We interrupt this programming...

...to bring you some Halloween pictures. I promise I will eventually get around to finishing the 8 years posts- they are ALOT of work! I have to dig through my folders of pictures from way back when and it just ends up being a lot of time. I don't have much of that these days but I am determined to finish it for myself.

Anyway, we have had a fun filled week full of Halloween and it's still going. We went to the club last night for a fun Halloween party. The kids loved dressing up. Hunter is a velociraptor dinosaur. He is very into "Jurassic Park" and wanted that specific costume. Wouldn't you know a simple Google search landed us the perfect costume?


Blake is in Hunter's old Elmo costume. It is fitting because Blake really does like Elmo and will pat his chest and say "Melmo." Then he will sing "La la la la." He's just too cute for words in the costume.


Emily is a flower- so fitting for our dainty little one. I tried to weigh her at the pediatrician's office yesterday with clothes and a diaper on and she's still in the 12 lb range and she will be 4 months Tuesday. Little bitty Emily.


We finally did our annual Pumpkin Patch visit. It was cool and windy so the kids were more into running around like crazy people. Kristin met me and we got a couple of decent ones.



We might walk down to the school carnival this afternoon. We also have a party tomorrow afternoon and Sunday afternoon. I think we will be Halloween'ed out!

We spent last weekend in Waco for Baylor Homecoming. It was so much fun! We took the boys to campus for the Friday night bonfire. I didn't have my camera that night but the bonfire was pretty big and it was windy, so it was a little on the scary side. We took Blake and Emily to the parade and to tailgate before the game. We didn't do the game and were glad we didn't- a 2 hour rain delay with kids would have been miserable. But, BAYLOR WON!!! Yea!
Here are our 3 in Waco just hanging on the floor- a little tummy time for all!

Ready for the weekend- all decked in green and gold. I'm an embarrassing mom- can't you tell??

In no particular order....
Emily at the patch. I've never had an infant at the pumpkin patch and it's not too comfortable to prop yourself on a pumpkin I imagine. She's not too thrilled.

Blakey... needs no words.

Sneaky, sneaky! I have found this little one sneaking the little icecream sandwiches. Thanks to the freezer drawer he can easily get one. He was really being sneaky this time-wedged between the drawer and the wall to hide himself.

Emily in her flower costume. (Thank you sweet Kate Spielhagen for lending us this cute costume! We are loving it!!)

PART 3

Let's see.... where were we? Hunter Scott Jones arrived with a bang on Thursday, December 15, 2005. We stayed in the hospital for 2 days and came home to a FULL house. Remember how I mentioned our house was only 1400 square feet? Well, imagine it full of baby gear, Christmas decorations and presents delivered from out of town family (since we wouldn't be traveling that year) and people. We were overwhelmed coming home, but so happy to settle into a routine with our precious little boy.



Hunter was a great baby. I was on maternity leave from teaching and would be able to stay home half of December, all of January, February and March. I returned to finish out the year in April. By that time, we had a great schedule and Hunter was a textbook baby. It was such a blessing with me having to go back to work to have my mom and mother-in-law to step in and stay at home with Hunter. I could run across the street to feed him, hold him or just come play. It was as great as going back could be for me.


I was so fortunate to be able to stay home once summer came and still count that one of my biggest blessings to have been able to be here with my kids.
Chris and I loved watching Hunter grow and learn and change over the course of that first year. Everything he did, we were in the front row, cheering him on. Being parents was so much fun. We were crazy about that little guy... and still are!


Hunter's FIRST birthday

The day after he turned one, we went skiing in Park Cities. He had a blast and loved the snow.

Shortly after Hunter turned one, we decided to take on a BIG project. Time to add on! We decided that we would be the contractors for the addition. I spent a lot of time on the phone- and Hunter would walk around and mimic me talking. Ha! Our plan was to stay in the house while the work was being done. Let me say... not easy! We had no stove or washer and dryer for nearly 3 months. Not the easiest things to go without with a toddler in the house.

We added on a family room, laundry room, master bedroom and bath and front porch. We also ripped apart the kitchen and exposed the wood floor and replaced countertops and appliances. From February 2007 to July 2007, we were knee deep in home renovation. Hunter was AWESOME! He could nap each day despite the noise and chaos. Chris and I stayed really busy with each step- the planning, the hiring, the demo, the framing.... It was fun and definitely worthwhile.


We moved into the new part of the house on July 13, 2007. It wasn't all smooth sailing, but we love our home.



We spent lots of time that fall traveling to College Station to watch Uncle Blake play baseball. Hunter was talking up a storm and more and more fun every day.

