I guess it is time for an update.

I am now in the middle of my 38thth week of pregnancy. That is exciting for many reasons. One, I look forward to finding out what this little one is going to be in a few short weeks(that is, unless it decides to wait three extra weeks to come out like Jake did). I was sick for a good two weeks this month which didn't allow me to get hardly any sleep at night or even naps during the day. I feel much better now and doing all I can to avoid catching another cold before I have this baby.
Speaking of which...this pregnancy has been a breeze and I was happy to get on the scale yesterday and see that I have only gained 21 pounds, unlike the 37 I gained with Jake. I haven't been trying to control my weight or anything. Seriously... as much of a health freak I usually tend to be, I have been living it up on eating lots of food, not necessarily junk, but just a lot of food. I love food!
Jake is now 17 months old and such a joy to have around! I never knew how much fun it would be to have a kid! Of course I miss my freedom to do what I want whenever I want, but that is a small sacrifice to make to have the chance to raise my very own child and be able to get 100 hugs from him everyday.
Jake has been talking up a storm. The last two weeks his vocabulary has jumped from just a few words to trying to say everything! Of course he doesn't say them correctly but he is trying and his sign language has developed more as well. He loves animals, and making their noises, reading books, playing outside(no matter how cold or nasty it is), playing at day care, crawling all over our dog Max, eating(go figure), watching Baby Einstein and cookie monster, and waking up before the crack of dawn(grrrr!). I can't complain about much when it comes to being a mommy. It would be nice to have a kid that liked to sleep in a little later, but hey, at least he is very comfortable putting himself to sleep in his own bed and doesn't wake up in the middle of the night.
Toddlers are so funny to watch! I wish I had a baby language translator that told me what he was jibber jabbering about. Anytime Jake gets hurt he has no problem yelling at the structure or person that did the deed. He points and says, "that, that, that" over and over again. As much as I treasure these moments now I look forward to when Jake is in his preschool age and we can have more grown up conversations about life. He has become a cuddly little guys as well. He loves to wrap his arms around my neck and hold onto me as long as I will let him. I never thought I would enjoy having my child cling onto me so much since I am not a touchy feely kind of person(unless it is with Joe of course!). I love all the hugs and kisses Jake gives me, and yes, even the times he just wants to be held for no reason other than to be held(right in the middle of trying to get something done).
Onto other topics...
We are in the middle of re-modeling our little double wide trailer. I know it doesn't sound worth the effort or money, but if you have been to our place before you would probably have agreed that we really needed a little more space and a garage. The garage was finished last September thanks to many family members and friends as well as donated materials to get it done! It is so wonderful to have a place to park my van out of the wind, rain and snow. We cut a hole the wall of the house going into the garage for a laundry/mudroom. It is almost finished! I will be so glad to have my washer and dryer back. You don't realize how grateful you are for something until it is taken away from you! I haven't been doing cloth diapers since December because of not having a washer and dryer so it will also be nice to save that money we have been wasting away on disposables. I have to admit it has been nice to not deal with messy diapers that need to be dunked in the toilet and let's not forget the smell! Well, they do save money and that is worth having to put up with the nastiness of them!
My husband has been working his butt off since October trying to work extra jobs to pay for our mortgage on our home in Anderson all while trying to get the remodeling done on the house. Thankfully our home in Anderson is now occupied with another lease to own renter which means Joe can stay home more! I miss him so much when he is gone, but thankful for the sacrifices he had to make to provide for us. I would hate to be in his shoes and have to leave him and Jake at home for 4-5 days at a time, week after week. We made it work and life is pretty much back to normal.
I do have some belly pics to post but can't find the cord for the camera to download them so I will save those for another blog.
Blessings!