What's in Store for 2013

It's been pretty uneventful here on The Elser 411, but our real lives have been anything but over the last three months or so.

I hated keeping secrets, but it was complicated.  At first it was just an idea - there wasn't much to tell.  Then, as things progressed, we needed to keep it close to the vest.  There was a very specific order that had to be followed as this plan was put into motion.  Slowly the news was released.  Finally there are no more secrets.

We are moving to Fort Collins, Colorado.

It started just beforeThanksgiving when Drew decided to dust off his resume and test the waters.  Anyone who knows him well could see that the stress was getting to him.  He was turning into a shell of his old self.  Something had to change.  But never in a million years did we expect that in the course of one month those phone interviews would turn into a day trip to Denver for some face-to-face time and a job offer that seemed almost too good to be true.  I'm a believer in following the signs and in this case we were shown a lighted path!

So here's what we've been up to.

• December 20th Drew accepted a position with Emerald Isle Landscaping to open their 4th branch in Fort Collins (they currently have branches in Colorado Springs, South Denver and North Denver).  He will be building it from the ground up. 
• December 29th the three of us made a quick trip to Colorado (conveniently disguised as a belated Christmas celebration with my family) to finalize the deal and visit Fort Collins in person. 
• January 5th we selected a realtor (after our first attempt nearly scared us to death about the state of the market and value of our home).  We spent the next 10 days cleaning closets, painting walls and shampooing carpets as we prepared our house for the market. 
• January 7th Drew resigned from First Management, Inc.
• January 9th I notified GCSAA that sometime in the coming months I would be leaving for Fort Collins.
• January 16th a for sale sign went in the yard.
• Yesterday Drew flew to Colorado to start his new job while Jackson, Ruby & I stay behind to sell the house.

And now we wait.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tiny bit scared.  We built a great life here.  We have all the "stuff" that makes you comfortable:  the 13-year careers with one company, the house, the country club, the school, the community we know and love.  We're trading all of that for a whole lot of unknowns.  But I've learned through this process that sometime being comfortable just isn't enough.  So we'll suffer through some time apart, ride the roller coaster of selling our house and cross all of the other bridges (new jobs, new school, new house...new everything) as we come to them - our motto since we started this journey.

Despite the occasional overwhelming moments, we couldn't be more excited about this opportunity.  For the first time in my adult life, I will be close (about 90 miles) to my family.  We still have 1 1/2 years before Jackson starts Kindergarten so his disruptions are minimal.  We both have an opportunity to rejuvenate our careers after pretty much reaching a plateau.  And we are moving to the land of perfect weather (four seasons without the extremes in either direction and 360 days of sunshine a year), endless outdoor activities, professional sports in every genre, a quick drive to Denver and all the city has to offer, and breathtaking scenery.


Here is the view as you exit I-25 toward Ft. Collins.  It was a horribly overcast morning with flurries in the area.  On a clear day the foothills are picture perfect.  The tree line in front of the mountains is the city.  So, so pretty.

That is what's in store for us in 2013.  Some ups and downs no doubt, but one heck of an adventure along the way!

Odds and Ends

And just like that another month is gone. 

Seems like we just got back from our summer vacation.  Then there was a fabulous visit from my bestie, a quick business trip to San Diego, all the other day to day stuff and suddenly here we are a whole month later.  Geesh.

A few odds and ends as I prepare to turn the calendar page on another month.  In no particular order:

Potty Training
We had a major success story yesterday.  Jackson wore undies to school and stayed dry the entire day!  I told him I was so proud of him for being such a big boy and offered to do something special to celebrate - ice cream or pizza or a new book perhaps?  First, we had to call Daddy and Nana to share the news.  Then he declared, "Let's go to Target, Mom!"  So we did.  He chose a $3.99 bug net as his "special treat".  I think I dodged a bullet there since I stupidly told him he could pick anything he wanted.  I won't make that mistake again as I'm pretty sure his choice of "special treats" is going to go up in value considerably as the years go by!  He almost made it accident free all evening as well.  He and Daddy were outside picking weeds when Jack declared he needed to poop.  Drew told him to run inside and find me, but by the time he did it was too late.  I've decided to blame Daddy for that one (sorry, Drew).  At this stage, the window of opportunity is very slim when Jack declares the need to go.  Most of the time it requires sweeping him up and making a mad dash for the bathroom.  "Go find Mom" didn't quite cut it.  I'm still considering the day a victory and am anxious to see how it went at school today.

