Happy Birthday Grandma and Papa Jack

We had the privilege of celebrating Grandma and Papa Hinton's birthday tonight.  It was tons of fun to play with cousin Caroline and Charlotte.  Grandma fixed the barn up as a playhouse for the girls and Elli thinks she is a big girl for getting to play with her cousins out there.  I have to get some pictures of the inside of this barn - seriously - we could live in there!

Elli in true southern fashion - barefoot

Grandma Jack and Jackson

This is Bo-Bo convincing Elli she needed TWO pieces of cake.  He thinks he is so funny...

"That's right Mom -two pieces!"

Elli thinks she is big time!

Chillin!

Happy birthday!!!!

Grandma had a lot of help opening her presents....

Happy Five Months

Happy five months my sweet baby boy!  Love you!!!

My Favorite Friday Night

My love language is time.  If you want me to feel loved, spend time with me.  I have figured that out in the past year or so and it really does ring true. If you don't know your love language- FIGURE IT OUT!  You should know yours AND your spouse's.  Read the book if you haven't - seriously it is a game changer in relationships.  I digress.

My favorite way to spend Friday night is to spend time with everyone together, doing something as a family.  Tonight we did just that and my heart was happy.  We had Chick-Fil-A picnic style (and who doesn't love some fried chicken with french fries?) and then we played at the park.  Seriously, it was the best therapy for a rough few weeks we have had.

Thanks Jacob for making me a happy woman tonight   And thanks Aunt Rachel for Elli's outfit!

Picnic time!

Sitting on what Elli calls the "blank-e-let"

Feed me!

My two favorite guys!!!

I love this!  Look at them playing with each other. 

Now Jackson is trying to eat my face.

OK we give up!  This IS the family portrait.

Elli loves to swing on her belly now.

Another x-ray

So we have to get another x-ray on poor baby Jackson.  This time we are going to the hospital (outpatient) to get his bowels checked.  Without giving away too many details (he will read this one day and I don't want to be yelled at for posting private information), Jackson has always been constipated which is unusual for a breastfed baby. It is getting worse so they want to check everything out.  I'm glad they are doing the x-ray but I pray they just find out it is constipation and nothing more.  The dr said if that is the case, we can regulate it with prune juice and other things.  If it is a structure issue, surgery may be necessary.  Honestly, I'm not letting my mind go there!  I will keep you posted.  Our x-ray is scheduled for Tuesday at 9:00.  We appreciate any prayers for our little man.  The x-ray shouldn't be too bad, but I'll be glad when it is over.

If You Can't Beat 'Em

Well, Jackson is still waking up 30/45 minutes into his afternoon nap and it is making me crazy because he needs that time (and so do I!)  So I decided to try out dropping his second morning nap and see if he will sleep better then.  I'm not sure how it is going to go tomorrow, but today was pretty good.  I would really like for this schedule to work because it would free us up from being chained to the house on non-preschool days.  I'm still tweaking it, but once I have it, I'll post it for my friends who will have two soon (you know who you are!)

So today we went to the park to try and keep Jackson awake in the morning.  It was the first time I've really taken them out somewhere like that by myself.  All in all, it went pretty well and they both slept for two hours when we got home.  Mission accomplished!

We made it!

Luckily he loves the bjorn...and before you say it, I made it to the park but that doesn't mean I can do hair and make up too=)

She had to do some of the big girl things by herself.  I was proud!

How fun is this?!?

PlayDoh Games

Tuesday and Thursday mornings are different for us because we don't  have preschool.  Elli LOVES preschool so she gets disappointed on the mornings she wakes up and realizes it is just me and her (I try not to take it personally).  For my sanity and her enjoyment, I try to come up with something for us to do.  The first thing I tried out last week was playdoh mats.  I found them online.  She seemed to enjoy doing them with me.  We set them up outside while Jackson was napping.  It was a great way to pass the time, make sure the house was quiet for him, and do something educational.  Maybe for a minute she forgot she wasn't at preschool.

Let's Just Be Honest...

I'm going to admit, it hasn't been that great around here.  Elli had a bad cold/cough for a week or so and had to miss preschool and church - BOO.  Then, I think Jackson picked up the cold because he was all stuffy.  Since then, we haven't really gotten back into our groove.  The schedule was working like clockwork but now he REFUSES to sleep more than 45 minutes to 1 hour for his afternoon nap.  I thought it might be hunger related - but no.  I've tried giving him full bottles and added rice cereal in before nap.  I thought it might be too much sleep - but no.  He won't take it even when he doesn't have his second morning nap (like when we go to church).  I REFUSE to let him lose this nap.  This is the nap that stays around long after all the other naps are dropped - Elli is STILL taking this nap.  So, we are now in a battle of the wills.  He wakes up and basically I just wait it out.  It is not fun.  I'm tired of it and I'm praying (literally) that it gets better sooner rather than later.  It is not a big problem in life's scheme of things.  I'm just not a big fan of how things are going.  Since he is not taking the nap, he is WAY MORE fussy at night and now cries the whole time we try to eat dinner.
Ok - that was a very whiny post. I apologize.  Sometimes I just have to vent.

Even with all of that frustration, he is still just as cute as he can be. Don't ya think?

