More Donovan

I guess I'll just get this part over with first. These are pictures Donovan and I took today. He told me he had to put his hand on my tummy, and then he was telling me she was kicking his hand...I didn't feel anything, but maybe he did.

Less than 5 weeks left. In some ways I'm ready for her to be here, but in others I am glad we have some time. We have to get through Christmas first! We don't want the poor thing to be born while her daddy's gone, or before or on Christmas day! I'm still feeling pretty good, I'm not too miserable yet but I have a little over 4 weeks to get that way!!

Donovan loves stickers. He doesn't care to put them on paper or on his projects, but he loves to put them all over his face and clothes.

Then he takes them off and throws them away...most of the time. Sometimes I find stickers on the floors and the bottoms of our shoes and feet for days.
Holidays are much more fun when you have a child. He has been so into every holiday this year, it has been so much fun! He loved making turkeys and sending them to Grandma's and putting them on the fridge.

Don't mock our turkey, I came up with it in about 5 seconds. He picked the colors and the color placement and all the handprints are his. He also drew the turkey's face. He had the letter "T" from his fridge alphabet hold it up. Every time I called him a turkey, he would say, "No, I'm not a turkey, the turkey's on the fridge."

Donovan the elf. Dale, the bus driver that didn't go to Nationals, got an elf hat and some candy for Brad to give to the girls. Brad forgot it at our house. Gotta love the bus drivers, even when they fill my child with candy.

I was looking on the camera to see if Brad was serious about not taking pictures at Jordan's wedding... he was. He took the camera for the whole weekend and didn't take a single picture of his friend Jordan and his new wife, Kolay!! I was very disappointed. I skipped the trip because it's a 5 hour drive and I didn't really want to be in the car that long...I think I have a pretty valid excuse. Anyway, so Donovan said he wanted to look at pictures of Daddy and I said there weren't any and Brad said he was offended so I got a picture of them together. Silly boys. Funny story: The other day, Donovan and I were talking about what the parts of our face do. He knew most of them. When I asked him what we use our tongues for, he didn't even hesitate. He pulled a silly face and stuck his little tongue out. I thought it was pretty stinking cute.

How?

How did our parents have 6 kids?! I've been thinking about that a lot lately. I don't remember feeling neglected, I think my parents did their best to spend time with each of us. There were some days when we drove my mom to tears, I still remember one occasion when Nicholas and I were being pretty awful and my mom locked herself in her room and we could hear her crying (sorry mom, I hope that doesn't embarrass you). We were a handful, I know that much. I'm surprised we didn't drive her to tears every day. I really don't know how she did it! I don't know too much about how the Silvey kids were growing up, but I do know Brad was a handful, especially when he teamed up with his brother, Nate. Really, how did you guys do it?! I have a hard time seeing myself having more than 2 kids. I barely handle one without going a little crazy some days. Brad made the comment last night, "I'm not sure I'm ready for this yet" (meaning having baby #2). I have to admit, I feel the same way. I told him that and told him it might just be the last time!! Does it make me a selfish person to only want 2 kids? I feel a little selfish about it sometimes, but at the same time, I'm a big believer in only having as many kids as you can handle and take care of. Not just financially, but emotionally as well and I'm not sure I can handle more than 2 emotionally. I'm a natural at being pregnant, but I don't feel like a natural mother. They have enough cousins that they shouldn't miss out too much on siblings...right?! I probably sound like a total brat right now, but this is what I have been thinking about lately. Don't get me wrong, I'm getting really excited about having our little girl and I know Brad is too, we're just a little nervous about it all. We've gone through so many stages with Donovan and now we're starting it all over again! Anyway, Donovan is getting super excited for his little sister to get here. He tells everyone that the baby is coming after Christmas. He also knows that Thanksgiving is next, and then we'll get ready for Christmas. He's all about decorations. He points out all of the Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations he sees and he knows we'll be putting up our Christmas decorations after Thanksgiving. We talk a lot about what is going to happen when his sister gets here so I'm hoping it all goes smoothly and he adjusts well! He's already a really good helper when Addi is over here, so it will be fun to see how sweet he is with his own little sister. Right now we're just trying to make it all the way to the due date! We don't want a Christmas baby and Brad will be out of town from Dec 3-12 recruiting so she can't come early! I would be okay with a New Year's baby, a day early wouldn't be bad. Anyway, there's my rant for the day.

