May is going to be a busy month.

We're having a baby, (April 28th or sooner )by the way, so that will keep us just a little busy, but you can catch up on other things here and here.  Today we were informed that in addition to these great accomplishments Officer will be a recipient of NAPO's TOP COP award.  This means that we will be going to Washington DC in May and he will meet the President and...it's just incredible and I'm so proud.  We knew that he had been nominated, but we never expected anything to come of it because across the nation there are so many exceptional officers and only a small number are chosen for this award (I believe that they choose 10 incidents and award the officers involved in those incidents).  Some officers never receive a recognition like this in their entire career and in such a short time as an Officer he has shown such exceptional service, character, dedication to his department and our community.  I'm so grateful that he has this opportunity to be recognized for his service.

Sweet things

I have a baby shower to go to this weekend for a friend and I made these to go with a little outfit I bought for her.  I think they are so sweet and it makes me excited to have another little girl.  Miss Peanut had that helmet when she was little, so we were limited in ways to accessorize.  Ooh, and 10 weeks or less - that's right!  With Officer being such a big deal and having a BIG ceremony the first part of May, my doctor agreed to induce me (if I still want to) the last week of April.

Valentimes

That's how Miss Peanut says it.  I can't say that we don't usually celebrate in a big way cause we don't always, but some valentimes we've been on trips to the Caribbean and last year we went to see Wicked in San Fransisco.  Officer worked this year, so we celebrated with our kids and had a heart pancake breakfast.
 

Officer also surprised me by picking up a dozen of these on his way home early Valentimes morning.  Luckily we were able to sneak away for a few hours the next day for dinner and a movie.

Barefoot and Pregnant

I miss barefoot and pregnant.  Every morning for most of my last two pregnancies I have had the morning ritual of getting out of bed and putting compression hose to help with my ever-increasing yucky varicose veins.  They are bad enough that I have to get a prescription hose for enough compression.  I recently had to get stronger compression in them and they seriously take 10 minutes to put on in the morning.  They are miraculous things, really, they help a lot, but my poor toes have spent the better part of 7+ months stuffed in stockings and I miss being barefoot and pregnant.

He's kind of a Big Deal

I shared a little bit about Officer's accomplishments not long ago.  I'll be honest, often I try not to share somethings about us that are a little more personal,  but I'm really so proud of him and you all need to hear about it.  This morning Officer was informed that he and two other officers involved with the incident last summer, in addition to receiving the Silver Star and a Life Saving award, were nominated and unanimously chosen by our Attorney General Medal of Honor Commission to be awarded the Medal of Honor.  It is the State's highest honor, and it's kind of a big deal.  Kind of is an understatement; this really is a BIG deal!  In May there will be an award ceremony and we'll tell you all about it.  It was wonderful to be able to share this news with his family today; they are so proud of him!  It's kind of surreal, and he's been kind of modest about it because he has read about some previous years' recipients.  They are all exceptional in their service, and he is no different, whether he'll admit it or not.  I am privileged to spend my life with him and I know that this is not the only honor he will be given - he will continue to do exceptional things throughout his life.  I love you, Congratulations! 

Project

You may remember when our fireplace exploded.  It has been taped off and unused most of the winter while we were dealing with insurances etc.  Long story short, we're finally getting a new fireplace to replace it and decided that we might as well do a little remodel in the process.  Grandpa has been here to help lots and Handsome has wanted to be right in the middle of it except for some of the really noisy tools.  Here's our progress, hopefully tomorrow we'll have a new fireplace and next week sheetrock and tile.  We're excited to be able to move our TV above the fireplace and replace our old entertainment center with a book shelf or something of the sort. 

My little big boy

Handsome is getting to be such a big boy, it's good because there are only 11-ish weeks until a new little one gets here.  He's wanting to do everything like big sister does - all by themselves.  It is kind of sad at the same time,  he has just been such a great baby.  This past week I thought I would just try letting him nap in a big boy bed.  It didn't go well at nap time, but tonight I decided it was as good as any to try it out at bedtime.  He didn't protest, he got out of bed once, and within 20 minutes this is what I found.  It just made me realize that he really is getting to be so grown up.