Jackson Lately

 Now that we have Avery in the mix, she's been the center of attention lately. However, I have been extra careful to give Jackson extra attention so he doesn't feel any ounce of neglect or that we're not paying as much attention to him. So I thought I'd write a post all about Jackson today. :-)  Jackson is getting so big and I don't want to forget all the fun things in his life right now.

Jackson had his last day of pre-school on May 20th. He had a great time at pre-school and we've even signed him up for some summer camps at his pre-school because he loves it so much. He had his first School Picture taken back in April and I just have to share it because it's so darn cute!

(His teachers name's were Miss Nima and Miss Laura)

Jackson has been talking up a storm lately and I love being able to have full conversations with him now. He says some of the funniest things and I wanted to get some of them written down before I forget. :-) Some of the funniest things he says are...

"Cream Cream" for Ice-cream

"Botcher" for Diaper

"Wear Wear" for Underwear

"Ginkie" for Binkie

"Pee-a" for Pizza
"Goosy" for Goofy

"Sone" for Phone

"Sork" for Fork

"Soon" for Spoon
"Yeah Yeah" for Yes

"Free" for Three and "Sore" for Four

When he counts, he says "One, Two, Free, Nine!" Nine seems to be his go-to number for some odd reason.

Anytime we're with my sister, he always wants to ride in "Ashee's Car". (She drives a mini van and for whatever reason, he just loves riding in her van.) He has cried to ride in "Ashee's Car" when he doesn't get to because we're not going to the same place.

We've been recently working on potty training. We tried the method where they wear nothing but a t-shirt all day and that has gone alright. We brought his little potty into the living room and he definitely recognizes when he needs to go and will say, "Pee Potty" but he doesn't want to sit on the potty for some reason. He will just hold it for as long as he can, even dancing around because he needs to go, but doesn't want to sit on the potty. We had several successful times that he went on the potty, he even pooped once, but after a day or two of potty training he just wanted to wear his diaper again. I even got him new "wear wear" that he got to pick out, but he still doesn't want to go on the potty. I've tried promising snacks and toys and it doesn't seem to help. Any suggestions are welcome if you've had this same problem. :-)

He absolutely loves "Mee Mouse" also known as Mickey Mouse. Ha. He's always loved Mickey Mouse, but it's all he wants to watch now. He use to be pretty happy to watch anything on Disney Jr. but now he only ever wants to watch Mickey Mouse!

He's still eating pretty good these days. He loves pizza! That's probably his favorite meal. He also eats fish sticks, hot dogs and chicken nuggets well. He eats corn, peas, carrots, pickles, mashed potatoes, french fries, apples and cheese well too. His favorite snacks are fruit snacks, peanut butter crackers, licorice, cinnamon rolls, white long john donuts and nutty bars!

His favorite things to do are... play with his cars, play outside, go to the park, go to church, dance to the DJ Shuffle song on Disney Jr. and watch Mickey Mouse.

He still takes one 3 hour afternoon nap, which he absolutely needs or he's a terror! He's wearing 4t clothes and size 8-9 shoes. He's doing a great job with his new role as big brother! He loves his baby sister and wants to hold her briefly throughout the day. 

Jackson, you are such a sweet boy! Mommy and Daddy love you to pieces and enjoy every second we are with you. You make our lives so much better and we love watching you grow! You are such a blessing in our lives and we are so proud to be your parents! ♥

Avery's Newborn Photo Session

The week after we brought Avery home, I took some newborn photos of her one day at home while Jackson was at pre-school and my Mom was over to help. My mom had made her a tutu and headband to match. She also dyed some cheesecloth to wrap Avery up in for a picture and my sister made a matching headband for it. A friend of mine had made her a crown, so I just knew I wanted to get some adorable pictures using all of these props. :-)

These photos turned out better than I thought, considering it took my mom and I around 3 hours to take them all. Newborn photo sessions are the hardest in my opinion and just very time consuming. With that being said, I absolutely love these and wanted to share them with you.

