Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - #20

Up:

• I went to pick up Jackson from Mother's Day Out this week and he was asleep in the corner. My child who wakes up at the drop of a hat at home, was asleep while everyone else was picking up their children and making lots of noise. It was a break through!
• Mike and I were able to have a night out at the squadron Christmas party without the kids! They survived just fine despite all my worst fears and we had a great time too! We might actually be able to go out on an occasional date now without me freaking out!
• We celebrated our Christmas yesterday because it was Mike's only day off before we travel back home before Christmas. Jackson wasn't really into opening the presents, but he sure has enjoyed playing with them. We now need a bigger house to accommodate all these new toys! Kennedy slept through everything, so I guess she was happy too! Then Mike cooked us a fabulous meal of prime rib and twice baked potatoes!
• Kennedy turned 2 months old yesterday! She is up to 11lbs. 7oz. and 23 inches. My little precious is growing so quickly!

Down:

• As mentioned above, we are busting at the seams in this house. I really am so ready to move. To be honest I have had the itch to move since Mike left for the deployment. We still have at a minimum one year here. I'm trying not to complain and enjoy our time here, but if you know me, clutter is not something I do. I'm pretty OCD when it comes to organization, but there is only so much I can organize when there is no space.
• Kennedy is having issues with constipation. I'm sure this is TMI for most of you, but this is a significant 'down' in our lives right now. The doctor gave her Lactulose and he thinks she may have to be on it until she starts on baby food. I want her to be pain free, but I just wish her body could regulate all of this on it's own. We'll see how it goes.

Jackson's new easel from Santa! He was more interested in the Mickey Puzzle!

Santa used our play pass to get Mike, Jackson and I bowling balls and shoes. It hasn't all come in yet, but they custom cut the holes to fit your finger and everything! The play pass was given to all deployed families and Mike already used part of it to get a set of golf clubs. It has been very generous for us!

Had to set the ambiance with our 'fireplace'. Kennedy is awake here, but not for long!

The tree and presents!

Daddy showing Jackson how to use the new rug with his Mickey cars!

The disaster that was our home after opening presents.

Mike and I at the squadron Christmas party. It was a lot of fun and great food!

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - #19

Up:

• Christmas Shopping is FINISHED!! Yea! Mike and I got the last of the gifts this weekend, now all that's left is to pack and go back to Texas! Can you tell I'm ready and excited to see family and have a vacation?!
• Kennedy has been doing really well on soy based formula and her colic doesn't seem as bad. 

Jackson is such a great big brother!

• Jackson has been sleeping in his 'big bed' for a while now, but still napping in the crib. Now that we won't be having house guests for a while, we started letting him nap in the bed too. It's worked out great! He acts likes he's been napping there this whole time. 

Down:

• Jackson has started just randomly screaming for no reason. He has this awful high pitched scream and it is so embarrassing. We tried to have a nice meal at Olive Garden on Saturday and he was awful, the kind of kid everyone dreads having in a restaurant.
• After Jackson's last haircut, Mike said he would be able to cut JP's hair just as well as the barber and it would be free. Well it was time for another haircut, so Mike got his clippers out and gave Jackson a buzz - a buzz! My poor child that took forever to grow hair now has a buzz cut just before Christmas pictures. Can you sense the sarcasm in my voice?!

Jackson - not enjoying the new haircut!

Jackson and Daddy watching the Holiday Parade on Friday. Jackson was not a fan of all the sirens, but the candy seemed to make everything better.

Mike and Jackson enjoying some Topsy's popcorn. Mike's parents always give us a tin for Christmas just like Pope did for them.

Kennedy's Nursery

Many people have asked to see pics of Kennedy's nursery, so here goes. Decorating Kennedy's nursery was somewhat cathartic for me while Mike was gone. I would get started on one project which would lead to another and another. When it was Jackson's room it was Pottery Barn Dr. Seuss. I tried to keep a lot of the red that was already in the room and just add the black and white to it. I am very happy with the results. Let me know what you think.

