Overly Blessed

I'm learning that James really only cries for three reasons: (1) he's hungry, (2) he wants to change positions {i.e. lay down, sit up, lay on your shoulder, etc.}, or (3) he's tired. Other than that he will kick and wave and smile and laugh...and just be a perfect little baby!

When he wakes up from napping during the day, he usually likes to sit and look at you and laugh for a little while. Then he'll start to fuss to let me know that he's ready to eat. After I nurse him, he likes to lay down on his pallet while he stretches and looks in his little mirror at how handsome he is. After he's played for a while he'll start to fuss to let me know he's ready for another nap. I'll swaddle him up, give him his pacifier, go lay him down, and he falls asleep.

I have been blessed with great babies.

With all 3 I had manageable labor and easy delivery. With all 3 I have had babies who were natural nursers, so I was able to easily breastfeed. With all 3 I have had great nocturnal sleepers. With all 3 I have had babies who rarely to never spit up. With the older 2 we never had fussing during teething, they took right to eating baby foods then solid, they were easy to potty-train, they still love their sleep (even Jayden still naps sometimes, and Jules will ask "Is it time for bed?" or just go get in bed herself!), and they're still easy-going, laid-back, happy-go-lucky kids. So far James has fit right into their abnormally easy baby pattern, and I hope he continues to stay that route as he gets older!

Don't think I'm bragging about how great and easy my kids are...they definitely have their moments! I just know that I'm so lucky to have such great kids, and one day when they look back and read this blog (will they even still exist in the fuuutuuuuure?!) I want them to know that I know I'm blessed :)

Sidenote: New parents should nevvver under-estimate the power of swaddling a baby! Babies love to be snug and cozy when they're going to sleep, and wrapping them up like a burrito helps them feel safe and secure. I swaddle my babies forever -- I can't remember how old the older Js were when I stopped swaddling them. Even now, in the summer, Baby J is swaddled in a light blanket when it's time for him to sleep.

{Ignore the fact the poor guy is sleeping on a pink sheet -- he was 2 weeks old and we didn't have a blue sheet yet!}

4th of July Recap

The week proceeding the 4th of July was filled with rain, rain, and more rain. The days following the 4th of July have been filled with rain, rain, and more rain. However, for one glorious day, the rain held off so we could get out and celebrate the 4th like true red, white, and blue-blooded Americans!

We met up with Jeff’s mom, step-dad, and sister, and we all loaded up in the Traverse to head to Galveston. Sidebar to say that I lovelovelove my Traverse! Lauren and I sat in the 3rd row with Jules big carseat while the baby and Grandma sat in the middle captain’s chairs and everyone had plenty of space to be comfortable. Not to mention that even in the back it rides so smoothly! {Chevy can send me my endorsement check now haha } Anyhow, when we got to Galveston we loaded onto the ferry to take Jules on a quick boat ride.

We stayed on the top deck on the ferry ride over, and the people down from where we were standing decided to feed the seagulls flying around, so Jules got some nice close looks at those beautiful (ha!) birds.

This was the first boat ride for both Jules and James, and James enjoyed himself as well. He wasn’t as impressed with the birds.

I think it’s an understatement to say that we took a lot of pictures on the ferry ride! Here are some to enjoy:

After the ferry ride, we headed to Casey Guido’s for dinner, then out to the seawall to set up camp and wait for the fireworks. There was a family a little to the right of us who had a bike-tram, and Julianna wanted desperately to sit on it. She and Aunt Lauren (mainly Lauren) asked the kids if she could sit on it for a second, and they were kind enough to agree. They adored Jules and wanted to come see the baby, so they came over to chat and became fast friends. They kept Julianna entertained while we all waited for the fireworks show, then let her join them to watch. Jules had the best seat in the house!

Jules wanted to ring that bell. The only friend missing is the oldest sister.

Galveston definitely has a top notch fireworks display. This is the second year we’ve been there for the show, and it just might become a family tradition!

P.S. I lovvve the new Windows Live Writer for assembling blog posts; it's so easy!

It's Independence Day!

Today is one of the best holidays of the year -- the day marking America's independence. While people are celebrating by grilling, drinking, and shooting fireworks, I hope they remember all the troops who work daily to protect the independence and freedom that we often take for granted. My thoughts and prayers are with the troops and their families -- thank you for protecting our country so that my children can grow up free to be who and what they choose!

Now that I've resolved to keep up with this blog, let me catch you up on what's been going on:

Jayden is now 7 and going into second grade. He had a little trouble with getting into trouble this year -- small things like talking, not listening, etc. As a teacher, I hate when parents blame the teacher for a student's behavior, but his teacher definitely didn't help anything. I'm hoping his 2nd grade teacher has better classroom management and can continue to foster his love of learning. He is great at math and loves working on math work. He received the Academic Achievement Award for earning all Es (excellent) in reading and math this year, as well as the Perfect Attendance Award for not missing any days of school. The Houston Astros partnered with participating school districts and offered tickets to students who didn't miss school, and Jayden got 4 tickets plus gets to be in a parade before their game next Sunday against the Cardinals!

We just wrapped up Jayden's baseball season. He was on the Diamondbacks and played 1st base all season. Jeff helped coach the team and had a blast; he's a natural working with the kids! Jayden made All-Stars and played 2nd base, and naturally Jeff helped coach again. Their team made it to the championship game where they lost by 1 run in the bottom of the last inning!! It was an exciting game to say the least, and our boys definitely deserved to win...they played so hard! I just love watching Jayden play baseball!

Julianna is 2 1/2 -- she'll be 3 in September. She acts like she's 10 already! Jeff said the other day that he's in trouble when she gets older...she has her dad wrapped around her little finger! She's just as smart as Jayden was when he was little: counting, naming shapes, picking out words, etc. Her favorite phrase right now is, "I wanna he'p youuuuuu" so she can "help" with whatever we're doing. Jeff and I both have an iPhone, and as soon as she sees/hears a game she'll run over to whoever is playing and want to play with them. Such a stinker :)

We found out last August that I was pregnant with baby #3! We were so excited because we'd been trying for a couple months. Jeff went with me to my first doctors visit and she mentioned that she and her husband didn't find out the sex of their 3rd child because they already had a boy and a girl. That small comment planted a seed in Jeff's head...he thought it would be fun to keep the gender a surprise and not find out. I was very hesitant at first, I didn't think I could NOT find out...but I said ok. The baby would sleep in our room then share with Jules, so we didn't need to get a nursery ready, and we already had hand-me-down clothes from J&J. All we had to do was get 2 outfits for leaving the hospital, one for a boy and one for a girl. It was SO fun seeing the shocked look on people's faces when they asked what we were having and we said we weren't finding out!

It was such an exciting moment for us when the doctor said, "It's a boy!" We were hoping for a boy all along, and the only name we had truly decided on was the boy's name: James Colin, named after his great-grandfathers. He was born April 15 and will forever be a tax baby :)

He's 2 1/2 months old now. He's smiling and laughing (which sounds like a choke when you're not looking at him) and he'll try to stand up when you put his feet down. He's such a mellow, happy baby and a great sleeper -- I've definitely been blessed with good sleepers!

I'll be teaching in a new school this upcoming school year, and I'm excited to start a new journey. I'll be teaching at-risk students in a small school, so I'll be working with the same students just in a new environment.

Jeff is loving working a "normal" M-F job rather than shift work, and we love having him home!