Thursday, November 29, 2012

Thankful

Blogger issues are worked out, and Jaxen-going-to-bed issues are getting worked out!

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As I sit here recalling our Thanksgiving this year (so I have documentation of Jaxen's first Thanksgiving) I am reminded again, how thankful I am. This week, I heard of a family who lost thier 13 year old son on Friday. Life is precious. Time is short. I know that. You know that.


I am so thanful for the family that God has blessed me with. This time last year, I was pregnant. And thinking about the future with that little baby. The future is here and it is more than I ever could have imagined.


Not everyone's future turns out the way 'it is supposed to' all the time. And that can be tough. And as I think about that, what I am most thankful for right now is that  nothing is unexpected to God. I find peace in that. I hope you can too.



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Thanksgiving 2012, we spent at my Mamaw's. Here is a short recap:

Family Bonding.


Great food!


Jaxen pretty much entertained everyone!


He got to meet family members he had not yet met!


And helped us look through all the Black Friday ads. And by help...I mean, eat.


He had fun looking at the Christmas tree with Mamaw.


And giving her love. And by giving her love...I mean, eating her face.


We enjoyed seeing everyone, especially Bebe and Grandpa Scotty!


We had some family members missing this year. So that was sad. 
But overall, it was a good Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Blog Issues

I am currently having issues posting pictures. Therefore, I cannot post about Thanksgiving or another special event that happened this weekend. Stay tuned.

Not only am I having blogging issues, I am also having Jaxen-going-to-bed-issues. Big time. He has not slept through the night the last 4 nights. Plus, actually getting him to sleep is like killing a rattlesnake with bare hands. Okay, I have never done that...but imagine it, and that is bedtime for us right now. I hope this is a phase.

I now have to try to calm down a very tired, screaming baby.

I'll post when I can. Sorry for the issues!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Catching Up

It has been many days since I have been on the blog, facebook, or even email. Nik was away this past weekend and so I was a single parent for 3 days. I was responsible for Jaxen's every. single. need. for. 3. days. (maybe I'm being a little dramatic).

With Jaxen's new late bedtime, and early mornings - it was a bit tough. Thankfully, I did have (and am grateful for) some help from my neighbor, Kris, who watched Jaxen while I did a service project on Saturday. I also had a long-time friend (Bob) come into town this weekend. It was so good to see him and catch up....but you know how it goes...when I would have been napping, I was awake and hanging out with Bob.

So now I am tired. But I am excited for the week ahead - We will get to see both of our familes this week! I just have to finish packing...



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I am now going to play catch up:
  • Jaxen now sits in his highchair, playing with spoons. It's pretty cute. One day I will put food with it!

  • I lost my voice on Saturday. It is finally returning some-what normal today.
  • I have obviously put my plant and Jaxen too close together. I'm not sure if Jaxen has digested plant yet. Maybe...maybe not.


  • I have decorated for Christmas. I normally do not do this until after Thanksgiving. However - we have company right after Thanksgiving and a very busy December. So I did it early. 


  • Nik went to a conference this past weekend and came home with t-shirts (for the masses). Seriously. I'm not even being dramatic here. After I put away the few t-shirts he gave me, I counted my t-shirts. 40. 40 clean, folded t-shirts. I'm not sure how many are dirty. Don't you think that is a bit much? It probably is, especially considering I wear the same 10 all the time. Time to venture out. I did have the thought that I would not wash any t-shirts until we wear them all. Then I would wash them....I'll let you know how that goes!
  • Speaking of laundry, Jaxen helped me fold (or unfold) it this weekend.

  • Work is seriously busy this week. This time of year, actually. I am enjoying it...but sometimes it is a struggle getting everything accomplished on a part-time work week. Speaking of work, I had my 3-month evaluation for being part-time. And I still have a job! I received a very good review and my work will allow me to keep my part-time status!
That's all for now...

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Weekend Occurrences

Over the past weekend (Friday and Saturday) Jaxen has been up until after 11 PM. 11 PM. Yes, you read that right. He was going to bed between 8:30 - 9:00 PM. WAS. Until Friday hit. I was actually glad he was still up on Friday night so I could spend some time with him (Anniversary night). But I was not glad on Saturday. At all. Let's just say that Nik had to take over. The rest of the week has been a bit better.

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Other weekend occurrences (with pictures)...

Thursday afternoon I found Nik and Jaxen like this:
I don't think Nik was actually sleeping, just dozing...but still. Pretty funny!
Saturday morning after Jaxen was fed, we took him outside to enjoy
some fresh air. And we played ping-pong.

Later in the morning/early afternoon, we let Jaxen play in his jumper while we played ping-pong.

Yes, we played lots of ping-pong this weekend! And it was fun!

Nik and I had some errands to run and Jaxen needed a
wardrobe change (surprise, surprise) so we put him in his Lambert's onsie!

"Future Roll Thrower"

He looks like such a big boy, in his 'suspenders' and jeans!

Saturday evening we hung out with Quention, Kris, Emily and Katie -
They had lots of fun playing with Jaxen!





It was bath night for Jaxen so I brought over supplies and the girls
got to give Jaxen a bath in the sink!

The picture below does not show it, but he actually really liked it.
He loves baths!

Sunday, at church, we had our Thanksgiving meal.

This is how Jaxen enjoyed lunch!

Not able to touch any of my food - Happy for me, not so much for him!

Here are some pics of the Thanksgiving outfit we purchased for him.

Love it. Especially the turkey on his bottom!
By the way - these pictures were taken quickly, 
before the meltdown that occurs when he is on his belly!
He is "Mommy's Little Turkey Butt!"

