (these started last Saturday when we were out of town). When we showed up Dustin and Dakota were both not on the lists for their classes. And then I find out that regardless of that fact Dustin's class was not being offered because not enough kids signed up for that time slot. I was livid. I asked the chick what the hell I was supposed to do with him while I took Dakota swimming. So, we ended up just leaving because the whole thing was blown if I couldn't get them both in the water. I do not envy the person I will be speaking with on Monday morning. Due to the fact that I had been telling Dustin that we would be going swimming all morning he was incredibly upset to be told that we were going home. I was still incredibly aggravated. The dog ran away temporarily and when she got home she was covered in mud. Beautiful!! She tracked mud throughout my house. She was also on my shitlist. So, as I lay down to take a nap I started speculating.... why not kill two birds with one stone? I decided that I could give the dog a bath in my Dad's yard (since that's where we always head after our Saturday nap) and let Dustin frolick in the water whilst doing so. He had an amazing time. Dakota did not like the hose and screamed bloody murder when we sprayed him. So, we filled up a bottle of water and he had a blast playing with that. Below are some pix from this afternoon.

Dakota picking up his bottle.

MMMMM, water.

Water was rejected.

Dustin was nice enough to give my car a shower.

He did such a good job.

What's with the tongue hanging out??

A future fireman?

He got so into watering the car.

The infamous Bobot underwear.

My pride and joy.

And then of course once I got the boys inside and bathed we had a wonderful dinner because my Dad is an awesome cook. And Dustin made something else besides a cake with his legos. He made a gun... wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. :) LOL! Dakota also took his first few steps. It was an absolutely wonderful Saturday after all.

July Phoenix Trip

Last Friday night we left to go to Phoenix and visit my Mom, Step-Dad, and siblings. While we were in Phoenix visiting my Mom decided to spoil the kids with some toys they could keep at her house. Dakota now has another walk-n-ride in Phoenix and spent most of the weekend playing with it. Dustin got a big wheel which is significantly cooler than the trike he has at home because this one plays music. Of course Grandma decided he needed sun glasses to accompany his cool new wheels. He had a lot of fun driving around Grandma's spacious downstairs on his new toy. It was a good thing they had these toys because it was way too hot to play outside being that it was like 115 degrees in Phoenix while we were there. We had a lot of fun hanging out with the family. It's always really sad to leave because we have so much fun. I'm looking forward to making another trip in November. My Mom humored me and went with me to buy Hot and Sour soup from my favorite Chinese place while were there. I also went to one of my brother's basketball games and watched him. It was a great time.

Kick, Kick, Kick

When I was pregnant with my first son, Dustin, I first felt him kick on November 26, 2005 at 9:30 in the morning. I was so excited to feel my first child let me know that they were hanging out in there. When I was pregnant with my second son, Dakota, I felt him kick for the first time on July 26, 2008 at 11:09 p.m. I felt him much sooner than I did in the pregnancy than with my first son because by that point I knew what I was looking for. Finally, while pregnant with my third (son/daughter???) I felt him/her kick for the first time last Friday July 9, 2010 at 6:35 p.m. My only problem is that I was on an airplane. That is such a pain in the ass because now I have to freaking remember time zones. Seriously? :) :) :) It's not enough the I memorize the time and the date. So, I felt him/her kick at 6:35 Arizona time, and 8:35 CST. My other two *first* kicks were also CST. :) I'm such a dork its ridiculous.

