Easter 2012

Easter weekend was chock-full of lots of fun! First off, the "Community Egg-stravaganza" at a church nearby. We went last year and were sure not to miss it this year! Once we arrived, Jameston had to take in the scenery...

They had a toddler egg-hunt for kids 2 and under, so it wasn't too overwhelming. And, he's off!

Our cutie-patootie!

It was a very tedious process, as he had to open each egg after he picked it up to make sure the findings were good enough :-)

Showing off a sticker!

High-fivin' the Easter Bunny!

What's an Egg-Stravaganza without bounce houses?

And ball pits?

And slides?

Brett had to work, so these young men were nice and helped Jameston climb up

Ready,

AND,

WHEE!

Lunch date with Mommy in the shade

Holding the palms as we listened to the Easter Story

Ended with some bowling on our way back to the car.

Let's just say this boy took a good nap that day!

That night we "made" Easter/Minnie Mouse cookies for his cousins, who we were going to see the next day

Easter morning breakfast-fruit, bits of a cinnamon roll, and egg/vegetable strata-YUM!

Checking out his Easter basket loot!

Lightning McQueen vitamins-oh my!

Thomas the Train undies---the simple things in life!

One of two of his new "Big Brother" books from the Easter Bunny

My handsome boys after church

Me and my boy...he insisted I hold him

After Jameston's nap, we headed out to Royse City for a late lunch and egg hunt...too bad it rained, but the kids still had fun with an indoor hunt!

Jamseton, Riley and Maddox showing us their findings

Ruby enjoying some candy

Starburst!

AND the sugar set in!

The kids also had fun riding around the kitchen floor on a blanket...glad we could entertain them inside most of the afternoon!

We hope you and your family had a wonderful Easter as well!

What we've been up to lately...

Jamming with family in the play room!

Brett was the popular one this night, as all the kids wanted him to play music along with them!

We had drums, bongos,

maracas,

and the xylophone. It was noisy!

With the highs in the 70's lately, we have been doing a lot of playing outside! Activities include enjoying the sandbox,

(it is not a day outside unless you have a duck call :-)

picking lettuce or onions from our garden (after church one Sunday),

and spraying the plants outside (one of Jameston's latest obsessions...I tell him he can spray anything green :-)

And this Mommy took a dSLR photography class three weekends back (one of the many "to-do's" on my check list!) It taught me a lot; now the pressure's on to put my new skills to use!

We are so glad Brett is wrapping up his "busy season," just in time for Blake's arrival! I have several more blog posts in the works I plan on putting together before baby brother gets here...maybe :-)

Jameston's Jargon

Before the baby gets here, I want to jot down some of Jameston's latest use of language. Although some days are filled with more talking back than I'd like (seriously, at age 2?! Who knew? Not me!), most of what he says is pretty sweet and sometimes comical.

Scavenger hunting during one of our many trips to the playground!

He has been saying "Clause it" for "Pause it," when it come to a movie or song, and he says "Crack-ed" instead of "Crooked" when his shoe or sock are not feeling right. Too cute!

Wanting to "do like Mommy does" with the towel after his bath one night :-)

Several weeks back, his teacher at school said Jameston put a basketball under his shirt while they were playing in the gym and said, "Look, Miss Allison! I have Baby Blake in my belly like my Mommy."

He loves the "silly straw" we get at the Target Cafe...oh, and chocolate milk, too (which has been on of our favorite incentives as of late :-)

Showing us his curls one night! I want to cut Jameston's hair, but Brett is opposed to the idea. He said, "When else it is cool to have a mullet?!" I guess I would have to agree with him on that one...

The boy loves to run any time he can, so his favorite activity lately is racing. He'll exclaim, "I'm gonna race you...I win you!"

I was getting him out of his carseat one day, which has become increasingly trickier the further along in the pregnancy I've become. I think I said something along the lines of, "Can you climb out for me?" He replied, "Don't worry about me, Mommy."

Riding the Mickey Mouse ride at BabiesRUs one Friday morning awhile back...he wanted me to take his picture!

Some cute ones, too:

"We already sang about that, Mommy."

"Man, I'm SO tired." He just maybe has heard me say this a time or two lately :-)

Jameston does not get a bath on Wednesday nights after church. A couple of Wednesdays back, I was cleaning his feet after we took his Crocs off. The "Table Talk" from church this month mentioned how we should discuss how Mary cleaned Jesus' feet, so I did. And he said, "Jesus cleaned the other people's feet, too, Mommy." I said, "Yeah, you're right! Do you remember whose feet he cleaned?" And he exclaimed, "The disciples!" So proud of my sweet, God-loving little boy :-)

Full-term!

