Howe Family

Howe Family

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Our Four Legged Babies!

We don't post enough about our little pups (and I'm sure come February, it may be even less) but I wanted to post a few cute pics of our play time. I've been trying to get them used to the nursery and that it is a safe and fun place, also trying to train Penny to stop jumping on anyone that comes to visit (don't want her jumping all over Tucker in his carseat!). Preparing to introduce our lil' guy to these precious babies is so important to us and if you have any suggestions-please share!

Grandparents will be bringing home blankets that smell like Tucker and us so hopefully that can prepare them for his arrival! I really can't wait to see how cute Kota and Penny are with this little guy.  Kota is kind of the mother dog, she loved playing mom to our foster kitties last summer and I'm sure she won't leave Tucker alone. Penny, well she is more interested in Tucker's toys-she is kind of a baby herself, so we will see how that goes.


Kota is helping me "nest"

Penny is anticipating a super mom throw so she can chase her new soccer ball


This is Kota's "please pet me" look

Please hurry up Tucker! I want to play with you!

This is going to be my baby.

Aaaaw..

Do these shoes fit?

Kota is warming up the rocker :)  I'm sure she will spend many hours here!

Hey-don't forget to take a picture of my cute face!

It has been nice to spend some relaxing time with these girls. I can't believe we adopted Kota almost 4 years ago! She is such a laid back an awesome pup, can't imagine life without her! Penny, on the other hand, keeps us on our toes.  We found her over a year and a half ago, running around the park and after weeks of searching for her owner, she became ours! These two have truly blessed J and I and we are so thankful for those out there that support adoption!

Friday, December 28, 2012

Christmas!

We were blessed to celebrate Christmas Eve with Jordan's parents and sister, as well as the four Howe pups.  Spending time preparing a delish meal (mostly prepared by Darlene) and then heading off to church to celebrate the real reason we can be full of joy this time of year-the coming of our savior.

Christmas morning was also spent with the Howe fam bam! We were able to skype with my mom and dad (and Grandma and Grandpa Leach) clear in Washington and are super excited about our corn hole and bocce ball sets (it is going to be a fun spring!!!) as well as the CUTEST Underarmour sweatsuit and Adidas tennies for the Tuckster. I also got to talk to my brother and niece on the phone-they told me that Tucker was going to have a little boy cousin coming in April-ish! Woo Hoo! Tucker will have a best friend cousin just weeks younger than he is!

After opening presents that morning, we went and saw Les Mis (I loved it-and my expectations were very high!).  I did not spend the whole time singing, may have cried a few times (I'm pregnant! I did cry throughout the book and musical though too). The Howes spend Christmas night allowing me to "nest" as I am preparing for a little guy in just weeks!

Here are some pictures of Christmas morning (wish I had some of the afternoon with my parents but we were busy skyping and this pregnant woman can't handle too much at once right now!).

Kota and Daisy are ready Santa Lacey!

Uh Oh....Puppies like presents too!

Penny loves her new soccer ball

Pretty Cali

Puppies and raw hides=puppy heaven!

Such a gorgeous tree! Jordan picked it out this year!!


Lacey is super excited!

Jordan and his bath toys...

I see a sports theme....

Auntie Lacey is making sure that Tucker is a UGA fan!

Daddy is super excited to watch the UGA football games with his little baby!

Excited much?!

Tucker's Mia

Granddaddy Est. 2013

One cute hubs right there!

Not so sure about this shirt but Lacey has good taste!

Just what you need for that Chicago weather!

Jordan and more bath toys....

Open Lacey OPEN!

I was so excited that Jordan couldn't get the camera focused!

another envelope? YAY!

Oh My Goodness! There are pictures of our baby furniture in all these envelopes! AAAAHHHH! I think my face explains it all!

Very excited mommy and daddy right there...thank you Howe fam!

I kept asking-when do we get to pick it up? Little did I know, it had been out in Lacey's car the whole time!
What a great Christmas! It was very special to spend it with Chuck, Darlene, Lacey, Calli and Daisy as well as my own sweet family. I really missed my northwest family, especially for the traditions I've made growing up with mom, dad and jj but I will get to see them soon-very soon! The countdown until Tucker arrives has begun-45 days until his due date and not long after we will be coming to visit.  Until then, I have plenty of nesting to do, national boards to prepare and a Master's class to finish....Nursery pictures are next-so stay tuned!!

