Posts

Showing posts from October, 2011

Eleanor at 15 Months...

Image
I knew you would be, Eleanor, but you are quite the talker. It seems from the moment you awake until you go to bed you are babbling about something..... 3/4 of the time I have absolutely no clue what you are saying, but every once in a while you surprise us with the words you know: Momma, Daddy, bye-bye, hi, lalo (hello), puppy (sometimes you say ruf-ruf), wa-wa (water), mee (milk), more (you also sign this), peece (please - you also sign this), tattoo (thank you - you also sign this), agh du (all done - you also sign this), no, i no no (i don't know - my very favorite thing you say right now!! you shrug your shoulders at the same time... where did you learn this?!), nanana (banana), nigh-nigh, shees (shoes - your very favorite thing EVER), bubble, baby (you say this often - hopefully that means you know what is coming), money (monkey), haaa (hot), bea (bear), hop, dees (this), ap-puh (apple), gee-bees (green beans), bees-bess (black beans), poon (spoon), turtee (turkey), chich

35 Weeks

Image
We made it.... I am officially a STAY AT HOME MOMMA!!! I had my last wedding this week (which really was so incredibly bittersweet!) and I have officially transitioned to my new position of Momma, full time. My last wedding was truly such a fun, sweet final project for me... and praise the Lord, I felt great the entire time! Mind you, Sunday I was exhausted, but there was no fear that BR #2 would be making an unscheduled, premature arrival. Sunday evening I spent some time with the ladies from our small group... it was so incredibly refreshing and encouraging. Momma and Daddy are so blessed by the community that we have found through The Door Church, and are so excited for the relationships that the Lord has formed already in just the short time we have been there. Having the opportunity to get to know, support, love, and be supported by other families in the same life stage as us have been nothing shy of a complete answer to prayer. I also went to the doctor this past week and a

34 Weeks

Image
BR #2, this week Momma thought you may have made a surprise appearance... not something that I was hoping for, although I cannot wait to meet you. No, it came on quite strong while working a wedding (one of my favorite weddings I have done thus far!) and I literally thought by the end of the evening I may end up in labor and delivery! Talk about Braxton Hicks!! Good news is, you obviously stayed in... good job, punkin! We also took family pictures this week to make sure that we captured your big sister, right now... and of course, my belly. I can't wait to see them and hopefully we got a few that we can use in your room of this growing belly. Next time we have a picture session, YOU will be in them - how exciting!! It is hard to believe that your due date is so rapidly approaching, and yet it truly cannot get here fast enough. I am "nesting" to some degree still... in that I am wanting to completely sell off every last piece of furniture that we have to start making o

33 Weeks

Image
This past week we celebrated Momma and Daddy's anniversary... it is hard to believe we have only been married for 3 years and in just a few short weeks will have 2 babies in our home!! It is times like these when I kind of look at us and laugh... so I wonder what the rest of the world thinks (like it matters). I wish I had some lavish, beautiful story about our anniversary this year.... but honestly, we both had to work and barely even saw each other! We are planning on celebrating soon... just need to get through these last couple of weeks working! As far as you go, BR #2... you can tell from the picture to the right that you are getting big! At least, you better be because Momma is getting big! I feel you up in my rib cage, I feel you down in my hip flexors.... and we have been watching you do the wave now for a few days slowly across my tummy with either a foot or an elbow. I forgot how fun it is to see those deliberate movements, but I also forgot how much they hurt. I'

Three Years Later....

Image
It is so hard to believe that BJ and I are celebrating our third anniversary today.... in some ways, I can't believe that it has already been three years and in others, its like... really, only three??? I think the reason for the latter can be summed up in two simple statements: Eleanor and BR #2. In all seriousness, however, I can't believe how quickly time has passed up by... it truly only feels like yesterday that BJ was pursuing me and I was falling for him. I can still remember almost everything, like it was yesterday.... our long walks around the neighborhood, cooking breakfast and dinner together, going to Astoria with my family, him asking for my hand multiple times :) and ultimately, the best day of our lives... aside from this day , of course. Here is a highlight video from our wedding day.... I was almost tempted to post the entire video because our wedding was my absolute favorite... nothing would I have changed (except for it to have lasted longer!). I can stil

It's a BOY!!!!!

Image
Once upon a time, my older brother Benny fell in love with Kristen... a beautiful girl inside and out who is definitely out of his league. But for whatever reason, she said yes when he asked her to spend the rest of her life with him!   5 years ago this past summer, we all headed to Cabo to celebrate them becoming man and wife...   Today, we found out that she is carrying on the GROSS legacy.... it is true, Baby B-O-Y Gross is due March 1st and we can't wait!!! WE LOVE YOU Baby BOY and can't wait to meet you! Eleanor and BR #2 are going to have so much fun playing with you!   Cheers to the beautiful Momma, the excited Daddy and the Healthy BOY inside!

32 Weeks

Image
This week we got to hear that precious heartbeat... right at 136, which is pretty much the average for both you and Eleanor, typically you hover anywhere from 135 - 160. You are still moving, moving, moving and quite frankly it hurts :). There are so many kicks that often literally take my breath away or make me hunch over - I imagine you will be just like Eleanor, dancing out of the womb... how happy that would make your Momma :). We were able to spend the weekend with some of our favorite friends, Jenn and Chris Massey who came in to town from Arkansas. Precious one, again, we pray that you have true, deep friendships that completely bless your life... it really does make all of the difference in the world. We pray that your friendships would be some that would encourage you, challenge you, sharpen you and just add JOY to your years. We sure hope that you and Eleanor are friends like this - I can't imagine anything more fun or exciting than hearing you two playing, laughing,

31 Weeks

Image
I don't know if it is a good or bad thing if I can't really recall what all happened this week.... I guess it comes with a little preggo brain, mommy brain and well.... just some good old fashion fatigue. Truly the only thing that comes to mind initially is the week in sports - ha! Daddy will be so proud. Except for that it sticks out because of two major flops by our teams... the Aggies lost against Arkansas (a game that prior to half-time looked like we had sealed up) and the Cowboys lost against the Lions (similarly, losing a 20 point lead in the second half)... just shameful. The good news in sports - the Rangers won the first round of the playoffs and are getting ready to play to find out if they will be AL champions again this year... wow, WHO AM I??? What happened to this ballerina loving, dance crazy, hip-hopper Momma who now is concerned with football and baseball? Maybe you are a boy, BR #2... haha! We also had the opportunity to spend some good quality time with