My crazy, unpredictable life!

Jaxon: 21 Months.

2012-02-13T15:28:00.000-08:00

My sweet boy is "almost 2!" How did that happen?!

He has added quite a few words to his sweet little vocabulary. But the most adorable of the new words are "sorry" and "Please" Especially when he uses them in the right contexts. He also gives unprompted loves much more now, and will kiss everyone else's owies better too.

He's hovering right around the 23lb mark and just about 33 inches tall I think.

He's mostly in 2T clothing because of his length. It seems like anything smaller is just too dang short. He does wear some 18-24 month stuff in shirts and sweats though.

Every morning when Jaxon wakes up he hands me all his "guys" out of the crib and makes me stack them on the side of the changing table so that he can talk to them while I change him and get him ready for the day.

He can tell me what most farm animals say and only refers to them by the noise that they make. For instance if I point at a cow and ask "what's that?" he will respond with "mooooo"..... He also loves "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes" and will try to do the actions to go along with it. He also kind of likes "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" Sometimes he doesn't like it at all though.

Today he got adjusted for the first time by the chiropractor and I am hoping that it helps with the abundance of ear infections we have seen around here in the last year or so. We are also doing a few other things and I'm hoping to avoid anymore sickies around here!

Jaxon is forward facing as of this month. Little stinker figured out how to get out of his seat so I was hoping that turning him forward would make it easier for me to see him and keep him from getting out of his seat. It didn't help. I soon realized that his seat was not functioning properly so we got a new one. Unfortunately, there is no way we can turn him back rear facing now that he has gotten used to being forward....

He is really missing his Daddy these days. Whenever we skype with Jesse, Jaxon gives him "booms" through the computer with his fist and lot's of high fives. He gives him kisses and waves at him a ton.

We have been working on using the big boy potty off and on since Christmas. We still aren't really serious about it. I think that if I pushed Jaxon on it he would catch on pretty quick, but I think he will probably regress when Jesse comes home. I don't want to set ourselves up for that frustration. If he asks to use the potty I always let him, but I am not forcing the issue for sure!

Mister man has also been really pushing his limits lately. Some days I feel like all I do is discipline discipline discipline him. It can be really frustrating.

We are reading a lot of books these days and watching movies a lot. The weather has been less than desirable so we haven't been outside a WHOLE lot. But we have managed to sneak in a few trips into the rare sunshine when it peeks out. We went hiking last Friday with my dad and a few other family members. I carried Jaxon in our new Ergo carrier on my back. I thought I was going to die at some points in the trail. But, we made it to the top and the view was totally worth it! I hope we can do it a couple more times before we head back to ND!

Sweet, sweet Jaxon. Your dad and I love you so much. We both laugh at the end of every day while we talk about the new things you are doing. Your dad misses you so much and we both cannot wait until we are altogether as a family again! I cannot believe how fast time is flying and that soon you will be 2! We love you so very much mister!

Mama.

Edited to add: Jax also had his hair cut all off this month! It was a bit emotional for me and I still miss his sweet baby curls, but it was time.

Pigs.

2012-02-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

The same day we got snow here at my parents we went up to Jesse's parents to let Jaxon see their baby pigs. Jaxon was not too sure about the babies for a while and only wanted to pat the mamas, since they were laying down and not making any noise. After a while he warmed up to the babies though. He also go to see all the other animals and brush Duke, their red heeler. Before we left he was throwing the cedar shavings onto the babies and then "washing" them off with a paper towel.... He was too funny.

Disclaimer: My dad took all these photos :)

Snow.

2012-01-25T23:47:00.000-08:00

A week(ish) ago we got a light dusting of snow. Jaxon was totally decked out in his snow gear, and LOVED playing out in the snow. By the end of our time outside the snow had started to melt a little bit and he was digging playing in the puddles of water left over too....

More Tid Bits..... And Things I Want to Remember.

2012-01-11T15:16:00.000-08:00

-Jaxon has another freaking ear infection. A few people have recommended a couple of different natural remedies and preventative things we can do. I am fully planning on giving those things a go as soon as we get rid of this one. I spent a few afternoons doing this while Jaxon's fever (measuring 103-104) made him absolutely miserable. He has an appointment for an evaluation with an ENT next week...

-Sometimes (Most times) deployments really suck. Some things are really fun about them though. This was Jesse's Christmas care package. Sucky part? It didn't get to him until a few days after Christmas. Oh well, at least it made it there right?

-Jaxon's poor stuffies needed a good wash. They ended up hanging above the fire for a few hours to dry.

-My sweet hubby sent a Christmas ornament for the tree. Loved it. It was the first ornament that went up on the tree.

-There's an indoor play area at the mall here. I have taken Jaxon over there a few times and he LOVES the slide. He goes up the stairs and down the slide about 100 times while we are there. I get so frustrated with the parents who sit and read on their Ipads or talk on their cell phones and ignore their children. You know the ones I'm talking about? The ones who are too big to be in the area in the first place and are knocking all the littles on their butts and not taking turns.... Anyway, we would probably go there a lot more often if it weren't for those parents/children.

-The week before Christmas my Mama, Jax and I went to lunch with Jesse's grandparents. Jaxon doesn't willingly go to other people but he went right to his Great Grandma Hazel and snuggled up right next to her.

-A few weeks ago it rained pretty hard and the next day my mom threw on my dads old rain jacket and took Jaxon out and let him stomp in the puddles and he loved it!

-There's a little diner here in town that my family goes to for breakfast quite often. Jaxon's favorite thing at the restaurant? Stack the creamers and knock them down. HA!

-Jesse's parents got Jaxon a John Deere Utility Tractor for Christmas. At first he was really afraid of it and how fast it went. Now, he is in love with it. Especially when one of the dogs (Bandit) decides to run in front of it and he runs into them. (No dogs/toddlers are hurt in the process, I promise!)

-Jaxon makes a new hilarious face. I call it the "Hmmmmm Face".... He doesn't ever do it when I ask him so there are no pictures. But it's too hysterical. He says "Hmmmmm" and puts his pointer finger up over his lips. He has also been telling me to "shhhh" in the same fashion.

-My New Years Eve consisted of an iced margarita, a Skype date with my sweet husband, and folding laundry.... We're really exciting around here. Party animals I tell ya!

-Around Christmas sometime Jaxon started asking to use the potty. I bought him a little seat that sits on top of the toilet and he has used it quite a few times since then. I haven't pushed it at all with him though. Some days he asks to use it 10 times, and some days he doesn't ask at all. I figure it's not worth a fight to get him to use it.

-I haven't seen my husband in 44 days as of today. We still have a ways to go. I can't believe we aren't even half way done with this deployment yet!

-Over Christmas we got to Skype with Jesse quite a bit. Christmas Eve we got to talk while I put together the Santa presents, and he got to see Jaxon open all his gifts Christmas morning.... He opened his tool bench and went right to work. He knew just how everything worked and didn't need anyone to show him! Ha! He also loved his Little People Farm. Both of them are still big hits and he plays with them quite often on his own. So nice for this Mama!

-We spent Christmas Eve at my grandparents house and Jax had a great time. He was trying so hard to open the packages were covered in ribbon and ended up falling over a couple of times trying to get the ribbon/paper off. His favorite gift that night? An Elmo guitar, clearly!

The big boys got "marshmallow guns" for Christmas. Jaxon enjoyed eating their ammo.

-Basketball is definitely a swear word in our house. (Did I just mention that in blog land for real!? Haha!) I joke with Hubby (who was a wrestler in high school) that Jaxon is going to end up being a 6'10" basketball player ;) Both my cousins play basketball and one of them got a new ball for Christmas. Jaxon was totally loving playing with it with Trevor!

-My sister, Mom and I made ornament wreaths. So fun! I made one for my house last year so this year I made one for my Grandma. It looked gorgeous hanging above my grandparents fireplace.

Jaxon is really big into coloring right now and asks to color a lot. Sometimes he ACTUALLY colors, other times he puts the crayons in/out of the package....

Jaxon and I watched the Rose Bowl with my dad this year. Well, I watched, Jaxon slept most of the game since it was close to nap time.

So now that I'm all caught up on here, maybe posting more often won't feel like such a daunting task....? Or maybe I'll wait another month before I update. Ha!

Until next time....

Tis' The Season.

2011-12-19T15:05:00.000-08:00

Jaxon was old enough to help decorate the tree this year and he LOVED it! His little eyes just lit up when we turned the lights on and started handing him ornaments. So so sweet.

Tid bits.

2011-12-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

We have had a busy few weeks here. I have been so busy chasing Jaxon all over the place by myself every day I just haven't had time to sit down and blog. By the time I have a free minute, with a sleeping Jaxon, I just want to sleep myself or you know, relax? Ha!

Our whole family (Jesse, Jaxon and I) traveled to Oregon for Thanksgiving before Jesse deployed. The day we left Minot had it's first real snow of the season.... Jesse and I shoveled our driveway together and sweet Jaxon ran (fell) in the snow in the front yard.... He wasn't all that sure at first, but loved it after a few minutes out in it.

We drove to Oregon, again.... It was a long drive. The weather was wonderful, until we hit western Montana. We hit a blizzard and in places white out conditions. We stopped once to help pull someone out of a ditch, and by the time we got to Washington, I had to call 911 for a car that was rolled on the side of the road. We got to spend an evening with some old friends in Spokane. I rock and only took one picture.

We arrived safely. Oregon welcomed us with sunshine and we spent Thanksgiving with family. Jaxon and Jesse played outside and we just had a great time. My sweet sister took family photos for us, and I love them! So blessed to have such a great photographer for a sister! (I even tried out a new hair-do!) Jesse and I went Christmas shopping for Jaxon together and had a date night.

Since Jesse left, Jaxon and I have been raking leaves, going for walks, playing with blocks and listening to/watching Daddy read books on the computer.

Until next time....

*Disclaimer- Probably 2/3 of these pictures were taken with my phone :)

19 Months.

2011-12-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

I cannot even believe Jaxon is 19 months old! We are so close to 20 months now, and that seems like it's so old! Eeeek!

He's added a few more words this month and they include

Baba (Papa)
Gutsa Gutsa (Get cha, get cha)-He has been saying this forever and I am just now figuring out what the heck he meant!
Meow
Rawr
And he snorts like a little piggie. Hilarious!

He is being a pretty good eater these days. Some days he is a pill about it, but some days he eats anything I put in front of him! Ha!

He has grown an inch since last month and is wearing clothes sized anywhere from 18 months-2T! We sorted out the issues we were having with his cloth diapers and he is back in them full time (except for nap/bed time!)

He is throwing balls/sticks over hand now and throws them quite often. He still loves to be outside and can climb with the best of them. He has started pushing his toys up against the cabinets in the kitchen so that he can stand on them and see what's in the kitchen.

My parents fridge has an ice/water dispenser in it. Thank you to the genius who made that fridge with a dang lock on it. He has been pushing the buttons all the time. A couple of times he has found it unlocked and gotten a shot of water right in the face.

He got his first haircut this month. It wasn't a big change, but it was enough for his Daddy and me. His curls are still very much intact and I'm hoping that even with regular trims every now and again, they will hang around!

Jaxon you are the light of my life. With your daddy gone right now, sometimes things are tough, but I wouldn't trade our time together for the world! Some days when I want to stay in bed and wallow and whine about the fact that it's just not fair, you haul me out of bed with your sweet little voice over the monitor. I'm grateful every day to you. What a joy you are.

I love you forever.
Mama.

Good-Byes.

2011-12-13T22:20:00.000-08:00

(One last phone picture before Jesse got on his plane!)

They never get easier.

I've said good-bye to Jesse plenty of times since we've been together.

You'd think by now I'd be used to it.

I'm not.

Saying our see-you-laters is always fairly emotional. Watching my husband hug our sweet son good-bye for the last time for a while (Still not sure how long yet) broke. my. heart. REALLY broke my heart.

Jesse told him to be good for his Mama and that he would miss him every day that he was gone. He snuggled him close and gave him lot's of kisses.

I still can't believe we are doing this again.

We are a couple of weeks in now, and finally getting into a routine. We have our regular skype dates and phone calls generally come around the same time of day....

Jaxon still asks for his Dad... He holds his hands up and says "Da?" every morning. I tell him that his Da is at work, and he will be home soon. For now, that answer seems to suffice.

My prayer is that it continues to suffice until Jesse is back in our arms.

18 Months, what?!

2011-11-15T20:44:00.000-08:00

I didn't write a 17 month letter because we were in Oregon and Jax was sick. I was sick too. We were both pretty miserable. 18 months seems like a big milestone though and I want to remember all the fun stuff he's doing at this age.

He is 23.5lbs and 31 inches tall. Last week he was in the doctors office for an ear infection and he only weighed 22.6lbs. After getting his ear infection treated, he gained a pound in a week! Holy chunker! ;)

He is wearing a size 5 diaper while we sort out some issues with our cloth diapers. (Rash issues) 18 month clothes are getting a little too tight, while the 24 month clothes are still too big.

He says a few more words this month I'm starting to forget things he says!

He consistently says:

Banana (Bamba)
Kitty (keeeety)
Cheese
Juice
Keys
Dog
Brrrr
Zip (sip)
Sit
Book
Box
Ball
Bark/No Bark
Cracker (Cru-cuh)
Uh-oh
Up
What's that (Sat)
Done (done-duh) I'm still not sure why he adds a "duh" at the end of that one.
Corn
Coin
King

He also signs for "more" and says "mmmmmm" after he drinks anything.

We are working on letting him be more independent in some areas when it's safe. He doesn't like to be carried down the stairs anymore but still needs a hand to hold while he walks down.... He can climb up them like nobody's business! He wants to put his own socks and shoes on and if we have time I try to let him attempt to do it himself. He is eating better with a fork, but still struggling with a spoon. He wants to drink out of a cup instead of a sippy, but I'm not sure I'm ready for that mess yet.

We talked to his doctor about ear tubes yesterday at his well baby. If he gets another ear infection (it would make 6 in a year) she wants us to really think about it.

He can kick and throw a ball now. Loves to "help" cook and will imitate anything we do. The other day Jesse was cleaning up some milk off the floor and Jaxon insisted on holding the rag. He proceeded to "spit" on the floor and then wipe it up with the rag. Monkey see, monkey do.

I am amazed at the things that Jaxon has learned this month and I am so looking forward to watching him learn more in the next few months. I am sad that his dad is going to miss so much, but we will be able to show him all the new fun things Jax has learned when he gets home.

Jaxon, your dad and I love to unconditionally and I promise that we always will. You are the light of our lives and we wouldn't trade you for anything in the world. You bring so much joy and laughter to our house. We would be lost without you little man. We love you.

Mama

Lighthearted Saturday night tid-bits.

2011-11-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

-We are watching too many football games this evening. While we lived in Arkansas, I totally became a hogs fan. While we were watching the AR-SC game tonight Jaxon learned how to call the hogs. So precious! We are also watching the LSU-Alabama game. Why? I have no idea. Because my husband convinced me we needed to watch it since they are the #1 and #2 teams. Of course, we will be watching the Oregon game tonight too. Thankfully Jaxon went to bed so I'm thinking a margarita while we watch that game sounds wonderful!

-Speaking of bed time. Holy crap. I swear, every night bed time is like an epic battle around here! These days you would NEVER know that Jaxon's little lungs weren't quite mature at birth. I'm sure our neighbors hear him every night throwing the biggest temper tantrum ever. We are talking Jesse picks him up to take him upstairs to bed and he starts flinging himself backwards and kicking and hitting, all at the same time. Really kiddo?! Tonight Jesse just put him straight into his crib. He fussed for a few minutes and now he's out... I know he's absolutely old enough to cry it out and understand that bed time is bed time, but it still breaks my heart to hear him cry up there alone.

-Mister man was a sock monkey for Halloween. So, so precious! We took him to the mall to trick or treat and he loved it. So many people and things to see. He walked the whole way and was completely content as long as he had a sucker in his mouth.

-My favorite picture from our evening of carving pumpkins and a family picture. I think Jesse and Jax look a lot alike in the picture of the two of them. And they both look so happy. It makes my heart smile.

-We are planning on cutting Jaxon's hair before Jesse deploys. Holy cow I cannot even believe my baby is 18 months old next week and we are cutting his hair. I would probably let it go a little longer if Jesse wasn't deploying (because I love his curls so much) but the reality is, it's getting long and tangly and he HATES having it brushed out. I am hoping that if we just trim it some of the curls will hang around.

-We are supposed to get some snow tonight. Last year we had our first snow before Halloween. I'm surprised that we still don't have any flakes on the ground yet this year!

It's been pretty chilly lately but we have been trying to take Jaxon outside whenever the sun pokes out from behind the clouds. Even though he has to have on 15 layers because it's cold, "siiiiiide" is his favorite place to be!

-I have been letting Jaxon feed himself yogurt every now and again. It usually makes a huge mess so I don't do it very often. Here's the proof. He went straight into the bath after breakfast!

-Oh and here's a couple of photos from our trip to Oregon.

