Days Gone By

WoW! October has flown by. We've had a busy month. Jackson is getting cuter by the day. I want to freeze time and have my sweet baby boy a little longer (during the day anyway). I just wanted to share some cute pics from the last couple of weeks.

Two weeks ago we made the trek to Lubbock so Chris could play in the TTU Alumni Lacrosse game. I'm happy to report there weren't any injuries. Jackson got to meet the Vaughnsters who showed him how Red Raiders tailgate. He also enjoyed his first football game sleeping right through it.

For those who don't know I sat Jentry when she was a baby and now check her out holding mine! Have I already mentioned that time goes way too fast?

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Jackson is really trying hard to roll from front to back. I thought he was going yesterday but he stopped on his side. He's so close!

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Round 1 at the pumpkin patch wasn't exactly like I imagined but I guess you can't expect a 3.5 month old to pose and smile when surrounded by huge strange orange objects. I don't know if you can tell but he was talking very seriously to us here.

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Life in Texas

So much has happened since our last blog. In short, we moved from Delaware to Texas. Chris started a new job in Round Rock. Jackson turned 3 months old and Becky (my sister) got married! Whew! We have been really busy and are hoping that after this quick weekend trip to Lubbock for TTU Alumni weekend things will settle down.

Jackson rolled over for the first time on Monday. He has been so squirmy lately we knew it was coming! I have seen him go back to side, but he's never made it all the way over. So, I laid him on the mat tummy down in front of his mirror, ran to the bathroom -- and when I returned he was on his back! I was so upset I missed it. After his next nap he did his new trick for me again and later that night he rolled for Chris. We are still working on back-2-tummy. Everyday he changes right before our eyes. The time goes way too fast.

With the wedding approaching Beck has spent several days here in Round Rock and Baby A has had fun with both the cats and her cousin. She is so funny. She pets his head like he's just another animal on the farm. It's really sweet!

We are really enjoying life back in Texas. Being close to family and friends is so nice and of course the TexMex is like no other. We miss our Delaware church and friends though!

I'm leaving you with a picture of the little man's feet. I don't have any baby feet to compare them to but everyone tells me he has big feet! I just think they're cute.

We have a 6 week old....what?

How quickly time has flown by. Jackson is quickly out growing his newborn diapers and clothes. Next thing you know he'll be crawling! Funny how at times you can't wait for them to hurry up and get a little bigger to start sleeping through the night, smiling, cooing, crawling...etc and then you look back and wonder where the days have gone.

At Jackson's 1 month appointment he came in at a whopping 23" long and weighing 10 lbs 4.4 oz (95th and 60th percentiles respectively). No doubt he's grown more since then!

Jackson is beginning to develop a little personality. Except for his gassy spells he's a happy little guy. In the mornings he listens to his music and sings along.....sometimes he'll flash you his little baby grin and your heart will melt...guaranteed!

Heather, Becky & Ava came all the way out to meet Jackson last week. We packed some boxes, visited the outlets, worked on wedding projects, made burp cloths and just hung out with babies! It seems like only just yesterday Ava was born and now she is about to turn a year old! She made sure to give Jackson lots of pointers on surviving the first year of his life in our crazy family. She is going to come in handy when we wean him off his binky.

Most everyone knows this news already but I'll officially post it. In just 2 weeks our little family will be relocating from Delaware back home to Texas. We sold our home and Chris accepted a position with a company in Round Rock, TX. This all transpired rather quickly after Jackson's birth. We feel very confident this is where we are supposed to be as we waited for God to arrange the puzzle pieces all together. Living in Delaware has provided us with a great opportunity to travel the East Coast, make new friends and join a church family. We will really miss our friends but plan to stay in touch and visit and hope everyone does the same! a

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Until next time, lots of love!

