Our busy year!- Updated!

The last half of our year has been crazy busy!  We have been lucky enough to have a lot of friends and family come out to Colorado to come visit us.  We've celebrated Logan's 3rd birthday with all our family coming out for the weekend (except Ashley, we missed you!) we went to ride Thomas the Train and Logan had a blast.

Logan's birthday just happened to fall on the one day of sunshine and no rain we had seen all week, we've experienced a lot of weather in Colorado already that everyone says "this never happens" about.... the 3 day blizzard in April 2 days after we moved here, a tornado that touched down in Erie while we were out of town in Albuquerque, and a "1000 year flood" which happened to be the week of Logan's birthday which led to fun times wondering if our basement was going to flood when the electricity went out (we also had no candles since we got rid of them all when we moved haha)...which powers our sump pump down there, luckily we made it out ok and are now more prepared for these things called "weather" that Colorado throws at us ;)  

The day after all our Family left we had the Kelsey's come stay with us for a week and Logan was in heaven.  He loves playing with Stella and we were happy to be able to spend some time with our bffs.

waiting for Stella in the airport

 the first hug

 they wouldn't let go of each others hands in the airport and wouldn't stop talking, so adorable!

 enjoying the orangutans together at the Denver zoo

 embarrassing bath time pics for their futures ;)

 hiking was fun...until we asked Logan to take a picture haha

October brought our usual busy month!  This year we started it off on the 2nd with finding out Logan was going to have a baby SISTER.  I was surprised!  Dom and Logan both thought it was a girl, I thought it was a boy but the only dream I had about our baby was that it was a girl (same thing happened with Logan, I thought he was going to be a girl but the only dream I had about the baby was that it was a boy...my dreams know better then I do!).  Logan only talked about wanting a sister, I tried to prepare him that it could still be a brother, that we don't get to choose so luckily when the ultrasound tech said Logan was right he was happy with a sister...I wonder if he fully understands what a sister is haha.  Everyone was very happy for us and we were thrilled as well.  

Logan got to push the button on the ultrasound machine to take a picture of his sister, here he is showing it off :)

The next weekend we drove to Albuquerque to visit Auntie Dre and go to the balloon fiesta.  We got to see our friends again (yay!) since they all came to the balloon fiesta from Tucson that weekend too.  We had a fun and busy weekend seeing everyone, the balloon fiesta was nice but Logan cried almost the entire time once the balloons started going up because he said he was cold, we had him in the stroller and covered up with many things but nothing was working, finally after maybe an hour he got more specific and said his toes were cold.  We took off his shoes, sat him on daddys shoulders and put his mittens on his feet and all of a sudden he was a happy kid again.  Lesson learned, Logan will wear his snow boots next year haha.  

the bee family and our family

 watching the balloons with Melanie and Nancy

 group shot with all the balloons

Logan's mitten shark feet fighting with Nancy's Wilbur mittens

 Finally a happy camper for the balloons!

Checking out the balloons on daddy's shoulders is the best view!

 Logan was all about buying this balloon souvenir that he had fun flying around the rest of the park

Chasing balloons, we didn't have a great spot to help many land, but we got this cute shot of Logan ;)

 Always our favorite vacation of the year!

 The following weekend after the balloon fiesta we went to the pumpkin patch with the Valania's to pick out our pumpkins.  Logan had fun with all the activities going on and finding the perfect pumpkin.  Logan also learned a lesson (and we did too) about getting lost in a crowd!  After we made it through the food line, we thought we saw Logan following the Valania's outside to eat and when we made it through the crowd to where they went, Logan wasn't there.  We went on a search of the food area inside and couldn't find him, he had wandered off out the wrong door towards the opposite side we were at and Dom found him outside meandering.  We have talked to Logan before about what to do if he gets lost, but I guess we forgot the crucial part of "if you don't see us, don't move, don't try to come find us".  I know that won't be the last time with him but hopefully some of the things we try to teach him about getting lost will stick next time around!

my little pumpkin!

