Jackson and Ben

My friend, and neighbor, Emily and I took our gorgeous boys for a long walk to the park by our house. Emily's little boy - Ben - and Jackson are 3 days apart and best buddies! Ben was actually born on Jackson's due date! Emily and I laugh because they are "all boy" - both of them! They laugh and play sooooooo good together! I feel SO very blessed to live next door to such a great AWESOME mom (Emily) and for Jackson to get to grow up next to such an amazing sweet and fun boy! We can't wait to see how much trouble they get into and watch how they grow up!! Jackson and I consider ourselves very fortunate! :)







On the way home - (it's about 1.5 miles or so walking) - the boys were pooped!! This is how they started out! Notice the exhaustion - Jackson slumped over... Ben, feet up, chilling.... and then....

Within about 5 minutes.... they are both OUT.

Not long later, they were like this.

Poor Emily - she tracked it uphill w/ these 2 30pound rascals....

So Em and I were excited cuz this could only mean one thing - a GREAT nap when we got into our homes - right? NOPE! Neither of them took a nap except for this. Stinkers!!

Goof Balls

Ryan and Ken 2005

Ryan and Ken 2010

Fort Worth Weekend

Last weekend, Jackson (21 mos), Ryan and I went to Fort Worth for a fun-filled weekend with our buddies Ken, Hollie and Clayre (18 mos). We had SO much fun! On Saturday, we went to the Fort Worth Zoo - which is amazing! The kids rode around (and walked around) in their 2 person wagon and loved all the animals! Hollie and I did some much-needed shopping after... On Sunday, it was rainy and so we took the kids to Cabella's to see the fish and hang out and we tackled Chipotle (we'll call that a pregnancy craving). After a trip to Half Price Books, it was time for some rest! We just loved watching the kids play together! They ran around and showed off their "chase" skills! I hope we can do this a lot more often! We miss them!

Getting a little too brave for my comfort level.... He's climbing on EVERYTHING lately!

Jackson had his first experience with a whole apple!

Sharing goldfish.

Family Time is the BEST time. :)

Me and Clayre-Bear





Jackson got to feed the birds!!! He laughed almost the whole time!





The Woodruff's and bird.

So precious!!!

I'm going to have to find the OLD pic of them posing this way - back in 2006, I think... We need side-by-side comparisons. Goof balls.

Petting a snake. But J got reprimanded for pulling the snake's tail. haha.

Jackson LOVES animals - he smooches them no matter if they are real or not.

He didn't, however, want to share his turtle.





Ken loved when Jackson would scream out. (not)



Bathing beauties. Clayre is super girly and cute and Jackson is just all boy... so it's fun to watch the differences.... even in the way they sit.

As I posted on Facebook, I'm guessing that when Ryan and Ken were high school seniors, on the football team, they never guessed that someday this kind of picture would taken. I think it's precious. They are such great dads.



Too funny how J and Clayre have the same face and Ryan and Ken do.

Peek-a-boo!


Looking at the fish at Cabellas.

Bring On The Boys!!

Well, the results are in..... drum roll.... We're going to be blessed w/ another beautiful baby boy!! We are over-the-top thrilled! I always pictured my family with at least 2 older boys and then maybe a little girl later on... I feel so relieved because I know what to do with a boy! Jackson is going to be lucky to have a little brother - 26 months apart - to terrorize, and be his best friend! :) I look into my future and see lots and lots of ball practice and bloody noses and torn clothes. I am SOOOOO READY! :) Thank you God! :-) Pictures to come!

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!