22 Weeks

22 Weeks along and finally moved into our new place for the year.  Pardon the mess you can see in the photos.  We're still in the unpacking stage.  

Here are all 3 of my kiddos working hard on this past week's board.

Aren't they adorable!  That's Kelly, Aidan, and Ella.  (and you can see my awesome basinet I snagged at a garage sale earlier last month for $10! I didn't want to get it because at the time we didn't know the baby's gender so I didn't want to get color-specific things but I couldn't pass up a $10 basinet.  I love me some garage sales!)

Here I am, showing off my bump! (Yes those slippers have made it into every picture I've taken so far. And yes, I know it's summer and 90+ out everyday but that doesn't stop me from wearing slippers and wearing a sweater.  I'm weird I know.)  But finally! My bump has emerged!  It's still small for being 5 months along but it is finally noticeable!  (I'll try to get a side-on picture of it for next week)

How far along? 22 Weeks (picture was actually taken at the beginning of the 23rd week but just go with it)

Total weight gain/loss:  14 pounds!  I thought i gained more than that but I'm holding steady at 14 pounds. I have a feeling I'll be gaining a few over the Montana vacation. Can't wait!!!

Maternity clothes? I broke out my "maternity swimsuit" this past week when i took my kiddos swimming. I mean after all the reason I got it was to be more modest in front of them so might as well make use of it. I will be bringing it to Montana so we'll see if the spirit moves me to dawn it on vacation or not.

Stretch marks? Nope.  Im going through lotion like it's my job. I love my skin!

Sleep: Sleeping well. I'm convinced I can't (or maybe I just don't want to) sleep without my body pillow and stuffed dog named Fluffy. (Dan thinks I'm so weird but again, that's not the only reason he thinks I'm one odd duck)  I might or might not have brought one or both to my soon-to-be sister-in-law's bachelorette party this past weekend. It was a fun time and I slept like a fabulous rock. Prego ladies can still have a good time even when we're serving as DD's. This prego lady danced her little heart out then hit the sack...hard. I was a little stiff that next morning but I attribute that to using my dancing muscles only seen back in my sorority days. I have noticed that some of my range of movement is starting to get more tough despite my stretching and other active activities.  For example, bending over and getting up can sometimes be more of a challenge.  It makes me feel old but I'm still moving.

Best moment this week: It's a tie between moving into our new place and dancing my pregnant little heart out at the aforementioned bachelorette party.  By moving I mean me packing my weekend bag to go to the bachelorette party while my awesome parents and 3 of Dan's friends moved all the boxes over.  Winner!  When I came back from my weekend away, everything was moved into its correct room and now all we have to do is unpack.  I do hate unpacking but I didn't have to lift much.  Now I just have to bake cookies for the moving helpers.

At the bachelorette party, one of Dan's cousins was also pregnant so I wasn't the lone prego person there.  I was so happy that I was finally feeling good enough to actually enjoy myself this weekend.  Previous attempts to celebrate and enjoy weekends of family and friends' weddings earlier this pregnancy have not been good at all for me.  I'd go into them thinking I could keep it together, feel well, and celebrate but this did not happen.  I would end up having to take breaks during the weddings, leave early, spend quality time hugging the toilet, or a combination of the three but always tears would ensue because I was sad that I couldn't participate and celebrate like my normal self.  Points to my awesome husband for being a trooper through all of this.  But this past weekend, I actually felt amazing for the first time throughout my pregnancy.  I took advantage of that by celebrating with my soon-to-be sister-in-law, her friends, and more family.  I stayed up entirely way too late and even danced on a stage to a techno version of the Lion King.  It brought me back to my days in a sorority when dancing like this was a common occurrence.  Well I should preface that when I say "dancing" I mean that in the loosest term possible.  My tall body lacks coordination so it's more like moving a few beats behind the music, but with confidence.  My dancing ability aside, the point of this long winded story was that I had so much fun and I actually felt really good.  Gosh I can't wait to celebrate the actual wedding in 2 short weeks!

