September

As usual, September was a busy month for us. The boys started school... yep, both boys are in pre-school this year! They go 2 days a week, Mon & Wed, and they love it. William's teachers are Mrs. Mindy and Mrs. Elizabeth and Caleb's teachers are Mrs. Alicia and Mrs. Sarah. The teachers are so great and the boys just love them. This is a picture of their first day...



I know I've said this before, but the boys really do love school, which makes me love their school. William is learning to write so well and in fact, just wrote his name all by himself on plain paper (not tracing paper) and no one helped him spell it! He could not do that a month and a half ago! And Caleb is doing great in his school too. It's so funny because every time I pick him up, I ask him how his day was and what he did in school today. EVERY time his response is "I juss... pay cars!" He brings home craft projects, but the highlight of every day is playing cars I guess. Although, the Wednesday before Halloween, I got my first new response. I asked him what he did today and he said, "I juss... hmmm... I juss (he hesitated and I was fully prepared to say 'pay cars' with him in unison) made ghost!" What? Must have been some ghost for him to stray from his normal response. And it was... It was a cute little ghost made from his footprint. But yesterday, business as usual. Caleb jus pay cars!

For our anniversary this year, we decided to do a weekend family trip to celebrate. AJ and I had a really great weekend without kids in D.C. in August, so we thought it would be nice to include them in our 6 year anniversary celebration. We went to Chattanooga (Chugganoona - as Caleb says) and stayed at the Chattanoogo Choo Choo hotel. So basically our anniversary was all about the boys, but it was ok. They loved it. We did so much in just a day and half and they held up pretty good. We stayed in an actual train car that was converted to a hotel room.


We went to see the huge model train museum and spent a lot of time in there looking at all the great detail they put into it. It was pretty impressive. Then we headed off to ride an actual train for a little adventure. A conductor came by and took our tickets, we went through a very dark tunnel, and even watched the engine turn around on a huge turn table... all things these kiddos were familiar with after watching Thomas and Friends and Dinosaur Train.






We headed back to the room to nap, but I was the only one who really slept. I guess I was the only pregnant tired one in the group :-) Then it was off to the Aquarium. It was really neat and they had some great animals. The boys got to touch some stingrays and we all got to see penguins for the first time.



We settled down at TGIF's for dinner then headed back to our train car room. We left the next morning... it was short and sweet and a nice time for all.

Next on the busy agenda was the start of soccer season. William is doing awesome this year! He's with players his age this year and he's kickin' butt! He scores mulitple goals nearly every game.


We also went to this event called "Touch A Truck." This is our second time going and the boys just love this event. It's just held at a church parking lot and all kinds of trucks, trolleys, cars, and tractors are there for kids to climb up in and honk horns, etc. The trucks are all parked and it is such a simple and entertaining thing for kids to do.







This is my favorite time of year, not only because of the awesome weather, but there's so much for kids to do and family activities to keep you busy in the fall. Next up, William's Birthday and party!

Kids Say the Darndest Things...

Yesterday morning when the boys were walking downstairs to start the day, William says "I have a sword!" In response, Caleb shouted "I have a Penis!" Completely out of the blue!

I'm pretty sure that's the funniest thing I've ever heard! I literally laugh out loud everytime I think of it. The sheer randomness of it (there was no talk of body parts, diaper changes, etc.) and the fact that he's just 2 years old!

I hope everyone who reads this gets as big a kick out of that as I do. Sweet boy...

Big News!!!

It's official, We are expecting little baby #3 and we could not be happier!!!

We found out our big news on July 23rd. Of course, as usual, I did not believe the first test and thought it necessary to take another one the next day. Hey, I usually take 3, so I did good this time! Well it was confirmed a few weeks ago at the doctor's and today we had the first ultrasound! That little baby is only an inch long and has some serious moves already. We always have a 'dance party' with the boys, in the car or in the living room and this little peanut fit right in! I've seen the boys squirm around this early, but this baby has some rhythm... head bobbin and arms going in and out together. It was so fun to watch! And clearly he or she gets the skills from me ;-)

I tried to see if the ultrasound tech could tell us the gender, but she affirmed what I already knew and told me it was too early. BUT, I get to sneak in her room at 16 weeks and have a look-see to find out... 4 weeks earlier than normal. Woo hoo!

