Missing my family

I don't have any pictures or exciting news to share...just thought I'd check in for a moment. I'm in San Antonio for a conference and really missing my family right now. I will be home tomorrow and I can't wait!

A little of this...and a little of that...

Just some pictures to share tonight.

We spent the Fourth of July with our neighbors and had a fantastic time...

First we had to do some grocery shopping to get ready ...

Then we had a fireworks show! The pictures are a little blurry...but you get the idea. Jenna LOVED the sparklers!!





Jenna got to meet baby "Paul David", son of her Godfather Dave and his wife Rose.

Jenna loved holding him...he is SO TINY!!



We went to the mall to play in the fountain with our friend Macie




We went to Santa Cruz to lounge on the beach and build sand castles....

Just a taste of what we've been up to lately. I will add more later!

Party Pictures!!

Ok, so it's only a whole WEEK later but I really wanted to share some pictures of Jenna's fantastic 3rd Birthday Party last weekend!!

We held the party in my parents backyard (Gramma Kye Kye and Poppy) and had about 20 kids, and their parents, over to celebrate with us. About 50 people total. Everyone was swimming and we had an inflatable waterslide that was a TON of FUN! We also had "Tootie the Clown" and her assistant come and do face (and arm, hand, neck, leg and ankle) painting. It was a lot of fun!

Enjoy the pictures!

The theme of the party was "She's got another year licked". Here's a shot of the invitations that I made myself and was really happy with the way they turned out. Sorry it's a bit blury.

The candy bar was a hit!! We had HUGE lollipops, jelly bellies, red hots, bubble gum, dum dums, smarties, saltwater taffy and more! The kids (and adults) loved it!

Jenna and Macie particularly enjoyed the lollipops.....

So did Kye Kye.....

It was about 100 degrees outside during the party (which started at 11 am) so we were all thankful for the pool and waterslide....

Daddy and Jenna

Our friend Lauren.... (she was a flower girl in our wedding!)

Macie playing in the baby float....

Madison relaxing in a"ducky"....

Jenna and Madison in the "duckies" with Delaney floating nearby...

more kids.....just having fun (l-r: Macie, Jenna, Kourtney & Madison)....

Madison was having a great time....

Madison and her Daddy (and my brother) Scott....

Evan ready to go down the slide....

Tootie the clown was adorable and a lot of fun....


Kye Kye and Poppy with Tootie and her clown assistant...

Jenna loves getting her face painted. She got a flower on one side and a heart on the other.....

Madison didn't want her face painted...she got her arm done instead.....a fishy.....

Even Poppy got in on the action. Tootie painted some kisses on his neck!!!

Of course....we sang "Happy Birthday" and Jenna got to blow out her candles.

I made ice cream cone cupcakes for the kids (and regular cupcakes for the adults) and they were a hit. So much easier for the kids to hold on to.

My best friend Sara's son Bradley really enjoyed the icing!! I love this picture....

Delaney and me....

Here's a video clip of Jenna and her friend Macie on the waterslide...it was tons of fun! That's my sister in law Kim at the top...she's having fun too... ;)

And last...I just had to throw in these pictures of our friends' daughter Delaney. She is teething and this water bottle must have felt good on her gums.....

She soothed herself right to sleep!

Happy Birthday Jenna Kate!

I cannot believe she is THREE YEARS OLD today! Time sure has flown by and she has gone from this tiny little baby to this adorable little lady who I am so proud to call my daughter. She is a smart, caring, charming, funny, witty, spunky, stylish, sweet, loud (at times), precocious, wild, daring, outgoing and silly little girl who brings so much joy, wonder and love to my life. It's amazing to think that just a few years ago we had no idea what it would really be like to have this little person in our lives....and now we can't imagine our lives without her.

*In the picture above she is about 3 months old. I will add some newborn pictures later tonight. I'll also add a post about her wonderful birthday party which took place over the weekend. We all had a fabulous time (despite the record breaking heat).

again....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SUNSHINE!

Announcing........

...the newest member of our family....

Yep...we are expecting! Not that it's that much of a surprise to anyone at this point. Just about everyone knows already but I hadn't had a chance to document it on here yet.

These ultrasound pictures were taken on May 29th at 7 weeks 0 days. In the top picture you can see the heartbeat along the bottom of the screen. Very strong at 142.04 beats per minute (BPM). The baby is on the right hand side. The kidney bean shaped black area is my uterus and the baby is that little blob that the lines are kind of pointing too.

In the second picture I think the baby is a LITTLE easier to see. "He" is between the two 'x's and is looking right at the screen. If you look really closely you can make out eye sockets near the top 'X'. Like a little alien gummy bear.

When I was pregnant with Jenna....we waited TWELVE weeks to tell ANYONE. After we were through the first trimester. We were afraid to jinx things. I'd never been pregnant before and I was worried about miscarriage and the idea of telling everyone...only to have to tell them that I had lost the baby...would have put me over the edge emotionally. We also really enjoyed having our own little wonderful secret for nearly 3 months.

