Tsk, Tsk, Tsk...

Well it has been ages since I have gotten on here. I have a lot to catch up on and I think that is what has kept me away. I am going to just start fresh...at present day. I will (hopefully) go back and do blasts from the past that I have left out. So much has happened since Girls Camp Out and Jackson getting teeth. He is running, climbing, kissing, hugging, copying everything...oh and did I mention throwing tantrums in church, kicking, pushing buttons on the remote control and changing things on the tv that, quite frankly, I don't know how to fix. The joys of motherhood. If he wasn't such a stinker at times I wouldn't be so incredibly tickled when he is my oh so sweet cuddle bug.

We are still in Texas, we have moved into an apartment, and we are planning on moving back to a house..haha. We have had another pregnancy which was a blessing and a terrible heartbreak as well. She, yes I said she, was our first little girl and she is living with Heavenly Father these days. She made it 20.5 weeks into the pregnancy and her little body just couldn't keep up. We feel extremely blessed to have given our little Ruthie Jean a body and a vessel so that she could return safely to Heavenly Father. I am thankful and also sad that she has left and will never have to face this crazy, scary, wonderful world. We know that we will see her again someday and we will miss her dearly every day until then.

Christmas is just around the corner. We have been blessed to have been able to spend this past Thanksgiving in Washington. We sadly got food poisoning a few days before Thanksgiving so we weren't able to make it to the family dinner. We wish we could have seen much more of the family but are glad we got to spend so much time with the family we did see.

We are going to Az for Christmas and then this New Year I am making huge changes in my life. Hopefully when I get it all figured out, Heavenly Father will bless us with another little one. Fingers crossed.

Until I get a chance to get back to the blog, between loads of laundry and dancing to Christmas music with Jackson...I hope you are all in good health and enjoying this wonderful time of year. I know I am trying to grow closer to Heavenly Father and trying to show him how thankful I am that he gave us his only Son, Jesus Christ, so that we will live again. I hope many of you are doing the same. Take care.

Girl's Campout

May 7th and 8th my stake was having a Girl's Campout from ages 1-100. It was soo much fun. I am kind of new to my ward so I didn't really know anyone to go with and I decided to call one of my really good friends and ask her if she would like to go with me and to bring her two girls. It was soo much fun. This is a picture of our campsite. There was a tent right next to us and we were the only ones with a fire nearby so a bunch of people came on over to share our fire. We had a blast.

This is Crystal my awesome friend. We were being attacked by bugs and she had just done a dance to get one off of her. Hilarious!!! Wish I had a video camera for that one.

Okay ya'll this is the best kept secret of camping. You take a banana and cut a strip of the peel back but not off. Then you cut a 1/2 inch wide strip the length of the banana. It needs to be about a 1/2 inch deep as well. Then you put mini marshmellows in it and chocolate chips. Wrap it in aluminum foil and place it by but not on the fire. When the marshmellows are gooey and the chocolate is melted it is done!!! Why didn't I know about this one sooner...beats the crap out of a smore!!!

This was the day we got to camp. Everyone was out swimming in no time. We set up our tent and then went down to the river. The water was pretty cold at first but you warm up quickly. Sooo much fun.

Just another shot of the river.

Now I can't end this entry without a very enthusiastic thank you to my husband. He watched Jackson that night so that I could go to the campout and not have any worries...besides the bugs. It was awesome, althought I missed them both like crazy. I love him so much. He is such a considerate, helpful, hands-on Dad. Couldn't have snagged a better man.

Mother's Day!!!

My first Mother's Day was a nice one. Steven got me P90X which I had been dying to get. I loved the gift. So two days ago I started it. (It arrived a week after MD.) All I have got to say is that on day 2 I am barely moving from the tenderness of every muscle in my body. I am going to keep it up though...especially after taking and analyzing my before pictures. You may be feeling like it can't be that bad. Trust me....it is. There is a heifer living in a file on my computer. That heifer is going to stay there and never ever resurface in the real world again!!!

Teeth!!!

Jacks has teeth!!! They may be small but they are definately there. It's kind of sad that there will be no more toothless smiles, but it is fun to watch him grow!! The first one came in on May 2nd and the second came in the day after Mother's Day. The day before Mother's Day he also said his first word...as it would have been awesome for it to me 'Mama' I was just excited he said one. The notorious first word...Dada. We both got a special treat. While my Dad was in town he said his second word...Mama. Aww a boy after my own heart!!! He only said it twice that day and when I tried to get him to repeat it by saying," Can you say mama. Maaa maaa." in the sweetest voice I could muster, he said Dada. Dada. Dada. So I gave up and was just happy that he finally said it. lol. Steven, all the while, lovin' that he was chanting his name.

9 Months Old...Already?!?

Our little man is 9 1/2 months old. I never would have thought it would have gone by so incredibly fast! He is a mover that is for sure. Very soon after he was crawling he was pulling himself up and walking along the furniture. He is such a joy and I feel incredibly blessed to have a husband who works so extremely hard to provide for us, and he works so hard to allow me to raise our son as a stay at home mother.

How do you not love that little face...seriously?Walking along the toy box and just chatting away. We have some crazy baby talk conversations...that is for sure.

