What we've been up to. . . .

Well, truthfully, we've been BUSY to say the least. The summer flew by and we are now enjoying the beautiful fall weather (other than when it's raining). During the last couple months, we have moved into our new house, settled in (at least mostly), been working on the house, preparing for our newest addition, Jackson started preschool (which he LOVES), and Caleb's vocabulary is literally increasing almost every day! I am now 28 weeks pregnant and can't believe how quickly this pregnancy has flown by. Little Emily Marie will be here before we know it! The boys are actually both a little obsessed with babies right now, and are so excited about "Baby Emowee", as Jackson so fondly calls her. Jackson LOVES to kiss and hug my belly and Caleb now thinks there's a baby in his belly. What sweet boys! I can't believe how quickly my baby boy is turning into a little boy, nor how quickly my little boy is turning into a big boy (one of Jackson's favorite sayings these days is, "I do it my big, big self.")! Where does the time go?

We were so busy this summer, I believe this is the ONE time
we made it the splash park at the zoo.

"Don't forget to pack me!"

After we moved the sand table, this was all the sand
that was left.

We had a wedding reception to go to the same day we started moving our things to storage (we did this two Saturdays in a row), so Josh borrowed an AWESOME car from a friend of ours. He wanted a hot ride to take his wife out on the town. We all LOVED it! Jackson thought it was "Lightning McQueen" from the movie "Cars". So cute!

Jackson pointing out the white wall tires.
What a boy!

Smiling boys!!!

Caleb had surgery at the end of July to put in tubes.
Here, he's waiting for the nurse before surgery.
He was quite the character for it being so early in the morning.

So cute in his hospital gown, but NOT loving
the blood pressure cuff.

Reading over his post-op instructions.

Jackson was ALL smiles for his first day
of preschool!!!

Showing off his pearly whites
and his cool preschool bag.

SO EXCITED!

Showing off that he got to use Daddy's
special hair gel.

Outside of preschool/church.

Caleb and Jackson enjoying dinner with cousin Evan.
We took several pics since they were all sitting
nicely at the same time.

Our Newest Addition!

Well, it's been a VERY LONG time since I've updated, but hey, I've been VERY BUSY. Both the boys have had their birthdays (which hopefully I'll post pics. from soon), and are growing and changing so quickly. On May 12, we found out we were expecting baby #3! Josh was out of town in Portland, so I got to surprise him for his birthday two days later. I am due January 15, 2010. It has been quite a different pregnancy so far; I didn't have morning sickness with either Jackson or Caleb, but have been pretty much nauseous 24/7 since the beginning of week 6 this time. I also have a hematoma, or blood clot, so I have to take extra precautions. I now run a higher risk of of the placenta tearing. We are praying for a safe, healthy, and as close to full term baby as possible. I go in next Wednesday for another ultrasound and exam, so I'll try to update again then.

Absolutely perfect at 9 wks. 5 days!

Boy or girl? Hmmmm. . . . only time will tell.

Time Flies!!!!

Okay, okay, I know, it's been FOREVER since I've updated the blog. (YES, TAKE THAT AS A WARNING. . . THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG POST!!!) However, I've been a bit busy. Three little boys can wear a woman out sometimes (three, including my adorable nephew, Evan). Josh even commented the other week that I hadn't updated in a while, and I very kindly told him that he was more than welcome to update the blog if he wanted to. Let's just say, that was the end of the conversation. I'll try my best to fill in on the latest and greatest with the boys and share some pictures from here and there from the past few (okay, I know, it's been more like 7 months or so) months. I'm really going to try to make a conscious effort to keep up with blog better (hopefully).

Jackson:
* I can't even begin to think that he'll be 3 years old in just a matter of about 2 1/2 months!
* He is still OBSESSED with all things boy (I"m sure this is going to continue for quite a while),
though especially trains ("too-toos") trucks, "Cars", and so on.
* He LOVES to go to the mall to slide on the ship (indoor play area). He asks to go almost every
single day.
* His vocabulary is absolutely skyrocketing!
* He still loves to cook, especially when it involves using the "rocket ship" (a.k.a. my stand
mixer).
* He loves books about numbers and letters.
* He wants to go to the beach desperately (not that we all don't). He points to a picture of the
beach in one of his favorite books all the time and says, "La lay, La lay!" ("That way, that
way.") We always tell him that we want to go too.
* He loves drinking out of a "big boy" cup, especially some "Cars" mugs he got for Christmas.
* After recently having a "bug", he now understands that you are supposed to get sick in the
toilet. (It had to happen at some point.)
* He had his first trip to the E.R. last week (don't worry, all is well).
* Potty training is going very well at home.
* His favorite foods are oatmeal, graham crackers, ham, cheese, strawberries (a.k.a.
"strawbabies") and bread.

