Oh the things they say

Owen has started talking up a storm. Most things we can understand, but every now and then he'll start wagging his index finger and rattling off about something. It's hilarious. Some of his favorite phrases are "I got it, Daddy, I got it" "I jump, Daddy, I jump" "noooooo" "juice, please" "breakfast bar" "candy" and the list goes on. He loves food and has no fear. Today while I was laying in bed he jumped full force on my back and almost knocked the breath out of me.

Shepherd is into metaphors lately. Again, he's stinkin' hilarious. Here's some Shepherdism's:

talking about daddy's driving--"like a roller coaster"
talking about poop--"like a ball"
He told our neighbor "Eric get yucky when mow, you need a shower or bath."
He loves to help me make food "delicious" and he loves to cook cheese in his play kitchen. Everything he cooks has something to do with cheese. He's a great big brother and loves to help instruct Owen on what to do. The other day at the lunch table while O was eating apple sauce I heard Shepherd say "Owen, rub it in your hair." Then later, "Hi, Owen, How are you?" He's so sweet and caring and a little bossy!

I love these sweet innocent moments with my precious little ones.

Last of the vacation pictures

"I jump Daddy, I jump" is what Owen said before catapulting into the water. He had no fear.

My little drooler----still!!!

The boys LOVED the hotel!!! We had played up going to Sea World so much that we forgot to mention we would be staying in a hotel. After Sea World on Thursday we mentioned heading to the hotel. Shepherd got so excited. "And doors and telephones and pool?" Those are a few of his favorite hotel things.

ABCs of Marla

You've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with the ABC's of YOU.

A - Age: 30
B - Bed size: King and I love it!!
C - Chore you hate: Dusting
D - Dog's name: No thanks
E - Essential start your day item: Prayer and shower
F - Favorite color: Red
G - Gold or Silver: Silver
H - Height: 5' 2
I - Instruments you play(ed): took piano lessons when I was a kid, never really embraced it though and I loved playing those annoying recorders when I was little
J - Job title: Stay at Home Mommy
K - Kid(s): Shepherd, Owen, one on the way and precious Halley and Porter
L - Living arrangements: Single family home, I share a bedroom with the Owner of our house.
M - Mom's name: Paula
N - Nicknames: Mar, momma, mommy, Marlena, Marlene, Mardogg
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Kidney stones when I was preggo with Porter
P - Pet Peeve: road rage and drunk driving
Q - Quote from a movie: "I hate goodbyes"
R - Right or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: Jessica, David, Daniel, John and Laura
T - Time you wake up: 5:23 five days a week (and sometimes I go back to bed) and around 8-8:30 on weekends.
U- Underwear: I like Gap Body and yes, I wear them everyday....
V - Vegetable you dislike: turnups?
W - Ways you run late: trying to get squirmy kids dressed and in the car, forgetting something
X - X-rays you've had- teeth and that's it
Y - Yummy food you make: chocolate chip cookies, rolls, pumpkin pie cake
Z - Zoo favorite: Lately the Lions

Splash Zone

Shepherd's first roller coaster ride. Owen is actually our adventurous child, but he was too short to be able to ride. He begged to ride...so we did find one for him.

Hello, little Dolphin, how's the fish?

When they say "Splash Zone" they mean...you'll get soaked!!!

We are having an absolute blast at SeaWorld. I'm so glad we're spreading it out over 3 days. We go for about 3-4 hours every day and that is perfect for us. Our hotel has a heated pool so we've taken advantage of that as well. The boys are loving every minute! Enjoy the pictures.

Vacation

This week Nate's been on vacation and we've been way busier than we anticipated. It seems to always happen that way.

We bought the boys bunk beds. Not sure what we were thinking on that one. Shepherd usually sleeps in til 8am and Owen sleeps until 8:30 or 9. We have it made---and yet we go and ruin it!. We put them in bed around 8pm and by 10 we had to separate the gigglebugs. It was just too exciting for them. We'll see what happens. We're not in a big hurry, but with baby approaching, it'd be nice if eventually they started sleeping together. When I moved Owen's crib I found 19 socks hiding behind his bed---19!!! The funny thing is that socks were on my list to buy for them. Not anymore.

We're headed to Sea World San Antonio tomorrow. We're planning on going there 2 1/2 days. We're all so excited. Shepherd hasn't stopped talking about dolphins and sharks..."dolphins poop". Why must boys always talk about what poops?

Please continue to pray for me as I battle fear and anxiety about our baby. I know that God hasn't called us to live in fear. At this point every time I think about me being pregnant or having a baby the fear starts to consume. I still don't feel like we'll be bringing a baby home in October. I want to try and be honest with you guys as we walk this journey. It's tough, really tough, but at the same time we know we're right where God wants us.

Shamu pictures in a few days....

More Easter Pictures

Brother love melts my heart!!

Shepherd smells everything right now, is that normal?

So I'm still getting a feel for this blogger thing. Not sure I love it yet, but I'll get used to it with time. I feel very limited on how many pictures I can upload. I'm also wanting to do some cute things, but don't feel like I have the time or knowledge for that! Little by little.

Nate is officially on vacation and I'm super excited about this week. Our plan is to have a fun weekend, get things done (like spring cleaning and random projects) on Monday and Tuesday and then on Wednesday we'll be packing for Sea World!!! I'm so excited...and so are the kids. I shouldn't have told Shepherd a week in advance, but I did. Now every time we get in the car he asks if we're headed to Sea World "and dolphins and whales and turtles and ...." the list goes on and on. They are going to love it. We'll be staying at the Homewood Suites in San Antonio. We're just in that stage where we definitely need 2 rooms. It can make our trip a million times better! So...if any of you have Sea World tips, please share.

Random updates: Shepherd is wearing underwear every day except for sleep times, but he still doesn't really tell me when he needs to go potty. He even complains when I make him go, but he will go. We've had very few accidents...basically I'm potty trained!!! Owen has such and enthusiasm for going pee pee and wants to sit all the time, but has only actually gone a few times. He begs to wear Elmo underwear, so much that I either let him wear them alone if we're going to be outside, or over his diaper. He is such the big boy!!

We're having a...

According to my pei wei fortune... we're having a baby girl...

Haaa...I did find out at 12 weeks that Owen was a boy, but I don't think we'll be so lucky this time. We'll have to wait about 6 more weeks til we can confirm this Fortune Cookie being accurate.

Freshness

Ahhh...I just feel so fresh writing on my nice clean blog. This has needed to happen for a long time. No more ghetto xanga!!!

With the freshness comes tenativeness...I'm a little unsure which way to head with my blog. I don't want to mess anything up this early in the game. Of course I will continue to mainly use this as a way to keep our family and friends update on all the exciting happenings of the family complete with pictures.

It's past time.

Well, here I am. After 4 years on xanga, I'd been craving a change for some time. I remember back in the old days when xanga was hoppin' with activity and was one of the only blog sites I knew of. Yes, that was long long ago.

I'm hoping a new blog sparks new creativity. We'll see. Read and enjoy and welcome to knowing the Livers family!!