Is it really March?!?

I love this weather!!! I can't say it enough!

Pretty in pink today for church. We didn't let Kylie wear the hat to church, I could forsee her standing in the parking lot in tears for her hat (it's a little windy) while Matthew would be running around trying to capture it. So, we didn't wear it to church, but we told her that she can on Easter.

***And I got a few questions today about the gender test, I should know by Tuesday afternoon/Wednesday at the latest... and I will post the results!!! :)

Preschool Trip to the Dentist

This was super fun! I got to go with "Tater Tots Preschool "to go meet Dr. Bryan the Dentist, who is Tate's dad and was so great with all the kids. I was really shocked by it all, well maybe impressed is a better word. The kids were so well behaved! They were quiet and polite. We all stayed in one room while there were other patients all around getting their teeth worked on.

I took pictures of all the kids whose moms I know, so here are your kids too! I was completely surprised that Kylie was so happy to sit in the chair, and she let him poke around in her mouth, very willingly and happy! This was such a great experience... I've been dreading taking her to the dentist (we had a pacifier for how long???) and this experience was fun and exciting and it's going to make our first "real" trip there so much easier! Thanks Tate, you're awesome!!!

This is James Hendricks, he was such the personality. I loved this picture with his mouth wide open! His mom told him that if he was good and sat in the chair and let Dr. Bryan help his teeth, then he was going to get beans in his jar, and then he'd get to play a special video game. Good job Rochelle, totally worked!

This is Mason Mohlman, he was so cute! He got in the chair and covered his eyes... I guess he was thinking, "if I can't see you, then it's really not that bad." But he was such a good sport about it. I don't think he really wanted to sit there, but he did it anyway :)

And here's Riley Mecham, she was so good! First one in the chair, happy as anything and very sweet to pose for a quick picture! She opened her mouth nice and wide and let Dr. Bryan look at all her teeth!

I love this weather!

Oh, I love this weather! My thermometer is reading 70, and it's supposed to be 72 tomorrow and Thursday! WOW! So I wish I could say that I took the girls to the park to enjoy the sun or let them play out front... (in what we call Boyd Circle because the whole circle is primarily our house)... but sadly I didn't. I did laundry and hours of ironing, I let Kylie mop the floor and unload the dishwasher... however she did find the time to dress herself this morning! How cute is she, crown and all!! Oh and I can't forget our gourmet meal for lunch... macaroni and cheese with hot dogs. I'll take the girls out Thursday.. tomorrow is our big preschool fieldtrip to the Dentist. I know you all will be anxiously waiting for the post tomorrow. :)

Test Day!

I keep finding other cute pictures from my camera that I didn't post. Obviously, this is from Disneyland... the Dumbo ride, a family favorite. And my personal favorite, because Matthew takes both of them and I relax my little self on a bench!

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So today is the big blood test day. It will take about a week to be processed to get the results. You all know that AS SOON as I find out, I will post it. Thanks to everyone who participated in the poll, that was fun! I especially love you people (you know who) who emailed me to tell me you voted girl (because you know I want a girl) even though you kinda think it could, maybe, slightly be a boy. :)

Girl or Boy... Cast your vote!

*** If you voted yesterday (2-19) or early today (2-20), I screwed up my poll and had to redo it. So I lost 6 votes... if I lost yours, vote again please... sorry!!! ***

What do you think we will have? There's a poll to your right... cast your vote! Matthew's "happy with a boy or a girl, as long as it's healthy..." blah blah but let's face it, he'd be thrilled with a boy. I want another girl, 3 girls sound like heaven to me. This baby is due 2 weeks after Kacey's birthday, all her clothes would be perfect for baby #3. Then Kacey would be in Kylie's clothes, new baby in Kacey's clothes, and I still have 2 girls matching (which puts ALOT of clothes to good use). My theory is: the only thing better than having 2 girls, is having 3!

