Merry Christmas

Our family Christmas letter and picture...

Merry Christmas!!

Just a quick note to let you know how we are doing.

Jared is still working as an engineer. He enjoys the company and the people he works with. Work has slowed down because of the economy and sometimes that makes the days long but we are just grateful that he still has a job. He spent the summer working on his golf game and taking care of his family while I was sick on the couch.

I feel like I spent most of the year being pregnant. I think we are all ready for this little girl to get here so that I can function at a normal level again. We feel very blessed that we were able to get pregnant and so far have had a healthy normal pregnancy. It will be fun and an adjustment to have a little baby in the house again.

Besides being pregnant, I have had fun playing with Jace and watching him grow, reading lots of good books, taking lots of pictures and spending time with family this year.

Jace is a rambunctious 3 year old that fills our lives with laughs, fun times and an occasional temper tantrum. He is excited to become a big brother and has big plans for everything he is going to teach her. His favorite things right now are playing with friends, his Cars cars, his trains, reading books and learning as much as he can about the world around him. He amazes us every day as I’m sure every child does for their parents.

Life has been good to us and we continue to thank our Father in Heaven for the blessings he pours down on us. We hope this letter finds you well and happy. We are grateful for the many friends and family that bless our lives.

Happy Holidays!!

Jared, Jeannie and Jace

blogging break

i am taking a break from the blog. just until after the holidays. so check back in january and we will be back with full force. in the meantime we will continue to enjoy our holidays and our time with family and friends.

merry christmas!!

update

quick update before the party starts at our house...

1. jace got a new bed. he loves it and has been taking naps like a rockstar ever since (which makes it worth every penny).

2. i went through all my baby stuff last week to see what i had, get rid of some of it and organize. jace has some really cute baby clothes that need to be worn again...just not on our baby girl.

3. i put jace's art cart next to his bed to measure because it is the size that i want for a nightstand. and then i left it there. one night jace decided to color his face and hands (thankfully not his bed or walls) and another night he got the paper, scissors and glue out to make an art project for me. guess i should have moved it out faster.

4. we are finally pretty much over our nasty colds that we have had for about a month, passing it back and forth between the three of us. i really dislike being sick when i'm pregnant...it's so much worse.

5. we have been busliy preparing for the thanksgiving holiday this week. can't wait for everyone to get here tomorrow. it's gonna be a great week!

thankful

jace's thankful poem he wrote (filled in the blanks) this morning:

i'm thankful for mommy and daddy and jack.
i'm really thankful for me.
i'm thankful for my movie.
i'm thankful for my friends.
i'm thankful for nemo, my fish.
i'm thankful for my grandma's.
i'm thankful for my room.
but most of all, i'm thankful for my mommy.

idea from this blog. he painted his poem in fall colors.

currently...

it's snowing.
my house is clean.
jared and jace are asleep on the couch.
the byu game is playing in the background.
and we are all starting to feel better.

hope you are having a happy monday!

love happens

while jared and jon worked on our computer i went to a movie with aubrey and shanna tonight. we saw love happens. i haven't had a movie affect me like this one did in a long time. it hit a little too close to home for me.

i don't know if it was the pain of the characters that hit me so hard or if it was the pain that i have seen other's have or if it was my own pain that i've experienced. probably a combination of all three. needless to say i found myself wishing i was at home where nobody could see me bawling like a baby through the whole movie.

"if i only had today" by hilary weeks was playing on the way home which didn't help. so i cried the whole way home. sometimes it's good to have a good cry, though. even if you don't really know why you are crying. when i got home i wanted to scoop up my baby and snuggle him but figured it probably wouldn't be a good idea to wake him.

now i'm off to edit some photos i took this afternoon. i should be going to bed but jared is still working on the computer and i have a hard time going to bed without the husband.

hope you're having a happy weekend!

a few for today

1. jared and i went to the jazz v. houston game on monday night. we had a good time going out together but jace wanted to know when it was his turn to go on a date.

