Christmas Day

Right after Santa came...

The next morning...








What a special day! Christmas Eve daddy stayed up to put Jackson's new scooter together and mommy had to do all the wrapping. (It was a very late night.) The next morning Jackson called us from his crib to come get him. We came in and wished him a Merry Christmas and then told him that Santa came. He slowly walked out to the tree and then his eyes got wide as he saw all the sesame street wrapping paper. He then started to open his gifts. I think his favorites were his Elmo slippers, his sparky sweatshirt and his new scooter. It was so nice to sit together as a family and open gifts. I am so excited for next year with 2 little kids of our own. Families are great! I put some pictures here of us opening gifts and then a video of Jackson on his scooter. (I know that it is sideways and no I don't know how to fix it, just turn your head-you'll get through it.) We love you all and thank you to all that sent gifts, especially to Jackson. It is so nice to know that others love and care about him as much as we do. Merry Christmas!!!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Oh, what a tree does for a home! Last week we went to pick out our tree. Jackson helped and we came home with a wonderful tree. The first picture is us a Home Depot with the tree on the car. The next day we decorated the tree together in our pjs as we listened to Christmas music. (That day is definitely on my top 10 favorite days.) We had such a good time. If Jackson couldn't put an ornament on the branch he would just throw it at the tree (in hopes that it would stick) so we did have about 3 ornament casualties. When we were all finished Jackson put the star on the top, as you can see it was a little crocked, but we thought it was too cute to fix. Merry Christmas!

Scary Stuff

On Monday I went for another OB appointment. I get so excited about these appointments because I almost feel closer to the baby when I go. I had no idea how close I would really feel to the baby when I went in last Monday. It started out normal, I went pee in my cup, they weighed me (only 1lb so far, yaaa!), and took my blood pressure and then I waited in the room for my doctor to come in. I had Jackson with me and he was being very good, watching Elmo on a little DVD player and eating some pretzels so I didn't mind about the 20 min wait in the exam room. (Except that I hadn't eaten lunch yet, so my tummy was growling.) The doctor finally came in and asked me some questions, then I asked a few of my own. It is really surprising how much you forget the second time around! Then I laid back so she could put the little monitor that lets you hear the baby's heart rate on my belly. She put the jelly on (which I love that they warm up) and then looked for the baby's heart rate....NOTHING....a few seconds later.....NOTHING....and even a few more seconds......NOTHING. The doctor put down her monitor and told me that she was unable to find the baby's heart beat. I immediately started to cry. She then said that we needed to do an ultrasound to see if we could find it there and to find out if there was something wrong. I sat up and got my stuff together as Jackson and I went to another room. Then I endured the longest wait of my life. I sat in the ultrasound room for another 20 minuets, which felt like days. I just sat and cried the thought that the little parasite that I had grown so attached to would no longer be inside me was just too much to handle. Jackson continued to watch Elmo happily as I cried. ( I have never been so thankful for that little red furry monster as I was at that moment.) The doctor finally came in and had me lay down again. I held my breath, she put the gel on (this time it wasn't warm, I was sure that was a bad sign) and the ultrasound clicked on. There the baby was moving around like a little jumping bean, and the heart beat was strong at 158. The tears began to flow again. I was so thankful, in that moment it was just me and my little baby, my little strong baby. As we left I was then struck by my Heavenly Father's love. I was not alone in that room, he was right there with me and he knew what I needed and he let me feel his love. Here is a picture of out little jumping bean with a strong little heart beat.

Sad Santa

Okay, this year the Santa picture is a little hard to look at. Jackson has perfected the sad face! When I look at this picture it almost brings me to tears. As we stood in line I kept asking Jackson to practice his smile for Santa. I would ask him to show me how he was going to smile and he would say cheeeese and then I would tell him that it was perfect. Well, when we got up to Santa it didn't work out as planned. He started to cry as soon as I handed him over. I then backed up to get out of the picture and tried to bribe him in to smiling by offering him one of my homemade candied pecans. (Which he LOVES!) He then stopped crying but still had the sad face so I asked them to just take the picture. (After waiting in line for 45 min I really didn't care.) I then rushed over to take him from the mean guy in the red suit and looked at the pictures on the screen. At first I thought it was cute and then it just made me sad. I hope I didn't damage him for life. Maybe he will like Santa a little better once he knows that is who brings him the toys.

