Announcement, Announcement.....ANNNNNOUCEMENT!

So we have a "little" announcement. Although in our family, that adjective has never been used to describe these!

Our family will be getting a +1 in April, and that's not an invite for a date to a wedding.

It's referring to a BABY.

Meaning our numbers this Spring are now going to look something like this:

1:

newborn baby

more car seat in our van

more sweet baby smile

more diaper to change

more teeny tiny to love and oggle over and kiss

more heart Jesus is entrusting to us

2:

new baby feet & piggies to swoon over

kiddos in diapers

tired and crazy, outnumbered parents

2 BIG boys

(too) little sleep

(too) much chaos

(too) much fun for us ALL!!

3:

our new total

the number of college tuitions we need to save for (no pressure!)

the # of pairs of shoes we need to find for feet other than our own before leaving the house

the number of laughs that are music to our ears

little bodies that could potentially end up in our bed at some point in the night

beautiful blessings to share our lives with

Ry found out from a little + pregnancy test package!

We feel a little crazy & overwhelmed & happy & whew....

but we are starting down a new road, on a new adventure with a family of 5

(God willing of coarse)!!

Our first glimsp

This baby we will lovingly call Baby C (or Dragon Car, the name Griffin has bestowed on you), because we know the babe's name...and although it feels way too official to share it outright on here we're pretty set with it, and have been since Sawyer really. And, it's the same name whether it's another little bundle of blue in there or a pink surprise, just different middle names! I mean, it has to go with Griffin & Sawyer, so it's something along those lines for sure!

To the next subject at hand:

How am I feeling? I get asked this a lot.

The answer is...not good.

This little peanut is like a tiny baby ninja.

He/She is throwing out nausea and heart burn like there is no tomorrow.

What else?

Just look in "What to expect when you are expecting?" and then know I have "expected" all of them in the last 12 weeks.

Morning sickness/dry heaving....check

heart burn....check

up to pee at night....3am baby, check

heightened sense of smell...check (and this one induces MORE dry heaving)

break outs...check!

maternity clothes starting to come out...check!

weight gain in the belly...tushie, thighs...and hey my hips don't lie either....check!

and...the number one complaint from those who live with me...

I am one MOODY little pain in the behind!

Happy to admit it! And ready for these first trimester symptoms to hopefully hit the road!

A note I found on the top of my maternity clothes addressed to myself...must have known this would be a challenge:)! Haha!

Little Baby C, we are so excited to welcome you into our family. We already love you and your little hands and feet and all of the shenanigans you are already putting into motion. Trust me, you're going to fit right in here and you are the missing piece to "US"! Bring on April, we can't wait to see the sweet face that will complete this family!

You already made the fridge!

(and also, for all the grief your throwing out now, I fully expect you'll sleep through the night at about 3 or 4 weeks, earlier if you want!!:) haha!

24 hours: a wedding, a shower & lots of fam!

This weekend we packed up enough stuff to make it through approximately 24 hours and caught a plane to our "home away from home", Omaha! You may think that this would be just a bag or two but my inability to pack lightly combined with 2 smallish boys and their gear still added up to quite a few things to hull around. We landed in Omaha, drove straight to my Grandma & Grandpa Sapp's in Ashalnd, scarfed down some lunch and hit the showers to prep for the wedding. Cousin Coop & Beanie had a chance to get in a quick catch up while we got ready!

Then we repacked up everything we brought, threw it all into the rental van and hit the road for Waverly, Nebraska where my cousin Alex married his high school sweet heart in the front yard of her families' farm home on a perfect Saturday afternoon! And as fate would have it, proving once again that it really is a small world after all, Ashley, Alex's new wife is the sister of one of my very dear friends from college Kim. Kim & her husband Scott are part of so many memories that make Ryan & I treasure those years at UNL. They were a big part of our wedding day and it was so wonderful to meet up with them at this wedding and see each others little darlings and have some time to chat about life, even though it was short. Another happy memory to tuck away!

Griff, Ry, me, Kim, Emery & Scotty

Some family bonding time before the wedding. And you can sure bet that this swing and play area is the ONLY place Griffin wanted to be. Somehow being a ring bearer didn't actually seem so great when there was a giant sand box and zip line!:)

And speaking of little boys who didn't love sitting still during a wedding, here is another one. After I ran out of fruit snacks, keeping his mouth full and helping him to resist the urge to scream....

Daddy had to take him away...bye bye Beanie! haha!

