Goodbye 2010... Hello 2011!!!

Well since we didn't get a Christmas letter out this year, I will take advantage of technology and do our annual letter via this post!

What a year we have had. Last year at this time, Dean had just come home from spending 7 months away in Pennsylvania working for a windmill company, helping erect a 67 turbine windmill farm. Jax was a year and 3 months - and we were waiting on the next windmill job to roll around. I had just recently quit my job working at Unum, and started the most amazing job of being a Stay at Home Mom! After a few weeks of Dean being home, and the next windmill job being pushed back, and back... and BACK again, we had to reevaluate our employment situation. Thankfully we had been smart while Dean was working the windmills, and had a small nest egg to fall back on for our bills, but nonetheless, we were in a very stressful situation. Then, at the end of January we were blessed with a new job opportunity for Dean, where he would be working for a consultant firm. Dean interviewed and ended up taking the job working for his current company, F.J. Flynn and Associates, LLC in Greeneville, TN. Dean and I made the decision that until we could get our house either rented or sold, that Jax and I would stay back in Nashville... so we spent the next 6 months living solo again with Dean coming home for weekend visits. We made it work, and Dean really enjoyed working at his new job and being so close to family in Greeneville.

In March, we were able to thankfully have a tenant lined up to rent our house. So Jax and I started the process of packing and getting ready to move to east TN. Over the next two months, it was total chaos trying to be a "single parent", raise a baby, AND pack all at the same time. Thank GOD for my in-laws knowing a thing or two about packing and moving, and they were all VERY willing to help us out. It's all still a blur to me, but somehow we were able to keep our moving dates, and move into our new home in Greeneville all in the same two weeks. We found a home to rent by chance, and were extremely grateful for being able to take our time to get moved in and adjusted. We are now only a few minutes away from Dean's parents and sister, Rachel, and a short trip away from his other sister, Sara and brother in law Al, in Knoxville. It has definitely been an adjustment, moving from the "Big City", Nashville, to the hills of Greene County - but surprisingly we all really LOVE it! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to handle country life and living, but it's soooo nice. It's quiet, peaceful, safe and very welcoming. Our biggest store here is Wal-Mart, followed up closely by K-Mart. Ha! I've been able to save money though with Target being in another county, and 45 minutes away!


Along with the simplicity of our new town - there are a lot of family things to do. There is a park that is perfect for Jax just around the corner, lots of places to go hiking, and exploring with the dogs. The lakes are just a short drive away, and again - we have family also right around the corner! There is also so much history in this town! At one time Greeneville was the capital to the State of Franklin, President Andrew Johnson started his political career and lived most of his life here. There are lots of museums to document Andrew Johnson, Davy Crockett, battles from the Revolutionary War, and not to mention just the beautiful scenery we have of the Appalachian Mountains in our backyard. Plus, we are only a 45 minute drive to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area (although we have yet to visit since moving here)!

Sadly with our new house came loss. Over Mother's Day weekend, we lost our beloved dog Chopper. It was an extremely tough loss for all of us, but mostly for Nash and Jax. We will never know exactly what kind of fun and trouble those two got into over the 3 days they were out and missing, but we are still so extremely thankful we still have Nash. Chopper was an amazing dog and friend and not a day goes by that we don't miss him. RIP buddy! In May we also "acquired" Lily the Cat. I know I know... those who know me, know I insisted I would never own a cat... We "acquired" her from our dear friends Michael and Annette, who were moving to a new home, and about to welcome their 4th baby, and decided she wasn't the best fit for them. So we took her in - and put a roof over her head... Jax adores her, and truthfully she is a saint. She lets Jax knock her around, jump on her, poke and prod, etc. Long story short... we are still giving her a shot...

With loss, comes happiness. At the beginning of July - we learned that we were expecting baby #2!!! We had been planning, but were pleasantly surprised with our timing, and are so excited that our kids will only be 2 1/2 years apart. We found out in the middle of October that we would be having another little boy, Liam David Ward! He will be making his debut hopefully in LATE Feb, or early March. Since we had previous complications with Jax, and he came 5 weeks early - we can't really go off of our due date of March 17th with Liam. We are so excited and can't wait for Jax to be a big brother! Not to mention we have pretty much everything we need, and we can keep our nursery and playroom colors all in BOY themes! My pregnancy hasn't been nearly as nice as it was with Jax, but I've been told that is to be expected. I've had a lot more pain and discomfort with Liam. Heartburn, backache, headaches, nausea - you name it. Plus he has been measuring big so far at every appointment, and so I've shown faster, grown faster, and felt his massive kicks, jabs and head butts faster... 2 - 2 1/2 more months... here we go!

Jax has had a huge year too! At 16 months he was able to recognize and recite his ABC's and count to 10! He loves Sesame Street and anything to do with learning. We've been so lucky that he loves to learn, and that he takes it so well. Over the summer, Jax enjoyed learning how to swim with floaties, exploring our new back yard, and spending lots of time at the park! In August, we enrolled him in a Mother’s Day out program which he attends once a week. He has made lots of friends, learned to share and his manners are something I am personally so proud of. He says please and thank you for almost everything. He is such a sweet boy, and always knows when someone needs a hug and kiss. He loves being read to, and he even "reads" to us occasionally.

