Promoted to Big Brother

I think my Jordan is going to be a WONDERFUL big brother.

We're definitely ready for Jessie now.  Only 2 or 3 little things remain on my to-do-before-Jessie list, and they are very minor.  So, come on baby girl!  We want you with us, and we can't wait to see how your big brother loves you.

If she stays in-utero till Wednesday, she'll have made it to 38 weeks.  That's the very last picture that I took before Jordan was born.  So, I'll take a picture of Jessie at 38 weeks too and do a comparison post: Jordan @ 38 weeks vs. Jessie at 38 weeks.

Photo updates......

JESSIE MARIE GALYEN - 37 weeks in-utero.

Daddy's buddy.

Then......and Now

We've been getting all the baby items out of the attic and read for Jessie.  Jordan likes the bathtub.  Here's his picture at about one week old.......compared to this morning, 27 months later.  WOW. Love, love, love, love.

 Everything about him just makes us SMILE!!!

Such a big boy - He's getting excited about his baby sister, he moved up to his first big boy Sunday School class today, he tells us he loves us multiple times a day, and he hasn't gone poop in his undies in a couple of weeks :) :) :)

My next appointment is Wednesday.  So excited to see what the progress has been since last Tuesday.  When we take walks now, she really feels like she's gonna fall out.  Surely won't be too much longer.  I'll post 37-week pictures sometime this week.

Why "Jessie?"

As most of you know, we've had an awfully hard time deciding on a name for our "sweet peach," as my mom has called her.  We are FINALLY delighted to have settled upon Jessie Marie. It is a spunky, sweet, yet not-too-prissy selection that we imagine will fit her well as she grows.  It has lots of family ties and, most importantly to me, it has a beautiful biblical significance.

The man Jesse is first mentioned in the Bible in the book of Ruth, where he is named as the grandson of a very admirable couple: Boaz and Ruth.

Jesse mainly appears in the book of 1 Samuel as a father of many sons, one of which was David. David became the amazing king of Israel and "man after God's own heart."  

Then in Isaiah chapter 11, the glory and power of Jesus is beautifully described, but the actual name of Jesus is not used.  Instead, he is called the "Root of Jesse" because he was birthed out of the lineage of Jesse.

SO......Jesse was a seemingly normal man whom God placed in a lineage of greatness. Boaz, Ruth, David, and Jesus.

Lord, may the life of our Jessie Marie likewise be in-line with your glorious plans!!!

Nana and Dadaw came for a visit!!!

LOOK AT THIS HAPPY COUPLE!

We had a wonderful, short visit with Linda and Terry this weekend.  

They'll never see us again as a family of three - crazy.

The Wonderful Month of May

May started out with a great blessing: Casey, Ashley, Lindsay, and Linda gave us a beautiful Baby Sprinkle at New Paradise.  We feel so incredibly, undeservedly blessed.  Baby Jessie's closet is STOCKED with clothes sizes NB-9 months.  She's gonna look good!

Daddy and Jordan horsed around at Nana and Dadaw's house during our Mother's Day weekend visit.  It was a really good and full weekend!!!  Daddy went to Boston the following week for work, and Mommy and Jordan talked to him on the computer every night.  Jordan always kissed the camera on the computer several times while talking to his Daddy.

Jordan climbing trees at Babs and Bo's house.  He's my best-est daytime buddy!

 

Memorial Day weekend - we went fishing with the Woods at Pickett Trout Ranch.  Jordan didn't quite get in on the catching action - couldn't pay attention to his pole long enough and couldn't reel it in when the fish got on.  Nonetheless, he seems to think he caught every one of them.  He waved at each fish as it was caught and said, "Hi fish. Eat you for dinner."  He watched intently as the man filleted the fish, napped on the long ride home, and then ate fish for dinner!

Last, but not least, heeeeere's baby Jessie - at almost 33 weeks.  Can't quite see how she's gonna last in there 7 more weeks.  She's moving and hiccuping constantly.  Next appointment... this Friday, June 3.

28-weeks. Baby Girl is Growing! We're All Getting Ready.

 Baby girl is most definitely, definitely growing!  My back feels kinda like its breaking at the end of every day, and I have some yucky swelling......but I reckon that's par for the course when you chase around a wonderfully fiesty toddler all day :)  Oh how very, very blessed we are.  God is SO GOOD!!!

My appointments will now be every two weeks.  Next appointment this coming Tuesday.

For those of you hoping/wanting to know a name - sorry!  We're having an awfully tough time with that chore.  Just can't decide!

Preparations have begun for baby girl.  Her closet is slowly filling with clean and pressed clothes (thank you, mom!).  I'm gathering back various, necessary baby items that I had loaned-out to friends who could use them.  We (mostly Nick) has been hard at work refinishing my childhood dresser; from a light oak to painted white.  It's gonna be beautiful!!!  Sure has been a labor of love.  We followed the advice of Bob Villa, HGTV, and all the folks at Home Depot who said sanding and spray painting was definintely the best way to get it done.  WELL..........after nine cans of top-of-the-line $4/can spray paint, it became apparent that that course of action was not going to work.  So, Nick is now on his third, and hopefully final, coat of brush-on oil based paint.  Shew.  Will look forward to posting before and after pictures of that project.  

Next, I begin work on curtain for the nursery.  I've purchased several different fabrics in coral, navy, and white and plan to cut them all into strips to make shabby-chic fabric strip curtains.  Excited!  Thanks, Linda, for the great idea.

Here's a couple of recent pictures of Jordan in action.  He's doing pretty good with his potty training.  Loves peeing in the grass.  Stays dry most all day, as long as mommy insists he goes pee.  #2 in the potty, on the other hand, is still very much a work in progress.  Not having much success there yet :)

Every day, Jordan out of the blue will mention "baby sister" in a happy and pleasant way.  He has said that he will share his blanket and his stroller, that he will hide eggs with her, and he likes to mention the "present" that she will be giving him.  Something we plan to do when he comes to meet her at the hospital.

Usually when he talks about her he also says the phrase "he loves us."  We're still trying to figure out what he means.  Not sure exactly, but I'm hoping that he's thinking of himself and his baby sister and then reminding himself that "he" (either daddy or Jesus) loves them.  The love of those two people are facts that we talk about every day.

OH HOW VERY BLESSED WE ARE BY A MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS HEAVENLY FATHER WHO IS SLOW TO ANGER AND RICH IN LOVE TOWARD US.  

OH, HOW "HE LOVES US!"