Spring Fun!! :)

We have had a busy past few months already! Bridger and Beckham both wanted to play baseball this year, and that went from the beginning of May to the third week of June. I hesitated to sign them up because Jeremy is so busy and I knew that I would be the one getting them to games and everything by myself. The first couple weeks I was sure I was crazy for signing them up. It was so hard, they both played two games per week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, on different fields, sometimes at the SAME TIME. gah. Other times, one would play at 5:30 and the other at 7:30,  so we hung out at this park for over three hours, etc. One time it was storming so bad I thought for sure the city would cancel, but nope. I took my boys to their baseball games and stood there in the pouring rain for two hours, my hat was so wet it soaked through into my hair, and Jeremy's coat that I was wearing got so wet it soaked through to my jacket underneath. And this while trying to keep the three kids who weren't playing happy. It was freezing! I was sure I deserved some kind of award. Jeremy did make it to 3 or 4 of the late games, when he could get there after class, and that was always a relief. lol. But even with all of the work, and doubting that I had made the right decision in letting them play, I saw them both improve SO MUCH and I am very glad they both were willing and got the opportunity to play.

Bridger started out this year not knowing pretty much anything about baseball. He had never wanted to play before, so we didn't push it, when he said he wanted to play this year I was so proud! But he had to start at coach pitch, on a team with some kids who have obviously already become passionate about baseball and been playing for years (at 8!!), it's crazy. Anyway, he had a few rough games where he worked out the details of how to play and missed a lot of balls, but he practiced with Jeremy on his days off and as soon as he did that he started swinging so well! He started hitting the ball almost every time he was at bat. By the end of the season he was telling me he loved hitting baseballs! His confidence grew so much, and I loved that he got to see the results of practice.

Bridger is in the middle!

Beckham has played t-ball for three years now, and he absolutely loves it. This year he played t-ball again, next year will be coach pitch. He has so much fun out on the field, running bases, and smacking the ball off the T. He was sad when the season ended! He will sometimes take a bucket of baseballs out in the backyard with the T and just hit them for fun, lol.

Beckham is on the far right!

Beckham at bat. :)

Bridger also had his end of year piano recital and played a song from Mary Poppin's, he did awesome!! He has been playing for less than a year and is already halfway through the level 2 books. His piano teacher is moving, so I'm not sure if we will continue right now, but eventually I'd love to have all the boys in lessons. :)

One weekend we also got to take the boys to the BYU Astrofest, which was absolutely amazing! And it was FREE. We all loved it so much, we could have spent all day there. Brianna met up with us there and helped with the boys, they all had to get certain challenges done so they could earn a badge, so we made rocket ships, painted moons, got to go to the planetarium and watch a movie about the moon on their awesome screen, and they got to go see the huge telescope on the roof of the building. There were cool exhibits all over the place, and we also got a little lesson on how fast light travels. It was a quality experience that I definitely would have paid for, I'm so glad we got to take advantage of it! The boys all earned their badges and loved it. :)

Getting ready to make rockets!

Moon painting!

Watching a movie!

We also took the boys on a walk to see the duck pond at BYU a few weeks ago, and they thought that was awesome!! There were SO many ducks, and we saw a bunch of cute ducklings. It was fun to mix it up a little and walk a different rail than the River Trail we usually go on.

A few more pictures...

Cutie pie, Benz.

Playing on the field during Bridger's baseball practice. :)

Baby yoga. :)

Benson is loving books lately, it makes me so happy!! :)

26 Weeks. :)

26 weeks, 4 days. :)

I showed Benson my belly while we were cuddling a few nights ago and I told him that he's going to have a little sister soon, that there's a baby in my belly. He lifted his shirt up and pushed his belly out and said he had a baby in his tummy, too. LOL. A few days later I was stretching and we talked about it again, and he did the same thing, then started saying, "baby's gonna pop out!"

