Anna Lee and J.D.

All Grown Up

2009-07-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

Well, it was about time....Anna Lee finally got her first haircut. It made me a little sad and happy all at the same time. Sad that she is truly no longer a baby, and happy that she finally has enough hair to need a cut! Most kids get their haircut for the first time before they are a year old. Not our sweet Anna Lee. At a year, her hair looked like this: Not much to work with.

So after 2 and a half years, the time had finally come to visit the beauty shop. We spent a lot of time that morning (notice the crazy morning hair) talking about how the lady at the shop was going to cut her hair, but she was the ONLY one allowed to cut her hair with scissors. Since this was a new experience for a 2 year old, I could only imagine the excitement she would have had "re-creating" the event at home.

Anna Lee did a great job, and loved that they let her watch a Disney movie during it. Here are a few pictures.

What a Week!

2009-07-02T12:30:00.000-07:00

Last week was so crazy! Like all of the weeks since J.D. was born, we were busy, busy, busy. To begin, J.D. had his Baby Dedication at church. It was so sweet and special. Jim's parents and my parents came in for the occasion, and it was special to have our families there with us. Our preacher, John, said some really sweet words over J.D. and our family, and then one of our favorite people, Brant, said a wonderful prayer of blessing over him. We are so thankful for our church home, and for the people we have in our life who want to help us raise our kids to love God.

It was neat to get to have J.D.'s Baby Dedication/Blessing on Father's Day. We had a fun lunch with our families, and Anna Lee got to give her presents to her Pops and Grandad. We ended up not getting picture of Grandad's homemade stepping stone, but she was very proud of it and the hat she gave Pops.

I can't talk about Father's Day without saying a few words about Jim. (He got his presents later in the week.) He is absolutely, 100% the most wonderful daddy I can imagine. He does so much to love on and take care of all of us. We couldn't ask for a better Daddy around here!

Some father/son bonding while watching sports...

Five minutes later...

After the weekend of family, we loaded up and headed to Waco. We spend a few days there with Jim's parents and sister, and all four of Anna Lee's cousins. It was a zoo...but a really fun zoo! We did a lot of swimming, eating, playing, and movie watching. The kids even went to VBS together in the evenings.

After we got home from Waco, we unloaded, washed clothes, and then headed out again for my grandmother's family reunion in Abilene. It was my grandmother's first time to get to meet J.D.

It was really fun to get to be with my cousin Catherine and Aunt Donna too. They were so sweet and loved on our kids all weekend.

Kasey's boyfriend, Justin, came to the reunion with us too. We love that guy!

So we are finally at home...for a few days at least. It is good to be home and everyone agrees...even our happy baby!

Sweet Relief

2009-06-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

As I have said in previous posts, J.D. has been as fussy as you can possibly imagine. He has been quite the screamer. Anytime he was not asleep, he was crying...hard. We have been to numerous doctor's appointments trying to figure out what to do. This past week, after a teary phonecall to the doctor's office again, my doctor suggested that J.D. may be allergic to dairy. So, since I am still nursing him, I have been on a strict no-dairy diet. She also put him on an additional medicine to help with his reflux. Within 24 hours, J.D. was a completely different baby. I feel like I got to see what he actually looked like for the first time...without his eyes closed from screaming or sleeping. It has been such a better week!

We are still going to do some investigating to see if it was the new medicine or the lack of dairy. From what we can tell, it was a combination of the two. People who have spent time with us the past 2 months have been amazed at the difference. Last night, we went out to dinner (at a restaurant!) with friends, and J.D. sat in his carrier happily until he fell asleep. It was so wonderful! Our friends were shocked...since last week, they had to endure Life Group with J.D. screaming his head off. (Sorry, ya'll. Thank you for being such great friends!)

So I am thankful for a much more peaceful house. I kind of miss sour cream, ice cream, cheese, ranch, milk....(it is amazing how much stuff has dairy in it!)....but the reward is so much greater!

Life in the Fast Lane

2009-06-15T14:18:00.001-07:00

I feel like this post could have a lot of different titles...Life in the Fast Lane, No Rest for the Weary, I am so Tired...the list could go on. We have laughed lately thinking about the difference between Anna Lee's schedule as a newborn and J.D.'s. When Anna Lee was born, we didn't really even take her out of the house for six weeks. J.D. is a completely different story. The little guy has been on three trips so far, and had company come to stay with him for a weekend. And our summer is just beginning! Our summer has started off with a bang, and there is so much more fun to come! Hopefully it will come with just a little more sleep!

Life at our house has been a bit crazy. Poor J.D. is a fussy, fussy fellow. He sure does have a set of lungs- and he likes to use them! (I tell myself it is just because he is going to be an amazing singer someday.) Besides having a good amount of reflux, J.D. does NOT like to be awake and not being held. He is happy to let you know it, too. It isn't too bad when Jim and I take turns in the evening, but trying to take care of a 2 year old and a screaming baby all day wears you out! But he sure is cute! Anna Lee takes J.D.'s crying way better than I do. She never really seems bothered by it. I have been so thankful for her patience lately..and for the ways she has made me laugh.

