5 Year Anniversary, 15 Weeks Prego, and Other Randomness

March 13 marked our 5 year anniversary. We had originally planned to go on a second honeymoon for this anniversary, but because of the economy and other factors, we decided it wasn't the best move for us. Both of us were disappointed, but felt good about our decision. We'll have plenty more anniversaries to come! So, being the good deals, super-sleuthing girl that I am, I decided to work my magic. I found an 800 sq. ft. suite in downtown Denver (truly, the heart of downtown on a fun outdoor mall) for $89/night. Uh, that was a better deal than I was expecting! So, I arranged a babysitter for the boys and 3 days later, surprised Tom, who had just got home from a LONG day at work, by telling him to get in the car and that we'd be back tomorrow. I didn't tell him where we were going or what we were doing. The boys were gone, our bags were packed and loaded, and we were off! It was SO hard to keep it a secret from him, but I knew that it was something we both needed, even if only for a night. The suite was AMAZING (I forgot my camera), we had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and then walked around downtown for a little while. The hotel serves a complimentary breakfast buffet and it was so nice to just wake up, take our time getting ready, and then go eat breakfast without anyone needing something from either one of us. We got back into town at 10:30-ish and were ready to see the boys. It was the first time I had left Payton overnight and was so worried! I totally trusted our sitter and had no doubt that he was doing fine. It was just the mommy in me that wanted my babies back! ;) It was definately a wonderful anniversary.

Yesterday was my 15 week mark. Yay! I actually can't believe how much faster this pregnancy has gone than with Payton. It could be because I spend my time chasing around Payton, as well as the 3 other daycare kids I'm watch, or maybe just because I'm not ready for this second baby and so it's not top on my priority list's of "thoughts for the day". Either way, baby is doing great and bouncing all around in there. I've felt s/he some, but not constant (yet). We heard the heartbeat at our 13 week appointment and it's always such an amazing sound! I don't think it ever get's old!

Payton reached a major milestone this last week. After reaching 'only' 17 months old, he's FINALLY walking! It's just so adorable to watch the 'drunken stroll' day after day. He would rather walk with shoes off, but seems to do okay with them on as well. It's been BEAUTIFUL here this week, so on Saturday Tom decided to take him outside to walk around for the first time. He's VERY much a texture kid and doesn't like the feeling of grass, so I wasn't sure how it was going to go. Much to my surprise, after having some bonding time playing with the grass in his fingers, he decided it was okay. I took some pictures of him playing, but could never really get him to look at me. Overall, he enjoyed it and I'm sure we'll do it again. He learned some new words as well: bonk/bonkie, Sponge Bob (his favorite show--sounds more like "Bo-Bob" when he says it), cozy (his blankie), daddy (as opposed to da-da), no-no-no while he shakes his head side to side, and his uh-oh has cleared up to an acutal "uh-oh" and not "oh-oh".

Speaking of weather... March is, on average, the snowiest month of the year here in Colorado. So far? We've had less than an 1", adding to the 17" we've had since our first snow in October/November. We should be in the 30"+ range by now. So either we're going to have a very snowy last few weeks of March OR it's going to be a dry summer. Either way, I think most of Colorado has been enjoying the slightly breezy 70* days recently. I checked the weather this morning, and that's supposed to last thru Saturday, which just makes me so happy. We're so ready for Spring! Garage sales, nice weather, change in wardrobes (yeah, not really my favorite thing to do, but Honour's SO ready to wear shorts!), pretty flowers, green grass... the list goes on!

Here's a few pictures from the last few weeks. I have to admit... I wasn't so good with keeping the camera handy, so there's not much variety this time. :)

14 Weeks

Playing Outside

A Quick Catch Up...

Here's a quick catch-up on our lives this year. January started off with a big surprise. Rachael found out she was pregnant on January 2nd. Since we tried for so long with Payton and Rachael went on hormones to finally conceive, you can imagine our shock as we weren't even trying (yet)! Our surprise quickly turned into excitement as we knew this was God's doing, not ours.

Payton turned 15 months old in January and although he's still not walking, he LOVES to talk just like his brother. He says: hi, momma, dadda, bubba (Honour), doggie, book, Becca (our dog), yuck and yuckie, baby, ball, eat, bottle, all done and more (complete with sign launguage to accompany the word), and is attempting belly button (has yet to really get it but it's his FAVORITE body part right now--on everyone and anyone). It's SO cute when they start talking! He's our little parrot and has started imitating everything we say--even if it's just the syllables, not the sounds. He's a joy to have around and such a great baby. We are so blessed.

Honour is doing great. He's in 3rd grade now and has really excelled in his school work this year. We've had our moments, but his heart is to do what's right and we see him learning what right vs. wrong choices are with friends, school, homework, free time, etc... What an amazing thing to watch! Children learn and grow so quickly and we are so honored to have these 2 wonderful boys in our lives.

Tom is doing well. In December, we found him without a job overnight and, as stressed as we were, we knew God would take care of us. He is so faithful to always meet our needs. Tom ended up finding a job (working for the same company Rachael's brother does installing Comcast cable) about 5 days after his job had ended and although it's not his dream job, he's learning a lot and enjoys what he does (most days). We are blessed in this economy for him to have a job and are continually thankful for the provision we have.

Rachael is still doing daycare and enjoys it most days. The first trimester has really been different (and somewhat harder) this time so some days were harder than others, but she's starting to feel much better as she enters her 13th week. She's looking forward to feeling the second trimester "glow" and energy again. It's right around the corner, which is a huge relief for our whole family. In March of 2008, Rachael began a long process of starting her own business selling unique nursing covers for nursing moms. The actual nursing cover idea wasn't hers, but she made some LARGE improvements to one she had been given, thus birthing the Bumble Cover. She has found that she truly has a passion to see other moms have the freedom to nurse where they need to while enabling those moms to have the discreetness they desire, as that was her main struggle while nursing Payton. It's been such a learning adventure for us all, but one that we are glad we made. Rachael hopes to be able to grow her business this year more last thru her website (www.bumblecover.com) as well as online children's boutiques. She is currently sending out gift baskets to celebrities such as Jennifer Garner and Tori Spelling and has some upcoming opportunities that could greatly increase her product recognition. It's an exciting time in the Stone household and updates will be coming soon!


Playing in the Laundry Basket


12 Weeks Prego!


Family picture at Thanksgiving


Being Brothers


So Innocent!

Here are a few photos of Rachael's Creation!