Hello? Is this thing on?

Dear blog, sorry to leave you in the lurch the past two months. It wasn't you, it was me. Well, actually the two year old monster who lives in my house has been holding me hostage and has only released me on conditions of limitless Shrek watching and a finished big boy room.

I know we're all busy so I'll cut the "I've been so busy" crap, we all can relate right!? But we have experienced a few milestones the past few months that I am so excited (and/or relieved) about! Namely potty training, moving Brody to a big boy bed, saying goodbye to his "B" (pacifier), Jared's second office location opening, surviving swine flu and RSV, and counting down to little Emerson's arrival in March! Needless to say I am humongous, 7-1/2 months pregnant is not my favorite. And I'm afraid that it just gets worse from here. I've decided to parade my large-ness abroad and take a last minute trip to London with Jared in a couple of weeks. Yes, I'm crazy. But I wasn't going to let being 32 weeks pregnant keep Jared from seeing London for the first time! It's going to be so much fun, I can't wait!

I'll try to put up some pictures of Brody's new big boy room soon - lots of DIY projects, some unfinished, all in the pursuit of a not-so-kitchy but not too plain room for a little boy who eats, breaths, and lives everything sports. TRUST ME - I was dreading it like the plague. You'd have to hold me at knife point to get me to buy a matching sports themed bed set, which turns out was EXACTLY what Jared has envisioned/hoped for since we found out we were having a boy. Helllllooooo compromise! So details on that fun adventure coming soon...

I hate posts without a picture, so here is a picture of His Evilness. Not looking so evil in this one, actually pretty freaking cute if you ask me. He's got his act down, fooling us all. :)

Pregnancy Envy

Pregnancy does not look good on me. I'm not one of those people who glow or seem more at peace while pregnant. I'm not a fan. Especially during the first trimester. My skin is breaking out, my digestive system is rebelling against me in every way possible, if I could forever surrender my sense of smell I would, and I'm ready for bed by 6pm pretty much every day. This is me whining.

But the good thing is that I'm blessed with examples of perfect pregnancies and parenting all around me. Maybe there's hope.

Exhibit A: my sister Melissa.

Tall. Beautiful. Did pilates multiple times a week throughout her entire pregnancy. Her labor was maybe, mmmmm,  6 hours start to finish? We call her Mrs. Duggar because apparently her body was made for this.  If only I could hire her as a surrogate. That might be weird.


Exhibit B: my sister Kellye.


Also tall, gorgeous, very zen. Very at one with her pregnancy, and not sick one day. She definitely has the glow for sure. She's such a good mom and always so calm. If she wanted to raise kids professionally she totally could. I would hire her, she would be hired.


And Exhibit C: my sister Paige.



Not pregnant, but tiny and so pretty. She's pretty much a miniature person. And I'm sure she'll be a miniature pregnant person (which are the worst kind). Her jeans will fit until she's 8 months, I'm sure of it. She's moving to London next week so I'm going to live the jet setting, skinny jean & scarf wearing life vicariously through her.

Having sisters who are pretty much perfection is a blessing and a curse I think. It gives me hope that maybe, if I ever get pregnant again (I will need a serious pep talk), just maybe I won't want to die. Or I won't look like I want to die. I'll take one out of two!

Okay, I'm done whining now. :)

How it all went down...

Now that I'm beginning to think in complete sentences I figure the next step is to write in complete sentences! These last two months have been a roller coaster and I'm finally feeling like I'm getting the hang of things, or at least getting a little more sleep. Life is good! And thankfully Brody is doing great! He is smiling up a storm and has just discovered his voice, which I LOVE! I never knew how fun it would be to just sit and make funny faces and noises at each other. It is so much fun!!

I just realized that I never wrote about the delivery! So here goes - The day after I posted the last picture of my hugeness Jared and I were running all over the place doing errands. We were at Garden Ridge and a lady asked me when I thought the baby would be here and I said "Hopefully TODAY!" Little did I know that later that night we would be on our way to the hospital to meet our little Brody.

It was about 9:30 that night and we were watching football on the couch and I felt a cramp that kept coming back.

