5 months

Where to begin! Things have been so crazy here!! I guess it started the day before Thanksgiving; I started having all my wonderful Crohn’s symptoms again. As it continued I decided Monday after thanksgiving to try and get into a Dr. My OB really wanted me to see a GI Dr and so off I went on Tuesday. Well he was a complete jerk. If you have not heard this story, sorry I can not bring myself to go back to it. It upset me so bad! Basically he told me I was high risk, at risk for miscarriage and I was beyond his practice, and I needed to go some where else. That was after he told me I should have been treated before I thought of getting pregnant. Need less to say I walked out with my mouth on the floor and got to my car and cried. I was so shaken. My OB’s office was appalled and again went over and beyond to help me. They spent all day finding a GI Dr to treat me. My OB saw me Wed and apologized over and over for what I was going through. They got me in with some one Thursday and he was great. He assured me there is not any thing that connects Crohn’s to miscarriage! The only concern at this point is I am again not getting enough nutrition, the baby could be under weight/malnutrition, and it could increase my chance for pre term labor. So he put me back on the steroids this time for 3 months. It has been a hell of a few days as they are not working yet. I know they will so I am looking forward to feeling better. This time he put me on another drug with them. It will help my Crohn’s stay in remission once we get this flare up under control. So I am on a ton of drug for the next 3 months (4 steroids, 8 pentasa, zofran, and progesterone shots). I also am starting progesterone shots this week. I will get them weekly in hopes to avoid pre term labor. Since I started dilating so early with Ava and the other risk of pre term labor my Dr is not taking any chances. I assure you I can not end up on bed rest again this time! These last few months have been a true test of faith. I could not have made it with out it and the help of Greg’s Mom this last week. She came out three days in a row so I could go to three Dr’s appointments (THANK YOU). This week we go back to the high risk Dr for another level two ultra sound. They will check again to see if Lily has any markers for Down’s. I will also see my OB again as he is seeing me every week or every other. Please continue to pray for us as I believe they are what carry us through.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, we sure did!! Jackson is still talking about our Thanksgiving party! We had some of Greg’s family here to celebrate the day and help us eat the enormous amount of food Greg and I made! It was very special for us to start making memories at our house with some of our family! I hope to have many more holidays like this and our doors are always open to all!! SO on that note we will be home all day Christmas Day and hope to see some of you come over even if it is for a short visit!! There will be lots of food I assure you of that!
On another note I am sick again. It all started the day before Thanksgiving, yuck! All of the unpleasant signs of my Chron’s are back! I have been throwing up in the middle of the night too. I called the Dr on Saturday to see if he was on call, but he wasn’t. I called first thing this morning to get back on the steroids if that tells you anything. I am so anti steroids, but I refuse to let it get so bad I end up back in the hospital. I feel like a wet noodle! I have no energy and just want to do nothing. It makes me feel so guilty that I am not out enjoying my kids and doing fun things with them. There have been several days in the last 10 we have not been out of our pj’s..YUCK! I am waiting on a call back from the nurse. I see my Dr on Thursday, but did not want to wait that long to start the steroids. I hope getting on a low does will do the trick with out too many horrible side effects. I figure I would rather gain a lot of weight and have horrible acne than feel the way I do. Plus the meds give me a ton of energy and I get so much done! When you only sleep 4 hours a night there is a lot more time in the day! I have been doing a lot of research and from what I have found Chron’s either stays in remission while you are pregnant or can flare very bad. I guess I was just lucky with my first two! It also says that it is highly unlikely for a flare up to get better until after you deliver. Oh and steroids are really your only option while pregnant. On a positive note I am half way there!! In 19 weeks give or take we will have Lily Grace here with us! I go see my Dr on Thursday and the high risk Dr next Wed. I also get another level 2 ultra sound so we will get to see this pretty girl again!

It's another GIRL!!!

We just got home from seeing the genetic counselor (see previous post). She informed us that if you put 300 babies in a room with Down's half of them would have shown something else (such as clef pallet, fluid in the kidney, heart defect, web feet) on ultra sound. The other half would not. Our baby shows none of those things, but she can not tell us she does not have Down's. She has a half of a percent. She said we would have to decide if the amnio is right for us. I decided to take some time to see how at peace I am with the info we have today. I still feel like I want definite answer so I can prepare and educate myself more if need be. It is just something Greg and I have to decide on our own. Welcome to our family Lily Grace!!

Tomorrow

Life has a funny way of teaching you things! As you all know I had no intentions of becoming pregnant this time. It hit me out of know where and hit me hard. I was at a place in my life where everything seemed perfect. I had two healthy beautiful children, we were recovering financially from several things, I was recovering emotionally from the death of my best friend my Grandma, I was training to run a half marathon, and working on hitting my goal weight by my 30th birthday in December. For once in many many years it was all about me. God had other plans I suppose. It took me several months to deal with being pregnant. It did not help I got so sick I lost 19 pounds in 3 weeks, took a trip to the hospital for a quick stay, and have been on steroids for 3 weeks! I was finally feeling normal again. I am not sick, feeling full of energy, and appreciating the little things. I accepted God had given us a gift. This pregnancy has already made me so aware of so many things. My house will not always be perfect, it will not always be clean, I can not always make it to the grocery store, or make dinner, I won’t always make swim lessons, or Little Gym, and things will not always be prefect. I have learned just to go with the flow as the days go by and enjoy what each day brings me. I feel so much more calm and peaceful as silly as that may sound.
Thursday we were thrown a curve ball when I received a call from my Dr’s office. My blood test came back positive for Down’s syndrome. I felt as if someone was sitting on my chest and I could not breathe. My Dr had Greg and I come in immediately that day so he could give us some facts. He said my test came back 1 in 180 and he personally had never seen anyone with those numbers actually have a Down’s baby. There are false positives all the time. We have an appointment tomorrow with a genetic counselor who will give us more information. We then have an appointment for a level two ultra sound. Half of Down’s baby’s show some kind of mark on ultra sound indicating Down’s (half do not show sign’s). We also have an amnio scheduled and this is the only real way to know. Greg does not want me to have it done as it has a less than 1% chance of miscarriage. It is complete safe procedure, but he is against it. I am for it, if that is what the specialist thinks we should do. I want to know what we are dealing with and I want definite answers. Last night we went to eat dinner and we saw a little girl about 2 with Down’s. I think it was a sign. This child was beautiful, healthy, and her family looked so happy. You could tell the joy she brought to them. I know what ever the out come is God has chosen us for this child and he will lead the way.
So please pray for us. Pray that the Dr’s guide us to a decision we both are comfortable tomorrow and for the health of our baby. We have decided on names as well and will know tomorrow if it will be Brody Michael or Lily Grace.

