20 Week Update

Last week, we had our big ultrasound that checks the baby out and tells you (or confirms in our case) what you're having.  We are definitely having a boy, and we were happy to know for sure now!  I have felt so connected to Jack ever since I saw him and have been so anxious for him to get here.  I kind of feel like we're incomplete now without him, but at the same time, I'm savoring spending time with just James, the way we've done for the past 2 1/2 years!  We got to see him sucking his hand and do a big yawn that made his whole body arch.  We had a technician to the ultrasound and had to wait until my appointment today to find out if everything looked normal.  

Our doctor told us today that everything looked normal except for one thing in his bowels.  He had an echogenic bowel, which just means that his bowels should have been clear, but something showed up white in there.  He said it could be nothing at all, just some myconium, or it could be a virus, or worst-case senario, it could be cystic fibrosis, but that nothing else was pointing to that.  We are going to have a special, high-tech ultrasound done in Temple as soon as they can get us in to have someone look at it more in depth.  I would appreciate any prayers for this to all be fine and normal.  I will let you know as soon as we know something.  I'm not too worried, but it's never easy to hear that something could be wrong when it comes to your child. 

On a lighter note, we have decided on how we wanted to name Jack!  We loved hearing everything y'all had to say, and it really helped us in making our decision!  We decided to go with Jack Michael.  Thanks for all of your thoughts on that!  I feel much better knowing that there are more people out there naming their boy Jack not as just a nickname, but as a first name.

Here are some pictures of our sweet baby Jack...

Up above... 

Top left- Jack's foot

Top right-his profile 

Bottom left- his face (sorta profile, looks like a skeleton) and he is sucking his hand here, you can see his fingers spread out

Bottom right-he's a boy!

Down below...same picture of the profile as above, but it's closer in.  His arm is behind his head, so it's a little confusing.  I think this looks so much like James' profile picture!! 

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!

Today is my big sis's birthday!  For her birthday today, I thought I'd repost what I wrote about her several years ago.  She is such a special person who is truly beautiful inside and out.  I couldn't love you more, Elizabeth, and feel so incredibly blessed to get to go through life with you!

****Today, July 29th, is my wonderful big sister's 30th birthday! It is very strange to have a sibling in the 30's! I wanted to post this earlier today, but I've been working on your party all day!! In honor of her 30th birthday, I'm going to write 30 reasons why I love her...

1. She prayed for me to be a girl, and from day 1, took care of me like I was hers. 

2. I always wanted to be by her side growing up, and she rarely ever seemed to mind.

3. I always wanted her to go with me to the bathroom at restaurants growing up, just as the food came, and she would always do it and never complain.

4. When I was 7, we moved to a bigger house and stopped sharing a room. I missed sleeping in the same room so much that she would let me sleep in her bed anytime I wanted. 

5. When I wasn't sleeping in her room, I would get scared walking down the hallway to go to bed. I had to have someone walk me down every night. One day she sat me down in the living room and played me the Beach Boy's song "In My Room" and told me that there was no reason to be scared. For some reason, I trusted her and didn't get as scared anymore!

6. When I started becoming interested in boys in 8th grade, she helped me learn how to wear make-up, do my hair, and dress cooler.

7. She knows me just about better than anyone!

8. We really have so much fun together.

9. She played a big part in making me who I am today.

10. We always have great talks together. 

11. She knows better than anyone exactly what to say to me to make me feel better. 

12. We make eachother laugh all of the time.

13. We hang out almost everyday and never get tired of eachother.

14. She's an incredible mother to my niece and nephews.

15. We rarely fight.

16. She still takes care of me, by making my favorite cookies all of the time, cooking me fabulous meals when Josh is working late, making me coffee just the way I like it.

17. She's very bright, seems to know everything.

18. She's very strong, but a softie when it comes to me, bryon, and her kids.

19. She's always been a great role-model for me, making my transitions into high school, college, marriage, etc., a lot easier.

20. She helps me snap out of it when I need to, or comforts me when I need it.

21. She loves my husband and I love hers...we have lots of fun together!

22. She tells it like it is.

23. She the best shopping partner, road trip buddy, or hang around the house friend anyone could ask for.

24. We have lots of funny inside jokes that we can pull out at any time.

25. She and Michael will probably be the longest friendships I'll have (they got a 20 year headstart on Josh).

26. Our relationship truly grows and deepens more and more each year.

27. She keeps me accountable for everything.

28. She loves me for who I was, who I am, and who I'm going to be.

29. She's always made me proud to say that she's my sister.

30. She's the best friend and sister anyone could have asked for!

Arkansas, Final Post

This will be my last post of the trip! We flew from Rhode Island to Arkansas Sunday (a week ago) so that we could go to Josh's cousin, Jennifer's wedding in Searcy on Monday. We were so happy to get to meet up with Kim, Adam, and Adalie at the airport in Little Rock that day! It just so happened that Kim's plane got in about 5 minutes after ours did! We quickly caught up and then headed on to Searcy, Arkansas! Josh and I both went to college in Searcy, and it had been almost 2 years since we had been there, so if felt sooo good to be back. We really could not believe that it had been 6 years since we graduated. It seems like it should be more like 2-3 years. Even though it was a short trip, we really enjoyed getting to spend some time with the family there. We stayed in a hotel room with Jo Anna and Hannah, which gave us a little extra time together, even though I couldn't seem to stay awake past 9pm!

