Peek-A-Boo!!

Christmas Day

Christmas was amazing this year.  Garon and I both felt as though this was our first Christmas since we have been married.  Technically this is our third but the first year we were married we moved to AR, the second we traveled down to TX so we didn't do any decorating or anything like that so this year was the big whammy!  It was wonderful because we have a beautiful daughter to share it with.  We decorated cookies, went caroling to some friends, had company over, spent time with the Grandparents and enjoyed our holiday season.  I love the holidays and the excitement that comes with them and I love I am able to spend them with the two people I love most.  

 

 

 

 Here is your warning: THERE ARE LOTS OF PICTURES ATTACHED
We did not do very good at taking pictures of everything we did but we did manage to pull the camera out for Christmas morning.  We all look tired (even the baby) but we had fun and enjoyed the time spent together.

This picture is a little blurry but this is our Christmas decorations

Jillian loved the bows, it took her a little bit to realize there was more around.

The elephant came from the stocking

Along with the teething rings and that book down in her lap

Doll from Hindmarsh Family

So serious about opening her gifts

Dad said: "Movie or Chew Toy?"

Happy Baby

Must say she didn't do too bad for First Christmas

She was so content to sit and play and watch

Just so you know, these knives are AMAZING

Beautiful ornament from Hindmarsh Family (makes me miss my horn)

I suppose I need to try to make a cheesecake now :)

It is another picture of our happy baby

Garon was happy with Santa

Jillian decided she wanted to help daddy open stuff

Push Up Pros...I hear they are amazing for push ups...

New shirt

Paper and Bows with teething ring in hand...slobber is explained

 

The best people that have ever come into my life!

We are looking forward to this upcoming year and the many exciting things that are to come.  Happy Holidays to all and may you have a wonderful New Year!

Just Stuff

Well, it has been one of those days.  Jillian cried, ate, cried, slept for 15 minutes, cried, played, cried, cried, went in the car, got sleepy, cried, ate, got home and  played,  went grocery shopping, got home and played with Daddy, Daddy left for work and Jillian cried and cried and cried, I fed her, changed her diaper, tried to rock her, tried laying her down, and so much more and she just cried.  At 5:00 p.m. this evening Ms. Jillian decided she was tired and went to sleep, she woke up at about 5:30 but was back in bed by 6:00 and will sleep until about 4 in the morning.  With her not liking to nap early bedtime is a must but I must say it makes the evenings rather peaceful and I am able to accomplish the things I didn't get done all day long. 

Jillian has been doing so much better as far as the crying goes.  Having a day here and there is NOTHING compared to the nonstop I had for the first 3 months or so.  She is such a blessing and Garon and I are both so grateful for the many blessings she brings into our lives.

On another note....

I think I am going to have to stop taking Yaz (that is the birth control I have been on).  I took this before I got pregnant and had no problems with it at all.  I have been on it for the past 4 months and each month right before I start my cycle I get this excruciating pain that I can  only describe as contraction pains but it doesn't go away and it gets stronger and stronger and will last anywhere from 12 to 24 hours.  After the extreme pain is gone I stay sore for another day or two and eventually get back to normal.  I need to clarify, when I say I have pain, it isn't cramping, it feels like it is right below my right rib cage and it shoots all the way through to my back and goes down to my lower back (where the menstrual cramping is going on).  When this hits I can't do anything, it hurts to stand, sit, lay down, or even just to move. I have been doing some research and Yaz is known to cause gallbladder issues but I don't know what to do because I can never get into the doctor when it hits because it is always on the weekend.  I set up an appointment to go in tomorrow to discuss other options and see if the two are even related.  I told Garon today that I am just falling apart.

Happy Note:
GARON IS OFF ON CHRISTMAS DAY!!!!  I am super excited about this and as an extra bonus he is going to work days on the Tues-Thurs before Christmas.  He does have to work Christmas Eve night but I can handle that. 

