Week 19

Alright folks here it is.. picture #2. Please ignore my goofy face. I am not very photogenic. I always close my eyes with the flash. So to get this shot, it took a couple of tries. We are in week 19 of this pregnancy. As you can see I have grown since the last photo-only 2 weeks ago!

We had our ultrasound yesterday and got to see our little one moving around. We got some great pictures of his profile, hands, feet and his private area. Yes, you read correctly. WE ARE HAVING ANOTHER BOY! :-) We are so happy to have this news so that we can start planning his bedroom. Many of you are probably wondering if we will try for a girl. The answer is NO. We are 100% content with having 2 boys. I have said before that this is the last one for me. That is my story and I am sticking to it. :-) We will let you know if we change our minds. But as of right now, I say we are done. We have not been able to brainstorm a good boy name yet. We had a girl name left over from the first pregnancy but no boy name. So we will be contemplating on his name. We will let you know as soon as we decide. I will attempt to scan baby's pictures. They came on a strange x-ray film so I am not sure if it will scan. If I am able to get them up, beware... he is exposing all of his manhood. There is no doubt it is a boy. 

Is Jack having fun?

Jack recently went to a friend's party that was held at a bounce house place. All of his friends were running around, jumping, climbing up high and throwing themselves down slides. Everyone was having a blast-minus Jack. He did enjoy being there but he did not participate in the jumping. We have attempted the bounce house thing several times now and he still won't go for it. My poor sweet boy is scared and timid about a lot of things. I always have to remind myself to appreciate his personality and not try to make him like "other kids." We will continue to try to get him to try new and fun things. Some will take and others will not. This is a shot of the one time Jack did attempt to partake in the fun. Daddy had to go with him. But I am not sure if Jack enjoyed this trip down the bounce house slide. Todd says his little heart was pounding and he was on the verge of tears when they got up there.

Jack at 2 years and 8 months

Jack enjoyed a day at the zoo with two of his friends on Friday. Here he is playing the "boom booms" in the play area. The main purpose of this post is to give you the latest "stats"on Jack-not really measurements or anything just more about what he is like as a toddler these days. 

Things that Jack likes: pizza, pasta, corn dogs, chicken nuggets, Cheetos, string cheese, grapes, watermelon, raisins, avocado, Starbucks "coffee water",  cars, cars and more cars, street cones, other people's pets, playing outside, digging in the dirt, building things, jumping on the sofa and on our bed, movies, going to the zoo, museum, park, and Toys R' Us, playing with friends and cousins, favorite song: Never Let Go by the David Crowder Band, giving orders, reading books with Daddy, talking to himself before going to sleep, trying out new phrases

Things that Jack does NOT like: mashed potatoes, beans, meat, cookies (due to peanut association), water in his face, loud noises, crowds, tags on his clothing, mean kids, when he can't draw a perfect circle, going to bed, the dark, bounce houses, Mommy and Daddy dancing, a change in routine-tends to be a little OCD

Recent accomplishment: 2 days into potty training and doing a great job!

Belly Picture: Week 17

Here is a picture of me and baby #2. If you look closely, I have no waistline anymore. My belly is not too big yet but I think folks can recognize that I am expecting. (Well, at least those that know me.) I figured if I am going to document this pregnancy, I have to start somewhere so week 17 won out because I happened to actually be dressed and not in my yoga pants. I have started to feel this little one move a little bit. Just a flutter here and there. I have felt much better but still have issues in the evenings. I cannot seem to eat enough food but if I choose the wrong food, not good. 

Will post another belly pic in a couple of weeks and an update on Baby #1. Will take a picture of Jack and provide an update on him. Don't want to neglect him or anything. :-) 

The Promise of Spring

I am not a big fan of the winter months. I love the sun. (in moderation of course) Growing up in South Texas, we had the sun basically year round. I can think of one Christmas Eve where my friends and I went day shopping in Mexico and enjoyed a sunny day and a margarita. I used to go to the beach and sun bathe a lot! (not the smartest thing to do) When we lived in CT, winter lasted sooooo long there. I was aching for the sun to shine and it would not until late April or May! At the end of every winter season, I begin to get impatient and just want the spring to arrive. Right when I start to get discouraged and know we still have a bit longer to wait, God provides me with a little encouragement to get me through the last of the winter season. These are a few of the blooms we have in the backyard. 

I think this flower is called a Paper White Narcissus or I could be totally wrong. They are much smaller than a daffodil. If you know their official name, let me know. :-) 

We have these white blooms, daffodils and Irises. Every year these flowers faithfully bloom. They are particularly special to me because when we first moved into our house, our backyard was awful! We had no grass, basically a forest and it was just not inviting. However, in the winter/spring of our first year here, all of these bulbs started to bloom and it gave me hope for the backyard. It is a work in progress and Todd has done a great job making our backyard a more welcoming and inviting place. 

These will be yellow daffodils. They are random in the yard. Todd usually is not sensitive to my enjoying these and runs them over with the lawn mower. Hopefully we get a bloom to take a picture of before he mows them down. :-) Will post a picture of the irises if they bloom this year. Those tend to be every other year. Until next time, happy gardening! 

UT vs. BU

One of the benefits that we have with Todd's job is going to sporting events for free. :-) Here is Todd and Jack at the UT vs. BU ladies basketball game. Todd and I both went to UT but we both have ties to BU. I mean BU does pay the bills and I will have 2 degrees from the institution. But we both love UT. When walking into these games we never know who we are going to cheer for until the game gets going. We always wear neutral colors. However, on this occasion we chose to cheer for the Lady Bears. We were sitting on the BU side. Because the game was televised, we got free BU shirts and one of my students was cheering in front of us and one of Todd's colleagues was leading the band. It just felt right this time to cheer for BU. BU lost this one. Totally due to not making their free throws if you ask me. Jack does not care much for these events. He liked watching the mascot dance around but the loud clapping and the buzzer are too loud for him. He basically ate his way through the game. Here he is munching on popcorn and he later pounded some nachos.  

On the baby front, things are going well. I am showing now and for the most part have felt much better. I still have a relapse of morning sickness here and there. It is usually provoked by a long day and/or not eating right. I have evening classes and that has been difficult for me. I am tired all of the time and I am constantly hungry. I am looking forward to warmer weather. I really don't enjoy maternity pants and well with cold weather, there are no other choices. With the warm weather, I can wear dresses and skirts that are not so uncomfortable. :-) I am seriously thinking about wearing a maternity swim suit this time around. I want to sit in a pool of water and float a bit. Watch out Peach Meadow folks... you may be in for a pregnant Jessica swimming in your pool!

I hope to document this pregnancy a little better than the last. I will have Todd take some belly pics soon and post them. (mostly for you Mom and Dad) 

More New York Pictures

Here is another set of NY pictures. While there we visited family on Long Island. They are a blast! They host the best weddings and when we lived in Connecticut they took care of Todd and myself during the holidays. It snowed and Jack had the chance to play around in it. He and Todd played outside and got sloppy wet. We had to throw Jack's clothes in the dryer so that he would have warm, dry clothes to wear for the rest of our visit. Jack made himself at home and was comfortable running around without us watching his every move. Jack got a chance to meet and play with his cousins. They got along well and did a good job sharing their cars with each other. We hope the Long Island clan can come and visit all of us in Texas next. 

Jack's first real snow experience. He loved it.

Daddy and Jack having a snowball fight.

Jack and his NY cousins. They played cars and ran around. The stopped for a quick photo.

Half of the NY clan. The other half was in another room watching TV.