It's a.......

BOY!!!


Contrary to I think ALL of our predictions, Baby Berry is indeed, a little boy!

This morning was FINALLY my long awaited ultrasound. We were at the hospital at 8:40 a.m. and I was the very first appointment.

I was so nervous and excited. I hardly slept the night before. It's been a long time since I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning, but when we woke up, and I saw all the snow on the ground, I truly FELT like a little kid on Christmas morning.

The day before we had kind of taken a "poll" as to what Baby Berry was going to be. I think 75% of the people we asked said Girl for sure. Keric has kind of said all along that he has a Boy baby in HIS belly and I have a Girl baby in mine. However last night, he said the baby was a Boy...?

Well...he was right! Sure enough, right there on the ultra sound as plain as day...our little baby is Boy! I think it took both Chris and I a couple seconds to actually focus on what it was we were seeing.

Although I am a little sad that in all likelihood I won't have a little girl of my own, I am THRILLED to have another little boy. Keric has been so much fun, and is such a sweet little boy. He is also very much a Mommy's Boy, and there is nothing better than having a Mommy's Boy, unless you have TWO of them. :)

Baby Buddy, as we are now calling him..since Baby Berry sounds more like a girl... is very healthy, and is actually measuring bigger than we thought. I was 19 weeks and 3 days on Monday, but he is weighing in at about 21 weeks and 3 days. He is already weighing a pound! So he is kind of a chunky boy right now. :) She estimated my due date at March 17th instead of a March 29th, which is fine with me. :)

As seems to be par for the course with me...Baby looks great, Mommy could be a little better. Nothing serious really this time hopefully. They are a little concerned that my placenta is lower than they would like to see it. I haven't had any bleeding or anything, which is a good sign, but they are hoping that it doesn't turn into Placenta Previa. Basically what that would mean is that they would have to deliver the baby via C-section because if the Placenta is too close to the cervix it can cause bleeding and so they don't like to chance the "normal" way of giving birth.

I am scheduled to go back to the Hospital on Dec. 19th for another Ultra Sound to see if my placenta has moved up with the growth of my Uterus. So fingers crossed that that's what will happen. :)

After the appointment, we kept with tradition and went to Build A Bear to make Baby Buddy a Teddy Bear. We picked out a cream colored Bear, and Keric got to help stuff it,


and give it a "bath".


We named the Teddy Bear "Barry" in honor of the baby's original nick name. :) The name Barry will live on in our house... no need to worry about that.

We also found a really awesome sale at Old Navy and bought little Buddy some clothes that were on clearance. Between the clothes we bought and the clothes that I saved from Keric, our little man is pretty much set for the first couple months of his life! :) I actually had several outfits with tags still on them left over from Keric! Guess it's a good thing we ARE having another boy since Keric apparently had too many clothes. haha

Now the only thing we need is a name! That part really stresses me out! I don't know why I feel like the minute we find out what the sex of the baby is, we need to have a NAME for them, but I do. We had a girl name picked out, but of course hadn't even thought of boy names. So now I am back to square one, and agreeing on names is always a hard thing. I guess we have a few months left to decide still. Until then, I'm going to try my hardest not to think about it or stress about it.

Happy Halloween!

I don't usually get too into Halloween, but this year Keric was so excited about it, I couldn't help but be excited about it too! We actually bought his costume the first week of October because he wanted SO badly to go into the "Spooky Store" so we took him, and ended up getting him a costume. He wasn't too sure about what it was he wanted to be, but finally settled on being a Pirate.


Chris and I don't dress up...I think it's kind of fun, but it's a lot of work, and something Chris just doesn't really seem to want to take part in. ha ha I usually just end up wearing a Halloween shirt of some kind. This year I found an Iron on stencil on Etsy of a skeleton, that had a little baby skeleton in the belly. I just HAD to get it, so I wore my skeleton shirt, but later realized that most people didn't even NOTICE the little baby skeleton on the shirt! :( Oh well...it was cute anyway.


Sorry for the horrible picture...but it was 10:30 p.m. and I realized I hadn't taken a picture of the shirt yet. Chris insisted my face had to be in it too...and well, it had been a long somewhat windy trick or treating day! :(

Keric's pre-school had a little Halloween party on Friday the 28th and I made some treats for it. I don't know why I feel like there are these little "mile stones" that as I Mom I kind of meet every once in awhile, but I was actually pretty excited about making treats for his school party! Something I have never done before, and I stressed out about it for days! Thank goodness for Pintrest! I found some pretty cute little Rice Krispie pumpkin treats that I made, that I thought turned out kinda cute.


