Bowling with Beckmanns and Baby on Board

It's become a sort of tradition to celebrate Luke's birthday with a dinner and bowling outing with Beckmanns (Gma, Gpa, Ross, & Bridget).  This year we had dinner at Mr Pizza North, Luke's pick, then ended up bowling at Byron Lanes since the bowling alleys in Rochester were busy.

Luke had a harder time bowling this year since they didn't have any lanes available with bumpers, but he kept his spirits high and kept trying:) 

Family Pic

Comparing baby belly to my bowling ball:)

Pilots and Babies???

A conversation at our house tonight:

Jen:  "I cannot believe how fast the last two days at work have gone."

Brent:  "'The bad news is: time flies.  The good news is:  you're the pilot.'  I just heard that quote today."

Luke:  "Daddy's a pilot, but mommy isn't anymore because she has a baby in her tummy.  She can't do pilot stuff with a baby in her tummy."

I didn't realize that I had piloting restrictions while I was pregnant.  Good to know;)

Boy, Oh Boy, I'm Shopping for a Girl!

I just happened to return a shirt I had bought for Luke to Old Navy today....GOOD TIMING! 

I decided to check out the baby girl clearance and scored the following...

Guess how much these 9 items cost?

$18.75

I didn't check out all the kiddo clothes, but there were definitely major deals in the baby/toddler girls department.  I believe the sale is only one through today if you want to check it out!

Birthday Bonanza!

Birthday Bonanza Weekend!

Beginning the day at Chuck e Cheese excited for his long awaited Chuck e Cheese party 

(he had this planned in his head since this last February)

Not so sure what to think once he was singled out by the celebration.  

I couldn't even get him to smile for the picture.

My birthday cake substitute made of WalMart donut holes:)

Ending the day celebrating February birthdays with Pickers

Mekhi turned 5 on 2/9

Luke turned 6 of 2/16

Annie turns 10 on 2/28

The second of Luke's birthday cake substitutes made of Pillsbury Sugar Cookie dough and decorated to Luke's liking:)

Love this one

Getting the full February birthday effect by adding Audra, birthday on 2/8

Cousin thank you hugs for lovely gifts:)

Only the Beginning...

After sorting through Luke's new born clothes, we have the beginnings of a wardrobe for our daughter who will be joining us in July.  I'm sure her closet with become far more pink than this more gender neutral collection, but it's a start:)

We also got some adorable outfits as gifts this weekend from family and friends excited to meet our little girl.

Let the shopping begin:)

Why? Because I Love Him...

Why am I posting pictures of trash on our blog?  

Because finding these items is nearly a daily occurrence at our house.

I could get disgruntled finding them on the end table regularly, 

but, instead, I see them as reminders of my hubby when he is gone at work 

and thinking of his vices makes me smile:)

(These are his typical evening snacks and he has a habit of dosing off watching TV and forgets to clean up on his way to bed:))

Our Growing 6 Year Old

Wow!  Our boy has really grown this past year!  

It might be hard to read, but Luke has grown 3 inches since his 5th birthday 

and about 1.5 inches since this fall!

Amazing!

Second Generation Baller

I finally caught Luke on video doing his recent favorite thing:  shooting hoops in the basement.  Typically he's playing both sides of a game and the two teams playing are Duke and Michigan.  We love watching him to into his imaginary world:)  Enjoy!  (You may have to listen closely to hear his dialogue during the game.)

I've also got a video of Luke shooting hoops on the same basket when he was two years old.  I'd love to share it on here, but it's nine minutes long and I'm still trying to figure out video editing:)

February 16, 2012

Greeted our six year old boy this morning with his current favorite candy...

Says "U R 6" not "URG":)

Got ready for our ultrasound/OB appointment...

Spent an hour of quality time with our baby GIRL via ultrasound...

Bought our first baby GIRL item...

Had birthday brunch with the birthday man...

Got Luke's birthday sugar cookie cake ready to share with his class at school...

I think I'm ready for a nap after all of this excitement and it's only Noon!

This Week 2006

I realized this weekend that this week in February 2012 is the same as the week I had Luke in February 2006.  Meaning the days of the week are the same dates.  It's interesting thinking back on the week he was born in 2006 while awaiting our ultrasound on Thursday, Luke's 6th birthday, to find out if we're having a boy or girl. 

In 2006, we...

• Arrived at the hospital Monday evening to begin induction
• Tuesday, Valentine's Day, was Luke's due date
• We were ecstatic to finally meet our sweet Lukey Thursday morning at 6:35 a.m.
• By the following Monday, we were able to return home as a family.  I remember the house feeling like a completely different place, because we were a completely different family now having Luke in our arms.  I also remember our dog being in such shock that we actually returned after a week that he peed a lake right in the middle of the living room:)  Aaahhhh, the memories;)

Anyway, this reminiscing has me pondering what this week in 2012 will hold for us.  Will we learn that our house will be evenly distributed with testosterone and estrogen?  Or, will I be adding another love of my life to my commonly used phrase: "my boys"? 

