Jackson's First Birthday

I have to admit, I was kind of an emotional mess the day of Jackson's birthday. I held it together, but I was sad. The time just flew. I know the days of him needing me are numbered. I want him to be my little baby forever. But then I don't. I love that he is happy, healthy and growing. I have a healthy and thriving SON. How can I be sad about that? I can't. So I snapped out of it quickly:). His day started out with his first ever hair cut (I cried a few times, such a big step!!!):

He calmed down soon after this. New things are really scary for my little man.

Then we went to the pool to swim in the afternoon. His GiGi was visiting so he had lots of fun with her!

Then he got to open presents in the evening!

And the bags and boxes were by far the biggest hits:).

Then on Saturday, we had his party....

These were the decorations - rock star theme. Lots of guitars, skulls, etc. It fits his loud personality well:).

He opened presents...again. He actually opened at least one present a day for an entire week because we had SO many. Such a loved boy!

He had his first cake to himself.

And he loved it:).

And here is my beautiful family, if I do say so myself, lol! If you look closely, both of the babies' outfits match the theme - no details missed here:).

I am now the mom of a 1 year old. I know I always say this, but it's still hard to believe. I waited so long for this miracle that is Jackson. And now he is 1!! I love him SO much that sometimes I feel like I could burst. He is so perfect. He is my heart. So there you go - our son's first birthday and his big bash were a success! On to year 2! Every moment is joyful with my sweet Jackson, so I am looking forward to it all!

A Day In The Life....

Following in the shoes of a couple of my favorite bloggers, R and K, I thought it might be fun to document a day in my life with 2 babies. It's not riveting, by any means, but it may be interesting to someone out there:). Here it goes:

12:00am - Jason is off of work and so we decided to see what Addy would do for one of her mid-night feedings if Jason gave her a bottle. I am going out of town for 2 days and 2 nights in September and I've been sick with worry about how she'll do without me there to nurse her. Jason stays up late so I just turned off my baby monitors when I went to bed and let him handle it. He feeds her at midnight.

2:00am - I wonder where Jason is and if Addy is ok, and I can't fall back asleep without knowing how the feeding went. I come out of the bedroom to find him getting ready to come to bed. He tells me Addy did very well, sucked down her bottle and went right back to sleep. He even tells me how sweet she was with him while he fed her:). Great news!

2:15am - I can't sleep. My mind is running. Mostly I am worried about those days I am going to be out of town. How will the babies do without me? Will I miss anything? And what really kept me spinning is how I will find time to pump at the conference and where will I store all that milk? How will I keep it cold all day on the last day after I check out of the hotel and have a full day at the conference and then have to drive (3 hours) home?

2:30am - Still thinking. Still no solution. Hoping someone has a good idea for me before then. Start wondering when Addy will get up for her next feeding. There are always 2. My guess is around 4:30am, which is her usual time.

3:00am - This is the last time I remember seeing the clock.

5:45am - Addy gets up to eat. This is late for her and I'm just PRAYING she is not poopy and will go back to sleep. I drag myself out of bed to go feed her.

6:05am - Back to bed I go. She went back to sleep...phew! Hoping she doesn't get up in the next hour, which she often does.

8:00am - I hear the babies stirring, on and off. I decide, based on them getting quiet again, that I'll lay in bed just a few more minutes.

8:15am - I get up, make coffee, feed the dog, let her out and sit down to gulp down just a little bit of my coffee before getting the babies up. Addy is still sleeping (unbelievable, she is my early riser!) and Jax is talking in his crib.

8:30am - Cut up fruit for Jackson's breakfast and get his bottle ready.

8:40am - Get Jax out of bed. Kiss his sweet face. God, I love him. Give him his bottle and change his diaper. Decide to get him breakfast and hope to finish before Addy gets up.

9:00am - No such luck, Addy wakes up. I leave some cheerios on Jackson's tray and go get her and change her diaper. I also smooch her cheeks, she's so darn cute and happy when I get her in the mornings! Addy peed through her clothes overnight, so I have to go and get her new clothes. Jackson screams because I'm not in the kitchen with him (insert mommy guilt here, wish my babies didn't always have to split me).

9:10am - Finish feeding Jax and clean him up while holding Addy. She never likes to eat right away in the mornings so I decide to wait until she gives me hunger cues to try to feed her some fruit. Babies and I move to the play area to play.

9:40am - Addy is acting hungry. I put her in her chair and feed her some peaches. She is actually eating them, yay! Jax is fussing at my leg because he wants to eat, too, of course! I put him in his chair, too, and feed him dried fruit.

10:00am - They have finished eating and we are playing and Daddy wakes up and joins us! Yay! We all play for awhile and I go and change Addy's sheets and get the babies' laundry together. I also find a bunch of clothes that need sorting for the next size up for Addy so I do that quickly. We play a little longer with the babies.

