Recent happenings

I have been a terrible blogger lately, but I've been enjoying spending time with my 2 boys :). Here's a brief summery of what's going on around here:

Jack is beginning potty training. He goes on the potty about once a day. With nursing Brady, really don't have the time and energy to put into full time potty training. He's also talking up a storm!

Brady is doing great! He's such a happy baby! He smiles all the time and has recently giggled for us a couple of times. He's sleeping about 10 hours straight at night, which is great for all of us :) he has stopped rolling over....his head got too heavy :)

Luke is doing great at his new job! He's been trusted with a lot there early on. I'm so proud of him...he's such a hard worker and man of integrity. Luke's also been enjoying the warm weather by playing golf and working outside. If you know Luke, you know he'll do just about anything to spend time outside with his shirt off in the sun!

I (Laura) have been spending most of my time taking care of our 2 precious children. There's nothing more important to me! I'm adjusting well to life in greenville and have been making new friends. Last weekend our dear friends Matt and Jen came to visit us. Jen helped me start getting the house decorated. It's starting to feel a lot more like home with our pictures up on the wall. I'm also excited that garage sale season has begun! Last weekend was my first one out and I picked up a lot of great stuff for under $20! Also, Luke and I took dance lessons last night with our small group from church...SOOOO much fun!!! I Highly recommend taking lessons with your spouse if you never have!

Whew....that was short and sweet! Hope to be better about updating the blog in the future, but I'm not making any promises!!

Really!? Already???

Today, Brady is 7 weeks old, but he started rolling over about 5 days ago!! I got it on video today to show the world because I feel like people don't believe me when I tell them. I can't believe he's already rolling over! The first time it happened, I didn't see it and I thought it was a fluke. Then he did it multiple times the next day, and the next day, and the next. I guess he does know what he's doing afterall!! I think he just has such a strong neck that he can get his head up high enough to carry the rest of his body on over. I asked his pediatrician when babies start rolling over and he said 4 months at the earliest! We'll have to wait and see if he does everything this early....I sure hope not!!!!

Sentences and Questions

Jack is talking a LOT more these days. Tonight at dinner he said this sentence, "Daddy, Mommy changed my dirty diaper." I can't believe the kid put 6 words together! He's growing up WAAAY to fast!!

Jack is also asking a lot of questions. And by questions, I mean, "Why?" and "Doing?" (meaning, "What are you doing?") I hear these 2 questiong countless times every day! I'm not gonna lie, I'll be glad when this phase is over!!

And here's a picture from today just for fun :) The past several days Jack asks at least once a day to hold Brady. And he likes to hold Brady's hand....so sweet!

Brady is here!

Well, I am officially the world's WORST blogger!! It's been over 2 months since I updated our blog (and have been reminded by a couple of people), and LOTS has happened since then!! We're getting settled into our new house and are loving life in Greenville. But the biggest change in our lives is the arrival of our 2nd son, Brady!! And, I'm 2.5 weeks late on this update!

Brady was born December 26th (about a week and a half before my due date). He weighed in at 8 lbs, 3 oz and 20.5 in long. He's got a full head of dark hair, blue eyes and couldn't be any sweeter. Jack is a very proud big brother and helps out by bouncing Brady in his bouncy seat, reading to Brady, and bringing mommy clean diapers :)

We are loving being a family of 4! Everything about it feels so right and complete. We thank God for a healthy baby boy and a smooth delivery. The Lord has blessed us tremendously and we could not be more grateful! Luke and I were talking last night about how we love Jack so much it seemed impossible to love another child as much as him. But our capacity to love has multiplied and our hearts overflow with love and joy for our 2 children.

Here are a few pictures of our new little guy. I hope to be better about updating our blog in the future, but I'm not making any promises....I'm loving spending time with my 2 boys :)

Jack looking at Brady at the hospital

The boys of the family at the hospital, just after Brady was born
Daddy and son just after his birth

Not the best picture of me, but I had JUST delivered a baby! I just love this bundle of joy to pieces :)

Our first (and only) family picture. Another bad one of me, but again, I had JUST pushed a baby out! Everyone else looks great, though. We really need to take another family picture :) LOVE this one! Jack sure does adore his baby brother :)
The rest are a few pictures that Luke took of Brady a few days after we brought him home.

31 weeks!!

We're now 31 weeks into our second pregnancy! Praise God everything is going great so far! I have had no complications this time around. Hopefully the next 9 or so weeks will be smooth sailing, too!

I'm starting to feel very pregnant and very tired (I never really got my energy back this time around). Most days I feel I need a nap when Jack takes one. But I haven't been taking as many lately since there's so much to do with moving into a new house. It's also getting harder for me to get up from sitting on the ground...which I do a lot of since we have a toddler! I think Jack's starting to take advantage of it a little bit. He has not been listening quite as well as he used to. But maybe it's partly just because he's getting older and getting an opinion of his own :)

Can't wait to meet our sweet Brady boy!

House Updates...

Luke, his dad and brothers have been working SO hard on refinishing our kitchen cabinets. It has required much more time than we thought it would....we didn't realize just how bad the paint job on them was! Since we want to move in this weekend, we decided to hire painters for Jack's room, our bedroom, and the family room/ kitchen. If you know us, we're "do it yourself-ers," so it was a big deal to hire someone else to do this. But, they did a GREAT job and we are really happy we did it! Now we can move in this weekend!! YAY!!

Family Room Before:

Family Room After (amazing the difference paint can make, huh?):

I was nervous that this shade of green might be too dark, but I'm super happy with the way it turned out!!

Fireplace:

Kitchen Before:

Kitchen After:

(You can see how the cabinets are coming along. In this picture, they have one coat of primer. They will be antiqued when it's all said and done. I think it'll look great with the green!)

Jack's Room Before:

(Can't really tell in this picture, but it's a VERY bright blue.)

Jack's Room After:

Chair rail still to be added.

Master Bedroom Before:

Master Bedroom After:

Our Little Artist....

This morning Jack was doodling on a piece of paper. He handed me the pen; I drew a star (the only shape he knows) and asked him what it was. Then I drew a smiley face and asked him what it was....of course, he didn't know. Then, he took the pen back and started drawing little squiggles and asking me what each one of them was. If I didn't answer, he would ask again! This kid keeps me smiling all the time!!