boy or girl, girl or boy?!?

I have not been reserved about expressing my desire for this baby to be another boy and figured I'd jinxed myself. When I went in for an ultrasound last week I told the tech I really wanted a boy and that I'd slip her a $20 if she would see what she could do about it. Without a doubt, the little guy showed us the money! I was so excited, I might have let out a squeal or two.

With my other 3 I have been able to get a gut feeling and be right every time, but with this one I was way too worked up about wanting another boy that I couldn't get a clear instinct signal. Then I took that stinkin' Intelligender test at 12 weeks and it said girl--until Brad picked it up and then it changed to boy. But you are not supposed to disturb it, so technically my reading was girl. I just kept going back and forth in my head "boy or girl, girl or boy?" for a couple more weeks. Then I finally came to a point where I could honestly say that I would be happy with either. I love my girls and it would be awesome to have another. It was after I made peace with my mental gender debate that I finally felt confident that it was indeed a boy. Going in to the ultrasound I fully expected to have my suspicion confirmed and I was ecstatic when it was!

And so the score will be even. Girl-boy-girl-boy. Finn will have his little brother and some relief from the princesses by which he is surrounded.

one for the galla, two for the finn, three to get paisley and four...

...due five-five-ten! Yup, that's right, cinco de Mayo. I'm nearly 12 weeks along and annoyingly nauseous. But we're excited for number four! I can't believe that we actually waited this long to spill the beans. With the other 3 I couldn't wait and told everyone at, like, 5 1/2 weeks. But I always thought girls were so cool when they could keep it under wraps 'til around week 12, so I wanted to give it a try. It was fun having it be a little secret between Brad and me for a while. I even straight lied to my sis-in-law and told her I had my period--sorry, Steph! So, here's to the new babe and the end of the first trimester!

allow me to "summer"-ize

These are some pictures to summarize our summer. Not much explanation needed. Most of them our just in our backyard but to me they convey the joys of childhood. I wish I could still run around in my underwear eating popsicles!LOVE this picture--so classic!My sweet girls in their matching summer dresses.This bad boy is our garden guard! I was the lucky one to discover him, but Brad is definitely the one holding him up to meet the kids. I have mixed feelings about him. I appreciate the work he puts into keeping our garden critter-free, but I think I'll keep my distance.Hi Paisley!Finn riding his trike.And when Finn gets tired of riding his own, he hitches a ride on Galla's!Splashin' in the little Wal-Mart pool--which is bigger than you think when you are trying to transport it home.Paisley was endlessly entertained by the, like, 2 inch slide.Sayonara summer. We look forward to your sweet heat next year!

Tio Joe

My brother, fondly referred to as "Tio Joe," came for a visit last week! We don't get to see him often since he's busy being famous--performing on Broadway all the way across the country in NYC--so it's a real treat when he comes. This guy is the ultimate entertainer! From Broadway stage to backyard playhouse, permed old ladies to playful little kids, he really knows how to thrill an audience. My kids can't get enough of this character and it's so fun to watch them all play together. But he's definitely a night owl, so it's after the kids go to bed that act 2 starts and he and I get seriously silly! I'd also like to mention that, beyond performing talents, he's just an all-around awesome guy. Thanks for coming, Tio Joe, WE LOVE YOU!!

Goodbye kids, hello coast!

Brad and I got to leave the little ones with my parents and head to the coast for Labor Day weekend. A full Friday to Monday vacation and it was awesome! We'd only had literally one night away from our kids since Galla was born until last weekend. We stayed at Anton Inn in Pacific Grove. It was so fun! Allow me to summarize the exciting times:We woke up Saturday morning (after going to a few art shows Friday night in downtown Pacific Grove) raring to go! We enjoyed our complimentary breakfast and then hit the bikes. We rode over to Carmel following 17 mile drive and the coastline.We took a walk on the beach to give our "bike bums" a rest and then rode back to the hotel for lunch. Round-trip the trek was about 30 miles. My bum was sore and my shoulders were burned (darn that sun and me forgetting to wear sunblock) but it was soooo fun! After lunch and showers we got dressed and went to a Greek festival on Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey.

Sunday we decided to soak up some warm sun in Santa Cruz. I'm sad we forgot to take pictures, but we totally lounged on the beach and read our novels--and people watched, of course! It's so different to be able to relax on the beach and read instead of constantly trying to keep the kids from floating out to sea. Then we went up to the boardwalk and walked around and ate some fried food.Our hotel was walking distance to the beach so Sunday and Monday mornings we went down for a run and to explore the tidepools.