And this is how Griffy made it through another 5 minutes before he was filled with fruity snacks and sent to the car as well. All I gotta say is, poor daddy!

I wish a picture could portray the sweetness of the day and how perfect the weather was and how intimate the ceremony was, but it can't. It was a great day for this wedding though, that's for certain.

We also got in lovely lady cousin time. I am so blessed to have these adorable girls in my life who are not only my cousins (& sister), but sorority sisters & friends:)!

Sapp girls:

Amy, Abbi, Molly & Ali

When we got to the reception, it was time to cut a rug and the Sapp family did that in style. My husband of coarse was in his glory as another cousin, Emily DJed and he danced the night away. Kim even said, "well it good to see that Ryan hasn't changed!" No, no he hasn't!

The other man in my life delighted?? Griff of coarse! He played, ran & danced the night away with cousin Max and had himself a gay ole time!

My siblings and most adorable nephew, Cooper! His smile is so precious!!

I felt so lucky as I looked out on the dance floor during the night and saw random combinations of family, cousins, friends all out there dancing Alex & Ashley right into their married life. It just made me think about how amazing it is how peoples paths cross and how just 2 people start a family and those families grow out and together and come to include more than just blood relations. Who would have thought my brother would escort my college friend Kim down the isle in a wedding or that my cousins would all be linked arms with her during a round of Cotton Eyed Joe. I love how God works in those mysterious ways, reminding us of his vision for our lives and our families and what celebrating love should look like!

We also got to see Ryan's family & my Richard side of the family the next day at a wedding shower for another cousin of ours Jen, getting married in October! Get ready to sport a tux all over again Griff, you are hired for another job!! We can't wait!

Bye Summer, Hello Fall!

Well....it's been a month since I last posted. It's just been one of those months I guess! August felt looooooooong. All of our summer stuff ended during the week, so with nothingness for our activity, let's just say it took a toll on all of us. I don't recommend it, haha! I am already looking into some camps for next August:)!! Our weekends however were jam packed with LOTS going on, none of which I brought my camera to. Bummer! Let's just say that August was a jumble of BOYS (isn't it always at this house) and dirt and sunshine and parks and going to Michigan and seeing old friends and parties and walks and brothers and messes and fun and tired mommy and little men.

I did happen to catch the boys making pancakes one Saturday morning last month, a staple at the Eccleston house. Ry prides himself on making better pancakes this week than he did the last and he has acquired two small but mighty assistants.

Isn't he just a dolly? And a chatty dolly at that! He started saying GOG (translation: Dog or any type of animal or anything really, still we are so proud!) and waving and saying a mix of nigh night or bye bye. Such a precious age and thrill to hear what he will say next!

Then September rolled in with out any warning. The last Friday of August it was sunny and HOT and summer! Then out of no where Labor day turned chilly and cool and Fall, reminding us that all good things come to an end, and now it was summers turn. We were even invited to a pool party but no one was swimming, that's for sure. I of coarse took this as a sure sign it was time to light up my apple spice candles and bust out my pumpkins and autumn decor, which took about 2 weeks...I moved excruciatingly slow, good thing I started early! I've even already made chili for dinner, I love it when this season sweeps in and we were more than ready for it at our house!

Along with Fall starting come schedules and routine and for one little boy in our house...

SCHOOL!

I can't believe he's already starting his 2nd year! He absolutely was thrilled to go, and the more we talked about it, the more excited he got! He's going Monday/Wednesday/Friday this year and he loves his new teacher Mrs. Jones, who is just a sweet heart! On Friday they had to wear there favorite color and of coarse Griffin wore none other than RED!

The school year, for me seems to make time fly! It's like we just did this last year and now we are on to a new year, new teachers, new challenges and new chances to grow! I am sure by May we'll be even more grown up and I'll be amazed again, at how time just slips by us! He is suddenly using all kinds of hilarious phrases and is interested in things that just seem a little more "big boy" to me. Not only that, he LOVES to chat. This kid can just chat your ear off. Ryan and I frequently look at each other and say the line from Finding Nemo, "you're very cute, but I have no idea what you are saying!" Still a lover of Cars, trucks, dirt, racing and anything that involves constantly moving, Griffin is just quite a BOY. I'm so looking forward to watching him learn and grow this year, our first goal is letter recognition!

So, that's about it from us for the moment. We have school and bible study and MOPS and the daily in between. And we have more busy months ahead, so stay tuned!