Easter Weekend 2011

We had a packed and wonderful Easter weekend with lots of good family time (and really good food...which is a priority on this pregnant girl's list).  Saturday morning, Jack attended his first Easter egg hunt with his Nana and Pops at their church.  He met the Easter Bunny and was not too fond of him (or her) at first.

After he escaped from the bunny's lap, he was intrigued, but kept a safe distance to point and wave at the bunny.

When the egg hunt began, Jack immediately spotted the slide and swing set, threw his basket down, forgot all about the eggs, and went sliding :)

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing in Pops and Nana's front yard with Uncle Cade's old toys.

Saturday night, we had Easter dinner with CC, Big Daddy, Aunt Ray Ray, Uncle Kyle, Mimi, and Mr. Joe.  Mimi made this bunny cake especially for Jack...I was very impressed!

The Easter bunny found us and Jack was very excited about his Easter "happies"!!!

Sunday after church we headed to Ruleville for a little fun with the Hargett side of the family and of course Jack once again enjoyed being the center of attention (he is the only great grandchild....come on cousins, we need more babies!).  Jack had the best time playing with Aunt Mea Mea and Uncle Cade (and picking all of his great Grandmama's flowers).

Oh how things change in a year!  This year we had such a fun time hunting eggs with Jack and chasing him all over the place, but I can't help but remember what was in my Easter basket last year :)

2011 Boston Marathon

Allen survived (and did great!) his first Boston Marathon on Patriot's Day (3/18).  We dropped Jack off with his grandparents on Friday and headed to Jackson to spend the night with Jennie and Thomas who had SO GRACIOUSLY offered to take us to the airport at 5:00 am on Saturday.  Allen and I arrived in Boston at noon and hit the town!  Neither of us had ever been to Boston, so we tried to pack in as much sightseeing in the 2 days we were there.... all without getting the marathoners legs too tired to run his big race on Monday. Saturday night we headed to the north end of Boston and had the best Italian food we have ever eaten!  Then headed over to Mike's Pastry and had homemade cannoli....AMAZING!  Sunday, we slept in then headed downtown for some seafood at Legal Sea Food (pretty awesome) then just took in the city.  My favorite thing we did was the duck tour...learned lots of historical things about Boston (that I probably learned in US History in High School, but didn't remember any of it :)

We headed back to the hotel early evening and ordered Allen's traditional pre-race meal...Pizza.  Allen was up Monday morning at 4:45 am (eastern time) preparing for race day!  He said the whole experience was so very cool and he is already talking about  "next time".  Mid morning (the race didn't begin until 10) I headed downstairs and hung out in the hotel lobby watching the beginning of the race (which was a town away) on tv.  I was very excited to see none other than Allen Cravens begin his race and high five all the people around him as they crossed the start line :)  I then braved the "T" all by myself and luckily delivered myself safely downtown to mile 25.5 where I watched all the elite runners come in.  My favorite was watching the wheelchair racers....a young guy with down syndrome turned the corner and realized he was less than 1 mile from the finish line and broke down realizing he had done it.  I stood there and cried along with him as he wheeled past me...I can only imagine what this accomplishment meant for him and I was so proud for him!  The things I have seen at these marathons amaze me...In Chicago we watched a guy who was blind finish the race!  The crowd was amazing where I was cheering for every single person that came by and later Allen told me it was like that the ENTIRE 26.2 miles!  Here is the race clock coming by with the first 3 male elite runners coming in.  All three (including US runner, Ryan Hall) broke the world record for the day, but unfortunately it was not condsidered official because of "wind assist" throughout the race.

After the elite runners ran by, I made my way to the "pick up your marathoner" area.  I was sad I didn't get to actually see Allen run, but I wanted to be waiting for him as soon as he finished.  Allen had a GREAT race with a time of 3:21.  He felt great after the race and said that although it was the toughest course he has run, he had never felt better!  I am SO proud of him and he is already planning another Boston Marathon in his future...now he is just trying to talk me into running with him :)  Don't think so, buddy!  As soon as the race was over we headed to the hotel.  I had to check out before the marathon began, so Allen improvised and showered in the pool area...ha.  I told him there was no way I was sitting next to him on a plane without him getting a shower :)

We got to Grenada a little before 2:00 am and crashed!  Allen had been up for 22 hours and had run a marathon in that time...I don't see how he was still functioning!  At 7:00 Jack woke up to find Mama and Daddy there and he was beyond excited!  He definitely doesn't miss us when we are gone, but he sure does get excited when we get home!  Jack was spoiled rotten all weekend by all four grandparents!  He got to drive the tractor, the 4wheeler, the boat (not actually in the water though), the truck, and got to feed the horses.  I'm not sure he was ready to go home with us :)

Sorry it's so blurry, my mom took this picture of him with her phone...looks like he was having fun!