Thank You!

We received a box on Christmas Eve and if you know Jordan well...he doesn't have the patience to wait to open things! I realized it was from Grandma J (great-grandma) and quickly sent her a text to let her know that we got it!! She quickly wrote back that it was from her, Uncle Mark, Aunt Starla, Aunt Kristi and Uncle Jim! YAY! They may live across the states, but we were so thankful that they wanted to spoil us (well mostly Tucker-which is exactly what we wanted this Christmas!). So we were given the go ahead and here is what came of it....

Jordan is actually taking the time to read the card!!!
Cute-Tucker is going to be stylin'
So many cute Tucker things, we are super excited to finally get to use them soon!
Penny likes baby boy things...she really likes baby toys (that should be interesting!).
It wouldn't be "Johnston" without a little Mickey!! VERY CUTE!

Notice the Mickey blocks! We love it ALL!
THANK YOU!   



This is the first Christmas break that I haven't gone to my Washington home and it wasn't easy, but we will be visiting sometime early spring and bringing with us a cute lil' guy! Thank you family for spoiling us-we miss and love you!

Friday, December 21, 2012

See You in 8 Weeks!

Once more we got to delve into the wonderful world of medicine and insurance... Well, I say once but I really mean twice as Jamie was scheduled for two appointments today. Side note- I'm fairly sure she's literally trying to bore me to death, dragging me to these aptly named waiting rooms, waiting MULTIPLE hours for an APPOINTMENT... What does that word mean anyway?? Well, Oxford's English Dictionary defines the word "appointment" as... Wait, sorry, I started rambling there and all of a sudden I'm starting a valedictorian's speech. For those of you who know me, I certainly did NOT finish at the top of my class... I digress, both appointments went swimmingly, as soon as the people deigned to see us (sorry).

Up first was the bane of my existence ultrasound appointment down at the second circle of hell main campus of Palmetto Richland.  When we were finally seen... Wait, let me back up. So we're in the waiting room, probably 7 moms to be in front of us, one of whom brought her husband and two kids, an 8 year old boy and his 12 year old sister.  The kids had to be left outside as no one under 18 is allowed in the exam rooms. I guess they just really don't want to be on an MTV "reality" show with that kind of attitude... Anyway! The kids were actually really well behaved until everyone had been taken back except Jamie and I, then it was time for the boy to launch the attack. It was full on laser warfare (AKA: Finger lasers), crawling through the trenches (read: under and between chairs), and showing no mercy to the other side (as in claiming to have blown up his sister, even though they both CLEARLY stated that behind their respective rows of chairs was their "base").  This exercise certainly opened Jamie's eyes to the reality of raising boys.

The ultrasound tech, Asia, was hilarious and really helpful. Keep it on the DL, but we got these 3D shots because she snuck down to another room, snagged their 3D camera wand, and printed them off before anyone was any the wiser... One thing we learned, Jamie is going to need some serious prayer and so is our little boy... His head is measuring above the 97th percentile, his abdominal cavity above the 96th, yet his legs are only at the 31st.  We are in for a seriously chubby, dwarfy, Buddha baby... And Jamie's got to figure a way to deliver this "little" bundle of joy!

After running a few more errands we hit up the satellite campus for the actual check up.  Things went really well, Dr. Greene went sweeping in and out with her usual boisterous bedside manner, but not before answering a few nagging questions (no, they're not nagging just because Jamie was asking them, silly).  Things are looking and sounding really good, apparently.  According to the doctor, all things being equal they won't induce before the 6th of February or let her go past the 20th.  So unless Mr. Tucker decides to make an unscheduled appearance, we now have a more solid idea as to when we'll actually get to meet him!

Hope that you enjoy all of the pictures, we'll do our best to keep this a bit more updated. Shouldn't be difficult as we have two appointments in the next month and after that they go to once a week.

Merry Christmas to you, thanks for keeping up with us! And, as always, this message will self destruct in five seconds...

 Why yes, I will wave to you...or actually try to wave you AWAY! This is me, all 5.1 pounds at just 32 weeks. Yep, I am gonna be a big boy :)
 Okay, enough it enough...just like his dad, hates pictures!
Merry Christmas! Love, Tucker.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Christmas is Comin'

Wow-time is flying by! Jordan and I went and cut down our Christmas tree at the same place we have gone the last two years. We loved picking the perfect tree out together, knowing that next year, it won't just be the two of us but a special little boy will be joining our tree hunt!!