2. so, jace and i went on a little date to the play stellaluna. it was cute and jace enjoyed it. he wants to go again. when i asked him where he wanted to eat lunch he said cafe rio. i've trained him well!

3. i finished designing our christmas card! now we just need a nice family photo. i really am going to get them out before christmas this year. i promise.

4. starting to think of gift ideas for family, friends, neighbors, etc. any grand ideas?

5. jace told me tonight that he was "freezing hot!"

6. we have been enjoying the warm weather and sun this week spending lots of time outside jumping on the tramp, scootering, playing football and going to the park with friends. definitely loving it!

a winter coat

i let jace help pick out his winter coat. wasn't my best idea. i didn't think a three year old would have such a strong opinion. i probably should have known better. not that i don't like it, i'm just thinking that it's going to be hard to find snow pants that match. (jared did inform that they don't have to match but i like to think otherwise.)

*when viewing these pictures please ignore the uncombed hair and the nice bumb on his forhead next to his eye (he was running over to see a his picture and miscalculated the distance. corners of cameras leave a good mark).

halloween '09

we had a great halloween. jace was a green dinosaur, a t-rex to be exact. he went through a number of costume requests before he chose this one. once he saw this one in the store i couldn't convince him otherwise.

we had the ultimate trick or treating experience complete with homemade donuts, caramel apples, hot chocolate, haunted house, mummy bowling, fish pond, cupcake walk and numerous other activities.

jace tromped around with his dinosaur friend. they have such a great time together. i love these pictures of them giving their best dinosaur roars, especially the intensity that his friend does it with.


taking a rest while waiting to go in the haunted house.


most of jace's candy is gone (thanks to his mom and dad). he still asks when we are going trick or treating again. i guess "in a year" is a hard concept when you are three.

jace, reading in his room with his flashlight at bedtime. (he reads the stories out loud to himself.)

10 today

1. you will have significant experiences. i hope that you will write them down and keep a record of them, that you will read them from time to time and refresh your memory of those meaningful and significant things. some may be funny. some may be significant only to you. some of them may be sacred and quietly beautiful. some may build one upon another until they represent a lifetime of special experience. -gordon b. hinckley

2. i love to read through old blog posts and remember things that are easily forgotten.

3. jace spent most of last week with a cold. he was pretty bummed to miss out on his activities but we didn't want to get anyone sick. he did however manage to pass it on to me.

4. the other day jace came into my room looking like a chipmunk. his cheeks were full of cherry tomatoes. he loves tomatoes and eats them by the handfuls.


5. i did two photo shoots last week. one for a friend and one for my cousin. it was fun! i have another one coming up this week and a lot of editing to do.

6. jared and i went to the byu v. tcu game saturday night. we won't talk about the game but we did have a good time getting out together and watching a game without a 3 year old.

7. we had a new babysitter and she was great! my house was cleaner than when i left (she even emptied my dishwasher for me). jace loves babysitters and was so excited for her to come. he practically kicked jared and i out the door.

8. jace went to a fun halloween party this morning with his friends. they painted monsters, ate mummy pizzas, made caramel apples and played. he had a great time.


9. decorating halloween cookies. we are already on sweet overload and it's not even halloween yet!


10. i'm in the middle of reading this and this. hoping to be more on the ball with doing a little "preschool" at home with jace.

little boys, girlfriends and hunting

1. we headed up to malad again last weekend for some more fun. i really love being there because it is so peaceful and beautiful. it's always rejuvenating to spend time there. i don't even know if i could explain it.

2. we picked up lisa (a bff from the college years) on our way to have a fun filled girls' weekend. joining us were aubrey (sister-in-law who was bff's with lisa when they were in junior high), shanna (aubrey's sister-in-law) and melissa (aubrey and lisa's bff from junior high). some way or another we all knew each other. we also had jace, isaac and sam (melissa's), and austin (shanna's). so there was a house full!

