December 2.0

Here are some more December photos along with our shots from Christmas in Wenatchee.

December 2.0

December so far

Here are some shots from December so far:

December

Boys

While Will was on the floor doing this (by the way, he was lying flat and somehow got himself onto his side. This kid is crazy strong!). James was doing this.


I love these boys.

Yesterday

More photos of the kiddos.

12.2

Week 3 with Will

I'm tired and I can hear my big boy waking up from his nap so I don't have time to write much but I thought I'd leave you with a few pictures from the last week or so.

We've only just begun this new little family and yet I really can't remember or imagine life without Will. The song "Till There Was You" keeps running through my mind and consequently I've found myself singing what lyrics I know of this song to my sweet little one when he sleeps in my arms.

There were bells on the hill
But I never heard them ringing,
No, I never heard them at all
Till there was you.

There were birds in the sky
But I never saw them winging
No, I never saw them at all
Till there was you.

Week 3

Will's first week home

Will's first week home

Will meets the friends

Will meets the friends

NOTE: This album will grow as more friends drop by to meet Baby Will. Check back soon!

Will meets the extended family

Will meets the extended family

Will meets Mom, Dad, and big brother James

Will meets Mom, Dad, and big brother James

William Levi Singletary

Many of you have already heard via Facebook, but here is the official Singletary Blog announcement: Our son has arrived!


William Levi Singletary was born at 9:25am on Saturday, November 14, 2009. Baby Will weighed in at a whopping 10lbs 5oz (4.68kg for our European readers)!

Annie is recovering well from surgery and Will is eating, sleeping, and pooping...a lot!

Soon to follow:

• Photos, photos, and more photos
• Videos
• Full explanation of Will's name

Check back soon!

Random Pictures

Here are some random pictures we've taken recently.

More November Shots

Halloween

Here are some pictures of our little lion on Halloween.

Halloween

Pumpkin Patch!

Saturday was family day at the pumpkin patch!

We met up with a bunch of our friends at Jubilee Farm in Carnation. A good time was had by all, especially James. While he did enjoy the pumpkin patch, our little man was mostly enamored of the tractors. His second-cousin, Kevin, would be proud...as was his dad. After all, you don't hear many country songs about squash. Tractors...heck, I can think of three off the top of my head.

Anyway, here are some photos from our adventure.

Enjoy,
Dad Singletary

2009.10.24 - Jubilee Farm

A moment in time.

My sweet friend Marcy took some photos recently of Ryan, James and me to capture this time in our life on film. Here are the photos, enjoy.

PGP

Babada and other things I love about my James

James is now 18 months and so much fun. He has about a hundred words and I feel like everyday he's learning and doing new things. He loves garbage trucks, pretzels, holding mommy and daddy's hands when we drive in the car and he adores babies....but he's still learning how to be gentle when he hugs and kisses them.

James also loves his babada, which is what he calls his Jesus Storybook Bible, and lately he's taken to carrying it around the house and occasionally plopping down to flip through the pages or asking someone to read it to him. I love this and I pray that his love for the bible will continue for the rest of his life.

Another one of James' new loves is Elmo, which is hilarious since he's never actually seen Sesame Street. So now our life is full of the little red monster along with a small Elmo doll that James now sleeps with at night...I'll have to get a picture of this one night, it's really adorable.

Speaking of pictures, we finally bought a new camera (yes our old camera is officially toast) so here are a few shots of the boy to tide you over until we get back in the swing of things.

October 2009

Coming soon...

We're buying a new camera (hopefully this week) so I promise there will be some new pictures coming soon. Sorry for the delay but we had hoped that we'd be able to revive our old one....we were wrong.

Stay tuned.

Baby Boy #2

Baby boy #2 is on his way and will making his grand entrance into the world on November 14th at 9:00am...or at least that's when we are scheduled to be at the hospital.

With less than two months until we get to meet our son I am finding myself overcome with emotion. Just today, after putting James down for a nap I started thinking about our new little man (as he kicked and wiggled in my tummy) and I couldn't hold back the tears. I am just so excited to have another son. A whole new person with his own personality, smile, giggle, smell and heart.

When I first found out I was pregnant with this little man I was excited but I wondered how I would love another child the way I love James. Today that has completely changed and I feel foolish for ever having that thought. I already love our littlest man more than I can put into words and I praise the Lord for giving us this unexpected little blessing. Just as my mom used to say about me when I was little (I was also an unexpected blessing) I never knew how much I needed this little guy until God brought him into our family and now I can't imagine our family without him.

