December 2010

It's been a crazy couple of months. JJ and I have been staying at my parent's house in South Carolina while Jeremy has been in Texas working. It's a really long story, but the short version is that we were renting a house in Texas (that seemed to be falling apart) and our lease was over. We moved out, Jeremy shipped us off to SC and he's been staying with friends. This has given JJ and me time to spend with my parents over the Holidays and allowed us to save money for a new house. I've also enjoyed the extra help while working on growing baby number 2! Our goal is to be into a new house by the end of January.



JJ has had a blast with Poppy and Grammy. Of course, he's completely rotten. Even as I type this blog entry, it's almost 11:00 pm and JJ is sitting on Grammy's lap watching Horton Hears a Hoo because he couldn't sleep. In the mornings Grammy and JJ fix breakfast together...scrambled egg and cheese. JJ scrambles the eggs himself! Every evening JJ waits for Poppy to come home from work so that they can play in his room.


One evening JJ and I were at home by ourselves and we heard keys jingle and the door open. JJ said "Poppa"! Another time Poppy walked in and JJ was watching television in his bouncy. He saw Poppy and said "Up Poppa"! So cute. Needless to say Grammy is a little jealous, but why would JJ bother learning to say Grammy when she gives him whatever he wants without him having to call her by name. Like I said, super rotten!


Discipline has been an interesting challenge. JJ is one stubborn 15 month old. He's normally very well behaved, but not when it comes to touching or getting into something he's not supposed to be around. A simple "No JJ" does not work. I've tried a firm "no" with a hand pop without much luck. It normally results in a mimic "no" from JJ. Once he even said "no" back to his Aunt Jaclyn and attempted to pop her. Our greatest challenge has definitely been this Christmas season. Grammy's house is loaded with festive temptations, specifically the Christmas tree (he loves to say "tree"). JJ has decided that the crime is definitely worth the punishment when it comes to harassing the tree. A stern "uh, uh" and a pop on the leg may bring a few tears, but then seconds later he is right back into the tree. He's even started disciplining himself. He will walk over to the tree, say "uh,uh", touch it and then walk away while popping his own leg. It's very impressive! Stubborn just like his father.

Even though JJ is only 15 months old he was able to sing with Wee Praise (for ages 3+) at Grammy and Poppy's church. Of course by sing I mean squeal and clap like crazy. This was possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen him do. He's a huge fan of singing and dancing. Grammy has taught him how to sing If You Are Happy and You Know It and Praise Ye the Lord . He also loves to snap his fingers and nod his head to the beat of the music. Poppy and JJ stomp around the house playing "marching band". JJ could play this game forever. He loves to beat objects together, march and sing. Very cute! Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer is his current favorite movie and Sesame Street is JJ's favorite television show.

I am now 25 weeks pregnant. So hard to believe. Whitson is growing like crazy. My due date was March 25th, but at Friday's ultrasound I was measuring for a due date of March 17th. I'm going to have another huge baby boy. The ultrasound was really amazing. My sister Jaclyn was able to go with me to the visit. The tech spent 45 minutes doing all of the baby's measurements and checking his vitals. It's such a blessing and a miracle to be able to see my little one before he is born. I have some beautiful pictures of him even though he wasn't at all cooperative! Whitson is really a wiggly little boy and rarely holds still.

We have had a wonderful time here in South Carolina but we sure do miss Jeremy. I'm counting down the days until I see him again. House buying can't come soon enough. I'm sure that moving at 8 or 9 months pregnant will not be any fun, but I'm ready to be home. We have going to the cabin for New Year's to look forward to and then a new house in 2011. Yay!

P.S.

For those of you South Carolinians, we took JJ to see the Pelzer Light People yesterday!

Straley Update

Blogging is obviously not something I remember to do often. I believe my last blog was over six months ago. Honestly, I forgot I even had a blog to begin with! I guess it's time for a brief Straley update. Here is a little bit of what is going on with our little family...

Jeremy and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary in September. It's wild to think that we've been married that long! Our precious little JJ turned 1 on September 10th. What an amazing blessing he has been in our lives. We also found out that we are expecting baby number 2 who is due on March 25th, 2011. His name will be Whitson Jude Straley and we will call him Whit (he's already a handful). Yep, I'll be living in a house full of boys!

JJ is now 14 months old and is into everything! He is a talking machine and has a surprisingly large vocabulary. Some of his words include: MaMa, DaDa, Papa, look, book, hi, hey, hello, bye, ball, JJ, Yay!, kick, clap, jump, coke, milk, juice, cunk (crunch). He has also said: cow, chicken, all done, thank you, stop and Tia (aunt Jaclyn).

His favorite things include: eating, reading books, Sesame Street (t.v. in general), dinosaurs, animals, playing outside, music, playing chase and much more. He can sign the words milk, more and all done. JJ also likes to say "coke" while using the signs for "milk" and "more" to get Grammy to give him coke or anything else she is drinking!