Caleb:
* Yikes! He's going to be a year old in about a month and a half! What happened?
* He does the army crawl very efficiently. He is doing an actual more now, but still resorts
back to the army crawl quite often.
* He can pull up and cruise fairly well.
* He loves to pull his socks off (esp. in the car) and chew on them.
* He says "Dada", "Mama", "Baba" (though who knows what that means since he doesn't take a
bottle), and "Ah done" (all done) which is his favorite.
* He LOVES Cheerios (and would live off them if we let him) and graham crackers.
* He loves to play with anything he can get his hands on (anything Jackson will let him play
with).
* He loves to eat shoes and play with the letter magnets and animal farm on the refrigerator.
* He loves to read, as well as take all (well most) the books off the bookshelf.
* His FAVORITE activity is taking a bath with Jackson. I have the feeling we're going to have
two little swimmers on our hands this summer.
* He adores cuddling!
* Oddly enough, he loves taking Tylenol. We call him "Little Birdie", because he looks like a
hungry little bird when give him the medicine.
* He has 4 teeth; 2 on top, 2 on bottom.

Caleb's Baptism (July 20, 2008)

Cutie all dressed for his baptism!

Caleb was such a good baby during the baptism.

Caleb's first "mommy made" cake.
(Not that he got to eat it or anything.)


Race for the Cure 2008

Caleb & Jackson's jogging stroller all decked out in support of Aunt Rachael.
(Both boys wore shirts that say "My Aunt Rachael is a SURVIVOR!")

Josh, Caleb, & Uncle Kevin ready for the race!

Rachael, the most incredible, AMAZING woman in the world!!!
She's a SURVIVOR!!!

Caleb & Grandaddy

Jackson was ready to race!

He walked almost the entire race! I was SO proud of him.

I just LOVE this picture! Little man, racing for a big cause!!!
(He looks so little.)

Rachael & Evan with the award our team won!
We won 1st place for participation in the family & friends category!!!
(We had the biggest team with 48 members!)


Random Pics from Here and There
(Just to try to catch you up.)

Caleb & Aunt Rachael after she completed all her treatments!!!!
Aunt Rachael ROCKS!!!

Rachael & I at her dinner/party to celebrate her completing chemo & radiation.
Proud doesn't even begin to express my admiration for her.
(Little did she know she had a surprise party coming up soon.)

Aunt Rachael & Jackson

Can you tell Caleb liked his sweet potatoes?

The true guitar hero!
*********************************************************

Jackson is SUCH a big helper.
(Yes, this was VERY messy!)

Another Cardinal fan! Go CARDS!

Jackson & his big boy bed!

Jackson & Caleb LOVE getting to play with cousin Evan!

The boys & I at the Bluegrass Balloon Festival (balloon glow).

Wow! Pretty balloons!

Precious! All through the eyes of a child!

The future of the Army Corps of Engineers!

Halloween/Fall Activities

Mini hayride at the family fall festival.

The cake Jackson helped me bake.
(Yes, I'm proud of it.)

Trying to ride the cement pig in Linda & Brady's garden.

Trying to ride the cement chicken.
(Needless to say, he wasn't as successful.)

My little mummy.

Ready to trick-or-treat.
(Okay, after Caleb has a nap.)

Jackson didn't like the "yucky" stuff inside the pumpkins.
(Mommy doesn't either.)

Helping Daddy

VERY excited that Daddy made him a Pablo jack-o-lantern!

Jackson trick-or-treating at the zoo.

This is what Caleb did while we were at the zoo.
I'm sure he'll be more excited next year.

Evan & Caleb getting ready to "trunk-er-treat" at church.
(People decorate their trunks or tailgates and hand out candy in the parking lot.
It's really a lot of fun.)

On the hayride.

Jackson making sure we knew that Caleb was asleep.

OH MY GOODNESS, THIS HAS TAKEN ME FOREVER!!!!! I've gotta take a break, but I PROMISE to update with Christmas pictures, as well as more recent pictures very soon.