4 years ago...

I was laying in a hospital bed holding my new baby girl!  It had been a LONG 37 weeks, but the end result was worth every last minute.  I cannot believe Lainey turned 4 today!  I straight up cried on the way to work this morning...partially because I am a hormonal mess, and partially just because the reality is hard to handle.  I am so blessed and honored that God chose me to be her mom.  It's such an amazing (and challenging) responsibility, and I just sat and thanked God for the priviledge this morning. When did my sweet girl turn into this little lady??  I remember thinking 6 months was my favorite age...how could it get any better than this?!?!  But then she was able to walk and talk, and I thought it couldn't get any better than that.  Then she went through the terrible two's (6 months early), and I couldn't wait for that to end. :)  And then we've had the last year...

I can say this age has definitely been my favorite!  My dad always said this is his favorite age.  They are old enough to have fun conversations with, and still young enough to be so stinkin adorable!  She has had a big personality since birth, and it has only gotten bigger with age.  We love our baby and the sweet, loving, sassy girl she has turned into! 



September 19, 2007




1 year old!




2 years old!



3 years old!

4 years old!

It's amazing to see how much she has grown and changed!  Happy Birthday, sweet girl!  Here's to another amazing year!

GO BIG RED!

Our good friend Dusty called us Thursday night and said a buddy of his had some extra tickets for the game Saturday...for free!  So naturally I called my brother to tell him the good news, and we started making plans!  I figured this was the last game I should probably attend this season seeing as it is getting harder and harder to breathe/move each day!  So Jake and I headed to Lincoln for game day, and we had a really good time!  I just love my little brother and am loving every minute of our houses being 12 minutes apart seeing as we haven't lived in the same city together for the last 12 years! 

Right after we took this picture a lovely college boy walked by and pointed at my belly and said "He's going to be a Husker!"  Jake and I just laughed and laughed.  I'm not quite quick enough on my feet to respond, but I should have said "She's going to be a cheerleader!" :)

We got to watch the team walk in, and I was like a giddy little school girl.  Ridiculous when you sit back and actually think that these are just college kids, but I just love these boys! 

Here I am at 28 weeks sporting my yoga pants and a t-shirt for the game, ha!  The joys of being pregnant, right?!  We took this picture about 45 minutes before game time.  It was a dreary day and I think the high was 56 degrees.  Luckily the rain held off until the 4th quarter, and we had fun and enjoyed a win despite the weather!  I'm glad Lilly got to "attend" her first Husker game.  At least now she can say she's done something her big sister hasn't! 

Life

I know everyone feels like this, but life seems to be moving SO fast for us these days!  It seems like we always have something going on, and we are not able to slow down for anything.  Our weekends are now filled with our most favorite thing--COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!  We live for this time of year, and our house can get a little loud any given Saturday.  Jovan and I are both phychotically crazy passionate about our teams, and I wouldn't want it any other way.  He commented the other day that he falls more and more in love with me every year during this time, ha!  Actually living here during football season makes my heart very happy.  I love knowing that I can go anywhere on Saturdays and EVERYONE is in some form of red or Huskers apparel!  It's also funny to drive around Omaha on Saturdays when we have home games and see how little traffic there is because of the mass exodus to Lincoln for game time!  Anyways...here's me and my girls on the first day of college football this year.  We have a picture of me 35 weeks pregnant on Lainey's "first day" of college football also.

My belly definitely popped the last couple of weeks!  I'm starting to feel the strain of the heaviness, and she is taking a toll on my back.  I'm sure the whole standing 8 hours a day plays a huge role as well!  I only had to teach about a month when I was pregnant with Lainey.  The thought of teaching an entire semester pregnant makes me a little nervous!  Oh well...I'll just do a lot more sitting over the next few months!

This is today's picture at 27 wks 1 day.  Tomorrow we take 72 6th graders out to a camping ground where we will spend 2 days hiking trails and doing all things Science!  The weather here last week was AMAZING, and it will continue to be amazing again this week...with the exception of tomorrow.  It is supposed to be 91 freaking degrees and sunny.  Not really sure how this big ol preggo is going to survive hiking in the heat with the most challenging kids I have ever taught, but God's going to get me through it...of this I am sure! 

And last, but not least, Happy Grandparent's Day!!  I am usually SO good at sending cards to all the grandparents in our life, but it absolutely snuck up on me this year.  So for the moment being, we sent Nana & Papa, J-Ma & J-Pa, and Grammy this lovely last minute picture on Facebook.  Sad???  Yes!  But it will have to do for this year.  I promise I'll make it up to them next year with what is sure to be two of the most adorable girls in the world!  We are so incredibly blessed to live SO much closer now to my parents!  I love seeing them as often as we do, and I love that Lainey will have such great memories of spending time at Nana & Papa's farm.  I don't know what I did to deserve such wonderful parents, and I thank God for them daily! 

Can't believe we're entering the third trimester!  Life is not slowing down for a moment, and we will be meeting our sweet baby soon!