Here are a few random pictures of Ethan playing around at the Treehouse Museum in Ogden and with our cat Gob! Ethan loves animals of all kinds and luckily our cat Gob (pronounced Jobe) is really mellow and really likes kids. He lets Ethan pet him and hold him, he's actually more like a little dog! It's nice because Ethan gets really excited about it and will bring his toys out to share with Gob! Also, since I am done with school, I've had more time to take Ethan out to do some fun things! We've been to the park, the museum, walked down to the Three Little Monkeys, and we're headed up to Park City later today! Two weeks ago Ethan came to a doctors appointment with me and he was so good (though he does get a little nervous that they're going to hurt his momma) that we went to the treehouse museum right afterward as a reward! Normally the museum is kind of crowded, but on this day there was pretty much no one else there! It was so fun because Ethan just got to run aorund and play with everything without having to wait ten minutes for a turn. He always wants to ride on the big firetruck, but it's always so popular that it's usually covered with bigger kids. This day he got to play for a long time and her really enjoyed it! With the arrival of this next boy, it's so important to me to let Ethan know he is still so important to us, so days like this, where we get to have lots of one-on-one time are so important to me! I'm grateful I get to have this time to play with Ethan and prepare him for his little brother over the next couple of months (though I am starting to get incredibly uncomfortable, so I will be happy when this pregnancy is over!

Graduation 2009!!!

Yesterday, after a long two years of studying and writing what felt like a million papers, I officially graduated with a Masters of Science in American Studies! I wasn't even sure I was going to walk for graduation, but my dad wanted me to, so I did, and I am really glad I chose to! My family, PJ's parents and sister (and her boyfriend), and Zach Bosch all came and watched, which was very nice of all of them! It was nice to have a little cheering section for me when I walked up to be hooded and receive my diploma! When I first arrived at the field house to get in line with the other graduates, I saw Dr. Jeannie Thomas, who headed my thesis chair, and she walked up and gave me a hug and said congratulations! She has helped me so much throughout my graduate career and she is my hero, so it was cool to have her congratulate me! They had all the graduates walk through campus down to the Spectrum, which was kind of cool, but I wore the wrong shoes for it (I had a big old blister on my foot after it was finished). As we walked into the spectrum, all the teachers there with PHDs stood on either side of the hall and clapped for us; it was pretty cool, they really went out of there way to make sure it felt like a big day for us! The ceremony was long, and I was pretty sure I was going to pass out because my pregnancy and sitting so close to everybody was making me so hot, but it was fine. I got to sit by some friends of mine from grad school, so it made the less interesting parts of the ceremony go by quickly! After the ceremony, I went and posed for pictures with my family. Ethan ran and gave me the biggest hug, and kept on saying, "Good job Momma!" He was pretty excited about my hat, and wanted to wear it for a bit! My family took me out to eat at Maddox to celebrate, which was very kind of them! I really appreciated everyone who has supported me throughout everything, and to my family especially for driving all the way up to Logan to watch me graduate! It was a long, but fun day, and I cannot really believe that I now have a Masters Degree. Thanks again to everyone who has supported me, so that I could get this done!

Easter 2009!

This year was Ethan's third Easter and it was the first one I think he really enjoyed (or at least he got into)! On Saturday our neighborhood had an Easter egg hunt, and though Ethan was really grumpy when it started, he warmed right up to finding eggs and running round! That night we colored Easter eggs with Aiden, and Ethan loved that! We cracked a few eggs and Ethan knocked over one cup of dye, but he had a great time, and overall I think it could have gone much worse! Sunday morning we woke up to see what the Easter bunny had brought Ethan! He was very excited about his basket of stuff and we let him take a few of his things to church with us (like crayons and a couple of eggs). After church we ate brunch at Oakridge, where than got to meet the Easter bunny! Like with Santa, he was a little nervous at first, but warmed up to her after she gave him some candy. It's not very hard to win Ethan over! Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa Anderson's house for another Easter egg hunt My mom always goes all out for this, and Ethan got very soiled with candy and toys! While we were out looking for stuff, Aiden said, "This day just keeps getting better and better!" It was pretty funny! After the hunt, Ethan played with his new toys, we took a nap, ate food, and finally went home. Ethan keeps saying "more Easter," so though I don't think he understands at all what Easter really is about (he will say "Thank you Jesus" when we talk about it, but I know he doesn't know what he's thanking him for, maybe he thinks Jesus gave him all of the candy?), it was fun to watch him enjoy the day so much! I hope everyone had as wonderful an Easter as we did!

