I couldn't be happier!

I'm officially Pregnant!

And, we are having just ONE baby. I had my first appointment today and everything went better than expected. The nurse practitioner, Bonnie, who I see most of the pregnancy, was so nice to us. She said congratulations, gave us the due date of May 2nd, 2010 and assured me that their office has yet to have a lady with a multiple pregnancy from Femara. I told her my luck, I'd be their first. She then ordered us an ultrasound ASAP to check on my reoccurring cyst issues.
Upon scheduling my next appointment the receptionist said she didn't have any ultrasound appointments in the next 3 weeks. She checked with Betty, who is the ultrasound tech, and Betty said she'd fit me in-she is so sweet! Betty told us we are having just ONE baby but that I had 2 cysts. She doesn't know if 1 is a good cyst or if they are both bad ones. And, she said one is leaking. But, no cause for concern. I'll just continue on like always, keeping an eye on things, and it will probably burst during my pregnancy or during labor. The positive thing about the cysts is I usually get an extra ultrasound or two to check on it so more chances to see or little baby!
To top things off today, I didn't even get blood taken!!! I was dreading it all day and then when I got there they didn't even do it. I was kinda bummed because I had stressed about it mentally prepped for it all day. Oh well. My next appointment is September 24th and I'll be getting my blood work then. Oh and here is the very 1st picture of the little guy, or at least where the baby will be growing for the next 8 months!

When we showed Haylee this picture of the "little baby" she said, "awwww!"

Announcement

We have an announcement we'd like to share. Here's your clue......

After months of trying, and 1 round of Femara, WE'RE EXPECTING! I've never been so excited to see those 2 pink lines!

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my Mom's Birthday. We celebrated by going out to dinner at Claim Jumper because she's always wanted a piece of their ginormous chocolate cake. Dinner was wonderful, service was great and the cake was super yummy. Afterwards we went to AZ Mills so the girls could ride the carousel, and then we hurried to the Disney Store and Carter's to hit the sales before the mall closed.

I'm so thankful for my Mom. All my life she's been more of a friend than a mom and we've created so many fun memories together. We started going on annual Mother-Daughter trips in 2002 but those have changed the last year or so since I had Haylee. We use to go on "real" vacations to Hawaii or California but now it's concerts or shopping which is still fun. Our favorites are the annual Keith Urban concerts and Black Friday-we always have a blast!

So, Happy Birthday Mom! We hope you had a wonderful day.

In other news, we are all still kinda sick but getting better. I hate colds! We didn't really leave the house all week because we were trying to get better. Friday, we finally left to go buy my new Cricut and then went to Buffalo Wild Wings-yummy! Saturday my Mom and I were at Super Saturday all day making fun crafts and then Josh and I went out to dinner and a movie while my mom kept Haylee. So kinda busy weekend, but low key week. Tomorrow we hope to go see Time Traveler's Wife so I'm excited about that. Also, tomorrow I should know for sure the results of round one on Femara. I tested last Tuesday and got a negative result but now I'm late so unfortunately my hopes are up. I could have tested too early. Keep your fingers crossed!!!!!

I'll test again tomorrow if I need to.

Camping Trip Adventure

By the way, you can click on the pictures if you want to see them bigger!

Our camping trip started out just fine. We had an uneventful drive up (except when Jackson puked all over Haylee and her car seat and she freaked out) and we were able to find one of our favorite spots we have camped at with Dad right away.

We set up camp and then we had a little Birthday party for Dad. We had stopped in Payson for balloons to release when we got there but when it was time, the balloons were missing from the truck. They must have escaped out a window but we were amazed they weren't stuck in a tree, they made it all the way up! I think Dad got tired of waiting for them so he took it upon himself to get them, but whatever. At least they made it up into the sky for him. We sang Happy Birthday and ate our little zebra cakes. It was fun.

We hung out at camp for awhile and relaxed. Jackson and Haylee absolutely love camping and roaming around. They are my happy campers.

I was nervous to go camping this time around because on our way out last time we saw a bear cub. I was terrified we'd see another and I wanted to sleep in the car. Of course, my Mom kept saying, "Shelley, I've been camping up here how many years, and I've never seen a bear." Well, I bet she's never seen this newly posted sign either!

Luckily, we never saw a bear! I'm thankful for that. We finished up the first night going on a drive to look for deer and elk then went back to camp to eat dinner and go to bed.

The next morning, bright and early, Haylee girl woke up looking just like this-

Now that is some bed head!

