"Punkins"

If you have ever read my blog before, or know me at all, you know that my favorite time of year is fall. I love everything about it. Cooler temperatures but not cold. Fall fashion, pumpkins, the smells, the fragrances, boots, football, the traditions, including Halloween and fall decor. EVERYTHING!

 Last weekend we went to a Pumpkin Patch. Jude loved the duck races and pumping the water to make them go. It was so cute and funny how he got a kick out of something so small.

 He wouldn't give me a chance and of course, he always won, little turkey.

 They had a corn maze, which Jude loved. He wanted to hide, rather than stay on the trails, which was fine by me. He also wanted to pick the corn and eat it.

 Once we made it to the actual pumpkin patch, we each picked a pumpkin that seemed just right for us. We had a really great time!

 Justin and I also enjoyed a date night out for my birthday last weekend. Here I am at 35.5 weeks. It was good to enjoy a quiet dinner together and then we walked around UW's campus and reminisced about our college days. We try to take a night per month just to ourselves and once we have it, I'm always reminded of the importance of it.

 Today, we enjoyed carving and painting our pumpkins. Good friends came over to help carve too. The adults ended up doing a lot of the grunt work, but the boys loved playing together.

When it was all said and done, Justin did a great job on his wolf pumpkin. My stripes do look better in person than in this picture. The black smudge actually is quite cute with a cursive S in the middle for Sadie, and Jude's green pumpkin with squiggles is adorable.

We have enjoyed the last 2 weeks with our fall traditions and making many more wonderful memories.

Happy Fall Y'all!

Time Is Fleeting

My sweet little man was officially 2.5 in September. This post may be a bit of a rambler, but I want to jot down my roller coaster of emotions before Sadie arrives. I'm sure many of my thoughts and feelings are typical of any mother expecting a second child. I am so excited for Sadie's arrival, yet it seems bittersweet, as my days of "just Jude" are fleeting. We are thrilled to experience another blessing, but also know that this change will be a forever change, one for the better, but also ending a season that was only for a little while.

As I prepare for Sadie's birth, I think back to those moments of bringing home Jude. The anxiety and excitement all at once. Our first child, the first grandchild on both sides, and as we prepared for our first cross country move. I can honestly say that I LOVE being Jude's Mommy. The way he would smile at me while nursing, his specific noise when going to sleep, how he has always laughed and had a sense of humor. As he began speaking and his love for animals became so apparent, it has been a joy to watch him observe, soak in, and begin to understand the things around him. He is a sweet boy, truly sensitive, yet very much showing his sinfulness daily. He refers to anything big as the "Daddy one", showing his awe of Justin, which melts my heart. No matter how minor a boo boo, he asks me to kiss it. When you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, he'll tell you "a scientist like Daddy". But, he wants to study the moon, the stars, cows, and pigs. We'll see how that one goes.

He loves the colors orange, red, and green, pizza, bagels with cream cheese, milk, apples, anything with a ball, running, being outdoors, Elmo, Veggie Tales, reading books, and of course, his anything animals.

Jude also wants to please. He will often ask, "Was I bwave Mommy?" or "Are you pwoud of me Mommy?" His personality is much like mine in that he likes to be in control, but also wants to please. He likes things in order and is really becoming more independent. The other day, while going potty, he asked for privacy, went to the bathroom on his own, turned on the light, closed the door, and did his business. I was actually a little sad, seeing that he made it quite obvious his need for me was non-existent.

He has also began to love to sing and dance. Much to may embarrassment, his favorite song is "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line and he knows many of the words. He has also shown up that he actually  knows all the songs I've sung to him since birth, literally. The other night, he decided to sing with me while I rocked him. Every song, whether it be a children's song, old hymn, new praise and worship, if it's one I've consistently sang, he knew the words. He knows all his ABC's, often confusing M and W (since they're flipped) and can count up to 20. He wants to relearn sign language, since Eli is using it and we hope Sadie will too.

He asks so many questions and enjoys being with others. He is shy, yet warms up quickly. The days of him shielding his face into my shoulder or hiding behind me won't last forever. I don't think we should yearn for past moments, but I do think it's important to remember to enjoy the moment we're in. Looking back, it's easy to wish away those first few weeks when babies are up so often, and then the teething, the ear aches, the frustration of no talking, then the toddler tantrums, and then the attitude and being told "No" way sooner than you expect from your child. These moments are fleeting and I want to enjoy them. Not longing for the past, but just being in them.

