Our Family Holiday

I've read a lot of blogs lately about holiday traditions. The family traditions during the holiday time are what made them so special to me growing up. When I think back on my childhood, it's rarely the presents or gift giving that I remember, it's always those special times spent with my family. I've been thinking about some of our traditions growing up, some that have been added in recent years, and some that we want to add to our little growing family. Here are some that I can remember.

-My parents would drive us around every year looking at holiday lights and would always try to find a really impressive house.

-We would all decorate the tree together. As we got older it was mostly Mom and me. I had my own stash of ornaments that I always got to put on the tree.

-We would watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and White Christmas every year. I have fond memories watching White Christmas with my mom and singing along with every song.

-We were allowed to open one gift on Christmas Eve of my parents choosing.

-About 10 years ago my parents started the tradition of buying one new ornament for us every year.

-About 4 years ago my dad started the tradition of decorating gingerbread men cookies together. He even makes the cookies! And they are really yummy, especially with the icing and candy all over them ;) I love this time watching all the kids be so imaginative.

Eddie had some neat family traditions growing up too. They would all go to bed early Christmas Eve and then wake up at midnight Christmas morning to open presents. Fun, huh?!?! Eddie said the other day that he realizes now what a feat that was for his parents to do that for them ;) They also would play games a lot of games on Christmas with the family. I really like that one!

So far, we have continued the new ornament each year (starting with Jalon's first year), driving looking at holiday lights, decorating the tree together (including Jalon putting on his own ornaments as well as others), opening a present Christmas Eve, and playing games on Christmas day. This year we are adding a new tradition, putting together and decorating a gingerbread house with Jalon. He saw one and asked if we could do that. I was so excited when I found a kit that did not have anything he is allergic to. Below are some pictures recent pictures and us decorating the tree.The finished tree. There is no theme, unless you want to say a "Memory" theme. Almost all of our ornaments have a special memory or person associated with them. It's a walk down memory lane every year we decorate our tree.Wow, right?!?! Jalon asked me to get in. Can I please get some mommy award for climbing in this tiny car?

Thanksgiving

We enjoyed a really nice Thanksgiving vacation. It was very relaxing and refreshing. On Friday we had a great time with our family; eating great food and hanging out together. The kids had a great time in the basement of my Aunt Sharon and Uncle Tim's house. At one point they had like a five member band going. It was quite the sight and sound.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing, shopping, and putting up our holiday decorations. Jalon loves the holiday lights and was excited to see them on our tree. He loved putting his ornaments on the tree, even though a lot of them ended up on the same branch ;)

It was a great weekend reflecting on the things we are truly thankful for in life. We have so much to be thankful for.

A Little Peanut

This morning we enjoyed our first ultrasound of this little peanut. It was amazing! I was shocked at how well we could see the body, arms, and legs. And they were moving. We had a clearer shot of this one than we did with Jalon at this stage. We heard the heartbeat and it was just as incredible as it was with Jalon. I still got teary-eyed. The whole thing almost seemed more amplified because we now have experiential knowledge of how amazing a child is. Jalon really enjoyed himself too and when he saw the fetus, he said "Awe, that's a cute baby!" He's going to be a great big brother. The estimated due date is June 23, 2010 but we all know how that goes. Again, I will be ready weeks before. I would post pictures but a proud Daddy wanted to take them to work to show them off. :) Check back Monday if you would like to see the pictures.

Relief

Ahhh, so thankful to be feeling better! The past few days have been much better than the few weeks before. The nausea seems to be gone, still battling tiredness but that is one battle I don't mind fighting. Hooray for naps! I am more thankful than ever that Jalon still takes an afternoon nap.

We had our first appointment today, and everything seems good. We go back in a couple weeks for an ultrasound which should give me their more accurate due date. As of today it is June 23, 2010. Jalon came 2 1/2 weeks early and we will definetly plan similarly for this next one. Well, there is just a little update on how things are going.

The Next Family Baseball Star

We dressed Jalon up as a Norfolk State baseball player for Halloween. That is the school that Eddie played college baseball at. I pieced every bit of it together, and even had to be a little crafty, not usually my thing. I died the hat green and cut out the letters in felt. I printed out and ironed on the shirt appliques. We had the baseball pants, and we found the shoes at the thrift store. Jalon was so proud of his baseball uniform, and after we showed him Eddie's picture from college with his uniform on, he was even more proud that he looked like Daddy.

We went to Boo at the Zoo this year and although it was pretty cold we had some really fun family time. There wasn't a huge crowd there which was really nice. We also got blessed with some free ride tickets. Jalon got on his first carnival type rides and thought they were pretty cool. He enjoyed the holiday and a couple pieces of candy afterwards.

Eddie in college, 1998Went through a toddler maze and was so excited at the end he ran to tell me about it.On the tea cups. Eddie had the thing spinning so fast we thought our heads were going to pop off. We were laughing hysterically!

Guess What???

Another McInnis is on the way!!! Yep, I'm pregnant and we're expecting an arrival around mid June. So I'm almost 7 weeks along. We had planned on waiting to tell the whole world until our first doctor's appointment on November 10th, but my pregnancy symptoms came on with vengence about a week ago, and well, it's been a little hard to hide how "green" I'm feeling :) So last night we decided we would just let people know so that they don't have to wonder what's wrong with me.