3. isaac and jace had a blast playing together. they both love lightening mcqueen and spent a lot of time playing trains. they also had a good time exploring outside around the farm. they definitely wore each other out.

jace and isaac

4. i enjoyed visiting with everyone and talking about lots of girl things. especially little kids, babies and pregnancy. three of us were pregnant and the other two recently had babies.

lisa, baby girl due in january, me, baby girl due in march, aubrey, baby due in may

5. we ate lunch at the yummy taco bus! and got shakes at the drive-in. i forgot how good they are.

melissa, jace, aubrey, shanna, lisa, me

6. jared decided he wanted to go hunting again with my dad and little bro jacob this weekend. they headed out bright and early saturday morning. they came home around 4 with a nice 4 point buck. he couldn't stop talking about how much he enjoyed it. he described it as "awesome" and "an amazing experience" being out completely in nature and watching the deer and the beautiful scenery. he said it was a huge adrenaline rush. he's already making plans for next year.

p.s. thanks to aubrey for the pictures. i didn't pull my camera out all weekend.

3 years old!

so i finally got around to taking jace's 3 year old pictures last week. it did take a little bribing on my part to get him into the clothes i wanted and out the door. we didn't have much time because it was threatening to rain on us but we still got some good ones.

actually we got a lot of good ones. here is what i've edited so far.





this last series is one of my favorites. it totally shows what happens when i want to take his picture. the first picture he is saying "mom, do i really have to stand here and do this?" the second shows him so often distracted and interested in something other than the camera. and the last is his nice little cheeser. man, i love this kid!


more to come when i get around to editing them.

it's a girl, for sure!

we had our 20 week ultrasound last friday. jace accompanied me to see baby sister. jared did not. he was working. jace was pretty excited to see baby sister on the camera and listen to her heartbeat.

the doctor says she looks good and is measuring right at 20 weeks. my placenta is low (but not covering the cervix) so he wants to do another ultrasound later in the pregnancy to see if it has moved.

anyway, here she is...


and her name? mallory kate.

it is jared and jace's favorite. i liked it too but wasn't ready to decide. however, they have been calling her mallory kate for awhile and now it's just kinda stuck. and besides, i think it's really cute the way jace says it.

10 today

1. i have been feeling more like myself (physically and emotionally) the past few days. it's great! friday will be the half way mark for us and we will celebrate with an ultrasound to see how our little girl is doing.

2. it's gotten cold here and we have really been enjoying the fall weather. i love the seasons and the changes they bring. fall brings cooler weather, football, beautiful scenery, lots of holidays and lots of fun.

3. i love these guys so much! they bring me so much joy every. single. day.


4. my name has officially been changed to "lightening mcqueen" courtesy of jace. he is currently known as "moto" and will not answer to anything else. i don't think that i have been called mom for about 4 days now.

5. jared went on his first ever hunting trip with my dad, little bro jacob, brother-in-law troy and nephew wyatt. he came back exhausted but with some good stories to tell. he really had a great time and wants to go again. he said he didn't even miss watching college football (including byu).

6. while the boys were hunting my mom and i headed to my sister ginger's house. jace got to play with his cousins (which he loves) and we went to lunch (which i loved). we had a great time and wished they lived closer so we could see them more often.

7. jace has entered into a rather whiny, temper tantrum throwing, stubborn stage. i have to say i'm not loving it. we have had to leave stores a number of times and he sat on the floor crying for an hour because he didn't want to pick up the cheerios he spilled. any advice on how to get over this fast?

8. we spent one evening at the park last week and had fun playing together.


9. this is one of jace's favorite things to do at the park. he can spin for a good 15 minutes. jared tried it and only lasted about 1 minute. why is it that little kids can spin for so long?


