Happy Birthday Aunt Emmy!

Jason's sister Emmalee turned the big 2-5 this week! We went out for dinner with the fam on Friday night to celebrate and had lots of fun! Surprisingly we didn't get a single picture of Emmy on our camera so you'll just all have to imagine how strikingly beautiful she is! But hey, here's some shots of us!

Outdoor fun!

Jack loves to play outside - loves it. He'll go to the back door and point outside when he wants to go out and play. He'll run and run and just squeal with delight when we're in the yard. He loves to swing and play in the sand. He even cries when it's time to come in - it's really quite pitiful. Last Sunday, after church, the weather was just so beautiful that Jason and Jack went out for a quick play session before nap time. As I was cleaning up after lunch I hear that wonderful scream of utter joy and peek out the back door. I saw Jack, dressed in shoes only running from Daddy and the water hose. Apparently what started with Jason washing the sand off Jack's hands turned into a full-on water party! It was priceless!

Lots going on!

Soooo... it's been a while. Again. Things have been movin' in the Maurice house lately! Jason's been studying like a maniac for the audit portion of the CPA exam. He's taking it tomorrow and could definitely use your prayers! Jack never, and I mean NEVER sits still. He's constantly on the move. Running around the house and yard, stacking boxes and blocks to build towers, emptying drawers, etc, etc. Needless to say, he's been a handful for me to keep up with. By the time we put him to bed in the evenings I'm completely spent for the day and need to recharge in order to do it all again the next day!

I've also been busy the last few days or so. I am becoming a certified doula through Doulas of North America (www.dona.org). I'm super excited about it! I spent this past weekend in a prepared childbirth class (bonus that I'm expecting and can use this info for myself) and LOVED it! I am so excited about beginning my journey as a doula and empowering women to have the kind of births they wish for!

Baby update...

I had my second appointment yesterday with Lindsay, one of my midwives. Jason was able to come with me and we brought Little Man along for the ride. That was an adventure! Jack was too funny just running circles around the waiting room. Thankfully the other patients or staff didn't seem to mind much. As far as the baby and I are concerned everything looks great! I weighed EXACTLY the same as I did when I went in 4 weeks ago - a surprise to me since I've regained my appetite and have been eating just about everything in sight! We were able to hear the baby's heartbeat and the midwife even showed Jason how to feel on my tummy to find my uterus. That was pretty neat considering the OB I had with Jack barely stayed in the room long enough to feel my tummy himself! Our next appointment is on August 10 and we'll be having the "BIG" ultrasound to make sure everything looks great with the baby and to find out whether Jack will have a little brother or a little sister! We're sooooo excited about that!

15 Months Old!

Well, one more month has passed in Jack's world! He turned 15 months old yesterday - and what a busy day it was! We went to church yesterday morning and then to a lunch/baby shower for the Williford Family. Jack had lots of fun playing with his friends and their toys - especially Caleb and Luke's lawnmower - the louder, the better!

I took Jack to his 15 month checkup this morning and everything looks great! He weighed in at 24 lbs, 3 oz (50%) and was 31.75 inches tall (75%). Dr. Raine is really pleased with his progress and Jack just loves to visit Dr. Raine. He just giggles and grins at him - that is till they bring out the shots. Jack's sleeping off the shot shock now thanks to a good lunch and some Tylenol.

Also, on Thursday night we came to the end of a very special phase of our mother/child relationship. Jack nursed for the very last time. It's just weird to me that I nursed him EVERY DAY of his life till then and I'm not doing it anymore. The transition really hasn't been bad though. I'd been cutting out a feeding every week for the past month or so. Jack and I were both ready to wean I guess. I wasn't too keen on nursing a newborn and a toddler at the same time come January either! So, my little baby is even more of a big boy and I've got a few months of "freedom" before the new little munchkin makes an appearance!

Happy Birthday Pappaw!

We celebrated Pappaw's birthday on Friday evening. Jack just has so much fun running around Gigi and Pappaw's house and playing in the yard. We were joined by Aunt Emmy and Uncle Bryan, Uncle Ross and Honey. Everyone relished the fajita dinner and LOOOOVED Gigi's famous chocolate cake - Jack included! Pappaw, have fun at Home Depot!