Yesterday was a rough day. J.D. was really never settled down all day. Anna Lee and I finally had a moment where we were sitting and playing a game while I held J.D. to keep him calm. Anna Lee was moving something over and fell on her bottom. She cried a little and started to get up. I looked the other way and when I turned back, she had pulled up her dress and was bent over, holding her rear end up to my face...I mean just inches away. And she was saying, "Kiss it. Kiss it." All I could do was bust out laughing. I was holding a baby who had been screaming all morning (including our whole trip to Target), and my 2 year old wanted me to kiss her rear end....literally. Oh how life has changed.

So last week, we loaded up the car and headed down to Mom-Mom and Grandad's house in San Antonio. I wasn't able to travel for a good amount of my pregnancy, so it was so fun to get to go "home" again. We had so much fun! Anna Lee and J.D. both got lots of attention and love, and I got a bit of needed rest. Jim and I even got to go out to dinner for my 30th birthday one night. We spent our time there seeing friends, swimming, eating, and playing.

This picture was so sweet. Anna Lee in a pair of my mom's old high heels, without her pants, helping to give J.D. his paci.

My dad used to do this with Anna Lee when she was little too. I always think it is so funny to go in and find my tiny baby asleep in a heap of pillows on the big bed. J.D. seemed to enjoy it!

Anna Lee got to help my mom lead praise songs on Sunday morning with the 1st and 2nd graders at church. I think Anna Lee and my mom equally enjoyed it...for different reasons. Look carefully and you can see her up there lifting her hands up.

At one point while we were in San Antonio, we went and visited my friend Amy and her crew. Amy and I were best buds growing up, and spent hundreds of nights at each others houses. We used to put on musical shows for our parents, and always had so much fun together. It was fun to get to see our little girls (and boys) together now.

Some sweet friends from church had a luncheon for J.D. on my birthday while we were there. It was so fun and special. There were so many ladies there to celebrate J.D.'s arrival with us. It was special to me to get to celebrate with so many wonderful women who have loved me and cared for me so long...and now love my children. Thanks, Kendra and Lauren, for such a wonderful day!

As fun as the luncheon was, this is how J.D. spent the majority of it. Typical these days. But the party went on anyway!

My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Miner, also came to the party. It was so fun to get to see her! Our family has kept up with her over the years, and it was so special to me to get to see her with my kids. Amazing that she taught me when I was close to Anna Lee's age. Oh how I wish she could teach Anna Lee! She was the greatest!!!

Mrs. Sarah came to the luncheon with gifts for not only J.D. and me, but also for Anna Lee. She could not have gotten Anna Lee anything she would have liked more. See below.

On Sunday, we got to go and visit Ninnie. We love Ninnie so much. She has been like a grandmother to my sisters and me for so long, and now she loves Anna Lee and J.D. too.

On our way back from San Antonio, we got to stop in Waco for lunch and a swim. Our time with GranDee was short but really fun!

Two days after we got home from SA, some of our favorite friends came to see us again! The Maples came from Nashville to get to play and meet J.D. Anna Lee LOVES Riley so much, and they had a fun and crazy time together. Amazing how time changes things. 5 years ago, our time as friends in Nashville was much calmer/quieter/filled with much later nights...We had a ball with them being here.

I had bought a pool for the kids to play in. Too bad it didn't come with a pump! Lots of hard work went into that being ready for swimming- it was a team effort! But the kids seemed to think it was worth it!

Ericka with Sweet Baby Blake

So that is our last crazy couple of weeks in a nutshell. So much fun!

Roommate Reunion

2009-06-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

Well, last weekend we had the Litton Family Reunion...and this past weekend, we had the First Annual Roommate Reunion. Jim had four roommates in college. They were (and still are) some of the most wonderful guys I have ever known. They are the closest thing to brothers I have ever had...the same for Jim. Here are the original five...

This past weekend, we all got together for a reunion of sorts. It was so fun! The friendships that these guys have are so special- the kinds of friendships you keep for a lifetime. But beyond that, all of the wives were friends in college, and have such special relationships together now too. Since college, the group has significantly grown. Here we all are now...

One of the most fun parts of the weekend was getting to see all of our kids play together.

The kids all had a blast together, and the parents did too!

In the last post, there were a couple of pictures with Anna Lee and her cousin, Allie. Here is another shot of the two of them. Jim's roommate, Doug, married his cousin, Lana--Allie is their little girl. The really crazy part is that my family used to go on family vacations with Lana's family (Jim's cousin). My parents were best friends in college with Lana's parents (confusing, I know). So watching Anna Lee and Allie together is really special...kind of like looking back in time to Lana and me together.

On Sunday morning, we had "church" together. After so many years and the addition of so many kids, "church" has taken on a completely different form. Most of the songs we sang were of the 3 year old variety (i.e. My God is So Big), the "sermon" was a Bible story book about Moses, and the "fruit of the vine" was apple juice. We all loved it, though, and it was a special time to worship together.

