The Joneses

The Story Behind Our Christmas Card

2012-01-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

Every year we go to the Arboretum to have our pictures taken for our Christmas Cards. This has been a tradition of ours since Hunter was born. Last year was a little more difficult because Hunter was moving around but we always get a cute picture.

Well..................... that was until this year.

We all went to the Arboretum this year with tripod in tow. Kids all decked out in their white shirts and ties. I had great visions of the perfect picture dancing in my head. We told Hunter the whole way there that he could play as soon as we got done taking pictures. (looking back that was a totally unrealistic expectation of him) We got to the hay stacks with all the pumpkins. Set up the tripod and Heath and I sat down leaving just enough room for Kyle and Hunter to slide in and this is what we got:

We continued to try, we switched kids:

Then decided to just get pictures of me with the kids and Kyle with the kids:

Notice the sucker....even bribery did not work.

Then we just gave up:

I was going to try again to get a better family picture but I did not have the energy. So, Kyle and I took pics of the boys in their white shirts and ties all decked out in Christmas lights. I got a lot of comments on how funny the card was and then some people had no idea Hunter was screaming in the upper right picture.

Maybe next year it will be even more fun. But note to self...take a photographer with you. A tripod is not going to work anymore!

Jennie

P.S. READ BELOW FOR HEATHS 5 MONTH UPDATE

Heath is 5 Months Old

2012-01-02T12:30:00.000-08:00

Heath is 5 months old! This month has been a big one. Heath has learned how to sit up, he can say dadadada, he has started to eat cereal and stage 1 foods. He is not a fan of veggies. I started with fruit this time. With Hunter everything was by the book. I started with veggies, would not move on to another veggie until he ate all of the carton. I was determined that he was going to like veggies. Well, Heath was not a fan of cereal so I stirred some fruit in it and wha-la he ate it! So, now he wont eat veggies...oh well!

You are wearing 6-9 month clothes

You wear size 3 diapers

You weigh almost 18 pounds

You still have brown curly hair, but only on top. People comment alllll the time about your hair. I think it is cute and love it so much. But, I really don't know what to do with it. I tried blow drying it straight the other day and in about 15 minutes it was back to being kinky and fro like! Your daddy calls you his little curly!

Heath thinks Hunter is hilarious!!! Heath will laugh and laugh at Hunter. It is pretty sweet to watch those two interact. He has been sleeping through the night since he was 9 weeks old. However for the last month he has been waking up at 2 or 3 in the morning drinking a bottle and then going back to sleep. I keep blaming it on a growth spurt, but I don't think growth spurts last for a month.

He is such an easy little baby. He is very sweet natured and calm. We are so blessed to have him in our family. We love him sooooo much!!!

4 Months old-

2011-11-19T17:58:00.000-08:00

Heath turned 4 months old on Nov 1. He is a very sweet baby. He looks so much like Hunter it is crazy! The only difference is his curly hair.

Here are his stats from his Dr. visit:

Weight 16 pounds (60th percentile)

Height: 25" (65th percentile)

Head: 90th percentile (cannot find the actual measurement)

Heath is smiling like crazy, has the cutest belly laugh. He can roll from his tummy to his back and back to his tummy. He hold his little head up like a champ. He loves to be on his belly. He HATEs the bumbo. Which is crazy because Hunter loved it. We started him on Rice Cereal. He never swallows it. It stays in his mouth and he makes the funniest faces. I don't think he likes it very much. He loves Hunter and smiles at him often.

For Halloween he was a bear. I am a terrible mom and did not get a picture of him in his costume. Poor second child. But I did paint a pumpkin with his name and age on it =)

The Last 10 Weeks

2011-09-14T13:29:00.001-07:00

I have been on Maternity leave for 10 weeks. Our lives were forever changed when we welcomed Heath to our lives. We became a family of 4, Hunter became a big brother and our family feels complete. These last 10 weeks have reminded me how much I love being home with my boys. But, it also reminded me of my call to not only be a wife to Kyle and mother to our two boys but a nurse to sick kids. I must admit I have struggled the last 10 weeks with going back to work. What would going back to work look like. Stay part-time? Work Full-time? Would Hunter and Heath be ok with me working full-time? What would be best for me and our family?

The bible teaches that you should go to God for your requests and guidance. Did I do that? No, not at first. It is funny how things work when you are at war with yourself. You worry, lose even more sleep, cry. I would run different options in my head on how things could go in the different situations presented. None of the outcomes are good. I have compared myself with other moms who seem happy being a stay at home mommy. I would feel bad about myself because I am not happy with staying at home. I researched the Internet on working moms vs. stay at home moms looking at if there was a difference in how the kids turned out. There are pros and cons of each. Ultimately there was no difference. All the research stated was children turn out the best when a parent is involved in their lives.

Finally I started to feel the Holy Spirit tug at me. I stared to pray not just for the things that I want but for what God wanted for my life. I signed up for a bible study at our church called Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Schirer. It teaches that we should anticipate hearing from God and to not doubt it. So I prayed and prayed and prayed that God would show me what he wanted for me. That I would have peace with whatever it was that he wanted me to do, that I would be obedient to His call.

I went to work a few weeks ago and my Physician asked me if I would like to come back to work full-time after my maternity leave was over. At the time I was very against working full-time in my heart, but told her that I would think about it. Since I went on maternity leave we have lost two Physicians. Going back full-time would be a great opportunity for me with increased responsibilities, my own patients, and more autonomy. Kyle and I talked about it and prayed about it. I initially said that I would go back part-time and then increase to full-time later. Hoping that would buy me more time to negotiate with God on His plan for me.

Through the bible study that I am doing I feel the Holy Spirit change my heart towards working full-time. Then I start to wrestle with what other people will think. Will they think I don't enjoy being a mom? Will they think I am making a bad decision? Am I making a bad decision? All these questions came rushing through my head. Then the ever so quiet voice of God stated " Why are you more concerned with what people will think of you going to work full-time than on what my call is for your life." These words hit me like a bolt of lightening. Why am I concerned? God's opinion of me is all that matters. If His will for me is to work full-time right now then He will take care of everything. All I have to do is obey Him.

So, friends I am going back to work full-time. Am I sad that I will have less time with my boys? YES! But, I am filled with peace and joy that my God thinks I am special enough to speak to me and give me peace. There are still so many unanswered questions on how things will work once I go back to work but I see God's hand in it all...

Heath is 2 Months Old

2011-09-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

My sweet baby Heath is two months old. I cannot believe you are two months old!! I know I say it all the time but time flys by so fast. You are the sweetest baby. you only cry when you need your diaper changed, sleepy or hungry. He has been getting really fussy around 7pm and last night we moved his bed time up to 8:30pm. He slept till 5:00 ate and then went right back to sleep and woke up again at 8:00am.

You are happiest in the morning. I love this time with you. You coo and smile, love when I kiss your belly. You still love tummy time. You have rolled from your stomach to your back 5 times now. Not sure if you know how to do it yet or if it is just accidental. You are starting to like Hunter, you hate when he screams. It makes you cry everytime, which is quite often because he screams all the time (sigh). You are sleeping in your own room and loving it. You have slept all night for several nights in a row since we put you up there.

We went to the Dr on Friday and he said you were growing great and excelling developmentally. Here are your stats:

Clothes size: 0-3 months (although you are growing fast so I bet you will be in 3-6 months soon)

Diaper size- 1-2 pamper swaddlers

Weight: 12 pounds 2 ounces (53%).

Height: 24 1/4 inches (65%)

Head: 16 1/6 (95%)- We have big headed babies!

Your daddy and I love you so much and are so happy that God has given you to be our son. I pray for you everyday to become a man of God chasing after Him.

Hunter Turns Two!!!

2011-08-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Hunter turned two years old. We had a party for him at our house. As I said before he loves Planes, Trains and Automobiles. So thus was the theme. We only invited family which is always a bunch of people. Hunter had a blast. He started singing Happy Birthday that morning. He would sing "Happy Birthday to You Cha cha cha" so stinking cute.

Here are the decorations:

Hunter opening up presents:

Ella was right in the middle of it all. She liked to "help" Hunter open his toys and play with them.

He would open one present and then want to play with it and not care about the other presents. It was pretty funny. He got a ton of toys, books, puzzles, crafts, clothes. This little boy is spoiled, and I love it!!!

Kyle and I got him his play set and a pair of TOM shoes.

Then we all ate hamburgers and hot dogs. Then had cake. My dad out did himself this year. I gave him a couple pictures of the cake that I wanted and he ran with it. I love the way it turned out and it was for sure the talk of the party. It was oh so yummy too!!!

The top Layer was a plane, middle layer was automobiles and bottom layer was the choo choo train that actually went around the cake. It was so cute!!!

Hunter enjoying his cake!

My mom and sister did all the set up and clean up. They were so helpful!!!

My grandmother and Hunter and Heath's great-grandmother. We call her Mimi and she is the most wonderful person you will ever meet. I love her dearly!!!

My Sweet Aunt Bobbie, Sweet Sister Casee and Me!

Does Heath Look Like Me As A Baby???

2011-08-25T13:05:00.000-07:00

Hunter

2011-08-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

Hunter,

On Saturday you will be two years old. We cannot believe how quickly two years has gone by. It seems like yesterday we were bringing you home from the hospital. You were so mad all the way home. As the months went by your little personality developed and you have grown into the sweetest little boy. Right now your favorite things are anything with wheels. You love to look for buses, trains, cars, big trucks...anything with wheels. You have the most sensitive personality and get your feelings hurt very easily. At school you have lots of friends, everyone of your teachers love you. I love that you have to kiss me goodnight and need me to hold you all the time. You give the sweetest hugs and pats on the back. We have truly enjoyed watching you grow in the last two years from a little helpless baby to a terrific toddler.

Don't get me wrong you can be quite a little turkey. You get that from your daddy!!! You like to play chase, and will say "Mommy chase you?" You like things your way and know how to work me to get what you want. You have developed a mad face. Where you put your head down and look up with your eyes. It is so cute and makes us laugh. You love to make us laugh. You have the sweetest spirit and are very affectionate. You love to kiss and hug your baby brother. I can tell that you are going to be a great big brother.

You know your alphabet, can count to 10, can tell people your name and how old you are. You know every animal sound I can think of. You talk ALL the time, you are never quiet unless you are sleeping. Love to SCREAM at the top of your lungs like a girl. Have a new fascination with deer on TV. Every time a deer gets shot you will say "Deer go night night?" or "it's OK Deer". Very compassionate! We are still working on potty training. Some days you do great and others not so much. I know you will do it when you are ready. You love to sing- In the Lord's Army (yes sir), twinkle twinkle little star. You love to read books right now your favorite is "Are you my mother?"

I am so glad God gave you to be my son. I feel so blessed to be your Mommy.

7 Weeks Old

2011-08-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

Sweet Baby Heath (or Heaf, as Hunter says) is 7 weeks old today. I cannot believe how fast he has grown. He is such a sweet baby with a crooked smile that melts my heart. He loves tummy time a little too much. He will just lay on his stomach an not care about lifting up his head. I have to keep him engaged with some type of rattle and then he will lift up his head. He has rolled from his belly to his back twice. Both times I think were an accident.

Here he is at 4 weeks:

And here he is today.

I think he is looking less like Hunter and more like Heath. He still resembles Hunter, you can tell they are brothers.

