Still here....

Yes, the Gebs are still alive... barely. I've missed blogging and finally decided to sit down today to do a few posts. I'm not going to even try and play catch-up, but there were a few things that were important to me to share. Suffice it to say that since my last post we had Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Valetine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Spring Break - all of which were great. Kids got sick, kids got better, we had fun nights and hard nights. We've done lots with great friends and our loving family and had many nights with just us. AND I'm pregnant. This pregnancy has been difficult, but I'm almost done. I have very little energy and so this past few hours have been really wonderful for me. I think I will have to blog and scrapbook more towards the end of this pregnancy because it offers a GREAT disctraction, requires very little energy but also makes me feel productive and happy. So hopefully you'll be seeing more of the Gebs' before life gets turned upside down by our 5th child!

Hooray for visitors!

In February Shane's youngest sister came to visit. It had been a LONG time since we had seen her family and so we were really excited they came to stay for a few days. We were worried the weather and our kids being sick might keep them away, but the kids started feeling better, and the weather ended up being fine! Hooray! We headed down to Colorado Springs and toured some caves and Garden of the Gods. I really really liked Garden of the Gods and can't wait to go again. We hung out at home Sunday and then went to the zoo Monday. They are such a great family and their boys are hilarious so we really had a lot of fun with them! Plus we've been such party poopers that if any family wants to see us they've had to come here. I can't wait to feel like going out and traveling again after this munchkin is born. :)

Cave of the Winds (lots of fun, but kindof expensive and long for Sophie)

just the boys

the whole crew

1st Grade Showcase

Lindsay had her 1st grade showcase, "Once Upon a Time". She was SO excited for this day. She picked out her very best dress and was feeling very confident about how pretty she looked. After getting ready she was coming downstairs and I started to announce, "Here comes the..." she stopped me here and inserted, "the most beautiful girl in the world!" Another cute comment she made was, "Mom, I don't think my friends will even know what to say when they see me in this beautiful dress!" I have NEVER seen a child get so excited about something. She did a great job. She was always paying attention and seemed to know most of the words and all of the actions. We went out for ice-cream after. Sometimes I feel like she gets a little overlooked and so it was fun to have a night so special to her.

Everyone got a chance to quickly wave hello to their families. Lindsay is the very last person on the right side of the second row.

One of her special parts was doing the "boomwhacker" She did a great job. One of the only kids who actually stayed on beat more than half the time.

2!

On April 6th of this year Sophie turned two! Grandma and Aunt Stephanie came for a visit right before her birthday so she was able to have a birthday party and really got the feel of opening presents and eating cake.

When I presented her with her cupcake at her first party I asked Shane, "Do you think she'll even know what to do with the candles?" Boy did she ever! She blew them out about 3 times before we could even finish the song! Blowing out candles is one of our kids

favorite things so we put candles in everything on their birthdays.... the cake, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

She's such a sweet girl with so many little quirks that make her one of the funniest members of our family.

She says "really" in front of everything!

"Mom, I rewee hungdee (hungry)" ( I hear this particular one 10 times a

day)

"Mom, I rewee owie."

"Mom, I rewee done."

"Mom, I jump rewee high!"

"Mom, I rewee tied (tired)"

I'm not sure how long it will last, but I "really" like it!

She loves getting her back, legs and arms scratched. When we scratch her arms and stop doing one, she holds up the other one for us to do. Then if we stop with that one, she holds up her other. If I stop scratching her back before she's ready she looks and me, "Mom." she says simply and stretches her hand on her back to let me know I need to keep going. This little quirk can come in handy. Like when she starts throwing tantrums in church. We can get them to stop pretty quickly if we just start scratchin' away!

She loves loves loves the iPad. She calls it "mypad" and she can get it away from anyone! Brandon doesn't even stand a chance with it if she's in the room. If someone else wants a turn she better either be in bed or they better take it up to their room and shu

t the door to play with it in peace. It's amazing to me how well she can get around on that thing too! But she gets frustrated when she slides her fingers across the computer or my phone and nothing happens. It's funny!

Just about a month before turning two she finally started talking and ever since then has been talking more and more and more. Her vocabulary is really expanding and just yesterday she saw a piece of sidewalk chalk and told me it was "blue". It really surprised me and I think it was an accident since she hasn't gotten the color right since, but the fact that she's even thinking about colors is encouraging.

Some of her favorites include:

FOOD: yogurt, mandarin oranges, fruit snacks, and anything with peanut butter

DORA: she loves Dora. She has a Dora book, doll and bathtub toy that she gets so excited over every time she sees them

FAMILY: she adores her brothers and sister. She's always tackling them to give them kisses and hugs. She knows where everyone is all the time. "Sophie, where's dad?" "Work." "Where's Logan?" "Dansars (downstairs)" And every morning she gives Brandon and Lindsay a hug and kiss and yells good-bye to them as they ride away to school.

SIPPY CUP: We have let her have this bad habit of a sippy in bed. She loves her cup so much she gives it a hug every time she gets it.

SINGING and DANCING: Popcorn Popping, I am a Child of God and The Itsy Bitsy Spider top the list for songs she likes to sing. She loves dancing to the soundtrack of Tangled, but I've never seen a girl get so excited over a song as she does for "Rolling in the Deep" and "Rumor Has It" by Adele.

TRAMPOLINE: she loves being out on the tramp. "Mom, I jump rewee high?" is how she asks to go outside.

Shane and I both agree that we've seen her mature very quickly this last month. She doesn't cry as much, she does more things on her own and she's much happier. It couldn't have come sooner. I think Heavenly Father is blessing us as we get ready for her new little brother or sister. I don't know how much she knows about a new baby coming to our family, but my stresses about how she's going to handle the change are much less than they were about 3 months ago when we were really struggling with her behavior. We're very grateful for this sweet daughter of God and love her to pieces.