Lanie and her Jakes

As we wait in anticipation for the arrival of our new baby boy (which could literally be any minute now) I keep thinking about my sweet little Jacob. He is such a gift to me. As a baby he was quiet and calm. As he grew he became sweet, wonderfully curious, fantastically happy and just the right amount of naughty. He puts his little heart into everything that he does and I have to admit I love that about him. I love this little guy so much! We have been Lanie and her Jakes so long it is definitely going to be an adventure adding a new little personality in the mix. Moving forward to the next chapter!

(My Jakes)

Jacob just turned 3!(So glad we didn't have a baby on his birthday) All of a sudden he is such a big boy. Good thing we're about to have a baby because he is definitely not a baby ANYMORE!

Side note...Jacob got this book for his birthday from his Nana. See the resemblance? hahaha.

Sweet Home Alabama

Well folks we've been in  Alabama for almost ten months and I'm just now going to blog about it.. First of all, let me tell you how NOT fun arriving somewhere new with everything you own and not a clue where your going to live is. I guess that's the military. Well, it was certainly a crazy 10 days... house hunting, staying in different temporary lodging and hotels. It was one of those situations where your only choice is to trust that the Lord will provide. We ended up renting a BEAUTIFUL house in a small town outside of Montgomery. As annoying as it is to drive at least half an hour to anything you could resemble civilization, I LOVE the fact that on my drive home I pass cows, water towers, fields of white cotton and people sitting on their porch drinking lemonade. I wasn't exactly thrilled when we first heard we were moving to Alabama, but we have been so happy here and I must say that it does feel a lot like HOME. There is something about that feeling of HOME that gets me all giddy inside and fills me with an overwhelming sense of security.


A lot of things have happened over the past few months. So here's a little photo dump for you.

Our little one is getting so BIG

 

We celebrated some holidays!

Our big new is that we are having another BABY BOY 

Everyone keeps asking me if I'm disappointed that we're having another boy this time but I can honestly say that I am ecstatic! I am loving the fact that my life is going to consist of water fights, bunk bed forts, and Saturday Sporting events. All the girls better watch out for the Gillespie Boys!

A Musical Treat

Just a short video of my cute boy singing to his bunny.

This boy loves music. As an infant, when all else failed, all I had to do was sing to him and he would instantly quiet down and fall asleep. Over the past two years his tastes have varied and I have to be a little more creative with my song choices but he still loves it. For me, it is my favorite part of the day. Jacob will whine and cry because he doesn't want to go to bed but all I have to do is ask him what song he wants. He gets all excited and says something like "THE RAINBOW SONG!" and immediately nuzzles my neck and strokes my hair while I sing to him. He always asks for more songs. Always. Every night. Lately he has been singing along with me (talk about melting my heart).

Fun in the Sunshine State

Jacob and I had so much fun in Florida! Everyday was a different adventure.

Jacob absolutely adored my Mother. He'd run through the house saying "Grammy, Grammy, Grammy!" He went through so many changes there. He went from walking to running. Being hesitant on the ground to climbing the steps and going down the slide all by himself. He went from one or two word phrases to full out seven or eight word sentences. He is definitely not a baby anymore. It makes me very sad but I will say that I loved being able to chat with him now. Even though the conversations are simple, I love that my little one can tell me what he is thinking and how he feels about it. 

This trip was fun for me as a parent because it was the first time that Jacob actually wanted to interact with other kids. He loved everything about my sister Lianne and her three sweet kiddos. He would beg me to go to "Auntie Liannie's house". As I unbuckled him to go in he would run to the door and snuggle the first person he saw and when it came time to go home he would cry and run away from me. We miss those guys so much!

This is a picture from one of my favorite nights. If you don't already know, I am a movie theater junkie! My absolute favorite thing to do is to go to the theater to see a great flick and eat theater snacks (popcorn, snowcaps, slushy, reeses pieces...I am not a cheap date, as my husband can tell you). On this particular night, my sister Ana and I went to see the re-released TITANIC in 3D IMAX. To get ready for this event we sang and car-danced to Backstreet Boys and N'SYNC the whole way to the theater. AND THE MOVIE...amazing. I am a Titanic fanatic (and will forever have a major crush on Jack). I personally cried for the last hour and a half of the movie. 

(Jacob reaping the spoils of the Easter Egg Hunt)

There were so many things I loved about visiting Florida. Spending time with my parents and siblings. Talking and baking with my sister Lianne. Going shopping and staying up late with AnaBanana. Spending everyday with my wonderfully patient mother. Laughing with my Dad. Getting to know my Grandparents on a whole new level. Wednesday afternoons with my Gammy, going out to lunch and chatting on her couch while Jacob napped. Visiting my Grandma Ambs and having to convince Jacob that we had to go home because he didn't want to leave her house. Girl Nights with my girlfriends and talking for HOURS. Seeing old friends. Thanks Florida! You sure made my time there sunny.

Airman Gillespie

Jake is now in the United States Air Force. On February 14, 2012 he left for Basic Military Training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. While there he earned his Expert Marksmanship ribbon (which unbeknownst to me, is a huge deal) and graduated with Honors. Earning all four ribbons, my man really stood out among, not only those in his flight, but of all the airman graduating there. I am so proud of my husband. He not only survived but passed with flying colors. He is so amazing.

We have temporarily been stationed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio while Jake attends technical school (School of Aerospace Medicine -Health and Safety). I have rented an apartment about fifteen minutes from the base. During the week Jake has to sleep in his dorm at the base but he is allowed to come home for the entire weekend and have dinner with us most week nights. It is actually working out pretty great. Since I don't get to see him everyday, when he does come home I make the special effort to have dinner cooked for him and make myself look pretty (I may even go as far as to shave my legs. Now that's real effort). Today was one of those days were Jake couldn't come home so I am happy to say that I stayed in my yoga pants and T-shirt all day and Jacob and I had left overs for dinner. 

Jake has received his official duty assignment. We will be stationed at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. We report in August. 

(The photo was emailed to me by the missionary couple in Jake's ward at Lackland Air Force Base, It is from the first week of basic training. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of our reunion with him. I guess I was too busy hugging and kissing him to remember the camera in my bag. I might also add that he looks really handsome in his fancy Blues, which I have seen him in exactly one time now. I really wish I had taken a video of the first few seconds that Jacob saw his Daddy again. Jake walked up to him in full uniform and Jacob (not phased at all by the difference in appearance) immediately ran into his arms exclaiming "DADDY!" and hugged and hugged and hugged him. Our baby boy wouldn't let go of him the whole weekend. He is such a Daddy's boy. I absolutely love it.)