Here is a shot of Cody reading a story to Anna Lee before bedtime. We kind of laughed at him reading a bedtime story about Noah to Jim. Jim and Cody lived in the same room all through college. He was and is so wonderful. It was so fun for Anna Lee to get to spend time with him...and he was amazing at getting our fussy J.D. to calm down. We need him around more often!

One of the most exciting parts of the weekend was when the boys left the wives with all the kids and headed out to get pizza. Rachel came up with toenail painting to keep the peace. Anna Lee and all of the little girls (and boys) loved it!

Oh how I love Chris. Some things never change.

Chris and his wife, Merry have been living in Pennsylvania for 3 years. We are so glad they are back in Texas now! Our little boys are only 2 months apart (and all of the roommates' little girls are around the same age). Who knows...maybe we are starting a whole new generation of roommates!

Litton Reunion 2009

2009-05-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we met up with Jim's family for the annual Litton Family Reunion. Every year on Memorial Day, Jim's whole extended family gets together for a long weekend of fun, food, worship, and relaxation. It is always such a joy to be with everyone. Jim has a ton of cousins who are all close to the same age. Most of us all went to ACU at the same time, as well as the added spouses. So besides being family, we are all really good friends. I mean, Jim's cousin actually married one of his college roommates. All together, there were 20 adults and 9 kids under the age of 7...all staying in one house. It was a little more interesting this year, having an extremely fussy newborn with us, but still really fun. With everyone one year older, the great-grands had a ball together this year. Here are a bunch of pictures from our time together. You will have to excuse the amount...I just couldn't narrow them down!

Here are all of the cousins...well, as we are called, the "absolutes" and the "grafteds."

Grandmother with her two newest great grandbabies.

Grandmother with all of the great grands...

And the even better shot of the rest of everyone on the other side,

trying to get the kids to smile...

Anna Lee had so much fun with all of her cousins...especially the girls! Who knew the Disney princesses could provide such a bond?

On Saturday night, all the adults had a family trivia game. It was fun, loud, and competitive. A big thanks went to Jennifer for putting it all together for us.

Reading some Bible stories with Grandmother before bed

Brother and Sister with 2 new baby boy cousins...

Anna Lee enjoying some time with the men...

Matthew was quite the fisherman this weekend. I loved this shot of him.

Anna Lee with Pops watching the fishing

Briana was so sweet with all of the kids. She gave me lots of appreciated breaks from holding J.D. The kids all loved her too! We can't wait for her wedding in October! I loved how Anna Lee was looking up at Matthew in this shot.

One of my favorite parts of our reunion weekends is our family worship time. It is such a special time of singing, reflection, and prayer. We are so thankful to have a family that wants to spend time doing those things together.

One of Jim's cousins, Larissa, and her husband Kyle and daughter Shaye just moved to Peru to be missionaries. We are so proud of what they are doing there, and love them so much. We missed them being at the reunion this weekend, but the kids had fun getting to talk with them on Skype. Here is a shot of everyone gathered around the computer.

A bunch of us gathered in a bedroom one night while the kids were "performing" songs.

It was so fun!

This was a shot of Grandmother with J.D. I mainly liked the picture because you can see how much J.D. has grown!

I caught this shot of Matthew stealing some mint Oreos one afternoon after swimming.

I just thought it was funny!

And two other little mouths got into the Oreo bag as well...

Having fun swimming with Daddy

Jim's parents with the gang
We had such a great time! Can't wait until next year!

Family Portraits

2009-05-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we had a photographer come to our house and take family portraits. It was stressful getting ready for it, but Anna Lee and J.D. both did a great job...and the portraits turned out great! Our photographer, Steve, was wonderful, and was awesome at catching some great moments. Here are a few of my favorites...and a link to a slideshow he put together of some that he liked from the session.

www.poeticexposure.com/jamesdavis

What a great daddy!!!

2009-05-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

Jim has been home with us now for three weeks. It has been so nice! I can't say enough what an amazing husband and daddy he is! Our 7 year anniversary is on Monday (that is so hard to believe!). As we look at our life together, I am so thankful for not only our relationship and friendship with each other, but the relationship he has with Anna Lee and now J.D.

Jim has certainly earned his keep around here the past three weeks! He has been cleaning the house, changing diapers, rocking J.D. during the middle of the night, taking Anna Lee to and from school, getting dinner, going to the grocery store for me, the list is endless. And he has done all of this without a single complaint. Thank you so much!

Besides all that he has done around the house and to help with J.D., Anna Lee and Jim have had a ball together! They have played and played...inside and out. Anna Lee has LOVED having her daddy home! And I have too!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-09T10:46:00.001-07:00

Let me just begin this post by telling you how much I love Mom-Mom and GranDee. My mom came the week J.D. was born to help, and Jim's mom came last weekend. I cannot say how much it meant to me for them to come! Because of my c-section and hernia surgery, taking care of two kiddos has been more difficult than I thought. But I was so thankful to have not only one, but two sweet moms who would be willing to come and help us. Thank you both so much! We love you so much and hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks. Anna Lee is still loving being a big sister. She loves talking to J.D., kissing him, and holding him. I have been waiting for her excitement about him to wear off...but it hasn't happened yet.