Yesterday while eating breakfast, Jude looked at me and asked, "Does Jesus live in my heart?" Oh how my heart soared. I tried to be very careful and tell him that he had to make that choice and explain in his terms about forgiveness, trusting Jesus, etc. All things we try to teach daily. I know he's too young to fully comprehend what that means, but I pray every day that he will come to know Jesus as his Savior and I am so thankful that his heart is being sensitive to it already.

My sweet, sweet baby Jude, as I tell you often, no matter how big you get, you will always be my baby. My first child who captured my heart. The first heart beat I heard from the inside. The first kick I felt. The first cry I heard. Please know that I love you so very much. Though I think you're so wonderful, I also know you're in need of a Savior. I pray daily that your Daddy and I will point you in His direction. May you choose to live a life worthy of the Gospel.

Fall Happenings

 Fall comes a little more quickly in the Pacific North West and we started it off with a bang. Jude and I didn't begin school until the day after Labor Day so Labor Day weekend we did our first family camping trip. We drove to the Olympic National Park on the peninsula. The drive included a ferry ride, which Jude loved, and lots of cute, quaint towns, including the famous Forks from the Twilight series.

When we arrived, we set up camp, which included our air mattress. Jude loves this thing and we didn't know if we were going to be able to get him out of the tent for the weekend.

 Jude was definitely a trooper over the weekend. On Friday, we hiked 2.5 miles round trip and he walked most of it. On Saturday, we walked about 3 miles round trip, in which he walked about 1/2.  He loved finding "adventures" which included finding rocks to jump off and lots of roots to climb.

 The rainforests were amazing to hike through. The trees were so large and showed such evidence of God's creation. It was also good hiking for my then 7 months pregnant belly.

 Jude enjoyed all things about camping; sleeping in the tent, wearing Daddy's head lamp, cooking on the fire, etc. He is definitely his father's son. I also had a good time and appreciated that Justin chose an actual camp ground that had running water and bathrooms for me. I won't lie, the air mattress wasn't ideal for comfort at this point of the my life, nor was the running river that made my ever so frequent night time bathrooms breaks even more frequent, but over all, we had a wonderful time.

 On Sunday, we drove to a beach area of the national park. It was beautiful and Jude again loved the tide pools. We spent a few hours walking the beach and letting Jude play in the water. We had a picnic and began our drove home.

Thankfully, we came back Sunday evening, which gave me a day to regroup before starting school on that Tuesday. We had a wonderful time on our first family camping adventure.

 After Labor Day, Jude and I began school. Jude has officially started the pre-school program and is doing well. He is one of the youngest ones in his class, which has it's pros and cons, but I believe he'll do fine. Justin has found a way to work from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so Jude is only attending 3 days a week. This is really a blessing because it not only saves money, but gets Jude on the schedule we're planning to use while I'm on maternity leave. Transition is hard for him, so we didn't want him to have to change things twice.

Starting preschool has totally disrupted our "easy to go to bed" child. From the time he was about 6 months old, we established a good bed time routine of reading books, prayers, songs, then bed time. Other than a few seconds of crying, Jude has always gone off to sleep for both naps and bed time. He has even done well on our visits home. However, in our transition back from this summer, he has started to scream and cry before every transition to bed. We have a "lucky" moment every few days, but consistently, we prepare for battle. I know this can be normal for 2 and 1/2, but it doesn't make it much easier to deal with. It breaks my heart, because we just have to let him sit and cry it out. The few times I've tried to rock him to sleep or stay in bed with him, it literally postpones bed time upwards of 1 to 1.5 hours.

Also, if you're wondering about the tatoos in his picture above, he gets them when he sleeps without his bappy (pacifier). I'm not sure how we realized this was a big incentive for him, but thankfully, it's worked. :)

 Also in September, we went to the WA state fair. I got free tickets as a state employee and it was only about 50 minutes away. Jude enjoyed watching the human sling shot and seeing the rides. He even rode the big slide. He loved the first 2 humps, laughing hysterically, but on the 3rd hump, he and Justin picked up speed and he started crying.