I remember a woman that I know talking about children awhile back and how she feels like God gives us a whole new heart for each of our children as they come along. She talked about how you don't think you will have enough love or enough room in your heart for a new baby so God just gives you another heart that can be filled up for that new little blessing. I finally get this and I can't wait to meet him.....and tell you all his name.

What's up?

Well the camera died this weekend so we might not have any photographic updates for awhile, sorry grandmas. But I can tell you what we're up to.

I am a little less than two months away from being a mommy of two little men (on the outside)and I can't wait. My belly has swollen to the point where it's much harder to get in and out of bed (which has to happen a lot due to my pregnancy bladder) and I'm noticing that I cry a lot easier these days (poor Ryan). The baby and I are both doing really well and it would seem that we have a very strong little man on our hands; so I'm gearing up for another newborn that is stronger than me.

James is also growing like crazy. He is taller and taller every day and a little sweeter as well. Of course he's picked up a few bad habits here and there (biting and screaming to name a couple) but we're trying to reign him in with some good old fashion discipline and of course a lot of prayer.

James has become an excellent cuddler as well. I've found that if I lie on the floor these days he can't help himself, after a few minutes of watching me from afar he has to come on over and snuggle up next to me, I love this.

Another new development is his vocabulary, he now knows more words than I can count and it's just getting bigger. Every day he hears some new word or perhaps he finally gets up the courage to try it on for size, so I am constantly hearing the sweet sound of my young sons voice telling me about the world. Amazing. He's also very curious and wants to know what everything is so we spend a lot of the day with him pointing to things where ever we are and me telling him the name...over and over again. :-)

On to the man of the house. Ryan is still working hard every day for our family and I can't tell you how proud I am of him as a husband, father and worker. In the morning when he leaves for work James and I pray for Daddy's day and that he would glorify God through his work, his words and his actions. Now I know he is far from perfect, but I really am proud of the man he has become and the man that God is working him out to be.

So there you have it, the cuddly little man, the crazy pregnant girl and the hard working, hard loving man of the house.

More pictures...including a belly shot.

I swear I'll try to actually write out an update or something soon but for now I've at least got some pictures to post.

2009-09-11

Day at the Zoo

This morning we drove into Seattle and spent the day at the zoo. James loves animals almost as much as he loves cars and trucks these days (he is a true boy) so we thought it would be fun for him and let's be honest, fun for us too. Here are some pictures from our day.

2009-09-05 Zoo Day

The Latest and Greatest

Here are some pictures of James that I've taken recently and just haven't gotten around to posting, enjoy!

2009-08-28 Random James Pics

Out Numbered

I'm already out numbered in our house but today it occurred to me that with another boy in the works I am seriously out numbered.....and I kind of love it.

I do hope to have a little girl one day but right now my heart is in a place where I'm ok with a house full of boys. Actually I'm more than ok with it, I'm excited for it. I sometimes think about the future and what our house will look like if it is filled to the brim with handsome young men and I can't wait.

I get excited for my boys that Ryan is their daddy, that he is the earthly example that they have of a father. I get excited thinking about what they'll do, who they'll become and that I get to be along for the ride. I get excited for the wives that they might have one day and I pray for them. I pray that their wives will love Jesus and that their marriages will be founded on Him. I pray that I will love these young women and they me, and I pray that their babies will know and love the Lord.

Boys are such a blessing and although I'm tired tonight after a long day of seemingly endless discipline all I can think about is how much I love my boys, how I got more wet kisses today than I can count, how James called out "Mama, Mama, Mama" when he woke up from his nap and how his face lit up with joy when he heard Ryan come home from work.

Thank you Jesus for my boys and if it's your will, keep 'em coming.

Flour Boy

This morning I made muffins and thought it would be fun to let James "help" me cook. Here are some pictures from our flour filled morning. James got his very own bowl of flour and some cooking utensils, it was a mess but it sure was fun!

Now we're off to take a shower......he has flour everywhere.

Flour Boy

Blueberry Picking

Aren't these guys good looking?

We went blueberry picking on Sunday after church and got 12 lbs of the amazing blue treats. James thought picking the blueberries was fun but he prefered squishing the berries in his hand a whole lot more.

24 Weeks

I am just about 24 weeks pregnant and Seattle is having a heat wave, ugh! We had a record high today of something like 104 degrees and no one has AC, yikes. So we're trying to stay cool as best we can and not let the heat drive this preggo too crazy

Here's a belly update photo and one of the Singletarys trying to stay cool at a friend's lake house.