The rest of the morning was spent going for a little drive, eating breakfast, playing on the swing Timmy and Josh made, playing horse shoes, picking flowers and playing croquet. We all had fun and the weather was beautiful.

We decided to go out for the day so we jumped in the car and headed to Willow Springs Lake. It was so beautiful there and the kids had a blast playing in the water and collecting rocks. It was funny watching Haylee collect rocks because little by little she got deeper in the water until finally she just sat down and played. We ate lunch there too before heading back.

I love this picture of Jackson and Haylee conked out! They both had so much fun at the lake and were a bit exhausted.

When we got back to camp we had dinner and then decided to go for our nightly drive. This is when our camping trip turned into a nightmare adventure. We had just chased an elk in the truck and were having a blast when all the sudden...

Dustin's "monster truck" blew a tire. Ugh! It wouldn't had been so bad except he didn't have a spare, it was getting dark and we were stranded about 3 miles from camp! Quickly, Josh and Dustin decided they had to walk back to get our car and they had to hurry because they were loosing light fast. Dustin was shaking and a wreck because he couldn't believe this had happened. Shot gun in hand, they headed back to camp while my Mom, Timmy, Hannah, Haylee, Jackson and I all stayed in the truck hoping no animals would come get us. I was so scared something would happen to them or that Dustin would have an anxiety attack and not make it. They said they were both scared and couldn't see anything while walking because it was dark. Dustin was afraid the elk he chased in his truck was gonna come back to get him! Luckily about 2 hours later we heard Dustin on the walkie talkie and we all just cheered! They came back to get us and we had to leave Dustin's truck there till morning. We all had an extremely rough night with hardly any sleep and Haylee woke up sick. In the morning Dustin and Josh went into town and were able to get a new tire and rim and get it changed out all within about 4-5 hours. We had to entertain 2 sick girls and pack things up so we could head home when they were done.

On our way out we saw a couple deer, nothing compared to the last time but at least we saw something, and not a bear!

Aside from the minor problems we did have a fun time. We're home safe, but sun burned and sick which totally stinks!

Happy Birthday Dad

My Dad would have been 56 years old today. Sadly, he passed away at a young 45 years old. Oh how that hurts. Today, Josh, Haylee, and I along with my Mom, Dustin & Hannah are on our way up to the rim to go camping where we feel the closest to Dad. We will celebrate his birthday in the mountains where he loved to be. We will release balloons and share our stories and talk about all the memories we have that we hold close to our hearts. After 10 years, it doesn't get any easier. What hurts the most is that I wish he could meet Haylee, he'd adore her. Someday.




Happy Birthday Daddy! I love you and miss you so much.





Love,


Your Little Girl.

I also wanted to thank my friend in Iowa, Lance, for taking the things I send him to my Dad's grave. I am forever grateful for his kindness and willingness to help me out. These are the sunflowers and birthday balloon I sent for my Dad's birthday.

I Love Kohl's

Hello, my name is Shelley and I'm a shopaholic! How can I not be when Kohl's has all their summer clothes on clearance? It started last night when I went to the Kohl's in Queen Creek for fall/winter clothes and saw all their summer clothes on clearance. Everything I bought was 70-80% off making it $2.40 or $3.60 an item. I was so excited that I went to another Kohl's today (Signal Butte and Baseline incase you're wondering) which had twice as much, was way more organized and everything there was 80% off. On top of their clearance prices I got an additional 30% off so I definitely got the best deal in town. 29 items and $61.98 later, Haylee is now set for next summer!

And it's not like I stopped there. Anyone who is having a baby or a birthday soon benefited from my addiction this sale too!

Past Week in Review

Looking back, we've had a fun, busy week! Because I didn't post anything all week, I'm cramming it all in this one post! We had a "cold" front that moved through this weekend leaving us with temps of 102 degrees so we were all over spending time outside. How sad is that when we actually enjoy temperatures that stay around 100 degrees?

Some Haylee happenings this week...

Haylee loves to wear other peoples shoes around. She'll put them on and say, "look at me mom!" It's the cutest thing ever. I just thought her little feet looked cute in these flip flops of mine.

I love Haylee loves these new frozen pops by Del Monte because they are super yummy and made with lots of fruit which makes it a healthy treat!

Also this week, I introduced Haylee to drawing with chalk on her easel. She loves it and always wants me to draw Mickey and Goofy for her. Too bad I'm the worse drawer! I love the cheesy face she makes when I say, "Say Cheese!"