Fall Photos

After I had Jackson, and I was still HUGE, I never wanted to be in any pictures with him. I was just so afraid of looking fat in all the pictures. A few months after that I was looking through photos to scrapbook and I realized that I didn't have any pictures of Jackson and me. This made me very sad. I decided then that no matter what I looked like I would always be in pictures with my son. When Jackson and I went to North Carolina my parents wanted some photos of all their grand kids and it was a great opportunity to get in some photos with Jackson before I get HUGE again. Here are some of the photos, the really good ones are being touched up and should be on the site soon. The picture of Jackson all by himself I love because he is saying cheeeese, but there is a pretty bad shadow, just imagine it without that and enjoy that beautiful little boy!

So this is our next little peanut. We kind of have a love/hate relationship right now with how sick I am feeling. I actually am happy if I can go two straight hours without feeling like I am going to puke. Last Monday I went to the doctor for our first ultrasound of the new baby. I was a little nervous just because I knew how important it was that we heard a heartbeat. (The risk of miscarriage goes from 80% to 3% once there is a heart beat.) I asked Josh to come and keep an eye on Jackson as I talked to the doctor. He was only able to stay for a little while because he had class, I thought it would all work out because I thought that they would do the ultrasound first. It turned out that he had to leave before the ultrasound. Josh was told that with how sick I am that we are either having twins or a girl. Josh said that he didn't want either. (What a guy, he just wants an entire basketball team.) After Josh left I gave Jackson a bunch of cookies and begged him to behave. (My awesome mothering skills in action.) I had the ultrasound and right away the doctor found a strong heartbeat. Then she tried to measure the baby to find the exact due date because we weren't exactly sure what it was. It was funny because she was having such a hard time measuring the baby because it is so long...we are going to have another tall one!
After I left the doctors with my new due date June 28th, 2009, I texted Josh to let him know all the good news. I wrote, "The babies look good, nice strong heart beats". He then wrote back that I better be kidding about the plural form of baby. I then replied that it was all his fault because his grandma is a twin and that I had nothing to do with this. He then said again that I better be kidding. I finally broke down and wrote, "Don't worry Josh you are still a one hit wonder". ( I don't think he has ever been more relived.) So time will tell if the doctor was right that we were have twins or a girl. Ahhhhh. What would I do with a girl?

My Little Kryptonite

Is it still morning because I am still sick as a dog?!? Okay, so I keep telling my self that I am not going to complain about this pregnancy when there is so many people out there who have a hard time getting pregnant. But... over the last few days I changed my mind. This little parasite is sucking the life out of me not to mention all of my food. I seriously do not remember being this sick with Jackson, although it is possible that I just blocked it out.
The other day I went to Fry's to get some deli meat for Josh before Jackson and I went to North Carolina to visit my family. As I walk in to Fry's I can smell that they are cooking something that the baby doesn't like. I walk to the deli counter using my deep labor breathing to see if that would help and then I just resort to pulling my sleeve over my mouth and nose. I place my order at the deli and as I am standing there I realize that I am not going to make it......I quickly ask the deli man where the nearest trash can was, he slowly pointed to the one behind the counter and asked, "why". He didn't have to wonder long as I came barreling around the counter and grabbed the trash can as I heaved my breakfast in to it. Of course on top the the vomit I was crying out of embarrassment. To top it all off in the middle of all this the man says to me, "mam that is a health code violation." Thank you sir, I thought that this was totally okay...but next time I will do it on your shoes! (I didn't say that but I sure wanted to.) Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!! What a terrible day and this kid is just floating around living it up as he/she sucks the life out of me...my little kryptonite...he/she better be cute.

Number 2 is on the way!

If you haven't heard yet...baby number 2 is on they way. We are so excited! I think it is more fun this time because we know what we are getting. We know that it will be hard (labor and delivery, ahhhhh) but it will also be so much fun.
This pregnancy came as a little bit of a surprise. We were trying to get pregnant, but after 4 negative pregnancy tests I told everyone that unfortunately we were not pregnant. About a week after all the negative tests I was feeling very tired and sick to my stomach and didn't want to eat anything. I still figured that I wasn't pregnant so I drank a few Diet Dr Peppers (which are my absolute favorite) and tried to just wait it out. The next day I decided to take one more test at the urging of my doctor, and I was shocked to find that it was positive! (I hope all that Diet Dr Pepper didn't do anything.) Josh was equally shocked but then proud that he "got one past the goalie".
I added the little ticker to the blog so you can keep track of where I am in the pregnancy-as I will again be painfully aware of how long this process is.

Halloween

Well it came, my favorite day of the year! I just love Halloween. It is so much fun to see everyone dressed up and having a good time. This year we went to Trunk R Treat at the church. As usual Jackson just wanted to do his own thing, but when it came to getting candy he was a little more willing to go where we asked him to go. Jackson got way more candy than he needed especially because mean mommy and daddy don't let him eat very much. (I think he has had 2 pieces so far.) Overall it was a fun day and he was the cutest pumpkin ever in my opinion.