 The best part of the fair, which we knew it would be, was all the animals. I personally loved the piglets, which were literally 3 days old, but Jude's favorite were the horses. We walked amongst the stalls for nearly 45 minutes. He wanted to know all their names and who they belonged too. He enjoyed the cows, sheep, and other animals, but the horses were by far his favorite. He wants to be a Clydesdale horse for Halloween and insists that Eli should be a Shetland pony since he's itty bitty. We even extended nap time so Jude could stay for part of the horse show.

 Jude also started a toddler soccer program called Lil' Kickers. He has mixed feelings about wearing his jersey for some reason but his coach says he loves it (it's during school hours so we don't watch him) and he always says he has a good time. Rather than focusing on actual soccer at this point, they learn basic game skills mostly. This past week, he told me they played Red Light, Green Light, and Blue Light. Apparently, blue light means you hop. He also said he kicked watermelons in the hippo's mouth. Sounds like fun to me. :)

 This past week also marked week 33 for sweet Sadie girl. We found out at week 32 that my placenta previa has corrected itself and we can plan for another natural birth, praise the Lord. Mom's flight is booked and we officially have some things started for her arrival. I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy has gone by. I don't feel like I've been able to really focus on her as much, but I'm sure that is typical for a "not the first" child.

 This weekend there was a local festival in Issaquah called Salmon Days. The weather could not have been more perfect! We went and had a wonderful time. We enjoyed looking at all the booths as well as letting Jude do fish art, make his own fish toy, watch a dog competition, and see the horses, again.

There was also a petting zoo where Jude got to see pigs, rabbits, chickens, and goats. Justin and I noticed a booth for a nudist colony, which we found quite interesting/disturbing. The lady at the booth was about mid 60's and weighed an easy 250, which didn't make the appeal to us any more pleasing.

We have lots of more fall fun planned this month, including my birthday, a trip to the pumpkin patch, and some Halloween celebrations. This is always my favorite time of year, and with Sadie's arrival quickly approaching, we're truly enjoying our last little bit as a family of 3.

Thank you Lord, for your manifold of blessings...

29 Weeks

Well, other than a few posts here and there to announce that we're actually pregnant, poor Baby Girl has taken the back burner on the blog updates. First of all, please disregard the public restroom back ground. We took a tour of the Birth Center where she will be born yesterday and it dawned on me that I have not journaled, blogged, updated, etc nearly as much with her as I did with Jude. Though this is to be expected with a 2nd born, I don't won't to forget the special things, so while it was on my mind, I took a tummy pic

This past week I was 29 weeks, which totally blows me away. This pregnancy has flown by and our little girl will be here before we know it.

We have decided on a name; Sadie Caroline. We always said that we wanted to use Caroline as a middle name for our first girl. Since Justin and I have moved so much, we want a piece of our home with her no matter where she goes. It's also a female derivative of Carl, which we're not particularly fond of, but it means "warrior" which is a strong meaning. As for the first name, we were pretty set on Tess for a while. I wanted something that sounded some what Southern and with a last name like Dellinger, we agreed that shorter is better. We even referred to her as Tess for a few weeks, but it just wasn't sticking. We started playing around with a few names and we landed on Sadie. It's the Hungarian form of Sarah, which means "princess". With her name truly meaning "Princess Warrior" (no thanks to Xena the show, thank you) we thought it was a perfect combination of femininity and strength.

As far as my pregnancy goes, other than the fact that I'm carrying her similar to how I carried Jude (very low), my experiences could not be more different. They only "side effect" I had with Jude was extreme exhaustion, which faded after the first trimester. I had a pretty smooth, rather easy pregnancy with him. This one could not be more different. Though thankfully I've not had huge concerns, I've just had more small things, like the extreme nausea (which warranted a prescription), several bladder infections and a lot more discomfort in my back and pelvic area. I also have placenta previa. We will go back in a few weeks for an additional ultrasound that will determine if a C-section must be planned. Again, our baby girl is healthy, which is what matters. However, my level of comfort has definitely been different this time around.

