My favorite boys...

A few years older...

a few inches taller...

the same playful spirit...

the same big heart...


and always my favorite boys...

The perfect Sunday afternoon.

He's a baller!

A few months ago our playgroup had a "preschool PE" class and Raegen LOVED it! He enrolled in the TOT program shortly after and now has weekly practice every Monday. He LOVES the program and his coach!! I think it's safe to say the feeling is mutual and Coach is always bragging on how well Raegen can handle the ball.

Well, last Friday he got to show off his skills to a packed house...

There were no assigned "spots" on the court so I tried to "coach" him to go to the VERY FRONT!!!! but I failed miserably...as you can see below, he was on the very LAST row!!

I was so sad. There will be another performance in May so I've got five months to "train" him. ha

He did such a great job {despite being on the back row} and I know I looked like a crazy momma because I was taking pics with my DSLR, iPhone, AND recording with my Canon camcorder!!!
My parents were able to make it to the exhibition as well as a LOT of our friends that love Raegen like family. He was so excited to have his own "fan club". ;)

Mom and Dad enjoyed watching Raegen perform, but they also REALLY enjoyed watching our little baller "Colt 45" play. {Colt got to watch Raegen's performance too!!}

There were so many people that came to support Raegen and we are so very thankful.

If you missed it, mark your calendars for MAY because he'll perform again...it will be a FORTY-FIVE minute show!!

I'm so proud of him and the dedication he has to practicing. In fact, it's {sadly} more often than not that I "hide" his ball because he's driving me crazy with all the {bouncy, bouncy, BOUNCY!!!} practicing! It's quite impressive for a three {almost four} year old.

20 weeks...chuggin' along

First, a look back...

THEN

and THEN again...

and NOW!

OH my babies.

We always keep our lips sealed for the first 12, 13, and in this case almost 16 weeks, so the first 20 weeks really does fly by for me. This is such a good stage because I'm past all the morning sickness, extreme fatigue, and unneccessary worry and I'm not to the uncomfortableness, unbearable sour stomach, and inability to roll over in bed without help just yet. ha!!

Baby girl is like her brothers and is on the move at all times. I felt her for the first time at 14 weeks. I was in the church nursery rocking Lynden to sleep and it's as if she was kicking him and saying, "Get off me!!" haha It felt like she kicked three times, waited a few seconds, and did it all over again. It was so hard to not scream out,

"I just felt my baby kick for the first time!!!"

With Raegen I was almost 21 weeks before I felt him move {also in church...I looked over at Billy and whispered, "I just felt the baby move!" and he mumbled something about how I needed to be paying attention to the sermon...oops} and with Lynden I was 16 weeks.

I am feeling good and in the mood to tackle some projects that have been on the back burner.

A friend has given me a GORG!!! bedding set for our baby girl {in the event she doesn't turn into a boy} and I am sooo anxious to get started on a nursery!! BUT, we are in the process of building so that really throws a wrench in my plans. ha So, I'm busy dreaming up wonderful ideas for a baby girl nursery. We should break ground next week and if all goes according to plan, and you know how plans are!, we should be in our new home just in time for baby to arrive. And keep in mind, I likely have 22 or 24 weeks of pregnancy left...{maybe more!} ;)

And the winner is...

the Little Rock Express!!!

Woohoo!!


My boys {and maybe newborn sister} get to see the great steam engine once again!!

a BIG THANK YOU to all who voted...over, and over, and over... ;)

Survey says...

I had my 18wk 5day {haha} ultrasound yesterday. Here the boys and I are just moments before we learned the big news...

and just after with the hubs and my dad.

The pollsters predicted a girl and they were correct!! It's a future of pink for the Stain fam. I immediately sent a text out to everyone in my phone that read, "Survey says: "it's a GIRL!" I should have chosen different words because I confused a few folks with my "blog poll/survey". ha They thought I was simply sending out results from that...not the "OFFICIAL" results. ;)

The US tech was REALLY sweet and certainly took her time, but it was just her second day at the clinic and she was VERY nervous!! When we had the boy's ultrasounds it was VERY apparent they were boys and I expected the same with yesterday's US. However, the tech would only say

"possible girl"

and

"I'm never wrong and it appears to be a girl, but save your receipts"

WHAT?

I NEED to know!!

haha

There are sooo many decisions to be made. There was nothing blocking the view and it certainly "appears" to be a girl, but she would not confirm with 100% confidence that it is indeed a girl. She said she was 80% sure. {Because there is ALWAYS a chance that a boy could be laying a certain way and give the illusion of girl parts, the tech didn't want to say 100% either way. But the three "lines" that they look for to determine if it's a girl, were there. So, it's a girl...

with a 20% chance it's a boy. haha}

My doc was a little disappointed as well and said that next month, if possible, he'll send me down to see the "tried and true" US tech that's been there for years for a second opinion.

