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

 

Here's What's Been Happening

Not a whole lot.  Garon is in school and working and I am at home with little Jillian watching her grow like a weed.  It is absolutely crazy how quickly she is blossoming but we are loving every minute. 

Garon's schedule allows him to be home in the mornings with us but he is gone pretty much every evening.  Jillian hasn't been crying near as much the past couple of days *knock on wood* as she has been and I am so grateful. We are headed to the doctor on Tuesday for her 2 month appointment, this will include shots which I am totally NOT ready for. 

Well, here are a few pictures to enjoy...there would be a video or two but I don't know where they disappeared to on the computer :)

Pictures

These are the pictures that I have been meaning to upload. Her blessing took place on Sunday, August 1, 2010

Random Events

I can't believe it has been a whole month since Jillian joined our family.  So much has happened and she has grown so much in such a short time.   I have had my fair share of joy, laughter, tears, tiredness, exhaustion, enjoyment, and any other emotion you could possibly imagine. 

Jillian has brought a lot of joy to my life over the past few weeks.  I will admit that it has been a tough road.  I was nursing her in the beginning but I just couldn't seem to keep her satisfied so I began to supplement with formula.  While nursing and supplementing I also began to pump, talk about emotional and physical drainage.  After about a week of doing all of this I just could not handle it anymore and I wasn't able to produce any more milk so I had to make a decision to either continue trying to nurse and bottle feed and pump or just go ahead and switch over to formula.  It took me almost having a breakdown to make up my mind and accept the facts.  She has been on formula full time for a little over a week and things are going pretty good.  She gets a little gassy every once in a while but we are able to work those bubbles out with a little patience and time.

She is staying alert for longer periods of time which is exciting.  I love watching her as she notices new things.  She is also becoming a little more verbal, she now grunts and coo's in her sleep which is fun to listen too.  She wakes up every 3-4 hours at night and is eating 4-6 oz (most of the time she is good with 4 but every once in a while she likes a little extra).

Daddy is doing great with his little girl and she loves "play time".  He is amazing at getting up when I need the extra help.  For some reason she likes to be awake 3-5 in the morning and it gets a little taxing sometimes, I generally have to give in and ask for help during this stretch.  Garon is also staying busy with work.  He has just got hired on at Fleet HQ through corporate, his hours and such did not change but we will be able to get insurance in 90 days which is exciting.

We had Jillian blessed at church on Sunday and she looked like a little princess.  I totally didn't take any pictures but Garon's sister did so as soon as I get some I will get them posted. 

Garon has told me that when I am ready or would like I could take a little road trip, this sounds amazing in theory but the thought of traveling by myself with Jillian is a little scary just because I won't have help in the car when she gets hungry, needs a new diaper, is fussy, etc. etc.  I will admit that I will probably take a shot at it though within the next couple months and see how it goes.  He has school starting in 3 weeks and he is continuing to work full time.  I am so lucky to have such a devoted husband and father; we definitely couldn't do this without him.

I think this pretty much catches us up for now.  I will take some pictures and get them posted SOON! :)