A Christmas Wish

We talk openly and honestly about Olivia with Jeffrey. He knows he has a big sister in Heaven. He's seen her pictures and he understands as best he can at the age of 3. I'm always able to talk to him in a calm voice and keep my composure when talking about her with him, but he said something yesterday that nearly brought me to my knees. I don't want to forget this conversation, which is why I'm choosing to share it here..

"Mommy, can Santa fly way up into Heaven and bring Olivia down to me so that she can sit in my lap like Chelsea does?"

"I'm sorry sweetie, but even Santa can't do that. Anytime you want to hold Chelsea you just let me know and you can tell her all about your big sister. Okay?"

"Okay Mommy. I love you."

I love that boy.

I Can Do This..

I can do this. I can post to my blog, which has been abandoned for quite some time now. I'd like to say that it's because I'm too busy. Yes, I'm busy, but deep in my heart, I know that's not it. This is the place where reality most often hits me and lately I just haven't wanted to face that reality. Why? I have no idea, but you see some days are better than others and some days still hurt like you can never imagine. I don't want Chelsea to be known as the baby who was born on the day her sister went to Heaven, but at the same time I know this was a gift. I don't want anyone to ever forget Olivia, but I don't want Jeffrey and Chelsea to be overshadowed by our story. These are the thoughts that are going through my mind. They probably make no sense to most of you, and in all honesty they don't always make sense to me, but this is the real reason I've been away for so long. The reality of my two daughters sharing a birthday and angel day is just a bit overwhelming.

My goal today, is to post here once again. To let you guys know that I'm still here, I've just been hiding I guess. We've been living our life and it's been wonderful. Jeffrey had a great 3rd birthday and Chelsea is already 6 months old! Where does the time go?? Since I was here last we've had a birthday party, pumpkin patch fun, a visit to the farm, Christmas decorating and Chelsea's baptism.

I've also recently accepted the role of coordinator for Footprints Ministry's Birmingham Chapter. I knew that our experience with Chelsea's birth would lead me to do more with Footprints, but I never imagined that it would bring me to leading the group. However, I couldn't be happier about it. We have an amazing group of volunteers and we've been able to share God's love in some unbelievable ways in only a few short months. We're really looking forward to a Santa visit and family dinner this Sunday.

So between work, family and Footprints, my life has been busy, but it shouldn't be too busy for the one place that has been mine and has provided solace in days past. I've missed my blog and I hope and pray that I can let go and just write.

Here are a few pictures from our little family:

Oh Real World, How I Loathe Thee

Oh Real World, how I loathe thee!! The blog has taken a backseat lately now that I'm back in the working world. There just only seems to be so much time in the day lately. But enough about me and my lacking blogging skills, let's catch up on how life has been treating the Avery's lately.

Chelsea is one growing girl. She's 10 weeks old and the time is going by way too fast! This baby loves to eat and it's apparent by her awesome growth. At her 2 month visit she weighed in at 12 lbs. 4 oz. and was 24 inches long, so she's gained almost 5 lbs. and grown almost 4 inches since birth. She's beginning to master the whole sleeping thing, but still has her moments. I can typically lay her down at 9:30 and she doesn't wake until 4 a.m., which isn't bad at all in my book. She's been flashing a ton of smiles lately and letting out giggles for those she loves most. She's such a sweet baby.

J.K. is one amazing kid. Seriously, I think he may be smarter than me at age 2! I wish I was joking. He's lately been informing me that we live on in the United States of America on planet Earth and then he'll count to 10 in Spanish. I'm not sure if I should thank Dora or his school for that one! The little guy has adapted wonderfully to life as a big brother. The tantrums are slowly getting better and he's grown to be quite the little helper. He's still not a fan of his Daddy holding the baby, but that's to be expected I guess.

As for me, I've recently taken on the roll as coordinator for Footprints Ministry's Birmingham Chapter. I wrote this post a few weeks ago about wanting to devote more time to the Ministry and a few days ago I was approached with the opportunity. God is good. I'm excited about all God has in store for the Ministry. If any of my B'ham friends are interested in volunteering just let me know and I'll keep you in the loop!

So now we're pretty much caught up. Here's a shot of the two that keep you coming back..

You Mean this Blog Won't Write Itself??

