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Happy 10 months, Jackson Lane!

So many of my friends from high school are having babies. We all seemed to move, get married and have children within the same couple of years. I see them comment on Facebook, or what have you, and say, "I cannot believe my little baby is already 3 months old". Or, something similar. Then I'm thinking, "Holy cow! Jackson is 10 months old!" As of 2 days ago, our wonderful blessing has been with us for ten months. How is that even possible?!

I had a friend tell me that our conversations a year ago are much different then they are today. We mostly compare blow out diaper stories, complain to the other about sleepless nights and we share in each others joy of parenthood.

My advice to my friends who haven't had their baby yet. SLEEP. SLEEP. SLEEP. Jackson is wonderfully inconsistent with his sleep schedule. The one thing I do demand is his eating schedule stay the same no matter what. Yesterday, he took a 3 hour 45 minute nap. Um, he's NEVER done that, not even once in his life. Hey, I'm not complaining! I took an hour and a half nap myself & watched an entire show without interruption. What?! Anything longer than 45 minutes is a huge accomplishment around here.

We had his 9 month check up recently. He's just about 30 inches long and 22 pounds. He got more shots - poor baby. Luckily, Jonathon makes it to the appointments and is the brave one for the shots. Jackson doesn't mind the shot itself, he hates when the nurse holds his legs down.

He claps his hands for just about anything exciting. He also waves, but not on demand like the clapping. He picks and chooses which situation is appropriate for waving. He's absolutely developing 'stranger danger'. He used to be the friendliest boy, but now, he wants nothing to do with you if he doesn't know you. At the grocery store, he used to smile and laugh at every person who would talk to him - which was a lot! Now, if someone says hello, he grabs my arms and buries his head into my shoulder until they leave. I was painfully shy as a kid, and I grew out of it. Hopefully he will, too!

It's official! Jonathon put in his request for his follow on base. After Korea, he wants to move to Denver. I offered many times to go overseas, but Jonathon thinks that may be a better idea for later on. He'd really like to retire overseas so we get that little extra bonus. Sounds fun to me! Obviously nothing is a for sure thing - they could send us anywhere, but Denver (Aurora) would give him some great hunting areas nearby, which is what he was after. We also would like 4 distinct seasons, a city lower on crime and better schools. Plus, if we end up hating it, we can leave after 4 years.

Well it's just about nap time and I have to feed my boy!

July 2010

We hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! It's such a blessing to live with a hero, and to know so many who serve our country. Jonathon worked, so Jackson and I just hung out at home. He's been feeling pretty yucky the last couple weeks - not sick, but teething & even though there are different opinions on what teething brings, for Jackson it's not sleeping, crankiness, and loads of baby diarrhea. He has 5 teeth completely through and we're working on the other lateral incisor. I'm hoping it makes it's appearance soon because my baby needs a break from the icky symptoms.

Jackson's newest accomplishment is climbing the stairs - as in the whole case. He never had much of an interest, but a couple days ago he started up them and didn't stop until he was at the top. He celebrated on every stair & looked back at me (I was behind him) so proud. Now there is a gate up so that's the end of that. I'm waiting for the day he realizes there is a bathroom down here.

He's doing this new thing that scares me to death. At night, he rolls onto his tummy and puts his head face down into the mattress. I end up rolling him over, but sometimes he just goes back to his tummy. It's funny because up until this month, he NEVER would sleep on his stomach. He refused. Now it's one of his favorites.

J has a doctor appointment today, complete with shots. I'm sad! My poor baby doesn't even know what's coming. Luckily, Jonathon has never missed a doctor appointment and he's really good at handling these things. I'll post his stats later when I have them.

And so it is..

It hit me.
Jonathon is leaving.
A little late, right?
Is it horrible that I'm even tired of the word "Korea"?

There seems to be so much stuff to do. I'm not exactly sure how we acquired so many things.
Now I need to find boxes for these items. Sheesh.

This coming month, we need to focus on selling Jonathon's car. I'm hoping that is just an easy task and it goes quick and painless. It would be a huge check off of our "to do" list.