Pictures and Jillian Update

Milestones Jillian has made:

Rolling from front to back and back to front

Eating rice cereal twice a day

Eating veggies once a day

Sleeping from about 6:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. (on average)

Slowly getting into a nap routine of some sort (short naps but naps none the less)

Starting to reach out to Mommy and Daddy

Will sit up until she realized she is sitting up

Loves to pull hair

Slobbers like a Queen

Rattles are miracle toys

Splashes in the bath

Loves listening to music while getting lotion after bath

Loves being without clothing as much as possible

Holding her own bottle (when she isn't too tired)

Occasionally will put herself to sleep

I am sure there is more that I am missing but this is all that is fresh on the top of my mind!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

It's Christmas Time

The tree is up and trimmed and there are even a few presents beneath. The aroma of cinnamon and spice fill the air and you can often hear the tunes of Christmas carols in the background. I must say this is my favorite time of year, not because of the Santa Clause, the Reindeer, candy canes, or lots of goodies but because the spirit of loving can be felt, for the friendships that are renewed, for the joy that is seen on the faces of those we serve, for taking a little extra time to say hello, for the smiling faces in a world of trouble. This time of year holds so much joy that is often times forgotten.

I was in the car the other day and the thought came to me, "Why can't there be more Christmas like songs throughout the year?". I started reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas and what it means to me in my life. Last year I was just 2 months pregnant and scared to death because I didn't know if I would be able to carry this baby, how could I handle another devastating miscarriage, what kind of mom will I be if I am able to carry to term, will I be able to do what is best for this child inside? I must say I made it through and this year we will be having a little different Christmas because we have "our family". We have experienced a miracle this year and for that I am so thankful. As far as what kind of mom I am, that is still to be determined...I know that Garon and I do our best and we try to do everything we can to show our little Jillian that she is loved and adorned. I have been reflecting about Mary and her trials over the past few days, she was a strong courageous woman who stood for so much. She brought the Christ child into this world in a stable and his bed was a manger filled with hay. Oh the many blessings we have today! I was able to birth in a hospital, had painkillers available (not that I took any), and I was able to rest in a bed with covers.

My all time favorite Christmas songs is: Do You Hear What I Hear

Said the night wind to the little lamb
Do you see what I see
Way up in the sky little lamb
Do you see what I see
A star, a star
Dancing in the night
With a tail as big as a kite
With a tail as big as a kite

Said the little lamb to the shepard boy
Do you hear what I hear
Ringing through the sky shepard boy
Do you hear what I hear
A song, a song
High above the tree
With a voice as big as the sea
With a voice as big as the sea

Said the shepard boy to the mighty king
Do you know what I know
In your palace wall mighty king
Do you know what I know
A child, a child
Shivers in the cold
Let us bring him silver and gold
Let us bring him silver and gold

Said the king to the people everywhere
Listen to what I say
Pray for peace people everywhere
Listen to what I say
The child, the child
Sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light
He will bring us goodness and light

The child, the child
Sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light

I don't really know why this is my favorite but it always causes me to ponder.

Update on Pictures

So, the pictures aren't exactly in time order, I am typing and doing this with Jillian on my lap so I am not spending too much time on it but I hope you can enjoy :)

Jillian got a new pair of sunglasses and she likes them as long as she is awake. She fell asleep with them on and was NOT happy when she woke up.

Garon and Jillian decided to take a little nap, rare occasion for Jillian.

Just being cute in her cute little outfit

we went on a walk at the park and Jillian got tired of her stroller so we ended up carrying her 1/2 the way but she was cuddly so we couldn't pass it up.

She is learning to feed herself so well, when we are holding her she does okay most the time with holding her bottle but we improvised with a blanket for this round.

While eating her rice cereal. She really enjoys meal time and sometimes we just can't get it to her fast enough for her liking.

Figuring out how to feed herself, she really likes the idea but hasn't fully got it down.
She does know where the utensils go.

Shop til you Drop...She passed out while we were doing a little Christmas shopping

She loves her new ride!

Halloween Outfit

One proud Daddy who is definitely under the Baby's spell.

November

I can't believe it has been a full month since I last posted anything. It is crazy how time just slips away from me these days and I can't seem to get it back. I should totally be in bed right now trying to get some sleep while Jillian is in dreamland but instead I am awake and on the computer.

Jillian had her 4 month check up earlier this month and she weighed in at 17 lbs. 8.5 oz and is 26.5 inches long. She is wearing 9 month clothing, talking, playing with her feet, smiling, screaming, eating Rice cereal twice a day, slowly starting to put herself to sleep (occasionally). She has stopped sleeping all through the night for some strange reason (where did my baby go that slept until 9:00 in the morning?) She is generally in bed between 7 and 7:30 p.m. and has been waking up at 3:30 and 6:30, at 6:30 she thinks she needs to be up for the day. We generally play for a bit, she will eat some cereal, and eventually go back to sleep but it is short lived; like 45 minute short lived. Jillian feels she doesn't need to take a NAP during the day so she takes little cat naps, any ideas on how we can change this? Jillian is slowly growing out of the colic, it has been a battle but we are surviving. She now does very well for the most part during the day but the evenings (3:00 p.m. on) start getting a little rough. There are times when Garon leaves to go to school or work and Jillian wigs out, like she knows she isn't going to see him again that night, it is CRAZY and it is just enough to make me want to go crazy.

