What a week!

This past week was one of my favorites :)

My sister Jessica and my niece Landry stayed with us for three nights, and we had such a great time with them.  It was fun having our guest room occupied, and having a live-in playmate for Jude.  It took a little bit of time for Jude and Landry to warm up to each other, but once they did, Jude was Landry little parrot (and servant). lol.  It was really neat watching them play.  It was not so neat teaching them how to share, but this is a lesson every child has to has to have drilled into their brain.  A lesson, even us adults might not always have quite right :)

Nana came over and visited.  She even stayed with the kids one afternoon so Jess and I could have some very much needed girl time.  We got pizza, shopped, and talked about all the things sisters talk about :) 

So precious this girl is.  So full of life and love.  Really enjoyed snuggling with her, painting her nails, and getting those extra special LJ kisses.  Love this lady. We are blessed to have her in our lives.

Having some fun in the sun at the park!  The weather was beautiful while they were here.  It's crazy that only a few short days after they made their way back to Surprise, Prescott got one of the biggest snow storms of the year.  For two whole days it snowed and we ended up with over 8 inches!  By the end of this week, the snow will melt and we will be back to our warm days.  Today is the first day of Spring! Come on warm weather, we are ready for you!



A belated birthday gift from Aunt Jess, Landry and Jim.  A bubble-blowing lawn mower! :) Jude had a blast with it. He is really into bubbles right now.

Look at that red hair and blue eyes!

My personal favorite! :)

I wish I could have said that I felt wonderful the entire time we had company.  I wish I could say that the no-puke fairy visited me, and decided to give me a break on this pregnancy.  I wish.

The truth is, I've been feeling pretty darn miserable.  It's those first 3 months that really put you under, you know?  I keep telling myself that it is a season, and it will get better.  With Jude I had morning sickness until around 13 weeks.  I suddenly felt better one day, and was SUPER thankful. 

It's a hard feeling to explain.  I have a love-hate relationship with food right now.  I get hungry, and the last thing I want to do is eat.  Nothing sounds good.  Chris has been such a great husband/chef asking me each night what I'd like to eat, and usually what I tell him I want he makes for me.  However, these past few days have been totally rotten, and even my most prized craving hasn't fit the bill.  Uh.

One of the worst smelling & tasting things to me right now is my morning cup of Joe.



Why, o why baby don't you like coffee?  It's the one thing I always look forward to in the morning.  It's warm and delicious, right?  Right now, it's a puke-inducing criminal to me.  Seriously disgusting.  The most annoying part about not drinking it, though, is that fact that it's my caffeine boost.  It jump starts my system, you know??  If I don't have it, I feel like crawling back under the covers any chance I have.  I also get a friendly old headache come the middle of the day. 

Let's just say it sucks.

I have to keep reminding myself it's a season, and it too will pass.  Thank God. 

You know, being the third girl and the youngest amongst my siblings, I was always disappointed at the amount of photos and memoirs that my parents collected of my childhood.  Did my parents just give up after I came along? What were they thinking? We've done this twice, we're over it?  If I can give one promise to my children it would be this: I will not slack on keeping track of you.  I want you to look back on this blog and smile, knowing that I did my best to remember the special moments.  So, this new baby is going to get the same treatment as Jude did.  I took my first belly shot just for kicks. I'm fully aware that these pictures don't really show any kind of belly, but that's the point.  I will have a photo to look back on when I'm huge and whale-like :) 

In this picture I am 6 weeks! Soon, I will be sprouting, I'm sure!  :)  I love you already sweet pea!

xoxoxo



All smiles!

As if we needed another reason to smile lately, this past weekend we found out some most EXCELLENT news!  We are having another baby!  Hip hip hooray! :) We were all smiles around our home this past weekend.  Couldn't keep all the joy to ourselves.  Jude and Chris had a dance party! Well, really it was just Jude. Hehe!!

