Potty-training

Jacob is three and we've had some potty training success on and off since he was two. Finally, this past week, we just went cold turkey with him...big-boy underwear. I'm happy to report that he's doing GREAT! He has worn big-boy underwear to school each day and has come home wearing the SAME clothes, which means...NO ACCIDENTS! He's doing pretty well at home too! He's even standing up! It's so GREAT! We're still struggling a little with going # 2, but everyone says that is harder. I'm pleased with our success with "peeping" as he calls it. We promised him a "red, crane train" so we're going to Target after school to see if we can purchase one. If not, I told him he could get another train...one way or the other, we're coming home with a train! I also brought him some "Scooby Dooby" fruit snacks as a treat for when I pick him up. He is such a wonderful, little boy! When we got to school on Tuesday morning, he told me, "thanks for driving me to school, mommy." He was so sincere about it. No, I don't normally make him walk to school and I am the one that takes him each day, so I'm not sure what prompted the gratitude, but it was very sweet and special.

# 2

Jacob's going to be a big brother! We are having our second child! We found out on January 27th that I was pregnant. We waited until we had our first doctor's appointment before we "spilled the beans" to everyone. During our ultrasound, we got to see AND hear the baby's heartbeat! That was so exciting and unexpected. We didn't get to hear Jacob's heartbeat until our 12 week appointment. My due date is September 29th and I'm measuring three days ahead. My doctor told me I would have to have a c-section again and she would schedule it the week before my due date, so between the 19th & 22nd. It's funny because Jacob was born on my brother, Brent's, birthday and my parent's anniversary and baby # 2 has a strong possibility of being born on Jeff's brother, Todd's, birthday, September 20th! Apparently, we can't have a child that has their own birthday!

I have "all-day sickness" but am managing. It is bad but hasn't been as bad as it was with Jacob so that is a blessing. Hopefully this time around it will only be the first trimester instead of the entire pregnancy! Also, my doctor told me that I only have a 10% chance of developing preeclampsia this pregnancy. That's a lot lower than I thought it would be. Turns out my chances for my first pregnancy were only 15%. I feel healthier than before so maybe it will all work out.

Keep us in your prayers, please.

A new post for the sake of posting

Don't get too excited...I'm just tired of seeing "Happy Halloween." We had a great Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year. Jacob was most excited about Christmas this year...from the music to lights and decorations and everything in between. He made it so much fun for us this year.

It's hard to believe that January 2010 is almost in the books. Where does the time go? We're looking forward to the circus, Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Funundrum! Maybe I'll do a real post after that.

I apologize to my "loyal readers" for being such a slacker. Guess I should have made "blog more" a resolution!

Have a great Monday...I'm not!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! We took Jacob trick-or-treating in our neighborhood tonight. He did so GREAT! He always said, "trick-or-treat!" and then said "thanks" or "thank you" when he left. He was so excited to go trick-or-treating! He only fell down once but it busted a hole in the knee of his costume...what was he?? The cutest zebra you've ever seen! Pappy & RoRo came by before we went trick-or-treating to see Jacob's costume and they had some "treats" for him. He also got a very nice Halloween card with a Chick-fil-A gift card from Popi & Mimi! He's just a little spoiled! Here are some pictures from our night!

Pumpkin Patch 2009

We decided to try a different pumpkin patch this year and boy are we glad we did! We went to Old Baker Farm in Harpersville and it was GREAT! The weather was a little crisp which was perfect for a day at the pumpkin patch. Jeff had never been out towards Harpersville and he thoroughly enjoyed the drive. The leaves on the trees had started to change color and it's a nice rural drive.

We didn't really know what to expect since we had never been to Old Baker Farm. It opened at nine o'clock and we arrived a little after ten o'clock. Cars were parked everywhere! After we took some pictures with a giant, round, hay bale, and some with a scarecrow, we paid to get in. The first thing that we saw after we got inside were some pedal tractors. Jacob had a BLAST! I didn't think we were going to get him away to do anything else. He cried and whined but we finally convinced him to go on the hayride.

We got in a short line for the hayride and about 4 trailers full of people left before it was our turn. We got to ride on a trailer that was being pulled by an orange tractor, similar to Pappy's orange tractor. After a short ride, we arrived at the pumpkin field. Jacob had so much fun running around through the pumpkins looking for the perfect one! He fell down a couple of times but would get up and take off full speed again! We picked three pumpkins (paid for with our price of admission!). Jacob picked out a little green one with a long stem. Jeff picked out a medium sized white one and I picked out a flat, orange one. We couldn't believe how long the line was for the hayride once we got back and were very thankful that we did that first thing! Another great thing is that a church has some tables set up and you can give them a donation and they'll take your pumpkins to the entrance and then put them in your car when you're ready to leave. It was totally worth it and for a good cause.

They had an Indian tribe doing a presentation which was really neat. On our way out we bought a GIANT maroon mum from the same church group. It was a great price (1/2 of what Publix was selling them for) and again, it went to a good cause. Oh, and we also bought some boiled peanuts, so that made it a great day!

We would have loved to spend the entire day at Old Baker Farm but I had another commitment (shocking, I know...me, double book?) so we left around 12:30. We grabbed a bite of lunch in Columbiana at Bernie's and then took it to the house. We had a wonderful time together as a family and I couldn't have asked for a better time. Here are some pictures from our day!

Jacob and his big wheel

Our little boy is growing up so fast! Santa brought him a "Twist 'n Trike" for Christmas. It is a big wheel and a tricycle in one. You twist it and can convert it from one to the other. He can pedal (and steer!) now and always wants to ride his big wheel. Here are some pictures from a Sunday afternoon. I have to go wipe my tears...

U2 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta

If you know me, you know that I'm a HUGE U2 fan. I think they're awesome...and I've now had the good fortune of seeing them in concert, not once, not twice but THREE times! This last show could have been the best one yet! I was all worried about trying to "smuggle" my little Canon Powershot in. I knew I wouldn't be able to get my Canon Rebel in. I had a couple of options to go with...the first was pretty humorous and I was sure it would work but then I got paranoid. I decided to "wear" the camera and got in with no problems. We get to our seats and we're listening to the opening band, Muse, and these girls come sit behind us. One of them has a big camera, like my Rebel, with her. I was like, "what?!?" So, I asked her how she got it in and she said that she just had it in her camera bag and that the security person checked it and no big deal. Here I was stressing over nothing!!! Anyway, here are some pictures from the show.