10. i bribed jace into letting me take some photos of him tonight. they are his official 3 year old photos. stay tuned for more...

photography

after a couple of months of not picking up my camera much i am in the mood to take pictures again. as much as i love to take photos of jace, he gets kind of tired of it. i have always toyed with the idea of doing it for others. so, to see if it is something that i would enjoy doing and if it would be a good fit for our family i thought i would give it a try.

what you would get: a one hour session and a cd of the best photos, edited.

what i would get: practice. practice. and more practice.

so, if anyone is up for it, i would love to take pictures of you or your kids or your family. just let me know. i would love you forever! you can leave a comment here or email me at jm.mclaughlin@gmail.com to set up a session.

p.s. i am in the process of updating my photo blog if you want to check it out to see some other photos i've taken.

amber (jared's cousin) took some quick snapshots of jace and i last spring when she was visiting. i have been meaning to post them but never got around to editing them until last week.

i love. love. love. having these pictures of me and jace. we have such a great time together and i always want to remember this time of our lives.


thanks amber!

monster birthday

we had a fun monster party for jace's birthday this past weekend. he got to invite four of his friends that he plays with often. we had pizza from papa murphey's, drinks (sprite is jace's favorite) and cupcakes with monster suckers stuck in each one.

for the activities we decorated monster bags, played monster bean bag toss, and had a monster bounce on the trampoline with monster balls. we topped the party off with a monster pinata full of candy and monster tattoos, which the boys were actually able to break by themselves.

jace had a great time and i think his friends did too. i was supervising the party and jared was on camera patrol. he took mostly video but did get a few photos.




i love this picture of jace just waiting to hit the pinata. i think the other kids were jumping on the trampoline.

play

we went to the children's garden the other day with friends. jace built this bridge in the natural play area. there is a troll wedged under the bridge who does not let anyone across unless they answer one of his riddles.


jace picked this flower for me and wanted me to wear it in my hair. he kept checking on it all day to make sure it was still there.


one of my favorite things is listening to jace play. so creative. so fun.

10 today

1. jace this morning: "most people call me a big boy mom, but i'll still be a baby for you so you can feed me." lucky me!

2. still hoping that i wake up one morning and feel like myself again. no more nausea or allergies or congestion or being tired. wouldn't that be great!

3. jace went to a friend's carnival birthday party last weekend. he wanted his face painted like a cougar but settled for a tiger (the face painter didn't know how to do a cougar). for the rest of the day he was known as "the tiger." he would say things like "the tiger is hungry" or "the tiger needs to go potty."



4. jace and i got tickets to the byu game a couple hours before the game started so we got to go with jared. minus the disappointing performance by byu we had a good time. jace would clap and sing the fight song every time it came on and gave high fives to all those sitting by us. and he would get up and dance to the songs they played. he had a good time but it is exhausting to take an almost 3 year old to a fb game. so sorry you were sick adrienne but thanks for thinking of us.

5. if it were up to jace he would pick a tree over a toilet every time.


6. friday we went to see the new baby elephant at the zoo. she was pretty cute. we also saw the baby giraffe and the baby snow leopard. jace told jared that the giraffes were almost as tall as his dad.

7. last night jace picked "scootering" for our fhe activity.


8. yesterday jace and i went to see cloudy with a chance of meatballs. good movie!

9. and because i have nothing else to say, another picture of jace.


10. happy first day of fall!!

a little jace talk

jace said to me this morning:

"oh yeah, i decided i want a dog mom, instead of a baby sister"


such a fun age right now. he cracks me up often throughout the day.

yesterday he spilled his food on his shirt while eating dinner:

jace: "dangit"
me: "remember we say 'ah man' not dangit"
jace: "no this is a dangit moment mom"
(i had spilled food on my white shorts earlier in the day and had said dangit...he doesn't miss a thing)


frequent phrases that he uses:

"those are not my choices mom!" (when he doesn't like the options i give him)

"this is the problem" (this prefaces pretty much everything he says whether it's a problem or not and he always holds up two fingers while saying it)

"is that the plan" (usually after he finishes telling us whatever he had to say)

"what was your favorite part" (usually when we put him to bed but sometimes after we do an activity. we also have to go through everyone in our family, his friends and their families, too.)

