Charlie is here!

My brother Jess and sister-in-law Donna welcomed baby Charlie into the world yesterday, May 25 at 8:36 pm.  Charles Russell Sandoval was 8 lbs, 8 oz and 21.5 inches long.  He's such a sweet little blend of Jess and Donna - he has Jesse's eyes and nose and Donna's cute lips and chubby cheeks. He's perfect and precious.  Donna is quite the trooper and endured 27 hours of labor before having a c-section. Mommy, baby and daddy are all doing great!  We are beyond happy for Jess and Donna!

This morning I showed Jack the picture of Charlie on my phone.  He grabbed the phone and said, "awe, baby, how cute."  Then he hugged the phone.  I know Charlie, Jack and The Sequel will be besties and get in lots of trouble together.  We're headed to Cali in two weeks and I can't wait to get my hands on that little bundle.  Our family has been so blessed to have had 4 healthy babies born in 2 years, with another on the way.  Mimi and Papa are obviously thrilled! 

22 Months & 20 Weeks

Hi, I'm Jack and I'm 22 months!

This was the week of the 20s....on Monday Jack turned 22 months and on Tuesday Baby D Part II (who we are now lovingly referring to as The Sequel) turned 20 weeks! If only mommy were still 29!  Jack is a fun-loving, active and very strong-willed 22 month old boy....who already weighs 36 pounds and wears a 9 1/2 wide shoe!  He loves anything that has an engine...motorcycles, firetrucks, trains and cars...especially the Disney movie Cars.  Sadly, Mickey Mouse has been slowly replaced by Lightening McQueen.  But Dora still reigns supreme on the TV.

In the past few weeks Jack has definitely started to assert his independence which makes daily activities a bit of a challenge, in fact his favorite words are NO and STOP IT.  It tries our patience for sure, but at the end of the day, his good moments outweigh the bad ones and we just adore him more and more.  He's so funny, inquisitive and smart. I could write a book about all the hilarious things he says on a daily basis but I won't bore you with them.  But I will tell you a sweet story that just proves that even if you feel like they are ignoring you, your children are always listening...

Christian and I always try to pray before dinner. We usually hold hands and start with either Dear God or Dear Jesus and we always thank God for the baby in mommy's belly. Tonight was one of those hectic nights when dinner was late and we were all so hungry we just dove into dinner without praying. Well a few minutes in Jack looked up from his burger and said, Mommy, Daddy, hold my hand. So we grabbed hands and he said..."Dear God, baby in mommy's belly, Amen." It was such a sweet moment and Christian and I had to pause and take it in. We felt incredibly proud that he already has a knowledge of God. I literally teared up. He may be a stinker from time to time but our Jack really is an amazing child...I just love him so much!

Jack has the best laugh...

Jack and his girlfriend Ava...

We also love The Sequel! We got to see him today at my 20 week ultra sound. He's already proving to be a big baby at almost a pound, when most babies at this age are aboout 9 ounces. He's got big hands and feet like his big bro and momma! I'm predicting a 9 pounder! He's extremely active and I can feel him move all the time. The great part about this stage that I'm finally feeling great! There's no more naseau and I have energy and am less tired all day. I'm super excited to enjoy the second half of my pregnancy. Hopefully we can use these next few months to pick a name because as of now we are totally stumped!

Big mama at 20 weeks...

The Sequel's 20 week ultrasound profile.  I can't wait to see what he looks like...

Baby's big ole claws...

Mother's Day Weekend in Chi-Town

(I'm 18 1/2 weeks along here)

Last week we travelled to Chicago for a celebration-filled weekend with the David's.  We really packed a lot in just 2 days...it started off with a Friday night dinner at Melanie and David's, then Saturday morning was Carson's First Communion, followed by a surprise engagement party for Mike and Mandi that evening, then Mother's Day on Sunday.  It sounds crazy but for me it was really relaxing because Jack was fully entertained by his cousins - Samantha, Carson and Sophia.  They adore Jack and the feeling is mutual so the kids played together all weekend which meant that mommy could nap, relax and enjoy adult conversation! 

We stayed at Melanie and David's in Batavia which is awesome because she has EVERYTHING...kid-friendly food, sippy cups, pack n play and of course toys, toys and more toys!  We barely had to pack anything.  And Jack was in heaven playing with his cousins and their fun toys. I mean, the kid had a ball and literally played non-stop ALL WEEKEND!  He especially loved playing with Carson, who is 7 1/2.  Jack was his little shadow all weekend - it was adorable.  Jack talks about them all the time and I know he misses them all. 

For some reason, the camera didn't make it out of my bag much of the time, but I did manage to snap a few cute shots of Jack with the David Clan. 

Jack gearing up for a little basketball action...

Getting a lift from dad (who looks a little pained from lifting 36 lbs of baby over his head)...

 Jack was trying so hard to play like the big kids and dribble the ball....

 With cousins Sophie and Carson...