He also loves cars, coloring, doing arts and crafts, helping mommy and daddy out around the house, and playing outside. In November he discovered he could climb out of his pack n play AND his crib, so we converted his crib into a Big Boy Bed!!! He has done so good with going to bed on his own, and does pretty good with sleeping through the night. We are currently in the process of potty training. Not entirely sure he's ready for it, but we encourage him getting comfortable with his potty on a daily basis. We also celebrated his 2nd birthday in November. What a BIG BOY we have! He is such a blessing to our family - and I can't wait for him to have a sibling to share "life" with.

At the end of August, we decided to welcome another Furbaby, Argo into our lives. I can’t say that he’s been the easiest dog to work with – and his start to life, sadly was awful. He was so sick and had a bad case of Parvo, but with help from our vet and lots of spoiling and TLC, we got him back to a healthy, playful puppy! He’s been a great companion for Nash, and Jax just loves him. He’s a hound dog, although we don’t know exactly of what breed… He’s quite the handful, but a very loving dog!


In September, Dean and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. We’ve shared so many things in the 3 short years we’ve been married – but definitely look forward to many, many more!

We also did a lot of traveling this year. Not nearly as much as we did in 2009, but we were able to get 3 trips to WA, State in, and 2 trips to Disney World! We went to WA for an early spring visit with family, for my Brother Brain's wedding in April, and then we spent Thanksgiving there in the snow! In March for my birthday, we went with Dean's entire family to Disney World. It was a ton of fun, since the last time I was there, I was pregnant with Jax - and didn't get to ride all the rides. Jax was a little too young to understand what all the fuss was about, but in October we went back with the family, and this time we were able to focus on Jax. He thoroughly enjoyed all the things he was able to do that visit! We have also had several road trips to my Dad's house in AL, and got to spend the 4th of July with them!

We have been so blessed with all of the changes thrown our way in 2010 - and are looking forward to many more changes in 2011! We are so excited about bringing Liam into the world; starting Jax in Preschool, my brother and sister in law will be welcoming a baby of their own sometime in August. Family and friends coming and going and all the new things we will get to discover having two boys!

We sincerely hope that everyone has a safe and Happy New Year! We wish you all Health, Love, and Happiness for 2011!!!

-The Wards

Oh Christmas Tree...

What a Christmas we have had! Jax of course made out like a bandit, and I will now be going through all his old toys and putting them away for donations and Liam... I can honestly say it looks like a toy store blew up in our house! ;)

It was such an amazing experience to share with Jax waking up on Christmas morning. Of course we had to wake him up due to our travel plans, and based on what time we needed to leave our house... but after he saw what Santa brought, he was quite excited! The weeks leading up to Christmas were so special. Jax "kinda" understood the meaning of Christmas, but of course focused on Santa, and HO-HO-HO. Every picture he saw of Santa was followed with "Merrrrrry Christmas, Ho-Ho-Ho!" I am already looking forward to next year with him having even more of an understanding, and being so excited about being a "good boy".

Dean and I were very excited to help Santa out, and make sure everything went according to plans! We helped with stockings, and setting the tree up "just right". We have had a lot of decisions to make as far as how we are going to do things, but I think over the years we will get a true idea of how our family will do it. We left Santa's presents unwrapped and fully assembled for Jax to see when he came down the stairs. Ha, something that would have NEVER worked with me. Jax received the "Little Wheelies Stand Rampway", and booooy did he know what the was! Once he set eyes on it, it was hard to get him to focus on ANYTHING else. He just looked at it all ready to play with and said, "Oooh, yook! Carrrrs!" ;D After we finally got him to understand the rip and open concept, he enjoyed getting to the next present, only to be hung up on what THAT one was, and it being pried away for the next. He literally got so many cool things, and that was just from Santa, Dean and I, and my immediate family...

After we were done with our tree, we needed to get all of us ready to head to Nashville for the rest of the day. So we piled up all the take-able toys, and headed out to Shelbyville, TN where Dean's Granny and Grand Daddy live. We only spent a few hours there, but had fun exchanging gifts. We even got to meet the newest edition, Kensey Stallings. Although our visit with that side of the family was short, we enjoyed seeing all of our family. After we left there, we were on our way to Lynchburg, TN for Harrell's side of the family's annual Christmas Auction. We hadn't seen this side of the family in waaaay too long. We usually alternate Christmas years of being in WA, State or in TN - and so the TN years, we usually jump around to several houses and celebrate with them. The Auction I must say is the most fun! It's a good way to sit around, catch up with friends and family, and exchange junk! Haha. This year we were good, and walked away with only things we "bought" (play money is handed out prior to the auction). Sara and Al weren't so lucky, and all that was auctioned off and bought somehow all ended up in their car lol...

Once we were done there, Dean, Jax and I decided to stop in at our friends Michael and Annette's to visit with them. We had a good time with their family. Jax got to see his best friend Easton - and we had a good conversation that didn't relvolve around diapers and Sesame Street!