10:50am - Jax is fussing, time for a nap. Then I nurse Addy and she goes down for a nap too.

11:00am - Addy didn't fuss much before going to sleep, so the house is quiet. Jason makes breakfast, I work on a letter to T (Jackson's bmom). We sit down to eat breakfast and then I clean the kitchen, pick up some things, write a few more thank you cards from Jackson's birthday. Then back to writing the letter to T.

12:15pm - Just as I am finishing the letter, we hear Jackson waking up. We are going to the pool today. Jason and I go get ourselves ready for the pool - swim suits, sunscreen, etc.

12:30pm - Get Jackson up - bottle, diaper, lunch. Addy wakes up soon after. Try to feed her peas but she refuses to eat.

12:45pm - Get suits, swimmy diapers and sunscreen on babies.

1:10pm - leave for the pool.

1:25pm - Get to the pool and swim.

2:00pm - Addy is hungry so she and I get out to nurse.

2:10pm - Jax is fussy, time to end pool time. We get both babies dried off, into dry diapers, clothes, etc. and head home.

2:45pm - We get home and Jason takes Jax in the shower to get cleaned up and I try to feed Addy her peas again. No go. I nurse Addy and put her down for a nap.

3:00pm - I get Jax out of the shower and into his clothes and put him down for his nap. I then take a shower when Jason gets done.

3:30pm - Jason and I sit down to eat lunch/dinner and watch an episode of Lost.

4:15pm - Start laundry, blow dry my hair and clean up around the house. I also get the pictures together to send to T, writing her number on the back of the pictures so they don't get lost at the prison mail room (learned my lesson before).

5:00pm - We have a wonderful visit from J and her beautiful family! I get to hold her new baby girl! Both babies wake up, so we get them up, give Jax a bottle and change his diaper. Change Addy's diaper too.

5:15pm - Jason leaves for work and we get babies into their chairs for dinner time. Jax is impatient, but loves his dinner. Addy again refuses to eat her peas. Not a good day for solids for her.

6:00pm - J and fam leave and the babies and I take our evening walk. Lovely! I notice Addy is is coughing, which she has been doing on and off the last couple of days. Hmmmm...

6:30pm - Back from walk, the babies and I enjoy some play time in the living room.

6:50pm - Get Jax ready for bed, get him a bottle, new diaper, pj's, and his medicine. We read a book, which he enjoys, and then we brush his teeth and he goes to bed. Addy is fussing throughout and crawling on my feet. She is getting tired and wants my attention, too.

7:00pm - Try to get Addy to play and stay up a little longer so she'll go to bed easily.

7:15pm - Addy can't hold it together anymore, time for bath. Give Addy her bath and get her all ready for bed.

7:40pm - Rock and nurse and sing to Addy. My favorite time with her. She is kind of antsy so I have to put her into bed sooner than I'd like instead of snuggling her a little longer. She's just ready for bed tonight. Luckily, she doesn't cry or fuss before going to sleep tonight. I love these nights when she just peacefully drifts off to sleep:). Jax cried for a second or so while I was rocking Addy but luckily stopped so I didn't have to go in there. He is still talking away in his crib at this point.

7:50pm - Clean up stuff from Addy's bath, change over loads of laundry, clean up the kitchen for the third time today, clean up all the toys in the living room, feed the dog and get her clean water, grab an ice cream treat and sit down at my computer. I hear Addy coughing on the monitor again. Make a note to call the doctor if it doesn't go away in the next day or so.

8:10pm - Sit down to write this post. Feeling guilty because there are certainly a million other things I SHOULD be doing.

8:50pm - Finishing up this post. Jax has gotten quiet in the last 10 minutes. Maybe he is finally asleep? Nope...just heard him again. Dang. I'm going to do a couple more things on my computer, then head to bed. My goal is to be tucked into bed by 9:15pm:). I've got 2 feedings tonight as usual and I never seem to get enough sleep. I am always tired lately. And I have to go to work in the morning.

I've re-read the post - doesn't seem too exciting. But it was fun for me to chronicle a day!

And I just remembered I haven't written a post about Jackson's first birthday party - more to come on that sometime this week. I added it to my to-do list:). Right now, I've lost the will to do anything. I'm just too tired. 'Night, y'all!

Jackson is ONE YEAR OLD!!!

How is it that my sweet little man is one year old? Not a baby? A toddler! I really am so, so happy. Our children growing up is bittersweet, but as I told a good friend the other day...it's mostly sweet. Because he is healthy and happy and he is mine. How can I be sad about that? I am so, so blessed to be his mommy. Jackson is such an amazing little boy. He is now walking all the time and is getting more balanced each day. He is in to everything now, and he moves fast! He has also started putting objects into containers instead of taking them out. He can put the rings on the stick and he even put a ball into a hoop on his new sports center toy today. He also has begun putting a block into his little toy oven and then opening and checking on the block, then closing it again. This progression of his play into goal-directed play is so fun. The way he is developing and growing is nothing short of magical to watch.