Another at 26 weeks. :)

Beckham loves to give our baby cuddles, especially in the morning and at night when we cuddle. He rubs his cheek or nose on my belly, kisses my belly and will sing or say goodmorning/goodnight to our baby. He always asks if our baby is kicking so he can feel. He is usually the first one out of bed in the morning, at 7 AM on the dot, lol. He runs into our room and now he gets in bed to cuddle and feel some kicks and punches from our baby and give her loves.

A few weeks ago...
Beckham: "Our baby has tastebuds now?? So she can taste chips??
Me: "Yep. :)"
Beckham: "Yay!!"

LOL.

Bridger thinks we should name our baby Jessie. :)

Anderson is only 16 months right now and has no idea, lol, but he has been really attached to Daddy lately. I also weaned him this week, which was really hard for me. :,( I had to wean Benson earlier than I originally planned, too, when I was pregnant with Anderson, so I've had to do it before, but still. He seems to be fine with it and hasn't gotten upset or anything, my milk supply has slowly gone down to the point where he was only getting a few gulps at nap and bedtime anyway, so I think that helped. I actually was able to nurse longer than I have during any of my other pregnancies, I usually weaned around 20 weeks or so, so I see that as a tender mercy. :)

I had an appointment a couple weeks ago, at 24 weeks. My belly measurement was 22 cm, so a little small, but I measured small with a couple of our others, too. Our midwife put the doppler on my belly to listen to her heartbeat and right away we heard a bunch of little kicks! lol. She was moving everywhere, we didn't actually find her heartbeat and had to use the cord pulse, part of the reason is because the placenta is anterior (in the front) and so it's a little harder when our baby is still small to hear or feel things. The placenta was low-lying at our 19 week ultrasound, we have another ultrasound around 28 weeks and we are hoping it has moved up by then. :)

At 26 weeks:

• I have gained about 14 pounds so far.
• I've noticed that this little nugget gets really active right before I go to bed, around 10:30-11. I also feel a lot of kicks right when I wake up in the morning, lol, she's pretty quiet in the late afternoon. 
• The boys and I have been walking 3 miles 3-5 times per week on the River Trail, I have also been doing my Jillian Michael's workout DVD 4 times per week.
• The last week I have felt SO HUNGRY ALL THE TIME. I have been loosely tracking my calories just to make sure I'm getting enough/not getting too many, but there are some days when even if I've gone over my calories for the day, I feel like I'm starving. lol. 
• I've been using this Redstone clay peppermint toothpaste and I LOVE the flavor, I crave it. I craved peppermint with all of my other pregnancies, too. 
• I have been loving the combination of strawberries and grapes together, I have also been loving strawberries, grapes, and watermelon together! lol. I also really like those Belvita sandwich things that have either chocolate or yogurt creme in the middle. 
• For breakfast I make a protein smoothie with Orgain protein powder, almond butter, cacao powder, vanilla greek yogurt, hemp seed, a little maple syrup, almond milk, blueberries, and spinach. Jeremy and I split it, and the boys usually have some, too. I also try to eat 3-4 eggs per week, but they just don't sound good. :l I usually have a piece of cinnamon toast with it and it helps. Other regular things I try to get in: grapefruit, Tillamook raspberry yogurt (it's SO good and is a good serving of protein for the calories!), chocolate overnight oats before bed, and I try to make a really good source of protein for dinner, usually chicken breast because it's so lean and is loaded with protein. 
• I have been taking the same vitamins as I mentioned in my last post! :)
• I have a water bottle that tracks my water and tells me how much I need, it's fun and helps so much! I have been drinking between 80-90 ounces, usually. 
• I started going to the chiropractor every other week about two months ago, next week I will be switching to weekly visits, and closer to our due date I will probably start going twice per week. Along with that, I've been trying to stretch really well after my workouts. 