It ended up being a late and loooong Christmas Day - but all in all it was wonderful.

With the snow Nashville received, our church plans were unfortunately cancelled - so we missed getting to see our family at Faith... We are planning a trip back in the next few weeks, and hope we can get to see them all then. We did meet up with MeMaw and PawPaw at Cracker Barrel before we all headed home. That was a lot of fun, and we exchanged even MORE gifts. We are so lucky to be having another little boy here shortly to share all the amazing gifts, books, toys and clothes that Jax has received over the last 2 years as the only grandchild, and only boy great-grandson! I definitely have my work cut out for me in the next few weeks to get all the outgrown toys packed up and stored away!!

We were glad to have had a safe trip back home. We had some pretty bad weather to welcome us home, and thankfully we were able to make it up the hill once we did get home! Now we just have to pack up all the Christmas decorations. Take the tree down (it’s still so alive and pretty though…), rearrange the house back to pre-Christmas state and count down to the New Year!! I am already looking forward to our next Christmas, when we have two beautiful little boys to share it with…

Hope everyone had an amazing Holiday Season as well! We wish you all Health, Love, and Happiness.

Xoxo
Shylah

Jaxon's Toddler Bed Debut...

We officially have a BIG BOY! I started to post this 2 weeks ago, but I've had a bunch of other things going on that I forgot to get back to this. 2 weeks ago we took the side off Jaxon's crib and converted it into a Toddler bed. *Sniff Sniff*. I was hoping that he would get at least another 6 months in the crib, but after all, he is 2...

He's only slept a few nights in there by himself, and all night long, but he's also not been sleeping well alone for the last month. Mostly because he's been sick, but also before we took the side of the crib off... after the first few nights of him crawling out, we were afraid he would do it partly asleep, so we would just bring him in with us.

I'm hoping he'll get the hang of it soon, and start sleeping through the night, but for now it just means mommy is up a lot at night getting him back to bed. Dean has had to come in several times and wake me up haha, but I'd rather get him used to someone in HIS bed, than getting him used to our bed again before the baby comes! So far he has thoroughly enjoyed climbing in and out, and of course bringing everything he owns in his bed, as well as jumping! When we ask him if he's ready for bed, he points upstairs and says "Jaxon's Big Bed!" We are so proud of the time he does spend in there, and will definitely reward him for being a big boy once he's slept in there all night long!

If anyone has any helpful tips on keeping them in their room, please share!!!

Love, Shylah

Washington Winterland...

Happy Belated Thanksgiving to all those I failed to call, email or text on Turkey Day. We celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday with my family, so actual Thanksgiving day, was spent in front of the tv watching both of my football teams lose! ;(

Anyways... We were in Washington, State and had a great time. We had the whole family together thankfully, which I didn't think was going to happen as there were 7" of snow by the 5th day Jax and I were there. Cherie, Vito and Aunt Terry came down from Seattle, over the pass and through the snow. Jace took a train from Oregon, Dean flew in and managed to get to us on time for once, and everyone there locally all had time off to visit too!

Jax was amazing on all of our flights. I was nervous to see how he would do flying again, since it had been 7 months since our last flight, and I figured both of us had lost our travel touch. This was also Jaxon's last "free" trip, which means that he had to sit on my lap... so I was dreading how that would go with a wiggly toddler, a pregnant belly and somehow thinking we would have the lap tray down to watch video's. Surprisingly we managed. Jax and I both were able to get some sleep in on our first flight. Jax feel asleep before the plane even took off, and woke up only because I made him, 10 mins before we landed. We had one layover in Denver, and so we just hung out at our gate and watched Sesame Street videos. Our second flight wasn't too bad, but not as good as our first. Jax didn't want to sit still, and really wanted to sit with the man next to us, who thankfully gave the go ahead and was extremely helpful in keeping Jax seated.

Once we landed and got to mom's house, Jax was a giddy little boy at Gramma's. She had toy's galore out for him to play with. Some new ones and then some that we had left there and forgotten about from the last trip. ;) He was a very happy boy!

On our third day there, we were excited to have Jaxon's Godparents

"Shooie and Papa Vito", and "cousin" Landon come to visit. We had planned a day of visiting, Chuck E. Cheeses, Pictures with Santa and just letting the boys play together. Well, we still managed to get all of this accomplished, but in about 5" of snow! Chuck E. Cheeses was exhausting. I think I can do without seeing that place again for a while. The boys had fun though, and we got some great pictures of them together.

The next few days we got more and more snow, and then the wind came in with it as well. It was sooooo cold. All I wanted to do was play with Jax in the snow, but with the wind it was almost unbearable to be out. We had about 7" by the 5th day we were there. It was really pretty, and Jax loved looking out the window at the snow!

When Dean flew in, my vacation started. Daddy was much more willing to get bundled up and go out in the cold, so Jax eventually got to play in it. It took us about 15 mins to get him dressed each time he went out, for oh... about 5 mins of play. Lol. We went and visited Grandpa each day, and even though it was a chore for us to keep him out of all Grandpa's "fun things", the look on Grandpa's face showed he just loved having us there!

