Mo Is Growing Fast!

Where is time sneeking off to?

We have had an exciting summer:

We were blessed with a beautiful home that we can see ourselves growing old in (though you never know what the future holds!).

We have watched as our two precious little boys grow and change each day.

We have made some new friends and have gotten back in touch with some old ones.

We are constantly reminded of how blessed we are to have such loving, supportive parents and grandparents holding us up on every side.

Travis and I have been growing in God's grace, learning what it means to train our children in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord." May He continue to teach us, and may we continue to turn to Him for forgiveness in our failures!

Here is a long over-due update on our littlest blessing, Morgan Jackson. What joy he brings us EVERY DAY!

I just don't even know what to say about this... it's cute.

"You really think I'm going to let you take a picture of my tooth?" I really think that is what he was saying here. But...

I got one! It's a bit out of focus and it took about 20 trys, but here it is! His 1st tooth!

I've been opening up the house early in the a.m. It's been beautiful!

Infant spelunking

More infant spelunkingPlaying peek-a-boo!
Look what Morgan can do!
He loves to eat bananas!

He gets himself up here and then he can't get down. Poor thing.

Mother's Day

Travis treated me to a wonderful Mother's Day surprise (though I ended up finding out about both of them - unintentionally, mind you!).

First, we went to see Babies, a documentary that showed the lives of 4 babies from 4 different parts of the world - San Francisco, Tokyo, Mongolia, and Zimbabwe. It was so neat! My mother-in-law and Malachi and Morgan all joined us. Malachi really liked the movie - it had a lot of animals in it and he would say, "Wow! That's a cow! Moooo," and the people in the theater thought he was pretty funny!

Then, Granny took Malachi home and Trav, Mo and I went to the Top of the World restaurant at the Stratosphere. It was beautiful! Morgan slept through most of dinner, which was great!

Thank you, Baby, for a special day!

Date Night

Travis took me (and Morgan) out on a date on Sunday. We went to see the Nutcracker Ballet performed by the Anaheim Ballet Co. in Laughlin. Taking a newborn to a ballet may seem crazy to some, but actually, at that age, they are perfect for taking out to movies and plays - they sleep A LOT and when they aren't sleeping, they love to nurse! So they can be kept very quiet. He actually was awake for quite a bit of the play and he was apparently fascinated by the lights and colors (he was awake during part of the candy land scene).

After the ballet we went out for my favorite - sushi! Notice I didn't say "our favorite". Travis doesn't care for sushi at all, so it's a special treat to go out for some! Eating out with a baby is a bit more challenging, but very do-able. I managed to (discreetly) nurse and use chopsticks simultaneously. I'm getting pretty good at this mom thing! :)

Malachi stayed with Grammy and Papa John, Trent and Darrell. Papa, Trent and Malachi made sugar cookies with sprinckles. Thanks for babysitting! Taking a one-year-old to a play is quite another story!

(Sorry the pictures are out of order!)

"Is that a mushroom?"

Getting Back into Our Groove

Well, we are back home! The routines have definately changed. We are enjoying our new snuggly boy. Malachi likes him... usually. He does NOT like sharing my lap!

Today was Travis's first day back at work, and the boys and I survived! Morgan does well sitting in his vibrating bouncy seat while I shower. I think he likes the sound of the water - Malachi was the same way! Everything went pretty smoothly. Thank you, Lord!

Here are some pictures of our first week with the new baby.

This little crib was bought second-hand by my great-grandma Dea (Morgan's great-great grandma!). She used it for her children, and it's been used by each following generation. I use it all day long!

Malachi had a new fetish - socks on the hands. I really need to get him some mittens so he stops stretching out the baby's socks!

He likes gloves, too!

He helped his daddy clean out the garage. He needed help off the step ladder.

Update

Just wanted to post an update! Malachi and I are currently in Las Vegas for the duration of my pregnancy. My midwife had some complications with back surgery and it was questionable whether she could (or should) make the drive to AZ.

