Big Changes

Since my last post, Josh has deployed, Jackson is starting to talk, and I am packing up our place.

Josh and I talked it over for what seemed like forever and we decided it would be in the best interest of our family for Jackson and I to move back to Maryland for a while.  I will be leaving San Diego and moving in with my in-laws for a while.  Lucky, I've got some great in-laws, makes things lots easier.  I've heard horror stories about other peoples in-laws and I am very thankful that my amazing husband came with some amazing parents.  Plans are being finalized, I move out of our place on July 25th and we leave CA on the 26th. We are taking our time driving across the country and should be in MD by August 2nd.  It's a good thing I had already prepared myself for moving.  It turns out the place we live will be raising the rent by $300 if we were to renew our lease.  This place is already on the high end of our budget and that would take it over.  So it looks like one way or another, I was bound to be moving this summer.

Josh has been gone for a little over a month now.  And I am handling it ok.  I have some good days and some bad days.  The bad days seem to be coming around more often.  I'm hoping it is just the stress of the move and the fact that Jackson has started talking and Daddy is missing it.  He now says cat, meow, more, vroom, quack, this, and his new favorite, uh oh.  He's turning in to a little boy before my eyes.  He's amazing.  He's so smart.  He loves to build blocks, play with cars, read books, and go swimming.  If there was one thing I could rein in on him is if he could be a little less fearless.  Especially in a crowed place or near the water.  We are definitely entering the "Terrible Twos" with tantrums, and not wanting to share.  But we are working through it one day at a time.

That's all I have for now.  I've had a busy day with cleaning and going to the pool.  The little dude is in bed and out for the night.  I think I will go relax, maybe watch some tv or read and go to bed myself.

xoxo
Mommy & Jackson

Decisions, Decisions..

It has been a long week. I'm sure it just felt longer because we had visitors, Josh's Dad and Linda (Dad's girlfriend). We were go, go, go all week. Trying to see as much as we could in the 7 short days they were here. Now they have left and Josh is back to work after leave and I am left alone with my thoughts. Josh is leaving for deployment very soon. I have a lot of decisions to make on my own. His Navy contract is up shortly after they return from deployment. So, do I stay here in California by myself, well not by myself, I have friends here. Or do I move to Maryland where I can be closer to family so that Jackson can bond with them and I can have their much needed help and support while Josh is away.

I always said I wouldn't be one of those military wives that went home for every deployment, but now I am seeing that in some cases, it is absolutely necessary. I can understand why some chose to do it. For me, it is still not an ideal situation because I NEED my own space. A place to call mine that I can escape to when I need some down time. Josh and I talked about is and realized the money we'd save by me moving back could help us with a down payment on a house when he was out of the Navy. I had they idea maybe I could stay in a long term hotel, or short term furnished rental and but our stuff in storage so that A) I wouldn't have to worry about moving it from one coast to the next by myself, cost wise and other and B) so that everything would still be in one place when the Navy would move us one last time. That idea got nixed when I did some research and realized I'd be paying just as much in rent here as I would for the storage unit and a place to stay, meaning we wouldn't be saving any money.

So now it's back to the drawing board. I have to get something figured out in the next few weeks so I can plan, pack, whatever needs to be done. I only have 4 months left on the lease here. I do know that if we stay in CA, I definitely want to move. This complex is not family friendly. There are no other children, or even a playground around for Jackson. He needs playmates and a place to run.

So that's it for now. I just wanted to get that out.

Easter Pageant weeked

I entered Jackson in to a Easter pageant hosted by the Stars and Stripes Entrepreneurs Network, which is military wives with home businesses based. The do monthly events to help us get our names out there, make contacts, etc... Since I was unable to be a vendor this time, I decided to put Jackson in the pageant.

He got a stylin' new suit and dress shoes for the event. He looked so stinking handsome. I know I am biased but whatever, My son is so cute.

He won! He won 1st place for boys in his age division! He got a candy bouquet, and a cool r/c race car. And in lieu of a crown, they gave the winners bunny ears. I'm so proud of my little turd, I just wanted to brag about him a bit.

Whew...

It's been a busy 5 months. I now have "Blog at least once a week" written on a post-it by the computer. I feel so much better after I write a nice long post and I know I will cherish remembering every detail I can when it feels like the days are flying by so quickly. Let's get caught up, and go from there.

Josh came home a couples days before Thanksgiving and we were so glad to be able to have him home. We spent the day with our great friends turned family Ryan, Nicole and Aidan. Nicole and I decided to go Black Friday shopping for the first time ever and we were lined up at Toys R Us by 9pm. We hit Toys R Us, Old Navy, Target, and Walmart and didn't get home until 3am. Woke up after sleeping a couple hours and went to the Navy Exchange and scored a couple more deals. Overall it was a fun, exciting trip and we definitely saved a lot of money on things we were planning to buy anyway. I know my savings were about $500. I loved being able to spoil my boys and have extra money.

