Spit Up and String Cheese

Mason laughed today. What a beautiful sound! And, like his brother, he laughed in his sleep, so he must have been having a good dream. Surely something about throwing things at Andrew or sitting on his head. Seems appropriate for a little brother to want to start the rivalry already! There's something magical about a baby's laugh or smile, wouldn't you agree? It melts my heart and reminds me how thankful I am for sleep-deprivation and no chance of a moment to myself! What a wonderful gift! (Sure, laugh, but as a parent, somewhere inside you, you understand exactly what I mean!) Blessings....

JJ feels blessed, to a degree. Well, maybe more like relieved! I moved Mason out of the bedroom and into his own room last weekend (Feb 9th), as per JJ's request. Boy, that was difficult for me... only 3 weeks old. JJ gets more sleep. Sure he wakes up when I get in and out of bed, but he sleeps while I'm gone, which is more sleep than I've been getting lately. I cross the house and head into Mason's room for feedings and changings. I am always PRAYING that Andrew doesn't wake up while Mason fusses, and somehow we've been able to keep Andrew sleeping through the night. (Thanks for the tip, Mom. Andrew is baby monitor-less! It was hard, but I did it!) Andrew was having a hard time during teething...more molars. So, JJ sleeps and AJ sleeps. 2 less people to take care of! haha. Blessings again!

So, overall, I'm pretty content. Sleep-deprivation isn't so bad when you have two beautiful children that love you and adore you. I always say "Andrew takes good care of his mommy" and I mean it. Andrew really makes me feel like I'm doing SOMETHING right. Whether it's just a new word or a great big hug, he's always surprising me and making me feel good. I love that little boy! I hope Mason is at least half of what Andrew has been for JJ and I. Last night, after bath, Andrew hugged me and hugged me and hugged me! It was SO sweet! JJ has had his share of surprise kisses and hugs lately, and even Mason has gotten a few kisses on the head. Andrew is such a sweet boy! Blessings, Blessings, Blessings!

So there are my thoughts for today. Nothing really profound, as you all know, I'm not the type. I'll probably be writing more shortly, if I don't forget! xoxo

Welcome Baby Mason!

Well, It finally happened! The moment we had long awaited has arrived! Mason James Cross was born on January 21st, 2008 at 10:32 am! He was 7 lbs 2 oz and 18 1/2 inches long! Although arriving 3 weeks early, Mason is happy and healthy and giving us all a new reason to smile!!

Mommy's labor was quick and easy (aside from painful contractions, but we expected that!) and everything went really well! Mason came out a boy, just like we had been promised, so we were all ready for him! :)



Andrew is relatively fond of baby brother. Aside from a good knock to the noggin and a music box to the forehead, he's been really nice to Mason. :) He's really becoming quite the helper and protector and I can use all the help I can get! AJ doesn't really like to touch Mason, but he's warming up. He touched his hair and ear today. It's going to take some time.

JJ is doing a great job, too. Poor guy has to be my support system as well as a daddy to two crazy boys! He's so wonderful and wants to make sure that AJ knows he hasn't been replaced. He walks around the house talking to his "buddy" and they play together a lot.


My mom, dad, Julie and Ben all came out when Mason was born. We had such a great visit and really enjoyed having them here! Dad was able to bless Mason in church on the 27th, the day President Hinckley died. A bittersweet day. He looked so handsome and JJ's parents attended with us. This has all been such a positive experience, though JJ is anxious to move Mason into his own room.


Overall, life is pretty good. JJ just started a new job at Sears in the automotive shop. He's also enrolled in 18 credits of classes, which keeps him pretty busy and up late! He's a very hard-working guy and he's doing great. After we get a little more settled in with Mason's schedule, I'll start babysitting a little boy just one month younger than AJ. Andrew will love having a friend around to play with. Mommy gets a little boring at times. We are looking forward to that.


Okay that's the update for now! We'll write again soon! Hope you all are well! xoxo

The Cross Family (all 4 of us!!)

Welcome To Wenatchee

Hello Everyone!

Well, well, well! It has been WAY too long since I last updated. Let's see what I can fill you in on really quick-like.

We made the move from North Carolina to Washington state without a hitch! :) We had a little trouble with Andrew adjusting to the car ride, but who would want to sit in a chair for that long without any time to run around!? We stopped briefly in Kentucky to let him out and enjoy the sunshine and grass, but it was soon time to get back on the road. We made it to Utah in great time! Perfection!! By the way, the day we left Jacksonville, we took a pregnancy test and, that's right, we're PREGNANT! I'm sure most of you know that already.