A week in the life of Jackson

Time is flying by! I can't believe our baby is already 9 days old. We came home from the hospital a week ago today. Since then Dad, Mom & Grandma have been all about baby...as it should be! Grandma left today and Jackson and Mom were sad to see her go :(

Jackson has met the kitties, who were terrified of him in the beginning but are now choosing to ignore him. He also had his first bath, which he hated and screamed through. His favorite things include sleeping on his dad (who is like an incubator) and swinging in his swing. Jackson has also met his Grammie, Grampie, Uncle Brad, Aunt Heather & Jay & Daniel over Skype but I know he can't wait to meet them all in person!

At our first pediatrician appointment on Tuesday he weighed 8 lbs 5 oz. The ped was amazed he was already back up over his birth weight....I am not since it seems like he's always eating.

The days are short and the nights are long but I wouldn't trade a single moment! We are so blessed to have such a beautiful healthy baby boy and a great support network of friends and family.

Check out Jackson's first week in pictures by clicking here

Jackson Kingsley LaRochelle

8 Pounds 2 Ounces

20.5 Inches Long
Born 3:38 EST

Happy Birthday Jackson!

One way or another we are having our baby boy today! I checked into the hospital last night at 9 and they began all the necessary procedures for the induction. I took the sleeping pill and ended up not sleeping at all because the Foley bulb was so uncomfortable and made the contractions feel worse. Finally at 4 a.m. the bulb came out and I got a little nap. At 5 a.m. they came in and started the pitocin. So far contractions are sporadic and fairly mild. Soon the doctor will come in and break my water. Hopefully things will pick up after that and we'll have a baby this afternoon! (or sooner....) So far Jackson is doing well with all this. He's still moving and rolling so much so that the nurse keeps having to come in and readjust the fetal monitor. I'm sure he's excited to come out and meet his parents! I know we can't wait. Look for our next post to include pictures of his little squishy face! YAY! I still can't believe we are going to meet our baby today. It is all very exciting and surreal.

38+ WEEKS!

38 weeks and fingers crossed this is my last bumpage picture! I'm ready to meet Jackson!

Last week I went to the Dr and was nearly 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Now, I've heard and read that some mommies can walk around like that for weeks but it is exciting that the process has begun! Tomorrow I go again so we'll see if there is any progress. We have gone on walks the past two nights and both times I've felt my first set of contractions. It's all so exciting!

We caved and assembled the crib. We wanted to be sure it came with all the parts...plus it's just nice to have it up! I have washed all the little clothes and sheets and while his room is not all decorated up it feels good to have a nursery. I'll see if I can get some sort of picture up next week, but in the meantime...here is Chris hard at work.

36 weeks!

Only four more weeks to go! It seems like an eternity but I know it will fly by! Chris is heading down to Texas next Saturday and will be gone through Tuesday so I will be taking it easy so Jackson stays put! The Dr. does not expect me to go into labor soon. At my appointment on Friday I wasn't even a centimeter yet.

In other news we did receive an offer on our house but it was so low there was no way we could accept it and still have money left to get out of dodge...so we're still waiting patiently for the right buyer to come along.

Remember the quilt I was talking about last post? Well guess what!? It's finished! Diane is the Speedy Gonzalez of quilting! I love it! It's perfect! I am dying to put Jackon's room together...in our new house....in Texas ;) Now everyone ooh and ahh~!

Even though this is older....here is a 34 week bump pictue. I don't think it's changed that much (that's what I'm telling myself anyway)...

33 weeks and 5 days...but who's counting?

I feel like so much has happened lately, yet time is creeping by. I'll try and keep things short and simple here.

1. We still own our house. Yay and nay. I am attached to the stupid thing. I really want to set up the crib and get Jackson's room all ready while at the same time I want to start packing up as much as I possibly can before he arrives. We've had some increased interest lately, but no offers...yet! One thing that is ready to go is the glider Grammie & Grampie gave us! It is so comfy! The cats are making sure it's safe before Jack arrives.