Chris and I celebrated our 5th anniversary with a trip to Mexico for a week. We had a great time but missed Hunter.

Then, early January 2008 we went to Key West with my family for a week. It was so much fun but un-seasonably cold. So, we wore fleeces and enjoyed the scenery, but not the beach so much. :)

In March of 2008, we went back to Park Cities- this time with the Jones fam. We had a great time skiing and being with the cousins. Hunter was again too young to ski, but loved being there in the snow.

We found out exciting news in March 2008.... Hunter was going to be a big brother! I had been diagnosed early February with PCO (Polycystic Ovaries) and put on clomid as a first resort fertility treatment. On ONE cycle, we got pregnant. We were stunned but so thrilled.
Daddy and the new big brother celebrating!

Chris walked into our room- I had the bed covered in pink, blue and white balloons and diaper with the words- "Ready for Number 2?" written on it. It took him a minute, but he got it.


TO BE CONTINUED

8 Years- PART TWO

I may have mentioned that we were shocked to find out that I was pregnant. That is an understatement. Don't get me wrong, I always wanted to have kids, but when the time came for us to realize that it was NOW, we were like deer in the headlights. I must mention that I called the EPT 1-800 line to see if a faint line really meant pregnant. I was told that "99.99 percent that was a positive result." "Positive pregnant?" "Yes ma'am, positive pregnant." Oh my!

On the homefront, we had our house painted on the exterior. We also had a new roof installed. So, in all the craziness, we figured we should have our wood floors finished in the bedrooms. When we first moved, they had been stripped but not stained or sealed and were under carpeting. We had always wanted to have the wood floors instead, so we figured we should pull the trigger. As luck would have it, our AC went out on us. It was so hot and so miserable and every single item from the 2 bedrooms in our house was crammed into every available space in the house. When the whole house is 1400 square feet, that's not many available spaces. See photo below...


So the spring of 2005 I was 25 years old, still teaching 6th grade and tutoring most afternoons. We stayed busy and had so much fun. That June, about 3 weeks after I found out I was pregnant, I taught summer school and raked in the moo-lah. However, I was halfway to miserable every single day with nausea and basically the worst attitude ever!

By the 2nd trimester, I was feeling AWESOME. I was still not showing but felt like a million bucks compared to the nausea and exhaustion of the first trimester.
Here I am about a week before my 20 week ultrasound. We thought for sure it was a girl.

I had an awesome pregnancy and felt really good to the end. I LOVED every minute of it and relished in the anticipation. We found out on August 2, 2005 that we were having a son. We were again surprised and excited!
Here I am about 8 months prego.

Hanging out with the dogs the week before Hunter's arrival.

Hunter's room all ready to go. It was the cutest nursery... this picture does not do it justice.

So, the time finally came. I was scheduled to be induced with Hunter on Friday, December 16th. I decided at the last minute to take the day before off of work. It was a good choice as time would tell. That morning, I slept in (for the last time EVER), cleaned up around the house, went to buy poinsettias for friends at school and drove up to school to deliver them. While I was at the school, my good friend and colleague who was suffering from bone cancer needed to leave and be taken home immediately. My instincts kicked in and I RAN across the parking lot to get her car to take her home. RAN! At 38 1/2 weeks pregnant.

After getting her comfortable at home, I went home and took a bath and then cuddled on the couch watching the Food Network. About 3ish I started having pains in my back. They were 6-7 minutes apart. Finally, after a call to the doctor, we were loaded up and on our way.


I had TERRIBLE back labor and was at 9 cm when I got to the hospital. Luckily, I was able to get an epidural and from there on out, Hunter's delivery was a breeze. We got to the hospital at 4:30pm and he came 2 hours later at 6:40pm. Fast and furious!
My little boy.... 7 lbs 7 oz and 20 1/2 inches.... perfect in every way!

Our little family 10 days before Christmas! One of the most incredible days of my life. Pardon my puffiness. I guess those fluids really do fill you up.

A look back at 8 years....PART ONE

Patience on this post... this will take the better part of this week. Here is PART ONE:

8 Years ago, on October 19, 2002, I married my college sweetheart. We lived in McKinney, TX. I taught 4th grade and Chris had been selling insurance until shortly before we married. Therefore, he spent the first couple of months of marriage looking for a job.... and playing X-box. Awesome!

Around Thanksgiving, we decided that San Antonio might be a beckoning. Chris was offered a position as a trainee real estate appraiser in my dad's firm, and I was going to apply for 2 open positions at Alamo Heights (unheard of in the middle of the year). Early December I applied, interviewed and was hired! I'll never forget standing in my classroom in McKinney getting a call on my cell phone hearing, "Well, how'd you like to be a Mule again?" (The Alamo Heights mascot is the mule- interesting I know.)