They had a little costume parade for the parents and grandparents. Chris, Mama Anne and I went to watch. It was amazingly a pretty nice day. Not warm really, but also not snowing or freezing cold! Keric was one of the first little boys to come out of the school, and he raised his little sword and in his big loud voice yelled "HI MOMMY!" I hate to admit it, but it totally brought tears to my eyes! He was SO CUTE, and so happy!


After their parade, they stood on the steps and sang a couple of Halloween songs, and then they went inside and had their little party minus the parents.


I am so grateful that we found this little pre-school! I was a little hesitant at first because I know he is a little young to be going to pre-school, but it has been SO GOOD for him, and he just loves it! He loves his teachers, and they do such a good job with all those little kids and teaching things in such a fun way. Every time I drop him off or pick him up, he is just so happy and excited! I'm glad we decided to let him go, even if he is young. :)

On Saturday the 29th we went to our ward's annual Trunk or Treat. Thankfully Saturday was also a nice day! Keric had a great time, and of course came home with more candy than we needed around the house!





Cameron and Reagan we able to come along with Corbin. Reagan decided she wasn't going to dress up this year, she was going to just go trick or treating as herself!?! I noticed that several people asked her what she was dressed as, and I heard her say "Halloween Girl". Not sure where that came from, but guess she didn't want to say "I'm dressed as Reagan Wexels". LOL Cameron dressed as a Pokemon character, and Corbin was "Bumblebee" from transformers. I think they all had a fun time.



After Trunk or Treat we carved pumpkins. Keric refused to eat his dinner, so I wouldn't let him carve his pumpkin until he was done.


Long story short, he basically spent the entire night crying, so while he was STILL crying over his un-eaten dinner, Chris carved him a "Sad" pumpkin. LOL After he was done he kept saying he felt bad, and maybe that was too mean, but I thought it was cute, and Keric actually seemed to kind of like it. I carved Baby Berry's pumpkin, I don't have real carving skills, but I managed to make SOMETHING, and Chris kind of cleaned it up.



I also roasted pumpkin seeds for the first time. Cameron really wanted some, and I hadn't had any for years, so I figured what the heck. The ended up being kind of "burned" or something...but actually they all got eaten, so they must not have been that bad. :) Guess I'll know for next year how NOT to roast them!



Monday was of course Halloween, and miracle of all miracles it was SO NICE outside! We didn't even have to wear coats! We took Keric trick or treating around the neighborhood, and he was having a great time, until we came to a house that had a bunch of guys dressed up in spooky kinds of costumes. He was NOT having it! I was sort of annoyed that the guys didn't take their masks off, or at least do SOMETHING to make him stop freaking out, but whatever I guess. We made it through. After those experiences, he insisted he was done and wanted to go home. I felt so bad! We made him go to a couple more neighbors houses before we went to Grantsville to pick up Cam and Reag. He trick or treated a couple houses there with them, and then we went to Mama Anne's house for Soup.

It was certainly a FULL weekend, and also a fun weekend! It's funny to think about having a little baby to take trick or treating next year. That will be fun too! Wonder what He/She will dress up as? Maybe I can talk Keric into doing a "theme" costume next year with the new baby. :)

Other Moments that need to be "documented"

I'm so behind in my blogging that I keep remembering other things that happened that I should have written about, so instead of trying to go back and write them all down, I'm just going to do a quick post about some of the things that didn't get mentioned.... :(

July 11 I needed a change, so I decided to change my hair. I went from dark to blonde...Chris' preference :) and I got bangs! I haven't had bangs since before my mission which was FOREVER ago. I was a little hesitant, but now I totally love them! I think I'll keep them for a long time! :)



July 14 - 18 Our trip to Wyoming for my College Ward Reunion. Keric and I drove up by ourselves on the 14th






Chris flew from Seattle, where he was at an Amazon conference on the 15th to meet us. I had SO MUCH fun seeing so many people that I hadn't seen for so long! I am always so reluctant to go to reunions..but am always glad I do when they are over. :)

Our trip was eventful as always. While Keric and I were driving to my Mom's we drove through some construction work...of course! There is always a road somewhere in WY that is getting re-paved! The guy behind us was too impatient to drive the 35 mph that we were supposed to drive, and before I knew it, he was speeding past me throwing up all sorts of loose gravel. As annoyed as I was by him, what happened next scared me to death! About 10 seconds later, of course after he had LONG passed, I heard a big "BANG" sound and next thing I knew my drivers side window had completely shattered! It took me awhile to pull off the side of the road, and as I kept driving the glass started blowing out at me. I was so mad/scared and just plain upset! Thankfully we were OK, and I made it the 2 more hours to my Mom's house. Were were able to get the window fixed in Powell, so we didn't have to drive home with no window, and of course it made for an interesting story!



