That's right! We're expecting Baby #2 January 11, 2010.

At our doctor's appointment yesterday we learned that the baby has a nice strong heartbeat and looks good developmentally. Besides a little fatigue I'm feeling really good too (I'm so lucky).

The doctor was even able to do an ultrasound. Lainy watched the screen very closely and when the baby started wiggling around, she yelled "Baby dance!" We took that as a good sign that she's excited too.

So there's our big news!

P.S. We're headed to Rexburg for the rest of the summer, then moving to Seattle, so don't expect much blogging for the next couple of months. See you in the Fall!!

Kamiak Butte

I'm sorry for the blogging hiatus. We've been busy preparing to move and enjoying our last couple of weeks here in Moscow.

Saturday evening we went to a place called Kamiak Butte. It has picnic areas, camping sites, and a hiking trail up to the top of the butte. Apparently the top offers some gorgeous views of the valley.

We left a little later than we'd hoped, so we ended up just making tinfoil dinners and not hiking. The dinners were delicious! It felt so good to be outside! Now that we know what it's like, we're planning on going again to camp and do the hike. Brad got a sweet 4-man tent for Father's Day, so we need to put it to good use!!

Here are a few pictures:

Our neighbors let us borrow this cute little camping chair. Lainy loved it - can you tell?

Lainy kept walking around the camp site saying: "Hike". This picture was taken a few moments before she totally biffed it. She must have had her mouth open when she fell, because she came up with a mouth full of dirt. Yum!

Brad and Lainy by the fire. She was a little too helpful with the fire. I had to stop her from throwing her sippy cup in a couple of times.

View from our vantage point on the butte. The top must be gorgeous!

Nice dirty face at the end of the night! Isn't it fun to be outside?!

Frustrations

Here is what our little girl looks like after spending most of the morning either throwing tantrums or on the naughty mat. . .

Completely exhausted!

I'm sure if I'd gotten a picture of me on this particular day, I would have looked very similar.

It's got to be frustrating to be an almost-two-year-old who can understand everything she's told, but can't quite communicate as well as she would like.

It's also sometimes frustrating to be the mother of the said almost-two-year-old, who hates to put her little girl on the naughty mat, but has to be consistent with the rules, knowing it's better to do this now than end up with an hornery, whiney, disrespectful kid later on.

On the other hand, it's really pretty awesome to be the mother if this little almost-two-year-old most of the time. Especially when she's a sweetheart and wants to cuddle. Or when she gets really, super excited about little things like dancing or going on a walk outside. Or when she wakes up saying "Mommy" in her sweet little voice. Or when she gives me hugs and kisses and says "Wov you".

Yes, it's pretty awesome to be her mother then.

A Child's Prayer

I have to share something sweet Lainy did the other night.

For the past couple of weeks, Lainy has been saying her own prayers at night. She needs a lot of help, but it's so sweet to witness!

To understand the story, I'll have to give you a little background info. Our neighbor is a single Mom of two busy boys, a full-time student at U of I, and a new convert to the Church. Her name is Rhonda. Needless to say, she has a lot on her plate, but she is just amazing. Lainy loves her.

On Friday, Rhonda had to take her two boys to live with their dad for the summer. They've all been pretty sad about the whole thing. After she dropped them off, Rhonda came over to our house to ask us a favor. Lainy (who was getting ready for bed) came running out yelling "Rhonna! Rhonna!" She and Rhonda had a nice little chat.

After Rhonda left, we took Lainy into her room to say her prayers. Her prayer went something like this:

Brad: Dear Heavenly Father,
Lainy: Father
Brad: We're thankful for this day.
Lainy: Day
Brad: We're thankful for our friends Reece, and Payton, and Troy.
Lainy: and Rhonna!
Brad: Yes and Rhonda. Please bless Rhonda.
Lainy: bless
Brad: We're thankful for Jesus,
Lainy: Jesus
Brad: and the prophet
Lainy: Prophet
Brad: Bless Lainy to sleep well
Lainy: sleep
Brad: In the name of Jesus Christ,
Lainy: Amen!

I almost started to cry. I thought it was so sweet of Lainy to remember Rhonda in her prayer. How could she have known Rhonda needed our prayers that night? I'm not sure. But I know that I said an extra prayer for Rhonda after being reminded to do so by my little 21-month-old. Aren't kids sweet?