Big Brother

Last weekend Jerry & I took Jackson to the hospital where we will deliver Carson for a Sibling tour & class.  It was cute, but, eh....it didn't go quite how I had envisioned it.

Jackson was W-I-L-D.

I'm not sure if I've ever talked about Jackson's little wild streak he tends to have on here, but let me tell you....its not for the faint of heart.  He could wear out a marathon runner. 

The boy will do something amazing with all his energy one day! 

He did calm down for a few minutes to get a few things accomplished.

Getting his doctors hat & name tag!

Getting his "baby" (Curious George) weighed.

Getting a diaper for his "baby"

  Getting his  "Prepared Big Brother" certificate.  She was asking him if he was going to be a good Big Brother & help Mommy & Daddy.  I'm fairly certain he didn't respond at all.  He just wanted that certificate. 

I was so ready to go by this point!  It was only an hour long, but I was exhausted when we left.  I'm fairly certain everyone was thinking, "Are they seriously having another child?!!?!". 

I'm so thankful to have such a fun, spirited child but it can be TOUGH too. 

How do you deal with your wild child when they become out of control?

Gifts...

I've been reading this book.

One Thousand Gifts by. Ann Voskamp

It is so good.  She is an amazing writer.  It's all about accepting God's gifts.  All of His gifts. 

The BIG and the small.

The good & the bad.

It talks a lot about what gives you peace in this world.  A world that seems to be searching everywhere for it and hardly finding it. 

She explains it so well.  It's all about being THANKFUL....for everything.  Knowing that everything that happens in the life is intended for good and not for evil.  Even when terrible, tragic things happen....God intends EVERYTHING for good. 

"And we know that in all things God works for good for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Romans 8:28

That's so hard to comprehend, but that's where the faith comes in.  You just have to believe. 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." 

Proverbs 3:5

Lean not on your own understanding.  This world is just flat out CRAZY.  I don't understand anything.  I have to constantly remember that God wrote this story...and He loves us.  All I know is that I've read the very end...and...WE WIN. 

Yay!

Throughout the book she makes a gratitude journal & tries to write down all her blessings...up to 1000. I've been doing one too.  It makes you step back & look at everything.  To really be in the moment.  To look at everything as exactly what it is...a GIFT.

It's refreshing....and I challenge you to do it too.

Look at your life & all the gifts you've been given.

It will change your outlook.

Be thankful in all things, friends :)

And for something cute to look at.....

Jackson playing with his all time favorite bubble gun!

Playing in the rain :)

Happy Monday!

I can't wait...

until this book comes out. 

I will be at the bookstore on October 4th...buying this book. 

Katie blogs about her journey here.  I am continuously amazed by her. 

Happy reading, friends :)

2 1/2

This...

SWEET,

BEAUTIFUL,

SPIRITED

boy is 2 1/2 today.

Sweet boy, I love your spunk & your zest for life. 

I pray you never lose your spirit.

I love you so, so much.

Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to my AMAZING Husband :)

I'm a day late posting this, of course

We weren't able to celebrate yesterday, but we'll hopefully be able to this weekend. 

I love you sweet Husband. 

Thank you for being YOU.

Thankful today....

....for all the rain today.

....that my Husband is coming home tomorrow.

....that Jackson is doing really well potty training.

....for air conditioning.

....that I'm blessed to stay home with my baby (soon to be babies).

....for TWO children.

....for books.

....for church.

....for family.

....for naptime.

....for a home.

....for our trip to Disney in a few weeks.

....for friends.

....for cereal...seriously.

....for Jesus, who loves me even though I can majorly suck at life sometimes.

....that I've been able to snuggle with Jackson during all the rain today.

...that I have the BEST Husband & bab(ies).

Curveballs...

