And the verdict is...

Baby #3 is a GIRL!!! We'll be needing some more cute outfits like this one:

Justin and I had felt like it was a girl all along, but we didn't confess that until after the ultrasound (not even to each other). Ezra thought it would be a sister and Nolan has been saying, "I think it's a girl, but I hope it's a boy." Looks like he'll have to get used to the idea of a sister. My sister, Keeley, seemed to know it was a girl from the moment I told her I was pregnant. She never wavered and I'm thankful in her confidence in Justin's capability to produce a female! We're really excited and thankful that we have this precious little spirit coming to our family (even if it means some added girl drama and tears in the years to come). The ultrasound tech said that everything looks perfect, just measuring one week smaller than normal. It's always such a relief to see a healthy baby and hear a strong heartbeat. Now let's get shopping for some pink!!!
UPDATE: We spent that next weekend, President's Day, in St. George. Justin got sick so he ended up staying home to rest. But Grandpa John kept the boys busy hiking, swimming, and even scrubbing out our van (he's so awesome!!!) so that I could do lots of baby girl shopping. It was so much fun to buy girly things!  My mom and I were busy sewing new curtains, a pillow cover, and a frilly bed skirt for the new nursery. I'll post photos of the baby's room later.

100 Day

The kindergartners celebrated their 100th day of school recently. Nolan had to count 100 items to take in a baggie and show his classmates. He chose to take Lego pieces... very fitting for him. It was a big event at school with lots of counting and snacks. I laughed out loud when I saw this picture that Nolan came home with. It is called "What I will look like when I am 100 years old." I don't know if he thought of drawing a gravestone on his own, but it was so funny to me that he drew that instead of an old man. I guess he's a realist!

In other news, we had a fun pizza picnic party last weekend. We threw down a big tablecloth and watched a movie while eating in the family room (gasp!). Usually we only have "cleaner" food in there (though the room still always seems full of crumbs anyway). It was a fun time, complete with root beer floats. That's what happens when we send Dad to the store... he comes home with a few more extras than Mom!

We also recently visited the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Park. It was our first time and the boys loved it! I was fed up with the snow and gray skies, so I knew I had to get the kids (and myself) out of the house. We stopped at IKEA and I picked up some things, so I had fun too. The best part of the museum were the hands-on exhibits where the kids used paint brushes to uncover buried dinosaur bones, and the wet sand area where they created rivers and lakes for the dinosaur figurines. What a perfect place for my boys, especially Nolan, who has been saying for the past year that he wants to be a paleontologist. 

On to State!

 It turns out that Nolan won a medal at the district level for his magic carpet Reflections contest entry! We are so proud of him! He will now be moving on to the state competition along with only 5 or 6 other winners from his school. What an honor for this little kindergartner. We celebrated with fresh smoothies and yogurt. I love it when we have a reason to celebrate! Here are the 3 winners from the category of 3D Art who are moving on: 

3D Art Participants (I think they won, but they don't all move on to state... not really sure how it all works, to be honest):

Squishy face kiss from the proud Dad:

 
He was very serious while on stage but we finally got him to give us a smile! Good job, Nolan!
 

Grandpa visits

Grandpa John came a couple of weeks ago and delivered two beds from the cabin (they were extras). The boys were pretty excited about sleeping in their new room. Ezra has been in the crib converted to a day bed and half of the time the boys would fall asleep cuddling in Nolan's bed. They've still asked a couple of times to fall asleep together, but I think Ezra is getting used to the extra room. It's been good to have all of their clothes in the same room, rather than having Ezra's clothes back in the "nursery." Now we have lots of time to get the nursery ready and feel more settled. And it's great that the boys have a little bit of the cabin right in their own bedroom! Thanks, Grandpa!

 Ezra had a good time trying to teach Grandpa how to play Nolan's DS. Ez is such a cuddly guy! Lately he tells us that he's fallen in love and then showers us with a long series of kisses. I have a feeling it won't last so I've been trying to soak in all of his love!

Piano Man

Nolan started piano lessons yesterday. His teacher's name is Suzanne. He's been showing real interest lately, so I asked to get on Suzanne's waiting list to start him in the next year when he's almost 7 years old. It turns out that she had an opening and told me that they do better when they start young, as long as they are showing interest. So he hasn't turned 6 quite yet, but we started him right up! I'm amazed at what he came home knowing on just the first day. He can count out quarter, half, dotted half, and whole notes and play a couple of simple lines of music. He also reads the notes C-G as he plays. I think he has the potential to be really great (as long as practicing doesn't become a painful process!). 

Soldier Hollow

This cold inversion has been pretty yucky. This winter it seems like it's either pouring down snow or we're under a layer of cold smog that keeps it around 15 to 20 degrees. Justin was ready to head up into the mountains again (after skiing) and get some fresh air. He picked Nolan up early from school and the 3 boys headed to Soldier Hollow for a couple hours of tubing. There was some trouble with Ezra on the tube lift. He decided he didn't want to stay in his tube because he was scared of going down the hill again (the first time up and down had been fine). So he got out 3 times and they had to stop the lift 3 times. Justin said it was very frustrating as everyone watched him try to get Ezra to stay seated. I totally know how he felt! But after that, Ezra began to love going down the hill and was great the rest of the time. Nolan had somehow gone up the lift a ways ahead and had no fear, of course. He loves the outdoors and adventure! Here's the lift: Nolan is up in the yellow tube and Ez is in the orange one. 

Here's a look at the 5 and 6 foot snow piles we've had in our yard. We dug a tunnel through one of them, but decided that it was pretty dangerous and then covered up the entrances again. Perhaps we'll build a snow fort instead.