Avery's First Month

I did weekly pictures and updates of Jackson and have been taking weekly pictures of Avery as well, however, I've fallen behind in the weekly updates department. So here are all of her weekly pictures so far, and some updates I want to get written down before I forget.

Avery, you are such a sweet girl. You have such an adorable smile and there is nothing I love more than to see that sweet smile. Even at 3 a.m., I love seeing it.

You have gotten so big this month. You are now wearing 0-3 month clothes. The newborn clothes didn't fit for very long, just maybe 2-3 weeks tops. Especially the newborn sleepers. You are just too long for them. You are wearing size 1 diapers and have been for close to 2 weeks. You weighed 8 lbs. 5 ozs. at your 1 week doctors visit and then 9 lbs. 9 ozs. at your 3 week doctor's visit!! You are growing like a weed.

You LOVE to eat! You are on breast milk and formula because like your brother, Mommy just doesn't produce enough milk to feed my hungry babies! So we are supplementing with Similac Supplement formula. You have taken to it just fine. We tried the Enfamil form of the Supplemental formula and it did not go over near as well. You are eating around 4 ounces every 2-3 hours during the day and every 3-4 hours at night. You are chunking up quite a bit as can be seen in these pictures. You have the cutest arm and leg rolls and the chubbiest of cheeks!

(Wearing an adorable dress that your Auntie Ashlee made for you along with a matching headband, diaper cover and shoes! - May 25, 2014)

Your umbilical chord decided to hang around a lot longer than normal, therefore we had to give you several sponge baths before we could ever give you your first real bath. You didn't like your first sponge bath at all!! (May 3rd)

 It finally decided to fall off on May 24th (at 3 weeks old) and I gave you your first real bath on May 26th and you loved it!!

You love being swaddled up tight like a little burrito, just like your brother did. The other night all I did was swaddle you up and you went right to sleep! You sleep in your rock n play in our room and are doing just fine with that.

We have had a hard time getting you to take a binkie. I have just now finally gotten you to take one when you're tired and I'm rocking you to sleep. You won't just take it any time, especially if you're mad. But we're getting there.

Your big brother sure does love you. The first thing he asks in the morning is "where baby". :-) I can't wait to see how the two of you will interact as you get older. I can only hope and pray that you are the best of friends.

 You had your first couple holidays this month. Mother's Day...

 and Memorial Day!

Well I think that about covers it. I have so enjoyed this first month with you sweet girl and am so looking forward to watching you grow. Every day is a joy with you! You are certainly loved by many and I hear how beautiful you are on a very regular basis!

I love you sweet pea!!

 XOXO - Mommy

Avery's Birth Story

Avery's birth story is really quite the opposite of Jackson's. There was no 20 hour labor only to find out you have to have a c-section in the wee hours of the morning. 

It was a scheduled c-section this time around, which was great in every way except knowing when you are going to have major surgery means you have plenty of time to worry about it. However, I worried for nothing. It couldn't have gone any better. 

Picture taken right before leaving the house for the hospital.

We were scheduled to be at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. that Monday morning. Jake and I had dropped Jackson off at my parent's house the night before and were all ready to go the next morning. My emotions were all over the place and we didn't really talk much on the 40 minute car ride to hospital. I just kept telling myself it would all be over in just a couple short hours and I'd have my sweet baby girl in my arms.

We got there and they put us in the same room I'd be recovering in after my c-section. I put my lovely hospital gown on and they got the iv put in (which was probably the worst part of the whole deal since she had a hard time finding my vein... ouch). One of the worst things that stuck out in my mind about my c-section with Jackson was that I threw up while on the operating table and then again in recovery. I knew I didn't want to do that again if there was any way of preventing it, so I basically told everyone that I came in contact with, that we needed to do something about that if we could so that it wouldn't happen again. At first, no one seemed to really care too much and just acted like that was pretty normal. But the sweet anesthesiologist I had, put this lovely, tiny patch behind my ear to prevent nausea and it worked like magic! It was wonderful.