As I'm sure you all know, we have been trying for another baby since October of this past year.  Not very long to wait, as most people think, but I thought it felt like forever.  Lol.  A little dramatic, I know, but hey! when I am excited about something...I literally am the most impatient person ever.  Imagine me on Christmas Eve back when I was 10.  Yes, just like that. I was really looking forward to carrying another baby and giving Jude a brother or sister.  I'm so thankful to the Lord that he answered my prayers and prayers of many others! What a faithful God we serve.

On Friday night I realized that my period had been late for almost two days.  I thought that was pretty weird since I'm usually right on.  Since I had convinced myself that I probably wouldn't get pregnant for a few more months, I was almost certain that I wasn't expecting.  Little did I know! ha!

Because my mom was convinced that I was pregnant, I thought, I'm going to just take a test to tell her that I'm definitely not, and to get the thought off my mind.  After I took the first initial test, I thought, aren't these things supposed to be easier to read? lol.  I felt like I needed a manual or something.  I didn't have the box, so I was guessing about the results.  I decided to pick up a digital test, and was super anxious about getting home to take it.  Sure enough, the word PREGNANT showed up, and since I'm pretty good at reading (hahah) I didn't need a manual for that one! YIPPPPPPPPPPPPPE.

So now to tell Chris.

I decided to wait to tell him until the next morning (3.3.12)  because I wanted Jude to wear his-- I'm going to be a big brother! shirt--that I made him Friday night.  Telling your spouse about a pregnancy is one of the best moments of all time.  I will never forget telling Chris the good news when I found out I was prego with Jude.  It was awesome. He cried.  oops! Sorry I just revealed that babe. It's okay, men can cry too.

Can you believe I waited over 12 hours to tell Chris?  I didn't sleep very well...I was just too excited.  Yup, just like Christmas Eve kind-of-excited.  Morning came and I jumped out of bed when I first heard Jude.  I put his cool shirt on, and gave him the test and told him to go give it to daddy.

Chris told me he didn't really see Jude's shirt, but he did look at the test, and was a little confused at first.  He then went on to say "another one! yes!!!!!!  I hope it's a girl!"  

I was so happy that Jude shared the big news, it was super fun. 

Saturday was an exciting day sharing the news with family and friends.  We have such a wonderful church family that we are incredibly thankful for.  On Sunday we told our friends there, and everyone was elated.  The person I enjoyed telling the most of all, though, was my mom.  She literally did jumping jacks, hugged me, and I'm pretty sure I even heard her squeal!!  :)  Love reactions like those. I bet she's excited to have another grand baby.  

Looking forward to this journey of pregnancy for the second time.  I'm pretty certain that being a mom and a wife is what I was made for.  It fulfills me in ways unknown!  I look forward to the next 8 months of growth and expectation.  Lots of things to do in the months to come! :)

As for me, I'm feeling great--knock on wood.  I have had a few mild symptoms like dizziness and I am very scatter-brained.  Chris says I've always been scatter-brained but now I have an excuse for it. lol. Nothing to complain about. I've heard the nausea doesn't kick in for a few weeks, but we will see.  

 I am 5 weeks along,  which puts me at a due date of November 4th.  A fall baby! :)

What is that you ask?  What are we hoping for??

What do you think?? pink pink pink.

A puppy, of course!!  hahahha.....



Above water

Not that excuses will justify my absence, but there are many reasons I have been away from my friendly ol' blog.  Now that February has passed, I'm finally starting to feel like my head is above water.  You see, I've been quite a busy bee as of late.  Here's a sneak peek of what this busy mama has been up to:

1. Call me Mrs. party planner:

Earlier in the month Chris and I put together a 'couples dinner' for our church.  There were over 50 guests that attended!  It was such a delightful evening, and some of our great friends, The Martins, shared their story of how God has been working in their marriage.  It was an amazing evening!  Chris catered the meal (it was delicious), and I decorated all the tables, etc.  The funny part is that I don't have one picture to show for it!  boo.  I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off, taking pictures didn't even cross my mind.  It was a lot of work, but the end result was very successful.  We plan to do an annual couple's dinner for sure!  Next time, I'll take pictures! :)


My Valentine surprised me with an amazing dinner and movie at home :)  Am I really this lucky? 

