Wicked fun

So the day before Valentine's Day (He was too excited to wait until the actual day, isn't that cute??) Damon surprised me with tickets to Wicked (for last night)! I was SUPER surprised and so excited to get to go. Damon didn't grow up going to concerts, watching musicals, attending plays, etc. so it wasn't until he went to college and took a Humanities class (My dad just happens to be a Humanities teacher at BYU-Idaho but was not Damon's teacher) that he discovered the joys of "The Arts." And since I did grow up doing all of the aforementioned things ever since we started dating I have dragged/coerced/begged him to go to these things with me. To my surprise and delight most of the time he really enjoyed them. Ever since then he's been quite willing to go to a musical (but probably not an opera!). Maybe it is just because he knows I enjoy them. Anyway, living in Cleveland we get the opportunity to have quite a few Broadway musicals come to town. In September we went to Lion King and loved it. When I found out Wicked was coming I really wanted to go, but didn't mention to Damon that I wanted to go. Tickets are not that cheap and I wasn't sure if he would enjoy this one. So, I didn't even hint at it or anything. Imagine my surprise when he got me tickets! I was so excited! I guess Damon had heard at school that it was really good so he decided to surprise me. He didn't know anything about the show or storyline (which probably worked in my favor). When we got there last night he said something like: "I don't even know what this is about!" It turns out the untold story of the Wicked Witch of the West didn't bother him at all. During intermission I asked how he was liking it and he said it was really good! All in all, we had a great time (Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Dixons for letting Hannah have a sleep over at your house for a while!!!) and are so glad we got to go! It makes me even happier that Damon actually enjoys going now and I don't feel guilty dragging him to something he would rather not see. Thank you honey for the great night and the great surprise. I love being married to you and am so thankful for all that you do for me! I love you!

Me at Wicked. Yes, my belly is already huge! I felt like everyone was looking at me last night and I felt like saying, "What haven't you seen a pregnant lady before?" or "What aren't pregnant women allowed in?" I'm not THAT big yet either! Rude! I don't care though, I had a great time! Thanks again, honey!

Modesty is sometimes overrated!

Well, as many of you know we're expecting a new addition to our little family in mid July (the 14th ish). We had our ultrasound today and everything looks great. It is so fun to see the new little life developing inside of me. We tried to find out what the sex was (I don't know how anybody can stand to wait these days! I am just not patient enough!) but the little bug was not cooperating. I kept thinking to myself "Okay baby, this is not the time to be modest! Show us what you've got!" But alas, despite being inside of me baby does not have the ability to read my mind. I even tried to prep baby a few days before, explaining that we were going to be taking some pictures of him/her and to cooperate so we would know if he/she was a boy or girl. Unfortunately, all of my efforts were in vain and baby remained closed legged with the cord safe in between for good measure. The ultrasound technician (they're absolutely amazing! Sometimes I have no clue what we're looking at but they always seem to know which part of baby's little anatomy they are seeing) saw three "lines." These "lines" she tells us usually mean a GIRL....in fact she gave us an 80% chance of baby being so. I guess we'll take it! I'm happy with the diagnosis...I would have been happy if she said that baby was of the boy variety as well. But, since Hannah and this baby are fairly close together (about 21 months apart) it will be fun for them to be little buddies. I can just see the teenage fights already..... They'll only be 1 year apart in school - since Hannah has an October birthday she'll be old for her grade and this one will be young.

We're really looking forward to having this little girl join our family and are so happy that everything looks great. (I had a dream last night that our baby didn't have arms! Don't worry, I saw them, they're there.) I can't believe that I'm already 1/2 way through my pregnancy and am just excited to have a cute little baby to snuggle again (Hannah is NOT a snuggler). Hannah
has become really interested in her baby doll this week and I am confident she'll be a great big
sister!

Isn't this a cute little profile? What do you think, does she look like me or Damon?

