These Days....

Well, these days have been crazy! Last week, my grandma stayed w/ us while Ryan was in Chicago... Well, long story short, I got food poisoning! It was the definition of AWFUL! It hit me like a ton of bricks and w/in a few hours, I was calling my mom begging her to come take care of Jackson because I couldn't keep anything down. I felt so helpless. Fortunately about 24 hours later and lots of TLC from my mom and grandma, I felt better. This weekend, Ryan and I shopped for cars. Our lease is coming up on my Accord, and we decided to get a bigger ride that can better accommodate 2 car seats. We're still undecided but I picked 6 of my "favorites." Now, Ryan is going to work his master negotiation and research skills to find us a good deal.

Today, I spent the morning while Jackson was at school packing for Brazil! It's still 16 days away but I like to be prepared! :) Plus, I'm so excited!

Jackson has been going thru a funk. He doesn't want to eat - basically nothing. He snacks occasionally, drinks well, but he isn't eating! I hope it's just teething and he'll get over this soon, but it's really frustrating. He's never been a good eater but this is just ridiculous! Part of me wonders if this is a rebellious thing since we've stopped his most favorite thing in the world - TV.

Just 2 more days til we find out if we're buying pink or blue!!! TO BE CONTINUED!!

Ryan captured this amazing pic of our "small" cat - Calvin. Too cool not to share!

Our matching tickets....

Yep! We both got speeding tickets.... exactly one week apart.... for speeding exactly the same amount over... from different departments - about 3 miles apart. Needless to say, we just have to laugh.

Baby Kiptyn

This morning, I had the PRIVILEGE of watching my good friend Sarah's little boy Kiptyn. He's 8 weeks old and a total angel!!! I couldn't resist taking some pics of him!!!

I was a little worried about how Jackson would do with his momma holding another baby all day but he didn't seem phased by it! But - we did have his buddy Ben over to play and then his girlfriend Anna Kate over in the afternoon - so he was plenty distracted! It really did give me a sense of what kind of situation I'm facing in a few short months!!! I think I'm up for the task!!! :)

Feeling those flutters!

So today is 16 weeks along with Baby Stearle numero dos! :) How excited am I that I'm already feeling those flutters! It's funny because I'm not "trying" to feel the baby - the baby is just making sure I notice! Many many times today I am feeling lots of activity. The baby (which babycenter.com says measures at 4.5 inches this week - the length of an avocado) is not strong enough to "kick" me where I feel it but I'm feeling lots of fluttering!!!

I nailed Ryan down to a boy name finally. He was having trouble even considering that this may be a boy and wouldn't discuss boy names and finally I warned him that he may be jinxing us! So now we have a boy name and girl name - tba later. :) We'll find out the sex on March 3rd so stay tuned! Everyone asks me if I want a boy or girl - and to be honest - I seriously would be so happy with either. If it's a boy, Jackson will have his best buddy and they could be so close and involved in the same activities... that would be so cool. Also, I'd have all the clothes I could ever need. If it's a girl - it may be my last baby.... which is appealing... and Ryan would be soooooo thrilled... which always makes me happy too. So it's in God's hands. I know Ryan feels the same as me - we pray for a healthy baby first and foremost and really the rest doesn't matter.

OH MY - July will be here sooooooo soon! But in the meantime, here's Jackson playing in the snow!

Winter Wonderland

If you watched the news today, you probably saw that much of the south (including our little corner of Arkansas) got hit with a bunch of ice and snow. As of right now, we have about 6+ inches of snow on top of about a half an inch of ice, so travel has become very treacherous. To illustrate that point - I just got stuck in the driveway of Keisha's Aunt Janet while I was picking her up for game night!! Here are some pictures of snowy house:

Notice - no footprints! (I walked through the side yard)


I left the flash on by mistake in this picture, but it came out looking really cool!


Here's that same pic without the flash...

This gives you an idea of the layer of ice that is underneath all the snow. At our house the ice all formed on the Eastward facing sides of things.

Here's a window in the 'icey' side of my house - it is completely covered!

My footprints...

I can't post on here without including a picture of the Booper-Bopper! We dressed him up in his snow sleeper (a gift from his Aunt Carla and Uncle Dave) for the occasion.

This shot is looking out from our dining room...

Christmas In Milwaukee!

At the end of December, Ryan, Jackson and I drove to Milwaukee to spend "our" Christmas / New Years with Ryan's mom and brother's family. Jackson did not do so hot on our long (12 hour - turned 14 hour) drive there. It was so cold so he couldn't really run around on our stops - which were every 2 hours. It was bitterly cold!!

When we finally got there, this is the view outside Carol's house! Winter wonderland in Milwaukee!

Jackson - the next morning. Happy to be running free and not strapped into a car seat. :)

On our way somewhere, he says HI!

Ryan and I slept on a comfy blow up bed and this is from the air pressure machine - Jackson figured out how to turn it on and loved how it made his/our hair blow!




Playing with Grandma!

New Years Eve! We got to spend with our cousins Jason and Danielle! Aunt Lisa brought the fun hats!!!

Happy New Year!!!

Ryan and Dave


Momma Stearle and her boys!

On New Years Day, we celebrated our Christmas together... Well, Jackson got to wear his Kimono - which Aunt Carla and Uncle Dave bought him in Hong Kong!! Fit perfectly!


Ma celebrated her pink Snuggie!



Jackson kept taking his socks off - he must get that from his daddy - and he thought it was really funny for grandma to smell it - she made the noise "pewhuwee" - well that was just SO funny to Jackson!


smooches for grandma

aunt carla taught jackson nose kisses!

i love these eyes.

daddy taught jackson to fist bump.

playing with Aunt Carla

our gang

ryan was dared to eat this whole gummy thing but he just simply couldn't live up to the dare.

In Milwaukee, they have these huge structures called "The Domes" and Jackson just loved it there cuz he could run run run and it was warm!! ps: Polo sweater from Aunt Carla and Uncle Dave - so cute!





3 Generations!

We're having a baby!!

Well, we're safe to announce it now! As of yesterday, I am officially "12 weeks!" We found out the day before we left for New York City and were a little surprised considering we were definitely not "trying" to get pregnant! I actually had planned a half marathon and our March trip to Brazil and thought we'd just get pregnant after that... but God had other plans for us and PRAISE GOD! :) I had an ultrasound at 6 1/2 weeks because we had a little "scare" in NY and we got to see little "peanut's" heart beating away! Then, on Wednesday of last week, I went in to the doc and got to hear that little heart beating away... my heart melted. :) So our due date is July 27th! Jackson and Peanut will be 2 years and 2 months apart - so I think that's a good distance! If it's a boy, Jackson will have an instant buddy and if it's a girl, Ryan and my mom will be elated. :) I, personally, will be happy either way - just want a healthy baby!

Anyway, now that I'm finishing the first trimester - I'm getting a lot more energy back and feeling much more like myself so hopefully I can blog more! Although now I do have a nursery to put together.... :)

Jackson's Roller Coaster

What a Christmas for Jackson!! Among all of his amazing toys, he got a roller coaster slide from Aunt Carla and Uncle Dave! Of course, we got video!!

This is Jackson on his first day with his roller coaster. Daddy had to help him w/ moving along and he was pretty scared going down more than a couple times.... although the fun was HIM pushing the empty car down. :)




This was Jackson TODAY!! :) Big boy!!