oh its been awhile...

...since I have blogged. I can't imagine why I did not have time for this sooner?!?! Its has been a super busy last few months with the birth of our new girl...HA...I mean sweet baby boy Colton! It was quite the shocker, but a pleasant one at that...we are thrilled Jackson will have a brother to grow up with and we now dont have to go broke buying every cute girl thing around. Many people asked me if I was sad about it all and I can honestly say no. I never cried, was upset or anything of that nature. We have a healthy beautiful baby boy and that is all that matters to us!

Jackson has been a wonderful big brother thus far. I can see it in his eyes how much he loves his little brother. And Colton sure is already in aw over him. He follows jackson with his eyes constantly. Colton is a sweet baby, a lot more vocal (aka more of a crier) than Jackson ever was. But that isn't much to compare to since Jackson rarely cried. Colton is also a horrible daytime napper just like his brother was. But I am blessed to have a great night time sleeper. Colton is also a bit smaller than Jackson was at this age...Jackson was always ridiculously off the charts...Colton on the other hand is in the 90-95% (so still not small by any means).I can't wait to see them continue to grow together and watch their relationship blossom.

As for me...I tried to be an overachiever and get out right away when I got the ok to work out and start running. After about a week of running my knees hurt so bad I could barely walk. Fast forward now 3 weeks and they are getting better so I think I will start off with the elliptical (sp) machine now and work my way up to running. I also in the mean time have been studying to take the teacher certification test. Which I did this last thursday and passed. I took the test so I can teach 4-8th graders and I am going to be taking a few classes over the summer to then hopefully start teaching in the fall. With Rick's schedule the kids will only have to be with a sitter for 6 hrs a week (in our house) and it sets us up for a great future with two pensions to retire with. So I am beyond thrilled.

Well I guess this is all I have for now...hopefully 3 months won't pass by again before I write.

Holy Holy....

We are hitting the ten day mark before the newest addition will be here. I am feeling all sorts of emotions right now.

1) I am beyond uncomfortable, no position sleeping or awake feels good on my body. I joke with Rick constantly on how "hot" I must look just trying to put clothes on....between the labored breathing, huge belly and my pelvic bone feeling like it could snap any minute I don't think it can get any better.

2) we are totally excited to meet the little one but at the same time I am very anxious on the dynamics of our family when she arrives. I can't picture another little one in the mix, our little family of three feels perfect, but I know that she will be another added joy to our lives.

3) I am nesting to the extreme right now. I feel like nothing is clean enough or organized enough. Today for example I took apart Jackson's car seat and washed every inch of it, including the mat it sits on to protect the leather seats and then vacuumed my entire car. Why ?? I don't know. Don't get me wrong I like to keep things neat... I wouldn't say I am super clean freak but I don't like a dirty house either. But this has all been taken to the next level and its starting to drive Rick batty!

4) I AM EXHAUSTED!! Maybe its because I don't sleep more than 6 hours total a night (if I am lucky and never consecutive) or maybe its because I run myself ragged cleaning, moving, organizing, chasing a toddler...whatever it is it stinks!

I am positive these next 10 days will fly by. If I remember I will post again before she is here if not...sometime after.

Christmas...

....I love Christmas dearly!! I love everything about the Christmas season and it always makes me so sad when its time to take down our decorations at the first of the year. This year was extra special because its the first year that Jackson actually "got it". Well...mostly that is, he knows its baby Jesus's birthday that we celebrate but he doesn't quite get why this Jesus guy we always talk about who is "up high and in our hearts" also has a birthday. He was really into Santa this year too....and trust me it was a great ploy to get him to behave everyday leading up to Christmas!!
So for the first time, we put out milk and cookies for Santa and filled our stockings with little gifts from him as well. Jackson woke up SO excited I thought he was going to bust out of his pants!! Everything he opened from his stocking was "oh my goodness--- I LOVE ______" it melted our hearts. We feel so blessed in the things we get each year for Christmas as well as the things we can give. Jackson was totally on present overload I think it will take weeks for all his new toys to settle in. The grandparents all got him something fun and exciting while mom and dad got him educational toys. I guess thats what we are for right?!?!
I missed my family in California as usual this Christmas, we are hoping to make it out that way next Christmas for sure since it just kills me to be apart from them during the holidays. I wish I could have all my family close by me to celebrate all year!!
So, now that another Christmas has come and gone...I hope everyone had a wonderful day and that each of you took time to remember the true reason of the season!

