Yes, it has been awhile...

I know it has been awhile, but things have been so crazy and hectic here!! Just to fill yall in:

Jackson will be 3 months on the 30th!! So hard to believe he is that big already! He is a totally different baby than what Jay was! Jay was content and could entertain himself. Jackson on the other hand wants you to entertain him! He wants you to talk to him, rock him, and bounce him. I will say that he has been sleeping through the night (10pm-7am) since 4 weeks though!! He so cute and smiles as soon as you talk to him. He is even talking back some now!! We will be starting cereal with him in the upcoming weeks too!!

Jay. Jay. Jay. That boy is a ball of energy!! He is constantly on the go. He and Jackson will be going to daycare in a week, so I know that will help expell some of it!! He is also so smart!! He is learning to count (he skips a few numbers!) and he can point out most of the alphabet. He is becoming such a little boy!!

Jason is still working nights and will continue to do so until June. We have our schedule down, but things will get a bit more hectic once I go back to school. He starts riding by himself this week and he is very excited about it. Of course I am not too thrilled! I go back to work on January 4 and I can't say I am looking forward to it. I am looking forward to getting our schedule started, but I could stay home with my babies forever.

Jason's mom and step dad came for Christmas and my parents will be here for New Year's. It has been a wonderful holiday time for us. We are so blessed to have our family and friends. We thank you all for being here for us and love yall!!

HE'S HERE!!

I am sure most of yall know by now, but Jackson Troy was born on September 30. The past month has been wonderful with 2 little boys. Now, don't think there has been some hard times, especially in the beginning, but things have improved so much.

It took Jay a little while to get use to Jackson being around. We was fully potty trained before I had Jackson,but of course we kinda had to start over. He's getting back to the hang of it now, but the past couple of weeks were crazy! He is loving more on him and wanting to help more too.

Jackson has been a good baby so far. He is already eating 5oz each bottle! So, he is growing, a lot. He is also sleeping through the night already. I mean it isn't a whole 8 hours, but I am not going to complain about 5-6 hours! Usually when he wakes up (between 5 am and 6 am) I put him right back to bed after a bottle and he will sleeo until 8ish. He really only cries when he is hungry too! Just like his big brother!

Jason is still working midnights and will do so until June; however, we have our schedules down, so things are so bad! I won't be going back to work until January, so I am enjoying every minute of my time home.

FINALLY!!

The date of my c-section has been set!! I went to the doctor yesterday and they scheduled the c-section for September 30. I am so excited to finally have a definite date. Now, I just have to do the final things leading up to the birth!! The nursery is done thanks to my wonderful husband. I of course worried and stressed over all that had to be done in there and he got it done in half an hour!! The sex of the baby is still unknown, so we did pull down some of Jay's baby clothes, but they are still in the containers, just in case a little girl makes her appearance. Jason has PROMISED me that whether it be boy or girl, all the clothes will be where they need to be by the time we get home from the hospital. The poor guy, sometimes he just makes lots of promises just to make me stop crying!! HA!! He has been a trooper the last week or so. My hormones have been so crazy and I have been frazzled with trying to get things together. I believe my final project will be steam cleaning the carpets, or him doing it under my watchful eye!!

Little Jason has still be excelling in everything!! He makes Jason and I laugh everyday with the new things he has mastered and the things he says!! He has started telling us "good job" when we do anything! He has helped me get the baby toys ready and has helped me with cleaning the baby furniture. He LOVES all the baby stuff that is in the nursery. We have to keep the door closed so he doesn't go in there.

I am assuming this will probably be my last post until the baby is born. Of course there is a chance that I go into labor before the 30th, but we shall see!! Thanks for everyone's well wishes. As soon an the baby is born, yall will know!!

And the countdown begins...

O.K., I know it has been over a month since the last post, but things have been crazy here!! Jason has been working crazy hours and school has started back for me. Even with all the chaos, things have been going very well!!

We finally got Jay's big boy bed!! His room is all set up and he is doing really well with it. He loves his new room and his new bed. You can often find him playing in his bed with his toys. HE is also learning to help out more in regards to his room. He knows how to put his dirty clothes up, clean his room and get his shoes. These may sound like small tasks, but with a new baby coming, I need all the help I can get!! 

