This year was the first year we ever spent at my folks' house for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Clay, Nicole, and baby Kandice were released from the hospital some time after 5 and came straight to my folks' house. We all enjoyed a nice Christmas Eve dinner together, got the girls ready for bed, and then put out cookies for Santa.

After the little ones were asleep, Josh, my dad and I went to work putting together a kitchen that my folks had gotten for Jenna. There's nothing like running out to a gas station at 10:30 for batteries!!! Christmas morning the girls woke up around 7:15 and patiently waited for Nicole and baby to finish feeding and getting ready.

One of Jenna's gifts was this Dora the Explorer car. She was so excited when she came downstairs and saw it (even though we had a hard time getting her to look at the camera for a shot). It also had a bag of play dough and a watch in it!

Here is one gift that was for Jenna, but was bought for her with Josh in mind. Josh's words when he saw it, "That's awesome!" I would say my Uncle Jeff, Aunt Sara, and Uncle Jim did a good job on this one.

One of the things that made me laugh the most that morning was all of the dress up/girlie items Jenna received. She was walking around in these pink dress up shoes, which prompted Josh to put together the 5-in-1 sports center we got for Jenna. I believe a comment Josh made while putting it together is that from here on out Jenna will get a sports related gift every year, it will be put together the night before and be a focal point of Christmas morning. Too funny!

I can happily report that yesterday, December 30, Josh's mind was put to ease about the blend between girlieness and athletics. Jenna and Josh spent time outside playing soccer/basketball/hockey/football with her sports center. He was so excited about how much Jenna was into it and how well she could throw a ball. Then she came inside and went straight to her kitchen to cook. She can be sporty while still being a little girl!

Hockey, Ohio, and a new niece...oh my!

Things have been busy but so worth it lately. On Friday afternoon Josh called and let us know he had gotten tickets from a co-worker for us to go to the Charlotte Checkers hockey game. What an experience it was taking Jenna. There was so much going on but it kept her entertained until the 3rd period which went past 9 pm. Needless to say we didn't stay until the end, but it was great getting out to do something as a family. Did I mention the seats were awesome. We were on the second row right behind the glass. We never knew how big hockey players really were until we were that close to them!

Then Saturday morning, my dad, Jenna and I drove to Wilmington, Ohio to see family. This would be only the second time in my life that we wouldn't all be in Ohio for Christmas. The first was when we lived in Florida and my dad was in the hospital after having triple bypass surgery. This year Nicole was due to have her baby and I am very pregnant. The drive went very smoothly and Jenna is such a good traveler. We only had to make 2 stops even with a toddler and me 36 weeks pregnant!

Jenna was very excited to go to her Mimi's house! She talked about going to Ohio the whole ride and then once we got there she let me know we were at Mimi's house not in Ohio.

Jenna also got an opportunity to play with her cousin Daniel, which was very sweet to watch. Usually when we are all together as an extended family they don't get to play too much since Daniel knows his cousin Carter so much better.

Another sweet aspect to our trip was we got to see my cousin Billy and his fiancee Nicole who drove down Sunday night to spend some time with us. Nicole and Jenna colored and Jenna gave lots of hugs. One of the funniest things I saw Jenna do was watching her be embarrassed. She fell down in front of Kole and started crying a funny cry. I asked her if she was okay and she said yes. Then I asked if she was embarrassed that she fell and she said yes. Then she proceeded to be a little drama queen and cry a slightly fake cry. It was funny!!!

Cousin Billy was such a good sport. Jenna took him the book she had been coloring in and asked Billy to read it to her. He just started making up a story and Jenna was fully engaged. Billy also got tons of hugs from little Jenna. It was like she didn't meet a stranger! I cannot wait to take her to New Jersey to see all of Josh's family so she can have the same experience.

Later Sunday evening, my uncle Jim, and his son Shane arrived from California with my aunt Kitty who drove them down from the Columbus airport. I was so excited that even though it wasn't on Christmas exactly, my grandma still got to have all of her kids together in her house at the same time.

I need to say a big thank you to my dad who drove me to Ohio for this experience even though it was super quick. It's sad that my Grandpa and Grandma Kornman live in Oregon and I couldn't drive to see them too. On Christmas day they will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary! The game plan now is they will come back to NC in February to see both of their new great-grand daughters. I cannot wait to see them too.