I guess I needed to take a blogging hiatus for a while, it wasn't intentional just unavoidable. That's what happens when you combine me with a brand new baby and a two-year old. Life in our world has been great. Chelsea is growing way too fast. At her one month check up she was 1o lbs. 3 oz. and 22 inches long, which means she'd gained almost threes pounds and grew almost 2 inches since birth. If I had my guess she's probably close to 12 pounds by now. The girl loves to eat! J.K. is still being a great big brother. He's an awesome little helper. We've been dealing with more temper tantrums, but he is two and his little world has been turned upside down so it's a bit understandable.

I'm getting ready to head to the lake with the two of them for the weekend so I don't have much time to write this morning, but I wanted to leave you guys with a few pictures of the cuties.


Brother & sister time at the lake.


Daddy/daughter snuggle time.


Sleepy girl.


So sweet.


Fourth of July baby!


Chelsea with her BFF Amelia.


Bath time!


Big girl at 6 weeks.

Wrapping my Mind Around it All

It's been on my heart to write a post about the profoundness of Chelsea's birthday. I haven't really known what to write, but I knew I needed to put it into words so that I could begin to wrap my little human brain around it. I mentioned that she was born 4 years to the day after Olivia passed away, but that's really all I did was mention it. All the while, it's been on my mind since her birthday. I've been trying my best to figure out what this all means, but I also know that I'll never understand.

I knew there was a chance that Chelsea's birthday could be shared with either one of Olivia's special days, but I didn't expect it to actually happen. When we arrived at the hospital on the night of June 4th the hubby and I were at peace about it. The nurses had me walking the halls in order to help me progress and the most surreal moment was when we walked down the skywalk toward the NICU. We talked about how we'd been there experiencing the worst day of our lives and here we were four years later experiencing so much happiness. That night and morning I kept saying that we'd finally come full circle. Not only was the date incredibly special, but we were able to share it with the same doctor and nurse whom were with us on Olivia's birthday.

When we realized that Chelsea would have to go to the NICU, I went from being happy on June 5th for the first time in fours years to being completely distraught again. I knew that we were dealing with very minor problems, but the mere thought of walking through those NICU doors on Olivia's special day was almost more than I could take. However, I held it together and waited until I was alone to have my breakdown. I had a good cry and then pulled myself together. My baby needed me and I needed her. So we made that dreaded journey to the NICU and went through those doors once again. Once I saw her I knew she would be fine. This was NOTHING like our last visit. I tried to spend our few days there to understand what I needed take from this journey and it didn't take long to figure it out. I need to devote more of my time to Footprints. I can now relate to these parents more than I could before. Not only can I support parents who have lost a baby, but I can also relate to those who have unexpected stays for their full-term babies. Now, I just have to make this a priority. :)

So from this experience I've realized once again that God has amazing ways of telling us that Oliva is PERFECT. I know I'll never understand why Chelsea and Olivia share such a special day until I meet Jesus and see our girl again. I've learned that I need to let go of trying to figure it all out and do something productive with that energy, which is to devote that time back to Footprints.

Brother & Sister Love

We just experienced one of life's precious moments that I don't want to forget. We had laid Chelsea down for her tummy time this evening and after a while she started fussing. After a few moments of hearing her cry, J.K. jumped off of the couch, lied down next to his sister and wrapped his little arm around her. Within an instant she was completely calm. It only lasted for a couple of minutes, but it was the sweetest two minutes I've experienced in quite some time.

A Moment of Silence for Cohen

Multi-Tasking at its Best

I've never been as proud of myself and grossed out at the same time as I was Sunday morning. The hubby had to work so I was at home alone with both little ones. We are still in the process of potty training JK and we keep a potty in the living room so that he'll go as soon as he feels the urge, which has worked out really well until Sunday morning. I had just started nursing Chelsea when all of a sudden J runs to the potty screaming "I need go poo poo in da potty!!" Now, typically this would be no problem, but my little diva of a daughter isn't a fan of stopping and restarting the feeding process. She likes to get all done in one quick swoop and I wasn't about to stop her. At this moment my mothering skills grew to a whole new level when after doing the deed I asked J to hand me the box of wipes. I then proceeded to wipe his tiny poopy butt, all while breastfeeding his baby sister. At first I was thinking this was the most disgusting task ever and then I realized just how awesome I was. I don't know many people who have nursed a child and cleaned up a poopy toddler at the same time, or at least I don't know anyone who's willing to publicly admit it! So yeah, it was nasty, but I got both jobs done at the same time. One kid was clean and the other had a full tummy, all thanks to my multi-tasking Mom skills!

