I Have Been Quiet... Until Now

I Have Been Quiet... Until Now

Hey everyone, Jake here. I've been having a blast reading all that my amazing wife has been writing about our crazy life, and trust me, we have been centering our conversations, date nights, and even our dreams around this baby! I figured I should give you all a quick update of my take on this whole thing.

As you know by now, we were originally told we were having a girl... Convenient since we both really REALLY wanted a girl. We've had the name picked out since high school and I was imagining "daddy's little girl", and father daughter picnics at church, and so on... I was so excited. Then, we found out the truth... A little boy was actually cooking in that ever growing belly. (Alexa's belly, not mine) This is where I got a little bummed. I was Thinking of this chart:

But I have had some time to ponder this, and I have realized a few things. In actuality, it took me about a half hour to COMPLETELY change my mind.

Here are some awesome "facts" about boys.

:: They turn everything (including fingers) into a gun.

:: They like cars, motorcycles, dirt bikes, jet skis, skateboards, snowboards, and pretty much anything that can move you... Quickly.

:: They climb trees (yes, I realized that this should not have been in the negative category earlier)

:: Video games... Do I need to say more?

:: Converse, Vans, jeans and dress shirts, graphic T's. (girls clothes are lame... Yeah I said it)

:: Boys finish everything on their plate, and then some. (again, I had messy eating in the negative category but that shrinks in comparison to leaving a bunch of food and taking forever to eat it... girls.)

:: They make good workout buddies.

:: Legos, trucks, dinosaurs, army men, Nerf guns, Tech Decks.

:: Possible Halloween Costumes... Vampires, zombies, ghosts, ghouls, soldiers, sports heroes,
wrestlers, movie action heroes. (girls like fairies and princesses...)

:: Movies with explosions, car chases, car crashes, bar fights, shootouts.

:: R/C cars!

:: On average they make approximately 17% more than girls in the corporate world (admittedly,
completely made up.)

So, that being said, I think girls are great and I CAN'T WAIT to have a baby girl, but I am so glad to know that I have a son on the way!

I have been thanking God daily, and have been praying every day that he will form this child in His perfect image and that our boy will grow to love Him, put Him first in his life, and ultimately be saved. I have been asking God to continue the good work he started in me and grow me into a man that loves him more and more each day. I want to give Him all of the glory he deserves for all of the good that comes from this child because "every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." James 1:17

As for Alexa, she is looking more and more beautiful every day. I finally understand what people mean when they say that pregnant women are "glowing." She is an amazing woman who through pain, and discomfort still praises God for what he is doing in her life. She still cooks and cleans after long days at work, and argues with me when I want to do these things for her. She truly is the love of my life and she is going to be a great mother. I know our child (children) are going to be so happy that they have her as a mother. I am happy to have her as my wife!

Back to Wyatt... I am so excited to see him grow up and see what kind of man he will become. When it comes to activities in school, he can be involved to whatever extent he wants, whether it be sports, music, or drama, We'll support him. Whatever college he wants to go to, we'll find a way to make it happen. Whatever career he wants, he can have (so long as it's not CHP or the Fire Department!)

(Brown uniforms?)

Now, I know this is kind of a long post, so I will give you the male perspective on registering and baby showers at another time, but before I go, I want to leave you with this.

Some pictures of things I will do with my son.

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Half way mark...check!

Half way mark...check!

And I'm back!! Jake and I have been a bit busy the last few weeks with his sisters pre-wedding festivities, project "organize before the baby comes", registering, an awesome church music ministry conference, and of course, work. All have been fun and super rewarding, but it's nice to have a few spare seconds to share with all our dear friends our current baby state.

Quick Fun Facts...

::I am 21 weeks and counting...thats 5 months for the non-mathematical peeps. {and technically there is 10 months in the pregnancy...so I am half way there!}

::He is the size of a banana, and by the end of this week he will be spaghetti squash.

::I bought my first maternity clothes... 2 pairs of oh-so-comfy jeans. Thanks to my girls, Jamie and Beth, we were able to find 2 pairs that I never want to take off, and I smack myself for not doing this sooner.

::My ache of the week is a sharp carpal tunnel strain in my right hand, which is not so convient with my profession.

::I am feeling movement! And love it! Wish it was more often...even though later I will be taking that last statement back.

On to the good stuff...

Monday we had our second trimester ultrasound at St. Joe's. Not only did we get to see our sweet little BOY {more on that in a little bit}... but we got to register at the hospital, so we are ready to go come December. The other crazy {& super cool!} part was I was asked to sign two privacy papers, one for me & one for my CHILD! It was my first action as a parent/ guardian... And as much as it caught me off guard, it felt so natural!

Now for those who might not know the whole process, every mother gets a big mid-way ultrasound that helps doctors prevent or be prepared for any possible heath risks. They are able to look at the baby's size, count their organs, cancel out any big disabilities, make sure the uterus has enough amniotic fluid and see if the baby is getting enough blood, air and food supply via the umbilical cord. And to make it even neater, you get to take a look 3D/4D at your cute baby face!

Here are some of my highlights...

::It was confirmed...WE ARE HAVING A BOY!

::Wyatt weighs in at 13 oz. which is right on track for a December 27th due date.

::He is healthy and has all this organs! I especially love this one, you can see his big strong heart!

::Wyatt has nice kissable lips, but wouldn't show us at first because he was paparazzi shy and kept covering his face...see all those finger bones!