There's those classy Maurice kids!
Much better, guys!If I had a hammer...Mmmm... cake...
All sporting the hats from Uncle Ross - apparently I'm really excited by hats!

Happy (belated) 4th!

Well, it's taken me a bit to wish everyone a happy 4th! Hey, I'm only 5 days late! We started the day off taking Jack to his very first parade! The Coursey family came with us and we all had so much fun! Jack did get a bit frustrated when he was confined to his stroller when it wasn't moving so Daddy had to take him for a walk and let him get out an run around a bit. He was pretty entertained just looking at his friend Selah and eating cheese crackers though.

After the parade we headed home for a nice nap and then we were off again! The Dearing family hosted a wonderful cookout and Jack got to play with lots of his buddies from our playgroup. The dads got in some good bonding time with the kids and with each other and the moms got to catch up on girl talk!

We spent the evening just hanging around the house. No fireworks for this crew! I'd been a bit under the weather most of the day and all the activity was really starting to take its toll. We put Little Man down to bed and turned in early ourselves - exciting, I know!

Prayer need...

It appears that God is opening doors for Jason to embark on an amazing journey to further His kingdom throughout the world! Jason has been presented with the opportunity to travel to China with a group from our church in October. They will be working in 2 children's homes, spreading the love of Jesus Christ to all who will hear it. Jason will have to raise the money for his travel and lodging expenses, etc. Please pray that God will continue in guiding Jason toward this amazing mission, helping him have the monetary needs of this trip met in a timely manner. Pray that all planning on going to China will be able to raise the funds they need, will be cleared health-wise to go, and will make it to China and back safely. Pray for God's will to be done in regards to this mission trip and pray for those going to be able to freely and safely spread the love of Christ! We'll keep you posted!

A site worth visiting...

I just came across this today. I thought it was worth sharing!(Click on the picture!)

Some randomness...

So now that I've got new-found energy I'm snapping photos a lot more often. Here are some shots from yesterday...

Reading in the "bear chair"

Climbing...

The living room fort was such a hit that Daddy got me this cool tent!
An overhead view...

... and from a tunnel.

Bathtime!
Pure joy...

...playing in the bubbles......bubbleface!

Belly Pics!

So, these are actually the very first pictures I've taken of my pregnant belly. It's pretty surprising to me, as well, but I never seem to get the chance to stop long enough to have Jason snap a photo. I really wish I'd taken some earlier to compare these to but, eh, what are you gonna do? I have popped out a little bit in the past week and am looking more pregnant than "thick". These were taken this morning at 13weeks, 4 days (or so we think).

Rainy day fun!

So, with all this rain we've been getting Jack's been going a bit stir crazy. Poor guy will just stare out the back door and reach for the handle just itching to get out and play in the yard. Sooo, we decided to have a little fun in the living room! We built a fort (that stayed up for about 2 minutes) and Jack LOVED it! He got such a kick out of hiding in it - till he tore it down and decided he'd rather just play with the blanket instead. We had a carpet picnic and threw all the blankets and pillows we could find on the living room floor. We lounged, we bounced on the cushions, we sporadically watched a little of Finding Nemo. We had so much fun and Jack completely wore himself out.

The Fort - afterJust layin' around

A bit of mischief...

We should've known. The house was soooo quiet. Sneaky little bugger.

Summer fun!

Things have been very busy around here! I'm finally starting to get a bit of my energy back and am able to keep up with the housework for a change. Jack has become a little toddler tornado in the past couple of weeks and just goes and goes and goes. He practically runs everywhere! Just a couple of days ago Jason and I watched him run, full-speed and head-first, into one of the end tables in the living room. He cried for just a second or two and then was off running again!

We've been spending lots of time going for walks (in the morning to avoid the heat) swinging on the swingset, running in the yard, and playing with Jack's newest toy - a sand and water table, courtsey of Yaya (thanks Mom!). Jack just loves to splash in the water and dump it all down the front of his shirt. He also likes to destroy anything that happens to look like a sandcastle. Saturday he even had his first taste of sand... and he went back for more! Blech!