Me - "I think I might be having contractions."
Jared - "Oh my gosh, did you see that play!?"
Me - "Love! I think I am having contractions!!"
Jared - "Is that what you just said? I didn't hear you."
Me - "Yea, I'm pretty sure these are contractions. We'd better start timing them."
Jared - "WHAT!? Like you think you're having CONTRACTIONS!?"

It took a minute for it to sink in, it was so funny! Both of us had been talking about how it would happen, where we would be, if my water would break or if it would just be contractions, that it didn't even seem real that it could actually be happening. The even funnier thing is that we both immediately started cleaning the house, I mean spotless! I think I was trying to take my mind off of the contractions, which were coming every 5-7 minutes, and I think Jared was excited and trying not to freak out!

So after about an hour of cleaning, stopping for contractions, and cleaning some more I started to pack my toiletries in the bathroom. Jared passed by the door and asked what I was doing.

Jared - "What are you doing?"
Me - "Packing! Getting my toiletries together to put in my bag."
Jared - "Really!? It's really happening!???"

Love him. So we packed our stuff and headed to the hospital! When we got there my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart but I was only dilated a little past one. So the nurse told us that we needed to walk around the hospital for the next 3 hours and she would check every 30 minutes to see if I was progressing. Lovely. So we walked, and walked and walked, and jumped up and down, and walked some more. I was not leaving!! At 2:30 or so walking got a little boring so we just cranked the iPod in our room and had a dance party, no lie! Jay Z and songs from Glee did the trick! I was dilated to a three and they officially admitted me.

I had the best nurse in the world (what up Sara!) who gave me Demerol and Phenegren as soon as we knew I was staying. God bless her. Demerol is just the best. It kicked in pretty much immediately and I was out like a light, and then my water broke.

Me - (on the verge of drooling, eyes closed, slurring quite badly) "Jared, my water just broke."
Jared - "What??"
Me - (more slurring, uncontrollable arm waiving, eyes still closed) "My wattterrrr broke. Call Sarrrraaaa."

So when I woke up three hours later the contractions were MUCH stronger. I was only dilated to a three but the nurse asked if I wanted to go ahead and get the epidural or wait and just get have more Demerol. I do love Demerol. I was thinking about just going that route but thank goodness my mom all but answered for me "GET THE EPIDURAL. Are you crazy?". Yes, I'll have the epidural please.

Did you know that they don't let you have anyone in the room with you when you get the epidural? No one! Just the nurse! By then Sara had left and I'm pretty sure I was much older than my new nurse, and owned far less eye makeup. That didn't stop me from balling like a baby on her shoulder when it took THREE TRIES to get the dang thing in! What the!? I was not prepared. Everything I've read and everyone I've talked to says that the IV hurts worse than the epidural. The IV hurt pretty freakin' bad so I thought the worst was over. THE WORST WAS NOT OVER. But boy was it worth it. SO WORTH IT! It was amazing! Thank goodness for good drugs!

The rest of the day was pretty mellow. Then at 4:00pm I was dilated to 9 and they wanted me to start pushing. I was expecting about three pushes and then TADA, like you see on TV. Hahah, I wish. It took about an hour and then there he was. I really can't describe the emotion, relief, and exhaustion I felt in that moment. But when I saw Jared holding him after they finished cleaning and weighing him there was nothing more beautiful in the whole world. My two boys. I was in love.

Most of these are taken with our iPhones, sorry!

Ready for Brody to get here!





My mom and sisters.





Our first family picture.





First kiss.





Our little boy!





My two boys.






My dad holding him for the first time.





My mom and Brody.





Home from the hospital, my mom was such a huge help!





Sophie's not quite sure what to think just yet.






A much needed nap for both of us!

He's Here!

Two days after the last post Broderick Michael Jacox finally arrived healthy and happy! Born Sunday, November 15 at 5:03pm - 7lbs 5oz, 20.5 inches. After 38 weeks and 19 hours of labor we are SO glad he is finally here!

UPDATE: Yesterday we drove to Austin and had a session with the AMAZING Cheryl Muhr, she is absolutely incredible and I have been dying ever since we found out she could fit us in. This morning I got this preview from her and I'm just dying! I can't even stand how much I love them both, and how much I love Cheryl for the amazing blessing that her photographs are.