This is the inspiration for the entire nursery. While I was staying with Mom & Dad, I took my first quilting class in May and made this! I like using the red and black, but with a bunch of different fabrics!

These bumpers were a beast. I sewed them from a pattern which was designed to fit a crib that is open on all sides. Of course, I didn't discover that until I was completely finished. I ended up having to shorten 4 of the 6 panels to get it to fit correctly, but I love the cute little flowers! 

This diaper stacker pattern came from this blog which is where a lot of my ideas came from. The flower hook from Hobby Lobby matched perfectly!

I purchased red gingham curtains to match the bed skirt that we already had. I would have attempted curtains, but around here you need blackout curtains for the summer and it was actually cheaper just to buy them. The curtain tie back came from the same pattern as the bumper pads. 

This little bag has all of Kennedy's headbands in it!

Boppy Pillow cover from pattern.

Another blog idea that was originally for a wipes container, but I thought it would work for a wipes warmer too!

Carseat Canopy which was another blog idea. I opted not to put in the peek a boo window. 

This just shows you the contrasting fabric underneath the canopy as well as the new strap covers I made to match. 

I made a matching diaper/wipes bag from a pattern book I have.

Here I covered the back of the shelves with a horizontal red, black, and white striped fabric and recovered the lamp shade with embellishments. Obviously I need to get pictures for the frames, but that will have to wait until after Kennedy's arrival. The diaper cake was from my baby shower and the tote on the bottom has all of Kennedy's 'baby friendly' toys; I decided to separate them out from Jackson's toys!

This just shows the growth chart, also from a blog. I made one just like it for Jackson's room too.

I have a feeling this Bow Hanger will fill up fast. I just put this together based on ideas I'd seen on etsy.

These beautiful letters were painted by my cousin's wife, Shenee. She is so talented and they turned out so much better than I'd imagined. She matched each alternating letter to the crib/quilt fabric perfectly! Originally I wanted the letters to hang over the crib, but they were too big since she has such a long name. I needed to fill up this blank wall anyway, so I hung them here and put the wall decal chandelier above the crib.

This is Kennedy's dresser/changing table. The Changing pad cover was a gift from my sister-in-law, Laura, but she makes and sells them on her online store if you want one for yourself!

This is just a covered cork board bulletin board inside a fun frame.

This is the canopy above Kennedy's crib. She also has a wall decal chandelier hanging from the center of the canopy. I would say she is a little princess - wouldn't you?!

That is all! I hope she likes red & black! For now she is still in the cradle in our room, but it won't be long and we'll move her over to her very own room.

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - #18

Up:

• Pinkie stayed on a few days after Mike left for TDY and Pa came into town too. It was so great to have help with the kids and decorating for Christmas. They also helped me get the kids picture taken for the holidays. Here are some of the really good shots:

• Kennedy is waking up only once in the night to eat which gives me a LOT more rest! She is already getting so big and giving great smiles!

Down:

• After much denial, Kennedy has colic. She literally fits every symptom. I guess I didn't want to think that could ever happen to me/my children, but here we are. I will say that we switched her to a new (much more expensive) formula for colic and it has made a world of difference. She isn't in pain any more and really her fussy time only lasts ~30 minutes now. As long as you hold her and walk around during that time she is perfectly fine! Hopefully this won't last long and she can go back to regular formula soon.
• Jackson has been in time out more than he's been out of it this week. I know that it is mostly due to being cooped up indoors since it's so cold outside. He can't run off his energy so he uses it to get into mischief. Can't wait for Daddy to get back home and help him run off that energy!

Pics of the week:

The presentation of the $1000 check for having the first granddaughter! Happy College Fund Kennedy!  

Kennedy cuddling with Pa!

Jackson helping Pinkie play the piano. She was reminiscing about Suzy Snowflake and playing the song on the piano!