 Logan, Riley and Ella stuck in jail

 showing off our pumpkins ;)

 I think we picked a good one!

 yee haw!

We had fun getting ready for Halloween the next few weeks.  And Nancy was able to come visit us for the week too.  Mark was able to come over the weekend as well so we had fun hanging out with them and spending a night at our favorite cabin in Estes Park.

Logan drew the face for his pumpkin to be carved and decorated baby sister's pumpkin 

 Showing off his pumpkin face

 Captain Hook on Halloween

 Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee

 Mr. Smee and his belly 

 Peter Pan ready for the cold and wind outside!

 Nancy came into town during Halloween so she got to go trick or treating with us!

 Ella, Riley, Logan and Tate trick or treating, Logan loved trick or treating until one house that had a scary guy jump out, after that he didn't want to go to any doors alone 

 We got to experience a true "Fall" season this October!  Logan was put to work raking leaves ;)

 He enjoyed jumping in them, being burried and...

 throwing the leaves!

Nancy and Mark helped us ring in November.  

And Uncle Erick was nice enough to babysit Logan for us so we could go out for a date night with Nancy, Mark and Jenny at a wine and cheese bar.

 enjoying a child free few hours!

 The wine and cheese professionals!

 Our sampling of delicious cheesy food

The beginning of November also brought an early visitor to our mall.  We went with the Valania's to see Santa come in a fire truck to the mall to start the Christmas season.  I think Logan was more enamored with the fire truck then seeing Santa haha.

They gave out free Santa headbands and free cocoa and cookies

 waiting for Santa to arrive

 Logan decided at the last minute he would be brave enough to shake Santa's hand

 Riley and Logan checking out Santa's truck

 Smiling for the camera for once ;)

 Making siren noises as he sat in the passenger seat.

We had a few quiet weeks in November, We got a nice snow storm for which Logan was probably the only one prepared for that cold of weather ;)  He likes playing in the snow and wants to build a snowman everytime but we just haven't had the right kind of snow or enough to make one yet.  He enjoys sledding with daddy at the park next to our house and throwing snowballs.  I showed him how to make a snow angel but he wasn't one for laying in the snow haha.  

Before Thanksgiving, Erick got his new job in Boulder and found an apartment (right across from Dom's work in Boulder).  He moved out and we will miss him but luckily he's not far away and we have seen him often.  Plus that meant we could finally start getting somewhere on baby's room. 

For Thanksgiving we drove to Phoenix to spend time with Dom's family.  It was a long 14 hour drive, on the way there we broke it up and spent the night in Holbrook so we only had 3 hours to go the next day.  Logan did really good on the car trip, we came prepared with a lot of books and dvds from the library and that helps.  We had fun spending time with Dom's family, doing Thanksgiving with them and the Kelsey's, black "friday" shopping (I hate that it started so early on Thursday this year!), and seeing our friends from Tucson to celebrate our secret santa gift exchange, go see Catching Fire (loved it! and Ashley came too so it was nice to see her there!) and celebrate Will's 30th birthday with dinner at a Mediterranean place, complete with belly dancer who got Will up to teach him some moves, then walking around old town Scottsdale.  The drive back to Colorado was especially long as we didn't want to stop and spend the night anywhere since that would mean we would hit CO springs and Denver traffic so Dom powered through driving us the whole way home in one shot, Logan was not such a fan of doing things that way, and neither were my swollen feet but in the end I'm glad we did it. And we have already decided we are never driving back again, flying from now on!

 (Logan was bribed with M&Ms to smile for a picture haha)

 Will enjoying the entertainment

 ...and becoming the entertainment!

 Back in Arizona!

After Thanksgiving, it was already December when we got back to Colorado which meant I went into a mini panic mode about not being prepared at all for Christmas!  So Logan and I did a lot of shopping and shipping and wrapping and decorating and some baking too.  

After reading "If you give a cat a cupcake" Logan wanted to make cupcakes...

 showing off his creation

 my sprinkle helper!

