Happy Thanksgiving and a Safe Black Friday

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! This year our Thanksgiving was way more eventful that it had ever been in the past. Jackson was up bright and early to watch the parade (well I watched the parade he clapped when Mama did). Then we started cooking our Thanksgiving feast for the three of us. Although it is just the three of us I still feel the need to go all out (just because we are away from our family and friends does not mean we cannot celebrate!). This year Jason and I were feeling the effects of being away from our family more than we had in the past. I am not sure if it was due to the fact that it was Jackson's first Thanksgiving, if it was because it was our first year without Grandma Lehr or what but we were a lot more sentimental this year.

Some of my thoughts from yesterday kept going back to how thankful I am so taking a cue from my friend Mel I thought I would share with you a little list of what I am thankful for this year:

-My wonderful hubby and father to our son
-My silly crazy boy Jackson
-Jason getting and Anesthesia residency spot
-Jason being home for Thanksgiving and not stuck in the OR
-Our annoying and lovable dog Cooper
-Our families happiness, health and safety

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and as always it came and went too quickly, but it was so fun watching Jackson enjoy his first Thanksgiving meal!

This morning I had Jackson endure another tradition...Black Friday. Before you all go crazy on me I didn't not have my son out in the cold at 2 am or anything like that, we shopped according to his schedule. After he woke up at 830 we headed out to Babies R Us, Kohls and SAMs we were back home after an hour and a half of being out and got everything that we wanted on our list. I tell you what it was the most enjoyable Black Friday shopping I have done ever! Now Jackson and I are going to decorate the house with all our Christmas decorations before Jason gets home from work to stop us!

Week 9 Football

Week 8 of Football was a bust! I tried to make fish and chips and it turned out really bad so we are going to skip that week!

Week 9 I made Beef Stew. It was one of those really cold days the ones where you fear that the snow is going to fall because its so cold and yucky outside. Although we missed the snow the beef stew turned out great!

Beef Stew

2 Tbs shortening

3 lbs stew meat (or a roast works too)

1 c. celery

2 1/2 c stewed tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

1 can peas drained

1 onion diced

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1/2 c parsley

1/2 Tbs thyme

3 1/2 c water or beef broth (I recommend beef broth)

12 carrots sliced

6 potatoes diced

Melt shortening. Then put in stew meat and onions and until stew meat is browned.

Add celery, garlic, parsley, tomatoes, thyme, salt and pepper, 2 1/2 c. beef broth, bring to a boil and then let simmer for 2 hrs. 

Add peas, carrots and potatoes simmer an additional hour.

Add a little flour to the remaining beef broth to create a rue to thicken the stew.  Once that is added you can enjoy!

Now when I made this I made a half batch and it still made a ton so keep that in mind.

9 months old

My baby is slowly turning into a toddler! I know that's a very sad way to start this post about him being 9 months old, but it's the truth. Another Mom at Jackson's daycare didn't even recognize him, she thought he was a new kid in the class and then upon realizing that it was him she said..."Oh Jackson I feel sorry for your Mommy because you are growing up way to fast!" Yeah lady I know and I am sad about it! )Although it is sad to see the baby in him disappear there have been a lot of new developments for him over the past month.

We will start off with eating, which many of you know is something I pretty much obsess about with him. (I just want to make sure he's healthy that's all). Jackson is now starting to discover more and more table foods, we have had pears, peaches, noodles, mashed potatoes, grilled cheese sandwich (thanks Dad for that one), cheerios, peas and banana although we do not really care for the texture of banana which surprised me because he loves banana baby food and puffs. Jackson also is holding his own bottle for Jason and I now, apparently he did this for a while at school but he wouldn't for us...little stinker! We are starting on sippy cups but we are not a fan of water it confuses us a little bit.

Jackson now has 6 teeth! Four on the top and two on the bottom. We brush our teeth two times a day with our baby toothbrush and paste which is loves to do, especially if he gets to do it right after Mommy and Daddy brush theirs. He is also a fast mover now...finally! He is finally starting to belly crawl and he's getting really quick at it so I have to keep a better eye on him. His favorite way to move though is to walk while holding on to Mom's or Dad's fingers...which is fun to watch but can be painful after awhile. He loves to stand at our activity table, holding on the couch, ottoman where ever we can stand that's what we would prefer to do.

I know I said before that he had started saying Dada, but he regressed a little and didn't say it for the longest time, but now it's back and in full swing. He has even started to say Daddy every once in a while. It stinks for me because he will keep saying it over and over until he can see Jason and then he will just give him a cheesy smile. I did a little sulking after this development mainly because Hello I was the one who carried him for 9 months I should have been first, but then to see how excited Jason get when Jackson says it kind of got me out of that funk.

Jackson had his first really serious illness this month he got a little case of the flu. I was really worried about him getting dehydrated, but other than just a few times of throwing up and 2-3 nasty diapers he was happy as a clam and you would never have guessed he got sent home from school. I have to say we are really blessed with a happy baby, it takes a lot to get him down.

It has finally turned cold here so we had to bust out his winter coat and hat. I took this picture and he was standing holding on to our ottoman and then shortly after he tipped over and fell. Mind you the kid still falls like a tree so of course I jump up to check on him. He was laying there a little  stunned  but then started to laugh because it didn't hurt. The coat is so puffy it provided him with a lot of cushion for the fall.