15 months Ava Bear

Sweet Ava had her 15 month well check today. She was 32 inches putting her in the 97% for height. She weighed almost 25 pounds which puts her in the 80%. She is healthy as can be!!

Yay for GREAT news!!

I just got back from the Dr and I gained 2 pounds!!! He was happy so I am HAPPY!!! The baby had a great heart beat as well. I have to weigh myself every day and if I have any loss call, but other than that I don't go back for two weeks. He may be able to take a peek at the sex then, but if not we have our BIG ultrasound scheduled for Nov 30th. How exciting! I finally feel pregnant and not sick. I think my rounding belly may have something to do with this :). I am ready to enjoy and savor every minute of this last pregnancy I will have. I know God has blessed us in ways I did not understand at first, but now are becoming more clear. Thank you for all the support! Oh and most important the steroids have not turned me into a complete physco yet!! Only 15 days left!!

I am home

I am home and so glad to be here!! I had a good day and kept all food down. They had me on a very high dose of steroids and now switched me to oral one's. My GI Dr wanted me on them for three months and I cried when my OB told me that. He said he re wrote the orders for 21 days. We will see how I do then, I may have to go back on them. We are just going to hope for the best right now and take one day at a time. If you know anything about prednisone (steroids) you know it is NO fun. I am already feeling very irritable and could cry if you asked me too. It makes you a miserable person. I was very hungry this am, but have not seen a ravenous appetite yet, but it will come. I need to gain 12 pounds at least in 21 days. Please just pray that I make it through these 21 days with out too bad of depression or irritability. I also am really hoping my Chron's is not acting up as it has been in remission since I was 17. I see the Dr weekly so he is taking good care of me. I just love him! He is so caring and very compassionate! I know I am in good hands!!

Hospital Stay

I went in to see my Dr today since I am sick yet again. I am down another 3 pounds which makes a total of 19 pounds in six weeks I have lost. So he admitted me into the hospital. For those who don’t know I have Chron’s disease. I have not had any problems since I was 17 or so. It never really crossed my mind that it may be my Chron’s acting up. I saw a GI Dr today while in the hospital and he said my stomach is very tender. It could be the Chron’s, but we have no way to know since they can not do any further testing right now. He wants me on steroids through the IV so I have to stay in the hospital. He said a few days, but my OB said if I have a good night and day tomorrow he will try and get him to switch me to oral steroids so I can go home. The steroids are really a win win with me. Even if it is not the Chron’s it the steroids will help the nausea and help me gain some weight. That is all I know for now.

It's Fall

I can't believe it is fall, maybe because it is so dang hot here!! Today is the first day we all put on long sleeves. Let me just tell you if it drops below 70 everyone in Houston cranks the heaters. OMG every where we went today we were so HOT!! Can you believe Christmas is only two months away? I usually have most of my shopping done and I only have 4 out of 21 people done ahhh!! I am usually anti toys for my kids, but this year is different. Jackson some how became a little boy over night. Instead of toddler toys, he wants big boy toys (and legos those small one's LAWD help us). Ava is always playing with boy toys so it is time we added some babies and pink stuff to our house. We made wish lists at Toys R Us and they are the greatest things ever! Jackson made his on his own and had a great time adding his wants!! I wish everyone would make one of these to make my shopping easier!! We have so much fun stuff coming up. This week end we are headed to Dewberry Farms which is a pumpkin patch. We have family pictures next week end, Dallas the week end after that for Alyssa's bday, and Thanksgiving at our house!! I can't believe I am saying this as I never thought the day would come! We are having a holiday in our very own home AND we have some family coming!! Nothing makes me happier as I would love for our kids to remember holidays in our house verses running all over town to different places!! I can not WAIT!!!! Oh and I almost forgot I got to go with my #1 Baby Boo to his fall field day. Real quick I have to tell you Jackson has always been my Baby Boo and he asked me if Ava was my Baby Boo too. I told him yes, but he is my #1 Baby Boo. He will never let me forget to say #1 before I call him Baby Boo now :). Anyway I will send out the pictures from his fun day at school. I treasure these kind of events with him! I adore him!

Second Trimester

I am feeling much better. I am only throwing up maybe every other day versus every time I put something in my mouth. I lost another 2 pounds as hard I tried to gain (makes a total of 16 lbs). I have never in my life had this problem! I ate before I went, held my bladder, and kept my shoes on err!! He was happy with where I am so YAY!! He said if it gets any worse I must call and go in. If all stays the way it is I don't go back until Nov 12th. I got the best news of all, I get to go back to the gym!!

How cute are they?!!

I don't think I have seen anything cuter! Just a few pics to share!

Thinking baby

Honestly I don't think being pregnant has really sunk in for me. I feel like I have just been really sick for two weeks! I have thought of names here and there, but have not decided on anything. Greg and I have much different taste!! He told me when we found out I was pregnant this time I get to name the baby (yeah right)! We each have a favorite out of these top picks so far. Today is the first day I really seriously thought about it though. There could be many more polls!! HOWEVER one of these names could be for Baby Hamilton. If you choose to participate please vote and leave only NICE comments. I do realize we all don't have the same taste, but this is our baby :). We don't want to hear negative comments! This should be fun!!

http://www.babycenter.com/403_name-baby-hamilton_10737149_13564499213.bc

Copy and paste the link and vote!

11 weeks

What a difference a Dr can make! I feel like I am on a high! Not only did I have my first day of NOT throwing up yesterday, but I got a new Dr! He is AMAZING!! He was compassionate, listened not just heard me, responded, and was actually concerned about me! I have lost 14 pounds in less than 2 weeks!! The only reason he is not starting treatment right now is because I had a good day yesterday. If I lose any more weight this week and continue to throw up he will start me on steroids. That will help kick the nausea and make me hungry! I go back and see him next Thursday. I feel like my body may be turning a corner on its own though. He said my body just is not responding to the increase of hormone levels. Normally is levels off by 13 weeks and I am almost 12. He did say some women have it through out the entire pregnancy, have to be hospitalized, feeding tubes, zofran pumps, etc. He is going to check where I am next week and see where we go. I really feel like I am on the mend. I have half of my stress lifted by just finding a new Dr. His office staff was over the top professional and friendly (what a change from the last Dr I had). The office itself was top notch and all the equipment was new and updated (another change from my last Dr). He seems to be much more established than my last physician. I was very worried about going to a man, but he was very caring. He has four daughters and you can tell, very gentle man! He is very conservative as he was in the navy! He went to Yale and has been around a while. I just feel so blessed to be in good care!! Did I mention his nurses where SO nice?! Our baby looked like it had a huge head and a tiny little body. The picture again looks like a blog because this baby was on the move. It looked like it was doing aerobics!!