JJ flew back to N. Carolina to finish up the Marines and then made the trek back across in his truck in Mid-August. He made it all the way in something like 62 hours. Crazy guy...he could have stopped and slept more, but he chose to drive all the way through and find his way to his family (who were waiting as patiently as possible). We had a great reunion with daddy. Andrew sure loves his daddy! JJ is now completely separated from the Marines and is starting school on Jan 7th in the Automotive Tech program. He's working at Les Schwab and really loves it. He's all boy, what can I say?

I've just been busy with Andrew and gearing up for a new one... another BOY. Mason James is due on February 13th (please don't let him be a day late!) and we are really excited to meet him and welcome him to our family. Andrew points at my tummy whenever I ask him where "Baby Mason" is but I'm not sure he understands fully what that is. He'll understand when baby brother comes home. But life has been a lot of fun.

We have been living outside of Leavenworth at JJ's parent's cabin for the last few months while we got all settled in, but after 36 inches of snow, and JJ's hour commute to work (each way) we decided we'd had enough. We bought a house out in East Wenatchee and are LOVING being close to work and town. We are MUCH closer to doctors now, too, and that is a blessing in and of itself. We are enjoying our time here and will be here for at least a few years while JJ is going to school...maybe longer...depending on where he gets his job afterward.

Andrew is 16 months today. He's growing like crazy...looking more and more like a boy instead of a baby. He's enjoying the snow, as long as it isn't past his knees. He will be moving out of his crib and into a twin bed in March...we hope that will go well. He says well over 50 words and picks up a new one every day. Today's word is "dishes." We are pretty proud of him... He knows the difference between a triangle and a circle, can make different animal sounds, and is learning colors now. He will show you stripes and polka-dots, too! :) He's going to be getting his first haircut this week, too.

We had JJ's parents over for Thanksgiving and then again for Christmas. It has been a wonderful end to our year and we are looking forward to 2008! We have been so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family--on both sides. Everyone has been so generous to us and we are so thankful. I have attached a few pictures of our endeavors and will try to be better about updating on here as often as possible. We love you all and can't wait to see you again at the family reunion 2008! xoxoxoxo

The Cross Family

The Start Of Our New Blog...

Hi Everyone!!

So we're starting this new blog site because Angie Barzee said she'd like to know about any blog sites we have. I usually use my MySpace, but I think this will work just as well and It won't get all mixed up with the rest of everything that is going on! YAY!!

I think this whole blog thing is a GREAT idea and can't wait for the news of everyone to start rolling in! :)

Things here are somewhat stressful, but overall VERY exciting! We are a mere 4 weeks away from moving back to the West Coast, which will be a nice change of scenery as well as a nice change of TEMPERATURE! :) The East Coast, as some of you know, can get humid and MISERABLE at times! We're very excited to get back where we "belong."

I have begun the long-awaited task of packing up the whole house! Andrew is crawling around and making mischeif of himself, but it just makes it that much more interesting and fun. He proceeded to get ahold of the rubberbands today and they were scattered from "heck to breakfast" (as my mom used to say) and I got to enjoy digging under couches, toys and baby bottoms to get all of them up and out of choking hazard territory. Oh fun! I can only imagine what would happen with the permanent marker I use to mark the boxes!

We leave Jacksonville, NC on June 8th. We SHOULD be in Utah by the 11th, IF everything goes well...and that's buying us an extra day of driving. We might have to just drive nights, but I have a feeling that Andrew will be fine during the drive and will be relatively entertained with all the things we've planned for him. I just hope that it goes as well as we have expected. Otherwise this drive could be quite a test of our patience! I feel like we have an awful lot of things to get done between now and the 8th, so if any of you are going to be in the area, feel free to drop by and help me pack things up! I can use all the help I can get!!

John will be driving back across the country with us in June, but unfortunately will have to return on the 26th of June to finish up his contract with the Marines. He'll be completely finished as of August 7th, which is really just around the corner, and then he'll drive his truck back across the country for the last time (hopefully)! We are VERY excited about that. We're looking at moving to Wenatchee where he'd like to get a job with the Sherrif's Department. He looks like a shew-in, but we'll see. There are tests that we have to pass before we can get too excited. We're hoping and praying, though, that's for sure. John signed his final papers today saying that he will NOT be reenlisting (thank goodness!) and denying orders to go back to the fleet which would send him to war, again. We're glad he's getting out. We don't need him back in the sand box again.

Alright... well that's about all the news we have for now. I'll keep you posted with pictures and all of that. Let us know if there is anything we can do for you!! Can't wait to see you all soon... we should try to get a game night set up for when we're in SLC that second week of June!! Love to you all.

Cindy, John and Andrew