Stats from our nine month appointment: Weight 22lb 14.5 oz, Height 30 in we are in the 95% for height and weight. We recently switched to 12 month clothes because everything was getting to short on us. Yep my baby is growing up. I cannot wait to see what this month holds for us!

Week 7 Football

My goodness I'm really bad at keeping things up to date and taking photos. I'm so sorry! We now are having a med student stay with us for the month and so I have planning on making bigger meals on Sunday so that way he can join us. ( I always feel bad when they eat sandwiches all the time because they don't want to buy a ton of groceries!) So this week I decided to make Michaka...it's like Mexican shredded beef.

Michaka

1 3lb roast

1 pkg. taco seasoning

2 Anaheim chilies

1/2 onion

salt and pepper to taste

water

Cut up roast in to 2in cubes and place in a crock pot. Slice Anaheim chilies and onion and put in crock pot. Add salt and pepper to taste and pkg of taco seasoning. Put a small amount of water in crock pot (about a 1/4 in). Turn crock pot to low and cook for 5 hrs. The roast will slowly break apart and shred. 

To serve: You can serve this in two ways I like to make mine into a burrito so we have tortilla shells, cheese, lettuce, tomato pretty much all your favorite fixings. Jason however prefers to have his Michaka as nachos with queso, lettuce etc. Try both ways and see which one you like the best! Michaka is also really great to add to a breakfast burrito!

Week 6 Football

Whoops sorry I haven't had a chance really to post what we have been doing in this household. Two weeks ago for football we had Tator Tot Casserole! This is one of my favorite dishes and it's funny because it is really easy and makes really yummy leftovers!

Tator Tot Casserole

1 lb. hamburger

1 bag mixed frozen veggies

1 can cream of mushroom soup

milk

salt and pepper (to taste)

1 bag Tator tots

Brown hamburger and then drain grease. Place browned hamburger in a baking dish ( I usually use an 8x8). Then cover with the bag of frozen veggies. Mix cream of mushroom soup and milk together using just enough milk to thin the cream of mushroom soup. Then pour over the hamburger and veggies. Add salt and pepper to taste and then cover mixture with tator tots. Place in oven at 350 for about 45 min or until tator tots are brown and enjoy!

Super easy and a great meal for picky kids!

Week 5 Football Yummies!

It was another great fall weekend. Jason was able to go out duck hunting with a fellow resident while Jack and I hung out at home and spent some quality time together. Jason of course came back from hunting just in time for football and a soup Sunday special (oh yeah I went there)! This week I decided to make a classic...Chicken Noodle Soup.

Chicken Noodle Soup

2 lg cans Swanson chicken broth

Carrots (however much you want)

Celery (however much you want)

1 c. onion

1 tbs butter

1 tsp Basil

1 tsp Parsley flakes

3-4 chicken breasts

rotini noodles

salt and pepper (to taste)

In a large soup pot put 2 lg cans of chicken broth and heat on low. While that is heating cook chicken breasts and cube, add to pot. Cut carrots and add to broth to soften.

In saute pan add celery, onion and butter. Cook until celery and onion are softened but now browned. Put in basil and parsley flakes. Then add to chicken broth.

I cooked the rotini noodles and then added them at the end to the soup mix. Jason thinks that I should cook them in the broth I will try it next time and see how it turns out. Let warm all the way through and enjoy!

Football Week 4

So today we did a very simple lunch that Jason has been asking for. I made chili, I made him wait for the perfect fall day because I have a hard time enjoying chili when it's 70+ degrees outside, but today was rainy and cool...perfect!

Chili

1 lb hamburger

2-3 cans stewed tomatoes

2 cans chili beans

2 sm cans v8 juice

1 pkg. chili mix

Brown hamburger and put into crock pot. Add tomatoes, beans, juice and chili mix....heat until warm all the way through. Top with some shredded cheese and enjoy!

I also went to SAMs Club and bought some ciabatta rolls which heated up with a little butter made this extra yummy!

8 Months Old

Ahh! He's getting so big! I know that every parent says that the current stage their child is in is their favorite, but I do have to say this is really my favorite stage of Jackson's. He is just a goof ball and can make me laugh even when I'm in the crankiest mood!

He has discovered some new sounds that he can make. When Jason tickles Jack he makes this strange sound that sounds like static almost...well someone learned how to mimic this same sound, and of course the first time he made the sound Jason and I laughed so hard that Jack thinks it's the funniest thing in the whole world! He also likes to make elephant sounds which has become his new comfort thing when he goes to sleep. He will just lay in bed and make that elephant sound until he falls asleep...it's better than crying I guess. He also said "DaDa" I was excited and disappointed all at the same time I though with all our "practice" of saying MaMa while stuck in traffic and to and from school I would surely get him to say MaMa first...I was very wrong.

This last  month was also the month of visitors. My parents were the first to come out and they came over Labor Day weekend. It was really great to see them even though it was a very short trip. In that small amount of time though Jackson got super spoiled and became very attached to his Grandpa and Grandma. I think it took a few days after they left for him to realize that it was just the three of us again.