Miss Anything? I had a huge hankering for Jimmy John's sandwiches this past week and not being able to enjoy my ham and cheese sandwiches makes me sad.  Stupid rule about eating cold cuts.  And I would have liked to enjoy a beer while unpacking all our stuff while Dan was gone for work this week but that also didn't happen.  Still missing my raw cookie dough.  Gosh that stuff is so good!

Movement: Little baby Koch is moving up a storm!  He loves kicking...just like his daddy.  I love feeling his little kicks because it makes me feel like he's developing just fine and it's a special bonding experience between us. (awww that's the mommy in me coming out)

Food cravings: BLT's (bacon in general), milkshakes, cinnamon rolls, and of course beer (mainly because I miss it...but it's okay, I'm more than fine surviving without it).  I'm loving Burger King's cini-minis for $1 in the morning.  Perfect little bites of cinnamon and joy!  I've been able to eat whole meals now!  I'm back to chugging my delicious milk (that's 2% or greater for you milk lovers out there) at my usual pace.  mmmm milk!

Anything making you queasy or sick: The smell of cigarettes still.  Broccoli, fish, etc. Basically anything that already stinks is intensified with this pregnancy thing.

Have you started to show yet: YEPP!!!  Still looking odd in my opinion but it's finally noticeable!  Momma Jackie finally looks like I have a baby growing in there!

Gender: Strong and handsome Koch boy!  I hope you look just like your daddy baby nugget.  He's one handsome man.  But I hope you have thick hair like me. just saying

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy except for the unpacking part and setting up the utilities at the new place.  Gosh that's such a pain to deal with customer service on the phone.  They really get in my way of enjoying the new place.  I just want to concentrate on setting up our little guy's room, not dealing with people who are paid to make my life miserable (or at least that's what I think they get paid to do).  But overall I'm happy that I'm feeling better and can actually start enjoying pregnancy instead of feeling like a miserable party pooper.

Looking forward to:  Not sure if I mentioned this or not but...My family and I (and Dan) are going to Montana in just a few short days for vacation!  Bah!  Dan and I are in need of a vacation and my family's trip to Montana is just what the doctor ordered.  (okay, so maybe she told me to take it easy on the hikes and make sure I'm not on a flight longer than 3 hours, etc.  But she did give me the okay on the trip and said it would be perfect for relaxing)  It will definitely be relaxing but a vacation with my family is always an adventure.  We never stop laughing and with my already weakened bladder, I might pee my pants a few times (hopefully not but there's always that chance).  This year we have a trophy that will be given out to the most interesting/fun person on vacation.  Last year it was unanimously voted to be given to my mom.  She is a character.  She's already been quoted saying some ridiculous things in preparation for this year's vacation so she's going into it as a frontrunner for the trophy.  This year we're bringing more people on the trip so that could make things interesting.  My Grandpa Jones will be joining us...he has what some might call an "eyebrow problem".  He's old and refuses to have normal looking eyebrows.  My goal for vacation is to groom those suckers so my child won't be terrified to meet him.  My sisters' boyfriends are also coming, Nate and Doug.  We've never had this much testosterone on a vacation before.  It's always been just my dad and 4 ladies so we'll see what this new gender balance does for our vacation experience.

I'm not looking forward to traveling to Montana.  I believe Dan and I have 3 separate flights beginning at 6am which means this lady will be waking up at 330 am to start this traveling escapade.  Once we finally land from our 3rd flight, we will still have to drive 4 hours to our destination.  We're kinda going to the middle of nowhere (near Glacier National Park'ish area) so that's why we have such a long journey.  I'll be in need of a bed and a beer by then but I'll gladly settle for a bed.

I hope to be able to share some of our Montana stories with you all next week but we'll see if we even have internet access out there or if I decide to go completely unplugged!

21 Weeks

Dan and I went to visit my family this past weekend.  We had a baby appointment right before we left and we got to find out what we were having!  We wanted to tell them the gender in a fun way so I took some banana bars and frosted them with either "boy" or "girl".  They took bets on the gender and now they are waiting in anticipation.  