Catching Up & Newborn Pics

I know that I've been a complete stranger lately. This little Diva of mine can be quite demanding. I rarely have time to look at my computer, much less blog! So to catch up a bit, Chelsea is three weeks old today. The time has flown by! She's still a pretty good sleeper, only waking every four hours at night. J.K. is a fantastic little helper and is so proud of his baby sister. The only issues he's had is that he's been telling us that he's sick a lot lately. He's constantly telling us that his tummy hurts, his arms/legs hurt, his throat hurts..it's all a ploy for more attention. However, I'm afraid he'll really be sick one day and I won't believe him.

I'm trying my best to balance my time between the two of them. It can be challenging, but I'm trying not to beat myself up too much. The hardest part is avoiding the self-induced guitl trip for taking him to daycare four days a week. I want him to stay on his schedule while I'm on maternity leave, but at the same time I feel like he should be at home with me while I'm here. It's a vicious cycle.

I promised to share the pictures from our newborn/family photoshoot. Can I just mention how much I LOVE Karie Mitchell? She's a fabulous and very affordable photographer. Check her site out at www.kariemitchell.com.
















This precious dress was given to Chelsea by her "Cookie" (aka: my sister Nichole). We used it as her door hanger at the hospital.




Chelsea holding her big sister's teddy bear.

Settling in as a Family of Four

Life is beginning to calm down a bit around our house. We're getting into a nice little routine and I couldn't ask for a better baby! The one great thing about being in the NICU is that they immediately get the baby on a schedule. The child sleeps like a champ. If it were up to her she'd sleep straight through the night and not worry about eating, but of course I wake her up every four hours.

We had Chelsea's newborn pictures and a few family shots made yesterday. I've seen a few teasers on facebook and they are fantastic. As soon as I get the disc I'll post them here.

Considering that my days consist of feedings, naps and diaper changes, I don't have too much to blog about. So for now I'll share a few pictures and a cute video of JK and his baby sister.


He thinks the bouncy seat is just his size!


It's a rough life she leads.


Getting some love from Daddy and big brother after bath time.

There's No Place Like Home

After six days in the hospital we are finally home as a family of four! Chelsea was admitted for fast breathing problems, which resolved fairly quickly. However, she became a bit jaundice and our stay was extended by another day. In reality Chelsea's issues were so very minor, but a stay in the NICU is never where a new mom wants to spend her first few days with her baby.

Chelsea was discharged yesterday with a bili bed to help with the jaundice. We can only hold her when it's time for her feedings, which isn't as bad as it sounds. The great part about it is that she's not getting accustomed to being held all of the time. She's sleeping really well so far and we're having to wake her for feedings, but I'm not getting too excited because I'm sure that can change any day.

J.K. finally got to meet his baby sister for the first time last night and I don't know that I've ever seen him so happy. If it were up to him he would hold and feed her 24/7. I'm really amazed at how well he's dealing with her. I'm sure we'll have a few bumps along the way once the newness wears off, but I'm taking what we can get for now.

Thank you for all of your sweet comments and prayers. Your prayers were felt and your encouragement brought a smile to our faces during those few days in the NICU.

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of days.


Getting ready to hit the road in her going home gown.


Heading home!


He's such a proud big brother.


He's such a great helper!

She's Here!

Chelsea Hope has arrived! She was born on Saturday, June 5th at 7:48 a.m. She weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 20 1/4 inches long. We are so happy to have her here and love her more than we imagined possible. Unfortunately we're dealing with some minor problems right now. She is in the NICU to be treated for fast breathing and grunting, which basically means her lungs aren't quite dry enough and she's having a difficult time transitioning from life in utero to life here in the real world. We pray that this will be a short stay and she'll be able to go home very soon.

Yesterday morning was one that I'm still trying to grasp and understand. You see, June 5th was already a special day for our family. This was the day that Olivia went to Heaven. This wasn't planned, at least not by us. I KNOW that God and our sweet angel had a hand in all of this. Four years ago we experienced the greatest loss imaginable and here we are today celebrating life on that same day. There are no words. I'm in awe by His AMAZING grace.

However, I will say that hearing we were going back to the NICU on June 5th wasn't an easy pill to swallow. I've cried. I've asked why is this happening to us. I've been scared to death again. But when we saw Chelsea hooked up to one little IV and nothing else, it really put the situation into perspective. This is a totally different experience. She's in intermediate care and her needs are minimal. Most of the doctors and nurses know our story and have been extremely compassionate and reassuring of our current situation.

