Saturday, February 11, 2012
Allie's Birthday
Last weekend, the boys got to celebrate Allie's birthday at Bouncin' Craze. They had a blast!
Chuck E. Cheese Party!
Jack had the best birthday party today! I have to say I was a little skeptical that I could enjoy a crazy, chaotic party at Chuck E. Cheese's but I have to admit that it was super easy and the kids had a great time. We had a wonderful party host and really felt taken care which allowed us to be free to take pictures and enjoy the party.
Jack had some wonderful, sweet friends and lots of family come to celebrate with him. We are so thankful for those that came. It sure made him feel special and loved!
Jack had some wonderful, sweet friends and lots of family come to celebrate with him. We are so thankful for those that came. It sure made him feel special and loved!
Friday, February 10, 2012
Baby Makes Five
I'll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure.
Mae West
Randy, Jack, Graham, and I are proud to announce that we are expecting baby number three in late September or early October! I had so many different feelings when I found out I was pregnant: 1. Thank you, God, for another blessing! 2. Wow, that was fast. 3. OMG, what have we done?????!!! Such a mix of joy, gratitude and fear! I hear moving from a man to man defense to a zone defense is quite a challenge but we are ready and know that God's grace will cover us and take over in our own human inadequacies. We really feel that one more child will complete our family and simply cannot wait to meet him/her and see what God has in store for us. Each child is so unique that we know we are prepared in some ways but in others, we could never be prepared! As for girl or boy, there is a part of me that really wants another boy. Maybe because I'm "used to" boys and feel like I would know what I was doing. Jack desperately wants a girl and is confident that the baby is a girl. He was adamant that Graham would be a boy so maybe we should listen to him! Obviously all of us will be overjoyed either way.
I am really feeling pretty well so far and this pregnancy seems very different from the others. I have had some different issues such as shortness of breath and my heart racing. I'm already struggling a bit at the gym which did not happen with the other two. On the bright side, I am not nearly as sick as I was with the boys. Anytime I have felt sick, I've just eaten something and then I've felt better. With the boys, NOTHING helped! Hoping it continues to be this manageable!
Looking forward to the journey!
Mae West
Randy, Jack, Graham, and I are proud to announce that we are expecting baby number three in late September or early October! I had so many different feelings when I found out I was pregnant: 1. Thank you, God, for another blessing! 2. Wow, that was fast. 3. OMG, what have we done?????!!! Such a mix of joy, gratitude and fear! I hear moving from a man to man defense to a zone defense is quite a challenge but we are ready and know that God's grace will cover us and take over in our own human inadequacies. We really feel that one more child will complete our family and simply cannot wait to meet him/her and see what God has in store for us. Each child is so unique that we know we are prepared in some ways but in others, we could never be prepared! As for girl or boy, there is a part of me that really wants another boy. Maybe because I'm "used to" boys and feel like I would know what I was doing. Jack desperately wants a girl and is confident that the baby is a girl. He was adamant that Graham would be a boy so maybe we should listen to him! Obviously all of us will be overjoyed either way.
I am really feeling pretty well so far and this pregnancy seems very different from the others. I have had some different issues such as shortness of breath and my heart racing. I'm already struggling a bit at the gym which did not happen with the other two. On the bright side, I am not nearly as sick as I was with the boys. Anytime I have felt sick, I've just eaten something and then I've felt better. With the boys, NOTHING helped! Hoping it continues to be this manageable!
Looking forward to the journey!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Happy Birthday, Jack!
Jack turned five years old today. Five. Wow. He is so grown up and independent and I just could not be prouder of the big boy he's become. He truly is so special and Randy and I feel incredibly blessed and humbled to be his parents.
I've never seen Jack quite so excited as he was to turn five. He has been counting down the days for over a month now and just seemed to think this was the most special event in all of history. Last year I don't think he even gave his birthday a second thought so this surprised us but we made a big deal of it with him and we all had a great day celebrating. We started off the day with a Happy Birthday banner, a special breakfast of doughnut holes and chocolate milk, and Daddy even went to work late so he could see Jack and wish him happy birthday right when he woke up.
The celebration continued at school where Jack was prayed for and sung to in chapel. Miss Jill shared with everyone why she loves Jack and what makes him special. Then we went back to his classroom and shared "angry birds" cupcakes with the class. Jack requested these after his friend, Brayden, had brought angry birds cupcakes for his birthday. He got to show off his cake to the class and even take the first bite!
We finished the day by going to small group, sharing the leftover cupcakes there, and of course they all sung to him as well. Jack is truly blessed to be loved by so many people and we are so grateful to each person who cares for him, loves on him, and prays for him.
Jack has grown so much over the past year. I think my favorite quality in him will always be his tender and loving heart. He has such a sense for what others need in a given moment. He often says to me out of nowhere, "Mommy, I love you" or "thank you for being such a good mommy" or "you're so beautiful, Mommy." Although Randy and I try to model encouraging talk, I really think that God has just blessed Jack with this sweet spirit. He is so encouraging and helpful with Graham as well and loves him so much (not that he doesn't wrestle him to the ground sometimes as well!)
