We are having...

She stole my tomato and started eating it on the stairs!

Daddy and Selah

My studly fisherman reeling in his catch!

It's a BOY!!! We were able to have our 20 week ultrasound today, and our little one let us know that well...he was a boy. Clear as day, if you know what I mean. He was very cooperative for the ultrasound tech and we got some great pictures to share with family and friends that want to see them. When he was done cooperating he decided to role over and show his little bottom to us. Haha! He is currently 13 oz. and is 8-10 inches long. We do not have a name picked out yet, but are considering waiting to share the name until he is born so people have a little bit of a surprise. We are very excited with this news. But honestly I would be happy even if I had all girls. Babies are just an incredible miracle and blessing from God! It will be a bit strange seeing trucks and dinosaurs instead of flowers and dolls around here. However, Selah is quite fascinated by vehicles (especially planes and trains) and sports. She can be girly, but also into so called boy stuff. As soon as we left the doctor's office Dan informed me that he will need to get a lifetime fishing license as he will be doing a lot of fishing with his kids.
In other news...Dan went fishing last weekend for Father's Day. He caught a 6' 8" sturgeon. Unfortunately, it was 8" over the limit and had to be put back. Dan was like a giddy little boy for the next few days telling me tales of his adventure. I was going to post a picture of the ugly...I mean beautiful fish, but Dan says I can't. It's a funny story, so if you want to know ask Dan or I and we will tell you and show you a picture privately.
Our schedule has slowed down a lot. Instead of having one night together as a family we get every night but Thursdays. It has been so nice having Dan home for dinner, and Selah gets to play with her daddy at night.
I can't leave before I talk about my sweet girl. Selah is learning so much. She knows all of her colors, except red is often times confused as orange. She is learning numbers as well. When counting in English she often times skips #4-8. However, can count from 1-10 in Japanese easily. She is beginning to understand the concept of one item becoming two when another is added. She can recognize a handfull of letters, and loves to sing and dance. Her favorite songs are, "Jesus Loves Me" "ABC's" "Happy Birthday to you" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." I will post a video at some point of her singing...very cute! It is hard to believe that in less than two months she will be 2 years old. Wow! She is such a beautiful gift from God and brings us immense joy. We are crazy in love with her, and to think that we are welcoming another one is a bit overwhelming. I have no doubt that I will have enough love for this little boy, because true love comes from God. It never ceases to exist. But this love is so captivating and brings such an overflowing feeling of joy that I am already bursting at the seams with Selah, I will pop completely with two of them. Thank you Lord for allowing me to be a mommy!

Happy Birthday!

Wishing my wonderful husband a Happy 27th Birthday!

Selah wanted to add something too...

Cannon Beach Trip

Sometimes the many commitments we take on can be a bit overwhelming, and it all needs to be forgotten temporarily in order to refresh. And most importantly to make lasting memories with the ones that don't stay little for too long. So, we went on a mini vacation to Cannon Beach today. It was a perfect day for the beach! We ate at our favorite pizza place, Pizza a Feta, and shared two slices of pizza. Then we headed down to the shoreline and spent several glorious hours basking in our daughter's giggles and joy at all of the fun she was having. At one point we dipped our toes in the water, but it never ends up just being our toes does it?! Selah loved it when the water came rushing towards her. She was soaked! The rest of the time she spent playing in the sand with nothing but her diaper. When she decided she had enough she went to her stroller saying, "All done beach." Then we went into town and shared an ice cream cone. We headed back renewed and ready to get back to our life with a full heart, thankful for the beautiful day the Lord had blessed us with.

Big News!

Selah is going to be a big sister! I am 12 weeks pregnant. We are so excited! The check-up went well today. We were able to see our little bean and hear the heartbeat on the ultrasound. Baby #2 will arrive this November! We think we are going to find out if it is a boy or girl, but we're not completely sure. It was fun to wait with Selah and have Dan announce she was a girl, but it was also difficult to wait. So, we'll see when our 20 week ultrasound comes up.
Here is a little update on Selah: She continues to pick up new words quickly and speaks very well. Her newest fascination is pointing out letters and numbers. Counting things is her favorite game. She loves to run, tackle daddy, dance (especially with Grandma Patty), give hugs, kisses, love pats, and play with her friends. She is quite the social butterfly. Selah is a great helper and listens to directions...most of the time. If I ask her to do something or bring me something she often pauses and then says, "listen mommy." The sweetest thing lately is that she runs to us, hugs our legs and says "I love you." Our sweet girl continues to make us laugh daily and overflow our hearts with love and joy. I was a bit worried as to how she would react to the baby, but I can already see she is going to be a great big sister.

Sunshine

I love this weather! It is so beautiful! Sunshine, blue sky, birds chirping, flowers blooming, and happy people everywhere. I hope it lasts, but I know that the rain will return for a short while before the hot weather comes. This is just God giving us a glimpse of what is to come and to not lose hope, brighter days are coming. I guess He does that with life in general. We go through valleys and it is easy to get discouraged, but God is right beside us showing us glimpses of where we are headed. For those going through a valley I pray that you don't lose hope, because the Lord has brighter days ahead for you.
For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
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Here is a video from a trip we recently took to OMSI with the Diehm family. Selah and her buddy Samantha were playing at the water station. Selah got soaked from head to toe. Despite the glare and comment I got from an overbearing mother I'm glad she had a great time.

The bear that saves so many tears from falling

For those of you who know Selah well know that she is quite attached to a small bear, simply named Little Yellow Bear. Or as Selah calls it, Lello or Lolo. We thought we would give this small tattered bear the spotlight in one of our posts. Dan was the mastermind behind this video shoot, and has informed me that there will be plenty more where that came from. Enjoy!

The latest update

Well, we are almost back to normal around here. I'm the last one, and it just keeps hanging on. With all of the coughing, I either tore the cartilage or the tendon between my rib cage. Either way it's quite painful! But I know God is healing my body and making me well again. So, once I stop coughing it takes 6-8 weeks to heal. Yikes!
I am so thankful that Selah didn't get this viral bug. Through the whole health ordeal it has been Selah that has allowed me to keep my focus and put a smile on my face. Just hearing her little voice and feeling her little arms around me make the day brighter. Selah continues to learn new things everyday. She is very good at communicating, and has even started to put 2-3 words together. Also, climbing is her newest passion. She is quite good at it, but...obviously it is not always safe. Especially when she climbs up on the windowsill or her high chair. We were thinking about getting her into a little gymnastics class. She is very coordinated for her age, so I think she would do well and enjoy it immensely.
I know that I have more stories to tell, I just can't remember them right now...oh wait...Well, for the longest time we couldn't figure out why our VCR/DVD player wasn't working. It just kept spitting out the videos. Well, I peaked in there yesterday...loe and behold the letter K was taking up residence and was causing the problem. I wonder who put that in there?! She was thrilled when she saw it, though. Oh, and her newest thing when we're out and about is to tell people to "watch out" when they're passing by. Yeah, she gets that from me. We've noticed that we really need to watch what we say around her. Our little sponge just soaks up words like there's no tomorrow.
Well, there is a little update on the latest Newcomer happenings. Everyday God is doing wonderful things in our family and has blessed us immensely. We have some exciting events comind up, so I will update later.