Big News!!

This post is long overdue, but that makes it no less exciting.

Let's back up a bit....when I was pregnant with Anniston, Jake and I would talk about our plans for our next little one.  He would say that he wanted them to be really close in age, probably around 18 months apart...I on the other hand, had a time frame of about 2 1/2 years apart in my mind.  I had no idea what I  would think about being a mom and no idea what to expect and the earliest I even wanted to talk about another one was after Anniston was a year old...then Anniston came along.

When Anniston came along, both of our stories changed.  Jake wanted to wait longer.  He wanted to take time to enjoy Anniston and not rush into another kiddo.  I was so in love with motherhood that I wanted to have more kids as soon as possible- I wanted to throw every practical thought I had out of my mind and continually churn these amazing creations out as quickly as possible.  Well, as we talked and planned, we also had in the back of our minds Anniston's story.  The story that reminds us that we are not in control and the story that reminds us that His plans are always better than ours.  So we landed on starting to talk about another one when we returned from my 30th birthday trip in Mexico- knowing also that we were trusting in His perfect timing.  Mexico was our starting point because I wanted to feel 100% on my trip and able to eat great food and sit on the beach and drink my Pina Coladas...and then come home and think about more babies....well- the week before we departed for Mexico, I held in my hand a test confirming that once again, God's plans are better than ours.  We were having another one!  I was so excited but wasn't sure what Jake would think, as this wasn't our plan.  So he came home from work and Anniston and I were there to greet him and let him know that it was time to CELEBRATE!  And celebrate we did- he was ecstatic as well, just as I hoped he would be.  We laughed and rejoiced and praised God for His perfect timing once again.  How fun that after such a long season of waiting for Anniston, this little one comes as a surprise!  He is so so good isn't He?  I couldn't have asked for anything better.  So we found out that by the end of October, our family would be a family of four!  The next week we packed our bags and headed off to sunny Mexico, full of yes, great food and a few virgin Pina Coladas!  No complaints here!

We went with a pretty standard way of spreading the news when you have a second one coming- you use your first one to do it!  Anniston proudly wore her shirt around to tell our family about the new arrival.

I think the longest part of pregnancy is between the time you find out you are pregnant and when you find out what you are having.  I'm always SO excited to find out and it feels like forever until that day comes.  Well, the day finally came and we are so incredibly thrilled that IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!  We are so excited about the arrival of our son in October.  We already had a name picked out because well, Jake picked out the names for three of our kids, assuming we would have two girls and a boy, years ago...for a boy, we really like alliterations, so something that started with a B to go with Bauer.  We really love the name Ben but didn't feel like Benjamin was the right name...so we landed on Benton Bauer!  Benton's middle name will be Clay, after my dad.

We can't wait for October to get here so we can meet Benton Clay!  We love him so much already!

Moving Out

This Spring we began talking about the possibility of moving.  A lot of change is coming our way and we thought that if we were going to move, now might be the time to do it.  About the same time we began thinking about this possibility, my parents decided to look at houses in Norman.  With my dad retiring this year, they started toying with the idea of moving to Norman to live more day to day with us and with their grandkids.  What a dream!  Jake and I love the idea of having family close by as our kids grow up- the more people investing in their lives the better.

Well, they did a better job house hunting than we did because they quickly found a house they loved and planned to close in early July.  As they began to plan for their move to Norman, they realized their schedules didn't really allow them to be here a lot this first year.  So they made us a very generous offer:  we could live in their house while we put ours on the market so we didn't have to show it while we lived there.  We could look for a house and sell ours while we lived in their house.  We accepted their offer and put a For Sale sign in our yard quickly after.  Well, four days later, we had a contract and two days after that inspections were done and we were headed towards closing at the end of July.  It all happened so fast.  Before we knew it, we were moving out and moving one mile west to my parents house.

People ask me if I'm sad to leave my house.  Honestly, with the busyness of life, I haven't stopped to think about it much.  My focus has been on getting moved out and getting settled in our temporary home at my parents...but when I do take a minute to think about this house- this house we lived in for four years, the house that we brought our daughter home from the hospital to, the house that we watched her grow for almost two years, the house where we became parents- this house will always hold a special place in our hearts...and I'm sure one day we'll drive by and tell Anniston "This was the house we lived in when you were born" and that will be fun.  But I also know that God has something awesome for us in this next season and there will be another house out there just ready to be filled with more memories of a growing family....so no, I'm not sad.  I'm anticipating a great new adventure ahead of us!  So long 520 Piney Oak- you were a great house!

Vacation!

We took our first family vacation in June and it was so much fun!

Jake had a work conference in Amelia Island, Florida so Anniston and I happily tagged along.  We had such a great time.  We played on the beach, swam in the pool, got lots of rest, and ate good food.

Anniston did great on her first plane ride.  She had her own seat and had plenty of snacks and activities to keep her happy!

We were so blessed to have Gigi and Papa join us for part of our trip!

 Anniston taking a ride on the cart carrier.

Anniston loved going into town for dinner and of course, a treat, every night.

Going down the water slide with Dada

Cuddle time and play time in the room.

One night Jake and I got a treat- we got to go to town for a date night while Gigi and Papa hung out with Anniston.  We had a great time having a great meal and exploring the town.

By far the highlight of the trip was playing on the beach every night.  It was so calm and so beautiful and Anniston loved it...

 

All worn out by the last night....

Summertime!

We have had a really fun summer!  This is just a few snapshots of what we have done...

One of the bummers of Spring and Summer in Oklahoma is tornado season.  We don't have a storm shelter, so I did the best I could...here's Anniston ready for the storm!

This is Anniston sleeping just like her Daddy.

Anniston loved swimming in the pool.

  

One day Anniston went and put on her hat and brought me her puddle jumper and sunscreen, all ready to go swimming.  She was not happy when I told her it wasn't time for swimming...

We have a little climber on our hands.

This day, she had climbed up on the table to get a banana and was eating it, peel and all!

 Sweet girl exhausted from lots of summer fun.

Pretty cool.

We've had a lot of fun at the lake this summer!

Anniston loved climbing the rock wall...so adventurous!

Tube rides.

Fun with Nana on the boat!

We like to walk to Soda Steve's for a treat after a fun day on the lake!

Another pic of her pretty curly hair.  I don't know how long this will last so I'm capturing it while I can!

Anniston and Lita playing on the bed.

 

 This pic makes me laugh.  Jake brings a cup of water in a Soda Steve's cup to bed every night.  This was the stack of cups I brought to the kitchen from our room!

Sweet Laura Waggoner.  What an amazing blessing this woman is to us!  She watched Anniston each week this summer just because she wanted time with her, time to love on her and be with her.  I can't express how much this meant to me!  I love having friends that love to love our daughter!  Thanks Laura!

 There is lots more to our summer...more to come!