Yes! Jack is going to be a big brother! As you can tell in the picture, he is very excited, and of course Kurt and I are too! We are thrilled! Baby #2 is due September 11th, so we are currently 8 weeks along. No, that is not my favorite day for the due date, obviously, but if this baby is anything like Jack, he/she will come way before that! :-)
The pregnancy has gone pretty smoothly, except the last couple of weeks I have been pretty sick and extremely tired. Yes, this too shall pass, but I didn't feel like this at all with Jack, so it's definitely new for me! It's also an adjustment feeling like this and already having a toddler to take care of, but Jack is so easy and entertains himself very well!
Our first appointment with my doctor was a couple of weeks ago on January 17th, and Dr. McKenzie was very excited for us and very pleased that everything seemed ok. He even did an ultrasound in the room, even though it was early, because he and I both were very eager to see the baby! The little peanut (or blur in this photo) is shown at the very bottom left. Yay! Such a sweet blur! We go back next Tuesday on the 7th for another check-up, and possibly another ultrasound! I can't wait!
Please keep us in your prayers and pray for the baby to grow and develop well and stay healthy, and for my sickness to go away sooner than later so I can function again! Please also notice the new baby ticker at the top of the blog! :-)
Last weekend, we went with my family up to Gatlinburg, TN (or "Galibinburg" to Jack) for the long holiday weekend. We got up there late Thursday night, and it even snowed on the way up there! Papa and Sherbo also came Thursday night, so we enjoyed the cabin, just the five of us, the first night.
Friday morning, snow covered the ground and it was beautiful! We carefully drove down the mountain to the downtown Gatlinburg strip to eat breakfast at the Pancake Pantry, which of course is one of mine and Kurt's favorite pancake places. We even got a quick shot of Jack, Papa, and Sherbo in the snow, plus Jack's bear pancakes!
After breakfast, we headed to Pigeon Forge to Walmart to get groceries, then headed back to the cabin for Jack's nap, then went back out to the strip for lunch at Fannie Farkles. They have foot-long corn dogs there, and they were so delicious! Jack and I shared one, but he loved it so much he ate most of it himself!
After we ate, we let him play in the arcade there. He loved skeeball, the racing games, plus a ball popper game. He even won the jackpot on the ball popper game giving him so many tickets!
We continued down the strip towards Baskin Robbins (my favorite ice cream ever!), and on the way we saw the ball that floats on water at Ripley's Believe It or Not. Jack loved it and helped Daddy push it around. After Baskin Robbins, we headed back towards the car, stopping once to sit on the sky lift seat for a quick picture. We were ready to get back to the cabin to meet the rest of our family coming that afternoon!
Friday morning we were glad to wake up with everyone there! Sherbo cooked a delicious breakfast and we all played and lounged around for a while before getting ready to go out.
Once we got ready, we headed towards Ober Gatlinburg to go ice skating. The kids were so excited! We got to ride a bus on the way up there, and Jack's face was priceless since he got to sit in the seat with no carseat! He wasn't sure what to do! Too funny!
Here he is getting ice skates on for the first time! He looked so cute in them! All the kids were ready to get on the ice!
Uncle Jim was the first to take a tumble! At least he did it with a smile!
Jack couldn't really get the hang of it and just kept dragging his legs, so Daddy picked him up and took him around while gripping the rail. It's not easy to ice skate and help someone else,too!
Papa and Abby just watching everyone!
Jake was definitely the best one out there! He did great!
Uncle Jeff and Brooke trying to figure it out...
Jack attempting it again, but without his jacket. He and Daddy both started sweating since ice skating was a lot of work!
Here we are outside by the ski lifts and slopes! It was so beautiful out there! Jack loved stomping on the snow and making snowballs!
After leaving Ober Gatlingburg, we headed back down to the cabin for naps, then went out to dinner that night to Calhoun's on the strip for some barbecue. Kurt and I had been there with our friends Keith and Lindsey a couple years ago and remembered how good it was. They are known for their ribs, so of course that's what most of us got, and they were delicious!
I caught a glimpse of Daddy and Jack loving on each other! So sweet!
4 out of 5 grandkids on the big rocking chair!
Just Jack, and no, he's not asleep!
The next day we headed back down to the strip and had pizza for lunch! Jack ate 2 big pieces all on his own! He loves pizza as much as I do! He and Daddy looked so cute eating pizza together.
Sweet Abby asleep on her daddy! She was so good all trip, and of course so cute!
We of course found another arcade! This time we were at the Space Needle Arcade, and they had more kid-friendly games, including a small basketball goal. Jack loved it and made a lot of his shots!
On Monday we had to leave to head back home, but before we did, we headed back to downtown to walk around a little bit more and enjoy Gatlinburg for a couple more hours. Jim, Deena, Blakely, and Abby stayed with us, too, so we enjoyed spending more time with them. The kids wanted to eat at McDonald's, so we did, then got some donuts and hot chocolate at the Donut Friar in The Village, then just walked around a while. We even went back to Fannie Farkles for more games, and heard some bluegrass music. Jack and Blakely loved it and danced for everyone!
When we left Gatlinburg and got to Pigeon Forge, we decided to stop by the Tanger Outlets to see what some stores had on sale. When we got to the Gap, Jack just wanted me to take his picture in front of the shoes and some mannequins, so here is one picture! He was too cute just posing, but not smiling! So serious!
Little man finally fell asleep about an hour outside of Gatlinburg, and had a good little nap on our way home. He was exhausted from all the fun he'd had all weekend!
Here is a video of all the weekend fun!
Thanks so much to Papa and Sherbo for such a wonderful trip! We love Gatlinburg and had a great time with our family making lots of memories! We appreciate all you did to make sure we all had a lot of fun! We love y'all so much!
We have read the book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" to Jack almost everyday since he was born 2 1/2 years ago, and he's obviously been paying attention, because now he reads it himself! Here are a couple videos of him reading it. Try to see if you can hear him saying, "Ground Bear" instead of "Brown Bear." Too cute!
