1st Baby Picture!

I know this is a wierd way to post these pics, but I don't have a picture program on my new computer and I am too lazy to get out my laptop.

Anyway, here is the very first baby picture of the new little Halgren! The baby is in the black oblong area (on the right of the first pic and more centered in the bottom pic). It is almost 8 weeks old, although it is measuring a week smaller. So it may be almost 7 weeks old, who knows! We saw a "hearbeat" which was a white little mark in the black area. If you click on the picture to make it bigger you might be able to see the outline of it. Anyway, its for real! And luckily it is in the right spot (we had a little scare)!

Cute Kids!

Audrey started to do what I wanted her to, but as always, she quickly got distracted. These kids are so cute! I just want to squeeze them!
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Little Miss Bossy!

Here is Audrey overseeing Trevor's cleaning. Notice how her hands are over her ears!

Ready for the Zoo!

We have been milking our zoo membership lately. This is a picture of Raleigh and Audrey getting ready to go. Raleigh looks like a German Tourist and Audrey was going for the "glam" look with her jewels on!

Raleigh

Raleigh is SO excited about this baby that he already draw him/her a picture to give at the hospital. I am not sure how to explain that it will be a while before the baby is here, but he is a pretty patient boy! And I am sure he will be distracted by preschool and swimming in a couple of weeks.

The morning before I found out I was pregnant, I took the kids to the library to pick out some movies. Audrey picked out a Sesame Street movie called 3 Bears and a Baby. It is all about the mommy bear being pregnant and then how the little bear has to deal with a new baby sister. I paid no attention to it...until that night when I found out I was pregnant!!!! It was really wierd listening to the movie after that (the kids watch it whenever we are in the car). It has gotten Raleigh so excited that he can barely stand it. I went to the doctor's yesterday and he got so worried about me. He has been watching my every move and he comes up and randomly hugs my legs. He has started hugging and rubbing my belly too.

Audrey is a wild woman still and is too busy to care about anything else in the world. She eats more than we can keep on her plate and just cut another tooth on her bottom next to the middle ones. So, she has 3 teeth coming in at the same time. She has been in SO much pain! It is sad! It is making her crazy! She has normal moments that are easily forgotten when the screaming starts, but she is a funny little girl. Trevor said people were coming out of the woodwork to talk to the kids. Raleigh went and hid at the puzzle table, but Audrey soaked it up! She just takes a little extra work, but she is learning. She understands so much! I ask her questions all of the time and she answers yes or no by nodding her head. If she doesn't know, she stares at you with a confused look on her face. It is so cute!

We have hit the stage where they both have to have something or a tantrum starts. If Raleigh gets a Kid's Meal then Audrey has to have one. Raleigh always trades Audrey for her toy and then cries later when he wants his back and she won't give it to him. We are all learning a lot about sharing! I would rather just lock them in their own rooms than make them share, but they always want to be doing what the other one is doing. Ugh!

Anyhow, here is a picture of Raleigh hugging my belly...it is amazing how fast it pops out now. I can't wait until it gets past the jiggly stage and gets to the stage where its not awkward for someone to ask if I'm pregnant!

SURPRISE!

Welcome the newest member of the Halgren Family!!! He/She is BRAND NEW! I am 5 weeks along and this was the biggest surprise for us ever!!! Isn't he/she beautiful! I think his/her neural tube resembles Trevor, just kidding! I found out when I went in to get birth control! A few days ago I had a physical/pap and they made me do a pregnancy test that was negative! Then, I went in yesterday to get an IUD put in and I took a pregnancy test first and it came out positive! I wanted to pass out! The worst part was trying to figure out how to tell Trevor who had been waiting in the car with a teething 14 month old and an antsy 3 3/4 year old!

The little one is due on April 10, 2010!

You can now refer to us as Party of Five...weird!!!

We told Raleigh and he said "Two babies?!" Then he decided it was okay, but he wants a "different baby boy." I don't know what that means. He said he would name it Batman, but if it is a girl it would be okay because he would just name her Batwoman! So get ready to welcome Batman or Batwoman to the world next Spring!

What is HAPPENING???

I am going CRAZY with all of this insanity that is happening in Washington! And no, not our neighbors to the north, but the crazy place on the East Coast. I am appalled at what is trying to be passed, what is being passed, and how people who are genuinely expressing their opinions are being treated!

First of all, this health care plan is B.S. If Obama had any experience in the real world, he would see how real economics work. Which means, if he is promising healthcare to everyone, that would mean demand would increase. If demand increases then prices increase. If he doesn't want prices to increase, then he would HAVE to ration. He would then have a government agency deciding who is too expensive to treat. He also made a comment about how providing a government option wouldn't drive the private options out of business...and then he talked about how UPS and FedEx are doing fine while USPS is the one who is struggling!!! WHY WOULD WE USE THE GOVERNMENT TO CONTROL OUR HEALTH WHEN THEY CAN'T EVEN RUN A POST OFFICE?!

Also, this Cash For Clunkers seems like a last minute B.S. project that some stoner made up for his high school economics class. Actually, I'm sure even a stoner could see right through this! The government is forcing us to drive certain cars that are more expensive than the ones we have. They are SO worried about fuel usage, but I would probably use less gas in my guzzler than these other people do in their Hybrids. Why should I freak out and send my car to be squished. They need to part these cars out or something to try to recuperate some of the money. But then again, why do they care. It's not their money! AND that brings me to another point...I am paying taxes to buy someone's "clunker" off of them when I can't even afford a car for myself! Why don't they give ME the clunker! I am so angry that Congress is sitting up their on their high horses spending money that is NOT THEIRS!!!

