Glad to See the Sun

After a dreary Friday afternoon and a downright icy, drizzly, snowy Saturday it was nice to see the sun today. Since Josh is working today, Jack & I have been trying to keep ourselves busy. Me with laundry and other mundane tasks. Him with playing, reading books and generally avoiding a nap at all costs. Somedays this big boy bed is just not as smooth sailing as you'd like it to be, but it won't be like this everyday, right?

We braved the chilly rain to celebrate a big milestone for our buddy Britton yesterday. Brit turned 4 and we all had the pleasure of pizza and fun to help mark the occasion. Jack's favorite part was definitely the candy that he so easily persuaded Tate & Derek to give him! A close second was probably the chocolate on chocolate cupcake...this mama put that at the top of her list!

Thursday I made a trip to the doctor and everything seems to be good as far as the impending arrival. My physician is scheduled to be out of town on a mission trip the week I am due, so we are planning an induction the week prior. So, if for some reason the little guy isn't here before then, we anticipate his arrival on February 17th. I was induced with Jack, so I'm familiar with the process...but I was post 40 weeks. My hope and prayer is that despite being 39 weeks, the process will go just as smoothly as last time.

I must confess that I've spent so little time preparing for Sam's arrival. The baby shower last week certainly helped get me in a better frame of mind. As other moms know, the first time around you focus on every detail of preparation and thinking about the delivery and everything else. This time I almost feel I've neglected to give this baby his well-deserved preparation and thought. Most of my preparation and thoughts about the arrival have more to do with how I anticipate Jack responding and reacting to this big change. I'm hoping this is normal...I'd appreciate the reassurance and advice that all you moms of more than one out there might provide!

It's incredibly exciting to think that in less than three weeks there will be another little person in this house, but it's also exhausting. I know that He won't give me more than I can handle, but I expect it will be challenging with two little ones. It's safe to say I've become pretty comfortable with how independent Jack has become. Once again, there will soon be one depending on me nearly every moment of the day. Oh how glad I am to have you all along on the journey with me! In the meantime, I'll try to do a better job of keeping you updated on the random happenings of our growing family.

Showering Sam

This weekend a few friends hosted a shower for me & Sam. Even though it's the second time around and we are having another boy, there were a few essentials they knew I'd need and were so sweet to throw us a party. We had such a great time and the food was of course excellent! Josh & I both feel incredibly blessed to have found such a wonderful group of friends since we moved to what we thought was a tiny little town 2 1/2 years ago. Jack is so lucky to grow up alongside such sweet little friends and be loved by their mommies & daddies, too! I'm thrilled that Sam will have so many folks to call his friends too...especially with the Bethlehem Baptist Church baby boom of 2009-10.

I plan to upload some more photos from the shower soon. Before Josh's family headed back home, we all went out for dinner. Jack sure loves when grandparents visit, but really has a ball with his Cousin Sean. He loves to squeeze, hug, sit on and generally smother poor Sean, who puts up with it in stride.

By the way, just before beginning this post, I had my first encounter with a wandering little tot who was supposed to be in bed. He has gotten up and out of bed in the mornings and after naps a few times, but this is the first time he has emerged from his room before even falling asleep. About 15 minutes after I put him down, I heard him in the hallway. I had to tuck him in twice more (the second time with a threat of punishment the next time he got up. The threat alone resulted in tears.) At least we are doing this now and not 4 weeks from now with a newborn in the house. Oh, I'll post some pics of the big boy room soon. We just got his bedding this weekend.

Also, I think that same two-year-old gave me his cold from last week. Here's to hoping the coughing, sore throat, sniffling, etc. is drawing to an end around here.

Update

Just wanted to update you all on our first night in the big boy bed. Jack did fantastic! The delivery men arrived just before 4 and got to work setting up the new furniture. It looks great, but certainly makes Jack's room seem SOOO much smaller. Jack was excited to climb on the bed and enjoyed asking "Daddy up here?" He really enjoyed having extra space to share in his new bed.

Once bedtime arrived Jack was worn out from the busy day, the lack of a nap and the fact that he was a little under the weather. We went through our typical routine and he quickly climbed into his bed. After getting into place, he was a little hesitant to actually lay down and seemed kind of worried. After some reassurance from mom & dad, he seemed to warm up to the idea that this was his new sleeping arrangement.

Josh & I got to work across the hall putting the crib back together in Sam's room. I just kept expecting Jack to come bouncing in the room. Thankfully, he seemed to sleep pretty well. Although I told him to call for us when he was ready to get up and I would come help him, I didn't expect he would. So, a little after 7 this morning I heard him calling, "Mommy?" I rounded the corner to find him at the top of the stairs. When he saw me he said, "Hey, Mommy!"

The real test is taking place as I type...naptime. I wasn't sure he'd be able to resist the urge to get down and explore or play with the daylight flooding in the windows. (Must invest in knock-out drapes.) So far, I haven't heard him creeping out. I'm sure it helped that I took him to the park for a couple of hours of energy-draining fun! We had a wonderful time with Gus, Mack & Erin. We were so pumped to have such a beautiful day to enjoy! Loving this respite from the teens & 20s!

bye bye, crib?