Although, in his opinion, it's a girl as well!

So, IT'S A GIRL!!

{for now...}

And Billy won't play the name game with me. boo. So there's really nothing else to report.
And he won't tell me when he will be willing to discuss names so blah, blah, blah...

But because I had Gymbucks I HAD to spend, I went ahead and bought Miss ? some super cute outfits for next winter. And I spent almost all night yesterday and all day today browsing the internets for adorable baby girl clothing. LOVE!!!

{I need a job...correction, I need a job that pays!! haha}

Silhouette Sass ;)

I just entered to win a Silhouette cutter @ House of Smith's!

Check out how @ House of Smith's!!

Two cute!!

The boys attended a birthday party for their buddy, Hayden, yesterday. He was celebrating turning two years old.

He had a "Radio Flyer" wagon theme that was TWO cute!!! His momma made the cutest invitations, cake...

centerpieces...

and party favors!!!

It was all so sweet. Raegen got to see some of his buddies he doesn't see often enough and of course got a good dose of sugar! ;)

Did you notice Hayden's t-shirt? Adorable!!

I need his momma to come plan the two birthday parties that are soon approaching for my boys!

There was even a backdrop set up for taking pictures. Lynden LOVES wagons so he was more than okay with posing for a pic.

Of all the fun activities set up, the kids preferred instead to pull each other around in Hayden's new wagon.

Fun times with good friends.

I need your help friends!!!

TWO things:
Numero Uno: Union Pacific is letting US!! {the people} vote for our favorite steam engine route. WE get to tell it where to go and YOU WANT IT TO COME TO ARKANSAS!!!! I know you do. Remember when my boys got to see it last year, here and again HERE!! Please vote! You can vote once a day until voting closes. Arkansas was in first place yesterday, but we've dropped to second. Do you really want to see a grown girl cry?! {The answer is no. It's quite ugly.} You can click the above link {Union Pacific banner at the top of the screen} to vote or you can click this link: http://x.up.com/40270 to vote.

You will be asked to give your email address, your first name, and a screen name. VERY SIMPLE!! You will then be sent an email to your inbox for you to verify your email address. They're just trying to prevent spam. So, simply check your email and click on the link they send you. Once your email is verified, your vote counts!!! And then you can vote EVERY DAY until voting closes!! YAY!!!! Thank you my friends. ;) My boys will LOVE seeing the steam engine again.

Numero Dos: Back by popular demand...the baby poll!! Do you think baby #3 will be another precious boy or a sweet little girl? I have added a poll to the top of my blog {just under the Union Pacific banner}. Please vote only once. ;) Voting will close Monday, January 17th at 1:30 p.m. because THAT'S WHEN WE FIND OUT IF WE'RE HAVING A BOY OR A GIRL!!!!

Gut feeling? Well, it just seems "natural" to have another boy so that's what I feel like we'll have. We have all the boy toys and boy clothes {well, except for the infant boy clothes through size 6 months. Yes, I REALLY thought we were DONE {stick a fork in me D.O.N.E.!!} so I gave away ALL of Lynden's baby clothes through six months. Seriously.} haha So, the baby will not have anything to wear until six months of age and then it will be all boy clothes so it just makes sense to have another boy. ;)

On the other hand, because I feel that way, I almost feel like it will be a girl!! haha Now, my family says "girl" because that's what they WANT! But I'm not really sure if that's what they really feel I'm going to have...they said the same thing about Lynden and he's very much a boy!

I have had no dreams like I did with Raegen and this has been a very mild pregnancy, very similar to Raegen's. So....what do you think? Go vote! :)

The Country's Best Yogurt!!

Today our playgroup toured TCBY and Subway!! It was a YUMMY for our tummy time! The kids got to go behind the counter and into the back room to see all the stock and take a tour of the walk-in freezer!

They also put on a pair of gloves and made their own sandwich!

ham, cheese, and mayo...so predictable

It was a bit early for lunch, but the kids didn't mind!

Lynden shared a bite or two with Raegen. ;)

The kids ALSO got to pick a flavor of ice cream or soft yogurt and were given a BIG scoop.

I was hoping Raegen would choose the strawberry, but once he saw the rainbow explosion there was no wavering!

It stained his mouth, hands, and clothes!! ha I had a complete lapse in judgment when I let him choose, but it all washes away with soap and water so it's not that big of deal {I keep telling myself}...

Our playgroup is so BIG we split into two groups of fifteen so we wouldn't overwhelm the SUPER nice workers. Kibs and baby J were in the second group...

As were our little arrow friends...

To ease the congestion our group moved on to the sports center in town and let the kids run free!!

When the other group finished up, they joined us as well. There was lots of fun to be had with balls and this parachute...

I always enjoy playgroup and it's so much fun to get to know the other moms. With baby #3 on the way, I'm sure we'll be participating in playgroup for quite a bit longer!!!