Drumroll Please....

We have officially decided on a name!

Jacob Nathan Lewis

We can't wait to meet him and put a face to his name!

We're Nesting.

Yes, we're nesting. All of us. 

There has been much to do around here for the upcoming arrival of baby number 2 and everyone of us is pitching in. 

My first project was the kid's closet. I had been throwing stuff in here for the last 2 years and it had become somewhat of a disaster.

I decided that I would need more drawer space for baby number 2 and instead of installing shelves, we bought a dresser that would fit inside. Then I cleaned out and organized the heck out of the closet. Everything has a place now which makes me a very happy Mama. 

I've also cleaned out just about every other closet and cupboard in the house. I'm definitely on my way to having this baby. 

Brett was busy the other night building Ethan's new big boy bed. 

He has yet to sleep in it, which is fine by me. I'll have more pictures later on, once the room is complete. We're almost there. 

Another huge project for Brett has been re-organizing our garage. We had very little shelving and as Ethan has gotten older the garage has become more and more non-kid friendly. 

So we went to Sear's and came home with all this. 

And my backyard has looked like this for the last few days.

But it's almost finished and complete!

And what has Ethan been doing while all this work has been taking place you ask? 

Well helping of course.

And playing with lots of Dad's tools.

My Last Day.

Tuesday was my last day of work.

For good.

For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a stay at home mom. When I was younger and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I would reply, "a mom." I never wanted to have a career. When it came time to go to college I had no idea what I would go to college for. I pictured myself staying home, cooking dinner and raising kids. They don't offer Home Economics any longer, so I was out of luck. I decided to go into Early Childhood Education since I figured I could use everything I learned with my future kids at home. I planned on getting a job as a preschool teacher until the time came that I would have children.

Life ended up giving me some unexpected turns and I needed to make enough money to live. I wanted to be independent and not rely on my parents, and the field of Early Childhood Education was not going to help me out in that area. 

So it was at that time I decided to work for my dad. He owns a construction company and at the time, 5 years ago, the company was growing and his controller needed help. I was a perfect fit, well except for the fact that I knew nothing about accounting or finances or anything regarding running a company. But I started to pick it all up quickly and to my surprise I loved it. I slowly began to take on more and more responsibility and formed a position that was all my own. I really liked it and I thought to myself, "maybe I do want to have a career after all."

After Brett and I got married and we bought our house, I slowly started to realize my dreams of staying home with our future kids were diminishing. I became alright with the fact that I would have to work, I mean, I loved my job and I knew that I could have some flexibility since my Dad was the boss and all. Not that I took any advantage of that fact. (insert sarcasm)

When the time came for me to go back to work after Ethan was born it was harder than I thought. I knew deep down I still wanted to be a stay at home mom. I knew that I had settled into believing this was the way it had to be and nothing could ever change. I wasn't completely unhappy, but I wasn't happy with working either. Luckily, I was able to cut back from five days a week to three, which made a huge difference. We were also fortunate enough to have Ethan stay with family while we were working. Our situation was ideal. 

When I became pregnant this time around I instantly wanted to stay home, but thought there was no way. Brett and I talked about it but it was not making sense. I cried, a couple of times and I was only 4 months pregnant. I again resigned myself to the fact that this was how it was going to be and really our situation was ideal. 

Then one day out of the blue Brett came home and said, "You need to stay home with the kids. We'll make it work. You need to quit your job." My first instinct was to laugh, which I did, and then I told him there was no way we could make it work. He suggested that was look at our financial situation differently and just give it a try. I was now hesitant. Our roles had become reversed. What was going on? I thought about it for a few days and finally said yes, lets give it a try. I instantly felt a like a weight had been lifted. I knew this was the right thing for our little growing family at this point in our lives. 

As the days became closer to my last day at work, I grew more and more upset about leaving for good. I liked the people I worked with, I had basically created my position, and I loved what I was doing. My job had become such a huge part of my everyday life and being involved in a family business made it even tougher to leave. I liked being "in the know" and over the years my Dad and I have become closer because of it. But it was time for me to move on and start this new part of my life as a mom.

 

It may not be permanent but we've got to give it a shot. Our short term goal is for me to stay home a year, but our long term goal is for me to be home until the kids are in elementary school. I'm praying that we find a way to make it happen. I believe we can since it truly is the best thing we can do for our kids and for us as a whole family.

And so far I'm settling in nicely to my new role as a full time stay at home mom.

A day at the park.

Today we went to Irvine Regional Park. 

But this was no ordinary park like the one down the street.

There was a little zoo, lakes, pony rides, train rides, and much more.

You could probably spend an entire week in this park and not see everything. It was beautiful!

So we loaded up and headed to Irvine with my mom, Erin, Abby, Amy, and Radley.

We started out at the zoo, which was a hit!

There were reptiles, lots of birds, small furry animals, bears, and a petting zoo. 

Then it was time to eat! The only downer of the day were the bees in the park. They were everywhere and they wanted our lunch. Luckily no one got stung and Ethan thought swatting them away was hilarious.

 After lunch we headed over to the train ride. It took us through a small part of the park and it was perfect for the kids. 

They were all being goofy, as you can tell, and by the end of the ride Ethan was getting a tad bit tired.

But of course not too tired to ride a pony.

It really was a great park to go to and we will definitely be back. Plus it was cheap, all of this was just 14 bucks for the two of us. You really can't beat that. 

Best Friends.

There's nothing wrong with eating like your best friend...

...well unless she happens to be a dog.

Beach Day!

My sister and I finally made it down to the beach on Monday. It was a bit colder and gloomy than we had hoped but the kids still had a great time. 

I really don't want to let so much time go by before we go again and hopefully it will be much warmer out. 

Ethan's 2!

On Saturday our little man turned 2 years old. 

It's hard for me to believe that only 2 short years ago I was in the hospital getting ready to meet him. 

It was by far my proudest moment and favorite day of my life.

It seems crazy that only 2 days later we got to bring this little tiny person home with us and instantly we became parents.

We started off the day with presents from us. He loves tractors right now so that's what he got, plus some play-doh, which was not as interesting.

Later in the day we celebrated with our family by having an ice cream party.

It was a blast!

The kids ate tons of ice cream, swam in the kiddie pool and played til they were wiped out.

Here is a glimpse of the party...

It really was such a great day! I had been a little stressed earlier but by the time the party came around I was stress free and I got to enjoy myself. But the best part was that Ethan really had a wonderful time and you can see it on that little handsome face.
Happy Birthday!