I'm sitting here wondering if I have just put my first-born to bed in his crib for the last time. In case you're new to this blog (in which case, who are you?) or you've simply been in a hole, little brother is due to arrive in 5 short weeks. My plan was always to get Jack new "big boy" furniture, but not rush the movement of the crib until I was sure we were all ready. I thought, 'why can't the crib and bed sit side by side for a while until he gets used to the idea and I decide I'm ready to brave the freedom the bed will allow?' Something happened early last week that has made me re-think the decision to wait.

Last Monday Jack decided he was ready to get up from his nap and apparently mommy was not responding quickly enough. The next thing I know I hear his door swing open and him standing at the top of the stairs calling, "Mommy?" Yes, that little stinker had managed to climb out of his crib (quite successfully...I noticed no visible injuries and heard no loud commotion). Thankfully, he hasn't done it again since, but I'm thinking we better not put off the transition in case his dissension is not so successful next time. Fortunately, the "big boy" furniture we had picked out is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully, this will give everyone time to get used to the new digs before baby brother arrives. We've been talking about the new bed for a while with Jack, so we're hoping he doesn't balk too badly at the change. We're also hoping he doesn't immediately realize the incredible freedom it will allow.

Speaking of little brother, we finally settled on a name for the one on the way...Sam.

Snow Day

So, we saw our first snow of the year (I'm optimistic that it won't be our last) on Thursday afternoon. It was really pretty while coming down. Unfortunately after a week of temps in the 20s, Thursday was kind of warm. So, it took a while for the snow to start sticking. I would guess we got close to a half inch.

On Friday morning, everyone bundled up...which was no small task and resulted in quite a whine fest from Jack. We headed outside to explore the white powder. I tried in vain to encourage Jack to toss some around, but he mostly complained about how it was "cold totside." Needless to say I spent more time bundling us both up (think bundling a 2-year-old up is tough? add a pregnant lady to the mix!) than we spent outside. After some muffins, Josh headed to the office and Jack and I stayed inside where it was nice and warm.

The new year has gotten off to a great start. Last weekend was so much fun. Josh was off Friday and didn't have to work any on Saturday or Sunday...so the three of us spent lots of quality time together. In the last couple of weeks, Jack has developed a precious little habit that neither Josh nor I will grow tired of. Each night when we put Jack to bed, we each tell him that we love him. Once you are almost out the door and ready to close it, he yells out: "Love you, Daddy. Love you, Mommy." It melts us each and every time!!

Here's what we've been doing

Celebrating Christmas has made for such a fun weekend (and several more days it seems). Enjoying the excitement of the season has kept me from updating my loyal blog followers (read with extreme sarcasm) and for that apologize (for both not updating & making that terrible joke!) There are too many pictures to share here, so a good sampling are in my December album.

Jack & I spent early last week with some friends at the new Babyland General in Cleveland. And shame on you if you didn't know that was the birthplace to millions of Cabbage Patch Kids until after clicking the link. Anyway, the new hospital is enormous and was jazzed up for Christmas. I wasn't sure how interested Jack would be in the baby dolls. He seemed to gravitate towards the stuffed animals and loved it when we spotted an Elmo doll. His second favorite part of the tour was probably the giant Cabbage Patch doll, Noel. Her fuzzy outfit was irrestible to him! I also managed to get him to sit on Santa's knee, which was a huge accomplishment! He loves Santa from a distance. As you can see, he wasn't exactly thrilled about it, but there were no tears...so I deemed it a success.

On Christmas Eve, we headed to Athens to celebrate with my parents, brother and sister-in-law. Jack had a great time at Mema & Pop's house. He loved his new camera...he's still learning, but looking forward to keeping up with his mommy and his Pop in the photo department! He was over the moon for his new bubble mower, courtesy of Uncle John & Aunt Lisa. We headed to my grandparents for dinner with my cousins. It was a fun night, and Jack stayed awake all the way home!

When Jack woke up (after 8, which was a nice treat), we saw that Santa had come. He left the most fun surprise for Jack...a shopping cart that he has been pushing around for days! Jack finished the morning with a bubble bath with his new Elmo bubbles, a gift from friends!

That afternoon, Josh's parents and family joined us for dinner and more Christmas fun. He loved his talking Elmo and Little People racecar track. He also got his very own rocking chair. We also enjoyed "sort-of" surprising Josh's parents with their gallery of family photos from our shoot with Sue Ann back in October.

The next day, Josh's aunt & uncle and cousins, as well as my parents, all joined us for lunch and a little gift swaping game...which remained pretty tame. I love Nathan's expression in this photo of Ryan opening a set of TV trays! We don't get to see them as often as we'd like, so it was a real treat to get to spend the better part of the day catching up. The kids had a blast. We are looking forward to ringing in the New Year in a relaxing fashion tonight. See you in 2010!

Basketball Diaries

So, Jack & I headed down to Athens yesterday to take in a UGA women's basketball game with Mema. Jack loves reading his Hairy Dawg book, so we were pretty sure he would enjoy the hoopla and fun that comes along with a college game. Since taking him to a football game is still a little risky...not sure anyone would really enjoy themselves, we opted for the basketball court. We had a great time. They gave away Santa hats, which Jack insisted on wearing right away (despite the fact that it was way too big!) He kept his eyes on Spike (the inflatable volleyball mascot) a.k.a. "BIG Dawg" and of course recognized Hairy Dawg. He had his picture made with both and shared high fives with both Dawg celebrities. He seemed to have a great time. We sat right next to the pep band, so each and every timeout was like an audition for "So You Think You Can Dance." Below is a video of Jack bopping to the beat and yelling "Go Dawgs!"