Here's some scariness for your Friday the 13th.....

Yikes....38-1/2 weeks. It's HUGE!! So I'm pretty much ready to get him here, let's do this! I had my checkup yesterday and my doctor said she thinks it could be this weekend, hallelujah. If not she said she doesn't think I'll make it to my due date in a week and a half so that was good news too. Now it's just a waiting game.

Waddle and wait. When I used to hear pregnant women say they couldn't walk fast towards the end, or they couldn't paint their toenails, or tie their shoes I would think to myself "Yea, okay. Sure." but never did I imagine that it is ACTUALLY TRUE! I am a full on weeble wobble, like one of those Lego's that has no legs just a round belly that he rolls around on. I feel like a spectacle.

And do you see how swollen my hands are!? So none of my rings fit and I look like one of "those" girls whenever I'm out in public with no ring on. Awesome. But other than that we're good.

I woke up last night at 4am with a contraction and totally freaked out, but it was only one so false alarm. The funny thing is I've been wanting to go into labor so badly for the last 2 weeks that I thought when it happens I'll be so relieved. But when I thought it could be happening all that I kept thinking was "Okay, how ready am I for this? Can I really do this, I mean really? Do I have to? Can he just appear in the little bassinet next to our bed and we skip all the breathing and cursing and what not?" Come to find out I'm actually really really nervous about the whole pain aspect of this, maybe I should have thought through that part a little more. Maybe that's why you get so miserable at the end - so when the pain comes you don't care because you just want to be done. I guess we'll just have to wait and see! (and hope the anesthesiologist is waiting on me when we get there)

Come back ankles, I miss you....

So this is what they mean by "You may experience some swelling in the final weeks", um yea. My ankles and toes look like sausages. Thank goodness this little guy is getting here soon, my body is starting to revolt! The crazy thing is when I put my feet up at night Jared can push on my ankles and leave dents, like if you needed a little salsa bowl for your chips you could make one in the side of my ankle. Sick.

Other than that things are pretty good, although I'm definitely large and in charge. There's just not much cute about 38 weeks pregnant. It's just crazy how big your belly can get, it feels like every morning I wake up rounder!! I had a checkup this week and they said he could be here any day now. So our bags are packed and everyone has directions to the hospital, now we wait.

So even though I feel like a turtle with my shell on backwards I am thankful that all in all it has been a pretty easy pregnancy. I still only sleep with one pillow (someone in our birthing class was up to SEVEN), I don't have to get up in the night to go to the bathroom, and IT'S GOING TO BE OVER SOON!

On a side note: I know a whole different reality is on the other side of all of this but if I have to hear someone start a sentence with "JUST WAIT" one more time I will bite them. Why do people enjoy telling pregnant women "Just wait, you think you want to die now? Just wait. You think you're tired now? Ha." Why? Even if it is the truth, LIE TO ME! I don't care!

Okay, now that I got that hormonal rant out of the way! Things are good and we are so, so excited. Jared thinks he will be here the week before Thanksgiving, I'm betting this weekend or early next week. Any other guesses?

"Grande Soy Hot Chocolate w/ Sugar Free Hazelnut, No Whip... AND FAST!"

I say this at least twice a week now, and every night in my sleep. This is a problem. Up until about three weeks ago the only serious cravings I had were in the first trimester (still finding pieces of potato casserole in my eyelashes). Then I was pretty much back to normal, don't get me wrong I can go for a Chipotle Salad Bowl at any time of day really but I wasn't sending Jared out in the middle of the night or anything. Okay, just once.

And although Brody's cheeks look like I've been scarfing candy bars left and right I've been trying to keep it pretty healthy, until the GSHCWSFHNW, that is. (nice acronym, huh?)

I was flying to Tyler for the weekend and right in front of my gate there was a Starbucks. I hadn't had one of their hot chocolates in forever so I decided to grab one while I waited. As soon as I sat down and took a sip it was all over. I picture Brody saying "Where has this been all my life!? You've been holding out on me???!!!" Now he demands it. In record breaking 95 degree weather and suffocating humidity during a walk outside he yells - "Hey Lady! GSHCWSFHNW...... PRONTO!!".