So, we are going to have the baby at my in-law's house. We have the birth tub here, ready to be set up, and I brought so much other stuff, it's rediculous! But it feels good to be prepared! We've been hanging out here with my mom-in-law, Sheila. Made a trip to the mall, a visit with Meme and Pepe and Aunt Pam, couple trips to the library. Lots of down-time to just relax and getting some time to read. So thankful for Sheila - she is a great friend and has been so good to me!

We really miss Travis. He stayed home to work and to get some projects done around the house. He's eagerly awaiting the call that will send him on his way to Vegas! I am so thankful for him, and I can't imagine him not being here with me during labor! When I talked to him today, he was making some meals to have in the freezer for when we get home after having the baby. He is such a great husband, and Malachi adores him. What an incredible blessing. Thank you, Lord!

My Pregnancy

I must admit, I have to get on my blog to figure out how far along I am - as of today, I'm 31 week. Only 61 days to go! Only....

This pregnancy has been different than my pregnancy with Malachi in many ways. The nausea was much worse with Malachi and the back ache began much sooner, but this one has waited till further down the line to give me trouble. I've really had a hard time with my back, and have had to delegate the vacuuming to Travis! Malachi is getting trained very well to pick up things off the floor for his mommy, too!

I am so thankful, though, that besides the back ache, everything else is great! The baby is growing well and moving a lot. The heart rate is perfect - pretty mellow at about 140 BPM. And my blood pressure has remained at a good level.

Travis and I always enjoy our visits with our midwife, Jill Colin. This last visit my mom was able to come with us to meet Jill. We probably spent about 2 hours with her doing the normal visit routine plus just chatting. Her office is in her home, and we were her only clients that day. It was fun, and I always learn a lot. I really appreciate her emphasis on preventing issues in pregnancy through diet. It has really given me some accountability and encouragement to make good choices in my diet. For example, she really encourages getting a lot of leafy greens towards the end of the pregnancy to build up iron in my blood. That way, if there is a problem with blood loss during or after birth, the blood I do have is healthy.

I am to the point in my pregnancy where I should be going in for an appointment every 2 weeks, but since everything is going great and we have to drive all the way to Vegas, she is allowing us to wait 3 weeks. So as long as things are going well, we'll be able to spread out the visits some.

We got a list of supplies we must collect for our home birth, such as lots of towels, healthy food, honey (for an instant energy boost if needed), lots of bottled water, olive oil to prevent tearing and also to help clean the baby’s first stool. I put in an order for a “birth kit” which contains all of the sterile things, gauze, bulb syringe, etc.

Yesterday I spoke with a woman who does birth tub rentals for both hospital and home births (yes, you can have tub put up in a hospital – and it is definitely worth looking into!) Our insurance will most likely help with the $400 rental fee, too! And if $400 sounds like a lot of cash, just consider that an epidural is $500 – and there are no needles, no IV’s, no being stuck in bed... Anyway, birth tubs are about 3 feet deep, round, and big enough to stretch out in. Pain management through labor using water is so effective, it is often called the “aqua-dural”. Water is very relaxing, it makes movement MUCH easier (moving around with a big belly is NOT very easy!), and it helps prevent tearing. I am looking forward to experiencing this birth in a different way than I did with Malachi.

Malachi knows what babies are, and he knows that a “baby” is in my belly. Now, whether or not he associates the babies he sees in pictures with his mommy’s bulging belly, I don’t really know! But I love it when he comes and kisses my belly, and he always points at it and does the sign for “flower” apparently my navel looks like a flower to him. It is so sweet.

If you’d like to see a post on my pregnancy and birth with Malachi, click here.
I am very interested in childbirth education and maybe one day becoming a certified doula after my own kids are grown. If you have any questions regarding pregnancy, birth, home birth or water birth, please let me know. Also, if we know anyone who may have questions, please give them my email or other contact information!

Lately...