Jennifer and Ryan's wedding was so sweet and beautiful! Harding has redone The Heritage building/hotel on campus, and they got married in the wedding chapel in there that overlooks the beautiful campus. We were so happy to get to see these two get married. We think a lot of both of them, and they are such a sweet couple. We are also thrilled that they are going to be living in Dallas, so hopefully we'll get to see them more often!

Josh's 29th birthday was also on Sunday, the day we flew in to Arkansas. We had a celebration for him Friday night in Rhode Island at a nice restaurant called Turtle Soup and did presents afterwards. On his actual birthday, everyone sang Happy Birthday to him at the Rehearsal Dinner and he got to blow out his birthday candles.

Here are some pictures of our weekend there.

James and Bailey practicing walking down the aisle.

At HU, Rehearsal Dinner night

      Jess, Jenn (the beautiful bride), and Hannah 

(who looks so grown up!)

Our little ring bearer

We also got the pleasure of seeing a guy that Josh played football with at Harding, Tank Daniels. Tank played 1 year with Josh at HU and now plays for the New York Giants. He was back at the campus for a fund-raiser, and we got to see him after the wedding. He let James try on his Superbowl ring, which was really neat. Here are some pictures...

Rhode Island, Part 3

More pictures:

My cousin Deirdre met up with us Thursday to go to Block Island!

Deirdre is my mom's sister's youngest daughter, and Deirdre and I are kindred spirits. We may not talk for a year or get to see each other for two, but when we're together, it's like no time has passed. We have such a strong connection and I know we always will! I adore her and wish we lived closer, but it's always one of the highlights of my year when I get to see her.

on the ferry to Block Island

My mom's mother worked at the Spring House (pictured below) in Block Island during the summers in college. This was a very special place, because my grandfather followed her there one summer (without her permission) and they dated there one summer. Neither my mom nor her sisters had ever been there, so my aunts met us there and they all got to see it together for the first time! The neatest thing happened while they were there...
Their mother (my grammie), died of breast cancer when my mom was just 25 years old. She was an incredible mother and her presence is still very strong in all of our lives. I think about her often, even though she died before I was born, and my mom says that not a day goes by that she doesn't think about her. When I'm with my aunts, they always remind me of how much I look like her. Anyways, when we arrived at the Spring House where she worked, we all just took in the fact that she spent so much time there and had walked where we were walking many times. We all went inside and Elizabeth spotted a picture on the wall. This was a picture celebrating 140 years of this hotel and had a few old photos on it. The ONE picture of one of the staffs who worked there was from one of the years my grammie worked there! Elizabeth scanned the photo, and there she was! Everyone was so excited to get to see that! How crazy that the one staff photo on the wall included her in it!! Then, we walked outside, and my mom smelled Shalimar, her old perfume! I walked over and smelled it, too, and there was no one around us at the time. It was very strong, and we knew that she was there with us.





(She's in the center, second from the left in the black outfit)

My mom sent me this picture of her.


Our Rhode Island trip ended in our Gray Family Reunion! The Gray's are my mom's mom's side of the family, and I adore this side. They mean so much to me, and some of my best memories in life are with these people. Just as with my relationship with Deirdre, we are all strongly connected, and no matter the distance, they are a huge part of my life.

The entire Gray family (started with my Great Grandma Gray and Great Grandpa Harry-my grammie's parents) I actually have a memory of going to my Great Grandma Gray's 90th birthday party when I was 4 years old (24 years ago!), and I feel so blessed to have that memory, since I have no memory of 3 of my 4 grandparents!


The Sullivan contingent


All of the great-grandchildren

Rhode Island, Part 2

We had an amazing time in Rhode Island. Definitely one of the best trips with my family. I absolutely loved getting away for what seemed like a good long while, not checking computer, not watching tv, and being with some of my favorite people in the world. I feel so rejuvenated! Now, I did not say relaxed, but definitely rejuvenated! Traveling with a two-year-old is not exactly relaxing. :) It felt so great to go on a long vacation and not leave James behind this time! Not leaving half of our heart behind was a great feeling! My wonderful parents got a rental house in Narragansett, Rhode Island, which allowed the whole family to stay in the same house together for the week! We had so much fun together, many laughs, much great food, and so many great memories to take with us. I got so spoiled by waking up every morning and being excited to go drink coffee and eat homemade breakfast on the deck with whoever was up, that I am really missing that now! I also am having to wean myself off of eating two nice, delicious meals out a day! There is too much to blog about, but here are some pictures and explanations from the trip...