My grandparents with Jaxon and I.

4 Generations.

Look at what little monkey learned to do with my parents fridge.

Until next time ya'll.....

Keep Living.

2011-11-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

I'm not cut out for this life.

My anxiety is out of control.

I want to run away. Curl up in a ball and spend the day crying.

Instead I keep living.

Even though my anxiety is out of control and tears are making their way down my cheeks, I keep living. I swallow that hard lump in my throat and keep living.

Keep moving forward.

Checking things off my to-do list.

Transfer my prescription to a civilian pharmacy 1500 miles away.

Make sure we get Jaxon in for the 18 month well baby appointment in the next two weeks.

Update will.

Get a Power of Attorney.

Get a power cord for our 2nd computer. Buy a second webcam.

Get Jaxon's first hair cut.

Take Christmas pictures as a family.

You see, these are all things that need to happen before my husband leaves for his 3rd deployment. Soon.

A deployment that came with very little notice and was very unexpected for us.

My heart is breaking.

Jaxon won't understand. All he will know is that there is someone in his life missing. His dad. He will ask for his dad every day when Jesse is supposed to be home from work. Eventually though, that will stop. He will ask for Jesse when it's time to go to bed because Jesse has been rocking him to sleep at night. Eventually that will stop too. How do you explain to an 18 month old that his dad will be back in 5 months?

Most wives just get a "I'll be late tonight" phone call from work.

I got "I'm going to miss Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day, my birthday, Easter, and maybe Jaxon's second birthday".

Talk about being slapped in the face with disappointment.

But, we just keep living.

I Knew Better.

2011-09-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

I have a hard time blogging when I am keeping a secret. Because I want to blog about it, and I can’t think of anything else to write about, so I just don’t.

Minot is not our favorite place. Better than Little Rock? Sure, in some ways, but there are a lot of things I really miss about Little Rock too. I try to remind myself that I am grateful we are here, because we are here as a family. In LR we wouldn’t be together as a family all year round. Jesse would be deployed 6 months out of the year and I’d be in Oregon with Jaxon and my family. The reality is though, at least we would know what to expect.

Here I feel like we are in this constant battle. We know we won’t be staying long, but we also know that we need to make the best of it.
Jesse’s enlistment is up next December. Actually, December 3, 2012 to be exact. That’s a little over a year away. While we were in Little Rock we talked to so many people who reenlisted because they hadn’t found a job yet when it came time to get out. Jesse and I both do not want that to happen to us. But, we have agreed that even if he doesn’t have a job lined up, he will be getting out. (No judging me here, alright?)….

It’s just not worth it for us anymore. Even if we have to stay with my family and both work crappy part time jobs until he can get a full time job doing what he loves, that’s what we will do. Our family isn’t happy here. It’s as easy as that. When we move home Jesse has already decided that he will join the Oregon Air National Guard, which means he works one weekend a month and two weeks a summer. The guard base where he wants to work, is about 1.5 hours from our hometown. Ultimately he would like to get a full time job at this base. He would be working for the DoD still, but not on active duty status. The pay is better, oh and did I mention, 1.5 hours from “home”?

There was a full time job open a few weeks ago. Jesse is applying. In fact, he’s already mailed his application off.

You’re thinking we are crazy right? How’s he going to work in Oregon and North Dakota?

He applied to get out early (that’s the secret by the way) Not because he wants to get out of the commitment he made to AD Air Force, but because he wants to keep doing his job, closer to our families. Because financially it would set us up. No worries about him having to get out without a job, Insurance benefits, a place to live. Sure there would be worries, stressors and concerns, but realistically this would eliminate a lot of them.

In my heart of hearts, I knew better than to get my hopes up that it would get approved. I knew he wouldn’t get out early. I knew that they would send the email stamped “Disapproved”…. Yet I did what I have always been told not to do. I got my hopes up.

I started picturing Christmas this year with my family. Christmas Eve at my grandparents house. Including Jaxon in all of our holiday traditions, WITH family. I started seeing New Years Eve, out with my very best friend while our parents watched our kiddos. I started seeing Jaxon’s 2nd Birthday in our very own house! How fun would that be? I could rent tables and chairs and set up the night before, in OUR home. I started seeing 4th of July at the lake with my parents. Watching fireworks with friends and taking Jaxon to see the parade I grew up watching. I saw camping and fishing next summer with Jaxons Great grandpa teaching him out to bait a hook and cast a line. I started thinking about being home for everyone’s birthday because, HOLY COW, 1.5 hours! How easy would it be for me to load up Jaxon and the dogs and head home for the weekend?

Surprise, surprise. No Christmas with our family, and no 2nd Birthday in our own house surrounded by our closest family and friends.

Jesse still applied for the job. He can reapply to get out early in 120 days. 120 days is a long time, and I have serious doubts that it will get approved anyway.

Grocery shopping with our family....

2011-09-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

After reading this post and this post on Meredith's blog, I thought I should give you a peek into our grocery bill/bag and how we do things around here.

We live in North Dakota. Due to flooding and all kinds of other stuff (oil boom, huge influx of people) cost of living is high here. It's ridiculous. Every time we go to the grocery store, Jesse and I cannot believe what we spend on groceries. It especially bugs me to know that my family and friends in Oregon spend considerably less on groceries.

This is what we bought this trip. We shop at the commissary on base for most things, but go downtown for a few things too... I try to buy fresh fruit and vegetables on base, but sometimes, even though it's cheaper, it just doesn't look good, and I end up throwing half of it out. Not cheaper in my book. So this is what we bought at the commissary today.

(Like it says on the picture, these groceries will last us until September 23rd. We get paid on the 1st and the 15th of every month, and I shop twice every pay period. Once on pay day and one other time in the middle of the pay period.)

So, the run down:

1 bag of tortilla chips
8 cans of green beans (usually I would just buy what we need, but these were on sale, and we are getting into the colder months here when fresh produce just doesn't cut it.)
1 case of water
2 loaves of bread (I eat double fiber bread, Jesse and Jaxon eat regular whole wheat)
2 gallons of whole milk (we all drink the same milk)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 lb of butter
1 bottle of BBQ sauce
Small bottle of vanilla creamer
lunch meat
1.5 lbs of ground beef
7 large chicken breast (this will probably last us into the following week. I separate it out, cut the fat off and what not and freeze the breast in freezer bags)
1 dozen eggs
Raspberry sorbet
4 yogurts for Jaxon
4 yogurts for me
2 12oz containers of cottage cheese
crystal light lemonade packets
1 pint of heavy whipping cream
Cheese: parmesan, cheddar, and mozzarella
Peanut butter
3 lbs of red grapes
Juice for Jaxon
Cheese tortellini
6 bananas
6 kiwis
2 avocados
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow onion
Dried basil

The total for all of this was $99.70 including the "surcharge" at the commissary.

This is what we bought downtown today at the local grocery store. (I made a couple of last minute decisions about dinners while we were downtown too. There were a few things I could have gotten at the commissary, but decided to pick them up while we were in town already so I didn't have to make a random trip to the commissary for a yellow onion and a red pepper...)

4 containers of strawberries
3 zucchinis
1 yellow squash
1 yellow onion
1 red bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
2 tomatoes

The total for this was $20.70, bringing us to a total of $120.40 for food for about 8 days. I have been budgeting $250 every pay period for food for us, so $125/week. We stayed under our budget this week, and I'm excited about that!

Meals I am making this week are:

Tortellini Bake (new recipe!)
Grilled BBQ chicken and vegetables
Lasagna and green beans
Chicken Stir Fry
Tacos

I of course, don't buy all ingredients for everything every week. Some stuff lasts longer than a week so I only buy it every couple of weeks or once a month. This is just what we bought today.

I also bought cleaning products, bleach, diaper detergent, and trash bags. Those things are not included in the same budget as our food money..

So, how does the cost of living here compare to where you are?

Until next time....

Jaxon Grows Up: Sixteen Months.

2011-09-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

Oh, my word.

Jaxon you are growing up too dang fast!

I packed up all your 12 month clothes this weekend, and cried while I did it.

You are getting really tall, but I don't know exactly how tall. Most of your 18 month clothes are long enough, but still too big around. Last time we took you to the doctor, you were in the 11th % for your weight, but in the 55th % for your height and head size. Eeeeek! Tall and skinny mister man. You are still hanging on the size medium FB.

You give high fives, kisses and hugs like you wouldn't believe now. Most of the time without being prompted. You actually make a little kissy/fishy face and it's so sweet. You also sometimes make a kissy noise when you want to get the dogs attention. You love to dance and clap your hands. Anytime there is music on, even if it's just a commercial on TV, you dance like crazy and think it's hilarious!

You love to be outside and throw sticks and rocks... When we go to the park you never want to swing anymore because it keeps you confined. You would much rather be climbing on the stairs, going down the slides or scooting yourself through the tunnels. Some days you just run all around the park in the grass and think that is good fun too! You also have grown quite attached to a stuffed animal. It has been laying around since you were about 3 months old and you've always kind of favored it, but it is definitely your lovie now. You sleep with it and don't go anywhere without it. Every night when I check on you before I head to bed, you are snuggled up with your "snuffy". It is the sweetest thing!

You are still a good eater. Sometimes you don't want what I give you WHEN I give it to you, but you will still eat pretty much anything. Yogurt is your favorite. We have been buying you kids greek yogurt for a while now and you think that is just fabulous! You use a big kid fork all by yourself these days, which just makes me so proud! You mostly finger feed yourself, but you would rather use a fork. Sometimes I just can't handle the mess you make with the fork though!

You love to be the center of attention and whenever we go out, your signature move to get people to look at you is to yell and then just giggle away! Most people fall for it too!

You are sleeping all night (except when those darn teeth are bothering you!) and just take one 1.5-2 hour nap in the afternoon. Speaking of teeth you have 12 teeth, but 4 more have poked their way through and I imagine that by this time next month you will have 16.

You say a lot of words, sometimes in the right context, and sometimes not. You don't use them all regularly either. They kind of come and go.

You say:
book
bark and park (which sound the exact same!)
banana (bama)
cracker (gong-guh)
up
uh-oh
brown bear, brown bear (brumba brumba)
Mama
Dada (daaaa)
dog (Doh)
done (done-duh)
ball
cheese and juice (which also sound exactly the same)
what's that? (sat)

You are also singing "more" in the right context and all of the time! I am hoping to teach you some more sign this month!

You have seen your fair share of time-outs this month. I'm not sure if they are working but I am really trying to stick with it and stay consistent with you! I know in the long run it's what will be best for you!

Love you so much mister man. Forever and ever.

Mama

Accent Vlog.

2011-09-02T20:53:00.000-07:00

Okay this is the first vlog I've ever done. Please excuse the thermostat and light switch in the background ;) Oh and the white wall! Haha. It is dark here right now and it's the only place with enough light for a video in our house. Also, the random whine in the middle of the video is definitely our dog, Mr. Bandit. He was whining at Jesse in the living room to be let up on the couch.

Like I said in the video we've lived in a few places so I pick up things here and there.

Enjoy....

7 Links Meme: What I think about this blog.

2011-08-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Meredith in this post to participate in 7 Links Meme. I am pretty sure she's the only one who reads my blog (Haha, hi Mere!)so I may not tag anyone (or I might!) but I wanted to participate anyway! It sounded fun!

Here's how it works:

Rules:
1) Blogger is nominated to take part
2) Blogger publishes his/her 7 links on his/her blog – 1 link for each category.
- Your most beautiful post
– Your most popular post
– Your most controversial post
– Your most helpful post
– A post whose success surprised you
– A post you feel didn’t get the attention it deserved
– The post that you are most proud of

3) Blogger nominates up to 5 more bloggers to take part.
4) These bloggers publish their 7 links and nominate another 5 more bloggers
5) And so it goes on!
6) The site Trip Base be sharing the best posts from participating bloggers on their blog and everyday on Facebook and Twitter at #My7Links

So here we go!

#1: Most Beautiful Post.

It's a tie for me. Between Jaxon Garrett

and

We Are Home Two of the most beautiful moments/days in my life were when we welcomed Jaxon into this world, and when we welcomed him home just a day before my 22nd Birthday. Best days of my life. I'm speaking for my husband when I say, I'm pretty sure they were the best days of OUR lives.

#2: Most Popular Post.
Bar far the most popular post according to my stats is Jaxon's Time in the NICU. This still surprises me sometimes because I don't think our story is that interesting or scary (to others) I mostly wrote it out so that I wouldn't forget everything that happened. I'm glad I did.

#3: Most Controversial Post.

I don't really write a lot of controversial stuff on here. It's mostly a journal of our family and our life, but since I have to choose, it would be Stupid Politics written during the 2008 election.

#4: Your most helpful post.

Hold Please. So many people have commented/sent emails letting me know that at 2am this post helped them figure out their dang monitor as well!

#5: A post whose success surprised you.

Walking a Line Between Panic and Prepared. I guess I didn't figure many people would understand. I realize that the governments petty squabbles affect everyone in some way, shape, or form, but not necessarily the same way that it affects me/us. I didn't think this post would resonate with anyone who wasn't military affiliated really.

#6: A post you feel didn't get the attention it deserved.
Veteran's Day was something that I poured a lot of my heart into. I am very proud of my husband and family who are veterans.

#7: A post that you are most proud of.
Cheated and Blessed. I still struggle with a lot of things surrounding Jaxon's birth and first few hours and days of life. This post helps to remind me that I have a healthy bouncing almost 16 month old and I am so blessed to have him here with me.

I'm going to tag a few that I'd love to see post the 7 Memes!

Our Life
Longbrake Living
Loves of Life
Breaking Through
Illegitimis Non Carborundum

Tid bits.

2011-08-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

Jaxon finally got better.

And then I got sick.

Like stomach flu, thought I was dying, sick. It was going around though. I figured I'd get it. Thank the Lord it skipped Jesse and Jax!

I got better. Yay. For a weekend. And then I got a nasty head cold! Grrrreeeeeat!

Now my cold is gone, but allergies are in full swing. Seriously.

My weight loss has stayed the same for a month because it has been one thing after another. I realize that sounds like an excuse, and it is. But holy crap, the stomach flu did not allow me to stay within my calories and eat healthy because the only thing I could keep in my belly was white rice, white toast, broth and gatorade. Working out while I am sick? Forget it. So, I'm hoping to get back on the wagon this week! Go me!

While I was sick, in the evenings Jesse took Jaxon to the park a lot and kept him entertained so I could rest. When my mom was here she taught Jaxon how to make a cape out of a dish towel. It still results in a fit of laughter when we help him put his cape on. He loves it. And holy wow, are those really my kids curls?! Love them!

I picked my second batch of green beans from my garden last week. It has been way too long since I had fresh green beans! They were so good! I am anxiously waiting for another batch to be big enough to pick!

This weekend when I started feeling better we went downtown to a little summer festival thing. It was pretty boring, but nice to get out of the house and Jaxon enjoyed it. This was before we left. Isn't he such a little love?!

There was a petting zoo there, but it was WAY too crazy with kids running wild and animals galore, so we stayed on the outside of the fence and Jaxon watched the bunnies hop around and be chased by other kids...

We also grabbed some lunch at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in town. Not even close to our favorite place back home, but it works and gives us our fix for a while. Jaxon enjoyed munching off of our plates and entertained himself with Dad's hat before lunch arrived.

Jesse washed our cars last week. They are disgusting. I love our big weeping willow tree, but this year the sap dripping (weeping) out of it has been awful and we don't like it on our cars. Unfortunately there is nowhere to park that the willow tree doesn't reach. Jaxon helped Daddy with the hose and thought he was pretty darn cool.

We also went to a car show on base this weekend. Have I mentioned my hubby is into old cars? He has a 1967 Chevy pick up just waiting for him when we move to Oregon. He rebuilt the engine in it (twice, actually, that's a funny story) and wants to eventually restore it. So, off to the car show we went. Again, pretty boring, but fun for Jesse and Jaxon and I snapped a few pictures with my Iphone.

Today Jaxon and I went to a new (to us) play group at the park. It was nice to chat with some other Mamas. Jaxon wanted nothing to do with anyone! He is usually so outgoing but today he wanted me to hold him, and that was it. Stubborn child!

I have a roast in the oven for dinner and I am thoroughly looking forward to having a nice meal with my little family tonight. I am planning on making enchiladas with the left over (shredded) beef. Something my Mama always did/does. So yummy!

I hear Mister Man waking up from his nap.... Until next time....

Jaxon Grows up: Fifteen months.

2011-08-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

Mr. Man.

You are 22lbs and I could guess how long, but I'm really not sure. The nurse a few months ago measured you 33inches when standing and the nurse this last week measured you 29.75inches laying down. I think they are all nuts. What I do know is that you are tall and skinny. You wear 18-24 month clothes and a size medium FB diaper.

You are becoming very sure of yourself on your feet and run just about anywhere you want to go now.

You love the water and you love being outside. You'd stay outside all day if I let you.

