It's Been Awhile! Here's Our Update (pics & video!)

(Photos taken 01.23.08. Just having fun with Eddison!)

If the past few weeks are a foreshadowing of the months to come than we're in for a GREAT and BUSY year! Here's the scoop:

1. 'Hurricane' Jackson is potty-training...And doing wonderfully I might add! He's just having a TINY bit of trouble with the pooping-in-the-toilet part and has about a 50/50 track record. We're now trying the good ol' American Parent standby...bribery. That's right.. Perched on our mantel are three NEW IN PACKAGING! Disney CARS characters. And he knows exactly what they're there for: "Jackson a-poo-poo a-toilet, a-get a-car!" He tried SO hard to poo today, but he's always been a 'once every one or two days' kind of man and today was an off day. He definitely deserves an 'A' for effort, though! I almost caved NUMEROUS times because he would go and sit on the toilet and try so hard, but then would hop off and say, "Mama, no poo-poo. No car."

On a positive note, he's been in undies (during the day) for about three weeks now and I'm loving it! He's had accidents here and there, but NOT ONE when we're out shopping or running errands! He loves the sound of the LOUD industrial toilets in public restrooms so he's eager to inform me of when he has to go potty. At night he still wears a pull-up. I've been told night-time potty training is a whole different monster so we'll tackle that, um, later.

'Little Chef' or 'Captain' Eddison is getting ready to celebrate his first birthday! We can't believe it's almost been a year and I've been exceptionally emotional lately as I've been putting together his One-Year Slide-show...(it will debut sometime during his birthday week!) Birthdays are such a bittersweet time for Mommies! He's just as happy and adorable as ever, though he's taken up shouting as a hobby. We think he can say (shout), "Jack," (fourth word!) though we're not sure if he knows what it means. :-) He still adores his big brother and they have SO much fun making each other belly-laugh! (See video!) There are still NO TEETH in his little mouth, which is good for this nursing mommy, but ironic in that the KID LOVES TO EAT!!! He will literally eat ANYTHING put in front of him. I love it! Jackson has always been a picky non-eater so it's refreshing to have a child that will not only eat what you make, but will do it willingly and with gusto! That will be the basis of another blog post altogether!

Justin is working hard (as usual!) and getting excited for an indoor soccer league he's organizing to start. I've been encouraging him to do this for a LONG time! I can't wait to take the boys to see their daddy school some competition! :-) Plus - he's in desperate need of some recreation! His job keeps him very busy so I'm really excited for him to have something 'fun' to do! He also recently painted our kitchen for me (from red to light blue/gray)!!! It was part of my Christmas present and I LOVE IT! He still has to do the dining room, but I've allowed him a small break. ;-) I'll get pictures when everything is done.

And me? Where to begin? SCHOOL: I got an 'A' (yay!) on my last class and am currently taking American Heritage. I love the class, but am finding it hard to find time for all of the reading! (FYI - We moved here before I could finish at BYU so they allowed me to finish via Independent Study. I had to take a few breaks for a couple of little things (childbirth, anyone?), and am finishing up my History degree one class at a time. The end is in sight!) WORK: Hucklebaby has had some exciting news! Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte (where my boys were both born) has carried our slings and diaper bags in their maternity gift shop for about 8 months now. Their buyer, Debbie, recently sent us an email stating that she had gotten it approved to have our slings promoted in ALL of the hospitals' Breastfeeding Classes, and the slings and bags showcased in their maternity tours (these occur at least three times a week, year round!). Additionally, she is now buying for TWO hospitals - Presbyterian Main (uptown) - the second largest hospital in Charlotte, and Presbyterian Matthews - which is closer to home and where many of our friends have had their babies.

This is (maybe) a BIG deal! We're not sure exactly what this will mean in terms of wholesale orders to the hospital, but we're cautiously hoping for the best. Debbie's words were, "Get ready to get busy!!!" (As of this email there are about 20 slings I need to finish downstairs and Nellie has nearly finished 6 diaper bags. And this was an order she placed PRE-approval!) So now we're just excited and anxious to see what this will mean for our company. (Maybe we can even start paying ourselves?! ;-)

In other company news, Hucklebaby Boutique (which was once a basic partnership) is now officially, Hucklebaby Boutique, LLC. We filed the paperwork before Christmas and it's a done deal. Yay! We also have a very talented friend redesigning our website for us. We're hoping to have the new and improved site up soon! I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it looks right now and it's only a rough draft! :-) Since we can't afford to hire a photographer, Nellie and I take all of the pictures and right now we're working on getting good shots of our products. (We've become quite handy at a lot of things since starting this business! Us = cheap! :-) Besides - we'd rather save our money for quality fabric/materials - there's just NO comparison!)

Finally - I have just recently been called to serve as Secretary in our ward's Young Women's organization. I LOVE IT!!! I cannot even begin to express how much I truly adore this calling and the women I'm serving with! It's only been a few weeks so I still have MUCH to learn, but I just know that it is going to be (as it has been!) a wonderful experience. (More to blog on this subject later!)

That's it! Heavenly Father has blessed us tremendously! We are so grateful for each and every blessing and hope that the same might be given to all of our friends and family! (Turn up the volume and enjoy the video! :-) Sorry it's so dark!)