Lazy Day

What a lazy Saturday. Joe had to work at noon and he still isn't home yet. He should be home in a couple hours. I just put in a Baby Einstein movie for Jaxson. Definitely not one that I can sit and watch all the way through. I do however, like the Disney channel. He loves his Mickey Mouse, Handy Manny, and Phineas & Ferb. My little man is getting so big! He really does change every day.

He is doing pretty well with cereal. At first I thought maybe it was bothering him. But, we were trying it like three times a day. We only do it once a day now. His face seemed to break out a lot. I think he might have had a little cold too though. He woke up with a stuffy nose a couple mornings and had a little cough. Most of the time, I think he coughs just to get someones attention. He definitely loves his momma. I love it when someone else is holding him and when he sees me, he just stares at me and smiles really big. It's a pretty awesome feeling!! Things are going good. I can't wait until Christmas!

Last night was the employee holiday party at the hotel. Jaxson got to see Santa for the first time. He didn't cry at all, but he did pull on Santa's beard. HA!! It was really cute!

Too big for his britches

Well, Jaxson is 4 months old today. Holy cow! His check up went well. He weighs in at 17.3 lbs. He's definitely a little chunk! He's so stinking cute though. We got to start solid foods! Yay!! He started eating cereal yesterday. He's getting the hang of it. He did good after his shots too!

We are sitting here right now and he is playing with his little Leap Frog puppy dog. It sings songs to him and says different things. There is a little light on it that lights up and he starts kicking and flailing his arms all over. It's so funny! He moves his arms a lot and he always hits himself in his belly. It's like he's drumming on his belly.

Speaking of the belly, we laid him on the floor the other day and he was scooting across the floor. I'm not even kidding, he was scooting. We are working on getting him to sit up better. He's doing pretty good.

He is really starting to recongnize "home." When we go somewhere else he knows that he is in a different place. He hasn't been to the babysitter in a couple weeks because the hotel has been slow and Joe has been home before I go to work. He has to go three times this week. Only for a few hours each day though. I think I'm going to go to her house tomorrow or Tuesday before I go to work to kind of get him used to her agian. Things are going great. He is growing growing and I still feel like he changes every day. I love seeing him smile and when he laughs, it cracks me up!! He's getting a little too big for his britches!

First day with the babysitter

Oh my goodness, I was hoping this day would never come! I had to take Jaxson to a babysitter today :( No worries though, she is my friend Kim. Whew, he's not with a complete stranger!! She actually just had a baby girl in September. I gave Jaxson a little talk before we left. I told him no flirting with Avalyn. He's too young for that ;) I'm actually at work right now. I sent Kim a text message earlier and she said he is doing great! Dad will be picking him up soon. Of course I worry about him but, I know he is in great hands. I'm so super excited that she is going to be watching him. I worked with her in the past at Claire's. We never really got a chance to hang out. She ended up moving to Missouri and we actually lost touch for a while. I'm so glad she is back and we live so close. She attends Calvary Baptist Church in Taylorville and I'm really hoping to start going there with her and her family. She says great things about it. I'm a big music person and she said they have GREAT music so I'm really excited. Hopefully this weekend we can go. It will be great I'm sure. I have a ton of his pictures to put on the Wal Mart site so ya'll can get copies made. I tried it last night and I think I tried to put too many on at one time because my computer went crazy and kicked me off. I will try again tonight! I posted a couple videos of the little man. One is of him laying on his belly. He's got one little rattle toy that I hold up and shake a little bit and he just smiles really big! The other one, Joe is holding him and he is making this crazy noise he just learned how to make. He's so silly!! Sorry they aren't the best quality. They are from my cell phone.

Little Man is getting BIG

Well, Jaxson is officially three months old. Holy smokes!! Joe said he rolled over the other day, TWICE and of course I missed it. He loves laying on the floor on his belly, only for a short time but his face is so cute and he looks so big laying there.

My friend Haley just took his three month pictures for us. We got some really good ones. Now, my goal is to get my own camera and start taking pictures myself. I can take pictures of Jaxson and Gracie. I've even thought, with working at the hotel, I talk to quite a few brides, and I could start doing photography on the side. It's always been a hobby of mine and I'd love to make it into something more.

Things are going great. Jaxson is the light of my life. I'm getting a new tattoo soon (sorry Grandpa) that will keep Jaxson close to me always . I'm thrilled. I can't wait to see how it looks.

Rain Rain Go AWAY!