You sleep all night 11-12 hours and take 1.5-2 hour nap every day. You love Curious George the movie and we have watched it quite a few times in the last couple of weeks when you weren't feeling well. You also love your stuffed bear and stuffed monkey toys.

Anything that makes noise is a winner in your book. Especially cars/planes/trains.

You say:
Mama
Dada
Dog
Gong-guh (graham Cracker)
Stuuu (stuck)
juice
cheese
done
uh oh
bath
up
woof-woof
Bamamamama (Banana)
you snort like a little piggie :)
you make an airplane noise

And anything you can't say with words you communicate by pointing at and getting our attention.

Every day when your dad comes home you stand at the front door, look out the window and yell, "Daaaaaaaaaaa!"

I love your sweet giggles and smiles and your personality is quite hilarious.

Love you forever.

Mom.

Mom-Gut.

2011-08-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

You know how people say that you will just "know" when something is wrong with YOUR kid? I think it's completely true!

Jaxon hasn't been right for...hmmmm... 10 day? He has been cranky, whiny, grumpy, just down right awful. He has been waking up at all hours of the night screaming. He won't nap. When he started refusing to eat/drink and his wet diapers were getting less frequent I decided it was probably time to go to the doctor.

All this coupled with batting at his ears, shaking his head when the wind would blow outside (we live in ND, the wind is always blowing!) pulling on his ears, a low grade fever, and a rash on his legs, I guessed ear infection. He is also cutting ALL FOUR of his canines at the same time. Which is why I was putting off going to the doctor. I figured it was probably from the teeth. But man alive, it sure seemed like an ear infection.

** Quick background on military medical care: Yes, we have 100% coverage. We didn't pay a dime for my pregnancy or Jaxon's stay in the NICU. I take him to the doctor and there are no co-pays. Sounds awesome right? Wrong. Most times when I call to make him an appointment I have to fight to get one, and usually we are "sent downtown" for the day to some whack-nut doctor who doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. If they do have open appointments, they are usually 2-3 weeks out on base. Jaxon has seen 4 different doctors since he was born, not including the 2 neonatologists he saw in the hospital. It sucks because you can never really build a relationship with ONE doctor. **

Anyway, moving on. Jesse called when he woke up to get Jaxon an appointment. (You have to call right at 7am if you want to even think about getting a same day appointment, and even then most days you can't. And since Jesse was up for work already, he called) They told us there were no appointments with the (only) pediatrician on base, but we could see the nurse practitioner. Fine.

We get to the appointment. The nurse is rude (as usual) and downright snotty to me and just generally not nice to my kid. She takes us back into the room, takes down all the info and then takes us to another room to see the NP.

We are there five minutes and the guy walks in (Without knocking or anything) and doesn't introduce himself and says to me "So, you got a cranky kid who isn't sleeping huh?" doesn't wash his hands, doesn't look at his chart, nothing. He says "lets check his ears out." Long story short, he ended up making me help him hold my kid down on the table (instead of the bear hug that we usually do to check his ears) and spend 5 minutes DIGGING around in Jaxons ears before announcing that he "can't see anything and needs to clean the wax out" so he "cleans" his ears out, even though he didn't pull any wax out.... Looks in his ears again.... Finally I just picked Jaxon up and decided we were done. Jaxon's face was turning blue around his mouth because he was crying so hard. This guy was a jerk. He tells me "His ears are fine, take him home give him Motrin and something to chew on, let me see his teeth..." he takes his hand (unwashed and ungloved) and sticks it in my kids mouth to look at his teeth! "Yup, he's teething, here's a script for Motrin, I'm not going to just pencil-whip you antibiotics since he doesn't have an infection".... And walks out! Are you kidding me?! Then I notice that Jaxon has a big red mark on the side of his face where the guy was holding him down. It didn't go away and was actually a scratch. I am not sure if it was from the guys ring, or watch, or what. But at that point I was fuming. I took Jaxon home (didn't pick up the script) and called my husband. He didn't look at the rash, he didn't check his nose or listen to his heart. Didn't check anything but his ears. Ugh. I should have known something was up when the guy walked in the room and Jaxon clung to me like his life depended on it.

SOMETHING was causing my child pain, which was obvious to me. Plus, this guy was just an outright jerk and has no business seeing ped's patients, so I just didn't really trust what he had to say. I called our appointment line and was told that his doctor was on leave, the only person I could see was the NP and that's all they could do for me. No referral downtown, no recommendation to the ER. I ended up hanging up on the lady on the phone and telling her "thanks but no thanks"....

I called Jesse, who was fuming at the fact that our kid left the doctor with a mark on his face AND the guy didn't thoroughly check him out.

So he went to our patient advocacy office on base and explained what happened and that we wanted a second opinion. Come to find out, Jaxon's doctor is NOT on leave. The appointment line lied to us. The patient advocate got us an appointment for the very next morning with Jaxon's DOCTOR. The NP's supervisor was going to talk to him about his (lack of) bedside manner with kids, although I'm sure he will just get a slap on the wrist. *sigh*

I took Jaxon to the doctor the next morning and guess what? His ears are NOT fine. He has swimmers ear. Which can be painful, and it's probably why he's been so crabby. She prescribed some antibiotic drops for his ears and told us how to prevent it in the future. She checked him over and was so kind to both of us. Jaxon "shared" his bowl of fruit with her (with the lid on it! lol) and talked to her and waved good bye to her. She is always just so nice and kind to us! He has been on the drops for two days an is already improving.

Moral of the story, trust your mom gut. I knew something was up. I knew my child wasn't right. I knew that I didn't trust this guy who clearly had no business checking my child out anyway. I am glad I insisted on a second opinion and I'm glad I took him back in to see his normal doctor.

Your mom gut won't fail you. Trust it.

Cost of living.

2011-08-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

I am a country music girl.

When I was little, my friends listened to a radio station (KISS 107) and I was never allowed to listen to it at home.

We listened to country music at our house. Old country, new country.

Patsy Cline. Wille Nelson. Johnny Cash. Kenny Chesney. Brooks and Dunn. Tim McGraw. Trysha Yearwood. Garth Brooks. Faith Hill. George Strait. Dolly Parton. Tanya Tucker.

It wasn't all country, all the time. I just wasn't allowed to listen to anything that was rap or pop. Especially stuff that had too much swearing or was just downright vulgar.

We also listened to people like, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Billy Joel, John Cougar Mellencamp, Bob Segar, The Eagles, Neil Diamond, The Doobie Brothers, and Hootie and the Blowfish.

Lately I have been listening to country music a lot though. For whatever reason. I go through phases, and right now it's a country music phase.

I keep hearing this song on the radio:

Everything to know about me, is written on this page
The number you can reach me, my social and my age
Yes I served in the army, it's where I learned to shoot
Eighteen months in the desert, pourin' sand out of my boots
No I've never been convicted of a crime, I could start this job at any time.

I got a strong back, steel toes I rarely call in sick,
A good truck, what I don't know, I catch on real quick,
I work weekends, if I have to, nights and holidays,
Give you 40, and then some, whatever it takes,
Three dollars and change at the pump,
Cost of livin's high and goin' up.

I put Robert down as a reference, he's known me all my life,
We attend the same church he introduced me to my wife,
Gave my last job everything, before it headed south,
Took the shoes off of my children's feet, the food out of their mouths,
Yesterday my folks offered to help, but they're barely getting by themselves,

I got a strong back, steel toes I rarely call in sick,
A good truck, what I don't know, I catch on real quick,
I work weekends, if I have to, nights and holidays,
Give you 40, and then some, whatever it takes,
Three dollars and change at the pump,
Cost of livin's high and goin' up.

I'm sure a hundred others have applied, rumor has it you're only takin' five

I got a strong back, steel toes, I'm handy with a wrench,
There's nothing I can't drive, nothing I can't fix,
I work sun-up to sun-down, ain't too proud to sweep the floors,
Bank has started calling, and the wolves are at my door,
Three dollars and change at the pump,
Cost of livin's high and goin' up.

Today I saw the video. It brought me to tears.

We have a lot of changes headed our way in the coming year. Jesse will be getting out of the military and we will be starting over.

This song, reminds me so much of my husband. Someone who will do whatever it takes to feed his family and put a roof over our head. It's going to be rough to say the least. We have been weighing the options and praying and doing the math. It's scary. But, I know that we will make it.

I am blessed to be married to Jesse.

I am blessed that he works so hard for Jaxon and I, and he will continue to do so.

I am blessed with parents who are willing to help.

I am blessed.

Tid-bits.

2011-08-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

Jaxon has been a downright bear lately. Yesterday after hours and hours of whining, crying, screaming baby, I put him in his Pack and Play and went upstairs and cried. It was just too much and I needed a break. A five minute break. Awake from 8am-11pm with a one hour nap. Yeah, I needed a break.

I don't know why he's not sleeping. If I did, I'd make it better and make him sleep! Ha!

I set stuff out to grill burgers for dinner tonight. I don't want to make them. I want to order pizza, but we will go with the burgers. We are on a budget. A strict one that we are sticking to. I am excited to be able to save more each month and waste less. We have an "eating out" section of the budget, but really, I'd rather save it for something a little healthier than pizza.

When we were in Oregon in May, my mom and I made a trip to Eddie Bauer. I got myself a pair of capris in a bigger size than I have ever bought for myself before. I was super bummed about it. Two weeks ago, we made another trip to Eddie Bauer while my parents were in town. I bought the same capris in a different color. I went from a size 10 to a size 4. I am not even kidding. It felt really good. I am still stuck around 8lbs lost, but really, it felt good to be in a size 4 again! It felt really good. It was enough motivation for me to keep on keepin' on. I am not being super strict about my calories (which is why I am probably stuck at 8lbs) but, I am eating a LOT healthier and a lot less. When I feel the itch to sit and eat for no reason, I can convince myself to find something else to do...

Jaxon's vocabulary is ever expanding. He doesn't say a lot of "useful" words but he knows how to get his point across by pointing and making certain noises.

I am drinking coffee for lunch today. And doing laundry.

I think that's it.

And because posts without pictures are boring.

Enjoy.

Until next time...

Puppy Love.

2011-07-29T07:06:00.000-07:00

Jaxon loves the dogs. He is always wanting to "pet" them. Moe steers clear of Jaxon these days. He just hasn't learned gentle well enough yet and she does not appreciate his awesome smacking and pulling abilities. Bandit however, is a cattle dog by breed. He doesn't mind being roughed up a little bit. Jaxon tugs on his ears and pulls at his collar. He pulls handfuls of hair out (Bandit sheds something terrible!) and Bandit just looks at us like "Really, you're really letting him do this? How much longer are you gonna let him do this?"

I know these two are going to be great pals. I am glad we rescued little Bandit puppy in 2009. He has turned into such a good and sweet dog. I am grateful for him and his patience.

Bummmmm...

2011-07-28T18:06:00.001-07:00

Jaxon climbs up in the rocking chair a thousand times a day! He loves to get up on the ottoman, climb off of that into the rocking chair and sit in the chair. Lately though he has been getting brave and standing up and looking at the pictures on the wall behind the chair. I started telling him "You need to sit down on your butt right now..."

Now, whenever he crawls up into the chair he says "bummmmmm" ....

Yesterday I turned on a Curious George Movie (that he's no longer afraid of) so Jesse and I could throw dinner together really quick. Jaxon was tired because we had been at the park for a couple of hours. He climbed up into the chair with his blanket and was rubbing his hand in circles on his leg and watching his movie. Of course I grabbed my camera and figured I wouldn't get a picture because I was sure he'd be distracted by the camera. He wasn't. He just sat there. He was so tired.

Sweet boy. I just love him.

How does your garden grow?

2011-07-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

Growing up my Grandfather always had (and still does have!) this amazing vegetable garden. Ever summer I remember going to his house and squishing through the mud with my little bitty toes and "helping" him. Picking cherry tomatoes off the vines and munching on them while I picked more. He grows everything and it's always so dang yummy! He is an amazing gardener.

I have always wanted to have my own garden since Jesse and I got married. There's just something about the summertime that makes me want to pick a tomato off the vine and eat it right then and there like some people would eat an apple. Or snapping fresh green beans? My favorite thing to do. Something I remember doing with my Mama.

We have never had the opportunity to have a garden. Deployments, TDY's, trips home, it always seemed to get in the way. Last year we had a newborn and I just didn't feel like I could handle it. I planted some flowers (like I do every summer) and called it good.

Well, this year, was our year! Jesse made me four planter boxes. They are 4ftX2ft each and about 12" deep. I planted cucumbers, tomatoes, canteloupe, walla walla sweet onions, red and green bell peppers, cilantro, jalapeno peppers, sweet lemon peppers, carrots, chives, and green beans. I planted radishes but they didn't amount to anything. I might plant them again in the late summer or fall and see if they do better then.

Jaxon has been so "helpful" in the garden. Yesterday he picked a tomato (a very green tomato) and took a big ol' bite out of it. *sigh* I can't wait until he can pick a ripe one and eat it.

Anyway, I am excited to start picking things off of/out of our garden! I may give canning green beans a go too if I have extra, and I'm definitely planning on freezing some tomatoes for soups/chili all winter!

I also planted my normal flowers that I plant each summer, and set them all up on our front porch.

Jaxon grows up: 14 Months!

2011-07-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

Better late than never yes? My parents were here for 10 days and just left yesterday so this is the first chance I've had to blog!

Little Jax-bug, what a blessing you continue to be in my life!

Stats: You weigh right around 22lbs but you are a whopping 32 inches tall! (according to the doctor a couple of weeks ago!)... You are so darn long! 18 months clothes are too short, but fit you around. You swim in 24 month clothes, but they are just long enough for you! Because of the flooding going on right now we haven't been able to wash diapers so you have been wearing size 4 Pampers, but I am putting you back in cloth this week!

You have 12 teeth and 4 more popping through.

You take one 2 hour nap a day and sleep 10-12 hours each night. You eat three meals a day with us and eat pretty much what we eat at every meal, along with a cup of milk. Between meals you drink water, sometimes half water/juice mix too.

Things you say:

Mama (not often though. Usually when you are whining or tired)
Dada (all the time! Even when I ask you to say Mama)
Butts (buttons)
Up
Uh-oh!
Dog
Nananana (Nummies/food)
Bat (bath)
Thank you (sometimes)
sush (Shush, when the dogs bark)

Things/People you like:

Dancing
Singing
Going for "walks" around our circle
Playing with the dogs
York Peppermint Patties
Oatmeal and strawberries
Your Grammy and Papa
Posing for pictures (not all the time though!)
Playing with your ball
Swimming
Reading books (100 First Words and little Blue Truck)
Playing with the dogs
Swinging in your new swing
Your Radio Flyer Tricycle that Grammy and Papa got you while they were here
"helping" with dishes, vacuuming, and other various cleaning tasks.
Trucks, trains, anything with wheels.

You are a walker now. No doubt about it. You walk pretty much 100% of the time unless you are tired. Then you just want to roll around on the floor. This last week you threw all the pillows off the couch along with a blanket and just plopped yourself down on the floor. You are still a little unsteady on your feet and fall down and bonk your sweet little head a lot. Bless your heart! You can climb on and off of anything and everything now. You even attempted to climb out of your pack and play the other day! Bad news! You still don't try to climb out of your crib though, so I am grateful for that!

You talk constantly and giggle all the time. Your personality is beyond adorable! You recently picked up the attachment that goes on the vacuum and started making a "hissing" noise and you were pretend vacuuming the whole house. Adorable!

You got your first little hair trim this month. I just trimmed your bangs out of your eyes. I'm just not ready to cut your sweet little curls off yet! I also know that getting you to sit still while someone has scissors close to your face would just make me a nervous wreck. So for now, I'll just keep trimming those bangs out of your eyes!

You now give hugs without being prompted. Sometimes you just walk up to me and hold your arms up and when I pick you up you give me the biggest hug ever. Melt my heart!

You have learned how to "tickle" and think it's hilarious to tickle your dad and I now!

You are all boy mister. Totally rough and tumble tough little guy! You give me small heart attacks every day, but I am so so so incredibly grateful you are mine. You drive me crazy and test the limits and push my patience, but I wouldn't trade your sweet little self for the world!

Nothing could ever make me un-love you!

Love you forever!
Mama.

Dirt+water+14 Month Old Boy

2011-07-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

= This....

Every night when I water our garden I take Jaxon outside and give him a couple of scoops of dirt in his dump truck. The other night he ended up looking like this before we brought him in. He loves to be muddy and play in the dirt.

Boys will be boys huh?

Getting real about my weight loss and a few other random tid bits....

2011-07-08T12:45:00.001-07:00

So since June 1st I have lost 7lbs. I am happy with that. I mean, I'm happy that I've lost 7 pounds in about 5.5 weeks.

It's hard though.

I don't exercise every day. I don't have the time or energy every day. I don't do the same exercise every time, because I get bored, and fast.

We bought an elliptical. Don't anybody get excited thinking we are rolling in the dough or anything though. It's used and totally just a generic. It works. That's what really matters.