We LOVED Narragansett Beach!! The water was freezing, but I like it that way because once you're used to it, it feels great! Our first 24 hours of the trip, we didn't have our luggage, so we borrowed swimsuits (Josh wore Michael's and I wore my mom's). The last day at the beach, my adventurous side (which comes out around my brother) made me want to brave the huge, powerful waves and ride the surf with my body. It was exhilarating, and at one point the wave picked me up (all of us) and knocked me down to the bottom of the ocean, doing twists and turns under water from the wave. I talked myself into staying calm and holding my breath until I reached the top, because I had no idea which way was up. Needless to say, that was my last time, and I went in to rest after that!



We were so happy that James loved the beach this year, since he hated it last year. He usually hates to get dirty, but as you can see in this picture, he embraced it!


One of my favorite things about our location, was that we were about 20 minutes from Newport. Newport is the gorgeous city where my mom went to college, my parents met, and where they lived as newlyweds. Below are pictures of my mom's dorm.


My dad and mom have an ultra-romantic story of how they met, so it was fun for all of us to be there together. They actually met at my mom's dorm in the kitchen, so we thought we take a picture of the result of their love!

It was so great to get to go in and out of Newport during the week. The shopping is excellent and the food is even better. Our favorite place to eat there is The Black Pearl, which has the best clam "chowda" on the planet.

Some of the gorgeous scenery we saw...

Jamestown
                            Newport
Westerly (Watch Hill)
Block Island

More to come!

Rhode Island/Arkansas trip, Part 1

We just got back this afternoon from being gone for 1 1/2 weeks!   We spent a week in Rhode Island with my family, and then headed out to Arkansas to go to Josh's cousin's wedding!  I am going to blog more about these two events in the next couple of days, but I wanted to post some pictures of our little ring bearer.  He and the flower girl were an absolute hoot together.  I have never seen James act like he did with Bailey ("Baiwey").  They very quickly became attached to each other, talked back and forth in a hilarious way, and constantly gave hugs and kisses to each other.  They even had a lover's quarrel or two!  They had a big audience behind them here and really hammed it up for them.  

     I love their little button noses in this picture.

More to come!

Two-year-old laughs

Yesterday, I heard James go into our bathroom and turn on the sink water.  He likes to pull up my stool and put his hands under there, so I figured that's what he was doing!  A few minutes later, I went to check on him, and this is what I saw...  
He said, "Take baf, Mommy!"  He then stretched out and enjoyed the warm "baf".

Here's another story that makes me laugh every time I think about it...  

The other morning, Josh was sitting with James on the couch, while I was still in bed asleep. When it was time for him to get ready for work, Josh called to me, "Mommy, it's time to get up!  It's 7:30!". 

James then came running in to our room and said, "Mommy, wake up!  It sebens." 

I had never heard him try to say or repeat a time, so that cracked me up!

Our friends' visit!

***Thank you so much for all of your help with "Jack vs. John"!  You gave us some great things to think about and consider.  I will blog more about that later!***

I'm so sad because Amanda W., Chad, and Harry just left our house! They came to visit this weekend, and we had such a fun time! Amanda is one of my best friends that I met at HU, and our relationship has grown and grown every year. I'm so thankful for her friendship, and I enjoyed having her for 3 1/2 days! I'm pretty sure that James thinks she's more fun than his mommy, and he will miss her as much as I will! Amanda is such a cool, fun mom, and James picked up on that very quickly. He gave her snuggles that he reserves usually only for his mommy and daddy. We had a fun-filled weekend of doing family things, having girl-time and the guys having guy-time. Here are some pictures of our weekend...

                                             

The boys playing in the backyard.  They were funny to watch together!  Harry is one cool kid, a charmer, and is one of the best dressed little boys around!  He's so sweet, too, and I just melted every time he gave me kisses!



4th of July-  The boys had the best time swimming in the pool while we enjoyed our hamburgers and hotdogs!  We had a really fun night that ended with a couple of rounds of Compatibility.

Josh met Chad at their wedding.  They had a lot of fun together hanging out, going golfing, and talking pretty much non-stop all weekend.  


Harry the fireman.  James misses Harry and as we speak is in a bad mood because he's gone.  He woke up from his nap and asked, "Where Hurry (Harry)?"  We told him that he went Bye-Bye to Harry's house, but James is still holding out hope that he's still around.  I coughed a little while ago, and James said, "I hear someting...It Hurry (It's Harry)!!", really excitedly.  He's also said several times, "Chat sweep? (Is Chad asleep?)".   

Yesterday, Kimberly P. treated us to a wonderful lunch at her house, and we really enjoyed talking while our boys played.  She completely spoiled us by then offering to watch our boys that night while we went to dinner.  She and her husband were so sweet to do this, and we loved having our kid-free meal and adult conversation!    


When we came to pick them up, we were so tickled by how happy our boys were.  We could tell that they had just had the time of their lives, and James and Harry were letting us know that they were content to stay there all night!   Thanks again Kimberly and Benjie for being so sweet to our boys!!

Kimberly took this picture, and I love it!  You can see just how much fun they were having!

Thanks Chad, Amanda, and Harry for coming all the way to see us!  We love you guys and can't wait to see you again!