So cast your vote- We're finding out in 2 weeks, which I know is super early... but if you know me (I mean really know me... Heather Pope, I know you are cracking up right now) I am an impatient person to say the least! And if it is a boy, I need the extra shopping time. The nursery right now is Maggie's bedroom (our dog) so that needs to be overhauled big time. If it's a girl, I need to time to buy clothes in 3's.

Back to us finding out in 2 weeks. It's not a routine thing, your doctor has probably never mentioned it to you. It's not a precautionary thing, nothing's wrong with the baby. Matthew and I are choosing to take an elective blood test (elective meaning not covered by insurance). It's slightly contraversial because it's so accurate and people can find out the gender so early in the pregnancy, that unfortunately if they don't like the gender, they are still within the time frame to terminate the pregnancy- gender selection. It's such a horrible/disgusting thing, I can't even wrap my brain around that one and which is why doctors typically don't mention it. Obviously, we are doing it for the true intent of the testing... (I) we are incredibily impatient people, and the wait is unbearable! I just want to know, and I want to know now!!!!

The Science Behind It (I know you all are curious, and instead of answering you all in separate emails or on the phone)- In a natural process, fetal cells die and pass into the mother’s bloodstream. As these cells break down, fetal DNA is released into the mother’s own circulatory system. With the proper testing, the lab searches for the Y chromosome in 3 samples of the mother's blood. One sample is enough, but they test 3 times to verify it. If they find the Y chromosome, which apparently is very prevelant throughout the mother's blood, you guessed it... it's a boy. If not, it's a girl. It's 95% accurate... guaranteed to be right or money back with proof of birth certificate, and more accurate than the ultrasound done at 5 months.

SO WHAT THE HECK!!! We're doing it Monday, and it'll take a week to get the results. Take a guess at what the baby is... scroll back up and do the poll on the right.

Sunday Morning

I'd like to say that I have it together on Sunday morning with church now at 11 am rather than 9 am. But I really don't! I get lulled into the idea that "I have time" and before I know it, it's 10:45 am... and I'm thinking that the girls will be a cranky mess by the time we get home from church so any hope for pictures must be NOW!

Big day for Kylie... she said the opening prayer in Primary. She was so excited to get to use the microphone. So they started with song. Then announced that they'd sing one more song, and Kylie Boyd would give the opening prayer. So she stands up and walks over to the microphone. And the leaders, quietly said not yet after the song. You could see the confusion on her face, like... but I'm doing the prayer and we just sang a song so it's my turn. Matthew went over and whispered in her ear that she was to go up after the next song. So, when it was over she walked up like such a big girl... Daddy helped whispering in her ear. Apparently, he said "In the name of Jesus Christ" (for her to repeat... because she knows how to end the prayers, she does it all the time) and she skipped it and yelled, "AMEN." And she sat down with a proud smile on her face. So cute, I wish I could have video taped it :)

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This one is fun, from Disneyland 2 weeks ago- lesson learned on my part. Kacey is way too young for a big lollipop like that... ugh, it was a sticky mess afterwards. The next day we were in another Disney shop, Matthew goes, "you wanna get them another lollipop?" I'm like "are you crazy, they made a sticky/nasty mess!!!" I got some chuckles from the other moms nearby. I've become that mother I guess, but I did not have the energy.

This is hilarious!

I had to crop the image so you can see it- Matthew and Kylie on the Tower of Terror.

The funny thing is that she kept going on the ride with him, you'd think if she didn't like it... she wouldn't go on. I guess her solution was to go on and cover her little eyes.

And what's even funnier is that Matthew had no idea she was covering her eyes until he saw this picture.

And We're HOME!

And with a sigh of exhaustion, I say that it's so nice to be home. I'm telling you, heaven is when both children are sound asleep in a hotel room (which is far from easy!).