Jude is also incredibly sweet...so far. I think his experience with watching my sister go through her pregnancy with my nephew has helped. The whole JJ has a huge tummy, then there is a baby makes some sense to him. He often pokes at my belly button and asks when is she going to come out. He also will push on my tummy to make her move and they kind of play together. It's pretty awesome. He also told Justin that he was going to protect her and love her when she comes out. He asks to pray for her and says it's ok if she cries, a little. We'll see how those things go when she actually arrives, but so far, it seems that his heart is soft toward his baby sister and God is preparing him for a change.

On another note, I am thankful to have the first week of school behind me and ready to get things going as I prepare for my maternity leave. It will be very hard for me to leave my classroom with someone else, trusting they're take care of things while I'm gone. I pray daily that God will grant me great peace, as well as an opportunity to possibly have less hours next year, as my heart is longing to be home with our babes.

"All good and perfect things are from above.."

Summer 2013

 I know, I know, I'm way over due. Our wonderful, memorable, and "went way too fast" summer started over Father's Day weekend when a sweet friend and co-worker let us visit their house at Ocean Shores, WA. Jude and I had never seen the Pacific coast before so we were excited. It is obviously much different, especially temperature wise, than the east coast, but we had a blast. Jude loved playing in the sand and sitting on the jetty. We saw seals, dolphins, sea snails, crabs, and all kinds of fun sea creatures.

 Jude also roasted his first hotdogs and marshmallows over the fire pit they had. Other than some car sickness and me tripping and getting a bad sprained ankle, we really did have a great weekend. Many of our vacations are spent with extended family and though that is a fantastic way to spend time, it is nice to have some time away with just us too.

 The following week Jude and I made our way across the country back to North Carolina. We spent our first week getting used to the time zone, helping care for Eli, and reconnecting with family. Jude also found Pop's ice cream truck and reiterated his love for sweets like me. We spent most days outside playing near the creek, in the water, and going down the slide.

 We also had the opportunity to spend some time in Tennessee. It was great to see Mamaw Peggy, my Aunt Debbie and her whole clan, as well as other family members. This is probably one of the things I miss most about living so far away...we're not able to get to TN very often, usually one time a year now, since it's still a 5.5 hour drive from my parents. I'm thankful for technology though that allows me to stay close to my cousins, aunts, and uncles.

 Justin met us in TN so he could also visit family. It had been 2 years since he saw them last and we wanted to make sure he spent some time with them. One of my cousins and I are very close and his oldest son Jamen is only 4 months older than Jude. His 2nd son Jones is only 8 days younger than Eli so it's wonderful seeing the boys all play together. We visited a petting zoo while there and made lots of memories playing with one another. Jude and Jamen enjoyed singing songs together and dancing.

 From Tennessee we went straight to North Myrtle Beach for a week with my family. We stayed in a nice, quaint condo that was beach front and had a pool, as well as a lazy river. We are very thankful for my Mom's friend who gave us his place for the week at a very reasonable price. Jude enjoyed getting used to the water and spending time at the beach. He and Eli really bonded this week and started playing together. Jude also got the hang of  peeing in the potty!!! (I think it helped to see Jamen doing it the week before and have some positive peer pressure.) By the end of the week, Jude was asking to swim.

 We also enjoyed seeing all kinds of animals at the beach and picking up sea shells. Jude got on a kick about sea weed...meaning it was in all of his shorts pockets, he slept with it, and the condo smelled very salty, needless to say. We had many games of bocci ball and Jillian and I shared some great sister times tanning while everyone else napped in the afternoons. Mom, Jillian and I also took advantage of some outlet shopping where Sadie began to get spoiled, needless to say.

 We of course had to make our annual trip to Calabash for some yummy seafood. It was yummy and Jude really enjoyed going on the dock and seeing the fisherman prepare fish.

 Mo Mo used these 2 weeks (TN and the beach) to really love on her boys and spend some quality time with them together.

My favorite beach quote from Jude occurred one day while Jillian was holding him at the waves. It was one of the first days and he was unsure about going. Though my sister was telling him that he was safe and she wouldn't let him get hurt, he matter of factly told her, "But JJ, I'm little and the ocean is BIG!" This summer we saw how much more aware of things he has become. Things that didn't used to bother him make sense and seem dangerous. He's working on being brave and we are proud of him, but certain things do take a little more coaxing than it used to.

