Outnumbered

(if you can't tell, her head is on the left, with her torso to the right and legs going up over her head)

Bring on the Pink! On Monday we found out that we will be having another girl. My oh my is my sweet Bri outnumbered. All along Finley and Eliza have said they were having a sister, I guess they knew something I didn't. But pink and girly is something I'm used to, I can do another girl. She was not shy about showing that she was without a doubt a girl. However, whenever we tried to look at her face she was hiding behind her hands and arms. She's a mover that's for sure. Oh how I love being able to say 'her' instead of 'the baby'! Finley and Eliza love to rub my belly and talk to their sister, and can't wait to be able to feel her move. I think I'm a little nervous that Eliza will just want to love this one to death and treat her like one of her dolls, and Fin will continue to be a great help and sweet big sister.

I know it surprises you that I like to plan and prepare. But no the nursery isn't set up yet, that I can give a couple more months. I may have stopped by H&M on the way home and bought her a few new things, hit 'buy' on a website I've had up for a week for new blankets, and started trying to figure out the first round of hand me downs from the older sisters. We do have lots of clothes and toys that will be used greatly, but having a summer baby instead of another winter one kind of throws a kink in hand me downs clothes. Darn, I may have to buy a few new things. With this in mind, I do have to share one of Brian's first comments when we found out it was a girl. 'I've got to start making more money. I have three weddings I'm going to have to pay for.' Oh I love ya honey! And who doesn't love the daddy / daughter relationship?

Having another girl does make it a bit more convenient to just buy 3 of everything and not think about having to get something different. Despite the fact that we have a lot of pink, dolls, dance parties, dresses, and 'pretty things', the girls love to ride their bikes, jump on the tramp, play outside and ski. We are excited and grateful she is healthy and everything looks on track. It will be fun to see what this little one will look like and what type of personality she will have.

Four Room Switch

Last Saturday I snagged Brian for some around the house help. Since the skiing isn't good, we didn't have a race and he was here I figured I should take advantage of it. With baby #3 arriving in five months there are a few changes that need to happen. So I started with one that is easier to do without a big belly. Our four room switch. After this project I was reminded that I don't really want to have to move for a long time. We rotated Finley and Eliza's room into one of the larger rooms in the basement, the guest room moved to my office, Finley's old room has become my office, and for the time being Eliza's old room has become the play room. With Brian and I working from home and having two very busy kids we can't have our offices on the same floor. Considering that the sharing of a room, and being in the basement is a big enough change for the girl's I wanted them to adjust and feel settled before 1) the potty training begins for Eliza and 2) the baby comes. Knock on wood this first week has gone pretty well. If Eliza is sad at night Finley has been singing her songs and in the mornings they both wander up the stairs together. With a few tweaks left to do in their room it has turned out cute. It is amazing how much de-junking you can do by moving rooms around. Part of the spring cleaning checked off. Next on the list, potty training. Well that is when I decide we want to tackle it. I guess considering she tells me when she has a dirty diaper and wants to go on the toilet like Fin I guess its a few signs to begin. Wish us luck!

Friday Nights

I think Brian now officially is involved with every type of cycling there is. The latest venture has been BMX racing on Friday nights. It is so completely different from the long endurance races he does. There's only one lap per heat and its an all out sprint. Last week their little crew had enough to make up their own class. It was very amusing! I have to snicker a little because as all 6 of them walked by a group of 10-12 year olds sitting on the bleachers the kids said, "Hey look, there goes the old man class." Haha. There are actually groups older then them but it was kind of funny. Who would have thought 25-31 was 'old?'

This is the series they've been doing, Rad Canyon BMX. It's usually out in South Jordan inside a horse arena.

And there they are ready to go. Brian, K-day, Blaney, Spencer and a few other friends.

Little miss Liza was so mad that she couldn't go ride the bikes. There are classes that I swear the kids can't be more then 3 or 4 years old. Watching them try to go up and over jumps four times there size on those little bikes is so cute.

Finley and her buddies watching intently.

Brian has been wanting to win one of those really cool four foot tall trophies from one of these races but I guess this will have to do for now. The girls think its pretty dang cool.

New Year's

Over New Year's weekend we ventured up to Bondurant where there is actually snow and it looks like winter. It was a nice weekend of just hanging out in the barn, eating food, letting the kids play outside, the big kids went skiing, and stomping the driveway with snowshoes so that we could get out. Yes you read that last part right, between the howling winds, snow and no plow we did it the old fashion way - snowshoes and shovels. I wish I had gotten pictures, it was quite a sight plus you have to understand that it is not just a 20 foot long drive way.

