1st Photo Shoot

Aparri....our little GIRL

Laura is having too much fun with her little girl!!! As you can see below...there is no lack of pink or hairbows!!! Fun times!!

Aparri Has Arrived!!!

Well, it happened! Laura started contractions at about 12:00am (Wednesday), we got to the hospital at 2:00am, at after some moments of 'discomfort', Aparri Ann Ward was born at 10:42am, boasting an impressive 8 lbs, 7 ounces, and 19 1/2 inches long.

Christmas & New Years

Well, like most everybody, it's been a busy holiday season with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.

Here are some of the highlights:

CJ and Preston's Fort

By the time we were done it was a multi-room complex complete with bedroom and livingroom, mainly because the boys watched a movie on a portable DVD player(livingroom) and during the movie, Preston fell asleep(bedroom).







ALOHA!

Clay went on a quick overnight trip to Hawaii right before Thanksgiving, and while he was there he picked up some Hawaiian shirts with matching shorts. Once the boys saw them they became pajamas, and they were worn for at least six nights straight.(Don't worry, I'm sure they were washed somewhere in between those nights)

The Topping of the Christmas Tree

Since we take the easy way out when it comes to our Christmas Tree(real vs. unreal), the boys get to take turns every year on who gets to put the top on.

It was Preston's turn this year. Then CJ 'helped'.

Grandma and Papa come to visit

Mom and Dad Ward came to visit right around Clay's birthday. It was a lot of fun spending time together, and i'm sure that by the end CJ and Preston had thoroughly worn them out.

Since CJ and Preston have two Papas, Papa Smith(Laura's Dad) is referred to as 'Papa with the Motorcycle' and Papa Ward(Clay's Dad) is referred to as 'Papa with the Tractors on the Farm'.

We took a spin on the Carousel in River Front Park. CJ and Preston love going there, and they especially loved it when Papa took them on it.

Fun in the Snow

This has been a strange winter for us (at least so far) due to the absence of snow over the holidays. Last Christmas we had about three feet of snow, whereas this year we have nothing. We got a few inches in mid-December which promptly melted away, them a few days ago we got a couple inches again, which also melted off quickly. Laura is happy about that since she is about to 'Pop' and would rather not slide off of the road during labor. So we figure that right after this baby comes, we'll get dumped on with a few feet of snow.


The Shepherds

I wonder how Mary and Joseph would have reacted if these two characters had shown up to the manger.

Christmas PJ's

One of our Family Traditions is the giving of the Christmas Pajamas. It was Laura's turn this year to pick them out, and she tends to do a better job at it. Last year Clay picked out some good Pajamas, however, CJ's PJ's were a little too small. His pajama bottoms only reached his mid'calfs (capri style/spandex style).

Ward Weird-o-s

Here we are on our Saturday Night...what did you do?



Maybe this should be our Christmas card picture this year!!!!

CJ and Clay came home with these glasses after making a Saturday run to the commissary!!! Fun times.

Girly Preparations!!!

Laura and Clay had a busy week putting together the nursery... we felt it was time to get the girl preparations going....here is the result of our labors... PINK and BROWN!!!!

The yellow roses are the roses Clay gave Laura when we found out we were expecting this baby! The picture was painted by Laura's Mom and it hung in Laura's room growing up.

The crib....we got the bedding set from the baby shower!! Thanks Nana and Papa..it is perfect!

Soft comfy chair that rocks...perfect for those late night feedings.

Changing table and frame that Laura put together!

Laura made these boxes from baby wipe boxes covered in left over fabric and ribbon....they turned out really great!

The 30 week Blooming Belly!!

January is coming quickly....aghhhh

Visitors and Baby shower!!!

Laura's Parents, sister and friend came to visit last weekend. We had a great time with Nana, Papa, Julie and Heather. While they were here, Laura's friend, Megan, threw her a baby shower! We got a lot of cute little girl things!!! The boys wouldn't let Papa out of their sight....when we went anywhere....they made sure that Papa was squeezed into the back seat with them! Now that they are gone, we have the constant question...."When are we going to Papa's house." We just love visitors!






The boys enjoying Papa close by....literally!

Mom, Laura, Julie and Heather

Laura and Megan (who is expecting in December)...it has been fun sharing the pregancy journey with a friend!

Alaska Adventure

Clay headed off to Alaska for a week...and when he returned he brought souveniors!!!








Laura's never had the individual toe socks...but she has to admit...they are pretty comfy!!

Thanks Clayboy!!!

Is it Halloween Again?

What 2 year olds do while Mom is cleaning up the kitchen from dinner....dress-up! He promised to only draw on the paper....well, apparently when the paper was full, he went to his face and then the hands....and now he calls himself the cat! Oh Preston...

FHE with 2 boys...

Happy Halloween Haunting

Our Finished Product! The boys had fun picking out what kind of face they wanted on their pumpkin! Mom's arm was sore after we were done....but we had fun!
Cowboy CJ!
Batman Preston!
Pumpkin Preston in the leaves having some outdoor fun!
Ghost CJ, scarying everyone and practicing his "BOO"

Pumpkin Preston!

Cute Boys! Thank goodness for dressup clothes, because the boys changed their minds as to what they wanted to be for every event! They were one thing for school, another for the ward trunk or treat, and yet something different for the actual Halloween night! But, as long as the kiddos are happy, we are happy! Happy Halloween!

We were all very excited about OUR own 3 pumpkins that we were able to grow in our little garden out back! Yipee....we were thrilled!!

During Clay's week off after getting home from deployment #4, the crew decided to head for the border (Idaho/Washington) and check out one of the corn mazes in the area. It was lots of fun running around in there and trying not to get lost. Even with a map it was a bit challenging, but we survived for the most part. The only casualties were CJ and Preston, who found it much more interesting to sit on Mom and Dad's shoulder's in order to look over the corn and beyond. There was a kettlecorn stand at the corn maze called 'CJ's Kettlecorn', so even though it was getting close to (or pretty much past) the boys' bedtime, we did enjoy a few sweet morsels of delight on the way home.....in honor of CJ of course.