Mommy, Daddy, Jill and her boyfriend Nate (missing Jenny and Doug)

And the reveal!  We're having a boy!  This will be my parents' first grandchild and my dad's first boy so needless to say they were all pretty excited!

In case you are wondering if the hue of the frosting is kinda pink, then the answer is yes.  So my mom only had pink frosting so I was forced to use that to frost the bars.  But I couldn't make a huge deal about it without giving away the gender before the reveal.

Week 21's picture.  You can kinda see the bump starting to form.  I'll wear a better shirt next week so you can see it more accurately.

How far along? 21 Weeks - It's all down hill from here!  



Total weight gain/loss: 11 pounds!  It's all going to my stomach and boobs. I had a fantastic weekend of eating Japanese food and downing lots of milk products (I'm a big fan of everything dairy) so I think that may have contributed to some poundage.



Maternity clothes? Still wearing my normal pants and some flowy shirts.  Can't wait to get big enough to actually look like I'm pregnant though.



Stretch marks? None.  Just super soft skin.

Sleep: Sleeping well!  I'm still not a fan of the bathroom breaks though.  They disrupt my awesome dreams and sometimes they wake my hubby up.  Don't want that.



Best moment this week: Finding out that we are having a boy!!  Dan and I are so excited to bring a little Koch boy into this world!  Our baby appointment went so well!  The doctor said that our little stud was perfectly sized, shaped, and right on track to being a future Cubs player.  He was right at the 52% developmentally compared to other babies.  The doc said they want him right at 50% so we're doing just fine.  We got to see his toes, fingers, heart, kidneys, etc. and everything looked perfect!  Gosh I can't wait to meet our little star!  I'm starting to dream about what my little man is going to look like.  Will he have Dan or my nose?  Whose feet will he have?  Can I request that he get his Daddy's athletic ability (sorry kid, but Mommy isn't bringing much to the table there)?  I hope he gets thick hair like me but dark brown hair like his Dad.  But more than anything, I just want him here.  I want him healthy, happy, and know that he is so loved!

Miss Anything? Coffee - gosh I could have gone for a big fat mocha frappuccino about 5 times this past week.  I'm dead tired but that's more from staying up too late than anything.  I'm also missing my margaritas.  It's summer time and momma would like to enjoy a margarita but I'll get one soon enough.



Movement: Our little man is moving up a storm!  It's adorable!  I'm told it'll get stronger and I'll grow to find it annoying but until then, I find his movements to be a reminder that I have a healthy and happy growing boy inside me.



Food cravings: Japanese food...more specifically my favorite Japanese restaurant in Rockford, JMK.  I made sure to strategically schedule dinner with my sister and her boyfriend there as Dan and I were passing through.  I was not remotely lady-like in my decorum when food was presented to me.  I chowed down like a pregnant woman should.  It's okay" I said, "I'm eating for two".  First time I've used that line since I've been able to keep food down.  I might be using it more often now.  You can be assured that this pregnant lady cleared her plate!  To my happy surprise, my friend whose bachelorette party I went to this past weekend, made dinner plans at JMK so I got to eat this delicious food twice in a weekend!  I was not complaining.  What a yummy treat! Just throwing it out there but if anyone wants to deliver some JMK chicken, fried rice, zucchini, and shrimp to me, I'll be more than okay with that.


Anything making you queasy or sick: Not this week!  Everything smells so good! It makes me want to shove my face full of delicious food!  Such a fun change from my previous "everything makes me gag and get sick" stage.  Thank you God for making food smell sooooo good!  It's only more proof that you made amazing things and want us to be happy.