Dad, Jenna, and I got back Monday evening and were just in time for my sister-in-law to head to the hospital Tuesday morning to be induced. Clay and Nicole got to the hospital around 7 am. They started her on pitocin (sp?) to start her labor contractions. When Jenna and I got to the hospital around 1 pm, she had been given the epidural but was only dilated to 5 cm. So they were waiting on the doctor to break her water.

Dad, Jenna, and I waited out in the lobby with Nicole's step dad as things got closer. The grandpas joked that the doctor should do a 2-for-1 deal and deliver my baby too. Jenna was such a good sport waiting. she just organized all of the pamphlets on the tables and apparently decided she should put on a show for everyone as she sang a song I had never heard before and was dancing with big hand motions.

Kandice Leigh Swindler arrived at 3:03 pm on December 23rd. Nicole only had to push like 3 times. There was a brief scare as first her shoulders were stuck and then they noticed the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. Everything worked out perfectly though and she is a healthy little girl. She weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces and was 20 inches long. She also has a full head of black hair. This shot was taken moments later after Nicole had nursed for the first time and they were taking Kandice's temp, which she did not like one bit.

On Christmas Eve, we were all anxiously waiting to hear if they would be released from the hospital. Thankfully they were and we all got to spend Christmas Eve together and Christmas morning.

The "Do This" dance

This one is for Grandma Deb...

I keep telling folks about how Jenna says "do this" and then does a dance move. Here are Jenna and Josh have a quick round of "do this". It's a little dark since my digital camera does not have a flash when filming. I should also warn folks that I had to stop filming because I started laughing and shaking the camera. At the very end you can faintly hear Josh laugh and say to Jenna, "You tooters?"

PS~ right now Jenna is trying to put some of her new pony tail holders in my hair. I have a feeling that doing mommy's hair will become a new favorite past-time soon.

The birth of a dancing queen

So it seems like lately Jenna's favorite thing is having dance parties. The new twist to them is she will say "do this" and then does some silly move. You of course then have to copy her dance move. Any time of day can turn into a dance party as long as there is music. Here's a little clip of a dance party Jenna was having the other day. We hadn't reached the "do this" part yet which is why I was able to get the footage.

Last night at dinner we were listening to music and enjoying time together as a family. We went through our normal round of "do this" which was funny. The funniest part of the dinner was when Josh was singing "Candle in the Wind" by Elton John. He re-worded the song to "Good bye Jenna Shea" and sang it to Jenna who was sitting beside him. Jenna looked at her daddy all puzzled and said, "I not going any where!" I laughed for 2 reasons...first at what she said and second that a 2 year old could put together a thought/sentence like that.

Family Date night

Last night Josh, Jenna, and I decided to have a little family date night. We ate pizza at home then got in the car and headed to Birkdale Village to see the Christmas lights but ended up doing so much more. In the center of the "village" there is a huge Christmas tree decorated with beautiful lights. Little did we know that every night they also have "snow" which is basically 2 machines set up over the arbors that blow white foam all over the place. The kids were loving it! There is also a little house with a mechanical, animated bear group that puts on a little show with lights and songs. Jenna was a little scared at first but then was completely mesmerized by this. After all of the outside time we headed to Starbucks for warm drinks. Josh and I split a deliciously sweet caramel apple cider and Jenna had a kids cocoa. Her first sip of sweetness surprised her so much that she started coughing it up so hard it even came out of her nose! Once we added more milk to it and gave her a straw she loved her chocolate milk. After we were all on a sugar high we headed to Total Wine and More to see what they had and then took Jenna to Barnes & Noble. It is so sweet to watch her be so excited over a book store. Eventually we had to call it a night, headed home to put Jenna to bed and then Josh and I watched the movie Get Smart. All-in-all it was a fun family night, but I think Josh and I are ready for a date night for just the two of us.

Funny things from this week

So Baby girl Cowley is growing well inside my belly. Yesterday I experienced her hiccups for the first time. My stomach continually moved and then I would feel it internally down low. It was an odd sensation.

Jenna has been making us laugh with her comments lately. She has added inflection to her voice when she talks which makes the simplest word funny. Tuesday while we spent the day together she constantly made me laugh. At lunch we were talking and she told me first that she had a big neck. Then she looked at me and told me she had a "frog in her throat". She's heard me say that once and then Little Bear on Noggin said that in a recent episode. Yesterday in the car she told me her daddy bought a cloud. I asked her from where and she said the sky. She is such a character.

