The Big News

We started this past week with baseball games. Jackson's first game was supposed to be the same Friday Ellie had dance rehearsal but it got rained out. I was kind of happy because I didn't want to miss his first game but I was also hoping they would still have it so I could have gotten a picture of Ellie and Jackson together with Ellie in her dance costume and Jackson in his uniform. So then his first game was supposed to be on Tuesday, but it had rained earlier in the day. They didn't call off the game but the field ended up being too wet to play, so the teams just practiced in the outfield. Then finally, this past Friday he had another game. Yet again, it was raining, but they still had the game. I kept Lincoln and Ellie in the car for a little bit while the rain cleared out and then we got to watch the game for a little while. I didn't take any pictures at the game though, since everything was wet. I love Jackson in his uniform and he wanted to make sure he got a picture with his dad.But before the game on Friday, we had family pictures with Andrew's family on Thursday out at the ranch. Lissy had her work cut out for her as we are a hard group. I have seen a few pictures and I think she actually got some that may work out. We took some pictures of Tom and Mary with the grandkids and while they were doing that, I pulled this prop out for Jackson to hold. Yes, that's right. We are excited to announce we are expecting baby number 4 in mid-January. Our timing is a little off as I am not feeling that great and our big Disney trip is next week and I will be hugely pregnant at Caroline's wedding and we already have the bridesmaid dresses, but I guess God had a different plan than us. We hadn't told Jackson and Ellie either and they didn't quite get it when we told Andrew's family so we left it that way so that hopefully my family wouldn't hear the news before we did our announcement with them. We couldn't decide when to do it was the problem. Everyone was in town this weekend but Amanda and Todd didn't get into town until Saturday late afternoon and Lissy was begging me to tell them earlier. We went out to eat with my Grandpa Mike and Karen and a lot of my extended family on Friday night. We went to Pear Tree and it was delicious. That is one thing that has always tasted good to me when I am pregnant (that and thin-n-crispy pepperoni pizza) and I really enjoyed me leftovers the next day. Well it was late when we got done, but Lissy set it up for Ellie and Jackson to have a sleepover at my parents so we would have to drop them off. Then she told Andy and Kaitlin (they were staying at their in-laws) that she had a surprise for them. We put on Ellie's dance video for everyone to watch and I gave Molly an early graduation gift. My dad's side of the family has a tradition of making a quilt for everyone when they graduate from high school. We all make a square to put on the quilt. So I made an extra square for Molly that said, "Things to Ponder... 1. Can an 8 month pregnant girl fit into a size 4 dress? 2. When are you too big to ride in the strollers at Disney World 3. Where are my pillows?" [meaning my maternity pillows that I really like to sleep with and somehow got lost in Sara's last move] They were all pretty excited and my parents are happy to have something to look forward to in January when they will officially have an empty nest.

On Sunday, the last of the Early kids graduated from Kirksville High School. We thought the gym was going to be air conditioned after the renovations they did on Pershing, but we quickly found out that was not the case. It was pretty warm. Lincoln did okay at first and then he had had enough. We made it long enough to see Miss Molly get her diploma. Yay Molly!!! Then we headed out to help finish up things for Molly's party at my parents house. She was doing a party with her friend, Heather, and the theme was Frost Bites and Beach Bikes. Everything was so cute. These are their beloved beach cruisers and a really cute sign my mom made.Lissy had given me these reusable push-up pops as a little surprise so I thought this party would be the perfect time to use them. We used them to make something called cake shooters. One kind had layers of funfetti cake and white chocolate mousse and the other had chocolate fudge cake and chocolate mousse. They were all gone by the end of the party (along with most of the other really yummy food) and I am now in the process of trying to get them all cleaned. The labels aren't coming off as easy as I thought they would.Lincoln really enjoyed Heather's mom's sugar cookies. They were delicious.I can't believe Molly is heading off to college. Luckily she is going to Truman so we'll still get to see her a lot.Lissy wanted a picture of Molly and all her nieces and nephews. It was a great picture except for one thing-Lincoln is missing. Andrew didn't know we were doing the picture and he took Lincoln out to Matthew and Kristin's for a barbecue they were having. I didn't know he had taken him until later and I know he was doing it to give me a little break, so I told Lissy she could just photoshop Lincoln in later :-)Colton didn't like being on the grass so he sat on Sara's feet.Amanda was trying to get Carolina to smile for a picture and Brady found her very funny. It was great having everyone here for the weekend and they all headed out on Monday. I was happy we could finally tell everyone we were pregnant. I had known for three weeks, which is a long time for me to keep it a secret. I know some people wait months, but I just can't wait. So now we need to start getting everything ready for Disney World. And then Jackson has a couple games this week including one tonight. It rained quite a bit this morning, so we'll see if they actually have it.