I like to use that some days. Some days I take Jaxon for a walk and go to the park for 30-60 minutes. Do you have any idea how much work it is to chase a walker (yes, walker) around the park. Especially when he is no longer interested in just swinging, because hello, that means he would be confined and not be able to show off his cool new skills to the big kids. Read: walking and climbing!

Some days I do 30 Day Shred and yell at Jillian/the TV the whole time!

Some days, like today, I boil water, I clean house, boil water, go up and down the stairs (we have 3 sets of stairs in our house) to do laundry, make our bed, boil water, do dishes, chase Jaxon, boil more water.... You get the picture.

I am counting my calories, and dude, it sucks! But, it's worth it when I step on the scale.

Last night we went to Dairy Queen and got chocolate sundaes. So yummy. I couldn't finish it though. I hate that stuffed feeling anymore. So I shared it with Jaxon, which totally made his day, of course!

I'm off to get the rest of my house in order! Grammy and Papa get here tomorrow!

Oh, and hello 2 hour nap today (For Jax, not me!) Yes!

Defeated Mom.

2011-07-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

Today has been one of those days.

Actually, it's just been one of those afternoons.

Yesterday I got up before Jaxon did, and I got to work out in peace and quiet. Then during his (2 hour) naptime I got a shower. It was nice. Of course while he was busy playing and causing trouble I cleaned up the kitchen, did laundry, just every day stuff that needed to be done.

I was hoping for a repeat today! He has been consistently taking one, 2 hour nap each day. I usually hop on the computer, check blogs and what not and then grab a shower.

This morning, he woke up earlier than me. "No big deal, we'll go for a walk and play at the park".... Which went well. Jaxon ate his breakfast on the way and then ate some eggs when we got home. By the time he finished eating his eggs and played for a few minutes, it was pretty clear he was tired. He was wallowing all over me and yelling and biting and throwing an all out fit. So, I rocked him and rocked him and rocked him. I took him into his room and rocked him in the rocking chair in there. We rocked for a long time. He finally went down for a nap. His 30 minute nap. Ugh.

I heard him wake up and decided to take a shower anyway. He wasn't freaking out yet so no harm, no foul. By the time I finished my shower he was freaking out. I got him out of his crib and he did the whole dive out of moms arms routine, then throw a fit when she puts me down. I brought him downstairs to feed him some lunch. He loves yogurt. I figured yogurt and bananas and some chex might put him in a better mood. Plus, I'm trying to get yogurt in him every day since he's on antibiotics. *sigh*

It didn't go well. I ended up with yogurt all over me and him. Banana in his hair, on the floor, on the dogs. He threw his food on the floor, threw his sippy on the floor, kicked me. Just threw a fit. He really wants to feed himself and doesn't want any help, but he never gets enough food when he does that. It ends up all over him and with no tap water, it's just a pain in the butt to clean everything up afterward, by the way! Fine.

I put him in his pack and play and turned on Curious George on Netflix (no judging folks) because he loves the monkey. Not, now he's decided he's terrified of the monkey and it's out to get him. He's yelling at the TV, making the awesome "Save me mom" face and throwing toys. I changed it to Balto. He's quietly playing.

We both need some quiet alone time I guess.

Why I haven't been around/blogging much.

2011-07-06T19:29:00.000-07:00

In case you all haven't heard, Minot, ND is flooded. It's flooded awful. It has flooded worse than the the flood of 1969... (The worst flood on record)... Homes are flooded, businesses are closed and 12,000 people are evacuated. Most are staying with friends and family, but the rest are staying in shelter. The last I heard, 1,000 military families have been evacuated as a part of that 12,000.

Many people here on base have been volunteering time and resources to the town. I have no personally as I have no one to watch Jaxon. I figured staying out of the way of city workers and volunteers was my way of helping out. When this all started there were only 2 lanes (one north and one south) going in and out of town. A drive that usually took 20 minutes was taking some folks 3-4 hours. They were urging all people who didn't have to be in town, to stay home and let evacuees get out, so that's what I did. Some men from my hubby's shop helped fill sand bags, but they asked that he (and a few others) stay at work and man the shop, so that's what he did....

We are safe. We are well out of the flood zone. About 20 miles. We do however get our water from Minot's system. There has been some serious debate (and I mean, city officials lying/not telling the whole truth/not answering questions) as to whether or not our drinking water was safe. It was supposed to be tested, but never was.... The valve to the city water system here to base has been shut. We have towers here and they have water in them, but we are under a boil and conserve order. Our water is not potable, so we have to boil it or use bottles for everything. Dishes, Jaxon's baths, washing our faces, cooking, cleaning. You name it. I have been boiling water 3-4 times a day it seems like. We can shower in it, but not if you have any open cuts and we have to be careful not to get it in our mouths. I have also been glued to the news.... Trying to keep up on everything.

Don't get me wrong, it could be worse. We could have been living in town and lost everything. But, as a wise friend once told me (Miss. Amanda) "Just because it could be worse, doesn't mean what we're dealing with is fun"....

It's frustrating to me that our base pool is open, yet we have no potable water in our house and are to be conserving. At a town hall meeting we were told that, daily, the pool uses 300,000 gallons of water due to evaporation and splash over. I'm all for a little summer fun, but hello, it would be nice to have that water (which is clearly clean otherwise they wouldn't be letting children swim in it) in our house instead of in a pool.

They have at least told us that we won't run out of water. They are bringing in water systems for base use. Thank God. I was contemplating going to visit my parents for a while if we were going to run out of water, but it's an expensive trip and I don't want to go unless I really need to. Jesse would have to stay here, which sucks, but like he said, he can take care of himself.....

Unfortunately, we cannot get everything we need on base. And by needs I'm talking diapers (Jaxon has a terrible rash and I have been keeping him in pampers sensitives and covered in Triple Paste. Did I mention he got an ear infection and a virus in his eyes last week so he's on antibiotics?) and infant Motrin. While we were down there we also picked up some fresh fruits and veggies at the local grocery store. Their produce is much better than the produce here on base.

I took a few pictures out the car window, but they certainly do not do it justice. It was incredibly sad to see, essentially, an entire valley full of water. Incredibly sad.

My parents are also coming into town this weekend. They have had this trip planned since Christmas. I am bummed that we are in this situation right now, but looking forward to the company and excited to see my family! We don't have the next trip planned yet... *insert sad face and tears*

Here are the photos I took downtown. Please forgive the quality and lighting. We were trying to stay out of the way and get back home. I just hung out the window and snapped a few....

{flooded farm on the side of the road. Usually we drive over a bridge and the water is far, far under that bridge. Here the water is level with the road and only being held back by sand bags and barriers put in place}

{traffic that we never see in this tiny little town}

{people camping in the hobby lobby parking lot}

{you can see the road in the middle of all the water. almost flooded and one of two ways in/out of town in the north and south directions. At one point it was the only way}

{usually a dog park, softball fields and a small neighborhood. Our dogs love the bark park! Wish they were enjoying it during this warmer weather!}

{red cross building on the right}

{flooded homes}

{truck submerged in water}

{church. sandbagged and diked}

{toys (and maybe garbage) floating in the flood water}

{beautiful homes. under water}

{this should all be pumpkin fields}

{just outside of town. you can see how high the water is by how deep the vehicles are in the water}

{tractor under water near the outskirts of town}

Hopefully in the next few days I will have more fun and uplifting things to write about..... Until then....

Stars and Stripes.

2011-07-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th Ya'll!

On our way to Oregon...

2011-06-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

No we aren't headed back to Oregon. But I thought I would share a little bit from our drive there in May. Yes, you heard that right, drive. We drove 26 hours in two days, with a one year old. It wasn't all awful.

We ended up not taking a turn we were supposed to. We listened to our GPS instead of doing what we intended to, which was turn south and take I90 pretty much all the way to Washington. Instead, we ended up on a two lane highway in the Northern part of Montana, and got to enjoy some pretty scenery.

We stopped for lunch, to stretch our legs and make sandwiches. Jaxon loved playing on the tailgate. Whenever we open the tail gate now, he gets so excited and wants to stand there and bang on the bed cover.

We played peek-a-boo and grab-mamas-camera in the back seat together.

We watched movies with our portable DVD player that Daddy rigged to stay attached the back seat.

We went a little crazy because let's face it, that long in the car is enough to drive anyone crazy!

And we got to stop and see Jaxon's great Auntie MaryLu on the second day of the trip. I know this isn't a great picture, but it does the job :) We had coffee together in Washingson before heading off to Southern Oregon.

First Birthday Party.

2011-06-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

I realize it's taken me a while to do this post. We traveled home to Oregon for Jaxon's birthday party. Our family and friends braved the "chilly" Oregon weather and joined us for a BBQ.

It was cold, but it was fun. Jaxon had a ball. He had a hot dog (for the first time ever) and a few bits and pieces of other stuff for dinner. Then he got to smash his cake, and he totally loved it! He dug right in and made a complete mess out of his birthday outfit and his face. His cake was supposed to be a monkey but I think it looked more like a bear. I didn't want to put a lot of chocolate icing on it since he has never really had chocolate before. I suppose that would have made it look more like a monkey. We also had safari cupcakes and some super yummy cake-balls! Thank you to my sweet sweet sister, who couldn't make to to the party, but still helped me with all the goodies the day before! (Love you Megs!)

He got some really sweet gifts from people (I am working on thank you cards!!) and he had a great time opening them all.

He was not so keen on sharing his new John Deere Buck with Lizzy though. Oh well, they will learn to share eventually right Mere?

I am so grateful that we got the spend this day with family. We weren't just celebrating his birthday, we celebrated his entire first year of life. What a wonderful day it was!

Next year, ya'll can come to us okay? ;)

Until next time....

Jaxon Grows Up: Thirteen Months Old!

2011-06-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

Stats: I have no idea! Ha! You are wearing clothes anywhere from a size 12months to a size 24months. Depends on what it is, and what brand it is. You are still hanging on in your Large BG's (Which I thought you would be out of months ago!) and a medium FB.

You point at things now. It's more of a "whole-hand-point" but you are pointing at things none the less.

You say "Done" when you are done eating. You also say it when you are done riding in your carseat or stroller, when you are done having your diaper changed or when you are done being in time out.

You make truck and car noises when you play with your trucks.

You can climb with the best of them, but still no walking.

Today I discovered that you know what books are when I told you to go get a book and I would read it to you. You don't say book, but you knew exactly what I meant!

You eat just about anything these days. I thought I'd get adventurous and let you try a bite of my lettuce. Big fail. You did not like it at all. Ha. It's okay though. Most kids don't, right?

You are learning "gentle" a lot better these days and you are easier on the poor dogs!

You weaned yourself this week. It came out of nowhere and was totally unexpected. I thought for sure we had another couple of months of once a day nursing left. Kinda breaking my heart, growing up so fast, kid! It was however so sweet to watch your daddy rock you to sleep last night for bed time. Something he hasn't been able to do in a long time.

You love to be outside. We usually walk to the park at least three days a week and let you climb on all the stuff there and you slide and swing and just love it. Your climbing abilities are just out of control. You try to climb over the baby gate on the stairs and climb on the couch like a pro!

Most days you only take one nap, but some days you take two. Some days you sleep in until 9am and other days you are up at 6:30 and refuse to go back to sleep.

You have a few (really, 3-4) mosquito bites and I feel awful! You just itch at them all the time. It's a catch 22 for me because I don't want to keep you locked up all summer (since we stay inside all winter) but it breaks my heart to see your little arms all itchy and red.

I can't believe you are officially a toddler. Maybe soon you will actually start toddling around?

Your dad and I love you so much! You are the joy in our lives and you always keep us laughing and entertained! Every day, at least 100 times, I tell your dad "Oh my gosh, look at him! Look what he's doing!"

You are so sweet.

Here's to an awesome 13 months and many more to come!

Love you forever.

Mom.

(For the record, I have no idea how long I am going to keep up these monthly pictures/letters. I suppose until Jaxon refuses to let me take his pictures every month)

Rock...... Hard Place.

2011-06-10T21:19:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place right now....

Actually I have felt like that for a while (we are talking years). Every time I try to remove myself from the middle I get dragged back and shoved between the rock and the hard place.

Every time I get pulled back in, the space gets tighter and smaller and more uncomfortable.

Well duh, you say, Kaitlin, stop going back. If only it were that easy.

It freaking sucks.

This is absolutely cryptic. It will stay that way. I'm not one to air dirty laundry for everyone to see. Mostly I'm not one to throw others under the bus for everyone to see. I think it's classless and trashy. And I won't do it. I will vent about my frustrations, but I won't be classless.

I am just so frustrated and hurt.

23.

2011-06-08T14:36:00.001-07:00

I spent my 23rd (yes, I'm still a baby) Birthday in Oregon. I spend the day just hanging out with my little family and then we went to dinner with the whole family. It was a perfect day.

Weight.

2011-06-07T15:03:00.000-07:00

I know I have said this a million times, but after looking at pictures from Jaxon's first birthday.....

I have (re)started the 30 Day Shred.

In addition to that I've started tracking my calories. I'm not going to lie. It sucks. I hate it. Especially because my monthly, ahem, friend decided to rear her ugly head this week. I. am. starving!

I want carbs. Ice cream. Cookies. Bread. Bread. Bread. Not the good-for-you-double-fiber-crap I eat for breakfast every morning either. The stuff I get in the bakery and then smother in butter!

*sigh*

I am refusing to weigh myself til next week. (Hello bloated!) But, I'm pretty sure I'm sitting right around 2lbs lost in a week though. Maybe a little less? The really important thing is, I FEEL better! I have more energy. I feel less sluggish. I can keep up with my kid, and that is beautiful.

I have about 38lbs to go, and I'm hoping it's gone by Christmas!

*For the record, most of this is not baby weight either. I lost my baby weight. North Dakota winter was not kind to me. I sat inside and stuffed my face full of Christmas cookies and yummy treats that I baked, because really, what else do you do when it's -45 outside?*

(Mere-I still haven't taken my measurements, maybe I should do that!?! Ha!)

My sweet husband is doing this with me, and I am so grateful for his help and motivation! Sometimes I get really frustrated because he loses weight way faster than I do (Hello, he's lost 3X what I have lost!) but it's nice to have a partner in weight loss!

We have been eating a LOT healthier in our house, and him doing it with me makes planning meals easier. We are doing a lot of fruit and veggies and have cut out most of our junk. I have also cut out most dairy. I still eat/drink it, but it's really high in calories so I monitor what I take in, in that department BIG time.

I'm not posting this to hear "oh you look great though" or "You don't need to lose weight".... The fact is, I weigh more now than I have in my entire life (Including when I was preggo) and I don't feel great and I need to lose weight for me. I figure if I write it down and put it out there, maybe I will stick with it.

Until next time.....

Tid-bits. Catch up. Random thoughts. Whatever.

2011-06-01T18:16:00.001-07:00

-We were on "vacation" in Oregon for a few weeks. I say "vacation" because we essentially went home to visit family. It's not a vacation. It's just not. It's stressful and crazy and downright exhausting. I am grateful for the opportunity to see my family and friends, but sometimes it's just too much.... We deal with our fair share of crap every time we go home and honestly, I feel like I'm still recovering (We've been back in ND since Sunday).... There were a few situations while we were at home that we had to deal with that completely negated the "vacation" aspect of our trip. Completely. Vacation isn't supposed to be stressful at all, right? Ugh. So yes, we are back from "vacation"....

-Jaxon still isn't walking, even thought I know he wants to so bad. He *could* walk on his own. I'm totally confident that he could, he however, is not. He's like "whoa, mom let go of me, time to sit down and crawl"....

-Our house was clean when we got back from vacation. So glad we cleaned before we left! Then Moe (dang dog) decided to get sick on our bedspread. Really? So in the middle of the night I'm cleaning up dog puke and spray and washing our comforter. Awesome.

-Did I mention I'm exhausted? Jaxon has been sleeping 10-12 hours every night. If only I could go to bed at 7pm right? When it's still light out! Ha! Here in ND it's been staying light out til 10pm or later. Summer is almost here!

-Speaking of summer, while we were in Oregon, I got some plants from the FFA plant sale there. I am so excited to have a garden this year. We have never been in one place all summer since we've been married, so we are really looking forward to spending the entire summer here, in one place, as a family and having a garden and fresh veggies! I am also super excited to plant flowers this year and enjoy them all summer! We are hoping to get stuff in the ground this weekend. It is June afterall, so the freezing temps should be gone for a while.

-The weather here has been completely crazy! There is some insane flooding going on right now downtown. There are secondary dikes being built, sandbags being filled like crazy and the guard is downtown directing traffic and keeping people out of areas they shouldn't be in. 10,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. If you wouldn't mind, say a prayer for everyone affected here. There seems to be quite a few natural disasters going on right now between flooding and tornadoes. It's just awful!

-Well, I need to finish unpacking and get laundry done... Until next time...

*Crazy picture post from our vacation and Jaxon's first birthday will be up soon. Yikes, is he really almost 13 months old?!

