Jackson imitating one of his puppies... [VIDEO]

Parker nor I can watch this without laughing ourselves... I guess it's one of those contagious laughs. Jackson just kept imitating the puppy over and over. I couldn't get the longer video to upload; that one is definitely better. I will keep trying, but in the meantime, this one is cute too! (I finally got it to upload using Google Video, but it's not clear... I'm not satisfied, so I'll try to find another way to add it...)

We're Moving...

We found out yesterday that Parker has been assigned to complete his internship/job in Hillsboro this summer, so by the end of Finals week Spring quarter, we will be packed up and ready to move to the west side of the state. (Hillsboro is about 20 miles west of Portland, OR. Parker's family has lived there since he was in Kindergarten.)

We are excited to be close to family, to be in a cooler place this summer (especially being at the end of the pregnancy), and to go on another adventure... isn't moving always an adventure? Luckily, this is only a partial move... we will just have to pack the absolute necessities. I think the majority of what we bring will be Jackson's toys! Those are definitely a necessity... just ask him. (Plus, I'm sure we'll have plenty to load up in preparation for our new little one, who will be born in Portland during August.)

Baby Update - 15 1/2 weeks along

Well, we finally had our first doctor's appointment today. Everything went very well. The doctor just kept commenting on how big the baby is. Just a few more weeks and we will find out if it's a boy or a girl! (We have another regular appointment in 4 weeks and then the exciting ultrasound sometime during the last week in March.) We got a few pictures today. This one is about as active as Jackson was, but isn't nearly as camera-shy. The baby kept "waving" it's hand or foot as we were looking at it. Even the doctor was laughing pretty good. I tried to take a picture of the three of us with one of the ultrasound pictures, but Jackson was not very interested in smiling for a picture. (He was upset because he wanted to play with the baby's picture and I wouldn't let him.) Well, here we are anyway!


I'm feeling good still. Lots more energy than a few weeks ago and we're all excited about that! Food is finally starting to taste better. I have gained 2 pounds, but all of my clothes are still comfortable. However, I'm sure it won't be too much longer before I hit that lovely in-between stage where your own clothes are a little uncomfortable, but the maternity clothes look huge. We found out that Jackson was a boy and I was still in regular clothes, so I guess time will tell. I know that each pregnancy is a little different.

Thank Heaven for Grandmas!

We want to send a big shout out to our Moms (Jackson's Grandmas) for spoiling us once again! We received Valentine's surprises in the mail... Jackson helped me to decorate our windows. He was curious to know how the tape dispenser worked, so I gave him a small piece of tape for each of his hands. He kept shaking them and shaking them, trying to get the tape off. It was pretty funny to watch. And it kept him happy and occupied while I finished the windows. Now our house looks like we're all ready for Valentine's Day! Parker and I are excited to celebrate this year and Jackson loves his new stuffed animal - a super soft bear. He has been walking around holding the bear, with his head tilted toward his shoulder so that he can feel the soft fur. He (Jackson) is so cute! Happy Valentine's Day in just 5 more days!

EOU Basketball Games

Parker, Jackson, and I went with some of our friends to the EOU Girls' and Boys' basketball games. We had a great time. I am a little embarrassed to admit that Jackson was absolutely captivated, mouth hanging open, by the dance team. However, last night was breast cancer awareness night and so they were wearing non-fitted pink t-shirts with non-fitted black sweatpants. Not bad. I'm hoping it was the bright pink shirts that caught his attention so fully! Anyway, these couples are also a part of our FHE group, so we see each other at least twice a week.

Our three boys are all in different stages right now. Trey is the smallest and youngest, born in November. Then, there's DeeRay - 6 months old, who wins the award for chubbiest cheeks, but still weighing less than Jackson and wearing smaller diapers. Jackson is the oldest, biggest, heaviest, and by far, the loudest! I love to watch him interact with these two. It gives me a little bit of an idea as to how he might react when our baby arrives. These pictures are the 3 boys with their Dads.

Muscles

The boys were showing off their muscles and I thought I would share. (The pictures of Jackson are a little blurry... he was running back and forth. I was lucky just to get him semi-centered in the frame.)

Jackson is growing by leaps and bounds every day. It's so much fun to be a part of the discovery process as he figures out the world around him. As you can see, Parker LOVES having a constant buddy to hang out with!! And we both agree that Jackson is starting to take on a few more of Parker's features and expressions.

SillySoldier Boys!

I spent 7 hours doing homework. I had 8 papers to write and couldn't push it back another day. So... Parker played with Jackson while I locked myself in the den to meet all of my deadlines. These pictures do not tell half of the story, but they're pretty cute! (I told them to smile, but Parker told me that they were soldiers, so they had to be serious. You can see him trying hard not to smile in one of them.) The two of them were hilarious... they came up with all sorts of "games" to play. All I could hear from the den was giggling and more giggling. It felt SO good when I finally finished at 8:00pm. It will be nice when I don't have to do homework anymore! Just 2 more quarters... yea!