Jackson is going through some sort of 9 month sleep regression. Perhaps even a growth spurt. The child isn't sleeping. My poor husband was up all night with Jackson crying every 30 minutes. J sits up or stands up in his crib while he's still out of it and can't lay back down, resulting in waking him up. Now, Jon is back to work for the 3 day weekend and Jackson is back to being all mine at night. Yay.... I feel so bad for my little guy because obviously he isn't getting any sleep either. Then, he wants to wake up for the day at 6:30. I just walk in and tell him, "you know you're going back to sleep, right?". I take him downstairs and rock him. Sure enough, within 5 minutes, he's back to sleep. He puts himself to sleep beautifully at night. I wish he stayed asleep. This will pass, always has.

Jonathon is wanting to buy a house in Colorado. This scares me to no end. We've looked at houses several times and there are some beautiful choices, but the commitment is horrifying for me. Jonathon should have new orders before he leaves for Korea, and if they are in Colorado, I'll look at houses while he's gone I suppose. If they're somewhere else, then that process will need to wait until he's back.

On a bright note for me, Jonathon and I made a bet. The deal was the loser had to wear the other person's home state/college t shirt in their own home town. This was a bet that Jonathon lost. He now has the honor of sporting a CU hoodie while in Nebraska. Yes, I think it's hilarious. Yes, they are huge rivals and YES he would have made me do it if I had lost.

While Jonathon is gone, I'm going to try my hardest to stay busy. Besides joining the gym, or doing school, I'm hoping to make a trip to Arizona to see my favorite little cousins, Alex and Trevor. I'm also hoping to get some great pictures of my boy from my wonderful Aunt Michelle. Possibly in the summer, I'd like to take Jackson to Michigan since we couldn't go this year due to Jon's leave needing to be saved. Jonathon and I are also planning on taking Jackson to Sea World either on Jon's vacation or when he gets back for good. So, we have some fun things planned at least.

I realize this was such a pointless post, but I needed to kill 10 minutes before Jackson's nap (and he's busy playing with the kitty) and I guess I needed to put some of it in writing to make it a little more real.

And so the countdown begins...

Since I didn't address Memorial Day in the last post - Happy Memorial Day. Thank you to everyone who serves our country directly as active duty military and indirectly as the families behind them!

First off, my baby boy who was pulling himself up a few times a day into a standing position is now pulling himself up every single chance he gets. He'd be walking right now if he's just walk and not try to run. I was sitting in our cat napper - the recliner - watching Jackson crawl by the stairs. He's never had a fascination with them before, but I knew it was coming. And it did. He's actually pretty good considering. He got up a few before deciding to do something else.

I was told that at 9 months old, children do not understand the concept of "no". However, I think Jackson does. We've been working on the cat food issue for a few weeks. Since there isn't another place for it, Jackson just has to learn not to touch it. Every morning when he follows the cat to his bowls and tries to grab it, I say "no". Early on, I would go get him and walk him somewhere after. Now, I can see him going for it and say "no" and he backs off. It's pretty amazing really. What a genius baby we have!

Jonathon had his "pre op" for his eye surgery yesterday. Poor guy had to be there at 7:45 am. He switched his whole schedule for only one day, which is always hard to do. He came home exhausted, goofy, and he couldn't see. (They dilated his eyes) They should call him with his appointment time soon. He's so excited to not need glasses or contacts, but nervous that they're going to work on his sight.

Jonathon and I have started preparations for him leaving. After thinking about it, as much as I hate him leaving, I'm SO glad he's not going to Afghanistan or Iraq again. I worried so much while he was there, and his job was no easy task. At least in Korea, he'll have steady hours and it will work the same as stateside. I'm also thankful that he is desk sergeant qualified, and his flight chief has some contacts in Korea, and Jonathon could very well get a desk sergeant job there. He would be inside a building all day!! He's excited for that.

We've just planned that he'll take leave mid tour, or around Jackson's birthday, and we'd take a vacation somewhere. I guess that's all the news over here. I know it's not very exciting. Maybe as we get stuff packed and the ball rolling I'll have better news!

Keep on keepin on...

Another week, another post. Our big "win" this week is Jackson is officially pulling himself up to a standing position. He loves to pull him self up to the couch to grab the cat, or the remotes to the tv. I am SO glad our cat is so understanding. To date, we haven't had one incident with him getting angry with Jackson. We're teaching him to be gentle, but I think that process takes time. In the mean time, I love that our cat just lets Jackson pull on him, slap him, etc, without attacking my baby. Poor kitty!