Last weekend we bought the Miracle Blanket because Heath would wiggle out of his swaddle no matter what we did. The first night we tried it he woke up three times and would not go back to sleep. Kyle and I were up from 1:30-4:30. However since then he has been sleeping really well. Last night was his longest stretch 9:00-3:30 he nursed and then went right back to sleep and woke up at 7:30. I am so so so happy and would recommend the Miracle Blanket!! Today he started taking naps in his crib upstairs. If he does well I think I will move him upstairs before I go back to work in October. I do not sleep well with babies in my room. I am to light of a sleeper now that I have kiddos.

Pics of Hunter and Heath

2011-07-22T17:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Family

2011-07-19T12:35:00.001-07:00

Heath Robert Jones was born on July 1, 2011. He weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. I went in at 1000 on Friday morning, got my IV, my epidural, all prepped for surgery and Heath was born at 1221. It was really quick, not at all what I was expecting. I was expecting a long drawn out process. They really know what they are doing there!!

Here I am all prepped and ready to go have a baby!!

It's a BOY!! Kyle had the nurse take pictures of my c-section. I did not get exactly what I wanted but I did get to see him being born! It was pretty exciting.

Heath came out SCREAMING!! Hunter would grunt every now and then. Heath screamed until they took him away to the nursery. He definitely has some pretty good lungs.

After they sewed me all back up I got to hold my sweet little one! He is not screaming in this picture but he was not a happy baby! Mommy was a happy Mommy!

My dad made his first birthday cake. Kyle and I shared these with a select few of the nurses that took care of Heath and I. We also ate about half of them. They were OH SO GOOD!!!

My Mom had Hunter all day and he really did not know what to think about Mommy being in a hospital bed with wires and a pee bag. So he pretty much held on to Daddy and his Meena (my mom). He warmed up to me the next day.

All my Boys! Oh how I love them! Our family is complete!!!

My favorite picture of the two of them!

Love to all,

Jennie

A Belated Father's Day Post

2011-06-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

Kyle,

I thank God for you everyday. I thank Him for the Husband you are to me and the Father you are to Hunter. I love to watch you wrestle with him, love on him when he is hurt, wipe his tears when he cries, celebrate with him when he accomplishes something, and most of all I love the way Hunter looks at his Daddy. He truly has the best example of what a Father should be. You put your family first and I admire that about you. You are an AMAZING man of God and I know Hunter and Heath will follow in your foot steps.

I love you,

Jennie

We celebrated Father's Day on Saturday last week. We went to Cabela's several months ago and Kyle picked out what he wanted. So Hunter and I went back to purchase those things. He got a gun case and a binocular case. He also has the smelliest watch in the world so I got him a new Timex watch with a plastic band (Red and Black of course...Go RED RAIDERS). On Sunday we went over to my sister-in-law, Corey's, house to celebrate with Norman. The kids got to swim and they had a blast!!

Ella got naked about 10 minutes into swimming. So this is the only blog appropriate picture I have of her. She looks sad but she had a great time!!!

Happy Fathers Day to all the Daddy's out there

Jennie

P Pictures

2011-06-21T02:21:00.000-07:00

For father's day my sister-in-law, Joy, came up with the cutest idea as a gift to give my father-in-law. My assignment was to take a picture of Hunter with the letter "P." I thought ok no big deal, made a P, got Hunter dressed up for picture time, waited for Kyle to get home and outside we went to take pictures. Usually Hunter loves picture time and says "cheese" every time I take a picture. Well this day we must have caught him in a really bad mood.

First we went out front because our next door neighbors just got a new fence. I thought it would be the perfect back drop for some of our pictures.

This would be Hunter throwing the letter P down and saying " No!"

We could see that this was not going to work out in the front yard. So, we thought about going to the back yard where he can play on his swing set and maybe that would make him more cooperative. So, off to the back yard we went.

Kyle would give him the letter P and Hunter would immediately throw it down the slide. I tried to get a good picture in between

Then Hunter was at his breaking point, he was tired of the P, Mommy and Daddy were tired of him not cooperating, he had had it! But we kept going, I was bound and determined to get this picture done. So after a little ~~spanking~~ persuasion he started to participate. Here are the pictures we got once he decided to play along:

And here is the finished product. It turned out so cute and Kyle's Dad got teary eyed and said "these are the best kinds of gifts." It was very sweet. Hunter is so blessed to have a grandfather like his Papa:

(Caleb-almost 5, Ella 2 1/2, Hunter 21 Months, Layla 5 weeks)

It was such a great idea and turned out so cute!!!

Hunter's Early Birthday Present

2011-06-07T19:20:00.001-07:00

We have been wanting to get Hunter a play set for a while now. We have been debating on getting him a plastic little tikes play set or a big wooden one that he can grow with. My parents said they would go in half with us so we decided to do the wooden one. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. I did the research (which explains why it was so difficult) and Kyle did the measurements to make sure it would fit in our back yard. We decided to buy one from Toys-R-Us.

When it comes to assembly I use "we" loosely. Kyle did all the work, I encouraged him and oooed and awwed over his handy workmanship in the shade!

Here is what it looked like when we got it out of the box

Yikes- Look at all of those parts, oh and they were not labeled at all. You had to go throughout the manual and label all the little pieces of wood, screws, bolts, washers etc...

Hunter is such a great "helper." He loves to help his daddy

Progress after day 1 (he actually had more than this done, he also put together the whole swing set side, but I did not get a picture of that)

After working all day on Saturday (From 9-4:00) we were done! So 2 full days of putting together a play set, not so bad. I am proud to say there was no fighting and Kyle exercised lots of patience while putting it together. The directions were terrible and there were some times he had to take pieces a part and do it over again. I would have thrown the drill thingy down and cried. But he persevered and completed the job. It looks fantastic and Hunter loves it!

Thank you Daddy!!!!

Insomnia

2011-05-23T01:07:00.001-07:00

I have been suffering from a bad case of Thrid Trimester insomnia. I sit here at our computer wide awake ready for the day. I know I will be tired in about an hour and then sleep for an hour and a half and be tired all day. But, that is mother nature's way of "getting me ready for the countless sleepless nights ahead." Thanks mother nature!

So, I thought I would post some cute pictures of Hunter. He is about to be 21 months old. Where does the time go? He is talking in sentences. Yesterday we were watching UP (his favorite movie by the way) actually he calls it Bongs (Balloons) and Mr Fredrickson hit a man over the head with his cane. Hunter looked at me and said "Thats not nice." Kyle and I were amazed, it is crazy the stuff they pick up on. He is getting to be such a snuggle bug. Everytime we put a MOO-BIE (Movie) on he gets in your lap and sits there for about 30 minutes and watches it with you. So, precious and such a sweet time with my little one.

Hunter is so smart, he can sing twinkle, twinkle little star, his ABC'S, well...- ABCDEF then he just mumbles but he is 21 MONTHS OLD. He can count to 2 occasionally 5. He knows what a circle, star, square and triangle are. I love the school he goes to, I love his teachers. He seems to love being there. I drop him off in the morning and he walks in like a big boy and says "Bye, bye Mommy." Such a big boy!

It makes me wonder what Heath will be like. He is already so much more active than Hunter ever was in my belly. And he is RUNNING OUT OF ROOM in there. He seriously takes up my entire abdominal cavity. Hunter would only move on the right side of the belly. Heath is everywhere, kicking my ribs, kidneys, butt bone, everything! Hunter is more like his daddy and I know Heath will be more like me. I am so looking forward to seeing him and holding him. July 1st cannot come too soon!

Love ALL my BOYS!!

Jennie

P.S. I cannot spell check, so sorry if there are a ton of misspellings. Hopefully the boys did not inherit my spelling!

Family of Three Pictures

2011-04-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

We went to Houston this past weekend to spend Easter with my side of the family. I asked my mom to take some pictures of us as a family of three. I think I am finally realizing that our family is going to change so much in the next 9 weeks. 9 WEEKS! Oh my gosh that is soo soon! We cannot wait to meet baby Heath.

I am not big on maternity pictures. I did not take any when I was pregnant with Hunter. But we got a few belly pictures. Only one I will post because it is my favorite! We had a great time in Houston with my family. It is so fun having all the grand kids there and active. I think we wore my Mom out.

Here they are:

Love to all,

Jennie

Some Sprinkler Fun

2011-03-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

Things I have bought due to blog hopping!

2011-03-07T17:59:00.000-08:00

I love, love, love blog hopping. It has become quite on obsession of mine. I read people's blogs that I do not know. There are some people I feel I know but in reality I would not know them if I passed them on the street. I love when people post things they have bought for their children. Here is a list of the things I have bought because someone else on a blog posted about it.

Hunter's Ball:

I bought this ball for Hunter's first birthday. It says Ei-Ei-O and has different animal sounds appliqued on it along with his name. I found it on the blog called "Hatching Hudson" which is now called "baby farming." How did I find this blog you ask..well she is on my other friend Julie's blog list and we have the same age little boy. Another thing that I bought becuase of reading this blog are Triple Paste. This stuff is amazing, clears up diaper rash in one night. We also bought our City Select double Stroller because of her recommendations. Obsessed much???

I also follow one of my high school besties Suz's blog. She is a super fun mom and I want to be like her. Here are the things that I have bought due to reading her blog.

Hunter's Chair: The anywhere chair from Pottery Barn:

Suz has twin boys that are too dang cute for words. She is a stay at home mommy and used to teach Kindergarden. I totally ordered this chair after reading how much her little boys loved their chairs. Hunter LOVES his chair and sits in it everyday and drinks his milk. Sometimes he will read in his chair like a big boy. I have also bought a sandbox because her little boys love it. I have allowed Hunter to climb on our dining room chairs to "help" me cook etc... She makes me a better, more involved mommy.

I love reading what other people do with their children. I love to buy stuff that people have already tried out and love. Takes the pressure off!!

Love to all,

Jennie

Rules of the Sandbox

2011-03-04T10:39:00.000-08:00

Kyle and I got Hunter a sand box last weekend. He LOVES it and throws a fit every time we have to close the lid to come inside. However, he is not very good at following the rules of the sandbox!

Rule #1:

Keep the sand inside the sand box:

Rule #2: Don't eat the sand:

I think he learned his lesson to not eat sand!!! He says EWWW!

Love to all,

Jennie

Brothers

2011-03-01T17:12:00.001-08:00

We are expecting another little BOY!!! We are so excited, we have the c-section scheduled for July 1, 2011 (7/1/11). I cannot tell you how excited we are to welcome this little guy into our lives. Hunter is excited that he is going to have a baby brother he can push around.

His name will be....

HEATH ROBERT JONES

All of our kids will have the same initials HRJ and Robert is Kyle's first name. Kyle was named after his mom's two favorite uncles. I feel so blessed that God would give me Boys to raise into Men of God. They have the most amazing example in their father. I am amazed at Kyle everyday as he interacts with Hunter and all that he teaches him. We were moving around the beds upstairs to empty out one of the guest rooms to change it to Heath's new room. Hunter was right underneath Kyle's feet every step of the way helping daddy. It was so cute to watch. Just think we will have two of those little guys wanting to help daddy and learn everything they can from him. Mommy is going to have to learn how to like boy things such as camping, hiking, fishing, hunting etc...I HATE BUGS!

The question of the hour is are we going to try for a third. Kyle and I are both leaning towards being happy with two healthy little boys. We are also praying about possibly adopting a little girl in need of a happy home. We will see what God has in store for us and what HIS ultimate plan is. Right now we are going to focus more on getting this one here happy and healthy and see how different our lives will be having two little ones in the house.

Love to all,
Jennie

Hunter is going to be...

2011-02-04T11:16:00.000-08:00

A BIG BROTHER!!!

BABY #2

WILL BE ARRIVING

July 11, 2011

We find out on Monday what we are having!

