I'm so bad at surprises. Even when I have a really good one planned I get so excited and tell David before it happens. But I finally pulled one off. Last month the mirror that someone gave us fell right off the dining room wall and broke so we had a huge blank wall staring us down for a few weeks. David has wanted the Prayer at Valley Forge painting since before we were married. First I was going to get it for him when he signed up with the army in dental school. Then I was going to do it when he graduated dental school. The next plan that fell through was to get it for him when we moved to Fort Leonard Wood. Every time I went to buy it I remembered how much debt we had and opted to hold off.
Last week gave me another reason. David signed on for 3 additional years in the Army. They offered a huge loan payoff incentive to doctors and dentists if they'd sign on for a few extra years. And if you're like us and didn't get your first year paid for, had 3 kids, paid for those 3 births out of pocket and paid over $12,000 for a skull surgery... a loan payoff incentive is heaven sent. Not to mention that we absolutely love the army life so it was an easy decision for us.
So I splurged and kept it a surprise. David walked in from work and Ashton ran over and told him to check our his surprise. He was thrilled. He is such a patriot and history buff and now that he's serving in the army this is even more special.
The other event of the day was the new sewage pipes they're installing across the backyards. We turned the couch around and watched the tractors and bull dozers for a good hour.
Then David let the kids go crazy in it. They got so filthy that we had to fill up the kiddie pool and strip them down just so they were clean enough to come in for a real bath. That is all our backyard. It's awesomely huge.
I love how they brought out their tractors immediately. Now that Mallie is almost two they all play without me worrying about a little toddler out there. It's so fun to watch the three of them play together even if they are dumping dirt on eachother's heads.
And this is the back of the house. This one is for me. I wish I had gone around and taken pictures of the inside and out of our apartments and last house. Some day these will be fun to look and have our remember when moments. So you'll probably see more of the inside as I get around to it and cross things off my list before the baby comes.
We love our house. It still seems so huge to us. In the army if you live on post you're rewarded with a bigger house the more kids you have without paying a penny more. There is something so right about that. Well, that's the update for now. 35 weeks and counting down!
We went to the pool for 3 hours with friends. The kids came home and took a 2 hour nap and by then David was home. We ate pizza, opened presents and did cake. Hence the pool hair in most of these pictures.
Mallie opening presents. 
Counting her birthday money.
Getting ready for cake.
Blowing out candles.
She loved her grocery cart. She is always hoarding toys and food and now she has a way to push them around. Mallie is such a happy and easy kid. She embodies being a 3rd child. It's amazing at the age of 2 I already know that she will always take care of herself. She gets her own food and drinks. She can put on her own clothes and she tells us when she needs a new diaper. She's always babbled but now she's linking three and four words together. She is independent and fierce. In nursery when some of the bigger boys try to take the toy she is playing with she pushes them right down and yells no. I kind of adore that about her. She still only weighs about 24lbs and is the youngest so she gets carried on my hip anytime she wants. Hopefully this new baby doesn't rock her world too much! Happy Birthday Mallie Jane!