He has also been doing great with potty training. Of course he does have accidents every once in awhile, but for the most part he is doing great. Today he actually went to the potty, poo pooed and told us AFTERWARDS! I couldn't believe it when he came and told me. I for sure thought there was no way he could do that. Now, I can pee by himself, but poop?! He still sleeps with a diaper, but we have fazed him out of one during his nap. I am working on the overnight diaper. Not sure if that will be gone by the time Baby C arrives.

Baby C... this child loves to make itself known. It is constantly pushing out and kicking it. It responds real well to our pushing in. Almost every time it will respond with a push back. I am technically due October 7, but the doctor will take me a week early for the C-section. So, as of today, I have 4 weeks and 6 days left!! Not sure how big this baby will be, but already at 34 weeks, I feel as if it is huge!! There isn't much room left in my tummy. 

I will be packing a hospital bag this weekend even though I am suppose to have a scheduled C-section. You just never know. I told Jason he couldn't take anymore fishing trips to the river (about 2 hours or so away) and to take my calls at work. I doubt that I will go into labor with this one, but you never know!! My parents, sister, brother in law ( to be) and mother in law plan to be here around the time the baby arrives. My sister in law will come later. I am looking forward to having them here when our baby arrives. My brother in law (to be) will be the godfather and my sister in law will be the godmother. We have decided on names, but it is a secret until the baby arrives!

Jason is loving work. He is working days right now, but in 2 weeks he will go back to midnight shift (11:30 pm -7:30 am) for the next 8 months! I am very nervous about this, but trying to go into with a positive attitude. Work for me has been descent. As usual, being a school teacher can get stressful and I often feel like there aren't enough hours in the day!! 

I will def. try to get another post in before the arrival of the baby.

Potty Training

I seemed to forgot to update everyone on Jay's potty training in the last blog. We want him to be completely potty trained before the baby gets here, so he has been working really hard!! We actually introduced it to him around Christmas time. I went and bought him a potty seat and a step stool and showed him how to use it. I knew at 18 months he wouldn't get it just then, but I wanted him to be accustomed to the whole idea once we really got started. 

Between Christmas and May I researched the best way to potty train and I came across the idea of letting the toddler go naked from the waist down. I asked my sister in law about this and she said that is how she trained my oldest niece. I asked my mom how she trained me, and well of course, I just had perfected it all on my own one day!! 

So, it started. Jason would be running around the house naked. About every thirty minutes I would sent him to the potty and he would get either a sticker or a cracker if he went. I mean, yall know how much food will motivate our child!! He seemed to get the hang of it right off the bat, but he would still have some accidents, especially if he was engaged in what he was doing. We also had a hard time getting him to poo poo in the potty. They say that is hardest thing to get them to do. Now, he is a natural at it. He is even standing up to pee now!! He loves to lift the lid and flush. However, this adventure has not gone without casualties. And I am talking about casualties to my carpet, his Elmo chair, and his pee pee. Here are some things I have learned while training my toddler:

1. Be prepared with Clorox wipes.

2. Have your carpet cleaner loaded and ready.

3. Do not allow your child to sit on anything cloth...you make think it is clean, but the smell will always be there. (RIP Elmo chair).

4. Not only will you find pee on the floor, you will find poop. ( I was totally grossed out by this, but good thing it only happened a couple of times).

5. Be prepared to bleach the crap out of the potty seat about once a day.

6. Keep all DVD cases out of reach of the boys who are training. If not, a closed case on the pee pee may hurt. Just ask Jay.

7. Once they are in big boys/girls, be prepared to do multiple washes of Spiderman and McQueen underwear.

8. If you have a storm door and tend to leave your front door open so light can come through, don't. Neighbors may think you are crazy when your naked child waves at them when they are walking down the sidewalk.

9. Ladies, get your husbands to show the boys how to hold it properly. If not, pee will get everywhere. Apparently I didn't know what I was doing!

10. Lastly, try to time your restroom breaks around theirs. It's hard to get them to understand that they have to hold it. Mine, well he just pulled it out and went in the trash can while he waited for me.  

I have learned a lot of patience with this adventure. Even though it is not totally over, I feel that we are over the hump!! We have gone to the zoo and to the grocery store with out accidents, so I am faithful that it is working. I do know that we will encounter some accidents, but we are well prepared with extra big boys and shorts!! When he goes back to school in a couple of weeks, he will change classes and they will work with him too on the potty training. His big boy room is slowly coming along, but it should be done, hopefully, by next weekend!! Pictures to come.