On our Thanksgiving, Friday, we had the whole family there, and surprisingly it went very well. We all ate really great, and then celebrated Jaxon's 2nd birthday! He got some new books, two new dvd's, a Sesame St. guitar and cell phone, Lego's, and an awesome ice cream birthday cake!!! I am not sure who enjoyed his birthday more. Me - getting to eat ice cream cake AND pumpkin pie, DJ and his free arm workout throwing Jax around for 2 hours after ice cream was consumed by Jax, or Grandpa just being oblivious to it all! ;)

I sadly didn't get around to visiting all my friends as I had hoped. The weather kinda screwed me up there, so I apologize for those I didn't get to see... ;( I am thankful for the friends and family I did see though, and for everyone spoiling Jax! I don't think he was disappointed at any house we visited between dogs, cats, toys and cookies!

It was so nice being in WA and getting to spend Thanksgiving with my family, seeing all the snow and catching up with everyone, but coming back home is always something I look forward to! Thankfully our trip back home was a breeze! I had so many people willing to help with Jax and all of our things! He even got his own seat on both flights! The first flight, we again both slept, then almost missed our connecting flight in Denver. We were on the same plane that we flew in from Pasco, and only had about 30 mins before our next flight left. I had to use the bathroom, and they needed Jax and I to deplane, so I had asked if I had time to go, get Jax changed, and get some milk. We came right back to the gate and were starting to get situated in the waiting area, when a man came up to us and said lets go. I assumed he just wanted us to be on the flight first since he knew we came off the plane already and were continuing on. NOPE! The gate crew had already pushed the ramp away from the plane, and THANKFULLY this man was the Captain of the plane. He too was told he would have time to go to the bathroom, etc. So he was able to get us on the plane with no problems, and again gave us our own seats, and even helped carry all of our stuff on board. Tis’ the Season!!!

Once we got back home, I had two crazy puppies excited to have us home and Lily… the annoying cat. Jax was also very excited to be back in his “playroom” with all of his things! Now if we can just get him to sleep in his own bed again… *sigh*

Well Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Love Shylah

Happy Birthday Jaxon!!!!

Wow! I can't believe Dean and I have a TWO YEAR OLD!!!! Even though we have witnessed him grow (and yes it took 2 whole years) we are still shocked at how fast the time really has gone by!
Jaxon is such a HUGE part of our lives. We can't imagine how we even lived now w/out him. Oh now he can have his moments and cause us to sit and ponder why we are even pregnant again, lol. But really, he is so much fun. He is such a big helper these days. We taught him a few things that will help once Liam gets here like; grabbing a new diaper, throwing diapers away, picking up his playroom, brushing his teeth, and helping mommy or daddy put clean dishes away, by putting his cups, plates and bowls in the drawer we have his things in. Of course we also are counting these things as ways that he can earn "monies" as he calls them. Pennies have so much more value now. He loves getting coins and putting them in his piggy bank!

So much has changed in just one year since his first birthday! He has learned and recognized all of his numbers (lower case and upper case); he can count and recognize numbers to 15. He can sing about 6-7 songs, or at least TRY to sing the words. He uses "scoops", aka forks and spoons. He's mastered unplugging, arranging and putting the RCA colored cables in from the DVD player to the TV, as well as taking out DVD's and playing new ones! He knows all of the Sesame Street characters by name, sound, and color. He has ALSO just recently figured out and mastered climbing out of his pack n play, as well as his crib! We're definitely in trouble now!

Over the last year, Dean and I have worked really hard with him and his learning. Some people call him gifted, but I just consider him a lucky only child that has two parents dedicated to his learning development. He really is excited about learning, which of course makes it fun for Dean and I to teach him w/out feeling like we are forcing education on him faster than he needs to. We're also extremely lucky that he has taken to learning so much. We've never pressured him into things, if anything it's the other way around! He loves anything to do with "A,B,C's and 1,2,3's", and yes, even I have forgone saying 'letters and numbers' and have retreated in Jaxon's language to saying "Oh, have you seen Jaxon's ABCD's?" Haha. Dean hasn't fallen victim to this yet!

Jax is starting to speak in more understandable sentences, rather than a few words here and there, and man oh man, if we knew that how you speak to your child, would come out in play, I think Dean and I would have considered a few things more carefully. Haha. Just the other night, Jax was in the bathtub playing with his water monsters, he was laying them all down on the side of the tub, then once all three were lined up and "sleeping", he pointed his finger at them, and said "Now you sleep, sssh. Go nigh-night babies, NOW!". There was a brief silence before I started busting up laughing, and as I stood there, I started questioning whether Dean and I yell at him too much to take a nap or go to bed, lol. This age really is so much fun for us though! Dean and I get a kick out of all the things he catches on to, or learns from his tv shows or even just watching the puppies. Yeah, try explaining to an 18 month old that, he doesn't need to drink water from a bowl on the floor.

