24 weeks and counting...

Well here I am at 24 weeks and can I just say that I feel awesome! This has been by far my best pregnancy ever! I'm pretty sure it's because I have still been going to the gym 5 times a week, every week, throughout this entire pregnancy. I am so lucky to have two gym buddies, Claire and Sherry that keep me going. I drive every morning, so I know that if I don't get up and go, they'll be standing at their doors waiting for me to come. That is major motivation for getting up at 5:30 every day. Some of the positive effects exercising is that I have had virtually no heartburn. With the other three pregnancies, I ate at least two bottles of Tums each. I also haven't had those yucky pains down the back of my leg. (I don't know what it's called but something about a nerve that gets pinched or something. I had that with Mason.) I also have had good energy to keep doing all my daily things and work and stuff. I still take naps as often as I can though. Another good thing is that I am having awesome dreams at night. They are the weird, fun ones that make you think about them through the day and they make you smile. (And some are those really fun dreams, if you know what I mean!)
Anyway, I am loving being pregnant for what I think is the last time. I am trying to enjoy it and savor every kick and movement inside me.
Oh, I think we have also picked a name for him...
Miles Miller Harker
Mike has liked the name Miles for a while and it is gradually growing on me (especially when I've looked on line and all the other M names are stuff like Melvin or Mo) So our options were limited and so Miles it is. Miller is my maiden name and I just wanted to use it somehow.
I've already been going through all the baby clothes, blankets, bibs, burp cloths, towels, bottles and other baby items I have. I think Miles already has pretty much everything he needs, except socks. For some reason, I have no baby socks. Weird! I've already set up the crib too. So now we just wait.

Pickiest Eater on the Planet!

How Max survives, I will never know. This is his "I hate chicken and I don't want to try chicken,and you can't make me like chicken" face. Tonight I made Shake and Bake chicken with some Rice-A-Roni (about as home cooked of a meal as I ever get) Mitchel loved it, Mike loved it, even Mason ate all of his, but Max didn't even want to touch it! Finally I told him he couldn't watch a movie we rented until he had at least one bite. You would have thought I asked him to eat a cockroach! But he finally got it down all the while making this face. I can name about five things that Max will consistantly eat: Pop Tarts, Potato Chips, Waffles, Black Olives, and Noodles. That is it, Seriously! (Oh yeah, Fruit Snacks too.) It is amazing that he has energy to do anything. I keep thinking that one day I'll look back on the days when I couldn't get him to eat anything and wish I had those days back, because I'll bet you a million dollars as a teenager, he'll be eating me out of house and home!

My thoughts on never having a girl

So, I honestly have only been really excited and grateful since we found out we were having a boy. But just today, while I was standing in the shower, I started thinking of all the things I'll never experience or have to do since I won't have any daughters. I thought I would make a list, and those of you that have girls can add to it if you want.

I'll probably never have anything pink in my house. (when Max had to take something to preschool that was pink, the only thing we could find was a piece of pink cardstock)

I'll never have to put bows in anyone's hair.

I'll never have to buy a training bra.

I'll never buy a princess costume for Halloween.

I'll never have a "Daddy's Girl."

I'll never have to run around Disneyland getting the autographs of all the princesses.

I'll never have to buy special hair products or make-up for anyone but myself.

I'll never have to look for a buy a prom dress.

I'll never have to watch "Dora the Exporer"

I'll never have to buy anyone jewlery.

I'll never get to plan a wedding (unless one of my future daughter-in-laws lets me.)

I'll never have to worry about anyone else having a "period" except for me.

I'll never have to worry about hurt feelings when she doesn't get asked to a dance.

I'll never have to go to a ballet recital, dance class, or worry about trying out for cheerleader. (At least I don't think I will)

I'll never have to buy a frilly dress.

I'll never have a tea party.

I'll never paint anyone's toenails and fingernails but my own.

I'll never pay tons of money for a perm or hair extensions or what ever else is popular to do to your hair at the time.

I'll never have someone who actually likes going shopping for home decor items with me. (At least I know now my older two boys hate it)

I won't have to worry about camping somewhere close to a bathroom. We can really rough it now! (I've learned to squat pretty well in the last few summers)

I'll get one night all to myself every year when the boys go to "Father and Sons."

I'll never get to use this blessing dress that I bought before Mason was born when I was sure that he was a girl.

So for the most part, I am grateful I'll never have to do some of those things (the prom dresses) and some I'm a little sad (the wedding) but that's the way it goes. Let me know about the other stuff I'll be missing that I probably don't even know about.

Awesome 32nd Birthday!