James giving his baby brother a kiss.

Trying to stay cool in the lake.

Maui Pics

Here are our photos from Hawaii.You will notice that I have edited out all of the beach shots of myself.....or at least those where I'm in a bathing suit. Trust me people, this is for your own protection.

Enjoy!

Hawaiii

And we're back!

My two week blog hiatus is officially over. We're back from a week in California and then another week in Maui, wow!

Both trips were a jumble of extreme fun and wonderful time with family as well as craziness and chaos with the little man. Some plane trips were great, while others actually brought me to tears for fear that they would never end. But we made it back safe and sound.

In the past two weeks I've learned that I'm a little more of a homebody than I thought I was but I'm ok with that. I've also learned that babies and sand are an amazing combination and I love to watch my son play endlessly with the little granules of sandy goodness. Thanks for the sand God!

We have lots of pictures and I'm sure lots of stories but the camera is with Ryan at work right now and I'm a little foggy from a nap so story telling is out. What I can say is that I am so very thankful to my family who made both of these trips possible (especially my sister and her incredible husband for whisking us away to Maui!) and thank you to my husband who takes such good care of me.

Since I don't have vacation photos yet here are a few of James and his buddy Danny that I meant to post before we left two weeks ago:

J&D

Father's Day

Here are some pictures from Father's Day with Nana and Papa.....also a few at the end that snuck their way into my Father's Day folder but are cute.

Father's Day

Pictures of #2

Here's a link to our ultrasound pictures of baby #2, check out the adorable profile shots. I love him.

Sick Boy

Things I like about James being sick:

1) Lots of cuddles

2) He wants his mama all the time...lately he's been more of an independent little guy but when he's not feeling well it's all mama, all the time.

3) Kisses out of nowhere and unprompted hugs that last for minutes on end.

4) James' sick face....it sounds funny but when he's sick he has this pitiful little puffy faced look about him that makes my heart melt, poor baby.

Things I don't like about James being sick:

1) That James is sick. I hate knowing that he doesn't feel well and that there's nothing I can really do to take away the pain. I finally understand what she meant when my Mom used to tell me that she wished she could be sick instead of me when I was little.

2) His random crying fits that last for 20 minutes and have no discernible cure.

3) No sleep! Getting up every two hours at night with a crying boy who can't be soothed.

4) Fevers! I hate it when James has a fever. Fever's scare me and make my little boy act like a zombie, I hate them.

So we've been battling what turned out to be a throat infection (not strep, thank goodness, just a sore throat) and a fever for the past few days but it looks like James is finally on the mend. After two bad nights of sleep and two hard feverish days James is sleeping through the night again and appears to be back to his normal self. I'm looking forward to a nice weekend with a happy boy.

It's a boy!

Well it's official, we are a family of boys...for now anyway. We had our ultrasound this morning and got to see our new little guy and all his parts. Baby #2 appears to be healthy and active with a big ole tummy just like his big brother James.

We don't have a name yet, although we probably won't share that until #2 arrives, but we're overjoyed at the news of another son.

I feel so honored that the Lord has given us another little man to raise and shepherd. I pray that this little guy will grow to be a mighty man of God who follows Jesus and serves others before himself. I pray that he grows to be a strong but humble man and a wonderful father just like his own Daddy.

So there you have it, we are a boy household for sure, bring on the trucks, swords and army men!

Baby

James is asleep and I am anxiously awaiting our doctor's appt this morning where we get to see our new little miracle on screen and hopefully find out if we have another sweet boy on our hands or a little beauty of a girl.

It's quiet in our house, Ryan is off at work and all I can hear is a bird outside my window and the subtle humming of my computer. Everything is very still, sort of like in a movie when you know something really big is about to happen but for the moment the screen is silent and the scene is still. That's how I feel. Something really big is about to happen, we're about to meet our newest child, our newest gift from the Lord, but in this moment just stillness.

I know I am pregnant, I can look down and see my growing belly and feel the slight aches and pains that come with my changing form but it dawned on me yesterday at church that I still don't really believe it. I can't really comprehend that our little three person family is going to look different in just a few months. I am overjoyed of course, in fact every time I see a baby now I feel warm inside knowing I will have another one soon, but a piece of me doesn't fully understand.

Also, if I am totally honest, a tiny part of me is a little bit sad...but just a tiny part. James has been my sidekick for the past 15 months and we have become pretty used to our routine and our dynamic, and that's all about to change. Although I couldn't imagine James being an only child, nor would I want to only have one child, I am a little sad that our alone time is about to end.