My Thesis Defense!

It has been awhile since I wrote a post and a few important things have happened in the meantime. First off, last Friday, I presented a miniature version of my thesis at the "Art of Gender in Everyday Life Conference" at Idaho State University. Since the conference was just in Pocatello, I drove up and back the same day I presented. This meant that I didn't get to go to as many panels as I would have liked, but it also saved us money on a hotel and I only had to find someone to watch Ethan for part of the day on Friday until PJ got home from work. The conference went well, the woman who planned the whole thing invited me back to next years, so I'm taking that as a good sign! The most important thing was that it got me prepared to defend my thesis the following Monday. I had turned in my final draft of my thesis to my committee two weeks earlier, as per the rules, and was just waiting to defend. It was driving me crazy and I was really freaking myself out over it. I had totally convinced myself that I would get to my defense and they would just tell me my paper was awful and I hadn't passed my defense. The Saturday and SUnday beforehand was General Conference, which was great, because listening to the prophet and apostles talk was very calming to me. It also helped put things into perspective that even if I didn't pass, things would still be okay. I was greatful for that to help me cope. Monday morning, I was still pretty nervous as I drove up to Logan, but I was also resigned to the fact that whatever was supposed to happen would. As it turns out, all my worrying was for nothing! My defense went amazing! When it started, my committe asked me to leave the room while they discussed my thesis (this is customary, but still really awful). Once they called me back in though, they just said they all loved my paper so I could relax and they just wanted to talk about how I came to write it. Once they said that, it was easy to sit and discuss everything! For those of you who don't know, I did my thesis on Disney Princesses and gender constructions. I owe a ton to Raschell Smith Peschke and Lara Steed Barenze because they both have worked as princesses for Disney and they let me interview them! My whole commitee loves the interviews and told me how unique they made my paper! It was something that was so kind of them to do and they for sure didn't have to, so I am eternally greatful to them! After my defense was over, I had to fill out a ton of paper work, but I don't really care because I was just so happy I passed! My dad was up at USU for Entreprenuer Week (he organized it and so came to oversee it), and he waited out on the QUAD for me to finish my defense, so he could see how I did! Having my dad there, acting all proud of me, was just the icing on the cake! It was so nice to have his support! Though I did work hard for this master's degree, there is no way I could have done it without help and support from my family! So thanks to everyone who has been there and helped me, and even just said an encouraging word to me about it! You are all awesome!

The Zoo!!!

Ethan really wanted to go to the zoo for his birthday, but it was still pretty cold and he was a little sick, so we didn't go then. To make up for it we went yesterday! The weather was really nice, and it was really great to spend a whole day outside! We took Sarah and Aiden with us, and had so much fun! We rode the train, the carousel, and saw a lot of animals! Ethan loved the elephants and giraffes and told his daddy about both when we got home! Today he has been saying "more zoo," so we'll have to take him s few more times as it warms up! The boys each got to pick a treat when we left and they both picked cotton candy, though Ethan wanted nothing to do with it once he opened it and felt it. I think it weirded him out a bit. All in all, it really was a great day and we were all really worn out by the time we left!

It's a...

It's a boy! Today we went to the doctor and found out that we're having a boy! I am very excited for Ethan to have a little brother to run around with! Also, the doctor said he looks very healthy and that everything is forming and growing like it should! So we are very excited to have a healthy little boy join our family in July! Ethan came to the ultrasound with us and he didn't like it too much. He immediately recognized that we were at a doctors office and I think he thought he was going to get a shot. Then when he saw they were doing stuff to me, he got stressed out because I think he thought they were going to hurt me. Still, we are trying to keep him as involved as possible, so that maybe he can gain some kind of understanding over what's going to happen. I also am posting a picture of me twenty weeks pregnant! This means that I am half way there!