The newly engaged couple Mike and Mandi.  They look adorable - I wish Jack had cracked a smile...

Great picture with Aunt Dani...

Getting lots of love from Aunt Melanie and cousin Sami...

Jack and Carson - now that's true love!



Easter Maddness!

(I'm about 16 1/2 weeks along here with our new boy!)

I always loved Easter as a kid.  There was just something special about getting a pretty new outfit, an Easter basket full of candy, hunting for eggs and spending time with family.  I want Jack to have such wonderful memories too so I always try hard to make this a great holiday for him.  Of course, Jack's grandparents share the same sentiment so Easter started a week early for Jack with packages delivered from Cali and Chicago...both filled with candy and toys.  Needless to say the candy didn't last long - how can it with a pregnant woman in the house!

The Saturday before Easter we dyed eggs.  I love dying eggs so this was really fun for me.  I thought Jack would just throw the eggs and dye around but he was actually quite good at it.  Aside from a few cracked eggs we all came out pretty clean.  Easter morning started with a visit from the Easter Bunny who brought Jack an Easter basket, new toys and a brand new wagon.  He was so excited, the first words out of his mouth were..."OH MY GOODNESS!"

After an amazing church service we hosted a brunch at our house.  We may not have family here, but we are fortunate enough to have great friends to share holidays with from time to time.  Our neighbors Lee and Stacy brought their kids Ava and Hunter and our friends Andy and Rianna brought their girls Elena and Clara.  Jack was so happy to have his girlfriends there to play with. We all had a really nice and relaxing day!

There were just too many adorable pictures from the weekend so it was hard to leave any out...so I didn't.  There are about 20 pics here - don't say I didn't warn you!  Some of the pictures I got from Stacy so they have a funny white border, but they are cute just the same!
Jack is obviously enjoying this white chocolate bunny from Gigi and Papa...

 Dying eggs with dad...

An Easter Basket from the Easter Bunny!  I'm loving his adorable outfit and freshly combed hair...

Riding in his new wagon, which we use on a daily basis now...

Jack is so proud to have found his first egg...

I love this picture of the girls running.  They look so happy and free.  The funny part is that we hid about 40 eggs but they b-lined for the same one...

Little girls always become fast friends.  I love how Elena has her arm around Ava...

 Jack was so sweet and gave Ava some eggs.  He loves his Ava so much!! 

Daddy helping Jack get the candy out of the eggs...

Three adorable kiddos in their Easter best...

Taking inventory of their loot!

Jack proceeded to eat nearly every piece of candy in his basket.  Poor kid has no will power...

Don't forget about little Hunter...

 The difference between girls....

 And boys...

 Jack ended the day with a little dancing in mommy's heals. Now that takes some talent...

 Happy Easter Everyone!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

HAPPY 39TH BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST DADDY AND HUBBY ON THE PLANET!!!WE LOVE YOU...

JACK & JILL & BABY D PART II

It's a...

After having a surprise delivery with Jack, we decided to try a little something different with LBD #2.  So last Thursday, at 17 weeks along (above), we got the good news.  Unfortunately, Christian was out of town so I had the doc put the results in an envelope and then I had to wait an entire day and a half to find out.  I have to tell you, the wait was excruciating!  I had a bakery fill the cake with blue or pink icing and we'd find out what we're having when we cut it open when Christian got home. So without further ado....drum roll please....LDB #2 is a...

IT'S A BOY!!!!!

After a slight moment of panic at the thought of having two very active boys as we enter our late 30s, Christian and I got very excited at the prospect of giving Jack a little bro.  I imagine they will be best buds like William and Harry!  And I've loved having a son so two will be double the blessing.  I just told Christian that this is all the more incentive to stay healthy, active and youthful so we can keep up with our beautiful boys!  I see many nights at the ball park and lots of broken bones in my future.  After we found out we told Jack that it was a baby brother and then called our families to share the good news.  When we asked Jack to tell his uncle Jess what we were having, his response was..."CAKE!"  I'm guessing he doesn't quite get it yet.  But soon enough, he will.

I have to tell you it was really special to find out this way and we captured the whole thing on video.  Now we can call the baby he instead of it.  Each day it sinks in more and more that we will have a new amazing son in our family.  God has truly blessed us.  I just keep saying "me and my boys."  It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

Beatin the heat!

So many blogs to do, so little time!  So for all you fans of Jack, here are a few adorable pictures of our little buddy to appease you while I somehow find a few extra hours in the week to write about all the exciting things the David's have going on.  Last weekend our neighbors invited Jack over to "swim" in their blow-up pool.  Can I just tell you this is the coolest pool ever....it had a slide and a ball pit.  I remember thinking that running through the sprinklers when I was a kid was the best thing ever - boy how times have changed.  Jack and Evan had ball wrestling in the water and diving in head first.  Evan is exactly one year older than Jack and the boys have become fast friends these past few months.