Chris was great to help out with all the cooking at the reunion, and Keric had a great time making new friends and playing at the park. We also got to spend time with my Mom on her birthday, which was fun too, and attend "Crazy Days"...a long time Powell Tradition. My mom found a really cheap Powell Panther Sweatshirt that Keric LOVES, and is so excited to wear in the winter! :) Go Panthers!!










July 22 - Potty training FAIL



September 6 - Despite our utter potty training failure, Keric was still allowed to start pre-school. His teachers were fine with him wearing a pull-up, but said they would not change any diapers, and would call me to come get him if he had a poopie diaper. I sat down and explained all of this to Keric. He was thrilled to be able to go to school, and I was thrilled for him! When we took him to school, he was a little apprehensive, and scared, but he eventually warmed up and seemed to be OK with me leaving.







However when I picked him up, he had a little picture of himself that they made, and he had a sad face. He told me that he "just made a sad face cause he was just crying at school". I felt SO BAD!

Surprise!!

Yes...we are FINALLY expecting Baby #2! Just when we ALL thought it wasn't going to happen she/he has finally made their appearance! :)

We kept our mouths shut for the first three months, just because of the past two miscarraiges that I have had, but the first trimester is behind us, everything is looking good, and we are thrilled to be having a new baby join us in March!

My very own "Pea Green Bomb"

Yet again I have neglected my poor blog! UGH! Here goes attempt number 572 at catching up... :(

When I was little, my mom and dad came home with a brand new car! I still remember staying at my Grandma Hopkin's for the day while my parents went to Billings. I don't think we had any idea why they were going, but I remember looking out the door at the new car driving down the lane to pick us up. It was a brand new PEA GREEN car. I don't think at the time the color was a big deal to us as kids...we just were excited to have a new car.

As I got older, the car fondly became known as the "Pea Green Bomb". I also learned how the pea green bomb came to be. My Dad has always been kind of a "wheeler dealer" and I guess when they went looking for cars, they found the Chevrolet Malibu and really liked it. My Mom liked the maroon one...(I think, I hope I'm getting the details right) but the maroon one was a little too pricey. They DID however have a pea green one that wasn't selling, and my Dad got a great deal on it...basically because of the color. It wasn't just green on the outside, it was green EVERYWHERE! The seats were green, the dash was green, everything was green. Well...fast forward a few weeks and my Uncle John and Uncle Doug also bought brand new Chevrolet Malibu's from the same dealership for the same price as my Dad bought ours. The catch? They had a pretty blue one, and a pretty maroon one! They told the salesman about my Dad's great deal, and got the same deal on the prettier colored cars!

I remember just HATING that car, and being so embarrassed by it! I've never been one to hide my feelings too well, so I'm sure I made my feeling very well known to my Mom and Dad, and I'm sure I made them known often!

Well...as they say KARMA has a way of coming back and biting you in the behind. 20 some odd years later, I find myself in the same boat as my Mom and Dad were in. I have three little kids, and we have outgrown our car! We have known for awhile that we needed a new car, but just haven't felt like it was something we could do "right now". For the most part, we really loved our "Bye-Bye" but the kids were getting bigger, and it was becoming apparent that we couldn't keep the "Bye-Bye" for much longer.

One day Chris came home and said that there was Ford Expedition on one of the dealerships lots that was about the right price, and maybe we should consider looking at it. I've never owned a Ford, didn't know much about it, but heck..I didn't care! Right price, fits us all, good car...let's do it! So later that day when I was out doing some errands, I drove by the dealership. My jaw dropped to the floor! There it was..the Ford Expedition, the one with the right price, sitting there in all it's PEA GREEN glory!! I couldn't believe what I was looking at! How do these stupid little things always seem to catch up to me???

