Definitely a girl!

We had our main ultrasound today and the doctor confirmed that we are for sure having another baby girl! We are so excited that Hailey will have a little sister. Nate, of course, is excited at the fact that we don't really have to buy much for the little one since we are all girled out over here already. Everything looked great as far as organ functionality and size. She's a healthy 1 pound and my due date has changed yet again to the 7th of July. We can't wait!

Transition Woes...

With a new baby coming and all, we have decided to start getting Hailey out of her crib and into a twin bed. Although I have anxiety about it simply because she sleeps so good now, I think the transition will be fine. I was worried about all her other transitions: bottle, crib, etc and she did just fine on all of them! So, now we are on to a 'big girl' bed and slowly working on the binky thing! If anyone out there has any advice, i'm all ears! :-) Till then, wish me luck!

Dolphins and Sunshine!

It can't get much better than that! We went to Vegas this past weekend to see my family and we had a blast! The weather was perfect and we just played till our hearts content. My mom and dad have a huge playroom that is any kids dream that they built for their grandkids, so Hailey was pretty much occupied the whole time with that. As for Nate and I, we loved being able to just relax away from every day life and enjoy the sunshine. Nate took me out to dinner at Outback the first night we were there. Grandpa and Grandma were VERY excited to hang out with the Monkey for the night. We went to breakfast, and lunch and had a bbq and all kinds of family get togethers, including the Valentine's Dinner that I already blogged about previously. Then on Monday, we took the kids to the Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage. Hailey kept yelling "FISH!" every time one would jump out of the water! She loved it. It was such a fun trip despite the awful drive to Vegas in the yucky slush and snow that coated our car! But, all in all, we were SO glad we went and SO sad to come home! It always goes by way too fast!

Valentines Dinner

Every Holiday, my mom does a huge family dinner with everyone and it's always themed. For Valentines, she made meatloaf that was in the shape of a heart, surrounded by mashed potatoes to give it the 'lace' effect! It really was quite amazing. Everything is displayed either in a heart shape, or a heart bowl or something that has to do with hearts! It was so fun. Hailey of course, was all dressed up for the occasion in her little heart outfit and ready to eat! This is how all holidays are at the Luke home. Mom goes all out!

My Little Gymnast!

I decided quite a while ago that I really wanted to get Hailey into something that was invigorating and energetic for her spunky little personality. I took her to her first gymnastics class today and it was a BLAST! First, they played little instruments and sang songs, then they let them dance to music with mommy, then balance on the balance beam and play till their little hearts are content. I can't tell you the happiness I felt as she was in her element of playing and running and screaming with all the other kids her age. It made me want to stay there all day. She was amazing on the balance beam. One foot in front of the other! She loved playing basketball with the soft, rubbery balls they had and even enjoyed helping pick up all the toys! It was nice for me to have something to take her to that was interactive and fun for us to do together. I was such a proud mommy! My little gymnast!

Girl Power!!

So, we can officially surround Nate with all the girly stuff in the world since he will be surrounded by all girls yet again! Yes, we are having a girl. We found out today at our doctor appointment that Hailey will have a little sister! We are so stinkin excited! I thought that Nate might be a little dissapointed in wanting a boy, but he really is thrilled. I know this to be true since recently when asked what he wanted, his reply was "I've never been the type of guy who NEEDED to have a boy, and especially after having Hailey, I would love to have another girl." I know, I know, what a sweetheart! He is the best Dad and Husband. Bring on the pink and purple and drama and mood swings... I know he can handle it! :-) Thanks for all your guesses on our poll, but i'm here to tell you, most of you were wrong in voting for a boy! It was a good try though! Now we are on to pulling out Hailey's old clothes and adorable dresses to be used yet again!

Sweet Surprise

As I was going through pictures of the wedding the other day on my camera, I came across a sweet surprise. I don't know if any of you moms out there get excited about these little things like I do, but as I was flipping through the pictures in my camera, I came across some little goofy pictures that Nate and Hailey took one day. I had no clue and it was just so much fun to see cute little daddy/daughter pictures. So, I thought I would share them with the rest of you!

Pudding Disaster

So, the other day, I was thinking to myself "what is something I can let Hailey do that she would enjoy, bring out her artistic abilities and not be dangerous- I KNOW! Pudding!" You see, when I was growing up, something I remember my mom doing for us was spray shaving cream on the kitchen table and let us play in it. It was one of the greatest memories growing up. It usually turned into shaving cream covering my brothers and I, i'm sure, however, it was fun. Knowing that the immediate reaction to putting something on her finger would soon end up in her mouth, I decided she was a little too young for shaving cream. Instead, why not give her something les toxic and something that tastes good! Well, the result was priceless. !
Messes have become something that I cherish (weird, I know) because I now realize that it's the mess that is a result of something enjoyable! As long as she learns to clean it up, which she's quite good at! So, i'm happy! Bring on the messes!

Almost Twins!!

As most of you know, we had a few complications with our pregnancy around 7 and 8 weeks. Come to find out, it was due to being pregnant with twins and also being in the process of losing one of them. Things are going well now, however, my instructions are still to be careful and pay close attention to how i'm feeling. The doctor is doing the same. Sad and scary news is that I am now at high risk of preterm labor and delivering a preemie baby, but i'm hopeful that things will work out just fine, as long as I listen to myself and stay close to the Lord, I know He will bless us. I know it's a little hard to see, but if you look at the ultrasound picture of Baby Johnson, you can see above the body a small line looking area. That line seperates the baby from the twin sack. So, if you look closely, you can see the small area directly above the baby where the twin was. It is starting to get smaller, so that is a good thing, but i'm glad we got a picture of it! What exciting changes are going on in our family and we feel very blessed to be going through all the fun times with Hailey and the new baby and also the challenges it brings.

Christmas Memories