Snowed in

2011-02-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

What weather we are having. I feel like we live in Colorado instead of Texas. Where is the mountain scenery??? Kyle's office has been closed since Tuesday, schools are closed. Hunter has been inside since Tuesday and I think he is going a little stir crazy. This morning we woke up to 6 inches of snow on the ground. Hunter saw the snow and YELLED "OUTSIDE." It was pretty stinking cute. We have not gone OUTSIDE yet but will when he wakes up from his nap.

Since we have not been able to go outside we have been trying different things to entertain ourselves with. Hunter found the Tupperware drawer a long time ago. But just recently started to accessorize himself with the different types of Tupperware we have.

He is such a silly boy! Such a joy to be around and is learning more and more everyday. He can put his shape puzzle and animal puzzle together all by himself. He loves to sing and dance. I will have to post a video of him dancing. It is the funniest thing I have ever seen.

These Boots Were Made For Walking

2011-01-09T06:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2010

2011-01-08T09:02:00.001-08:00

We had a great Christmas. Hunter received so many gifts that I think we are going to have to add on to our house to store everything. We are always buys when Christmas time rolls around. We have so much family that we have to work in. They all want to see Hunter

He was the hit of every Christmas party we went to. He is such a ham. I don't have many pictures except for our Christmas together. But he was fun. He was more interested in the boxes than the toys/presents in side. At my Mimi's house he sat on a table box the entire time. As content as he could be. I wish I took a picture.

Here is Hunter at our Christmas:

Of course he woke up at 6:30 as usual and wanted his milk right away. I was so excited to show him what Santa brought him. But he was not having it. Wanted to drink his milk and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. After he was done with his milk he noticed all the new toys and we started to play.

He loves the car track thing that is vertical. He says WEEEEEE every time a car goes down the ramp. He was not too sure of the Race track that we got him with lightening McQueen on it. He was afraid of lightening at first but now has warmed right up to it. Santa also brought him some books, candy, Up and Toy Story 3 DVDs. He is not watching movies yet...these were more for Mama than for Hunter =)

Hunter LOVES anything Elmo. Mom got him this Elmo book and he could not wait for her to read it to him. Kyle's Mom and Dad got him a tickle me Elmo and a Cookie Monster that sings his favorite song Old MacDonald Had a Farm. He loves both of them. When he watches Sesame Street he has Elmo in one arm and Cookie Monster in the other. Very cute.

My mom also got him the cutest swing. It says little red raider on it. We still have not put it up. It has been a little to cold up here to swing. But it is super cute:

His Aunt Joy and Uncle Trey got him a backpack with his name embroidered on it. I love it because I can put his stuff in there with out my purse being so heavy. It is really cute. Camo with orange Hunter.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

15 months

2011-01-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

On November 27th Hunter turned 15 months old. At about 14 1/2 months old he started taking about 5-6 steps at a time then would fall and start to crawl. At 15 months he was taking more and more steps but I would say that mostly he was crawling. Or he would put up his index finger and make you walk everywhere with him

At his 15 month appointment he weighs:
24 pounds (50%)

30 inches long (26%)-

Down, set HUT HUT

Yes, his head is still in the 90th percentile. He is one smart kid though. He can say over 20 words clearly. He can tell you want a cow, sheep and dog says. But with Dog most of the time he says moo. He LOVES to read and has started to read to himself. He will have a book in his lap and point to something and say "this" like Kyle and I do all the time. He LOVES Sesame Street and will sometimes call Elmo-E-MO. He is so sweet and has learned to give the sweetest hugs. He will give you an open mouth kiss and we have to be careful because sometime he will slip some tongue in there.

He is such a sweet and special little boy. I love that he loves to cuddle, although this time is getting shorter and shorter. But I cherish every moment that I have with this sweet Hunter!

Finally going to up date this blog

2011-01-08T08:35:00.001-08:00

I am SOOOOOO far behind on updating all my loyal readers (yeah right). So much has happened since my last post. So hang with me while I get you caught up in posts:

14 Month pictures at the Arboretum

2010-11-20T18:55:00.000-08:00

We went to the arboretum a couple weeks ago to get our Christmas Card picture. Hunter had other plans of rearranging pumpkins, crawling everywhere and flirting with older babies! We had fun though. He had a melt down about half way through but we got some really cute pictures and one for our Christmas Card.

Momma and her sweet little boy

Look at that concentration. He is almost walking. Any day now...

Such a FLIRT!!

I love that face...look at his eyes! So Beautiful!

He looks just like his daddy!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2010-10-30T17:58:00.001-07:00

Still NOT Walking

2010-10-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

So Hunter will be 14 months on Wednesday next week and he is still not walking. I have to say I am getting worried. Is there something wrong with his legs? Something wrong with his coordination? Is the Dr. right that he is not walking because he has a big head? I don't know! These are the things that run through my head constantly. People as me how old he is in stores and here is how that conversation goes:

I say "He is one" and then immediately (never fails)

"Oh I bet you are having to chase him everywhere"

then I say "Nope he is not walking yet." Then it never fails I get an

"OH! Well don't you think you should go to the Dr. he should be walking by now."

"Ummm well his Dr. is not worried yet so I am not worried" When inside I am about to cry!

What is it when your child does not meet a milestone in a timely fashion that makes you fell like a terrible mother. We work with him all the time. He RUNS with his walker, we have even tried to move the coffee table further away from the couch to encourage him to let go and walk. Kyle says he lacks the courage. I say he is stubborn and would rather be carried. He has always been a lazy baby. He was a lazy nurser (I had to take his clothes off of him so he would nurse for the first 5 WEEKS!), he army crawled until he was 10 months old. Kyle and I every night will put our legs out and make him walk to us. He HATES to practice. Stubbornness again!

Is there anything we are not doing that you can think of to get this kid to walk? I NEVER thought it would take him this long.

OK! Some super fun things that he is doing right now:

He talks constantly! Will repeat any word you say. He knows what a cow, sheep and dog say. Well maybe not Dog..."Hunter what does a Dog say?" Hunter says "DOG" But when he hears a dog bark he says "DOG!" Who knows! He can make a ton of noises with his mouth. He gets this from his Daddy. He can motor boat, make a clicking sound with his tongue, and he makes engine noises when playing with his truck or tractor. He is so cuddly and so fun to be around! Oh and he knows what a circle is. So cute! He is very smart. He gets that from his Daddy too! I hope he did not get my math skills. Oooo WEE we will be having problems if he did!

Sorry for the long wordy post!

First 5K-Red Balloon Run and Relay

2010-10-10T17:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the Red Balloon Race that Children's Medical Center put on. We all raised a ton of money and celebrated with a little run! I did pretty good for my first time. Finished in 30 minutes. I am quite pleased with my time. I could not even run a 10 minute mile when I was in high school. Not because I was not in shape, I was in the best shape of my life back then. I am not a good runner. I have finally figured out my "pace" and I try to stick to it.

Kyle and Hunter were there to cheer me on. I am so blessed to have a supportive Husband. He was great and took pictures

The beginning of the race. Intimidated by all the runners

End of the race...still smiling! Probably should have ran harder!

My Sweet Family~

I had fun and will probably do it again. It is a great work out.

13 Months

2010-10-04T17:52:00.000-07:00

My little guy is 13 months old. I cannot believe how fast the last 13 months has gone. He has changed so much in the last month. He looks more like a toddler and less like a baby every day. It makes me sad. He has quite the temper and likes to show me when he doesn't get his way. I have never liked it when kids throw fits. It drives me crazy. I have no idea what to do when he does this. I feel like he is too young to spank him but too old not to do anything. I have been spatting his hand and he just looks at me like "What was that, did you mean that as discipline?" It does not faze him. I agree with spanking 100% but when do I start?

He weighs 23 pounds and is 30 inches long.

He can say Mama, Dada, Wawa (water), Dog, Thank you, Eye, Hi, Bye, Ball, Donkey (don't ask me why this animal-Maybe because he is most like a Donkey...STUBBORN), and baby. That's all I can think of, it seems like he says more than that.

He will lay his head on my lap or Kyles shoulder and say AHHH. He is running with his walker but will not take a step with out it. I kid that he will be two before he takes his first steps. He is mostly a very happy boy and the apple of his daddy and my eye.

He knows where his eyes are and we are working on ears. Sometimes he gets the two confused. When he does something that he is proud about he looks at you and starts to clap...he thinks it is hilarious when you clap back.

He can crawl up the stairs and he wants to do it all by himself..Independent like his Mama!

He is such a joy to be around and I am blessed to be his Mama. My heart melts every time he says my name or reaches for me. I love him so much. He is my little boy.

Look at how much he has changed in a month...I think it is CRAZY:

12 Months old

13 Months old...who is that little boy?

They grow so fast!

After Pictures

2010-09-27T17:31:00.000-07:00

My sweet boy~

We Decided To.....

2010-09-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

CUT HIS HAIR

Here are the reasons why:

1. His hair was getting too long and bed head was out of control!

2. When he eats he likes to put food behind his ears and rub it into his hair...So needless to say his hair was super disgusting at the end of every meal time.

3. One person said he looked like a hippy baby.

He did super amazing. We went to Snipits. It was so kid friendly. The haircut lady was so good with Hunter, she kept calling him handsome and I just love when people compliment my baby. She kept a pile of his hair for me and put it in a small zip lock bag. We only trimmed it and I think it turned out perfect. He still has curls and it is manageable. He does look like a big boy though.

Here are before hair cut pics:

The Hippy baby and his daddy

Mama!

Hunter getting "the cape" put on him

Wetting his hair!!!

Such a big boy!!!!

I do not have a good after shot of his hair yet. I should have take a picture of it this morning before church. He looked so handsome! But I will post one soon!!!

To Cut His Hair or Not

2010-09-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks I have had random people come up to me and say :

"Wow you have such a pretty little girl"

"When are you going to cut his hair" (random old guy in Sam's-who did not have a strand of hair on his head...I think he was jealous)

"Wow I love the curls in the back, but he looks like a girl"

All from three different people at three different times:

So I have a dilemma. Kyle thinks it is too long and we need to cut it. I think it is so cute and I don't want to get rid of the curls. But on the other hand I am tired of all the comments from strangers about his hair. I am nervous because sometimes when baby boys get their hair cut they look like old men and they look like toddlers and not baby's. I guess I don't want to let go of the baby years just yet. Maybe just trim the ears and bangs and don't touch the curls in the back...but would that look like a baby mullet?

Decisions, Decisions...

What do you think? Cut it, leave it or trim it?

I leave you with pictures of his hair:

The back of his head

The side

The front

4 Wheeler-Out of town

2010-09-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hunter's Granny and Papa got him this 4 wheeler for his birthday. He is obsessed with it. Wants to be on it all of the time. Loves to be pushed. Has figured out how to get off of it. Still working on getting on by himself...he has really short legs.

We went to Wichita Falls this weekend for DOVE SEASON opener. I shot 3 and Kyle only got like 10 the whole weekend. The dove do not like the cooler weather. We did! It was nice not being so hot and actually having a cool breeze. Hunter was a little sick this weekend. We had to go to the family clinic in Wichita Falls. I think he had a virus/cold. We had to do a couple breathing treatments but he was much better on Sunday and has not had a fever at all today. We had a great time with Kyle's parents. I always love going there. I love visiting with his parents and they just dote on Hunter. They think he is the best thing since sliced bread. He loves them too!!!
I love this picture. He looks like a big boy and not a baby!

(yea! I got my signature to finally work)

Happy Birthday Hunter!