Have you started to show yet: So I'm happy to report that I think I have an official belly starting.  I still think I look more fat than pregnant but my bump is starting to take shape.  I wish it would come faster so that I would look actually pregnant.  I'm almost 5 months along and I still shocked people this past weekend when I told them I was pregnant.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about my figure, I would just like it to come in faster.  I think a healthy-looking pregnant mommy is so beautiful and it would make me feel so good to look like my baby is growing well inside of me.  I know I know...I already have proof that my baby is growing appropriately but the belly would help me feel better about it.  If you've ever gone through horrible morning sickness like I did and you've taken forever to show, you would be dying for a pregnant looking belly too.  Or maybe I'm weird.  But I've made peace with that.  



Gender: BOY!!!!!  We told our families and are now shouting it from the treetops!  This Koch household is welcoming its first boy!  We decided that we're going to keep the name a surprise (guess we should probably think of one now), even from our families...hehehe, but we will tell people (obviously) the gender.  Now I can't stop thinking about boy stuff!  Baseball, trucks, getting dirty.  I hope I have a little boy that turns out to be just like his Daddy! (except my little prince will be a Cubs fan, not a Cardinals fan.  If only I could change that about Daniel)



Labor Signs: No



Belly Button in or out? In



Wedding rings on or off? On



Happy or Moody most of the time: Ecstatic is more like it.  I'm over the moon about our little boy!  (Have I mentioned we're having a boy yet?!?)  I also got to visit my family this past weekend and it makes me so excited for our Montana vacation coming up in less than 10 days!  My only request is that my family moves closer to me.  They're only 3 1/2 hours away, but that seems like an eternity!  So Mom, Dad, Jill, and Jenny, please move closer.  Okay? Thanks!  I got to celebrate with a dear friend of mine who is getting married in a few weeks!  I couldn't be more excited than I already am for her and her fiance.  They are amazing people who God brought together under such amazing circumstances and I'm over the moon about them getting married.  Thank you God for friends like Christie and Jaber.


I'm also happy that Dan and I finally got to get our keys to our new place this past week!  We're moving!  No worries friends.  We'll still be in Champaign.  We just wanted a place that gives us a little more room (we have a baby coming in case you didn't know) and would allow us to save a few more dollars (only to spend it on diapers I assume).  So now begins the dreaded process of moving.  Woof!  Don't get me wrong.  I'm super excited for our new place.  I'm not excited for the moving process.  This is probably because I'm a notoriously horrible packer: whether it's packing for a trip, loading up my purse for a date night, or packing for a move, I'm just not good at it.  Hi, my name is Jackie and I'm a bad packer.  I take after my mom and I feel that in case of a natural disaster, medical emergency, apocalypse, etc. I will be the one who came prepared for it!  This annoys my husband to no end because my back in constantly hurting from the purse I carry and my airline bags are always over the weight limit when we travel.  So now I have to help him pack up our place.  Ugh!  Not my idea of fun. I'm like a child and whenever I see something I haven't played with in a while, I need to suddenly spend an hour playing with it, making it feel loved.  This can be seen especially when I pack up my kitchen.  "O I haven't used my mandolin in a while.  Maybe I should make xyz for dinner (and make a big mess)." or "Gosh I haven't used this serving platter since I got it.  I think we should have a party so I can use it. (and make a big mess)"  I just want my kitchen items to feel like they are loved.  I'm sorry I haven't spent much time with you guys these past 4 months while I was dying.  I hope you understand. Pretty soon we will catch up and become best friends again.  I apologize if you at anytime felt neglected by me.  I love my kitchen items.  They're always there for me...and they help me create yummy food!  Now that's a good friend!


Looking forward to:  Nesting in our new place!  Finally I can start making our spare room into our baby room!   I'm also excited for my soon-to-be sister-in-law's bachelorette party this coming weekend.  While I'll be dancing my little heart out, my awesome parents and husband will be moving all the big stuff into our place.  Yeah for getting out of moving!  I'll make them some cookies as a thank you. Don't worry.


Still counting down until my family Montana trip!  Less than 10 days!  Gah!

Anything Else: It was my handsome hubby's birthday this past week and I haven't gotten around to throwing a blog post to celebrate that but don't worry...it's coming....with lots of fun pictures!

