October Fun

This month has been tons of fun! We have been to several festivals around Katy, The Zoo Boo, and the Children's Museum. This week we are hitting Dewberry Farms, a festival at Jackson's school, and a Halloween party with good friends. I have a feeling October will be one of our new favorite months!

Daddy and Jackson

This is one of my all time favorite picture's!

SNIFFFF!!!

My baby boy is getting so BIG! He had school picture's last week which I will post as soon as we get them. Well this week he got his first invitation to a birthday party from a little girl in his class. We have been to other parties, but this just seems so grown up! An invitation lol!! That is not all, we have a canned food drive this week and field day! How did this happen? How did he get so big so fast?

Yee Haw

Happy Halloween from The Hamilton's!

My husband ROCKS!

It is that time again. This week my heart is so full from the love of my beautiful babies. My husband rocks for helping me create two perfect precious souls. I know these babies mean the world to him and he enjoys being a Daddy so much!

Betty Boop

Daddy said she looked ridiculous in this outfit (like Betty Boop). I have to beg the differ!! I think she is so precious and so did everyone else we came across today. We went to the pedi for her 2 months well visit. I had nurses coming from behind the counter wanting to hold her. Jackson on the other hand could not figure out what the fuss was about and why no one was paying attention to him. I am so proud to say that she is 10 pounds 13 ounces. She is still nursing like a pro. I have not even tried to give her a bottle yet (I have not even pumped any milk). She is doing so well why mess up a good thing? It is super easy and so convenient. The only down side is there is no schedule yet. It is much harder to get a schedule down with a nursing baby. I am really ok with it and we will figure it out as we go along. So anyway she is in the 50% for weight and 97% for height. The Dr said she may look a lot leaner than she actually is do to her length. I think she looks pretty fluffy lol. After the Dr’s visit we went on to get her ears pierced. The look great and she did great! She jumped on the first one and the second one she let out a cry. I just put the paci in and she went right back to sleep. She does not seem to be in any discomfort! I could not believe it was so easy. After talking to many Mom’s I am glad we got it out of the way. She will never remember it and it was not traumatizing.


Ava is such a good baby. She is a Mommy’s girl for sure. I am sure that has a lot to do with what I can offer her that Daddy can’t ;). She loves to snuggle and sleep right next to Mommy when I let her. She is such a blessing! Greg asked me if I was ready to have another one. It is a good thing one of us has some sense!

FUN

It is so fun to sit and compare Jackson's baby picture's with Ava. I wonder what she will look like! Jackson looks so different now and she changes daily!

My husband ROCKS

I have not been keeping up with this like I should. This week he deserves it more than anything! My husband rocks because as I am going through an extremely hard time my husband has been there for me. He stayed home with me Friday morning, went to his Grandma's with us for distraction, and to lunch with his family. He has been all ears for me to talk to. He has proven to me he is the one and only person I can 99.9% trust. I love you! Please say an extra prayer for me.

First Smile

I had my camera and started talking to Ava, before I know it she smiled at me. This is the third time and I got it on camera. She is such a wonderful baby. Jackson has been wild lately. Giving up his binki has made some early mornings in our house. Lack of sleep for all of us has been extremely hard between a nursing baby and a cranky toddler up at 5:45am. Today he slept until 7:45 and it was a great day. I am so blessed to have these beautiful children. As a mother you experience something so amazing. You do anything and everything for your children and to protect them.

The MAGIC red scooter

I all of a sudden one night right before bed time I decided that it was time for the binki to go. Jackson’s teeth are starting to stick out more and more. I knew since he did not even ask for it at school he could do it at home! So with out thinking it through and not allowing time to rationalize why he still needed it I told him it was time. I knew he wanted a scooter since most of his friends have one. I was waiting until Christmas, but heard that this works so this is what we did. I told him he was a big boy and it was time for his binki’s to go bye bye. If he went two nights (anything more than one is two too Jackson) he would get his scooter. He said he wanted a red one so we pumped it up. We told him red scooters were for big boys, etc. That night it took about an hour for him to go to sleep. He wanted to ask for a binki so bad, but was determined to get the scooter so he never asked. He woke up once in the night (still never asked for it) and that was it. It had been one solid week and NO BINKI”S!! Before bed I told him the binki fairy was coming to drop off his scooter. He was so excited when he woke up to his red Car’s scooter today! He was outside at 6:45 riding down the side walk. It took all of 10 minutes for him to figure it out. He told everyone that passed by he got a new red scooter. He keeps saying, “I can do it” and “I’m doin it”. He is so happy he is a big boy with his big boy scooter. Here are some action photos.

