Happy Mother's Day & Jackson's Dedication

This year was my first Mother's Day as a momma of two.  We dedicated Jackson at church that morning.  In the ceremony we promised to raise Jackson in a Christ centered home where we will teach him to love and know Jesus.  Jackson Ryan means God is gracious, little king.  We chose Psalm 103:8 "The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness" because God has been so gracious to us, gifting us with two wonderful children.  

After church, we went to our traditional lunch at the Poinsett.  We were actually early, something that doesn't usually happen in our world.  And so, we had time for a champagne toast before lunch, how  lovely.   

Happy Mother's Day to my mom.  You are beautiful and generous and kind.  It is truly special to witness the bond you share with my children.  I am lucky to have you as my Mommy and they are lucky to have you as their Gamma. 

 These two babies make joy bloom in my heart.  I love being their Momma. 

After lunch, we headed to the pool.  I sat with Jackson and watched Tessa and Ryan swim.  A pretty perfect Mother's Day in my book. 

Race for Adoption

Each year, a local church hosts a Race for Adoption.  Proceeds go to a local family who is adopting.  Obviously, adoption is near and dear to my heart.  Without it, I wouldn't have my wonderful daughter.  So, when the advertising signs came out this year, I signed up for my first 5K. 

I am not a runner.  I prefer to stay in shape with spin and yoga.  However, I wanted to do this race and I figured it would help me lose my baby weight.  Using the Couch to 5K program I trained for several weeks before the race.  It's a nine week training program but I didn't exactly plan ahead and give myself that much time.  I reasoned that since I'm not a total couch potato, I could just skip the first several weeks of training.  This still left me one week short, so as of race day, I had never actually run the whole 3.1 miles.  Plus, I wasn't exactly recovered from my case of bronchitis, thank you Jackson for sharing that with me.  But, despite all of that, I was determined to run.  Here we go!

I ran without a phone or a watch, not too smart.  I had planned to do a test run the week before to learn the route, but that never happened.  So I was basically running blind.  Along the way there were cheering stations and when one group shouted "only one mile left" I thought I would die.  Surely I had to be closer to the finish line than that!  Then I came around a corner and could see the end.  There was my family and my sweet baby girl holding a sign and cheering.  I FINISHED!!!      

I was so touched that Ryan had taken the time to help Tessa make a sign for me that I cried.  She is such a great cheerleader!  Yea for Adoption is absolutely right.  I love you too Tessa!   

Four Months & First Cereal

Jackson had his four month check up and got a great report.  He is off the charts tall, measuring 27 3/4 inches.  He is 15lbs 8oz which puts him at 54% on the growth chart.  He is a growing boy.  The doctor said that I could start cereal if I wanted to.  I'm torn between starting solids now or waiting until he is 6 months old, there are conflicting views about when to introduce food.  I decided to go ahead with a little bit of rice cereal.

I fed Tessa in this position for months but it is not so easy with Jackson who is bigger and wigglier.  We moved right on to the highchair after this first time.  Jackson is undecided about whether or not he likes cereal.  At this point, food is about learning how to eat more than nutrition so it's okay that he only takes a few spoonfuls a day.  Tessa, however, thinks it's the coolest thing in the world to feed him.  She is so sweet wanting to take care of him!

Nanny Paula Visits

Nanny Paula was able to come back to visit the week before Mother's Day.  Tessa has a ball playing with her.  We shopped, went out to eat and hung out on the patio enjoying the nice weather.  Nanny read Tessa books and they snuggled in the chair. 

 Jackson played on his playmat.  I am actually able to put him down for a few minutes!

Ryan took his mom out for a Mother's Day lunch, just the two of them and they had a nice time.  I hope Jackson will want to do things like that with me when he's an adult.  Meanwhile, my parents and I went out with my grandma's best friend Alice Jane.  She was in town and wanted to meet Jackson.  She happily held my wiggly son and was amazed that he is already trying to stand up.  None of us can believe that Granny has been gone for over a year.  It was great to see Alice Jane again and I was so glad Jackson behaved in the restaurant.  Eating out has not been easy for us lately.

Jackson thinks Tessa is the most entertaining person.  I don't know if it's because she is so animated or because she is the closest to his size or what, but she can really make him laugh.  When she really gets him going he sounds like a squeaky toy.  I love, love, love hearing them giggle together!

 I'm so glad it's starting to warm up.  We watched Tessa play on the swing set in the backyard and when we went downtown for lunch we were able to sit at a table outside.  Jackson's bronchitis improved and we were all a little perkier with some sunshine.  Thanks for coming to visit Nanny Paula!



Sleeping Baby

Jackson napped in his crib for the first time!  I know he will need to transition to his own room soon, I am just not ready.  But, in order to get him used to the crib, he will start napping in the nursery.  Ryan installed the video monitor and it is so cool to be able to see what's going on in the crib.  Sweet sleeping baby, for thirty minutes at least.  

Jackson loves to be swaddled, but he is getting so big.  He is also rolling over now in the cradle.  We try to swaddle him with one arm out and when he rolls over the blanket unwinds.  Sometimes he wakes up looking like he's been to a wild toga party.  So I bought this sleep sack.  Tessa wore a similar one and I remember thinking it was a great invention.  Now at bedtime he's a soft, snuggly bag of love.   