So yesterday was a day of great joy and some sadness. Today is a new day and we're at peace. I'm ready to visit our girl and hope to hear that she had a good night. I'll update as often as I can, but bare with me as life is a bit hectic right now.

Thank you so much for your wonderful support throughout my entire pregnancy. You guys have been amazing.


First picture with Mommy and Daddy. Unfortunately, J.K. hasn't met Chelsea yet and probably won't until we bring her home.


Proud Daddy.


My first time to cuddle with my new girl.


Cici and Pawpaw with their 5th grandbaby.


Our first visit in the NICU.

No Baby Yet..

I'm more pregnant than I've ever been and it's a great feeling! I never imagined that I'd make it to 37 weeks (J.K. was born at 36), but here I am. I'll go to the doctor today for another check and we'll see where things stand. Honestly, as happy as I am to be at this point, I wouldn't be terribly upset if they sent me to Labor and Delivery today, but I won't get my hopes up. :)

I'm sorry we haven't had any pictures lately. The camera is packed in the suitcase and I haven't gotten it out, for fear that I'll forget to put it back. So rather than a picture of J.K. I do have a sweet story. Yesterday morning as he was waking up he immediately began telling me about a dream he had. It went something like this, "Daddy hold baby sister and pet her and I hold baby sister and pet her and 'den you wet (let) me kiss her sweet wittle face."

It was so precious and I so wish I had it recorded. He's so ready to meet sweet Chelsea and I can't wait to see them together. I'll keep you guys posted as I know more.

What a Week!

What a week this has been! It all started with the cavity scare, which turned out to be nothing. I started battling sinus problems over the weekend. I went to bed Tuesday night with slight pain in my right ear, but I woke up at 11 in excrutiating pain! I was close to tears. Of course my doctor wouldn't call anything in since I'm pregnant. So long story short I ended up in the ER at 1 a.m. for an ear ache. I felt ridiculous, but there was no way that I could wait for the doctor's office to open. They were able to give me a pain killer, antibiotic and decongestant, and it's working SLOWLY, but surely (the ear is still stopped up).

So that was early Wednesday morning, I was back at the hospital on Wednesday at lunchtime for my cerclage removal. Yes, this means that I got two of those cute little bracelets in less than 12 hours! The great news is that the cerclage removal was remarkably easy! She was finished in less than a minute! I was shocked, especially considering how horrid the whole process was last time. We hung out there for an hour and were later sent home.

Then there was last night, around 5 p.m. I began having contractions very regularly. I was told to go to L & D and by the time I arrived they were every 3 minutes. We were certain Chelsea was ready to make her debut..or not. It turned out I was slightly dehydrated. After a bag of IV fluids everything stopped and we were sent home by 10 p.m.

So needless to say, I have been exhausted today! I pretty much spent the day in bed doing nothing. I'll be 37 weeks tomorrow and will finally have a true full-term baby!

Tomorrow is also Olivia's 4th birthday. I can't believe that it's been 4 years since we had our baby girl here with us. We'll be celebrating her birthday in our own special way tomorrow, but I'll mainly just be thanking God for the lives that she's touched and continues to touch. I'll thank Him for a healthy J.K. and for getting me to the end of this pregnancy. We have come full circle.

No Cavity!

It's not a cavity!! How exciting! I'm not that bad after all! My amazing Mom is a SAINT and volunteered to take J.K. to the dentist. The hubs was working and everyone wants me taking it easy until the cerclage is removed tomorrow. I asked her numerous times if she was sure about it and she just kept telling me that he couldn't be as bad as I was as a child. Apparently I turned into a demon child at the mere mention of the dentist office. :) Thanks Mom! You are FABULOUS!

A Cavity? Really?

Yes, I know, two posts in one day, shocker! But I need to vent for a sec. I'm pretty sure J.K. has a cavity!! He's only 2! How does this happen? We brush twice a day (most of the time) and try to avoid too many sweets. No, we're not perfect, but we do our best. Unfortunately I'm afraid he's gotten it honestly as I have no idea how many fillings I have. Aside from the frustration of a possible cavity I'm ticked because I don't have time for this! I'm certain that we'll figure it all out and hopefully J won't hate the dentist once it's all said and done.

There, I feel better. Thanks for listening. If any of you have been down this road please feel free to share any words of wisdom.

A Big Week!