My kids have brought more than I could have imagined to my life

I don't have a lot of time as usual, but I have so much to say! I spent last week end with my Dad, Sheri, Jackson, and Ava. This week end with my sister, Andrew, Greg, Jackson, Ava, my Mom, and we got to see my brother and his family. Having kids has made me a better person. It has taught me so much. It has taught me to be the person God intended me to be. My family has come a long way and been through quite a bit to say the least. Growing up I always looked at what was wrong and what some one else did. It was always someone else's fault why I was doing, acting, or feeling a certain way. Hate the one's you love the most kind of thing. My heart feels so full finally! Having my kids has shown me how much my family loves me and how much they love my kids. My Mom is hear once a week to see them. My sister and I though 5 hours apart seem to see each other once a month or at least every other (most her doing). I vow to make more effort this coming year. My brother though a man of few words does not have to say much anymore to make me feel ok anymore. I accept him for who he is. I can see how proud he is of me by the way he loves and enter acts with my son or the way he holds my daughter. My sister in law is amazing and is another sister to me. We adore our neice and nephews and can't wait for our kids to have so many great memories with them. My Dad and Sheri always welcome us and open there home for our family. We have tons of summer fun in Austin! Our family always manages to get get together for many holidays out of the year. I am just so grateful that I know my family and I are as important to them as they are to me.

One month

One month has passed in the blink of an eye. Things have been super busy around here. Greg insisted I take the kids and go to my Dad’s for the hurricane. I am sure glad I did since we were with out power for 48 hours. We live in a bubble (Katy) outside of Houston so I don’t see any real effects of the hurricane expect the grocery store. There has been little milk, bread, dairy, etc. Monday I got up at 6:30 to go get some groceries and HEB was trying to get everything restocked. People were there shopping out of the boxes in the middle of the aisles. It was nuts! As soon as they restock they are out again. Greg says it is real bad in town and it will take some serious time to repair and get the city the way it was. We are off to Dallas tomorrow for my sister’s baby shower this week end. I am so excited for her I can’t stand it! Oh and Ava, what do I say. She is simply perfect. She is an angel! She nurses like a pro and sleep like a champ. She is a pretty chill baby, what more could I ask for? I wish I had time for more, but I have to pack for our trip!

Great week

Last week was our first week on our own with no help. It went really well I must say!

Tuesday we met Jackson's teacher and ran a few errands
Wednesday we went to swim lessons, story time at the library, and had lunch with 4 friends!
Thursday was Jackson first day of school
Friday we went to a play date and the park
The week end we enjoyed as a family

This week we have something every day as well. It is so nice to be able to get out again and do fun stuff with Jackson. I started back at the gym yesterday and this morning I got up at 6:45 to go work out. Ugh did you know it is still dark at that hour!

I have some HUGE news! We went for a weight check today and Ava gained a full pound in two weeks weighing in at 8 pounds and 12 ounces!! There is nothing more rewarding than breast feeding your child and watching her grow.

Jackson started to cry today when he was walking back to his room with all the other kids. It sure made a hard day for me, but his teacher said it stopped as soon as they hit the room. He had a great day and was all smiles when I picked him up. Once again he went straight to sleep with NO binki. BIG BOY!

Call the PRESS!!

So I said Jackson was a little sad about having to nap at school, but went right to sleep. I just thought about this today, he did not have a binki!! I did not send one on purpose, but forgot about it. I am so proud of him.

What a big boy!

He did great! He was whining when I got there, but the teacher said he had just started that when he got up from his nap. It will be quite an adjustment going from a 3 hour nap to just an hour and a half. He never once cried and was so excited to show me his stamp from his Spanish teacher. He has been saying a few words in Spanish and it is adorable! I am so happy he did great!! It makes it so much easier, but man it was a lonely day with out my little man!

I miss him so much!

It has only been an hour since we dropped off Jackson at his first day of preschool. Ava is a sleep as usual and the house is silent. I have been cleaning since I got home trying to stay busy. I did not realize how hard this would be for me. Should I have waited another year? I know I am being selfish he is ready. At his school we all meet at 8:45 for morning devotion. They sing, read a bible verse, and then pray. All the kids sit as a class and then they hold on to the rope and off they go. Jackson grabbed on and said bye. He kept looking back, but only to smile and keep saying bye. Life happens way too fast is all I can say. I will update tonight with some pictures and let you know how he did (and how I did :)).