Picture Time!

I just LOVE this picture. Jackson just started to smile in pictures. He will say CHEEEEEESE and then I take the picture. Here he is at his friend's house and he is just relaxing in his recliner and reading.
The weather in Arizona is just beautiful right now. We are back to our walks at night and every Sunday morning. It is by far the best part of our day is the time we spend together walking to the park and playing. I don't know who is more excited to go when we say we are going Jackson or Paca.
Last week Jackson got his Halloween costume and he is so excited! Just about once a day he says, "pumpkin?" and then we put on his costume. I can't wait to go trick or treating with him this year because he understands that he is getting candy now, so I think he will be much more interested in the whole process.

Playing with the Cousins

This summer Jackson went to North Carolina to see Nana and Papa and to meet Uncle PJ for the first time. While he was there he spent a lot of time playing with his cousins; Olivia and Isaac. One day it was so hot Papa set up the slip and slide for the kids to play in. They had a blast! As you can see Jackson can "rock the hawk", but no matter how much fun he is having he always takes his serious picture. Jackson has become very selective with his smiles. Half our ward thinks Jackson doesn't like them because he always gives them the stink eye. Oh! Speaking of church, last week was Jackson's official first week in Nursery! Hallelujah!!! I finally get to listen to two meetings in church with out getting up to take my loud child out of the room. The nursery leader said that he did great and he was already ahead of the rest of the kids because he knew "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes", and "Popcorn Popping". Luckily I was informed by one of the other moms in the ward that I wouldn't want to be the mom that picks him up last. Apparently, because I am new to this mom thing, kids love to have their mom be first to pick them up. She was right. Jackson smiled ear to ear, yelled "mommy", and then turned to smugly wave goodbye to the other kids (whose mom's were late). Score 1 for Jackson's mom!

The Beach

A few weeks ago we drove to California and went camping on the beach. What an adventure! We had such a good time. During the day we played on the beach and at night we enjoyed smores. We could even hear the waves crashing on the beach as we were in our tents. Jackson was a little nervous about the fast water, but by the end of the trip he was comfortable putting his feet in. It was so hard to leave the nice weather and come home. But in the end, it was the perfect vacation to take before Josh starts the Masters program at ASU.





Since Jackson was born we have constantly given him books. I have always hoped that if we started early he would love books as much as I do. Well... the other day as I was checking my email I noticed that it was abnormally quiet. I came around the corner and found him in his bed room sitting on his bean bag chair reading! I was so proud! He was reading, "I'm Not Going to Get Up Today" and "Goodnight Gorilla". As he read "Goodnight Gorilla" he would turn each page and say, "nigh-nigh". It was so adorable I just had to get a picture of it. I just love being a mom. Each day he does something that warms my heart and makes me smile. I am so blessed to be the mother of such an amazing child!

Jackson's First Hair Cut!!!

Here are some photos of Jackson's first hair cut. He did so great! As long as he could hold a ball he was going to sit through it. I would like to say that he got a full hair cut, but as you all know Jackson's hair just doesn't grow. They just trimmed over the ears and a little in the back. What a trooper! I am glad I took him here, if I left it up to daddy Jackson would have just gotten a buzz cut! No thanks dad.
We are so proud of our little guy. The pediatrician says that he is the smartest 15 month old he has seen. This week he added to his wide vocabulary; woot snak (fruit snack), pweeze (please), and ashwee (Ashley). Although his favorite word remains to be no. (Of course!) The most exciting news of all is that last week Jackson folded his arms to say prayer for the first time. I have to admit I cried for 10 minuets, I just couldn't believe it. Finally a sign the he is learning about his Heavenly Father, and how to pray. I guess all that hard work is starting to pay off! Great job little dude!!!

Jackson is 1!

I can't believe my little peanut brittle is a year old! What a year it has been. When Jackson was first born I was so scarred to be a mother. I didn't know what to do or when to do it! I guess I did okay because he survived. Everyday I love being this little guy's mother more and more. I is so amazing to see how they grow and learn. I love a lot of things about Jackson but one of the things I love the most is how everything he does, he does with his whole spirit. He loves to play basketball with his daddy. (And he can slam dunk and then rock the rim like no ones business.) Early on Jackson developed a love for books. Jackson will "read" a book in his car seat, in the stroller, in his highchair and anywhere else you let him. Jackson also loves to walk, and walk, and walk, and walk. Although he won't do it on his own yet, he likes to hold one hand and check out the house. Jackson can say some words that are somewhat recognizable like; mom, Dada, Baba (bottle), dog, and all done. Josh and I are just so proud of him and we can't wait to see what he will do this next year. Two or bust!