Weekend Plans
We have none.  Yay!  As weird as it sounds, I am very much looking forward to deep cleaning the house, hitting the farmer's market, grocery shopping for some healthy food, trying some new recipes and just hanging out.  We're in the midst of about a 3-week heat wave (seriously, we've had excessive heat warnings for at least 10 days) in Kansas and it's too damn hot to go outside anyway.  With all of the craziness that was July I've neglected some of the every day stuff and I'm in the mood to get back on track with a weekend of nesting!

Photo Catch Up
A few weeks ago our clunky trusty old  desktop computer decided to bid it's final farewell.  Thankfully, I'm very diligent about backing up our files, music, photos and videos so the unexpected crash didn't cause too much grief.  In a stroke of luck, I had just purchased my old laptop from my company upon receiving a new one at work.  It is a couple of years old already but is in great shape so with a little help from my dad and a friend at work we spruced it up a bit with a bigger hard drive and more memory and it works like a charm.  At least well enough to put off buying a new one for a while longer.  Whew. I've finally got everything transferred over and realized I never shared pictures from a weekend trip Jack & I took to Iowa to visit my grandparents back in May.

Jack & his buddy Papa Don

Playing with Papa Don's cane.  He kept having Papa, "make it little for me"!

Giving Aunt Mary knuckles.  Nice tower!

Building a tower on Nana's head!

That's all for now. 

Christmastime

It's the most wonderful busy time of the year!  But it's wonderful, too.

We've been going a mile a minute since Jackson's birthday.  Holiday parties, more birthdays, decorating, menu planning, grocery shopping, baking, wrapping, watching light displays, Christmas with Gram & Grump, Auntie Cortney in town, a visit to Santa Claus...just to name a few!

I'll do my best to bring you up to speed over the next few days, but for now duty calls.  There are beds to make, clothes to fold and a button to sew on some pants (as Drew just informed me).

Tis the Season!

School Pictures and a Thanksgiving Feast

We're still here!

Sorry for the hiatus.  It was just an unintended consequence of a busy life and a cold from hell.  A never-ending, super annoying, rendering me useless after 7 pm, up half the night coughing kind of cold.  Ugh. 

I am very much looking forward to a quiet Thanksgiving weekend with my boys.  Despite not entertaining any guests this year, I'll be cooking the usual spread.  We'll spend the rest of the weekend eating leftovers, watching football and prepping for Christmas.

Once December arrives (in just 7 days!) we hit the ground sprinting.  I have back-to-back business trips the first week, followed by our joint birthday party, all 3 of our actual birthdays and then Christmas.  I'm choosing not to think about the INSANE amount of work I have to do at the office between now and February.  That just hurts my head.

I'll do my best to keep you posted on what is sure to be a wild December.  For now, here's a peek at what Jack's been up to at Princeton.

His first official school pictures were taken in October.



What a big boy!

Toddler II - October 2010

And yesterday Drew & I joined his class for a Thanksgiving lunch.

Never a dull moment!

Lightning (and computer) Crashes

Our house was struck by lightning on Friday. 

All things considered, it really wasn't a big deal.  There were no sparks, no fire, no real damage.  It was loud though.  Like an M-80 firecracker going off in your living room, loud.  And a bit scary.  I jumped, I'll admit it.  It did screw up several of our electronics - TV, cable box, surround sound, dryer and garage door opener - but all were easily fixed by resetting or unplugging for a bit (thank goodness!).  The only casualty was the desktop computer.  While our data is safe and accessible (another thank goodness!), we can't access the Internet.  Turns out the Ethernet port is fried.  And the jury's still out on our wireless router which also isn't working properly.

Oh how I'd love to ditch our ancient desktop for a flashy new laptop once and for all.  But, unfortunately, that's just not in the budget.  So I'll opt for the much less expensive new network card and do my best to feign IT Tech and fix it myself.  (Where's my brother-in-law, Adrian, when I need him?)