It's back!!

The vomiting that is!! It jerked me from my sleep last night about 2am. I am throwing up again today. I have a call into my Dr and I hope I will hear back tomorrow. I called her Monday and never got a returned call. We are looking hire some help for the kids, but that will take a few days. We will also take a MAJOR financial beating with this. Please keep praying!

Today

Thank you God for the power of prayer and thank you all for praying for me! I did not throw up all day yesterday or today! I still feel sick, but have kept food down. Just that alone has lifted my spirits so much!! I got on the scale this morning and I have lost 10 pounds! I am ready to dig into some Mexican food, but don't think my body is quite ready! I am taking it slow! My girl friend picked up Jackson form school and let him play at her house and today took him to gymnastics. That also lifts my spirits since I don't feel as guilty for him watching TV all day. He asked me today, Mommy how you feeling you look better. I am going to try and get out to take him to his swim lesson and come right back this after noon. I am just going to take it slow. Anyway if I would have known complaining to all of you would help me start getting better I would have done it ten days ago!!

Almost to week 10

I am not sure I have ever felt this helpless. Today is day 8 of throwing everything that goes into my mouth with the exception of maybe a few things. I have been eating toast, bananas, and gaterade for the last three of four. I have lost 7 pounds so far. I have extreme fatigue, head aches, and dizziness. I called my Dr on Friday and told her what was going on. She said I most likely had a virus since I have horrible diarrhea as well. Sorry for all the details, it is just where I am at. I called her again yesterday to touch base since this is still going on. They never called back so I went into the ER for some fluids. It made my body feel so much better, but the nausea did not stop. I have been on zofran and it is not helping at all. They Dr said I had what is called HYPEREMESIS GRAVIDARIUM which is fancy for excessive throwing up during pregnancy. She did not say anything about my other problem. I got some fluids and was on my way. I can not leave the house since I am unable to control the vomiting or diarrhea. I got out for 40 mins yesterday and I was so exhausted when we got back I thought I was going to pass out. I find it absolutely impossible to take care of my children, my house, or myself. I have no one to help me during the week which makes it very challenging to say the least. Jackson has spent a lot of time in front of the TV and Ava in her pack n play screaming. Jackson told me this morning he does not want another baby. He does not like that I am sick all the time. I feel so bad for him and for Ava. My Mom comes home Thursday and I am thinking about taking the kids and moving in with her until I am better. I don’t see any other choice. Please pray for our family. I know we will get through this, but my mental status is starting to suffer greatly!

hamiltonhomeof4.blogspot.com

Everyone always says when you are trying to hide from the hurt, stay busy. I mean does it really work? Can you really hide from it? Eventually it will catch you! I consider myself a pretty busy person. I have two kids, swim lessons, Little Gym for Ava, pre school for Jackson, play dates for the kids, cooking, grocery shopping, cleaning, being a wife, Dr’s appt (I could go on and on), and add on top of that pregnant. I think about my Grandma every single day. There is always something that triggers a memory of her and then kids cries, a diaper needs to be changed and I am on the go. Staying busy has really put it in the back on my mind until recently. I have been so sick and had a lot more down time. I miss her so much. The more time that passes the more I miss her. I refuse to except that she really is gone subconsciously and it helps! Well I guess most of the time. My life just feels so empty with out her. I feel like such a huge part of me is missing. I used to call her every Sunday and I miss talking to her so much. I was getting in the shower today thinking of the holidays. My mind automatically thought when will we go to Louisiana and then quickly I told myself she is not there. I am sure everyone does this, but I just wish I would have had one last day with her. I was supposed to go Mother’s Day week end and we didn’t. I wanted to be fair to my Mom and Greg’s Mom. She died the next day and all I can think is WHY, why didn’t I go? We will have many more years with our Mom’s and it was my last chance to be with her. I miss her, I miss her a lot. She was the best part of my life. She was consistent, unconditional, non judgmental of me as a person, and loved me more than I have ever been loved. My heart, my mind, my body aches with out her. Treasure your moments with those special in your life.

9 weeks

I went to the Dr today and.... yep I am pregnant!! I had no concerns that this baby was healthy since I have been so sick. I have been throwing up a lot. I was kind of concerned by my lack of energy since it has been so extreme. I also have been having some blurred vision, been light headed, and dizzy. My assumption was right. My blood pressure is low most likely from dehydration since I can't keep anything in me. She gave me some stronger nausea medicine so I am praying that will help. Other than that things look great. I will go back October 22nd. If you look at the (oops) upper right side of this picture you will see two plus signs. In between those are a blob, that is the baby! Baby Due Date is April 22nd

Got milk

Pregnancy has definitely hit me. I have morning, day, and night sickness like I have never had it before. I find it hard to have the energy just to get up and get everyone dressed much less get out of the house. Yesterday I just decided to stay in and do nothing. My friend came and took Jackson to go play which was really nice. The extreme fatigue and horrific nausea is really getting to me. I have been kind of a hermit and I find myself getting really down in the dumps. It has been so hard to go to the gym, this past week I only went twice. My heart is screaming with envy watching all my running friends continue to reach the goals we all were aiming for. My body just does not have it in me right now. I am praying that in a few weeks I will hit my second trimester and be able to get back to some routine. Our house is ciaos!! On average I have about 6 loads of laundry at one time and I just can’t seem to stay on top of it. I must say the third time is a charm because Greg has really been stepping up this last week. He made dinner twice, had his first trip out of the house ever with both kids, been to the grocery store, mopped, and vacuumed. We have decided to rehire our cleaning lady every other week until I start to feel better which is heaven sent! I have my Dr’s appointment Tuesday so I will update once I go. I don’t you can relate or even begin to understand unless you have had a hard pregnancy. Adding two kids on top of this has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Being 100% responsible for 2 little people when you are so sick is really hard. Ok so here is to a healthy happy second trimester! Oh and my Mom comes back for good after being gone almost a full year in Dallas! She has offered to help which will be great!! Most of you know she is like June Cleaver on speed and I am like June Cleaver on a sedative right now.