We also came back to a really really cold week in Colorado!  It was snowy and in the teens during the day and in the negatives at night, brrr!  And of course that's when the Denver parade of lights was going on in downtown Denver so we braved the freezing 0 degree weather to meet up with Jenny, who was nice enough to make us some yummy chili before heading out, and walk to the parade to see the lights.  It was really cold and we had every layer of clothing on possible, Logan was in full snow suit gear.  It was a wreck of an evening though and although we saw some lights, Logan was cold and tired and not in the mood.  And on a side note I dropped my camera on the ground which exploded into pieces, I said a few choice words, and Dom tried to put it all back together.  It looks like everything was ok but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed it works!

 maybe some hot cocoa will help!

 that's a lot of layers!

A few weeks before Christmas we took Logan ice skating in Louisville and he loved it!  They have special ice skates for kids that are double bladed so it's easier for them and this rink had a lot of different sleds that Dom could pull Logan around the ice on.  They had a lot of fun!  Once Dom's official vacation started the week of Christmas we took Logan to see the movie Frozen at the movie theater, I loved it, Logan and I came out singing the "Let it go" song, he still randomly sings it any given day, so cute.  We also went bowling and played arcade games a few days before Christmas.  Logan beat us haha but he did have the bumpers, I blame it on the bumpers!  

 who's teaching who ;)

 Logan liked riding the sled and making daddy to all the work haha

 our little eskimo

Christmas eve we spent at home, going to church then going over to Logan's friend Tate's house with the Valania's for some appetizers, cookie decorating and reindeer food making for the kids.  Logan had a lot of fun running around and playing and wore himself out!  Christmas morning we were once again waiting on him to wake up haha.  Logan had asked Santa for "a little orange thingy" which meant he wanted a spaceship with the orange fuel tank and side boosters, just like the real ones.  So he was happy to come down and see that Santa got him just what he wanted!  Logan had about a million presents to open!  And he is a total Maes when opening presents, rip the paper, look at the present, put it off to the side and on to the next, all in about 30 seconds.  He got a lot of fun stuff and has enjoyed playing with all his new toys the past few days.  I got Dom an espresso maker and some coffee accessories so he can perfect his perhaps newly founded caffeine addiction, the cold will do that to you ;) Dom made me a picture complete with scans of my Nana's old love letters to my Papa.  It is perfect and very meaningful, I cried when I opened it, I won't blame the hormones for this one haha.  Erick came over and spent Christmas with us and we did our usual making appetizers throughout the day and staying in our pajamas.  We went over to the Valania's and spent some time over there and ate dinner.  We had a good Christmas and are still enjoying our Christmas vacation together!

Christmas Eve

 Showing off his rocket ship and "little orange thingy" from Santa

 ready for daddy's overnight french toast, mmm sugary!

 His favorite toys ended up being the Transformer Rescue Bots

 The aftermath!

The rest of Dominic's break we spent shopping to spend our Christmas money on decorating our house.  It's finally feeling lived in and more personal, although we still have a few big blank walls to fill!  Logan was a champ coming along for the all day shopping event.  We also took him to Build A Bear at the mall which he has always asked to do, he got money for Christmas from Dom's Nana so he got to go pick out an animal to make and dress him up.  He was a little cautious at first about the whole thing but once he found a sound he liked to put inside the dog he chose he was happy.  He randomly chose the Star Wars theme song (we don't know much about Star Wars in this family ;)  I assume Logan knows Darth Vader from the Darth balloon at the balloon fiesta that he likes)  and dressed his dog up like Darth Vader.  He was very excited about the dog once he was all done and he carried him everywhere that day.

 Vader dog

To end our Christmas time together, Dom decided to have a "sleep out" as Logan calls it, in our tent in the living room.  Logan was so excited and he did really well sleeping in the tent without any problems.  (Our camping trips haven't always worked out that way haha).  They got their sleeping bags and watched some Turbo cartoon on Netflix in the tent before going to bed.  Logan was thrilled and I'm sure he would do this every night if he could!  Just one of the many fun things Dom does with Logan that mean so much to him!