We spent the past week in Disneyland, we had a great time! Kylie and Matthew were on the go non-stop. Tower of Terror, aka the elevator ride, picture to come (which is hilarious). Kacey and I just moved from bench to bench, watching the people and munching on Disney treats.
Kacey was less than thrilled with Eeyore, which blows my mind... her whole bedroom is Winnie the Pooh. This was adorable in person...

More pictures later :)

Baby #3

And it's official, we have baby #3. We had our appointment yesterday, strong heartbeat. My due date is September 21st. So Kacey will have just turned 2 on September 5th... with a little luck, we will have her potty trained by this summer (fingers crossed!).

We took the girls to the appointment so they could hear the heartbeat and see the baby. Kacey didn't quite understand, but she was thrilled with the lollipop the nurse gave her. Kylie could not figure out why we were looking at a tv and not in my tummy. She goes, "no, the baby's in Mommy's tummy." She's been cute about it. She wants a girl, just ask her and she'll tell you. She looks through my belly button (like it's a port hole) and says that she can see the baby. And she'll try to tickle the baby by ticking my belly button.

Pregnancy checklist:

Cravings.... check! Nausea... UGH, double check! Tired all the time.... check! Looks like everything's right on target like my other pregnancies... too bad this was poor planning... I've already done the third trimester through the Las Vegas summer and it's terrible, what was I thinking to do it again!!!!! :)

And a little nervous about having three children. With two, Matthew and I can divide and conquer. With three, we're outnumbered... and let's face it, Kylie's getting smarter than us by the minute! And how do I cross the street with them? Three kids, all 4 years old and under... our house is going to be lots of fun!!!!!!!!

Maggie Moo's

What am I going to do with you Goof!?!

So, we thought we were in the clear. She'd been seizure free for about 15 months, the doctor suggested we wean her off her medicine (which is damaging her liver). So everything was great, until about 9 am this morning.

She had one seizure, and thankfully I knew what I was doing. Not like last time where I freaked out and was frantic, which didn't help the situation at all. She shakes really bad, loses her vision, and can't move her body. It's hard to watch, but I talked her down from it. I was hoping we were done. Not 5 minutes later, she went into another one. So at that moment, I called my mom to come over... Matthew called the Vet to let them know I was on my way. Two more seizures later and we're finally in the car... 2 more seizures on the drive.... they knew it was me as I walked into the Vet and they hooked her up right then and there.

She'll need to be on Phenobaribital the rest of her life, one pill every 12 hours. It will eventually cause her to go into liver failure, but her brain won't survive the clusters of seizures if we don't do it. Catch 22. The doctor said he's seen dogs on the meds for 2-4 years before the liver gets too bad. There's really no other choices.

She might come home tonight, maybe tomorrow, the doctor wants to monitor her. Poor thing, this dog has been through it all!

My Cinderella

I'm really big into teaching Kylie age appropriate chores, for two reasons... one- she learns that a magic fairy doesn't effortlessly clean up after her (I'm still teaching my husband that one, but Kylie's a quick learner) and two- it makes my life a whole lot easier. But to be honest, she loves helping out. I don't even have to reward her with a lollipop or anything afterwards, she's so happy to be Mommy's little helper. Today, we mopped the tile which is a daunting task because about 75% of my first floor is tile.
We loaded the washing machine...
... for 3 separate loads of laundry. She can vacuum too.

And while she was doing her part, I was able to clean all the bathrooms.

I think the cleaning bug hit our house today. There's something really nice about knowing your kitchen sink is spotless and shiny!

President Hinckley

I was at the fireside, when Matthew texted me saying that President Hinckley had passed away. My first thought was disbelief, but I realized my husband wouldn't have texted it if it wasn't true. Moments later, it was announced. The young women took it pretty hard, and I found myself with tears coming down my face. Like them, he's the only Prophet that I've known since being baptized a member of this church.