With another year, we will now be entering the lovely "terrible two's"! They don't call it that for nothing after all right!?!? We are hoping that with the addition of Liam, we will be able to get through this so called stage at least half decently. We have already seen some of the attitude Jax has inherited from us... *sigh*. Of course this is 'just hilarious' for our parents to watch... (yeah yeah, I am sorry I was bad... but I am good now HELP!). We are doomed if he goes the same route that Dean and I did at this age! But we will just have to see how that goes. So to that, I say BRING IT ON!

Tomorrow we are headed to WA State to spend Thanksgiving with my family. Jax is so excited to go on an airplane! I told him he's been on a ton of airplanes in his life, but now that he understands more, and knows what they actually are, this will hopefully be a fun trip for him! Once we return at the end of the month we will be entering "the adventures" of potty land, sleeping in a big boy bed land, and who know's what else!!!

I have posted all of the pictures from Jaxon's birthday party to the right. Our good friend Brandi took most of them, and captured most of his party frame by frame for those who missed it! Jax had a wonderful birthday party with friends and family in TN! Up next is his WA party!!

We also want to share the video of a birthday card we sent in for Jax on Sprout TV. It was listed online, as well as shown on the Sunnyside Up morning show! Jax was able to watch it live; as well as watch it a few more times off the DVR. I wish I could have gotten his reaction on film as well! He was very excited and kept saying "Yook Mommy Yook!"

We Love you all!!!

Shylah

Happy Halloween!!!!

Happy Halloween everyone! Hope everyone had a safe and fun holiday! We have been celebrating for the last three days with Jax! While I had fun, and I know Jax did too, I am glad it's finally over! This year we found Jax a really cute $3 Cookie Monster costume at a consignment sale, so we decided he would go as that. We were going to have him be Oscar the Grouch or the Count, but that might work for next year! At first he hated the costume because he doesn't like to wear hats, and he would rather play with it, but then after he figured out he got candy with it on, he decided it was okay.

I am gonna brag a little bit here and tell everyone that Jax was the ONLY person I saw that had any manners this entire weekend. Where ever he was, if he went up to Trick or Treat, he said "Trick or Treat" as best as he could, then ended the phrase with "please" or "nom nom nom". Then after he was given a piece of candy he would say "thank you". He also gave back most of his candy, haha, and if someone gave him more than one, he would keep the one he wanted, and give back the rest. I must say I was very proud of this, but now must take advantage of the 50% off candy sales tomorrow. He sure was cute and the only Cookie Monster we saw. Here is how our weekend went…

Friday all the businesses downtown had a trick or treating festival for kids that we went to. It was okay, but not worth the two hours of being in the wind and cold for the 7 pieces of candy Jax ended up getting. Then on Saturday, we went to the Chillin' N Grillin festival that was set up downtown. It's a little festival that has a bunch of local vendors, arts and crafts, music, bbq and chili cook off's and a place for the kiddo's to burn off their energy. Jax had a lot of fun while we were there, and bounced for about an hour and a half in one of those bounce houses. I've never seen him have so much fun jumping!

Saturday night, Dean and I went to our friends Rachel and Greg's third annual Halloween Bash. Dean dressed up as a Chilean Miner and I decided to rock the "beer gut" and go as an Alabamian Redneck! We went with those ideas since we didn't really put any time or thought into our costumes until a few days before. Dean had all his equipment and uniform pieces from both Metromont and working on the windmills, so really all he needed was a Chilean Flag and some soot on his face. I decided to switch my original idea of being a "barefoot and pregnant" redneck, and Dean being my redneck boyfriend, to taking full advantage of the pregnant belly and turning it into a beer gut. Both of our outfits cost us next to nothing, and we both pulled it off well! Matter of fact, I won me a box of Little Debbie Nutty Bars and took home the Funniest Costume Award! I think if there had been an award for most disturbing I would have taken that home too! I might have gone a little over board with the whole thing, but I had a blast. I had jerky chew, smelled like motor oil and bbq sauce, and even had my lucky Busch Beer boxers out for show! I now know why rednecks talk the way they do. For example, instead of darn, they say "dern" and I think it's because they have to keep their chew in, so it forces them to mispronounce words! Der!

The whole night was really fun. It was a good, clean, party with really good friends and family. Everyone had on great costumes. There were a bunch of "classic" Halloween costumes, but most were pretty original. Brett Favre and Jenn Sterger were there, "Quailman" from the cartoon Doug, The Publisher's Clearing House Prize Patrol, Lady Gaga, Colonel Sanders, Richard Simmons and more... My vote went to Rachel, our friend Brandi and their friend Emilee. They dressed up as discontinued Barbie's. Jailbreak Barbie, Rockstar Barbie and Construction Worker Barbie. Their costumes were amazing! The best part of the night is when they finally got out of their boxes, and Dean who had taken some of his costume off, decided to portray the "real" jailbreak Barbie. Haha, he resembled more of a Joe Dirt in a Barbie box look... but definitely had it right. Sara dressed up as Lady Gaga, and her husband, Al was another redneck and my "cousin Al". Haha. We all had so much fun. I was glad to come home and clean up though, and Dean was finally glad to be able to kiss me w/out feeling weird.

