Baby Hickman

Jared and I finally went in last week to get an ultrasound of baby Hickman and yes she is still a girl! Sorry to brake the Hickman family tradition of having a girl and then a boy, but girls seem to be the prominent sex in the Saxton family. During the ultrasound she wouldn't stop moving and even seemed to be doing everything the ultrasound tech didn't want her to do. Meanwhile I'm thinking "Oh, great! Another defiant, independent little girl". I keep asking the Lord to please let this one be a quiet, sweet, soft spoken child. We'll see! Anyway, for anyone who can't tell, the picture to the left is of the baby's profile. You should be able to see her forehead, nose, lips and so forth.

Meanwhile, my stomach has finally decided to pop out over the last couple of weeks and you can definitely tell I'm pregnant now. I was getting looks from people who seemed to be thinking, "is she pregnant or did she just gain a few pounds"! Last week a stranger finally asked "so when are you due"? I was thrilled because that means I do look pregnant and not just chubby! Anyway, I'll try to have Jared take a picture of me soon so that anyone who cares can see how big I am.

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!

It's hard to believe that my sweet little girl is already 2 years old! I didn't know what to expect when Kaitlyn made me a mommy, but it has been such an amazing experience. When she was first born I think I cried everyday for the first month, and not out of joy! Although Katy was a "needy" baby, who didn't take a nap until she was 5 months old, I fell in love with my little angel. This little angel has grown into an energetic, independent little girl. Her laugh is so contagious and full of life it's unbelievable. Lately she's really become a daddy's girl and cannot get enough of him chasing her around the house, giving her piggy back rides and spinning her around until she's too dizzy to walk. Katy has really turned out to be an affectionate little girl, always giving out kisses, hugs and pats on the back. She still doesn't quite understand that she has a baby sister on the way, but we know she will be a wonderful big sister. Jared and I feel so lucky to be able to raise this beautiful spirit.

Kaitlyn had a great birthday and loves all of her many presents. It's so cute how she really gives the time and attention to each present. When it was time to open presents, she would open one and then want to play with it right away. After fifteen minutes of playing with a gift we had to convince her to move on to the next present. For her birthday we decided to do some of Katy's favorite things. We went "swimmin" at the pool and Kaitlyn learned to jump off the edge into mommy's arms for the first time. Then we went to Incredible Pizza, which for those of you from California, it's just like John's Incredible Pizza. Anyone not familiar with Incredible Pizza, I would describe it as Chuckie Cheese times ten, minus the big rat! Anyway, Katy had a blast and we just enjoyed watching her have so much fun! Happy birthday munchkin!

Over the hill to Nana's house . . .

I'm not sure I want to do this, but Amanda has insisted that I (Jared) write about the trip Katy and I took to Utah this month. I tried to talk Katy into doing it . . . she just ignored me. I thought Katy was onto something with the whole "ignoring" thing, so I tried it on Amanda. Now I can only hear out of my right ear, but Amanda made sure my hands still work, so here's goes my first official blog (don't worry, I'll make sure to use plenty of exclamation marks and colored words)!

That's right, I took Katy to UT for a whole week by myself! Never mind the fact Nana and Aunt Alicia were there to make sure I didn't let my firstborn run wild in the streets, and Amanda made sure to pack all of Katy's perfectly coordinated outfits, and Aunt Alicia did Katy's hair every day, and I was supervised by two other responsible adults at all times. We actually had a wonderful time and Katy was a perfect angel the entire trip (well, as perfect as you can expect from an "almost" 2 year old).

Thanks to the trip Amanda and Katy just took to California, Katy was ready for some more Grandma and Grandpa time. We always seemed to sit next to "grandpas" on the plane rides to and from SLC, and as soon as Katy learned that our traveling partner was a grandpa she warmed right up and played with them for the duration of the flight. Actually, during our stop in Albuquerque, we were getting some food and she noticed a nice, white haired gentleman in the line in front of us. Katy immediately yelled out, "Grampa!" We got quite a few smiles from that comment!