I called Chris on my cell phone and said "It's PEA GREEN!!" He sort of laughed and said, well...not really, but yes, it is green" My first reaction was NO WAY, we can find another car!

Several days went by, and we drove past the car several times, but never stopped. That weekend Keric went to play at Corbin's house for a couple hours, and on a whim Chris and I went to look at the Pea Green Bomb. It turned out to be a better deal than we thought! The car looked brand new inside and out. The guy was going to give us a deal on our trade in that seemed almost too good to be true, and it quickly became a deal that we just couldn't walk away from. In fact it almost seemed like an answer to our prayers.

So I swallowed my pride, signed the papers, and took my very own Pea Green Bomb home with me! It didn't take long for the color to stop bugging me..in fact I don't even think about it much. It's a nice car, and it fits our family. Keric LOVES it, and wants to drive it everywhere we go, even if it's just me and him going.

It will be a good car for our family, and should last us a long time. Despite the irony... I am very thankful for my very own "Pea Green Bomb"

Swimming School Drop Out!

Poor Keric! Of ALL the things to inherit from ME...he has inherited my fear of water! We signed all the kids up for swimming lessons this summer and I thought Keric would have a great time...but not so much.






The first day he woke up at about 6 a.m. and wanted me to put his swimming suit on right then and there! His lessons weren't until 11 a.m. so he had a LONG time to wait, and he was really getting impatient! We finally got his suit on and went to lessons. He was THRILLED to see Cam, Mae and Corbin pull up to lessons too! He ran inside and was ready to go until he realized, that he wasn't going with Cameron OR Reagan OR Corbin, he was in his own class. He shed a few tears, but reluctantly went with his group.



I watched from the sidelines, and it looked like he was having a good time. In fact there was a point where he was having a little too good of time, because he got away from his group and was about to jump in to the pool on his own! Scared me TO DEATH! Thankfully the teacher caught him in time, so all was good.





At some point in the lesson they were asked to put their head and face in the water...well this is something Keric is NOT FOND of at all! He hates even getting his face wet in the bathtub! I'm sure his teacher thought that he was doing him a favor by dunking him in, but Keric was not impressed, and was DONE after that! He is by no means a quiet child and his screams and cries just echoed through that whole place! I went and got him, and tried to comfort him, but he was done with the lesson. Thankfully it was about over, so we went ahead and left.

The next day it was a FIGHT to get him to go to lessons, and a fight every day after that! He kicked, screamed, and cried the whole lesson. Most of the time he would just sit on the side line yelling for me. It was brutal!


Yes I resulted to bribery!

Thankfully he had one teacher that kind of took him under his wing. He would come and get him from my arms each morning, and kind of make Keric his "special project" for the 1/2 hour.

Towards the end he started liking swimming a little more, but he still refused to put his face in the water, or jump in the water so sadly he did not "pass" his class, but I'm hoping that next year he will be a little more brave, and hopefully have more fun! Poor baby!

Wexels Week of Wonder 2011

This year the Wexels all descended on Moab Utah for a week of hiking, "camping" (for those of us who were tough which wasn't my family! ;) ) Laughing, eating, and FUN!

I wasn't too sure about heading up to Moab because I had never been there, but it really was a fun vacation! All of the kids were such little troopers, as we hiked all over looking at all the AMAZING scenery Moab has to offer. We even hiked to the famous "Delicate Arch" that you see on all of the Utah licence plates. It was QUITE the hike, and I was SO PROUD of Bubby for hiking it all by his little self. I was a little worried he wasn't going to make it back, but we did...eventually. He was a little trooper! I was also MORE than grateful for my new hip, because a year ago, I would have been sitting and waiting in the car while the rest of the group hiked!

It was so much fun to hang out with the entire Wexels clan, some of whom I had never met before! We had such a great time, and I can't wait to do it again hopefully next year! :)


Ready for our very first hike! Chompie came with us, and sadly...it was CHOMPIE that I had to carry back from the hike and NOT Keric! We truly have the worlds most sissy dog ever!


My little trooper! He LOVED it!


Little Buddies! Keric was so cute, he kept encouraging Chompie. He would hold his leash and say "Come on Chompie...it's ok!"


Out to dinner in our "Wexels shirts" that Uncle Jim had made for us. I have to say...the food in Moab...yeah, not very good!


Hike to Delicate Arch. We MADE it!!


Our Family under the arch. The hike was brutal...but so worth the view! :)