Well, to say that I have fallen behind on blogging would be an understatement! My last post was in October and now here we are almost in April, agh!! Time has flown by and lots has happened since I turned 30. So this post will serve as the update on everything our family has been doing for the past 5 months!
At the end of October, we had a big 60th birthday party for my Dad, which ended up also being a SURPRISE 30th for me as well! It was a fantastic night with family and friends, and I am very grateful to my mom especially for pulling off one heck of a surprise! We had people come in town from all over to celebrate with us, which made for such a really special occasion.
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| 60 and 30! |
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| Sweet friends |
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| Mom and me |
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| Party animals still standing at the end of the night! |
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| Michael trying to get the mic from JK so we can toast Dad! |
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| So thankful for him |
We also found out in late October that were were expecting baby #2, which made things even more special!! Michael and I feel so extremely blessed that we have been able to get pregnant twice so easily. This pregnancy has been quite different from my first-- this time around I was throwing up constantly for about 8 weeks, so our first trimester was rough, but worth it of course. Thankfully Jake and Michael took loving care of me and had a lot of patience! We have decided not to find out the baby's sex, which has been fun as well. We knew with Jake, and thought it would be fun to keep it a surprise this time. So needless to say, we are all dying to know if Jake is going to have a baby brother or sister come July 4th!!
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| Announcing we are pregnant! |
Halloween was really neat this year, we went trick-or-treating with a group of families at our friends the Moerer's house. The kids had a great time going from house to house together and yelling "trick or treat" at each door. Jake was Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story. We also went to a fun Halloween party at the Robbins' the next day, who always have lots of fun things to do at their house!
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| Ready to trick-or-treat! |
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| Jake's Aunt/ Godmother Ashley surprised him by dressing up as Jessie! |
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| Jake & friends at the Robbins' house-- amazing we got this shot with everyone looking & smiling!! |
In early November we went to Fort Worth for a surprise weekend celebrating Michael's mom, Gail, being cancer free for 5 years. She didn't know that all her kids and grand kids were coming, so she was elated! Then, a few weeks later we went back and had a fun Thanksgiving in Fort Worth with Michael's family. We also had a chance to see close friends that we wish we saw more often. And Jake loved being with his cousin Lawrence, now a big brother to baby Andrew, who was born in December!
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| Gail's surprise weekend |
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| Celebration dinner with Michael's family |
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| Michael's best friends in Fort Worth |
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| Jake w/ Uncle Chris and cousin Lawrence on Thanksgiving |
Christmas was really neat this year because it's the first time Jake understood about Santa, which Michael and I loved. We woke up Christmas morning and spent time just the three of us at home, and then headed to my parents to open more presents. Later that afternoon we went to my grandmother's to be with the rest of my mom's family for dinner and yet open more presents! I love being with everyone in a full house, cooking, laughing and just hanging out. Christmas is my favorite time of year, and I am always really emotional for some reason. Being prego and having so much gratitude for how blessed we are, this year I was especially overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness. As I sat with my husband and son in church on Christmas Eve, I couldn't help but cry silent tears of happiness and thankfulness. God is GREAT.
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| Joyful on Christmas morning |
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| At my parent's (Michael & JK have matching jerseys) |
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| Christmas pic w/ Lovey & Granddad |
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| Nana gave Jake a chocolate Advent calendar just like she gave mommy when she was little! |
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| JK w/ his presents (wearing his new soccer uniform and shoes!) |
In February, Jakey turned 3, which I still can't believe! He wanted to have his party at his one of his favorite places, Pump It Up, which is full of indoor bounce houses and slides. He had such a great day and that weekend could not have been more special and fun. Michael had Monday off, which was Jake's actual birthday, so we took him shopping for his unsurprising request: baseball gear! He picked out eye black, wrist tape, and a new bat and PINK glove! That night we celebrated at my parent's with family, more cake and a yummy dinner. Jake's birthday is another thing that gets me really emotional. I think in part because during his first two years, we were going through such hard times, especially his surgeries. When I seem him in front of a birthday cake, it hits me at my core and makes me want to fall to my knees and thank God that my son is happy and healthy, and that our family is whole again. I always cry when singing "Happy Birthday" and this year was no exception. We are unbelievably blessed and there is not a day that goes by that I don't remember that. I will never forget Jake's 3rd birthday and how peaceful and special it was. He truly is a big boy now, saying and doing new things almost daily. He keeps us laughing and is quite the entertainer! I am constantly in awe of him and what he is capable of. He is super affectionate and loving and yet such a wild one, always on the move! He has a HUGE imagination that cracks Michael and me up. He is ridiculously athletic, but he also loves music, reading, and to sing and dance (or play "rockstars" as he calls it). He is so happy at school and adores all of his friends. He is very much a typical boy in that he gets great pleasure in getting dirty and making a mess-- such as intentionally jumping in puddles or rolling around in the dirt! He is obsessed with anything car, sport or dinosaur related. Being a mom is the best job and I would not trade it for anything!