Nothing to exciting happened in December. We were just enjoying being a family and Josh was getting to see all the new things Jackson learned while he was gone. We decorated for Christmas, painted ceramics for Christmas gifts, visited with Santa, and planned a trip to MD for right after Christmas. Ryan, Nicole, and Aidan came over to our house for Christmas dinner, it was a nice relaxing dinner. Exactly what we wanted since the next day I had to clean house, take down the decorations, and finish packing since we were leaving for MD on the 27th.

Our trip to MD went well, Jackson is an amazing little traveler. He got to see all of his Grandparents, and even got to meet some Aunts, Uncles, and cousins he still hadn't had the chance to meet. He had Christmas again with Grammie, Grandmom, and Grandpa. He is a very loved little boy. We took him to Annapolis, Maryland to walk around and show him where Mommy and Daddy were married. And he even had a taste of Cream of Crab soup since that is Josh and I's anniversary tradition.

January was another quiet month. His BFF Aidan turned 1 and we went to the zoo with him on his birthday and then had a blast at his party that weekend, Mommy got a tattoo with Nicole to celebrate our boys and us making it through a very trying, exciting first year. Jackson watched the football playoffs with Daddy, and we just enjoyed being together.

By February, I can't believe I ever had a baby. He is a full fledged child now. He runs and plays and he is such a dare devil, he goes down the slide head first, and loves the playground. We had his first haircut in February, and they took my baby from me in a matter of minutes. I watched him transform from my baby with crazy hair to a handsome little boy. And now, he looks even more like Josh.

March was exciting. We were getting ready for lots of visitors. First Grandmom came out, then the next day Uncle Bryan, Aunt Sammie, Braydon, and Matthew came down from OR. I hadn't seen Bryan (My brother) in 4 years. I'd never met his wife, or my nephews. Braydon is 2 months older then Jackson, and Matthew was 5 weeks old when they came to visit. We went to Playtown, the Zoo, Sea World, A swim in the pool and had lots of fun before they left. Grandmom stayed a few more days and we added a trip to the beach onto that list. My birthday was on the 27th, and I turned 27. No big deal it was just another day to me and I am having a hard time emotionally turning 27. No time to deal with that, Next week Josh goes on leave and his Dad and Dad's girlfriend will be flying in for a week. Then we get ready for the dreaded deployment.

Thanks for reading this long post. Hopefully I will not have to do a long catch-up one like this again.

xoxo

Mommy & Jackson

1 Year Old

Our Jackson is 1 year old. Already. It seems like just yesterday we were anxiously awaiting his arrival. And now, a whole year has past.

He is so energetic which is why I've been way neglecting this blog. I've been to busy chasing him around and trying to savor each little moment with him. That and the fact that in July, we moved from Naples, Italy to San Diego, California. In between we got to spend some time with our extended family. Many who were meeting Jackson for the first time.

Once we got to CA and settled, Josh was told he had to go out to meet his ship and finish deployment. Trying to find my own routine with a mobile baby was hard. It was a tough few weeks. Just as I got it figured out, Josh is told they would be home soon so now I am looking forward to having him home.

Skype is an amazing thing. We were lucky enough to be able to call Josh via skype on a almost daily basis. Jackson was so cute with it. Anytime he heard it ring, he waved to the computer and said "Dada". Josh even got to see some of Jackson's first steps even though he was miles away.

I think Jackson is looking more and more like Josh every day, but everyone else says they see some of me in there. I see my attitude more then my looks. Poor Daddy. He loves music. We almost always have music on. Jackson dances and laughs and looks like he tries to snap. He loves playing with cars making a "vroom" sound as he moves them across the floor. He loves building blocks and claps and says "Yay!" after everyone he gets stacked up. And he is so proud of himself now that he is walking. As soon as he stands up he gets this big grin on his face and starts giggling. I can't wait to see what he will learn next.

Here is our 1 year old

Picture update Sept-Nov

So to begin this photo update, I'll start where I left off in September. I had my maternity pictures taken by a wonderful photographer. These are 2 of my favorites. I was 31 weeks.

Also in September, I had my Italy baby shower thrown for me by Nicole.




Then in October, My wonderful mother-in law hosted a shower for our family in Maryland. We attended via Skype



Then, I hosted a Baby shower for Nicole. Her cake was made by our friend and neighbor. It turned out super cute




Then at the end of Ocotber, My Mom came out to begin her visit here and see Jackson being born We went to the bar on base for a halloween party



Finally November. As you know from the previous post, Jackson didn't want to come on his own. He had to be evicted. Here are some from his birthday
Our last picture as just the 2 of us. Man I was huge!

