Little Kicks and Loads of Love

I get so excited now about the littlest things now-a-days. I know I can't start off every post with "Jackson did the most monumental thing..." because everything he does on a daily basis is monumental!

I think this weekend was a big deal for Daddy-to-be. On Friday night, Aaron was able to feel Jackson kick for the very first time! He was completely surprised, and he was just enthralled with this new found discovery. I'm so excited that he can now join in on the fun.

So, to celebrate, we ran errands all day on Saturday. One included going to R.E.I. and picking up our stroller for Mr. Jack. We purchased a B.O.B., which was the one we were most excited about being the best stroller for us. What was even more awesome was that we paid for it all in cash. God blessed us with some commissions and reimbursements from friends all on the same weekend, which was such a relief to start off our series of big purchases in cash! God is so good.

So here's a picture of Aaron with the B.O.B. and an outfit that we bought for little Jack. 

 

When I am laying on my stomach now and Jackson is being super excited (usually in the mornings and...sometimes... right before I fall asleep) I can see his little kicks from the outside of my tummy! It's so amazing to watch! This morning, he moved to the far right side and my stomach was all lopsided. The right was super hard, and it was so amazing to be able to rub it and know that I was so close to him! The miracle of pregnancy astounds me all the time. 

We were able to go to church today for the first time in about five weeks. We've been so blessed to be so busy this summer. It was so wonderful to go. I really came to realize how the Lord simply and truly loves us, and always wants the best for us. What a great way to celebrate that. He already knows how Jackson will be once he's born, and how many hairs he will have on his head. How blessed are we to have such a wonderful God? I can never let the sin of worry get in the way of this. God takes care of us, and what a peace this provided me when I worshiped!

Last weekend we met my parents up in Cambria, CA which was such a wonderful time. Although a short trip, we were able to celebrate Jackson and being with each other, as well as the beautiful wine country and memories that Cambria brings back. So I'll follow this up with a picture of the trip. 

Beyond that, Happy half way point! 20 weeks down, 20 weeks to go. Thanks Jackson for changing our life. Thank you God for blessing us with Jackson!

Pictures of Baby Jackson

So, I don't have pictures of us cutting the cake, but I do have some sweet pictures of Jackson's profile and his tiny little feet! Which is MUCH better in my opinion than any picture of me pregnant.

I started to feel more than just flutters last weekend. It was definitely his little punches and kicks that haven't turned to big  ones yet. He's trying with all his might to be a little terror :) He will be later, I'm sure. And I just can't wait for it!

 

Hello little baby love! He was wiggling his arms a lot so they look a little big. But I just can't get over his profile in this shot! He's my little bug a boo. 

I had an ultra sound on Tuesday where they took photographs of his brain, my placenta, his spine, etc. etc. to make sure everything was growing right on schedule. It was so wonderful to sit there for 20 minutes and get to look at him. The feeling of love that I already have for him is so indescribable. It's like nothing I've ever felt before and can simply not be explained!

Okay, I'll let you see his little tiny feet...

Oh I can't wait to grab those little toes! We are feeling so incredibly blessed to be having such a smooth pregnancy so far. As of next Monday, I'll be 19 weeks! Almost half way done! That's crazy for me to believe. 

We may be starting to look at houses to purchase next week which will be an overwhelming but exciting thing! We currently live in one bed, one bath and a loft....which will get a bit tiny once Jackson comes. 

I feel like we're growing up so fast! It's such a wonderful and exciting feeling. I'm trying to enjoy every minute of it in knowing that God has truly blessed us. No matter how this pregnancy turns out, it will be for his will and he would never give us anything we couldn't handle. 

I'm feeling at peace. 

It's weird how time flies

Remember when I was talking about impatience? I look back and can't believe how fast time has gone since my last post.

Hello sweet potato. Hello 17 weeks and 4 days!

Hello baby BOY Jackson Paul!

It has been a whirlwind of a week with Janet (my mother-in-law) in town. Every night we have driven up to L.A. to hang out at Kate and Randy's house to enjoy being together.

This may sound awful, but I had good reason to feel this way: I was more excited for the last day she was here than any other day. We were finding out the gender of our baby!

First, we went to a 4D Ultrasound gender facility. They had Aaron, Janet and I go into a large room with a projector screen for the viewing. We explained that Aaron and I could not know the gender, but only Janet would get to receive the happy news.

But, what was so amazing is Jackson actually looked like a BABY! He has all 10 fingers and 10 toes, was crossing his little tiny legs and had the most precious profile of any baby I've ever seen. I was immediately drawn to the love for our child. I was talking to him the entire time we saw him wiggling and moving around the screen without even thinking twice!

Of course, Aaron and I had no idea what to look for...parts wise...so we left without a clue. Janet knew, and continued to torture.

The rest of the day went by so quickly. With a second doctor's appointment and some work in between, dinner came soon enough!

Janet did such a stunning job with the cake. Needless to say I was DYING to cut it to see the color inside! She placed pink and blue all over Kate's dining room. It was just perfect. 

So...about 45 of the longest minutes of my life passed. We all decided that we needed to know before dinner was served.

HELLO BABY JACKSON!

I'll post more pictures once I get them from family that watched us cut the cake. I'll post them. I know I need baby bump pictures too! I'm growing daily and getting "congrats" from random people, so I assume it's looking more baby bump by the day.

And on another very sweet and wonderful and fantastic note, I feel flutters in my belly almost daily now. Since I was about on my 16th week, I've been feeling tickles on the inside of belly. It's now getting more and more frequent, and stronger all the time. I can't wait until he can kick and Aaron can join in on the fun.

We are so in love. He's perfect already and doesn't even have to try. 

22 weeks and 3 days left. I'm loving every minute of it!