About a week after my parents came Jason's mom made the trip out to see Jackson too! Jackson stayed home from school on Friday so they got to spend the whole day together and were best buds by the end of the day. Again Jackson got super spoiled by Grandma Kathy and again it was too quick of a trip for all of our likings.

While Kathy was in town we also took Jackson to Portrait Innovations and got his pictures taken. I know that I may be a little bias, but he is the cutest little kid I have ever seen!

Jackson has also become and avid football watcher on Sunday. I think he likes watching Daddy more than the game (which I have to admit is sometimes very entertaining), and staying in his sweats it always a bonus too!

Enjoying the 9ers game!

A few weeks ago we also changed out his car seat for a big boy car seat. His infant carrier was only made for him to be up to 22lbs so it was time to move on. Jackson seems to prefer this though because when we go to the stores now he gets to sit in the shopping cart like a big boy and look around. He's such a flirt when we are shopping. I think it takes 2x's as long to get through anywhere because he has to make cute faces at all the ladies and I have to stop so they can say hi and have a quick chat with him.

We have started to try to crawl (kind of) we still haven't gotten up on all fours yet, but we are very good at moving our arms in a nice army crawl and kicking our feet. The unfortunate part is that it causes us to go backwards instead of the desired forward direction of the toys that MaMa tends to bribe him with (probably one of the reasons he has not said my name...revenge!). We also are very independent now and love to stand...recently he has gotten more daring and has been trying to go no handed.

Jackson is still teething, it's strange though because his bottom teeth came in without any issue but the top ones are being little stinkers. We are making our way through though! We officially have two bottom teeth and two top teeth...looks like someone is going to be ready to experiment with some table food!

Speaking of eating...we have foodie on our hands. Little man likes to eat...we have started to buy a new brand of baby food called Earths Best. It's all organic and gives a lot of variety of combinations. The other day we tried pumpkin and apples. I have never seen him eat a jar of baby food that fast before! So I'm curious to see what else he starts to like.

All in all it has been a very busy month but a fun one! Things to look forward to...our first Halloween (we already go his costume!), hopefully some more crawling and standing.

8 months old!

Football Week 3

So I kind of cheated this week but I am completely saying that it's Jason's fault. I wanted to make some Thai food for today's games and this was the reaction "We CANNOT eat Thai food while watching football! Why don't you make chili or pulled pork sandwiches or something?" So I looked to see what I had so I could whip up a yummy Sunday Football lunch and I had some Jack Daniels Pulled Pork for sandwiches. Now the reason that I say I cheated is because it is pre-cooked and already sauced I just had to heat it up and serve with some kaiser rolls and some salt and pepper chips and we were good to go.

Still looks yummy right?

To redeem myself and this little 17 weeks of football thing I have going on I made some of my favorite banana bread as a snack for later. I know what you are thinking banana bread as a snack? This isn't any banana bread it is like dessert banana bread....and it will rock your world!

Banana Bread

3/4 c shortening ( I usually used butter flavored Crisco)
2 1/4 c sugar
4 large bananas
5 eggs
1/2 c. milk
3 tsp vanilla
3 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
6 oz chocolate chips ( I like to add more)
1/2 jar maraschino cherries chopped (also like to add more)

In a large mixing bowl add shortening, sugar, bananas, eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. With a hand mixer, mix until all ingredients are combined well.

Then fold in chocolate chips and cherries with a mixing spoon.

Put in loaf pan for 1 hr at 350. Makes about 3 loaves. (I have started buying the eco-foil loaf pans from the grocery store, they come in a pack of three and that way I can bake all three loaves at the same time...saves a little time!)

Enjoy!

Today I'm also going to try my hand at making some  homemade baby food...stay tuned and I'll let you know how it turned out and how Mr. Jackson likes it!

Lessons From A New Mama

So I haven't really done any new lessons lately, not to say I haven't learned anything because oh boy is there a lot to learn when you kid refuses to crawl, wants to stand on their own, is teething and starts to learn to talk. Those lessons are soon to come! However today I'm going to talk to you all about baby food. When I was pregnant with Jackson I was so sure that I was going to be that mom and makes all her baby's baby food. Well, that really didn't happen, between working and Jason working crazy long hours and taking care of Jackson, buy food for him just seemed like the obvious choice and I became ok with that. However, I still had this feeling like I wanted to make some of his food because I want him to get exposed to a variety so that way he does not become a picky eater like so many kids I see these days. So I have finally taken the time mix up my first batch of fruit for Mr. Jackson!

I decided to start with fruit because I though I can mess that one up too badly right, plus pears were on sale and I already had blueberries in the freezer from when they were on sale at the store. So here is how I went about the process.

Since blueberries aren't that challenging for a blender I just took those out of the freezer to thaw and then washed them to get them ready for blending.

The pears I thought might pose a little bit more of challenge for my blender so I peeled the pears and cut them into slices.Then I put them in boiling water to soften them. I let them boil for about 10 minutes.

I then combine my blueberries and pears into the blender and mixed them together.

Tasted it...pretty good!

I bought OXO tots storage containers from Babies R Us (they were pretty cheap 4 of the 4oz containers for $10) Pour the blueberry/pear fruit mixture into the containers and freeze until ready for use. I read that the food can be stored for up to 6 months, I am sure Jackson will eat it before then, but it's good to know!