Congrats to my hubby for finishing this HUGE accomplishment!  And no, this does not mean you can begin training for Iron Man now!

20 weeks!!!

We are halfway there (I was 20 week on 3/15) and so far this pregnancy has FLOWN by!  It seemed to go so slow when I was pregnant with Jack, but it is going so fast this time around I worry I am not going to get everything done and ready for Baby Witt. 

Witt is now the length of a banana and is measuring ahead weighing in at 12 ounces....am I going to have a big baby this time around?  I  have been feeling him move around for a month now, but his Daddy just felt him for the first time last week.  Jack was much more active in utero at this point.  I am wondering if that means Baby Witt will be a little more laid back and less "busy" than his big brother :)  On the ultrasound, Witt was stretched out and relaxed.  I feel his feet all the time right at my belly button.  He is head down right now and looked pretty content, so maybe he won't try to flip over the next 20 weeks :)  We saw all his little organs and everything looked just perfect!  His heart rate was 142 (I think Jack's was always just a little faster).  AND, he is definitely still a boy :)

Everything about this pregnancy has been pretty different, but the biggest difference has been how fast I have grown...haha.  I think this probably has something to do with the fact that I was so sick with Jack and have only felt bad a handful of times this time around.  I didn't even look pregnant until I was almost 7 months pregnant with Jack.  Allen was looking through the blog book the other night and saw a picture of me at 31 weeks and said "That's what you look like now".  Not smart to say out loud, my dear :)  Yes, it is true, I have grown MUCH faster this time around, but I am hoping that doesn't mean I will grow MUCH bigger this time around :)  If so, that's ok...I am guessing chasing around a 17 month old while feeding and caring for a newborn will help me quickly lose this baby weight :)  Allen and I are just so thankful to get to be parents to TWO little boys and are excited to see what our future with them holds!

Baby Brother has a NAME!

I wasn't intending on keep Baby #2's name a secret, but it took us a little while to decide on the perfect name for 

our little guy and when we did, we wanted to keep it to ourselves for a few weeks to make sure we loved it.  And 

we do!  We are now ready to share.  

Baby Brother's name will be

Wittman Moody Cravens

"Witt" 

Allen has a great uncle whose name is Whitman and I love the name.  We are changing the spelling to make it our own :)  Moody is my maiden name.  It is so different this time around not only knowing that the baby is a boy, but also being able to call him by his name before he is here.  We can't wait for him to get here and to watch Jack and Witt grow up together!

*Note: I was going to wait and share his name tomorrow after the 20 week ultrasound...just to make certain Witt is for sure a boy :)  BUT, after looking at the sonogram pictures from 16 weeks, I was reminded at how very obvious it was that this little boy is a boy :)  If not, then I'll be back tomorrow to share our little girl's name. haha!

My Walking Little Man

Jack started "toying" with the idea of walking at about 11 months.  A few steps here and there, but only if his destination was close by.  The more confident he got, the more steps he took, but crawling was his primary mode of transportation until about 2 weeks ago.  One day, the week of his birthday, he woke up and just decided he would walk everywhere.  He shocked me!  He has been a 100% walker ever since (getting faster and faster every day)!

Swingin'

Jack got this really great swing from his Aunt Mea Mea for his birthday.  Allen spent Sunday afternoon building a little swing set to hang it on and we suddenly have our very own park in our backyard!

Jack LOVES anything and everything outside, so swinging is just icing on the cake! Whoa, Daddy...You are swinging me too high!

THANKS AUNT MEA MEA!

Why I Blog

Why do I blog?  For this little guy :)

I wish I was a "scrapbooker", I'm not.  I wish I printed pictures and put them in photo albums, I don't.  This blog quickly became "all about baby" as soon as we found out little Jack was on the way.  That's exactly what I wanted.  Yes, I love letting all of you see my sweet little boy grow up and share with you the things we are going through, but that is not why I blog.  I blog because I need to save all these sweet memories for Jack (and his Mama and Daddy).  That's why I blog.  I just got in my "blog book" from blog2print.com and I love it!  It is Jack's special baby book with all of my blog entry's and pictures from January 2010 through March 2011.  I plan on having it printed every year with a special one for Jack (you can choose which entry's to put in the book) and a special one for Baby #2.

