This site is rarely updated!!!

Ok, I admit it, I am not that great at updating this family site! But that is only because I update my personal blog with everything I want to say here and MORE so it all feels redundant to me! My personal blog isn't really too personal, but I keep it private because some wackos were commenting on it (we live in a crazy world!) But I would love anyone who wants to read it (and knows my family!) to have an invitation to read and post comments on it. To do so, just email me and I will add you to the list of readers. This is the best way you'll get an update on the Dulgarian Family, because obviously this site is old news! So email me will ya?!
stephd757@yahoo.com

September Slums!

Nothing too exciting happened this month, so I will just post some pictures of the kiddos!

Ethan finished his 1^st season of flag football and he had a blast! He was on a team with several of his friends from church and those boys are adorable! His 2 coaches took it very seriously, and even had a play book with positions and all! Other parents criticized them for expecting 4 and 5 year olds to be “made” to play so hard, but the truth is the boys loved it and never felt pressured to win or anything- they all had a blast! Ethan even scored a touchdown this season, and we got it all on tape! For cheering parents on the sideline, it seemed to be in slow motion! We are proud of Ethan and how well he does in sports! Next month we are back on to soccer! That one is my favorite!

Leah got her first “shiner” this month! She was holding one of Ethan’s matchbox cars and tripped and fell and the car got her right under her eye. It was black almost instantly, and stayed that way for a good week. These pictures don’t do it justice- the flash lightened it a whole lot!

Also, Leah had a bout with the stomach flu. It is always so sad when one of your kids gets sick. She was running a high fever fro 3 days and had no appetite for anything. Poor girl was just not herself. Here are some pictures of Rob taking advantage of her sickness- she doesn’t like to cuddle unless she is sick, so Rob made sure he got all the snuggles he could handle for the next little while. Poor Leah, hopefully next month will be better!

So September was pretty uneventful! I am still super sick and I have no energy most of the days so poor Rob is being a working dad and a housewife at the same time! We have big vacation plans for October, so there will be more of an update next month! See you then!

All About August!

Wow! What a month we have had here!

On Wednesday, August 8^th we celebrated Leah’s First Birthday! I am not the type of mom that throws huge parties for small kids, so we kept this celebration pretty mild. We invited some of my family that lives close by over after dinner for cake and ice cream, we watched Leah open her presents and 45 minutes later it was over- that is my kind of party! Quick and easy! Don’t get me wrong, I love parties and I especially love entertaining, but I just don’t think babies need a huge birthday bash! And if you set a precedent with one kid one year, it becomes expected by all your kids every year! My philosophy: Keep it simple! And we had a blast! I always love hanging out with my family, so it was nice to get together.

Leah was a funny girl, she dove right into her cake and looked at us all weird when we laughed at her. She got a couple dolls, which she loves- including her first Cabbage Patch Kid (that was from me because I LOVE CABBAGE PATCH KIDS!) and Ethan got Leah her first Barbie. She also got a princess dress up kit with a glittery purse, earrings, a cell phone and fake makeup, which Leah played with all night- she even kept the earrings on, which surprised us all. She is our little Glamour Girl!

Here are some pictures of our simple celebration:

Leah's Gifts-
She had no desire to open any of these, so Big Brother Ethan and cousin Mackenzie did it all for her. But boy was she excited when the wrapping was off- it was like she had won the lottery with each toy! We got some funny video of her expressions!

L is for Leah!-
Ethan and I made an L cake for Leah. He was too camera shy (surprise surprise) to get in this picture with us, but he was very proud of the cake he made!

Starting off Slow-
I think she was wondering if I made a mistake and gave her a whole cake! But she wasn't complaining. She was also probably wondering why we were all starring at her...

Dig In!-
It didn't take her long to completely demolish this cake!

Clean Up Time-
Before we could even take her upstairs we had to hose her off in the sink. She has too many "hiding spots" on her body (in case you haven't noticed all the rolls) and cake was falling outta who knows where!

Anyway, I can’t believe my “baby” is 1! Time certainly flies when you’re having fun, and that’s how I would describe this past year, it has definitely been a fun one!

We love our not-so-little-anymore- Leah and feel so blessed to have her as part of our family!

Also this month… Some BIG, UNEXPECTED NEWS! Baby #3 is on his or her way!

