SCORE: Girls 2 Boys 1

Come January 16th, Eric will officially be outnumbered by the girls! Yes, that is right, the Jones' are having a girl. We had our ultra sound a couple of weeks ago and the announcement of a girl was just the topper. Eric and I were both counting the toes, fingers, arms and legs before we rejoiced of the sex. Check on all the above! All we truly cared about was her health. She is growing right on schedule and looks beautiful. As soon as I figure out how to post the ultrasound picture, I will, but the verdict is she has my nose and from the looks of it, her lips are comin' from her momma! Eric is thrilled to be a daddy to a baby girl and what a wonderful father he will be!

This experience, though it is only half way through, has been a very reflective, interesting one for me. Eric has been working more than sleeping and eating put together, so I have been by myself a lot thinking, talking to her, and thinking about being a mom. During these thought moments, there isn't a time that I don't reflect back on my mother and watching her mother us. It is amazing how fast the roles switch when you become pregnant--all of a sudden, YOU are the grown up now and when I mean grown up--I mean PARENT. As children, we think we have all the answers and our parents have no idea how we feel, think, or look at the world. I go over in my head so many incidences growing up and take the view looking in as a parent would and I see my mother as truly amazing. Having this little one inside of me, parent means something totally different than it did when I was a child or still to this day as my mother's child. My mom was a graceful mother--She made everything look easy and natural. Will that happen for me? I worry about that. I worry that I will not be strong for her. Will I be able to protect her in any situation. How will I know what is best for her. My mom made it looks so very easy. I pray that Eric and I will know or at least be guided and listen to our heart.

So as far as name go, Eric and I are complete odds. We had a definite name for a boy and we knew if it was going to be a girl, we would have some issues because I have two names I love and he loves the other one. We would love to hear your thoughts about what name you like best:

Henley
Emerson
Brooklyn

PS--picture disclaimer: HORRIBLE smile. I had the camera on self timer and I felt so silly smiling to a camera without someone behind it. So, this isn't the best picture, but rather proof of a growing belly.

Happy Birthday to my dear husband

How could you not love this face? I know I can't resist. If you know my husband, I think that all would agree with me when I say, Eric is...

gentle, kind hearted, strong, honest, nEVER says a mean or negative thing about anyone, happy, talented at EVERYTHING he does, handy man, enemy-less, never complains, super-hero/hard worker, has a smile that will make anyone melt, hANDSOME, loving husband

Eric, I am so blessed to have you in my life and you make me want to be a better person just being you! Thank you for loving me! Happy Birthday Bebe!

It's been 2 months? Really?

I don't think that blogging is my forte. My posts seem to come in months not days, but I will get everyone caught up fairly quickly.

MAY
First comes LOVE, then comes MARRIAGE, then comes BABY in the baby carriage!!! What a wonderful Mother's Day I had! We found out that I was pregnant the day before Mother's day, so it made Mother's day very special for us and our Mothers (soon to be Grandmothers :) The first couple of weeks was pure bliss. I felt great and quite boastful that I may not get sick. Well, I was surely humbled around week 6. Memorial Day weekend is when it all started---Nassau 24/7, ALWAYS tired, eating constantly, and check everything else on the list that happens to pregnant women the first trimester. Eric is having a lot of fun watching me go through this awkward phase. He has become very protective of me and wants to get me EVERYTHING I am craving. He is bound and determined not to gain weight with me and I have to say he is doing a great job. He has lost 25 pounds since the beginning of the year and he has gone to the gym way more than me.

JUNE
I HATE being pregnant. I never thought I would say that, but the month of June was miserable. ALWAYS nauseated, nothing and everything sounded good, slept over 11 hours a night, not being able to go to the gym, my chest all of a sudden looks "fuller" and so does my middle section--no belly yet, just softer :) Eric had a great Father's Day. I got him some Baby/Father books that I am not for sure if he enjoyed, but I am not his father, so the real gifts come next year. We were able to see the baby and heartbeat for the first time on June 9th. I cried of course! It was truly amazing.