He recently had a visit from Boppa, boy does he love him. They had a great time playing peek a boo and Jacks loved getting tickled by my dad.

Smiley boy

He loves to stick that tongue out.

Blogging

So I am sorry to all of you, I have been horrible about blogging. Now that Jackson sleeps in his crib I have more spare time at night. So hopefully this won't happen again. I posted this after I caught up because I didn't want to apologize and then not catch everyone up. lol. So now that I have, I hope you enjoy looking back at our past few months. I hope to keep this up and keep everyone updated on Jackson's new discoveries and our successes. Take care. XOXO

I've got a headache!!

This post is mainly for my mom, sister, and brother. So when I was little my brother and sister used to rub their heads while saying," I've got a headache." They would do this only at dinner time when my hands where really messy. I would mock them with mashed potatoes or whatever else I had everywhere and I would say," I ya yah ya yah." My mom would get sooo ticked! Well, I tried to get my sister's oldest to do it. It didn't ever really catch on but she would always get really stern with me and say,"Just wait til you have kids I am going to make it so much worse!!" When we moved to Texas I believe I brought that up and laughed at her because there was no way she was going to be able to teach Jackson that. I must have intuitively genetically passed this on to him. Because without prompting he rubs his hands through his hair and all over his face. Pay back sucks.

This one just speaks for itself.

SADDEST PICTURE OF MY LIFE.

Poor little man. This was Monday night, the first night in his crib. Well, not the first but the first time we made him stay there all night. He cried and cried and I cried and cried. I think Steven may have cried a little too. I keep hearing that it needs to be done sooner than later. So after 20 minutes of screams he went silent and about a half hour later we went in there and this is how we found him. My heart breaks looking at this. It is now day 4 and he cried for about 10 minutes. The crazy thing is that he seems happier in the mornings (if that is possible) and I know I am feeling more and more refreshed every morning I actually have a pillow.

8 months old!!!

That face should be a crime. By the way everyone, Jackson began crawling 2 days into being 7 months old and now he tries to climb everything. He walks along furniture...in no time he is going to be running. Which is kind of sad but kind of exciting as well. He has been teething and poor guy has been so sensitive lately. One tooth is popping through. You can't really see it yet but when he chomps on your nailbed you sure know it is there!

I love this one. He looks so innocent with those big blue eyes.
I don't know why but does every kid love the bathroom? If that door is not closed you can guarantee that is where Jackson is.

Aw I love my boys! Jackson and Dad, Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday sporting his linen jacket (which I couldn't resist and love!!) Steve hates it.

Bathtime....with DAD!!! The funnest bathtime for Jackson. Not only does he get bubbles but he gets a partner in crime. My floor in my bathroom is a pool after these two get out!!

Dad and Jackson splishin' and a splashin'

Jackson has discovered standing in the bathtub. I have to hold him down or else he is up. I feel like he is going to bust his butt any day now. I try to stop him but he has will power!! Let's just say bathtime is a lot shorter these days.

Handsome Devil!

April Trip to AZ

We were lucky enough to be able to fly back to Arizona for a week. It was nice to see all the family on my Dad's side. My cousin who is an awesome guy got married to the sweetest girl and they just found out the are pregnant!! It was so much fun. A lot of the family hadn't met Jackson yet and they all said they couldn't believe how big he is already. I can't believe that in just a few months he will be a year old. Where did the time go?

Thisis little man enjoying the reception at the wedding
I absolutely love this rocking chair. For as long as I can remember I have loved it. I believe it was my Grandma Wishart's chair and it seems like all of the grandkids love that thing. It was literally one of the first things Jackson had to climb up on.

Nani and J man rocking away.

Steve passed out after getting up at 4 in the morning
(2am AZ time)

Nani reading Jackson a book. It was soo much fun to go home and visit. It is so hard to say goodbye. As long as I don't talk when we say goodbye I can hold back the tears. As soon as I open my mouth the flood gates turn on. Oh Arizona how we will miss you. Til we meet again.

Flight to Arizona

This is Jackson's third time on an airplane but sadly only the first time I caught it on camera. He loves to fly and he is such a good baby. He only cried when he was hungry, and it was short lived. So here are two pictures to show our sweet boy and his scruffy but sweet Daddy.

Easter in Texas

One thing is for sure. Texas is beautiful in the Spring. There is no editing on the blue bells. They are so pretty. They grow wild on the side of the road everywhere!!! We had a really low key Easter this year. We celebrated with just the 3 of us. It was nice. A few days later we put Jackson in his Easter outfit and drove down the road to one of the thousands of blue bell patches and snapped a few pictures. I loved the old fence in the background with the all the growth up the stakes. Here are a few of the pictures we took of Jackson

Random 6-7 month pictures

Cutie!
He loves to swing like a monkey.

Jackson and Dad hanging out before church

Jackson at the park for the first time. He wasn't sure what to think of the grass between his toes.

He looks so old here!! He is 7 months here.

He looks so tiny here and he is only a month younger

The only thing Jackson likes more than bathtime is being naked after bathtime.

Little Stinker plotting his next move.

Jackson and I just hangin out.