Chris made us a cheese platter with apricots, prosciutto, olives, etc. etc.!  He bought champagne, and roses.  He even lit candles! Ha!  Let's just say I was stunned and all mushy inside :)  A few days earlier I had told Chris that the new Twilight movie will be out on DVD on Valentine's day.  I was telling him how excited I was about it--it was the one where they get married and have a baby! lol. I'm a sucker for the sappy stuff.  Chris had to go to 3 Red box locations to find it.  But he hunted it down, and we watched it together as we ate a yummy cheese platter. 

What's got into Chris, I thought??  A sappy love vampire werewolf movie?  lol. 

...I guess he just really loves me......................sigh.

After Valentine's day I was really excited about planning Jude's birthday party.  As I shared in an earlier post, there was no way I was going to get around not doing a Toy Story theme.  As I was shopping for related items, I found it super easy to find party planning materials.  A lot of kids enjoy this super-cute Pixar classic.  We had so much fun at his party, Jude woke up from his nap that day saying "friends?"  So cute. 

2. I've been chasing my 2 year old around EVERYWHERE trying to prevent more bumps and bruises than he already has!

Jude is unstoppable. I'll just leave it at that.  A few weeks back he tripped and fell at church and his head met the asphalt leaving one nasty abrasion.  I freaked out about it a little because it turned into a pretty big bump on the outside, and it scared me.  It all turned out okay.  Deep breath.

Just as Jude's head was healing from that fell he took another one (in our own home!).  Uh.  This time he fell on his toy, and the toy was not very forgiving.  It left a serious indention on his for head.  Then, just yesterday we were outside playing in the the snow, and Jude makes an attempt to climb a rock.  Just as I was about to stop him, he loses his balance and simply slides down this rock (face meeting rock).  AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

If this is a forecast of what year 2 is bringing, someone get me bag, I'm about to hyperventilate.   

Poor baby.  It's a good thing he heals up pretty quickly.  Nothing, I mean nothing slows him down.  Not bumps, not bruises.  Yikes! This scares me a little.  But maybe that quality will make him a good linebacker someday. lol.  Looking on the bright side, of course.

Can't believe Jude is moving into his third year of life.  Love these times spent with him.  He is turning into a little person!  This past month he has reminded me of the little things around him that sometimes we, as 'big people' overlook.

Things like--

Singing & dancing. Jude knows how to break a move.  Let's just leave it at that.  If a movie we're watching has music to it, Jude's the first one to get up and start moving and shaking.  If I could read his mind, I'm sure he'd be thinking "come on guys, just let it loose, it's fun" :)

Praying.  Chris and I will never forget the night Jude taught us to pray :)  Right before Jude turned 1 we sat him down to eat in his highchair, and he wouldn't.  I thought, great, a dinner time battle.  He kept saying 'men-men'.  Over and over.  Chris and I just looked at each other and we were bewildered.  Finally a light kicked on! A-MEN!  He wants us to pray! ha!  Ever since that night, Jude reminds us to pray.  It's a great reminder that the Lord hears even the prayers of a child. 

Being a BIG helper.  Within a month's time Jude has really mastered the art of helping.  Hey, isn't throwing food on the ground for Maverick to eat helping? haha.  But really, he is starting to take commands like a champ.  He now usually will throw away a dirty diaper, help daddy crumple paper for fires, even spray and clean a table top! ha!  He's knows where his diapers are located, where to put dirty clothes and dishes, and even how to clean up his playroom before naps and bedtime.  Love this kid. 

Staying sweet.  Don't get me wrong, Jude has his rotten moments.  But overall, I am very thankful for his sweet little personality.  When Jude gets knocked over or bumped, he always tells them that he is sorry.  So precious.  I don't think he understands the concept that the other person is the one that should be saying sorry.

So. stinking. cute.

A new accomplishment this month!

Jude can count to 10! He also knows 7 colors!  Woooooo!

So proud :)