"Hmmm...let me see..."

Look at those cheeks! As of yesterday, he got really bad acne on them. I am not sure what to do about this...especially since we are having his portaits made on Tuesday. I am hoping it will go away soon.

J.D. is one chilled out little fellow. When he is awake, this is pretty much his normal demeanor.

Until sponge bath time. This has been his least favorite part of the day.

But he seems to feel like it is always worth it...to get to be wrapped up in a towel at the end. I love hooded baby towels!

Well, Happy Mother's Day everyone!

I am so thankful to have these two little ones to celebrate this year.

Backwards

2009-05-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

Middle of the night... Middle of the day...

J.D. has things kind of turned around right now...and the result is a lack of sleep at our house.

Any suggestions?

Getting Settled In

2009-04-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

Today J.D. is one week old, and it has been such a wonderful week! Sorry I am just now getting some more pictures online. Life with two kids is twice as busy! Thank you to everyone who sent flowers, calls, visits, and prayers our way while we were in the hospital. We ended up staying one extra day, mainly for me to heal a little more from the extra hernia repair I had. That extra surgery has made my recovery a little harder than last time, but the pain medicines are my new best friend!

J.D. is such a wonderful, sweet baby. He is just as calm and mild-mannered as Anna Lee is energetic, wiggly, and talkative. It is amazing to see how different the two of them are...and how different he already is from how Anna Lee was as a baby. He has his nights and days confused right now, but we are working on that...sleepily :0)

Anna Lee loves J.D. I fully expected her to act a little jealous when we got home, but she has been the exact opposite. He loves on him, wants to kiss him and hold him, and loves to spend time next to him. It has been very sweet to have them together.

So here are a few (well actually a lot) of my favorite pictures over our time in the hospital and a few from when we got home. Enjoy!

Family Love: grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins....J.D. has a lot of people that already love him so much. We are so thankful for our wonderful families.

I love this picture. This is when Jim's grandmother first got to hold J.D. Her husband is Jim's Granddaddy, who J.D was named after.

There are probably too many pictures of the next scene posted here, but I literally couldn't pick my favorite. Anna Lee came up to the hospital several different times to visit, but this particular time was the first time she showed such an interest in and love for him.

Here she is doing "This Little Piggy" to his feet.

After she did that, J.D. reached up and touched her on the nose. She thought it was so great. I absolutely love the shot that was caught here.

These next two pictures are probably my favorites ever.

Posing all dressed up...

J.D. was the most fussy he has been so far when we were getting him ready to go home. It took us forever to get out of the hospital because he was so upset and hungry. But he sure did look handsome!

Anna Lee greeted us at the door when we got home. She opened the door and said,

"Come in, J.D.!"

When we brought Anna Lee home from the hospital when she was born, we took her on a "tour" of her new home. Anna Lee got to take J.D. on the "tour" on Monday when we got home with him. She was so excited to show him her room, his room, his bed, etc.

Anna Lee had made pictures with my mom that morning for J.D. and had hung them on his bedroom door. They of course had a lot of princess stickers. She was very proud of them.

Our sweet baby boy.

J.D. is here!

2009-04-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

J.D. is here!

This is Kasey (Kelly's sister) writing for the Litton family tonight. It has been a great day! J.D. is such a precious baby boy! He was born at 8:44 am, weighing in at 8 lbs. and 13 ounces and 21 inches long. Both J.D. and Kelly are healthy and happy. There is so much to be thankful for. It was hard to not put every single picture on the blog, but I narrowed it down to a few.

Before....

Kelly was a pro in the delivery room...

And so was Jim!

The Litton family when they only had one child...

And now they have two!
You cant see it in this picture, but J.D. has dark hair. He has a sweet face with chubby cheeks, and he seemed so content all day.

This is Kelly's favorite picture.

Proud daddy!

When Anna Lee arrived at the hospital, she was excited to meet her little brother. She wanted to give him kisses, and she wanted to hold him all by herself. :)

While I don't know that Anna Lee quite understands what having a little brother means, she had a special care for him. She was excited to see him, happy, a little bashful, and so sweet. She and J.D. exchanged presents- and while most of her attention in the hospital room went to the princess shoes he gave her, she was enthralled with him. Here she is showing him the present she brought him.

This is my favorite picture of the day...look at all of their hands holding J.D. together. What a special family - wonderful parents, sweet big sister, and a precious new baby.

Congratulations to the Litton family!

We are so excited to have J.D. here!

Almost there...

2009-04-21T14:59:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning at 8:30 am, our little boy is scheduled to arrive. It is hard to believe it is already time for him to be here! In so many ways, I am so ready! In so many other ways, I am nervous and could wait a little longer. I am more excited than I can even put into words to get to meet him. And I can't wait for Anna Lee to meet her baby brother too! I REALLY don't like taking pictures of myself when I am pregnant, but I thought I should have a couple here at the end. Keep us in your prayers over the next few days.