Beckham is 6!! :)

Beckham was counting down the days until his birthday for over a month!! Every day he would ask, "how many days left until my birthday??" I love him so much. He brings so much joy to our family. I love his smile, I love his laugh, I love his light, I love his personality. He makes friends so quickly, and will always include everyone. He is such a good boy and wants to do the right thing, he has matured so much this year and I love seeing him grow his testimony and his confidence. Overall, he is pretty chill and easy to get along with. We are so grateful for him!

At his six year old well-check he weighed about 60 pounds and measured 4'1'', which put his weight at 96% and his height at 98%!! He looks two years older than he is, lol. People always think he's older than he is because he has always looked older with his height and weight.

He does amazing with homeschool, I can ask him to work on something independently and he will (for the most part) sit down and focus until he finishes. He loves to read Life of Fred (our math curriculum), and he loves doing art projects (we don't do them very often, so he really enjoys them when we do!), he loves building LEGO's (his favorite LEGO's right now are NINJAGO and Minecraft). He loves to read and about six months ago started reading the Magic Treehouse series and has been doing awesome with it, I'm super impressed! He was reading before he officially started Kindergarten, and he progressed so much this year! Every night we have reading time before bed and he reads on his own, sometimes the Magic Treehouse chapter books, and other nights he'll just grab an assortment off the bookshelf, if Benson will let him he also likes to read to him before bed. He usually wakes up before 7 AM, and we have a rule where no one is allowed to come out before 7, so he will read instead.

When we go for walks he is always so observant, one morning we were walking along the river and he told me he loved the sound of the water. Other times he will pick a flower along the trail for me (almost every day, lol, he's so sweet), yesterday he grabbed a foxtail and told me it was his special wheat. lolol. He also loves having a FitBit, and loves to see how many steps he gets everyday.

He loves to wrestle with his brothers and be very, very noisy! He also loves to build marble runs, play outside, and build Hot Wheels tracks. He also loves to play t-ball and wears a baseball hat almost every single day!! I used to ask him, "do you want to do your hair or wear a hat?" Now I know that, unless he has to do his hair for church or some other non-hat wearing occasion, he will be wearing a hat. And he is so good to always take it off for prayers. :)

His favorite foods right now are: Spaghetti, all FRUIT, cottage cheese, yogurt, carrots, Annie's mac & cheese, and chicken. He does not like pita pizzas or peanut butter sandwiches anymore, lol.

On to his party! Grandma and Grandpa Brown surprised us and came to visit and celebrate with us, Aunt Brianna joined us, too. :) We headed up to visit Grandma Lenore early in the morning. Then Beckham wanted to go bowling, which is becoming a little tradition for him, lol. We all had a blast and the kids loved it!

He asked for a Minecraft cake with green frosting for grass, he wanted the golden Alex figure. :) He also helped put the candles on and said they were torches, lol.

He was SO happy to get Lloyd's golden dragon! lol

Grandma and Grandpa Brown and Brianna joined us to celebrate!

20 Questions with Beckham:

1. What is your favorite toy? The First Night (Minecraft LEGO set)
2. What is your favorite part about school? Life of Fred
3. Who is your favorite scripture hero? Jesus
4. What is your favorite food? Cottage cheese
5. What is your favorite dessert? Cake
6. What is your favorite vegetable? Carrots
7. What is your favorite fruit? Oranges
8. What do you want to be when you grow up? A missionary
9. What is your favorite snack? Gummy bears
10. What is your favorite book? Cars
11. What is your favorite thing to have for breakfast? Bread that is folded, with butter
12. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas and Easter
13. What does Mommy always say to you? Go get your pajamas on!
14. What does Daddy always say to you? Get your pajamas on!
15. What is your favorite TV show? NINJAGO
16. Who is your best friend? Emmett (our neighbor)
17. What are you really good at? Somersaults!
18. If you could have a wish, what would it be? Have a happy birthday to me! 
19. What is your favorite primary song? I Am A Child of God
20. What vegetable do you hate the most? Salad