It's been almost 2 months already!!

First I want to start off with a little "update" on Austyn. The picture above is of his flag football game. That's him catching a scoring pass! This is the second year he has played flag football and he seems to really like it and does very well. This year the weather was really nice for it too, not too hot, not too cold, just perfect. Maybe next year he will be playing tackle, but flag is good for now, makes me less nervous! :)
He has adjusted well to the new school and made lots of friends. He is quite the popular guy these days, always on the go. It's been pretty much non stop with birthday parties and sleep overs, busy, busy, busy. It's ok though, we are glad he is so well liked and seems to easily make friends. He is doing very well in school, as usual. All in all, I am very proud of him and feel very lucky to have such a well behaved, smart kid. Guess I'm doing something right. ;)


Hudson is almost 2 months old now, it seems to have went by fast. He is getting bigger by the day, and of course, cuter! He is such a good baby, again, I feel very lucky. above picture is daddy and Hudson playing "baby in space". Andrew likes to hold him up and "fly" him around while singing his own little song about him being in space. It's very cute, and funny. I think Andrew enjoys it more than Hudson at this point, but I am sure in the future it will be a favorite for both of them. It's so fun to see them playing together.

He is quite the smiley guy these days too. He has started smiling when you talk to him, instead of just the random smiles in his sleep or from gas. It's soooo cute. He is trying to "talk" too. He recently starting making cooing sounds trying to be part of the conversation, I just love it. He has also rolled over twice already!! He like to move around and kick his legs, he is a busy body already. We finally got him sleeping in his crib instead of the basket, which is nice. He doesn't quite sleep through the night yet, but only gets up once usually, which isn't so bad. I am pretty excited for him to sleep all the way through the night though.
He really loves his bath time, which is nice. I would hate to have to struggle to get him clean. His likes to eat too!! At his 1 month check up he was up to 9 lbs 8 oz, quite a leap from his birth weight, over 2 lbs! He's a very healthy, growing boy!

A rare occurance, a picture of mom and baby! Usually I am the one with the camera snapping all the pictures. I wish he would have been smiling, but he is still cute as ever!

All in all, both of my boys are healthy, happy kids, and we couldn't be happier about that. Hudson has been a very good baby, and an absolute joy. We are so happy about our growing family, and are enjoying every minute of it!

Hudson Tyler Jones, born October 1, 2010

Well, it's been a while since our last posting...and for Hudson Tyler Jones, it's been a lifetime, literally. We were blessed to have our little boy born on October 1, 2010 at 7:58 a.m. Sabrina had a heck of a time going through labor, as Hudson gave her her money's worth for about 16 hours. He weighed, as you can kind of see below, 7 pounds 2 ounces. and was 20 inches long.




This picture above is one of our favorites and was taken about a half hour after he was born.

Here he is taking a little power nap. He still sleeps a lot, but is staying awake more and more and getting a little more personality to him. His three main moods seem to be crabby, serious, and curious.


This is his *robe*. So far he loves taking baths, and looks very relaxed in the tub.

He definitely has a serious side to him, or at least some serious faces. It always makes us laugh.

Here is one of baby and mommy shortly after they were "reunited" after the surgery. Sabrina is breastfeeding him so far, and he took right to it. Even though he is so little and cute, he can definitely get some serious gas...loud gas.

Austyn came up to the hospital to visit the day he was born. He has been a very good big brother, and as far as we can tell, he loves the new guy.

And here is proud daddy, taking a nap with his son. We like to play together, but most of the time when I hold him, he seems to avoid eye contact with me, and focuses his eyes on some inanimate object to my right or left (like a lamp or curtain). It kind of ticks me off, but I don't think that's his intent. Haha.

So, we have certainly had our hands full for the last month. It's been such a great time having him around, after all those months of anticipation. We feel very fortunate to have had such a healthy, cute little guy, and are looking forward to helping him grow and develop. We appreciate all the support and help we have received from our family and friends; it has made the experience so much easier.