This is the 3D picture. She has her arms up over her head
like a monkey, she definitely takes after Damon already. :)

Damon in the Dominican Republic

Since Damon was afraid to take our digital camera with him to the Dominican Republic (hereafter known as the DR) for fear it might be stolen (Bad mission memories) he didn't get a single picture of him and the others in the DR. Luckily a lot of other people were brave enough to take their cameras and got some pictures. Okay some is not quite the word. They put them all on a DVD (there were some short film clips as well) and there are close to 1,500 pictures!!! Don't worry, I won't post them all! This might end up being kind of long though because of all of the pictures. If you're not interested you can just skip this post. :)

Maybe I should give a little bit more info on the whole trip before I start throwing the pictures up. Damon went to the DR with a group called the G3 Foundation. I don't know anything about this foundation so you'll have to ask someone else about it. All I know is that there were a few dentists, an oral surgeon, some wannabe dentists from Case (including 2 of Damon's good friends Bren and Wes)and a whole lot of equipment. Basically they went to the DR and did dental work, mostly kids this time, for free. It was a really good experience for Damon since he was able to work on so many different people with lots of different problems. Plus, as many as you know, Damon served his mission for our Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) in the Dominican Republic from 1998 to 2000 and hasn't been back since. He was SUPER excited about going and that is actually what kept me going while he was gone...knowing he was having so much fun and doing so much for others that they would never be able to afford. So I think they worked for 3 or 4 days and then they went to a resort for 3 days. All in all they had a blast. He came home a crispy critter and tired, but I'm so glad he got to go! Now for the pictures!

Part of the group at the airport before they left

Waiting outside the Hotel

Nice wiring huh?

The Kuky gift shop below the hotel. This is where Damon got the jewelry he brought home to me, I'm not sure how I should feel about that.

View from a tower at the oldest fort in the Americas

Getting ready to go "work" for the day.

The "Phone Tree" No other explanation needed

Tropical Sunset and (below)

Hanging out at the beach

Wes & Bren getting ready to snorkel
Damon taking a lunch break

Hanging out by the bar in the resort pool-They really worked hard on this trip!


Damon tells me that they worked on this trip but so far most of the pictures I've seen are all about having fun. Oh wait! I did find some of them working after all!

The "Dental Clinic" sign

Kids waiting to get examined...they had no idea what kind of torture awaited them!

Damon actually working

Damon and Wes working

Oh look! Bren was working too!

Damon concentrating really hard. I sure hope he knows what he's doing, this looks serious!

Okay, that's all of the torture I have in store for all of you blog readers today. If you have the burning desire to see more DR pictures (not sure why you would, but hey) let me know and you can see hundreds more just like this. Really though, it was an awesome experience for Damon and he is already excited to go again next year.

Is there a toddler in the house?

YES! Hannah has become Miss Independent nowadays, especially when it comes to eating. She has become super picky and she will not allow us to feed her any more. If we try she just throws a fit (about that and anthing else she doesn't understand or get her way about) and insists upon feeding herself. Even the messy stuff like yogurt and oatmeal, etc. It has been kind of frustrating because she makes such a MESS. When she doesn't want something she just chucks it and let me tell you, the girl has a good arm! It must be from all of the practice she gets at mealtimes. I'm glad to see her learning more things and becoming independent, but does she have to make such a huge mess while she's at it? Oh well, we love her anyway.

Concentrating really hard on getting the yogurt out of the cup. She usually holds the spoon in one hand while she uses her other hand to dig in and grab some out of the cup. I'm not sure if more yogurt ends up in her mouth or on her hands and face. Oh well, she has fun.

Note to self: Don't buy the blue yogurt!

It seems like Hannah learns so much so quickly. The other day I heard her "singing" the tune to the ABC's song. She even got some of the letters in there occasionally. She also knows all of the actions to Popcorn Popping, Wheels on the Bus, Monkeys on the Bed, Teasing Mr. Aligator and a few other rhymes. We've been working on animal sounds lately too. If you need a good laugh ask Hannah what a kitty, tiger, or duck says. Those are the funniest to hear in her little voice. She really surprises me sometimes with the things that she knows. She gets a lot more than I think she does most of the time. It is hard to believe that she's 16 months old now and that soon she'll be headed off to nursery (Yippee!).

Sorry about the brag fest...I started this blog as a frustration vent over all of the eating issues we are having and look what it turned into!

Happy Valentines day tomorrow everyone. Don't forget to spread the love!

What color?

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Green

You're green, the color of growth and vigor. Good-hearted and giving, you have a knack for finding and bringing out the best in people. Green is the most down-to-earth color in the spectrum — reliable and trustworthy. People know they can count on you to be around in times of need, since your concern for people is genuine and sincere. You take pride in being a good friend. For you, success is measured in terms of personal achievement and growth, not by status or position. Rare as emeralds, greens are wonderful, natural people. It truly is your color!

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/rd/50651/color/index.jsp?testname=colorogt&resultid=C