::Here's another skeletor face shot... I LOVE that you can count the two eyes and even two lungs!

::Here's one more profile of our sweet boy...showing off his spine and rib cage!

::He also is apparently very active. I feel his strong kicks and punches, but unless I'm sitting down with my feet up or lying down {especially in the morning} I can't feel him continually. My mom says that I am rocking him asleep when I'm up and about, and when I sit to relax he is awaken....since I don't know any better, I am going to go with that theory! Moms usually know best!

Jake and I are praising God for his faithfulness and grace with this {so far} easy pregnancy. We are elated and over-joyed at God's intricate details with this whole process and look forward to the next 20 weeks!

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Lullaby for Wyatt

Lullaby for Wyatt

When searching websites for boy names, I was very curious about popularity over the years as well as if any person's reputation with the name could make me love or hate the name. So here is what we found on Wyatt.

Probably the most famous person with this name was Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp, a American Sheriff in the Western frontier towns in the late 1800's. Other than being a big time cowboy, that's as much as I need to know about him. {Jake swears that he is super cool...}

The next finding was a little more current with the TV show Charmed. The firstborn son of one of the witches was named Wyatt.

The final piece of information we found on Wyatt is hands down my favorite. Its a song Sheryl Crow wrote for her adopted son, Wyatt. Its called Lullaby for Wyatt, and pulls on the strings of a mother's heart. With the reality that he is not mine forever but my little Wyatt is mine for a time. During this time I will do my best to teach, reprove and love on him. Just as Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it."

I love how this song conveys this message, although its not a Christian song. I can see it now, rocking my sweet boy to sleep, singing this song to him.

Below is the link so you can hear the sweet song...

Lullaby for Wyatt

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July Showers

July Showers

As promised, here is my bridal shower blog! As many of you know, Jake and I have been together for a little under 12 years...so with that we grew up together. As an added bonus, I met my sister-in-law, Jessie, at her ripe age of 13, and its safe to say she grew up as my little sister. From boy crushes to shopping sprees and helping her get ready for prom to now, her engagement and wedding, I have felt blessed to be there for her every step of the way. So it was no surprise that I wanted to pull out all the stops for her bridal shower and bachelorette weekend.

For her shower I decided to go for a subtle ball, circle or polka dot theme to honor her new last name of "Ball"...so for starters, my sweet hubby hung chinese lanterns in the pink and orange and I picked foods that were round. Curious how I pulled it off? Well with a little help and a lot of work it seemed to go off without a hitch! Here are some pictures for you to be the judge of whether it all got pulled together or not.

Something that has become a bit of a staple for me in party decor is purely inspired by my sweet friend Julie, by taking relative words or sayings to the occasion and laying them out in neat fonts so that whereever a guest looks they have a cute detail that ties everything together. I love putting them in plants, flower arrangements, hanging them in the tree and decorating the food table. As an added bonus, Jessie {the bride} says that it makes scrapbooking these events super easy!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="319" caption="I quoted 1 Corinthians 13 for some signs..."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_182" align="aligncenter" width="319" caption="To keep with the "ball" theme...I made cakeBALLS!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_184" align="aligncenter" width="319" caption="Walnut butterBALL cookies made by the mother of the bride!"][/caption]

arrangement

Simple and sweet! {plus it left room on the little end tables for guests to rest their drinks}

[caption id="attachment_186" align="aligncenter" width="319" caption="And to celebrate the bride....JESSIE!"][/caption]



Even Sadie wanted to match...

As far as games were concerned, we played 3. We did a fun acronym poem game, where both the bride and groom told us what they love about the other person using the initials in their name. We played the famous forbiden word game where we couldn't say "wedding".  And then we had to guess what was in the 15 bags, which I stuffed with wedding day and honeymoon essentials (also doubling as my gift to her). The pink graphic bags were hand sewn by my wonderful mother, Charli.

[caption id="attachment_188" align="aligncenter" width="319" caption="Game table & prizes..."][/caption]

As another keepsake, I mocked up some advice cards where each guest filled out their wedding/life advice for Jessie.



[caption id="attachment_189" align="aligncenter" width="307" caption="They also double as a guestbook!"][/caption]

As thank you favors, I ordered my absoulte favorite sugar cookie, from my absolute favorite bakery {Becker's Bakery in Manhattan Beach} which of course was round and iced in orange frosting, bagged and tagged with a cute saying that read "thanks for coming and having a Ball!"

[caption id="attachment_190" align="aligncenter" width="319" caption="For favors, I always prefer to give out something edible or wearable. Most people hate clutter & gadgets, so this guarantees your favor to not be a waste!"][/caption]

And to finish off this post, here are a few of my favorite shots that perfectly sum up the day.

[caption id="attachment_191" align="aligncenter" width="319" caption="Mary {my mom-in-law and the mother of the bride} surprised Jess by flying Jake {her fiancé's} mom out for the shower. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_192" align="aligncenter" width="319" caption="She made out like a bandit!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_193" align="aligncenter" width="384" caption="The bride with her maids!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_194" align="aligncenter" width="363" caption="No boys allowed! {However, Wyatt was the exception!}"][/caption]

I apologize for the ridiculously long post, however I couldn't resist to share with all you readers {if any :)...} how to throw a shower and act out the 1 Timothy 5:10 wifely duties..."having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work." It is my goal to strive towards these things as a wife, a mother and a sister, and a bridal shower is just the way to put it into practice!

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