Ready for the freezer!

I didn't realize how easy it was to make his own food and I really wish I would have started doing it earlier, but that's ok I think it's good for him to try some new things now. I have made the decision to leave the meats up to Gerber (something about blending chicken just makes me a little uneasy), but fruits and veggies I totally can do those! If you have made some of your own baby food and have some fun combos for me to try let me know, I  would love to experiment!

I'm going to see what is on sale at the grocery store and then that's going to be Jackson next blending treat! So stick around and see what combination I come up with next!

Week 2 of Football Yummies!

This week I made my favorite soup. My friend Jessi introduced me to this soup two years ago and it quickly became a favorite of mine!

Cheeseburger Soup

1lb ground beef

1 1/2c chopped onion

1 1/2 c. chopped carrots

1 1/2c diced celery

2 tsp. dried basil

2 tsp. dried parsley flakes

8 TBSP butter

6 c. chicken broth

8 c. diced peeled potatoes

1/2 c. flour

16oz processed American cheese, cubed (2 cups)

3 c. milk

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 c sour cream

In a 3qt sauce pan, brown beef; drain and set aside. In the same sauce pan, saute onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 TBSP butter until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

Add broth, potatoes and beef; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender. 

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt remaining butter, add flour; cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to soup; bring to boil.

Reduce heat to low, add cheese, milk, salt, and pepper; cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat; blend in sour cream.

Yield 16 servings. 

This is one of those really rich soups that you just love on a cool day! Enjoy : )

7 months old

It seems like I just posted about Jackson turning 6 months old and now here I am already posting about how he is 7 months old! This month has come and gone in the blink of an eye and I cannot believe how much my little man has grown and changed. He is so much more fun to have around now...not that he wasn't fun before, but now he is doing a lot more and is just funny!

He's enjoying school more and more. It seems that when Sunday hits he's ready to go back and be around his little friends. Mom and Dad are so lame now! I'm happy that he's enjoying himself though it makes my choice of going back to work a lot easier!

He has been doing so well with eating. Jackson has three meals a day of baby food and then we have also started giving him puffs which he loves. I was really nervous about giving them to him at first because they seemed so big for him so I would break them up to little pieces and gradually they are getting closer to the whole puff.

We like to try to feed ourselves

We love sitting up still and looking around. It's nice to be able to just plop him down on the ground and play with him and not have to worry about him tipping over. However with that comes some draw backs...like when you want him to lay down for things like diaper changes and naps he wants to sit up.

Jackson is still sleeping through the night and has been trying to be good to Mom and Dad on the weekends and sleep in till 8 and sometimes 8:30 yay! Jason and I are still trying to take turns on who gets up with him in the morning so the other one can sleep in a little later if they want.

So happy

We are still teething like crazy so we are a little drool monster, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Things to look forward to this month, visits from Grandma Shell and Grandpa Ken and Grandma Kathy, hopefully some more teeth!

Yay Football Season!

It's strange for me to be so excited about football, considering I was never really a huge fan of the sport until a few years ago, but I have been getting more and more excited each year for the upcoming season. I love getting together with friends and having a good time together cheering for our teams, smack talking, and enjoying some good food. The past two years we were able to enjoy our Sunday's with our Canton family...since we are so far away it is just Jason and I continuing on the tradition (with Jackson now of course)! As I said there is some really good food that goes along with Sunday Football and I thought hey why not share some of the yummy-ness with every one. This last Sunday I made Jason's favorite meals....ever!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 cans cream of chicken

2 cans fiesta nacho cheese

2 cans of milk 

2-3 chicken breasts

*optional shredded cheese, crackers or tortilla chips

Boil the chicken breasts so they are cooked all the way through.

Meanwhile in a soup pot put in cream of chicken, fiesta nacho cheese and milk and heat on low stirring occasionally (the fiesta nacho cheese will stick to the bottom of the pot if you don't stir it). 

When chicken is done cooking shred it and add it to soup pot. 

Heat all the way through and enjoy! 

Jason really likes to add shredded cheese to his and then break up club crackers to give it a little crunch. I don't add extra cheese but do prefer to break up tortilla chips to give it a little something. I didn't take pictures this week of the final product but will try my best to remember next week! Stay tuned to see what is on the menu for next week!

Reading Review!

Well...Yay to me it has been a very good reading month I do have to say! I have enjoyed three very amazing books this month and cannot wait to share them with you!

Mockingjay is the final book on the Hunger Games series and I have to say wow! I am really happy that I waited to read these until all three books were out because I don't think that I could have waited to find out what happened to my favorite characters.This final story follows Katniss Everdeen through her transformation as tribute in the games to the Mockingjay that is going to lead the people of Panem to freedom from the Capital. With a number of surprising twists and turns you wonder if Katniss will make it out of the war alive and who she will be willing to sacrifice to win this new game? This series as a whole was amazing and I really did enjoy the storyline and the characters.

