Katie Anne's Big Announcement ...

 

 

That's right!

Katie Anne's going to be a big sister!

The newest Jones is due on August 23.

We're all really excited!

Katie Anne loved breaking the big news to Gigi and Granddad...

 

Greg and Jillian...

and Doc and VJ last weekend!

 

We called Carlton and Trisha in Moultrie to share the big news with them!  This week, we told our friends and coworkers.  We told all my extended family tonight at a family dinner, and now we can share the news with the rest of the world!

Hooray for a new little Jones!

Jillian's 22nd Birthday

Last night, we celebrated Jillian's birthday with a princess party!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Katie Anne picked the idea, and she went over to my parents' house early to help set up some special princess activities.  Our little family even dressed in pink to match the party theme! 
When we got there, not only did we all have princess crowns to wear, but the party started off with a royal craft!  We started with building princess castles out of sugar cubes, icing, and candies.  Everyone loved decorating their houses, and we had a fun time with our first family craft activity. 
After our houses were built, we ate a big Mexican feast. Jillian requested banana pudding for her birthday treat, but she did have a tiny cake for blowing out candles ... and Katie Anne was more than happy to eat the tiny cake for her! 
After dinner and desert, Jillian opened her presents - we gave her 3 shirts for student teaching, and my parents gave her two gift cards to buy more teaching clothes.  Then, we went into the living room to play the Wii, visit, and let all that delicious food settle.  Katie Anne got to watch her movie on my dad's tiny DVD player, and she was absolutely in heaven! 
It was such a fun princess party!

Greg's 25th Birthday

Last weekend, we celebrated my brother Greg's 25th birthday with a big dinner at my parents' house on Sunday night.  Katie Anne planned out a birthday theme for each person who has a birthday over the next few weeks, and for Greg, she picked Spongebob Squarepants! 

 

Greg got a movie and running wallet from us, money from Mamaw and Randy, and a cool automatic hammer from my parents. The birthday boy with some of his presents...

My dad lighting the candles

 

Happy Birthday to you!

My mom serving up dessert

 

Patrick - Get in my belly!

Silly party planner!

 

After our big dinner, we went into the living room for a lot of playing, chatting, and Wii.

Katie Anne and Mamaw on her new couch

 

Katie Anne playing Wii swordfighting - she is great at that game!

It was a fun Spongebob party, and we all had a great time!

Yard Working Saturday

This morning, we got outside and planted some bulbs that Saunders's mom had given us for Christmas.

I didn't get a picture of the package that Saunders planted - I think they were Allium bulbs.  He planted 9 of those along the bed at the end of the driveway.  Katie Anne and I planted 60 Muscari bulbs in the bed at the driveway's turn, and I planted 60 Crocus bulbs along the front of the house - I hope those get enough sun.  I've already got daffodils that bloom around the big tree in the front of the house - I planted those the winter I was pregnant with Katie Anne, and they bloom every spring.   Here's a picture of some of them blooming last February.

 

So, it does give my black-thumbed self at least a small amount of hope that I did correctly plant bulbs back in the winter of 2006, so I am optimistic that the bulbs we planted today will come up bright and sunny this spring, too!   Even if they don't, Katie Anne had a great time getting out in the chilly winter air and doing some yard work with us.  She really loved raking back the pinestraw and shoving the bulbs in the holes we'd dug.

Big grin beside our first dig site

Raking back the pinestraw

Busy little bee

All smiles while helping Mommy plant

 

Showing off her shovel

Running around, looking for a spot to plant the crocus bulbs

Driving around in her Gator

Helping Daddy wash off the shovels

Hopefully, I'll be able to post a before-and-after of this spot, filled with pretty flowers, in a few months!

Chuck E. Cheese's - Where a Kid Can Be a Kid!

Last weekend, after my biopsy on Friday, we spent several days cooped up in the house.  By Sunday morning, I was feeling a little better, and we were all suffering from a case of cabin fever.  So, we headed out for a little family outing.

It was a blustery, rainy, cold day - so all outdoor activities were out.  Saunders wanted us to go to a bouncy house downtown, but they didn't open until after lunch, so that was a no-go as well.  I had won a $50 gift card for Bugaboo Creek Steak House, so we decided to head down to Kennesaw and use it.  Since Bugaboo is right next to Chuck E. Cheese's , I suggested we let Katie Anne give Chuck E. Cheese's a whirl!  We have a few friends who've taken kids that are her same age there before, and they say their kids love it, so we thought we'd give it a try.

When we got there, it wasn't too crowded, so we bought a big cup of tokens and hit the toddler zone.  Katie Anne loved it!  She had a great time riding rides, playing games, and earning tickets.  It was definitely a fun family outing for relatively little cash - we bought $10 worth of tokens and still have lots left for another day of play.  It got a little more crowded after about 12:15, so we headed out to Bugaboo for a yummy lunch - Katie Anne loved the talking animals. 

Here are some pictures of the Chuck E. Cheese's fun!

Katie Anne's favorite thing to do - by far - was the horse race

Playing a frog game with Daddy

Having a ball!

Riding the carousel

More games and fun

 

 

Playing that Chuck E. Cheese classic - Whack a Mole!

Helping Daddy fly the jet fighter

Watching Chuck E. perform

Showing off her prizes - a light-up bracelet and Spongebob stickers!

Great Results!

I got great biopsy results back yesterday - my tumor is benign! Saunders and I were beyond relieved at yesterday's appointment. The tumor is a fibroadenoma with microcalcifications, and I may have to have it removed later, but it is not malignant - and that's what's important!  

Right now, the tumor is about the size of a golf ball, and it is pretty high on my left chest, so the doctor said it may continue to grow and become noticeable after a while.  So, I'd have to weigh the option of having a big growth poking out of my chest vs. the risks of surgery and a scar.  We'll think about that when the time comes, and for now we'll just continue to monitor everything with 3 month check-ups.  I go back again at the end of April for the next check.


Plus, in other good lump-related news, the mass on my collarbone has shrunk significantly.  It was the size of a large grape around Christmas, and now it has shrunk to the size of a green pea.  The oncologist was going to refer me to a neck specialist to get this mass cut out and biopsied, but as my breast specialist put it, "Bad tumors don't shrink."  So, since it has shrunk so significantly in the past few weeks, this lump is so close to my vein, and it would leave a noticeable scar in everyday clothes to remove it, I've just decided to leave it alone for now and see what it does.


So, I think I can put this medical drama behind and move on to more fun things!  Hooray!

Our Little Chef

Our little chef loves to cook in her kitchen! 
Here's what she loves to do...

First, she washes her hands - cleanliness first!

Then, she gets her oven mitt on - safety second!

Now, it's time to gather her supplies.

She gets some water in her measuring cup for a recipe.

Then, it's time to get her food out of the refrigerator.

She checks on her baking in the oven...

and grills up some sushi rolls.

A good chef respects the tools!  She loves her giant knife.

Now, the food's all done! Time to serve it to the hungry customers.

All done!  Time to clean up!