National Tournament

Our weekend in a nutshell:


Opening ceremonies was held after the first 3 games had already gone long so we didn't play until after 8:30 (our game was supposed to be at 7:30, it was late...and cold). We were a pretty awesome cheering section since the tournament was only 2 1/2 hours from the Iowa Western. We also have very loyal Utah parents that drove out. We got a lot of grins from our coaches and players.
It was freezing!! Donovan ended up falling asleep cuddled in a blanket laying on Hannah and my laps. He was on Sam's lap for a while too, but Hannah took over his head when Sam jumped up after our team scored. They lost the first game 2-1 :( It stunk, but they got to play again on Friday where they won 1-0 and advanced to the 5th-6th place game today.

The 6 remaining teams got a break on Saturday so we hung out at the hotel, took a nap while the team went to Harry Potter, and went swimming when we woke up. Donovan has been spoiled with attention from girls. He loves the girls, to him, they are his girls. He only knows a few names, but he loves and goes to all of them.

We got a little bored before lunch on Saturday so we were jumping on the bed. Do you like the Reivers on his cheeks? I was trying to save them, but he wanted to put both of them on before we even left for Topeka. They lasted until last night.
He's still fascinated by the idea of sleeping in a hotel, and he loved that he had his very own bed.

When the kids weren't running around being crazy, they had some snacks. Donovan ate a lot of Lifesavers provided by the bus driver. I gave up on trying to keep him out of them at the Region Tournament a few weeks ago.

They ended the season on a good note, they won and took 5th place in the nation! Not 1st, but still pretty awesome! They had fun just being there! They didn't even have their goalie for the last 2 games. Poor girl. First she gets her cheek bone broken in 3 places at the beginning of the season, and the night after they lost the first game of the tournament, she gets sick and has to go to the ER on Friday before their second game. She ended up having to get an emergency appendectomy on Friday night, her appendix was about to burst.
They had a great season! Especially with all of their injuries!
One of Donovan's many girlfriends.
5th place in the Nation, 2010. Way to be an awesome coach Bradley!!

Snow Day

We had our first snow of the season on Friday night. Donovan had to watch the snow before bed and kept saying, "Should we go outside and make a snowman?" I told him we'd have to wait until the next day. Of course he didn't forget me saying that and the first thing he said to me at 6:30 am was, "We need to go play in the snow." I made him wait until it was light outside and he was VERY excited. We bundled up really well because it was still early, cold, and windy.

He had to make a snow angel. He usually makes gravel/sand angels at the park.
As you can see, it wasn't a lot of snow. It's already all melted and the ground is dry again.

He really wanted to draw in the snow too.

Here's our sad looking snowman. We had to improvise and use leaves for his face. I wish I still enjoyed playing in the snow. He had a lot of fun.

Throwing snowballs at the snowman.
Last night when we got home from dinner at the Hiatt's, Brad and Donovan kicked the snowman down. He was the only snow left on the ground and I think Brad wanted to get rid of it. We really hate Iowa winters.

Brad and the team are leaving tomorrow for the tournament and Donovan and I will be following Thursday after Scott picks Addi up in the afternoon. Their first game is Thursday at 7:30 pm so it's going to be chilly! Thankfully Hannah is making the trip down so we'll have someone to snuggle up to! I'm getting really nervous/excited for them. Brad has been really good at controlling his excitement. Like he always tells me, he doesn't wear it on his sleeve. I, on the other hand, let my anxiety get the best of me and I'm a nervous wreck when so much is on the line! I feel like Donovan and I are just as invested in this team as Brad! You should have seen me at the District Tournament, it was pretty ridiculous. I had one long Braxton Hicks Contraction that lasted pretty much all weekend...I really need to learn to calm down. I'm sure I'll be practicing some breathing exercises on our way down there so I can be more calm. This baby can't come early!

District Champions!!!!