It's official! I'm 36 weeks! We have a full-term baby! (Note: I know that many consider 37 full term, but my doctor goes with 36 and I'm not arguing.) I'll go into the hospital on Wednesday to have the cerclage removed and we'll see what happens from there. When I was pregnant with J.K. I had the stitch removed at 35 weeks 6 days and he was born at 36 and 1. If this baby were to be born at the same time then she would be here tomorrow, which also happens to be my birthday. However, we really hope that doesn't happen considering the cerclage is still there.

The only downside to today is that I've been battling a cold for three days now. I haven't been sick this entire pregnancy and NOW I start feeling bad! I'm hoping I'll kick this stuff before baby girl gets here. I'd rather not be sneezing my head off while trying to deliver a baby. That would be bad.

I'll keep you guys posted. :)

Girls Night In

A few of my closest friends threw me a fabulous Baby Diva/Girls Night In party Saturday night at my Mom & Dad's house. It was a much-needed girls' night! I laughed so hard that my cheeks hurt by the end of the night. Unfortunately, I'm afraid a few of my friends who don't have children may NEVER have them after they heard a few of the stories that were shared!


Mom and her girls.


A few of the Divas - Me, Julie, Nichole & Margie


A surprise from my sweet Daddy - a beautiful creation by friend Mandy. For those who know me IRL, yes, it's Mandy Majerick from Hothouse. She never disappoints!


Another amazing arrangement by Mandy.

I had another doctor's appointment yesterday that went really well. Everything still looks good. I'll be 36 weeks this Saturday, can you believe it?? Yes, that means I've survived 19 WEEKS of bed rest!! Oh, and today is the last day that I have to be a pin cushion and get my progesterone shot! Woohoo!! I think I'm most excited about that little fact. My cerclage will be removed this Wednesday and then we'll just wait and see what happens. J.K. was born within 48 hours of the stitch removal. That may happen again or I could walk around for awhile, we just never know. Either way I'm ecstatic that she'll be full-term!

We're a Pretty Crafty Pair

Apparently the hubby and I are craftier than we give ourselves credit for. Over the past few weeks we've been finishing up J.K.'s big boy room so that we can finally focus on the nursery. The big boy room is complete, minus a few pictures being hung, and we've ordered the bedding for the nursery. We're hoping to have her room complete before she gets here. She'll be in our room for the first couple of months so we're not getting into a huge rush.

So, how are we so crafty? First, J's room has a transportation theme and hubby really wanted to incorporate airplanes in the decor. So he came up with the idea to create this lamp:


He purchased the lamp, which is like those that you see in dorm rooms on every college campus. Rather than using all of the multi-colored globes, he replaced three of them with retro model airplanes and then added the blue and yellow globes on the other two lights to coordinate with room colors. I was impressed and J.K. loves it!

As for me and my craftiness, I needed a baby girl cover for the Boppy pillow. However, I really didn't want to pay full price for a new one. So I got the idea to find a pattern and make my own. Here's how it turned out:


Not too bad for the first try. The pattern called for a zipper, however I've never sewn a zipper a day in my life so I decided to go with buttons. My sweet neighbor allowed me to raid her antique button stash and I love the oyster shell buttons she let me use.


I can't wait to use this fun cover with baby Chelsea!

In addition to the super cool airplane lamp, the hubby built shelves for all of J.K.'s toys for his new room.

We can't pull him out of his room these days. He's always playing with something in there.

Oh, and we can't forget the big boy bed:

Now, if we can just convince him to sleep through the night without sneaking into our room at 2 a.m. we'll be doing great!!

NotSoSuperMom

Are you like most Moms who never feel they quite measure up? Aren't we all? We strive to find that perfect life balance and never feel successful. We beat ourselves up for not being great at everything. Well, it's time for all of that to stop. It's time to be proud of our everyday successes and quit worrying about the problems that bring us down. It's time for you to jump over to NotSoSuperMom and see that you're not alone in your struggles. My fabulous friend Angie is the creator of NotSoSuper and was kind enough to feature me as the NotSoSuperMom of the Week. I hope you enjoy this new blog as much as I have.

A Little Math and Thoughts on Life with Two

33 - The number of weeks I've been pregnant.

16 - The number of weeks I've survived bed rest during this pregnancy (that's 23,040 minutes for those who are counting).

2.5 - The number of weeks I have left before I'm a FREE woman again!!