2010-08-29T17:36:00.000-07:00

This past Friday (August 27th) Hunter Turned ONE!!!

The Birthday Boy!

We went to the Dr. on his birthday. I felt bad him getting shots on his birthday and probably will not do that again. Here are his stats:

Weight 22 pounds 10 ounces 55%

Height 29 3/4 inches 60%

Head of course was in the 95% (the Dr said this is why he is not walking yet...because of his big head it is hard for him to balance-haha-But he was serious) I think it is just a lack in desire.

On Saturday we had his actual Birthday Party. I did primary colors and I think it turned out cute

The center piece is full of Hunter's favorite things from his first year of life

His Happy Birthday Plate

The Happy Birthday banner I made. It was really cute and I love it!

And his name banner that I made

My Sweet Mom and Sister helped me set everything up. Mom is taking the picture!

His cake that my dad made...LOVE IT!!

Hunter opening up presents

Hunter getting ready to smash the cake

He was a little timid at first

But.... He got really into it after a little bit!

The aftermath:

Look at that cake! He ate some of it!

He was so messy we hosed him off outside!

We had a great time with all of our family.

Jennie

Sewing Project

2010-08-22T17:08:00.000-07:00

I love my new hobby of sewing. It reminds me so much of my Grandmother (Gran). I remember as a child growing up watching her drink her tea and sew. She was such an influential person in my life. This weekend I was working on Hunter's Happy Birthday banner and I had a sudden urge to get some tea. We did not have any and I did not want to make some. So I settled for water. But it made me think of her. There is something about sewing that makes me feel close to her. I don't know if that makes any sense but it does to me.

Here are some pictures of my latest sewing experience. I still have a lot to learn and have to get better with my stitching but it is a work in progress. I made these for a friend from Sunday School. She is having a little boy named Fielding. I also made some for another friend in Sunday school but I did not take pictures.

This one is a little girly. But I liked the way it turned out!

My favorite!

I really don't like reading crafting blog posts. But I was proud of myself so I thought I would share.

Jennie

Some of my FAVORITES!

2010-08-17T09:47:00.001-07:00

Joy (my sister-in-law) did an amazing job. She is very talented. If you live in the Dallas area you should use her. Go to her website here

Jennie

Weekend With The Rackers

2010-08-10T05:21:00.001-07:00

Two weekends ago Kyle and I went to Oklahoma and visited with The Rackers. They moved there about a year ago and we have seen then off and on for the last year when they would come to town. Well, they bought a house and I was dying to come and see it and them. Hunter had his first official trip out of Texas. We had a great time and it was so wonderful catching up with them. They used to live about 10 minutes from us and we would go over there all the time. We miss them so much and wish they would move back. But, she lives so much closer to her parents and she has tons of friends up there. I am happy they are happy.

Hunter had a great time with Riley and Carson. Riley wanted to show him her dancing and Carson followed him around making sure he was not going to hurt himself. They were so good with him. Every night one or both of them would want to feed him his bottle. They were so cute.

Riley and Hunter snuggling on the couch

All of us!

Scott, Holly, Riley and Carson thank you for being such good hosts. We had a great time and cannot wait to see you again.

Jennie

Prayers Please

2010-07-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

I have a friend named Tami Beaudin. She is currently 23 weeks pregnant and is in the hospital on several medications trying to stop her pre-term labor due to an incompetent cervix. The medications are not stopping it and so they are going to have to make some pretty tough decisions. The Dr's have tried everything.

I cannot imagine what they are going through. She has had several miscarriages and finally got pregnant with this little one and now they are going through this. My heart just breaks. Please pray God to give them his peace, comfort and wisdom as they face whatever is ahead. She will be 24 weeks pregnant on Thursday. If she can make it until then the baby's chance of survival will increase a ton.

Thank you so much:

Her sweet baby boys foot:

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, through the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the most high dwells. God is with her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.

Psalm 46:1-5 (My prayer for Tami, Rick and Baby Beaudin)

Jennie

My First Sewing Project

2010-07-24T13:50:00.000-07:00

My Grandmother (Gran) used to sew a lot. She made some of my sister and I's dresses and doll clothes. I decided I would like to learn how to. I bought a sewing machine off of Craig's List a couple weeks ago and have been deciding on what would be an easy project for me to do. So, I decided to lengthen the upstairs game room curtains.

Here is the before:

Excuse all of Hunter's toys.

And here is the after:)

It is kinda hard to see. I wanted to choose some cheap fabric and this is the best thing I could find. It blends in with the wall. I fell in love with fabric that was 30 dollars a yard but decided against it. I can always change it later. I am pleased with the way it turned out.

Here is the other window:)

I am pretty proud of myself!

Jennie

Our Newest Addition!

2010-07-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

Kayla Grace Johnson

Born July 9, 2010

6lbs 12 ounces 19 3/4 inches long

Hunter Loves her too! She was not to fond of him hitting her in the head though!
BAD MAMA!

We went to Houston this weekend to meet my sweet new niece. She is BEAUTIFUL looks just like her daddy. Casee is doing well and is trying to adjust to being a mommy of two beautiful kiddos.

Jennie

10 1/2 Months Old

2010-07-13T06:16:00.000-07:00

At 10 1/2 Months old Hunter can:

1) Eat Table food-Well sort of, I think there is more on the floor and in his high chair than he actually ate. But we are getting there

2) Drink from a sippy cup.

3) FINALLY CRAWLING...most of the time. He prefers to army crawl. Don't know why.

4)Pull up on any thing. He pulled up on the shower door the other day and I was in the shower. I had to call Kyle in there to get him.

5) When I sing Old MacDonald Has a Farm he will sing Ei-Ei-O

6) Hunter can say Dada, Mama and UH-OH.

7) Sometimes he will wave bye bye. Still working on this.

8) Loves to play Peak-A-BOO!

9) Takes a nap with out rocking. We put him in is crib and walk away. He is usually asleep in about 5 minutes.

10) Love his Mama and Dada so well. We are so proud of him.

Except for number 2 all of this happened in the last two-three weeks. 10 Months has be a busy one for him. He is exploring everything! We even put him in his big boy car seat. I will post pics as soon as I take some.

We are working on him walking soon. He is very confident that he can and will let go of the furniture and then he falls. I dont think he understands the balancing part of it. He is a cutie a tooty! We love him.

He is our Happy Boy!

My 30th Birthday

2010-07-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

Kyle and I went to Las Vegas, Nevada for my 30th birthday. We stayed at the Bellagio and had a fantastic time. Hunter stayed with my mom. They had a great time with each other.

The first full day we were there we went to the Hoover Dam. It was actually a lot of fun. We took the power plant tour (it was only 30 minutes). We went down in these man made tunnels and got to see where they diverted the water to make the Dam. During the Dam Tour there were lots of Dam jokes! It got kinda old towards the end of the tour. The Hoover Dam is BEAUTIFUL!

The power plant tour

We went to the little look out place that turned out to be so pretty on the way back to the hotel.

The rest of the week week we went to two shows, participated in some gambling and looked at all the amazing hotels. Cirque Du Soleil's O show. It was absolutely AMAZING. We went to the 1000 PM showing but it was so worth it. The show was filled with synchronized swimmers, divers, acrobats...just AMAZING...

This guy stayed on fire the whole show pretty much.

We also saw The Lion King on Broadway it was very good. You cannot compare it to the O show because they are completely different. But the singing was fantastic and so were the costumes. If you have not seen either of these shows it is a must.

Here are some random pics of our week in Vegas:

Thank you Hubby for an amazing trip! I had such a great time and the best 30th birthday ever!

Jennie

Watch out Robert Pattinson!

2010-06-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

So Adorable!

Kyle's 1ST Father's Day

2010-06-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

Kyle, Hunter and I all celebrated Father's day on Saturday June 19th because we were all driving to Houston the next day. Hunter got him this plate:

A lady Named Timla with Painted Piggies did this plate along with this one:

I absolutely love it. I digress...

Kyle,

Seeing you as a daddy is the most amazing thing in the world to watch. I love when you come home from work how Hunter responds to you. His whole face lights up and he gives you the biggest smile. I love that you sing to him and make the funniest sounds. You play with him all of the time and read him books at night. I am so blessed that you are a "hands on" dad. There is nothing you will not do or clean up. Thank you for getting up with Hunter at night when he was a small baby and I had enough. Thank you for encouraging me when I felt so frustrated and discouraged! Thank you for letting me sleep in on the weekends when you were off. You are the best daddy and the best husband.

We love you so much

Jennie and Hunter

Daddy, Papa and Me

2010-06-14T17:03:00.000-07:00

My mother-in-law came a couple weeks ago to watch Hunter while Joy went to a wedding in Austin. Every time she sees any grandchild she always brings books. Hunter got three books from his Granny. He LOVES to read and loves to turn the pages. One book that she got Hunter is called Daddy, Papa and Me. We all thought it was so cute because the grandchildren call Kyle's dad Papa (paw-paw). Kyle was reading it to Hunter one night and got a funny feeling the story was not about a dad, grandfather and a baby. He came down stairs and said "Jennie I think this book is about a baby and his daddies." I looked it up on Amazon and sure enough it is about a gay couple who is raising a child. This author also has another book called "Mommy, Mama and Me."I guess I am completely naive about this stuff. I did not realize there were books about same sex couples with children out in the store. Of course my mother-in-law did not buy this book knowing it was about a same sex couple. She like all of us thought it was a great title and bought it for Hunter.

Now I don't know what to do with the book. Should I keep it and make it a teaching opportunity for Hunter when he gets older? What would that look like? Should I put it on top of a shelf and forget about it? Should I write the author?

What do you think?

Jennie

Hunter and Cheddar

2010-06-12T06:08:00.000-07:00

We went to my parents house last weekend. My parents have two dogs and one of them is named Cheddar. Every time Hunter would see Cheddar he would squeal and laugh. It was so funny to watch. After Chases birthday party we went back to my parents house and Hunter and Cheddar had some fun together.

Show down....who wants the bone the most???

Cheddar giving Hunter Kisses!

Cheddar is a great dog, sooo good with Hunter. He would let Hunter crawl all over him and he did not care.

Jennie

Got Tubes?

2010-06-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

HUNTER DOES!!!

YEA!!!!!!!

On Monday Hunter got tubes placed in both of his ears. We are so excited that they are in there. Hopefully he will no longer look like this:

We had to be at the hospital at 6:30 because Hunter was the first surgical case. I love they get the youngest kids in first. He had nothing to eat or drink since 7:00 that night. He was surprisingly happy! Praise God! We got there right on time and I had already filled out all of the paper work. All we had to do was sign our patient rights and HIPPA consents. They took us back to the post-operative room and we dressed Hunter in the hospital gown.

He was such a ham!

Then the Dr's all came by and told us not to worry, he will be fine. Here is Hunter's face when the nurse came by to get him:

The procedure took all of 15 minutes. Kyle and I could hear him screaming in the recovery room. That is pure torture to hear your baby cry and you cannot get to him. Horrible. Finally after about 5 minutes they brought him to us. He cried and cried and cried for about 45 minutes off and on. Kyle and I took turns trying to console him. Finally he threw up all over Kyle and he went to sleep. I guess his tummy was upset from the anesthesia.

Hunter drinking apple juice from his bottle!

I wish we would have gotten a picture of Kyle's shirt after Hunter threw up all over it. It was so hilarious. Kyle and I laughed until we cried. The nurses finally let us go home after about an hour in post-operative. Once we got home Kyle went to work and Hunt and I went to sleep! We both slept for 2 1/2 hours...yea anesthesia. I might need a little extra for home on those not so pleasant days =)

Here is Hunt after his long nap:

He is such a great baby!