This weather has been so stinkin crappy!! It's been raining for like a week now!! Ugh. I think the rain makes Jaxson sleepy. He has been sleeping a lot more during the day. I hope he isn't getting sick! I know the rain makes me just want to sleep though, so I'm hoping that's the deal.

I can't wait to put Jaxson in his costume. He's going to be a monkey. We aren't going trick or treating or anything because I don't want to take him outside in the nasty weather. He's giong to be so cute though! I'm really looking forward to Saturday. Joe and I got free tickets to the Illini game vs. Michigan. It should be a pretty good game. Then, it's off to the Halloween party. I'm going to be so sad without little man though!! It's been a while since I have left him with Grandma overnight. I'm going to miss him so much!! We are getting pictures taken on Sunday though. I'm super excited. My friend Haley is taking them for us. She is even going to show me some tricks so I can take pictures of Jax at home. It will be great fun!! I will get pictures up as soon as I can.

Oh yeah, I'm also working on a Shutterfly website. It's a site completely dedicated to Jaxson. It's got pictures and I can write blogs and entries on it. It's pretty cool. Once I get it up and running I will let you guys know the address.

Busy Busy

Me and Mal with Jaxson and Noah. Buddies for life!!
Jaxson's Halloween PJ's.

Wow. I just realized it's been over a week since I have been on here. Jaxson is getting so big. Yesterday was an awesome day. Jaxson and I along with my mom and Bailey, went to visit my friend Mallory in BLoomington to see her and her family. For those who don't know her, she was in my class. She had a baby boy on August 25, 2009. Just a couple weeks after Jaxson was born. SO, yesterday was Jaxsons first play date. He looked like a monster next to her son Noah. Mallory and I had more fun than they did I think. They ended up falling asleep halfway through our visit. Then from there, we stopped in Champaign to see Uncle Wayne and Aunt Rhonda. We finally made it back to Atwood and then made the long journey home. We didn't get home until 10:30 pm. Jaxson does great in the car. He slept between each stop and then while we were there, for the most part he was awake and happy baby.

Right now, Joe, Me, and Jaxson are hanging out at home, watching some football. Joe's new job is going great!! He loves it! Our work schedules have been working out to where we haven't needed a sitter. We did have Great Aunt Karen watch him one day. :{ I was so nervous leaving him with someone other than Joe or I. Or my mom of course. He absolutely loved her though. Before I left for work he was smiling and laughing. That could be because she is pretty loud. In a good way.

I'm so excited for Halloween. Joe and I will be attending Andrea and Matt's Halloween party. Grandma has volunteerd to watch Jaxson. I really had to pull her arm though. NOT! She loves watching the little guy. I must say Aunt Bailey takes a pretty good liking to him too. You should see her. Cracks me up! I can't wait to see Jaxson in his monkey costume. He's my little chunky monkey!! He's doing so great. He's holding his head up very well now. He's kicking his chubby legs like crazy. He's pretty strong.

I think I have caught up on all that has been going on. He's getting so big! Time is flying by. I feel like I say that all the time but it really is. It's the middle of October already. Seriously?!? He's almost three months. Wowzer!

YAY..but nay

First things first, Jaxson is a growing boy. He weighed 13lbs 11oz. He is now 23 1/4 inches long. He's going to be so tall!! Now for the shots, he did way better than I expected. He cried for like two seconds and his face got bright red but then he was fine. Of course we did give him some tylenol. I gave him a little bit of a bottle, he burped, and then it was lights out. I had to go to work after the apointment so dad got to take care of him for a few hours until I got home. He slept most of the afternoon so I thought for sure he wouldn't sleep all night. I was wrong, he went to be at 9:30 and didn't get up until 7:00. He's so good!! So the YAY part of the title, Joe is taking the banquet captain position at the hotel. Yippie!! He will be working more hours and making MORE money...YAY! The nay part, we are going to have to find a sitter for Jaxson for some days. Luckily, everyone at work is willing to work with us. Most days, Joe will still go in early mornings and be done by noon. Some days, when there are a lot of events going on, he will be there all day. Other days, he will go in and work evenings. So, we won't need a full time sitter which is good. We will only need someone for a few hours on days when our schedules don't work out for one of us to be home with him. I'm looking forward to him making more money, not looking forward to leaving little butt with someone other than me or dad. Oh boy. This is going to be rough, I will keep you posted on how things go.