Jackson started school and is a thriving little 3 year old. He has a wonderful pair of teachers this year and I could not be happier. It is amazing to see the difference in the teacher can make such a HUGE impact on the child. There is so much positive reinforcement this year that he is so excited to succeed. Last year there was not much enthusiasm or positive feed back. His teacher was great at teaching, but had a very dry and stand offish personality. Jackson would not get close to her until the very end of the year. The second week of school this year he not only hugs, but kisses his teachers good bye. They have such a positive energy about them! He asks every day is it is a school day. His teachers name is Mrs Gaynel and Jackson say Mrs Gay Nayle with the most southern accent you have every heard. Simply precious!

Ava oh AVA~ she is going to give us all a run for our money. She is a pistol! She is so vocal about what she wants or does not want (and not in a pleasant way). She can make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. She is into everything and I mean everything! This morning as I type this in the living room she dumped out Jackson milk and was rolling around the kitchen in it. Every time she stood up she would fall back down and she thought that was hilarious. She has already started swatting at Jackson and making sure she gets her way at all times! At our house you will find Jackson saying, Ava no, Ava stop, Ava I am not playing that game with you, Ava that is not acceptable, this is a crazy girl, Mommy COME GET AVA! The girl can eat twice as much as Jackson and she is like a dog. If you have food she comes right up and begs until she gets some. She is walking everywhere and we call her baby Frankenstein since that is what she walks like. I am not banking on her being the sweet, angelic, graceful girl.

I have not taken any pictures recently, but I will get some sent out this week!

A new week

I am starting a new week and I feel much better mentally. I am not 100% there yet, but we are having a baby! I have until April to get ready so I am happy with where I am after a week. I am no longer depressed or crying so that is a plus! We will make it work and in the end I know it will be great. It is just getting to the end. I am having a hard time with now/today. I know God has given us a gift, a true blessing. I am going to embrace it. Once I let go of what I had planned for my life I instantly felt better. I feel so blessed for all the support I have received over the last week. I have so many people reach out and I am so grateful for my support group. Being there for someone is not always about agreeing with how they feel, yet still loving through is what it is about. I have amazing family and friends and I love and thank everyone of you who took time to reach out to me. I got to spend the week end with my sisters in Dallas. Those two always have a way of making things better! We had a great time minus my lack of energy. I will update more on that later.

'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. 'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.' (Thanks Carmen)

hamiltonhomeof4.blogspot.com

Precious Moments

Daddy to Jackson....Jackson we are going to have a new baby
Jackson to Daddy....oh man, ok but I am really going to miss Ava


I love that kid!

Today

So 48 hours ago I thought I was going to have the best year of my life. I was going to get down to my goal weight as I have come so far. I was going to grieve the loss of my Grandma finally and do something in her honor. I was going to run a half marathon. I was going to enjoy my baby's and work on strengthening my marriage. We were going to have HUGE bash for my 30th birthday. We were going to go on a way too expensive trip for our 5 year anniversary. That is just a few of the things that come to my head. So you think I am selfish? I admit I like to be in control. I like to plan and I like structure. It is the only way I can function.
Right now my next year and beyond has been turned up side down. I have no control and I feel like I am in utter chaos. I am sacred out of my mind. I have no idea how this will work or how we will come out of this financially. I am not excited to be pregnant and I am not happy right now. That is just where I am at today and I need people to understand that. I don't want to feel this way and I don't like to feel guilty for it either. I can't seem to stop crying no matter how hard I try.
I do realize a lot of people have trouble getting/staying pregnant. I feel for them I really do. I don't feel though that it has anything to do with where I am at. It is so different from my situation and I hope that those people can feel the same compassion for me that I feel for them.
Next I hear so many about to say God has a plan. I too believe that and I know he will get us through this. With that said I still feel the same way and I pray that God will help me come to peace. I ask for prayers from you for the same. I wish I could just fast forward and be holding our new baby. I know then things will be different.

2002 Greg and I met
2003 Greg and I started dating
2004 We got engaged
2005 We got married
2005 4 months after we married we got pregnant
2006 We had Jackson
2007 We got pregnant
2008 We had Ava
2009 WE ARE FLIPPIN PREGNANT AGAIN!
2010 We will have a new Baby Hamilton

I think I have been crying about 24 hours now. This was in No way our plan. I can not believe I am 6 weeks pregnant and had no idea until yesterday! I have been working out 8 hours a week. I really thought that was what got me off track. Yesterday morning I just wanted to rule it out 100%. I was beyond shocked. I am digging deep and trying to embrace God's plan for us. It is hard when his plan is different from yours. I have a lot of fears going into this, but I know he was not given us anything we can not handle (or maybe this is pay back). I kid kid!!

Just like that.....

Greg and I were sitting in the living room talking while Jackson was in the bath. Just like that Ava took her first two steps! We practiced some more and she took 4!

August Update

I took Ava on her one year check up today. We decided to wait until school was back in and things calmed down at the Dr’s office. He said Ava looked great!! She got four shots and her blood drawn. While they were getting blood he got a little extra to do some milk allergy testing. Her eczema is back. We may need to go to a dermatologist, but for now we are managing it with a steroid cream. He said IF she were to continue to grow on the same track she would max 5’7. WHAT a relief lol! We certainly did not want her to be 6’4 like her Daddy!! He said her weight and height balance each other perfect. I was getting worried because the girl can put back the food. He said she will lose a lot when she gets more mobile as Jackson did. She is breaking 6 teeth on top and has two already on the bottom. She is talking so much, eating so much, and loves to dance. Every where we go people say she is going to be a dancer. She is full of energy and into everything and I mean everything. She has the exact opposite personality of Jackson (watch out world).

Jackson is a typical boy. He loves swim lessons and is a great swimmer. We decided to keep him in swim once a week year round since it is in doors. He enjoys it, it gives him such confidence, and it is a great for safety. We were at a friends pool a few weeks ago and looked away for a few seconds and when I looked back Jackson lost grip of the side of the pool. He was floating on his back waiting for me. He is also taking a Sports Skills Enchantment class at Little Gym this fall. He LOVES it! We will try team sports again next year at 4.5. We meet his new teacher next week and he is really looking forward to going back. He will no longer nap at school in the afternoon. He will take Spanish one day and Science another. Most of our friends are going three days a week, but I chose two days. I am just not ready for more and I don’t think he is either. He loves to watch movies and color. We think he has his first crush. He loves watching The Little Mermaid and always asks about Arial. He wants to meet her, have her come to his house, and thinks she is pretty. If you ask him about her he smiles real big and looks away. The other day when we checked the mail Highlights had sent us a sample magazine with stickers. He thought it was so cool he got something in the mail. He told me he knew who sent it. When I asked who, he replied Santa. I guess we know what Santa will send this year! He is quite the character. He has really mellowed out since having Ava. She is wild and takes everything out of every where. Jackson never likes a mess. He has to have everything in its perfect spot. This was a real issue for him as he only saw thing black or white. He could not move on until things were perfect. I have seen such an improvement in him.