This pregnancy came as a big surprise, but we are welcoming it with open arms and feel so blessed. I got pregnant right away with Ethan (1st month off the pill) but then struggled with infertility to get Leah here! It took us nearly a year and a half with a miscarriage in the middle, so I never thought an "accident" would happen to us of all people. But we were definitely not trying (preventing, in fact) and somehow this little miracle happened!

After over a week of being sick with my family "joking" that I was pregnant, I decided to take a pregnancy test to "rule out that option." Much to my amazement, it came out positive, and my emotions were so mixed up! Leah had just barely turned 1 and I never imagined myself with 2 kids so close together! I emailed Rob and told him the news and it is surely an email neither of us will ever forget!

I thought I was somewhere in the very early weeks of pregnancy, so at my appointment, my doctor decided to do an ultra sound to get a due date. She asked me how far along I thought I was and I said, "Maybe 6 weeks" to which she replied that the u/s wouldn't show us much that early on, possibly not even a heart beat. But much to our amazement, as soon as the Doppler was on my stomach, there was this baby on the screen, arms and legs and all! I am further than I thought! The baby's measurements put me at about 12 weeks along setting the due date on none other than my very own birthday- March 18th! That is kinda exciting!

So this month I have seemed to fall off the planet! I literally lay down all day long! It is nice having my mom close by- I can go to her house and let the kids play while I crash on the couch. Teaching preschool is tough! I don’t ever want to get out of bed in the morning let alone wrestle with 10 3 and 4 year olds. Good thing I have a good class or I would be dead! Hopefully I won't be sick for too much longer- I wasn't sick at all with Leah, but I was really sick for maybe 20 weeks with Ethan, so who knows what to expect. I threw up all day every day with Ethan, and it inst that bad this time but it is definitely worse than with Leah! Man did I take that for granted!

We are hoping for a boy, although having one of each has taken pressure off this one for us and we will be happy for anything healthy! (That is also my fear- until the day of my big u/s I always freak out that there will be something wrong! I think because I have always thought that if anyone could handle a handicap child, I could, so maybe I am preparing myself for that day- who knows!) Anyway- we won't be finding out the sex this time around (this time its Robs choice not to) so we will find out in March what the sex is! (Even though I have never been right with any of mine so far, this one does feel blue to me- strange, I know. Maybe because so far the pregnancy has been like Ethan’s- I am sick, and I am craving carbs and hot foods- like pastas and meat and potatoes. With Leah it was all about the sweets- me at the check out stand with all that candy was a dangerous thing!

So anyway, that is the update! As soon as I am feeling better, I am going to hit the potty training with Leah- I dont want 2 kids in diapers!!!! AAAHHHHH!!!!

July 2007

Beatin’ the Heat of July!

July came and went too fast! Here is an update of our month!

Our good family friends were married Saturday, July 7^th in the Mesa Temple! Even though the day was HOT, everything was great; the sealing was very special, the reception was fun with great food, it was a great day!

Leah and Mackenzie were the flower girls and they were adorable! Of course I forgot my camera for pictures at the temple, and the pictures of the reception were horrible! Luckily the photographer sent me a few cute ones, so I will post those!

Leah "walking" to Lindsay- she took a few steps, but thats about it!

The Flower girls at the Temple

Leah points at something she wants or somewhere she wants to go and expects us to get it for her or take her there!

Leah and Daddy

Being silly with Mommy

Ethan was camera shy the entire day, but for some reason not embarrassed to dance around in his underwear after we got home. I really wanted to get a picture of Ethan and "his girlfriend" but he wouldn’t pose with her. I am posting these pictures so it doesn't look like I only took pictures of my Leah. I am not playing favoritism. (Ethan is going to kill me when he is older for posting this!)

And just as I thought nothing good comes out of AZ in the summer, the monsoons roll in and I am in love again! Monsoons are the best! It will be a bright, hot, no cloud in the sky kind of day when out of no where the winds pick up, the blue sky turns gray and the rain comes down… hard! It all happens in minutes and lasts just long enough to cool the place down a bit and get some great pictures of amazing electrical storms.