They did it! Both the men and the women's soccer teams are going to Nationals this year! They both won their District Championship games in overtime today. We hosted, so we didn't have to travel anywhere to watch the games. It was a great day!!! Congrats to Bradley!!! The girls did an awesome job and we only had one injury today, but it wasn't a starter. Anyway...GO REIVERS!!!!!





Donovan had to get in on the celebration. And why not? He's basically their mascot!

District C Champions 2010

I feel oppressed

Why does punishing our kids have to feel like we're punishing ourselves sometimes? I was looking forward to spending the afternoon with Mindi and Sydney at the Children's Museum...and so was Donovan, but he had a funny way of showing it. He decided to throw tantrum after tantrum this morning so I bit the bullet and called Mindi to let her know we wouldn't be joining them today. I don't know which of us is more upset, Donovan or me. Instead of spending the afternoon having fun, we get to spend the afternoon being grumpy together. I'm pretty sure I'm going to make him take a nap because some of his outbursts have ended in some pretty serious yawning. Wish me luck, and enjoy a few pictures...

Just over 8 weeks left and she's growing steadily!! Hopefully Donovan will be so wrapped up in being a big brother when she gets here that he'll forget how to misbehave.

Halloween and Region Tournament Fun

Halloween was a blast this year. Donovan was so into it! He asked to watch a Halloween show every day last week, it was a lot of fun. He was especially excited about his costume. He got to wear it 3 times this year, it would have been 4 but Brad had his last old man game during the I-dub Halloween party and they were playing in the championship so we opted to support him (they won!)

His favorite part was the tail and this is how he showed it to people. He's pretty stinkin cute, I know.
Donovan with his friend Sydney. Sydney's dad made her a milk carton costume because that's what she said she wanted to be and wouldn't change her mind! It turned out really cute but she had a difficult time walking in it! This was when we went trick or treating at the library.

We went to the ward party on Friday instead of driving out to Des Moines for the Region Tournament on the same day as Brad. I'm glad we stayed the extra day, Donovan was happy to play with Mason in their costumes. Mason was pretty awesome with his light saber.

The sand table kept them entertained for a while...isn't Addi adorable?!

We got up Saturday morning and packed to spend our weekend in Des Moines. Donovan was super excited to take a "trip". The 2 hour drive flew by! Seriously, it wasn't bad at all. He pointed out all of the cows and windmills, listened to music (he tried to sing along, it was pretty cute), and we just talked about what we were going to do when we got there. He didn't really watch the games, but he kept himself entertained!

He loved going on the bus with the girls! We jumped on with them to get some lunch after their game and he got to ride with them back to the hotel while I followed. That night, Brad decided to let them eat dinner at the mall so they could walk around and pass some time. Donovan loved that idea! They had an awesome little area for kids.


Sunday was a little colder and Donovan was a bit of a pill, but I'm still glad we were there.

Once again, the girls are Region Champs! The District Tournament will be at home this weekend! We're pretty excited. 2 more wins and they make it to Nationals!

Brad and his captains.

Brad and the sophomores.
We left shortly after the girls game (ps-the boys won as well so they will be playing this weekend too!) so we could get back to go trick or treating and celebrate Hannah's birthday that was last week. Donovan was really excited!
So was Mason.

They were all ready to go but we made them pose for a few more pictures. Once again, Addi was adorable.

I was so proud of Donovan. We had talked about it a lot and he knew Halloween was all pretend but he was still scared of a witch decoration at Target so I was a little worried. We got to a creepy house that had a chainsaw (leafblower) and some other things and I didn't know how it would go, but he went right up to get his candy! He paused and stared at the electric chair lady for a little while, but he got through! There was also a guy in a huge pumpkin head that I thought he would be scared of so I was talking him through it as we walked up and he turned to me and said, "it's just pretend". After that I wasn't concerned. He was a champ. He and Mason ran up to most of the houses, even when their buckets started to get heavy! Donovan wouln't let me hold it for him, he clung to that candy like his life depended on it! I did take it away in the car and hid it for a little while until we went home. We had a great weekend and we're hoping this weekend is a great one too!!!