So I'm without a home computer at the moment.  And with a crazy busy schedule at work this week and a visit from my Mom starting Thursday (time for the annual salsa cook-off - yay!) I don't see it getting fixed in the immediate future.  Which means The Elser 411 is going to be quiet for a few days.

To tide you over, here's a picture of the latest toddler happenings at our house. 

We have officially retired the high chair!

Jackson thinks it's pretty cool that he gets his own place mat at the grown-up table. 

And Ruby thinks it's exceptionally cool that her very best friend (and the best food dropper in the house) is even closer to the ground!

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Update:

You're not going to believe this.  Less than 1 hour after publishing this post, I received an e-mail from my BFF.  Cortney, despite living all the way in Washington DC, and I have these ironic and weird coincidences happen to us all the time.  Sometimes silly things:  like cooking the same thing on the same day without knowing the other is doing it.  Or buying the same item on a random shopping spree.  That sort of stuff.  Other times the concidences border on freaky.

Cortney is the House Operations Manager of the Washington DC Ronald McDonald House.  Guess who else got struck by lightning this weekend?  And lost the ethernet ports on their computers?  And their wireless routers? 

Ummmm.......

Merry Furlough

We're making lemonade out of lemons around here.

Today marks the start of our first of two mandatory unpaid furloughs at work. Unpaid = bad. Mandatory vacation = good.

It was a weird atmosphere around the office on Friday. Everyone was tiding up their desks and making the rounds to wish each other a happy Thanksgiving holiday. Sort of like the day before Christmas break when you're in college. We coined it "Merry Furlough".

Counting weekends, we're off 9 full days before returning to work. Nice!

I am taking full advantage of this "vacation" and have a to-do list about 3 miles long. I've decided to take Jackson to daycare Mon.-Wed. even though I'm at home. It gives me uninterrupted time to tackle some of the bigger projects on my list. Besides, he likes it at Miss Holly's. And we pay for it whether he is there or not. And he likes it at Miss Holly's.

(Do you sense my guilt? Supid, stupid Mom guilt!)

Project #1: deep clean the house. It needed it. Bad. I went on a cleaning frenzy today. We're talking everything...from the ceiling fans to the baseboards. Except for the last 3 rooms which I'll finish tomorrow morning (I totally pooped out after 6 hours of cleaning straight) it looks marvelous! I love the feeling of a freshly cleaned house with vacuum marks still intact, glass sparking clean and candles burning. *Sigh*

Project #2: decorate. Next on the list is putting up holiday decorations. It will take a little more thought this year since we have a mobile and extremely curious nearly 1-year-old in the house!

Project #3: birthday party prep. There are several elements to Jackson's Winter Onederland party that I can prep for the big day. If there's anything I've learned as an event planner it's that it's all in the planning. The less you have to do the day of your event the better. Not only does it take away the stress of entertaining, but it leaves you free to mingle with your guests and actually enjoy the party!

Project #4: crafts. I'm not a crafty girl. Never have been. But I'm working on that. I've stumbled upon a super cute project that I think will make fabulous gifts (Christmas and otherwise). If I can figure it out. Which is a huge if. So I intend to take a little time this week and practice my crafting skills.

Project #5: christmas gifts. I'm almost done with my shopping. I have a couple of items to pick up that will require a quick run into Kansas City and then I can start wrapping.

Project #6: christmas cards. Cards are designed and printed. Just need to be stuffed and labeled and they're off.

Those are the big projects. The other stuff is minor and if I don't get to, well then I don't get to it. Like editing some of my recent videos of Jackson to share with you. And watching KU play Missouri on Saturday (because no matter how bad the season turned out...a win against our arch rival Missouri will make it all better).

And, of course, Thanksgiving is this week. We're traveling to Drew's parents and Deb is doing everything. All we have to do is show up. How dreamy is that! We do plan to cook a mini version of Thanksgiving on Saturday, though. Drew cooks a mean turkey on the grill and we love all the fixings so much we always like to have our own leftovers.