Ethan woke up one morning and got dressed in his bathing suit and said he wanted to go swimming. Out of nowhere, it started raining really hard, so I told him we couldn’t swim today unless the storm passed quickly. I decided to run some errands, so I told him he needed to go get dressed. About 10 minutes later, he came downstairs “ready to go” still wearing his bathing suit, but he also put on his rain jacket, a beanie and rain boots! He said he decided to wear his bathing suit because “it was supposed to get wet anyway, so if it got wet in the rain it would be ok.” He looked hilarious! I took him shopping with me without making him change because I thought it was funny how he dressed himself. I also got Leah her rain jacket too- it wasn’t cold enough to wear it all day, but this jacket was $2 at Target a few months ago and I have been waiting for a chance for her to wear it! Here are some pics of the kids! Call me crazy, but I love the rain!

Do ya like Ethan's outfit?

Also this month, we decided to take the kids to the temple! We have lived in Phoenix for just about 2 years now and Ethan has never been to the Mesa Temple. (Leah has only been there for the wedding she was in, but that’s it!)

The temple is closed for the entire month, so we got a great parking spot! That never happens! The grounds weren’t crowded with bridal parties- we had the whole place to ourselves! We went through the visitors center and it was great! Ethan was asking a lot of questions about all the pictures hung on the wall, and Rob and I loved the conversations it started about the life of our Savior. In one room, there were gorgeous statues of all different scenes- the First Vision, The Garden of Gethsemane… I couldn’t believe the talent of the artist! There was a life-size statue of Christ that was amazing- carved out of some kind of wood. I could have stood there for hours! Unfortunately, Leah didn’t like it- she gets freaked out by big things- a giant teddy bear in a candy store sends her bawling and clawing at my shirt when we pass it in the mall- poor girl! (But it is kinda funny!)

Anyway, we had a great time and I am so grateful for the opportunity to spend time with my family, and I am especially grateful for the spirit that was with us that provided learning experiences and a chance to grow closer together and closer to our Savior. Ethan has mentioned several times this week that he can’t wait to see Jesus again and he hopes he comes in “100 more sleeps!” (That’s how he measures time, by how many times he has to fall asleep before something happens!) Anyway, here are some pictures of our great day!

The kids taking a water break!

Surprisingly Leah wasnt afraid of this statue!

I love this picture- the kids look like they are having so much fun!

Ethan kept busy this month playing Tball! A couple of his games were cancelled because of the rain, and Ethan was pretty upset about that! He counts down the days ‘til he gets to play and then an early morning call on Saturday Morning can ruin everything for the boy! We signed him up for Flag Football, which will begin in August, so we will see how he does with that! He is also learning sign language, and it amazes me how fast he picks up on it! We watch a program on TV called “Signing Time” and it has become our families favorite thing to watch together, especially since the banning of SpongeBob in our home! Ethan came up to me one day and said, “Mom, I know how to spell red.” This was the first time he had ever told me he could spell anything except his name, so I asked him to tell me. Much to my surprise, not only did he spell it, but he also signed it using the American Sign Language Alphabet! What a smart 4 year old! He even taught his 15 year old aunt how to spell her name! That was funny to find out about- a preschooler teaching a high school student!

Leah is growing, growing, growing! She began walking this month and is of course into everything! She mimics every sound you make, and is fun to watch. She also started sleeping in past 7am this month! (Thank goodness!) She teases other people by acting like she is giving them something and then just when they reach for it, she grabs it back and laughs! Little stinker! We are getting ready for her birthday and just cant believe that our little girl is turning 1!

So that’s the update! Have a great month of August everyone!

Lazy Days of June

Summer is here….

…and boy it is hot!

Things seemed to have settled down a lot this month, so not much happened around the Dulgarian home. Here is a quick update of our month of June! There is not much to write about, but we have taken a lot of pictures!

Ethan finished his first season of soccer and I think he carried around his trophy for a whole week after he got it. He wanted to sleep with it, but we told him it could break, so he set it next to his bed each night and by morning time it was back in his hands! At his soccer awards, he was given the “Best Sideline Watcher” award. At first I was like, “What? He hated sitting on the side!” But then his coach explained this meant that every time he did something great, he was the first player looking at mom and dad on the sidelines to see if they were cheering! And we were! We had a blast watching him play and can’t wait for next season!

Ethan and his trophy

TIME FOR T BALL!