JJ and I are currently enjoying a nice long vacation at Poppy and Grammy's house while poor Jeremy is in Dallas working. Our lease was up on our rental and we are in the process of trying to decide where in Dallas to buy our next home. Jeremy flies back and forth to see us. I have really enjoyed the extra help I've had while going through pregnancy number 2. Plus, JJ is having a blast being with his Grammy, Poppy, Uncle Shawn and Aunt Jaclyn.

I hope you have enjoyed the Straley Family update. I'll try to blog again before Whit turns 0ne! Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful weekend!

Lack of follow through

I love trying new things as a mother and homemaker, but sometimes I'm just not very successful. I think it has something to do with my lack of follow through. Sometimes these "great" ideas pop into my head and I think "Hey, I can do that". Well, I could do that if I'd just follow through. I always start projects with enthusiasm, but rarely finish them. It's really rather sad. Here's a list of things I've started and haven't finished...

1. My first "blog"- this was my pregnancy/baby journal. Excuse: completely forgot about blogging after having JJ. I was super sleep deprived and busy being a mom.

2.The James Jeremiah Straley baby book. My thoughts on the matter: I'll just keep a record of things and let my Mom work on the book when she visits. Who am I kidding? I am my mother's child. She's probably still working on my baby book!

3. Teaching JJ sign language. Good Try: I've tried to teach him how to sign the word "more" when he wants another bite of food. I think my problem is consistency. I'll show him the sign for about 3 meals and then forget to do it for another 6. I'm so slack!

4. Making baby food. So much to think about: I really wanted to be successful at making JJ's baby food. So far I've "made" avocados and bananas. I bought pears, mangoes and carrots to try next. Problem: after buying these items I read that you should buy organic pears and carrots because of all of the pesticides used to grow them. Then, I read that mangoes can give JJ diarrhea. Yuck! I am also horrible at planning out baby menus. It's just so much easier the Gerber way! Plus, I always have coupons for baby food (if only I remembered to take them to the grocery store)! I'm still all for trying to make his food, but I definitely could use some insider tips from experienced moms.

5. Couponing. Every Sunday I look at the sale adds and cut out coupons. I've got stacks and stacks of coupons. Issue: My coupons aren't organized. I have a coupon book, but still haven't bought my clear sleeves to separate them. Other issue: Forgetting my coupons at home. I am notorious for this!"

So, sometimes I lack in follow through. I'm a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl! Every day is a new adventure. I give Jeremy and JJ 100 %. If I don't finish some of the projects I start, it's no big deal! I'm loving life.

Jessica Straley

Okay, this is my second attempt at blogging. I started my first blog when I found out I was pregnant with JJ. I was successful at updating it until JJ was born. Now, almost 8 months later, I think I've only updated it once or twice. Time for a fresh start!

A quick re-introduction to me...My name is Jessica Lyles Straley. I was born in South Carolina and spent most of my childhood/adulthood there. The YMCA will always hold a special place in my heart. Through working for the organization I grew as a Christian and most importantly was blessed to have the opportunity to share Christ with hundreds of children. It is there that I met some of my best life long friends...Leslie, Alida, Kelley (all at the Pickens County YMCA) and Kendra (at the Reuter Family YMCA in Asheville, NC). While working at the YMCA in Clemson, I met my husband, Jeremy Straley.

I'm crazy about my family and hate being so far away from them (I live in Dallas, TX and most of them live in South Carolina). Being married to Jeremy has been the best 6 1/2 year adventure. We've lived in Asheville, North Carolina...Knoxville, Tennessee...on cruise ships, where we sold art and are currently living in Dallas, TX. My baby JJ is my life and I am blessed to be able to stay home with him. (Yay,for 4 years of college I may never use again!)

I serve as the secretary for Richardson AnimaLuv, a non-profit foundation started by my friend Peggy Thorburn. I'm a friend to all cats and dogs. Jeremy and I are temporarily (and by temporarily, I mean for the last 2 years) fostering two cats from the shelter named Puma and Duncan. Plus, we still have our husky dogs, Cheyenne and Nika. I'm also the finder of homes for all animals in need. If you are currently without a pet, I'll be happy to hook you up!

These are some of the things I love...

God

Jeremy and JJ

Being a stay at home mom

Sunday Church followed by lunch with friends and an occasional Sunday nap

The Whitson/Lyles/Straley/Bohanna annual cabin trip

My B.O.B. jog stroller who I actually named Bob.

Cutting out coupons (which I honestly forget to use or lose half of the time!)

Still quoting lines from the tv show "Friends" with my sister after all these years

Going to baseball games with Jeremy and now JJ

Trips to SC to see the family

Getting my daily news from Facebook

JJ saying "hey" and "Dada" and everything else about him!

A good Sonic "happy hour" drink with my Mom

Skype

And so much more...

Enough blogging for today. I think I hear JJ waking up. More about Jeremy and JJ in the near future.

Loving Life,

Jessica