Jaxon Grows up: Twelve Months Old!

2011-05-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

Sweet Baby Boy,

You are hilarious.

You are kind.

You are gentle.

You are strong willed and impatient.

You just ooze love and goodness.

Your laughter is infectious and your smiles are priceless.

You are 1 year old. I really don't know where time went.

You nurse twice a day now. You are a speed crawler, and have taken a few (2-3) steps at a time on your own. You eat every meal like it might be your last. You give the best snuggles and loves! You love to push things around while walking behind them. Sometimes you even push me around. I don't mind. You weigh in around the 21lb mark and I have no idea how tall you are! You are in 12-18 month clothes and a size medium FuzziBunz diaper. You love being in Oregon right now and being around so many people, but I think you will be glad to be back in our quiet house in a couple of weeks. You love your papa and you've become quite attached to him this trip! You blow kisses, wave good bye and hello, and play peek-a-boo. You say Mama, Dada, dog, All done, and you are trying really hard to say "Papa". I swear you said "What's this?" last night and your Grammy Bev thinks she heard you say "Thank you" a couple of days ago!

Your birthday party was a hit (but deserves it's own post!) and you love cupcakes!

Little man, you are a joy. We made it an entire year! You are a whole year old! Gosh, it's gone fast. You are the biggest blessing in our lives and we are so grateful that we were entrusted to be your parents!

I love you boogie-boo! Forever and ever!

Mom.

Baby pictures.

2011-04-30T20:16:00.000-07:00

I just love these! :)

Friday, Friday, Friday.

2011-04-22T08:04:00.000-07:00

Go and check out Meredith's blog today! You won't regret it!

I have to admit, I can't remember the last time we went to church. Our life seems to be in a constant upheaval and there's always an ~~excuse~~ reason we can't make it. This Sunday I am really excited to be trying out a new church.

I am really hoping we fit there.

I am not sure if they have a nursery, so Jaxon will probably hang with us this weekend. It's after lunch and nap time, so maybe if I bribe him with snacks he will be good? Hopefully!

Moe girl grows up: 4 Years Old!

2011-04-18T14:21:00.000-07:00

Miss. Moe girl's birthday is this week! She is FOUR years old! It seems like just yesterday I got her as a cute 1.5lb snuggly puppy! These days she is a little chubby ol' lady! She would rather just lay around than play. She loves to go for walks and beat up Bandit. She likes to sleep with her front feet on Jesse and her back feet on me, in the middle of our bed. Her favorite treats are carrot sticks. I am so blessed to have her as a sweet little companion! I love you sweet Moe girl!

As always, Moe received her annual birthday card today from her GG and Gramps (My Grandparents)

Jaxon Grows Up: Eleven Months Old!

2011-04-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

Jaxon. Sweet boy. You are eleven months old today. Wow.

No doctors appointment this month again, but I would guess you are right around 22lbs and maybe 30 inches long. You are still wearing a size large BG diaper. I am not sure if you will ever grow out of them! I feel like you have been in them forever! You wear a size medium FuzziBunz, so I'm figuring if/when you grow out of your BG's you can move into a size large FB! You wear a wide variety of sizes in clothes. It depends mostly on the brand what size you wear. You are mostly wearing 12-18 months clothes. Some of your 24 month stuff (Pajamas) fits you too though!

You still test the limits pretty much daily and I'm not sure if you don't understand the word "No" or if you are just choosing to ignore me. Probably the latter! Ha!

Your nursing sessions seem to be dropping off a lot in the last few days. You absolutely do not want to sit still to nurse except in the mornings. Most Mama's would just give you breastmilk in a bottle and call it good, but you, stubborn baby, still do not love the bottle. You took one last night for the first time in months, but today you didn't want much to do with it. You also will not take it from a sippy cup. Sigh. Stubborn, yes, very stubborn. You are so close to a year I have been toying with just switching you over to whole milk at this point. I hate fighting you at your feedings!

You can be pretty picky when it comes to what is on your plate for meals too. You will always eat yogurt, cheerios, and blueberries, but everything else is hit or miss. You especially like to feed the food you don't want to the dogs or just throw it on the floor.

You are getting a lot more steady on your feet this month. You love your walker toy, but if it's too far away, you can make your own walker out of just about anything. Yesterday I caught you pushing our bar stool around in the living room. Silly boy!

You are a clapping fool and clap all the time now.... You also have learned to wave this month. So. Stinking. Cute! Your dad leaves for work and he tells you "bye bye, Jaxon!" and you just wave and wave until he goes out the door. You also wave at people in public when they talk to you or wave at you.

You say dog now, and it is getting closer and closer to actually sounding like "Dog". At first dog sounded a lot like "dada" but they are very different now. Dada and Doh-Doh. You also definitely know when there is a "Doh-doh" around and start waving your arms around crazy and yelling. You love Bandit and Moe so much! You love putting your toys in and out of containers and really love when I put them all "away" and let you take them all out and throw them all over the living room.

You love giving kisses and loves. You used to be really shy around new people and you would curl up and hide your face in my chest, but now you happily wave and "talk" to people. I am so glad!

Swimming lessons are going well still. You love to splash and kick and yell in the pool. You can pull yourself out and love to "jump" in. Your last class is this weekend and I am a little bummed. There aren't any baby classes in the summertime at our Y, so I will have to just take you to the pool here on base myself.

You've been sleeping through the night the last few days (a week or so) and I have been really enjoying it. Your naps are hit or miss, and a lot of times it's a fight to get you to take a nap, even if it's clearly obvious that you're exhausted.

You still are hanging out with eight teeth. I'm pretty sure there will be a couple (or a few) more popping through at some point in the near future, but I haven't seen them cut the gum yet.

I'm waiting for the day you let go of the furniture and take off walking on me, but it hasn't happened yet. You are getting so darn independent these days. I am loving the stage you're in right now. I cannot believe that next month I will be writing your ONE YEAR letter! I am looking forward to your party and spending time with our family as they help us ring in your first birthday!

Sweet boy, I love you so much!

Forever and ever and ever.

Mama.

21 Questions: Answered.

2011-04-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

Longbrakeliving asked:
What is the hardest part about being a military wife? How do you cope with crazy work schedules and being alone more than someone whose spouse works a "typical" job?

I think the hardest part of being a military wife for me is the uncertainty. I can deal with him being gone or working a lot of hours, but it’s the never knowing where we will be in a few years that really gets to me. He could come home tomorrow and tell me he has to go TDY for 2 months. Or that he is deploying in a few months.
As far as crazy work schedules and being alone a lot, I haven’t ever known anything different. I do my best to get things done around the house while he is at work so that when he is home we have time together. Jaxon keeps me crazy busy now. I guess I just try to adapt at the changes that are thrown out way…. I do love when we are on vacation though, because it’s essentially a vacation for me from “work” as well….

If you could have one job, besides being a SAHM, what would it be?
I would be a photographer. There are so many people out there with a DSLR that think they are awesome and really aren’t, and I wouldn’t want to be one of those photographers! Ha! I love to take photos and enjoy capturing little slices of lives (Mine or other peoples) but I don’t think I’m anywhere close to where I would need to be to do it professionally.

What stage of Jaxon's babyhood have you enjoyed most? Least?
I am really enjoying the stage he is in now. Sometimes it is rough, but it’s also a lot of fun. I feel like he is starting to figure a lot of things out right now and it is so fun to watch him learn!

Least: Right now he is really into biting. I never thought I would have one of “those” kids, but I do. Also he was super colicky for a while and that was really rough. His colic always seemed to be worse in the afternoon/evening and Jesse was working 3pm-11pm so we were on our own in the evenings. It was not fun.

Meredith asked:
Kait, what's your favorite memory of Jess?

My favorite memory of Jesse is when he got home from his first deployment in Iraq. It was such a fun day filled with excitement and anticipation. I loved every second of it and breathed it all in. As much as deployments suck, that day was worth the time apart!

Jesse, what's your favorite memory of Kait?
When I saw her hold our son for the first time.

Kait, What's your favorite movie/book/meal?
Movie-Steel Magnolias. Giant cry-fest!
Book-Dear John. I loved this book… I have seen the movie too and it just doesn’t do the book justice!
Meal-Tri-tip marinated in beer and W-sauce grilled, baked potato and fresh green salad with a ton of veggies and a little dressing.

Jesse, What's your funniest Jaxon story?
Jaxon had a little bath tub that was portable and the first time I gave him a bath in it, it was on the kitchen counter. He discovered that he could splash the water all over the place by kicking his feet and thrashing his arms around. He was in there laughing and splashing for like 30 minutes and he splashed all the water out of the bath onto the kitchen floor. We have video of it somewhere.

(Kait-I have to admit this was preeeeettttttyyyyy hilarious. Until we had to clean up all the water! HA!)

Kait, if you had $200 and had to spend it all today (no saving!), what would you spend it on?
More cloth diapers….. If I had to spend it on *me* though, I would spend it at Eddie Bauer on some new summer clothes… I don’t have a great wardrobe since I still haven’t lost my baby weight, and I can’t bring myself to spend money on clothes until I get the weight off.

Marie asked:
What is your favorite father/son moment and mother/son moment?

Jesse-When Jaxon was a newborn and would just fall asleep on my chest laying on our bed.

Kait-The first time I saw him after he was born. He was all cleaned up, swaddled, with a hat on, and absolutely perfect. It wasn’t the birth I was hoping for, but I will never forget the first time I laid eyes on my son.

Jessie asked:
Kait- besides being close to family & friends what is your favorite thing about living in OR?
I love the fact that the valley we are from has so many different kinds of activities to partake in close by. We are 3 hours from a (great!) beach, an hour from the mountains, 30 minutes from a decent lake. There’s a (AWESOME) children’s festival every year in a town nearby, a Shakespeare festival. Jesse can hunt and I don’t worry about it as much because I know the land/area and could find him if I needed to. Also I love that there are 4 completely different seasons. Spring, summer, fall and winter are distinctly different in Southern Oregon. Fall is my absolute favorite time of year there. The leaves turn orange/yellow, the air is so crisp and clean. It’s my Heaven on earth.

Jesse, if you could buy any vehicle in the world old/new what would you buy?

I don’t know. I would probably just restore my ’67 Chevy truck that is parked at home in Oregon.

If I were to buy a muscle car, it would be a ’69 Barracuda. If I was going to buy a “new” vehicle, it would be a 2005 body style Dodge Cummins 3500, four door, lifted to the sky.

Walking a line between panic and prepared.

2011-04-07T08:32:00.000-07:00

A quick note to remind you, check out yesterday's post and ask Jesse and I anything you would like to know! I will post answers sometime this weekend! There are 54 people following this blog, I know ya'll have a few questions ;)

And for today's post. It's a little heavy today. My heart is heavy today, and I'm trying to let go of things I can't control and just trust that God will take care of us. It's hard.

I don't usually post political things on here. In fact, I think the last political thing I posted was about the presidential election in 2008. I could be wrong though.

I use this blog as an outlet though. This is what's going on in our life right now.

I am sure everyone knows about the potential government shutdown.

If this happens, most people will be affected. How is it going to affect me?

I thought we were safe from the bad economy everyone has faced the last few years. My husband is in the military for crying out loud. How much more job security could you want right? Wrong I guess.

No one has really come out with a clear cut answer as to how this is going to affect military employees.

From what we have been told, Jesse will only be paid through April 8th when his paycheck comes in on the 15th. (We get paid twice a month. The 1st and the 15th) He will have to continue going to work and will "eventually" be paid for his work when they reach an agreement about the budget. Anyone in the military knows that what "eventually" means. Ugh! We have bills to pay.(Just a little perspective. Half our paycheck wont even cover our bills for this pay period) Oh and food to buy to feed our kid. And gas to buy, since Jesse will still have to go to work. It is possible that our grocery store on base will close. "Town" is a 40 minute drive with traffic. Add more gas to the budget since we will have to drive there to buy our (way too expensive) groceries.

Our leave will also be canceled if the shutdown coincides with it. We haven't been home to see our families since August. Eight months since I have been back to my hometown. I realize a lot of military families go a lot longer, but, this will be our last trip home before Jesse get's out of the military. He wants to save all his leave from here on out so he has a month of terminal leave and can use it to find a job. *sigh* We also want to share Jaxon's first birthday with our families.

A lot of people have it a lot worse. I know some folks have been unemployed for up to a year.

I am frustrated that our government has let it get to his point. It's frustrating that my husband, who has EARNED this leave, might be denied vacation because lawmakers can't get along. It's frustrating to me that the people who can't get along will continue to get their paychecks on time. It's frustrating to me that I have friends who have husbands in Iraq and Afghanistan, due home, and their returns will be delayed. Not to mention those still fighting in the war (whether you agree with it or not) will not be getting paid! Their families will be left here in the states to fend for themselves. To find ways to pay the bills and take care of their kids.

I don't understand how Congress thinks it's okay to screw with people's lives like this. I'm frustrated, and trying to walk the line between panic and prepared.

It's hard.

Because posts without pictures are boring, here is our sweet little guy riding in his new stroller. The sun was out for the last couple of days here in North Dakota, and we took advantage of it!

21 Questions.

2011-04-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

I read Mere's post yesterday and realized I have never done a question and answer post on my blog.

I'm not sure anyone even has any questions?

But if you do, now's the time.

Ask away.

You can post your questions for me (or Jesse too!) in the comment section!

Maybe you want to know something about being a military wife? Or about our marriage? Or our child? Or why in the world we live in North Dakota?!

Ask and I will answer!

Spicy Chicken WonTon Tacos.

2011-04-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

I kind of adapted this recipe a little bit because it was just two of us eating it. The website I got it from said it made A LOT of tacos. I only used 2 chicken breasts and did the rest of it to taste/as needed. It made about 20 tacos when I made it and I used about 1/2 the bag of Cole Slaw mix.

6-8 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts, grilled.
1 Tablespoon of stir fry oil
1 Package of Cole Slaw mix
1/4 cup of diced red onion
1, 4oz can jalapenos, drained.
1 Tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
Asian Vinaigrette dressing-to taste
1 package of square wonton wrappers
1 cup vegetable oil OR extra virgin olive oil(If you have a bigger pan, you may need more, if you have a smaller pan, less. You need the oil to be deep enough so that the inside of the taco gets a little golden and flakey too)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Limes (enough for everyone to have a wedge or two with their tacos)

1. In a bowl mix together Cole Slaw mix (don't use any dressing that comes with it. Just use the "salad" part of the mix) cilantro, and red onion.

2. Make sure your jalapenos are drained well. Add them to the slaw mix.

3. Pour vinaigrette into the slaw mix.

4. Stir until all ingredients are well combined. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour. (I have made these twice and the first time I left it in the fridge for an hour, the second time I put it in there for 3 hours. It didn't really make a difference)

5. Cut grilled chicken into small (SMALL!!!) cubes.

6. In preheated skillet warm up your stir fry oil.

7. When oil is hot add crushed red pepper flakes and diced chicken to the pan. Fry for about 2 minutes, until the chicken is hot and coated in stir fry oil. Remove from pan.

8. Heat up your 1 cup of oil in the pan that you removed the chicken from.

9. Place a strip of the fried chicken into the center of the wonton wrapper and fold it to resemble a taco.

10. Fry the wonton wrapper with the chicken inside of it for about 30 seconds, or until the wrapper is golden brown and crispy on all sides.

11. Top each taco with Cole slaw mix and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.

12. Give everyone a lime wedge to squeeze over their tacos and enjoy!

Airman Leadership School.

2011-04-04T20:00:00.001-07:00

Hubby graduated ALS on March 24th (My Mama's birthday!)

ALS is required training for my hubby to sew on his next rank (SSgt in MAY!!!) and also makes it possible for him to be a supervisor in his career field.

We don't go out on dates nights often. In fact, Jaxon is almost 11 months old and I can count on one hand the number of times (twice) we have left the house just the two of us since Jaxon was born.

We live 1,500 miles from family, and honestly, Jaxon can be a real pill. Especially in the evenings around bed time. He doesn't take a bottle (which we all know) and if the boob is even running a few minutes late after bath time, it can be grounds for an all out fit! So, I feel bad asking anyone to keep him.

But, this was a special occasion, and our sweet friend Casey was more than happy to keep Jaxon for a few hours while I went and celebrated my husbands accomplishments with him! It was the first time I have left him with anyone other than family. (Our "date nights" since Jaxon have always been while my parents were in town visiting)

I dropped mister off and told him good bye. I gave him a kiss and told him I was leaving, but that I would be back after a little bit. He looked up at me, then went back to playing with toys and Casey's little girl, who is around the same age. Alright. I left.

I got to the dinner and snuck away to the bathroom and texted Casey. I told her that if she needed me to come get him because he got "crazy crabby" I would and that it would only take me five minutes to get back. She said he hadn't made a peep. Awesome!