Our garden is growing like crazy and we are already reaping the rewards. Below is a progression of our garden:

Some of the fruits of our labor

JULY
I am feeling so much better and nearing the end of the my first trimester. I was finally able to have my doctor's appointment. It was so strange to me when I found out I was pregnant I was told that the doctor doesn't need to see me until around week 12. Because I am such a control freak,that did not sit well with me. I just had to know if I had a little one inside of me and if everything was ok. After talking with the nurse, we were able to have the ultra sound back in June for my peace of mind. Let me tell you--that made such a difference! So anyways, it was great to see the doctor. She was awesome and did another ultrasound. Everything looks great, LJ (little Jones) seems to be doing fine. LJ was sucking his finger in one of the shots--it was SOOOOO cute!

We had a great 4th of July up at Eric's Mom's house.

Eric painted his mom's deck

Cooled off by jumping into the Ocean

We did lots of crabbing...yum!!

Eric and his Dad made homemade Fireworks...I wasn't a fan!

And relaxed with a whole lot of these.

Play Ball

If any of you know my husband, you will know that Eric counts down the days until Opening Season from the time the winning team takes away the Title of World Series Champs!  You would never know we had other channels on cable from about April-Oct because baseball is ALWAYS on.  Since I have met Eric, I have learned to love the sport.  Quite frankly, if you ask him, he will tell you that I blow his socks off with the baseball knowledge that I have.  Already this year, Eric had to google to make sure I was right because he didn't know the answer!  HA!  I LOVED it!!  So, those of you again who know Eric will know that he played minor league baseball and would go back in a minute if he got "the call".  So, when his baseball league starts our weekends are not as we know them anymore---They are lived at the baseball field.  I have to admit--I love the game and I LOVE the game with my cute husband catching in it.....

Me and my baseball wife buddy! 

"29 and mighty fine"

Congrats Scott...BYU is going to miss you!

I can't believe my little brother is graduating from BYU today! Scott is an amazing person, brother, son, and now husband. I was fortunate, not just to be the older sister and boss him around :), but I was also VERY lucky to be be there to watch him grow up into this fine young man.

CONGRATULATIONS SCOTT!
Congrats to you too Jana for standing beside him and supporting him through this journey. He is lucky to have you!!

Easter Weekend

Easter was a very quick trip up North to see Eric's mom.  We love it where she lives so any chance we get to go to see her, we are there!!  We are very fortunate that she lives on the Saratoga Passage which is right before the San Juan Islands AND right next to the Skagit Valley where they are known for the growing the beautiful tulip and daffodil fields.  It is absolutely breath-taking.  This trip we were in between peak seasons of the daffodils and the tulips, but it was still incredible to see the seas of yellow from the daffodil fields.

Driving through Seattle at Sunset

Eric's Mom at a Tulip/Daffodil Garden

Eric and his mom

Eric being silly in front of the tulips

B & E

Have you EVER seen a bigger daffodil?

A daffodil field---I just love the Red Barn in the background.  You should see what it looks like with fields of color from the tulips---INCREDIBLE

Sunset off of E's mom's deck

I made E smile!

Eric fixing his mom's tacky Easter lights.  She has tacky lights for every holiday.  It is pretty funny to see what she has up every holiday!

I LOVE my mother-in-law and fell so lucky and blessed to have her in my life.  She is so good to me and is always so accommodating when we visit.  We wish we could just see her more.  

Spring is in the Air

Spring is probably my favorite time of year.  The air has lost its chill, buds begin to show on the trees and come up from the ground, and everything becomes green again.  Speaking of green, the Jones' have a bit of a green thumb this year.  We have made some changes to our back yard and have a better planned garden.  Eric has spent some much time leveling the ground, gathering rocks from the nearby stream and creating what I know will be an awesome crop in a couple of months

We planted our vegetables and flowers, now it is time to water them and watch them grow!!  The dirt off to the left will hopefully be green grass in a couple of months.

Hurley and Cooper watched us while we did all of the work!

Look at this flower box Eric made me for my birthday.....ANOTHER surprise.  He totally outdid himself.  I couldn't believe that he made it!