Quick little update...

Alot has been happening this summer, and I haven't had a chance to update our blog. So, here is a quick overview...

Andrew and I moved into our new house in mid July. We LOVE it!! It's so nice and quaint, and we love living in town. It is very convenient living in town. We are both only a few blocks from our jobs, a few yards from the park, and 2 blocks from Austyn's school. Not to mention, closer to the hospital, for our upcoming visit there! :) We have managed to get all settled in for the most part, and are getting used to being in town and having much more needed space.

My baby shower was at the end of July, and it turned out fantastic. Beth, Angela and Susan did an excellent job, and I was very pleased with how well it went. Connie made the cutest cake ever also, and I just absolutely loved everything. We received a lot of nice gifts for our little man on the way, and we couldn't be more grateful. After that was all over, I was finally able to get the last few things for the nursery and get it all set up. (That wait was KILLING me!!) Of course, pregnancy brain has gotten the best of me this whole summer, and I forgot to bring my camera, so I have no pictures of the shower. I will work on that.

We have been able to spend lots of time at the beach, especially being closer, which has been nice with how hot of a summer this has been. Of course, the summer that I am pregnant, it's unbearably hot!! I think this may be the first time in my life that I am looking forward to the end of summer. I have enjoyed the sunshine and heat (well, for the most part :) ) but not the sweating, swelling, shortness of breath and exhaustion that the combination of summer heat and pregnancy bring. I have to say, I don't like to complain, but this summer and pregnancy has been pretty hard on me and I am ready for it to be done. We have 7 more weeks to go, and I am seriously counting down the days. We cannot wait to meet our little man. He is growing right along and is already a very active little guy. He likes it when Andrew sings to my belly. Austyn finds it comical, but I think it's sweet, and really cool. He usually moves right up under where Andrew's lips are pressed against my belly, and when he stops singing, the baby starts kicking. :)

So, for the pictures in this blog, (that I did manage to remember my camera for)....

First up, the "belly" picture this time is a shadow picture. haha. I didn't have a recent belly shot, but I did have this one I took of my own shadow, so that is gonna have to do for now. Besides, I am not that fond of pictures of myself, especially at this size. ;)

This is our kitchen in the new house. Which is also my favorite room in the house. This picture doesn't even really show how awesome it really is.

And this is our living room. I love the fireplace, although we aren't sure we will even be using it. At least not this year. We need to have it swept out and make sure its safe for use first, but it looks nice for now.

So, there are a few pictures, of the new home. Austyn finally came home from his dad's after 6 LONG weeks, and loved exploring his new house, and loved his new room, which is in the basement. I think it gives him a sense of independence and maturity that he likes, being down there by himself, almost like his own little apartment. He has already made friends with the neighbor kids across the street and has adjusted to the move well. I am sure he will adjust just as smoothly at his new school. He is a very likeable kid, and gets along well with other kids. We are just glad to have him home for the last little bit of the summer, I really miss him while he is gone. And worry!!

Well, so much for short. Sorry I didn't have more pictures. Maybe next time. At this rate, the next time I post, it will be about the birth of our newest family member!! We will keep you all posted.

We have officially entered MONTH 6!!