Sarah Jio is a new author to me, but to some of you she may be old news. My sister actually recommended this book to me and I set it aside for a bit because I just wasn't sure I was going to get into this story. I forgot my other book that I was reading at work and so I picked this one up over a weekend and couldn't put it down! Jio is amazing! I described her writing to a friend as such, she is a hybrid of Nicholas Sparks and Jodi Picoult combined, which is great for me because I love those two authors. This story follows a young lady named Emily, who recently finds herself at a crossroads. A recent divorcee finds herself seeking comfort and peace goes to her great aunts house on Bainbridge Island in Washington State. While she's there Emily discovers a diary dated 1943 tucked away in the nightstand of her room. As Emily reads the diary she finds several connections to her own life....will history repeat itself or will Emily be able to write her own story?

As I have said several times I love Emily Giffin! However, it took me forever to read this book. I started Baby Proof a little over a month ago and just couldn't get into it, but like all Giffin's stories I'm not sorry that I finished it. Baby Proof is a story about a woman named Claudia who has everything going for her, she is successful, has a doting husband who she is madly in love with. They have the perfect twosome life together, take trips, go to dinners it's perfect for Claudia. Claudia has never wanted to be a mother and her husband Ben felt the same. (This is where I have a hard time connecting with the characters). However this marriage gets turned upside down when someone changes their mind and does want to be a parent after all. Will these two "soul mates" survive this conflict of views, or was it not meant to be happily ever after for Claudia and Ben?


So that is what I accomplished this month... three really great books that I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone looking for a fun end of summer read. According to goodreads I'm still 6 books behind from my accomplishing my goal, we will see if I make it to 25 books this year! Happy Reading!

Our first 4th of July!

Flashback to the beginning of last month...sorry things have been crazy around here with little man getting over some sort of nasty cold and then well life so we are going to have a FLASHBACK POST! Let me start by saying that I love the 4th of July! I love how a community can come together and have blast with parades and grill outs and of course my favorite part fireworks. I don't know what my deal is, but fireworks and Christmas lights are like two of my favorite things ever!

This 4th of July it was a little different than our usual. There was no huge grill out with friends and family and we didn't drink ourselves silly. Instead it was a huge family day for the three of us. Jackson and I woke up early and got ready in our red, white and blue and headed out to find a spot for the 4th of July parade that they have in town here. Jason wanted to sleep in just a little bit longer so he joined us just before the parade started. We only made it through about half of the parade before Jackson got really tired and wanted to go home for a nap.

After his nap and a little lunch we headed to the park where their was a carnival awaiting us. Jackson was a little to small for any of the rides so we walked around. Not only was there a carnival, but they also had a craft show, a water park, local bands playing and a lot of different food vendors. I think that maybe next year Jackson will be able to enjoy a little more of what was out there, but for this year it was fun just to walk around (he really likes to people watch).

We then came back home and grilled out brats and had corn on the cob...very 'merican! Of course I was able to see some fireworks from my porch and front window, since we couldn't go out to the big show (way past Jack's bedtime). It was a great first 4th of July!

No Way....6 months old

I guess the calendar doesn't lie...my little stinker is 6 months old! This month has been kind of laid back for us, mainly we worked on getting into a routine. Well, as much of a routine as you can get in when you hubby has to do 24 hour call.

Jackson is doing fantastic! He is now sitting up on his own, however I still put the boppy around him because I fear that time that he gets distracted and whips his head around sending him plummeting to my wood floor. Never thought I would say it, but these are the moments I miss carpet. He is also working on rolling from front to back...it's driving me crazy that he hasn't done it yet! Back to front no problem, rolling back again we just cry for mama to help (secretly I think he knows how he just wants me to do it for him).

We still love our jumperoo!

We have also had two teeth on the bottom come through! They are sharp little buggers but they are his new pride and joy. He likes to suck in his mouth now and play around with them. It ends up making him have a soup puss face, but what can you do, they are new and interesting.

Jackson has also started eating two meals a day of baby food. We have made it through all the yellow/orange veggies and today we are going to start on our last fruit peaches! So far we really don't mind any of them but we really like bananas! I think his favorite part of eating so far is when he gets to play with his spoon at the end of the meal.

Still figuring it out

Daycare is going really well. I think towards the end of the weekend he really starts to miss his friends at school so he gets excited to go back. Last week they did their first art project, painted with sand. I couldn't believe it when I picked him up and they told me they had him painting...such brave teachers. At school he spends most of his day babbling with his friends (like his mama), they have also been working with him on sitting up and rolling per my request, and just recently he was up on all fours and rocking like he was going to take off crawling (so not ready for that!). Jackson also really really likes to stare at himself in the mirror, I think it's time for me to stop telling him how good looking he is before he becomes too vain!

Playing with our teeth during our stroller ride

Jackson also went to his first medical dinner this month. We met up with some of the doctors that Jason worked with last rotation and had a nice meal at Kona Grill (if you have one and haven't tried it..go it's amazing!) Jackson stole the show and all the attention from the ladies. I really think a few of them were going to steal him.

6 months old!

Upcoming events: Visits from Grandma Machell, Grandpa Ken and Grandma Kathy, we are going to try green veggies, our six month shots : (  our first time having a sitter (so excited)!

Lessons From a New Mama

I have been very blessed that I am able to work at the same place that my son attends daycare. I was able to walk in and feel confident and comfortable. However, before I got offered a job I still did a lot of research on other places for Jackson to go and this is what I have learned of what to look for when choosing a daycare center.