We are not planning on any more babies after this... 3 is the magic number! But it is bittersweet for me since I love making babies. Hmmm... did that come out wrong? I mean, I love experiencing the whole pregnancy excitement, seeing the ultrasounds, and feeling those movements. Personally the first 12 weeks and the last 5 I'm not a fan of, but the middle is great! It's a feeling that can't be described unless you've been there. However, I do my best to give AJ every last detail of every ache, pain, movement, nausea, exhaustion, emotion, hunger pang, craving, and the list goes on...

The reason I even mentioned that this is my final pregnancy is to hold myself accountable for updating this blog as much as possible throughout the pregnancy and beyond. I slacked the last year, but after going back and reading some old posts I remember why I started this in the first place. This is my journal and my baby book. All my anecdotes about the boys are so fun to read. It's amazing how much you forget so quickly.

I almost forgot to mention the details (pregnancy brain!) So I'm due April 3rd (or April 1st depending on which wheel the doctor used today) which makes me 9 1/2 weeks pregnant. It's not typical for me to announce the news before my first trimester is over since I'm such a worry wart, but since this is #3 I wanted to share the excitement. Not to mention I've been hibernating since I feel so awful most days that I didn't want people to start worrying. Any and all prayers for a healthy baby and healthy pregnancy are welcome and much appreciated. As wonderful as pregnancy is, it is also very nerve wracking. I worry about just about everything (realistic or not) so maybe a few prayers for me might help too.

Below is a first snapshot of our sweet little baby peanut. Isn't it gorgeous??? One of the the three best lookin' peanuts I ever saw! :-) Feel free to leave comments since I love to know if anyone actually even reads this... it keeps me censored too, haha!

Recap of the Last Year

So much has happened since last year and the boys have grown so much, that I'm sad I have not been updating this regularly. But, I am going to do my best to cover the highlights.

Starting with William - Last Fall was his first soccer season ever. He did pretty good... and by that I mean we did good to have him on the field at all. But who can blame him when we snuck him in a season early. He also started pre-school at a great school nearby. His teachers loved him so much! Everyday when I'd pick him up I'd always hear the other moms ask how their kids behaved that day... always with a nervous smile. Usually the teachers responded by "he only went to time-out once" or "he's getting better, but we did have some issues today." So I thought I should ask how William behaved. The teacher kind of laughed at me while she said... "Ha, William is just perfect. Always well behaved and such a good listener. He's truly a joy to have in class." That made me feel amazingly proud of my little man. Although, I can't help but wonder why that is not the same little boy that came home from school. I guess his perfect behavior has a time limit and he reaches it in the 5 hours at school. Ha ha ha! Just kidding, William is a great kid. Being a 3 year old has had it's moments though. You get warned about the "terrible two's" but no one ever mentions how much worse 3 is! Why is that? With strong opinions and the desperate desire to be more independent, mixed with the fact that he's only 3, posed quite a few conflicts this last year.
Spring time came and he played his second season of soccer which went much better! He scored and played most of each game. He's fully potty trained at night now and has been since about 3 1/2, which has been wonderful. Another big change for William was that he now shares a bedroom with Caleb. He was running in there every night at bedtime and in the morning waking him up that I thought, why not? It's been about 4 months now and it has definitely had it's challenges. I love it now though. They finally go to sleep (for the most part) and it's much easier putting them to bed in the same room. They have the cutest little conversations at night and I love listening to them giggle themselves to sleep.