So hopefully I can keep it under control for the next few weeks, I guess it would help if I removed the Starbucks Finder App on my phone.

Our little guy!!

I've been torn about the whole 3D ultrasound thing. Sometimes it looks really cool and sometimes they look like a smushed alien, so I wasn't quite sure if we were going to get one or not. But Jared really wanted to so a couple of weeks ago we decided to get one and we are so glad we did!

This one was at 31 weeks. Look at those lips! He definitely got those from Jared!!

These are at 33 weeks, he's definitely got a set of cheeks on him!







He's got his little foot in his mouth in this one!

7-1/2 months

x


These were taken about a month ago when I was 7-1/2 months. Growing by the minute!!

Much needed VACATION!

So the day after graduation we hopped in the car and drove 10 hours to the most BEAUTIFUL beach ever - Destin, FL. We've been going there as a family every summer since I can remember and it has been fun the past few years to keep the tradition alive. It's so great because it's so close but feels like a world away whenever you're there. Everything's just better in Destin!

Of course Jared had to represent and built a sand replica of Kyle Field.






Kellye and Sean - so cute.






Beautiful Paige - who literally just got back from being in Europe for two months, and Italy and Greece for two weeks with my parents. She hadn't even been home yet, that stinker!




Melissa and Jason - we love him!! They are so perfect for each other.






Marissa and Ryan, friends of ours from A&M. They are expecting their first little one in March!!






And us, I was 6-1/2 months here.






What was crazy to think about is that next year we'll have a little Brody with us on the beach! It was fun to watch all the parents with little toddlers running around in the sand, it made it so real to us that he's actually coming and that EVERY aspect of our lives is about to change. Which is really exciting and terrifying at the same time actually. The fear of the unknown is the scary part but thinking about being on the beach with our little family next year is SO exciting.

Hello There!

I'm 5-1/2 months and the bump is officially here! Here's what is happening lately:

Soccer Player: He is kicking like a wild man! I really, really love it. It is so much fun at night to sit with Jared's hand on my belly and feel him putting on a show.

Fun Stuff: My back is killing me. I'm pretty sure the extra weight in front, belly and bazoombies, is throwing me off when it comes to sitting up straight. And I'm usually a rock hard sleeper but lately not so much. I got a Snoogle body pillow and that helped at first, but now it feels in the way most of the time since I switch sides back and forth during the night. Any suggestions?

Also, the pregnancy books totally freak you out about laying flat on your back - EVER!!! It means sudden death for everyone involved. So during the night when I wake up on my back I panic, hope I'm not dead, and turn to my side worrying like crazy. This happens about 15 times a night. So I asked my doctor about it and he said that it's not as terrible as they scare you into thinking, but it's not a good idea to sleep flat on your back all night. Of course that's the way I feel most comfortable, go figure.

Non-maternity Maternity Clothes: I've really been loving tunics in general lately, Jared got me this Anthropologie one for my birthday and it completes me.



Really any kind of blousy top with white pants or skinny jeans works for me. I have an obsession with white pants. I also love that there are cute sandals and flats GALORE right now, I found these at Payless and they are totally comfortable! (sometimes shoes from Payless aren't so comfy, but these get an A+)



I was actually wearing these sandals with the dress in the top picture, which brings me to my next obsession - maxi dresses! Dresses are my best friend with this crazy Texas heat. The less fabric touching my body the better. What's great is that non-maternity maxi dresses are basically the same as maternity maxi dresses, and I love all of them equally.

Maternity Clothes: I so wish I could be one of those people that wears their normal clothes as long as possible before finally breaking down in the last two months and buying official maternity clothes, it would save so much money! Most of my clothes still fit but just not the way that they did 5 months ago, or even 3 months ago for that matter! And to me, that's just depressing. Even though I know full well that is is totally normal and fully expected it, it still just sad when your pants won't zip up, or the shirt button between the girls is threatening to pop off and take someone's eye right out.

So over fourth of July weekend my wonderful, amazing, fashionista mom knew just what I needed and we set out on a quest for cute maternity clothes. The bump, bazoombies and I were so happy.