Monday, November 12, 2012

Jaxen - 5 Months



This morning, as I cuddled with Jaxen before his morning nap, I told him what an amazing day it was 5 months ago. And then I sang "Happy Birthday" to him. That might of been a bit much, since he is only 5 months old... but still. I could not help myself. I sang every version of "Happy Birthday" I knew. Even the the one that says "...you look like a monkey, and you smell like one too!" I know - a bit much...


This boy is a trip. He is funny and cute and sweet and entertaining. He is a handful. A mover. He has the best laugh I have ever heard. He has so many expressions, it is never boring hanging out with him.


He sits up like a big boy, all on his own. He holds his own bottles. And everything goes into his mouth. He loves playing in his exersaucer. He does not roll over or crawl yet, and does not like being on his belly. At all.


He wears mostly 6-9 month clothes (depending on the brand...). He is still in size 2 diapers. He weighs roughly 16.6 and is around 26 inches.


We have had some rough nights at bedtime, but usually sleeps around 9 hours a night and takes 1 long nap in the morning and a 2-3 short naps through out the rest of the day.


He eats about every 3-4 hours, nursing for 20 minutes or taking 6 ounces from a bottle and 8 ounces at his last feeding.



Happy 5 months, Jaxen Houston!


Saturday, November 10, 2012

Our Special Night

Years ago, when someone asked me what I wanted to be when I "grew up" I would reply "I want to be a wife, a mom and a volunteer". Yesterday, as I celebrated 10 years of marriage with Nik - I thanked God and Nik for making my dreams come true.

Last week Nik and I started discussing what we wanted to do on our anniversary. After throwing out some suggestions and veto-ing them, we started to become a little stressed out over this anniversary. It can be hard planning a "special" anniversary. We were not sure if we wanted to celebrate on Friday night, make a day of it on Saturday, or celebrate it all weekend! So we stopped planning because who needs more stress added to their day?

I received a text later in the week from a friend who offered to keep Jaxen for us on Friday night. Done. That is when we would celebrate.

Friday was Nik's day off and so Jaxen and him hung out together all day. They practiced Jaxen making noises while Nik patted his mouth (to make the Indian sound....know what I'm talking about?). They just about mastered it!

I had to work. All day. I was a little bummed in between my jobs because this was our special day and I realized that the world did not stop to celebrate with us. :) Bummer! I got over it. But after work - I was all about celebrating us!

Nik took Jaxen to our babysitters and then we headed to Waco to eat some place we did not have in Temple. That was our only rule. We really had no idea where we were going, but I was excited we were getting out of town. We ended up eating at Chuys.

Let me stop for a second. By far, the best mexican food in this area. Seriously. I love that place. I want to go back - like everyday! The green chile sauce, the queso-bar, the great decor, the amazing flavored steak burrito....! Okay, I'm done now.

After eating we did a little shopping. I had my eye on a certain Thanksgiving outfit for Jaxen for a couple of weeks now and it was on sale - so we purchased it, and Christmas pajamas for Jaxen (because Friday after Thanksgiving he has to strut some Christmas apparel), and 2 pairs of jeans for Nik, a pair of dress pants for myself, a Christmas stocking for Jaxen and a Christmas candle. I know - I might have gone a little overboard. But it was fun to shop! We had been given some money for our anniversary and we put it to good use. The amazing thing is that we got every single item on sale, plus and additional 30% off, plus $10.00 off our total bill. Let's just say that we spent very little for what we got. That is my favorite kind of shopping!

Then we ate some fabulous ice cream before heading home to see our baby. That was our night! It was wonderful. And "special" because I got to spend it with my husband, my best friend, my favorite person in the wonderful. And I got to tell him how much I love him, appreciate him, and how I want to "do life" with only him for many more years.

On the way home, I told Nik I was glad we got to spend some one-on-one time without Jaxen. It was nice not to worry about his needs and plan our night around his napping, eating, diaper changes and such!  But I was so excited to see that he was still awake when we got home. Which meant - I got to rock my baby to sleep! I had hardly seen him all day and I missed him!

I love you, Nik - Happy 10 Year Anniversary!




Thursday, November 8, 2012

New Things

Holding the Bottle: Jaxen has started to hold his own bottle! I have never really pushed this issue. We practice some. But it was not a big deal to me that he hold his own bottle. But he is doing it now... off and on, anyways!



Johnny Jump: We tried our Johnny Jump out and I think Jaxen likes it. At first, he just sat very still in it. Not smiling, not moving. Just still - taking it in, I guess. The longer he was in it, the more comfortable he became. He now swings in it. No jumping yet.




Sitting Up: Jaxen officially sits up on his own now! He does it for long stretches, sometimes falling. He cries some when he falls, but we help him right back up and he is okay.


All these new things are so much fun. I have been told that every stage is great, and so far they are! Each new stage becomes my favorite stage!

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What's new with us...

Nik is deep in Upward Basketball. He has a coaches meeting tonight. He is in the middle of drafting teams and finding coaches and referees. Games do not start until January - but there is a lot to do between now and then!

I am hanging in there. Just doing the norm, and trying to keep ahead of the game :). Tonight, my goal is to clean off our dining room table. Our table is not normally messy, but for some reason this week everything has gotten piled on it. So it's time to clean it off! Good goal, huh?

I have officially named myself "Upward Photographer / Concession Stand and TimeKeeper Coordinator". I am not going to be at Upward all day, every Saturday when games begin - like in the past. I am just going to come and go as needed. I hope this works for Nik and I. It does mean that we need more help, though... and we are trying to recruit help as soon as possible.

I am looking forward to the Holidays and seeing our families.

Tomorrow Nik and I celebrate our anniversary. 10 years!