Bad Hair Day

2009-04-20T13:34:00.001-07:00

Everyone has bad hair days. I'm glad Anna Lee finally has enough hair to have one!

In Just One Week...

2009-04-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

In just one week...life will be different and we will be a family of four. Crazy! I haven't felt the best the past couple of weeks, and especially the past couple of days. I slipped in our living room on Monday and pulled a muscle really hard. Per the doctor's orders, I have been walking with crutches all week....and VERY slowly. Quite the image, isn't it?? My mom has been awesome and has been here the past couple of days to help me take care of Anna Lee. She is the best! Gotta love having a mom who will drop everything to come and take care of you! Anna Lee has had a ball, too!

Because of my laziness and being ready to be done, I haven't done much cooking lately (I think I have mentioned this previously). You know it is bad when you ask your daughter what she wants for dinner and she starts listing restaurants instead of foods. "Lubys, or Chick-fil-A, or Bubba's..." Someday hopefully she will know that food is actually cooked in a kitchen!

We (probably me more than anyone) have been counting down the days with Anna Lee until J.D. gets here, and she seems to really have no clue how life is about to change. For months, we have been talking about how Baby J.D. will be coming, etc. She talks about him very fondly and is well aware that he will be her little brother. Two nights ago, Anna Lee changed her response, though. It is now consistently as follows: We ask, "Who is coming in just 7 days?!?" Anna Lee's response: "Baby Jesus." Although they sound kind of similar (and we would love for Jesus to come back), I will not be having Him next week. And I doubt very seriously that after a few weeks, Anna Lee will think J.D. is as great as Jesus.

On the same note, Anna Lee has been making several Biblical character errors lately that have really gotten me tickled. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Anna Lee was getting a "talking to" the other night because she was not talking very nicely to us. I had her set up on her bed and was telling her that her tone of voice did not make me very happy. I said, "Anna Lee the way you were talking to Mommy was very rude." Anna Lee looked at me with a very puzzled look and said, "And Boaz?" I couldn't keep a straight face. Apparently now, Anna Lee relates talking ugly to Mommy with the story of Ruth and Boaz from the Bible. I don't think she quite understood.

We were watching American Idol the other night. Anna Lee is quite the fan, and can name most of the people on the show. When Adam, who has proven to be a very good performer, sang "Born to be Wild," Anna Lee asked what his name was. Here is a link to Adam's performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MdOpYtkoPI just to give you an idea of what she was watching. When I told Anna Lee that his name was Adam, she looked at me and then looked at the TV with a very confused look on her face and said, "Where's Eve?" Oh my. I got so tickled. Adam Lambert singing "Born to Be Wild" is definitely not the picture I have of the Garden of Eden.

That is all I have for now. Just thought I would share some funnies. Our time with Anna Lee alone is going to be over soon, but we are so excited about what is to come! Just 7 more days!!!

A Happy Easter

2009-04-13T12:10:00.000-07:00

We had such a nice Easter yesterday. We hope you all did too! After going to church, we settled in for a nice afternoon of needed relaxation and family time. (Jim said it was kind of the "calm before the storm" next week.)

Anna Lee got to open her Easter bunny presents after her nap, since she woke up too late to do it in the morning. Before she went down for her nap, we told her that the Easter bunny was going to come while she was asleep and bring her presents. She looked very concerned and said, "I don't want to see him and I don't want to talk to him." No problem.

This year, I decided it really wasn't worth the hassle of dying eggs. Maybe we should have done it, but I felt like I would have had a huge mess on my hands...with very little reward. Instead, I found a Princess egg decorating kit. It was a hit. Anna Lee and I spent a good amount of time on Saturday night putting princess stickers and crowns all over eggs. Who needs to dye eggs when you have Sleeping Beauty and Belle???

After the Easter egg hunt was canceled at our church yesterday because of weather, we had our own in the backyard. Anna Lee was just as happy. She worked so hard to find all of the eggs Jim had hidden around the yard. She really didn't understand what to do last year, so it was fun to see her enjoy this yesterday.

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend!

He's an Old Man Now!