Today we took it easy and didn't really have anything planned to do until we got a call from Nana and Pop's about Jax coming to their Fall Festival. The church they go to put on a kids festival for pre-schoolers and younger ONLY, which was really nice to not have the older kids knocking the babies down for candy. There were a ton of games for them to do, coloring, bowling, etc... Jax wound up bringing an entire pumpkin full of candy home for Mommy and Daddy to "check over". I knew there were hidden benefits to having children! =D

All in all, this weekend was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed Jax's excitement dressing up, passing out candy, trick or treating, etc... but I am so glad it's over! Next year Dean and I will get to have fun with two little boys!!! Whoo hoo, that's even more pumpkins to paint and carve, and more candy for us!!! Hope you all are doing well! We love you and miss you all!

Shylah

(More pictures are posted. Click on our Pumpkin Patch album, then My Photos once open to view "Halloween Costumes 2010...")

Pumpkin Patch 2010...

Happy Autumn everyone! I absolutely love this time of year. The leaves are all starting to change colors here... I can't believe that it's almost November, and they are just starting to turn colors. I must say, that our every day beautiful view of the mountains is even more gorgeous right now. The mountain range is starting to show shades of reds, oranges and yellows. It's so pretty with the sun on them... We definitely have it rough out here :D

Over the past two weekends, we've had lots of fun sorting through Halloween costumes, and finally making our way out to a pumpkin patch. We found one that is just a little ways from us called Myers Pumpkin Patch and more. It's tucked away down a side road, and absolutely beautiful. I am not sure how big the "farm" is, but the corn maze they also have on their property is 24 acres!!!! They had an aerial picture of it in their shop, and it looked like an entire city!


They had a ton of stuff to do for kids, from the "kiddy corral", to the hill slide, arts & crafts, pumpkin painting and more. The first time we went, we took Nana and Pops with us, and sadly for us, Jax did not cooperate at all. All he wanted to do was play with the toys. Mistake #1 on our behalf for letting him go in there first. We were eventually able to get him to pick out a pumpkin, but not without pitching a fit in front of everyone. We only stayed a little while and were sad we left with a crying baby, and a cranky mama!

So then we decided to make another go at it since Aunt Rachel wanted to take Jax. We went out again last weekend, and it was much more enjoyable for all of us. We left early enough to have time to do all the things we wanted to, and not cut into Jaxon's naptime!

We went on a tractor/hayride; Daddy and Aunt Rachel took Jax down this humongous hill slide, we dug through hay stacks and found hidden gourds. We picked out real pumpkins from an actual pumpkin patch, and rocked on the front porch drinking hot apple cider, while looking at the gorgeous mountain views! We really had a great time. It was much too hot for my liking, but all in all it was a lot of fun. I am so glad that we have started this fall tradition with Jax!

Now we just need to paint and carve our pumpkins, and figure out how to make pumpkin seeds, and maybe even at attempt at a pumpkin pie from scratch!

All the pictures from both days are on the right sidebar. Enjoy!

Xoxo
Shylah

It's a BOY!!!

First off, I am extremely excited about bringing another baby boy into this world! Liam David Ward! We chose the name Liam based on Dean's Irish heritage, and the middle name David for my brother! Yes Deej - I love you THAT much to want to name our baby after you! I only hope and pray he will be as wonderful of a brother to Jax as you were to me!

Gender disappointment? No! Well not really anyways... Of course I had always envisioned myself with one of each. After all, I was raised with a brother, so naturally I wanted and expected God to bless me with the "all American family"... Well, I guess the big guy has other plans!

It is pretty funny to think about actually, because when it comes to girly-girls, I was it! I was a Barbie playing, doll loving, makeup-wearing, cheerleading, hates the dirt, LOVES glitter kind of girl! Seriously, if there were a picture next to the word “prissy” in the dictionary, it would have been mine! I was that much of a girl! I didn’t like getting dirty, I yelled and ran away from any type of insect, I ducked at any ball thrown my way. I was “that girl” that so many other girls hate!

I was content to stay inside and braid my doll’s hair, play with my Barbie Dream House, or read a good Baby Sitter's book, rather than join the neighbor kids outside. Outside meant dirty, and dirty wasn’t something I enjoyed. Rarely did I join the other kids in a game outside, and when I did, I didn’t stay long. Bugs, and bug bites. Yuck. Do you get what I am saying here? I was a total girl... well most of the time anyway!

Once I discovered "boys"... I quickly learned to like things like sports, dirt, video games, trucks, writing in microscopic hand writing, building things, tearing things apart to create cooler things, etc... Things I learned to love since DJ had no desire to play Barbie's with me, or dress-up, or any of the girly-girl stuff I liked to do!

Liam - "The determined protector"

Well, there was a time where he let me give him "clear polish only" manicures haha! He even had a "frequent visitors" card I made! Remember that Deej?

