Getting through Hurricane Ike...

So as many of you know we had a pretty big hurricane here in Houston a little over a week ago (on my birthday to be exact)! We decided to pack up and go to Dallas for the weekend, because we didn't want to risk it especially with Kaitlyn and me being pregnant. My biggest concern was that I didn't want to be without power. I think it's literally torture to live in Houston without air conditioning because not only is it extremely hot, but it's extremely humid too. Anyway, we rode out the storm in Dallas and tried to turn it into a mini vacation. We went to the zoo, we went swimming, did some shopping and ate out a lot! The only thing hindering the fun was wondering how our condo and our car were holding up against the storm. On Saturday night we talked to a neighbor on the phone and found out that our complex was one of the very few that never lost power. This was all the incentive I needed to go home. I'm such a worry wart and the whole time we were in Dallas I just worried about everything happening in Houston. We drove home on Sunday morning and were lucky to find our car in one piece and minor leaks in our roof over the bathroom (the HOA will fix this). The scary part was that most of the town did not have power which meant grocery stores and gas stations were not open. The Kroger down the street from us finally opened on Monday, but every single parking spot was full, there were no shopping carts available and shelves were bare. If you wanted to get gas you had to wait in a mile long line because there were only a handful of gas stations open. These conditions lasted until about Thursday of last week. The hurricane was 9 days ago and there are still so many people without power and a lot of damages all over town. In fact, almost all schools are still closed. Jared and I feel so blessed and so spoiled that we got through everything so well. Our biggest inconvenience is that we still don't have cable or internet.

We went to church on Sunday and our building still doesn't have power, but they wanted to hold sacrament meeting anyway. As we were walking up I said to Jared, "if it's too miserable inside we'll just leave after they pass the sacrament". Right as the words left my mouth I regretted them. I thought about all the pioneers and saints who have attended church meetings in much worse conditions. I only had to be there for one hour and then got to return to my air conditioned condo! Besides, half the people in the meeting had to go back to their homes which still didn't have power! Needless to say I was feeling a little selfish and definitely learned a lesson that day. I'm just so grateful that our family is safe, because in the end that's all that really matters.

Fun with the Cotters...

Since I'm playing catch up on my blog I thought I'd post some pictures from Leah Cotter's wedding. For anyone who doesn't know, Gabe Cotter was one of Jared's best friends growing up and still lives in Kansas. However, most of Gabe's family has since moved down here to Katy, Texas. A couple of weeks ago Gabe's sister, Leah, got married in the Houston temple and we got to see most of his family that night at her reception. We had a ton of fun hanging out with them and I know Jared felt right at home being around the Cotter clan. I had fun chatting with Sara and holding her new baby boy. Kaitlyn and Noah hit it off right away and are officially betrothed! They followed each other around all night, danced together and even shared a good night kiss! If it was any other little boy, Jared might have stepped in. Anyway, enjoy the pics and the video of Katy and Noah dancing!

Twilight Addiction...

So, I haven't posted anything in a really long time and I'd like to think it's because I'm too busy getting ready for this baby...but it's not. The last month I've been totally addicted to Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series and have used every ounce of my time reading these books. I had a friend recommend them over a year ago and I told her they sounded lame and I didn't want to read anything with vampires in it! Anyway, I kept hearing people talk about the books and not just LDS people either, so I thought I'd give them a try. They totally sucked me in! I read all four books in two weeks (which for a working mom is record time)! The only thing that kept me from being sad when I finished the series was knowing that the motion picture was coming out in November! I know, pretty pathetic. Anyway, if you're up for some light reading you should give them a try.

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!