2009-04-08T14:20:00.000-07:00

Jim officially turned 30 on Saturday. He was funny about the whole thing. He has been dreading turning 30 for a while now, since he said he apparently feels like an "old man", so we decided to make his birthday fun! We started the day off by going to get donuts with Anna Lee. I guess it was more a treat for Anna Lee than Jim. While we were at the donut shop, Great American Cookie Company called me to check about the cookie cake I had ordered. Jim got a suspicious look in his eye and started questioning me after I came back from taking the call outside. I just pulled the pregnancy card. "Jim, seriously? I am two weeks away from having a baby! I barely make dinner anymore (which is true). Do you really think I would throw a party for you today?" That did it. He was convinced there was nothing going on. (I guess it says something about how much I make dinner...) That morning, Anna Lee and I gave Jim his presents.Jim got some "boring" stuff as well as a framed handprint picture from Anna Lee with pictures of the two of them in it. But my favorite gift by far was the picture frame I made for J.D.'s room. I found this picture of Jim's Granddaddy in his bedside table and secretly had a copy made. I thought this scripture, Psalm 100:5 "For the Lord is good and his love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations." was perfect. We will obviously put a picture of little J.D. (in just a few weeks!) in the open space. The frame is already hanging in J.D.'s room. It made me even more excited to name him J.D. He is being named after a wonderful man.
So...our friends Michael and Abbe were the best! After a lot of plotting, Michael called Jim at 11:30 and told him that he was at work and his car wouldn't start. Abbe was at home with a sick baby (which was actually true---that helped sell the story), so she couldn't come and pick him up. He asked if Jim would run and pick him up and take him home. Michael was so great for driving all the way to work on a Saturday...just for Jim to come and take him back home! Jim totally bought the story. He told me everything that was going on and high-tailed it out. As soon as he left, our house became the party zone. My parents, Jim's parents, and my sister Kasey had all picked up the food that morning and were waiting around the corner. We had about 30 people show up in a matter of minutes. It was great! Here is a picture of some of us waiting in the kitchen.

When Jim got home, he sat in his car waiting for Anna Lee and me to come out to take him to lunch. He actually honked and waited. He had no idea. But after a little coaxing to come in, he was completely surprised. It was so much fun!

Anna Lee didn't quite know what to think about everyone yelling "Surprise!" at her daddy.

A chocolatey "Cheese!"

So after a lot of food, friends, and fun, Jim had a much more eventful birthday than he had planned, and we got to go out on a nice date that evening (one of the last for a while!) because of babysitters who were in town.

Jim, I am thankful for you more than words can express. You are such an amazing husband and father. I am thankful that we are growing "old" together, and I look forward to what the next 30 years have in store! I hope you had a fun 30th birthday!

Before and Afters

2009-03-31T20:54:00.000-07:00

We finally have the kids' (that is still strange to say) rooms finished. I thought I would post some before and after pictures. We moved Anna Lee to a new "big girl room" and kept the baby furniture in the nursery. It was easier to move Anna Lee than all of that furniture!

Here are some "Before" pictures of the guest room....

And After... Anna Lee's new "Big Girl Room"

I think this is Anna Lee's favorite part of the whole room...her princess stickers on the back of her door. Kasey, it was a perfect present!

Here are "Before" pictures of the nursery, when it was still Anna Lee's room.....

And "After".... J.D.'s New Room. One of our close friends has a sister who does nursery art. She came and did the frames on the walls. I love them! It was such a strange mix of sadness and excitement when the walls went from pink to khaki. It was hard to believe that Anna Lee was no longer a baby in that room...but even harder to believe that we were soon going to have a new little boy living there! I am so excited and ready!

These Days are Fun

2009-03-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought I would post some random pictures of Anna Lee I have from the past month or so. We have been having such a fun time with her! She is a fun, happy, very talkative little thing...and moments are never dull with her around!

The other day Anna Lee and I were about to run to the store and I told her to come get in the car. She said, "Wait just a minute, Mommy! I be right back!" She ran to her room and came back with this get-up. Couldn't leave without her necklace, bracelet, ring, purse, and sunglasses! How did she get so girly???Anna Lee loves having 4 cousins. She has so much fun each time she gets to be with them. She and her cousin, Kasen, seem to have the most fun together at this point. We will see how it changes over the years...especially as she learns that Brynlee knows more about princesses! Kasen turned 3 a couple of weeks ago, and we went to his Build a Bear party. Anna Lee had fun at the party, but had much more fun with Kasen. The two of them were hilarious. They were hugging, holding hands, and chasing each other around. I am so thankful for the little friendship they already share.

Last week, a couple of my close friends went with our church group to see Disney on Ice. It was fun to go together. You can't tell from this picture, but we think our kids actually had a great time.

Anna Lee spent a good bit of the show like this....covering her eyes. I didn't blame her, though. There were some really scary parts- including a 3 story high Ursula from The Little Mermaid. We had to talk about her a lot when we got home. Several times during the show, Anna Lee said, "Mommy, I want to go back to the car!"

Scary, huh?

Overall, the fact that she got to see Tinkerbell and Ariel fixed all the fears.

Anna Lee is 100% pure and simply obsessed with all things Disney Princess. I mean, really. Anyone she talks to gets a full description of the princesses and questions about which ones they like. She came in the other day and begged to get to wear her princess dress. I had no objection...especially since her plan was to wear it to clean the house! Apparently she was going for a Cinderella look that day.

My mom has been busy at home working on cleaning out closets lately. I am very impressed. She found this old pair of shoes of mine and brought them to Anna Lee. Anna Lee loved them! For some reason, it really got me tickled to see her wear them. Maybe it was their out-of-date style, maybe it was the fact that I used to actually wear them, or maybe it was the Christmas candy pajamas (and necklace of course!) to complete the outfit. Whatever it was, it made me laugh!