Well, school is out for the year, much to Austyn's excitement, and he is heading into 4th grade next year! Wow, time flies, I can still remember his first day of school, and how excited he was to be going on the bus. :) Now, he's already asking when the last day of school is, on the first day! haha. Didn't take him long to decide he didn't like it. Hate to tell ya son, you have a long way to go before it's all over. Despite his lack of excitement for school, he does very well. He got all A's, or the 3rd grade version of them on his report card. He was top of his class, and excelled in all subjects. We are so proud of our smart little guy, and can only hope he continues to grow and excel the way he did this year. He is quite the talented artist as well, I will have to scan some of his drawings to upload to here, so everyone can see how awesome he is at it. I am glad he found something that he is not only good at, but LOVES to do, and hopefully he continues on with his drawing, he really is great at it.
In addition to the last day of school, his end of the year pack meeting was this past week. I guess we are wrapping everything up all at once. :) Which is good, since he is leaving on Monday to go to his dad's for summer visitation, so I am glad he was able to be here for this. I wasn't feeling well that day, so I didn't get to make it, but thankfully, Andrew remembered to bring the camera, take pictures AND video's, so I didn't completely miss out. All the boys in his pack received their bear badges, for finishing the bear program. I am so proud of him, and glad he decided to join such a great organization for young boys. He really likes it and I think he learns alot from it.

And, lastly, We are into the 6th month of this pregnancy. A few more weeks to enter the 3rd, and FINAL, trimester!!! YAY! Week 24 actually crept up on me a bit, and it was weird the excitement I had when I realized how far along I am. Surprisingly, it has been going pretty fast for me, unlike my first one, but I am still getting antsy and anxious. I can't wait to meet our little man!! Oh, ya, IT'S A BOY!!, for anyone who didn't already know. Our ultrasound went great, it took 2 hours!!, but everything looks good. We have a healthy, fast growing little boy that everyone is excited to meet. Andrew has been VERY helpful, and that has been really nice. I am still feeling really good, except on those really hot days. I feel the baby moving alot now, he is quite busy, and Andrew is finally able to feel and see him moving around too. It's really cool. I hope the remainder of this pregnancy goes as quickly as the first part has, I can hardly wait to meet our new little addition. Below I posted a new pregnant belly picture. I think Austyn's expression is hilarious, and shows his excitement for his little brother to be quite well. Or maybe it's just his awe of the size of me, haha. Either way, it's cute.

We also celebrated Father's Day this weekend. With no pictures, sorry, can't remember much these days! haha. We went to Dewey and Susan's on Saturday for dinner and family time with the dad's and dad's to be. It was a very nice and relaxing dinner with delicious food. I gave Andrew his card and gift from me, Austyn and Hudson this morning, which was a football. The dog had chewed up his other one, and I thought it was a nice gift for the soon-to-be daddy of a little boy. Hopefully he can hang onto it long enough to play catch with Hudson before the dog gets ahold of this one too. This afternoon we will be going to my dad's house for dinner and family time, and that should be nice too. I just like to eat, so all these "special occasions" are awesome! :)
So, there is our update for the month. We will try to get better about posting more frequently. Hope all the dad's out there have a wonderful Father's Day! Take care everyone.

A beautiful weekend in May...

This weekend was BEAUTIFUL! Finally!!! Some nice weather. We have all been waiting for it, and it couldn't have come for a better weekend.

First of all, this weekend, Saturday, was mine and Andrew's 1 year anniversary. We took a trip to Escanaba, enjoyed a scenic drive, and some nice alone time. We went to dinner at a local cafe, then stopped at a roadside park with some "falls", although they weren't much of falls, more like rapids. It was pretty though. We weren't much into pictures though, so, I have nothing to post of that little trip. I also don't have any pictures of our wedding on this computer, so I can't post some then and now pictures like I had originally planned. I would like to say though, this past year has been the best of my life. Andrew is the love of my life, and I look forward to many more wonderful years with him. He is a wonderful husband and stepfather, and I am positive will be a great father, and will have the chance to prove it soon! :) Love, love, love our life!!!



Sunday was even nicer, weather wise, so we decided to continue our outdoors adventures, and make it a family day at the beach. The first one of the season. Austyn wore jeans, as I thought it might be chilly by the lake, like it usually is, but it wasn't. It was pleasantly warm, and he was a little disappointed he didn't wear shorts. He didn't let it stop him from wading in the water and attempting to bury himself in the sand. He and Andrew took turns throwing sticks for the dog, (who is finally getting into the water), and then skipped stones together.