Like Father (Dada), Like Son

"What is Allen doing in the picture" you ask?

Oh, just encouraging Jack to do THIS at the dinner table....We are making sure our boy learns good table manners early :)

Both my boys LOVE their shows!

Jack (just like his daddy) is easily enamored with the television.

It is our nightly ritual for the boys to "wrestle" before bedtime.  

This baby boy might look just like his mama, but he acts more and more like his daddy every day!

Bye Bye Mullet - Jack's 1st Haircut

Before

After

Allen put his foot down last week and said Jack HAD to have a haircut.  He said the mullet was beginning to look very much like a little girl and he wasn't having it :)  We did wait until after his 1st birthday so the evil spirits would stay away (I once had someone tell me that is why you never cut a baby's hair until they are one year old).  So Saturday was the day and Miss Heather did the honors.  She did a GREAT job and Jack was a little angel!  Mimi (one of Jack's great-grandmothers) went with us and let Jack sit in her lap.  He was so still and somewhat in awe of the scissors and combs Miss Heather was using.  He looks like such a little boy with his mullet gone :(

1 YEAR OLD!!!

Hi! My name is Jack Cravens and I am ONE YEAR OLD today!  We have been celebrating my birthday all week and the Happy Birthday song is my new favorite thing to hear :)  Here are a few things going on in my life right now.

• I keep getting taller, but Mama says I am getting skinnier.  I eat a lot, but I move even more, so I haven't gained any weight in the past month.  Mama says she wishes she had that problem.  I wear size 12 and 18  months in clothes and weigh an estimated 21 pounds.
• I eat 3 big meals a day and most of the time have 2 snacks.  All kinds of fruits are still my favorite foods. New foods that I love are cheese and peanut butter (Mama just started letting me try this one).  I like to feed myself and most of the time Mama lets me do just that even though I make a big mess. 
• I am still drinking formula and Mama says she will give me cows milk once we run out of our stash of formula.  I drink all my milk, juice, and water out of a cup.  No more bottles for me...I am a big boy!
• I go to sleep around 7:30 and sleep until 7:00 most mornings.  I don't like to be rocked to sleep anymore and Mama says it hurts her feelings.  I want to be in my bed by with my paci and bunny. 
• I still take 2 good naps a day and Mama says she doesn't know what she is going to do when I drop my morning nap.
• I LOVE being outside!
• I am a walker!  I have been taking a few steps at a time for a couple of weeks, but on Monday I decided it was time to do the real thing!  I walk until I "think" I am going to fall, then I sit down and crawl.  I still crawl more than walk, but am walking more and more everyday!
• I have 5 teeth...2 on the bottom and 3 on the top!

• I am not saying any true words yet.  I will say Mama, Dada, and nana (after mama says banana) and babble all the time.  I sign "more" and "eat".  Most of the time I wake up from my nap signing "eat" and will not stop until Mama gives me a snack.  I wake up a hungry boy!
• Mama and Daddy always act so surprised when I do something they ask me to do.  I guess they don't realize I understand what they are saying.  I know the words "ball", "book", "Cuba", "cup", "car", "truck", "phone", "sit", "outside", "Daddy's coming home", "bye bye", "hey", "eat", "drink", "brush", "wash", "banana", "bite", "kiss", "nose", "touchdown", "throw" and of course "no" :)
• I am a Mama's boy! BUT, I have figured out how fun all 4 of grandparents are and when I am around any of them, I want NOTHING to do with my Mama!
• I cry every morning when Daddy leaves for work.  Mama and I walk outside to wave bye bye and once Daddy is out of sight, I always realize he didn't take me with him and I get so sad!
• I found out this month that I am going to be a big brother to a baby BROTHER!  Baby "W" (Mama won't let me share his whole name just yet) will be here in 5 months and I can't wait to share a bunk bed with him someday :)
• Mama and Daddy tell me they love me ALL THE TIME!  I hear it so much that I have started making the sound "AyeOoooUuu" the same way Mama says "I love you" and it makes her very very happy :)  They tell me they can't imagine their life without me and that this has been the best year of their life.  Just wait Mama and Daddy, things are going to get even more fun the bigger I grow! :)