Ava 1 year

22.5 pounds 75%
30.5 inches long 90%

Come join me!

Quick update...my running is going GREAT!! I still LOVE it and I am up to 3.5 miles. I have decided to do a 5K in October, November, and December to add to my training for the half marathon. I formed a team for The race for the Cure, but need some team mates! Please come run with me!

Dear Friends and Family,

I recently accepted the challenge to raise $100.00 funds to support the 2009 Komen Houston Race for the Cure® being held on October 3rd in downtown Houston. Please join me in the fight against breast cancer by pledging your support in the Race. Your tax-deductible contribution will fund local innovative outreach, awareness and treatment programs for the medically underserved in the greater Houston community as well as national cutting-edge breast cancer research. Please click below to support my participation. I truly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress.

Thank you for your generosity. Imagine Life Without Breast Cancer.

Sincerely,
Amber

Click here to donate or run with our team!
http://www.komen-houston.org/site/TR/Race/General/1407038042?pg=team&fr_id=1060&team_id=35460

Happy Birthday Bear

http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=11712819110.272580538210.1249995751084&page=1&sort_order=0&navfolderid=0&folderid=0&ownerid=0

If you copy and paste the web address you can view all her pictures.



A year ago today we left the house at 5:00am to head to the hospital. I had been 4.5cms dilated for over 3 weeks. Ava arrived at 12:28 on her Daddy’s 30th birthday. I can hardly believe a year has gone by.
Ava is such a bundle of energy. She never stays in one spot and is always into something. You can bet 99% of the time she is into something she should not be in. She is pretty darn feisty as well. She lets you know when she wants something and when she doesn’t. She has no problem handling her own with Jackson. She is one tuff little girl. She has some spunk and can get a little attitude.
On the other hand she is SUCH a Mommy’s girl. She will snuggle up with me in a heart beat. She LOVES her blanket aka “night night” and flat will not sleep with out it. She scrunches up her nose and makes the cutest face. She will let anyone hold her and loves everyone that will give her attention. She loves to be the star of the show.
Ava’s current favorite thing is Little Gym. She point her toes, shake’s to the music (oh how she loves music), and loves the hand bells. She has just started standing for a few second on her own. She holds on and walks on anything and everything. We can see her two top teeth breaking the skin. She still only has her two bottom teeth. She is starting to talk up a storm (Mama, Dada, buba, night night, hi, Daddy, pat pat, baba).
Ava has been such a blessing to our family. As I right this the night before her birthday, I remember writing one year ago how I was filled with guilt. I wondered how I would ever love someone as much as Jackson and how I would divide myself. Everything just fell into place. She completes us, we all adore her, and I feel like my heart is over flowing.

Happy Birthday my sweet angel!

Love,
Mommy

A daughter is a day brightener and a heart warmer. ~Author Unknown

HELP!!!

My very talented friend Cathy Noble took Ava's 1 year picture's. I have it down to 40 picture's, but I need to do another cut. If you have time to look please send me your top picks!! Thanks Mom and Dad for replying the first time, but if you have time to do it again please do. I promise you a picture in return!!

www.cathynoblephotography.com
Click on the CLIENTS button.
Type in the password: ava1

11 months

I can not believe I forgot. Life is so busy here!! Sweet Ava was 11 months on the 11th of July. I can not believe her first birthday is so close. She is the sweetest baby and you will fall in love as soon as she enters the room. I am afraid to say I think she is going to rule the house! She is quite spunky and let's you know when she wants something (which is 99% of the time food or a drink). She will also let Jackson know it is NOT ok to take things from her. I think she is going to be bossing him around very soon. She has two teeth on the bottom and you can really see them now. She is pulling up on every thing and walking down the coach, table, what ever she can find. I think she is really starting to look like Jackson.

Today our journey began

Today our journey began. It was Eliza, Tracie, and myself. We joined Katy Fit to prepare and train for a half marathon. I am having been trying to make my mind up if I realty want to do this. I started two weeks ago running after my regular classes at the Y. It has really become a part of routine and I like it. This morning was our first time to meet in Memorial Park to train. I was so nervous last night! I woke up at 6 am to start to get ready. I am so happy to have girl friends to do this with! I really think it will be so rewarding. This morning was unbelievably awesome!! We ran with the middle of the road group (not fast and not slow) 2miles in 21minutes. I found myself wanting to go faster and sweat more. It is so addicting, the sweat, the burn, the energy, the group, friends you run with, and I think this is for me!! So I came home thinking yes I will do this!! I had to pick a charity to run for and most of you know my Grandma recently passed away. I have been having a really hard time with her loss. I decided to run for the Alzheimer's Association in her honor. She had early stages of dementia which is like Alzheimer's and her sister in law (my Great Aunt) passed with the disease. What a great way to honor there memory. I need to raise $400 to run so if you are able to help any way I am reaching out to you for this wonderful charity. You can send money to
www.paypal.com
click on send money
to gjhamilton@earthlink.net

If you prefer to mail it that is fine too. Thank you for helping me do this!

Amber

Running

Ok so I am putting it out there, AHH this means I am really doing it! My friend Eliza and I are doing the half marathon through Katy Fit. I am really scared I will fail, but I have to at least try!! I started training last week and I went from not being able to run 5 mins to and easy 20 min constant run no problem! Each week we will build on top that. I already do 4 classes a week at the Y, but now I added 5 days of running to it. I really really really want to do this!! It is just going to be costly! I need two pair of shoes and I have to sign up for the event this week end. I need a sponsor lol!! So please hold me accountable!! Ask me daily, weekly how my running is going!

Love it

Today as we were driving to VBS Jackson says to me, "Mommy Jesus came to take Grandma Libby home". I love her presence every where, it makes me smile.

Summer Fun

Who knew summer would be so busy!! Jackson did his second week of VBS this week. He has done 4 weeks of swim lessons every day and will now go to twice a week. He starts a two week camp at his school next week as well. Ava and I go to the gym every day and Thursday we go to The Little Gym (another plug for gift cards there for her bday :)). I am going on a girls trip to The Woodland's Resort this week end with 10 awesome girls!! WHOO HOO!! Daddy will be left behind with both kids alone. Pray for him, ok just kidding!! He will do great!

