Well, considering my last update was FALL, we are long overdue!! And summer has officially arrived in TX as we've hit our 100 temps last week, so certainly needed to take down the fall background on the blog, ha! We've had a busy year, I was amazed at how much busier life felt with a kindergartner....homeschooling went well, better than I expected. And we loved the 2-day program at the Christian academy, but unfortunately they had to eliminate that and it is only a 5-day program now. So, this year we will be homeschooling full time, which at first really stressed me out; but as I've had time to pray about it and adjust my mindset, I think it will work out great. I was always doubling up lessons to keep her on track w/our curriculum and now we can go at an easier pace. We've also chosen a new curriculum, changing from A Beka, and Shelby and I are both really excited about it. We are trying My Father's World and got our box of goodies a few weeks ago. She was ready to start right then!! It has some neat art and science books along with the math and reading. She is SO excited to incorporate science....she is really interested in that. This summer Shelby has taken tennis lessons and although it's been super hot, she has enjoyed it. But did ask me "Could I take lessons in the fall next time??" :) She loves to ride her bike w/Dad, she got a mountain bike back in the Spring. She loves swimming and asks to go to the beach club all the time. She loves to read also and it's nice having her read me books now at bedtime. Her top tooth fell out last week while she was slurping her gogurt. So, she's lost her 3rd tooth and was very excited! She will have VBS next week and we are thinking about some swim lessons at the end of July. All in all, she's just her happy self!
Joshy (yes, we still call him this, which I just know he is going to hate when he's older, ha!) is a very busy little boy. He loves to throw a ball and kicks a ball really well. I think soccer will be a good sport for him! He is talking more and more all the time and we're really starting to understand him better. Shelby is often the one who "gets" him the best and interprets for us. He follows her around all the time, is interested in anything she is doing but also can be a bit rough with her at times. Lately he says "My Shelby", he is so attached to her! She is so patient with him, truly a good big sister; I sometimes wonder where she gets the patience from because it certainly isn't Drew or I!! He's growing well, still a skinny little guy. We do not buy clothing sets, ha! He can still fit in 12-month shorts but yet wears a 24-month shirt! Most 18-month shorts fit him, but a few we bought just slid right off him. He's got a tiny waist and short little legs, but boy he can get them going fast, just like his Daddy!! I am surprised at how quick he is! He's a pretty happy boy most of the time, but he is a little more emotional at times than Shelby. He can be a bit stubborn and strong-willed, which I am trying to work with and figure out. But he is a sweet boy and I still get lots of hugs and snuggles. I LOVE when he comes and lays his head on my shoulder....those are sweet moments that I know probably won't last much longer. He is a great sleeper, taking a good 3 hour nap each day and sleeping 10-12 hours at night. I KNOW he gets that from his Momma, ha! :)
Well, our biggest update is that we are expecting another baby, yes a surprise baby #3! We weren't planning to have more children, but God has a different plan for us. We don't know the gender, we decided since the pregnancy was a surprise, why not just ride it out to the end?!?! Shelby would really like a sister, but has said a little brother is ok too. :) When I first told her we were having another baby, her response was "Well, I think 2 is good." LOL But she warmed up quickly to the idea and is very anxious to know what it is. When we decided not to find out she looked at us like we were crazy and asked "But how will we decide on a name?!" We just explained about picking names for both and her look at us was as if we had 2 heads and thinking "My parents have no idea what they're doing". ha! All in all this has been my easiest pregnancy...had the typical 1st trimester sickness, but the 2nd got better and I've felt much better this time around than w/Joshua. The baby is growing well too, in the 69%, probably will be closer to Shelby's size. Because Joshua was so small and w/my age, I have had monthly sonograms but all has checked out well and the baby is doing great! In fact the Dr. said at one appt. "You're too healthy to be here." (he see's mostly high-risk). I thought "Well, great, then I don't need to come anymore!", but he still wanted to see me each month. It has been fun though having all the pictures and they will do a DVD each time if you like, so I get to bring that home for Drew and the kids to see. Shelby thinks that's pretty cool. I know she's going to be a great helper, I'm hopeful Joshua will adjust ok. I have set my expectations low so maybe he'll surprise me. :) He gets a little jealous of Shelby though, so I'm expecting there to be a little bit. We'll just prepare the best we can and I'll just have to make a concerted effort to give him extra snuggles. :) Drew will be home for a month when the baby arrives and I'm sure that will help. Our little bundle is due Sept. 1st, so we'll see how it all goes! I'm hopeful for an easier delivery this time, but most of all for a healthy baby.
Well that is about it from us for now.....I've posted some pictures below that we had taken of the kids recently. Joshua looks so different from our last ones, really looks like a little boy and not a baby anymore. He turned 2 yesterday, which is hard to believe!! We had a simple, quiet 4th, but he very much enjoyed his chocolate cake. :) I'll have to post those pics later when I get them downloaded. Hope everyone is well and had a Happy 4th!!
This is where we started, Josh was not too happy to take pictures. Look at that face!!
Then we finally got some smiles....he fussed a little off & on, but mostly we got some good pics.
They loved playing with these flowers, I loved the colors & was surprised that I liked the background and how these turned out. Captured their personalities though, especially Shelby...she's so joyful & happy all the time.