He is chewing my chapstick here, an (unsuccessful) attempt to get him to sit still:).

Jackson is such a happy baby. He is constantly smiling and laughing. He is such a joy. He has started to have "tantrums" when we move him from something he isn't supposed to have or something he really wants to play with. But he recovers quickly and is able to be re-directed. It's actually really neat to see him beginning this new stage of expressing his emotions. I'm sure it'll get old, but for now I am just enjoying watching all the wonderful ways Jackson is maturing. The pictures are proof that he is growing and learning because I can't even get him to sit still long enough to get a good picture, lol! He's got places to go and people to see! We aren't sure of his weight and other stats yet, as his appointment isn't until next week. But we do know he has slowed in his growth and thinned out a great deal. He is in the same size clothes as he was 3 months ago, which has never happened with him!

Jackson had his first haircut on his birthday, then went to the pool in the afternoon. His GiGi is visiting this week and we had his "Arizona" grandma and grandpa over on his birthday as well and had dinner and opened presents. It was a wonderful day with our little man. And tomorrow is his big party! I will definitely share pictures here sometime soon. In the meantime, we are just enjoying our 1 year old boy! He is so perfect. We just love him so very much. His birthday is a day to celebrate his life...and I took the time to write T and thank her for giving him life, and for choosing me to be his mom. I let her know that I know this day is powerful for her too. That we will always think of her on his birthday, and that we know he will too.

Happy Birthday, sweet Jackson! I love you with my whole heart. I always, always will.

Addison is 6 Months Old!

I know I say it every time, but where did the time go? It's hard to believe that when Jackson was Addison's age, we had just brought home a new baby! Addison is such a beautiful, sweet and precious little girl. I am so amazed at what a wonderful baby she is. She has become a very mobile baby, army crawling all around. She can get anywhere she wants to go now, and she always wants to go! Changing her diaper has become a wrestling match - we always win, but she sure gives us a run for our money! Addison can sit up with a little assistance now but still much prefers to be on her belly playing. She also sleeps on her belly with her little butt up in the air - so cute! Addison does not yet babble a lot, but makes cute little noises all the time. And she sure can scream if she's not happy with something! She also figured out a cup this month after finding Jackson's on the floor. So now one of her favorite things is to drink water from a cup. She is so smart!

Addison has started going to bed now between 7 and 8pm and getting up between 7 and 8am. She had stopped her second middle of the night feeding for a good few weeks, but has picked it back up again. Some nights she can still make it with only one feeding, other nights, not so much. We have begun giving Addison baby food 2-3 times a day but she still does not love it. She refuses to eat cereal of any kind. So far, she likes carrots, squash, sweet potatoes and peas. She really doesn't love fruit yet - we've tried apples and bananas. Some days she refuses to eat baby food altogether, other days she will eat an entire jar at one sitting. Addy is still nursing and usually wants to eat about 3-4 times a day. Addison also cut her first tooth about 1 week ago! It is her front bottom right tooth, and the left one is just about ready to pop through too. Gosh, such a big girl!

Addison now weighs 15lbs 3oz, which is in the 35th percentile. She has only gained 7oz since her 4 month check up, but the doctor is not concerned so I am trying not to be concerned as well. She is definitely more active now, so this may explain the slowed growth. However, in length, she continues to grow like a weed! She is now 27.3in, which is in the 95th percentile! Wow! Such a tall girl! Her head circumference is 42cm, which is in the 38th percentile. The low number on this at her 4 month check up was a mis-measurement and she was right on track last month as well.

Every day with this baby girl is a joy for us. When she sees us come into her room in the morning, she gets a huge smile on her face, squeals, kicks her legs, and a wonderful day has begun! We squeeze her and kiss her all day long because she is just THAT sweet. Not a day goes by that she and her brother don't remind us just how blessed we really are. Life is good. Happy 6 months, sweet baby girl! We love you!

I had to post this....

I don't know why, but I feel moved to post this blog:

http://www.aniandmatttaylor.blogspot.com/

This family lost their baby girl just 2 days ago. I don't know them, haven't followed their story, only found them a couple of days before sweet Ruby passed, through a link someone posted on facebook. But, they have been on my mind and on my heart since. So I checked back today, only to find they had lost their angel. I am sick with grief for them. The thought of a loss this immense tears my heart apart. Maybe all of our prayers and thoughts for them will somehow reach them? I don't know, I just had to post it...

Oh, and if you haven't already, maybe Ruby's story will compel you to register to become an organ donor. If so, please go here: http://donatelife.net/register-now/