1) Is it clean? If you walk in and you feel like you are dirty from the get go this is probably not the place that you want to send you child to. Some key places to look are on the counters (especially if they serve meals), by the changing tables, bathrooms and then the cubby area of the classrooms. These are the areas that I found are the most used and sometimes most neglected.

2) How long have the teachers been there? Some places naturally have a high turnover rate, I mean come on lets face it, it's childcare a lot of times they hire summer help and then they get more stable people in the fall for the school year. However, if every person in the facility it new that might be something to worry about.You want to ensure that there is stability for your child in their classroom, so they feel safe and comfortable going to school each day. Also having new teachers all the time could lead to other questions like why is everyone leaving? What is going on around here that causes people to get up and go?

3) Are there projects hanging up? I know for me this was a big one! I didn't want Jackson to go to daycare and have nothing to do and be bored and then grow to hate it! I wanted him to go and have fun, be creative and actually be taught something too! So, check the walls...is there a family communication board that tells what the lessons are going to be for that week? Do you see kids artwork, projects, pictures hanging up on the walls? You could even look at the kids themselves...do they look like they are having fun?

4) Is there good communication between home and school? I don't know if this is because I really like to know everything about Jackson's day, or because I'm a chatty person, but I really appreciate open communication between teachers and home. Currently I talk with all of Jackson's teachers on a daily basis about concerns, questions or they even give me little stories from his day. In addition to that I get a daily sheet of when all of his feedings were, changing, naps, anything they need from me such as diapers/wipes etc. And then there is an additional area on their daily sheet that they tell me about what they did that day. I know it seems a little OCD on our part, but I pour over the daily sheet at the end of the day because I want to know if he ate all of his carrots, how long he napped for and if they did any special activity that day. I feel that I need to know these things because I am not there so it's comforting to me to know that they are attentive to my child and his needs.

5) How much? I don't know about where you live, but up here in the Detroit area if you want a good center it's going to cost you a pretty penny! For me I wanted the best for Jackson and I wanted him in a safe area (Lets face it people I'm in Detroit safety comes first!). However, I also didn't want to work to pay for childcare because that doesn't make sense. Find a center that meets your criteria first and then see if you can work your budget for the tuition. I found that I couldn't find a center based only on my budget, it's not like an apartment/house where you can live with a few quirks, it's your child and like it or not these teachers and that place is where they spend a majority of their week so make it a good one!

So there you have it...my lessons on looking for a daycare! I got very lucky and found a place that met all 5 of these criteria and I get to work there! Score for me! If you need an advice on centers, or if you need a recommendation let me know! Like I said I've done a lot of research!

Reading Review!

I'll admit that I am way better at reading in the summer than in the winter for some reason, but this summer I have not been. I am going to combine June and July this month because well...I only read two books. Yikes! I need to step it up.  Anyway this is what I have read the past two months....

Oh I know what you are going to say...my goodness this girl needs to get with the program these are old books, but I am stubborn and really didn't think I was going to like them, boy was I wrong! The Hunger Games is now probably one of my favorite books. I am completely in love with all the characters Katniss, Peeta and Gale for sure! I had seen the movie for The Hunger Games prior to reading the book (which I very rarely do) and I have to say for once they kept the movie very close to the book. Buy anyway, back to the book. Suzanne Collins did an amazing job developing the characters in the story without turning it into a mushy love story. This was a book that I couldn't put down and read in a matter of days. A very fun summer read if you are looking for a last minute summer book!

Oh yeah folks that's right it's a series. I get very involved in series and can go through them quickly because I need to know what happens next. Catching Fine is a continuation of The Hunger Games. You follow Katniss and Peeta through their life after the games...or is it really ever over?! Again Suzanne Collins does a great job of keeping you on your toes and turning those pages! Catching Fire introduces some new characters some of which you will probably like better than others, but all add to the story in an interesting and exciting way!

I'm currently reading the third book of this series and in the middle of another book at the same time! So hopefully those will be popping up for next months reading review. According to goodreads I'm behind on my goal by 6 books now Yikes! Oh well I'll keep plugging away and enjoying a lot more stories to come! If you have any book recommendations I'm always excited to check out new authors and stories. Happy Reading!

June Weight Loss

I am happy to report that this month has been way more successful than the previous months! I mean 10 lbs successful! I still have a ways to go...about 21 lbs, but I feel that this is finally a step in the right direction. I have only made a few changes to my everyday life.

The first is that I got a job, I am working at a childcare center where I am up and moving about for 8 hours out of the day running after little preschoolers. I know you guys are probably thinking well that's just normal daily activity, but when you think about it I was previously sitting at home with a newborn who doesn't walk or crawl yet so my activity level was way down. Also, since I am working I am no longer allowed to snack in between meals, which was a major issue for me. I am a huge fan of the in between meal treats, so having them taken away from me is a really really good thing. Jason and I have also been home for the past month and we are cooking at home a lot more now. We are making smart choices with our meals as well, such as, grilled fish instead of burgers etc. I am watching my portion sizes however, I am not counting calories yet! I am still breastfeeding and I am worried that I will get to into lowering my calories and it will decrease my milk supply. I figure that once Jackson is 6 months old though I will probably throw in the towel on breastfeeding (it's getting harder and harder now to do) and move him into rice cereal and step one foods (yay!). Finally, on the weekends when I am at home I try to take my furry baby and my baby baby for stroller rides around the neighborhood. The weather here hasn't been too bad the past few days so it's a little nicer to be outside.