After the initial, "but it can't be..." thoughts. I thought of his wife's death almost 4 years ago and how wonderful for them to be together again. My husband and I were talking, and he said that's it's strange to know that the actual, most powerful man in the world had died. And sadly, many don't know of him... and that can parallel to the Savior also. Many don't know Him, and it is sad.

As with many others, the beloved President Hinckely will always hold a special place in my heart. Front page of the Las Vegas Review Journal, described his life as a testament to service and someone with a true love for others. I will always remember that moment, as I sat with the thousands, waiting for General Conference to begin. And the beautiful silence that overtook the room as he walked in. Everyone in amazement of the WONDERFUL man we were all in the presence of. He lifted his cane as if to wave hello. I'll miss his voice this coming April.

But, as we have record of the experiences of the pioneers... After the Prophet Joseph had been murdered, the Saints looked to Brigham Young. And they heard it, as if it were Joseph Smith's voice and words, coming out through Brigham Young. I look forward to this conference and feeling my testimony grow, similar to that of the pioneers, as I hear the words of guidance and love coming out of the mouth of our next Prophet.

Ky....eeeeeeeeeeeee

(ps.. picture is from a few weeks ago, my Christmas stuff has been put away!)

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This past week Kacey has learned how to say "Kylie," although it sounds more like Ky (pause) eeeeeeee. It's so precious coming out of her sweet little voice, and I give her a lot of credit... Kylie is a hard word to say especially for a 16 month old. I guess she hears us say it so often, that it comes natural. Although, it's a little less cute when it's about 3 AM... and Kacey's in her crib, "Ky eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, Ky eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Luckily, they are in separate bedrooms. I could not imagine what would happen if they weren't!

Mt. Charleston

Yesterday, we went back up the mountain to play in the snow. This time, we were armed with a 2-person sled!

Daddy felt badly that he and Kylie were having all the fun. So he put Kacey in Kylie's lap. (Yes, Kylie is snugged somewhere in the middle)...

Not a big hit with the little one.

More Pictures...

See all better. She prefers to watch and sit on Mommy's lap and take pictures.

These two are my favorite (above). Matthew was SO tired, he could hardly move. So Kylie's like, "Forget you, I can do it all by myself."

Mission: ORGANIZATION

Let The New Year's Resolutions Begin!

I'm going to do something a little different, instead of telling you our resolutions...... we'll share the ones that we actually accomplish! :)


RESOLUTION: More organization so we can find things quicker.

Big thanks to the Pace family, between Jana's vinyl lettering (did you see the new theme tiles we gave to the YW, so gorgeous) and Adam's carpentry... I don't know what we'd do without you guys. Adam made and put up our laundry shelves. The picture doesn't do it justice. It's so awesome for storage.

We still need to do an overhaul in the toy room, garage cabinets... and let's face it, I use one whole bedroom (Maggie's bedroom) for storage... so that's next on the list. But I feel very motivated looking at my laundry shelves.

Redskins Game

The Redskins game was on this afternoon, my husband was so happy. The girls were content playing in the toy room and watching Cinderella. He sat down with his warm cheesy dip (that he saves for special occasions), scoops, and a mountain dew... just in pure bliss.

All of a sudden, I hear, "uuh, no, umm, wait, hey, uuh, careful, no, wait. NICOLE!"

This is what I came to... so naturally, instead of helping him out so he could enjoy a few moments... I go get the camera! Welcome to fatherhood, nothing is yours anymore!!! (hehe)

Is it really Jan. 3rd already?

No pictures today. Kacey went to her 15 month check up Monday, and we are all still recovering. (Loved the pediatrician by the way, thanks Missy)

Kacey is in the 10th percentile for her weight. Is that crazy!? I double checked it, because I thought for sure it was a mistake... but it's right. She's in the 25th for her height, so the doctor said he wasn't too concerned. But let it be known that this child eats and eats and eats. She doesn't look too skinny, does she to you??? Of course then we have Kylie, who's in the 90th percentile for her height and the 25th for her weight... oh to be tall and thin, I'm hoping those Amy Hansen genes are coming through on my husband's side.

