One lazy Saturday, we put together a care package to send to Uncle Clayton while he is deployed.  Mommy made chocolate chip double fudge brownies and chocolate chip cookies and Cason colored a few pictures.  We thought it might brighten Uncle Clayton's day to receive some goodies from home.  Love you & miss you bunches!!

...is where your HEART is!!!

And where your Wifey-pooh is too!!

He was originally supposed to get into Jacksonville tonight at 11 but his flight has been delayed.

He's due to arrive now on Friday morning at 10:45.

I'm sure Aunt Jessie (his new wifey-pooh) is sad but the good news is, he IS still coming home!

They're planning to come or a visit for a few days next weekend. They're going to Ohio to meet some of Jessie's family, and then stopping by to see us for a few days! AWESOME!!!

And thank you Aunt Jessie for taking on the hardest job of all -
Military Wife!!!

Love you both!!

....but just for a visit. Uncle Clayton is in the Army and is stationed in South Korea right now. He was home on leave to visit the family. We sure missed him!!

The main reason we were headed to Florida was to see Cason's "Uncle" Clayton. Now technically, Clayton and Cason are cousins, but since Clayton is so much older than the other cousins, and he's really more like one of the guys than the kids, we gave him the option to be called Uncle. He seems to like it! =o)

We met Uncle Clayton at the airport in Jacksonville on Saturday night (Mar 20) - Gamma & Gaga, Auntie Carol, Uncle Kevin, Clayton's best friend Ryan, Daddy, Mommy & Cason. We even made signs to greet him with when he got off the plane. It was late when he got in but we were all so happy to see him. We were happy to have him all to ourselves, at least for a few days, so that we could hang out and catch up (and of course, eat some of Gamma's famous Lemon Cream cheese pie).

LOVE YOU UNCLE CLAYTON!!!

Hey everybody... Hope all is well in your world. Mom, Dad and Lil Duck are doing great. We've been having fun tossing around names, and taking it easy... Hard to believe we're heading into weeks 27 and 28!! Little guy is just growing before our eyes!!

It's been a nice week or so at our new house. Getting settled, still unpacking a few stray boxes. Everything seems to be finding it's spot, which is great for Mom because she not a fan of clutter!! Wow, this baby is gonna ROCK her world!! hehehe. We've been getting comfy, enjoying nothing going on this week. No Dr's appointments, which is really rare, and finishing up what feels like the 50th load of laundry! Lil duck's closet is starting to get full of sweet, tiny, adorable clothes!! We even finished up our registry's at WalMart and Target. Think we still have a few things to look at at Babies R Us, but we're working on it!

We planned another trip back to Florida this week. David, CJ, Kaitlin and Bryan even headed down from Charlotte for this trip!!! Clayton was coming home from AIT in El Paso, and this is our last chance to see him and spend some time with him before he heads overseas to Korea for a year. Its sad that he'll be gone for so long, but he'll be in great hands. I'm not sure that we've told him enough how grateful we are for his service. Every day he serves makes our country that much safer. Thank you Clayton!! We also got to meet his friend Ryan who came to hang out with him for the weekend, and he's just precious!! He fits in great with the whole family. Hey guy!! =o)

On Saturday the 10th we went to our nephew Cole's 3rd birthday party and had so much fun!!! It was such a blast to hang out with the little guy - he seemed so excited to have everyone at his house to see him!! Danny & Holly had an inflatable water slide for the kids, and we had cornhole set up for the adults... we played outside, and inside, then ate WAY too much food, opened presents & ate lots of cake!!! It was great!!! Just what a 3 year old's birthday party should be!! He loved having the "Lightnin' Keen" birthday cake that his mom made.. She did a great job!!!

Later that day we stayed at Danny & Holly's and watched the Florida/LSU game. Mom was a bundle of nerves for this game for some reason - hey, I mean, it was a BIG game... Tim Tebow did start (as many thought he would) and played a heck of a game too... Gators win!!!! 13-3!! "Best thing about 6-0 is you get to play for 7-0!".... So sing a song for the Orange and Blue!!!

On Sunday the Jags played Seattle and we all chilled out at Gamma & Gaga's. That was fun because we definitely needed our rest from Saturday!! I am pretty sure we stayed in our pj's for quite a while that day!! The following day we loaded up the car (again) and hit the road (again) to head home to get back into our normal (somewhat) routine..... We hated to say goodbye to Clayton, that was really hard!!! But he's excited about going overseas, so we're doing our best, despite our sadness....

During week 28 we had another big Dr's appointment. On October 13th, we had a chance to have a 3D ultrasound and see our little boy close up and in person. He's just so beautiful & we just marvel at the wonders God has made! We ARE truly blessed!! We also met with Dr. Lipsitz and she seems to agree - he's awesome!! hahaha.. Ok, well she actually said that everything looks great, and we're doing very well in our pregnancy. We have the diabetes well controlled, and although he's measuring a little big, he's happy and healthy! YEA!!