 Ready for some indoor camping!

Baby on board

Pregnancy #4, baby #2.  Crazy how different each pregnancy is.
With #1 I had no symptoms at all.
 #2 (Logan)  My nose was super sensitive and smells were mostly what made me feel nauseous.  I was mildly nauseous the first trimester and exhausted all the time otherwise there were no other big symptoms.
#3 I hated everything Dom said and did, he was driving me crazy...it was like in the movie Knocked Up where in the doctors office he is yelling at her "F U hormones, not you, your hormones!"  I'm sure that's how Dom felt haha.  I was not so much nauseous as I just didn't have an appetite and exhausted again but not too bad.
#4 (this baby)  I was way more nauseous then any of the previous times and although I wasn't throwing up I didn't feel good most of the evening.  This seemed to last longer then I remembered with Logan but by 15 wks I felt much better.  And again, exhaustion is the big one...although with an almost 3 year old to take care of, I'm never sure which child to blame the constant need for an afternoon nap on ;)

The other big difference between this pregnancy and Logan's is that with this one I feel like the belly popped waaaay earlier then with Logan.  I'm pretty sure that happens with your subsequent children but still it was surprising.  The good part is I'm not going to be a blimp in the middle of an Arizona summer!  Instead I get to do it in my first Colorado winter, hopefully this little heater will help keep me warm :)  Although that also means the need of an entire new maternity wardrobe as all I have from last time is shorts, tank tops and dresses.  This is probably a good perk of being pregnant a different time of year since just opening the box of old maternity clothes is a reminder of how much I hate them still.  Not that they were uncomfortable or anything, it's just you wear the same stuff over and over and over again and I still remember never wanting to wear anything in that box again after having Logan haha.  Or perhaps they are also a reminder of how the first time around you don't know what to expect and think pregnancy is oh so fun and nice and glowing and then you get to about 7-8 months and realize how not fun it is and how uncomfortable you are and you still have 1-2 months to go.  There is no glamourous exciting feelings about the physical aspect of being pregnant this time around, especially when you realize how long it takes to get back to normal afterwards.  But in the long run it's easier to handle pregnancy the second time around when you know it could be the last one should we stick with only wanting 2 kids.  I feel like this pregnancy is going a little faster then Logan's felt but that's probably only because we have been soooo busy the past few months and have soooo many plans the upcoming months too.  There's less time to think about it I guess since we are so preoccupied.  When people ask me how I'm feeling, it takes me a second to realize they mean because of the pregnancy they're not just asking how are you in a weird way haha,  I guess I sometimes forget myself since it's early on still.  Dom and I haven't discussed much in the way of this baby yet either, I guess we know what all to expect second time around and we aren't as anxious to get the room ready etc until we know the sex.  We have discussed names a handful of times and haven't really set one in stone as far as I know haha.  It's hard thinking of a boy name I love because I already used the best one on my list for Logan.  But there are strong contenders for first names, middle names haven't been brought up, so much time left for those.  We find out the sex October 1st (seems like a long wait now haha)  and maybe once we know things will start coming together more in the planning stages.  In some ways I feel more relaxed with things in this pregnancy and sometimes I feel more anxious because I know what to expect more this time around.  Hopefully time keeps moving along and won't feel like the longest 9 months ever!

Family of 4

Logan is going to be a big brother!  Baby Maes is due February 23, 2014.  But who knows what month he/she'll actually show up if they are anything like Logan, could be March...but I'll keep my fingers crossed for February!  This baby is a long awaited blessing and we've been trying for a keeper for a year (another loss in September 2012 made the process even longer), so even though this seems like crazy timing since we just moved (and the baby is due during our first experiences with snowy months ahhh!) it could not be more perfect for us.  We are all very excited and relieved and Logan is at a great age so he is "understanding" he will be getting a sibling soon.  (He will get his own post about all the things he says he will teach the baby, it's adorable).

