Introducing...

Jada Reese!

born Wednesday June 16th @ 8:53 am

7lbs 14oz 21 inches


(for some reason this picture won't fit in the screen but if you click on it you can see the whole thing. I LOVE the look on Jaxon's face here.)












To see more pictures, click here.

We're home now, and things are going well....Jaxon is getting used to the idea of having a little sister. Breastfeeding is going SUPER and that is such a blessing...breastfeeding Jaxon took a LOT more energy (and pain!) at first so this is so nice!

We are so thankful for these gifts God has given us (or more like is lending us!)

labor pains?

As I sit here with what feel like labor pains (for the 3rd time in the last few weeks) I'm curious to hear what YOUR labor pains felt like. I've never had real labor with either of my other two pregnancies so I really don't know WHAT real labor is supposed to feel like. And I know that lots of women feel it differently.

I know it's probably nothing what I have right now. But I'm a little on the paranoid side about being in labor because my doctor said it wouldn't be good - since I have a t-incision in my uterus from Jax's c-section. Apparently the labor could cause my uterus to rupture. And that would be no good.

The last 2 times I thought I may be in labor I made my way down to the hospital and wasted 2 hours while they did a non-stress test only to find out that they were NOT contractions...which made me even more confused because they felt like what everyone described as labor.

So, tell me - what did your contractions feel like?

bye, bye tv

So the other day Dan comes home from a run and told me that if I was okay with it, he thought we should disconnect our cable...

...he went on to say how he realized how much time he spent watching TV, and most of all, how much time Jaxon watches US watch tv...how how he's going to follow our example. Plus, there are MUCH better things to be doing.

My initial thought was that I would think about it and see whether I thought I could live without TV or not. Then I realized that was a dumb idea - I knew it was the right choice to make - whether I would like it or not.

So...today was our first day with no cable! When we saw the cable guy in the driveway today we both kinda thought to ourselves "crap...what'd we do?" but really we know this is the right thing to do.

I think the 1st month will be hard because we'll have to change our habits. But after that I think we'll wish we'd done it sooner.

So, ladies...any suggestions on any good books I could read? Right now I'm reading Shepherding a Child's Heart and my next one will be Everyday Talk, but I'm thinking I could probably use some good fiction now that I won't be killing as much time watching tv. Too much non-fiction will make my brain hurt.

a sun-filled weekend!

This weekend was by far the hottest, most summery May long weekend that I can remember. And we took full advantage of it! We swam in our friends' pool after a BBQ lunch on Sunday, followed by an afternoon at the park, on Monday we went to the beach, and Tuesday we went to our friends' camp for the afternoon! Loving it!


oh yeah....Jaxon also filled up the kiddy pool in the back yard.


BEACH!!!




Campbell's camp :)


the water was 70 degrees!






And just a cute picture of Jax this morning. I know boys don't typically wear night-gowns, but I think this one was made for boys...I can't help but find it stinking cute!

the rooms are DONE!

The most exciting thing that happened in our house this week is that Dan was able to 100% finish Jaxon's room and the baby room. He's been slaving away during all of his free time for quite a while now, doing some fixing up and painting in the kids' rooms. And now they are DONE!! Yay!

Jaxon is VERY excited to be into his room again, especially now that he gets to play in there whenever he wants (it's now child-safe).

Here's Jaxon's room:









Amazingly, the transition from crib to bed went SUPER well. We were expecting a hard week (at least!) as Jaxon got used to the idea of sleeping in a bed. I was worried about him not taking bedtime seriously now that he has the freedom (in his mind) to get out of bed and play in his room. Also, his room looks totally different now than it did when he last slept in there - so really it's like a totally different room to him. We were sure that all these adjustments would mean a few sleepless nights - but he did so great. We made sure to keep showing him the progress in his room as Dan was painting it, etc...and talking about his new room with him. We're starting to realize that he really does get it when we explain stuff to him - and it seems to make things go smoother.