New Beginnings

I realize that is has been over a month since updating, but we have had a lot of things going on here, both good and bad. May 27th my grandfather passed away. To me, it seemed so fast. I know he was sick, but I thought we had a few more months. However, I do know that he is happy with God and waiting anxioulsy for all of us.

A couple of weeks after the funeral Jason graduated from The Memphis Police Academy. It was such an exciting time for us and I couldn't be more proud of him. He graduated second in his class and received a leadership award. He has enjoyed every minute being out on the streets of Memphis. I truly feel that this is his calling.

This past weekend Jason and I traveled to New Orleans. My sister is getting married and we threw her an engagement party. It was beautiful!! Kinda surreal that my little sister is getting married, but she's not a kid anymore. She is an amazing woman and I am so glad that she is my sister. As usual growing up we fought a lot. I don't think the 5 year age difference helped either! However, as we have aged she and I have become real close and I cherish our relationship. She is a wonderful godmother to Jay and she will be a wonderful aunt to this new baby. Her fiancee' is pretty great too. He will be a wonderful addition to the family!!

We also spent time in LaPlace this past weekend. Our nephew turned 2 and we were able to see Jimmy, Liz and the kids. It is so awesome to watch Jay and Little Jimmy play together. Jimmy just recently got stationed in LA, so we are looking forward to seeing them more often!

Also this past month Little Jason has made some leaps and bounds!! He is starting to put multiple words together to make sentences. The other day he asked Jason, "where my shoes Daddy?" We were shocked!! I have been working with him this summer on his letters, colors and shapes. He actually told me this morning, "Good job Momma" as I was sweeping the floor!! We are working on his big boy room right now. I hope to get that done before I go back to work in 4 weeks.

Baby C is doing fine also. He/she is doing a lot of moving around and keeping me up at night. I am at the point now that I am not sleeping well at all. I have about 90 days left! Ha! I promise to try and update more. Once we get started on the big boy room I will take pictures and post them!!

Jason's 2nd Birthday

Yesterday was a big day for our little man!! He turned 2 and had a blast doing it. We rented out a gazebo at the park near our house and we had a spacewalk there. Jason LOVED the spacewalk!! We had a hard time getting him out of it, even for food. He got a ton a wonderful toys and clothes. Jason and I got him a Little Quad which is similiar to a Powerwheel, but a bit smaller. I am postign a few pictures, so enjoy.

*on another note, Jason was able to feel the baby kicking last night!!*

Boy or Girl?

Yesterday was ultrasound day!! Of course Jason and I are still not wanting to find out the sex of this baby; however, I would still LOVE to know. So, yesterday I went to the doctor. Jason wasn't able to come with me, so I was real nervous that I would just blurt out for her to tell me!! So, here I am in the room anxiously waiting to see my baby pop up on the screen, and Melissa (the tech) keeps asking me if I was sure I didn't want to find out. I told her yes, but I wanted some pictures of the sex so I could torture my self for the next 20 weeks! The baby is gorgeous!! It may be a girl because it kept opening and closing its mouth, just as if it was talking!

So, she pans down to the genital area and realizes that the umbilical cord is running right between the legs. After a few minutes of poking at the baby, she says she has a pretty good idea of what we are having. I am posting some pictures, so let me know what you think!!

Little Jason's birthday is on Saturday and he is turning 2! It is so hard to believe that he is already a toddler. We are having a party on Saturday at the park with a spacewalk and all. Pictures of that are to come!

*the first one is of the sex and the second one is of the baby looking straight at you*

Happy Easter

So, today is Easter Sunday and this whole weekend has been packed with church activities and family time. Last year at Easter, Little Jason had not one clue what was going on, I mean, he was only about 10 months old! He will be turning 2 next month, so now he is starting to get the just of things.

We had an Easter egg hunt yesterday at church. Now, mind you that he had an egg hunt a couple days prior at school, so he pretty much knows how this works. We were waiting for the hunt to start and we kept telling him, "Make sure you find the eggs...they have candy in them." As soon as the hunt started, he was off!! He kept finding the eggs and wanted to open them up right then and there and see what he got!! We had to cut his hunt short because he was so quick with finding the eggs, he was getting way too many of them!!

After the hunt we ran into the Easter Bunny. I didn't take him to see the Easter Bunny this year because I wasn't sure how he would react. He loves anybody, but I wasn't sure how he would take to a giant bunny!! However, he proved me wrong yesterday. He would not leave the bunny alone!! He kept waving at him and giving him hugs!! I was so proud of him.