Meanwhile, the kids were great for the grandparents. They swam, ate french fries, went for a ride in Pa's Corvette, and rode on the unicycle with Pa. Seriously, my dad has had this unicycle since he was nine (that's not actually him in the link) and he can hold a kid while riding! So funny!

It was good to get back to my babies and their cuddles, but I'm already looking forward to our next getaway!

puh-puh-preschool

I have three crazy kids on my heels all day and finally I get to pawn one off at preschool for a few hours a week! Galla started a MWF morning class on Monday and we got her psyched by keeping a "puh-puh-P" theme all day since "puh-puh-P is for preschool." I'll spare you the written "puh-puh" pronunciation throughout the post, but know that we were emphasizing it all day! We started the morning with pancakes, then dressed her in purple and pink (not that that is anything out of the ordinary) complete with purple and pink painted nails and pig-tails in her hair. I packed her popcorn for her snack and dropped her off for her big day. I wasn't sure how I'd react to leaving my baby at school and I got a tiny bit choked up as I walked out of the building, but once I got back in the car I could feel nothing but excitement for her. I know she will thrive in the environment!

When I picked her up she was perky and told me all about how much fun she had and the new friends she made and how the boys weren't listening to the teacher but she was listening to the teacher. For lunch we had peanut butter sandwiches and during naptime for Paisley and Finn she got to watch a princess movie. After naps we had pretzels for a snack then went to the dollar store to pick a prize*. For dinner it was pizza pockets, then we went swimming at the pool and had peach cobbler for dessert. Come to think of it, it was a pretty typical day, but fun nonetheless to make a P-party of it all. I think she now knows what letter preschool starts with and what sound it makes!

Now we just need to keep her excited about school for the next 18 years or so....
This is at orientation last week.
She loves the doll house.

thanks for the hearty slice of life

The kids are asleep. Brad is out playing tennis with his brother. I don't feel like being irritated by TV, but I also don't feel like being truly productive. Hmmm...what shall I do? I totally just spent the last hour and a half absorbed in blogs and I just have to say thank you.

Thank you for opening your lives and sharing with me. It is amazing to see so many families that I've met from so many places along the way in my (and Brad's) life journey. You guys are all over the place doing all kinds of commendable things--babies being born, kids starting kindergarten, new houses, fun outings...living life and loving it!

I feel so blessed to have such great, admirable friends. Several of your blogs touched me to tears. I've been entertained. I've gained insight. I am impressed and inspired. Life is so precious and I appreciate being able to share it with you peculiar people!

Thank you for the uplifting evening. Let's stay in touch.

hey, finn...

Where'd ya go?
Oh! There's that cute face!

Cutting a squirmy little boy's hair is tricky business.

"sometimes you just gotta yell and scream!"

Hello flashback!! Who else was raised on this stuff? My sister ordered these aweseomely important songs on CD for us and listening to it totally takes me back to sitting in the mini-van of my youth. My kids ate it up and quickly learned to sing along. They love it and include the Safety Kids in our evening prayers. I still sing my telephone number to their catchy tune and my kids are memorizing my cell phone number--that could come in handy!Galla likes to practice this safety tip in public with Brad. That could cause some problems!These kids look pretty street-smart to me!

can you say "entomology?"

What would you think when this package came UPS from Mimi?

*Yay! Package from Mimi!*And this little box is inside.

*Hmmm...she's joking? Maybe it's a cool fake bug?*Nope. It's the real deal. Very icky. And also stinky.

You can't say she didn't warn me.We love our silly Mimi! She sure knows how to take the hum-drum out of the day.

is it sunday or wednesday?

Lately I feel like those are the only days in the week. It'll be Sunday morning and we're rushing to get everyone presentable and to church on time. Next thing I know it's Wednesday and Galla has gymnastics and Brad has a softball game. Before I know it we're getting ready for church again...then it seems like the next day and I'm watching somersaults and softball again...then suddenly it's Sunday! Where do the weeks go?!So I had to post some softball pics. Brad sponsored the team (hence the name "Falke Chiropractic") of a bunch of guys mostly from our ward. How do you like the spine on the back of their tees? Pretty cute, right?! The guys all have cool wives and kids that would be there, so I spent more time socializing (with my friends) and supervising (our kids at the playground) than rooting on the team. But I did fulfill my "team mom" duties and bring ice cold Gatorades in the cooler each week for the guys and candy for the kids.

Take me out to the ball game...

