Such a Cutie!

There really hasn't been a whole lot going on lately. I'm moving right along in this pregnancy. I've started feeling little Gentry move A LOT! I'm definitely loving it, too. As of today I'm 19 weeks 3 days. :)

I do have a few cute pictures I want to post. I was cooking supper the other evening and Jubal came wobbling into the kitchen with his daddy's work boots on. I say "wobbling" because the boots are almost as big as he is & he could barely walk in them. So cute!!!

I love the Instagram app on my phone, but forget about it all the time. I did get a cute pic of my handsome fella the other day, though, pre-haircut. I love his eyes. :)

Last Thursday morning when we dropped him off a school, he just looked too darn cute not to take a pic! He wasn't happy about being there and cried a little, but I think it's just his age right now. He only goes to school two days a week. Some days he's clingy, others he's not. Bless it! Breaks my heart when he does cry, though. This was after the tears were gone and he was happy again.

He's my little buddy. Precious as can be. I love to hold him close to me while he sleeps and listen to him breathe. He's going to be such a good big brother. I do think there will be some initial jealousy, but once the shock wears off and he gets used to the new baby, I think (pray) that they will be the best of friends and always have each other's back.

I can't believe this is the last day of January. Gosh, time is passing so quickly! June will be here before we know it and Gentry will be making his appearance. Whew! A healthy, happy baby is what I pray for all day every day. If Gentry is anything like Jubal has been, then we'll have it made. :)

Brothers

Well, Jubal....

You're going to have a LITTLE BROTHER!!!

Daddy was a little disappointed because he wanted a little girl to complete our family, and I'll admit I had entertained the idea of the color pink, hair bows, and learning how to be a mommy to a girl. I'm excited, though, that you're going to have a brother to grow up with, since this will be your only sibling.

Your brother's face & tummy. 1/23/12~18wks. 2 days

Notice the little "heart" in his eye???

Your brother's name will be Gentry Slade. I hope you love him. I hope y'all get along well. I hope there's a smooth transition for you from being the only child, to being the oldest. I hope you know we still love you just as much as we ever have because, in fact, YOU are who made us mommy & daddy!

Rolling around, all twisted up during the ultrasound. 1/23/12~18 wks. 2 days

MY BOYS! For some reason I knew I was going to be a "boy mom". I'm just meant to be one. I remember when I was young, I admired my Aunt Penny who had three boys. I used to think to myself that it took a "cool" woman to be a "boy mom". Well, I guess I'm that cool! ;)

All rolled up in a ball letting us know he was uninterested in having pics taken. ;)

I'm very excited to be carrying another sweet boy in my tummy! We are no longer going to be a family of 3, but 4 now. There will be no more estrogen in our home, so I will be the Queen. No princesses, only the King & our princes. I think I can deal with that.

I do have to stop and thank God once again for you, Jubal, and your brother. Jubal, you are the sweetest, happiest little boy and I just hope you always are. God truly blessed us when He gave us you and now He is blessing us again. All I can do is pray that we give each of you the best lives we possibly can. 

I love you, Jubal!!! You're going to be the best big brother ever!!! Gentry is going to adore you, I just know it. :)

Love Always,

Mama

Just a note

Jubal,

Mama just wanted to tell you how much she loves you. You are everything I could have ever hoped you would be. Even in my dreams, when I dreamed of being a mommy, I never dreamed you would be so perfect. I hope you know & always feel my love for you, and that I'm the best mommy I can possibly be for you. You are my heart & soul, little one. I became a better me the day I found out I was carrying you and you have made me always want to be my best since you came into this world. I love you, Angel Baby!

You love Blue's Clues! :)

Love Always,

Mama



18 Months

My sweet, smart, funny Jubal,

Little dirty mouth at Kenneth's birthday party! :)

You are becoming quite the little man. You actually turned 18 months old January 12, but I wanted to wait until your well-check appointment yesterday before I posted so I would have your stats.