This time around....we started telling people at about 6 weeks. Ha Ha.... We are so excited we can hardly stand it! I bought Jenna a shirt that says "Big Sister" and that's how I told Jim and that's how we've told other family members. We just waited for them to notice the shirt. Some people (Aunt Jane) saw it right away. Others (my parents) weren't so in-tune and the shirt had to be pointed out to them. After the family knew...we just kept on telling everyone.

Jenna is excited to be a big sister and when asked what she wants to name the baby she says "Julie". When we ask her what she wants to name the baby if it's a boy she thinks for a few seconds and then says "I'll name him Girl". Poor kid....not even born yet and already has a big sister who's picking on him/her.

So far not much in the way of sickness. It's actually been pretty much exactly the same as my pregnancy with Jenna. I gag when I brush my teeth and that's about it. I did throw up once the other night but I think it was because I took my prenatal vitamin on an empty stomach. Those things are pretty nasty (and taste even worse coming back up!). Other than that I feel pretty good. The worst time of day for me is in the evening. I just feel tired and sluggish and sometimes a bit quesy but nothing major. I can't complain!!

We are due on January 15th! Seems so far away but I know it will be here before I know it!

"Miss Smarty-No-Pants" and her goofy father

Just had to brag a bit....I think she's ready for school....

I took this video as she was getting into bed tonight. She likes to sleep "in the buff" with just panties on. Depending on how cool it is in the house....I typically put a t-shirt or something on her before I go to bed so she doesn't freeze!!

On another note....I want to say HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to the wonderful men in my life. I grew up with the best Dad in the world. All of my friends wanted to be adopted into my family and I always knew I was a lucky kid...and now a lucky adult.

Now I'm married to the OTHER best Dad in the world. Jenna is one lucky little girl and I'm very lucky to have such a fantastic partner when it comes to raising our children. He's the greatest.

We got him a chainsaw for Father's Day. I think it's safe to say he liked it.....

Hey...I said he was great....but I never said he was normal.

Have a great week!!

Back in Action

So...I've done it again. This time....big time. I haven't blogged in weeks and I feel slightly guilty. Not majorly....just slightly. I've had a long couple of weeks....working long hours during the week and then being just too darn lazy after work (and after dinnertime, bathtime, bedtime....etc) to feel like logging on and uploading pictures. But....I think this blog post will make up for the lost time!

We've been busy busy of course. Here are some recent pictures taken over the past few weeks showing what we've been up to. They are in random order.....enjoy!

Jenna took a week of swimming lessons and L-O-V-E-D it. We were back for another session of private lessons with Ann Buchanon again this year and Jenna did so so well. Ann was my swim instructor (and my brother's) when we were kids and she's great. She's been teaching for 50 years and hasn't lost her touch. She had Jenna swimming, jumping, picking up rings from the bottom of the pool.....and smiling the whole time. We'd sign up for another week....or 10 if it weren't so darn expensive!!

This next one is a video clip of Jenna jumping off the side and swimming to the steps. Ignore the talking in the background. I was in the house, watching from the window and another Mom (who's son's lessons were right before Jenna's) and I were talking.

Another great year with Ann!!

Jenna also had her final ballet class and in class recital. It was adorable! My camera battery died before they actually had their costumes on so I didn't get many pictures....but here are a few that I did manage to get.

Today, we actually went to the zoo with some friends! My friends Carrie, Catherine and Melissa and their kids Mattisen, Addison, Macie, Brayden, Delaney and Cole met us there and we had a great time feeding the giraffes, feeding and petting the stingrays and just running around having fun!

Left to right: Addison (almost 4), Mattisen (almost 5), Macie (3) and Jenna (almost 3)





No...this isn't the monkey exhibit! It's just the girls "hanging out"!!

Last but not least...some random fun shots from our own backyard and other fun places we like to hang out.

Jenna, signing "I Love You" in our backyard while eating some dinner.

Jenna's class caught some ladybugs and we brought ours home and let them go the next day. This one seemed to want to hang around a bit longer than the others. See him there on the white bar??

Jenna also finished up her Karate class. Here she is with her little friend Emma. They had a great time together although I think we'll hold off on signing up for another Karate class....at least for a few more years. It just wasn't their "thing".

And we spent some time hanging out with our friends Dave (Jenna's Godfather) and Rose at their house. Here's a picture of Jenna and Dave in the pool.....

and a silly picture of Jenna having fun...

And last, but certainly not least....a picture of Jenna and her 3rd? cousin Dana....meeting for the first time. Dana's grandpa and Jenna's grandpa (my dad) are first cousins. So how does that work cousin wise anyway???

That's it for now.....I promise to try to be better about blogging now!