Had it not been for my brother brain, I would be the dumb blonde on the side of the road calling AAA, instead of changing a flat tire myself! I would know nothing about baseball, Jeep Rubicons, tires, shocks, struts and lift kits! About cheat codes in 'Golden Gun', pinecone baseball, trash can rolling, car dodging, and building forts! I also wouldn't be co-creator of our "rubber band cutting machine"!!! All of these things, and then some, I can only give thanks to my brother for! Things that I pray Jaxon and Liam will be able to do! Memories they will be able to make and carry for a lifetime!

I know several people who have two boys, and would never change a thing about them! I look forward to all the hand me downs of Jaxon's that we can share! To not having different room themes (at least for now), to Red, Blue, Green and Yellow! To trucks and trains... and no Barbie lying out on the "tracks of death" as I had :(. To sporting events where they can hopefully play as a team, to MULTIPLE BUG KILLERS! (Yes!!!), to yard work being done by "the boys", and on... and on... and on!

Will I miss things because I didn't have a daughter? Maybe. But then again, there are nieces for that :) My Aunt and I are extremely close, and so I can always look forward to that! I can spoil a niece in ways a mother might not be able to! I have several nieces already and hopefully many more to come!!!

All in all... I am VERY happy! As with any new baby, I have fears of favoritism with Jax... I've been reassured that this is a normal feeling, and that a mothers love does not divide, it multiplies... I am ready for Jaxon to have a buddy, to have a friend, and most importantly to have a bond that only Brothers have...

As far as the baby update: Liam was full of kicks and plenty of attitude this morning. He literally showed his parts the second the sonographer touched the wand to my belly... then immediately went to standing on his head, holding his legs above his head... (Hmm... sounds like another little boy I carried!). Our LMD puts us at 17 weeks, 3 days... but of course we're going off the 1st ultrasound that dated us 2 weeks ahead... Well NOW... we're dating even farther. I have been saying 19 weeks... but we had one date go all the way to 21 weeks, 6 days which is a full month and a half farther... LOL. I told the Dr. that the baby will get here when he get's here... But it is nice to know that the baby is growing ahead of the growth schedule for once ;)

My next prenatal appointment is Nov. 4th, and our next u/s is Dec. 1.

Hope you all are as excited as we are about meeting Liam!

Love you all, Shylah

Thing 3 to Thing 4...

Remember Dean and I's "Thing 1, 2, 3" picture?!?!

The first time I ever went to Disney World with the Wards, I was pregnant with Jax. I was able to ride most of the rides because I wasn't that far along, and my doctor had given me the go-ahead. So after going on literally every ride my first time there, (even the kiddie rides) and after getting off the Seuss-Trolly, lol... I saw these "thing" shirts... I decided rather than buy the shirts, to just take a photo moment and capture our growing family...

Thing 1, 2, 3...

So once I found out we were going to Disney pregnant again, I decided that it was definitely worth the cost of admission to take our new Thing picture... (only I got in free, thanks to doing a Wyndham survey!)

So here is our newest and last Thing Picture. Once baby #2 is born, I may have to order these shirts and we'll have to go and get our pictures taken with the actual "Thing 4" here with us!

Thing 1, 2, 3, and baby makes 4!

And yes... we realize our numbers are off... Lol. I told Dean that I was Thing 1 last time... but he seems to think our roles have changed *wink wink*

Ward Family Vacation...

Howdy! We are back and rested after our wonderful "Ward Family Vacation" to Disney World. We spent 8 days in Orlando visiting the parks, relaxing, and spending some time together as a family! The main purpose of this trip was for the In-Laws to go the "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" which is a new ride that was opened at Universal Studios/Island of Adventure this past July. The in-laws (Dean included) have been counting down the days till this ride opened, but wanted to miss the grand opening crowd and all the hype associated with that, so we all chose to go during Disney's "off season".
It was a great trip for me as well, even though I didn't get to do any of the rides. I enjoyed being a mom and letting Jax do all the fun stuff and rides. I lied; I did get to ride some of the rides with Jax, but have to plan yet another trip to ride all the new 'NEW' rides that opened up since the last time we went in March 2010.
Here is Dean enjoying world famous "Butter Beer", a drink from the movie. I am not a fan of Harry Potter at all, but I am a fan of this! It's like drinking A&W Cream Soda and Rootbeer mixed together! Mmm...
This is a view of Hogwartz Castle (I think that's right...)

Sunday was a fun day! We went to the Disney Boardwalk and found the ESPN Sports Zone, where we decided to gamble and see if we could watch the Titans and Seahawks, who for the only time this season, were playing at the same time... We ended up finding a table with both the games side by side (must've been fate), and watched the entire game! Jax was amazing! He played contently with ice cubes, and his books... and then slept the rest of the time, which I am still amazed by. We were forced to sit with too many Steelers and Greenbay fans... but hey... their teams lost too! Every time either team did anything, I just knew Jax would wake up, but the most he did was open one eye, look around, and decided it wasn't worth it to wake up. He was so good in fact, that the Packer fan's beside us gave us a free chocolate milkshake... ;)

Monday through Wednesday, Dean, Jax and I didn't do too much. We just hung around, went to Downtown Disney, and hung out at the condo that had an amazing Lazy River and Toddler Splash Zone. There was also a big playground for Jax... lots of places to explore with ducks, and cranes to see, as well as the activities put on by Wyndham for us to do.