Caleb's turn! That's such a common phrase around here since teaching these boys to share is a job on its own. Anyway, Caleb is growing like a weed! He's so tall now and his pretty solid. The only thing that's not growing much is his hair! Poor guy, he may be bald forever. He's 2 years old and has only had 1 haircut and that was 2 months ago. It hasn't even grown back enough to need another cut yet. The amount of growth that he's done in the last year is truly amazing. He has such a great vocabulary and that isn't a word that he won't at least attempt to say. He's knows all his basic shapes and can count to 3. He can make it to ten if 4 and 7 don't count. :-) He knows what colors are, but has some trouble identifying them occasionally. But he always recognizes orange so we'll say that's his favorite color. He loves singing his ABC's and although he still struggles with identifying his letters, he always tries to say them when he sees words.
Today is Caleb's first day of school ever! He's been home with mommy since day 1 so this will be interesting to see how he did today. He let me leave with no problem, but unfortunately, most of the other kids in class were crying so I can only imagine the domino effect. The good part is that Caleb is in the classroom William had last year so he's pretty familiar with the room. It's so hard to leave your baby at school for the first time. There's this magnetic force that keeps me wanting to run back in his room and scoop him up. As unrealistic as my little fantasy is (he'd never let me hold on to him for more than 3 seconds) I'm actually doing just fine now and enjoying my very quiet house. I don't even have the TV on! William also had his first day of school and he's in the 3-4 class. He had that sweet look on his face that looked like he may want to cry but was being tough. He gave me two sets of hugs and kisses (his new thing) and said "Mommy, you can go when I count to 10." So he counted to 10 and said "Ok, you can go now." So off I went, all by my lonesome, resisting that magnetic force to run back in there. No little one in tow and no one to chase. This is weird. What do I do with myself now? I'm sure I'll find something (wink, wink)

And as for us... AJ has stopped working on HauntSurveys.com for now and has rediscovered his passion for games. So much so that he is now designing them. Organized Chaos is his first game and it's awesome! It's a fun card game, that I am still shocked came straight from his noggin. Not to say that I don't think he's intelligent, but I could never imagine being able to design a game like that. He is pretty talented. He's also working on a zombie game now (go figure!) and he's working overtime and then some to get this game ready. AJ also played in a men's league softball team this summer. He said it seemed really slow compared to baseball, but I loved seeing him play the sport again. He still does some of his little idiosynchrasies that he did when I saw him play many years ago.
I am still working my Premier Designs business. I love selling the jewelry, making my own schedule, and the income is great too. I've got a jeweler in my downline who is great and I've been working with her for a few months now. I spent a good part of May and June doing some redecorating, painting, and dealing with the installation of new carpet that kept me pretty busy as well. But, for the most part I have spent my days being a referee, trying to find fun things to do with the boys, and doing my best to raise decent, well-rounded children while maintaining my own sanity! The joys of motherhood, I tell ya. (And I love it!)

I think that is it for now. I will post pictures soon. Love to all!

Coming back...

I'm awful to have gone nearly a year without updating this blog. It has been a rollercoaster year with so much going on, but it's been amazing. I was just reading my last post and I loved reading about what the boys were up to this time last year. My how fast they are growing. I will be posting soon and I will include pictures from the last 10 months as well. So Uncle Charles, (since I think you might be the only one that checks this regularly, hee hee) be sure to check back soon and I will update all that my little munchkins have been up to.

Love to all!
Jessica

Playing Catch-up...

This has been an incredibly busy summer it seems. So much has happened and is still happening. I guess to start the summer, we went on a vacation in May. We took the boys to Panama City Beach and it was a WONDERFUL trip! I really was not wanting to come back! Then I drove up to NY with the boys and my good friend from Auburn, (Trooper) Dan, to help pack up my mom's house of 20 years so she could move down to TN! Wow! I couldn't believe it really happened. It was very bittersweet since we had tons of memories in that house - good and bad of course, but that's the place I always called home. Fast forward a month or so and my mom is happily settled into her nice neat apartment, with a new car to boot. The woman who once claimed that she was allergic to ice in her drinks and sitting in the sun is now drinking ice water by the pool and can't get enough of it! I'm so happy to see her so happy and of course, it's just wonderful having her here to help with the boys.

Also this summer Caleb turned 1! I made his teddy bear cake and his little teddy smash cake. When it came time he dove right into that teddy... ripping off his head and gobbling up the rest. It was hilarious! He's started walking just a couple weeks after that as his primary mode of movement over crawling. I am so totally in love with the stage he is right now. I love how he is so innocent and curious and he's soaking up information like a sponge. He's sweet and giggles and dances to everything with a rhythm, including the dishwasher! He sleeps on a regular schedule and he eats everything he can get his hands on. I've got such a mommy crush on that little boy!

