Six Months!

3 months to go! I love feeling the baby move and so does Brent and Danielle. Hannah has yet to feel the kicks and rolls and it makes her so mad! The baby does move around alot enough to make my whole belly move. Sometimes it feels like she's dancing inside because I will feel her top to bottom and side to side all at the same time. I am also experiencing some sciatic nerve pain already which started much earlier this time around but I'm seeing a massage therapist who helps me with some stretching to aleviate some of the pain. Everyone tells me how cute I look right now but WATCH OUT, I'm going to balloon here at any moment! I've gained 10 pounds already and with the other girls I didn't put on any weight until the last trimester. But then again, this pregnancy has been completely different from the others. I feel as though my body has been taken over but I'm trying to enjoy every moment!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

...Minus the Snow! The girls have been begging for a blow-up Christmas decoration to put out in our yard so I found this one and we LOVE it! Since we live on a corner lot everyone who drives by gets to see it! I hope they all are reminded of the true meaning of Christmas and it's nice to reflect what is in our hearts in our Christmas decor!


Hannah (9) found out about Santa this year but is being so wonderful about playing along. Our neighborhood had a Christmas party and had Santa come visit. She even sat on his lap and told him what she wanted...a dog!


Danielle sat on Santa's lap too even though she knows this isn't the "real" Santa. She believes Santa is at the North Pole getting ready for Christmas Eve and that these "dressed up" Santa's are only his helpers. She asked for a dog too...Sorry girls, we are getting a baby this year.


This picture was taken before we left to go to Brent's work Christmas party and we had to dress up. Aren't we a handsome couple? It was an adventure trying to find a modest maternity dress that would be appropriate for this occassion. I finally found this one and I felt so beautiful in it! (even with my growing tummy!) It was pricey and I have only worn it twice but it was worth it! I wish I could wear it everyday!

Baby number three is.......

A GIRL!!!!!!! We are loving the thought of ALL girls! When we were told we were having a girl, every desire of having a boy disappeared! We already know what to do with girls and I have to say we make pretty cute ones at that! Lucky for Brent, he will have four women who LOVE him more than anyone and four women who will happily spend his money! We are very excited to have her come...now for some shopping!

CLOSE CALL!!!

On Tuesday, I had been out all day and came home for about an hour in time for my girls to get home from school, eat a snack, and then take Hannah to piano lessons. About 5 minutes before we were to leave the house, I started smelling gas or something that may be burning. I knew it was in my kitchen but I couldn't figure out what it was. I checked EVERYTHING! I started to worry knowing I was leaving the house and because I was breathing in something that I knew was bad for the baby, me, and the girls. I sent the girls out to the car to wait while I called Brent. While I was on the phone I started to see smoke coming from behind the refrigerator! I heard sizzling coming from the bottom of the refrigerator so Brent told me I needed to pull it out to see what it was. This was not easy in my condition! But I did it. I couldn't see anything so I finally unplugged it and the sizzling stopped but the smoke kept coming! I called My friend Rene, she came right over to help and within minutes, another friends husband knocked on my door saying he heard we needed help!(I had called his wife too!) He found we had an electrical fire in the bottom of the refrigerator! Some of the insulation was burned and we think the compressor was what was burning. I was heartsick knowing I had just stocked my freezer and refrigerator and it was all going to go to waste. Ben and Rene were nice enough to take the majority of the food and store it at their homes for me. What a blessing! We aren't sure if it can be fixed or if we will need to get a new one! I didn't realize just how much I depend on my refrigerator and how much I use it until now! I feel like the kitchen has been shut down and am limited as to what I can make. To top it all off we were having family come stay that evening and for the remainder of this week. Sorry guys! Another aspect of all this was that I was so panicked that I was crying and didn't know quite what to do, I often went to call for help but couldn't find my cell phone. After I had calmed down and I got my brain working again, I realized it was in my pocket the whole time! This could have all taken place while I was gone and then my home would have had serious damage, possibly caught fire! One of the thoughts I had through all this and the potential harm that could have been done was that all the Christmas presents I had just bought could have been lost and a friend of mine had just dropped off a Christmas gift for her daughter for "safe keeping" maybe 45 minutes earlier and that that gift could have been lost too! But, the greatest blessing of all is this: The Lord is always here to help, guide, and protect me! Sometimes I don't realize it as I should but this time I really felt him there with me and that he made sure everyone and everything was safe. I got the help I needed, just everything fell into place and all is good now. Needless to say, Hannah didn't make it to her piano lessons and that's OK!

Gavin Patrick Cronin

This little guy is my newest nephew. He arrived yesterday, the 23rd of November weighing in at 7 lbs. 7 oz. He is such a cutie and looks like Sarah did when she was a baby! He certainly does take after our side of the family with that perfect little head and cute features. Good work Sarah and Ryan! His aunt Laura loves him already. Now I can put his cute face with those adorable little noises I heard over the phone yesterday. How I wish you didn't live so far away!

Halloween 2009

Baker & McKenzie had a Family Halloween party and this was part of the decorations there in the hallway. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this but at the same time was kind of sad. I think it represents exactly how much time these Attorneys are spending at the office. I joked with Brent that this is how he was going to look when he died. Doesn't seem too funny now! On average (since July of this year) Brent bills over 250 hours a month. Before this summer his goal was to bill 170 hours a month...needless to say, we don't get to see much of him!

The Girls LOVED going to Brent's office! They didn't want to leave! He does have a pretty cool view from his window of one of the skyscrapers in Dallas. It was even cooler at night when all the lights were on!

Hannah and Danielle OR ("Pippi Longstocking" and "Super Girl")had three night's of trick-or-treating! First night at Brent's office, second night at our ward's Halloween/trunk or treat and then of course Halloween night in our fabulous neighborhood! We have candy coming out our ears! By the way, these boots Danielle is wearing caused an awful lot of tears and frustration, I'm so glad Halloween is over and this costume will never be worn again...at least not by this child!

Brent and I don't usually dress up but I convinced Brent into it just this once!

Since we are having a baby I wanted to highlight the fact.

We got a lot of good laughs and we even shocked a few people!

"The Bun Maker" and "The Bun in the Oven"!

Good Times!

Poor Danielle!

Poor Danielle! Yesterday I took her into the Dr. thinking she had a bad cold and maybe needed a breathing treatment. She was complaining that her chest was hurting and that her throat hurt when she coughed. When we got there she was tested for strep throat and also the flu. Tests came back positive for Type A flu which is well knows as "Swine Flu". I've been dreading this illness mainly because I've heard terrible things about it and MY child now has it, and with her asthma it really can do a number on her. Luckily we were able to catch it early and she is on Tamiflu. With me being pregnant the Dr's were concerned about me enough to put me on Tamiflu as well even though I am not having any symptoms. It would be very bad if I were to get it. I am very conscious of what I touch and my hands are drying out so much from washing them that they hurt. Anyway, it has been really nice to have Danielle home with me for these past few days. It feels good to have her around, I wish I could hug her and kiss her! She told me that she is happy I can stay at home and take care of her when she's sick instead of needing to go to work. I feel very blessed that I can stay home and care for the kids when they need me the most! I don't see how Moms who do work can do it all! Thanks Brent for allowing me this privilege!