Time flies!

I cannot believe how fast my little man is growing! He will already be 8 weeks old on Monday.. wow how time flies!! It has been so much fun watching him change and grow from week to week. He can already hold his head up, roll to his side, and grab on to things! The other day he yanked out his pacifier with his hands and held it. This week he was so hungry that he literally grabbed the bottle and held it by his self! He couldn't hold it for very long because it was too heavy, but I managed to get some pictures in before it started to fall! We also started putting him in his crib at night and he has done so well with it! I have enjoyed being home with him so much.. getting to snuggle with him all day, reading to him, listening to his sweet coos, and watching him smile. Tuesday is going to be one of the hardest days. It will be Jackson's first day of daycare and my first day back to work. Thank God my first week back is a short week! It is MLK Holiday on Monday and teacher work day on Tuesday so that leaves me with 3 days with my students. I thought it would be best to ease myself back into it. I just hope I can concentrate on teaching when I am there because I know my heart will be aching and my mind will be thinking of Jackson! Already counting down to Spring Break!! Here are some recent pictures of my big boy..

Thankful

We were happy Jackson was here just in time for Thanksgiving! We definitely had a lot to be thankful for... Thankful that although it was a tough labor, everything came out okay in the end. Thankful for such amazing friends and family. Jackson had so many people at the hospital waiting for his arrival. Everyone was so supportive and willing to help us out with anything we needed. He is definitely loved by many! Thankful that Uncle Jon was able to fly in from Arizona and spend time with his nephew/Godson. We can't wait for him to return!! Thankful that my family from Florida was able to be here for a whole week. We really enjoyed having them here and we already miss them so much! Thankful that my mom was able to take 2 weeks off to stay with us and help us out. We couldn't be more appreciative. The most important thing that we are thankful for is that God blessed us with a healthy, beautiful baby boy. Jack and I have spent many years talking about having a baby and wondering what he or she was going to be like. Our prayers were definitely answered because Jackson is everything we wished for and more.

Jackson Cade

The day we had been waiting for had finally arrived... it was time to prepare for the birth of our baby boy! Jack and I spent the day getting prepared. We cleaned the entire house, did last minute touches to his nursery, packed our bags, picked out his going home outfit, and put his things in his diaper bag.



I checked in the hospital on November 20th at 8 p.m. to begin my induction. Although his due date was just 5 days away, my doctor wanted to go ahead and begin the process due to my high blood pressure. My contractions began at 8 o'clock the next morning. At first they just felt like menstrual cramps, but the pain slowly got worse so I asked for an epidural. Before I explain anything else, let me just say that my body is very sensitive to any pain medicine so I was very nervous about getting an epidural. The anesthesiologist was supposed to give me 10 cc and he accidentally gave me 100 cc which they didn't realize until I was nauseous and numb from the shoulders down! About 2 hours later, I was feeling much better.



Once I was dilated enough, I was able to begin pushing. I pushed for over an hour and we weren't making any progress. His head was faced up and it needed to be faced down. My doctor decided we needed to do a c-section. This was very scary for me because I was not expecting to do that. Jack and my mom had to get scrubs on and they rolled me into a very bright operating room.



So after a long day of labor, my handsome baby was finally here at 8:45 p.m. on November 21, 2011 weighing 7.12 pounds and 20 inches long. I have never felt the kind of love I feel for him! He is absolutely perfect from head to toe and I could literally spend my day just staring at him.

7 Months!

I'm entering into my 3rd trimester now! My belly seems to get bigger by the day and little Jackson seems to being having a blast in there because he is always moving around! It is crazy how much you can already love someone that you haven't met. I can't wait for him to make his debut :)

Blessing in Disguise

New year. New school. New grade.

Unfortunately, I was a part of the DISD budget cut MESS because I was the last one hired at my school. I thought my life was over when I received a phone call that I was being "let go" from my current position. All I could think of was "BABY ON THE WAY.. HOUSE BEING BUILT!" We can not afford all of this on one salary. But thankfully.. God was definitely looking down on me because I received another job a few hours after being let go. Talk about an emotional roller coaster! I now look at my lay off as a blessing in disguise. I am teaching a grade I have always been interested in, 2nd Grade, and I am teaching my favorite subject, Language Arts! Although I am going to miss seeing my old kiddos and co-workers at Peabody, I am very eager and excited about working at Botello Elementary! My classroom is still a work in progess, but here are some pictures of what I've done so far!


This is my bulletin board in the hallway. I am going to write the student's names on the stars once I get them.


This is the view looking in from my door.


This is the front of my room where I will do my whole group.


Here is my calendar board.


Here are my lockers.


This is my computer area. I plan to put up student work on the bulletin board.


This is the view from the computers.


This is my Daily 5 board.


This is my literacy/reading area.

And thats all I have for now! :)

6 Months

The baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Our little firefighter

I am in love with all the cute firefighter onesies we have gotten so far! I just have to share them! My mom bought us these two...




and Jon and Brit bought us this one when they went to New York...



Jackson will definitely be decked out in firefighter gear! Can't wait to start on his firefighter nursery :)