FIRST HALF OF FEBRUARY

February has not been great in the picture department. I have felt exhausted and hardly inspired. I have taken fewer pictures, but enough for the week. Some days I only pick up the camera out of obligation and I am glad I have somehow been able to do it. This week we had our 23 week ultrasound and confirmed that it is a boy. We are excited. The kids are excited and want to kiss and hug the baby all day long. We have had an exciting week! 2013 has just started and it already feels like it will be a huge year for us and our extended family! I'll start with my lovely Emma. She was in total denial when we told her we were having a boy. She really wanted a sister. When I gave Emma the news she ignored my statement and said she was hungry and wondered what we would eat for dinner. A little later she said she was happy and thought the baby would be just as cute as her brothers. She truly is a beautiful soul. I ADORE my Emma. This is Alex. Pancake lover. He seriously wants to eat pancakes every day. And this week I may have made pancakes every day. Here he is, "fixin' my hair, Mom" he said when I asked him to put the stuff down. Then I saw this little bit of light over him and told him to keep on "fixin' his hair" I love this boy! Another little slice of light. Emma thought it was fun. Emma is a deal maker. She knows how to make me give her what she wants. I sometimes say no to what she wants knowing she will make a deal and I will get some cute pictures! This time she wanted her Strawberry Shortcake coloring book that I had picked up and put away. She traded for pictures. Later, I caught Alex "reading" and he was so interested that didn't even notice me! And here, you can see how much fun my kids have together. Really, they love playing together. I guess it's one of the perks of having them so close together. I love seeing them like this. Valentine's day. I have to brag about Ryan's present to me for Valentine's. Ryan had given me a pair of diamond earrings a few years ago. And as is my custom, I lost one. It made me so sad to have lost one that I couldn't really even talk about it. It was sad. Well, for Valentine's he had it made into a necklace and got me very similar, almost matching earrings. I love them! They are beautiful and I just love the thoughtful present and man! And also, as usual, my Mother-in-law heart attacked us! The kids caught her red handed though and she had no option but to hand over the little pez dispensers she had gotten them! I had made sugar cookies to decorate with the kids and so that night we decorated delicious sugar cookies and ate lots of frosting. Here we have Benjamin. This child comes to my bed every night. Every night. And stays in my bed until morning. I will be honest and say that even when it's tiring and I dislike interrupted sleep, I love cuddling with my little boy! He truly is the craziest of the three and so, getting to cuddle with him is top on my list of favorite things! Alex and his IPad. I only got a few photos on my IPhone this past week. This new week seems to already be better on the photo front. We'll see...