The same week that soccer ended, T Ball began! Whose crazy idea was it to sign Ethan up for summer T-Ball in Arizona?!? NOT MINE! Watching games in the heat is not my idea of fun! Rob is so excited for Ethan to play- he thinks Ethan will go to the Major Leagues and be his ticket to early retirement! 4 other little boys from our ward are all on the same team, so at least I will have friends to melt with in the stands!

He is on the Mariners team and had never heard of the word "Mariner" before today. After practice we were watching "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and Ethan got all excited and said, "Dad, they just said my team name, 'Who Wants to be a Mariner!'"

Ethan with Kaden and Troy

Ethan loved his first practice, and was very excited for his first game, but just as we feared would happen, he got camera shy when it was his turn to bat. He stood there for a few seconds as his coach tried to talk him into hitting, but to no avail. Rob got it all on tape, so if he is ever famous, it will be worth money! Ethan did great in the outfield, and finally, after insisting that mom and dad put the cameras away, he agreed to give it one more try. He hit the ball and was so proud of himself. We were proud of him too! His second game was much smoother- no whining or crying this time! He hit the ball great 2 times and is still asking us if we saw how high it went! He played 1^st base and Rob was out there with him coaching when Ethan slid to catch a ball. Ethan thought sliding must’ve looked cool, so he began sliding on every play, whether he got the ball or not! As hot as it is, we are having fun watching him play.

(Leah loved Ethan's first practice too!)

Ethan's First Game
(You can click on the pictures to make them bigger)

His first at bat (covering his eyes as he walks to the plate!)

His 2nd at bat- getting ready for a Grand Slam!

GOOD GAME!

At the end of the game, they all lined up to give the other team a high 5. Ethan was the line leader, but luckily his teammates didn't follow him because he held out the wrong hand and went on the wrong side of the line and ended up smacking the other team as he walked by! He will learn!

Leah is as high maintenance as ever! She is taking steps here and there, but not really walking yet. She is a flower girl in a wedding on July 7^th, so it would be nice to see her walking by then, but who knows! She is stubborn and wont do anything you tell her. “Walk Leah” must mean “Sit down” in Leah’s language! She is laughing a lot more lately- who would’ve thought it would take her 10 months to laugh? Little pest! She has fallen down our stairs twice, again, she doesn’t listen to us. You’d think after the first time of almost cracking her head open she would learn or at least show some fear, but no! She is still quite the mimic and does funny faces and sounds if you do them first. We love her to pieces, but at this point we are hoping the rest of our kids are boys! Girls are too dramatic!

Here is how she puckers up for a kiss, and also how she reacts sometimes if you call her name when she is doing something she knows she shouldn't be doing!

Also in June, I want to give a special thanks to my “wonderful” ex-dentist for drilling too close to my wisdom tooth roots. While Rob was in California playing, I mean, working, I experienced 2 days of agonizing pain in my jaw that kept me up all night and ended in me getting all 4 of my wisdom teeth pulled! Apparently the work I had done to fix some recession in my gums because I brush too hard wasn’t done right and I suffered for it big time! Needless to say we have found a new dentist! The only thing good about this experience were the souvenirs- my teeth!

Not much is new with Rob- he is still job searching and we are hopin’ and prayin’ for a change! I keep telling him he can work for me as a teacher’s aide for preschool, but he doesn’t seem to think Busy Bee Academy will pay the bills!



Rob and Leah one day after Leah surprisingly woke up from a nap in a good mood! (gasp!) That hardly ever happens!

So now that picnics at the park are out of the question because of the heat, we spend a lot of time swimming, or indoors. I am trying to think of creative activities to do with the kids so we all don’t get stir crazy, but so far it feels like a lazy summer. We go to the mall a lot (but that gets expensive) and we visit friends and family. But so far our favorite indoor activity is Peter Piper Pizza. For under $15 we can get lunch and 2 hours of playtime. You cant beat the price when you’re trying to beat the heat!
Here are some pictures of the kids trying to stay cool!

Peter Pipers Pizza-

Ethan's favorite game- Star Wars! I think he must've spent 1/2 of our tokens on this game!

My favorite "game." A motion machine that takes you on a wild roller coaster!

Leah's favorite ride- the carousel!

Leah throwing a fit because her mean mom won't let her stand up on the moving train!



Shopping at the grocery store- one way to kill an afternoon in air conditioning!

The kids at the pool. They would spend all day every day here if I let them! They are both little fish!

So thats the update- see you next month!