G is for Galla and Gymnast

Galla started gymnastics a few weeks ago and she luh-huvs it! After her first class her teacher, Miss Megan, said she was surprised she'd never taken gymnastics before because her arms are so strong. I guess the strict morning regimen I have her on of curling large juice cans and bench pressing Paisley is paying off.

Before each class Galla's instructions to me are: Take my picture and say "go, Galla, go!"

You go, G-girl!

Sweet Tooth

To celebrate Uncle Ryan's first week as a full-fledged dentist, I made this cake. Kind of conflicting interests to shape sugar like a toothbrush, but once I had the idea there was no stopping me. I wouldn't recommend using dyed marshmallow creme as actual toothpaste.

I'm still scheming how to successfully make a spine cake for Brad.

While we're talking toothbrushes, I'd like to mention that Ryan hooked Brad and me up with some sweet Sonicares a while back. Have any of you used one of these vibrating villians?! The first time I used it I wasn't sure I could endure the two minutes of torture. It so tickles my lips and gums! I'm used to the tickles now, but it has forever stripped me of my teeth-brushing multi-tasking capabilities. I guess I can still use my left hand to do other things but I cannot use both hands and just let the thing hang out in my mouth for a second. I've tried it unsuccessfully. I'm learning to enjoy the two minutes of meditation while staring at myself in the mirror and when it's done, I can't deny the fresh from the dentist feeling.

cows, chickens, pigs, sharks...the usual fair gang

Brad's business has been steadily increasing and it's great. He's constantly coming up with another way to market himself--you know, like getting new patients not like on the "black market." So a couple weeks ago he had a booth at the El Dorado County Fair. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of his set-up, but I did get some fun pics of the kids. I took the kids (with Ryan, Stephanie, and Conner--see previous post) and we had a jolly fair time.Checking out the chickens.Yup, there were real live sharks! Surprisingly not part of the petting zoo portion, but still cool to look at."License and registration please, ma'am."Poor little P was exhausted by the end. I thought this was a peculiar sleep position.This is a glimpse into how my life would look as a single mom. Seriously, I know a lot of ladies don't have a choice and they do a great job, but I'm not tough enough. We would look this pathetic 24/7. We love you, Brad, and we're proud of your business progress!

Beachy Keen

Here's a blurb from our beach trip a while back. So I'm behind with my blogging, whatchagunnado?This is as good of a full family photo we can get these days. We need to make more of an effort and attempt to get one with at least all faces forward.Careful Finn...Or throw caution to the wind and run full-speed into the water.Like father, like son.Hooray for the beach!What a beach bum.Me and Paisley with Stephanie and Conner.The boys with the babies. Cousin Conner is 6 weeks older than Paisley.

Take note of Ryan (Brad's big bro), Stephanie and Conner because they are going to be regulars on the Falke Star. Another Falke family moved to Folsom! They looked all over for where to live and ended up in our ward. We are super-stoked to have them so close. Brad and Ryan are great brothers and friends. They tend to bring out the teenager in each other, so Steph and I have to stick together to keep things in line. Steph and I also might have to leave the kids with the dads and go shopping.

i know, i can't believe it either!

Our sweet P hit the one year mark last Saturday!We celebrated Friday night by going to John's Incredible Pizza with Sesa and Pa (aka: my parents). It's like Chuck E. Cheese, but with less chuck and more awesomeness. We had a blast! Just look how excited Paisley is in this pic!She's not so sure what daddy got her into here.Brad, I mean, Finn can't get enough of this game!Um, did I mention the 1,145 tickets we scored? Mostly because of my skills on the "push the coin over the edge" game thingy, but Brad helped too. He's totally an addict as well, but he's still in the denial stage.Saturday we had the cake. I thought a butterfly would be fun for my petite Paisley. Galla enjoyed helping me decorate it, and by "help" I mean eating all the leftover candy.
She was all dainty about eating her wing. She got her face sufficiently smeared with frosting and then started dropping everything off of her tray.We might have finished off Paisley's birthday festivities by leaving her asleep with a babysitter and taking Galla and Finn to a Sacramento Rivercats baseball game. We went with some of our fun friends who also left their baby girl (just a few weeks older than Paisley) with the sitter we shared.We had such a good time (yes, that's gum going from Gal's mouth to sunglasses) and stayed all the way through the fireworks show at the end.

Paisley, you are the sweetest baby! I love your pats and excited squeals. I love your cuddles and how you still fall asleep on me in Relief Society. Your temperament is tender all the way through and we love you!

Man, time sure flies when you're having...babies.