Unlike some adults, I absolutely love my birthday. I think it's because my Mom always made our birthdays special growing up, so it never occurred to me to stop making them special. Well, this one was really cool because I turned it into a whole birthday weekend. It started on Thursday night when my sister Tracy had gotten some tickets to the "Executive Suite" at the Jazz game. This is the one suite where they serve you a huge buffet dinner including shrimp, salads, fruit, prime rib, soup, potatoes, and crab legs. Then at half time you can choose from about 7 different desserts. Plus you get all the drinks you want. She had to take a client too, but I was lucky enough to be her "date". Then on Friday night, Mike and I went out for a date of our own. We had dinner at the "Macaroni Grill." (One of my favorite places.) While we were waiting for our table, we went over to a book store to look at "M" baby names. Not much luck there, but we'll keep looking.

While we were out at dinner, my Mom and Dad were watching our kids. Mitchel explained to Grandma that their Play Station had been in time out for a while because the toy room was so messy and they hadn't cleaned it up when I asked them to. So my Mom and Dad brought them back to my house and helped them clean up the whole room! So when we picked the kids up that night and were driving home Mitchel said, "When we get home, will you come downstairs for a minute?" And I said, "Why?" And then Max said, "Because maybe there will be a miracle." So when I came home and went downstairs, it was a miracle. The toy room looked great. My boys were so excited to show me and were jumping up and down with huge grins on their faces. It was such an awesome surprise and one of the best presents ever. So thanks boys (and especially Grandma and Grandpa!)Then on Sunday night, my Mom had a birthday dinner for me at her house with the rest of the family. Even Max and Pat Harker were there. It was really fun to have everyone together. (See I told you my Mom makes a big deal out of our birthdays!)

Monday of course was my real birthday, so I decided to get a substitute and take the day off work. Mason and I went shopping for a new shirt and had a bagel breakfast at Einsteins together while Max and Mitchel were in school. Then Mike met us at Marie Calenders for lunch. By then it was time to go to the doctor's office for the ultrasound (you already know how that turned out!) When I got home from the doctor's, there was this huge balloon bouquet tied onto my front door. Tracy had come over and put it there to congratulate me on my fourth boy. That was awesome! (She was really hoping I was having a girl, so she was a little disappointed.)

That night, we went as a family to a place called "Jumping Jacks." There are a bunch of bounce houses and slides and stuff. We had a blast and Mitchel and Max were sweating buckets by the time we were done.

So here I am now at 32 and honestly I have to say that I have the best life ever! I am so blessed and have so many wonderful and amazing people in my life. I love that I am a Mom to three of the most awesome and fun boys on this planet and I can't wait to add one more. I am so grateful for Mike and how he loves me and shows it in so many ways. I love my calling in the Young Womens and feel like they are my "adopted" daughters. I love my job and am grateful that I've had the opportunity to teach this year. I love my ward and the great friends I have in it. I love that I live close to my family. I feel like my testimony and faith have grown so much stronger this past year and I know that Heavenly Father is watching out for me all the time. I am so grateful for all of you and I can't wait to see what this next year in my life brings!

The Big News

Okay, so I'll post the most important thing today and then I'll blog about my fun birthday weekend later. So the newest addition to the Harker family will be a .......

BOY! Thats right. One more tall, dark, and handsome Harker boy will be coming to earth. I seriously am so excited. I think I've pretty much known this whole pregnancy that it would be a boy and so it was welcome news. He is also very healthy and everything they checked looked really good. So now let the naming begin. We think we are going to try to stick to the "M" names but we are having a hard time finding any that I would actually name my kid. So if you have any suggestions, feel free to share!

Tomorrow is the Big Day!

So here I am at five months pregnant and I am so excited for tomorrow! I get to have my ultasound to find out if our last addition will be a boy or a girl. Tomorrow is also my birthday which makes it all even better! So I will post tomorrow about my fun birthday weekend and I'll let you in on the sex of my (our) baby. Fun stuff and I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Super Bowl Sunday

Okay really, does anyone care about the Super Bowl? I could honestly care less about the game, but one thing I do love is the food. And something that my family knows how to do well when we get together is food! Let me just give you a list of all the yummy things we snacked on during the game: pastrami sandwiches, vegi tray, chips and dip, jello squares, meatballs, brownies, rice krispi treats, fruit pizza, popcorn, and lots of soda pop. (Why do I love Coke so much?!) Fabulous! For once I actually enjoyed watching the game as well. We were hoping for the Cardinals to win (only because they were the underdogs) but oh well. It was fun to get together with my family anyway. Our favorite commercial was the 3D one. Mitchel especially thought that was AWESOME! Don't we look cool in our 3D glasses. So thanks Tracy for hosting another great Miller Time! Your house is the best to party at! This is the fruit pizza that Brenda made. It has a huge sugar cookie on bottom, then a layer of cream cheese yummy stuff, then all that fresh fruit . It looked too pretty to eat, but of course I did anyway and I LOVED it!
Mason could eat jello squares all day long. Good snack idea Mom!

Grandma is really good at keeping the kids entertained. This is some UNO game that is played like Jenga. Mostly the kids just wanted to knock down the tower.