Look Who is Standing Up!

2010-06-07T13:39:00.001-07:00

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day weekend was a busy one. One of my friends, Stacy, got married on Saturday.

The family before the wedding. My mom came into town and watched Hunter so Kyle and I could stay out late. We got home at 1030..PARTY ANIMALS!

On Sunday Hunter had his first swimming experience. He loved it!!! I am so glad he is not afraid of the water. He kicked and he floated on his back for a few seconds. He is so much fun!

He cannot wait to get back in the water.

Yeee Haw, ride that noodle!!!

Happy 9 months Hunter

2010-06-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

Hunter is now 9 months old. I cannot believe how fast these past 9 months have gone. He is so busy exploring his new world through his army crawl. He has not figured out how to get his belly off of the floor. So, he crawls around on his forearms. He is pretty good at it too. Hunter follows me all around the house. When I am cooking in the Kitchen he comes in there and plays at my feet.

He is starting to pull up on the furniture. He can stand by himself for a few seconds. Hunter can say Dada, baba, sometimes mama. He can blow raspberries, motorboat and yell like an Indian all by himself.

His 9 month stats:

20 pounds 2 ounces-46th percentile (I think this would have been more expect he lost 2 pounds when he was sick for three weeks)

27 1/2 inches long- 66th percentile

His head is still in the 95th percentile.

He is the happiest baby ever. We love him so much.

Jennie

Helping Daddy

2010-05-31T16:45:00.000-07:00

Kyle and I ordered new hardware for our kitchen cabinets. They came in last week, and Kyle put them on this weekend. They look amazing, and he did such a great job. I am so glad I have a handy hubby. Kyle is teaching Hunter how to be handy too. Hunter was in the middle of everything. Here are some really cute pictures that I got of the two of them putting hardware on the cabinets.

"Hey Daddy do you need the tape measure?"

Such a great helper.

Are you sure that is right dad???

Pics of the pulls and handles:

I am so glad we finally picked out our hardware. It makes the kitchen look complete.

Jennie

First and Hopefully Last Hospitalization

2010-05-25T11:59:00.000-07:00

Hunter was diagnosed with Pneumonia last week. He had been running a high fever for about 2 weeks in which we gave antibiotics, he would get better for a few days and then have a fever again. Finally his PCP did a chest x-ray and said that he had pneumonia. Got another round of antibiotic injections and that night he had his highest fever of 103.7. We had a rough night, Hunter could only sleep on top of me. I guess it was because he was on an incline and could breathe better. After about an hour or so I would get sore and try to move him. He would wake up and scream until I put him back on top of me. So needless to say we had a very bad night.

We were admitted to the hospital the next day. We had a great stay. I got to see all the nurses that I used to work with and they took such GREAT care of Hunter. Jane was our nurse, she is wonderful, I was so thrilled when I saw her name on our white board. The Hospitalist, I was not impressed with. She kind of had an attitude until she found out that I am an PNP and her tune changed. She did some tests and another chest x-ray. Came into the room and said that the chest x-ray was clear. (which it was not, and she told me what the reading actually said after I asked her) She just kept saying this is a viral illness and we will watch him over night. To her credit he did have Parainfluenza type 3 and andenovirus. She did start us on steroids which got completely rid of his fever and perked him up. So he was better after we left the hospital. It was very interesting being on the other side of the bed. Never will I take a parents story for granted!

We were discharged the same day we were admitted. They were not going to do anything else for him except give him oral steroids...I can do that at home! So we left and I got to somewhat sleep in my bed. Hunter slept well in his bed.

We went to the ENT Dr. on Friday and he recommended we get tubes put in Hunter's ears. I am so excited that his little ears will not hurt him anymore. I hate that when he cries he goes for his ears. Sometimes he sticks his finger in his ears and moves it around. It must hurt so bad. Poor baby, he sure is a happy baby with all the stuff he has gone through the last few weeks.

I only got one picture and my mom took it right when we got home. I did not even think about bringing my camera. Too much on my mind! Here is sleepy Hunter in his carrier ready for daddy to get home with his medication so he can go to bed!

My mom came into town to help. She brought him a puppet bear. You should have seen his face when he saw the bear. He LOVES IT!!!

Jennie

Baby Dedication/Mother's Day

2010-05-18T12:08:00.000-07:00

My sweet Husband for Mothers Day got me 2 dozen roses. The best part about it was he gave them to me on Thursday so that I could enjoy them all weekend. They were beautiful. I love roses, they are probably my favorite flower. He also gave me a sweet card, I love my Hubby he is the best!

We dedicated Hunter to the Lord on Mother's Day too. It was such a special day for us. Kyle and my whole family came to our church to participate in our big day. We have been teaching Hunter about Jesus before he was even born. I cannot wait to have him fall in love with our Father. Being saved by Jesus is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I cannot wait for Hunter to have the same experience. I cannot wait to watch him grow up in the Lord and become an awesome man of God. Just like his daddy.

Hunter was being treated for an ear infection. Looking back now I can see that the antibiotics were not working. In every picture I have he is tugging on that ear! Poor baby!

I pulled this pic off of Joy's blog because I love it!!! And Hunter is not pulling on his ear!

Kyle and I put much thought in to the scripture that we picked for him. It reads: "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 16:11

I love this scripture. My prayer for Hunter is that he is always filled with the Joy of the Lord and that he will never depart from Him. That he will not want the pleasures of this world but be filled with eternal pleasures.

He looks so handsome! We all wore Blue, Grey and I wore a white cardigan. Not that you cannot tell in the picture. =)

After the dedication we all went back to our house and we chowed down on Abuelos' and a yummy cake that my dad made! Here are some more pics that I pulled off of Joy's blog.

Hunter with his Papa and Granny and Sweet Ella!

My all time favorite picture that Joy has ever taken of my little guy and his Papa. I think I am going to have this picture blown up and put in his room. I love it!

My whole clan. From Left to right- Hunter's Daddy, Mommy, Uncle Coco, Gamma, Papa G, Aunt Casee and little cousin Kayla (32 weeks along), Cousin Chase and Uncle David!

We had a great weekend! It was so nice to have all the family over! I loved seeing everyone!

Jennie

Poor Baby

2010-05-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

This is the face that breaks my heart:

Hunter thinking: Why are you taking a picture of me like this???

Hunter has had a horrible week. Poor thing cannot get rid of this ear infection. He had to get two shots for three days of Rocephin. Which I think made him nauseated. He threw up 4 times yesterday. Needless to say it has not been a fun week at all. Kyle is amazing and stayed home on Wednesday with Hunter and I stayed home with Hunter on Thursday. I am glad that he had a bad day with me and not Kyle. That would have been horrible for Kyle to have to deal with.

Please pray that this Rocephin kicks his ear infection in the Bo-Hiney!!! I am tired of looking at that heart breaking face all day long. I want my happy baby back and mostly I want him to feel better.

Jennie

Hunter's new favorite place to be is:

2010-05-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

In the laundry basket:

A few days ago Kyle put Hunter in the laundry basket and carried him to the living room. Hunter thought it was the neatest thing. He smiled and smiled. When they got in the living room Kyle took Hunter out of the laundry basket to get more laundry. And Hunter cried and cried and cried (actually he threw a huge wall -eyed fit). Side Note: I did not realize that 8 month old babies knew how to throw fits...they do! Finally I told Kyle to take the laundry out of the laundry basket and put Hunter back in the basket and he was as happy as he could be. Crazy kid. Now when he sees the basket he wants in it. What ever makes him happy!

I want to post about the best Mother's day I have ever had but I need Joy and my mom to send me the pictures. I cannot post with out pictures! So I will just have to be patient!

Jennie

Cousins

2010-05-11T06:19:00.000-07:00

My sister, Casee, and her family came in town this weekend for Hunter's Baby Dedication (more on that later). We decided to take pictures of the boys and give a collage to our mom for Mother's Day. I wish I had a picture of the final product but I did not take one.

Here are Hunt and Chases pictures. They both cooperated perfectly. Chase is so well behaved, it is so nice to be around a child that actually listens to his parents! So refreshing and sweet! It was amazing!

We also did pictures with Kyle's side of the family. Joy gave this copy to her mom on Mother's Day. This was take two and Joy still had to photo shop all the babies into this picture. It turned out great. Hunter kept eating the bark and leaves on the ground, Ella was adorable and Caleb was not cooperative at all! Kids will be kids! Here is the Jones side picture:

I love that we are all having kids at the same time. Life is so much more fun with kids!

Jennie

Copy Cat

2010-05-01T18:36:00.001-07:00

I went to Kisha's blog today and saw that she changed her layout. I have been wanting a three colum blog but have not had the time to change it all out. Then I went to my friend Julie's blog and noticed that she did the same thing that Kisha did. So I jumped on the band wagon!

I LOVE IT! I think it is so cute and springy! I of course cannot blog with out posting a sweet picture of my baby so here is one of him and Ella that Joy took last week at the arboretum.

So sweet:

Jennie

Hunter is 8 Months Old Today!!!

2010-04-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

My sweet little baby is 8 months old today. I cannot believe how fast the past 8 months have gone. Hunter is the sweetest baby ever. He is such a joy to be around and so easy to please. He constantly laughs and smiles at everything. He is only fussy when he is hungry or sleepy or when he has wedged himself underneath the couch or scooted himself into a corner and cannot get out. He is trying so hard to crawl but is not there yet. He rolls to get where he needs to go. It is pretty hilarious. He can only scoot backwards but is getting better at going forwards. He is constantly jabbering. He is starting to say DADADA, HI, Ei-Ei-o. One day Kyle walked in from work and Hunter said Hi DADA. Now I am not one of those moms who thinks their child said their first sentence at 7 months. It was the perfect sounds that sounded like Hi dada. But it sure was cute!

This morning I weighed him and he weighs 20.8 pounds. He is 27 inches long.

Some of his favorite things at 8 months:

He still loves Sophie:

Loves his jumparoo:

Look at those chubby legs!

Still loves bath time with daddy and morning time with mommy.

Loves to eat just about anything except green beans and chicken noodles:

We are so in love with this little boy. Every month he is more and more fun!

Jennie

Messy Hunter

2010-04-21T17:03:00.001-07:00

When Hunter does not like something he spits the food out of his mouth into his hands and rubs it every where! Tonight he did not like chicken and noodle. But he LOVES his strawberries!

Jennie

Hunter's new play mat

2010-04-08T11:20:00.001-07:00

Down stairs we have hard wood floors. I love them, they are beautiful! However they are not so practical when you have a baby. They are hard and it hurts when you forget you are sitting up and suddenly bonk your head on the floor (Hunter does this, not mommy or daddy=)). We have been using a blanket to put him on when we are down stairs. But Hunter in one smart kid. Instead of moving his body to get a toy he would just pull the blanket toward him so the toy would be closer and he could reach to get it. Smart kid!

So a couple weeks ago I went to BUY BUY Baby (watch out babies r us, I love this store) and bought a mat so Hunter could have enough cushion if he falls over and to encourage him to move to get his toys. I love it and think it is so cute. However, our house is no longer for grown ups we have kids stuff everywhere. But oh well, I love playing with him and I love to see his toys everywhere!

I have posted 4 posts today. So keep reading below!

Jennie

HELP ME!!!

2010-04-08T11:01:00.001-07:00

I am stuck!!!!!