We also went by Tiffanie's office and dropped off our Blood sugar readings for the week. She called later in the day to let us know that she and Dr. Weirum didn't see any reason for any changes in our insulin routine. So for now, we're just trucking right along.... Again, it's been a very uneventful, eventful journey!!! =o)

Saturday the 17th was Daddy's birthday, and he turned the big 39!!! YEA!! Unfortunately, he had to work ushering the Vandy/Georgia game, and was stuck at Vanderbilt from 8 am to 3 pm (and it was COLD!!!).. BOO!!! But when he got home he was able to watch the Florida/Arkansas game, eat up a bunch of homemade chili and cornbread and then chill out!! GO GATORS!!! We eeked out a win 23-20, adding another win to our quest for an undefeated season!!! Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar! All for the Gators, stand up and hollar!!! WOO HOO!!

The rest of the weekend was spent cleaning (ok, so it was nesting, but Mom just had to get it done) and starting on assembly of Lil Ducks crib and dresser. Hopefully we'll have it done very soon. His clothes and toys are ready to move in!!! hehehe

Our little guy has really started to hit a big growth spurt- by week 27 he weighs almost 2 pounds!!! Like a head of cauliflower and he's about 14 1/2 inches long - legs extended!!! Sure does explain the "foot in the ribs" thing!! hehehe. He's been sleeping and waking at regular intervals, and possibly sucking his fingers. His brain is really active now, but his lungs are still a little immature. And he's getting the hiccups more frequently now too. They actually tickle from time to time. He's a shot of what he possibly looks like at 27 weeks...

The 28th week was a real fun time for us, especially with our Dr visit. This is the start of our third trimester!!! HOLY COW!!! Little guy is still packing on weight, and is about 2 1/4 pound now!! He's also about 14.8 inches long from head to heel. He's blinking his eyes and actually has eyelashes now!! He may actually be able to see the light that filters through Mommy's belly!!! So cool!!! He's adding more body fat in prep for life on "the outside"!! You can see him (above) at 28 weeks in the 3D Ultrasound.

Couldn't you just sit there for hours on end and just look at him???? We did!!! It just keeps getting better and better!! God is so good!!

Ok, that's all for now, but we'll be back really soon with another update for everyone!!

Love, love, love,

Daddy, Mommy & Lil Duck

Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July. We know it's late but Lil Duck insisted we get the blog updated, so here we go......

Hi everyone - Lil Duck here!!! We had a great Week 13 & 14... I had my first road trip to Florida and man it was so fun!!! I had to talk the 'rents into coming home just so I could get some rest... Vacations are exhausting!!

We left Thursday after Mom & Dad got off work - around 1:00 - and hit the road! Grabbed some munchies - they're pretty much a must at all times now - and we were off and running... at least until Mom had to stop and pee - AGAIN!! The trip down wasn't too bad, but MAN Florida is a long way away.... I hope people come up here to visit us from time to time!! ;o)

Thursday night we got in kinda late but stopped by Yaya's house to say hi. She hugged Dad & Mom so tight I thought I just might pop out!! Kidding!! But it was good to finally meet her... she seems really sweet - I think she likes me and might spoil me a little!!! :o)

We spent the night at Gamma & Gaga's house - Auntie Carol was there too.... And all the doggies too... Oh they just sooooo love us!! hehehe... Gamma & Gaga are great, but I kinda knew that they would be - I've heard alot about them. Friday morning we went over to Uncle Danny & Aunt Holly's house for breakfast. My cousins Emma & Cole live there too!! We hung out for a little while and then Mom & I went shopping with Yaya for a little bit. Later we went to get lunch and some Gator gear, then back to the house. Mom wears out still pretty easily nowadays so she needed a break! Dad stayed in Macclenny with the rest of the family and hung out in the pool. Mom and I did finally make it in the pool later Friday night and that was way fun!!! We had a huge dinner of steak, potatoes, salad w/all the fixin's and ice cream!!! It was sooo yummy!

Emma is sooo fun to swim with!! She likes to splash around and make alot of noise and that's way fun for me!!! Mom likes to be lazy in the pool sometimes, but she loves her some "Emma time" too and we had a blast!! Emma even got to spend the night Friday night - she's a great sleepover buddy!!

Saturday - 4th of July - EVERYONE (it seemed like) was at Gamma & Gaga's!!! First we got up and had bacon & eggs - we eat that alot for breakfast in FLA... Gaga even made mom her very own 1/2 pot of coffee - now she thinks she's special! :o) Later that morning, Uncle Danny, Aunt Holly & Cole came over to start our "Day O' Fun!" Emma & Gaga (with Uncle Danny's help) changed the flag on the flagpole in the front yard. We all gathered around and watched and said the Pledge of Allegiance. Then we watched as Uncle Danny & Gaga refolded the old flag! That was really cool!!

Mom was missing my Uncle Clayton that day too... (For those that don't know, Uncle Clayton is actually a cousin, but he's one of "the guys" with Dad & Uncle Danny & Uncle Adam so that's why he's 'earned' his title. He's in the Army and right now is in AIT at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.) Mom said that saying the Pledge made her remember that Clayton wasn't there, and it made her a little weepy. But she perked up as the day went along, remembering how special he is to her and Dad!!