Jack is also so independent now. He is able to play on his own for awhile because he has the best imagination. He can dream up all sorts of scenarios for his toys to play out and it is so cool to hear these creative stories!
Some more fun facts/milestones at age 5:
- Jack loves to play with friends and has really bonded with a few in particular. It is fun to see him develop real relationships and watch him bond with people on his own. Right now his best buddy is Austin and they enjoy talking about outer space and the color green. :)
- His favorite color is green. This has been his favorite color for the whole year so I'm interested to see if it ever changes.
- He loves to eat peanut butter and honey sandwiches for lunch and his favorite dinner is chicken, messy green beans (green bean casserole), and rolls.
- He really loves lions and one of his favorite games is imagining he is Daniel and is being thrown in the lion's den. This game usually consists of him yelling, "Heeeeeeeeeeelp!!" really loud at the park so that everyone turns around and thinks he is in some real danger.
- He LOVES the science museum. His favorite part is going in the rocket ship. He was scared the first time but has done it twice since and really enjoys it.
- He can read! I am so, so impressed with his reading so far. He can read entire (pre-k) books to me. This is a very recent development and I am so proud of him.
- He still loves reading Bible with Daddy and has memorized some scripture. He says his favorite verse is John 3:16.
- He likes being read to. I just finished reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with him. He really enjoyed it and I was impressed with some of the themes he is already picking up on (e.g. "Aslan is kind of like Jesus...")
- He loves school and can't wait for kindergarten when he will go ALL DAY FIVE DAYS!!! I on the other hand, am not ready to give him up. :(
- He continues to show us in so many ways how smart he is. We are amazed by him every day!
I've never seen Jack quite so excited as he was to turn five. He has been counting down the days for over a month now and just seemed to think this was the most special event in all of history. Last year I don't think he even gave his birthday a second thought so this surprised us but we made a big deal of it with him and we all had a great day celebrating. We started off the day with a Happy Birthday banner, a special breakfast of doughnut holes and chocolate milk, and Daddy even went to work late so he could see Jack and wish him happy birthday right when he woke up.
The celebration continued at school where Jack was prayed for and sung to in chapel. Miss Jill shared with everyone why she loves Jack and what makes him special. Then we went back to his classroom and shared "angry birds" cupcakes with the class. Jack requested these after his friend, Brayden, had brought angry birds cupcakes for his birthday. He got to show off his cake to the class and even take the first bite!
We finished the day by going to small group, sharing the leftover cupcakes there, and of course they all sung to him as well. Jack is truly blessed to be loved by so many people and we are so grateful to each person who cares for him, loves on him, and prays for him.
Jack has grown so much over the past year. I think my favorite quality in him will always be his tender and loving heart. He has such a sense for what others need in a given moment. He often says to me out of nowhere, "Mommy, I love you" or "thank you for being such a good mommy" or "you're so beautiful, Mommy." Although Randy and I try to model encouraging talk, I really think that God has just blessed Jack with this sweet spirit. He is so encouraging and helpful with Graham as well and loves him so much (not that he doesn't wrestle him to the ground sometimes as well!)
Jack is also so independent now. He is able to play on his own for awhile because he has the best imagination. He can dream up all sorts of scenarios for his toys to play out and it is so cool to hear these creative stories!
Some more fun facts/milestones at age 5:
- Jack loves to play with friends and has really bonded with a few in particular. It is fun to see him develop real relationships and watch him bond with people on his own. Right now his best buddy is Austin and they enjoy talking about outer space and the color green. :)
- His favorite color is green. This has been his favorite color for the whole year so I'm interested to see if it ever changes.
- He loves to eat peanut butter and honey sandwiches for lunch and his favorite dinner is chicken, messy green beans (green bean casserole), and rolls.
- He really loves lions and one of his favorite games is imagining he is Daniel and is being thrown in the lion's den. This game usually consists of him yelling, "Heeeeeeeeeeelp!!" really loud at the park so that everyone turns around and thinks he is in some real danger.
- He LOVES the science museum. His favorite part is going in the rocket ship. He was scared the first time but has done it twice since and really enjoys it.
- He can read! I am so, so impressed with his reading so far. He can read entire (pre-k) books to me. This is a very recent development and I am so proud of him.
- He still loves reading Bible with Daddy and has memorized some scripture. He says his favorite verse is John 3:16.
- He likes being read to. I just finished reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with him. He really enjoyed it and I was impressed with some of the themes he is already picking up on (e.g. "Aslan is kind of like Jesus...")
- He loves school and can't wait for kindergarten when he will go ALL DAY FIVE DAYS!!! I on the other hand, am not ready to give him up. :(
- He continues to show us in so many ways how smart he is. We are amazed by him every day!
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