Anna Lee is quite the busy body. She is hard to keep up with! Jim has to bring work home every now and then. A few weekends ago, Jim was in the dining room working on a document and Anna Lee decided she needed to join him. She went into her room, got her Elmo computer, set it up on the table, and started working next to Jim, like she had a legal issue that was very important she needed to solve. It was very cute.

That is all the pictures I have for now. I will be posting nursery pictures soon! The count-down has officially begun...J.D. will be here in less than a month! Anna Lee has been talking about him like she fully understands. Oh how much she has to learn! She says he is not here...yet. And that when he gets here, she is going to "help." She imitates how he will cry, and says she will give him his paci. It will be so fun...and such an adventure...to see how she adjusts to the big upcoming change in our family. We were talking about it in the car the other night and I was telling her how she was the most wonderful girl in the world, and how Mommy and Daddy love her so much. I told her how we will still think she is the best girl in the world and love her so much when J.D. is here. It was one of those sweet moments you hope your child will respond to and maybe even remember. Her response was priceless: She looked at me and thoughtfully said, "Can I listen to Pocahontas now?"

A Sweet Shower for J.D.

2009-03-20T05:54:00.000-07:00

My mom and sisters threw a little shower for us last weekend. It was so sweet. Kasey had it at her loft (which is super fun and trendy), and it was so special to me. We had just a few girls there who are some of my closest friends, and I felt very "showered" with love, gifts, friendship, and blessings. It was so fun to open little boy things and to think about having a little boy (in less than 5 weeks!) who will use them!

Kasey, Kara, and my mom worked so hard on preparing everything for the shower. It was perfect! My mom even made this precious diaper cake.

It was so fun to have Jim's mom there too!

Here are a few of the girls who came. For some reason, we didn't end up getting a picture of everyone. They are all so special to me. I was honored by each and every friend who came.

One of my favorite gifts was from my mom (please ignore my fat face in this picture!). When I was opening it, she told me that it was a "used gift." That seemed confusing to me, since there are no boys in our family who could have originally used something. I opened this precious pair of jeans....and she told me they were my dad's when he was little! They have a leather tag on the bag that has "Bubba" etched in it.
I am not usually very sentimental, but what a special gift!

Kasey probably worked the hardest on her gift for J.D. It was this amazing afghan...that she crocheted! My grandmother tried to teach both of us to crochet...and Kasey was the only one who ended up learning how. I didn't ever catch on. There is no telling how many hours she spent on this beautiful blanket. Thank you, Aunt Kasey! I love it...and I know J.D. will too!

What an honor to have such special family and friends.

I am so thankful J.D. will be loved by all of these special people!

Amazing

2009-03-06T12:57:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, we had a 3D sonogram done. I was looking forward to the sonogram, because we hadn't had one in almost 4 months, but I didn't know what to expect with the 3D kind. It was amazing. We could actually see J.D.'s little face. Being the wonderful mother that I am, I have already lost the CD that has the pictures on it...so I had to take digital pictures of the printed pictures to be able to put them on the computer. (What mother loses the first pictures of her child?!?) So if these are a little extra blurry, that is why. We were amazed at how much J.D. looks like Anna Lee. I guess you expect siblings to look alike, but it was incredible to be able to see it in a sonogram picture. Having this sonogram made me even more ready for him to be here so we can see him in person!

Look at the picture above and then look at this next picture that was taken of Anna Lee as she was leaving the hospital. Anyone else see a resemblance?

We are so excited that we will get to meet our new little guy

April 23rd at 8:30 am!

There's Nothing Quite Like Good Friends

2009-03-05T19:44:00.001-08:00

We had the most wonderful weekend last weekend. Some of our best friends, Paul and Ericka, came with their two kiddos to visit us. We had been planning on going to see them a few months back, but because of some random medical issues with this pregnancy, I wasn't able to travel. We were so bummed...but Paul and Ericka saved the day and came to see us instead! We had so much fun with them! They are the kind of friends you pray for and with, and hope that your kids have friends like them someday too. It was so fun and easy to be together, and the time flew by way too fast. It was fun to watch our kids play together, and even more fun to get to meet their new sweet baby girl, Blake.

Each year, we send each other Christmas presents. This year, we decided to wait and give our presents to each other in person. The kids had a blast! It was fun to have a random Christmas celebration in March. After all the presents were opened, they had even more fun popping all of the air out of the bubble wrap with their dancing feet.

Riley and Anna Lee became fast friends. Even with their two year difference in age, they played together really well. Anna Lee was of course a little too bossy for my taste, but Riley handled it really well. They played and played all weekend, and by the end of our time together, Anna Lee's room was a true disaster zone. I really had never seen anything like it. We decided we needed some pictures of the destruction. The two of them had worked diligently at getting every toy out of every drawer, cabinet, closet, and shelf to play with. It was great!

On Saturday, we decided we would all take a fun trip to the zoo. Too bad it was freezing outside! Ericka and I were determined to make the trip, while the guys kept saying it would be too cold for all of us. We being the strong-willed women that we are, decided they were wrong and we would all be fine. As we were all freezing our tails off at the zoo, Ericka and I worked really hard to act like we were warm...we just weren't ready to admit they were right! By the end, though, the boys' wisdom had won out. We didn't see many animals because they were all inside due to the cold weather. Apparently they were smarter than us.