And that brings me to another point. These digusting people are trying to use the media to act like these Townhall Meetings are just planted people or ignorant people there to cause an uproar! I have seen pictures of the people at the meetings and they were using their 1st Amendment Rights to express their honest feelings and concerns. YOU, politicians, are supposed to be representing US. So shut up and listen! These people who were all about 1st Amendment Rights and Protesting when they weren't in power have suddenly shifted their positions. There is something evil afoot! They focus on the Swastika's and stupid crap that will always happen by a few ignorant people. The majority of these people are good honest people trying to protect their freedoms, health and futures.

So, I beg that you don't fall for this ridiculousness that is being thrown out. Obama is inexperienced and it is showing. Money is being thrown away. Cars are being thrown away. Our economy is struggling and it is no time to be wasteful...that's what my parent's taught me! We are a free country and I realize it more than ever now...now that our freedom is in danger. Our soldiers did not give/risk their lives for us to just hand over our country! We need to fight to keep it too!

Baby Bumblebee!

Audrey took the song "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee" a little too seriously and tried to pick a bee up!!!! She SCREAMED for a LONG LONG LONG time and was too traumatized to even take a nap. I put a baking soda paste on her thumb (thanks Malinda) and a Barbie Band-Aid to try to make her happy, but the Band-aid made it worse. She would stop crying, then see the Band-Aid and freak out again! Audrey ended up with a swollen red thumb with a tiny prick in it, but you should have seen the bee! After my mommy protective hormones kicked in, I squashed that bee with no mercy! Nobody messes with my nuggets!

This picture is Audrey looking at her wound and holding her jewels. Her jewels and her blankie were the only things that made her feel better!

Yum Yum!

This is Raleigh's Yum Yum Donut Look! He is always making kooky faces when I whip out the camera...just like his Daddy!

Two Peas in a Pod

Audrey has a tendency to take her diapers off now, and as soon as she is naked, Raleigh follows suit. Notice the diaper thrown on the floor and Raleigh in the process of getting naked! They were rolling on the ground and giggling!

Raleigh was pooping on the potty and Audrey usually watches him. She saw him push, squatted, and pushed until her face turned red. I ran in the garage, grabbed the old baby potty and plopped her on it. She loved it! She pushed until she got a toot out! Raleigh was so proud that he taught her!

These are two cool kids! Raleigh and Audrey walk around like movie stars when they wear their sunglasses!

She loves showing off her glasses!

These were in his Taco Bell Kid's Meal! Raleigh looks pretty cool in them and he LOVES them! GO Taco Bell!

Sick Baby...Not for those with weak tummies!

Look at this poor baby! She was sick, teething, and SCREAMING...but she pulled herself together for this picture!

Are You Done?

Audrey is a woman who knows what she wants now. Raleigh loves to play this little game of "Are you done?" She did it for the first time in the car on our drive back home.
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Trampoline

Both kids LOVE the trampoline! See for yourself!
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Beach Trip!

We made a trip to Newport (Oregon Coast). We decided to do a day trip even though Trevor was dying to go camping. We thought I was going to be out of town for my Great Grandpa's funeral, but both kids are oozing and sick so we had to cancel our trip.

Here are some pics from the trip though...

Raleigh had SO much fun digging in the sand, burying himself, making sand castles, and looking for sea creatures on the rocks (and the crabs that Trevor would find in the sand).

Audrey had a blast eating sand, knocking over sand castles, finding her own sand crabs...and even EATING one!!! Eewww!!! She was covered in sand within a minute of setting foot on the beach.

Look at Mr. Cool!

This is Devil's Punchbowl. It was SO cool!!! The kids LOVED looking at it, and we even saw a Sea Lion through the viewing thingy that you put a quarter in.

Check out Raleigh's buns!

Raleigh was looking at the picture and reminding us of all of the things we saw in Newport. Especially the anemones (sp?) that Trevor would touch and they would shrink up.

Traveling!

Our crew has become quite the savvy travelers! We drove through Idaho to Utah, then to California, and then back home to Oregon. The kids did WAY better than I ever expected. Gwyn did great, but it was SO hot driving back to Oregon that we decided to let her ride in the car with us. She even slept in the backseat overnight! With as much crap I give her, she has turned out to be an awesome dog!

You can't tell by the picture, but Raleigh was thrilled to have Gooner next to him. He would keep checking on her and petting her when she stood up. Audrey kept trying to reach Gwyn but eventually she just began pointing to the dog. Here is our sexy driver (Oops, did I write that out loud?!). Always have to get these shots!

This is how Gwyn made most of the trip. I don't know how she fit in this spot, but she slept most of the time so she must have been comfy!

BUGS!!!! EEEWWW!

Bryson Saves the Day

I was trying to pack up and the kids were driving me crazy! Audrey kept getting into things and I could not get anything done. SOOOO, Bryson came to the rescue and took Audrey outside to play! THANK YOU BRYSON!!! I don't think I ever told you how much I appreciated that! Here was my sneak picture of them. She was following him around like a little bird!

Cousins, Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents...Oh My!

Look at all these little ones! From left to right...Audrey, Tabitha, Raleigh and Sylar. The cutest cousins ever!

It was impossible to get them all to look at the camera at the same time!

I had to include everyone else too, so no one felt left out!

Here is the other side of the table! Chaum, Dave and April

And then the boys! Raleigh wanted to sit with them because he is a big boy like them now! Thanks Trent and Jared for being awesome Uncles! Raleigh totally looks up to you guys!!!

SHERWOOD!!!!

Can you believe it...Sherwood was named one of the Top 10 Cities in Family Circle Magazine!

Here is an article about it...

http://www.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/index.ssf/2009/06/sherwood_makes_top_10_of_famil.html

It's kind of strange that it happened while we were out of town, so I hope the title doesn't get revoked!

WHOO HOOO for Sherwood!