Mall Pictures

Yesterday we took Jackson and Mason to the mall for pictures. My goal was to get a few of each individually, and a few of them together. Getting them together didn't work out too well, but we got TONS of great individual shots.

Lots of Loving Going On

Loving from Grandma, who has been with us since last Saturday. Jackson has had a ball playing with her and we are sad to see her leave tomorrow.

Loving from Daddy who is enjoying lots of cuddle time with Mason.

Loving from Jackson, who is quickly becoming the best bottle feeder, diaper changer, and hugger around!

Mommy's Little Helper

Jackson has fully embraced being a big brother, and loves to "help" with EVERYTHING. Today Matt snapped a few pictures of Jack feeding Mason. He also loves to try to help put diapers on, carry things for me, and swaddle Mason. Although the "help" isn't always appreciated, it sure is cute.

Mason is becoming more and more alert. Today we had his 3 day check up and they said he looks great. He weighed 7lbs, 9oz. which means he is already almost back to his birth weight. He is a very mellow baby and only cries when his diaper is being changed. He is much more laid back than Jackson was, and is content to sit in his bouncer and drift in and out of sleep. These pictures were taken in a rare moment when he kept his eyes open for more than a few minutes.

The Beginning of a Lifelong Friendship

Tonight Matt brought Jackson to meet his new brother. Jackson was super excited and gave him lots of hugs and kisses. It was great to see him be so sweet to little Mason!

I thought you also might enjoy a few more pictures of Mason.

I also wanted to thank everyone for their prayers, support, and encouragement. Our friends and family have been so wonderful that we are so excited to introduce Mason to all of you!

Lastly, HERE is the link to the hospital pictures!

Mason Curtis McGurn

Huge praise to God for the work that he did today! Jess was amazing. She showed tremendous amounts of courage, and guts. I could not be more proud of my beautiful wife!

We arrived at the Hospital at 6:30am ready for a long day. The day really got started around 7:15pm. Jess went from 6cm dilated at 7:15ish to OH GOODNESS I am ready and need to push by 8:20ish. Then she had to wait for her doctor to get to the hospital...this lasted for 30 min. (That had to be the longest 30 min of her life) Then at 8:55pm on the 24th of March, Mason Curtis McGurn was born.

Mason was 7lbs 10oz and 20.5in long. His middle name comes from Jess' dad, Grandpa Curt. We are extremely proud to give him the middle name Curtis. He found his thumb within minutes of being born. He does look like a brother of Jackson, but does have darker features...maybe he will have a little more McGurn in his look?!?!

Jess is doing well. Mason checked out good with the ped. today. We look forward to bringing him home tomorrow and introducing him to his older brother. We just pray that Jackson handles the transition well, and adapts to having a new baby brother.

Another Due Date Come and Gone

Here I sit at 1:25AM the day after my due date, still pregnant. After having Jack 5 days late I should know better than to expect to be holding a little bundle only one day after my due date, but I am still dissapointed. Luckily though, this time around my doctor isn't too keen on going far past my due date, because she thinks that this baby is BIG. So... we have an induction set for 6:30AM on Wednesday morning. Which means that I have exactly 29 hours to pray and hope that I go into labor on my own, otherwise I will be at the mercy of the induction. So if you are reading this you can be praying for us, and the baby! Hopefully our next post will be of our brand new bundle of joy, including the much awaited announcement of his name!

Welcome to the Forest!

Recently I have been loving all of the vinyl wall decals that I have been finding online. I spent forever trying to pick the perfect ones for our basement. Well my birch trees came yesterday and today Matt and I put them up and I just LOVE them! It really adds character to a boring beige wall.

Nesting in Full Swing

The term "nesting" is definitely true as this past week I have been "nesting" in full swing. I seem to think that every single space needs to be organized and every project needs to be finished. It's as if we will be incapable of completing anything once the baby arrives.

The past two days were the days of "incomplete projects" where I did everything possible to complete all of the half done projects on the craft table. Here is what I accomplished:

1. Pillow shams for the guest bed that match the quilt that my mom made.
2. Cowgirl and Cowboy Dishtowel pillows
3. Framed this monster print for the baby's room, which is still incomplete. (Hopefully I will be posting completed monster room pictures soon!)
4. Cushion for the toy box (which I got on Craigslist and is PERFECT)
5. Towel/Pad/Cushion thingy for bathing the baby (it is for when you take them out of the baby tub so that you don't have to lay them on the hard counter)
6. Monster receiving blanket

There's still a lot that I would like to accomplish before the baby arrives, but I can't say that I would be upset if he decided to show up sometime soon!

Licking the Bowl

Matt's favorite part of when I bake is getting to lick the bowl, now he is passing it along to Jackson.

My Little Monkey

Yesterday I met a friend at a place called "Little Monkey Bizness" which is basically a huge play area for toddlers. Jackson was absolutely in heaven. Lately he has been super clingy, but when we walked into this place he instantly went running into a huge bouncy castle. I really didn't get any pictures that captured his enthusiasm, but I still thought I would post what I did get.

BEAUTIFUL Spring Weather

Typically, the "not-pregnant" Jess would be praying for more snow and hoping that the winter would never end, but... without the joys of sledding, skiing, skating, and snowmobiling I have joined the ranks of the rest of the world praying for spring weather. Recently we have had a streak of BEAUTIFUL 50-60 degree days and have enjoyed getting out of the house with Jackson. He enjoys kicking his ball around the yard, waving to ANYTHING that passes by (cars, people, animals), and the occasional stroll in his wagon.

Baby Names

For those of you that have been following our blog since the beginning, you probably remember that about a week before Jackson was born we posted a list of 25 potential baby names. In anticipation of this baby getting here soon (a week would be great), we present to you our list of 25 names:

FYI: Many of these names were not even considered, it is in no way a list of names we actually contemplated, but our future son's name is a part of this list. Also, feel free to guess all you want, but until this baby is born we are not telling you if you are right or not so don't go getting anything monogrammed for him!


1. Austin
2. Cain


3. Camden


4. Cameron


5. Carter


6. Christian


7. Colton


8. Connor


9. Elijah


10. Harrison


11. Hunter


12. Isaiah


13. Jacob


14. Jeremiah


15. Jordan


16. Liam


17. Logan


18. Mason


19. Matthew


20. Micah


21. Noah


22. Oliver


23. Owen


24. Parker


25. Spencer

It's Done!

The basement is done! Well, short of the trim work it's done. Our carpet got laid on Tuesday and since then we have been assembling Ikea furniture, unpacking Jack's toys, and moving things out of the utility room. We still have a lot of trim to put up, and decorating to complete, but we are absolutely LOVING the new space!

The tv/couch area (ironically we brought back an orange wall): 

The doorway that we opened up at the base of the stairs:

Jack's play area:

The desk/scrapbook/sewing area: (which I already LOVE)

The guest room:

Now I just have to decide how to decorate everything!