To the Zoo

We got a zoo pass this year! Honestly, it's worth it even if you only go to the zoo 2 times a year! We decided to go a few weeks ago and it was Jane's first official outing (besides going to the grocery store). When we go to the zoo we always have great ambitions to go through at least two large portions and so we start at the same place every time only to get tired out by the time you finish with that part. So we see the same things every time we go. The kids have their favorites though. They love the flamingos. 

 Lily has an obsession with these animals in the trees. They're the lemurs. I'm pretty sure the love of that animal started from this weird looking stuffed animal three years ago...

This is what Jane thought of it all! 

Oh William...

Yesterday was picture day at the kid's school. I got them each a new outfit because they didn't have to wear school uniforms.

I got a phone call at about noon yesterday saying that William had an accident. I was a little shocked because that is SOOO not William and figured that something must have happened. I brought him some clothes to change into and while he was changing I was asking him about his day so far. Then I asked if he had already taken his picture and he said, "Yes mom, but I don't think they're going to be very good." I honestly just thought he was being a little too hard on himself and I asked him why he thought his pictures were bad. And he says this:

"I was taking my picture when I peed in my pants"

My mind went straight to a school picture of William with the look of panic on his face while trying to smile and I couldn't help but laugh! Poor William didn't want to get in trouble because it was his turn to take the picture. I just told him that we could definitely do the retakes.

I want to see the pee picture first. 

Blessing Day

 Jane Marie was blessed in our backyard on September 6th. We miraculously got our very first family picture on that day! Her blessing was beautiful and we were so grateful to be surrounded by our family to celebrate this precious baby. All of the Neely side of the family were here and we definitely missed the Townsend side.

 We had to take pictures of all of the girls together! I just love it!

 And of course the boys!

Jane wore the same blessing dress Lily did. I love that dress and I knew I wouldn't find anything else I would love more. Matthew and I were married in our backyard and Lily was also blessed here.  We thought that it was perfect to have Jane blessed here also. It's a very special place to our family.



Eight Years

 Life has definitely changed in the last eight years. We have 3 crazy beautiful children that our lives revolve around. We've moved back and forth between Utah and Tennessee a few times. Lots of different jobs/places to live. We've had lots of laughs and shed lots of tears.
Through all of the life that has happened I have had the privilege of having Matthew to share it with. He's pretty awesome and marrying him was the best decision ever. I'm looking forward to many many more years of crazy life with that sweet husband of mine.

My Day

As crazy as life can be with having a newborn (and 3 kids), I absolutely LOVE spending my day with this precious little gal. 

Team England!

 We signed Lily up for soccer this season! Her very first game was a couple of Saturdays ago and she is rocking it! This is her first time playing any sport and she is loving it.

 Lily is on team England, which is very special to her since her Grandma is from there. She loves her team and her coaches are great. Lily can't wait for practices and is so excited for her games.

In Lily's first game, she scored 2 goals and their team won 10-2. This past Saturday they won 10-0 and Lily scored 3 goals.

It is so much fun going to Lily's games and watch her have so much confidence. She is pretty much already a pro!

Naming Jane

 Jane reached her one month mark today and I can't believe how fast time goes by. Our life with Jane has been amazing. Crazy, yes, but amazing. She is such a wonderful little addition to our family. We've waited to have her come to us and we can hardly put her down!

 As I blogged about before, we had a little bit of a challenge naming this little girl. We had a lot of different ideas, my favorite coming from William. He wanted to name her Tiny and when she got older we could call her Big Tiny. I still laugh when I think of calling a child Big Tiny. We knew through it all that we wanted to use Jane somehow.

 

My pregnancy with this girl was a little crazy. We had a lot of fear at the beginning that eased a little on our first ultrasound, but never fully went away until I had her in my arms. When we went for our 20 week ultrasound, the amniotic fluid was low. This caused some concern which led to more ultrasounds and talk of maybe having the baby early. After a couple of ultrasounds, everything looked great and we were back on track to have her at the end of August. A week before I had Jane, my OB said that the baby felt like she was breech. This of course led to talk of another ultrasound to make sure, trying to turn the baby, and a possible C-section. I went in for my final ultrasound the see this beautiful little lady head down and ready to go. Not to mention that when she was born, the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and it actually had a knot in it.

 There were a lot of possibilities that could have happened, but thankfully none of them did. We were very blessed. After Matthew came up with the name Jane Marie (yes, he named her), I looked up the names to find their meanings. Jane means God is gracious. Marie is Matthew's sister's middle name. Angela Marie shares a birthday with Matthew. He has a special place in his heart for her and if you've ever met her, you know why. She is wonderful and who wouldn't want to be named after a wonderful person? I knew that these two names were perfect for this girl.

We are so grateful to have this little Jane Marie in our home. She's already changed over a month! I can't believe how fast she's growing!