We got a positive pregnancy test end of June and had our first appointment for a sonogram at 6 weeks along in July.  We decided to keep the news a secret from our families since we knew we'd be seeing them in person in a month.  We told Jeff and Joy whom we were living with at the time and Will and Laura knew since they were originally planning on coming out to Colorado during our wait and see time before our first appointment, otherwise it was our little secret.  We saw Candi and Charles first in Albuquerque when we met up with them to get Maya back and spend the weekend together.  We had Logan wearing his "Big Bro" shirt when we met them for dinner.  (We met with Auntie Dre and Lauren for this dinner too before the Maes' arrived and Lauren spotted his shirt instantly, while Auntie Dre had to be pointed to the news, it was fun!)  When Logan saw Candi and Charles he was super excited to be getting...A) Maya back. B)  to see his grandparents.  C)  a new baby or D)  a giant box of Legos brought from Phoenix.    The overwhelming winner was D- the giant box of Legos was pretty much the only news Logan wanted to share with everyone.  So when he saw his grandparents he was asking for the legos and nobody was noticing his shirt, then as Charles is pulling out the Legos from the car Logan is yelling "Legos!"  then sneaks in there, "I'm gonna be a big bwudda"...."LEGOS!"..."i'm gonna be a big bwudda"...this went on until the Legos were out of the car and we told Logan to tell them again what he was going to be.  Then the shirt got some recognition and everyone was excited.  Logan for the legos, everyone else for the new baby.  Oh and Maya too ;)  We waited to tell the rest of the Maes family we saw in NM until I got to tell my parents too.  So we saw my mom and brother two days after we got back to Colorado.  They came to help us move in, paint, etc and Erick is staying with us while trying to find a job here.  When they arrived at our new house we had Logan wearing his "Big Bro" shirt again  and when Granny Mo went to give him a hug he told her "I'm gonna be a big bwudda"  she looked at his shirt, looked at us, he said it again and you could see the light click on in her head then she says "oh shit!"  then censors herself then gives hugs all around, Erick was happy too in his low key brother way ;)  She said at first she saw the shirt and thought only of being a fan of Big Brother the tv show she was watching haha oh mom.  Once everyone that we were going to see in person found out, we emailed my dad in Mexico and mailed my sister and Amanda this picture of Logan with a "surprise" note on the back and waited for their calls once they figured out what the picture was of.  Everyone was ecstatic and once the immediate family knew we posted on facebook the same picture to tell everyone else we could unfortunately not tell in person.

We are "ready" for baby number 2 and can't wait to find out October 1st if baby is a boy or girl.  At first Logan said consistently that he wanted a sister.  Now the answer has changed to a brother more often.  Although of course he'd probably feel the same way about either, it's fun to hear what he has to say about being a big brother.

Welcome Home!

Well well my excuse this time around for being a slacker on posting is because we've been moving into our new house and fixing it up for what seems like forever already.  Luckily we've had a lot of help from family and friends with moving, painting, unpacking etc.  So it's all finally coming together.

 there were lots of pizza and painting picnic nights :)

 Logan wanted his own paint project so he painted a bowl for Maya

When we unloaded our stuff from storage Logan was so excited to unpack his toys, he'd been talking about his green garbage truck for about a month and I'm sure he'd forgotten about all the other goodies hiding away in the boxes.  He unpacked his room in about 5 seconds and spent the rest of the day(s) engrossed in his toys, which was very helpful for me trying to finish the rest of the unpacking during the day!

I'll post the before and after pictures once I feel like I can take after pictures haha.  (warning: We have a very very busy September coming up...and October for that matter! who knows when this will all happen haha).

The weekend after we got the house we met up with the Maes' in Albuquerque to get our beloved Maya bear back.  We were very excited to welcome her back home!  We had a fun weekend with the Maes' and got to stay with Auntie Dre too :)  There was big news for Logan to share too, so it was an exciting weekend all around.