The changes that I have made are very small so I'm surprised to see such a  big result come of them, but I will continue to make small changes and see if I can continue to see success. If you guys have any recipes or additional changes I can make I am all ears...we are going through a little cooking slump at my house.

Jackson's Baptism

So I'm going to back track for the next few posts because there were a lot of events that have happened in a very short amount of time, and I have written about any of them! One of them being Jackson's baptism. While we were home in South Dakota Jason and I had Jackson baptized. We wanted to do it at a time and place where we could have all of our family there, so what better time than while we are home! We had Jackson baptized at my home church Peace Lutheran, this church is very near and dear to my heart because it was the church my parents were married in and where my sister and I were both baptized. Now the building itself has obviously changed over the years and they have grown, but the sentimental value and sense of family is still there.

We were not a fan of getting our hair wet!

Jackson was baptized on Saturday June 1 at the 5:30 service. We had selected his sponsors to be my sister Angie and Jason's brother Ryan.

Jackson with Ryan and Angie

After the baptism at the church the family went over to parents house for a little dinner and some good 'ol fashioned family time! It was so great to see everyone and we are so lucky that so many of our family and friends were able to attend and share this special day with us!

Cuddle time with Great-Aunt Jodie

Jackson with Ryan and Carissa

So tired from such a busy day!

5 Months Old!

I cannot believe how quickly time is flying by! It does not seem like 5 months ago my whole world changed and I received the greatest gift of a lifetime! However, the calendar doesn't lie and Jackson is really 5 months old. We had another busy month, one of these days things are going to slow down and we are going to just be able to relax and enjoy our time at home, but not yet! This month we were able to spend a little more time in our new home. Jackson's room is still under construction (I only say that because I want to do this photo collage thing on one of his walls and have not had a chance to do it yet), but it's getting really close to being all done! We absolutely love his room and the paint color (thanks Grandpa for painting it for us!) I'll put up some pictures soon!

We have also learned a lot of new tricks this month. Jackson now is a spit master...I really think that the spit accidentally falls out while he's cooing most of the time, but other times he just plain 'ol spits! It's really a little gross and we go through a few shirts a day due to increased moisture on his belly. He is also getting really great at rolling over. He is a pro at rolling from his back to his front, but we have yet to master the front to back, so he gets a little upset when he's on his belly for too long and wants to move back over. Jackson also has been more and more observant! He loves to sit in his highchair at dinner and chat about his day with Dad and Mom, he also really likes to sit up in his Bumbo and play with Cooper or whatever is close by for him to snatch up! Which brings me to our newest trick...we are a grabber. Anything and everything we can get our hands on we now like to grab and throw around. I wasn't aware of this new trick until he tried reaching for my coffee cup...luckily Mommy has cat like reflexes and got to it first! I also bought him a jumper off of Amazon and it got here shortly after we got back from South Dakota. Probably the best money I have ever spent! Jackson loves hanging out in there jumping around, or just standing in it and looking out the window. It has been great for Jason and I so that we can have our hands free to run around the house and quickly get some things done.

Just hanging out

This month we also had Aunt Angie and cousin Kinley come and visit us in Michigan. We had so much fun with them here. It was really funny to watch Jackson with Kinely, because Kinley is a big talker and Jackson wasn't sure what to think of this little thing making so much noise! However, after they left he didn't know what to think of the silence in our household either, so I think he misses his cousin!

Saying goodbye at the airport

As some of you know I got a job at a childcare center here in Michigan teaching Preschool. I was lucky enough to find a center that also has an infant room, so Jackson started daycare a week after I started work. His room is just a few doors down from my room and he loves it! He already has some friends in his room that he likes to sit up and chat with, there are lots of new toys for him to play with and he loves his teachers! It makes it a lot easier on me to know that he is right down the hall and I can go check in on him whenever I have a free moment and can spend part of my lunch hour with him.

First day of daycare!

We also got to celebrate the 4th of July this month with Daddy! Jason has started his Intern year and we are adjusting to not having him around as much...we really don't like the 24 hour call shifts, but someone has to be at the hospital to save lives I guess. Jason was off for the 4th though so we were able to spend the day as a family. We started out our morning going to the 4th of July parade downtown. It was a really long parade so we only stayed for part of it because Jackson got really tired and it was getting super hot out. After our afternoon nap we spent some time at the park where they had a craft show and carnival set up. Obviously Jackson was too small for the carnival this year, but he had a lot of fun people watching...until he fell asleep there too.

At the parade with Mommy

Overall, Jackson is doing great. He has started to sleep through the night...however, when he hears Jason get up early to go to work he has to wake up and say goodbye which kind of stinks for me because then he wants to stay up and play for a bit. He's eating 6-8 oz with some bottles still Mommy's milk and some formula. We still love bath time and cuddle time. Our favorite books are a Pooh book that Grandma Kathy gave us that has likes and sings, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (thank you Aunt Angie and Aunt Katherine for the copies of those), and Little Blue Truck (I found there's a second one of it so I am going to have to buy that one too I think!).