 
2012 Howe Family Christmas Tree

Penny, Jordan, Tucker (my childhood stocking), Mine, and Kota's stockings!   



 

TUCKER UPDATE:


This lil' guy is growing!


We did post a stinkin long video last time, but forgot to facebook it (we have three videos but only had the time to convert one to a 'Blogger Friendly' video).  This video shows the heart, some face and that Tucker is, well definitely Tucker!

Age: Almost 30 weeks-and large (and even more in charge---of my body that is!)

Name: Tucker Scott (Scott is a family name from Jordan's granddaddy-and a very very amazing man that meant the world to Jordan)  -Tucker, well we wanted a very BOY name (we both have boy/girl names...) and we fell in love very early with this name, I "feel" that this little boy is fitting into his name nicely already!

Momma is craving: CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT SHAKE!!! Chickfila is making a killing just from the Howe fam!

Next up: Birthing class on Dec. 15th, ultrasound the 19th and WINTER BREAK (I see some major nesting in my future!).

Thankful for: Healthy lil' boy, a very wonderful hubs and another MA class done!




Sunday, November 11, 2012

Our Lil' Movie Star

TUCKER UPDATE:

This was our most recent attempt at a belly pic (Penny stole the show!).  You can see the awesome paint job in his nursery (thanks Jordan, Lacey & Darlene!).



Age: 27 weeks, which means he has almost graduated from his second trimester!!

Size: 2lbs and 15 inches *ish

Favorite Activity: Kicking mommy's ribs and uncontrolled hiccups (usually while I am in the middle of teaching)

Next Dr. Appointment: Monday, Nov. 26th (and his next pictures will be on Dec. 19th!)

Daddy's new nickname for Mommy: Weeble Wobble....

I can't seem to find my "It's a Boy" ultrasound picture and considering that I am extremely organized, I can't even imagine where it could be! BUT-I can "one up" that picture with this awesome video.  Here is our lil' guy at 21 weeks (6 weeks ago-sheesh how time flies)

The videos are long (be prepared and this isn't all of them!), the first one is the heart, hands and legs.  The second video is Tucker's face and heart again.  I kept asking the technician if she was sure about the gender and she answers my last question in the end of the third video (if you fast forward, you will see:).



 
 



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Our first Tucker Scott post!

Yes, it has been a little while since we found out we are having little Tucker Scott Howe-BUT-life has been busy! I am 24 weeks along and my belly is poppin' out :)



I felt the need to update y'all on our lil boy's progress:

Name: Tucker Scott (boy)

Height: Over a foot!

Weight: 1.5 lbs...or more!

Our last appointment? Two weeks ago we heard a super strong heartbeat followed by the news that Tucker is slightly big (no surprise considering Jordan and I were both large babies) especially his head! All those brains need somewhere to go!!

Our next appointment? Election Day! I will also be given the pleasure of taking my glucose test-yuck!

We have been fortunate to have visitors the last couple weekends-Lacey came to visit and paint Tucker's room with awesome navy, tan and burgundy colors! Darlene is visiting this week and our house has never been so clean, Tucker's room was also given some touch ups and the painting is all done! We are also enjoying a break from making dinner and loving all of the spoiling this little boy is getting before we even get to see him in person! He is definitely going to be stylin', his closet is full of cute boy clothes thanks to grandparents and auntie Lacey.  We are feeling beyond blessed to have this amazing little boy entering our lives so soon as we count down our next 16ish weeks!

Here are a few pics of our gender reveal (pictures stolen from the Olivers...):

Alex and Andrew's House...Team B or G?
 
 Jessie made the pinata! It was amazing, the other side is pink but of course 
this ended up being the winning side!
A special thanks to our hosts the Olivers and the Hofts for helping with all the decor.  We also loved sharing this time with the grandparents, aunties and uncles (& cousins Inslee and Sofi) via skype.  Our fabulous bible study buddies and my coworker (who hears me talk all day long) Taurean. We love y'all and thank you for loving our little boy so much already.


A belly post will be coming soon-as well as Tucker's nursery painting job (so stinkin' adorable!). Stay posted!