This morning we have been going through coupons before we head to the store today. As she looked through the BJ's warehouse coupon booklet, she constantly asked me what the items were. When we reached the TVs she told me, "I buy this for you, mommy". I explained she would need to save her money first if she wanted to buy me a TV and she responded with, "Okay, mommy." What a sweet little girl.

Thanksgiving - Part 2

Thanksgiving day was a great day! In the morning, we all had a dance party in our pj's to old school Elton John and had the best time. Here's a little shot of Jenna and her grandma getting down!





Then prep work started for our big meal. I think folks might have been a little nervous if I could pull things off and here's why. The initial directions for my turkey were to brown the bird in a 500 degree oven for 30 minutes and then lower the temp. Well, oil dropped onto the pan the bird was resting on and all it did was start smoking in that hot oven. Smoke was pouring out of the oven and filled the house. It was kinda comical, but the bird was fine. My philosophy was why not smoke out the house at 10 am rather than right before we planned to eat at 1 pm. Then a glass measuring cup fell and shattered all over the place right after that. So we had some excitement in the morning.

My folks arrived around 11ish. It was so nice having my mom, Josh's mom, and Josh's gram to help get all of the side dishes prepped, plated and on the table. My first Thanksgiving turkey turned out great. We lovingly took pictures of the bird and the belly. The food was all delicious and it was amazing that everything was hot when all sat down to eat. That evening we watch Kungfu Panda which was a really great movie! What a great message for kids.

Here's me unveiling my first Thanksgiving turkey. This shot is also known as the belly and the bird.

Josh's Gram then helped guide him through how to carve the turkey.

Jenna had the best time with her Grandpa Pete and Grandma Deb who came to her house from New Jersey. Here's a shot of Grandpa and our little Jenna all dressed up.

What a wonderful meal that we were able to share with our family. How thankful we are for all of our blessings.

Thanksgiving - Part 1

So it has been a busy time getting prepped for Thanksgiving this year. We are hosting it and for the first time in my life I am responsible for the majority of the meal including the bird! I spent the last week and a half grocery shopping in small doses and cleaning the house. I always forget how much there is to clean until I need to clean the house from top to bottom. By Tuesday afternoon, the house was all cleaned, the beds were all made and some of the prep work for the Thanksgiving meal had been complete.



Around 5:30 Tuesday evening, Jenna and I heard the doorbell ring we had been waiting for...Grandma, Grandpa, and great-Gram had arrived from New Jersey! We had a great meal but all called it an early night as some were tired from the drive and others were just tired from the day.



Yesterday (Wednesday) was a great day. Jenna had the best time playing with her grandparents and getting to know them. She at one point was sitting on Grandpa Pete's lap just hugging him and saying "I so happy". Later as I was cleaning up I heard Jenna's giggly voice saying, "I Princess Jenna, you super Grandma!" I walked into the family room to see Jenna running around with her princess dress on and Grandma Deb wearing her super hero cape. Jenna even told us last night that she is going to New Jersey with Grandma and Grandpa! It has been such a heart-warming time watching her have fun and connect with her grandparents. I have been horrible at taking pictures, so hopefully I will get better at that this second half of their stay.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the turkey turns out great today and everything is just fabulous. It should be interesting, but I think I can handle it! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Super Jenna on the case

Who knew that a felt cape would be the source of so much fun. Many times today Jenna and I took turns wearing her cape and "flying" around the house. Here's a little clip of Super Jenna Princess "flying". Don't be alarmed if you hear a beeping in the background... it's a timer going off while I was cooking dinner tonight. You also might hear Jenna making a "whoooosh" sound as she runs around. That's her own personal sound effect for soaring through the air!

Enjoy...

Could I possibly have to do any more laundry today???

I think I have now hit the record for the number of times sheets/mattress pads have had to be washed in one day! Tuesday night Jenna pee-peed through her diaper all over her sheets. Wednesday I had changed them but didn't get around to washing them. Well, Wednesday night Jenna pee-peed through her diaper again which meant that now both sets of sheets were dirty.

This meant that this morning I had to get her sheets and mattress pad washed before her nap. (This consisted of 4 loads: 2 of her sheets and 2 of the mattress pads.) Clean sheets were on her bed before nap time today, but it was a struggle getting her to go down for her nap. I now know what she was doing when she wouldn't settled down. Jenna decided it would be fun to take off both her pants and her diaper to sleep. Not the smartest decision as when I went to get her out of her bed after nap she was lying in a pool of pee-pee with just her shirt on. It was straight to the bath tub and the sheets went back in to the washer for the second time today! So now we are up to 6 loads of just sheets.