Travis's Job
Travis has been working night shift (7 pm to 7 am) since we moved here in December. It wasn't too bad at first, but after a while it was really taking a toll on him, physically and mentally! He was much more irritable. But, he was able to move to day shift (7 am to 7 pm), beginning this week, so now he's home at night, which is so nice. He definately notices a difference in the atmosphere of the hospital from night to day. Day time is much more high-stress since a lot more is happening during the day time, like doctors visiting patients as well as family members stopping in. Travis is happy to be back on a normal schedule, and Malachi and I are happy to have him at home each night! We don't have much time to spend with him after he gets home from work - just enough to eat and lounge for a while. Malachi gets so excited when he comes home. This evening, he keeps hearing little creeks or the wind and he yells "DADA!!!! DADA!!!" Too cute! Here are some pictures from one night after he got home.

Attitude!

My blue-eyed boys

Visiting Granny
We stayed overnight with Granny, Trav's great-grandma, last week. She lives with Trav's grandparents, who were out of town, so we spent the night with her to keep her company while they were away. While we were there, she took Aunt Liz and us out to eat at the Prime Rib Room at the Riverside. It was so yummy, and we had a great table right by the huge windows overlooking the Colorago River. Malachi was getting a little antsy, but we were still visiting, so Travis took him to the arcade and they had a great time playing together. Travis said Malachi really had fun - but I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, Father or Son!
He loved this horse - he kept reaching for the coin slot to try to start it again

He did a good job pushing the button when it lit up!
Aunt Liz and Granny watching them play

Pensacola Beach

I just found these collages I made last November - we had these pictures taken by a friend. I was trying to figure out why I never posted this, and I remembered! We used these pictures for our Christmas cards and some Christmas gifts, and Travis wanted me to wait till everyone got their cards and gifts before they saw all the pictures! Well, here they are. A little late, but that's OK. (Click on the pictures to enlarge)

Trav Pops the Question

While I was reminiscing over some old pictures, I came across our engagement photos.

Travis was very brave - he invited both of our families out to dinner, and that's when he decided to ask me to marry him. He must have been very confident of my answer!

I had no idea he was going to ask me to marry him that night, though I was wondering why everyone had their cameras with them!

When Two Became One

Our 2nd anniversary is tomorrow and in honor of the special day, I wanted to post some of our wedding pictures. It was such a wonderful day!

Got him!

Happy Birthday to Me

Yesterday I decided I wanted an early birthday cake and my Hunny Bunny was kind enough to grant my request! (Didn't he do a great job?!) My request wasn't completely arbitrary, though, since on my real birthday (Wednesday) I will be flying to Las Vegas. My good friend, Heidi, is getting married in Reno, and we decided I should make a week out of the trip and introduce Malachi to our family out West. I can't wait to see everybody and I know the grandmas are dying to get their hands on the Boy!

The Journey Begins

Well, we must say, it's been quite a year! Travis graduated from college and began work as an RN. We got married 2 weeks later, moved into our first little apartment, got a puppy... We didn't even have time to complete the large pile of thank-yous to be sent out after the wedding when we had more good news to share - an addition to our new little family!

The Lord has blessed us in so many ways. This little boy has been such a joy. We do our best to enjoy every minute with him and with each other - I'm reminded often that no one is promised tomorrow. God has given us Malachi to love and to raise up - nurturing and admonishing him to know and love the One who gives life. What an unbelievable privilege!What an awesome responsibility.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
~ Psalm 127

I've been told that the best gift you can give your child is a home in which the mother and father have such a solid, loving commitment to eachother that the child has no fear that anything could ever break up his home. Children need a refuge. They need security and stability in order to grow and flourish in this insecure and unstable world.

We realize that our life has been pretty easy up to this point - no storms have yet tried the stability of our little home, but we intend to do the best we can to continue to build on the solid foundation of God's Word. We pray that, by His grace, we will weather the coming storms in a way that will testify of His goodness.

Yes, we have high ambitions. Yes, we have a lot to learn - after all, our only child is only 2 months old and we have not even fared an entire year of marriage! But where would we get without having a goal in mind? I read somewhere (I wish I could remember where) that spoke of ideals as being like the stars used in navigation. While the stars are never reached, they are essential if one wishes to arrive at his destination. These ideals are found in the truths of the Scriptures, as well as in the lives of those who have gone before.

Happy Navigating,

Betsy