Emma & Cole were ready to get in the pool, so we all changed and jumped in!! It was starting to get really HOT so it was time for a cool dip! A little while later, Uncle Ronnie & Aunt Leslie & the group (my other cousins - Chase, Danielle, Victoria & Courtney) came to eat, swim and hang out. I really like them - they're all loads of fun!! We had lots of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, cookies, cokes, watermelon & ice cream... it's easy to get full over there!!

Dad, Uncle Danny & Uncle Ronnie went to Uncle Ronnie's house later to get the 4-wheelers (they have 2!!!) and brought them over to Gamma & Gaga's so that we could all ride around the circle. Dad almost freaked out when Mom said that she would ride one with him. (Side note, 2 things Mom does NOT do - ride Jet-ski's and ride 4 wheelers. She says that it's not so much that she's scared of them, but she's intimidated by them!! They're big, loud, moving machines!!!!) Auntie Carol made Mom promise to wear a helmet, but she threw caution to the wind. Actually Daddy said that he wouldn't do anything silly that might get them hurt, and she trusted him, so she decided not to wear one this time. We rode around for a little bit and MUCH to Dad's surprise, Mom even learned how to drive one!! Uncle Ronnie rode with her and showed her how & she was pretty good at it! She had so much fun & she said she would definitely ride one again!! Everyone rode 4 wheelers until it started to get dark, and by then we were all winding down.

Uncle Wade & Aunt Joetta showed up a little later after we were winding down from 4 wheeling... Aunt Joetta made a homemade Key Lime Pie that was out of this world yummy!! Saturday night, after we put up the 4 wheelers, we ate some more, and then hung out playing cornhole and swimming again and waiting for fireworks to start. We lit some sparklers and played with the kiddos for a while. Then it was time for Aunt Holly to take Cole home to get some shut-eye. Emma spent the night with us again and she's was so good... she's so fun!

Sunday we just kind of laid around doing nothing, mostly because we were tired and sunburned from the day before. We watched tv, and played with the kiddos, and just vegged out... Gaga made a turkey that was Out-of-this-world good and stuffing and all the yummy sides!!! Man, we eat GOOD on vacation!!! Dad ate as much as Mom that night!!! hahahaa - sorry Dad....

Later that night we met up with Uncle Ronnie & Aunt Leslie at a friends house over by the river and played cornhole and rode 4 wheelers again. We had so much fun!! Mom was really pooped by the end of the day though, and had to be the bad guy and cut the night short... It's always good to see them and hang out with them... I really like them!

Monday was alot like Sunday - more laziness and hanging out! But we're on vacation, right??!! We did manage to get showers and get cleaned up and go over to Yaya's house and take her out to lunch. We went to the new seafood place in Macclenny and it was really good. Of course, Mom had NO PROBLEM finishing off her meal - but Dad needed a hand with his.... hehehe......

Tuesday was a lazy day and it was the day before we headed back home. This is usually the day that mom gets really sad because she knows we have to leave soon. We finished up some laundry and went swimming one more time. It was "float time" for me & mom, just a chance to chill out - just us - in the pool... I think we floated for about 2 hours that day - it was great!! Even Yaya came over and we chilled out for a while, but mom was tuckered out and needed a nap. We helped Gamma & Gaga clean out the fridge of leftovers - or at least we tried!! I think they probably would have had a weeks worth of leftovers if we weren't there.... It was fun to help, that's for sure!! hahaha....

Wednesday we had to say goodbye and head home. Dad drove the whole way - he's a trooper!! We didn't have to stop that much this time, just to eat, pee and get gas (for the car)... hahaha... it sure made the trip home seem faster than the trip down. It was alot of fun to finally meet everyone. Auntie Carol was awesome, and I can't wait to see her again. Uncle Danny & Aunt Holly love me already, I can just tell!!! I can't wait for our next trip to see everyone again!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot - the week 13 & 14 updates... well, in week 13, I have fingerprints on my fingers now, and my body is FINALLY starting to catch up with my head - it's like a 1/3 of my body size now!! At 13 weeks I'm almost 3 inches long, about the size of a big shrimp and I weigh about an ounce. Here's my 13 week picture....



In week 14, I can make faces and squint and even suck my thumb!! My kidneys are making urine (ewww) but that's a good thing. It goes into the fluid around me. I'm about 3 1/2 inches long from head to butt and (all of a sudden) I'm the size of a lemon!!! (Can you believe that?!! so much for growing like a weed - I'm growing like produce!! hahhaa.) My arms are finally in proportion to my body, but my legs still have some catching up to do... I'm also growing that really fine baby downy hair... My feet are about a 1/2 inch long now and I'm much more flexible & active... I'm moving more, but Mom still hasn't felt anything yet.... Here's my week 14 picture...

OK, so I'm pooped now.. Mom has had to type all this, but she knows it's time to get me a snack and a little nap. Hope everyone enjoys the pictures of the fantastic time we had..... Be sure to check in for week 15 because we have a Dr's appointment that week!!!

Love you!!!
Lil Duck