Our Summer

Since we had a couple of months in between when Steve graduated from dental school and his orthodontic residency starting, we decided it would be fun to spend a little time with the fam out in Utah. We stayed at Grandma Carolyn's house, and she has a neighbor next door who had goats and horses in their back yard. Needless to say, every day was like going to a petting zoo. Camri fell in love with all the horses, and went out to see them several times a day. Even Capri liked going out to see the animals. 

Here is Cappi feeding a pigmy goat:

Camri and Ethan feeding one of the horses:

Every Sunday we went out to see GG Donna. The girls loved going over there. They would climb her trees, watch movies, eat pancakes and hashbrowns, and get yummy treats from GG. What more could the girls ask for?

Here is Capri, climbing the tree:

My pretty little girlies:

Camri and her GG:

We had a lot of fun over the fourth of July. We went to the Plain City Days parade and festivities in the morning, and had dinner with Grandma and Papa Clawson that evening. 

Here is Camri, waiting for the opportunity to catch a fish (for her GG) with her bare hands.She ended up getting one for herself, and one for Capri, who refused to even step foot inside the slimy pond. 

VICTORY!

She had so much fun catching the fish! However, she was very upset that she couldn't keep it in a bowl for her GG. "Cleaning" the fish, was not her favorite part. I'm pretty sure we'll skip letting her see that part next time. Poor girl, she didn't like it at all. Not that I can blame her. 

We spent a lot of time hanging out at the park, visiting grandparents and great grandparents, going swimming, going to Lagoon with our cousins, and just having a ton of fun. I feel bad for not taking more pictures of what we were doing, but I just didn't get around to it. 

One of the days, we were able to hang out with our Va friends, the Furniss'. Our girls just LOVE their boys, and they had a lot of fun with them. We will certainly miss them! 

Boy, Oh BOY!

So. We had been keeping a little secret. But, it was for a good reason. We decided that since it took some time and, ahem, considerations to get Ms. Capri here, we should tentatively start "trying" for baby number three. I got off my birth control, and the very next month I found myself  "late". I went to the doctor to find out for sure, and inquire about the recent hernia that had popped up. When I got to the doctors office, I was about 6 days late. I was expecting a positive pregnancy test, but got a negative result. Relieved, I went home with some numbers for surgeons  who would be able to help me with my hernia. Days later, my hernia was killing me and I thought I was actually having period-like cramps. Worried that the resident had misdiagnosed my hernia, I went to my OBGYN to make sure it wasn't a cyst or fibroid on my ovary. At the time I was 12 days late. I took a pregnancy test THAT morning, and had a negative result. So, off I went to find out if I had some horrible "female" problem. When I got in they did a pregnancy test, though I didn't think much of it since I had just taken one. When the medical assistant came in and told me I was pregnant, I was shocked. They took me in for an ultrasound and found.... Nothing. Very scary, when they find nothing. I was told I needed to wait two weeks for another ultrasound and have some blood work done. The doctor told me that I could have a "tubal pregnancy" or "ectopic pregnancy" and that we needed to wait and see. I was horrified. That would mean surgery, and the loss of the baby. I didn't know how to cope. This happened the day before Steve took his Part 2 Board Exams. I wasn't going to tell him, since I thought it would only distract him from his test. I made it about ten seconds through the door, and burst into tears and told him. He was very excited, hearing only that I was pregnant. When I told him the rest, he was worried. So much for not distracting him. Two LONG weeks later, I went back in for another ultrasound, and a healthy little peanut was found exactly where it should be. :) Talk about a relief. I don't know that I have ever been so nervous as I was in those moments before the ultrasound. 

Luckily, Steve passed his boards and went on to graduate from dental school. Phew! In the following weeks, we had family in town for graduation, packing, vacations, and driving cross country with two small children and all of our belongings. I did it all with morning sickness. Not the most fun I've ever had, but we got through it with the help of some amazing family and friends. Steve was wonderfully supportive and helped me through the queasiness, and the emotions that began pouring from me. 

Once we got to Utah, I started feeling better. Unfortunately, we were in between insurances and I was unable to go to the doctor. My OB in VA said it was fine, and that I could be seen as soon as I got to CO and it would make no real difference. But, to me it made a difference. I found myself feeling very detached from our baby. I didn't get to hear its heart beat, or feel it moving yet. We were not telling people yet, so it just seemed a bit surreal. So, on July 6th we decided to give ourselves an early anniversary present and go to Fetal Foto's in Salt Lake to find out what the sex of our baby would be. I was so excited to see the little bean again, and just hear the heartbeat and see it moving. Proof that it was, in fact, real. I would have sworn it was a girl. Well it wasn't! And we couldn't be more excited to welcome a sweet, little man into our lives. 

Titan Jeter Clawson due December 19th 2012

Yep, that is exactly what it looks like. I was shocked, Steve was ecstatic. It was a lovely sight to see him moving around like a crazy man, hear a healthy heartbeat, and see his sweet little features. We immediately went out and bought a "Little Brother" onesie.  We still waited a few weeks to tell the girls, but when we did I thought Camri was going to burst from sheer joy. She is so excited to have a little brother. She had insisted she didn't want another sister, so you can imagine our relief. Now that my tummy is getting bigger she loves to hug and kiss him, and asks me about him all the time. She has even felt him kicking, and LOVES it. She is going to be such an amazing helper with him. 

Here is our boy at my most recent ultrasound. He was moving all over and showing all his "stuff" to the tech. :) She said he looked great, and after reading the ultrasound the doctor agreed! We seem to have a happy, healthy little boy growing! We feel so incredibly blessed. 

