To Infinity and Beyond!

Someone is SUPER excited for Halloween! 

Jackson couldn't wait to open this package...the screams of delight were priceless! 

20 weeks! Wowza!

Meet Baby Riley! We won't find out if Riley is a boy or girl until he/she makes his/her debut in 2012, but it sure was fun to have our fetal ultrasound last week! 

 I like to lay low on Mama's pelvis!

 Riley's little foot sure does like to kick like Big Brother did! Maybe more! 

 Blowing bubbles.

 More bubbles. Riley has Jackson's nose (Sierra's side) and mouth (my side). 

We could tell more from actually watching the monitor. 

 Hi Mom and Dad! Riley trying to find his/her mouth or maybe just fixing his/her hair. 

 Riley's legs...with a hand between hiding what we didn't want to see. The technician said Riley is a good model and took excellent pictures for our doctors. Baby was very agreeable!

19 weeks...hmmm...not so sure about these stripes!

20 weeks!!!

Seriously I'm 20 weeks already!? I can still wear all of my pants which is so different from my pregnancy with Jackson. I was wearing maternity pants by this time last time! My belly is higher and appears to be bigger but I've gained less weight this time around. I am feeling SO good now! At about 15 weeks my energy returned, I started sleeping again, and began feeling real kicks compared to butterfly flutters. The sick feeling went away!

Now these kicks are constant and Riley has his/her back on my pelvis causing me to run to the bathroom more and I can't sit too long without becoming uncomfortable. I am feeling lots of poking of little hands and feet in my ribs. 

I had to make a switch to flats last week after two days of a swollen ankle. The pressure on my pelvis causes poor circulation I guess. I wore heels for 40 weeks with J! Again, so different from my first pregnancy. I guess it's true about each pregnancy being unique! 

I am enjoying the miracle that is kicking and moving around inside me...can't believe we are halfway to Riley's birth!

Soccer Star & 1st Wedding for our Big Boy

Our Big Boy started soccer last week. He is playing on a team called Thumpers and is having a blast learning how to be part of a team and following directions with the other 2-3 year olds. 

It is the cutest thing to see them practice together. They are still too young to play against each other but are learning lifelong skills through soccer. When I found out I was pregnant with Jackson I was on a women's soccer team (mind you I was horrible)...but maybe this kick-started his passion. Ha!

We have enjoyed this family time together. Jackson listens to Dad's advice on how to build a soccer tower.

He was SO excited to wear his new "soccer shoes." 

He didn't want to take them off after he tried them on.

Coach Cody asked the kids their names and their favorite animals as an opening. 

Jack said, "My name is Jackson! My favorite animal is an elephant!!!" 

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After our first soccer lesson last weekend we drove up to Ventura to celebrate Marika and Kevin's wedding. Sierra grew up with the bride and her brothers. We made it to the wedding with 5 minutes to spare and Jackson did pretty good during the Greek Orthodox ceremony. 

Knowing that wedding cake was just a few hours away helped Jackson keep his talking to a whisper during the ceremony. He let loose on the dance floor with Gram at the reception. 

A different flavor for each layer=YUM!

1st Week of Pre-School

Beep! Beep!

checking out the other early birds!

Jackson is SO excited for his first day!

We made it through Jackson's first week of pre-school! On Monday Sierra and I dropped him off together and brought our weekend house guest, Austin, along for the 6:45 a.m. fun! Last week Jackson had a preview day with his class so he was ready! I cried for 30 minutes in my car before heading off to move my office at work. Our official report day was Wednesday and by the end of the week my new classroom was set up for the first day--I might be taking a 2nd grade class tomorrow because as of Friday we didn't have a teacher. Thanks, HR! I just feel badly for the kids who are excited to meet their new teacher and get me. Ha, ha! Oh, well. As an EL resource teacher the first week of school means helping in all areas. 
Jackson did really well his first week! His teacher said I must be exhausted by the end of my day with him being one-on-one because he doesn't stop talking. I said, "yes...he's like his dad in every way!" It really is non-stop chatter ALL DAY LONG which of course is awesome but sometimes I just want a few minutes of quiet time. He has made many new friends in his 2 year old class. My mom says he hangs out with a little girl named Riley most of the time. Interesting because this is the name of the little baby in my belly no matter the gender. How does my mom know what he does all day? The school has a video monitoring system we can check out online and my mom loves to watch him and then text me updates since Java needs an update on my laptop at work and I haven't had a chance to do this yet. 
When I pick Jackson up from pre-school he usually doesn't want to leave so that's a good sign. But the mornings have been a little emotional because for the first hour he is supervised by another teacher who he says isn't nice. She is nice, she's just not his teacher, Ms. Sierra, who is extremely nice. I told him he won't always love his teachers so this is an early lesson. Each day has been a little better dropping him off and yesterday he referred to a story that the other teacher had read to them so she must be growing on him. I am really happy that we chose to start him in pre-school--he LOVES going to school!

ending our fun summer and beach days

back to school shopping...where's Jackson?

trying out the new backpack and lunchbox

Hugging Daddy goodbye

Circle Time--perfect read aloud for J: The Beach

almost 18 weeks!