But, as with everything in life, things have to change and really what a wonderful change, right?! A new baby, boy or girl, is an amazing gift. I can already see the excitement in Ryan's eyes when we talk about holding our newest little one (he loves babies) and remember how precious it was to hold and cuddle James at that age. I also can't wait to see James as a big brother and watch our family grow and change. We are all going to learn a lot from this new baby and I can't wait to see what that looks like.

So, I praise Jesus for our new little one and anxiously await his or her arrival into our lives. I'll try to post this afternoon as well to let you all know what kind of baby we have this time around but I'm putting my money on another sweet boy.

Our morning told through the eyes of James

*Wake up, look around the room 6:45 am *

"Da da da, roaaaar, tttttt, chchchchchch...." Maybe I'll roll around a bit and make some more noise so they'll come get me.

*Mom enters the room 6:50 am*

What's that noise, someone just turned off my fan! Oh it's the yellow haired Dada. *Big smile* I like her.

*Diaper change*

Hey crazy lady, what are you doing taking off my pants!

Whoa there's a lion on my pants! "ROOOOAAAR!" Oh and a monkey! "AHH AHHH AHH."

Hey now that you've taken the diaper off I feel kind of free. Oh yeah, and there's that thing down there that's so fun to grab...wait no, don't put the diaper back on, ahhhhhhh, you always ruin my fun.

What's that, oh yeah it's the dark haired Dada. *Big smile* I like him.

*Later in the morning after Ryan left for work*

Why does the yellow haired Dada keep trying to get me to call her Mama, is she crazy, her name's Dada?

Annie: "James can you say Ma Ma? MMMMAAAA, MMMMAAA."

James: "Dada."

Annie: "Ugh, well you'll get it some day."

*Later in the morning while I vacuum.*

What is she doing? Ooooohhhhh she has that fun red machine that makes all the noise, I love that thing....and I'm also kind of terrified of it.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh (high pitched scream)." It got too close to me.

Now what's that thing doing? Oh no it's eating all the cheerios that I specifically left on the floor for later, hey you big bully I was going to eat those!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh (another high pitched scream)."

Well I'm going to go play in the other room if that's how things are going to be. Harrumph.

*And that's been our morning told through the eyes of James.*

Ball Fun

Sorry for the blog silence folks, life has been good but busy. I'll try to post a substantial update on our little family in a day or two but for now here's a video of our little guy to tide you over.

So Cute

James and I visited the Connolly family earlier this week to see their new baby boy and James had a fabulous time playing Elias. Here are a few shots of them hugging.

James keeps on learning

Smarty pants.

Washington Husky Boy

Here's James in his UW Husky gear.

Safety Boy

I just taught this to James. Safety first!

Ice Cream

Here's a video we shot over mother's day weekend of James having his first ice cream cone.

14 Weeks

So this time around (with this baby) I am going to try to do a better job of posting pictures of my belly so you can all see the progress of our newest little miracle. I'm officially showing now, although my pants have been tight for some time, so here's a shot of my belly at 14 weeks.

And just for fun here's a shot of James today at the end of lunch.

Eating Boy

Here's James' first attempt at using a spoon.

Please pray for our sweet friends

We have found amazing friends in Shawn and Kalle Stinson and right now they need your prayers.

Click here to read about their precious baby boys.

Animal Noises

Practicing our animal noises.

Daddy Time

I had a baby shower to go to on Saturday so James and Daddy had an afternoon all to themselves. This is what goes on when I'm not around.

What's happening lately

We have had a fun week. The munchkin has really taken to this walking thing and he's starting to be a little more vocal which has been unexpected but really cool at the same time.

To date James can say the following things:

• All done (which sounds like ada)
• Dada
• Hi (he rarely says this word because he prefers waving but I've heard it a few times)
• Nana (this is more of a sounds he makes however one of his grandmas is called Nana so I'm hoping he'll make the connection soon and know what he's saying.)
• Roar (when we ask him what a lion says, he also makes a monkey noise when we ask what a monkey says but I'm not sure how to spell that one)
• Ba ba (when asked what a sheep says)

and

• Mama* This one gets an asterisk because he has actually said this word a number of times but he doesn't know what it means. In fact Ryan figured out earlier this week that James thinks my name is Dada too, ugh! So I'm trying to retrain him...he'll get this one day, right?

In other news, I got laid off last week so I am unemployed for at least two months at the end of which my company says they will (probably) bring me back at a different pay rate and with fewer duties. Ryan and I aren't worried, we are just continuing to trust in the Lord and His plan for us however we would appreciate your prayers.

