We're having another baby! -- Due January 3rd, 2008.

We have WONDERFUL news! We are expecting our second child and could not be more thrilled!! I am currently almost 12 weeks along, and aside from being very fatigued and quite sick since about the 6th week, things have been pretty uneventful. For those of you who may not have known, we became pregnant last summer with twins, but sadly, we lost them during the first trimester. We have been nervous with this pregnancy because of our experience last year, but the baby is growing and developing right on schedule and has a good strong heartbeat, which we've gotten to hear twice already. 176 bpm the first time and 167 bpm the second time. JD jr's heart rate was around 163 bpm, so this one seems to be a little faster than his was. I've heard that a faster heart rate can indicate a baby girl, but who knows if there is any truth to that or not. We will be able to find out what we're having in about 5 more weeks, and we definitely want to know!

The pictures here are of my growing belly (obviously!), the 9 week ultrasound, and the 11 week ultrasound, which includes a 3D image. If you look closely at the 3D image, you can see where the baby has his tiny little hand pulled up to his newly formed mouth. So sweet!

We just wanted to share our news and to ask you all to pray for a safe and healthy pregnancy and baby for us!

Yippee! The pool is open for the summer!

We made our first trip of the summer to the local pool, and it was GREAT! The water felt wonderful and the day just helped to make summertime's arrival official. JD jr was a little hesitant to get in the water initially. We found this to be surprising as we couldn't stop him from getting in the pool last summer. After a few minutes, he inched his way into the water and ended up having a blast. JD Sr took him out into the deep end of the pool and held him while they watched the bigger kids and adults jump off of the diving boards. JD jr suddenly asked, "JD try?" JD Sr lifted him up out of the pool onto the side and almost before he could get ready, JD jr counted, "One, two, three, GO!" and leapt into the water where JD Sr caught him. He wanted to do this again, and again, and again...and that's exactly what he did!

Father/Son Road Trip to Georgia - Part 3

The final part of their trip was spent outside playing T-ball with family and at the dock fishing. With his daddy's help, JD jr caught his very first fish and was all too excited and a little concerned, according to JD Sr, as the fish dangled from the end of the fishing line.

I was SO happy to see them both at the end of the week when we all returned home from our trips. We all had a wondeful time and were definitely ready to be together again after being apart for an entire week! I'm seriously going to need counseling when JD jr starts school! :^)

Father/Son Road Trip to Georgia - Part 2

The middle of their week in GA involved a trip to Atlanta to visit JD jr's Aunt G-G and Uncle D at their new home, a fun time at the Atlanta Children's Museum, and finally an evening at Georgia Tech's baseball stadium where JD jr watched his very first baseball game. JD Sr said that JD jr was absolutely mesmerized by the game, which isn't surprising since he will normally drop everything he's doing if he sees a baseball game on television when mama and daddy are flipping through the channels.

Notice in one of the pictures that they are sitting on the stairs that are part of the set of Sesame Street. This was at the Children's Museum. Pretty neat, huh? Of course the trip wouldn't have been complete without a photo op in front of Georgia Tech's Ramblin' Wreck!

Father/Son Road Trip to Georgia - Part 1

JD Sr and jr took their very first trip to Georgia WITHOUT ME! I knew that it would be difficult to see them leave, but it was so much harder than I could have anticipated when they actually pulled out of the driveway. I cried like a baby for about an hour after they left! They were gone for 6 days, but fortunately for 4 of those days, I took my own trip to the beach in NC with 17 other girls from my church. We had a blast, and it really helped me to get through the separation anxiety that I had experienced earlier in the week.

During the first day or so that my two men were in GA, they visited the Cabbage Patch hospital, Babyland General, in Cleveland, GA and spent some time at the lake playing in the sand. JD Sr said that JD jr wasn't too keen on getting in the lake to swim. He must get that from me because I do NOT enjoy swimming in lakes or rivers myself.

I called them several times during the week just to get an update on what they were doing each day, and JD Sr was very good about taking pictures of all of their activities with his cell phone and sending them to my cell phone while I was at the beach.

Outdoor Fun

With hot weather here at last, we have already begun to enjoy getting outside to play in the sprinkler, blow bubbles, and watch JD cut the grass and ride his tricycle. He has really gotten good at pedaling fast up and down the driveway, and he is SO proud of himself with this new accomplishment. When he gets a little bit older and bigger, I plan to buy him his first Big Wheel. Remember those? What fun those always were to race around the sidewalk with your friends!

Happy summer everyone!

A Trip to Georgia

Just a few days after finding out that we were expecting our second child, JD jr and I made a trip to Georgia for our annual "Girls' Weekend" in Gainesville. Even though JD is very obviously a boy, he has joined us so far each year for lots of hugs, kisses, and doting given by all of the women in the family.

We had a great time, in spite of the fact that I was keeping my big news top secret the entire time, and in spite of the fact that I was on the verge of passing out at the drop of a hat due to major early pregnancy fatigue. When we finally shared the news with family a couple of weeks later, none of the female family members who were present at Girls' Weekend seemed a bit surprised. I was told that my drowsiness and large appetite had already tipped them off.

The weather turned out to be chilly and rainy for most of the weekend, but we still made a great time of it. We even made a trip to the skating rink, which is something I had not done in years! I was a little rusty at first but managed to get the hang of it after a few times around the floor.