And this is how we spend our evenings...

Little Brothers Are Awesome

Annabelle loves baby Ian but she's still struggling with some jealousy issues. After she told me that she "wished Ian never joined our family" she was asking to hold him and snuggling on him. Crazy kid! I'm sure life is much different for her now with baby Ian getting so much attention.

Next week is spring break, Annabelle will be out of school, we're hoping to have a fun filled spring break week. We definitely need a break from the early mornings and long school days!

A little grouchy today.

And today at my desk...

He has one eye slightly open just to make sure I'm not going to try to put him in a "container"!

This is How I Spend My Days

Ian is seven weeks old today (yes, he has a bad looking scratch on his face even after I trimmed his nails just last night)! He's on my lap and I'm sitting at my computer trying to frantically finish some more work. I have every baby "container" known to man but this big guy is most content on my lap.

Our Birth Announcement

Here he is!

I've been busy, busy, busy lately and haven't had time to post to the blog. So here's what's been going on lately:
Ian Edward Writer arrived on January 9th at 8:33 in the morning (Yes, Ian, Annabelle's name choice just stuck with us!). He's been a calm, sweet big guy from the start. We are truly in love with him and so happy that he decided to join our family. Annabelle is adjusting well to her new role as big sis. She's not much into helping with the baby yet but I'm hoping as he gets bigger (and more mobile!) she will enjoy him more. Sitti & Papa were here when he arrived. Aunt Lisa came to stay with us the following week. Grandma & Grandpa Clark met Ian on a short weekend visit. We can't wait to make a trip back to Kansas to Introduce Ian to the rest of the family!

Annabelle's Girl Scout Troop at the Edinburg Fiesta Parad

Annabelle is a Daisy!  I decided that Annabelle would enjoy being a girl scout so I signed her up with one of the local troops. So far we've attended some meetings, sold some cookies outside the HEB, earned some badges and walked in the Edinburg Fiesta parade. I am definitely a glutton for punishment, I think the Girl Scouts have activities planned almost every weekend!..oh and since she's a Daisy I was required to join also. Hoping Annabelle can make some new friends and do some awesome stuff with the Daisies!

We've been SICK :( Annabelle brought home a nasty cold from school. She stayed home one day last week, the first time she's ever missed a school day! Now I have the nasty cold and I'm trying to keep poor Ian from catching the bug.

The weather is BEAUTIFUL in South Texas This is the perfect time of year to live in the Valley. The weather has been awesome, sunny and in the 70's during the day and only dropping down a bit lower than that at night. I definitely don't miss scraping car windows, shoveling snow and slipping on ice this time of year!

I can't believe it's almost January 2013! These past couple months have just flown by. Here are a few highlights of what's been going on around here:
* We celebrated a quiet Thanksgiving at home in South Texas. We cooked a turkey and enjoyed the nice warm weather.
* Annabelle turned 6! I can't believe she is such a big girl now. We celebrated with a Chuck e. Cheese party and we also brought cupcakes for a school celebration.
* School is going well for Annabelle, she is working at 1st grade level in some of the subjects.
* We celebrated Christmas in South Texas this year, no traveling for me. Too pregnant.
* We got a real LIVE Christmas tree! First time ever, so pretty.
* We spent a lot of time decluttering our house. We hope to put it on the market soon & find a bigger place so baby boy can have a bedroom and I don't have to lose my home office.
* Annabelle insists her new brother's name will be "Ian"...her second choice is "Zeke"...crazy kid!
* I've spent a lot of time at the doctor's office...being older
& pregnant involves a lot of office visits, testing & monitoring!
* I'm married to the best mechanic/painter/handyman/electrician/jack of all trades EVER, don't know what we'd do if we had to pay folks to fix all the stuff that "breaks" around here!
* Baby boy continues to grow, scheduled c-section is Jan. 9. So excited to meet him!