Sleep... My Elusive Little Friend

Do you ever have those days when sleep seems elusive?? I woke up this morning with a lot on my mind and that was 4:00 a.m. I could not fall back asleep. It was so frustrating, finally I just rolled out of bed and went to work. There have been a lot of changes at work; some people were let go, etc. With that comes a period of transition and readjustment. I myself was contemplating a lot of these changes this morning and I'm pretty sure that's why sleep was so elusive. It was really annoying on the sleep front. I know that I'm being really vague here... but some of the changes have not been announced publicly and I sure don't want to post anything that would cause trouble for myself or others.
I'm excited during this transition phase because I have the opportunity to learn new things and I have been completely craving that for awhile now. So, that is so completely wonderful I can't even describe it to you. At the same time its a bit overwhelming. The moral of that story is... be careful what you wish for becuase you just might get it. :P
On the other hand there has been some discordance with everything as well and its definitely distressing to see those waves move outward among people I care about. I know that sometimes change is for the better. But, sometimes I wish that the waves weren't so large for those people I care about. It's difficult to see people you have been around for awhile feel distressed and extremely upset. On that note... back to trying to sleep. :P

Baby Number 3 - More Sono Pictures

So, on Thursday July 1st I went in for the genetic screening and got some more sonogram pictures. I haven't gotten the results back from the genetic screening but when we did the sono she said everything looked good. Below are the sono pix. :)

Walk-N-Ride

Okay, so we have purchased several toys for Dakota for his first Christmas as well as his first birthday. However, it always seems like these toys seem to be taken over by my oldest son.. I noticed that Dakota was pushing our chairs around the house like he was using a walker. (Not the kind where they sit in them). Anyway, the next day I took him to daycare... and he beelined for the walk-n-ride that she had there. She told me that he pushes it around all day. Obviously I decided that he had to have one. I had never really seen him take an interest in one thing. Therefore, I decided he needed it. In addition, I've also noticed that he's constantly try to steal Dustin's shoes and put them on ihs own feet. So, this weekend was more about satisfying Dakota's needs than anyone else's. Of course once I brought home the walk-n-ride it has been a constant struggle to keep Dustin off of it so that Dakota can play with it. It is seriously too small for Dustin but that doesn't stop him from riding it. Dakota loves to walk behind it and ride it. It's so adorable I had to take some pictures. I also took a video and you can see that Dustin jacks it as soon as Dakota got off. So typical of how things happen here in the Duke household. :P

Look at that smile.

It makes cool sounds.

Reaching for the sky... or the fan. :)

Dustin had just come over and given Dakota a hug. AWWWW.

Dustin was pretending he was a plane.

Look at THAT face.

I'm moving now.

Upclose pic of the spiffy new shoes... which of course Dakota adores. He loves them!! He was staring at his feet for like a half hour when we first bought them. :)

Doing tricks.

Again with the sounds. :)

Darrell's Bday Dinner

On June 19th, 2010 we all went to Red Lobster to celebrate my husband's 35th birthday. I only took pictures right before we were seated, but I figured I would post them here despite that. We got pictures with all four of the Duke's. (My husband and his three boys). My children and my step-son. Of course my Dad was also in attendance because he's at every important occasion. Darrell's friend Scott also joined the special event. :) We had a wonderful time despite the exurberant bill. :)

Scott and Dylan.

Darrell and Dustin.

Grandpa and Dakota.

Get ready for the 'D's... Dylan, Darrell, Dakota, and Dustin... did I mention my Dad's name is Dale? lols.

Again with Dylan, Darrell, Dakota, and Dustin.

Dustin's Bday Party

So, I'm extremely late in posting this because I was so late in loading the pictures from my camera onto my computer. On Saturday May 15, 2010 we celebrated Dustin's fourth birthday. It was definitely hard to believe that four years ago on May 8th, 2006 I gave birth to my first beautiful little boy. He's been such a pleasure and such a joy for the past few years. I'm incredibly lucky to hae been blessed to have him in my life. He has such an amazing spirit. He is so much fun to be around and frequently makes me laugh. His birthday party was a Bobot (Transformers) theme and he loved everything about it. He definitely loved his Bobot gifts. Michelle, Alena, and my Dad all came out to help us celebrate. Here are some of the pictures from his big day.

Dustin opens up Bumble Bee present... (that's a Transformer).

Bumble Bee... he LOVES this toy.

Opening some markers.

Found more presents. :)

Michelle and Alena.

Opening presents.

Bobot theme.

Blowing out candles on the Bobot cake.