Garrett Douglass Ball

Born at 12:18 am on October 24th, 2008.

7 lbs. 8oz.

21 inches long

(More details to come but I thought you might want to see some pictures. Can you tell Parker is a proud big brother?)

TOMORROW!!!

My Dad and I comparing "bellies." I think I win!

Tomorrow is the BIG day. I am scheduled to be induced in the morning but there is a chance it will be post-poned if the hospital is too busy. I am both SO nervous and SO excited all at the same time. I think everything is ready to go, so wish me LUCK!

Is it really that time of year already?

This is what we woke up to this morning. Compared to the storms we will have in the future this is nothing at all, but it is mid-October! The snow is fun now because we know in about a week it will be warmer again.



This is a summer blooming flower in our front yard....apparently it is a little confused.

Belly picture, as promised. Ignore my somber face. Brad waited for-ev-er in between each click while taking my picture so I didn't really know when to smile. This was taken about a week ago. I feel like my belly has grown even more since then. Have I mentioned I am ready to be done being pregnant? I am so grateful for the bond that pregnancy brings between me and my children (oh wow, that is the first time I have said "children" and not just "child") but I am ready to NOT have another human taking over my body anymore. I already love Garrett so much, I can't wait to hold him and kiss his little toes.

OK, I couldn't resist. Parker was having fun striking poses for me before church this morning.

Perfect Moment

I put Parker to bed tonight and like always he asked me to snuggle with him a little longer. I told him I would go get Daddy and he could snuggle with him instead. A few minutes later Brad and I got distracted and we heard him call out from his room.."Daddy.......Daddy......" So Brad went in as I had promised and he laid down in Parkers bed. Brad whispered to Parker asking him to hold his hand, which he then did. Parker then took his available hand to softly rub Daddy's hand. Thinking that the moment couldn't get any sweeter than this with his 2 year old son he asked "Parker, what is your favorite thing that Daddy does?" He thought about it for a minute and slowly said in his sweet little innocent voice "Daddy loves Parker's Mommy." Priceless.

OK OK... I get the hint!

Wow, I never thought I would be "that" blogger than didn't post anything for 2 months. Well, I guess I am. Many of you have given up on me so I don't blame you if it takes a month for you to even notice that I am updating things. Here is what has been going on since the last post.

1. Brad turned 28. For the first time in my whole life, I planned a surprise party. It was a success. We had many of our close friends from in and outside our neighborhood and Bonnie/Mike's family. Our good friend Stacey babysat Parker while Brad and I went to the Cheesecake factory ALONE! That was a treat all by itself. I was so nervous he would suspect things, but everyone was so great helping getting everything set and ready while we were gone. Thanks again! Brad really was surprised and he felt so loved.

2. Parker and I went to CA to visit with his Great Grandma (GG) while she had some alone time in the house before my parents got home from their mission. Traveling pregnant, alone with a 2 year old is not recommeded. Getting on the plane on time was seriously like that airport scene from Home Alone. Once the luggage was checked I had to get myself, Parker , a stroller, a back pack and a car seat on the plane with out any help. NEVER AGAIN! Luckily once we got on the plane he was pretty much an angel. So, Heather and Brandon Stewart picked me up from the Long Beach airport (thank you by the way) and to put icing on the cake from the whole traveling experience...I was pushing the stroller with Parkers big carseat resting on it while Parker sat in the car seat. We all "thought" it was secure until Parker took a face plant on the asphalt in the parking lot leaving a nice bruise on his forehead, a scratched up nose and a bloody chin. Oh yeah, to make things worse, I left the camera in Bonnie's car when she dropped me off at the airport. I felt so sad that I couldn't take any pictures of our 10 day trip.

On a VERY positive note. We had a great time while we were there. We ate at In N Out, El Torito, and El Pollo Loco. Spent lots of fun times with Heather and her family. Heather did take one picture while we were there. Maybe she can send it to me so I have something from that trip. hint hint Vanessa from the 1st ward was so great and let us hang out with her and play with all of Sam's toys. Parker would have been bored out of his mind with out those toys. THANK YOU!