Hopefully she won't have another accident tonight...

Our first trick-or-treat and mixed emotions

This year we did our first trick-or-treating with the neighborhood kids. We wore costumes that I made for us which was a new experience. Please note that I do not own a sewing machine nor have I ever had sewing lessons. They turned out all right all things considered. Josh and Jenna dressed up as Super Daddy and Super Jenna, since they are the best of buds. I am 29 weeks preggo, and I went as a pumpkin.

Here's a pic of the Cashion Woods super heroes in action and ready to save the day! Josh is such a good daddy and Jenna just has a blast with him.

I say there are mixed emotions about this trick-or-treating thing, because when the kids are little it is all sweet things like princesses, super heroes or favorite characters. There is an innocence to it all. It is a time for kids to dress up as their favorite pretend character and giggle with friends. When they get older it turns to a darker side. Gore gets involved. Things get scary for little ones and the innocence gets lost. That's when I have a problem with things. For now we'll be okay, but once things go dark we will have to re-evaluate things.

For the evening's festivities we went over to the neighbors' house to eat pizza. Then as a group we visited the neighborhood homes. Afterwards we went to another neighbors' house where they built a bon fire and we roasted marshmellows and made s'mores. It gave the kids time to run around with flash lights and glow sticks to work off some of the sugar. Jenna had the best time playing with her friends! This was a time of innocence.

Fall Festival Fun!

Last Friday night, Josh, Jenna, and I went to the Historic Latta Plantation equestrian center where they were having fall events such as pony rides, hay rides, and a pumpkin patch. Jenna was so excited about getting to ride a pony and talked non stop about having to wear her helmet. When we met Lucy, a small pony who was 21 years old and so sweet, Jenna wanted nothing to do with riding a pony. She didn't even want to touch the pony. Then the hay ride was a haunted hay ride and when Jenna saw some of the teenagers who were dressed up she wanted nothing to do with that either. So we went to the area with the pumpkins and explored a little before heading out. At least there was one attraction there that she enjoyed. Wouldn't you also know it that as soon as we left the equestrian center Jenna said she wanted to ride the pony.

Saturday morning, Jenna's daycare was having a fall festival. We decided to head over and check it out to have some more family bonding time. Upon our arrival, Jenna got scared yet again. I don't blame her as kids were running all around screaming with joy and blowing these obnoxious whistles. We could barely get Jenna to participate in any of the activities. Her daddy had to help her drop the clothes pins into the jars, and he had to hold her in addition to the fishing pole to catch her prize fish.

Since the games weren't really a success with Jenna, we decided to go ahead and eat our lunch that was included with our admission. We all sat at the kiddie table and had a nutritious lunch of hot dogs, chips, applesauce, and punch. For some reason eating lunch made Jenna feel completely at home at her school, because from that point on she was a totally different kid. She was all about playing all of the games to get prizes for her goodie bag. She repeatedly wanted to drop the clothes pins into the glass jars. She wanted to throw the fishing line over the curtain to catch a fish that would tell her how many prizes she won. She wanted to bowl with the little pumpkins to win a prize. She wanted to toss the bean bags into the net for prizes. She wanted to decorate the brown paper bags with stickers, stamps, and markers. She wanted to pick a floating duck to see if it had a mark so she could win a prize. At one point Josh and I looked at each other and laughed because Jenna just walked off to go fishing without either of us. I guess the little girl just needs time to warm up to a crowd, but once she does...look out! She now has so many little boxes of crayons and toy prizes. You can tell our kid is the one who doesn't get candy, because she never went for it when it was a prize, but rather went for the toys and crayons.

One of Jenna's prizes was the obnoxious whistle that all of the kids were blowing when we first arrived at the fall festival. Funny how she was terrified of the sound when we got there, but once she warmed up she was in love with her whistle. A big thanks to daddy for not only teaching Jenna how to use her new whistle but how to blow it really loudly!

Take a picture me!!!

Jenna surprisingly looked at me and said, "Take a picture me, Mommy" I was completely shocked as she usually does not want her picture taken these days. So we first took a shot of Jenna and Haley.



Then we just had to take a picture of Jenna and Bunny. If you hadn't heard Bunny is Jenna's new best friend. Bunny does everything with us and even has to ride in the car buckled up next to her.