We have had our fair share of curve balls thrown at us lately.  But, we're still here & thanking God for our health!  As y'all know Jackson had hand, foot, & mouth at the end of May and was hospitalized because he refused to eat/drink.  It was rough, but we made it through.  Well around the end of June, beginning of July he got it AGAIN.....seriously?  Thankfully it was nothing compared to the first time!  He had moments of not feeling well for about a week, but for the most part he acted fine.  Finally, after a week or so all was well again....and then several weeks ago I woke up with some kind of bites all over my belly, legs, & a few on my arms.  They were itchy & burned a little, but we just thought that they were flea bites from our dog (who we found a flea or two on after a beach trip).  I got them on a Tuesday...by Friday I was in the hospital with a BAD infection from the bites.  Since I'm pregnant I had no problem doing whatever I needed to to get well & protect Carson.  Luckily my OB's said it would only effect me.  I stayed in the hospital for 5 days....I was so sick.   The bites (or whatever they were...no one ever really knew what it was....some OB's thought it was a pregnancy related rash that became infected) became extremely painful & made me feel SO SICK....ALL DAY LONG.  After I got out of the hospital I went & stayed at my parents house to get some help..Jerry had to go back to work & he was leaving in the next few days to head to New Mexico for some military stuff....I couldn't walk very well on the one infected leg & was still struggling with feeling so sick.  I am SOOOOOO thankful for all their help with getting me better & taking care of Jackson.  After several weeks of not feeling great, lots of meds, & exhaustion I'm finally starting to feel normal!  Thank you Jesus.  I'm praying that we won't have anymore hospital trips until Carson Elijah makes his appearance at the appropriate time!! 

On a happier note, Carson Elijah is doing great!  He is beautiful & a precious gift!

I'm a little afraid we may have another wild child, but we can handle it.  God never gives us more than we can handle!

Sweet baby at 18 weeks.

I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted me what I asked of him. 

1 Samuel 1:27

Here's the belly at 23 weeks!



We are so excited to add another little one to our family and so very thankful. 

Jackson & I had a great day today.  We are at the age where his mood depicts the way the day goes.  He was such a sweet happy boy today!!  Here's a cell picture of his cute little self today playing at the mall.

I'm really going to try to keep updating since things are back to a more normal. 

Have a great week!

June

How is June already almost over?  Whew, this month flew by! 

We had some sweet friends come visit us from South Dakota.  Jackson had lots of fun with Rhyann.  He loves her!

We took them to Discovery Place to run out some energy & explore.



After a couple of days here we headed to my family's beach house.  Living in South Dakota, Annie & Rhyann don't get to venture to the beach often so I thought it would be perfect!

We rode the boat in the Waterway a couple of days & anchored up on a beach for the kiddos to play & for us to relax.  I LOVE SUMMER.

Jackson & his PaPaw

Annie & Rhyann

Jackson chillin' with his cousin Brooke.



We also took the kids to the aquarium.  We have to take a ferry to get over to it.  Fun!

On their last night with us, we went for an evening beach walk.  I LOVE the beach.

We had so much fun & can't wait for Annie & Rhyann to come back!  HURRY!

The rest of June has been a whirlwind of playgrounds & pools.  I've been trying to keep the little one busy!  He likes to get out of the house at least once a day!

We're heading to the beach soon for a loonnnggg beach trip.  Thank. You. Jesus.

Baby update!  I'm 18 weeks today!  We have the very important ultrasound on Friday.  We'll be finding out if we're team pink or team blue!!!!!   SOOO EXCITED!!!!!

Have a great week!





What I've learned about Motherhood so far.....

I've only been a Mother for two years so really...I know nothing compared to most Moms, but here are a few things I've learned. 

1.  It's hard.  It's hard in a different way than anyone ever explained.  No one ever told me how mentally exhausting it is.  All I ever heard about were the long nights, poopy diapers, potty training, etc.  No one ever told me how hard it is giving all of yourself to someone else every. single. day.  I knew Motherhood would be a lot of work, but I didn't have a clue.  I guess it's just something you have to experience for yourself to really understand. 

2.  You can't do this without God.  No way.  I'm not sure how Mother's who have no faith make it.  Really...I do A LOT of praying!  I say small prayers throughout the day for patience, for energy, for peace.  I pray for my son, for his future, for his inability to share, for his strong will, for my understanding of who he is as a person, for good decision making from Jerry & I, for help in nurturing his "spirited" personality, for the health of our new little one, for Jackson's future wife, help for guiding Jackson on God's path for his life, for guidance in our parenting journey.