Jesse and I chatted with some of his friends from class and their wives. I had a drink, and we found our seats. We listened to a guest speaker. Ate dinner. Listened to Jesse's hilarious co-worker make jokes about anything and everything. Hubby got his certificate of training. We took pictures. Visited with friends some more. Somewhere in there hubsters had a few beers.

Eventually it was time to head back and pick up Jaxon.

We got to the babysitters house and Jaxon did not even care that we were there. He was great for her all night (It was 10:30pm when we got there)! He played a little bit while we got his stuff together and I talked with Casey about what an angel he was all evening. Then we got Jaxon dressed and headed out the door. And the tears started. He did not want to leave. Poor baby. He cried the whole way home and fought us the whole time we tried to get him to bed.

I am so grateful that Jaxon was good for his babysitter, and that he had a good time and didn't want to leave! Maybe we will be able to have dates more often!

P.S. Big huge congrats to Casey and her hubby! They are expecting another little one in just about 8 months! :)

Catch me.

2011-04-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

I love this picture.

It just reminds me that his Dad is always there to catch him. Someday, when he is much older, his Dad will still be there to catch him when he falls.

When he fails a test.

Or gets his heart broken.

His Dad will be there for him.

I realize tomorrow is never promised, but it's sure sweet to know that if he could guarantee us tomorrow, he would.

I am grateful. Because my husband loves our son as much as I do.

What more could I want?

Busy Boy.

2011-03-29T20:21:00.000-07:00

My sweet little boy has been busy busy busy these days!

"Deeeeeg"=Dog.

2011-03-28T13:56:00.001-07:00

Jaxon said his first word last night.

Oh my.

For the last week or so, every time he sees the dogs, he gets really excited and screams "Duh, duh, duh" and I really thought he was trying to say dog, but wasn't sure.

Last night we were at the dinner table and Bandit was sitting on the floor next to Jaxon's high chair. Surprise surprise.

Jaxon, clear as day, looked at Bandit, handed him a piece of chicken and said "deeg, deeg, dog!"

I looked at Jesse and said "Did he just say dog?" "Yup"....

Oh gosh.

He has repeated it a few times, but not quite "right"...

It comes out "deeeg" or "dag" or "duh duh duh" but he clearly knows what he is talking about.

So. Damn. Cute!

Ouch!

2011-03-25T15:46:00.000-07:00

So we have no carpet on our stairs.

If you are barefoot, your feet can stick so easily to the (waxed 4,000 times) floors, and if you have socks on your feet will slip off the (waved 4,000 times) floors. Awesome right?

I have complained about this since day one. Not really for me though.

Moe has bad knees, so I knew going up and down the stairs would be rough on her little toes. I also have been debating on what I want to do about it. We rent, so I didn't want to invest too much into this house.

Well, we will be buying stair runners asap now.

I was carrying Jaxon downstairs after his nap this last week and my right foot caught on the 5th stair. We fell down the stairs. Awesome mom moment right? Ugh!

It was like a car wreck you see happening, but you can't stop it. Slow motion.

I tucked Jaxon in really close to me (instead of using my arms to catch myself) and kept him from hitting any part of his body on the floor, and kept myself from landing on him.

I ended up clipping my right toe(s) (Which is why I fell I think) and hitting my left foot, knee, hip and shoulder.

I pulled Jaxon away from me when I sat up and he was freaking laughing. He is such a little thrill seeker! Yikes!

Anyway, I'm on the look out for some nice stair runners now! I refuse to do that again!

In case you're wondering what falling down stairs looks like a few days later....

Hubby graduated ALS (Airmen Leadership School) last night, but that deserves a post of it's own!

Until next time.....

Ear Infection Update.

2011-03-17T12:06:00.001-07:00

No ear infection.

Teething.

Really?

Ear Infection.

2011-03-17T08:08:00.000-07:00

We are going back to the doctor today.

I'm so sick of the doctor.

Jaxon is NOT right.

I suppose it could be teething, but I really doubt it.

Teething babies don't generally cover their ears, shake their head and scream, all at the same time. At least my teething baby doesn't.

He is so crabby and sad.

I'm hoping his doctor has a different answer today (if it's an ear infection) about what we are going to do about it. Obviously 10 days of antibiotics (three different kinds) isn't cutting it.

Jaxon wants to be a happy baby so bad.

Damn ears.

Birthday's.

2011-03-16T17:34:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my sweet husbands birthday. We celebrated after Jaxon went to bed with take out wings, a couple of beers, and ice cream cake. It was perfect for us.... It was dark in our house when I snapped these pictures, so the ISO was set pretty high and they are a little grainy, but still, nice to have a little reminder from the day....

Jaxon Grows up: Ten Months Old!

2011-03-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

Sweet little boy,

You turned 10 months old this weekend.

You don't have a doctors appointment this month but I would guess that you are about 20lbs and 29 inches long. You are still in size 3 Target diapers (for bed time) and size large BumGenious. You wear mostly 12 month clothing, but some 9 month and some 18 month even!

This month you have been testing the limits big time buddy! You love to hit, bite, scratch, pull hair. Oh my gosh. I feel like I say "No no, not for Jaxon" a thousand times a day. You also have a crazy love of all cords that are connected to some kind of electronic. Especially the lap top and lamps in the living room.

You love to "walk" all over the place. You hang onto the furniture and just toddle around the living room. I would say it's your favorite thing to do. We got you a walker toy, but you don't really like it that much. At least not for walking with. You just want to play with all the toys on it.

You are still nursing 3-5 times a day. Some days you want to nurse more than others. Especially if you are teething bad, or just don't feel well. I always nurse you when you first wake up and when you go to sleep at night. You are still pretty attached to those nursing sessions, but I know that our "nursing journey" won't last forever. I'm not sure why that is hitting me all of the sudden?

You still give kisses and loves all the time. Recently you have started crawling or walking (while hanging onto the couch) to us when we say "You come here" in a sweet playful way of course!

You still love your swimming lessons and we signed you up for the next class. We aren't supposed to take pictures near the pool but I sneaked this one in before your lessons this last Saturday with my phone. You were so excited!

Getting you dressed or changing your diaper is a battle every time. We call you the alligator because you definitely do the "death roll" in both of these situations!

You have learned how to clap now and do it just about anytime we say "Yay Jaxon-baby"... Even if you are holding something you will "clap" and just bang whatever is in your hands together. It's so sweet. You also make the "Indian noise" (no offenses meant here, I just don't know what the heck else to call it!) with your hand over your mouth. Hilarious! You also know how to shake your head "no" but you don't always do it at the appropriate moment. I think it's just something fun for you to do as of now. You say "Mama" and "Dada" now, but that's the extent of your vocabulary.

You are still taking 2 naps a day. Sometimes I can get 3-4 hours out of ya, and other days it's 30 minutes. Yikes! You sleep most of the way through the night unless you are teething or sick. When you sleep through the night, you generally sleep from 8pm-4or5am, nurse, back to sleep til 7or8am.

I thought your (most recent) ear infection was hanging on since you were being kind of a pill the last few days, and stopped sleeping through the night (read: Up 5-6 times per night)... Then your eighth (EIGHTH!!!!!!) tooth popped through. You have 4 teeth on top and 4 teeth on the bottom. I cannot believe it! I am pretty sure there are two more on the top trying to pop through as well.

You have started getting kind of picky about when/what you will eat. I can always get you to eat bluberries and yogurt. Everything else is hit or miss. Even sweet stuff! I have given you juice, but you don't really love it, so I stopped and you just get water in your sippy cup now. I kind of wonder if you are picky because you want to eat what feels good to your mouth when it's hurting.

Sweet little buddy, we only have a couple of more months with our baby. You're going to be a "toddler" soon. Gosh, how did you turn into a toddler? I even bought your "Birthday Boy" shirt this month!

We love you so much little guy. I love being able to be at home with you every day and watching you grow and change. You test the limits every day and sometimes it makes me want to scream, but then you snuggle up in my lap and give me "love" and I know this is right where I am supposed to be!

Love you forever.

Mama.

Sponge.

2011-03-03T17:00:00.000-08:00

I have a couple of things to write about. They probably aren't that interesting to anyone else, but I want to remember them. If I don't write them down, I will forget. I'm hoping to put together a "year one" book for Jaxon this summer, so this seems like a good place to write this stuff!

Over the last few days, Little Mister has started crawling on all fours here and there. Definitely not with any consistency though. He usually only does it on our bed or the rug in the living room. I think it's because the wood floors everywhere else are just too slippery. I'm hoping since we got a decent tax refund this year that we can get a large rug made out of a big carpet remnant for the living room.... Not just for him though. Let's face it, these wood floors get freaking cold in the winter time!

Jax is also now crawling to people. I will hold my hands out and say "C'mon bubbas" and he comes crawling right along to me. And then pulls himself up on my hands and stands in front of me screaming. Like "Look at me Ma, I did it!" He also pulls up on anything/everything he can get his hands on. His crib, the ottoman, the ROCKING ottoman, his "toy box", the pack and play, my legs.... The other morning I was making breakfast and he literally climbed up my legs while I was standing at the stove.

I was rocking him to sleep on Tuesday and he was snuggled up with a blanket. All the sudden, he pulled the blanket up over his head and then pulled it down real fast and giggled. It took a couple of times, but I realized he was playing peek-a-boo. He did it for like 10 minutes, and has done it a couple of times since.

Tonight at the dinner table, he started clapping when I told him "good job" for feeding himself. He also waved his hands above his head when I did the hand motions to *Itsy-Bitsy-Spider*

Jesse taught him how to shake his head "no" this week. When he is done eating, he shakes his head no. When you tell him no, he shakes his head, but generally does whatever you told him not to anyway!

At the beginning of the week I was sitting on the couch drinking my coffee while he played on the floor. He had thrown a toy over by the rocking ottoman, so when he crawled over there, I didn't really pay close attention. Then he started freaking out. I got up and looked and realized his HEAD WAS STUCK!!!! Serious Mom-fail! I tried to get his head out, but he was panicking. I started envisioning using crisco or butter or something to get his head out, but I got him calmed down enough to realize that he just needed to look "straight ahead" and I could pull his head right out. He did get a little owie from it on the side of his head though :( Oh my gosh. He is no longer allowed near the ottoman! Ha!

Until next time....

Ear Infection Hell.

2011-02-24T15:59:00.000-08:00

-Remember in this post on Tuesday I said it felt like we were in ear infection hell again? Yeah, it's because we are. We are on an even different antibiotic than he was on the last time. Hopefully this will clear it up. The doctor thinks the last one probably never went all the way away.

-Our next trip home is ten weeks away and I am already planning it. We will be celebrating Little Monkey's first birthday while we are home. I am so excited. Jesse and I keep going back and forth on a "theme"... We had settled on one, but my mom bought me a "cupcake" book. Uh hello, there are some freaking awesome ideas in it! Now I cannot decide, even though Jesse just wants to stick with the original.

-I know a lot of people have opinions about first birthdays. Big or small? I am excited to spend it with family, and I will probably at least try to do it up big for our little man.

-We had a week of really nice (24 degree) weather and now we are back to our craptastic -2, but -24 with windchill. I thought my face was going to freeze off when I walked Jaxon into the doctors office today. Oh, Jaxon weighed 19lbs (4oz less than last week) today and was 28.5 inches long. Hey Mere, does Lizzy still have him beat??? :)

-I'm working on a sweet little hat for Jaxon. It's nothing fancy, but still a fun nap-time activity. You know, between washing diapers and cleaning and showering and, and, and....

-So that's really all I have today. And no pictures, sorry.

Until next time....

Can't catch my breath.

2011-02-22T05:25:00.000-08:00

-Jesse is in ALS now. It's nice to have him back on day shift, but it's totally rocked our world/schedule and we are trying to adjust. I would much rather deal with snoring and alarm clock wars than have my husband deployed, but holy crap it is taking some serious getting used to! Jaxon has not learned to sleep through Jesse leaving in the morning yet, so instead of my 7:30-8:00am baby I am used to, I'm dealing with 6:00 baby. Big difference for my brain!

-Jaxon has had a yuck-o cold for a few days. Tomorrow will be a week. It's just a runny nose and the occasional dry couch or sneeze. I figure if he's not better tomorrow I will call the Dr. to make sure he doesn't have something more than a cold. He did cut two teeth, so now he has six. There are two more poking through. He has been sleeping most of the night/taking his naps just fine, but last night he was up 4-5 times. It's starting to remind me of Ear Infection Hell. Awesome. Maybe I will call the Dr. at some point today...

-Jesse and I went couch shopping this week. We have never had "new" furniture.... Crazy huh? The only thing we have bought new since we've been married, as far as large furniture goes, is our king size bed. Oh what a good idea that bed was! So anyway, our couches are on their second family (us, duh) so they have definitely seen better days. They work, but they are not comfortable. The couch has a hide-a-bed in it, so it is sagging in the middle something terrible! And the "love seat" is actually two recliners, and one doesn't recline anymore and the other is so uncomfortable it's ridiculous! Oh and they are just small and dare I say, uuuuugly. So we went and looked around a bit. We found a few couches that we liked, and we measured last night to see what would/wouldn't fit. Now we have to decide which side of the couch we want to order the chaise on.....

That's really all I have.... Coffee and breakfast and rocking with a whiny, sad, sick baby.

I know he doesn't look sick in those pictures, but he definitely was too excited about his new toy to remember he was sick I think.

Jaxon Grows Up: 9 Months Old!

2011-02-16T12:27:00.000-08:00

Jaxon had his well baby appointment Tuesday so I held off posting this so I had his exact stats. And well, then he decided to get sick on me. It's been a rough few days... I wrote the letter on Sunday (the 13th) and I'm just going to post what I had written down, and add some pictures at the end and call it good. Hopefully I can do it without a meltdown from the babe. See, I've tried to post this 3-4 times and every time I get interrupted by screaming. (The, "I'm-dying-right-now-come-get-me" scream too!)

Jaxon, little monkey butt,

This weekend you turned NINE months old! You are 3/4 of a year old now! Oh my gosh, how time is flying! This month I looked at you and thought, "Where did my baby go? He's such a big boy now!"

You had your well baby appointment today and you were 19lbs 4oz and 28.25 inches long!You are wearing your size large BumGenius diapers still, but I'm not sure how much longer they will fit. You also wear a medium FuzziBunz Diaper. Your 12 month clothes still fit for the most part, but you have outgrown some of them as well and moved into a lot of your 18 month clothes! You have 5 teeth, (3 on top and two on the bottom) and I think I see a sixth one popping through on the top!

You are starting to get really attached to Mama! I'm not sure if it's me of the boob that you are more attached to.

You don't like your pack and play because it keeps you confined to one place, and the same goes for your jumperoo. You will play for a while, then realize that you're "stuck" and get so mad! you would rather play on the floor in the living room and move, move, move!

Youcan get to a sitting position by youserlf, but you'd rather be on the move, so you've only ever done it once. I can sit you down somewhere and you are usually on the move within two minutes, even though you can totally sit unassisted if you wanted to stay still!

You have been pulling up on your "toy box" a lot! You love if we let you stand in your P&P or crib and let you bounce. You hold on so tight and would probably stand there and jump for hours.

You click your tongue (not when I want you to though) and you make the move hilarious faces. You are constantly blowing air out of your mouth between your lips. I'm not sure if you are trying to mimic noises we make, or whistle, or what. But once again, pretty hilarious. You give kisses and love whenever we ask for them! You "pinch" the air all the time with your little hands, especially if there is something on your fingers that will make a neat noise when you do it. ie: food, water, spit.....

Your new "laugh" is pretty hysterical and ridiculous. You sound like a computer or a robot, or a transformer or something!

You love to play with your feet, and we often find you in your car seat, when we get to where we are going, with no shoes or socks on!

Your Grammie Bev made you a blanket this last month and you don't do anything without it, especially sleep. You love your teddy bear, your work bench and your ring stacker. You love the DVD rack and are constantly throwing DVD's all over the living room. I think we need to invest in a locking cabinet!

You love to walk if we "help" you. You love bath time, and being naked in general. Geting you dressed is a wrestling match every day!

You have your first swim lesson this month and loved it! You loved the water, the other kids, everything! You also took a three hour nap when we got you home. You were beat! I have to admit, so was I! I forgot how much work swimming is! Especially carting a 20lb baby through the water too!

You eat pretty much whatever we eat now, unless I think you need an extra fruit/veggie besides what we are having. You also feed yourself pretty well these days. You aren't thrilled about eating from a spoon anymore. You really do want to do it yourself.

You love blueberries, yogurt, oatmeal, peaches, avocados, black beans, cheese, puffs, rice, pasta, chicken, broccoli, green beans, sweet potato, applesauce. You will eat just about anything really, but you have opinions about what you do and don't want at any given time. You also love your sippy cup and water!

You still nurse 4-5 times a day and refuse to take a bottle at all.

You are such a happy baby most days and I love that I am able to stay home every day with you. You are such a joy little bug! Bring on month #10!

I love you!

-Mom.

Tid-Bits.