What a great weekend! Paul, Ericka, Riley, and Blake, you are welcome to Dallas anytime! We love you and loved having you here!

"Mama Said There'll Be Days Like These..."

2009-02-25T13:36:00.000-08:00

So today has been a beating. Anna Lee woke up this morning in a very excited and/or agitated mood. She spent all morning either very happy or very upset. It was draining. Seriously, how many fits can one little person throw within an hour? It was like she was trying to set a record. Jim was there too, and at one point he came in and threw his hands up saying, "I am done with her." He was throwing in the towel. I completely understood.

Anna Lee and I went to her music class, where we had a lot of fun together. On our way home, I decided to run into Central Market to grab a sandwich. In hindsight, I should have gone through a drive-thru. Anna Lee is usually extremely obedient and sweet, even when we are out in public. Well, not today. She thought she would play a new game with me to make me run after her and then yell "No!" when I caught her. The new game made me look like the greatest mom ever. So I finally had had enough. I left my cart, took her into the bathroom and spanked her bottom. I kept wondering if the lady in the next stall was going to call CPS on me. Well, it turns out I should have let Anna Lee use the bathroom in the stall instead of spanking her. As soon as we left and went back to the deli, I looked down and Anna Lee was standing in a puddle of urine. She said, "Oh no, my Zoe panties are wet." And everything else!!!

There was a really sweet lady in the deli who came gave me towels to clean up the mess. I felt lots of eyes on me. The people around me were either feeling sorry for me... or wondering why I was crazy enough to have a second kid!

Anyone else had days like these?

Thankful

2009-02-22T05:31:00.000-08:00

Well, we had a bit of a scare yesterday with J.D. Everything thankfully is ok. But it was a strange day. Yesterday morning, I mentioned to Jim that I hadn't felt J.D. move very much. He usually kicks around a lot in the morning, some in the afternoon, and a lot at night. Throughout every day, though, I feel random movements and kicks. Not yesterday. I pushed on him around 10 am, and finally got him to kick me back once.

Jim left yesterday afternoon to go to a meeting and dinner at ACU in Abilene. Anna Lee and I were planning on having a fun evening together. Around 4:30, I got very concerned that I hadn't felt J.D. move at all since that one kick at 10:00. So I pushed on him, went to lie down, drank something, pushed on him some more, etc. Nothing. It was very strange.

I called my doctor, who I expected to say, "Go try doing this," or "Wait a while and see if he is just asleep," but she didn't say that. She was very serious on the phone, and said that if I really hadn't felt him move except that one time all day, I needed to go straight to Labor and Delivery immediately. Well, needless to say, I freaked out. I tried calling a million people, and no one would answer their phones. My sweet friend Abbe called me right back, and was exactly what I needed. She came immediately over to take care of Anna Lee for me while I went to the hospital...crying all the way. I was so scared that they were not going to find a heartbeat.

My wonderful sister, Kasey, met me at the hospital (after she had had a really long day at a competition with her kids from school), and I was trying really hard to hold it together. They put a monitor on my belly and soon were able to find a heartbeat. I cannot explain the joy I felt at that moment. J.D. immediately started hiccupping. I LOVED it. Apparently all he needed to move around yesterday was for me to squirt some of that cold gel on my tummy. If I had only known.

Yesterday made me thankful for so many things. Most obvious, I am thankful for our sweet baby boy. I think yesterday made everything seem a bit more real...that we are going to have a new little person with us in just 8 weeks! I am thankful for his health, for his life, and for every little movement I feel him make now. I was thankful that I had a sweet husband who was willing to climb back in the car after just arriving to Abilene, and drive a million miles an hour to come home to me, whether something was wrong or not. He knew I needed him. I was also thankful for the overwhelming help I got yesterday from friends and family. By the time I got home from the hospital, Anna Lee had gotten to play with our sweet next door neighbor and her two kids, my wonderful friend Abbe and her baby Avery, my sister's boyfriend Justin, who we love so much, and her grandparents, who had driven all the way here to help me. In addition, I didn't have to be alone at the hospital. Since Jim was out of town, Kasey came to be with me...good news or bad. While I was there, I got texts from Jim's family that they were all praying for J.D.

We are so blessed. And yesterday made me remember that. I couldn't stop saying prayers of thanksgiving as I went to sleep yesterday. Thank you, Lord, for all you have given us.

A Lot of Love from a Little Sweetheart

2009-02-17T13:26:00.000-08:00

Anna Lee had a great Valentine's Day and week! Besides spending all week working on her valentines, (I have seen enough glitter to last me a lifetime!) we got to have a fun party with her friends and have visits from both of her sets of grandparents. She had so much fun! Jim and I even got to go out on a really nice date on Saturday night thanks to Mom-Mom and Grandad. We know those nights are going to be few and far between in a few months! We hope all of you had a great Valentine's weekend!