2. Chris hasn't had any major job leads yet but had a little flicker of possible interest recently. Lots of prayers needed! I know this whole scenario is just going to fall together when the timing is right.

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3. Baby and mom are progressing fine and dandy! I've started having some mean ligament pain recently but that's normal and part of the package deal. Everyday tasks like putting on pants and socks are becoming more and more difficult. Today we went for our final sonogram and the little stinker wouldn't show us his face! We got to see the hair on the back of his head though! (HAIR!) I thought for sure we'd have a bald baby since both of us were bald! My mom and Heather both had hair...we'll see soon enough! Jackson did put on an acrobatic show. He played with his feet, held on to his toes and kicked himself in the head!

This bumpage is 32 weeks and after today I can say that a solid 5+ lbs are all baby! Just a couple more pounds and he'll be ready to join the world!

4. Bowl Me Over proudly took home the 1st place plaque in the Delco Church League! That bowling ball I got Christopher for Christmas really payed off. His best series this year was a 244, 209, 223!

5. Becky's friend's mom is going to make Jackson a baby quilt! I'm so excited! I spent many hours in Joanns on Saturday critically sorting through the fabric and an equal amount of time on Etsy to find the right combo. Her poor mom could probably make 3 blankets out of all this fabric but I couldn't narrow it down because I'm not a quilter and I wasn't sure what would work best. Diane is going to make something beautiful though! Here are the colors (and that is a piece of his bedding in the background). Thank you Deana! Thank you Diane!

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The Big Finish: Tuesday was an eventful doctor's visit. Before I left I made sure to drink a bottle of water so I could leave my 'sample'. Arriving 5 minutes late, I signed in and rushed straight to the bathroom. After scribbling my name on a clear cup I began the 8-month-pregnant-lady-pee balancing act. While grasping the cup daintily (as to not acquire any sort of 'sample' on the hand) and holding a squat position (as to not acquire anyone else's 'sample' on the hiney) I proceeded to peer around my bump and aim for the cup. The cup falls into the toilet with the first rush of 'sample'. Crud. Ok. Now what? Do I fish the cup out? No, I must try and hold the rest and get a new cup. The 2nd attempt was a success. As I stood and turned to grab a wad of paper towels to begin my fishing, the automatic flush began to cycle. In a complete panic I thrust my hand toward the cup. Those hospital toilets have a mean pull though and the stupid toilet sucked my cup right down. Then it kept flushing because I was standing in front of the sensor trying to feel if the cup was lodged just out of sight. As the water level began to fill I had flashes of overflowing toilets and other people's 'samples' spilling onto the bathroom floor so I aborted the cup rescue mission. After thoroughly scrubbing and singing row, row, row your boat TWICE I made my walk of shame to the front desk to report that somewhere in the plumbing would be a plastic cup with my name on it. The receptionist was very sweet and called the maintenance men after assuring me I wasn't the first patient to go through this.

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Until next time, lots of love!

Washington D.C.

Chris & I spent Easter weekend (Fri - Tues) in the D.C. area. This was our last big East coast city left to see and what better time than during the Cherry Blossom Festival? For those who haven't been...ANY other time would be better! There were a TON of people in D.C. which made the already impossible task of seeing it all, even more impossible but we did our best and are glad we finally took advantage of living only 2 hours away from the Capitol. We stayed at the very fun and funky Hotel Topaz near Dupont Circle. We were only 2 blocks from the Metro which is SO nice compared to America's other sub systems. Very clean, fast, simple...loved it!

There is a lot to see in D.C. and it is not physically possible to see it all in one trip! Your feet would not survive! I thought 5 days would be enough but we still missed things! We feel fortunate to have seen all we did though.

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Here's a breakdown of our schedule:

Friday (beautiful sunny weather): Tidal Basin, WWII Memorial, FDR Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Holocaust Museum. I really wanted to see the cherry trees in bloom. Due to wind and rain the week before most of the blossoms had already turned but there were still several trees with great color and we saw them just in time. After Saturday's rain, almost all the blossoms were off!