Emotional roller coaster ride from one call

So when I left the lab yesterday morning I was told that if I failed two of the four time markers from my tests then I would get a phone call. If everything was okay then I wouldn't hear from anyone and would probably just get confirmation that everything was okay at my next dr's appointment. Well, today Jenna and I went grocery shopping and when we got back I had a message from the lab telling me I needed to call them back and ask to speak with a triage nurse. I called back immediately and had to leave a message.

As I waited for a call back I instantly googled gestational diabetes and started to have wild thoughts about everything. Was the baby okay? Would I be at risk for diabetes in the future? Then my thoughts went to a more selfish nature. I had to give up dairy for 7 months for Jenna while I nursed her due to her dairy sensitivity. If I had gestational diabetes I would have to give up all sweets right before Halloween candy, Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, holiday treats and Christmas cookies. I would of course do it, but would not be happy about it.

After almost 2 hours of waiting, I finally got a call back from the nurse. Once I knew who it was I responded with, "I am guessing that since you called me back I didn't pass my tests and I have gestational diabetes, so what do I do now?" The nurse responded with, "Oh, no you passed all 4 of your tests. We just wanted to call to tell you that you are fine." While I appreciate the call and I am SO relieved that I am okay, that was not a fun roller coaster ride to go on today. Maybe it was God's way of hinting that I should take it easy over the holidays with my sweet tooth, so I don't pack on too many additional pounds. Anywho...baby girl Cowley and Janell are A-ok!

No more needles or doctors' offices please!!!

Okay so I am spent for the week. Monday I had to go to the dentist in the morning and then top the OB in the afternoon. While at the OB, I had a flu shot which hurt for 2 days after getting it and then had to take my glucose screening test. If you are not familiar with that test you drink a syrupy drink and then an hour later they pull blood to test to see how your body processes glucose. I was told if I get a call I'd have to come back in, but if not then no news was good news.

Tuesday I had to take Jenna in to have her flu shot. Thank goodness for great nurses like the one who recommended Jenna get the mist. This great recommendation allowed for Jenna to get the vaccine up her nose rather than through a needle. Yeah for no needles for the little girl!!! She was spared the pain I had to go through afterwards. That afternoon I got the dreaded call that my glucose screening came back out of range which meant I needed to come back in for a 3 hour screening.

Soooo...last night I was not allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight. Then at 8:30 this morning they took my first blood sample and made me drink an even worse drink that had even more sugar in it. At 9:38, 10:38, and 11:38 my blood samples were taken again; 8 vials in all. Needless to say I spent all morning in the lab waiting room. I was so comfortable that I became the greeter and even explained the glucose test to a lady who looked confused as to what she needed to do. Hopefully I won't get a call in 2 days, because that means I have gestational diabetes, which I do not want. I'll keep you posted.

Attention: New Recruit to the Red Sox Nation

Many if you are aware of Josh's love for the Boston Red Soxs. Well, he has been teaching Jenna to cheer, "Go Red Soxs!" One day out of the blue she cheered this statement and I don't think Josh could have been any prouder. While they were in the play off games against Tampa Bay, Josh and Jenna would cheer for them together.

Here's a little clip of the two buddies watching the game together...

(Please forgive the quality of the video. We still need to get a video camera!)

She's got the beat...

We just love the expression on Jenna's face as she is jamming to the music. I didn't get out the camera in time to capture her dance moves which were even funnier!

Look at me...I'm a princess!

I'm a cutie!

A night of learning and laughs

Yesterday morning, Jenna and I made a trip to our local Stride Rite shoe store to get her foot measured since it seemed like she just went through another growth spurt. She was in a size 7.5W shoe and lo and behold she measures a 8.5W now. We looked around the store and decided we better go over to Concord Mills Mall instead and hit the stride Rite outlet store since you can get the shoes for almost half the price. Our game plan was to meet daddy after work to all go get dinner and then hit the mall.