Mr. and Mrs. Jones

Today is my parents' 30th anniversary!

Aren't they adorable?
This is them celebrating their 30th anniversary on a romantic trip to Key West, FL.

The cute couple on our Montana vacation last year.

Their legacy thus far...

Still no idea where my red hair came from.

These two cats look perfect together.

This was on their 25th anniversary trip to the Bahamas.  It's obvious that they love each other.

Cheers to my mom and dad!


But our story really begins on Saturday, July 10th, 1982 when this man took

this foxy lady to be his wife

Told you my mom was a babe.  She looks exactly the same as she did 30 years ago.  And Dad looks like a handsome devil.  Not too bad.

Next thing you know, they have 3 awesome daughters.

Throw in a couple dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, etc. along the way.

They gained their first son, Daniel, on September 11, 2010

Which brings us to today.  30 years later and these two cats are still crazy about each other (even though sometimes they drive each other crazy, but Dad blames that on living with all girls up to this point).  Jim and Julie are both over the moon about becoming grandparents for the first time...okay so they might be too excited.  Mom has loaded up on baby stuff since before we found out that I was pregnant (and when I say before, I mean years before, not even weeks).  Dad started a baby pool beginning on the day Dan and I tied the knot.  But Dan and I couldn't be more excited to have these two as our child's soon-to-be grandparents.

They set the bar pretty high as far as expectations for parenting and marriage go.  Although not perfect, they come pretty close.  They have taught me that family, above all earthly things, is the single most important possession we have.  The only thing above family is faith.  God has blessed me with the most amazing family ever and it all begins with Jim and Julie at the helm.

Don't get me wrong.  Some days I wonder where my family came from.  My parents are ridiculous beyond compare.  But these are also the days that I almost die from laughing at the crazy moments I have with them.  My parents definitely taught me to have a sense of humor when it comes to all relationships.  Dan and I have used this advice and some days we don't stop laughing.  I get daily texts from my family reminding me of how ridiculous they are as a bunch.  My parents always have smiles on their faces (except when my sisters and I got in trouble when we were younger) to let everyone know that no matter what the world throws at you, you need a sense of humor, love, and great family and you can get through anything.  Anyone who knows my family will tell you that we live by these principles and these all come from our parents.

Their example of committed love is the best thing any girl could take from this world.  It not only serves as an example for Dan and I in our marriage but it gives us an example of what great parenting looks like.  If we can learn to parent half as well as our parents did us, then I think our kid has a fighting chance.  My sisters and I are beyond blessed to have these two as our parents.  Nothing makes me more excited than to know that these two are going to be the best grandparents in the world.

I'm one of the few people in the world that can confidently say that my parents (and family) are my best friends.  Without them I wouldn't be who I am today or where I am today.  They made me everything I am and loved me throughout everything I did.  They came to my sports events (I wasn't very good but they were still there), math team events (that I was good at!  Yeah for nerds!), cheered me on through school, helped me with my homework, stayed up late with me finishing college applications and scholarships, helped me raise animals, provided an amazing life for me, taught me how to drive, work hard, make friends, and love.  They laughed with me, cried with me, supported me, pushed me to do my best, and even disciplined me when I needed it.  They were the first people to accept me for who I was (their perfect miracle child) and make me feel loved and adored every step of the way.  They always made me take responsibility for my actions.  They taught me self-respect, self-worth, ambition, and more.  They also taught me how to be a generous and selfless person.  Ask anyone and they will tell you that my parents are the most giving and generous people they know.  To me, nothing is more biblical than learning from your parents how to be a servant on a daily basis.

My parents are the epitome of what great parenting looks like.  So I know that I don't have to go far when I need advice on how to parent.

Congratulations to my amazing parents, Jim and Julie Jones for 30 years of awesomeness.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for our family for the next 30.

Love you Mom and Dad!

20 Weeks

My kids were super excited to work on this week's board, especially when I told them that the baby is now as big as a banana. 