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Saturday (rainy and gloomy): American History & Natural History Museums. Everyone else took shelter in the museums during the rain as well so we really didn't get to see very much this day. Example: Can you find me in this picture? I'm trying to see the Hope Diamond. However, in the same museum they had a new exhibit, Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th-Century Chesapeake, very cool!

Sunday (just plain COLD): Trolley tour, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, Georgetown. Oy my feet were shot. Chris wouldn't carry me around the cemetery yet somehow my feet still managed to make it to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Monday (a little less cold): Air & Space Museum, Botanic Gardens, National Archives, Capitol & White House (from the outside) then back to the American History Museum because it was too crowded on Saturday to see it all. We got to see the flag the Star Spangled Banner was written after, Seinfeld's puffy shirt, and Lincoln's top hat!

Tuesday (chilly and drizzling rain): Washington National Cathedral, Iwo Jima, Mt. Vernon (Washington's home & burial site). The Cathedral is enormous and really an amazingly constructed church. Mt. Vernon was great because apparently any other day (one with sun) we would have been standing in line for everything. The home has really been kept up beautifully.

For more pictures check out our slideshow!

New Sonogram Pictures!

Today we went in for our 30 week sonogram. Everything is good! Jackson weighs about 3lbs 2oz and is right on schedule! Little man had his head jammed down low so for most of the sonogram we saw this.

1st picture: back of his head with his hand by his ear. (uh oh..his head is looking pretty big to me)

After the technician took all the measurements she needed, she was very nice and gave me a chance to get up and walk around to try and get him to roll over. He sorta turned on his side and she got this profile.

Then she turned on the 4D and I have to say it got a little creepy! I kinda think he looks like Chris in this one.

Right at the very end he turned his little face for a second and she took this last picture. He's so squishy I don't know who he looks like!

Just to be extra safe they are going to have me come back in 4 more weeks to check his kidneys and bladder again. (even though they do not see anything abnormal at this point) I'm not complaining because I'll get more pictures!

I'll do a life update and post a new bump pic soon!

The Name Game

Sprig has gone nameless long enough! Chris & I sat down and finished our name lists. I'm saving them so one day poor Sprig can see his father wanted to name him (fill in the blank). ;) Just kidding! I'm sure several years down the road I might question Fletcher just as much as I'm wincing at Dwight now. (but really, DWIGHT!? I think that had to be a joke)

Well there were only 2 we have in common: Jackson or Mason so we threw those on a list with 1 other pick of our choice. Mine was Ryland and Chris's was Mitchell.

At this point we both agreed this whole process was a little silly because the name we have both liked and stewed over for some time now has been Jackson. So, we decided to save Mason for a later baby and can't wait for little Jackson Kingsley to arrive! Kingsley is Chris's middle name which was also his grandfather's name. I have always liked the name so that was a very easy choice!

Jackson = full of personality

Kingsley = from the King's meadow

26 Week Bump:

24 weeks & counting!

Today I am 24 weeks pregnant. I can't believe I am already entering my 6 month! Overall I feel really good. Sprig still does not have an official name. It is an intimidating process knowing that it will be his name forever. We want to be sure we have exhausted our search but we do have a front runner.

The kicks and jabs are getting stronger by the day it seems and two mornings ago I felt him roll over for the first time. It is a really weird yet amazing feeling. According to the baby book he is somewhere around a pound and between 8-12 inches long.

Here is some bumpage from week 22:

Most of you already know we put our house up for sale. This means that if / when it sells we will be heading home to TEXAS! It is bittersweet since we have begun to make friends out here, but we are anxious to be closer to our family and friends with the addition of Sprig. We'll see what happens! Please pray that when our house sells, Chris is able to find a job! He's been looking but it is tough out there right now. For the most part, I am not stressing about it (which seems strange for me since I am a super planner). I have faith that God's plan is perfect and He is in control of the situation so I am prepared to birth a Texan or a Delawarian either way!

