One Year!!!

It has been a year since we found out we were expecting Jake!! Of course at the time we did not know it was a boy!!! It will also be a year on mother's day that Gracie has been potty trained!!! I just cannot believe a year has went by!!! I thank God that my pregnancy with Jake was uncomplicated and a healthy one!! Who knows, maybe one day we will be announcing a pregnancy with baby number 3!!!! We will see how it goes!! Here is a pic of Gracie announcing that she was going to be a big sister!! Look at how much Jake has grown!! I was 13wks pregnant with Jake in the ultrasound pics. I am so amazed at the miracle of life and how God chose me to carry Gracie & Jake. It is a gift and honor to be there mother!!! What an amazing God we serve!!

Happy Baby!!!

Jake is such a happy baby!! God has blessed us with another ray of sunshine in our lives!! Jake can light up a whole room with his "big smile"!! As you can see in the new pics, he has two teeth!! Two teeth already!!!!! He is growing up so quick!! Things that Jake are doing at 4months are- sitting in his exersaucer, sitting in his bumbo seat, talking and cooing alot!! He loves to be held, which is my fault!! He is kind of trying to laugh out loud! I will be taking him at the end of the month for his 4 month check-up where he will get more shots :(! I dread that visit!! Gracie will soon be done with her second year of preschool in the middle of May!! She will start her 4yr old preschool class in the fall! She is getting so tall and her hair is gettting so long!! I can't believe this time next year we will be registering for kindergarden!!! I think of her as a baby often when I look at Jake and can't believe how time has went by so fast!! She is so precious!! Here are some new pics of Jake, Gracie was too busy for the camera!!!!

On The Road To Losing Weight!!!

A friend of mine has inspired me to post about my struggle with weight loss on my blog. She posted her story of trying to lose weight and it was motivation for me!! So maybe this will hold me more accountable to those who read my blog!! I too am addicted to food!! That feels good to get that out!!! I was skinny when I got married almost 10yrs ago and I'm going to get skinny again!!! I was about 150lbs when I married Brad. That was skinny for my body frame!! I hope to get down to about 145!!! My weight now is 231lbs!! That is alot, but while pregnant with Jake, I hit a total weight of 270lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At my six week post partum check-up, I was down to 244lbs!! Now I am down to 231lbs, which is way better than 270lbs!!! I was 228lbs at the start of my pregnancy with Jake. I still have not lost my weight from my pregnancy with Gracie!! My weight before getting pregnant with Gracie was about 190lbs. I needed to lose weight then!! So, I am doing the low card diet right now and walking alot. I have lost about 13lbs in just a couple of weeks!!! I am cutting back my carbs and staying away from the sweets!! Please pray for God's guidance and strength as I embark on this weight loss journey!! He will get me through it!! Thank you, Whitney and mom for the extra motivation!!!! I will post pics as I start dropping sizes!!!!!!

Fun At The Knoxville Zoo!!

I had the chance to take Gracie to the zoo last week and we had a blast!! I had a great time spending one on one time with her!! My cousin's were in from Indiana and they wanted to visit the zoo while they were here, so off we went! The weather was great! Mimi kept Jake while we went and he slept all day for her!! Amazing how young they are and they behave better for the grandparents :)!!! Here are some pics of our fun day at the Knoxville Zoo!

Jake slept throught the night and the morning!!!

Jake slept from 10:00 last night to about 8:00 this morning!! Thank you Lord that he slept so well!!! He has not napped much at all today, but who could complain when he slept so well last night!! He goes for his three month check-up this week. He has a tooth coming in!! I can't believe he is already getting teeth!!!!!!!!! He was a little fussy today! It is probaly because he is teething and I was trying to get some things done around the house :) He is smiling and cooing alot more!! It is so sweet to just set and talk to him! Sometimes it is hard dividing your attention between two,but it always works out!!

New Easter Pics of Gracie

Gracie did not want to cooperate on Sat. when I did Jake's Easter pics! So, we took them back to UT Gardens on Sunday! It was a much warmer day and Brad went with me! Note to self......never take two kids by yourself to take photos!!! It did not work! The pics turned out great of Gracie! She is growing up way too fast!! A little ice cream bribe will make Gracie pose for the camera :0)

The Little Red Hat

I found a hat this morning for Jake at a yard sale down the street from our house. It is a sun hat for him to wear this summer. He looked so cute that I needed to take some more photos on top of the Easter pics that I took today!! Call me camera crazy!!

Early Easter Pics!!

As you can tell, I love to photograph our children!!! It was such a pretty day to take some pics of the kids. Jake cooperated more than Gracie today,but I will get more pics of her soon!! I really want to take a class on photography, but I would like to find one that offers maybe a weekend session. It has turned into a hobby of mine. I thought it would be best to snap pics now instead of trying to rush on Easter morning!! Hope you enjoy!!

Sweet & Sassy Gracie!!

Our sweet little Gracie is growing up on us!!! She does or says something new everyday!! I can't believe that on Mothers Day, she will have been potty trained for a year!!!! She is growing too fast for me and her daddy!! She really wants to argue about the clothes she puts on now!! It drives me crazy, but at least she is wanting to make choices. She loves to play outside and wear her pajamas in the middle of the day :o) She is wearing size 5 clothing now!! Not in the toddler section anymore :o( She does pay more attention to Jake. If he is not in her sight, she always asks "where is Jakie poo"! She is a very sweet girl who loves her grandparents and her Uncles, plus her new aunt Autumn. We cannot forget about Cassie (Wes's girlfriend). She always looks forward to Cassie coming to visit from Chicago!! She has been in gymnastics for almost a year now!! She is still enjoying "nastics" as she calls it. We thank God everyday for our sweet little girl and are enjoying every moment we get to spend with her. Here are some pics of Gracie painting in the kitchen!