Here are some photos from the past week or so. Enjoy!

Jack, showing a box who's boss.

Watermelon is goooood. Mmmm...

Playing in the sand.

Running in the yard with his new shovel!

Baby #2 - 11 weeks!

Well, according to my due date I'm 11 weeks pregnant today. Wow! That time FLEW by! I had an appointment this morning with one of my midwives - Lindsay. (I actually switched practices and am now seeing some midwives that deliver at Baylor Dallas. (I "heart" them!) Lindsay said everything looks great and based on my physical exam (fun) that I appear to be closer to 12 weeks than 11 but we'll stick with my original January 3rd due date for now. We heard the heartbeat and it was beautiful! The little Bean was pumping in the 160's and appears to be doing great. I have another appointment on July 11 and should have a sonogram sometime around mid-August.

As for me, I'm definitely starting to feel better. My morning sickness has pretty much subsided except when I brush my teeth - why that makes me gag I don't know. I'm still pretty tired but Jackster has been sleeping great lately so that really helps. My aversion for all things dairy has passed thankfully. I was missing my ice cream! Mmmmmm.... ice cream....

Welcome Avea Jubilee!

Congratulations to the Dearing family on adding a new little girl. Camron and David welcomed Avea Jubilee on Saturday, June 9 at 1:38 pm. She was 7 lbs, 4 oz and 20 inches long. Camron delivered her naturally like a champ. I was privileged enough to witness the birth of little Avea and it was one of the most amazing miracles I've ever seen. Way to go Cam! Jack's good buddy, Jude, is officially part of the Big Brother Club!

14 Months Old!

Well, Little Man is 14 months old today. I haven't been too active with my posts lately due to the fact that I can barely make it off the couch and Jack's been very needy lately. Poor guy is cutting his 1-year molars right now and is having a terrible time of it. It seems like the worst of it is over but the past week he's been miserable. He had a high fever for a few days and has definitely been losing sleep because of the pain(we all have). Jack's been on a constant regimen of motrin, orajel, and teething tablets just to get some relief and he's taken to grabbing me and screaming in my ear just to be sure I know it hurts. The past couple of nights he's slept all the way through til at least 6 so hopefully things are looking up.

The past couple of weeks Jack's become increasingly busy. He rarely sits still and is just into everything. He loves to explore the house and play outside in the yard. Yaya taught him how to drum on things with wooden spoons so that's become one of his favorite activities of late. Too bad he tried to drum on Daddy's face a couple of days ago - Dad was none too happy about that. Jack's 14-month-day was spent playing and running errands. He gifted me with something I haven't had the pleasure of in a loooong time - a 2-hour nap!! Needless to say, I took full advantage and had myself a little siesta along with him (definitely needed while I'm building Bean #2).

Jack, you are such a joy and I just love being your mom. Everyday is a new adventure with you and I love seeing your eyes light up when you learn or accomplish something new. I love to hear your sweet voice and can't wait to be able to understand what all those little babbles mean. I can't believe what a big boy you're becoming and I know you'll make a wonderful big brother. I love you so much Big Guy! Love, Mama

Genius!

Daddy: "Jack, what's the cow say?"

Jack: "Mmmmmmm!"

That's right Baby! He's brilliant!

Photo courtsey www.vet.ed.ac.uk

Jack this week...

So I haven't taken lots of pictures of Jack this week. Bad Mama, I know. It's all I can do to lay on the floor of the playroom and watch him run circles around me and occasionally run over to pull up my shirt and blow a raspberry on my tummy. I. just. don't. have. the. energy. to. lift. the. camera. WHEW!

Washcloths are super fun!

I hate the way my hair looks when I wake up! WAAA!
So thrilled to be helping Mama with the laundry...

Baby news...

I'm so excited to be expecting again. When we first found out we had another little one on the way Jason and I were engulfed in a whirlwind of emotion. We had not expected this and were a little afraid of just how things were going to play out come January. Well, after letting the baby news sink in we are just thrilled with the idea of a new little munchkin.

I absolutley loved being pregnant with Jack. I'm hoping to get over this morning (all day long) sickness very soon so I can jump into the part of pregnancy where I have tons of energy and feel the best I ever have.