On another note I have something else to talk about. Jackson has had so much fun at VBS the past two weeks. I mean really fun! He has been singing about Jesus and so excited to learn about him too. He told me today, "Mommy I love this church can we come here". We currently go to Saint Batholomew and are Catholic (for our friends who don't know). Jackson never wants to go and it is so boring for him (even for me a lot of times). Switching faiths is not an option. I love our church and our priest. I have a strong emotional attachment to our church since this is where I went through RCIA, Greg and I got married there, and Jackson was baptized there as well. Not to mention I love the priest. The only thing is they have NOTHING for the small children of the parish. The do have children's liturgy once they are 4, but I have gone with Jackson and it is so boring! I mean kids like to sing, dance, color, and have fun learning. Why can't they do that while they learn about faith and Jesus?? I am praying for the right decision as we have tried to switch to Epiphany before. It is more contemporary and I LOVE that. They have so much for the kids!! It is just large and hard to feel at home. We are really going to have to work to make it a home church should we decide to do this. Maybe that is what God is calling us to do, work harder and put more into our faith. I know I have been slacking. My other dilemma is my husband. He likes the more traditional church. I feel like we need to do what is best for our family as a whole. I want my kids to love church and have fun learning the faith, but I want my husband to be happy too. Anyway just needed to vent, hear some other perspectives, and ask that you think of us as we try and make the decision.

Milestone's

Sweet Ava Bear is getting big. Yesterday she decided to finally pull herself up on her own. After she did it once she was unstoppable. She pulls up on everything she sees. She also broke her second tooth right next to the first one on the bottom. Ava is getting so much hair as you can see. She is really starting to look like a big girl. I am in a bit of denial that her birthday is coming up. I planned Jackson's when he was 6 months old! I finally started today to plan hers today. This little girl melts my heart!

Kids

I promised pictures from Ava's first day of Little Gym and I forgot my camera! My friend Brandi and I went with our babies. It was priceless to see Ava's little face. She loved it!! She laughed and smiled the whole entire time. She was so excited!! The teacher said she has a natural toe point which means she is going to be a dance ;). She also was already hanging from the bar. I am so excited about many years of Little Gym, gymnastics, and dancing!!
Jackson is doing so good at swimming. He did private lessons last year and was swimming. We took the fall off and he was so nervous to get back in the water. After only two weeks with Mr Rudy he is doing great! He is floating on his own and learning to use his arms when he swims. I am going to keep him in 2 more weeks straight before switching to once a week. It is an expense, but to watch him make so much progress is awesome. He is is confident and so proud of himself. Priceless!! I plan on starting Ava in Mom and me swim classes next month :).
So hint hint Little Gym gift cards or gift cards to Houston Swim Club would be a great birthday gift for Ava since we are asking NO toys. We are blessed with so many wonderful friends that give our kids toys. If our family and friends both continued we could open a toy store. They have so much as it is.
The summer is off to a great start!

10 months

Long time no post!! Ava is going to be 10 months old this week. I can not believe 2 more months and she will be a year old. She is the most loveable, precious, sweet natured baby. Everyone that meets her falls in love with her. She loves to here me sing to her, loves her big brother, and loves going to the YMCA every morning. She and I are starting Mommy and me classes at Little Gym on Thursday. She really loves music so I am so excited to do this with her. She finally got a tooth about 2 weeks ago!! I can’t believe it took 9.5 months to get her first tooth (check out Jackson at 9.5 months with all his teeth). She still can’t crawl, but manages to get around by doing the army crawl. She also can pull herself up to her knees. She so completes our family. I know I say this all the time, but she is such a blessing.

Jackson is all boy!! I worried about him for awhile, but no need to worry. He is the typical whiny three year old. He has done a total 180 since having his tonsils out. He went from sleeping 13-14 hours at night to 11. He used to sleep 3-4 hours for a nap and now naps maybe every other day. He used to tell me he was ready and crawl in bed. Now he fights it every step of the way. He really is over all a good boy, just needs constant reminders of how to act lol. He starts Vacation Bible School next week, 2 weeks of Camp at his school after that, then another Vacation Bible School, then another two week camp, and finally the last week of July we go to the beach. He only goes until 12:00 every day and I am at the gym. The YMCA is so packed during the summer I am glad he will have his own fun things to do.

I am learning to sew. I took my first sewing class with 3 friends and really enjoyed it. My Mother in law bought me a sewing machine and I am bound and determined to learn to sew. It will be a long process I am sure since I don’t have much spare time. Life just keeps getting busier. My days seem like a couple hours and months seem like only weeks. I am trying to enjoy every minute of my babies being small while it lasts. I am missing my Grandma like crazy. It kills me to think about the fact that she is gone. I guess that is one good thing about life being so busy, it keeps me from staying down. I don’t think I could have handled her loss her at any other time in my life. She was here for a purpose and I truly believe part of that was to make sure I was ok.

Greg and I got a night out with several of our good friends and had a blast! We are in the process of trying to hire a baby sitter so we can get out once every other week. We need it! It is nice to reconnect.

Check back for pictures of Ava’s first day at “gymnastics”. Hamiltonhomeof4.blogspot.com

Go Yankees!

The first season is coming to an end. We had a rocky start, but Jackson has made so much progress. I am really proud of him and I see many years of baseball in our future!

Grandma

How wonderful must it be to be so sweet and innocent? Jackson and I would always pray that God would take care of Grandma Libby since she was sick. I explained to him that she had died. I told him when you die you go to live with Jesus. He said, were does Jesus live, Dallas? I said no way on the other side of the clouds. We can not see Jesus, but he is our hearts just like Grandma Libby is now in our heart. He responded how did she get there, ambulance? He told me Grandma Libby is not sick anymore and I said you are right she is not.

I hope we can keep those memories he has of her alive! He is so sweet and innocent. I miss her.

My Grandma

I remember as a small child spending summers with my Grandma. We would rent movies, go to the mall, and just hang out. When I think of my child hood memories that is what I think of. I think of her, Granny, and their love and dedication to me. When I would go home or they would leave after a trip I would cry because I would miss them so much. She would always take me shopping as far back as I can remember. She loved buying for me and it made her feel good. My Grandma was like a mother to me. She was the one person in my life I could always count on…always. She was always there to listen any time day or night that I would call. She may not always tell me what I wanted to hear as she was a straight shooter, but she always had a way of making me feel better. My Grandma was the best person in my life. She never got mad at me, she never stopped talking to me, and she was always there for me. I am so grateful God gave her to me for so many years. I am glad she got to see my become Catholic, get married, and have children. I am glad I got to make her proud. I will watch my Grandmother be buried today knowing she knew how much she meant to me and how much I loved her as I knew the same from her. I will miss her so much.

