JAMSquared

Category Archives: Family & Friends

JAM4’s Anatomical Ultrasound

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Last Wednesday, we had the anatomical ultrasound for JAM4. No anatomical abnormalities were detected. Based on body dimensions, JAM4 weighed in at 1 pound even, which is right on target for a November 13th due date.

JAM4's Rib Bones and Spine

 

Isn't this Side Profile Sweet?

Here’s a very brief video showing the four chambers of the heart beating.

We decided not to find out the sex of JAM4. I really want it to be a surprise when he/she is born. I can picture the “It’s a …” moment in the delivery room. James would have preferred to find out, but he let me have the final say; although, the ultrasound technician did give us an envelope with the baby’s sex written inside if we change our mind. Now, I know some of you think I am crazy for not wanting to find out beforehand, but I’m sorry. Now, granted there are some reasons to find out, but I will try to debunk them for you.

  1. It makes it easier to decorate the nursery. Well, we are going to decorate the nursery in the same gender-neutral rainforest theme that we used for Jessica, so this reason is not valid.
  2. It makes it easier to shop for clothes. Well, we have enough gender neutral clothes from Jessica to clothe the baby until he/she is 6 months old, so no new clothes are necessary right away, so this reason is also not valid.
  3. It makes it easier to prepare Jessica. Granted, this reason could be valid. However, I don’t think Jessica is old enough to truly understand that a baby brother/sister is growing inside Mommy and probably won’t truly understand until the baby comes home, so knowing in advance probably won’t matter. If she was older, this reason might make more sense.
  4. It makes it easier to choose a name. Granted, this reason could be valid. We have a boy’s name picked out, Jacob Andrew. And if we found out JAM4 is a boy, we could just stop looking for a girl’s name. However, if we found out JAM4 is a girl, we’d still have to keep looking. So since we’ll end up with an extra name, maybe it will be that much easier to convince James of a JAM5 down the road. LOL.

We are super excited about this baby and looking forward to his/her entrance regardless if JAM4 turns out to be a boy or a girl.

 

4th of July Fun

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Shady Hollow, our new neighborhood, puts on a parade and other activities every year for the 4th of July. We walked to the pool, the end of the line for the parade, and made it just in time to see the classic cars. They were followed by some floats and then sections of decorated kids and adults. Next year, we’ll have to help Jessica decorate her little car to ride in the parade.

Jessica Watching the Parade

The Chick-fil-a cow, a fire hydrant costumed adult and two Manchaca Volunteer Fire Department vehicles finished up the parade.

Parade

VFW Post 3377 presented the colors and we said the Pledge of Allegiance. This was followed by a patriotic reading and a few patriotic songs. Then the parade awards were announced.

Old Glory

A number of people were handing out red, white and blue beads. Jessica picked out some red beads.

Jessica Sporting Patriotic Attire Including Beads

The local boy scout troop sold lunch items and the Kiwanis club sold snow cones. James stood in line and got us each one. Jessica seemed to enjoy sharing her Daddy’s cherry snow cone more than my berry snow cone. She really wanted to hold the cup, but we wouldn’t let her.

Sharing a Snow Cone with Daddy

Jessica was then entranced by the square dances. They did a few numbers and then got volunteers to test out their dancing skills. I was one of those volunteers. One of the lady dancers tried to get James, but when she saw me being led off by one of the male dancers, she said sadly “Oh, you have to stay with the baby.” I don’t think James was disappointed. Too bad, he didn’t think to snap a pic of me dancing.

Square Dancers

20 Months Old

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Last week, Jessica turned 20 months old. I thought about discontinuing these monthly posts, but I like having a spot to keep track of the new words she says. Although, at some point I’ll stop. Maybe when she turns two, because at 25 months, I’ll have two to keep up with.

 

My Cutie Pie, 5/17/11

What Jessica is Up To

As mentioned previously, Jessica loves diapering her stuffed animals. If she has a hold of a wipe, she will even wipe them. If she has a hold of a wipe during a diaper change, she will often wipe herself and she will wipe herself if you give her toilet paper when she sits on her little potty. Unfortunately, she has yet to actually go in the little potty. I’m not sure when I will become serious about potty training. Maybe August? I don’t know. I’d like her to be potty trained before JAM4 arrives, but she hasn’t shown much interest and I don’t want to force her.

Jessica will take stuffed animals or her baby doll to the kitchen for snack time and pretend to feed them before she puts the food in her mouth. Watching her imaginative play is so fun.

 

Diapering Her Gorilla, 5/18/11

One morning, I found her pajama shirt pulled over her head. It hasn’t happened again, but she can be very helpful in getting dressed and undressed.

 

New PJ Style, 5/26/11

Since moving, Jessica has discovered empty cabinets and loves to go inside them and close the door. I’ll say “Where’s Jessica?” and she’ll peek her head out and giggle. I have saved one kitchen cabinet especially for Jessica so she can continue her play. Obviously, this means she is not afraid of the dark.

 

Playing in a Kitchen Cupboard, 5/26/11

Jessica found the wading pool at my Mom’s house so much fun, we got one for her at our house. We’ve used it a number of times now and she loves it. I’ve even signed her up for a free trial Aqua-Tots swim lesson next week. It is a parent/child lesson with a maximum of 4 students. I’m excited about this. I had looked into lessons at the YMCA, but their time for classes hasn’t worked for us. I’m hoping Jessica enjoys the lesson and we’ll get started on lessons for her to learn to swim.

 

In the Pool, 6/8/11

 

 

Splish Splash, 6/8/11

Jessica can be such a silly girl. I love how she makes me laugh and smile.