Garon is working hard to get through the semester, he is taking less hours this semester but it has been tough. Between work, school, home, and church he stays very busy and Jillian and I try to be as supportive as we can. Sometimes I have a really hard time with this because I get greedy and just want to spend some time with him.

As for myself I have finally given in and went to the chiropractor because I have had a headache for the past month solid (no joke) and my lower back has been killing me (I took a fall about 4 or 5 years ago and never got it looked at and now that I am carrying around the baby it is starting to take its toll). I went in for the evaluation last week and he was touching some places on my back and I thought I was going to jump out of my skin. I go back in tomorrow for the results of the x-rays and scans that they did, hopefully I am not too messed up to be fixed.

I was going to upload some pictures but I am on the laptop at the moment and we don't have any recent pictures on here. I will have to get on the desktop tomorrow and get some updated pictures for you all to see! :)

Back Flash

So, I never posted this picture before but looking back on it I probably should. This picture was taken of me about 24 hours before Jillian was born. This was on July 4, 2010 and it was the first day in my pregnancy that I really felt "HUGE" and looking at the picture it makes perfect sense.

October is here already...

Time has yet escaped me again but all is well. Life has been going great and we couldn't be happier. Garon is still in school and working full time but still finds time for his family. Jillian is growing like a little weed. She is talking, laughing, cooing, and becoming mobile. She is sleeping great at night and eating all the time. We have so much fun together during the day. I must say it isn't always peaches and cream, she does still have her screaming fest about once a day but it doesn't last near as long and we can calm her down a lot faster these days. She has graduated up to the size 3 diapers (the size 2 still fit but they are just a little snug).

A couple of weeks ago Jillian and I made a road trip to TX and had a great time (I was a little insane by the time I got there). I was an amazing trip but it was hard work and probably won't happen again for a while, traveling with a 3 month old by yourself is a little tiring but we made it through. We are so blessed to have so many people who love us and want us to come visit.

Jilian decided to roll over this morning and it was so much fun to watch her. She smiled as soon as we turned of the camera (as always). Later this afternoon we were both laying on the floor, she was down by my feet and the next thing I knew she was up by my head. She isn't crawling yet but she is getting close, she sure does know how to scoot around on her belly and face.

September so Far

Well, September has been a bit of a busy month. First let me catch you up on what happened at Jillian's two month appointment.  She weighed in at 14 lbs. and measured at 23.75 inches long.  She is a growing girl and I don't believe there is much we can do about that.  She is finally beginning to outgrow her colic (we think).  She has been a much happier baby and is sleeping more at night.  She usually goes down between 8:30 and 10, sometimes a little earlier and sometimes a little later.  Generally she will wake up between 2 and 3 and again at 6:30 and again at 9, occasionally she will reduce it down to twice a night and if she really loves us that night she will only get up once (last night was one of these nights; she went down about 9:30 and didn't get up until 6:30 then went back to bed until 9) :)

September has kind of slipped us by.  I say it has been a busy month but in all honesty I don't really know what has been going on.  I paid my car off Friday and that was such an amazing ordeal, one less bill to pay which is oh so wonderful.  My sister also got married on Friday, it was a nice and simple ceremony, Congratulations to you Sara and Matt! :)

Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy.

Kadence did not really want to have her picture taken so I had to sneak it in and this is the best I could do.  She loves coming over and playing with Jillian, a lot of times she likes to play house and she acts as the big sister, I am the mom and Jillian is the baby...fun times for sure :)

Jillian (on the left) is three days younger than her cousin Addyson (on the right).  I like this picture because they are both smiling but I cut part of Addyson off...oops!

I got both of them here but they aren't smiling near as big.

I wanted Garon to get a picture of Jillian in her dress before the wedding and this is what he came back with...he was being silly.

It's not the best but she was just so darn cute!!!

Kadence, Sara, Bishop Bardin, and newest family member Matt.

There were lots of yummy treats afterward.  

The "I" on the cupcakes stands for: Ichniowski