I'm getting antsy to know!!!

2011 Bucket List

Found another post I started probably the beginning of 2011 that I never finished or posted...I'm proud to say I accomplished all but one...the dreaded organization of recipes.  I think that may always haunt me:(

• Organize Recipes - continuing with my plan to create a book of our family approved recipes and a separate binder of recipes I'd like to try


• Get involved in Luke's new school: Gibbs Elementary


• Share birthday outings with our nieces and nephews on their birthdays - Already enjoyed a day at the Science Museum of Minnesota with Mekhi and an afternoon at Bounce World with Annie in February!


• Tackle more home projects (i.e. repainting main living space, repainting trim on front of house, backyard work, etc)

Top 30

Found this post from October that I never published...

In honor of turning 30 last week, I thought I'd do a little reminiscing.  So, here's my Top 30 of my 20s (in no particular order):

1. Graduated with my two year Associates degree from Minnesota Bible College (now Crossroads College) - Spring 2002
2. "Moved away" from home for the first time to go to school at University of Wisconsin River Falls - Fall 2002
3. Said "Yes" to Brent's marriage proposal (21st birthday gift - October 2002)
4. Said "I Do" to become Mrs. Jen Picker (July 26, 2003)
5. Graduated with my Bachelors degree from Winona State University, without every stepping foot on campus I might add - May 2009 (notice I didn't call this my "four year degree" since it took a little longer;))
6. Known the joy of four pregnancies
7. Blessed with the incredible opportunity of carrying our son for a full nine months of pregnancy
8. Met the second love of my life, Luke Gabriel Picker (February 16, 2006)
9. Battled my undiagnosed life-long demon of anxiety and found better ways to live and cope 
10. Became a homeowner: 5528 51 Street NW
11. Battled a decade-long struggle with weight and achieved a number on the scale that I never thought I'd see again -- thank you Weight Watchers!
12. Stood next to my little sister as she married the love of her life
13. Known the excitement of becoming an aunt, first by marriage and then awaiting the calls from labor and delivery
14. Experienced the everyday blessings of wifehood and motherhood
15. Battled the unidentified opponent(s) of infertility
16. Loved
17. Lost
18. Learned
19. Grown
20. Found perspective
21. Changed perspectives
22. Realized I can run more than a mile and that I feel really good when I make running/exercise a habit
23. Learned the pain and helplessness of seeing a parent lying in a hospital bed
24. As a result of of #23, learned what a partially hydrogenated oil is and to avoid them!
25. Said "yes" to opportunities I didn't think I could handle
26. Learned that relationships take a lot of work
27. Learned to accept myself as the introvert that I am
28. Met many amazing people along the way
29. Learned that the job title doesn't mean as much as finding a good balance between family and work
30. Felt overflowing pride and love as a wife and mother

Ten years ago, I was turning 20 years old while beginning my second year of college at Minnesota Bible College (now Crossroads College), living on campus in a town home with some lovely roommates, dating one Mr. Brent Picker, and trying to "plan" for what lay ahead in life.

My guess is that the decade of our twenties is filled with the most change and growth, but I guess we'll see:)

Checking In

Last week Brent and I were looking back on our first blog of Luke's first four years.  It was so precious to remember his very early days and to remind me of some of the realities of having a new baby in the house.  Reading our old blog also made me realize that I do most of my successful documenting of life on our blog, which leads me back to post today:)  Unfortunately I did not start blogging while I was pregnant with Luke, but I have the opportunity to do so with this pregnancy!

This past week I've been feeling baby move much more.  I had been feeling it sporadically since around the  new year, but it felt like an "accidental" bumps rather than a "hey, I'm kind of snug in here and it's hard to stretch out" bumps.  This week I've been noticing it more often, still not a lot of bumps in a row, but they are feeling more prominent.  The other night when I was reading, I had my hand on my stomach and got to feel a kick from the inside and outside for the first time!  We keep telling Luke that it won't be long before he can feel baby moving too:) 

Speaking of Luke, he is taking a very active role in this pregnancy.  He likes to give me hugs while we're both standing and tells me he is giving me and baby a hug (his head hits about the height of my baby belly).  He's also regularly noticing my belly and saying things about it getting bigger or making comments about "when my baby belly gets bigger, then (insert something that will be more difficult or different to do)".  He asks each week how old the baby is (how many weeks) and likes for us to read the updates from the Mayo Pregnancy book.  Last night, Brent and Luke were both so kind as to let me go to bed at 7:30pm when I simply couldn't go on.  We are blessed with a boy who gets his caring, considerate, loving personality from his daddy:)  We have been thoroughly enjoying this pregnancy as a family:) 

I'll blog again soon with some updates on Luke not related to pregnancy, but for now I have to go pick him up from school!