2011-02-08T10:07:00.000-08:00

-Jaxon tried to pull himself up the other day for the first time. He succeeded for the most part. He was trying to pull up on his plastic toy bin. See, we wanted to get him a really nice toy box, but haven't found one we like just yet. The toys all over the living room drive us nuts so we bought one of those rubbermaid plastic bins. It's clear with a white lid, but it gets the job done. At the end of the day we toss all his toys in it and the living room is clean (until the next day) Anyway, the bin is pretty lightweight and it doesn't take much to move it. He freaked out because it started sliding while he was holding onto it and he started crying. I had to rescue him. Since then he has attempted to pull up on the couch, but didn't quite make it. I'm sure it's only a matter of time. And yes, I have lowered his crib mattress.

-Last week the temps here reached about 34* on a couple of days. We went for a family walk one day. It was chilly, but nice to be out with my family and enjoy the day and the sunshine!

-Jesse has put in for leave in May! YAY! I can't wait to spend Jaxon's first birthday with our family and friends. I have already started planning and dreaming up things for his party. I don't want to go too overboard, but hello, you only turn ONE, ONCE!!!!

-We start swimming lessons this coming weekend! So excited!

-Jesse is working 12's this week. Blah! He starts ALS next week on Thursday though! One more step to sewing on his next rank. That's always good news!

-I have been looking up information on weaning Jaxon. I am not ready for him to wean just yet, but I think he is (quickly!) deciding that he may be almost done nursing. I think we will make it to a year, but I'm thinking it won't last much longer than that. I am pretty sure he is already started the process on me, and I didn't even know it! What a stinker!

Until next time....

The Daily Grind: Feb 3, 2011.

2011-02-04T14:47:00.000-08:00

This is somewhat of a typical day around here. It's always different depending on what time Jesse gets home from work, what's for dinner, if we have any errands to run. Just depends on everything....

7:30-Jaxon is awake. I hear him babbling in his crib, and let him happily do so. Jesse is usually home by now and gets him up, but he isn't home yet this morning.

7:45-Jaxon starts to get upset so I go and get him out of his crib. He is all smiles when I walk in the room. I change his diaper and we curl up in my bed so he can nurse and we snuggle and watch cartoons until Jesse gets home.

8:30-Jesse walks in the door, and we all head downstairs to the living room. Jesse tries to call to schedule an appointment for our taxes to be done but the line is busy. Jaxon plays in his jumperoo while I get breakfast ready for he and I. Jesse doesn't generally eat when he gets home in the morning, but this morning he pops an english muffin in the toaster.

9:00-Breakfast is ready and Jaxon and I sit at the table and eat. He is in a good mood this morning and all smiles. He laughs at Jesse a few times and happily scarfs his oatmeal and bananas. I am having coffee, an english muffin, and a yogurt.

9:20- We are all done eating. Jaxon plays on the floor while I drink my coffee on the couch. Jesse heads upstairs to bed for the day. Jaxon keeps playing and we "chat" for a little bit. He gets mad because his toys are stuck under his pack and play.

9:45- Jaxon needs his diaper changed. We head up to his room and I change him and let him play in his crib while I "take care of" his diaper. He plays with a book for a little bit so I figure I'll start folding some laundry in the rocking chair since he is happy. About the time I get the laundry in my lap to fold, he gets upset. He realizes, "Oh.my.gosh.she.put.me.in.my.crib!" I let him play on the floor a little bit and he decides to "help" with the laundry.

10:00-I bring him downstairs and he goes back in his jumperoo for about 5 minutes before I realize it's definitely nap time. I pick him up and we rock in the rocking chair while I nurse him. He snuggles up in his blanket and ends up falling asleep. I rock him for a little bit.

10:30-I lay Jaxon down to nap in his crib. On my way down stairs I grab his monitor and then realize the dogs are out of water. I fill their water bowl and let them outside to potty and run around and do whatever they want to do out there.

While Jaxon naps I pay bills, do dishes and throw a load of laundry in the washer. I hop on facebook/blogger and check my emails too. I call my mom and chat with her for a little bit too.

Noon-Jaxon is awake. Bandit starts howling because that freaking border collie is in the yard again. (The snow is so high here that dogs who have any jumping abilities can easily hop fences.) I shush Bandit because if he barks or howls too long he will wake Jesse up.

I change Jaxon's diaper and take his pajamas off. I pick out an outfit for him, for the day, but since he's going to eat lunch and make a mess, I hold off putting his outfit on until after lunch. We look out the window through the blinds. It's one of his favorite things to do.

12:10 I start lunch while Jaxon plays in his Pack and Play. He isn't thrilled about being in there, but he finds a toy and starts playing quietly.

12:15-Lunch is ready. I'm having left over homemade chicken noodle soup and toast. Jaxon is having organic banana baby yogurt and blueberries. I usually set his (frozen) blueberries out to thaw in the morning but today I forgot. I pop them in the microwave on defrost for a couple of seconds and they are good to go.

We sit down at the table and eat our lunch together.

12:30-We are done with lunch now. Jaxon hangs out on the floor while I clean up the kitchen from lunch. I hate leaving dirty dishes on the counter.

I realize Jaxon needs his diaper changed again so I haul him upstairs to his room (again!) and change him. We goof off for a bit playing peek-a-boo and giving Eskimo kisses after I change him. I get him dressed and pick up the living room while he plays. I sweep too. And curse our shedding dog the whole time I sweep.

12:55-I sit down on the floor and play with Jaxon. We read a couple of books, sing a few songs, and play with all his toys. I upload a few pictures onto the computer because my memory card is full.

1:30-Jaxon spits up. Yogurt spit up is disgusting. I clean him and the floor up and set him down the floor. He starts playing with his "work bench" and whacks himself in the face with the floor. Awesome. I try and calm him down, but he's upset. We run downstairs and move laundry to the dryer. He loves the basement, for whatever reason. It distracts him, but he is definitely still pissed. We come back into the living room and I turn on some music to see if it will calm him down. He does so I put him in his jumperoo, which he loves.

He bounces while I take a bunch of pictures of him, and a few of Moe and Bandit. I see the little yawns start. Maybe I will get a shower before Jesse wakes up?

Since he's happy I go throw another load of laundry in the washer.

2:00- Jaxon is cranky. I get him out of the bouncer and we play on the floor. Bandit comes and gives Jaxon kisses and it makes him giggle.

I realize the reason for the cranky-ness is probably a poopy diaper. I change him and change his clothes too. They are covered in dog hair (even though I just swept!) I curse our shedding dog again and add vacuum bags to our list (we ran out over the weekend)...

I take care of Jaxon's diaper and he throws a fit in his crib while I walk to/from the bathroom. I get him out of his crib and he starts rooting around on my chest and grabbing at my shirt. I'm surprised he is already ready for a nap, but whatever.

I grab his blanket and close the blinds in his room. I figure that the next time I bring him up here it will be to take a nap, so I make sure his crib and room is all ready to sleep in. We come down to the living room and he isn't so tired anymore and wants to play. We play on the floor for a little bit and then I decide he needs a nap. Needs a nap!

2:25-I rock him in our rocking chair and nurse him. He falls asleep but continues to nurse.

2:50-I Lay him in his crib and come downstairs. I edit some pictures and email them to my mom at work. I call her and tell her to check her email. We chat for a little bit.

3:30-I jump in the shower. Jesse is still sleeping.

4:00-I get out of the shower and Jesse gets up. We chat about my day and how his night at work was.

4:15-Jaxon is up. He plays on our bed while Jesse and I finish getting ready. We are going into town this evening.

We finish getting ready and get Jaxon ready. Jaxon throws a fit the whole time Jesse is trying to get him dressed. He hates having clothes on! He plays on the floor while I eat and apple because I'm starving!

5:00-We are in the car on our way downtown.

5:45-We make it to town. We go to the Y and sign Jaxon up for swimming lessons. Target is next. I pick up some "puffs" for Jaxon and we look for vacuum bags. They don't carry the kind we need anymore and suggest Sears. It's all in the mall so we walk down to Sears and get our bags. Jesse suggest we just go to Applebees for dinner since it's getting late.

We head to Applebees and they tell us it will be a 30 minute wait. We decide to just go home so Jaxon doesn't get cranky. The minute we walk out the door he throws a fit. He wanted to stay I guess? Jesse went back in and put our name on the list. We get a table within 5 minutes.

8:00- We are finally leaving Applebees. First we change Jaxon's diaper in the truck. We drive to the other side of town before Jaxon is in all out meltdown mode. Jesse pulls over and I get in the back seat with him. I sing to him and talk to him. Nothing is making him happy. He is tired! He keeps shaking his head no and screaming. I find the "Pout Pout Fish Song" on YouTube on my phone and play it for him the rest of the way home. Over and over. And over. And over. He calms down and falls asleep.

We get home and think that Jaxon might stay asleep, but he doesn't. I change into some sweats and get Jaxon ready for bed. He usually gets a bath every night, but tonight it's just too late. I get him ready for bed and we sit on Jesse and I's bed while I read him a bed time story. I nurse him and he falls asleep. We put him in his crib.

10:30-I fall into bed and Jesse and I chat for a little bit. He isn't working tonight because he has to work the weekend. He is on call so they are going to call him once shift starts and tell him whether or not they need him.

12:15- Jesse's phone rings. They don't need him. I get up and check on Jax. He's still asleep. I go back to bed and crash for the rest of the night!

The Poop Post.

2011-02-01T14:54:00.000-08:00

Stop reading if you don't want to read about my kid and his poop. Seriously. Just stop reading.

Okay, anybody still there??

Jaxon's antibiotics for his ear infection did a number on his little tummy. I definitely did all the "home remedy" stuff you are supposed to do when your kid is on antibiotics. It didn't really help that much. His poop was terrible.

It didn't bother him, but it sure bothered me. Honestly, I didn't even put his cloth diapers on him because I was afraid he would ruin them! I knew it was a side affect from the medicine and figured it would go away when he finished it. It was better for a couple of days. Then, got worse again. Great.

It was almost the weekend and I figured if he wasn't better on Monday I would take him to the doctor. He didn't have a fever, he wasn't throwing up, no blood in his stool. Nothing to indicate he was sick, ya know? So I put him on the BRAT diet (which didn't work in case you are wondering) and hoped he got better. He didn't. We are talking like 5-10 times a day people.

And two days after it started, his little bum hurt so bad and has a terrible rash on it. He wouldn't even let me wipe it without screaming and throwing a fit. Oh and kicking my hands. Have I mentioned how incredibly strong my 8 month old is lately?

So, I took him to the doctor Monday. After 5 days of no sleep, a million poopy diapers and a bum that was completely red I decided to be "that" mom. The mom that takes her kid to the doctor because his poop isn't right! (Ha!)

The doctors office got us a same day appointment (which NEVER happens here!) and we took him in. He told us that it was likely from the antibiotics still. He definitely wasn't "sick" and to just make sure he is hydrated and eating fine. He is.

Oh, and, Desitin (butt paste, diaper rash cream, anything of the sort) sucks! S.U.C.K.S. It was doing nothing for his butt. His doctor told us to get Vitamin E ointment and use it at every diaper change. It is basically vitamin E (for healing) and Vaseline (for a barrier between the wet diaper and skin).

Let me tell you folks, he is cured!

I think his tummy was going to get better anyway, but the Vitamin E made his rash better within 24 hours!

Thank the Lord! He seems to be better all around and I am hoping we are really on the upswing here and that he isn't just tricking me.

Isn't he cute even when he's a gross little boy? (I'm sure this won't be the last time I have to deal with stinky little boy!)

Silent Sunday

2011-01-30T21:19:00.000-08:00

Winter.

2011-01-26T08:48:00.000-08:00

One thing I really hate about winter is the lack of fresh produce. Especially here in North Dakota. When I can find decent produce, it seems to be a ridiculous price! Even if it's decent, I usually have to use it the day I buy it, or it goes bad. So yesterday was shopping day here (we try to shop on Tuesdays because the commissary stocks on Mondays) and I bought a ton of fresh veggies and whipped up some awesome stir fry last night. It was so yummy. When I make stir fry I like to make sure that I have all the "colors".... So I like to have green, yellow, orange, red, and white all in there. Last night I was bummed because the red peppers at the commissary were not good, at all, so I was without my red!

Jesse loved it, I loved it, and even Jaxon had a little bit of the rice with a little tiny bit of the veggie juices on it.

I also really wish that I made it with brown rice, because I know that would be so much more healthy, but, it takes so much stinking time! Maybe hubby will read this and get me a rice cooker? Wishful thinking huh? It was worth a shot!

We are definitely having left overs tonight!

Color versus Black and White.

2011-01-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

I can't decide which way I like this photo better. I'm a huge fan of black and white photos of babies, but I love this one in color too. What do you think?

Back on the work-out wagon.

2011-01-20T17:05:00.000-08:00

I am not far from my pre-pregnancy weight.

I am very far from my pre-pregnancy shape.

I know that I will likely never get that shape back! I will be lucky if I see it again. I don't necessarily *want* to get it back. But, 20lbs and a few inches here and there definitely would not hurt!

So, I am on day 2 (for the second time) of the thirty day shred.

I am praying my child continues to stay well and sleep through the night. When he sleeps, I sleep. When he doesn't, I don't.

No sleep=No work out.

But look at his sweet face!

Adult friends.

2011-01-19T09:45:00.001-08:00

We move a lot. (Not a whole lot, but we have lived in three states in the almost 4 years that we have been married)

I have good friends in Oregon.

I have good friends in Arkansas.

I am struggling here.

There are spouses clubs I could join, but I can't bring Jaxon and the meetings are when Jesse works.

There is a MOPS club downtown, but, the meetings are when Jesse sleeps, and I don't feel comfortable putting Jaxon in a "daycare" setting just yet.

We are going to start swimming lessons at the beginning of February.

There is "storytime" downtown at Barnes and Noble a few times a month, and I am going to start taking Jaxon. I've looked for one at the library, but it is specifically stated that the storytime there is for 18months-3 years. The ones at Barnes and Noble doesn't have a specific age listed.... I just hope my 8 and half month old thinks it's cool to sit still and listen for a little bit ;)

Also, I would love to start going to church here, but we have yet to find a church that is the right denomination.

Did I mention how cold it is, and the fact that I hate cold? So loading up Jaxon and me, and all our layers in the truck is just a pain in the ass! (Yesterday the windchill was hovering around -30ish.)

So, my question is, how do you, as an adult, make friends? Weigh in!

8.5 months.

2011-01-18T12:58:00.001-08:00

When I got pregnant, my original take on breastfeeding was basically that I wanted to do it.

I really wanted to make it to a year, but I wouldn't beat myself up about stopping before that.

When Jaxon had to have a bottle before breast (due to being in the NICU) I was terrified he would never nurse properly.

I brought him home from the NICU and he knew the bottle was an option. He didn't want to nurse. He fought me. Arched his back, yelled, and sometimes all out refused to nurse. It broke my heart.

We had formula in the house, and for a while, we mixed it half and half with pumped breast milk. But I just wanted to nurse. I hated pumping. I pumped when I couldn't nurse him. I could nurse him now, and that's what I wanted to do, damnit!

At some point, I just told Jesse, "No more formula"... I knew it was never going to get better or easier to nurse if he constantly just got a bottle if he fought nursing long enough. And that's what we did. I nursed, and nursed, and nursed.

I have nursed him exclusively (besides solids) since then. Then=he was about 6-7 weeks old.

Now, my child refuses a bottle. He will not take a bottle with breast milk in it. He will not take a bottle with water, or juice, or anything in it! He will however, drink out of a sippy cup. Isn't life funny?

Jesse has ALS (Airman Leadership School) soon. At the end there is a graduation ceremony/dinner. It's a semi-formal event.

Semi formal... ie: No kids allowed. I would love to go.

This means I will have to leave Jaxon with someone (something we have also never done, and makes me a nervous wreck!) Someone who will have to deal with his cranky butt when he can't nurse before bed time like he likes to. My cranky butt son, who won't be able to have a boob, and refuses a bottle.

Oh, life is funny! Hilarious really.

Until next time....

Hold, please.

2011-01-16T09:47:00.000-08:00

When Meredith had Lizzy, she informed me that I HAD to get an Angel Care Monitor for Jaxon when he was born. She basically told me it would keep me sane! We looked into it and decided we definitely wanted one!

Fast forward a few months. In the crazy-ness of early babies and NICU visits and moving and, life, I forgot about the Angel Care Monitor. In fact, I forgot about a monitor at all! My dad called me two days before Jaxon was to come home from the NICU. He wanted to know if I had ordered my monitor yet. (Because Jaxon was early, we wanted the AC monitor even more.) No, I hadn't, I told him I would order it when I got home from visiting Jaxon that night. He told me not to worry about it, and ordered it off Amazon. He was having it next day air mailed to us. Such. A. Blessing.

Monitor arrives and Jaxon refuses to sleep in anything other than the bassinet that came with his Pack N Play. You know, the one with a not flat bottom. Thus, the "Angel Care" part of the monitor wasn't going to do us much good. Eventually he decided he could sleep in the Pack N Play in our room. We used it and loved it.

