Happy Birthday Daddy

September was a busy month for us. It seems like every family in my mother's group had at least one birthday this month not to mention all our family birthdays in September. With all that cake and ice cream I don't know how I am losing any weight. Today is the last day of a busy birthday September and it just happens to be Brandon's birthday. Brandon is so hard to shop for because if he ever wants something he just goes and gets it himself. But this year I was very proud of myself because I bought him some new gaming head phones for his computer. I did all the research and picked out some awesome ones that he didn't even know about. Granted he couldn't wait until his birthday to use them but still I was proud. For his birthday we went out to dinner at a Japanese Steak house. It was so much fun. The food is great and the chefs put on a fun show while cooking the food with fire and food throwing. Jackson LOVED it. He got a front row (smack in the middle) seat and thought the chef was so cool with all the clinking noises, onion volcanoes, and yummy steak. He even used his fork to eat all of his food. I was really impressed and so was Brandon. Then we went back to the house and ate cake that Jack and I made. It was funfetti cake with a cream cheese and strawberry filling. Jackson even helped me mix the frosting and then he helped himself to the mixers. It was low key but a great birthday because Brandon got to do whatever he wanted all day. So happy 29th birthday Daddy we love you.


September Birthday List:

10th Elizabeth
17th My dad
28th My mom
30th My husband

Housebound

So since I have been housebound for the last 2 weeks, Jackson and I have had to be creative. We tried coloring more (he still eats the crayons which is just annoying), finger painting (which actually was really fun but very messy), and I am trying to teach him how to play ping pong. Every day my husband and his brother play ping pong before dinner. They have this little brother bonding time and they are constantly beating each other. Jackson loves to watch but lately he wants to be very involved by throwing the ping pong ball across the table or picking up his own paddle and getting in the way of daddy. So I decided to play with him myself and see what he has got. He is not too great but with a little practice and some more hand-eye coordination he could become the next Forest Gump (in the ping pong sense). Here are some shots of him trying out his skills, he is only 17 months so forgive him for missing the ball most of the time, haha.

He actually hit it back in this picture. I was so proud. Check out that concentration.

Picture Day

Before Elizabeth was born I was working on an announcement for her. I designed everything except for the picture of her (of course because she wasn't here yet). I think it turned out really good and I am excited to send it to our family and friends.

In order to finish the announcement we had a have a mini photo session in the backyard. When I had Jackson I allowed the hospital photographer to take pictures. I somehow got talked into buying $150 worth of pictures that I didn't even like. So this time I decided I would take the pictures myself. She is so sweet it wasn't hard to get some good shots. The only problem is that I am not in the pictures but I don't mind for now. Here are a few of the shots that I thought were the best and the announcement.

Labor and Recovery

Well the labor as you all know was easy (c-section). Surprising by the fact that it was so soon, but easy. The recovery has been surprisingly easier this time than it was last time. I am not in as much pain, I can already sit up on my own without help (for those of you who don't know when you have a c-section it is hard to do anything where you have to use your abdominal muscles), and I am proud to say that I am surviving on IB profen and not the other pain killers. It is still hard because I do have some pain if I wait too long to take any medicine, I have to rest a lot, and I can't lift Jackson which is the WORST! Other than that I am doing great.

Elizabeth is doing great too. She already gained a little bit of weight, eats very well, is sleeping for 4 hour segments between feedings, is staying awake more and more each day, and already gave me a hint of a smile (she has a small dimple on her cheek too which is so cute). I love her so much already. She is a great baby and my family is so blessed to have such wonderful children. Here is a new picture of her.

Check out those long fingers. . .piano player!

I think it is so great to see how different she is from Jackson. They have a lot of the same characteristics: calm, long fingers and toes, strong legs, dark blue eyes (at first Jack had dark blue eyes), and refuses to latch on for nursing (really annoying but we are dealing with it). But she rarely cries, has very dark hair, and is perfectly content snuggling with me which Jackson was not interested in. He was more of an independent soul. They are both wonderful, I can't wait to see future similarities and differences.

Scrunchy Face

I haven't been taking a lot of pictures of Jackson lately. It is not because of Elizabeth or the fact that I am super busy. The reason is because every time I try to take a picture of him he gives me "Scrunchy Face". I have around 20 pictures of him making the same silly face for the camera. It is funny but I think he looks a little goofy and I don't want people that don't know him thinking there is something mentally wrong with him. What a funny kid!

Project 2 Done!

Before Elizabeth was born I was working on a few dresses for her. I finished the first dress the day before I had her and I am really proud to say that I did it all by myself. I went to the fabric store picked out the pattern, picked out the fabric, had it cut, and sewed it all together (including the trim) all to myself. It turned out so great and I am really excited to see it on her. The pattern said that it was for 0-3 months, however it is huge now and she will probably be able to wear it until she is 6 months old. Here is a picture of my work.

Welcome to the World BABY!

Elizabeth Grace came into this world this past week a little unexpectedly. My fluid levels were low according to my testing so my doctor decided to go in and get her out. She was born Sept 10th at 8:29pm via c-section. She came out fiesty as ever kicking everyone but not crying much. She is a content little girl as long as she is being held. She likes to talk in her sleep and she would wake all the other babies up in the nursery at the hospital with her talking, lol. Last night was our first night home from the hospital and she was a pill. Definitely a night owl like her momma just a little too much of a night owl. Sleeping most of the day and spending 1-5am awake. Thankfully I have a lot of support to help me through the early stages of trying to flip her to a day schedule. From the look of things today I am in for a long night again since she has been sleeping all day today. I try to wake her but she just ignores me. Jackson is getting used to her and is really fascinated by her right now. Anyways, mom and baby are healthy and happy which is the most important thing.

Why we love McDonald's

Okay, I think every mother tells herself that she is not going to allow her kids to eat fast food but I have to tell you that we LOVE toddler McDonald's. There are 2 fairly close to our house and we visit them with our moms group about 1 time each month. Jackson loves the cheese burgers and chocolate milk as well as the great play areas. They are toddler sized and soft every where so no need to worry about falling or getting trapped in any large tubes. He learned how to go down the slide all by himself this month and is so proud when he goes down the slide. Every time he gets to the top he waves to me. . .super cute! I love how we can just sit, eat, and talk with the other moms while Jackson has a great time. I guess french fries are technically a vegetable which is my rationalization that it is ok to eat fast food once in awhile, lol.

Project 1 DONE!

I finally finished Elizabeth's bedding last week. I made a blanket, bumper, and valence to go with the crib skirt that I ordered online. I am really pleased with how everything turned out. Even though we won't be using it for awhile because she will be sleeping in a bassinet that my friend Megan lent me (we don't have room for another crib right now), I am still happy I made it all because it will be really cute in the future. For now she will just have to use the blanket which Jackson has already decided is very snugly. Here is a picture of how the blanket turned out.

The bumper is similar to the blanket with brown ribbon ties. Very cute!

My next project is making a few dresses for Elizabeth. I got a pretty good deal on a few patterns that have lots of options and a good deal on some fabric. Let me just say though that I hate how Joann's gives coupons every week but then they put their fabric on sale so you can't even use the coupons, even though the sale deal is not as good as the coupon deal. Sometimes they will take your coupon and use it for the original price but not often. Anyways, I am really excited about the dresses and have almost finished the first one which I will post a picture of soon. Happy crafting everyone!

Fluid Levels

Just to let you all know that I went to the hospital again yesterday and my amniotic fluid was back up to 11. Less than 3 weeks to go and everything looks great!