At around 7:10 a.m., my Dr. came into the room and said we'd be heading back to surgery shortly and that's when things started moving fast. The next thing I knew I was back in the OR getting the spinal. I have to say, a spinal is much better than an epidural. I won't say it didn't hurt at all, but it was definitely better than an epidural and started working very quickly. Before I knew it, I was completely numb from the chest down. This is such a strange feeling and I did have to breath and use some mind over matter when the spinal was setting in.

Once Jake was able to come in the room, I felt a lot better and that's when the surgery really got started. With my C-section with Jackson, I don't remember feeling the tugging and pulling that I've heard so many talk about, but with Avery, I did. It was certainly a strange feeling and at one point, it felt like she was pulling her out of my ribs!! I wouldn't say it hurt, but it was definitely uncomfortable.

Then at 7:47, I heard the sound I had been waiting 9 long months to hear. My sweet baby girls first cry! There's really no better sound or feeling, and once again, I cried tears of joy! 

Soon after I heard her cry, they brought her over so I could see her and she was so beautiful. She had a head full of dark hair and quite a dark complexion. I remember thinking she was the prettiest baby and I couldn't believe she was all mine. 

They then weighed her and put a diaper on her and layed her on my chest for some skin to skin. It was something I didn't get to experience with Jackson and I'm so sad that I didn't because it was really such a sweet moment. She immediately stopped crying when they layed her on my chest and it makes me tear up just thinking about it. It was just so special.

She weighed 8 lbs. 3 ozs. and was 20 inches long. I told my doctor that I figured she'd weigh 8+ pounds and I was right.

After several minutes of holding her while they tied my tubes and stitched me back up, they took her for her first bath. Jake followed so he could video it. Once they were done stitching me back up, they took me back to the recovery room. My parents, sister and brother in law were waiting by the nursery, so I was able to say hi as they were getting to see Avery get her bath. My recovery room was just right across the hall from the nursery. My mom said Avery looked like me when I was born. :-)

I was in recovery for 2 hours and was able to nurse Avery for the first time and also have Jackson meet Avery for the first time. Those 2 hours seem like a blur now, but I remember being so happy to see Jackson and have my sweet family of 4 all together.

We stayed in the hospital until Thursday and we spent those days getting to know our sweet Avery. We kept her in the room with us at night and I'll never forget snuggling with her and bonding with her.

 We had several family and close friends come and visit us, which was so nice.

Big brother Jackson holding his new baby sister for the first time.

 My Dad, Sister and Brother in Law, my Mother in Law and my Mom, all holding Avery. :-)

This is probably my favorite picture from the hospital. I just love Jackson's sweet smile as he's looking at his new baby sister. ♥

 Avery was quite content laying on Papa's chest. ♥

A few other visitors with our sweet Avery: Our good friend Wendy, my Aunt Karla, my Sister in Law Liz and our nieces Alexis and Kyleigh.

Roses that my Mother-in-Law brought. Each rose represented the 4 of us. I believe the Yellow was for Jake, the Red for me, the White was for Jackson and the Pink was for Avery.

At the hospital that Jackson and Avery were born in, they have the walls of their hallway all covered in baby foot prints. We were able to find Jackson's footprint and put Avery's right next to his.

Jackson's is right next to my nephew Mason's, so the three of them are all right by one another. My nephew Landon's foot print is just right across the hall so they are all close to one another. :-)

I was able to write Avery's name on the wall next to her footprint, which was pretty cool.

Avery all ready to head home. She wasn't thrilled about being in the car seat at first, but she didn't make a peep the whole car ride home. :-)

My recovery has gone amazingly. It went much faster this time around. By the next Monday, I was not even needing any pain medicine at all and was able to go for a short walk with my 2 kiddos the weekend after we came home from the hospital.

I just want to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and kind words during my pregnancy and delivery. They are so much appreciated!

God gave us such a beautiful and healthy baby and I will be forever grateful for Avery. She perfectly completes our family and I couldn't be more thankful for this sweet family God blessed me with. I love them so much and am just so thankful. ♥