In other news, Jackson is on his first round of Amoxicillin.  He has a low grade fever and congestion.  The pediatrician says it is bronchitis.  Poor little guy!

Easter

Jackson's first Easter was a lot of fun.  I bought the kids matching Easter baskets and took a picture of Jackson inside of his.  I had to take this picture early because Jackson is growing so fast.  I was afraid he wouldn't fit if I actually waited until Easter.  I love his bunny ears and his blue eyes. 

We were all up early and snapped a few pictures before going to church.  I'm so excited that my clothes fit again.  We left Jackson in the nursery for the first hour and then took him with us to service the second hour.  I can't say I heard much of the message.      

After church, we talked to Nanny & Pa and then went to G&G's house for a late lunch. 

My mom did a beautiful job wrapping the Easter baskets.  I may delegate this job every year!  Tessa can hardly wait to dig in to her goodies. 

Tessa helped by opening Jackson's basket for him.  

Jackson is getting old enough to actually play with his toys.  I am amazed at how quickly he is changing.  This ball toy was a huge hit.

 Tessa was very proud of the eggs that she died with Daddy. 

Ryan and Jackson napped in the rocking chair which made me laugh.  We still aren't getting much sleep.  Happy Easter!



Gamma's Birthday

My mom's birthday fell on Easter this year, so we celebrated the night before her actual birthday.  We went out to dinner downtown and Jackson slept through most of the meal.  It was delightful.   

The, we headed back to our house for dessert and champagne.  My daughter has almost as big a sweet tooth as my mother.  These two had their fill of cake and icing. 

Then we put on Pandora and danced the night away.  We played oldies from my parent's high school days.  They sang along as we danced around the living room.  Tessa was in hog heaven. 

Jackson got a kick out of all the excitement too.  We let Tessa take a few twirls around the dance floor with him.  She loves her baby brother so much. 

I think my mom had a pretty good birthday, we sure enjoyed it.  Happy Birthday Gamma!

Easter Egg Hunt

Our Sunday School had it's annual Easter Egg Hunt the week before Easter.  Billy and Vicki have a great yard where the kids can run and play.  At the start of the egg hunt, Tessa is still finishing a strawberry that she snagged off the buffet table.

This little guy was obviously not ready to hunt eggs.  Miss Tobie is always happy to hold Jackson and give us a little break.  

Tessa proudly showed us the eggs that she found.  I think there were only about five in her bucket.  That's ok, she'll find lots of eggs at my mom's house next week.  

Billy grilled for us and we ate outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather.  The kids played and the grown-ups had a chance to relax and chat.  Look at Tessa's smile, she has lost so many teeth!  It's just another way she is growing up on me.      

Soccer Season Finale

Soccer season is over and the jury is still out on how Tessa liked it.  But she sure looked cute while she was out there and she had fun.  Here are a few action shots of her on the field.     

Tessa is not particularly aggressive.  She would much rather encourage a friend or cheer for her team than charge into the middle of a group of girls fighting over the ball.  I get that, I don't think I would want to get into the fray either.  I only asked that she try hard and pay attention to the coach which, for the most part, she did. 

At the little awards ceremony, Coach Tim complemented Tessa on her good attitude and sweet smile.  He said he loved coaching her because she was always happy.  That's just one of the many reasons I love being her mom, she's such a sweet and happy kid. 

I am personally relieved the season is over.  We are, perhaps, a little overextended with ballet, tumbling, speech, soccer and a newborn.  Tessa loves to be busy, but this schedule might be a little too busy.  



Three Months Old

I don't know where the time has gone!  All of a sudden, this big boy is three months old.  He is sweet and snuggly and loves to be held.  He now weighs 15 pounds and measures 26 inches long.  He is so handsome.    

He's not only big, but strong too.  Look at this head control!  When he's on his play mat he tries so hard to roll from back to front.  He has long since mastered rolling from front to back. 

Such a happy little face!  I love our nighttime routine of taking a bath, putting on jammies, reading stories in my bed and then snuggling together.

The last part of our routine is tucking in Tessa.  We all go to her bedroom, I lay Jackson in her arms and we say our nighttime prayers together.  This is usually my favorite part of the day.  Seeing my two children cuddled together and listening to Tessa pray to God brings tears to my eyes.  Although sometimes we are late getting to Tessa to bed and Jackson is doing his loudest hungry cry.  Then I don't hear much of her prayers.  But most nights, it's a sweet time I treasure.       

We then all take turns kissing Tessa good night.  There is an order to this process, Brother, Momma, Anabelle and then Daddy is last.  We have pared down the nighttime routine because it was getting a little out of hand.  It used to include kissing stuffed animals, applying Band-aids, checking under the bed, closing doors, taking fake medicine called "water medicine" and so on.  Tessa is not actually sleeping in this picture but since I was taking photos this night, she pretended she was sleeping.  In reality, she sleeps with the covers all the way over her head and every stuffed animal she owns, plus a few books, stuffed under the blankets with her.