"i'm still your baby, mom" (he tells me this at least once a day)

whenever we give jace a compliment he turns around and gives it back to us. example, the other day jared came to watch him play football.
jared: "i'm so proud of you jace for playing football"
jace: "no, i'm so proud of you dad for watching me play football"

10 today

1. i have recently become one of the worst bloggers ever. i only posted 3 times in july and 2 times in august.

2. even worse, i haven't taken any pictures since the 4th of july. that's bad. especially since i usually average around 250 photos a month.

3. i just bought myself this purse. it was desperately needed (at least i like to think so). and i can fit my camera in it when i don't want to haul around my extra lenses and camera bag.


4. jace is playing "itty bitty ball" this month. they learn the basics of a new sport each week. last week was soccer and this week was football. he thinks its great and i have fun watching him. when they played a game of flag football all the boys were more interested in pulling each other's flags off than the actual game of football. i was just happy jace didn't tackle anybody because he kept telling us that "i just tackle those football players" in a really tough voice.

5. my mom gave me the wicked sound track for my birthday and we have really enjoyed listening to it. jace has surprised me by his excellent listening skills and intelligent questions about the songs and story.

6. jace got a haircut yesterday. i wanted to keep it longer but it grows so fast i have a hard time keeping it looking good and even (and his dad has been lobbying for shorter hair for awhile).


7. jared had his semi-annual work golf tournament this morning. his team lost which i thought was pretty good since the losers each got two movie tickets. which means a win for me because now i get a free movie date night. anybody have any movie recommendations for us?

8. i am 15 1/2 weeks pregnant now and i am running out of things to wear that fit. most days i am feeling better, some days not so much.

9. jared is playing fantasy football this year which means we get to watch more football. every year it's a little more. first it was just byu then it was all college games and now it includes all nfl games. it's not too bad though because he just wants to have it on while doing other things like dishes or playing with jace.

10. jace is turning three next week so we are planning a monster birthday party at his request. details and photos will be forthcoming. it should be fun!

and one last thing, go cougars!! no. 7 is awesome!

13 weeks

i am 13 weeks pregnant today! so far we haven't had any problems and we are hoping that it stays that way. as for being sick, with jace i didn't start feeling better until 17 weeks. i remember the last day i was sick because it was our anniversary and we spent it in the emergency room with an iv. which means only 4 more weeks of feeling yucky at the most, right?

jace has been having a hard time this past week. he keeps telling me that he is still my baby. he has had a few accidents and wants me to feed him. when i ask him what is wrong he says "i'm still your baby mommy. i need you to feed me and change me." poor kid. i think he has had a hard time with me being sick and is worried about having a baby in the house.

lexi left last night for oregon. we are going to miss her and alma. jace practiced his crying all day for when lexi left and after she drove off he gave us a really good fake cry. he loved hanging out with his aunt lexi and uncle alma.

10 on tuesday: catch up edition

1. it's been awhile for a few reasons: i have a hard time blogging in the summer, i have been spending a lot of my time lying on the couch not feeling great, and i haven't picked up my camera in about a month and it's hard to blog without pictures.

2. i will be at 13 weeks on friday and have already started feeling better. still, no food sounds appetizing even though i am hungry all the time but i am getting my energy back, not wanting to sleep all day and cleaning my house again!

3. last week i made some boiled eggs. jace was able to peel his and thought that was great. later when i was taking a shower i guess he wanted to have some more eggs. he told me that he peeled all the eggs but they weren't eating eggs, they were cooking eggs. he at least "peeled" them into a bowl.

4. at the end of july we headed to malad for my family reunion. we stayed at my parent's house and had a great time. we went to the carnival and rodeo, went boating, tye-dyed, bowled, and had a talent show. it was great to see everyone.