More Walking

As of this morning James knows how to stand up without holding onto anything, here's proof.

Burrito Boy

Walking Boy

Proof that James will soon be a walker.

Walking to Daddy

Walking to Mommy

A few reasons....

...why I love our church. In no particular order.

1) Child Care: No matter who is working in the nursery, they always remember James and a few of them get really excited when they see that he's coming in. I love that these ladies love our son.

2) Relationships: Ryan and I have made some of the deepest friendships of our lives with people who love and serve Jesus at this church.

3) Community: Unless we are called to move somewhere else, our children will grow up with a community of loving, Godly people who have the same values that we do and are raising their children as such.

4) Teaching: The teaching is Jesus centered and does not stray from scripture. Our pastors preach and teach the truth of the bible so that we can all grow closer to Jesus and glorify God.

5) JESUS: Our pastors aren't afraid of talking about sin, Satan and hell. We are confronted on a weekly basis with the fact that we are all sinners and none of us are worthy of entering the kingdom of God. We are taught, as the bible very clearly states, that the ONLY way to heaven is through belief in Jesus Christ and that there is a real hell for those who don't.

That's all, we just got back from church and I am just so thankful for Jesus right now and what he did for me, that he saved me from my self and from hell, that I had to share.

Baby Sing @ 10 Weeks

Check out our first images of Baby Sing!

3.5cm (1-3/8") from "crown to rump."

We love you already, Lil' Monster. Now stop making your Mommy sick!

~Dad

Baby Sing

We had our first ultrasound today for baby #2 and everything looks great. His/Her heartbeat seems to be good and strong and he/she appears to be a healthy little lamb. Also, according to the doctor I am in fact 10 weeks pregnant and this little bugger is due one November 20th.....but will probably be coming out a little earlier because I'll be having a c-section.

Here's what James thinks about the new baby.

Randomness

Did you know that the word fetus, which I generally don't like the sound of, means "little one"...I like this word a lot more now that I know this tidbit.

Speaking of our little one, I may be farther along than I thought. I have finally secured a doctor and an appointment with said doctor and we go in on Thursday to hear our little one's heartbeat, yeah! I thought, and still kind of do think, that I was 8 weeks pregnant but the nurse seems to think I am 10!!!!! Which would explain why I have been feeling a lot less morning sick this week but I still don't believe it. Oh well, the Dr will figure all that stuff out.

As I mentioned the morning sickness seems to have tapered off a bit (thank you Lord!) but now I've got this nasty cold that took ahold of me over night. This morning my wonderful husband actually had to stay home from work (after a tear filled request from his ailing wife) because I couldn't get out of bed. BUT, I slept till almost 2pm and now I feel A LOT better, not great, but a least I'm out of bed and doing things like laundry.

In other news, James started walking on April 17th.....well taking steps anyway. He takes about five steps at a time and if you act really excited while he's doing it he might even give you a replay. We're trying to get it on video for the blog but no luck yet, soon enough.

Alright, I might need to go back to bed now. Sorry for the small number of posts lately but I promise that I'll start up again once all sicknesses subside.

Love ya'll,
~Annie

Spring!

So today wasn't the greatest Spring day ever but the weather was good enough to merit a trip to Seattle to meet some friends for tacos (which I now wish I had ordered more of to take home, I love Tacos Guaymas!) and then off to the UW campus to show James our old stomping ground.

If you haven't ever been to UW in the Spring you should make the trip...especially to the quad where all of trees are in bloom. Here are a few shots from our day...which by the way was wonderful (I wasn't sick for most of it, yeah!) and ended with a Dick's burger and a chocolate milkshake (two really good reasons to live in Seattle).

Spring

Hair Cut

This is what happens when you let two parents who know nothing about cutting a child's hair , cut a child's hair. Ryan and I both had a hand in this disaster so we're both equally responsible....at least hair grows right?

What did you people do to the back of my head?!

Belated Birthday Pics

Sorry to post these so late but I haven't exactly been myself lately. Between chasing around a one year old and feeling sick to my stomach because of our little new one I haven't had the time or desire to blog. But better late than never.

Here are some pictures from our day at the aquarium with James along with his first birthday cake.....which he didn't like at all! How is this kid related to me?!

Birthday Bash

Birthday Boy!

Here are some pictures from James' big birthday yesterday. No cake photos yet as we are waiting for Saturday to go to the aquarium with Nana, Papa and Mr. Nick and then home for birthday cake.

I'm One!