Yum Yum Yum

It had to happen sooner or later...and it is a little earlier than we did with Elli, but we gave Jackson rice cereal tonight.  I have been thinking about doing it but haven't really been motivated enough to start.  Today I accidentally thawed out too much breast milk so I decided I would use the extra to mix up the cereal.  Jackson really seemed to like it so we will work it into our routine once a day.

I will say that it was much less of a "deal" than it was with Elli.  When we gave Elli rice cereal for the first time, the cameras were out, both of us were there helping, and we really thought she was something.  With Jackson it was just a "hey I have extra milk, lets feed him some cereal" kinda thing.  I did get out the camera and I tried to make it monumental, but it just wasn't that big of a deal.  It is funny how different things are with your second kid!

Still, he was super cute and here are a few of his shots.  Can you believe it? He is almost 5 months old.  My little baby boy won't be a baby that much longer...

I love this shot!

Yeah this stuff is good - where has it been all my life?!?

This Is How We Roll

I have finally gotten a decent schedule for Jackson built around preschool.  It is very flexible, but it works for us.  He probably has one more feeding than he actually needs, but I am trying to ensure I maintain adequate supply and am not ready to drop another feeding.  He is happy with this and so is everyone else so this is how we roll at 4.5 months.  It is a combination 2.5/3 hour schedule.  He could go 3 hours all day, but I have to do 2.5 sometimes to accommodate dropping off and picking up Elli from preschool.
6:30-Feed and play on the floor with Mommy
7:30 - Nap time while Mommy gets herself ready.  Elli gets up around 8:00 am and we get ready for preschool.
8:45 - Wake Jackson up and all walk down to school
9:00 - Come home and nurse
10:15 - Short nap
11:30 - Quick nursing and then walk to get Elli.  Elli and I eat lunch while Jackson chills then Elli watches TV while I get Jackson ready for nap.
12:30/12:45 - Ready for his long nap then I get Elli ready for her nap.
1:00-2:30 EVERYONE NAPS...YAY!
2:30/2:45 Nurse and then Elli gets up around 3:00 or 3:30
4:30/4:45 Jackson gets quick cat nap in swing
5:30 - Small nursing session and rice cereal then Jackson chills while we eat dinner
6:45 - Bath
7:30 (this is where his two feedings are very close) formula bottle and bed
Get up and do it all again the next day!

Perfect Weather

Ok, this is the ideal weather.  Where can we live that has this weather all the time?  Elli and I have loved playing outside this week.  And...we all ate outside on our deck TWICE.  Now what is better than a little dinner picnic?!?

They are both happier than they look, I promise!

Look at that face!

The dirtier the face...the better the day!

Get Down!

Elli wanted Jackson to join in on the dancing fun.

Isn't it cute how much he already adores her?

Blue Chicken

If you listen closely, you can hear Elli "read" one of her books from the library.  Go ahead and just guess how many times we have read this one....

Jackson Jump Up

Sunday afternoon we tried out a new toy at Grandma's house.  Jackson's expressions crack me up here.  Watch the progression from..."I'm not so sure" to "Where has this fun toy been all my life?!?"

"You are going to do what Grandma?"

"Seriously..what is this thing?"

"Let me think about this for a minute please."

"Whee!!!!"

Time for a Change

I figured I needed to start updating my blog.  Just realized maybe it shouldn't be all pink anymore since we have a girl and a boy now.  I thought this color arrangement was fair - some blue, some purple.  I also finally added Jackson in the top photo!

Seriously?!?

I can't believe I just dropped Elli off at preschool.  Even though I have been waiting for this day, it was very bittersweet.  I could hardly calm my nerves last night, just thinking about all of the "firsts" that are coming our way now that Elli is growing up.  Here is Elli on her first day of preschool  (outfits compliments of Grandma Waller's dressmaking!)

I just realized I put the wrong date on there...oh well!  In ten years, the  4th or the 5th really won't matter!
I do realize it says "Cinderbrella" but that is how she says it and I don't want to forget that!

That's the big smile I love!

We're Going to the Zoo!

Think she was excited?!?!

A Sneak Peak

This is what it was like coming back from Maryland....it can only get better!

Actually this was a fairly mild moment.

Jackson's Four Month Appointment

Jackson's four month appointment went well.  He is a little over 15 pounds and about 25 inches long now.  That puts him in the 40th percentile for height and weight.  He is definitely smaller than Elli was at 4 months; she was in the 97th percentile at this age.  The pediatrician said he was looking good though and not to worry.  She did say we could start solids, but I'm going to wait a bit.  She said everything looked great and she was impressed with his strength.  We do have to call ECU and make a follow up appointment to check his heart murmur from birth.  We have to have that appointment when he turns 6 months old.  All in all, we are very blessed with a happy, healthy four month old.  She did note that he showed signs of teething (drooling and constant chewing on his hand).  He has had random low grade fevers lately so that makes sense.  We're keeping our eyes out for a tooth!

That's My Man

Is there anything better than this?  A man willing to...
1.  vacuum
2.  wear a crown and a necklace while vacuuming
3.  spend time with his baby girl
4.  let me take pictures of it

Love him!