With all this activity around here, I imagine there will be some good blog material to share. If nothing else, my attempt at crafting will likely result in a huge comedy of errors. So I'll do my best to give you some more regular reading material in the coming days.

Now, I need to hit the shower. I smell like dust and 409.

Tonight is my monthly dinner night with the girls. We're going to the new Noodles & Co. that just opened up downtown followed by an appearance at Lawrence High School's "Pack the House". It's their big winter sports pep-rally and my friend Jana's daughter is performing with the cheer squad. Ah the memories.

Here's to making lemonade out of lemons. And a Merry Furlough to all.

MIA

Inhale. Exhale.

That was me catching my breath. Ahhh...much better now.

Seems like it's been extra crazy around here. Which is one reason I've been neglecting the blogosphere of late. The bigger reason; however, was the lack of Internet service for the past 4 days. It's back now. Thank goodness. And with the recent tune up from Dr. Dave, we're up and running better than ever.

I have some good material to share with you, but frankly am too tired to tackle it tonight.

Instead, I'll just close with a photo.

He's a cutie, isn't he?

Playing Catch Up

It's been a combination of things. A busy week at work. A computer that's acting a bit sketchy (professionals coming next week to remedy that). A TV Series we have gotten addicted to (via DVD rentals - we're almost through season 1). And a busy little boy keeping us on our toes.

So I've been neglecting the blog. And the laundry. And the house cleaning. And the exercise routine. But Jackson is napping, Drew is at the golf course and the blog sounded much more exciting than laundry, cleaning or exercising. So here I am.

I just added 2 photo albums to the "Professional Photos" section. Our maternity shoot and Jackson's newborn photos. As I was looking back, 2 things stood out to me:

1. Our maternity shoot was Drew's birthday gift to me. They were taken on Dec. 2. Just 10 days later Jackson was born. Who would have thought? Good thing we didn't wait until my actual birthday (Dec. 21)!
2. Jackson was sooo tiny. How quickly you forget.

I've also been working on organizing and backing up my entire library of photos. (Thanks to the computer sketchiness for prompting that project!) I'll be adding some more recent photos to the Photo Album link later this weekend.

Finally, I'm a week late, but have pictures to share from Jackson's first visit inside Memorial Stadium. (You may remember that we never actually left the tailgate site during Game 1). We made it to halftime, which was longer than I expected for his attention span. The nap on my shoulder during the first quarter helped. No kidding...he slept through the band, loudspeakers, crowd and all. Anyway, here are some of my favorite pics:

Scoping things out
Jackson's first ticket
Inside the stadium
Jack's view
Pre-game show.
Here come the Jayhawks (notice the sell-out crowd!)
Having a snack
Waving the wheat
So now you're caught up. And just in time...there's a little boy hollering for me in the next room.

Time Flies...

When Your Baby Becomes Mobile!

That's pretty much the story of our lives these days. And the reason I've been somewhat MIA in the world of blogging. Jackson is crawling everywhere. And he is also climbing (or attempting to climb) everything. I used to think I was a good multi-tasker. Now I realize that was largely due to the fact that I could plop him on a blanket and trust that he would stay there.

But that's not to say we aren't having fun!

With crawling mastered, Drew & I have a hunch Jackson will be an early walker. The kid always wants to be on his feet. He is now pulling himself up to a standing position on nearly anything he can get his hands on - regardless of how stable or safe it might be. His current favorites are the glass coffee tables (you know...with really sharp corners) and the entertainment center (hello...buttons to push).

In fact, this weekend he stood on his own. He was balancing precariously between 2 laundry baskets when at the exact same moment Drew & I saw him let go. We both lunged toward him expecting a fall. Instead, he just stood there. Perfectly still, perfectly balanced, without holding on to a thing. It was probably 5 seconds - which seemed like an eternity as Drew & I picked our jaws up from the floor - and then he fell backwards.

Jackson is also dabbling in the art of the temper tantrum. Now that he knows he can crawl anywhere he wants, he gets quite frustrated when a parent steps in to "redirect" him. His tantrums usually involve an arched back, an attempt at escaping your grasp and a high pitched squeal.

