Pumpkins!

We have had the most relaxing two weekends in a row! Last weekend, we just hung out and enjoyed the weekend, visited with my brother and three of his friends while they were on fall break, and visited a new church. This weekend was just as fun and relaxing.

Saturday afternoon, I took Jackson to the pumpkin patch with one of my lifelong friends, Charity, and her sister Jasmine and kids. We had a great time - it was overcast and not too hot, we got to do a hayride which Jackson loved, and I got to practice my photography skills a little and ended up with several great shots.

Here's me & Jacks at the pumpkin patch - he is getting hot and cranky in this pic. It was before we got on the hayride. (If it doesn't get cold soon, I'm going to have to find some new clothes for Jacks - he has outgrown all his summer stuff, and it's too hot for the clothes I bought for this age!)

Jasmine with two of her kids, me and Jackson, and Charity. I grew up with these girls in Alma and have known them since I was six. Charity and her hubby live two houses down from us and are the best neighbors ever!
Jackson was really not sure about the pumpkin patch at first.... but once he got down in the dirt, he loved it!
My sweet punkin - barefoot and all! This is my favorite picture from the day.
He is trying so hard to walk - it won't be too much longer!

Sunday we went back to the same church we visited last weekend, and we really like it there. There are lots of people our age with kids about the same age, and we just feel at home there. It has been great to be attending church again! It's small enough that we feel like we can interact with most of the people there, but not feel like we're in a "small group" setting.

Anyway, I have a doctor's appointment today so I am not working until Tues/Wed this week. My grandma and I are going to take Jackson to Little Rock with us and enjoy a nice lunch and probably a little shopping while we're there! :)

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

....bonus round

And just because I love my boy Kris Allen, and think he deserves better than what the media has been giving him lately - here's a link to his new single, performed for EW.com. I enjoyed it this morning and thought you might too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvaJ3wUUJd4&feature=player_embedded

Random October pictures

I love this picture of the two boys I love most in the world. They were just hanging out at the park this past Saturday, and I was on the steps above them and caught this little cuddle moment between them. Love!
Jackson LOVES to watch his daddy play ladderball in the backyard. He will sit there forever just watching Tyler go back and forth.
So, this is a cute picture of my brother B and Jacks from when we visited B in Nashville. What you don't know is that Jackson's diaper had leaked poo everywhere and his clothes are saturated in nastiness, and B is just trying to keep him from sitting down on his carpet while I figure out where the clean clothes and diapers are, and Tyler is in the shower because he found out that the diaper leaked when he put Jackson on his shoulders to walk around..... definitely a memory for the baby book.

I love this picture of me and my sweet husband. We had to go to a banquet for Tyler's work, which is a rarity, and we got dressed up and enjoyed a night out without the babe. It's definitely not common to see us this dressed up and without spit up or green beans in our hair.
This might be one of my favorite pictures I have ever taken of Jacks. That thumb sucking action! That little ear! Those intent eyes watching his daddy play with the dog! I love that boy so much.
Well, that's what's been going on in our lives the past week or so. I am glad to be back at home after my 2 days of work and getting back into a schedule today. Hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday!! :)

Today

Today has been one of those days like the bad dreams - the ones where you keep trying and trying to get out the door, and for some reason you just CAN'T make it! I have been up since before Jackson was awake to get ready. I had a bunch of errands that needed to be done. We're out of toothpaste, for crying out loud. I need to go to Target before we get cavities.

But it just hasn't happened. My purse got left in Tyler's car, which is now 30 minutes away in the parking lot the hospital where he works, and he is in meetings all day. I have no wallet, no keys, nothing. Not to mention the fact that Tyler got rear-ended yesterday while driving my car, so my bumper is all buckled in and you can't open the back door of my car, so I was going to have to squeeze all my bags into the front seat anyway.

When I realized that (during the time that Jackson was in the bathtub and suddenly pooped all over everything).... I sat down on the bathroom floor and cried. And cried. And cried.

Then, I got myself back up, rinsed the poop out of the bathtub, gave Jacks another bath, put him down for a nap, made some lunch, put some Hillsongs on, and started my day over.

Mommies have it rough sometimes.

This blog is about being real. That's what I have done today.

For my husband

Five years ago today, this was me and my husband. We had just met. (Who takes pictures with someone you just met!?!)

I am so thankful I decided to go on that Chi Alpha retreat and meet some new people - cause I just so happened to meet the most important person in my life! :) On October 7, 2005, we met at the Chi Alpha Fall Retreat in Branson, MO. I never dreamed how much my life was about to change for the better!

About a year later, on November 21, 2006, Tyler proposed...

I just love this pic of us. It's very much who we are - sweatshirts and all.

Christmas at Tyler's grandma's...
Easter at my Sue's house...

Engagement pictures...