As of Monday I am now 37 weeks along! I have a feeling Blake may not hang around until his due date though (with some pretty intense Braxton Hicks contractions for the past three weeks), but that may be wishful thinking on my part :-)

Overall, this pregnancy has been fairly smooth and much like my pregnancy with Jameston. However, there have been some differences that I want to document, and I thought I would do so in a similar format to some of the blogs I read:

• HOW FAR ALONG: 37 weeks, full-term!
• MOVEMENTS: This boy has had a serious case of the hiccups for going on two months now. I mean, every day! Some days are more than others, but it is the strangest (and cutest) feeling in the world. I've heard that if they hiccup a lot in utero, they can continue to have hiccups a lot in their first weeks. Also, I thought Jameston moved quite a bit, but Blake seems to be giving him a run for his money in this department! And I believe, based on the pattern of movements I've had over the last several weeks, Blake will be up around 5 every morning :-)
• WEIGHT GAIN: Although my extra LB's are about the same this time around (blah---and I won't be revealing the total amount :-) I put on the weight quicker this time (and had to start wearing maternity clothes around 12 weeks; I recall being able to wear normal clothes up until the halfway mark with JW) and I also put more on in the hips/thighs area---AWESOME, just in time for swimsuit season!
• CRAVINGS: I have not been as hungry this time (I would wake up in the middle of the night and want to eat when pregnant with Jameston), but my food aversions and cravings are somewhat similar. Similarities: do NOT want hamburgers of any kind (it has lasted all three trimesters this time). I have craved Italian and cheese all over again, anything tart (pink lemonade to be exact), and, of course, lots 'o sweets (which did not help me in the weight gain department over the holidays!). Differences: New craving this time around: soft-baked pretzels. Like in, Auntie Anne's. YUM! Also, I did not want to eat Pei Wei at all last time; this time I can't handle the thought of any baked items with cream cheese. Strange!
• SLEEP: Despite more frequent bathroom breaks and having to wear nasal strips (thanks to worsening allergies again) in this last trimester, I am surprisingly sleeping quite fine (on the other hand, Brett may not be...). Just this past week (being full-term and all) I seem to have a more difficult time falling asleep with all the of the "to-do's" running through my head. But once I'm asleep, I'm snoozing quite well! Trying to get in all the extra zzz's while I can :-) Really hoping that Blake is a better sleeper than Jameston was!
• OTHER SYMPTOMS: Overall, it would be sufficient to say that I feel just a little more wiped out by the end of the day with this pregnancy. I knew it wouldn't be any easier (taking care of a toddler and all on top of the normal pregnancy fatigue), but coupling it with Brett's busy schedule at work...I have been pretty worthless at night after I put Jameston down to bed!! No longer are the days when I try to get stuff done around the house after he goes down for the night. I'm usually in bed myself by 9:30 or 10! I am very ready for an energy boost that comes along with sleep deprivation in the newborn days, right?
• I go in tomorrow for a sonogram to see how big he is measuring. Due to the battle wound I suffered from Jameston's birth, my old and new OB's have given me the option to have an elective C-section. I have gone back and forth on what to do, but we should have more of a game plan by tomorrow :-)

I am so thankful and feel so lucky that I have experienced another uncomplicated pregnancy. I pray Blake's delivery is uncomplicated as well. I am officially in full-on nesting mode, so I put the finishing touches in the nursery this week. There will be pictures to come on Blake's transportation-themed room and Jamseton's "big boy" cowboy/horses-themed room (finally!)

Guess Who...

is COMPLETELY "pull-up" free even at night now, too (after less than two months of potty-training)?! Yes, I am one of those moms who blogs about their child's bathroom success :-)

After all of the things I've read or heard about potty-training, especially for boys, I never would have imagined he'd be at this stage at just 2 and 1/2...so, so proud of him!! He had been waking up most mornings dry (in a pull-up), and sometimes, in the middle of the night, he would call for us and just need us to take him to the bathroom. So, I bit the bullet and pulled the pull-ups as an option (I think he was going in them those rare mornings because he could). And, wa-lah, here we are...I know, I know, I've heard he may regress once his little brother arrives, but we are hoping he keeps up the great work!

Play date

Several Fridays back, my cousin, Carrie, came over with her two girls, Ava (4) and Eva (20 months). They live in Hawaii but have been in town visiting her sister and my cousin, Allison, who just had a sweet boy, Jax, in December. Although it had been over a year since Jameston had seen his third cousins, they picked up right where they left off and had a grand ole time!

Headed to the playground!

"You really want me to hold your doll, Ada?!"

Cantcha tell they're related?!

Following Ms. Ada around everywhere she went!

We had a good time at the playground and house and headed out to dinner for some pizza on a patio later than night. Good times had by all!

Bluebonnets 2012

Two Fridays ago, Jameston and I headed out to check on the Texas bluebonnets! The blooms have been gorgeous this year with all the rain that we've had. I pass this field every day when I head to work...

He had a blast "playin' in the flowers" this time. Seriously, the boy could not get enough. This very preggo Mom had a hard time keeping up with him!

One of my favorites:

He was wondering who was making all that noise: the landscapers

Another favorite (just wish I didn't have the buildings in the background)

He's really into pointing these days, can you tell?

Self-portrait: fail :-(

"You mean we have to go, Mommy?" We were out there for an hour :-)

Until next year...