Brian went skiing at Teton Village Resort for the first time ever. Despite the chilling winds and delayed opening of lifts he loved it! Its amazing that they got a foot of snow while we were there and Utah hasn't gotten anything. They even saw a legendary skier in the tram line, if you ever seen the documentary of Swift Silent and Deep you'd understand. What's better after a long day of skiing then curling up next to a fire?

This is what it looked like most of the time there. I love having a roaring fire and just enjoying being with family.

I didn't get many pictures but this is how the girls spent half their time. Bundled up and walking through the snow.

I'm pretty sure that Finley would have played outside all day everyday if I would have let her.

This was a first, they slept in the same bed in their own room. The first and last night's were a little rough but I think it prepared them for the next phase around our house, sharing a room. That post to come later.

Over all it was a great weekend and as always one of our favorite places to go!

Ski Days

Oh man am I behind on blogging. Between holidays, and work it's been a busy few weeks. Finley has started official ski lessons this year and loves it! Honestly its not fair that she skis, has snacks, skis, has lunch, skis some more and then has ice cream at the end of the day while all the while I'm working. It's actually quite convenient that she has lessons at my work. The week before Christmas she and Brian had a daddy daughter ski day. After a few laps on Chickadee she was ready for a run down Chips and Who Dunnit. Despite the rain at the top of the run she was a tough cookie and made it all the way down with another run on Chickadee before they came and picked me up from work.

Yes, she had a personalized day pass. That's how we roll.

Geared up and ready to go.

We had some lunch before they hit the slopes.

Love the grins.

At the end of the day standing in front of the mountain she skied.

First day of actual lessons. Yes, we get their skis and take them to the drop off zone of Mountain Ski School. I go to a counter where they have a million of these signs hanging, sign a sheet and give her a kiss and off she goes. Learning independence!

I was able to catch a few pic's of her when I came to pick her up. They each have their own cubbies. I love watching the bobble heads walking around in their gear. She was tough and carried her own skis, backpack, helmet and walked in ski boots.

I wish I got to end my days eating ice cream.

I'm so proud of her and want her to love skiing and being outside. I can't believe how big she is getting. Time has gone so fast and to think she is almost 5 is crazy!

I love to see the Temple

Finley and I have been wanting to see the lights at Temple Square for a while now and so we decided Tuesday night we'd brave the cold and go. Of course we had to have some yummy dinner before hand so we splurged and went to Olive Garden. The girls were great through dinner and just wanted to see the lights. So we bundled up and loaded in the stroller and off we went. I was slightly jealous that the girls were bundled head to toe and under big blankets in the stroller. Eliza's eyes were so big and she just looked around saying 'Wow! Pretty!" Finley decided she wanted to walk holding hands with her dad so she could see the lights up close. We'd thought that by maybe going on a Tuesday night we'd avoid some of the huge crowds. Well as luck would have it, we chose the night that half the valley took their young men and young women groups, and that there were high school choir concerts going on. Haha what can you do? We walked around for about half an hour and watched / listened to the nativity scene then the girls decided they were cold. To state it correctly, Finley said "Mom, I can't feel my thumbs or toes. This is really pretty but can we go get warm?" Yep numb fingers are a good sign it's time to go. Don't worry they did have their warm boots, gloves, hats, winter coats and blankets. It was a wonderful night out with the girls and more then anything I love watching them experience new things. By the time we left, Eliza had learned the words Temple, Angel, Trees, Jesus, and Pretty Lights.

How could this floating nativity scene on the reflecting pond with the sweet glow of the temple behind it not make you feel the true meaning of Christmas?

Excitement in the air

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. The warm fuzzy feeling that comes from giving to others, the reminder of why we celebrate each time you look at the nativity set on the table, listening to Christmas music and decorating, yummy smells of the weekly cookies baking, daily anticipation of the the kids looking for Roxy the Elf, and driving around looking at lights listening to the kids "Oh pretty mom! How cute! OOOOHH AAAAHHH!" How could you not love Christmas?

So what's the greatest gift?

Family.

(notice anything unique to the picture?)

I'm excited to say that we will become a family of 5. Little Tolbert #3 will be arriving June 20! The girls couldn't be more excited. Eliza loves to rub my tummy and say "Baby, baby!". Finley thinks that anything we buy we need three so that the baby has one too. Between having two kids, work, a traveling husband, and the holiday's there's not much time to think about being sick. It's amazing that I've already hit my 12 week mark! We saw the heartbeat and we were reassured that everything look good at our first appointment. Stay tuned, I think in January we will find out what we are having.