We met Josh and drove over to Olive Garden for dinner. It was so nice to eat out, because I didn't have to cook and we don't usually go out on a week night. The waitress got a big laugh out of Jenna when she brought out a side of broccoli that we had ordered since Jenna started giggling and saying broccoli. You don't usually see a kid getting so excited over a green vegetable. Once our meal was over, Josh thought it would be fun if we ordered a dessert and all split it. So we ordered a slice of their Black Tie Mousse Cake which is pretty much a rich slice of chocolate cheesecake. Well, if the waitress thought Jenna was excited over broccoli, she hadn't seen anything yet. Jenna was so excited over the cake it was hysterical!!! Josh would give her a bite and then take one himself. During this interaction, Jenna would say "My turn" then "daddy turn". As we were eating it, we wondered if we were making a HUGE mistake letting her have cake at 7 pm.

Next we hit the mall to buy shoes and thank goodness Josh was there with me to juggle Jenna. We got our answer about making a mistake with the cake because Jenna was so hyper it wasn't even funny. She was RUNNING around the store non stop. It was hard to look for shoes for Jenna because in the blink of an eye she would be off running through the aisles saying "I running. I running!" Finally we found a pair of shoes that were her size and she liked. The way we knew she liked them was she actually slowed down long enough for us to put them on her and then she continued running around the store in them. It was a funny learning experience and here's what we learned. 1) Jenna doesn't need that much sugar late at night. 2) If you are making a trip to a Stride Rite outlet with little Jenna then you need back up. 3) It is best to shop there on a week night when it isn't crowded. 4) Jenna feels like a big girl when she gets new shoes and gets to strut around in them.

So many blog topics, so little time.

So many funny things have happened lately and Josh and I always laugh that it is a blog entry. I just haven't seemed to have the energy or time to post them and I apologize. To update you on our lives...we finished all of the house projects for now. We still need to do the tile in the upstairs bathrooms, but that won't impact our lives like the other projects did.

Today I am officially 27 weeks out of 40 pregnant, so this new little girl will be here before we know it. The reality of the fact that our lives will change dramatically soon is starting to hit both Josh and I. I think baby girl is more real to Josh now as the baby girl is very active in my belly now and you can see and feel it.

Josh is doing well at work, just busy. He works so hard for our family and Jenna and I are very grateful and thankful for him.

Jenna continues to do things to make us laugh and challenge us. We have now established a time out spot in the corner for when she is bad or is having a tantrum and needs to calm down. The other day Jenna made me laugh when she was crying and out of the blue through her tears said, "I need to calm down." She walked over to the corner cried for a few more seconds and then said "I okay now." She stood up, stopped crying and started playing again. What a smart kid to grasp the concept, yet hilarious that she put herself into time out.

Once I upload new photos I'll try to post blog entries more regularly. I have a funny video of Jenna cheering with her daddy while watching baseball.

Once again...we want to go back...

To THE BEACH!!! We spent another great week down in Emerald Isle, NC at a great beach house called Dreamsicle. This year Jenna had a blast and the whole car ride home she kept saying, "Mommy, go back to the orange house. No go home. Back to orange house!" It looks like we will have to make this a tradition as she had so much fun.

A great feature our house had was its own pool. The daddies were so great about taking the girls swimming when it wasn't too cold. Every day after showering all of the sand off from a day at play, Jenna would ask to go swimming in the pool with her daddy. Mommy tried one day and it was way too cold due to the breeze. She would stand on the steps and jump to her daddy. She also worked hard at perfecting her kicking technique. On the second day there, Jenna was having fun jumping to daddy. Josh stepped back and stepped on something hard. As to not alarm Jenna, he moved her back to the steps and looked down to discover there was a CRAB with pincher claws in the pool! No one was hurt, but it was quite a shock to find a crab in the pool.




















Our beach house had a matching orange golf cart that we could use to drive down to the beach access ramp. With all of the gear we had to lug to the beach it came in handy this year. So every day we would head down to the beach. It was also very useful as a way to entertain Jenna in the afternoons since we would go for drives around the community and look at all of the colorful houses. We were really surprised on outings when we would see groups of deer standing at the ponds or in the yards. It was so amazing that they weren't scared of us.




















Jenna and Daddy built sand castles every day on the beach. This was the start of the biggest one that had a huge hole with a large wall around it and a ramp so Jenna could easily walk out of it. Then they built a large moat around it. Now Josh claimed he was building this for/with Jenna, but I think it was just as much for him since he had a blast doing these every day.











We took Jenna to the NC Aquarium again this year and it was amazing how much more she enjoyed it. She kept referencing everything from the movie Nemo. We saw Nemo, some jellies, and even baby sea turtles. She is just way too funny. Here we are posing for a silly family photo opt we made in the sharks mouth!