This is how Kennedy felt about Pinkie & Pa leaving town!

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - #17

I guess during the holidays you can just expect all my posts to be belated!

Up:

• Thanksgiving was a great time! Mike's Mom (Pinkie) came into town and is staying through the 1st and Mike's brother Pat was also here for the holiday weekend. Mike smoked a turkey breast and it was YUMMY! Our friends Heather and Brent Warren also came for dinner and brought potatoes and stuffing, so all I had to make was Green Bean Casserole, Broccoli & Rice Casserole and the pies. It was a essentially stress free getting everything ready for the meal.
• Shopping! Pinkie and I decided to brave the shopping on Black Friday. We didn't do the crazy stay up all night specials, we just went into town in the afternoon. It was a mistake to go into Boise, but the outlet mall wasn't busy at all and had tons of great deals. Jackson and Kennedy's Christmas gifts are totally taken care of and I was able to get some good deals on clothes for me too!
• I absolutely love decorating for Christmas! It's great having Pinkie here to help decorate and to help with the kids so I can actually get some stuff accomplished. We had my DVD fireplace going, the Christmas tree candle burning, and of course the holiday music playing while we decorated. Jackson woke up from his nap to find the Christmas tree and he LOVED it! He's been singing Jingle Bells and saying, "HoHoHo....Merry Christmas!"

Down:

• Mike left this morning for a two week TDY. This is the first time he's been away from home since he returned from the deployment. I'm already super depressed that he isn't here and hope Jackson doesn't go crazy without Daddy here.
• Christmas is less than a month away and my shopping is only half way complete. I have so much to do, but seriously NO ideas for certain family members this year. I think it gets harder and harder to think of great gift ideas each year. 

Pics from the week:

Mike and Pat braved the extreme cold to go golfing. Pat beat Mike - definitely one for the record books!

Kennedy getting ready for her Black Friday shopping trip!

Pinkie & Pa gave Jackson the Little People Nativity. Apparently he's altered the Christmas story to include cars and trucks!

Pinkie with the kids!

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - #16

I did it again! Really needing sleep this week though!

Up:

• My baby girl turned one month old on Saturday! Though she wasn't super cooperative during her pictures, she is usually a very good baby. Kennedy is still very newborn in that she continues to sleep most of the time. I know I shouldn't be in a hurry for her to grow up, but I can't wait to interact with her and learn her unique personality traits. 

• I am now down to only 10 pounds to lose until I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight (more than that to be at my 'desirable' weight). These holidays are falling at the complete wrong time though. I doubt I'll get there by Christmas, but if I could at least wear some of my old clothes that would be a plus.
• Jackson has always had a really large vocabulary and annunciates words very well. He's been combining two words together more and more which my Mom (a speech therapist) will tell you is a two year old trait! His favorite combos this week were, "Go Tech" and "Daddy Home!" What I am most proud of though is that he now says thank you all the time without being prompted. It is a great feeling knowing that despite some of his recent behavior, he is learning some good manners! He still has to be prompted with please, but I'll take what I can get.

Down:

  Usually I have a hard time coming up with downs or I don't have very many, but this week is a different story. As they say, "when it rains, it pours."

• Jackson has been sick with a virus since Tuesday and had a fever of 103.8 when I took him to the pediatrician. Poor fella was NOT feeling good and it showed. The doctor just said that it was a virus and to treat the fever with Advil and Tylenol. No sore throat or ear infection and lungs were clear; just a runny nose and very high fever. Thankfully Kennedy cooperated in letting me take care of JP and giving him more TLC than normal. Jackson is much better now, just congested.
• Mike's work schedule was awful this past week. Every day he'd tell me when he would be home, but show up 2-3 hours later due to things that 'came up' as the day went on. Plus he had to go into work this weekend too. It wouldn't have been so bad, but taking care of a sick toddler and a newborn is hard to do. I just didn't have enough hands to meet everyone's needs when they needed to be met. There was a span of 45 minutes where both children were screaming and crying hysterically. We managed to make it through though!
• Sickness aside, Jackson has been very defiant recently. He specifically does things you tell him not to do, he's been throwing tantrums, and his behavior in Mass has been downright embarrassing. As of yesterday, we are cracking down and sternly enforcing 'time-out'. Hopefully that will get his attention. The terrible two's have definitely set in!