You stopped playing to "pose" for Christin. Ha!

You are so special, little boy! You can give us these looks with those big blue eyes with long eyelashes that I can't describe. It's almost a sneaky little look, but I think it's just to make sure you have our attention.

Wearing Daddy's shoes.

You love to read to us! Yes, I said read to us. You'll bring us your favorite book (Bedtime Blessings) and ask to get up in our lap. We try to take your book to read to you, however you don't want that. You turn the pages and in your own little words, "read" to us. I think you make up your own story by looking at the pictures. It's the cutest thing. :)

I love this "Nanananabooboo" face!!!

Your vocabulary has grown. We love to hear you say "Amen" after we say the blessing. When people ask you if you want a brother or sister, you smile real big and say "Sissy". Neither your daddy or I told you to say that, either. Sweet!

Look at those teeth! :)

You like to sit at the dinner table like a big boy. I see a booster seat with your name all over it in the near future. We still sit you in your highchair for now, though. Snack time is the perfect opportunity for you to practice your table skills and I allow you to pull your own chair out, climb up, and (kinda) serve yourself. I sit out several snacks and allow you to choose what you want. It's usually a banana.

Taking it easy on an early Sunday morning.

You wear size 12-18 month jeans and pants, 18 month shirts, and size 5 1/2W shoes. We actually got you a new pair of K-Swiss yesterday and went ahead and got you a 6W to give you some room to grow. You wear a size 4 diaper.

"Hello?"

You now weigh 24.9 lbs (30th percentile), you are 31 1/2 inches tall (15th percentile), and your head circumference is 18 1/2 (perfect for your age & very well proportioned). You are still small like your daddy, but you are absolutely perfect. My biggest goal is to make sure you always feel confident & happy with yourself. I feel like self-confidence and self-worth will help you become more of a leader, instead of a follower, and hopefully help you make wiser decisions in your life.

You're still in love with "EI".

You have been off the bottle for a couple of months now and since you've been off of it, you don't like to drink milk. You love all of your juices, though. Your pediatrician said no worries since I incorporate milk into your scrambled eggs (which you LOVE & usually eat daily), and you eat cheese with everything. I can get you to take a couple of swallows if your eating something sweet, but that's about it.

I couldn't resist posting this one, too. :)

You have 10 teeth now. Four on top, four on the bottom, and you have your two top molars. You can see the bottom ones starting to come through. It won't be long and you'll have a mouth full.

My beautiful boy!

There's so much more to your precious little life I could write about, but these are some of the things that come to my mind first. There's no way to express in words how much I love you, Jubal. That's why I try every minute of every day to show you how loved you are. When I'm away from you, you are all I think about. I pray that I can be the kind of mother that God wants me to be for you. I ask Him to lead me daily, so that I can raise you the way He sees fit. Always know, sweet boy, that you are the one who made me a mommy, and you will always be the center of my entire universe. My whole life revolves around you & I wouldn't have it any other way. Happy 18 months, Jubal! Mama & Daddy sure do love you & want nothing but the best for you. Amen! ;)


Love,
Mama

Holiday Hiatus

Goodness! It seems like forever since I've blogged. It has been awhile. With all of the Christmas & New Year's festivities going on, I just haven't had much time. I was on vacation all last week, but I spent every second I possibly could with Jubal.

This was the longest period of time I've gotten to spend with him since he was born. I went back to work 2 1/2 weeks after he was born (even after a C-section) because even though we had a precious new being in our home, that home still had to be paid for. The company I work for was taken over by new owners in November of 2010, so I didn't get a vacation last Christmas or this summer, which means no time off with Jubal. So, you see, I wanted to spend every minute I could with my sweet baby boy, especially since this was my only opportunity before the new baby arrives & we won't ever get this one-on-one time again. :(

Anyway...I hope everyone had wonderful times with their families this holiday season. We spent Christmas Eve at Larson's daddy's house this year. Papa & Mema sure know how to spoil a grandkid! They got Jubal a tricycle, a bike & helmet (for when he's bigger, but Papa said he couldn't pass up a deal like that!), and by far his favorite, a little mule. I like the mule, too, because I work at a Kawasaki dealership that sells Mules.