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| Ready to Pump It Up! |
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| Blowing out candles while sitting in the birthday throne |
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| Stegosaurus cake |
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| Birthday pic w/ Auntie |
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| 3 years old |
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| Baseball ice cream cake at Lovey & Granddad's |
With Spring fast approaching, Michael and I realized we had the opportunity to get a way for a few days during his Spring Break, something we have never done since Jake was born. So I started working on a surprise trip for he and I with the help of my mom, the master trip planner. In the meantime, we went to the Rodeo! Jake loves the rodeo-- the games, the food, and watching the cowboys ride bulls and broncos. He even won his own prizes this year by shooting hoops!
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| Such a handsome cowboy |
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| Pitching to knock over bottles just like Dad |
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| Shooting baskets |
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| Riding the horsey |
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| Baby chics were his favorite |
I eventually surprised Michael with plans for our get-a-way to Scottsdale. But the weekend before we left on our babymoon, we went to Sea World with our good friends, the Eichers. Their kids, Audrey (or Ace as she is affectionately called) and Archie, are two of Jake's best friends, and in spite of cold, rainy weather in San Antonio, we still had a blast! I was really proud of what troopers our kids were, and I know there are more fun adventures in our future with the Eicher family, whom we love so much! It's so special to see your child bond with other kids, especially when their parents happen to be your close friends. We are so grateful for their friendships and we love their kids like our own. Ace melts my heart calling me "Bree Bree" and I can't get enough of Archie's cuddles and hugs. Jake has made it a mission to steal a kiss from Audrey whenever he can, asking her one night, "Ace, are we friends?" and she said "yes", to which his response was, "oh then we should kiss!"
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| Playing at the pool |
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| Bedtime after swimming |
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| Arriving at Sea World |
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| He will find ANY excuse to kiss Ace!!! |
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| Jake & Archie at the sea lions |
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| Best friends for life |
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| Group shot at the end of the day-- JK refused to look at the camera!! |
Then it was off to Arizona for Michael and I, for a much needed little vaca! What made this trip even more fun was that MLB Spring Training was going on, so we got to catch two games and even see one of Michael's TCU team mates, who is with the San Diego Padres now. We stayed at the beautiful Montelucia Resort & Spa, and pretty much just slept in and relaxed for three days! I fell in love with Scottsdale and we can't wait to go back. It's such a neat desert town and has perfect weather! Of course we came back with tons of loot for Jakey, who is still asking when we will be taking him to Spring Training in Arizona!! A big thank you to my parents for taking care of Jake for us, he had such a blast with them and didn't even miss us, which was quite evident when we could hardly keep him on the phone for more than a minute because he was just too busy having fun at Lovey & Granddad's!
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| Spring Training, Cubs vs. Giants |
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| This pic was for Jake and baby S :) |
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| Padres vs. Diamondbacks |
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| Near our room at the resort |
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| 6 months prego w/ baby #2! |
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| My favorite view at the resort, so pretty! |
And I guess that brings us to now... We are immersed in baseball season at the Settle house! Jake is in absolute heaven each week going to watch his Daddy coach the St Francis boys, and we have made friends with many of the families. He loves to cheer and talk to the players in the dug out, and they are all very sweet to him. After each game, he goes onto the field and hits balls with Daddy, gleefully running the bases and sliding into home. And he even looks the part, always insisting that he wear his "uniform" to every game. Michael had shirts made just for Jake that look like the team's jerseys, and he got him a hat to match too. There is no question that he idolizes his Daddy and wants to be just like him!
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| Ready for Daddy's game |
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| Peas in a pod |
And I'm almost in my last trimester, starting to waddle along a bit with my baby belly growing each week! Jake thinks its a boy and wants to name the baby "Chocolate". We don't know why, but he has never wavered in this, which is so funny! I am feeling good and hoping that lasts. Very surreal to think this summer we will become a family of four, but we are soo excited! I know Jake will be an awesome big brother, he is really sweet with babies and such a good helper already. We are also excited to be remodeling our master bathroom, something we have wanted to do since we moved in nearly 5 years ago! Here's to hoping its completed before baby S makes his/her debut!!
Hopefully I will get some more posts done over the next three months, because I'm sure once our little one arrives I will be on another hiatus for a while...but maybe I will at least post some pics of our newest addition!!! For now, we are soaking up time alone with Jake and savoring special moments with him, as we know it will change forever very soon. It feels good to be writing again and I know someday I'll be so happy to have these entries to reflect on. More than anything I am immensely grateful to God for where he's gotten us. I can't wait to see what the second half of 2012 has in store. I think it will be full of lots more laughter, love and precious memories... AMEN.
We give praise and thanks to You, O God; Your wondrous works declare that Your Name is near and they who invoke Your Name rehearse Your wonders. Psalm 75: 1
