"Should we name her Gabriella?"

Ruby loves High School Musical. You should see her moves to all the songs...she's getting pretty good. Just last night we were asking Ruby what to name her "baby sister" and this is how it went:

Me: Ruby what should we name your baby sister?

Ruby: ummm....Gabriella? Should we do that mom? (if only you could hear how she says Gabriella...it's my dad's favorite)

Me: What if we have a baby brother?

Ruby: {pause} Should we name baby Hughie Troy?

And there you have it. This 30 second conversation revealed why Ruby is so set on having a baby sister...in her sweet little mind her baby brother is Hughie (who she wishes was named Troy).

{Ruby feeding the ducks at SugarHouse Park in March}

Babe #3 is lucky to have such a fun big sister!

Little Babe at 27 weeks.

This little babe is growing in my belly and becoming quite active. Its punches and jabs are stronger than ever, and I am always in awe there is actually another life inside of me. I often find my self saying a quiet prayer of gratitude whenever I feel the babe moving because it gives me the (much needed) reassurance that all is well with my baby. My body is really feeling the pregnancy this time around. My back and feet get much more sore by the end of the day compared with Ruby and Hughie and I already feel like I'm waddling around. Last week I had some major heartburn, which I also never had with my other two. Ruby talks to the little one more and more and often lifts my shirt just to say hello to her "baby sister". She tells everyone about her "baby sister" and it makes me smile that she is already so proud of her sibling (I'm not sure how Ruby will feel once the babe is actually here taking away the full attention of mommy). About three more months until we meet this little one. My heart is full just thinking about it.

This past week I started getting some of the babe's things in order. It felt good. We now have a baby boy drawer and a baby girl drawer awaiting the arrival of babe number 3, and I did buy some darling little hats for our newborn bundle to wear home. I've decided the color for this babe is orange. Perfect for a boy or girl :). And Ruby and I picked out this darling giraffe just for the baby.

{Me at 24 weeks. Marissa at 25 weeks. Showing off our bellies}

My cute sister-in-law, Marissa, is a week ahead of me and her little boy is due August 6th. It is fun to think these two babes could possibly have the same birthday. Six days between their due dates is really quite trivial....you never know :).

We love you little babe...so excited to meet you in August!

Happy Birthday Parker!

It is my cousin Parker's birthday today. I had to post this picture because Ruby just adores him. She especially loves playing hide-and-seek with him. Hope you have a great day, Parky!

It's Mother's Day!

This past weekend I have been childless. Ruby got to spend Friday night to Sunday morning at her Grandma Suzi's because I had to work both Friday and Saturday nights. Thanks mom for giving up your entire weekend to chase Ruby around. The only highlight of being alone was that I got to jam to the music of my choice to and from work, no Taylor Swift. Needless to say, I really missed Ruby and it was pretty rough. I know my previous post mentioned how Ruby and I had been occassionally driving each other crazy, I realized this weekedend, I wouldn't have it any other way. This Mother's day I am so grateful to be Ruby's mom. And let's not forget Hughie and this little tyke grooving in my belly. I'm not going to lie, most days it is hard work and exhausting...keeping up with Ruby all while growing a baby, but it's oh so sweet and worth it. I like this quote from Elder Ballard:

"Recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction..."

I also got to thinking, as I drove to work last night, I am so thankful for the wonderful mother's who help me take care of Ruby. I couldn't do it alone and I am so grateful I don't have to. Ruby loves being with both her Grandma's because she knows how much they love her. And how would I ever be able to work without the help of my sister-in-law, Kristina, she treats Ruby as her own...Ruby loves when I go to work because she knows the next morning she gets to go to the Christopherson's. She usually tells me, "When you go to work daddy will sleep with me and take me to Christopherson's." Not to mention all the other mom's in my life whose examples help me want to be a better mom. Thank goodness for great mom's! There are everywhere.

{Ruby and I at Disneyland}

Thank you Ruby, Hughie, and little one for making me a mom. Happy Mother's Day!

**I wrote this last night at work. But here's how my mother's day actually went down. After two nights shifts in a row, a very tired Ruby, and an even more tired mom...we had a HUGE melt-down. I say we because it involved both Ruby and I. She was in tears and besides herself, I was in tears and yelling (I may have even locked myself in the bathroom for a few minutes). Ruby was acting like a two-year-old and so was I...I am a bit ashamed. We started unraveling while talking to Hugh on skype and Ruby was consistently pushing buttons and moving the mouse when I asked her not to. I feel bad that we weren't able to have a better conversation with Hugh, but so it goes. Once we hung-up with Hugh everything fell apart. But after our 20 minute melt-down we recovered and I'm lucky that little Ruby doesn't hold a grudge and she still loves me. And as we drove to my mom's for dinner, listening to her sweet voice singing Taylor Swift brought me joy. She's two she has an excuse...and I'm a mother, I guess that's my excuse. No mother is perfect, right?