So, I resigned from my position in McKinney, we packed up everything we had just unpacked from our wedding and drove down I35- me in my Jeep and Chris in a loaded down U-Haul with loose steering. We lived with my parents for about 6 weeks until the house they had bought for us to rent from them was finished.

Our house... a little 1400 square foot charming house that had 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. My parents painted the interior for us and had the wood floors redone. They also had the kitchen gutted and updated for us. We LOVED our little house!

Master bedroom

Living room

Kitchen

Backyard (when we first moved in, there was a fenced in hot tub right out the backdoor. Chris wheeled and dealed and sold it along with the wood from the fence and we had a patio poured. We were so proud of it and loved to entertain out there)


I taught 6th and 7th grade starting in January and Chris started in appraisal. Life was good! We loved our little house and had Bailey, our dog/child at the time. Oh how things change! In April of that year we got Bentley and loved our little dog family.


Life was great! We worked hard on our house- I loved spending time working in the yard, decorating and accessorizing inside and just making it our own. About June of 2004 we decided we wanted to buy the house from my parents and did just that. We are still here!

In October of 2003, we became an aunt and uncle for the first time. David Cameron Jones was born in Dallas, TX. I was thrilled to be able to be there to spend the day with Summer as she became a mommy. I have enjoyed having her advice and wisdom over the years as I became a mom.


In the spring of 2004- our lives were changed for the better. We started a couples' Bible study with our new friends, The Spielhagens and The Andersons. Sarah Anderson and I had gone to school and grown up together, so that was the only "old" friend of the group. We loved our couples' study. Once a week, we would meet at each others' house and go through a study of some sort. It was so great and cultivated some incredible friendships. Look how young we look!!
Cari S, Sarah A and Natalie J


I went to Italy with my mom and grandmother to see my sister, Kristin during her study abroad.

I went to New York with my sister-in-law and mother-in-law for a fun girls' trip. (I cannot find these pictures for some reason)

Then, spring 2005, I found out I was pregnant. Shocker of all shocks, we were thrilled and excited but oh so scared and nervous. We were among the first of our friends to walk this path but we were eager to meet our little baby. In the midst of first trimester yuckiness, we redid our roof, repained the exterior of the house, and redid wood floorsin the bedrooms that had been under carpet. Yippee! We were shelling out the money right and left and now had a baby to think about. Doesn't it look great?




TO BE CONTINUED....

23 months

You've come a long way from the 8 lbs 13 oz newborn you were. (Lordy that's big!)

At one, you were a hoot! What a smile you have!

Nearing 2, you are a true toddler... and wow, I've gotta be on my toes!

Buddy boo, we are excited that in one month, we will celebrate a special day with you!

It's so hard to believe that my little guy is going to be 23 months old tomorrow! In one short month he will be 2!

Blake, you are too cute for words. People who don't even know you are drawn to your precious smile, your contagious laugh and your killer dimples! You are T R O U B L E like no one I know! If I am not watching you constantly, you are up to no good. You know how to throw a very good fit and can fall on the ground in protest. You are talking more and more and Daddy and I are so proud of how far you have come with your speaking lately. You still have tubes in your ears (your 2nd set) and that has made a world of difference. You haven't had ear troubles except for a tough case of swimmer's ear this summer. Overall, you are a happy, silly, laughing little boy.

You love to copy your big brother and play with anything he is playing with. Often, I will find the back door unlocked and you have slipped out to wander around the backyard and play. (It's not as dangerous as it sounds!) You love the sandbox, pushing cars around, riding your automatic golf cart and being passenger in the Escalade.
Inside, you love to play with trains, trucks and things you can push or pull around.

You love to watch mommy cook and make our meals. You will come up and say, "See" and want to be lifted onto the counter to watch, help stir and throw in your, "Mmmm's." You are a sweet help in the kitchen!

You are a wild banchee in the tub still- it's like a tornado hit the water. When we take you out, you say, "Bye bye wah-ter." You love to point at your nose, eyes, ears, hair, etc and tell me, "Ma Ma, eyes." It's sweet.

God bless your little bow legged legs, you try to run so fast but don't get to far too fast. Apparently bow leggedness means you will be really fast later.

You are a red head for sure. Oh, it is so cute! You generate a lot of attention because of that! You are never without your pacifier (poppy) and your TWO lovies (nineties). I can barely make you part with them to wash them. Hmmm... we need to work on that!

Blakey, Blakester, Blaker-boo, Blookie-blue, Blue, Blue-bug, Bugga-boo...WE LOVE YOU!