Hunter's First Easter

2010-04-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

I am having a hard time with this post. For some reason the pictures are in reverse order

This is Hunter after all the Easter Festivities:

The whole family:

On Sunday we went to my sister-in-law, Corey's, house. We had all types of yummy food. I love going to her house she has a huge back yard that the kids can play in and Caleb has tons of toys. He was so sweet to Hunter. He went into his room and brought out all the stuffed animals so Hunter could play with them. We had a great time. Here are some pics of our Easter egg hunt. These are in reverse order, for some reason I cannot put them in order.

Opening Hunter's Easter basket from his Granny and Papa.

We all matched:

I guess Hunter drooled on me...hence the wet spot on my boob! Oh well comes with the territory!

My first week at work

2010-04-08T09:56:00.000-07:00

My first week back to work was not bad at all! God prepared both Hunter and I so well for the transition. The first day was filled with orientation stuff...boring! I got to know the nurse that I will be working with. I love her. She is so laid back and so helpful. I know I will love working with her. I already knew all of the Doctors and they are just as helpful and easy going and great to work with.

I am so excited that I have this job, I have already learned so much. It is weird though going into your patients room and introducing your self as a nurse practitioner. Just weird.

Hunter did great. The first day I think he took about a 1 1/2 hour nap the whole day. We was just wanting to play with Ella. I called Joy about 10 times the first day and she would always say that he was doing great. I am so relieved that he enjoys being with her and Ella. He is a very good baby and goes with the flow.

My milk supply has gone way down in the last two weeks. I guess from all of the pumping while at work. So, yesterday Joy had to give a full bottle of formula. I am working on increasing my supply. If anyone has any words of wisdom please tell me. I really want him to only have breast milk for the first year of life. So any advice is appreciated!

Looking forward to next week at work!

Jennie

Blog Award

2010-03-23T17:05:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends from Parkway Hills, Julie, gave me the Master Blog Award. This means that I need to share 6 things that I am a Master at. And I'll name 6 people to share their master skills (if they want to play along)...

1) Procrastination:
I am a VERY good procrastinator. One time in college we had a huge project due and I waited until the night before to start it. I was up for about 24 hours finishing it and then turning it in. But I am a good procrastinator...I got an A. I think it is the thrill/stress of wondering if I am going to be able to complete it or not. I always do!

2) COUPONS:
Since I have been staying home with Hunter, Kyle put us on a budget! At the beginning I was not sure if I was going to be able to survive not going to Target and spending needless money on things that we do not need. But, come to find out it is not that bad. I have actually become a very good shopper. Sometimes we get the Sunday paper and they have GREAT coupons there. I go to Coupons.com and they have GREAT coupons there. We shop at Market Street! Mostly because they send out their weekly mailer with two free coupons and they have great deals. I also LOVE Market street because 1) they bag your groceries and 2) THEY TAKE THEM TO YOUR CAR!. It is the little things that make life so much better. Oh and another thing is they have new mom/expecting mom parking spaces CLOSE to the door. I don't care that my son is almost 7 months old. He is heavy and the closer I can get to the door the better! Anyway, enough about how AWESOME Market Street is. I have a goal when I go shopping...All groceries under 100.00. I make my goal all of the time.

3) Fast Cleaning:
Now we all know I am not a good house keeper. I have never been a "tidy" person. I leave my clothes on the floor when I take them off. Mostly because I am lazy and don't want to pick them up. I leave all of my dishes from the day on the coffee table or upstairs in the game room until Kyle is almost home and then I clean them. I am the MASTER of fast cleaning. I can get the whole house "Jennie Clean" in about 15 minutes. If I have a surprise visitor it does not take me long to pick up.

4) Master of Science in Nursing:
I even have a diploma that says I am!

5) Multitasking:
I can feed Hunter, talk on the phone and eat my meal all at the same time. I am even better in the car. I am trying to get Hunter to take more bottles during the day because when I am working that is all he will be able to take. So, today in the car he was getting fussy and so I gave him a bottle. He has not mastered holding the bottle yet..he does it just not high enough to get he milk to the nipple. So I held the bottle, changed the radio station, drove and answered the phone. So, not safe at all! I need to take that Oprah challenge and not talk on the phone or text. But being in the car is so boring!

6) Making Hunter Laugh:
I can make this kid laugh at anything. He loves to laugh, play peek a boo, roll the ball, anything makes him laugh. I love it!

Ok so my people are, if you so choose to accept this challenge:
Susan
Joy
Stacie

Jennie

Pearly Whites

2010-03-22T05:30:00.001-07:00

Hunter now has two bottom teeth! He is getting so big!

Here are pictures of his teeth:

Yea...now he just has to be careful breastfeeding! =)

A few of Hunter's favorite things

2010-03-11T13:42:00.001-08:00

My friend Susan posted her boys favorite things and I thought I would do the same.

Hunter LOVES Sophie the Giraffe. He loves to chew on his legs and suck on his face. Best toy we have ever bought. It does squeak like a dog toy but it is NOT a dog toy. I get asked that everywhere we go.

This is a little mesh food dispenser. I usually put fresh fruit in it after dinner and he sucks and sucks on it until there is nothing left. He loves it and gets so excited when I give it to him. Here he is sucking on a Strawberry!

Hunter has learned how to motor boat or blow raspberries. Whatever you call it. He thinks it is hilarious. He does it all of the time now! SO CUTE!

Hunter LOVES his Daddy. I wish I could get a picture of his face when he comes home. Sometime Hunter will not realize that Kyle is home so Kyle will start to talk to him. He looks around like crazy trying to find him and when he does finally find him he has a HUGE smile on his face. I love it!

Hunt is awake so I got to go!
Jennie

Our Beautiful Half Bath

2010-03-09T10:16:00.001-08:00

We have been in the process of remodeling our house since we moved in almost three years ago. It is almost done. The past two weeks we have been working on our half bath down stairs. I wanted to do something fun and different. Kyle tore out the vanity and we bought a vanity that looks like a dresser with a sink in it. He also installed the vanity and the faucet along with redoing the pluming. He is so handy! Then I painted the bathroom a gold shimmer color. Joy came over 3 days last week and painted the scrolls. I LOVE the way it turned out. Joy worked so hard on it. I think we both thought it would not take that long to do but man were we wrong. It looks AMAZING and she did a great job!

Here are some pictures of it!

While Joy painted I watch Ella and tried to keep her from "helping" her mommy too much. But it was difficult since she LOVES her momma! Thank goodness that the weather was so nice last week. We pretty much stayed out side and played. She is so sweet with Hunter. She would bend down with her mouth wide open and give him a kiss. When he was fussy she would pick up his passy and try to put it in his mouth. She was so much fun to play with.

Here are some pics of Ella and Hunter:

Ella

Ella picking up Hunter's passy.

This is Hilarious:

Ella is such a good helper!

Jennie

Kisha's Baby Shower

2010-03-08T14:08:00.000-08:00

One of my really good friends, Kisha , is having a little girl in about 4 weeks. Several of us girls from Sunday school threw her a shower on Saturday last week. She got a ton of cute things. Makes me want to slap a bow and a dress on Hunter. I think his Daddy would be severely upset if I did that. I wanted to post the decorations that I used on my blog because they were so stinking cute.

I got this idea from my sister in law Joy. She did these tissue pom poms at Ella's first birthday. I thought they would be so cute for a baby shower. I love the way they turned out.

This is not a really good picture of this but I bought card board letters from Hobby Lobby and hot glued the on to card stock. Then I hot glued hot pink feathers on to the back with a ribbon and tied them to our mantel. I did not steal this idea from anyone. Just my one moment of creativity!

My dad made this cake. It turned out AMAZING. It was the talk of the shower. I was supposed to put the shoes on top of the cake but it just looked so cute with out the shoes that I decided that I did not want to cover up the cake. The cake was so moist and oh so yummy. Oh, and I made the diaper cake in the back too!

The shower was so fun. Kisha got a ton of super cute things for Morgan. It is such a blessing to have friends like her and Josh. They would do anything for anyone. They have helped us out so much in the past few years. I cannot wait to watch our babies grow up together.

Jennie

6 Months

2010-03-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

Hunter turned 6 months Feb 27th. I am such a bad mommy and am just now getting time to post about him

Here are his stats:

Weight :18 pounds (75th percentile)

Height: 26 1/2 Inches (75 Percentile)

Head Circ: 97th percentile (He still has a big head= big brain!)

He is sitting up all by himself. When he is playing on our hardwood floors I put the boppy behind him so that he does not crack his head open when he topples over. He is working harder at getting a toy out of his reach. I will not call it scooting because he is not. He will stay on his tummy and do a total 360. He smiles constantly and laughs at anything. He is such a sweet boy. But, when he is mad he will let you know! He has a temper when he does not get his way or if I am talking on the phone and my total attention is not on him.

Jennie

Working Girl

2010-02-17T07:04:00.000-08:00

Well I am an official employee at Children's Medical Center Dallas again. I interviewed a few weeks ago for a part time Pediatric Nurse Practitioner position and they called last Friday and offered me the job. I will be working 3 days a week-Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. The department is Hemophilia; which I know a little about. So I will have a lot of learning to do. I don't start until March 29th so I get about 6 more weeks with just Hunt and I. I am so excited.

Probably the biggest answer to prayer is who is going to watch Hunter while I am at work. Kyle and I have been praying that God would provide some one to watch Hunter. We prayed that this person would love Hunter like we would, would teach him and not just put him in front of the TV, play with him and of course take care of him like we would. Well God did all of this in my sister-in-law Joy. We are so excited and feel so blessed that she is going to take on a 7 month old (the age Hunter will be when she starts watching him) along with her almost 15 month old. I admire her as a mom and know that she will treat Hunter like her own. It is so nice that I will not be worried about him at all and know that he is in good hands.

So, please pray for me in this new adventure. I am excited and also sad that I will not spend every waking moment with my little guy. But I do think the time that I do get to spend with him will be even more sweet.

Jennie

Blizzard in Texas

2010-02-12T17:50:00.000-08:00

So, I am sure that everyone knows that is snowed a ton yesterday! Kyle came home from work early and so we all went out and played in the snow. Kyle made a 5 foot tall snow man with Hunter and I's help. We also had help from our across the street neighbor, Tristan.

Here is the whole family by Slumpy the Snowman:

Hunt all bundled up!

Today Kyle's building was closed so he could not go to work. DARN! I am so glad that we got to spend the whole day together and we PLAYED IN THE SNOW! Here are some pics from today's adventure!

Hunt and I making a snow angel!

Hunter wondering what in the heck is all this white stuff!

Hunter and his daddy by the 6' 3" snowman. Kyle was in competition with the neighborhood kids! He won!

We had such a good time in the snow! I will be sad to watch it melt tomorrow!

Jennie

What a week

2010-02-10T14:13:00.000-08:00

Poor Hunter was so sick last week. He is doing so much better this week. We were so close to being admitted into the hospital. I think if I was not a nurse they would have admitted us. But I know what to look for and he was doing fine with his breathing treatment.

It was so hard seeing him that sick. He had a fever to start out the week. He was put on antibiotics which gave him a horrible diaper rash and diarrhea. So we could not use wipes, I just put him in our sink and washed off his booty in the water. It was so exhausting for the whole family. I got on a first name basis with our Dr and his staff. I am sure I am the crazy mother that keeps calling. They called on Monday this week and said that he indeed did have RSV. I am praying this nasty virus does not rear his nasty head in our house again! I don't know where he gets these viruses. Hello..he stays at home, the only time he is around other children is at church. I know they wash off their toys. It is so frustrating!