 

5 months old

Things to look forward to this month: Daycare Physical, more Daycare and cuddle time with Mommy (wow July might be our slow month!)

Lessons From A New Mama

So this last month Jason and I had the wonderful opportunity to travel with Jackson. I say this with a lot of sarcasm! Traveling with a baby is hard. I'm sure that as he grows up and gets more active and mobile it  will present a whole new world of travel challenges, but for now this is what we ran into...

1)  I know that it's hard because you want to make time to see all your family and friends, or you have events that you need to get to, but you have to try to stay on a sleep schedule. Although the times of naps may change a little try to get in your normal number of naps and try to keep them as close to their normal time as possible, otherwise your "vacation" will become a lot of work. We had the lovely task of changing time zones, so we will see what happens to our schedule when we head back to Michigan.

We were lucky both grandparents had cribs for us to use!

2) I don't know about you guys, but I have a hard enough time packing for myself let alone a little one, so my advice on this one...pack everything because you just don't know what you are going to need. I think on this two week journey Jackson had about 15 outfits, a whole box of diapers, all of his swaddles, a boat load of toys and pacifiers. I even brought my own tub to wash my bottles, my bottle brush and even my own dish soap. I know my mother-in-law and mom would have a lot of these things waiting for me back in South Dakota and they don't care if I use their items or not, but I just felt like I needed them.

3) Depending on where you are going will determine what outfits you need to bring, and then pack a few more hehe. We recently went to a wedding on Iowa and I had packed three outfit choices for just that day. I did not know what the weather was going to be like...the Midwest can be so unpredictable so he had one for nearly any weather type day. Also packing a variety of outfits ensures that if you do run into any weather problems you don't have to run out at buy something new!

4) Try to drive during the night or at least nap time. A few of our friends said that they traveled this way and I always thought they were crazy! Now being a parent I see how brilliant it is. Jackson's sleep schedule is something very precious to me and I will do almost anything to not mess it up. So, when we ha a long drive to Missouri or recently to Iowa we drove through the night to avoid any sleep time troubles.

Night time driving!

5) This one is a big one! Have extra diapers!! Jason and I were leaving his graduation and heading back to South Dakota and we were just cruising along when Jackson starts to make the poop face. I look in my diaper bag no diapers..they are in my parents truck. "Recalculating" goes the Garmin so we can find a grocery store and buy diapers so I can change our stinky man. Needless to say we now keep two spare diapers in my glove box just in case we run into another shortage.

Lessons From A New Mama

"Lead by example..." I don't know if your parent ever used this one on you, but it's my Dad's go to phrase. It's something I have been thinking a lot about now that Jackson's here. Parenting is so much about settings good example for your kids. I know that a lot of my parenting philosophies and a lot of who I am personally are a result of how my parents raised me. Therefore, I have some examples that I for sure want to set for Jackson.

1) Reading anything and everything. My friend Emily has a little boy and he loves books. He will sit quietly by himself for the longest time and just look at his books. Since he loves them so much he has mini libraries all over their house so that way books are available to him. I love this idea! There was a study recently showing that parents who read in their free time are more likely to have children who like to read. A lot of it has to do with them copying what their parents are doing but still they end up loving to read. Now in today's world of technology books are becoming obsolete and since I'm not planning on buying Jackson an e-reader any time soon I have packed away my nook and have gone paperback! I did this because I want him to enjoy BOOKS, to practice holding them properly, turning the pages etc. So, I'm leading this example by having books myself...I have to admit I've kind of missed them.

2) One thing that I remember most growing up was family dinner time. My mom was always in the kitchen cooking up something new to try some were good like eggplant lasagna and some were epic fails like veggie burgers ( sorry if you like them I'm not a fan). It wasn't just the family meal though that I remember it was the quality of the food. My mom and dad always made sure that we had a healthy me with as many of the food group represented that they could manage. My dad was always a stickler about healthy food choices for snacks and even when we would go out for dinner we generally made wise choices. Now I do have to admit as I got older and was able to decide for myself what to eat I didn't always stick to my roots, but now with Jackson I want him to experience healthy foods the way I did growing up. Now I'm not saying that we won't splurge and give him chicken fingers or pizza, but I do want those to be as few as I can manage. To link this back to my topic of monkey see monkey do...if I make healthy choices for meals/snacks maybe he will too.

3) I have not always enjoyed exercise, especially if it's hot outside...yuck! However, I also believe that inactivity with children is a learned behavior. If kids see their parents just bummin in front of the tv or just hanging out in front of their computer or phone then kids are going to do the same with tv and video games. So, I want Jackson to be healthy an active which means that I need to show him how. If that means I have to lay on the floor and play peek a boo for a hour, take the dog on a million walks during the week, or dance around our kitchen like an idiot then that's what I will do. I want him to see that there is more to the world than our living room and tv.

Out for a nature walk at the River House

4) It doesn't get much better than family...the are there for you no matter what! I want to make sure that Jackson has the same strong family foundation that Jason and I both had with our families growing up. We want to definitely have rules and boundaries, but we also want him to be able to come to us for answers, and support.


I know there is a lot more that I need to model for my son so that he grows up to be a wonderful young man...but that's where I'm going to start! Any parenting philosophies you got from your parents you want to share?