Ice Skating

Caleb wanted to go ice skating for his birthday so we went today.  Caleb and Aimee were the only ones brave enough to attempt to skate.  It was the first time either of them had been ice skating and they did really well.




And Molly and Rayna enjoyed watching and eating snacks!

Happy Birthday, Terrific Kid!

Caleb has had a busy week.  He was chosen as the Terrific Kid for his class and was honored at a special breakfast.  Then yesterday was his 11th birthday.  Happy birthday, Caleb!

New Nephew

I have a brand new little nephew.  Isaiah Thomas was born yesterday.  Is he not the cutest thing ever?!  It's still hard to believe that my little brother Billy Will is a daddy!

Look who is jumping!

We knew she'd come around!

We're very excited to report that.....

IT'S A BOY!!!

And even more excited to report that the baby looks healthy.  I guess we can cut our list of baby names in half!  :-)

Priceless

Beloved paci in her mouth, California Raisin in her hand, blanket on her head, princess pillows.....just the way I want to remember her at age four.

Name Game

One of my favorite games is to throw a baby name out at Brian.  We don't readily agree on baby names so I enjoy the challenge of trying to find a name that we both like.  Now assuming the baby cooperates, we find out the gender on Thursday so we could wait until then to discuss names any further, but that takes half the fun out of the game.   Below you will find out current list of names we have agreed on.  What's your opinion?  Any names on the list jump out at you as the next Hines baby?  Do you  have a name that you love that I could add to the list?  (Not one that you want to save to use for your own child someday.)  Are there any names on the list that you would absolutely NOT want to be called for the rest of your life?  Help us give Baby Hines a name!

Boy Names:
Elijah
Micah
Noah
Nolan
Aaron
Elliot
Ellison
Nathan

 Girl Names:
Elaine
Adelyn
Lucille
Brianne
Amelia
Elliot
Ellison
Gabriela
Jenna
Sophia
Sara

Crazy Weather!

With four active kids, staying inside for long just isn't an option.  Over our Christmas break, we spent a lot of time outside and the weather has been CRAZY.  All of these pictures were taken over the break, but  notice the differences.  We're either bundled up or wearing t-shirts.  It was cold today, but we have more days in the mid 60's coming this week!  Craziness!



This weekend was beautiful.  It felt like Spring.  We have a park not too far from our house that has a skateboarding park with lots of hills and ramps where kids can ride their skateboards, scooters, etc.  Caleb had been begging us to go, so we took advantage of the beautiful weather and finally went to check it out.  I wish I had gotten my camera out and gotten some pictures in the actual skate park.  The kids had so much fun.  Even Molly was riding her scooter!

15 Weeks and Trampoline

I JUST made getting a picture of myself at 15 weeks pregnant.  With Rayna, I took at picture at 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 weeks.  Well, I was talking to my friend Tara today and realized that I will be 16 weeks tomorrow.  YIKES!  But I managed to get a picture while I'm still technically 15 weeks.  I'll do better next time, Baby.
My sickness is getting so much better.  I'm still throwing up several times a week, but that's so much better than several times a day.  I'm able to eat more.  For awhile I was so sick that I was only able to eat a handful of foods (like bagels--I may never eat another bagel after this baby is born) but I'm pretty much tolerating all of the normal foods again.  There are still a few things, such as milk and yogurt, that make me sick the minute they hit my stomach.  But overall, I'm doing so much better.
Our ultrasound is the 12th and we find out the gender of the baby.  It's a little early (I'll be 17 weeks) so I hope he/she cooperates!
In other news, Grandpa and Grandma Hines got the kids a trampoline for Christmas.  On Saturday, a couple of friends came over with their families to help us put it together.  Rayna loves the trampoline.  She tells me 50 times a day, "Mommy!  I want to bump!"  When I put her down for her nap today, she started crying and said, "Noooooo!  No night-night!  I want to bump!"


And this is where Molly and I spend most of our time--on the sidelines.  We haven't been able to convince Molly to give the trampoline a try yet.  We even offered to let her get on all by herself, but she won't do it.  I'm sure it will only be a matter of time.  For the longest time, we couldn't get Molly to swing in a regular swing, but now she swings all the time.  I know the trampoline will be the same way.  Once she feels comfortable, she'll do it and she'll love it.

In the meantime, she enjoys practicing her jumping skills on the ground.  :-)