This pic was actually taken Christmas morning because I didn't take pictures at Papa's.

We had Christmas Eve dinner with them and then went to my mama's house. My mama always lets the kids have their presents on Christmas Eve since Santa comes on Christmas morning. I think she got Jubal his most favorite gift because he is still crazy about it. It could be, though, because it's in the house and his mule is outside and it's been too cold to let him go outside much to play with his mule. It's a precious rocking horse that plays a little jig. Jubal calls him "EI", as in E-I-E-I-O (Old McDonald). As long as the music's playing, Jubal's rockin'! :)

At Mammaw's with his new "EI" on Christmas Eve.

Watching "A Christmas Story". Like mother, like son! ;)

Christmas morning after getting his things from Santa. See, he still loved "EI"!

After we left my mama's Christmas Eve, we went home and I baked some delicious cookies that my sweet & beautiful great-niece gave us for Christmas. They were absolutely yummy! Thanks, Ash!!! I bet Santa loved them, as well.

Christmas morning was fun, but I'm sure next year when Jubal is a little older, it will be even more fun. He doesn't really understand about Santa yet, but Santa brought him some puzzles, some books, a couple of music cd's of children's songs that he loves, and his big gift from Santa was a wagon. However, I was a little disappointed in Santa (to say the least) because he brought Jubal a wagon that had some parts missing. No worries, though. We wrote Santa a letter & he replaced it by making a call to a local store that is ordering one for us. ;)

We had Christmas lunch with my mama, sister, and niece. It was some good eating, too. We didn't do a traditional meal. We had ham, potato salad, & baked beans. Yum! It was good for a change. After spending some time with my family, we went out to Larson's mama's house for Christmas dinner and more presents. Larson's sister, Heather, spoiled Jubal, too. She got him some boots, toys, and a Georgia Bulldog recliner. If Alannah or Larson try to sit in it, Jubal furiously tries to remove them. Ha!

This was at Granny's when he first got it.

This is after we got home. He is kicked back watching Blue's Clues! :)

All in all, we had a wonderful Christmas with our families. We missed our loved ones that couldn't be with us, though.

Here's some pics of Jubal when it was pretty enough for us to go outside and play while I was off with him. He loves his mule!

New Year's Eve was fun. We had some finger foods at my mama's. I made some little ham sandwiches and some pimento cheese sandwiches, white chocolate-covered pretzels, pigs in a blanket, and a chocolate eclair cake. I got the recipe from another fellow blogger, Jessica. It was awesome! Of course, my mom had some goodies, as well. I can't seem to get enough of her shrimp dip. Yum!

My sister kept Jubal for a little while we went over to our friend's to a "Red Solo Cup" party. Ha! I managed to get one pic with my girls, Marty & Christin. :)

We were home by 9, and actually in our pjs and snuggled in for the night by 10. Jubal was asleep when we got home to pick him up. Larson immediately fell asleep & I was out by 10:30. Our neighbors set off fireworks at midnight and I'm glad they did because it woke me up right when the ball dropped. I got to bring in the new year! I woke Larson up to tell him "Happy New Year" and he just mumbled "I love you" and drifted back off to sleep. I pulled Jubal close, but ended up not going back to sleep until around 2:15. It was wonderful being all snuggled up with my little family, though.

New Year's Day we made sure to eat plenty of black-eyed peas and greens. Twice, as a matter of fact! We ate at Larson's mama's house & then again at my mama's house. Mmmm, good!

This was earlier in the morning. The sun came out later & the day turned out to be beautiful.

New Year's Day~2012. My boy is getting big! Gosh, I love him so much!!!

And just for me, here's a look back at how little my boy was last New Year's Day. :)