Today was another good day. I spent like a month looking for the perfect Easter outfit for him. Jason wanted him to wear a suit and finally on Friday I found one his size!!!! He looked so cute in it. He was the talk of church. A lot of people know who Jason is and comments just kept rolling in. He loved every moment of it. We ate dinner over at my friend Jessica's house. She and her husband just had their first baby 2 weeks ago!! We had a great time eating dinner and just hanging out with them.

The pregnancy is going well and I feel as if I am starting to get my energy back. I will be 15 weeks on Wednesday and my next doctor appointment is May 13th. We will get our official ultrasound done that day!!

All in all the last couple of weeks have been pretty good for us. I do have one request though, anyone who reads this, please pray for my grandfather. Things are tough right now, but our faith and his faith is keeping us strong.

Have a blessed week!!

God and BBQ

About 6 months ago Jason and I joined our church, New Hope. We have become pretty involved and love it there. It's down the street from the house and a lot of my students attend. Jason works with the youth group and I have women Bible studies during the week. Now, since attending New Hope and becoming a true Christian family, prayer has become very important to us. We pray in the mornings before work, at meals and when we are about to go to bed.

Little Jason sees more of the praying at meals and we didn't think he quite understood what was happening. Jason and I would try to hold his hands, just to see what he would do, and he wouldn't do it. Well....today when we went to dinner, we were just about to pray and I had my hand out (lately I just hold it out because Little Jason sits between us) and lo and behold, he grabbed my hand and then grabbed Jason's hand. I looked up and he was just grinning from ear to ear! I started laughing and then said, "Well, I guess he's ready to eat Daddy, so you better pray!" We said our prayer and he held our hands the whole time. It was the cutest and the most innocent thing I had ever seen. I am glad that even at age of 22 months, he is starting to see the importance of God, even if his first revelation was at a Mom and Pop BBQ restaurant!

Boys will be boys...

     

I am starting to realize that my son is a typical boy. Since he will be 2 in May, his rambunctiousness is now very apparent. He also has his Daddy's appetite! He is constantly climbing on every piece of furniture he can find, standing on everything and asking for food 24 hours a day. He is also a performer and loves to be the center of attention. We went to my grandparents for a few days last week and he had a field day. He couldn't believe that everyone wanted to be with him. He loved on my grandparents and enjoyed every minute of it.

It's hard to believe, for me, that he's a toddler now. I keep calling him "the baby" and Jason keeps telling me he's not a baby. I know he's not, but he's my baby, my sweet baby. He knows how to work his Momma; all he has to do is smile and hug me. I look forward to seeing him grow day after day and I find myself wondering what he will be like at 5 years old, 10 years old, 15 years old and as an adult. I hope he keeps his red hair,his demeanor and his love for his Momma.

* Jason made a 95 on his test he took yesterday. I am so proud of him!! He is in his 11th week.*

* My first trimester ends tomorrow!*

So I broke down

OK...I've never really liked blogging. Not sure why, but just felt it to be a bit weird. However, I have a few friends that have blogs and they have convinced me to do so. I also wanted to be able to keep our families in the loop of everything.

This first post will just touch base on everything that has been going on this year so far. In January, Jason started the police academy for Memphis. We are so excited about this! He graduates in June and is loving every minute of it. It was a hard decision because he was hesitant to let go of his business, but he knew that he was being called to do something else.

We also found out in January that we are going to have another baby!! After many, many months of trying, it finally happened!! We had a miscarriage in July and had been trying ever since. It was a nice surprise, being that I had given up hope and really thought we would have to go to a fertility doctor. The first trimester is just about over, which is exciting. Also, we WILL NOT find out what we are having this time. We did a lot of thinking and decided that we want to be surprise. Jason of course is hoping for another boy and I of course want a girl!! We do have a few names picked out, but if you have any suggestions, please let us know. Also, I think once we decide on a name, we aren't going to tell until the baby is born. I am due October 7.

Now, our first baby...Jay!! He will be 2 in May and is such a chatterbox! He loves to run and climb on everything. He still has his red hair and his sweet demeanor. He is a Momma's boy, but he LOVES his Daddy. I am not sure how he is going to do with the new baby, but one of my best friends is due in a few weeks, so we can practice with Little Abby! Hope you don't mind Jess!!

I will be posting pictures of us and keep everyone updated with the pregnancy.