Saying goodbye to Utah

Our last few days in Utah were spent hanging out with family and friends.  We had so much fun and can't wait to go back and visit.  Alden played hard with Lucy and I know that he already misses his playing buddy.  Alden also loves his new little cousin Cole.  We are so glad that he decided to come a little early so we could see him and love on him before we left.  Alden would get so excited to see the baby and would ask to hold Cole every time Lucy did.  They are all going to be the best of friends.  Along with playing at home we went to the Bean Museum at BYU and saw all the animals which was definitely a high light for Alden because lately he has become obsessed with animals.

It's a Girl!

I probably should have posted this a while ago, but our family of three is becoming four on September 7th.  We are expecting a little girl and couldn't be happier.  My belly has officially "popped" the past two weeks and she moves constantly.  The most movement takes place when Alden goes down for a nap or for the night.  I think this is because she's used to getting jumped on and mauled by Alden all the time, that when he leaves she thinks it's her turn to move around.  Now that we are finally settled down for the summer with only minor trips and parties planned we can finally focus on preparing for our new addition.  I even bought myself my maternity swimsuits this past weekend because I'm pretty sure that's all Alden and I will be doing this summer.  I'm going to need to find ways to stay cool in the heat since I'll be nine months pregnant during the hottest month.

Graduation!

In April Patrick graduated from BYU with his degree in chemical engineering.  We are so proud of him and all his hard work.  He's worked really hard the past several years and it has all paid off.  He is done with school and has a full time job that he started yesterday.  Since he didn't have any finals this semester and we had our trip to Germany planned, we opted to leave Provo early and skip the actual graduation ceremony to move into out new apartment.  The weekend before we left, Patrick and Alden humored me and came with me to campus one morning before church to take some "graduation" pictures.  Even if they weren't done in his cap and gown, I wanted some of the classic graduation pictures from places around campus.  This actually worked out really nice, because there were no lines and we were all done in about 20 minutes.  Megan was good enough to come and be our photographer and I think they turned out wonderfully.  Now we have photo proof that Patrick went to BYU :) 

(Sorry about the picture overload, these are mostly for family to see)

New shoes

Alden got some new shoes a few months ago.  They are his first pair of real tennis shoes.  He looks so cool in them and loved putting them on.  I think this is because he knows that he can't go outside without his shoes on, so every morning he would run into his room and ask to put on his shoes because he wanted to go outside.  Below are the pictures of him trying them on one night.

Boise Trip

We had so much fun when we went up to Boise last month to visit Becca, Skye, and the boys.  I'm so sad I didn't get a lot of pictures, but with it being a quick trip we didn't have time to stand around and take pictures.  Alden was a surprisingly good traveler and had so much fun following Bryce and Brandon around.  They were good sports to share their toys and were very kind making sure "baby Alden" was okay.  We mostly just played around the house and enjoyed spending time together, but we did venture out a few times by going to Cabella's to see the animal exhibits and the YMCA to go swimming.  The boys loved seeing the stuffed animals and ran around the store pointing out everything they saw.  Swimming was fun, Alden hadn't been in the pool since last summer and took a little while warming up to the idea of it.  Mostly because it was pretty crowded on a Saturday afternoon and he wasn't sure of what to think of all the people.  But here he is in his new swimming suit.

The Box

We buy Alden's diapers in bulk, and he has recently discovered the box is the perfect size for him to ride in.  One day he climbed in the box and pretty much asked to be pushed around the house.  So I was on my hands and knees pushing him from room to room in our small apartment.  When we would go by his toys he'd pick them up and load himself down with them.  Finally after a while I needed a break, so I suggested he just push his toys around.  He did for a little bit, but decided he liked being the one in the box better than the pusher.  I don't blame him.  Here he is giving me some attitude for pausing to take pictures instead of pushing.

The Pink Headband

When Patrick plays intramural soccer he likes to wear a pink headband.  It started years ago when he and his brother Tyler were on the same team and both wanted headbands for when they played.  Somehow there was only pink or either they wanted pink, I'm not quite sure of the whole story, but Patrick has kept up the tradition.  So every soccer game that he plays he proudly wears his headband and says it's the good luck charm and reason for them winning.  Alden is also developing a love for the pink headband.  He found it one day when I was doing laundry and knew exactly what to do with it.  He needed a little help to put it on correctly, but he was so proud and wore it all around the house.  Doesn't he look awesome?