And if that isn't enough to keep us busy and on our toes...
is it just me, or is there a little bit of ornery in those eyes?!

Blog Updates

By now, you have certainly noticed the new header and color scheme for The Elser 411. I've also done some updating to the gadgets in the sidebar. Some of the new features include:

• Professional Photos. Thanks to my friend Laura, I've scanned the pictures from Jackson's 6 month photo shoot and put them online. Laura is helping me do the same with our maternity and newborn sessions so look for those in the future.
• Label Cloud. I've started the very long process of adding labels to all of my posts in order to facilitate easier searching should you be so inclined. (For example, click videos to see all posts that have video attached.) S0 far, I've labeled about a third of them.
• Blog Links. I've also updated my list of favorite blogs. You can see rather quickly what interests me most: event planning and food! But really, there is some great inspiration on these sites if you're ever in the mood to browse.

And that's my feeble attempt at being a web designer. Hope you enjoy the updates!

Stay Tuned

Whew...what a week! Jackson finally met his Uncle Matt who came to visit from San Diego. My Mom & Dad also came to town to do our annual summer salsa canning. We ended the week by celebrating Jack's baptism with all 4 of his grandparents.

Somewhere in between the company, canning and party planning Jackson got his 2nd tooth, learned to crawl and is starting to pull himself up on furniture.

Never a dull moment!

Now I'm off to finish up the laundry, get myself organized for the week ahead (translation: make a few lists!), watch tonight's episode of Entourage on HBO and eat that last piece of cake from the baptism party! But as you can see, there's lots of Elser 411 material to come. So stay tuned...

Vacation Pictures

The pictures from vacation are now posted here. All 116 of them.

A Few Firsts

Somehow, I've neglected to blog about a few firsts that have happened in our household during the month of June.

On June 12th, Jackson had his first babysitter (non grandparent, that is). Drew was playing in the Member Guest tournament at our club (another first!) that week. He also happened to be on the committee for the event. One of the more senior committee members planned a reception Friday evening, with spouses, in appreciation of all their work leading up to the tournament. So we needed a sitter. Enter Bill & Carolyn Kelly. The Kellys are not only my best friend's parents - they are like family. The have been my "Lawrence Parents" since the day I stepped onto KU's campus in 1995. (Lord, has it really been that long?) Luckily, they were excited to do it.

Jackson behaved perfectly (or so they said) and he couldn't have been in better hands. Carolyn is the Director of the Lawrence Head Start Program so she arrived armed with some new books for Jack. They read, did exercises and cooed back and forth (he was feeling especially talkative that night). We loved having them over. And I heard on good authority that they enjoyed hanging out with our little guy, too!

The funny thing is...Drew & I ended up ditching the reception. In Drew's words, he "had done enough schmoozing that week on the golf course" so we decided to send our regrets and go out on the town instead. After all, we had a babysitter! We went out to dinner, did a little shopping at Old Navy, stopped at Sonic for dessert and went for a drive. Not exactly wild and crazy, but it was a lovely night nonetheless.

Best of all, since Jackson behaved himself, we're pretty sure Bill & Carolyn will come back another time!

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On June 27th, Jackson attended his first birthday party. Some college friends have recently moved back to Kansas after a few years in San Diego. Their son, Nathan, was turning 2 and we were invited to his party.

It was adorable. They planned a beach theme complete with kiddie pools, a sandy beach, a taco bar for lunch and cupcakes for dessert. It was almost surreal to be hanging out with college friends that I haven't seen in years - with all of our kids in tow! My how times have changed.

Like an idiot, I forgot my camera. But I did take pictures of the invitations Kara made. They are just too darn cute and you know what a sucker I am for those things!

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This weekend I read a book, for pure entertainment, for the first time since Jackson was born. It was total fluff...I read it in a few hours over the course of the weekend. But it was lovely. It reminded me how much I love a good book. It also made it clear to me that despite a recent desire to purchase a Kindle, I really don't need one. I prefer the feel of a good old-fashioned book in my hands. One that I can turn the pages of and use cute bookmarks in. Drew (and our budget) will be pleased.

