Jack-Jack 6 months

This is a little late, but I wanted to do a post about 6 month old Jackson.  He is a little over six months old and couldn’t be any sweeter.  I don’t know if it’s because he is my last baby, but I just can’t get enough of his chubby little face. 

I really have so much more patience with him than I did my other two.  It might have to do with the fact that I am older and little wiser (emphasis on little).  With Abigail and Austin I was so ready for them to get older and reach that next milestone.  Jackson is meeting his milestones way too fast.  Here are some things about 6 month old Jackson that I don’t want to forget:

• Weight: 17 pounds

• Clothes:  He can still fit into a few 3-6 month things but it’s a tight squeeze.  He really needs 6-9 months now. 

• Eating:  He is drinking 3-4 six ounce bottles a day.  He started some rice cereal and baby food at 4 months and has done really well.  I think he prefers the real stuff to the bottle.  He has liked just about every fruit and vegetable we have tried so far, except peaches.  Abigail and Austin hated peaches too.  He eats a few tablespoons of rice cereal and some fruit or vegetable two or three times a day.  He has always been a really good eater. 

• Sleeping:  Not bad, but not great.  He is really hard to rock or sooth to sleep.  He fights it a lot!  He usually takes a 2 hour nap after lunch and a 30 minute- 1 hour nap around 4 or 5.  We do not allow him to take after 5:30.  He will be up until midnight if we do.  Lately he has been going down for bed around 8-8:30 but will wake up an hour later hungry.  After a bottle he will sometimes go right back to sleep, but other times he wants to stay up.  On a good night he will sleep until 2 or 3 am, have a bottle and go back to sleep until 8 or 9 in the morning.  In other words he has no real schedule going on.  Every night is a surprise.  Yay for us!!

• No teeth yet, but I think we might see one soon.  I hope so!

• He is army crawling all over the place.  He is the fastest of my three.  Abigail and Austin were both almost 8 months before scooting around.  Jackson can get any where he wants.  We have had to really start baby proofing.  It’s harder this time around because my older two have so many little teeny weenie toys.  We are really trying to teach them to pick all those up off the floor so Jackson won’t choke on them, but their little 6 and 4 year old minds just struggle to remember.

• He loves loves to watch his brother and sister play silly.  When one of them enters the room, his attention immediately shifts and he will not take his eyes off of them.  He can’t wait to get in on all that rough housing. 

• Ever since he was born, my mom and I always say he seems older than he is.  The way he looks at things and acts.  He is like wiser than he should be.  It’s hard to explain. 

• He has had a really snotty and congested nose for about a week.  He HATES having his nose messed with, especially the dreaded nose sucker. 

• His hair is still red.  I can’t believe it.  I really didn’t expect it stay so red for so long.  I love it.  Aunt Kelsie is always calling him a ginger/or a Weasley baby. 

• He is very intrigued by my parents’ cat and very scared of it at the same time.  He can’t take his eyes off the cat when it enters the room, but doesn’t really like her. 

• Last night my mom kept all three of my kids and my brother’s new baby Audrie.  She is only a few weeks old.  Jackson was showing the same intrigue/nervous emotions toward Audrie as he does the cat.  Mom said it was hilarious.  That's Audrie in the pic above. 

• Everything that gets in Jackson’s hands goes in Jackson’s mouth.  He has had a taste of potato chip crumbs, thanks to Abigail.  He has also had a taste of envelope paper, thanks to me.  Not to mention all the dirty shoes he has had the pleasure of chewing on. 

Am I just chasing rainbows?

One of the main reasons for creating this blog was for me to record my families day to day activities.  I wanted this to literally be like an online journal, and if someone happens to read it and learn something or laugh at something, then that is just an added bonus.  Sometimes I feel like my kids are growing up so fast that I can't catch up.  I know there are already so many cute things from their first few years that I have already forgotten.   Abigail is six years old, and she is always saying the strangest things and so I am going to try and remember to post about them before I forget.  I have a horrible memory!! 


This was yesterday in the car:


Abigail- "Mom, do you remember when I said I wanted to be a cheerleader?"


Me- "Yes"


Abigail- "Well, am I just chasing rainbows, or could that really happen?"


Me- laughing

The silliest girl I know!!!!

I got a hot date! (hopefully)

For Christmas, my husbands sister and husband gave us a gift certificate to eat at one of the best restaurants in the Lake Area.  We have been dying to use it, but haven't had a chance, mainly for two reasons:

1- I have been trying to lose weight since the day after Christmas.  I am sick and tired of carrying baby weight from all three of my kids.  I told him we would have to wait to use the gift card until I had lost a few pounds.  I have lost almost 11 pounds so far and feel like I deserve a reward. (Valentine's Day candy doesn't count) 

2- Brent's work schedule is HORRIBLE!!!!  He works every Friday and Saturday night.  It is hard for us to do anything lately.  We are praying and discussing his future at his current job, and hopefully someday we can find more time for each other.  We might be making some drastic changes, but it would be totally worth it if the kids had their daddy home more often. 