We hit Motherhood Maternity and actually found some really cute things! The funniest part is they have a strap on bump in every dressing room so you can see if what you're wearing will fit in a few months. I totally freaked my mom out when I came out of the dressing room looking like I was about to go into labor. It was hilarious.

We also went to Target so she could help me register which was really fun. They have some really great maternity things too! Just for fun I tried on a pair of jeans with the stretchy panel that goes all the way up, I just wanted to prepare myself for the hideous-ness that is to come. Lo and behold they were actually cute!! Outside of work I usually live in jeans so I've been prepared to pay the same price as normal jeans if I found a cute maternity pair, so at $29.99 I snatched them right up and was so proud of myself for saving so much money. They are in the top of the closet ready for when I need the full stretchy panel of joy in a month or two.

So I held out 5-1/2 months, I'm still wearing most of my pre-pregnancy clothes (thank you bella band) and mixing in maternity things here and there. Now I'm ready for the next 3-1/2 months! (but not so much for the whole labor and delivery part)

Baby Jacox

Here he is! (sorry these are so grainy, I took pictures of the ultrasound print outs with my iPhone since I am incapable of working our scanner!)

Doesn't he have the cutest little profile! (I'm not biased or anything) It was so awesome to get to see him moving his little mouth and squirming around. I could have laid there all day looking at him.

His little leg.




Another profile shot, he has his hand up next to his head. It was so cute, he kept moving his little fingers and stretching them out.




This is the first time Jared has seen him since the 6 week ultrasound so it was definitely fun to see how big he is, not a little bean anymore! He's actually about 10.5 inches, almost a whole ruler. Crazy. And talk about kicking, he is all over the place. Jared felt him kick for the first time a couple of days ago so now it's fun to sit and feel it together.

It's still really surreal but now that none of my pants button it's becoming a little more real! I'll post some pictures of the bump soon, it's so fun that there's actually a bump now. Over fourth of July weekend my mom and I went maternity clothes shopping and got tons of cute stuff. Yes - cute maternity clothes! They exist! It was SO MUCH fun. We found mostly dresses and cute tops, I'm still loving my regular size white linen pants but I found some cute jeans and capris that I'll be living in pretty soon.

It's just SO freakin' hot here right now!! We've had several record breaking days with temperatures above 105 (every day is above 100), it is miserable. And unless you've lived in Texas it's hard to understand the nasty, humid, suffocating heat that basically makes it impossible to keep your hair straight or your makeup on. It's just so gross. So we'll just count down to our Destin trip in less than a month and crank the AC!

Pictures...

... of Baby Jacox coming soon! We had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday and he is a handsome one!!

The best day!

Last Thursday I was scheduled to have my 16 week appointment with my OB, I didn't think I was scheduled for a sonogram since they told me last time that they don't check for gender until 20 weeks. Torture! Jared has been with me to all of my appointments since finding out but he couldn't make this one because of some work meetings, so I called my mom and asked if she wanted to come up, celebrate her birthday here, and go to my doctor's appointment with me! And she said yes! She suggested that I call the doctor and ask if I could have one since I haven't seen the little bean since my 6 week appointment, and they said yes too!!

I've heard that sometimes they can tell at 16 weeks if the baby is in the right position so we just crossed our fingers and hoped! Jared was dying of course, I didn't want to find out without him, so I asked the ultrasound lady if I could close my eyes when she looked and if she could tell she would put it in an envelope that we could open later. It was so surreal during the ultrasound to see all the little features, it looks like a human now! It was so, so awesome. And it was really fun to have my mom with me getting to see it all too.

He was moving around like crazy too! My aunt, Deanna, is due in August and when she went in for her ultrasound the doctor said to eat a candy bar beforehand so the baby would be moving around (from the sugar). That makes it where you can see everything and get a good view. And it works! He was sucking his little mouth and moving his arms and legs, I'll put the ultrasound pictures up when I scan them. It was so amazing!!

So when Jared called and I told him I had an envelope he raced to meet us at home and open it! I'm pretty sure he could have been an extra in Braveheart with the scream he let out when we read it's a boy! It was so awesome!!


I look like I'm about to bite him. Scary.







Then we went out to lunch with my mom and Kellye to celebrate the fun news! I love these, they crack me up.