My Heads still spinning...

This has been the busiest shortest week ever. I have been super busy in the studio, we had a new baby born into our family, had a dear friend from high school have a huge health scare, another dear friends dad have another health scare, a family member facing a serious surgery, had 2 doctors appointments, 4 haircuts, 2 basketball games, 43 loads of laundry, one cake for 100 day at school and an inpending snowstorm. Combine all this with morning sickness and a toddler headed full force into "terrible twos" and I've learned something this week.

All that little stuff that seems to take so much of my time doesn't matter. What does? Remembering the people in my life whom I love and who need prayers. The laundry can wait.

Baby Update

Yesterday was my regular visit with Dr. Gass. All appears to be well and on schedule! The heartrate was aprox 148 bpm.

My next visit will be a triple screen test and the next regular visit will be the ultrasound.

We are nearing the 2nd trimester and things are going smoothly so far!

Our due date is August 7th, but with Lil's early arrival, this baby may be late July. We shall see! (Oh yeah...many of you know about Pappaw Jr's famous pencil test?) He has a pencil test that is rarely wrong and according to the pencil test this baby is a boy. Can't wait to find out if he's right. I honestly don't care one way or another, it would be sweet to have another boy though, seeing that my other baby boy is already 6!!!

GI Jane

Because in Lil's army there is no need for pants and every good soldier girl needs a little pink in her ensemble...

"Now if I could just figure out how to load my machine gun..."

Pretend with me...

Ok before reading this post let's make an agreement. I'm going to assume that you love me (OK maybe not Love) but you at least like me enough to be vaguely interested in the goings on of my life. So I'll agree to that and you agree to pretend I'm not lame and it's not almost the end of January and the photographer still hasn't posted any Christmas photos? Agreed? Agreed...OK proceed...

Below is a photo of the kids tearing into the Santa Stash! Please note the unruliness of Lil's hair. It wasn't until after I loaded these to my computer that I noticed that there is not a single photo from Christmas morning that you can see Lil's face due to the massive hair issue.

Above is all the kids at the Brooks' Christmas at Pappaw Porter's and Mammaw Tine's. Notice that the girls seem to be plotting some sort of hostile takeover of the boys since they're outnumbered...

Below is at Nana's on Christmas eve Morning...

Above is a photo of my angels getting ready to leave for church. I bought Lil this dress before she was ever born, I loved it so much, and it was on clearance at Chatter's! Can't beat that!

Flashback

So I heard this song today and it took me way back! Travis used to sing me this on the guitar when we were dating in high school, it's been forever ago but I still love this song!!!

BTW I have no idea why there is a hand sticking up in the picture. But, do you guys still recognize Travis before his major facial reconstructive surgery!?! I forget what we looked like then until I drag out the old pictures!!!

Miss Lilly

Wow...it's been a day! Lilly has a head cold and a nasty cough so she woke up two hours earlier than normal. Which meant she napped two hours earlier than normal. Which means be late afternoon my normally fun loving girl was a little...er lets say grumpy. In the span of an hour or so she dumped goldfish crackers in the floor, hit brother in the head, told Nana to go home, and got to spankings for disobeying Daddy...

So, because of the nasty cough and such we sent the boys to prayer meeting and the girls stayed home to get Lil into bed early. She has been in the bed for about twenty minutes and she yells, "Mommy, I pooped!!!" I go to her room to check and leave the light off. Instead of feeling a diaper a feel a naked baby bottom. Yep, Lil had stripped her pj pants and diaper off and flung the whole thing in the floor. (thank goodness there was no poop) So basically the whole to bed thing has taken almost an hour. I don't know about anyone else but Mommy is tired. Oh well, in the words of Scarlett O'Hara, "Tomorrow is another day!"

Updated

So I'm not doing so well keeping up with my studio blog...hmmm

I get so caught up with orders and shooting sessions the blog falls behind. However, I am determined to do better. Stop by a check out a shot from one of my favorite sessions lately. I could just pinch his little cheeks.

www.jparsleyphotographystudio.com/blog/

I'm Concerned about Travis...

and I sincerely question his sanity.

You remember how he wanted to name a baby Kix? Yes dear readers my wonderful hubby has topped it.

He took me on a date night last night, we got to watch New Moon (again) and went to Rafferty's.

On the way there he says he heard another boy name he likes.

Augustus...

Yep I'm serious...I made him swear on everything that is holy that he was not joking me.

And he's not...he's just crazy

A Funny Thing...

With my first pregnancy I wore maternity clothes BEFORE I needed to...

With my second pregnancy I wore maternity clothes WHEN I needed to...

Pregnancy #3...it astounds me how quickly the need for maternity clothes comes with a third baby and I don't want to put em on...

Oh well...have a great day!

Happy Birthday Noah

Yesterday Noah Thomas celebrated his 6th birthday. I can't believe he is already six years old...it really seems like yesterday we were anxiously waiting his arrival and at 10:01 am (on his due date) he made his arrival into our world!

We celebrated yesterday with a quiet (or as quiet as you get with 2 little ones) dinner at home. Mom and Dad came over for tacos and Randy and Sherian dropped by as well. We followed up with ice cream sundaes and banana splits and it was such a fun day.