God saw she was getting tired and a cure was not to be.
So He put His arms around her and whispered, "Come with Me".

With tear-filled eyes we watched her suffer and fade away.
Although we loved her deeply, we could not make her stay.

A heart stopped beating, hard-working hands put to rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us He only takes the best

I love you Grandma. Thank you for being my rock. Thank you for everything. I pray you help me get passed losing you and I pray you watch over my family.

Until we meet again, peace be with you.

Amber

9 months

What a big girl!! She went to the Dr and everything looks great!! She still has no teeth, is doing the army crawl, and talking a lot. Her words are Dada, Buba, and Mama (yay finally). She will now hold her own bottle too! It is so funny to look back at Jackson at this age. He was pulling up on stuff and crawling every where. I can only get away to do her army crawl if I put food in front of her :).

Ava 9 month stats
weight 20 lbs 1 ounce 70%
length 27.25 inches 25%

Jackson 9 month stats
weight 22 lbs
length 31 inches

On the move

She is on the MOVE

24 hours after posting she is still not crawling, Ava is on the move!! One week before turning 9 months old she is now doing the army crawl. We came home from church and she took off!! We got some video, so I will up load it soon!

Is this picture not HILARIOUS?!?!

Long time no post

Things have just started to settle here. Tuesday Jackson finally was back 100%. He is eating us out of house and home. I had no idea how hard the surgery would be and I am so glad it is behind us. I can already see a huge difference in him. He now sleeps about 10 hours at night as before he was sleeping at least 12. His nap went from 3-4 hours to 2 hours. When I check on him at night he is peacefully sleeping instead of fighting the bed. What a relief!!
Ava will be 9 months old next week, can you believe that??? I sure can't!! She is so precious! She still has no teeth and can't crawl, but getting close. She can say Dada and not Bubba (for Jackson). It is so cute!! Maybe Mama will come next? She LOVES food and will eat anything we give her. You would be amazed how much she can gum with no teeth!

Post surgery

Here is a before picture, right after, and a few from today (4 days post surgery). Jackson has lost almost 5 pounds and he did not have any extra to begin with! He looks pretty frail so we have been offering him everything. I have had to set a timer for every 5 minutes and when it goes off he knows he has to take a sip of liquid. Man does it save a lot of arguing and whining. The food part has not been as easy. Since surgery he has hardly eaten anything. I offer him ice cream, pudding, popsicles; you name it all through the day. When he has fully recovered I am going to have to load up on high fat foods for him. I don’t think any of us were prepared for how hard this has been. This by far has been the hardest thing I have experienced as a parent. It is no fun to watch your child in so much pain and be able to do nothing for them. We managed to get out of the house for t ball pictures this morning through a lot of tears. After pictures we headed to Target to get him a real watch. A little boy in his class has one so I told him if he wanted one he had to earn it. Each day he has good behavior at school he gets to put a sticker on his chart at home. After he gets 5 stickers he gets a reward. Ever since we started this he has had nothing but great days! The first 5 stickers he got to go to Chuck E Cheese. He only had three stickers, but I told him after his surgery he could get it. Poor kid I think he earned it and some! I am sure hoping he is turning the corner to recovering.

Jackson

We are DONE! We got a late start since they were backed up. We started our day waking at before 6am to get here by 7:30 and they did not even start with him until 11:00. He cleaned his ears and said he did not think he needed another set of tubes (great news). He had left over adenoids so he removed those (a nice way of saying his first Dr did not remove them all) and he took out his tonsils out. Jackson was a brave boy and rode back in a wagon with the anesthesiologist. He made friends with him before hand and sang him the whole super man song on his lap. I will NEVER take either of my kids anywhere, but here. It is like night and day (compared to Katy hospitals). Jackson had some trouble with his breathing when he woke up and high heart rate. He was very upset and it took awhile to calm him, but we are resting in our room right now (he is watching TV). We are in the West tower room 1112 if anyone wants to come see him today. We will hopefully go home in the morning or mid day. Thank you for all the support and prayers, hopefully he is on the mend!

April 14th

Ok I think I got all our immediate family receiving updates.

Tomorrow is Jackson's surgery and I think it just hit me. My nerves are a mess. I know he is in good hands and everything will be fine, but when it is your baby you still worry. It is 8:20 and he is eating Oreo's (big treat for him). So if you think about it say an extra prayer for our family. Surgery is at 9:30 am at Texas Children's and we will spend the night.

So on to my other precious baby. She is such a sweet little thing! This child is always happy! She was up watching Greg's family play rock band at 9:00 Easter Sunday. Greg's Aunt Shellie mentioned her tugging her ear and thought she may have an ear infection. Well two weeks ago she was doing the same thing and the Dr said it was wax. She was not fussy nor running fever so I never thought twice about it. She has also had a runny nose for a few days. Last night I heard this horrible sound and honest to God I thought it was the dog. It was Ava barking! It scared me to death! Today she woke up sounding horse and I knew I had to take her in. She had a couple more "barking" spells and one right in front of the Dr. Poor angel, she has Croup and an ear infection! UGH!!! Could this happen at a worse time?? I have to leave her tomorrow night (for the first time) and I just stopped nursing two weeks ago. Talk about feeling guilty!!! My Dr assured me the two DO NOT go hand in hand. You would never know this baby was sick as stinking cute as she looked!

Wed it is

So the Cardiolosit said if they diverticulum gets bigger it could rupture the chamber. We are going to keep a close eye on it and NOT worry right now! We will be at Texas Children's to have his tonsils out Wed and spend the night. Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts.

8 Months

Where does the time go? I can't believe it has been 8 months already! I don't really have anything new to tell. Ava is trying so hard to crawl, but just can't quite get it. No teeth yet either, but the girl can scarf down a pancake in no time. You would be surprised the things she can gum. Life is pretty fast paced over here and we are enjoying every minute of it.

Good News

I spoke to the Cardiologist tonight. He called me and answered my questions. The diverticulum is not new. It was on the first echo a year and a half ago. They are only able to see 95% on the echo and this was just hard to see. An extra set of eyes picked it up and gave us an answer to what is going on. This is completely separate from his innocent murmur. We will monitor it and make sure the diverticulum does not get any bigger. I am going to ask him what happens if it does get bigger I just did not think of that when I spoke to him. He is going to have the chief on the echo lab look at this and if she feels any other further testing is done then he will call us. If not we will have another echo in 6 months to a year. He said this will not affect Jackson surgery next week to have his tonsils out and if it was his son he would still have it done. I have full confidence we are with the very best people at Texas Children's. Our Dr is well known, highly respected, a professor, and on the Board of American pediatrics (he is damn good). I also have 100% confidence that God has a plan and he will take care of my precious little boy.

