I'm not a newlywed anymore

Well, I think that I am going to move over to Jack's blog. We have been married for almost three years now and so we are hardly newlyweds anymore! Check out http://ourlittlepumpkinjack.blogspot.com.

I mean, really, who am I kidding, is anyone still reading this blog, really? Well, if you are make the switch - see you over there!

Life keeps going!

We are nice and busy around here lately. We got Jack's professional pictures done and they turned out wonderfully! I was really worried because like always our weekend was busy and Jack didn't take his nap! So, by the time we got his picture taken he had been up for four hours! That is a long time for the little man! He ended up doing a good job, however.
I am keeping busy too! I am busy at work with teaching my students and a student teacher. I am excited about this because I may want to teach teachers in the future and this is my first experience with it! So far, so good. We are learning together! I am also keeping busy with my last master's class and my portfolio. It is a LOT of work and takes a lot of time - which is the one thing I never have enough of! The good news is that I have a good vision of where my project is going and there is an end in sight! I will graduate on May 8th and I am very excited!

Sick and skinny!

First the bad news - Chad and I both have the flu! It is the nasty stomach flu and it makes us both feel sick, sick, sick. I am taking the day off tomorrow because I have a fever and I am not interested in getting 20 five year olds sick. So, Chad thinks he his going to work tomorrow so it will be Jack and me. He was quite understanding tonight - he chilled out on the swing or layed on the couch with me while I rested. I let Chad sleep for a while this afternoon and then I got to rest while Chad gave Jack his bath. We make a good team!

On a side note - muffin top be d@mned - I fit into my pre-preg jeans. While I still have about 10 lbs more to go to get to my pre-preg weight and another 15 to go to get to my final goal weight, it felt very good to get into those jeans (thank goodness for the stretch factor!)

Anyway, that is enough for now. I am going to try to eat a little something. Wish me luck that it stays down!

Once a month I guess!

So, apparently I am only posting on here about once a month! Oops! I guess time flies when you're having fun! Jack continues to grow and change each day. He keeps us busy, tired, and happier than we ever could have imagined. As Chad and I said to Jack yesterday, "we can't afford toys now so you are our toy!" He is very entertaining and takes up LOTS of time! He is laughing, cooing, "talking", rolling )kinda), grabbing things, smiling, and reacting to everything. He always tries to watch tv so we call him Owl because he can turn his head almost all the way around if he's trying to sneak a peek!
Here are a couple of pics of the big man. He is so much fun and brings us so much joy!
As always LOTS of new pics on our Shutterfly site! Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

Chad, Jack, and I had a nice quiet New Year's Eve at home this year. If you remember, last year we got stuck in a ditch in 2 feet of snow so this year was much less stressful. We went to Meijer to get steaks and a bunch of food to cook for my in-laws to come over today. Apparently the rest of the residents in town decided to go to Meijer last night as well - nothing like waiting until the last minute. Oh well, Jack got a little fussy but he's a good little shopper so we made it just fine! When we got home we gave Jack a bath and put him to bed. He didn't want to fall asleep right away but we are working on him fallin asleep on his own which he did - eventually.
Anyway, Chad and I watched Stepbrothers with Will Ferrell and John C. Riley, ate our steak and tator tots and later I ate some ice cream. I also had my first alcoholic drink since last year on NYE because I got pregnant last January. Jack was a trooper and slept through the night so by the time I woke up I was bright eyed and bushy tailed.
We have been so blessed in 2008 and we are really looking forward to 2009. Happy New Year everyone!
Oh and we have about a MILLION new pictures on our picture site! Check it out!

Umm, oops

Okay, I haven't posted in a LONG time - more than a month. I am really sorry - I've just been busy. It's hard to type with one hand and honestly feeding Jack and playing with him has just taken up a lot of my time! Jack is getting on with a better schedule, we had his baptism, and Thanksgiving has come and gone. Now we are getting ready for Christmas! Time is going quickly. I know I will regret this at some point but I am ready to go back to work and get back on a schedule. I love being with Jack but I need my routine again. I think that I will just sit back and enjoy my last few weeks home with my baby boy. I hope everyone is doing well. Keep checking our shutterfly site for more pics!