We actually thought to take a picture of Josh and I together. We haven't taken a picture as a couple in forever. Isn't my hubby so handsome! I feel like a really lucky lady to have him in my life as my best friend, partner and husband.























You know the old saying...a picture is worth a thousand words. I joke some times that I have 2 kids, because Josh plays as much as Jenna. Well, on a run to the store, Jenna wanted her daddy to ride on the cart with her. Josh hopped on and I (the pregnant lady) had to push them both out of the store and out to the car. The folks outside were just laughing at us, but it was all worth it as Jenna was laughing as daddy kept saying, "push us faster, mommy, push us faster!"














While on the beach at snack time, Jenna always wanted to eat whatever her mommy, daddy, or Mr. Cary had. Here she is eating all of daddy's apple and from the looks of it (Jenna laughing and Josh scowling) she took a really BIG bite!



To wrap things up it was an awesome vacation!!! From relaxing to time at the beach to the yummy shrimp and crab leg dinner we had at the house, this vacation was just what the doctor ordered. We need to book it again for next year.

She's got the green thumb and she's good!

A big shout out to Deb for her fabulous gardening skills! Most of us who know Deb, know that she does a great job when it comes to gardening. All you have to do is drive by her home to see the evidence. The lawn and landscaping always look incredible. She has that natural talent to be able to grow things, transplant plants to spread the beauty, and just make the flower beds look good.

Well Deb has now been recognized by the community. The local Warren Garden Club gave her the club's Civic Beautification Award in the month of September. Way to go, Deb! You deserve it for all of your hard work.

We have a kicker!!!

So Baby Girl Cowley is letting it be known that she is here and she is growing strong. I have really noticed over the last week and a half her movements. Then earlier this week, I could finally feel her kicking from the outside with my hand on my belly. she goes in big spurts where it will be a LOT of movements in a small window of time. It never ceases to amaze me the miracle God designed in the growth of life!

The home projects that never seem to end!

So I am on week three now of being stuck in the house to be here for contractors. Some of the completed projects look awesome and I know it will all be worth it in the end. But for the moment let me just vent and say grrgghhh. I am tired of the disorder. I am tired of the workers. I am tired of the mess. Last night/this morning was the worse as yesterday they ripped up the carpet and vinyl flooring in the family/kitchen/sun room which caused this disgusting thick layer of debris to cover EVERYTHING. I didn't think to cover the counters in the kitchen and now I know I will I need to clean the entire house when they are done. Last night I had to clean the thick layer covering the kitchen counters and everything that had been left on then. Then this morning I spent a long time vacuuming the sub flooring and baseboards. Now this may seem like a crazy thing to do to some but just think about it. If I didn't clean it up to my standards the new floors would have been put right down over the filth. Plus my general contractor is going to repaint the baseboards and I didn't want paint going over filth.


Oh I forgot to mention that the guys who installed the irrigation system didn't bury one of the lines into the ground, so when the lawn guys aerated the lawn they broke the line. That meant another call to the irrigation guys to come out and repair it. Yesterday afternoon and this morning I have had to listen to constant pounding as numerous small nails (remnants of the vinyl floor backer boards) are being driven into the sub flooring. The pounding is loud enough that the window breaks keep chirping because they think glass is being broken!

So one last vent and then I will go back to my positive self. Did I mention the water damage that was discovered in the sun room and basement when they ripped up the vinyl flooring? Apparently water is coming in the corners and has ruined the baseboard in the sun room. In the basement apartment, the door frame was installed on an angle so that water runs to the right and sits when it rains. It has now started seeping into the door frame as well. Things could always be worse, but when you are dealing with it in the moment it stinks!

But I will be positive now...the guys installing the hard wood floors were delayed a day due to another project, so our contractor has time today to replace the sub flooring and baseboard prior to the new floors going in. We also found these issues before they got even worse AND we found them prior to selling this house when they would have been found in a home inspection. Not the kind of repair you want to do last minute to make sure a deal goes through. We also can hopefully get the builder to come correct the issue in the basement thus preventing things from getting worse and preventing there being time for mold to start growing.

So here's a run down of things we've done so far so I too can remember all of the chaos:
1) Alarm System Installed
2) Foyer, first floor hallway, and family room painted
3) Tile back splash installed in kitchen

4) Tile flooring installed in laundry room

5) Irrigation system installed in front yard

To be completed:

6) Hard wood flooring in kitchen, breakfast room, sun room, and family room

7) Tile flooring in Jenna's bathroom and upstairs guest room bathroom

It all feels real now.