Little Presque Isle is one of my favorite places near my house, it is just soooo beautiful. I think these pictures capture it well.



All in all, it was a wonderful weekend, we could not have asked for more beautiful weather, and I am getting very excited for summer time and spending more time at the beach and having picnics, bbq's and lots of family time.




Lastly, tomorrow, (the 17th) is Austyn's 10th birthday! I am glad the weather is going to be nice, its so up in the air this time of year. He is growing so fast, I can't believe how time flies!!! His party will be next weekend, which he is extremely excited for, of course. I am so proud of what a smart, polite and handsome young man he is becoming! Before I know it, we will be doing a blog about his first formal dance, and high school graduation! :)




Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this update, and the pictures. For those of you who don't get to live in as beautiful place as we do, sorry, and try not to get too jealous! hahaha. If it wasn't for our 7 or 8 months of cold, wind, rain and snow,
we could pretty much say we lived in paradise. :)

Big News; Bigger Belly

We have big news. Most of you probably know by now, but we haven't blogged in a while, so here is our blog-announcement: Sabrina and I are having a baby! She is 17 weeks along now, and doctors say everything is progressing nicely. We are finding out at the end of the month the baby's gender. Hopefully the summer will not be too hot, since that is when Sabrina will be at her most pregnant. The due date is mid-October (doctor says 9th or 13th).

She has been craving a lot of sweets and dill pickles, so I think that's a good sign.

Our dog, Buster, has been living up to his name. He is very active; never seems to stop running around and lookin' for trouble. He's a good little guy, though.

Work for me has been going well. We are a very busy firm, and have cases all over the upper peninsula, so I travel quite a bit.

Austyn has been enjoying Cub Scouting. He likes the kids in his den. He also is doing very well in school, according to his teacher at our parent-teacher conference.

January Finale

Well, January has been pretty uneventful, and relaxing for us. As you can see from the picture to the left, we have spent most of our time lounging around. (This picture also shows how BIG Buster is getting already!) The holidays were fun, but they were exhausting, and it has been nice to not have to do anything, or be anywhere at any certain time.
So, being that we haven't really done anything, this blog is actually going to probably be pretty boring and short. haha.



Last week, when I went out to start my car before work, this is what I saw. Austyn had left to get on the bus while I was in the shower, so he didn't get a chance to tell me goodbye the way he wanted to apparently. So, he decided to write it on my car. I thought this was so cute, and very sweet, and had to get a picture. He is such a sweet kid and so thoughtful, (most of the time :) ) I just love him.
Also, that amount of snow on my car is the most snowfall we have had in over 2 weeks. It has been pretty "warm" (for this time of the year) and quite sunny and pleasant. It's not that good for business where I work, since we plow in the winter, but other than that factor, I have NO complaints on the sunshine, now melting and little mid-winter heat wave. Now, its back to reality though. This week has been very cold and gloomy, still no snow though. Personally, I would rather have the snow, than single digit temperatures. Oh well, spring will be here soon, I hope!

And lastly, this Friday, Jan. 29th, Austyn and some of his classmates were offered the opportunity to sing the National Anthem at the NMU hockey game. He was pretty excited about it all week, practicing and such. On Friday, he was a little upset that we couldn't find his Wildcats shirt, but... we were able to come up with a wildcats paw tattoo, that he sported on his face to show his team spirit. He did get a little nervous when we got there, I think when it finally hit him on what was going on and how many people he would be singing in front of. They all did really well though, and I was proud of him. I took a picture, but I was in the wrong spot, and only got their backs, and they didn't turn the lights on, and so its really dark and hard to see. So, instead, I put up a picture that Austyn took during the game. He took quite a few good ones, but I figured this was good. It was a good game, they played Alaska, and it ended up going into overtime, which still resulted in a tie. So, they did a shoot out, and NMU won!! It was very exciting and a great ending.