Can you believe...

...that this baby girl will be here in a little over 6 weeks?!?! I swear my pregnancy with Jackson seemed to lag on and on. With this one I have blinked and it is almost over. Got the last two major things for her room figured out today. She is going to get Jackson's dresser that matches the crib and we bought Jackson a nice new 10 drawer dresser today. Also bought the bedding, so exciting! The last things we need are just some decorative stuff for the walls. That's the fun part! Right now her room is being used as "Christmas Central" with presents that need to be wrapped piled on the bed along with all the boxes from our Christmas decorations. Along with piles of baby clothes and Thanksgiving decorations that need to find a place. Can you tell I am a little behind on my tasks right now?!?! Like I have an excuse or something :0). Thats all for now!

I am thankful for....

1) Jesus Christ-- my savior who died for me so that I can live!
2) My husband--our provider, my rock and the best daddy to our son.
3) Jackson-- my little man, you bring such joy to my heart with your sweet smile.
4) My parents-- without them to have guided me through life who knows where I would be today.
5) My brothers and sisters-- I love each of you for many different reasons, and I can't wait to see what life has in store for each of you.
6) My friends-- as I get older I feel my number of true friends goes down but the relationships get better and better.
7) And all the other blessings in my life to numerous to list.

I hope each of you has a very happy Thanksgiving!

SO...

...its a girl for sure. My next appointment is in a couple of days so I am going to have my Dr. confirm just one more time before we buy the bedding. Boy parts are so much easier to see than girls I feel....I feel with a girl at any time they can be like...whoops...its actually a boy! We are pretty confident its a girl though. The good thing is that I feel great and am loving the cooler weather around here as I continue to get bigger. I am getting a bit anxious on the logistics of having two children and how life will be but I am thinking that is completely normal. I am sure it will work out just fine....or be a complete nightmare...but I will be positive and hope for the first! Nothing too exciting going on around here right now, just wanted to give this a little update for now!

Will we ever know...

...for a 100% what this child is?? I have no clue. I had another ultrasound this last Tues and still no definitive answer. The tech said if she had to guess she would say it was a girl. The planner in me is screaming at the seams to know what this kid is either way. But never the less we have to wait again. The baby seems to be healthy and measuring ahead like my children seem to do which makes mommy look like she is farther a long than I am! (lucky me eh?!?!) I tried to upload a picture of the newest doodle but the link wasn't working. I will try again some other time.

Rick started night shift this last week. He likes it because 1) its not as hot out 2) time actually seems to go by pretty quickly. Right now he is working 4-10's with 3 days off. I am not super fond of the night shift because I don't sleep well with him gone. But its only for training right now so its temporary and then he will go to afternoons. He sleeps till about 130pm on the days he works and seems to transition well on the days he is not. I think it helps that we have two layers of blackout curtains in our room now so it looks like a night in the middle of the day. I also think since our house is newer it has pretty good sound barriers so he says he doesn't hear a thing.

Jackson has been doing great at school. The school I had him in over the summer turned into a major cry fest everyday that I dropped him off so I switched him back to his old school and he is back to waving me off as if I am never any fun! A little story from today....we had playgroup at a local park and one of Jackson's friends fell down and started to cry. Jackson so sweetly went over there and gave him a big hug and told him it was going to be okay. Its so funny how one little being can have so much of each parent in them. On one side today Jackson was being his usual social butterfly self mingling with everyone not being too attached to one or the other (like his daddy) but super attentive of others and how they are feeling (like his mommy). Have I told you already how much I love this age?!?! I really do, its just such a fun time in his life. Next goal for us really soon it the big potty training. Everyone is telling me how they think he is ready....I have just been dreading loosing my security blanket of him in a diaper while we are out and about. SO...I think its coming soon and trust me I will blog about it...stay tuned!