The first night he was to sleep in his new bed I took Jax to his crib and we took the blankets that he used in his crib and I explained to him that we were going to put them in his new bed because that was where he was going to sleep now, and when we layed them down in his new bed he got all excited and layed down on them and cuddled up on the bed. It was funny :) Dan layed him down like normal that night, Jax said "bye!" and off to sleep he went! We were both like "what? That's it!??" Thank you Lord!!!!!!

His nap the next day didn't go as smooth - he was quiet for about 10 minutes and then started calling me and after I went in and out again he was quiet for another few minutes but then started talking again. He may have had a 20 minute nap and that was it. But the next day he napped like he normally does.

Here's a pic of Jaxon sleeping his first night in the new bed (it was dark in his room - the flash just lit it up!)



And here is the baby's room! All done!! Yay!






some stuffies I made for the shelf. The elephant has a hard time standing on his own so he gets to be friends with the owl.

not a baby anymore!

Well - last night was Jaxon's last night sleeping in a crib. We plan on him sleeping in his new twin size bed tonight - in his newly painted room! He LOVES being able to play in his room now...I'm just hoping he'll be just as eager to SLEEP in it. Any advice for me??

Before I went to bed last night I checked in on Jaxon and got a little nostalgic as it clicked that this was his last night in a crib and that it was one more step toward growing up for him. I got a little sad and decided I should take a picture of his last night in a crib.



So precious! I told myself that he'll look just as precious sleeping in his big bed.

29 weeks!

Here's my latest belly picture. I'm exactly 29 weeks here.



Feeling pretty good....I found out my iron WAS low...so the iron pills have been helping me have some energy which has been so nice. I'm finally into nesting mode (just the beginning stages...not "clean under the fridge" nesting quite yet).

I'm feeling quite large and low but high at the same time. My belly is tired by the end of the day - it feels like my skin is being pulled down (which I guess is true) but I'm still feeling quite good compared to what most women experience during pregnancy, so I'm thankful for that.

25 weeks

Here's my 25 week shot...getting bigger! And feeling bigger too.

For the most part I'm feeling really good. I am still very tired by the end of the day but if I think back, it HAS gotten better since the 1st trimester. This little one is very active (which I'm so thankful for!). I think she must be facing out because I feel lots of detailed movements (if that makes any sense) - like little swipes of the hand or foot or whatever it is. She is already a little violent with her brother when he cuddles with me...maybe jealous already? No, just smushed. :)

We have a date for the c-section now for June 16th. Having a date makes it suddenly feel realistic that "oh, I really AM pregnant!" Just to be cautious, my doctor is giving me regular ultrasounds every 2 weeks till the end, and weekly non-stress tests starting at 28 weeks. This will make for a lot of appointments, but I'm glad she's being cautious.

Now for a few pictures of my favorite boys!

let's celebrate!

it's Jaxon's 1 1/2 birthday! :)

I might not have done this if I wasn't pregnant...I'm not quite sure :) What pregnant woman can pass up an opportunity like this to have chocolate cake!?






I think the cake made his day. He wouldn't stop "talking" about it afterwards ;)

finger painting fun

Jax and I were bored yesterday morning and decided to dig out the paint! Since Jaxon's still pretty young I didn't know what I would be getting myself into but he actually did REALLY good and we had SO MUCH FUN! I am still amazed at how much fun things are when you have a kid. Things that I never in a million years thought would be fun. Especially when it's their first time. It's exciting to see them learn and develop and have fun with things.

Anyway...here's some pictures.

And, just FYI - those tubes of "water based" acrylic paint....that paint doesn't wash out of clothes :( Unfortunately I didn't wear old clothes since I really didn't think I would get dirty. Wrong! Oh well.

Jax was amazed when I showed him that he got to put his fingers in the paint. He looked at me and said "Whoaaaa" with a half smile on his face.


he concentrated pretty hard the whole time.














...and one more picture that has nothing to do with painting but I thought was super cute. Dan's parents brought some of Dan's old dinky toys with them when they came last weekend and Jax loves them :)