Leapyear Baby!

It's official. I just got back from the Doctor's office and baby number 6 is Due February 29th 2012!
Most of you who read my blog already knew I was expecting but for those out there who didn't know here are some answers to some FAQ's:

Was this baby planned?
Absolutely NOT! Not only were we not trying, but we were actively trying not to have another baby! Our only explanation is that it is meant to be.

How do we feel about it?
Well, it has taken us a few weeks to get over the shock of it all. But anytime you have a baby it's exciting right? :)

How far along am I?
I am a little over 13 weeks now.

Have I been sick?
Yes. But it hasn't been too bad. I'm hoping to be through the worst of it in a few weeks.

What do we think it is?
Well Joe thinks/hopes it's a boy. I think I'm ready to have another girl. Either way we'll both be happy.

Is this our last one?
Well, I thought Tommy was our last one so that tells you how much I know. I really do feel like this is the LAST Walker baby. Unless there is some sort of divine intervention, (I really doubt there will be) this is it for us.

So... there you have it!

Hurricane Irene

So Hurricane Irene came and went and we survived! Actually, more than survived. Truthfully it was a little anti-climactic.
We stocked the shelves with food and water. Gathered all our flashlights and emergency supplies and hunkered down. We watched the news and waited. The worst of it was supposed hit us early this morning around 1am.
We lost power for just a few hours yesterday evening and there were a few big gusts of wind last night that rattled the windows enough to wake me up. But other than that we didn't have any other problems. No trees down in the neighborhood, no flooding, and no extended loss of power.
I know there are a lot of areas closer to the coast where there is significant damage. Luckily we live far enough inland where it wasn't too bad for us.
They said on the news that it's the first time in history an area has been hit by an earthquake and a hurricane in the same week. Sheesh! It makes you wonder what we're doing wrong out here! :)

Dallin is Potty Trained!

Hooray for Dallin!
I actually attempted to potty train Dallin at the beginning of this year and he was NOT interested AT ALL!!! So we put it off for a few months and decided to try again later. Well, a few months went by, and then a few more months and all of the sudden it was August!
Have you ever heard the phrase "Good things come to those who wait" ? I'm not exactly sure that the person who said it first was talking about potty training but it sure worked for us. I can't believe how easy it was. I basically had a little conversation with Dallin about two weeks ago and said, "Dallin, do you want to go to preschool this year?"
"Yeah!" he said.
"Ok, well you have to use the potty like a big boy if you want to go to preschool." I replied.
"........OK!" he said.
That was basically it, and he's been practically accident free since then!
Way to go Buddy!

First Earthquake!

So today we experienced our first earthquake! So Weird!!!
Luckily it was fairly mild. No damage to the house or the neighborhood. It actually took me a minute to realize what it was.
Joe called me right after it ended. I guess it was a lot worse in D.C. He said he could feel his building swaying back and forth! SCARY!
But, like I said we're all fine and we feel very blessed no real harm was done in our area.

Disney World!

Amy, Brock and Sami came for a visit the last week of July. We love them so much and we always have a great time with them. They spent a few days here in Virginia with us. We spent a day at Luray Caverns. We took the girls to the new American Girl store in Tyson's Corner. The boys went to a Nationals game. And we just had a nice time hanging out and relaxing.



Then we all piled into our cars and headed south to DISNEY WORLD!!! Amy and Brock have never been down to visit Andrea and it's hard to pass up the great deal we get whenever we go visit her.
We arrived in Orlando just in time to meet Andrea and sweet little Xander at the Dinosaur restaurant in Downtown Disney. Then we did a little window shopping and took advantage of some picture moments with all the grankids.

We started the first day at the Disney Junior Character Breakfast. It was a delicious breakfast buffet in Hollywood Studios where we could sit, eat, and relax while all the Disney Junior characters came around to each table to meet the kids, give autographs, and pose for pictures.
Then it was off to do some cool rides!







The second half of the day we spent in Animal Kingdom. We had VIP seats to see Andrea perform in Nemo. She does such a great job! It's always so fun watching her. We did a few more rides, had dinner, and then went back to our cabin to CRASH!


We spent day two in Magic Kingdom. Even though it was way HOT, I still think it's the most magical place on earth! I think the heat kept the crowds down too because it really wasn't too bad. We spent the day doing lots of fun rides (and drinking lots of water!) The highlight of the trip for me was the end of the day. Andrea arranged for us to enjoy an exclusive dessert buffet and front row seats to the light parade and fireworks on the Tomorrow Land Terrace. It was the perfect way to end our trip.




Even though we were only there two days we had a blast! And we can't wait to go back someday!