Updates: The passing of my sweet Pappy, and getting moved in

After 3 years of highs and lows, my wonderful, lovable Pappy passed away 2 nights ago.  Although we all knew it was coming, getting the call was still somewhat shocking, and so sad.  He was the person I looked forward to seeing more than anyone when we made our Abilene trips... always made me feel like I was the only person alive.  We had a special bond.... loved to talk about politics and football, and I loved him so much that I always agreed with anything he said.  I spent so much time with my Nana and Pappy as a young child, have maintained an extremely close relationship with them both, and I know that my Nana needs all of our prayers right now.  We will all miss him, and he will always have a special place in my heart.  We will be heading to Abilene for his service on Friday.

On the topic of moving, where to start???!!!!  We did it!  Got our house reasonably unpacked and settled over a week before Maddox gets here.  The pics below.... I didn't take them.  Haven't even touched my camera.  But they were on the real estate website.  The kids have slept in their own beds since we got here, every room looks okay (except the playroom-- DISASTER!), and although 1/4 of the house is in boxes, we plan to leave it that way because HOPEFULLY a year will be the longest we will be here.  We are happy that there is a pool here, but obviously won't be using it for a while (the high is 20 over the next 2 days!).  My dr. appointment has been cancelled for tomorrow because of the weather, and since I haven't been for a checkup in over 2 weeks, I hope I get to get checked out before my c-section next week.  My mother-in-law says teenagers have babies everyday in bathrooms with no pre-natal care, so surely it will be okay :) .  I can always count on her for a new perspective!

Lauren's B-day Party

Just came across these, and it was such a cute party, had to post a few of the pics.

Channing Learning to ride her bike!

Around the first of December, 2010, Paxton and Channing decided to take off the training wheels one night around 5:30pm, and within 30 minutes she was riding alone!  It was such a fun night, and she was so proud!

Catch Up... Jaxson's Barn

I was trying to get everything in order before the big move, and found a few pictures I hadn't posted that I want to make sure we remember.  This is Jax playing with the barn Paxton and I got him for his 2nd birthday, and he LOVED it.  It really is a nice barn, and he has tons of horses, the trailer, tractor, etc... to go with it.

"Sissy, you wook wike Tinker Bell"... My favorite story EVERY!

I was just telling a friend about this today, and thought, I better post it before I forget.  Chann and Jax were in the bath one night, and she was lying back in the water rinsing her hair.  Jaxson was watching her and when she came up out of the water, he said "Sissy.... you are PRETTY".  And she gasped and exclaimed "Thank you, Brother!".  And he replied, "You wook wike Tinker Bell".  And Channing gasped again and said, "You are SO NICE.  And you look like a prince".  He said, "Yeah, I'm da prince, and you Tinker Bell".  Sweetest moment ever... I almost cried.  I tell her how pretty she is all the time and it doesn't phase her, but to hear it from her little brother just made her entire night!

Getting Ready for Maddox... Thank you to my Sweet Pleasanton Friends!

It seems as though Maddox may never see this room (no.... I am not being sarcastic and saying it feels like he is NEVER going to get here...).  There is a really good possibility we won't be here when he is born, and if all works out, we will be in DFW, and Dr. Garner will deliver my precious boy!  But, we did pretty much have the nursery finished... I planned to hang 2 big pics of him above his crib.  We are using lots of the same giraffe stuff we used in Jaxson's nursery because we recently updated his room, but I liked the brighter paint and bedding this time.  Also, playgroup met today to celebrate mine and Cassie's b-days, and they were thoughtful enough to offer to make it a little mini-shower as well.  It is very appreciated, as I have rejected all shower offers because we have so much already, and our schedule is so cramped.  We got lots of wipes and diapers today, some cute little jumpers, a homemade blanket and burp cloths (thanks Amy), and some other cute things.  Many of the gifts are pictured.  This is one reason I will miss the people here so much!

My Sweet Channing (5) and Jaxson (2.5)

Wanted to take a few minutes while I am thinking about it to update my blog all about Channing and Jaxson before we start moving, and before Maddox makes his appearance.
Channing: She turned 5 in August and I can't believe how much she has changed, and how fast time goes by.  Sometimes I need to remind myself to enjoy every minute with her, and to not let it bother me when she wants Paxton or me with her constantly, because the day could be coming when she will want us far away.  She is independent in some ways, and very cautious in others, which is okay with me because it keeps her safe.  It sometimes takes her a while to warm up to new people or things, but once she does, she is so outgoing and full of life.  She has excelled in our pre-k program and is reading and doing such a great job of sounding out words.  Out of all the things that worry me most about moving right now are having to take her out of Ms. Robin's, and making her start over somewhere else.  But she is young, and much better now than 3 years from now.  She loves Jaxson, and really is a helper with him.  Their relationship makes me so proud and happy, even though they can fight like wild animals (that drives me CRAZY!).  Here are the things she loves (from her mouth): "my family, cousins, my mom, my bother, my dad, pasta, pizza, my dolls, incredible pizza company, butterflies".  
Jaxson:  He turned 2 in June and is everything you would expect a 2 year old boy to be.... rowdy, sweet, lovable, unpredictable, grouchy.... all rolled into one.  He's a pretty good sleeper, and little easier to get to bed than his sister, and speaks (in my opinion anyway) really, really well for a 2 year old boy.  I know that is partly because of Channing, and we are all just big talkers in this family.  He has awesome hand eye coordination and is good with scissors, pens, crayons, etc.  He works and works at getting it right.  Getting his pacifier away may be a BIG deal because he loves it at night time and nap time, and potty training may be an even bigger deal because some days he'll do it, and some days, forget it.  He just doesn't show much interest.  Right now he stays home with me a majority of the time, and goes to a friends house one or two mornings a week for a few hours.  Once we get settled into our new place we will look at mother's day out, because mother is going to need it!

WHAT A WEEK!!!!

Cannot go into too much detail about everything that has happened over the past couple of weeks without making this post pages long.... so here is the short story....  New Years eve was awesome... jeff, allyson, sadie and tripp came for a quiet weekend, and other than a trip to the incredible pizza company, we had a relaxing time at the house.  Well, then the excitement begins....  Paxton decided last minute to apply for the Denton county job, and we spent the last 10 days thinking about that.  On top of that, Channing and Paxton left for Colorado for her first ski trip.... they went with Paige, Barrett, and Jade.  I was so disappointed to miss out on a "family" vacation, but didn't want to go sit in the condo 8 months pregnant with a 2 year old, and didn't want Channing to have to wait another year.  She loved it, and did great!  Paxton said she loved to go fast and had a bad habit of cutting people off so she could get in front.  Anyway, while they were gone Jaxson and I had a good time; we ate out a couple of times, went to see Yogi Bear, went to the zoo, and took nice, long naps together.  Now for the really exciting part, we found out the night before Paxton got home that he actually got the Denton county job, and now, deja vu, we find out a month before Maddox arrives that we are moving (exact same thing with Jaxson).  So, we are currently trying to figure out logistics.  Crazy times, but lots of blessings and all will be great in the long run, even if difficult right now!