Our Year

So, I promised I would come back and get everyone updated on our past year. Here it goes...

Right after Thanksgiving last year, we found out we were expecting baby #3. This babe was planned (kinda), but we weren't expecting to get pregnant on the first try. Literally. My pregnancy was ok, but not great. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at around 6 months and that was a really hard pill to swallow. I was able to control my blood sugar by completely changing my diet so that I didn't have to give myself insulin shots. (Thank you Lord!) I felt pretty good, physically, throughout my pregnancy except towards the end. But, I don't know any woman who feels great towards the end of their pregnancy, especially in 90+ degrees in July!! My due date was August 2, 2010 and we did not find out the gender. Jacob and Olivia were so super excited! Jacob wanted a little brother and Olivia did too! So, on July 23, 2010 at 2:30am, I woke up with contractions 5 minutes apart and we headed to the hospital a few hours later. I was admitted at 5:26am. (This will hold significance later.) We thought my labor would go quickly because of Olivia's birth. (got to hospital at 8:15am and she was born at 9:33am) Well, we were mistaken. After 12 hours and MANY Facebook status updates, but only 2 pushes (!) Joshua Evan was born at 5:26pm. EXACTLY 12 hours after I was admitted. Joshua weighed 7 lbs. 7 ozs. and was 18.5 inches long. He looks exactly like Jacob! Joshua is almost 3 months old now and he is a precious addition to our family. He is a very easy going and content baby, who loves his mobile, swing, and stroller! He's smiling and laughing now. At his 2 month appointment, he weighed 12 lbs. 7 ozs. and was 23.5 inches long. So, he gained 5 lbs. and grew 5 inches in just 2 months!! Oh, we all just adore this sweet baby boy!

Now, Jacob started 1st grade in August and just turned 7 years old on October 1st. He is still the sweet boy he's always been. His teachers always comment on how well mannered and kind he is. We're doing something right! He is taking his role as big brother extremely seriously lately. He still eats, sleeps, and BREATHES baseball. He can now catch a ball in the air and he usually hits line drives into the outfield. He plays 1st base and just loves the game. The most important thing that happened to Jacob this year is that he was saved and baptized on March 21, 2010.

Olivia started Kindergarten in August and turned 5 years old on July 6th. She has really mellowed over the past year. She went from being the wild and crazy little diva that everyone loves to a cuddly (still wild) and mild mannered (still a little crazy) little girl and everyone still loves her. (She lost most of her diva attitude.) Her teachers say that she is one of the quietest kids in the class, which truly surprises us because she talks nonstop when she's home. We joke that she's making up for lost time when she gets home. She is playing her 2nd season of Tball and really enjoys the game when she's not playing in the dirt. On August 21, 2010, Olivia's best friend was killed in a car accident. This tragedy hit us really hard. Maddy was only 5 years old. Olivia has had a really hard time coping with this loss, so she gets grief counselling at school 3 days per week. Please pray for her because, as she gets older, she'll begin to understand more about death and she'll ask more in depth questions.

As for Mark and myself, we are just trying to survive with 3 kids and loving every moment of it. I still sew and embroider as much as I can in my free time. (free time. Ha!) Mark is head coach of Jacob's coach pitch baseball team and assistand coach of Olivia's Tball team. We're beginning to wonder if we should just pitch a tent at homeplate every night because we're always at the baseball field! So, that's what we've been doing lately. :)