3.  Having a sick baby sucks.  That's about all I can say about that.

4.  You have to let all your ideas you had of your perfect life go.  God has a better plan...way better than our simple little minds can comprehend.  Don't be disappointed.  Things happen...babies get sick....you get tired....things get spilled....Poop explosions happen...your child will ruin that perfect outfit you really wanted them to wear for something special....your baby will have tantrums & act a fool regardless of what how you previously thought your child would act.

5.  Your house will never be perfectly clean.  EVER.  If it is you are a freak of nature & I need to know how that happens.  At our house as soon as I put something away Jackson takes it back out. 

6.  Having a baby turns your entire world upside down.  Everything about you changes. Just go with it.  It's not a bad thing. 

7.  You will love your babies (they will always be called my babies) more than you could ever imagine.  Sometimes you will look at them or think of them & just want to cry because they are so special. 

8.  Whatever expectations you have of Motherhood.....throw them straight out the window.

9.  You must have a little time for yourself every once in a while or you will lose your mind.  If someone offers to help you...take it.  Don't let your pride get in the way.

10.  Everyone will have opinions of how they think you are raising your child and how they think you should be doing it.  Take the good advice....forget the bad, hurtful ones.  You are doing the best you can.

11.  You need support.  Find a MOPS group or some other group of Mothers who know what you are going through.  It helps.

12.  You know your child better than anyone else.  Your motherly instincts are usually right.

 

13.  Give yourself some slack, MOTHERHOOD ISN'T FOR SISSIES. 

to be continued....as Jackson teaches me more :)

The past week...the lazy way.

I'm tired these days...must be this "baby in my belly button" as Jackson calls it...or maybe its the combination of the baby & the 2 year old.  I'll go with that one.  So here's my past week, the lazy way:

-Jackson didn't get so lucky.  He got the VERY bad...VERY long version of Hand, Foot, Mouth disease.  On Monday after refusing food, drink, or medicine I decided it was time to head to the hospital.  I was so worried he was getting dehydrated & was worried his fever was going to get to high since he was refusing meds.  We got to the hospital around 7:15 & had to wait about an hour...they ended up giving him fluid & we decided it was best he spend the night.  W,e ended up staying 4 nights.  He was so miserable so they gave him morphine about every 4 hours & magic mouthwash with lidocaine.  Finally on the 4th night he started bouncing off the walls & would drink a little.  His mouth was looking tremendously better, fever was gone & I knew it was time to go before he tore the hospital apart.  We left the next morning.

-We rested at home all day Friday because I wanted to make sure he was really feeling better & drinking/eating as he should at that point.

-Saturday we went here, Zootastic Park.  They were having a thing called Bluegrass & BBQ at the Park (or something like that).  It was fun & HOT.  Jackson did really well.  It was a nice first outing!

Meeting the birds!

Petting the kangaroo

Feeding goats

See this guy?

This is him stealing our animal food & scarfing it down.  We got Jackson another bowl to feed the rest of the animals & he was VERY protective of it after that!

Jackson & our cousin Brooke feeding the cows.

-Sunday we went to my parents neighborhood & went swimming with my parents, Brooke, & some family friends.  I took no pictures because I was swimming the entire time!  We are finally at the point where we don't have to stand beside Jackson or hold him the entire time at the pool.  It's much more relaxing.  As long as there are other people around he is content.  Plus their neighborhood has a baby pool so he likes to get in it & splash all around.  I got BURNT.  I put sunscreen on everywhere (a couple times) except for my legs.  For some reason I had it in my head that I didn't need any on them...well, I DID!  I still got burnt everywhere else too, but not like my legs!  I forget that you are more apt to get sun burn when you're pregnant. 

-Monday, we went to Jerry's parents house & went swimming with his family.  Jackson was only interested in the pool for a few minutes for some reason, but they have a big blow up, water slide that he had fun playing on plus his favorite person ever was there, his cousin Harper.  I made sure to put sunscreen on my legs & didn't get so red :)  

-We had such a nice weekend!  I LOVE long weekends!  Memorial Day is like my first official day of summer.   Its not actually until June, but when you live in the south & already have 90 degree days...its SUMMER!!

We have a fun week planned, hope you do too  :)