Names in the Sand

So, Monday was my first whole day with Jack to myself. Of course, this was the day he chose to be fussy all day long for mommy. He was up at 9:00 a.m. and did not sleep for more than 5 minutes until 4:00 p.m. He would eat, poop, and fuss. Apparently he forgot about the sleep part. It was frustrating to say the least. It was really not what I had imagined for my short time as a stay at home mom. In fact, I was ready to go back to work yesterday. It was upsetting to not love every single second with Jack. Please tell me someone else has felt this way at some point.

Anyway, I browse through a few blogs when I have a second and I found a link to a very special blog this morning. It is a site where people in Australia write the names of babies who passed away in the sand as a tribute for their families. CLICK HERE for Names in the Sand. The site has comments, poems, and notes from the babies' families and it is really moving. I am glad I found this site this morning because it made me realize how truly blessed we are to have a happy, healthy little boy. In a sad way it helped me to appreciate how lucky we are and it made me want to snuggle Jack a little closer.

Anyway, I have snapped out of my sour mood from yesterday - at the very least Jack slept well last night. He went to bed at 9:30 p.m. was up at 1:00 a.m. and 4:45 a.m. Then he was up at 7:00 a.m. and is currently sleeping at 9:00 a.m. This is probably why he's up all day long. Of course, I don't mind the sleeping all night but it keeps him up all day long! Oh well, good thing he's so cute and snuggly! Now, if he will just stay happy for most of the day!

busy busy

Sorry I haven't updated. Clearly I am busy with Jack and I am enjoying my last few days of Chad being home. I do NOT want him to go back to work. I like being home everyday as a family. I know I am lucky that he took two weeks off but I want him to be home MORE - I'm greedy!
Anyway, Jack is doing well. He's a cool kid - I like him quite a bit. I will leave you with a few pics but the Hungry Hungry Hippo wants to eat again!

Sleep - how precious . . .

Jack's first two nights at home were great. He slept at three hour stretches, fell asleep after he ate and had a new diaper and even took a nice long nap in the morning (like 7-10). Last night, however, Jack decided to be a hungry, hungry hippo and he wanted to eat constantly. He would wake up, eat for almost an hour, and then go to sleep just to wake up an hour later. So, technically he was eating every two hours except it takes him an hour to eat so we only got an hour of sleep at a time! Oh well, he slept from 7-11 am so at least we got some sleep then. Its fine with me because I don't have to go back to work until January but in about a week Chad isn't going to be as cool with getting a bulk of our sleep during the day when he needs to go to work! Oh well, at least he is a good eater and goes to sleep when he's full - Jack, that is, not Chad. Well, on second thought, Chad too. I guess they are both good eaters and sleepers! :)
Continue to check out our Shutterfly site for more pics.

He's Here!!!

Jack Thomas was born on Friday afternoon at 12:58 p.m. via c-section. Everything went really well. He was a mover and a shaker right from the start! Here are some basic stats:

So far he has brown/redish hair depending on the light. His eyes are still blueish but they are getting darker by the day and I think he might have brown eyes at some point. He is a big guy too!
Weight: 8 lbs 6 oz
Length: 21 inches
Head: 14.25 inches circumference


That puts our little Jack in the 80-90th percentile in all of his categories. Oh yeah, and he was a week early! They said the head circumference alone likely would have been enough reason for a c-section.

I am feeling great - I am on lots of steroids so my Crohn's is under control, which even though its artificially under control, its enough for me right now!

Jack is eating like a champ and so far he sleeps fairly well (knock on wood and lots of prayers for continued sleep!) He is so calm and content so far - he loves looking at our faces and he just relaxes and coos. I could just look at him all day.
Check out our picture site CLICK HERE for pictures. We are trying to update them as much as possible but we get a little busy somtimes (surprise, surprise!)