Then another year or so later, December 16, 2007, we got hitched...
Tyler cried like a baby through the whole wedding....

Then I graduated....

Then Tyler graduated.... (and apparently wore the same shirt... just noticed!)

We bought a house....

Random picture that I love :)

We found out we were gonna have a sweet baby boy....
REALLY have a sweet baby boy!....
We HAD a sweet baby boy...
And he changed our lives forever....

And now we rarely take pictures by ourselves - this is one of very few I've gotten since Jacks was born with both of us in it! :)

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Thank you, Tyler, for being such a wonderful husband. You are my best friend and I have loved every moment of the past five years with you. You take care of me (and Jackson) in so many ways, and make sure the garbage gets taken out and the yard stays mowed. I love you for so many reasons and in so many ways. You are the best gift God has ever given me, and I can't wait to grow old with you and continue to see what God has in store for us.

What a difference a week makes....

So, we're almost a week into this new sleep arrangement, and it has totally transformed our family. Jacks has been sleeping 12 hours pretty consistently at night. Ty and I have our evenings back to eat dinner in peace, cuddle on the couch and watch a movie, and go to bed at a normal time so he can get up early for work. Jackson is so much more himself during the day - happy, lovey, and so much fun to be with. Naptimes during the day give me a chance to catch up on housework so that while he's awake I can enjoy our time together. What a difference!

This weekend we're heading over to Nashville, TN to visit my (oldest) younger brother. This is his third year in school there and we've never been able to go visit for various reasons, so I am excited. We haven't seen him since we were at the beach the 2nd week of August!

Tomorrow marks 5 years since Tyler and I met. Stay put for an "anniversary" post of sorts tomorrow! :)

Bedtime Battles update

So, we survived our first night. Heck, we ACED our first night! :) Jackson went to bed about 7:15 p.m. (which seems so early, but the author of this book, who is an MD also, claims that sleep begets sleep, and that by putting them to bed so early, you allow them to sleep more.) It worked! After 20 minutes or so of crying, he slept straight through the night until 7:15 a.m. when I had to WAKE him up! He has been in the best mood today, playing and talking and being his sweet self with none of the tantrums and screaming fits we have been having over the past month or so. The 20 minutes of crying was much easier on my nerves and emotions than our usual 2.5 hours of wrestling, wrangling, and weeping. Tyler and I got to entertain friends all evening without Jackson screaming the entire time! It was truly a wonderful change for our family.

We have been faithful with our naps again today, and hope to put him to bed between 7 and 7:30 again. I am a believer now.

I am just a first time mommy trying to do the best for my sweet one. All I want is peace in our little home. I think you must be desperate for peace in your house before you are willing to try this technique, and I was. I highly recommend reading the book if you are having difficulty, because there are many tips and tricks that you can adopt without going so far as to let them cry it out. It also starts with newborns and goes through age 12 years, so I am going to keep it around for each new phase.

Off to eat some chili and play some ladderball with my hubby.... :)

Bedtime Battles

I mainly use this blog as a place to vent - so here you go. Jackson will be 8 months old tomorrow. Since he was born, he has always had very random sleep patterns. He slept well when we first came home from the hospital - in fact, we thought, "Oh! He is a great sleeper!" Well, that went out the window around 4 months of age. For the past 4 months, it has taken a Herculean effort each night to get him to sleep: rocking, walking, bouncing on the bed, swaddling, patting, you name it, we've tried it. We have tried gripe water, gas drops, putting cereal in his last bottle, sound machines, anything else we could think of. And after the hours (yes, usually 2+ hours) at night of trying to get him to sleep, I would collapse in bed, praying he would sleep through the night. To no avail. He generally gets up several times in the night, is fidgety in his sleep, cries out, screams with his eyes closed, or flails around. Even in our bed with us, even if we feed him a middle of the night bottle, even if we change him, burp him, swaddle him back up. This has taken its toll on my mental health, my relationship with Tyler, my whole life (and Jackson's, because he doesn't get good sleep and is frequently cranky!)

Several friends have suggested different books over the course of the 8 months, but I honestly thought that just doing our own thing was best for this family. But recently, in a moment of desperation, I updated my status on Facebook saying something about Jackson not sleeping. A long-time family friend messaged me and suggested a book called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I was desperate enough to finally read it, and it didn't hurt that her husband is a pediatrician (hey, honest here!). She assured me it had worked for both her kids, and that they are both good sleepers now. I quickly downloaded it to my Kindle and started reading.

So, blog world, I am going to try it, starting today. I have already put him down for a first nap following the advice of the book. It took 15 minutes of crying, but he went to sleep and slept for an hour and a half (a long time for my boy!). He is working on the second nap now - we'll see how it goes. And bedtime itself may be a whole new kettle of fish. I am just praying that God will give me wisdom on how to use this method to help my child, my family, and my marriage.