This past week was a 'fun' one. We had a big winter storm come through Sunday night dumping nearly 6 inches of snow on our house. I'm hoping it is the last of the snow. Who wants snow in March anyway!? Today looks promising with highs in the low 60s so I better get a start on my productive day!

Until next time, lots of love to everyone who reads our blog!

Majority Rules!

Well 54% of you & the Chinese Gender Predictor were right! It's a boy! Seeing our miniman on the sonogram was the coolest thing. My sister predicted I would cry and I didn't believe her. I mean, we've all seen those fuzzy little pictures before, I knew what to expect. When he first popped up on the screen clear as day the tears started streaming. There is something so special about seeing proof that there really is a little one in there growing & thriving. They estimated his weight at 12 oz already!

This was our 20 week sonogram. We went for a Level 2 because my family has a bladder reflux history and they can actually see that stuff in a sonogram now! Amazing! So far so good. All Sprig's little organs and parts are doing just fine! Just to be on the safe side they are sending me back for another Level 2 at 30 weeks. I didn't put up too much of a fight because it means I get to see our little guy again!

The doctor said we have a very active little boy. He was really moving around a lot during the procedure and showing off his goods. The picture above is a shot from the bottom up.

I started feeling him kick and punch about 2 weeks ago..at first it felt like popcorn popping. Now it feels like little thuds and I feel him all the time! I love that feeling! And look how cute his little feet already are! I can't wait to see them in person!

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We are so blessed everything is progressing normally and we can't wait to meet our little man. After the sonogram we went straight over to Baby's R Us to look at all the stuff for baby! That store is really overwhelming so we just got the basics: diapers, wipes, laundry detergent and a onesie. The other 'stuff' can always come later.

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We don't have a name firmed up yet...maybe I need to make a poll for that too ;) ! Bump pictures are still to come! It's getting more round by the day. Stay tuned!

17 Weeks & Counting

The lump is growing! Sprig is the size of an onion or around 5". I still haven't felt anything move but the doctor said to give it a few more weeks. Our sonogram is scheduled for February 5th so we'll be able to find out if Sprig is a he or she! I've heard guesses from friends and family -- but let's have an official vote. Take the poll to the right and then come back in 2 weeks to see if you guessed right!

I'm going to Texas on Thursday to see my sweet niece Ava (and other friends and family but mostly Ava ;) )! If you haven't goggled at how precious she is lately...please look for the link to the right and check out her blog. She will put a smile on your face for sure.

Can you tell the difference in bumpage?

Update: OK, the chinese gender predictor says it's a boy based on my lunar age. I mean, it is 50% right most of the time, so I guessed boy. I've been craving TexMex and more TexMex -- but that's pretty normal for me ;)

Happy 2009!

We are very excited to announce that we are expecting an addition to our family June 28th! Yes, I am nearly 15 weeks pregnant! Although the news has been leaked to several people already, we just wanted to make it official. Above is Sprig's first picture at around 9 weeks.

So far everything is going well. I didn't really have any morning sickness....only nausea and middle of the night sickness on occasion. Overall I feel really lucky. At our last appointment we heard the heartbeat for the first time (170 bpm!) and I have another appointment next week so hopefully I get to hear it again.

I thought it would be fun to do something creative to announce our news to Chris's family at Thanksgiving....although they didn't really get it, it is a fun memory. You'll have to call us for the whole story but you can only imagine. They were keeping their eyes closed here so they couldn't cheat and read each other's hats.....turns out they couldn't read each other's hats anyway as 'Granddad' got translated to 'Good Ole' Dad' ;) !

Here is the obligatory first bump picture at 13 weeks....and it pretty much looks the same.

Happy New Year everyone! We are more than excited for what 2009 has in store and hope everyone's year is just as blessed!