Meet the teacher

I think when you have your first child there is an instant bond. Your life revolves around that child. Having my second child I just assumed it would be the same and it is just not. With Ava I feed her, change her, and then put her back in her bed to take care of Jackson. I don’t feel like I really have had the time to bond with her yet. All my Mom friends say it just takes longer the second time around. I was thinking that having two days a week with Jackson in preschool; it would give me that one on one time with Ava. Especially as she gets older I know I will enjoy this time. I have to admit I have been feeling so sad about sending Jackson lately. It has always been him and I every day for the last two and a half years. I mean seriously I missed him when Tina took him t Pump it Up for a couple hours. I totally figured he would be the same for him lol. Today when we went to his school to meet the teachers all the kids were crying in fear of being left, would not look or talk to the teacher, and wanted to be held. Jackson walked right in, shook hands with his teachers, told him his name, found the lagos, and then came back grabbed his teacher by the hand to come play with him. I think I was the only parent literally dragging my child out the door and through the parking lot to leave. I have been thinking all after noon about how proud I am of him at only 2.5 years old. He showed me his self confidence, independence, and how self sufficient he can be and that makes me so proud. Those are three things my parents made very important growing up and I know it has helped me through the years and as an adult. My little baby has become a wonderful little boy!

Child of God

Today was a special day for our family. I wanted Ava’s baptism to be special and a little more personal. We decided to have Father Manuel who is a family friend of Greg’s family baptize her. Greg and I did our marriage prep with him and he married us. I love our priest, but he does not do the baptizing at our parish. Jackson was one of at least 15 kids when his was done. Greg called Father Manuel months ago to ask him if he would do the honors. He of course said yes and told us he would do it at 11:00 mass. My sister, brother in law, Dad, and Sheri were all in town to help us in celebration (along with the rest if our families). Today when we showed up mass was already going on. Well he failed to tell us that he changed his mass times and it was at 10:00. We ended up going in after communion and everything worked out perfectly.
We talked for several months about choosing God parents. This was hard for us because we don’t have many people in our lives that are practicing Catholics. Along with Father Manuel we made the decision to have one God parent. We chose Tina Greg’s sister. She has been great with Jackson and I know she will be with Ava as well. She has a huge help to me through the end of my pregnancy coming to help several times. We did not want to make someone a God Parent just for “record”. We wanted to choose someone we knew would be an active part in her life. Hopefully Tina will be married one day and her spouse will share in this honor with her. Though no one will ever officially be the God Father on paper that is not what is important to us. We would rather have one active person in her life than 10 on paper. So here is to Tina! We look forward to sharing the responsibility of spiritual guiding our sweet Ava for many years to come with you!
Thank you to all of our family for sharing this day with us.
Mark 16:16 Who ever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned

My husband ROCKS!

I am pulling deep right now lol!! My saw this on my friend Erin's blog and I have been telling my self I will do it no matter how hard it may be right now. When things are stressed around here I find myself looking at all my husband's faults. I focus on everything he does not do or everything I think he does wrong. So from now on Friday's I am going to remind myself of the things he did for us through the week and why my husband ROCKS! This week Greg rocks because no matter how stressed I am and no matter how much I take everything out on him he just deals with it. Thank you for being patient with me while I am tired from nursing a baby, lack of sleep, and being worried about Jackson.

http://honestandlasting.blogspot.com/

What's next??

Yesterday my Mom got Jackson up out of bed for the day and noticed his eye was a little swollen. I of course said he was fine and initially did not think anything of it. With in a few hours I decided to skip swim lessons and take him to the Dr as it was getting worse. His head, eye, and cheek were swollen and red. We went to his Dr and he could not pin point what it was. He did blood work and everything looked fine so he said watch it and start some antibiotics if it did not go down. We came home and he went down for his nap. When he got up I was almost in tears it looked so bad. I called the Dr and he had us go straight to Texas Children’s Hospital. They could not tell us what it was either, but Benadryl seemed to help a little. When it was time to get in the car he freaked out and could not control him self. It was scary and I have never seen Jackson who is so laid back act this way. We got home and he went to bed. At about 1:00 I went up to give him some more Benadryl and his eye was completely swollen shut. I sat in the living room in tears because I was so worried. I put him in bed with us and he could not lay still. I think he just can not tolerate Benadryl. Finally at 4:30 this morning he went back to his own bed. I called the Dr and he wanted to look at it again. I appreciate a Dr who can say he is not going to just tell me something to give me an answer; we may never know exactly what this is. He did add some Zyrtec and a steroid on top on the antibiotics. It seems to be less red and the swelling has gone down some. If it is not better by Tuesday he will put him Texas Children’s to try and find out what this is.
So hope and pray for us since we have my sister’s baby shower tomorrow and Ava’s baptism Sunday. I need Jackson to be well!
The pic is after he had some medicine and it went down some.