Another Kid Birthday Bash

We all loaded up Saturday morning and headed to Cole's 2nd birthday party. It was at a pool at Avery Ranch. Notice Josh is in the pool with Jaden, not me. Let's just say I am not the biggest fan of wearing a bathing suit while big and pregnant. All of the kids had a ton of fun. Josh and I met Cole's parents, Cindy and Scott, at our baby birthing class when we were pregnant with Jaden. Then, we discovered we all go to the same church. Jaden and Cole get to play together on Sundays in church daycare. The soul revolution group that Josh signed up for is lead by Scott. They are a great couple and I am happy that we met and connected with them.

Exactly what I have been feeling lately "radiant"

Dad's Night at Jaden's Preschool

Last night was Dad's night at Jaden's school. It was a chance for dad's to meet their child's teacher and see their classrooms, since most of the time mom's are the ones who drop off and pick up the kiddos. And of course if you are going to get the men to leave the house on their own with the kids you have to offer some kind of reward. There was hot dogs and hamburgers for everyone. I was there to meet the dad's from my class, and Josh was there to meet Jaden's teacher. She told us that Jaden has a girlfriend at school. Her name is Abbey, and apparently she is Jaden's favorite kid to play with. He runs around calling her name and trying to get her attention. Unfortunately, she is not as in to it as he is, and prefers to play with her girlfriends most of the time.

Jaden decided he would jump on and off the rock like the big boys were doing. For a mom ,it is one of those hold your breathe moments. As he grows bigger and more daring I am experiencing more and more of those.

Gateways' 10th birthday bash

The crowd in the outfield listening to live music

(Jaden and Connor dancing, yes his feet are off the ground)

Yesterday, we went to the Dell Diamond to help our church celebrate 10 years. They had tons of live music, fun activities and great food. I think Jaden had the most fun. He danced his little heart out to every song that played. He even got some recognition from one of the guys that helps set up Wide Awake as the best little dancer out there. I know some of you have seen him in action, but for those of you that have not, it is pure entertainment. He never fails to bring laughter and cheers to the crowd around him. His friend Connor was there as his dancing partner. The amount of energy those two had yesterday is astounding. Wish they could bottle it up and give some to us moms and dads who have to take turns running around to chase them.

I think Jaden wants a Zen garden....

So, Jaden and I spend alot of time in the backyard playing, and one of his toys is a sand box. I discovered the other day that Jaden has a talent I did not know about. He is a Zen Gardener. I wonder if pre school is stressing him out and he is trying to relieve his stress by raking sand. Just kidding. He is having a blast a school. I do wonder what inspires his straight line raking. I will probably never know, but I thought it was cool enough to share.

Soul Revolution

Our pastor has written a book which we think is fantastic. I started a bible study with a group of women a few weeks ago, and we are going to go through this book together at the end of September when we finish our current book. Josh just signed up for a group this past Sunday. The church is giving away the book for free if you promise to read it. I think that is amazing. And with all of us going through it at the same time, there is bound to be some soul revolutions. Click on the Gateway link on the right side of the blog to get more information on our church, or this book.

Yikes IKE

We have lots of family and friends in the Houston area, and we are very nervous for them as Hurricane IKE approaches. My mom and dad live in the Corpus area, and that is who we were worried about first, but with the storm taking a turn north, Houston is the big concern. Josh's parents live in Nassau Bay which had a mandatory evacuation yesterday. They went to Dallas to visit Faith, Aaron and baby Raley ( Jaden's only cousin). My brother lives downtown Houston and should only see lots of rain and wind. They are staying to ride out the storm. I'm sure they have gotten their hurricane supplies together and are ready to hunker down. All of you in the Houston area will be in our thoughts and prayers this weekend, and next week as the damage is surveyed.

My expanding belly

I am 24 weeks pregnant and almost 2/3 of the way done. It is really amazing how fast this pregnancy has gone. You would not have heard me say that during the first one. It took forever for Jaden to get here, and I was an emotional wreck. I was focused on every growing pain and weird thing that was happening to me. With this baby, I had the initial tiredness, and some nausea in the beginning. But now the new expansion around my mid line, and the little baby inside kicking me are the only real clues to my pregnancy. And I must be officially showing to strangers, since more are smiling and holding doors open for me. This pregnancy has truly been a blessing. I can't wait for our newest family member to get here.

Jaden was running back and forth in front of me while Josh was trying to snap a picture. He is such a cute little stinker.

First Day of Preschool

Well, Jaden and I both officially started Preschool today. He is a participant in the Toddler room, and I teach one of the 2 year old classes. I think he had a pretty good day. He was a little sad when I dropped him off in his room, but his teacher said he quickly got over it and played with the other kids. I think before to long he will be running to his room and waving bye to me. My first day was good as far as first days go. I did have one child who cried on and off most of the day. I did manage to get them all to sit where they were suppose to for story and snack and lunch. We made it safely to the playground, and got all of the things we were suppose to done. I would say that is a success. Teaching 2 year olds is much different than teaching elementary school kids. I'll let you know later which one I prefer after these kids get settled. I do know that it is much more fun to dance and make art than to do big kid work.

The Twins Birthday Party at the Lake

1st slip & slide experience

Hang on Jaden, Colten is driving

1st pinata hitting

Yesterday we went to the Packer Twins 3rd birthday party. It was held at Packer's Parents House on Lake Austin. It was an absolutely beautiful house right on the water. It doesn't get much better than that in Austin. The weather was perfect and all of us had a great time. The kids swam in the pool, jumped in the bouncy house, and dove on the slip and slide. The dads went waking boarding. We ate hotdogs and cupcakes. It is so fun to get together with all of our friends and watch our children laugh and play together just like we do.