As you can see from the pictures, we went swimming at Nana's pool almost every day, played with Syd and Kade (Katy thinks his name is Buddy, since that's what everyone calls him), jumped on the trampoline, went to Build-a-Bear, played with Sydnie's new puppy, had roaring contests (see the video), and had parties for cousin Sydnie and Katy's birthdays. It was great seeing Katy become attached to my family. She really fell in love with everyone, which I believe was equally reciprocated. Thanks Mom and Dad, Don and Alicia for making it such a wonderful time. It really makes us want to live closer to family. Who knows, maybe some day.
We love you all!

Trip to California...a little late...

So I know Katy and I went to California over a month ago, but I forgot to bring my camera with me so I was waiting for Nicole to email me some of her pictures. It just so happens that she moved into her new house around the same time and hadn't had time to hook up her printer until recently (thanks Nicole).

Kaitlyn had a blast during our trip and I actually got to see some of my friends! I think this is the first time Katy really opened up to everyone and showed off her animated personality. The first name she remembered was "gamma" which eventually became "gramma". Kaitlyn is still talking about Gramma and loves to look at pictures of her on the computer. Every time she sees the computer she says "gramma, gramma, gramma". Katy had so much fun with everyone and Evan was so nice to share his toys and his mommy with her too. We have a picture of her cousin Jolene on the fridge and every couple of days or so Katy will point to the fridge and say "Jolene" which means she wants to carry the picture around with her. It's actually very sweet. Thank you everyone for such a great trip!

And the verdict is...

Yeah, it's a girl! I had my checkup last week and when they did the ultrasound they couldn't tell at first what the sex was, because the umbilical cord was between the legs! After a few shakes the cord came out and there was nothing between the legs. The doctor went on to say that if it is a boy, it's the shyest boy she's ever seen! I kind of had a feeling it was a girl; my family doesn't make very many boys! Anyway, as I come from a family of all girls I am very excited to have two little girls of my own. The best part is that I get to dress them in cute matching outfits! Jared's already using the fact that he is now seriously outnumbered to his advantage and is expecting some major spoiling!

Baby News!

For those of you who haven't heard, or noticed my expanding waist line, I'm expecting! Jared and I are thrilled and can't wait to welcome baby #2. I'm about 16 weeks along and might be able to find out if it's a girl or a boy at my next doctor's appointment on the 27th. We'll be excited either way; however everyone seems to think it's a girl already. I really don't know what I would do with a boy! Kaitlyn hasn't really grasped the idea that mommy has a baby in her tummy. Everytime we try to tell her, she pulls up my shirt and then tries to pull my pants down! I think she thinks I'm hiding a baby doll under there somewhere. I'm sure once I'm showing more she'll start understanding a little better. My due date is December 4th, so who knows I could have a Thanksgiving baby. Kaitlyn was two weeks early and Thanksgiving is exactly one week before my due date, so it's very possible. It could also come on Dad's birthday (Nov. 27th), Kendra's birthday (Nov. 22nd) or several other family member's birthdays around that time. Sorry guys, you might have to share your birthdays!

Galveston: the ugliest beach in America!

Last Weekend we had a four day weekend and decided to take a trip to Galveston, which for anyone who doesn't know Texas well, is the closest beach to Houston (about 45 minutes away). People who knew we were used to the beaches in Southern California had warned us that the beaches in the Gulf of Mexico are not quite as nice as the ones in California (thanks mom). Knowing this beforehand we decided to go to a resort in Galveston called Moody Gardens and just drive by the beach. Before I move on to the fun stuff we did, I do want to take a moment to say how much I now appreciate Orange County and the gorgeous scenic beaches they provide. Galveston had brown water and nasty dirty beaches covered in seaweed. The water was very rough and choppy so I wouldn't want my kids playing in it anyway. Oh how I miss Laguna beach!

Anyway, I digress. We ended up having a wonderful afternoon at Moody Gardens. This place had a man-made beautiful lagoon with white sand and beach umbrellas for everyone. It also had a splash town for kids, an aquarium, a man-made indoor rain forest, an Imax theater, a 4D movie, a titanic exhibit and much much more. Needless to say Katy was exhausted by the end of the day. Hope you enjoy some of the pics!