That's right only 2.5 more weeks of bed rest and then it's time for the cerclage removal at 36 weeks. I delivered J.K. less than 48 hours after my cerclage was removed, so there's a pretty good chance that we could welcome sweet Chelsea in just a few weeks. Am I ready? Of course not! I would love to share nursery pictures and such, but that would mean that the nursery is somewhat ready for a baby girl. At this point, the nursery is the storage room for our upcoming yard sale this weekend. The goal is to decorate the room as soon as the sale is complete. Poor second babies!

As we get closer to this new babe's arrival I've been contemplating just how drastically our world is about to change. How do you shower when you're alone with a 2-year-old and an infant? I guess you don't, I'll resolve to being stinky. How do you manage to get a toddler and an infant through the grocery store without losing your sanity? I'm not sure it's possible. How do you keep a very active J.K. from not falling on, jumping on, tripping over, etc. a brand new baby?? How in the world do you get anything accomplished with two little ones and keep everyone safe at the same time?? I have NO clue, but I'm sure I'll figure it out just like Moms have been doing for thousands of years!

J.K. and the Imaginary Friends

The following conversation was had between the hubby and myself this morning:

Hubby: There's something wrong with YOUR child!

Me: What do you mean? Is he sick?

Hubby: No, he's not sick. He's talking to people who aren't there.

Me: What?

Hubby: On our way to school this morning he was blowing kisses to the car seat next to him and talking to somebody.

Me: Did you ask him who he was talking to?

Hubby: Yes, he said "Friends!"

Me: Well, apparently he has an imaginary friend. I had one, her name was Amy. I pitched fits if people sat on her or if she didn't get a booster seat like me when we would go out to dinner. I think it's great! It shows that he has a big imagination!

Hubby: Uh huh...Our kid is talking to people who aren't there!

Me: Yeah, what's wrong with that??

Do your kids have imaginary friends? I really do think it's great! I can still distinctly remember my "friend" Amy. She looked a lot like Pippie Longstocking. According to Mom she made her debut when I was 2.5 years old and went everywhere I went. That was until my sister was born, at which point my Mom asked what happened to Amy and apparently I just told her that she died. I find that part a bit strange too, but I guess I no longer needed her.

I'll be interested to see if J's "friends" stick around for awhile like Amy did or if this was a one-time occurrence. Either way, I think it's pretty comical.

I Escaped!

I cheated last night! I couldn't take it anymore, I had to leave the house. So I escaped and had dinner at our favorite little Mexican restaurant. Don't worry the doctor has given me permission to do a few things here and there, just nothing major..you know, like grocery shopping. It was so nice to be out, in public at a restaurant. I even fixed my hair and wore make-up!! Speaking of which, since I did decide to look like a girl for once I thought it would be a great opportunity to get another quick shot of the belly. I think this is one of my favorite pictures of me and J.K.



I hope you have a fantastic Friday!!

Update from the Bed Rest Queen

Yes, I'm alive. Yes, I'm still VERY pregnant. No, I haven't deserted the blog world. It's called the Parade of Homes and it has encompassed my life over the last few weeks. I barely have time to check facebook...GASP!! The event finally starts this weekend and my job will pretty much be to sit back and watch it all unfold, you know since there isn't much else I can do!

As for me and Chelsea, we're doing great! I'm 30 weeks..woohoo!! She's still dancing in my belly non-stop. This girl is going to have some mad dancing skillz if her little kicks are any indication! My appointments continue to go well and I only have 5 1/2 weeks until the dreaded cerclage removal. While I'm super excited to be so close, I'm not looking forward to that day. Seriously, I think I'd rather deliver 10 babies drug-free than to have the thing taken out, yeah it's THAT bad!

J.K.'s world continues to be a happy little place. He's officially sleeping (most of the night) in his big boy room. We usually hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet running down the hallway into our room between 1 and 2 a.m. We're big suckers and always let him curl up with us. I know we may regret it later, but I also know that a day will come when he's too big to want to sleep in our bed so I'm enjoying it while it lasts. He seems to be grasping the concept of a baby sister a bit more lately. He's met a couple of babies over the last few weeks and is talking more and more about baby Chelsea. Here's hoping that the transition from a family of 3 to a family of 4 goes smoothly.

And finally, here are a few pictures:


Easter Sunday - we tried and tried and tried to get a good picture of all the kids. This was the best one.


Big Cousin E kept complaining of the sun in his eyes, of course we kept telling him to deal with it and smile! Didn't work out so well for us.


Hunting for Easter eggs!


His second haircut! He still has no hair, but at least the little hair that he does have is nicely trimmed.


Their new favorite afternoon past time, playing ball on the deck. The hubby is convinced that J "has an arm".