Hunter was showing signs of improvement on Thursday and Friday. My dad's 50th birthday was on Saturday so we went to Houston to celebrate with them. My mom organized a luau and went all out. She even hired hula dancers and a fire dancer. It was a really fun party. Hunter did not get to participate in the festivities because his bed time is 8 pm and he is usually ready for bed by then. I was so surprised that he stayed asleep through all of the noise. Here are some pics from our week:

How Kyle, Hunter and I spent our week

The Luau Party Pics:

My sister and I

Cole (in the pink) doing the Hula with his friends. He really got into it!

Dad and I

Dad doing the Hula

Kyle and I

Me, My Mom and Casee (my sister)

Jennie

Weight Loss Wednesday

2010-02-03T11:56:00.000-08:00

I am so not in the mood to be posting. Hunter has been super sick since Saturday. I have taken him to the Dr. three time in 5 days. He is just not getting better. We went to the Dr. today and got a chest x-ray and I am waiting on a call from the Dr. to tell me if he has Pneumonia or what is going on.

But on the up side of things. I have lost 2 pounds so far. I feel like this weight loss is going slow. Probably because I was sick last week. Hunter is sick this week. I feel like I owe myself a bowl of ice cream every couple of nights. You know stress eating. Not such a good thing when you are trying to lose weight. I have not been working out. Mainly because I am so tired and stressed out about Hunter. Excuses excuses!

Hopefully will hear something on Hunter in the next few hours.

Anxiously waiting...

5 Month Pictures

2010-01-28T13:10:00.000-08:00

I found the USB cable. YEA!

My boys playing! Sweetest thing in the world to watch!

I cannot believe I caught this!

Tri pod sitting! He is about to tip over!

Just a cute Hunter look!

Love this little boy!

Jennie

5 Months

2010-01-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

Hunter turned 5 months old yesterday. I cannot believe how fast he is growing. It is bitter sweet. Apart of me wishes that I could slow down time and enjoy him as a baby and another part of me wants to watch him grow. I know I say this with every post but he is getting to be so much fun. He talks, talks, talks all the time...screams is more like it. I think he likes to hear him self echo in our house.

Hunter is sitting up in the tripod position. However, you really have to watch him because he will fall over. He is starting to move around on the floor. Not crawling by any means but maybe you can call it scooting. He does not know that he can do this though. Every morning I put him on his activity mat so that I can make breakfast. Here lately I have had to put the mat on the floor because he moves so much on the mat. He smiles constantly, loves to be held, loves to cuddle in the morning and at night, loves his jumperoo, loves the song the itsy bitsy spider. That song pretty much will make him immediately stop crying and SMILE. He is such an easy going baby. Kyle and I are extremely blessed.

I took five month old pictures but they did not turn out that good. Hunter was not in a photogenic mood. So I am going to try again tomorrow. I was trying to recreate his newborn pics. But so far he is not having it. I wanted to get some pictures outside to but it is so gross here that I think I will have to wait until next week.

Oh and I need to post pictures but I cannot find the USB cable so I will post them in a different post once I find the cable.

Jennie

Weight Loss Wednesday

2010-01-27T09:33:00.000-08:00

Well as you can tell by the ticker I lost 1.4 pounds last week! I have been tracking my calories in a journal and working out. I have been doing a work out video called 30 day shred. It says on the front that you can lose 20 pounds in 30 days. But, I think you are supposed to do it everyday. Well I am not doing it every day. I worked out 4 days last week. This week I am not off to a good start. I have a cold and my energy level is extremely low. But I am going to get back on the work out train tomorrow. I am still calculating my caloric intake and it seems to be going well.

It is funny how losing a pound makes you feel. I know when I got on the scale this morning I was so nervous. I kept thinking don't be discouraged if it is the same as last week. It has only been a week. And then FLASH one pound lighter! I was so excited, Hunter and I did a Mommy's getting skinnier dance around the room. He thought it was so much fun. I feel better too after working out. More energized...healthier

Kyle measured my, arms, legs, waist, hips and bust. I was going to have him measure me last night so I could post how many inches I have lost. But then I got to thinking, I probably have not lost very many inches in a week so I will have him re-measure me in two weeks.

Until next week...

I'm Tired

2010-01-20T07:41:00.000-08:00

I am tired of looking into the mirror and hating what I see. I am tired of having super cute clothes that I cannot wear. I am tired of feeling disappointed every time I look at the scale. I am tired of not feeling energized and healthy.

Yes, I know I just had a baby but enough is enough. I gained 40 pounds when I was pregnant. Yes, 40 pounds! That is a lot, I know. I was never so hungry in my life. Breastfeeding has helped some, I think. I have lost 33 pounds and still have 6 pounds to go to get to pre-pregnancy. However before I got pregnant I was gaining my weight back from when I lost 22 pounds before. So my ultimate goal is to be back at 120 pounds by my friends wedding at the end of May!

So, I am going to post on this blog my status. It will be called "WEIGHT LOSS WEDNESDAY" I need some type of accountability. I know that some of my closest friends read this blog and they will encourage me. Kyle has been amazing and he said that when I meet my goal I get a 250 DOLLAR SHOPPING SPREE!!!! He is my biggest supporter and always has been. He knows that nothing motivates me more than being able to go shopping for clothes!

I just want to feel better about myself! To the right is a weight loss ticker. I hope that it will continue to go down to the cash register goal!!!

Jennie

Squishy

2010-01-19T07:57:00.000-08:00

Kyle was giving Hunter a bath last night and I was taking pictures. He LOVES his baths. His little butt is getting so squishy and it has so many dimples! I just love it:

Look at those knee rolls!

Jennie

Just Playing

2010-01-14T17:04:00.001-08:00

Hunter is getting to be so much fun these days. I took some pictures of him in our game room playing. He is exploring more and sort of moving around. I love to just sit up there and play with him. We have the best time.

BABY CLEAVAGE!

Going after the ball. He is working so hard at rolling onto his belly from his back!

Jumparoo! HE LOVES IT!

Jennie

Picks from the Weekend

2010-01-12T12:05:00.000-08:00

This weekend we celebrated Ella (our niece) first birthday. I cannot believe that she is one already. It seems like yesterday we were visiting them in the hospital and ooing and awwing all over her. She has grown so fast. She is always such a joy to be around and the happiest baby I have ever known!

Ella Bug in her super cute tutu and matching onesie! She looked adorable!

Ella playing with her cradle for her baby dolls.

Hunter Loving on his Granny!

Ella getting into her cake. It took a while but she enjoyed it. Hated getting her hands dirty!

On Sunday Kyle and I decided that Hunter was going to be sleeping in his crib. He has been having such a hard time with his naps. Some days he would scream as we would rock him. So I read my Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby and it gave me somethings to try. The first night was rough but last night he slept 7 1/2 hours straight. We also started giving him cereal. I tried it one night just to see how he would do and he absolutely loved it. The first time he ate half the bowl and the next night he ate all of it. So, we have been feeding him cereal every night since Sunday. I think he really enjoys it. I love to watch him figure out how to maneuver it around in his mouth. Here are some pictures...don't laugh too hard at my face!

Spitting some of it out!

This stuff is YUMMY!!!

Open Wide!

Jennie

4 Months

2010-01-05T10:23:00.000-08:00

Hunter turned 4 months old December 27th. We went to the Dr. yesterday for his well child exam. Here are his stats:

Weight: 16 pounds 5 ounces (75 percentile)-He is wearing 6-9 month clothes and size 3 diapers!

Height: 25.3 inches (70th percentile)

Head Circumference: 17.3 inches (90th percentile)-Baby has a big head. That's OK, just means that he has a big brain!

Hunter has been rolling over (tummy to back) since he turned three months old. But, now he is much better at it. Makes tummy time entertaining for me and frustrating for him. I love to watch him roll over. He thinks so hard and then when he does it I say yea!!! and he squeals. He is so proud of himself. He laughs at pretty much anything. He has the cutest laugh. I am trying to get it on video. But, every time I get it out he stops performing. He still smiles with his whole body. We love him so much. I think this is my favorite age. He is communicating now. The last few nights Hunter has been singing himself to sleep. He says oooohhh, oooooo, ahhhh it is so cute. I love it, Kyle and I just laugh. This week we have been starting all naps in his crib. That does not meant that he sleeps his entire nap up there but we have to start some where. He is getting better. My goal is to have Hunter in his crib at night by 5 months old. We will see how it goes. He loves to stand up on your lap. We got a little jumper thing that you can put in the door frame. I got that out a few days ago and he has not figured out the jumping thing. He just goes around in circles. He thinks that is hilarious. It is so much fun to watch him grow.

He has changed so much here is a picture of when he was first born:

This is actually at two weeks. Not even at his birth weight yet. He looks so scrawny! Now he is my chunk a monk:

Funny huh!

Jennie

Merry Christmas (Part 2)

2010-01-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

Here are pics from Hunter's first Christmas with his mommy and daddy:

Trying to get Hunter to play with the ribbon, he was not that interested!

Hunter in his Christmas Pajamas!

Yes, this is me without makeup on. But I rarely have him and I in a picture!

This picture is really dark, but Kyle got my diploma framed! It looks AMAZING!

Kyle got some much needed clothes. He already saw this shirt because I was worried he would not like it. So, this is his surprise face!

Kyle's mom and dad were stuck in Wichita Falls due to 6 inches of snow on the ground so we had the Joneses side Christmas lunch on Saturday. Hunter had already had it and cried for about an hour over at Joy's house. He pooped all over his cute Christmas outfit. So, we had to give him a bath. This calmed him down and he was a much happier baby after his melt down and bath. He was quite the trooper up until then!

Here is my sweet niece Ella. She enjoyed playing with the boxes more than her toys. She is learning how to walk. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen. She is such a happy baby!

This is my nephew Caleb. He was saying Cheese but too involved with his toy to look at the camera. He loves Hunter, he is so sweet with him.

Hunter with my dad!

That's all folks. Glad that Christmas is over. I have finally moved Hunter's toys to the play room. And that is where we do most of our playing now. I got so tired of all of his toys being down stairs. We had a wonderful New Years. We are looking forward to 2010!

Jennie

Merry Christmas (Part 1)

2009-12-30T07:14:00.000-08:00

You've got to love a blended family. Yes, Kyle, Hunter and I all got to celebrate Christmas with 6 different sides of the family. SO much fun getting to see family but it was VERY different this year with Hunter. His schedule was pretty much gone. We are paying for it now!

Our first Christmas was with my Dad and Step Mom. We celebrated with them Christmas Eve:

My Sister Paige and Hunter

My Brother in Law (David) and Hunter

Hunter with his Pops (my dad) and Grams (my step-mom)

Then we come to Christmas Eve night. We were going to go to our churches Christmas Eve service but it started to snow. Kyle and I did not want to brave the roads so we just stayed home and ate pizza with my sister and brother in law. But that night SANTA came for Hunter.

Cookies for Santa and an Apple for the Reindeer!

I have been working on this blog all day. I will blog more on it tomorrow!

Happy New Year Everyone!

I LOVE THEM!

2009-12-23T07:47:00.000-08:00

Our Traveling Weekend

2009-12-21T13:02:00.000-08:00

This past weekend my double cousin Donovan graduated from Texas Tech. He is the first male on The West side to graduate. What is a double cousin you ask. My mom and my aunt married brothers. No, not their own brothers, brothers from a different family. So we are double cousins. Yes, it is very confusing and hard to explain. But, he is like my brother.