Parker and I had such a wonderful time spending so many quality moments with GG. First thing every morning Parker wanted to go into GG's room to see her and play with her and get a jelly bean of course. He instantly fell in love with GG, (who wouldn't though). 2 months later he is still talking about GG. One of GG's favorite things was when she showed parker a Book of Mormom and asked what it was and his response was "Book of Morning." She said "well, I guess I DO read it in the morning most of the time. She would ask him this question multiple times a day and it never got old. Honestly, he is too cute. I know I am forgetting so many details, but we had such a great time and miss seeing GG every morning.

3. Next in events was on the 12th of September my parents came home from their mission. We didn't get to see them until the 26th. I have not been in "photo" mode so this is the only picture I got while they were here. I promise to get more when they come to visit when Garrett is born. we love you and we are so glad you are home. Parker misses his Grammie and Grandpa. He asks about them all the time.

4. Last thing is about ME. I am doing pretty great considering I only have a little under 3 weeks until I am induced. My doctor is awesome and scheduled me to be induced on the 23rd which is 5 days before my due date. I am ready to get Garrett out of me. I am running out of room for him. Is my belly big? Yes. Where is a belly picture then? Coming soon, I promise. Are you nesting? Big time. Is Parker excited for a little brother? I am not sure, but he sure does talk about Garrett all the time. Am I ready for Garrett? I am so nervous to be a mom of two kids and I don't know how I"ll handle it, but I do know I WANT HIM OUT. Any middle names? not yet.. any good ideas?

CAMPING near Bear Lake!

***DISCLAIMER: I can not take credit for that new picture of Parker at the top of our blog. Our friend Peter Loosli took it today while we were visiting with their family. Check out his site...www.looslitaken.com***

We just got back from a 4 day camping trip at St. Charles Campground with most of Brad's family and our friends Calvin and Julie. We had a great time and can't wait to do it again. Camping pregnant? Yes, I did and it really wasn't much different than camping not pregnant cause we had a nice comfy air mattress. There were swarms of mosquitos everywhere and I seemed to be the only one to be full on attacked with bites. Brad had 1 bite, Parker had zero and I walked about with about 40! Lucky me, maybe they are attracted to pregant blood or something.
Brad is making a weird face, but I had to post this cause it is Parker's first official pair of bunny ears in a photo. I didn't even notice Brad was doing it until I downloaded all the pictures to the computer. Silly Guy.
I cropped Brad and I out of this picture so you could see Parker up close. Irresistable! CAUTION: Child in picture is not as innocent as he appears.

I honestly LOVED Bear Lake. There weren't any mosquitos there at all. It had sandy beaches perfect for children. The water is super shallow at the beach and takes a while to get deep so I could just sit on the shore and watch Parker play with out any worries.
This is what Parker does when I tell him to smile.
Nothing sexier than a man in waders. Give me a piece of that. OK, maybe not so sexy but Brad had such a great time fishing in the little river at our campsite. He caught a good amount of fish and enjoyed spending time with his brother, Dad and his friend Calvin(the one in the picture).

Also, while we were there, all the women threw me a little baby shower. They gave me some more maternity clothes (which I really needed) and a few outfits for Garrett. This was such a nice surprise. It made me feel so loved. Thank you so much Allison for thinking of it.

Wheeler Farm

Here is the photo I promised.
Brad had a whole entire day off of work so we thought we would do something a little different from our everyday life. We went with our friends the Loosli's to Wheeler Farm. It is such a great place for picnics and to see all kinds of animals. While there Parker was able to feed ducks, geese and a donkey AND he was able to see real live cows, horses, pigs, chickens and turkeys. He had such a great time impressing everyone with his animal noises. We will have to go back there again sometime soon, maybe when it isn't over 90 degrees outside. Honestly, if you ever come to visit us we will have to take you. There were old barns and houses through out the property and antique farm equipment all over the place. I know that doesn't sound TOO exciting, but it really does make a fun afternoon with plenty of room to run around. Plus....its Free. You can't beat that.