I'd also like to say my evening turned out nice. A great dinner cooked by my two wonderful sisters, followed by some relaxing and chatting with my mom, Mal, Call, and uncle Chad. All while having Ruby and her cute personality entertain us all.

Missing this guy.

And our family movie nights.

The question is, can Ruby and I survive another week without him? Let's just hope we don't drive each other too crazy in the process. Lately when I let out a frustrated yell, Ruby looks at me with her cheesy grin and says, "you are driving me crazy!" Smart girl. (This is usually after she has done something slightly naughty.) She know if she doesn't say it, I will. She also knows as crazy as she is driving me, her little grin gets me every time. Who teaches kids this stuff? I have never been away from Hugh this long, and it is pretty tough. I am finding by the end of the day I am so exhausted, and without Hugh around for me to emotionally unload, I am less patience with little Miss Ruby. But luckily, we go to bed and wake up to a new day, feeling fresh and ready to conquer (at least until I start thinking of all the things I should get done today). Not to mention, one day closer to Hugh coming home. We have been able to skype with him this week and that has been great. Makes me feel like he's not so far away. Plus, it reminds me it is all worth it when I hear about his adventures and know he is having a great time.

{Hugh and his group enjoying some waterfalls}

And since Hugh is enjoying Africa in real life...Ruby and I experienced a little bit of Africa today when we saw "African Cats". Thanks to Ruby's cousin Nain for choosing this movie for her birthday outing/gift. Made for a great afternoon activity.

Mickey Mouse.

My favorite part of Disneyland was Ruby meeting Mickey Mouse. She loves watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse at home, so maybe this is why she wasn't shy meeting him. We toured his house in Toontown and at the end, Mickey was there waiting. When Ruby and I talk about going to Mickey's house she tells me, "We found Mickey!"

Ruby went right up to him and gave him a hug. Is it strange that this melted my heart?

She sat next to him while we snapped pictures. In most of the pictures she was looking up at him with a sweet face of awe.

All of us with Mickey.

Ruby loved Toontown and going through all the character's homes. She especially enjoyed playing in Goofy's backyard. This morning she asked if we could go play there. It's hard coming back to reality :). I guess Mickey Mouse Clubhouse will have to do until we get to go back.

We're home.

And it has been a little rough coming back to reality. We went to Disneyland last week, and thanks to my dad we got to spend two whole days enjoying the two parks. It was a great vacation and it was so fun to be with both my parents and two sisters...we had a blast. My parents are very generous and spoiled all of us. Ruby is still recovering from all the attention....we've had a few melt-downs today. And in case your wondering why Hugh's not in any pictures...he's in Ghana, Africa for three weeks with his program at school (we are missing him terribly), but we finally got to skype with him today and it was great to see and chat with him.

A few highlights from the trip (I'm sure I'll be posting more :)

We loved the Toy Story ride at California Adventure

When we got off she said, "That was a good one!"

The whole gang with Mater and Lightening McQueen...Ruby was thrilled to see them.

Ruby and Aunt Call with their hats from the Mad Hatter Shop.

Ruby and I enjoying our corn dogs. They are the best I've ever had! My pregnant little self may have eaten one each day. (Can you believe I'm already 6 months along!)

Meeting Princess Minnie the first day...Ruby was pretty shy and not sure what to think.

Ruby was even more shy when we met Rapunzel. My cute mom waited an hour for the line to open, and then one more hour for Rapunzel to come. The whole morning Ruby kept asking to see Rapunzel, so we thought it would be worth it to wait. Let's just say she was scared to death. Later Ruby told me, "I was shy to Rapunzel."

Ruby needed to be as far away from Rapunzel as possible.

Seeing Goofy was a different story. She spotted him a ways off and shouted, "There's Goofy!" She is still talking about him holding his ears out.

One of Ruby's highlights was dancing with Aunt Mal in the streets of Disneyland. There was something about that purple umbrella my dad bought for her...she had to have it in her hand whenever she was dancing.

And one more highlight....children under 3 are free! My dad didn't know this when he bought Ruby a ticket. By the second day, he realized that her ticket said ages 3-9. Lucky for us, Disneyland refunded my dad his money. Pretty funny and lucky!