Jackson sharing some sugar with Kennedy!

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - #15

Well it was bound to happen sooner or later! I missed posting on Sunday; I chose sleep instead and I'm pretty sure you would have done the same if you were in my shoes :)

Up:

• Finally we join the smart phone revolution! I've been trying to convince Mike for months to get me a smart phone. His reply is always no: too expensive, monthly plan doubles, you have a computer at home and a camera that you can carry in your purse, and so on. Of course we are also talking about a guy that didn't get his first cell phone until after he graduated college. So, when he asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I said - a smart phone - and he agreed! On Friday not only did I get an iphone, but Mike did as well! He claims it is because it was only $10 more per month, but judging by the amount of time he has spent on the phone since Friday, I think otherwise! Feel free to text, call, send pictures, etc. because I now have unlimited everything!
• Veterans Day - It was so great having Mike with us for an extra day this weekend and we had a great time in Boise taking advantage of all the sales and deals. We are so proud of him and all those that have and are serving our country.

Down:

All in all it has really been a good week, not much to complain about. There is the 'to be expected' lack of sleep, but that could be on my list of downs for awhile!

• If I had to pick down for the week it would be Texas Tech's devastating loss to Oklahoma State. It was pretty obvious that Tech wasn't going to be fabulous this year, but their performance the past three weeks (especially this weekend) was below all expectations. Mike, who is seriously the most die hard football fan you will ever meet, is contemplating boycotting the rest of the season and that is BIG. Hopefully they'll pull it together and at least put up a fight in the remaining games.

I didn't take too many pics this week, but here is my beautiful daughter before Mass on Sunday:

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - #14

Up:

• Jackson had a blast with Halloween this year! He dressed up as a pumpkin (my nephew, Carson's old costume). MiMi had given him some Halloween books, so we studied up on pumpkins and trick or treating. I think he had a great time going around the neighborhood with Daddy and he has definitely enjoyed eating his candy. We can't get him to eat actual food, but when it comes to candy, he'll try it all! Kennedy and I stayed at the house and handed out candy, she dressed up as a ladybug!

My little pumpkin and ladybug! 

Jackson checking out his costume in the mirror - he had to wave at himself of course!

Off to get some treats!

Kennedy and I getting ready to hand out candy.

Prettiest little ladybug!

Jackson and Daddy carving a pumpkin.

• Kennedy had a great two week check-up on Thursday! She is already up to 8 lbs. 9 oz. and still growing! She loves to cuddle and curls up like a little frog on your chest. She is rarely fussy and sleeps well. All in all she is a wonderful baby!
• Breastfeeding is successfully OVER! After following all the weird remedies, I am completely finished and it feels great. My hats off to all ladies who are successful breastfeeders; you truly have a gift and I admire you all!

Down:

• The wind in Mountain Home is insane. All you West Texans may think I'm crazy for saying winds could be worse than back home, but it's true. The only difference is there isn't any dust blowing here. With the colder temperatures and high winds, we are confined to the indoors which means Jackson has way more energy than he should!
• Jackson has decided to be an 'empathy crier' now. Anytime Kennedy is upset or crying, Jackson feels the need to cry too. I really hope this phase doesn't last long. We've just been telling him that he is not a baby and he doesn't have any reason to cry. It's not just with Kennedy either, he was a mess in church today because the little girls behind us were fussing, so of course he had to join in with them.

Jackson sporting his new TTU cap from Pinkie - too bad it didn't help Tech pull off a win or even a decent game for that matter. He sure looks cute in his Tech gear anyway!