So, our name. Some people like it (or pretend to), some people openly sneer (that's ok too). But we love it. When I was pregnant with Capri, I was convinced it was a boy. I had been trying to talk Steve into letting me name him "Jeter" after the amazing Yankee shortstop, Derek Jeter. Well, Steve didn't like it, and it ended up not mattering because we had girl. So, to be nice, Steve said we could use it for a middle name. Steve loves the name Titan, and that is how his name came to be. Titan Jeter. We figure we can call him T.J. if we want. I will call him Ty. Camri will tell you she is going to call him "Big T".  We just love it.  And if you don't, no worries. We really don't care what you think. ;) LOL. 

Sweetness and the Beach

So, I had to add this picture of Camri holding sweet baby Chloe. She loves this sweet girl, and so do I. Her mommy and I are best buds, and we are so happy for her and her family. This is one. Sweet. Baby. Camri loved feeding and snuggling her.

 We decided we needed to make one last trip to the beach while we were out East and had warm beaches at our disposal. So, we set off for Buckroe Beach. It was perfect for our little ones! They had so much fun playing in the sand and water. Here are my little beach bums...

 So, I'm not trying to play favorites. There are a lot more pictures of Capri because she was a more willing subject. Camri was under the water most of the time swimming. :) And she had a ball gathering shells. Love this girl!

NEW YORK!!

I have always wanted to go to New York. I love the city, I love the Yankees, I love the excitement. So, as silly as it sounds, Steve decided to take me for HIS graduation present. Isn't he a keeper?! Needless to say we had a ball. It was so much fun!! Now we know why they call it "the city that never sleeps". It seriously is crazy and fun 24 hours a day. My mom watched the girls so we didn't have to worry about them, and she helped us pack while we were gone (Love you Mom!!). Best. Trip. EVER!

The first day we were in NY we got checked in to our hotel, and got ready to go out for dinner and then we were off to see the musical "Wicked" on broadway. Super awesome for anyone who likes musicals. Steve and I enjoyed it, though we decided we're not exactly the "fine arts" kind of people. What a fun experience though, and the set and cast were amazing!

The next day we had a 5 hour guided tour of the city. I would highly recommend doing this if you only have a few days in NY. I felt like we saw SO much of the city thanks to this tour. It stopped at about twenty different spots and had a fun boat tour out the the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, and the Manhatten Bridge. It was awesome! Here is the gorgeous St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Rockerfeller Plaza

The Brooklyn Bridge

Statue of Liberty

We went to Wall Street and walked around the New York Stock Exchange and other buildings in the financial district.

We opted out of going to ground zero, but we did end up seeing the sight of where the Twin Towers stood, and the 9/11 Memorial grounds. Here is the new "One World Tower" they are building as a reminder of that day and those who died. It was a very reverent feeling around the grounds and you  could tell it was a very special place for New Yorkers.

After our tour we went to China Town! This is where there were tons of street vendors and people trying to illegally sell you knock off's of bags, watches, and sunglasses. Steve and I tried some chinese cake balls (very good) and some fresh coconut water (very bad!). 

 Steve especially disliked the coconut water. Obviously. 

The next day we had tickets to a Yankee's game, which was my dream come true! I have been a Yankees Baseball fan since I was in middle school, and it was a lot of fun to get to see the new Yankee Stadium and watch a game. We sat in the super plush seats and ate the ball park food until I was sure to be sick. Talk about fun. The Yanks lost, but it was a super great game. 

We had great seats (Thanks again, Mom!)

Here is a random picture of Steve in the middle of Times Square. We had an awesome friend that had the hook up with hotels (Thanks a million Amberlynn!) so we stared in the Marriott IN Times Square. Talk about freaking awesome! We were a walk away from everything! We visited the Hard Rock Cafe, where we had the best hamburgers ever! We also went to the M&M store, the world's largest Toys R' Us, Broadway, the NYC Police Dept (surprisingly cool), and so many other amazing stores! We went all over looking for those smashed pennies for Camri, who loves collecting the little trinkets. We brought her home about fifteen. She was in heaven!  We were also fortunate enough to see the "Naked Cowboy" performing and the "Tin Man". There were some pretty cool street performers! 

The last day of our trip we went uptown to the Natural History Museum. It was amazing. Steve and I walked around for hours and didn't see it all. We both love history, so this was a very fun day for us. 

After the museum, we went on a quest for food and headed into Central park. I was sad I didn't take more pictures this day. I guess we were just too busy having fun. The day we went they were having the NYC "Aids Walk", so it was crazy busy. We managed to find a spot somewhat secluded and rested a while and took in the scenery. We also enjoyed the smoke free environment. Everywhere in NY there were masses of people smoking, disgusting. 

Steve and I were so sad to see this trip end. We had so much fun. I missed the girls like crazy, but it was such a good thing for me to get to miss them a little. I forgot how much fun my husband can be. Thanks, Steve, for the wonderful trip. He did all the planning and preparing, all while studying for boards, worrying about a move, and graduating. Your amazing. Love you babe. 

Family!!

Since we had family in town for Steve's graduation, we decided to have a few fun outings. We always take the girls to Chesterfield Berry Farm to pick strawberries, and they had so much fun this year with all our family! It was the perfect day, not too hot or too cold. 

Here are the girls in front of the petting zoo. They loved feeding the goats, bunnies, sheep, and chickens.

When she ran out of food to feed the animals she stared giving them her hands... ;)

Amy and Camri on the wagon ride

Out in the field, picking berries. Capri did very little picking, and a whole lot of eating. 

Camri, on the other hand, takes her strawberry picking very seriously. 

I think it's safe to say Capri enjoyed the strawberries.

The next day we drove to Jamestown and saw the settlement and ships. The girls thought the ships were pretty cool, and they loved the Indian encampment. 

Steve and his sweet Mama.

Camri and Grandma Carolyn