Kacey got 3 shots. She doesn't take shots well. Kylie was always cake with shots. No temperature, not fussy... no problems. Kacey is definitely a different child... 3 days later and she's still all mushy. She sat on Matthew's lap all day Tuesday just to be cuddled. And don't ask about how she's not sleeping. Her shot pricks are black and blue too, one thigh even seems swollen... (I'm going to watch that.)

HOWEVER, Kylie also got her flu shot that morning. It wasn't planned, but the doctor looked at her and suggested we just do it. She says to him, "No, we're here for Kacey's checkup. Not me." Well 2 screaming kids and 4 shots later, we were on our way home. I had to laugh though, Kylie sat on the table first and got her shot in her arm... and screamed her head off. Then Kylie moved aside to the chairs and Kacey laid on the table, she was screaming before anything even started. She was must have just known it was going to be bad.

Sunday Morning

We had time again this morning for pictures before we were off to church... I figure if I take the time and effort to always dress them the same, I need to get it on camera.

Matthew would like me to note that he didn't interrupt our flow. (see previous Sunday Morning post, if you don't get it)

Kylie looking at the camera.

Kacey looking at the camera.

What joy when we can get one picture of everybody looking at the camera! :)


Last Sunday of 9 am church!!! Yipppeee! Our new ward time is 11 am, which means no more setting the alarm to get 3 females dressed and fed and out the door. (Don't get me wrong, Kacey will be miserable by like 12:30 when she hasn't had lunch or a nap... but you take the good with the bad.)

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope your day was filled with as much joy (and crazy things that kids say) as ours was! After we were done opening presents, which wasn't until about 11 am... Kylie looks around and goes, "Okay, let's do it again. I want to open the presents!"

So we were up at 7:15 am, after quite a long night. Kylie knew Santa was coming... we left out cookies and milk, but she wanted to wait up for him (despite all the coaxing we did to convince her otherwise). Finally, Santa called us and told us he was going to come in our house, but Kylie was not asleep in her bed. So he couldn't come... but he would come back, if she went to bed. That did it! :)

It really was a wonderful Christmas! I was looking forward to it, because of all our fun traditions (eating Chinese on Christmas Eve for example, a little unorthodox... but we really look forward to it). BUT ALSO because it's our first Christmas (of many more to come) in our new house... now we don't have as many pictures as I'd like, but that's okay because we did a lot with the dvd camera. After recording about 25 minutes, we'd only opened 3 gifts... this is how the morning went :) We went this afternoon to see the Alvin and the Chipmunks Movie, which was super fun. Dinner was supposed to be ham, german potatoes, pumpkin bread, and all the fixings. Too bad we were way too full to make it, because of all the movie food we ate. So we're saving it for Friday night when we have the missionaries over for dinner.

Okay, so let's face it.... 'tis the season for giving. And I hate the commercialism of the holiday. I really think it needs to be balanced, and the Christmas Season must include some sort of "good will toward men" other than just the typical "this is what I want for Christmas." So without going completely into my Young Women's lesson on Sunday. Our "good will toward men" experience will remain somewhat personal, but do know it happened and it was great.

NOW, for the top two favorite presents:

Kacey~ a little corded rotary toy phone and a toy animal train that moves on its own

Kylie~ a princess set with dresses, shoes and accessories (by 9 am, she was on her second dress)

and a toy dvd player that plays all the Princesses music.

This was a joint fave, the Aquadoodle... too bad they only want to play with it, when the other one is playing with it. It's caused a few fights and tears already :)

Matthew~ gps navigation system and a docking thingy for his IPOD

Me~ an assortment of perfumes (because I want a new fragrance but I'm undecided) and the nap I had in the afternoon :) ... no, and the JC Penney package of pretty new Sunday clothes that didn't make it in time for Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all... and to all a goodnight!