They're such hams 

 

(So it appears I neglected to put a picture of me and my belly in here, so if I can remember sometime today to take a half decent looking picture of myself, I'll throw one up.  My kiddos are way cuter to look at though) 


How far along? 20 Weeks - Halfway There!! (If this blog had background music it would be playing Bon Jovi right now)


Total weight gain/loss: 8 pounds!  Gaining weight finally! Honestly I can't believe it's taken me 20 weeks to gain 8 pounds.  Normally I can put that on in a good weekend of margaritas and fair food (or a week of eating my mom's delicious food).


Maternity clothes? I broke down and bought a maternity swimsuit due to my dilemma last week.  I spent an hour and a half trying on every swimsuit that this store had and finally decided on one that covered my ta ta's up.  The swimsuit isn't horrible but I really just needed it to be covered up around kids.  So besides my gynormous bra and new swimsuit, still rocking my normal clothes.


Stretch marks? Nope.  My husband is loving my soft skin though.

Sleep: Sleeping much better.  Getting my 7-9 hours per night.  Still waking up a couple times to take bathroom breaks though.  My husband and I switched sides on the bed so that my bathroom breaks wouldn't wake him up.  I'm a little stiff in the morning but feeling better.


Best moment this week: I literally woke up on the day that Week 20 started and put my hand on my belly because I thought I felt gas but this "gas" was moving places a bit.  I quickly texted the lady I babysit for (she's my go-to for all my baby symptoms) to make sure that I wasn't dying and to find out if what I was feeling could be the baby moving.  After a detailed conversation, she confirmed that yes, I had felt my little nugget move for the first time!  She said it probably was happening before but this is the first time I was really noticing it.  Gah!  Now I'm feeling my little nugget move all the time....literally all the time!  My favorite thing to do is put my hand on my belly when I'm feeling the baby move from the inside to try and feel it from the outside.  I even had my husband put his hand on my belly while the baby was moving and we both felt the baby move!  This was beyond amazing!  I'm over the moon with excitement now!  Little baby Koch is now on the move!


Miss Anything? eating raw cookie dough, wine, venison, beer....


Movement: O yeah!  And couldn't be more excited about it!  It makes everything so real!


Food cravings: Chipotle and BBQ but I got to have both this past week!  We went to a Blues, Brews, and BBQ festival and I got some yummy BBQ but didn't get to enjoy some brews.  I served as the DD for my husband and some friends.  They know when to take advantage of a good situation when they find it. Rar!    Mainly I just want to shovel food in my face whenever I see it.  4 months of horrible morning sickness has taught me that this is a bad idea.  My stomach is gradually getting bigger so shoveling food in it all at once is probably not a good idea.  Gosh it kills me to eat so slow.  I do enjoy eating all the cheese I can find.  I found this delicious Pecorino Romano at the store that I've been chowin down on.  What I really want is a big hunk of Bree cheese...gooey, yummy Bree cheese with a big glass of a tannic Beaujolais wine.  mmm that sounds sooooo good!  Unfortunately Bree cheese is on the list of cheeses I can't eat while pregnant (tears!!) and obviously so is wine.  I did break down and go to the store and buy some sparkling grape juice to try and compensate, yeah....it didn't work.  But I had to try.


Anything making you queasy or sick: The smell of fish and cigarettes still.  The festival was almost too much to bear with so many stinky and smoky people around me.  Don't get me wrong, I love love loved the smell of all the BBQ smoking but I'm not too fond of the cigarette smoke.


Have you started to show yet: I think I look more fat than pregnant but my loving husband thinks otherwise.  The baby is slowwwwwly creeping up my long torso still making me look like I have a pooch rather than a belly, but it's getting there.  I mean there's definitely something there.  It's not flat.  Can't wait for that big ol' belly though!  The lady helping me try on swimsuits didn't even know I was pregnant.  She thought I was trying them on for a friend.  Ugh!  I'm over 4 1/2 months pregnant.  I would like to look like I have a bun in the oven please!