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Last night, I picked our first ripe tomato of the season. We have several green ones on the vine that won't be far behind. This year, we planted cherry, yellow pear and 2 varieties of regular tomatoes for a total of 7 plants. I can't wait for fresh tomatoes in salads, BLTs, burgers and salsa!

Oh yeah, here's the actual size...it's a cherry tomato! :)

That's the latest and greatest from our house. We have a full calendar in July so stay tuned for more adventures and more firsts!

Photo Updates

Posted some new photos to our web albums.

Father's Day pictures are here.

Random Jackson pictures are here.

Enjoy!

6 Month Photo Shoot

Last Sunday we had Jackson's 6 month photos taken. My office has an incredible "backyard" with a beautiful water feature and some great props. So we decided to skip the studio and take advantage of the outdoor location.

Despite the humidity working wonders on my hair, there are a handful that turned out great. Jackson wasn't having his smiliest day, but his facial expressions are so funny...and so "Jack"...that I like them just as much as the smiley ones.

The proofs will be available online until July 2. To view, visit this website:

Milestones by Melissa
Click Online Proofing
Type the password: jack

If you'd like any prints, just let me know.

Rolling Right Along

It's been an uneventfully busy (is that an oxymoron?) few days around here. Jackson's daycare was closed Thursday & Friday so he and I had a 4-day weekend. It was fabulous. We didn't have anything big planned, but after 2 very busy weekends with family, I needed the catch up time. I got the house back in order, caught up on laundry, re-stocked the cupboards that had suddenly become quite bare, made a much needed Costco run, took Jackson to the Farmer's Market, did a little shopping (Jackson was the beneficiary this time) and had some quality time with my super fun little man. Basically, things are rolling right along. Which reminds me...

Jackson is rolling over! His first roll was at Holly's house a little over a week ago. He rolled from his tummy to his back. Holly knew how anxious we have been for him to roll, so she told me about it right away. (Even though she said she sometimes keeps those milestones to herself when they happen for the first time at daycare.) The next day, also at Holly's, he rolled from his back to his tummy. However, I had yet to witness it. It finally happened at home on Wednesday, May 27. I had just laid him on a blanket with his toys (on his back) and walked into the kitchen. I returned just a minute later to find him on his tummy. I immediately texted Holly and told her he rolled at home, but I missed it yet again! Later that night he finally did it for both Drew & I to see. He's rolled every day since. (And while I'm thrilled, as is true with most milestones I imagine, part of me is wondering why we were so anxious for him to become mobile!)

In other developmental news:

• Jack is sleeping through the night. Now that he is rolling, Drew & I are comfortable allowing tummy sleeping. He has slept through the night for several days in a row now.
• We added another cereal feeding. He now eats cereal twice a day - in the morning and evening.
• We plan to start solids later this week. I've been doing research for a couple of days now and have a pretty good idea of our game plan. I'll save the details for a future post.
• He is starting to make associations. For example, when Ruby shakes and her collar jingles, Jackson will scan the room looking for her. It is fascinating to watch him learn and grow. He is like a sponge right now!

Finally, because blog posts are always more interesting with photos attached, I'll close with a picture I snapped Saturday morning. Can you guess what had both boys' undivided attention?

SportsCenter!

3-day Weekends

I don't think I've mentioned on the blog my awesome new schedule at work. Shortly before Jackson was born, my company implemented a new "green" policy allowing employees to work more flexible hours. We have the option of working from home one a day a week, or working longer hours in the office with additional time off. I have elected to work 9 hour days - meaning I get every other Friday off.

So far, I have kept Jack home with me on my off days (as opposed to taking him to daycare). I expect I will do that most of the time; however, I also have the option of taking him to Holly's if I need a few hours to get some errands done, do a little cleaning, or just have some me time. It's a perfect arrangement.

This Friday, Jackson and I had a lovely day. It was 80 degrees and we had a play date arranged with my friend Mollie and her daughters. We spent the morning at the park with the girls. After lunch and a quick nap, we strolled downtown to run a few errands and enjoy the nice weather. Finally, we made a stop at the office to drop something off and visit my colleagues. Needless to say, Jackson was quite a hit! It was fun to introduce him to my work friends that hadn't met him yet.