 

Sporting Sunglasses, 6/9/11

What Jessica is Saying

Single Words: cheese, juice, up, out, mama, da, poopy, ball, wow, whoa, whee, uh-oh, hello, hi, bye, bye-bye, book, more, fish, George, birds, mouse, chips, blackberries, flower, bubbles, balloons, da-ddy, see, milk, shoes (which she uses for socks too), door, Elmo, sit, grapes, sit, cookie (for cookies and Cookie Monster), baby and I’m sure there’s a few more I’m forgetting

Phrases: oh no

Animal Noises: gobble-gobble, meow, cock-a-doodle-do, caw, moo, quack

A Week in Midland

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James and I drove up to Midland the Friday before Memorial Day. We stayed at his grandparent’s house Friday through Monday. We celebrated his Mom’s birthday (see previous post) and otherwise just enjoyed family time.

Jessica Bouncing on a Ball, 5/29/11

Jessica Testing out Great-Granny's Phone, 5/30/11

Monday afternoon, I put him on a plane back to Austin. Texas Painting painted the majority of our interior walls plus installed crown molding in our living/kitchen/breakfast room and master bathroom. Being pregnant, I didn’t really want Jessica or myself to be around the paint fumes, so we stayed in Midland at my parent’s house until Saturday morning when drove back to Austin.

It just so happened that this same week was the week my nephews Cameron and Trevor were visiting Nanny too, so Jessica got lots of play time with her cousins. Tuesday morning, we went to Opportunity Park to play. A cooler day with highs only to reach the mid-90s, it was a perfect day to go to the park. The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Jessica Riding a Frog, 5/31/11

Jessica Swinging, 5/31/11

Cameron, Trevor and Jessica Checking Out the Train, 5/31/11

Trevor and Jessica Riding a Dinosaur, 5/31/11

Jessica and Trevor in the Airplane, 5/31/11

Nanny with Jessica, Trevor and Cameron on an Elephant, 5/31/11

Trevor, Jessica, Cameron and Jennifer on a Bench Swing, 5/31/11

That afternoon, we let the kiddos play in the wading pool in my parent’s backyard. I hadn’t known that my Mom had gotten a wading pool, so I didn’t bring swim stuff for Jessica, but my sister had packed more than one swim diaper for Trevor, so she just wore that. Jessica enjoyed the wading pool immensely. I think she might have enjoyed being in the water more than Cameron and Trevor as they kept going in and out of the pool, but Jessica just stood or sat in the water pouring water from one cup to a bucket and back.

Cameron and Jessica in the Pool, 5/31/11

Trevor, Jessica and Cameron Having Fun in the Water, 5/31/11

Jessica Cheesing it Up, 5/31/11

Thursday morning, the Midland Library held the annual summer reading program’s kick-off event, so we went to check it out. While we waited for the activities to start, Cameron, Trevor and Jessica worked some puzzles.

Cameron and Trevor Working Puzzles with Nanny, 6/2/11

Jessica Intently Working a Puzzle, 6/2/11

This year’s theme is Dig Up a Good Book and the kids made toilet paper roll dinosaurs.

Jessica Coloring Her Dinosaur, 6/2/11

Nanny Helping Cameron and Trevor with Their Dinosaurs, 6/2/11

Then we went to the library patio where they served popcorn and lemonade and had an area where the kids could dig for dinosaurs. Cameron really got into digging in the sand.

Cameron and Trevor Digging for Dinosaurs, 6/2/11

Jessica Digging for Dinosaurs, 6/2/11

Trevor, Jessica and Cameron, 6/3/11


The entire time we were in Midland, I would ask for Jessica to give kisses. When I would say this around Trevor, he would give kisses too. I finally got some pictures of the affectionate nature of these two on Friday.

Kissing Cousins, 6/3/11

Hugging Cousins, 6/3/11

My parents left at lunchtime to take Cameron and Trevor home. Before they left, the kiddos played while my Mom packed.

Jessica Sporting Her Papa's Hat, 6/3/11


Superhero Cameron, 6/3/11


We then walked to the mailbox. All of them loved the sidewalk “balance beam” between my parent’s and neighbors yards.

Trevor and Jessica, 6/3/11


Hugging Cousins, 6/3/11


Friday after Jessica’s afternoon nap, we went over to her Nana’s for some playtime and dinner.

Jessica Working a Puzzle, 6/3/11


Dawson and Joe Playing with Jessica, 6/3/11

Olivia’s 60th Birthday Party

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A lot has been going on in the past month, so I have some major blog posting to catch up on. We’re going to start off with pictures from James’ Mom’s birthday party. It was a surprise party put on by Joe, Olivia’s good friend Liz and me.

I took care of invitations and putting together a party book that attendees signed and some non-attendees virtually signed. I’m currently working on adding pictures from the party to it, so give it two weeks and then ask Olivia to see her party book. I made the invitation in Serif Digital Scrapbook Artist 2 using Missy’s Bits Sugar Plum kit. I then printed them with Costco’s 6.5×7 photo card option that comes with envelopes.

Olivia's Birthday Party Invitation

Olivia actually arrived early, 10 minutes early. It was kind of ironic since she is usually late. It was very difficult to keep it a surprise, but she was definitely surprised when she arrived.

Surprised Olivia

Olivia, Joe and Dawson

Olivia and Liz

Liz took care of the cakes and some decor. She also found a really great 60 beaded necklace we insisted Olivia wear.

Olivia Blowing Out the Candles on the Chocolate Cake

Nana got some help from her grandkids in opening the presents.

Olivia with Jessica and Dawson Helping Out a Gift

Overall, the party was a huge success and I think everyone had a great time.