Speaking of mommy crushes... William is amazing me by the second as well. He's so smart and has an amazing vocabulary. He counts, sings, uses big words like 'hopeless' and his memory is impeccable. He's gotten so tall and he is very athletic! He started going to preschool 2 days a week and it's been a bit of a struggle. Once he's in there and I'm gone for a bit he does ok, but he has real anxiety when I leave him there. It's getting better and I just look forward to the day where he shoos me out the door because he's ready to play with his friends. So as crazy as it seems, my little baby is going to be 3 next week! He's also just started soccer as well. I think it may be a bit soon for him since he doesn't want much to do with being on the field with a bunch of kids listening to another person tell him what to do... but I think he'll get there. If we can get him to just go on the field willingly with his team by the end of the season, I'll be happy!

AJ finished up classes, but I was very wrong on the aspect of his time freeing up. In fact, it's nearly the opposite, although I'm not sure how that's possible. AJ is using his new knowledge combined with his business skills and passion for Halloween to launch a new company called HauntSurveys, a division of HauntConnect. It has gone from just an idea to an actual business in just a few short months and he's launched it for THIS Halloween season! He's been working very hard every day on this concept and working out all the details to have this ready in time. In addition, he received a promotion earlier this year that requires him to travel several days a month. And now with football season back, the man is complete!

With everyone being so busy, that has increased my busy-ness by a lot. This is probably quite typical for moms these days, but I will admit that it's taking me a bit to fully adjust. At the risk of sounding pitiful, I will just leave it at that. To keep my sanity a bit, I have joined a local MOMS club. Why I didn't do it sooner? I'm not quite sure. I love it! We have several playdates a month for the kids and moms to get together and the best part... Mom's Night Out! My jewelry business is going really well. August was amazing and I can only pray that this fall proves to be just as great! I did go to Dallas in July for 4 days for the National Rally for Premier. It was completely inspiring since I knew on paper how great of a company it was, but I had the chance to see it first hand.

And last week, for the first time in 3 years - AJ and I had taken a vacation ALONE! We went to San Francisco for the week of our 5 year anniversary. It was something that we really needed and truly appreciate the opportunity to have gone. We did all the site seeing, wineries, and seafood eating you can imagine. We caught a Giants game and even had some days at the end to just take it easy. I was pretty ansy the last day since I really missed my babies. I nearly ran up the driveway when we got home to hurry up and get my arms around those little munchkins. Thank you Mom again for caring for them for the week. It was an exhausting undertaking, but you did great and we are all the better for it! :-)

I put an album of summer pictures below. There's a ton so if you don't have time to go through the full slide show, you can click on it and it will take you to a website where you can see all the thumbnails. Enjoy!

Chewie

OK, so it's been way too long since I've updated anything on here and I apologize for that. Since it's been about 3 months obviously a lot has happened, but right now I want to just talk about my doggy. Four years ago, on June 17th, 2006, AJ and I adopted a super adorable 7 week old "Collie mix" from the Humane Society. We named him Chewbacca, or Chewie, which became more than just a fitting name. Well he grew up to be an 85+ lb Golden Retriever/Chow mix who fit right in as part of our family. He was our first baby and soon after him came William and Caleb. Chewie was always a loyal and protective dog. He was excitable and unfortunately that excitement had turned into aggression. It has been that way for quite awhile with the worst happening most recently. Chewie had become a threat to our baby boys and even to me. I had spoken with 2 veterinarians and had done everything I could to find Chewie a safe and happy home, but I had no luck. AJ and I had to make an extremely difficult decision this week and Chewie was laid to rest yesterday August 6th, 2010.

This was by far the hardest decision I've ever had to make and although I know it was the right thing to do, I'm incredibly saddened and heartbroken. It's crazy, but my heart literally hurts. There is such an emptiness in our home right now and we just feel as though a big part of us is missing. As crazy as he could be at times, we all loved Chewie very much and we know he loved us too. He was very much a part of our daily life and routine. Some may think it's silly to be so upset over a dog, but those people have clearly never been blessed by having a doggy become part of their family.

AJ had put together a little montage video of our time with Chewie. These are only a fraction of the wonderful memories he gave us that we will always hold in our hearts.