The rest of the weekend has been uneventful, but enjoyable. We did a little shopping and picked up some summer outfits for Jack. And of course the usual house cleaning and laundry chores. And we have a new view from our master bed, courtesy of Drew:

Before


















After


















My husband is officially addicted to HDTV. Just need a shelf for the cable box. The we can hide the cords and we'll be all set!

Saturday night we experienced the first tornado siren of the season. Fortunately, it never amounted to anything. They are predicting more of the same for tonight so I expect we'll just stay cozy in the basement this evening. Pretty typical for springtime in Kansas.

Ahh...gotta love a 3-day weekend!

Photo Album Update

Check out Jackson's 2009 photo album for some updates on what we've been up to around here.

Spring Fever

We have spring fever! It was nearly 70 degrees on Wednesday so Jack & I celebrated with a day full of activities.

We began at J&S Coffee for a play date with my good friend Mollie and 2 of her 3 girls (that's Avery & Mallory with a very tired Jackson). We had a lovely time and plan to make it a more regular occurrence.

The play date was followed by several errands: a stop at the bank, doctor's office (for a new breast pump), Target and Sonic.

As soon as Daddy got home the 3 of us took Ruby on a long walk.

It was a perfect "spring" day. Unfortunately, Jack's tummy was bothering him last night. He was pretty uncomfortable so we had to do a lot of soothing. Although, once he went down for the night he slept like a rock star. Bed at 9:00 and he didn't wake up until almost 2:00. I'm hoping this is a trend that continues!

Uninspired

It's been fairly quiet around here lately. And I've been rather uninspired, hence the lack of posts. Here are a few random thoughts to get you up to speed:

• I've been thinking a lot about my return to work. March 9. I'm ready to go back. Although I'm not at all ready to leave Jackson. Is it possible to feel both of those emotions at the same time? In preparation for the big day I've purchased all of the items we need to provide Holly (diapers, bottles, pacifiers, etc.). We've also started a new feeding routine. Jackson now gets 1 formula bottle every night from his Daddy. While they have a little "guy time" I pump a bottle to freeze for later. I've been visiting with several of my working mom friends who successfully breastfed (or more accurately, pumped a crazy amount of milk) after returning to work. My goal is to get Jackson to 6 months with breast milk. I think we'll make it.


• I finally joined Facebook. I've been declining requests from several friends and colleagues for months, but this week I caved. My sister got an e-mail from one of my closest childhood friends. We have not been in touch since HS and she was looking for me on facebook but found Nikki instead. I immediately e-mailed her and then joined facebook. She is one of the few people from my HS days that I was truly thrilled to hear from and would love to continue a relationship with. So far, I'm liking it. Although, when I return to work something will have to give. There aren't enough hours in the day to work full time, be a decent mom and wife plus keep up with blogging and now facebook too! I guess it's a balancing act I'll just have to figure out.


• Old Navy rocks. I popped in on a whim Sunday to find the baby boy clearance rack was an additional 50% off. I bought Jackson 2 outfits, 2 pair of pants and 5 shirts for just under $20. After taking inventory of his closet, I've decided I'm going back tonight to pick up some more items in larger sizes. And for the record, I walked right past these super cute trench coats that I really wanted. It's all about the kid now.


• Speaking of the kid...Jack is growing and changing so quickly. He smiles at me every day and tries to mimic me by "talking" back when I make sounds. He has yet to laugh out loud, although he does that in his sleep sometimes. It's adorable. When awake he is extremely alert and studies everything around him. Especially faces. He is also able to entertain himself a bit more - meaning, he will occasionally sit in his swing or bouncy seat or watch his mobile for more than 2 minutes at a time. He still wants to eat pretty much every 3 hours so we're usually up twice a night. He goes back down easier though so I get at least 2 hour sessions of uninterrupted sleep (as uninterrupted as possible for a new mom with an infant 3 feet from her bed). He is pure joy.

I'll close with a couple of photos. Jack was dressed for game day on Saturday, but was not in the mood for pictures.

And here he is crashed out...can you believe how big he has gotten?