Jackson really loves how much he's able to move around now. He's getting frustrated that he can't walk yet, but crawling will have to do. Our whole downstairs is baby proofed, minus the cat food and water. I love that he can crawl just about anywhere and I don't worry if he'll get hurt or get into something. Currently, he's not interested in the stairs or the bathroom...but those things will change and when they do we'll have to block those off.

Jonathon called me on Monday evening and told me he got orders to...wait for it............flippin Korea. I think I'm still shocked. I'm not sure it has hit either one of us yet - but I know currently Jonathon is very excited to get base of preference when he gets home. Jackson and I will no doubt move to Colorado so that I'm not completely alone here. Where and when is undecided, but it seems like the best option. I have lots of friends with kids near Jackson's age, and with all the family around, Jackson will have so much fun. Lots of people have said that we can visit Jonathon. I'm not sure if I'll attempt that flight with a baby - but I know he should at least get a break somewhere in there. If he's able to leave, it's a quick hop to Japan or China. I guess we'll see!

So, it's time to make a plan and figure things out. It's time to jump on board with this crazy idea and make it work. I'm going to look into Skype so that Jonathon and Jackson can say their goodnights and goodmornings. I'm going to load up on paper so we can write him letters. I'll make friends with the Fort Collins post office again since I'll be back in there 2x a month sending packages. I'll make sure I have the right phone cards to send. I'll make sure to send him videos of Jackson's "newest" thing.

Jonathon and I have done this before and we can do it again. We appreciate all the support we've gotten and prayers offered! This is our newest adventure.

Kind of late...

A little late, huh? Sorry about my lack of writing. It seems like Jonathon and I have been so busy lately. We'll hit some highlights:

* Jackson went from "Army crawling" to a true crawl, on his hands and knees, TODAY, May 23. I cried. Jon made fun of me.

* He's pulling himself up to the third shelf of our tv stand. He thinks it's hilarious while I have a heart attack.

* The Joint Base Andrews Air Show was a blast! Jonathon worked, so I went with friends and my baby boy. We did meet up with Jackson's dad on the way home. I got an awesome sunburn. Jackson slept through the F-22's because I got him shooting range ear protection. Thank you Dick's Sporting Goods for making my afternoon tear free for my boy.

* My sister, Melanie, is doing awesome in New York with her Christian program. It's a lot of fun writing to her and building that relationship.

* I learned how to make chicken and dumplings. I have always loved when my parents made it, and I finally attempted it on my own. Jonathon ate 2 helpings.

* Congratulations to my cousin, Justin and his wife, Melanie, for becoming parents today! (May 23, 2010) His name is Brian Daniel, after her brother and his brother. He was 6lbs - which is so cute to me because I don't think Jackson weighed that in my 9th month at all. I can't wait to meet him!

* We looked into plane tickets to the Midwest to visit families. WHOA summer prices. Normally the money isn't a huge factor, but apparently going to Nebraska or Colorado costs the same as a California or Las Vegas vacation. What is that?

* I'm already looking into photographers to do J's 1 year photos. I found a few great ones, but I wish I lived closer to Aunt Michelle because she's the best. Such is life. I'll have to find a second best. I can't believe it's time to schedule that! (For an August shoot) I'm hoping to use one of the photos for his birthday invitations. We're also hoping Jonathon can get leave so that we can have a midwest cowboy birthday. If not, no big deal. We'll have fun here, too!

* It was so nice having my mom here as an unexpected surprise. I'm so glad that God blessed my sister with such an amazing opportunity and that I got a couple days with my mom before she had to go back to the kiddos. It was such a short few days, but I'm glad she got to rest up a bit before hitting the road for the 25 hour drive.

* Emilie is done with school! Matthew is done this week. It's so odd not to be there for their summer breaks. I'm so used to hanging out with them. From my understanding, they have great grades and Matt is ready for high school and Em is ready for middle school!! What happened to my LITTLE brother and sister?

* Andrew, Jonathon's little brother - who isn't so little - went to his first prom this year. I'm even shocked by this considering I met him four years ago. Time flies! The pictures of him looked great!

* Due to way too many emails to answer, Facebook is back. Add me as a friend, my account is reactivated. I miss my friends & it's nice to keep up!