I know you are probably wondering why I wrote 'hopefully' in the title.  Well.... I did everything I needed to do to make sure this date was a go tonight.  I made sure we have a baby sitter.  I made sure Brent was not working (rare).  But for those of you with kids, you know sometimes it doesn't matter how much you plan, things just don't always work out.  Jackson was running a fever of 100.5 last night, and I think Austin was too.  So far today I think they are feeling ok, but I have already mentally prepared myself for the fact that our date night might turn in to a night of sick kids.  I will try and keep a glass half full attitude and be hopefull, but I am ready either way.  That's just one of those things you deal with after having kids.

Totally worth the sacrifices!!!!!

Box of Chocolates!!

Valentine's Day can be a very bad day for me.  I often times feel very sick and yucky by the end of the day.  It's not that I hate the day or think its silly or cliche, it's because of all the chocolate.  I LOVE the assorted heart boxes of chocolate.  I have absolutely zero self control when it comes to eating those chocolates.  I will make myself sick.  I am a teacher and so of course my students know me and they know I love chocolate.  I am staring at a pile of chocolate yummies on my desk as we speak.  I guess this is not a major world crisis type problem, but it's the same thing every year.  I hoping this year might be different.  Maybe I will not gorge myself to the point of being miserable, but I seriously doubt it.  Oh well if I do, it's one day a year.  I think I will live. 

On a slightly sadder note, Brent and I hardly every get to celebrate Valentine's day together.  We act like it's not that big of a deal, but I really am a little jealous of all my family and friends going on Valentine's dates.  We are trying to plan a night out for Thursday, so hopefully it will work out of  us.  We really need some time just the two of us. 

Well I hope everyone has an awesome Valentine's Day and eats lots of chocolates, even if it makes you sick!!

I am not giving up!!!!

Hello again Blog world!!  I have taken a long break from blogging, but I am not giving up.  I just read back through all of my old posts and really enjoyed it.  I want to keep blogging as a way to look back on day to day things that I would otherwise have forgotten.  I have found so many new and inspiring blogs recently, that I decided I have ignored mine for long enough.  In case anyone was wondering, (which I doubt because I don't have any followers) we do have a new (somewhat new) addition to our family.  Jackson Lee was  born on August 10th.  He is such a sweet blessing to our family.  It seems like he has always been here.  Abigail is half way through first grade and Austin is starting pre-k in the fall.  So many things have happened since my last post in April (horrible blogger). I have so many things to write about I don't know where to start.  For now I will just say that I am back and hopefully it will not be 9 months until my next post! 

Well it's a .....

BOY!  It really didn't matter to us what the gender was, since we already have one of each.  Abigail, however, was a little disappointed.  She really wanted a baby sister, but she is still excited.  If we were more financially well off, we might would consider having a fourth child, but I don't think that is in the plans for us.  Austin doesn't really have any idea what is going on.  We are naming the new baby Jackson Lee.  Abigail wants to call him Jack Jack, like on the movie Incredibles.  We will all probably end up calling him that for a nickname.  I have been busy shopping around online looking for boy bedding and a stroller/car seat.  This makes it seem really real.  I still get really nervous every time we go for an ultrasound that they won't find a heartbeat.  Logically, I know everything is fine because I can feel him moving around inside me, but emotionally it's like returning to the scene of a tragedy every time I go into the ultrasound room.  For anyone reading this that doesn't know, I miscarried last June and found out during a routine ultrasound at 12 weeks that the heart was not beating and the baby had stopped growing.  We were crushed, obviously, but we leaned and trusted on God to get us through and now we are having a baby boy in August.  I don't think anyone is ever completely the same after going through something like that, but we are healing and grateful for everything God has given us.  We know he has our best interest in mind and we cannot possible understand why everything happens, but we still trust Him to take care of us.  I didn't mean for this to turn into a sermen.  I really just wanted to announce that we are having a boy and are truly thrilled and cannot wait for August.

Pitty Party!

I am blaming it on pregnancy hormones, but I am so frusterated with things lately.  It seems like things just never go right for us.  I feel like we do things right and try hard and get nothing to show for it.  I know I sound whiny, but I can't  help it.  I know I need to just give it over to God, but I am struggling with that too.  I just feel like we are always running, and never get a break.  I need to get over this before the baby is born, because things will only get more crazy then.  I need to concentrate on all the blessings in my life and be greatful for all God has given us.  My mind tells me to do that, but my heart has another plan.  I am not talking about anything specific, just life in general.  Money is tight, kids are crazy, husband works a lot, busy schedule, dirty house, starting to dislike my job a lot, etc.  Ugghhh
Ok pitty party is over now!  Hope I haven't ruined everyones day who reads this.  Just needed to vent.
Send up a prayer please!