I had already been in labor for 10 hours. This was when the contractions were starting to get painful/This is after my epidural went in and I was trying to get some sleepHe's here!My first time holding him. 2 and a 1/2 hours after he was born
I'll do another update to catch up from this point. For now, I am going to bed.

xoxo
Mommy & Jackson

Long time coming...

It's been a whirlwind couple of months. I have so much to catch you up on. My last post was in August so I'll start there.

September I had my maternity pictures taken and my baby shower
October threw Nicole a baby shower and got ready for my mom's visit
November - I watched my due date come and go with no baby. I was getting uncomfortable to the max. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, and I could barely walk. I got HUGE! I would have sworn I was going to give birth to a sumo wrestler.
Here's his birth story:

On the 9th of November, I had my weekly OB appointment. I got checked only to find that I had stalled. I had made no progess since my last appointment even after having my membranes stripped twice. My Dr. swept them again and then went to talk to the other OB in the clinic. They decided to have me come in that night to start the induction process. She told me to go home, get some rest and eat a good dinner because I wouldn't be able to eat again until after Jackson was here.




So I go home and I am to excited to sleep. I nap off and on but don't really get any rest. Finally around 5pm I go take my shower, take my last belly picture, have my mom braid my hair and head off to dinner. We decided to go to a little place close to base where they have rottiserie chicken and potatoes. I went in to the hospital at 9pm. I was scared, nervous, anxious, and excited all at the same time. My mom took the last picture of Josh and I as a family of 2. I got into the gown and all hooked up to the machines. Around 10, my Dr came in to insert (yes insert) a small pill that would help soften my cervix. I was told to lay flat for 30 minutes to an hour and to try to get some sleep. Why can't anyone understand I am to excited to sleep :P They would be back to check me in 4 hours and see if we'd need to do another dose of that or if we could move on to the pitocin.



4 hours later, my cervix was favorable so they started pitocin. That's when the contractions got worse. They were coming every 1-2 minutes. I was doing really good breathing through them but by 6am they were really starting to get painful. At 7am I was at 4cm and I asked for my epidural. I had a really good anesthesiologist. He explained everything to me and made sure I didn't have any questions or concerns before he started. He talked to me the whole time. I didn't feel it going in. He stayed around to make sure it took and then to test it, it took an ice cube and ran it down my side. I'm very ticklish so I was laughing. All it did was change the cold sensation.



Then my Dr broke my water. According the the monitors, the contractions were getting stronger and harder but I was blissfully unaware. Finally, I allowed myself to relax enough to go to sleep. I had to wear an oxygen mask but I was sleeping so good, I was drooling into it. This is where my time gets fuzzy. I don't know how long it took for things from here. All I know is that after getting my water broken, Jackson started to have issues with the pitocin. So we'd back it off to get his heart rate back up, then my contractions would slow down. Finally after lots of back and forth with that I got to 10cm and it was time to push.



I started pushing at 6pm. The first couple of pushes were easy. Then things took a turn. Jackson was laying on his cord so when ever I pushed he heart rate would dip again. I was told I had one more set of pushes to get him out or they would go to a c-section. When that next contraction hit, They had the vaccum to help and I pushed with everything I had. No dice... At 7pm my room was flooded with Drs and nurses and everything went a little crazy.



I was taken into the operating room for an emergency c-section. My anesthesiologist stayed with me and sat by my head and talked to me the entire time. Josh barely made it in the room before they delivered the baby. Jackson was born at 7:22pm. He weighed 7lbs 12oz and was 21in long. Josh brought him over to me but I didn't have my glasses so I couldn't see him, then Josh and the baby left the room while I got stiched up and taken to my own recovery room. The next thing I knew Josh was coming in telling me how beautiful the baby was and that he was getting hungry so I had to wake up so we could breastfeed him. I didn't know it was 2 hours after he'd been born. I didn't get to hold him until 9:30pm. I couldn't believe it. He's here and he is so perfect. Everyone was right. Once I got to hold him, I forgot all about everything that happened in the past 24 hours.

Josh had 10 days of leave to spend with us and my mom was here until the end of November. It was nice to have her here to help out and especially to help cook Thanksgiving dinner :D

Jackson's first Christmas was spent at home with Mommy and Daddy. He slept through most of the gift opening. I can't wait for next year. Should be much more entertaining. We made sure to get on skype to talk with the grandparents.

After Christmas, Josh's mom came and spent a week with us. She didn't even get her jacket off before reaching for Jackson.

Now it's back to being just us and we are trying to get into a routine. My days are much more interesting now. Sometimes the housework gets neglected because I would much rather play with Jackson.

He's now 2 months old and full of personality. He is the perfect fit for us. He's already rolled over (tummy-back)and he is reaching and grabbing for things. I can't believe how fast he is growing. I've already had to pack some clothes away.

Ok, this is long winded enough. The next post will be a picture update.

xoxo
Mommy & Jackson