5. i celebrated my 25th birthday this month. i got a new set of dishes and a haircut.

6. we went to jared's company campout a couple of weekends ago. it rained on us the whole weekend but we still had a good time. it is definitely rejuvenating and refreshing to be in the mountains.

7. aubrey (sil) was going to disneyland and asked jace what he wanted here to bring back. his request? a spoon and a fork.

8. alma and lexi have been staying with us for awhile before the go to law school. alma left about a week ago and lexi heads out on thursday. we have enjoyed having them around and will miss them. lexi has been cooking and cleaning for us while i've been sick. good luck in law school alma!

9. jace told me that he wants a big car like mine except white for his brithday. i didn't think he would ask for that until he was 16.

10. happy tuesday!

10 on thursday

1. i spent an awesome weekend in phoenix with my mom and sisters. we saw wicked. it was amazing. we stayed with family (my mom's brother and wife). i saw my old roomie rachel. we ate yummy mexican food. we melted in the very hot phoenix sun. we went to the mesa temple. and like we always do, stayed up way too late talking.


2. jared and jace had a boys weekend and had a great time. they went to parks. ate pizza. watched movies. spent an afternoon at the carnival riding mostly the roller coaster. and my house was really clean when i got home!

3. jace told me on monday that his favorite part was "getting his mommy back." i'm glad to be back home too.

4. 7 weeks 4 days - our healthy baby girl. jace says she's just a speck and we should name her lightning (like lightning mcqueen).


5. we took jace to see ice age 3. he loved it. i fell asleep about half way through. we did score some free movie tickets because it took them 30 min. to fix the screen before they could start the movie.

6. jared's work bought everyone tickets to see the harry potter 6. i thought it was pretty good. it's been so long since i've read the book that i didn't remember any of the details just the main parts. although, i thought it was a little too intense at some points to be a pg movie.

7. i went to my first "normal" dr. appointment this week. i have a new ob and i think he will be pretty good. i go back in two weeks for another ultrasound.

8. i cooked baked potatoes last week and forgot to poke holes in them. when i opened the oven one of the potatoes blew up in my face. it made a huge mess. i don't think i'll make that mistake again.

9. i had some pictures of jace swimming but am having issues with my computer. he is swimming so good (for a two year old) after a month of lessons. he will swim under water for a little while and go to the bottom to pick stuff up. he loves it!

10. happy 24th tomorrow!

10 on tuesday

1. first of all i wanted to send a shout out to jared who has been a stellar husband, picking up the slack while i sleep the days away. seriously, that's all i want to do lately. he has been cleaning and cooking and not complaining.

2. besides being tired and hungry i've been a nervous wreck, over-analyzing and worrying about this pregnancy. does anyone else do this when they're pregnant?

3. enjoyed a gno with some friends i haven't seen for awhile. it was great to catch up with everyone and chat for a few hours. love you guys!

4. congrats to jason and tae on the arrival of their new baby boy, yuushi jay!

5. we went to provo's freedom festival for the first time this year. it was hot and crowded. the blow-up toys were to hot to play on and the carnival rides were to big for jace. the old cars were kind of neat to look at.

6. woke up bright and early on the 4th so jared could run the freedom festival 10k. jace and i saved spots for the parade while jared ran. we were there at 6:30 a.m. and pretty much got the last spot available. by the time the parade rolled down the street jace was tired and ready to go home. but we still love parades and enjoyed watching it. after the parade we took some much needed 4th of july naps.


7. enjoyed swimming and bbq with friends and family later in the afternoon. jace entertained everyone by dancing to the music and then jumping into the pool over and over.


8. we continued our tradition of watching the fireworks at thanksgiving point. i'm pretty sure they were smaller this year than they have been. lehi must have been cutting back. but they were still amazing for a two-year old.

9. we have our first ultrasound in a week. i'm anxious to see if everything looks good (and if there is more than one baby in there).

10. happy tuesday!