 From the beach we went to spend 3 weeks with Justin's family. We had a fun time playing in the neighbor's creek where Jude found salamanders, cray fish, and his pet snake "Petri". He didn't know it was dead, but he sure did enjoy playing with that thing all day and scared his Nana about to death.

 We visited the broad river a few times and Jude enjoyed tubing and learning to skip rocks.

 Sadie began to really pop out in these few weeks. Here, I am 24.5 weeks preggo with our sweet girl. Of course, she continued to get spoiled with girlie things from Justin's family and we ended up bringing home a packed full extra suitcase, mostly with things for her. :)

 While in Shelby we celebrated Justin's 27th birthday and our 5th wedding anniversary. (Justin's Grandpa Jerry also had a surprise 75th birthday party while we were there.) We also got to see some of our best friends from Alabama on a weekend away to Brevard and it was so amazing catching up with them. The Thomas and Railey families really made us miss our clan back in Auburn and be homesick for our old town. It was a great reminder that no matter how far you may be from someone, special relationships are always that, special.

I also got to see some sweet friends on a short shopping trip to Gaffney, SC where they helped me pick out Sadie's bedding. Thank you Pottery Barn Outlet!

 We not only got to visit Nana and Papaw Derrick, but all of Jude's great grandparents too. We are so blessed to have such a large family, especially on Justin's side. Jude is incredibly loved. We ate some great "southern" food, including tex mex, Chickfila, and Bojangles. Needless to say, my pregnancy weight gain has been slightly different this time around and I think it has little to do with Sadie... We also visited the train and carousel, which were fun adventures for sure.

W

 We also visited the Lazy 5 Ranch one day with Nana and got to feed some really cool animals. Jude's favorite were the steers, but mine was definitely the giraffe.

Jude also spent some really sweet quality time with his Uncle Cody and his girlfriend Sydney. They are younger than his other aunts and uncles and he enjoyed playing with him. We believe Jude has a slight crush on Sydney for sure. We had never seen his flirty side before, but when she came over, watch out!

 Justin had to get back to work and a few days after he left, we headed back to Asheboro to spend a little more time with my family before heading back ourselves. We had a big surprise 60th birthday party for my Dad on a VERY hot August evening. We enjoyed a great cookout, delicious cake from Zach's friend Brittany, and time with old family and friends. Jude also enjoyed playing on the play ground with new friends and Eli.

 Favorite quote of Pop's party: Jude going around asking people to pull his finger...oh dear.

 While in NC, we got to see this sweet boy develop some major milestones. He began crawling and sitting up. I can't believe Eli is already 7 months old. Jude become very protective of him and really started to show him love. I think this experience will certainly help Jude when Sadie comes. He learned why babies cry, kick, etc...things we're not so tolerant of him doing any more and why it's ok babies do it.

Jude (knock on wood) stayed and continues to stay when back in WA, consistent on pee'ing in the potty. He's had a few #2's, but the hard part is that his BM schedule tends to be first thing in the morning and mid afternoon. Both times, he's usually asleep with a diaper, so he's not having much practice with this one.

 We also made a day trip to Smithfield to see some of my best friends from college. Jude enjoyed swimming and Mommy really enjoyed Hills of Snow...the best snow cone place on the planet. It was great to see old friends and catch up.

 We also got to visit JJ's work (the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Duke University Medical Center) where we took treats to JJ's coworkers and families. We made several new memories that both Jude and I will always remember.

As our days in NC quickly came to a close, we spent our last few days taking it easy, playing at Mo Mo and Pop's, and visiting local play grounds and the YMCA splash pad. There are certain things Jude will always associate with his trips back "home" to NC. Hot and muggy weather, lots of animals, infinite hugs, kisses, and snuggles from grandparents and family, and fun times that we will always cherish.

Our summer has come and gone, but we know we have some great family times ahead when Sadie arrives. I'm incredibly thankful for the time we had back east this summer and even more thankful for the family and friends we were able to share it with.

New Do

This is what happens when Mommy tries to trim my hair and totally messes it up. I now look like Daddy and have a summer new do!

Next Wednesday, we have our big ultrasound and Thursday, we're headed EAST! :)

Coming Soon...

Due November 20, 2013

Thank you Lord for your abundance of blessings!