Anyway, we are thrilled! We can't wait to welcome another little one into the world. Jalon seems excited too, as much as his little heart understands. When we ask him if he wants a baby brother or sister, his answer is always, without a doubt, "Yes." And then he waits and looks around as if saying, "where is it?" We know he will be an awesome big brother. He's such a caring little guy.

Eating seems like such a chore lately, actually everything seems like a chore :) My symptoms with the first pregnancy were not this strong. Some of that may be contributed to the diet I put myself on once I knew I was pregnant. I am avoiding all the the top allergens (wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, nuts, fish and shellfish). Some of the foods that were staples for me the first time around like yogurt, milk, cheese, saltines and almonds; I have decided to stay away from. Enough studies have shown that avoiding these foods while pregnant and nursing can prevent a child from getting food allergies, especially when it runs in the family. That's enough for me to want to do it. But it makes food choices a little harder. I am making my own bread from oat flour, trying to eat alot of protein, fruits and vegetables, and staying away from all sugar (as I've seen it makes me feel worse). It's a learning process for me for sure. Oh, and did I mention, I'm not drinking coffee, not for diet reasons...but just the thought of it...yuck. Who am I? :)

All in all, we are doing well and very thankful for this great blessing in our life. Thank you for all your love and prayers during this time. We love you!

An Apple A Day...

...Is what we will be eating the next few months. We went to Lynd Fruit Farm on Saturday, which has become an annual family tradition, and came home with lots of delicious apples that we picked from the tree. There's something fulfilling about eating an apple you picked straight from the tree. We greatly missed having my Dad, and Jeremy's family with us. All of our schedules have been so full this month, and very different from one another's. The weather was a little crazy, rainy and cold, but that didn't take away from any of the fun. We all had a blast. Jalon loved picking the apples, slipping and falling down because of the wet grass, running around the trees with his cousin Jordyn, and of course, eating the apples.

Here are some of the pictures from the fruit farm and also some from last night playing in the massive amount of leaves in our backyard.Enjoying the delicious apples with cousin JordynSuch a sweet picture! Sister in law, Bree with her adorable 9 month old boy, Jacoby.All of our apples together, I believe it is about 75 lbs.

Paint, Paint, and More Paint

We went out this weekend to our town's fall festival. One of the children's activities was pumpkin painting. Jalon painted his first pumpkin and enjoyed it beyond measure. He was so proud of his little pumpkin, and in our eyes, it was best looking pumpkin we had ever seen. He spoke the rest of the time about painting, and then in the car, so we ventured over to a store, and bought him his first set of paint brushes and paint (washable, of course :). He couldn't wait to get home to have his first painting session on paper. We had a great time being artistic this weekend!

A Good Change

Fall is here and it is wonderful! The cooler weather came quicker than I anticipated but it feels great and smells even nicer. Jalon is doing great, getting more handsome and vocal by the day. He sure keeps life fresh and vibrant! I'm looking forward to a super-relaxing weekend filled with a few fall plans and some great family time.

Another noteworthy topic is the nutrition plan Eddie and I will start on Monday. I call it a nutrition plan instead of a diet because we are not trying to lose weight but rather gain a healthier lifestyle. I thought we had a pretty good balance of eating healthy in my family, and I still think we do, but after reading a book, "Never Be Sick Again," I have re-thought some of our food choices and we've decided to give this plan a try for a month and see how we feel. I am believing it will help with environmental allergies, fatigue, aches and pains, skin, headaches, just about anything that keeps us from feeling our best. So for a month, we will not be eating white flour, refined sugar, processed oils, dairy, and caffeine. Our meal plan will consist of mostly organic meats, organic fruits and vegetables (eaten mostly raw), nuts, beans, whole grains, seeds, oatmeal, eggs, lots of water, supplements, and I think that's about it other than cooking with olive oil and using ghee for butter. It is quite a change for us but very simple, and for me, simple is good. One statement the author made spoke loudly to us, and I paraphrase, that we should consider why we eat. We eat to feed our cells, to keep our bodies healthy, to nourish our bodies. Although I think we should enjoy what we eat, it helps me to make decisions based more than just on taste. We'll see how I talk a couple weeks into this :)

Have a great weekend, love to all!

Baby to Boy

J-Boogie and Daddy have been enjoying some fun times together. As Jalon is getting older, more things are opening up that we can do with him. Just when you start missing some of the baby stages, he reminds us how each phase is unique and special, and gets even better as the bond between all of us grows. Below are some pictures of their fun times.

Jalon is quite the talker and shocks us sometimes with his words. He told his cousin Jordyn the other day, who was offering her blueberries, "No thank you, I don't like those blueberries, I like mine at home." Me and my mom looked at each other and laughed and shook our heads is disbelief. Eddie and I find ourselves doing this frequently lately, he's learning so quickly these days and putting things together in his head...it's really amazing. Having a family is truly a blessing.Flying a kite (didn't get a very good shot)