Since I had such a textbook unmedicated delivery with Jack, Jason and I decided to move a touch more to the natural side of things. I've decided to use the services of a group of Certified Nurse Midwives in Fort Worth that deliver at Harris Downtown. I'm really looking forward to building a rapport with the midwives. It will sure be nice to explain to my practitioner that I'm not planning on any medication during my delivery and not getting the "we'll see" look like I did from my OB.

We had our first visit with the nurse this past Friday. I was excited to get on the scale and see that I'm actually 25 pounds lighter than I was when I got pregnant with Jack. Hopefully this pregnancy will be all the more easier without all that extra weight. Anyway, the nurse did the whole 100 questions bit, history, blood work, etc. She figured my due date to be January 3rd - although we're not so sure how accurate that is since this baby was such a surprise. We have our first visit with a midwife on June 22 (our 5th anniversary) and are excited to hear the little one's heartbeat then.

Thank you to everyone for your congratulations. We are so thrilled to have such wonderful friends and family to rely upon for love and support. I'll remember each and every one of you come March when Jason's in the thick of tax season and I need someone to come over and change dirty diapers! We are truly blessed beyond measure.

Surprise!

If you can't tell or haven't figured out what you're looking at... that IS a positive pregnancy test! Jack's going to be a big brother!!! Shocking! I know what you all are thinking... were they trying? Ummm... no. We were very much not trying. This was a huge, HUGE surprise to us. We are so excited and know that God has a plan for our family. He has blessed us beyond belief and gave me a wonderful early Mother's Day present.

Busy, busy - and 13 months old!

It's been so long since I've posted I don't even know where to begin...

Well, our little family survived our first tax season. We sure missed having Jason around and now that April 15 has come and gone we are sooooo happy to have our Daddy back! That's probably why I haven't been around to post much. We've been able to get in so much quality time together that I haven't even thought about posting to the blog. Bad Mama, I know.

Jack turned 13 months old yesterday. I'm not exactly sure when you stop counting months. Is it at a year, 2 years, when? I'm sure Jack wouldn't appreciate my calling him 162 months when he's 13 1/2 and in the 8th grade, but I digress...

This month has been our first full "toddler month". Jack is not just walking now but running everywhere! One of his favorite things to do is run around the house with anything in his hand - a dishtowel, a dryer sheet, a phone, a remote - and then for no reason whatsoever, he'll slam whatever he has to the floor. Not really a problem when we're dealing with a dishtowel or dryer sheet. A bit more concering when it's the phone or remote.

He babbles tons now and loves to say Dadadadada over and over. A great ego booster for Jason I'm sure since Daddy was a bit concerned that Jack kind of forgot who he was during the first quarter of this year. Jack also says Mama and we think he has his own version of no - nyeh, nyeh, nyeh while shaking his head. He generally does this after we've gotten onto him for throwing food or standing up in the bathtub or trying to play in the toilet.

We've been trying to get Little Man well for the past few weeks as well. Several weeks ago Jack had a runny nose which was most likely just allergies. Well, about a week after his nose stopped running he awoke in the middle of the night and screamed for an hour - no consoling this kid AT ALL. I took him to the doctor the next day and found out he had a double ear infection - ick. Things were looking up after 10 days of antibiotics and our recheck visit with Dr. Raine. That visit also happened to be Jack's 12 month check up and he had to get his shots. I had Jason go with me because frankly, I'm not strong enough to hold Little Man down anymore. After getting over the "shot yuckies" Jack was not sleeping again and his nose started running. Well, after a few days we decided he needed to go back to the doctor so we went to see Dr. Joki (the doc on call) this past Saturday. Indeed, the ear infection is back. Sooooo, now we're on a stronger antibiotic, eardrops for pain, and now Tylenol because Jack's had a fever for 2 days. Whew! Having a sick kid really stinks.

Speaking of Jack's 12 month checkup... Jack weighed in at 23 lbs, 8 oz and was 30 and 3/4 inches long! He's in the 60th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height. Our little boy sure is growing fast! What a blessing he is!

Playing with Gabby

Food is messy...... so we take a bath!

Mesmerizing!