UPDATE

Some of you have not been receiving my email updates. I added some who wanted them and when I did some were removed. I can only have 10 people to update. I am removing this feature completely so no one has hurt feelings. Please check back at your leasure for updates or feel free to call us.

hamiltonhomeof4.blogspot.com

281-660-1634 cell
281-712-1820 home

WOW

I spoke to soon!! The Cardiologist just called me at home. They have had people looking at Jackson's echo all day long. He is such a rare case. They have found a pocket (Diverticulum) of blood. He will have to be monitored every 6 months and if it is bigger next 6 months then we will have to do a MRI. This is going to make me a nervous wreck during his surgery next week! He went from his blood flows different and it is fine too he has a heart defect that will have to be monitored. Prayers PLEASE~

Echo

Walking in to Texas Children’s today was so surreal. As I looked around at all the visibly sick kids my gut felt like it was being pulled out. A couple times I had to take deep breaths to keep from crying. My heart aches for those families.

Jackson did great for his echo. He politely looked at the tech and said, “are you going to get my shirt all dirty”. He laid perfectly still watching cartoons the whole time after she assured him she would not get his shirt dirty. She made me very nervous after she kept going back to the same spot and told me she would be right back. She came back in and said she would have to do a little more. After she was done they did x rays which they did not do last time. Once again my gut felt like it was being ripped out. I was very nervous! When I saw the Dr, he explained things in detail. I wish I could show the picture he showed me because it made so much since. The chambers to a heart have two sides, one if flat, and the other is jagged. Both sides of the chambers to Jackson heart are jagged. One side is so jagged it has a big dip. It does not go all the way through like a hole in the heart. The big dip is causing his blood to circle and cause the swooshing noise (the murmur). He said he had a second opinion on the echo just to be safe. Both tecs and the Dr felt confident saying that all functions of his heart are working perfectly normal. He just has a very unique situation. His blood does not flow the same as mine and yours, but is causing no complications. So what a relief! This may never correct itself, but we have no reason to worry! Thanks you for all your thoughts, prayers, emails, phone calls, etc. We are so blessed with a healthy little boy and wonderful friends and family to support us.

Belly Laughs

It does not get any better than hearing your baby's first belly chuckle!! Tonight Ava graduated to her big girl bath seat. Jackson was so excited to get to take a bath with Ava. Who knew she would think it was so funny! We got in all on video and when I figure out how to get it on here I will post. She was laughing so hard and it was adorable!!

Go Yankees!

Today was a big day; it was the first tball game of the season. It was more like herd ball. There were several coaches and parents on the field guiding the kids in the right direction. Over all I think it went well. Jackson participated 100% of the time which is HUGE. He cried about 40%, but he did it! He loves to bat (and is very good), likes to run, and hates out field. He does not understand why he can not catch the ball every single time. All the kids run for the ball and if someone gets to it before him, he falls apart. It was a lot for the little one’s to take in. I mean really a new field, new players, screaming fans from the side line, etc. He is going to play summer ball too so hopefully each season will get better! I think he is going to pretty good once he gets the hang of it. He was the only two year old on the team when we started. He missed the cut off by 19 days and the only reason he got to play is because I got them to change his age in the system at the Y. I think we will for sure keep him at the Y one more full year before starting pony league. That was he can be the oldest one the team instead of the youngest!

Big thanks to Granny, Papa, and Uncle Josh for coming out to make him feel special and watch his first game!

Sitting up!!

This is the best picture I could get. The weather has really been getting to Ava! She has been all snotty the last couple days. She is however finally sitting up like a big girl. I also am 100% done nursing. I feel like I am saying good bye to her infancy which is hard, but a new season is beginning. This child is such a blessing and truly completes our family!

Update

Today Jackson had his 3 year check up. He is a healthy little boy, but the Dr still can strongly hear the heart murmur. For those who don’t know in October of 2007 we found out Jackson had a dip in one of his valves. It was not even a hole so they were 99% sure it would be all cleared up by now. My pediatrician was adamant I call the cardiologist before having his surgery on the 15th (tonsils out). I called and he is out of town, but she said they would work us in before the 15th. It makes me a little uneasy since everyone brushed it off and said it would be gone by now. So we wait and pray. Other than that and his tonsils he is a healthy growing boy. He amazes me with how smart he is. He can remember something so far back it will blow your mind. He wants a little dog so bad, but are house is at maximum capacity! Oh I almost forgot he also had a visit to the dentist today. They took him back by him self to do the cleaning and I was a bit worried, but he did great! Jackson can be a little shy and when I came back he was talking to the dental hygienist like they were long time pals. He is going through a big Spider Man phase and so he got to pick out a new one. This is HUGE since I am anti buying my kids toys (since they have so many). We went through his play room and picked out a whole trash bag of stuff to donate. Does it seem like with each kid you get more crap filling up your house?? I can not STAND clutter!

Ava Bear is getting so big. She still can’t sit up by herself lol and still has NO teeth. It makes me feel like she is still itty bitty so I don’t mind one bit! As of two weeks ago she is 100% on a bottle and as of one week ago taking half formula!! We will see how it goes, but my plan is to be 100% on formula by the end of the month of shortly after. I can see my waist line in my near future ;). She is babbling a lot which I love to hear. Jackson never ever did this. He had hearing loss so really did not make any sounds the first year. This week she started to have feelings. She is scared of the Jack in the box, loud noises, and if your tone is wrong. She is becoming a sensitive little girl, aww.

Jackson 3 year stats
Weight 34 pounds 75%
Height 39 inches 90%
BMI 15 (can you imagine a 15 BMI ha)

Spring Break 2009

If anyone knows my husband you know he is such a grump about doing anything that involves traveling. We have talked about taking Jackson to Sea World for the last year, but when it came time he was not happy. He tried to talk me out of it, tried to put it off, and tried to use the card that I was trying to relive my child hood. One thing he is right about is I did not have many family vacations, but I will scrape together every last penny to make sure my kids do if need be. He could not say anything when I had over half the money saved for the trip. He was so glad we went! We all had such a great time. I am not kidding when I say Ava never once cried the whole time we were in San Antonio. Jackson was price less to see. His excitement made my heart full. Greg and I even really enjoyed it! I am so happy we are building special memories for our kids!