We're having a....

...BOY!!!

We were a little surprised, as I have felt much smaller with this one and thought that might mean it was a girl. However, we couldn't be more happy to have another little boy. It will be so much fun to see our 2 boys playing---nicely---with each other. The ultrasound made me ache to hold him. John is quick to remind me that I am holding him all the time, but just not in my arms. Spoken like a true supportive husband! He is healthy and all the routine measurement and such were right on target for our orginal due date October 9th!

18 months and All's Well...

Our young man is now 18 months old. He is just as busy as ever and such a joy to have. He is always quick to find new activities, but his favorite is to play "chase" with Mommy or Daddy. Other fun activities he has started in on is: coloring, playing cars, wrestling, mimicing Mommy and Daddy and "fixing" things with his tools. He loves playing at the park and has mastered going down the slide by himself, and practices at home by climbing on everything. He is good to throw kisses and can be caught giving kisses to even strangers, but loves to give snuggles to his stuffed animals the most.

His favorite food is cheese and fruit snacks. Infact he repeatedly requested cheese one afternoon after his nap. Like a true little boy, he struggles to eat veggies, but will generally eat most anything else...after some coaxing. He loves to watch me cook and has started to be my little assistant chef with dinner and baking.

He can say a plethora of words and phrases like "here go," "where go," "mama" (finally),
"love you," "see ya" and too many others to list. He jabbers almost all day, and is often the self-appointed welcome committee where ever he goes, especially at grocery stores. He is so friendly and loving to everyone and is often complimented on how happy he is.

He had his first Sunday in Nursery last week and just waltzed in like he owned the place and didn't seem to have any trouble at all. We will see what happens from here on out. He is just as big as most of the 2-3 yr olds in nursery.

18 month stats

Height: 34"

90th percentile

Weight: 27 lbs 4 oz

75th percentile

Life would be so boring without our life-loving Jackson. We love you!

The Hunt...

We practiced really hard for the Easter Egg Hunts this year. We started pulling out the easter eggs at the beginning of April and tried to coach Jackson how to pick them up and put them in his basket. He got the hang of things just a few days before his first hunt at Dan's Grocery Store.

But once he saw his competition, he was mezmerized and couldn't pay attention to the tasks at hand.(...namely getting candy for himself, Mommy and Daddy. You parents out there know it's true :)

He got his picture with the Easter bunny and we saw a repeat of Christmas, tears and more tears. But this bunny is a little scary looking, can't really blame him.

Next the hunt at Grandma and Grandpa Andersen's. It was not as intense and we were sure he would come home with spoils for all....and he did. But how do you not at Grandma's house, right!

Jackson and Mason finding the grass more interesting at the moment.

What a lucky and cute looking crew.

Our Easter Egg hunters have graduated to another year of fun filled competition. And I look forward to it too! Of course family, friends and General Conference made the holiday all the more better. Until next year!

We are happy to announce...

...that we are going to have another baby!

We are so excited to have another little one to bless our home. We don't know what we would do without Jackson in our lives and can't wait to hold this little one in our arms. I am currently 12 weeks pregnant and am due on October 9th, just 2 1/2 weeks away from Jackson's 2nd birthday.

Keep us in your prayers that I will have an uneventful pregnancy this time.

We'll keep you posted!

Another Day Stuck Inside...

On one cold day in March I decided to build a fort for us to play in. I put two of our kitchen chairs a few feet apart, put the baby gate over the tops of the chairs, and covered them with blankets. It turned out to be really fun for the both of us.

Jackson favorite spot was to sit in the big boy chair. Keeping watch ;)

Inside, enjoying the spoils of our labors. Just big enough for the two of us.

(...and yes, the battle of the binkie is in hot pursuit these days!)

Happy smiley boy, finally a smiling picture!

We both are excited for warmer weather, until then, we'll have to be creative. Ideas are always welcome.

Valentines Day Recap...

Jackson and I started the Valentines weekend by making homemade Valentine treats for our cousins and family. He was actually very interested for about 10 minutes in making the treats and then of course it turned into a mommy only thing...The gold candy bars are Utah Truffles, they are to die for and a very hot commodity in our house.

Next, we decorated John's closet door with paper hearts and window stickers. Jackson was very helpful in this too! Although Jackson decided that the hearts needed to be in pieces, artistic liberties.

The finished product, I decided that maybe I should take a picture to ensure that John got the see it before it was quickly rearranged to Jackson's liking again...

John and I got our little sweetheart this Big Monkey. He loves it! He can tackle it and pull it around and he is continually kissing/biting this thing.

I got spoiled with a pedicure gift certificate for my boys! Can't wait to cash it in...

Happy Valentines Day!

Ahhh memories!

Piano Lessons Anyone...

We just can't seem to catch a smile on our kid lately, he usually laughs/smiles after the flash, oh well...

I love this picture. This is how Sundays at Grandma and Grandpa Riggs' home is spent. However, usually with more tears than smiley faces as they try to confiscate the piano for themselves. It's fun to hear their melodies as they are pounded out ever so skillfully! ;) Here's to more fun with the cousins!