Wednesday - Sharon and I took Jax to Universal Studios so he could ride all the rides in Seuss’s Landing, and so we could take our "Thing" picture... (I will post separately, as I feel it deserves its own post!). I was also highly anticipating my fully loaded funnel cake that I missed getting last time we were there...

Thursday was Magic Kingdom day! Sharon had planned on taking Jax the whole time, but then it lucked out for me, that she had an extra day pass that I could use to go along! He had so much fun! I was a little disappointed, that right when we got there, a lot of the rides were closed for maintenance or construction... but once we got in, and rode a few rides, the others opened. Small World was the only ride that stayed closed while we were there, so that was a major bummer... but The Winnie the Pooh ride I believe made up for it. He loved all the colors and music and riding in the honey pots! The whole 8 days we were there, I would say that Jaxon's "had to do" list consisted of two things. Find the Alligator at Rain Forest Cafe, and ride the carrousel wherever we were! Lol. This child rode every single carrousel we saw. At first we stood beside him and made sure he wouldn't fall, but by the end of our trip, he had gone on at least 3 rides where he got to ride alone, and Dean and I got to ride our own animal haha. As far as the alligator at RFC... well Jax may be a Gator fan for now. He was so fascinated by this 8' alligator they had in the front of the restaurant. We ate there one night, and while waiting for our reservations we showed Jax all the animals that were displayed outside. There were butterflies, and elephants, a tiger and giraffe... but all Jax cared about was going "chomp chomp - chomp chomp". I am sure that all you SEC Fans will be thrilled to know he did this ALL week long!

Friday the whole family except Jax and I, went to Epcot and did the Food, Wine and Dessert festival. So Jax and I slept in, met some friends of mine who live in Orlando for lunch, came back and napped, and just had a Mommy and Me day. Once we were up from our nap, we took a stroll through the resort, played on the playground, in the sand, stopped to sing "Crazy" at the Karaoke night they were having, and then came back and colored and had a good mac-n-cheese dinner!

Friday night/Saturday morning was another story. I had a really hard time putting Jax to sleep that night... and I couldn't figure out why. He cried through bath time, which I have never seen. Then cried for "no reason" for an hour+ until finally he was out. For the next hour he slept, and then decided to wake up every other hour for 2 hours at a time for the rest of the night. On the second wake up, Dean and I noticed he was pulling at his ears... so at 3 am, Dean and I were googling ear infections, remedies, etc... it was absolute hell. Jax has never had an ear infection ever, so we had absolutely no idea how to even help. We read about water bottles, and heating pads, and blow dryers... all of which we didn't have just laying around, so we medicated with Tylenol. I have never felt so helpless.

So Saturday morning we went to a Walk in clinic to verify he had no fluid on his ears per his pediatrician before applying drops... We were seen quickly, but then waited for over 2 hours for antibiotics and drops... I was so flustered. We had planned on leaving that day, and driving half way and stopping at my Dads to sleep... but all I saw was the clock ticking and my patience for driving 7-12 hours with a sick baby diminishing...
On the way back to the condo, in the elevator was when all chaos broke out for me. Jax had mastered pressing our floor and the ground floor buttons, and always walked off perfectly. Not today. When we got to our floor, Dean and I had our hands full, so we said "lets go" to Jax. We both swore we saw Jax run past us, but as the doors were closing I saw he was still in the elevator... Normally this would be a mild heart-attack for some, but 3 weeks ago I had a dream/nightmare about this exact thing and Jax being kidnapped, so my fears were all becoming real. I threw down what I had, and went to the ground floor. Dean decided to run the stairs and try to intercept. Once I saw the elevator wasn't on the ground floor, my heart dropped. Here it is Saturday mid afternoon... Hundreds of people leaving and checking in, and I am standing here holding a balloon without my baby... Since I was in the lobby I could see what floors the elevator had stopped on. I called Dean and started rattling off floors... then it got stuck on 5, for about 3 mins. I told Dean "5, he's on 5!" and just as soon as I said that, the elevator moved to 4, then 3 and got stuck on 3... so I'm shouting out floors in between sobs and tears, when Dean said he had him. I was so relieved. Jax had gotten off on 5, and then walked ALL THE WAY DOWN the halls, and started knocking on doors. THANKFULLY, the woman who's door he knocked on, decided to stay with him recognizing he was "lost" (or that his parents left him on an elevator) and stayed with him long enough for Dean to see them. She said that he knocked and tried to walk right in to their room. Sooooooo, after all this, and one emotionally drained mama... we decided to bag our plans for leaving, and stay one more night. Jax and I took a much needed nap... and we all enjoyed and slept better than the night before, heading out early on Sunday...

11 1/2 hours later, we were Home Sweet Home!!!! So while we had a few scares, and a sick baby... we had an amazing time. It was so much fun to spend time with our family, to relax (around a big pool), and to end the summer at Disney!!! Until the next time...

Shylah, Dean and Jax