Tomorrow, instead of a big birthday party this year, Noah is having a few kids from Kindgergarten class over to play for a couple hours and have some pizza. He's very excited. I just decided that with our upcoming Disney trip I didn't have it in me to plan a full scale birthday shindig on top of a week long vacation!

As always, we'll be celebrating the "Brooks January" birthdays and since my Mammaw has been sick we're gonna do it at my house on Sunday. This has become a fun family tradition. After church on Sunday once a month we get together and celebrate who ever's birthday falls that month. Since my family is so big it now happens once a month. January is really fun because Noah and Evy's birthday falls on the same day. So busy weekend but fun stuff.

At Long Last...

You know the old fable about the "cobbler's children having no shoes..."? Well sadly to say we had never taken an official family portrait since Lil was born. One of these last cold cold Saturdays, Travis decides that we are going to have a family portrait before baby #3 arrives. He wanted to document for history the family of four before it was a thing of the past. So here is the result of our quick mini session in my studio. Enjoy!!!

Snow coming...we're ready...I think

So blame pregnancy hormones, but today's agenda for me consisted of two things...snow boots and pants. Not for me mind you, but the hot pink furry kind to fit a two year old princess and the other kind...the bigger kind to fit a 5 year old ball of energy.

However, it was very cold today and I was very morning sick. BUT...nonetheless I ventured with my youngest child to BG to purchase snow boots. Target had pink ones...yeah! However, there were 47 moms crammed into the aisle and no boy sizes that I needed. On to walmart. There were 43 moms crammed into this aisle, but Lil and I deftly snatched the last pair of size 1's and lit out of there like crazy with our snow boots and thermal underwear.

The thought then occured to me while driving home that perhaps this is not the snowstorm for me to venture out in. You see there is that little problem of my leg with the stainless steel rod and various pins and bolts that holds my ankle together...did I mention it "freezes up" for lack of a better term in this weather? Yep it's kinda crazy but when it's cold it's very hard to bend. I then pictured myself falling facedown in the snow with my two children and no other adults around and me also being pregnant. Hmmm...I suppose this is not the brightest idea I ever had. I suppose that the children can wait until Saturday (if there is any snow!) and venture out with Daddy while I stay safe inside on dry ground and man the hot chocolate. That is if the can brave the cold...but they do have new snow boots!

Jumping the gun

I know I know I know it's way early in this pregnancy to look at names BUT Lil didn't have a name until she was several hours old (Sorry aunt beth!) So we have actually started hashing out the name game.

Top girl pick (I actually think this is pretty certain) Stella Ann (Stella cause we like it and Ann is mine and Mom's middle names) We also really really like Abby. Not Abigail just Abby.

Boy: Ummm not sure but it's middle name will be Travis. We like Nathaniel, Heath, Hayden, and Levi. (We also like Morgan but we're afraid people will call it girly) Lilly was going to be a Brooks Travis had she been a boy after my mom's maiden name, but now Colin's middle name is Brooks so we won't be using that.

Travis very favorite boy name is Kix. Yes like the cereal, no I am not kidding. The man fought tooth and nail to name Noah Kix. He's starting all over again. Can't you just see our holiday cards...Love, Travis, Jessica, Noah, Lilly Grace & Kix. I think not. Sorry babe. Please dear friends...if for some reason I am unable to tell the nurses what I want this child to be named...for pete's sake...somebody stop Travis from naming this baby Kix.

And another funny thing about baby names...I have yet to ever (for any of my children) to be able to suggest a name that my Dad likes. I think this is hilarious. He can't tell me any names he does like just that he doesn't like anything I suggest. I got over it, and proceeded to name them without Dad's approval!

Hot Stuff

I had a big date today. He is very very handsome, and very very young, and not my husband. Me and Noah ventured to BG to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeaquel. It was so cute. We finished up the evening by watching UK stomp Louisville!!! Too much fun! All in all it was a fun fun day with my oldest "baby".

Happy New Year!

We're nearing the end of the first full day of 2010 and a funny thought struck me. Exactly ten years ago we were all listening to the uproar and panic that Y2K would bring, with the downfall of modern banking and civilization as we know it! The year 2000 came and went with nary a catastrophic event. However, it is funny to think it has been ten years since the newsworthy event.

When I look back ten years ago I wonder what 29 year old me would tell 19 year old me. Hmmm...I suppose I would say, "Get ready sister, good things are coming your way, in bigger ways than you could ever imagine. Spend less time studying, stressing, and working, and spend more time praying and it will all work out in the end."

It is amazing to me to think about what this decade has brought to my life. In a mere short two years Travis and I together have changed jobs 8 times, lived in three different homes, lost two grandparents, and grew from a family of 2 to a family of will be 5. Wheww...sounds exhausting...but it's been so fun.

As the years have come and gone I have made lists of various New Year's Resolutions. Most of which lasted until about January 5th HA! This year what's my resolution? Stop making resolutions, and slow down and enjoy the ride. I read on another blog of a Mom I love to read who said when you're a mother the days are long but the years are short. So True! Who knows what 2010 holds for me and my little family. But what I do know is good or bad, we'll weather it together!

Hope you all have a wonderful New Year filled with all you hope for!