And, Haylee finally knows ALL her colors! While at Home Depot with Josh, I picked up these paint samples to teach Haylee her colors. They are perfect since she loves Mickey Mouse. She struggled with a couple colors for awhile but now she knows all the basics- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white and pink! Yay Haylee!!! I'm so glad everything is no longer blue when we ask what color it is.

And since everything fun must come to an end (till next summer anyway) we enjoyed some fun activities that end this weekend. Not that summer is anywhere near over for us AZ folks, but since school starts, things change.

Friday we went back to the zoo one last time to enjoy the Starry Safari event. I wish I would have started taking Haylee earlier this summer when it started in June, but we still had fun the last 2 weekends we went. I love how we see more animals out and active then when we go during the day.

My Mom and Hannah went with us this time so they wanted to feed the giraffes. Since Haylee is free, I sent her along with them since she loves to feed them. After feeding the giraffes she always says she wants to feed the zebras next!

And Haylee just loves these little guys. When they saw us coming the all came out from hiding and came right down to see us. I think they were hungry and I was gonna feed them a snack until the zoo keeper reminded me that they are actually on a strict diet. Oops!

We also love the Monkey Village because we can walk through the monkey exhibit while they run around wild. It's a really neat experience to get so close to these adorable creatures.

After taking a horse drawn wagon ride and seeing all the animals we could, we headed over to the fun stuff, like the bouncers.....

and the splash pad before ending the night with a ride on the carousel and a grape snow cone!

Yesterday, we took Haylee (along with Jody and Jake) to Superstition Shadows Aquatic Center. Jody and I have taken the kids there a few times before and we always have fun. It's only a $1.50 for adults and $1.00 for kids so it's a cheap but fun way to cool down. The only bad thing is, they don't allow floaties of any type but this time we tried out their life vest and Haylee was fine with it.

I was only able to get a few pictures before the lifeguard came over to tell me I couldn't take pictures because there are children around in swimsuits. I guess it makes sense because there are sick people out there but I was just in shock when he told me that. What is this world coming to!

We had such a fun, busy weekend! Our weekend started pretty much on Thursday when Josh and I had our date night. We had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Outback, then went to see The Ugly Truth. I LOVED IT! I had been waiting for this to come out for awhile and it didn't disappoint.

Friday, our usually family night, Josh and I took Haylee to the zoo. Our friends (and neighbors) Jody and Jake came along with us. They have a fun event in the evenings called Starry Safari from 6-9 where you can feed giraffes, jump on the inflatable bouncers, get soaked by the splash pad, fly down inflatable water slides, and still see a ton of animals, all for 1/3 of the cost to go to the zoo during regular hours. All the animals were actually awake at this time of the day so we saw a lot more, plus being night time and all it's only 110 degrees instead of 115 so you can't beat that! The kids had a blast and boy did Haylee sleep good that night!

Saturday we started of the day jumping the car with the golf cart so we could go to Checker for a new battery going to Zac's 7th Birthday Party. Kaysi rented a huge inflatable water slide which provided most of the kids with endless amounts of fun. Haylee however, decided to stick with the baby pool after attempting the slide with Zac only to slip into the pool part and inhale a bunch of water. She decided all the boys were too rowdy for her and she like to chill with the girls.

We had to leave the party early because Josh and I had tickets to the Cirque Du Soleil show, Saltimbanco, that was touring here. We had a wonderful time. This was my 8th Cirque Du Soleil show so I guess you could say I'm quite the fan. Josh loves the shows too and it always amazes us what they come up with. It's crazy!

Tonight, Jody and I went to see My Sister's Keeper. What a sad, sad movie. I can't remember the last time I actually cried in a movie theater but there wasn't a dry eye in there. It made me so thankful to have a healthy child and it made my heart break even more for little Kate. I think everyone knows someone with cancer or has been affected by the disease in one way or another and it is truly heart breaking. If you plan to see this movie make sure you have tissues nearby.

In more upbeat news, I finished my first round of Femara! We are hoping and praying it will help us to conceive a little bundle of joy this month. Keep your fingers crossed and I will update you all soon (well in 2 weeks or so). Oh, and by the way, "the frequency of twins occurring in women who conceive while taking letrozole (Femara) has been reported to be as high as 10%. Triplets may occur as frequently as 1 in 400 births, and quadruplets in 1 in 800 births." See, nothing to worry about. HA!