So today I have been moving all of Jenna's baby furniture over to the new nursery in preparation of her big girl furniture arriving this afternoon. As I cleaned her room and reorganized things, my first revelation hit me: Jenna really is a big girl now. I've known this, but seeing the bed she has slept in since she was a baby and her glider gone out of her room made it official. She is no longer my baby. but my little girl.

My second reality came with setting up Baby girl Cowley's new room. She started fluttering last weekend, but really moved last night and today. So I can feel her now which makes things different. Setting up the crib in her new room and getting things into place for her made it even more real that we are really going to have our second baby and our lives will be even more changed forever. Now this might seem like an odd explanation, but even after you see the positive pregnancy test it takes some time for things to seem real...now they do.

Jenna's new baby doll

To help Jenna get ready for her new baby sister, we bought her a more realistic baby doll and a few bottles to feed her with. Jenna is in love with this baby doll. Every night, the doll has to go nite-nite in the doll crib in Jenna's room. In the morning, baby gets up with Jenna, comes down stairs with us and gets her bottle as Jenna gets her milk. It is way too cute to watch and just shows that Jenna will make a GREAT big sister!

Ready...set...party!!!

Jenna Shea is finally two, yet it is hard to believe it has been that long. Saturday we had a party for her and invited a bunch of friends over to celebrate. We decided to have everything in the back yard for more space. Luckily Hurricane Hanna didn't end up hitting us in Charlotte and we had clear skies. We borrowed a couple of picnic tables from my folks and some regular tables. Pair that with the pop-up tent Josh got from work & the bounce house we gave Jenna and the result was a great layout.




I need to share that the theme we used was Dora the Explorer since Jenna is really in to Dora and Diego these days. When she woke up from her nap I was working on making some balloon arrangements in the bonus room. I brought her into the room with me and when she saw the Dora balloon she ran up to it and yelled, "Dora, it my happy birthday!" It was too funny. I had about 5 of these arrangements that I put though out the yard to make it festive.

When everyone first arrived we just mingled in the back yard and let the kids play in the bounce house, play with the corn hole game we had set up, and with the various outdoor toys Jenna has. Then when the kids started to get restless with that I had each of them decorate a bag I had traced Dora on to. Once they we all done with decorating, we went on our exploring scavenger hunt using a picture map I had printed up. The kids had to match the picture on their map to the bag with the same photo and then they got a little treat. At the end of the hunt there was a Dora pinata hanging in the garage. Let me just say they have finally made it possible for little kids to enjoy pinatas too. This one had strings so that each child could pull one and eventually one string opened the trap door releasing the candy inside.

After the scavenger hunt, the kids just played with their treats while Josh grilled the hamburgers and hot dogs. They were all just having a blast with the bounce house, punch balloons, and bubbles. Jenna ran around nonstop with her shoes off, which we normally do not let her do, but they couldn't wear shoes in the bounce house. This picture shows Jenna sporting her sparkly "2" shirt I made. When she saw it, I told her that mommy made her a special shirt because she is a big girl now. She just kept saying "Thank you mommy!". It was such a fun & easy craft since I just laid all of the crystals where I wanted them on the shirt and then put an iron on them for 15 seconds.

You can see Uncle Clay in the background. He was such a big help with cooking the burgers and dogs.Jenna was so excited to see her Brianna Sue, Uncle Clay, and Aunt Nicole.

Next we did Jenna's cake which also had Dora on it. She was so excited when she saw it and blew on the side of the cake. That night when we were recapping the day, Jenn told me she blew cake. This of course translates to she got to blow out the candle on the birthday cake. The cake was really yummy. It was a marble cake with strawberry mousse and yummy frosting.

Here's a shot of the kids enjoying cake. Jenna was too busy shoving (I mean full-fisted shoving her cake in her mouth) to look at the camera. This girl loves her sweets since she doesn't get then all of the time. On the left side of the table: Kristen, Jake, Allison Yates with Ethan and Carly. In the back is Patrick Yates and Kristi Benner. On the right side:Jenna, Brianna, and Reese. Did I mention how great these picnic table were? A place to sit with a table to eat on. It was so helpful with the kids and nice for the adults too.

All in all it was a great day, mainly because Jenna had the best time playing with all of her friends. Her sweaty head with curls was evidence of how hard she played.