Two Months, Too Cute!

What we call you: Jack Attack, Jack-o-lantern, Jack Christopher

Temperament: You are so smiley these days! Dad makes you laugh all the time and really the only time you get upset is if you're wet, hungry or sleepy!

Things I could do without: Still not a great napper, but you make up for it at night when you sleep 6 or 7 hours at a time.

Things you could do without:  You've become pretty easy going these days. Diaper changes are no longer a big deal. You don't really love it when I change your outfit, but we've come a long way in that department.

Item/toy we love the most:  Your play mat. You just laugh, coo and smile while you're on it. It's so fun for the three of us!

Item/toy you love the most: Your play mat!

Things I am loving the most right now: How interactive you are now! You're awake more now too, so we get plenty of smiles and giggles. I love seeing your little personality develop. I am soaking up all our cuddle time, because I know it won't be long till you won't want to sit still and let me kiss your little face.

Things you are loving the most right now: You love hanging out with your Dad. No one can make you smile or laugh like he can.

What you are saying: Lots of fun noises, gurgles and you are especially good at saying "O".

What you are doing: You are rolling around a lot and sometimes I find you in your crib in a totally different place then where I put you down.

Your stats: At your two month appointment you weighed in at 10lbs, 11 ounces and 23 3/4 inches long!

One Month

One Month

What we call you: Jack Attack, Jackopher, Buddy Boy

Temperament:Hard to tell at this point. But, you seem happy as long as you are held, clean and dry &. have a full tummy.

Things I could do without: You don't really nap during the day. You sleep pretty well at night, but it is quite the victory if you take any kind of nap during the day.

Things you could do without:  Having your diaper or outfit changed. You pretty much hate to be naked.

Item/toy we love the most:  Your swing makes it easy for me to make coffee and breakfast in the morning. 

Item/toy you love the most:  Giraffe sound machine, it makes outings so nice and you sleep so soundly in your car seat with it.

Things I am loving the most right now: Cuddling in the middle of the night with you. Sometimes I just hold you tight and pray for you, when I should be putting you back in your crib and getting some sleep myself. You are also  smiling more consistently at me and Dad. We totally love it.

Things you are loving the most right now: Tummy time on your activity mat and you recently enjoyed our walks outside since it's been warmer.

What you are saying: You've started to coo, which is beyond adorable. I can't wait to hear more sweet noises from you!

What you are doing: You are holding up your head pretty well and eating like a champ. Today at the doctor you weighed in at 9lbs 10 oz and measured 22 inches. You are growing like a weed!

A baby story

Well, it's been 2 weeks since Jack Christopher came into the world! I thought I'd share my birth story for those interested and so I don't forget those little details that made it such a crazy & special day.

Since the beginning of February I'd been praying that God would make me go into labor. I was pretty done with being pregnant. Tired of getting up to go to the bathroom 2 or 3 times a night, tired of wearing the same outfits every week and tired of hauling that big belly around. Chris sweetly reminded me every time I complained that we needed to enjoy these last days together as just a married couple and enjoy sleeping in as much as possible.  February 10th (my due date) came and still no baby. I. was. bummed. My doctor told me that I would probably not have the baby over the weekend, being that I was not very dilated, but he couldn't tell very well because his head was so low. That night we went to dinner and shopped around and I was feeling pretty sick, pretty nauseous and having mild contractions. When we got home I sat on my birthing ball and we watched a movie. The contractions (much to my disappointment) went away and I got ready for bed.

At 1 in the morning, I felt a gush and thought excitedly that maybe my water broke. I ran to the bathroom and decided that was exactly what happened and made a quick call to my doctor. He agreed  and told me to get going to the hospital. I woke up Chris and we got moving. We arrived at the hospital around 1:30pm and got settled in our room. Contractions were probably 10 minutes apart and so the nurse encouraged us to get some rest. We tried, but it was hard.  I was excited and anxious, plus having some contractions on top of that made it hard to sleep. So, Chris and I hung out and watched tv. By about 7 am, we had a new nurse and my contractions were getting closer together and more intense, but I was still not very dilated. Noon, rolled around and the nurses and doctors decided to give me some medicine to get things going and boy did it! Never have I felt such horrible pain in all my life. For 4 straight hours I had really severe contractions and they were really close together. I squeezed Chris's hand, took a bath in the whirlpool and bounced on the birthing ball to try elevating the pain. Chris was unbelievable. He was so encouraging, cheering me on through every contraction. Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore, the nurse and doctor said I was dialed enough to get an epidural and suddenly life was good again. Chris and I both took a nap and got some much needed rest.