Speaking of endings, I don't know how great this is, but I think I am about finished with this entry. So, I hope you have enjoyed this most recent peak into our mostly non-eventful life, and hope all is well with everyone. Maybe next time I will have something a little more exciting to post for you. :)

Goodbye 2009, Welcome 2010

Happy Holidays everyone. We had a busy and exhausting, but fun, holiday season. There was so much going on with family, friends, company parties, shopping and travel, I don't really know where to begin.
We had several different Christmas celebrations to attend this year. They were all fun, and we had the opportunities to see lots of family that we haven't seen in a while. First, we had Austyn's holiday program for school. The theme was Christmas around the world. They did songs from around the world, and it was pretty interesting. Austyn even had a solo speaking part, which he was very excited for, and he did an excellent job.




On Christmas Eve Eve, we went to Dewey and Susan's for a family get together, since Ethan and Angela were up, and we would be gone for the Christmas weekend. It was very relaxing, and nice to see everyone together. The dinner was delicious, although, so were the appetizers, which everyone was filling up on before dinner. All in all, everything turned out nicely, except that I forgot to bring the camera, so I didn't get any pictures.
We did our little family Christmas on Christmas Eve, since we planned on leaving that afternoon to head downstate to see my mom. Austyn was soooo excited, that he could not get to sleep that night, he finally did around 1 a.m, but did not sleep for long. He was up and about at 4:30 a.m. and knocking on the bedroom door at 6. We told him he needed to wait until 7, because we needed our sleep for the drive later on. I remember being that age and the anticipation, so it must have killed him to have to wait another hour. :) I think the wait paid off though, as he described this Christmas as the best Christmas "of his entire life". What an accomplishment for us to be able to pull that off. I think the Wii that we got him was the deciding factor for him this year. We figured it would be fun for everyone, but we really had no idea just how much fun it was going to be. We have all spent the majority of our time playing the wii and are thoroughly enjoying every second of it, except in the morning when we wake up very sore. Andrew really gets into the bowling, and I really like the tennis. Austyn just likes all of them I think, but he seems particulary fond of the pool.

My Dad and Connie came over for Christmas Eve morning before we left. I made breakfast for everyone, then we exchanged gifts. Austyn got the wii sports package from them, which he was really excited about. We all took turns checking out the games. That thing really is fun for the whole family.

Early that afternoon, we started our journey to Traverse City for rest of the holiday weekend. My brother Chad and his wife Libby were home for Christmas from Louisiana. They are expecting their first child in March, and its probably the last time I will get to see Chad before he goes to Afganistan. So it was very nice to be able to spend some time with them. My mom always does a theme for the Christmas tree, and this year it was Dr. Suess. I think she pulled it off quite nicely, as the tree could not have been any more lop sided or weird looking than it was. The dinner was awesome, and there was plenty of food for everyone. We spent the evening playing cards and catching up. It was really nice to have all of the kids together for Christmas. I wish I could have gotten a picture, but my battery died on my camera. :(

For NYE, Andrew and I decided to stay home and enjoy a quiet evening to ring in the New Year. So, I invited my dad and Connie over to join us, and made a bunch of snacks. We just hung out playing games, playing the wii (of course), eating and relaxing. It was a lot of fun, and really nice to be home and not out and about at all the parties and stuff for once. For New Years Day, Dewey and Susan came over to have a late breakfast with us, and watch Andrew play the wii. I am telling you, I don't think that thing ever gets any rest, except when we sleep. It is just way too much fun. Later that day, we went into town to do some shopping, have a little lunch and go to a movie. Kind of a date afternoon I guess you could say. Then on Saturday, we headed to the bridge to pick up Austyn from his week long visit with his dad. We are glad to have him home, and now he is joining us with the addiction to the wii.
All in all it was busy, but fun and relaxing. It was nice to see everyone and have a chance to catch up. Now its time to clean up, get back to work, and lose all the weight we gained from all the delicious meals!! :)