Gender: Sooo close to finding out!  I might or might not be shouting it from the top of my lungs next week!  Eeeekkkk!


Labor Signs: No


Belly Button in or out? In.  Dan jokingly asked if my belly button would be connected to the baby's.  I said probably not.  I don't think that's how things work.  We both are convinced that my deep belly button is the telephone to talk to our child.  (Okay...so mainly just me)


Wedding rings on or off? On


Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy Happy Happy.  This second half of pregnancy is starting off much easier and way more enjoyable than the first half.  Thank you God for taking that horrible Morning Sickness away from me.  I pray for all the women who unfortunately have it throughout their entire pregnancy.  Please give them my deepest sympathies....and a milkshake.  I'm only moody when Dan and I play games together and I lose.  We are what you call a family of sore losers.  It's not the rest of our families, just us.  And we really hate losing to each other.  And this past week, Dan and I played a ridiculous game called "Life on the Farm" a few too many times and I lost most of the games.  I didn't take it too well.  So I would make us play again. And then I would lose, again.  Ugh!  This game has nothing to do with skill which makes it so infuriating that I would lose sooo many times in a row!  Okay Jackie, time to move on.


Looking forward to:  Dan and my next baby appointment in a few days!  This is the one where we might or might not be finding out the gender of our nugget!  Eeeekkkk!!  Also stoked for visiting my family this weekend!  Jeez it's been forever and I'm dying to see them!  Plus a good friend of mine is getting married soon and her wedding shower and bachelorette party is this weekend so I get to celebrate that.  Dan and I started packing up our stuff to get ready for our move.  We get the keys to our new place next week and can spend the rest of the month moving into it.  My parents are graciously coming down to help us move next week (I'll actually be gone celebrating my soon to be sister-in-law's bachelorette party that weekend leaving Dan and my parents to move us.  Yeah for getting out of moving!).


Anything Else: Now starts the countdown to my family's annual vacation!  (We actually began the countdown right when we got home from last year's vacation).  We're going to Montana again this year and let me tell you, it's beyond gorgeous up there.  So relaxing (minus the ridiculous hijinks that happen when we're all together...which is all the time).  So the countdown is now under 20 days!


Also: My kiddos thought it would be nice to give Dan some advice on how to be a good dad and each piece of advice was written on a piece of paper and made into a chain.  It was super adorable.  Contrary to what some of the links may say, I had nothing to do with any of the advice.  (My kiddos are just rather perceptive)  Some of these I have no idea what they mean and some are kinda awesome, but none the less, here is the incomplete list of advice from my kiddos to Dan on how to be a good dad:

• Don't ground your kids
• Change all the diapers for the first 3 months (nice advice Aidan!)
• Be nice to Jackie
• Help her by doing chores she would usually do
• Teach the baby Risk (the game) ASAP! (I just taught Aidan that game...he likes it)
• Make it laugh
• Help Jackie make the baby sleep
• Give the baby a piggy back ride
• Give Jackie a back massage (Also fantastic advice!)
• Babies like dogs
• Babies like being tall (???)
• Babies like to laugh
• Get a dog (okay...so maybe I've mentioned to the kids on multiple occasions [everyday] that I would like a dog.  But that just means that they listen to me. Score for Jackie!)
• Give Jackie 30 a day to rest (only 30 minutes?)
• **Don't wear baggy pants (I think this one might be my favorite....because I have no idea what it means or how it relates to being a good dad)
• Be nice
• Have fun
• Feed them (Very good advice Ella.  It is a good idea to feed the kid)
• Give them ice cream (okay...so this one sounds like the kids were trying to get me to give them ice cream.  And they were)
• Vacation
• Be a friend (this little girl is way beyond her years)
• Love them (advice like this makes my heart melt)
• Treat Jackie like a Queen (my kids are just so darn thoughtful)
• ****Teach them about God  (My real favorite)

You can't tell me your heart doesn't melt while reading those.