A few hours later, the doctor and nurse came and were concerned because the baby's heart rate and blood pressure were really low, so they put an oxygen mask on me and blood pressure cuff to help things out. I had to lay on my left side for the new few hours, but things didn't improve. So around 6:30pm, the doctor told me that we needed to do a c-section for the sake of the baby. What other decision could we make? Although, I cried and cried , Chris and I both knew we had to do it. So, they got everything set up and wheeled us down to the OR. I said a quick prayer for God to help me to be brave and strong and Chris held my hand. Minutes later, we heard our son's cry and I cried tears of joy. After that I felt relieved, but also exhausted and all I wanted to do was sleep. I heard the nurses yell over to me that he was 8 pounds and 5 ounces and overheard the doctor say to Chris that we probably couldn't have had a normal delivery based on his size. Once they took me into the recovery room, Chris came in to ask me about a name. The first time, he suggested Owen Samuel, and then the second time he said he looked more like a Jack Christopher. And that was it. Jack came in our lives at 7:35pm with a cone head and beautiful blue eyes. He looks just like his dad and I still can't believe he's ours.

first family picture

minutes old

two days old

lately

It seems like time is flying by lately. Every week I have such good intentions of getting certain things done and then before I know it, it's time to start a new week! Just a few updates... we found out the gender of our baby! I threw an adorable (if I do say so myself) gender reveal party and then forgot to take any pictures of the set up, banner and friends that attended. I did manage to get someone to take a couple of us cutting the cake that showed either pink or blue.

 It was blue! We are having a boy! We actually found out before the we threw the party, because wanted to know before everyone else. Which I'm glad we did, because I was actually pretty shocked! I'm not sure why, but when the ultra sound tech told us, I was in disbelief. Probably 5 minutes later she was showing us the baby's heart chambers and I just started crying. I couldn't even explain why, I was just so overwhelmed with emotion. Having a baby is one thing, but a son is another! Don't get me wrong I am so excited and Chris even more so. He wanted a boy so much and I am so glad that he'll have one. Since we found out, I've been buying really cute boy clothes and have started working on the nursery.

Honestly, I think that I'm more shocked that I'm even pregnant. I guess it should have sunk in by now, but it still feels like such a miracle. It wasn't that long ago, that I thought this time in my life would never come. And now I feel my baby boy moving around and kicking every day and night. Chris and I talk about what our son will be like and look like. This has been best 6 months of my life. Not that it's been super fun, but my prayer every day as been for God to help me find the joy in every part of this pregnancy.

My next posts will include our trip to the corn maze, nursery ideas and pregnancy ups and downs.

Babymoon!

Last week Chris and I were in Orlando, FL for our babymoon. It was a-mazing! A sweet couple in our church have a time share and gave us a free week to stay anywhere. We decided on Florida, after all we were dying to go to Harry Potter World and I just love Disney World. The condo was gorgeous and had two beautiful pools. (We went swimming almost every day, it was so hot and humid) It's crazy to think about how that will be our last big vacation with just the two of us. But, I can tell you that we really needed this time together. With both of us having pretty demanding jobs and a young church our days and nights are full. I loved having Chris's undivided attention the entire week and having him all to myself. We really had such a good time and I will always cherish this vacation and what a wonderful time we had together. 

Day 1- Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Testing out that famous Pumpkin Juice (it tasted awful)

Day 2&3-Disney World

Right in front of the Toy Story ride

                                                 

The times, they are a'changin

So, new blog, for new chapter of life. And for some reason I'm not able to log into my old blog so here we are. 

The times, they really are changing and we're probably in-store for some more. For those who don't know, Chris is now the full time pastor at Refuge Community Church. I mean, he's always been the full time pastor, but he also had another full time job at the Denver Rescue Mission. In May, we started praying and talking about him leaving that job and just focusing on church. The good thing was, I also got a new job at the end of March that came with a big raise, so the finances were there, but it was still a big decision.We'd be living on one income with a little assistance from the church which would mean that we'd have to cut back in some areas and would really be forced to stick to our budget.(Something we're not really great at) But, it seemed like God was really leading us to do this, so we took the leap. And on the Chris's last day at the Mission, we found out that we were pregnant! WE. WERE. SHOCKED. Many of you know it has been a hard and long road to getting pregnant and we definitely don't think it was a coincidence that we found out when we did.

We are now living our new normal. Chris is working from home, networking, meeting with church people and non-church people and really loving his new job. He is so much happier and that makes this girl happy. I am now 17 weeks along in the pregnancy. And besides the horrible morning sickness that I endured the first trimester, I feel awesome now. We leave for our vacation or babymoon next Saturday and generally we are just loving life.

Join me for bump pictures, funny stories and document this fun time.

here's our 1st picture of the little peanut. Love at first sight!