Now that Jaxon is in his own room in his crib, I especially love it. We have a few "false alarms" every now and again when he scoots into the corner or something, and the monitor can't detect his breathing, but it's nice to know it works!

Last night we had kind of a rough night. Jaxon was up/down all night. We are trying to walk the fine line of letting him fuss it out, but not cry it out. (Please, no judging!) Jaxon kind of started fussing last night, about 3:30am, and Jesse, in his sleepy state, grabbed the monitor and pulled it into bed with him.

I heard Jaxon stop fussing, but the monitor was beeping every minute or so. Jesse, still asleep, turns off the monitor. I grab it from him and turn it back on and look at it. It's beeping every minute and THIS is what I see.

A flashing H? And random beeping every minute. And not detecting any noise. What the H!?!

Just about then Jaxon started crying, so Jesse went in to soothe him. I'm laying in bed cursing this stupid monitor. Pushing all the buttons, what the heck!? I turn it off, turn it on. Nothing changes. Great, it's broken. I think I even shook it at one point. That definitely didn't do anything.

So, I did what any Mama would do. I grabbed my Iphone, hopped on google, and I googled, I kid you not, "Flashing H, Angel Care Monitor".... Jesse had put on hand unit on "hold". I guess it's for when you want to pick up the baby, but not turn off the whole unit. The alarm that tells you that your baby isn't breathing wont go off if you have the unit on hold. Well that's cool. Now, how do I turn it off?

I googled again, "Turn off hold, Angel Care Monitor".... It basically said something to the effect of "You stupid idiot, push the same button to pushed to put it on hold".... Uhhh, I don't know what button Jesse pushed. I get up, turn the light on and see the hold button, push it, voila! It works.

Thank God for Google and an Iphone. What did mom's do without them?! They probably didn't have a ridiculous baby monitor back in the day either ;)

Until next time......

Jaxon Grows Up: Eight Months Old!

2011-01-12T11:22:00.000-08:00

Sweet, sweet, Jaxon Baby,

Oh. My. Word. Eight months. Wow.

This month has been a wild ride!

Let's start with your stats (since you have had 2 trips to the doctor in the last week, and will have one more on Friday!)

You weigh 18lbs. 5oz. and you are 28 inches long. You are wearing size 4 Target brand diapers for now. (I will explain why you aren't in cloth diapers right now in a little bit)

This month, you had your first Christmas. It was the best Christmas of my life I think! It was so sweet spending that day with you.

The entire week of Christmas we let you open one small package each night. You had so many under the tree, and I knew by the time Christmas morning got here, you would just get overwhelmed. You loved it, and it was a fun little nightly event. On Christmas Eve you opened your Christmas pajamas and your first "Night Before Christmas" book, which we read to you. Each year I think we will continue the tradition of pajamas and a book on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning you only opened two packages before getting overwhelmed and needing a nap. You napped while we made breakfast and opened our packages with your Papa and Grammie Bev. When you woke up, you were raring and ready to go and opened all your packages. We had to help you, but you did most of the work by yourself.

Your Papa Jon and Grammie Bev visited you for a week at Christmas. When they got here and we picked them up at the airport, you reached out and grabbed your Papa's mustache and face, as if to say "Are you really here? Is it really you?" and then you went straight to him for the remaining time at the airport. It was the sweetest thing. You had so much fun with them while they were here too! You snuggled with your grammie, and played with your papa. You thought they were just "it"!

It was also your first New Year! You woke up just in time to ring in 2011 with Mama and Dada.

You have always really liked your jumperoo, but this month when we put you in it, you are a maniac! You jump so hard and fast that the thing sounds like it's going to fall apart!

You have really started feeding yourself and can get just about anything in your mouth, it just takes some time to get it there successfully. You also eat just about anything we eat now. I just blend it up for you so it's either pureed or in little pieces that you can eat. As of late you have had vegetable beef soup (homemade), and chicken surprise (Papa's recipe). Both of which you love. You have also had potato soup in the past.

Overnight it seems, you are mobile. Oh so mobile. Your belly is still on the ground, but you go anywhere you want. You scoot, army crawl and pull yourself. You like to try and get behind the couch/rocking chair because I keep the lap top between the chair and couch. I think we are going to have to find a new place for it!

You say "Dada" now and most definitely know who the "Dada" is! I think I am deeming it your first word. Although, your real first word will be whatever you say next besides Mama, I think.

You blow bubbles and spit everywhere when you get excited, mad, or are tired and don't want to eat.

You are so animated when you "talk" and you want everyone to listen to you.

You laugh and smile quickly (like you always have!) when we talk to you or make faces.

You shake your head no now, but I am pretty sure it's because of the ear infection you have. We will see if it continues after the ear infection is gone.

Speaking of ear infections, you had your first one this month. We have all been miserable around here! You don't sleep, and at one point were refusing to eat! I thought you were teething so I let it go, probably longer than I should. We have had you to the doctor twice, and you head back on Friday to get your ears rechecked. You are on your second kind of antibiotics and I am really hoping this takes care of it! The antibiotics are definitely why you are in disposable diapers right now. I am pretty sure you would ruin your cloth diapers in one day if we were having you wear them right now. I am giving you yogurt and keeping you on the BRAT diet trying to combat the tummy yuck, but it's not helping all that much. Before the ear infection you were sleeping through the night wonderfully, so I'm hoping that continues when the infection clears up.

You are still nursing, and nurse every 3-4 hours except at night when you go as long as 10 hours. You eat three meals a day and get really crabby around lunch time if I'm taking too long to get your food made.

You are definitely a strong little guy (Just like your NICU nurses said from the very beginning) and I have to fight you at every diaper change so you don't roll off the table. I had to fight to hold you down so the doctor could look in your ears. And it wasn't/isn't easy!

You are an absolute joy sweet baby. Your dad and I are so blessed to be able to watch you grow and change each and every day. We love seeing you change and turn into a little man. I can only imagine what the next month will bring.

I love you forever.

Mama.

Enjoy some of the pictures from Jaxon's monthly shoot. This is what happens when baby becomes mobile I guess! HA!

December Photo Scavenger Hunt.

2011-01-03T09:11:00.000-08:00

1.Water (This is the only kind of water we have here these days, frozen. For the record, I about froze to death taking this picture too!)

2. Angel (Cookie cutter)

3. Architectural Detail

4.Shoes (My snow boots)

5. Something yellow (My amateur attempt at editing)

6. Your favorite beverage (I wouldn't say this is my "favorite" but it's more interesting than a gallon of milk, which we are currently out of in our home! HA!)

7. Something taller than you.

8. Bokeh with Christmas lights.

9. Bubble (One of Jaxon's toys)

10. Pickle (My ornament from last year)

11. Heirloom (Cowboy boots that were Jesse's as a toddler. They are Jaxon's now.)

12. Your refrigerator

13. Chocolate.

14. Candid (My dad trying to keep Jaxon out of the Christmas tree)

15. Music

16. Produce

17. Key

18. Board Game

19. Candle

20. Fuzzy

Nothing.

2011-01-02T20:02:00.000-08:00

Everytime I sit down to write a blog, I can think of a million things to type, but never do.

Jaxon cries.

The dryer buzzes.

The dishes call my name.

My bed calls my name.

The dogs are barking.

My favorite show is on TV.

Jesse comes home from work early.

My bed needs to be made.

You name it, something happens, and I never end up blogging.

When Jesse is back on his "normal" schedule, and I get back into my routine, maybe I can find some time to sit down and blog for real. Like, an actual post, that actually has some meaning behind it.

So, for now, here is a little photo update to tide you over!

Thank you for all the prayers concerning my last post! It is still hanging over our heads. We still don't know if/when it will happen. I'm hoping (and praying so hard!) that it doesn't happen at all!

The D Word.

2010-12-22T08:05:00.000-08:00

You all know what I mean.

If you would please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers I would really appreciate it.

We don't know for sure yet, but it sucks to have this hanging over our head at Christmas.

My heart hurts.

It just sucks.

edited to add: I am not talking about "divorce" here.... Mere ;)

Tuesday Tid-Bits.

2010-12-21T09:07:00.001-08:00

-We moved Jaxon out of his infant carseat this weekend. He is still rear facing (duh) just in a bigger carseat. He was way too long for the infant seat now and was definitely uncomfortable. We made the decision that his infant seat was just no longer safe for him. I had been debating this for a while and knew what carseat we wanted, but of course, when I looked online, no one here had it in stock. I ended up calling everywhere to ask them, instead of just checking online. WalMart had ONE left, so I had them hold it, and we went and picked it up. We really like it, and Jaxon looks much more comfortable and safe in it! I also love that the straps are adjustable from the FRONT of the carseat instead of the back!

-Jaxon has been rocking back and forth on his hands and knees for a few days, maybe a week now. I'm waiting ofr the day he just launches himself forward and starts crawling. He has been rolling and scooting for a long while now and gets pretty well anywhere he wants these days. He also has figured out that he can pull himself forward on our rug we have in the living room. He's going to have such buff little arms pretty soon! Ha!

-Bandit and Moe have new fleece jackets that my mom sent them for Christmas. Moe wears hers every time I let her outside and loves it! She would play in the snow for hours if we let her. By the time I get her to come in the house she looks like the abominable snow man! Her face is usually covered in little pieces of ice and snow, and she's shaking like a leaf. Yet I still have to threaten her to get her inside! It usually goes something like "Moe, you get your little butt in here now before I come out there! Moe, GET IN THE HOUSE! Moe, come here, NOW! Moe, you want a treat?! Here girl!" Usually the "T" word works the best. Bandit on the other hand, cries and cries and cries. I think the snow hurts his feet because he holds them up one at a time at the back door and whines. We have debated on getting him some booties to wear, and I think this week we will get some for him (And maybe Moe too!) and see how they work. He might not even wear them. We will probably have to take him the truck downtown with us to the store to make sure he will wear them and they fit. They aren't cheap!

-I think we have finally adjusted to Jesse being on night shift. He has been so sweet lately and has been coming home in the morning and getting Jaxon up and hanging out with him for about an hour, and lets me sleep in. I'm not sure if it's the weather right now or what, but I am having a terrible time waking up in the morning. I just feel downright exhausted!

-Would ya'll be interested in me doing a "day in the life" post? I know some people like them, and others don't... Maybe I will do one this week while my parents are here to visit!

-What about an "Ask anything?" post? Let me know!

-Yesterday we got 6-7 inches of snow throughout the day, and overnight I am pretty sure we got another 4-5. I never thought I would live somewhere that got this much snow in the winter, but I am loving it! It totally makes the Christmas spirit come out! However, when we drove into town a couple of days ago I saw 3 cars/trucks stuck in the ditch, AND a car upside down on the side of the road!!! Yikes! (There were no people in the cars by the way. If there was, my husband would have stopped and helped. He's sweet like that!) That makes me scared! I hate driving in snow, and wrecked cars don't help that fear!

-While we were at Target the other day I snatched up a few $1/pack ornaments to finish up my ornament wreath! Yay! I figure I am just hot gluing them to other ornaments, no need to buy expensive ones! I love how it turned out! I may add a couple of other "words" next year, but for now, I really love it!

-Jaxon is teething terrible again! He was sleeping through the night so well, but the last few nights he was waking up at midnight all our screaming. Like, in pain, hurting, upset, screaming! Last night before he went to bed, I gave him some medicine and it seems to have helped. He slept all night. Do any of you Mama's have any special tricks (Other than Motrin/Tylenol) to help those little teeth at night? I hate giving him medicine too much....

-I cannot wait for this weekend! Jesse is getting a 4 day weekend. So nice! I am so happy and excited to spend 4 wonderful days together with most of my favorite people! I wish all my favorite people could be here this time of year!

Well, someone is up from his nap, and rolling towards the presents under the tree fast! I better get him before they are all opened up!

Until next time....

Quiet.

2010-12-18T12:40:00.000-08:00

I love the quiet.

I used to hate it.

I find it so still and peaceful now.

Jaxon is napping for the second time today. The dogs are sleeping upstairs, and Jesse fell asleep on the couch. I was wrapping Christmas gifts, but I thought I would take a couple of minutes out of that to blog.

My parents get here Tuesday. I am so excited to see them and have them here for Christmas! We are done Christmas shopping except for stocking stuffers, and I still need to get Jesse's present. I know what I want to get him, I'm just not sure what size to get. Have I mentioned driving in the snow/ice really freaks me out? Well, it does. It's a 20-30 minute drive to town and I hate going alone. So yes, I will be dragging my husband downtown to buy his Christmas present! Horrible. Horrible. Horrible!

I have also gotten so used to sleeping alone (as Jesse is working nights for now) so on the weekends it takes everything I have to fall asleep. Don't get me wrong, I'm so grateful to have my husband home for the holidays, but seriously, could he snore any louder?! Ha! He is also like a freaking space heater! I don't know about you, but I can't sleep when it's too warm.

Jaxon has started sleeping through the night now! I cannot believe it! He sleeps from about 8pm-4:30am. I nurse him and he falls back to sleep until 6-7am. Pure bliss! After not sleeping through the night once in seven months, I was about to lose my mind! He is also eating three solid meals a day now (Still nursing 4-6times a day too!) I cannot believe how much he has changed in just a few short weeks!

I still need to finish my ornament wreath. It may just be left as it is until next year!

Well, I need to finish wrapping presents and get my house in order. I don't want my parents thinking I live in a pig sty year round!

I'll leave you with a sneak peek from our Christmas pictures. It's not perfect, but it is absolutely one of my very favorites that we took that day! I don't want to share them all until I'm sure our Christmas cards have made it to their destinations!

Until next time....

Jaxon Grows Up: Seven Months Old!

2010-12-13T13:43:00.000-08:00

Jaxon, little buddy,

Wow. Just wow. I cannot believe you are over a half a year old! Wow!

Things you are doing this month:

Saying "Dada".... I am not sure if you have connected the word with your dad yet, but every time you wake up, get upset, are excited, I usually hear you saying "Dadadadadadadadadadadada!"

Blowing raspberries/spitting. It is pretty cute. Gross. But cute. And hilarious. You will mimic us if we blow raspberries and then laugh when we laugh. Such a sweet boy!

Rolling. Rolling. Rolling. You are definitely giving me a run for my money now! I am constantly "chasing" you around the living room. See, our whole house is hardwood floors. They are, well, hard. I try my best to keep you on the rug in the living room so you don't bonk your head, but you would rather be on the hardwood because you like the way it sounds when you drag your hand across it. It makes a sort of squeaking noise.

Jumping. You still love your jumperoo and would spend hours in it if we let you.

Back bridges. Is this because you're a wrestlers kid, or do all babies do this? It's the most bizarre thing I have ever seen!

The dogs. You love when they bark/growl. You love when they walk by you. You "pet" Bandit all the time! You like to pull his hair and laugh. I tell you to be gentle, but Bandit just keeps licking you. He appreciates the attention. Moe runs for the hills when you try to touch her. You are just too rough for her. She doesn't like your sudden movements and smacking motions.

Hitting and pinching. This is not so fun. It hurts. You think it's funny. No matter how many times I say "ouch, that hurts Mama" you still just laugh. When I say "It's not funny," you laugh more. Sigh. Such a rough little boy!

You had your first Thanksgiving this month. You loved it! You loved eating all the yummy food, and just hanging out with Mama and Daddy for the day! You sat on the counter and "helped" me bake cookies and pies and thought it was great! You played with a plastic spatula and a plastic bowl. So sweet.

You love all things Christmas this month. You stare at the lights and stockings and wreathes in the house.

You laugh all the time. Never in public though. We can barely get you to crack a smile in public!

We took you to a tree lighting ceremony the day after Thanksgiving. You were completely content to just be carried up/down main street and look at all the lights. That same weekend you helped your Dada hang up Christmas lights outside!

You are trying so hard to move. You want to crawl so bad, but just can't quite do it. You get so frustrated and you usually end up throwing a fit because you just can get to where you want to be fast enough.

You are sitting up on your own this month. I usually put the boppy pillow behind you though. You don't tip over backwards, but you do rock back and forth and sometimes lose your balance. If the boppy wasn't there I am sure there would be A LOT of tears.

We went and got your first Christmas tree this month. It was quite the trip in -2 degree weather! Yikes!

No doctor appointment this month, but I am going to guess that you are about 17lbs. and probably about 26.5-27 inches tall!

We love you so much little man! You are such a sweet little boy and we are so looking forward to spending your first Christmas with you! Your Grammie and Papa are coming all the way from Oregon to spend a week with you!

I'll love you forever,

Mama.

Silent Sunday.

2010-12-12T17:53:00.001-08:00

I'm hoping to get Jaxon's 7 month post done by tomorrow. But for now, here's a Sunday photo.

It's that time of year....

2010-12-07T15:11:00.001-08:00

I have been feeling crafty lately. Some of these projects are finished. Others are not. All super easy and a great way to relieve some stress for me!