So, we drove to Wichita Falls on Friday and got to visit with Kyle's parents for a little while. Then we got up super early (4:15) on Saturday morning and drove the rest of the way to Lubbock. Hunter and I slept the entire way to Lubbock. Poor Kyle drove the whole way there and I am sure he was soooo sleepy. I love Lubbock! It is where I fell in love with Jesus and where Jesus gave me the best husband in the world. I love that I have a memory every where I look. It was so to go back. We of course took pictures with Hunter on the Texas Tech campus. I love that campus and I think it is the prettiest college campus in Texas!

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Go Red Raiders!

Hunter has found his hands and he LOVES to suck on his fingers. We try to put the pacifier in his mouth when he is sucking on his fingers. But, he is as stinker and spits it right out and puts his hand back in his mouth. It is a losing battle. I sure hope he is not a thumb sucker!

Jennie

My Poor Sick Baby

2009-12-17T13:29:00.000-08:00

My poor sweet baby woke up yesterday with a fever, runny nose, coughing and was so fussy. Called the Dr.'s office at 8:00 in the morning. I wanted an appointment in the morning. They said can you be here in 30 minutes. UMMM...No, I am still in my PJ's, I have snot all over me, Hunter just threw up and now we both have vomit on us. So no I cannot make it there in 30 minutes. So, we got an appointment for 1030. It was interesting getting ready with a fussy baby who belts out a ear piercing scream every time you put him down. So I got ready with one hand. Try putting eye liner on with one hand. I should have just nixed the makeup. Get to the Dr. appointment and wait for only 10 minutes to see a Dr. I LOVE Forrest Lane Pediatrics and I LOVE our pediatrician Dr McGonnel. He listens and does not think I am crazy. He looks at Hunter and says AWWW...he does not feel good. Dr. McGonnel looks in Hunter's ears and low and behold he has a left ear infection. Hunter was also swabed for RSV and thank God that came back NEGATIVE!

They faxed my prescription to CVS and it was ready when I got there. That almost never happens. Got home gave Hunter his first dose of antibiotics and some Tylenol. By the time his Daddy got home, Hunter was back to his happy go lucky self. He slept fairly well last night and is taking a pretty good nap now. Praise Jesus for antibiotics!

Happy Anniversary-6 YEARS!

2009-12-14T07:48:00.000-08:00

Our 6th year wedding anniversary was on December 6th. It was the first year that Kyle and I were not together. Unfortunately Kansas deer season is usually around the time of our anniversary. Prior years it has worked out perfectly that he is home for our anniversary but this year no such luck. We celebrated it this past Saturday. My sister and brother-in-law watched Hunter. He got to play with Ella and I know they had fun.

We wanted to go somewhere that we have never been before but when we got there the restaurant was closed. So we went to one of our faithful favorites On the Border. It was perfect. We even celebrated with the to die for brownie sundae.

Kyle,
I cannot believe that it has already been six years since I married the man of my dreams. I continue to fall in love with you more and more every day. God continues to bless our years together. You are the best husband. You are so caring, thoughtful and hilarious! I love that you still make me laugh. I love that you laugh at the silliest things that I do. I love that we are finally able to wrestle and be silly with each other now that there is not a baby in my tummy. I love mostly the man of God that you are.

This past year was filled with the biggest blessing. Watching you as a daddy has been amazing. I love to watch you play with Hunter. I love to see Hunter light up when he sees you. You are a blessing to both of us!

I love you
Jennie

I don't have any pictures. I need to get better at documenting us!

Show Us Your Chirstmas Tree

2009-12-04T08:14:00.000-08:00

Here is my Christmas Tree:

I love my Christmas Tree. It has random ornaments that Kyle and I have collected through our years together. I don't like having a tree that all the ornaments match. Don't get me wrong I think they are beautiful. But I love taking an ornament out of the box and remembering where we were when we got a certain ornament. It is so nice taking a trip down memory lane.

For instance:

The clear ornament was given to us for our first Christmas together. We got married in 2003 and it has the date on it and everything. I love it . It always goes in the center of our tree.

This ornament we got in Maui. It was the best vacation we have ever been on. It was our last vacation as a couple with out kids. It took me forever to find a ornament that I loved in Maui. Kyle found this one and I love it. A Hawaiian Santa snorkeling. Also it was Kyle's first time to snorkel and he loved it. We saw sea turtles and tons of beautiful fish!

This ornament we got in San Diego on a mission trip with the youth group that we were working with. It was an huge eye opening experience. We hung out with homeless people, ate disgusting food, learned what it meant to serve Jesus when we were uncomfortable. It was awesome!

Summer 08 we went to Colorado with Kyle's family. We got this ornament in Durango. We stayed in a cabin with beautiful views. Kyle and I went fishing almost every day. We went down the alpine slide. It was such a fun vacation. I love Kyle's family and love every day that I get to spend with them!

I love snowmen. I collect them and have several snowmen on my tree.

So that is what my tree looks like! What does yours look like?

3 Months

2009-12-03T14:48:00.000-08:00

Hunter is three months old! He is growing so fast. Everyday he explores and learns something. He recognizes mine and Kyle's face. He lights up when his daddy comes home from work. He has the smiling thing down pat. He will give you the biggest smile and laugh! He is actually enjoying tummy time now. He can keep his head up for at least 5 minutes. He wants to turn over but is still a little leery of that.

Hunter's favorite things:

1)He is such a morning baby. Which is hard for mommy because I am not a morning person. But how can you deny that sweet smile when he wakes up at 0730! He has figured out that I am at the head of his pack and play in our room and he will look up and talk until he sees me peaking at him.

2) He loves making the OHHH and A-Goo sound, he also loves it when you make that sound.

3) He still loves his bath time with daddy and kicks and moves his arms constantly while he is in the bath.

Here are some Christmas Pictures that I took of him. There is a lot going on in the back ground but I wanted a festive picture.

Look at that fat face! I love it!

Look at those eye lashes! I could be so lucky!

He was more interested with his feet than the tree that I was trying to get him to look at.

We are definitely enjoying every minute of our little boy. He is such a blessing in our lives. I cannot believe how fast he is growing. I am so excited when he gains a pound, grows a centimeter, finds his hands, feet. He is so amazing!

It's Snowing in Texas!

2009-12-02T09:24:00.001-08:00

Hunter and I woke up this morning at 8:15 and I looked outside....it is snowing!!!! I got so excited! I love the snow. I have lived in Texas my whole life and snow is a special thing to me. I loved living in Lubbock because every year we got at least one good snow storm. I love playing in it. Probably the only time I love to be cold is in the snow. I had to take Hunter out and take pictures. But it was raining so we just stayed on the porch. I still got some super cute pictures. He does not have any warm clothes so I put him in a fleece camo outfit that his Granny got for him.

Hunter loves the snow too!

Jennie

Happy Birthday Kyle

2009-12-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Kyle's 29th birthday! Yes, we both will be turning the big 3-0 next year! We were in Wichita Falls over the weekend and we celebrated his birthday with his family on Sunday. I had my dad make his birthday cake. He loves German Chocolate cake and so that is what he got!

Pretty blue shirt he got from his momma.

His cake my dad made!

My sweet boys!

Happy Birthday to the best daddy in the world!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-25T15:04:00.001-08:00

How did that happen?

Our First Date Night!

2009-11-23T11:37:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday some friends of ours watched Hunter for about an hour and a half while Kyle and I went to dinner. It was so nice to have some alone time with him. Not that we don't absolutely love being around Hunter but it was refreshing just having some one on one time. I think we talked about Hunter almost the whole time. We went to Uncle Julio's Mexican Restaurant. It was amazing! We had the Guadalajara (sp?) and it was soooo good. It was our first time there and so when we were about to leave they gave us a plate of sopapillas. They were to die for! So good. Uncle Julio's is right around the corner of the first place that we lived when we first got married (almost 6 years ago!). Our old love nest at Saddle Brook Apartments so we went by and it brought up so many memories. We only lived there for 9 months but they were great! Kyle taught me how to make ice cream from snow at that apartment. We bought our first table and chairs. That is where we came home from our honeymoon. Had our first argument. It was a great first place to live.

I am thankful for our date night!!!

Jennie

Praising Jesus

2009-11-22T17:42:00.000-08:00

At church today our Pastor was talking about praising our Lord this Thanksgiving. So I decided to write my praise to Jesus here on this blog:

Thank you most of all Jesus for saving my soul. You took me from the depths of despair and brought me to a world filled with grace and peace. Thank you that you chose me to follow you and to maybe make a difference in other people's life. Thank you that you gave me Kyle my most perfect mate. You made him just for me! He is everything that I prayed for and more. Kyle is an amazing husband and he loves you more than anything. I see Christ in him every time I look in his eyes. Thank you Jesus for making him the spiritual leader of this house and for helping him grow in you this past year. Thank you for our biggest blessing this year our little boy Hunter. It is amazing how fast you can love someone you just met. Having a child of my own, deepens my knowledge of how difficult it must have been to send your one and only son to the cross to die so that we could have life. I cannot imagine doing that with Hunter. He is so sweet and brings such joy both Kyle and I life. He smiles with his whole body and laughs so hard.

Thank you for every blessing that we cannot see and do not thank you for. Thank you for the small things in life that we over look.

There is so much to be thankful for this year. What do you have to praise Jesus about?

Jennie

P.S. I HAVE 10 FOLLOWERS~~~~ THANK YOU JESUS! (Thanking him in the very tiny things of life)

YEA!!!!

2009-11-19T14:33:00.000-08:00

My Followers doubled since I posted yesterday!!!

It is so nice to know who is reading what I write. I had no idea that one of my best friends from College was still reading my blog. THANKS SARAH!!!

Thank you to all that joined the followers thingy. I really appreciate it. Thanks also to all of the 4 people that originally followed my blog.

It makes me feel loved!

Jennie

Followers?

2009-11-18T11:36:00.000-08:00

So I am sad that I only have 4 followers listed on my blog. I am so embarrassed that there are only 4 that I won't put that application called who follows my blog because there is only a whopping 4 people. I know there are way more people than that who read this blog. So if you read this blog please say that you follow this blog so my little ticker thingy will go up! I cannot remember how to tell you to do this but throw a girl a bone and figure it out =)

I know this is not the best picture of him. But I just love this picture. He and I were playing and he was laughing so hard it was a really fun day! Just thought I would post it!

Just Because

2009-11-17T10:28:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of Hunter. He is getting so big. He weighs 13 pounds and is so much fun. We were a little bored yesterday so I did a photo shoot! Hunter slept 8 hours straight Sunday night and 7 hours straight last night. We are getting closer to sleeping all night! Too bad mommy cannot sleep that long. I always wake up and stay awake wondering when he will wake up. Stupid I know. Hopefully that will pass soon!

Look who is rolling on his side!!!

Looking at the Deer: "What in the world does she want me to do with this?"

AWWWW!!!! Hunter loves his Daddy!

That is all for now Hunter just woke up from his nap!

It is Official!!!!

2009-11-09T10:50:00.000-08:00

There are two big things that happened last week:

The first is that I officially resigned at Children's Medical Center! So, I am happy to say that I am going to stay at home with Hunter for a while. I still don't know how long but it will be for several more months!

The other thing is I am officially a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner:

I PASSED my board exam last Wednesday! I am so excited that the school part of my life is over! I am so glad that I will never have to write another paper or take another exam in school. I am sure that Kyle is equally glad that he will never have to read another paper or help me study for another exam in school!

In order to keep my license as a Registered Nurse and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner I will need to work 400 hours in 2 years. So I will eventually need to get a part-time job to keep up my licenses. But for now I am just going to enjoy my little boy!

YEA!!! Last week was a big week for us!

Jennie