2 Months

Jaxson is 2 months old today. It is so hard to believe. We go to the doctor on Thursday so once I get home from work that day I will give ya'll an update on his weight and all that good stuff. He's getting shots so that will be interesting as well. He laughed a little bit today. It cracks me up how he knows my voice and as soon as I get home from work he is looking for me. If I wait too long to pick him up he starts to be a little fuss butt. He misses momma while she is at work. He has definitely discovered his tongue. He is sticking it out and making funny faces. I don't know what the deal is, but he is slobbering and blowing spit bubbles too. It's quite intertaining. I posted a video of the tongue action. He's just too cute. And of course, when I get him going with the noises, as soon as I get the camera, he stops. Well, that's it for now. I'll post in a couple days.

Little man

This video doesn't do much justice. It's crazy how much he is starting to smile and make cute little noises. Of course when I get the camera on, he starts to be a little fuss butt. I'll get some better footage and get it on here. This will do for now. He is doing great. I am loving every day.

Back to my old job I go.

Well, I have decided to go back to my old job at the hotel. I will be the assistant in the sales office. I'm so super excited. I will get to be home with Jaxson in the morning and I'll be home with him in the evenings as well. I'm so happy and I can't wait. I go back on Monday so I've been enjoying these fews days at home with my little man. I did some visiting with family on Wednesday and we were worn out! It was a long day. Jaxson is really starting to smile. I can't wait to hear a little giggle come out of the little guy. Well, he is napping right now so I have some stuff to get done. You know how that goes.

Boo for work!

Well, I survived the first week back to work. It sucked really bad!! I hated every minute of it. Not only because I wanted to be at home with Jaxson but the store is an absolute disaster. We get a ton of shipment and the store is so small we can't get it all out and it just piles up in the back room. For just coming back to work, it was a bit overwhelming. Not to mention, my manager was on vacation as well. I just wanted to scream really. I'm definitely enjoying today and tomorrow because I don't work. Good news though, the Hilton Garden Inn has offered me my old job back!! It wouldn't be full time so I'm thinking about staying at Claire's only part time. The hotel it will be perfect though. 12-5 Monday through Friday. It's absolutely perfect. I definitely miss the office job. I can't wait to sit at my old desk again! Jaxson has been doing great. He has been sleeping nine hours at night!! He's getting the hang of it for sure. During the day he is up a lot. He has fussy stages at times but it's not bad. He is such a good baby. We won't need a sitter at all if I take the hotel job because I will be able to stay home with him in the morning and Joe is off work before I would have to go in. It would be amazing. So, I survived work but it was awful. I'm hoping to figure things out so it works best for the family and I can be happy. Joe and I don't ever see each other now because as soon as he gets home, I go to work. It's nuts. It's been a crazy week. I'm looking forward to making some changes.

Last few days of visiting

One week from today I will be starting work. :( I cannot believe that Jaxson is a month old already!! He's trying to hold up his head a lot and he's starting to make more noises. He's actually smiling with his eyes open now instead of only when he is sleeping. We had a long day yesterday. My aunt and uncle from Florida are visiting to we took a trip to Champaign. It was a late night but he still slept great. He does quite well in the car thank goodness. Tomorrow is his one month appointment. I'm so excited to see how much he weighs and to make sure that he is healthy and doing good. Friday we are going to my moms to do some more visiting. Once I start work, I'm not going to have a lot of time to make it over that way so I might as well head that way while we can. I got a membership to a gym in Springfield so I'm going to work out tomorrow. Should be interesting. I will let you know how the appointment goes.

September?!?!?

Wow, time flies. For real. I absolutely cannot believe that Jaxson is 4 weeks old today. I cannot believe it. I have to go back to work in 2 weeks which is going to be absolutely horrible. Getting a paycheck will be nice but it's going to be hard for me to leave the little guy. I will be thinking about him non stop. We are still trying to figure out what we are going to do about a babysitter. Luckily, my manager along with Joe's, are willing to work with us as much as they can. That way, with Joe working in the mornings, I can stay home and then head to work in the afternoon when he gets home. That will be great if that works out most of the time. There is a lady that lives across the street from us that babysits. I'm going to check out a few daycare places in Taylorville which is close by. I'm just horrified to leave him in the care of someone I really don't know. The good news is, he will only need to be watched one or two days a week when Joe and I both work in the morning, and only for a few hours until Joe can pick him up. I'm just a nervous wreck. Being a mother is great. Jaxson has opened up an entire new world for me. He is my life. I have so much love for that little baby!! He is growing fast. I'm looking forward to the Labor Day festivities that are taking place here in Edinburg. My mom and grandma and little Bailey are coming over on Saturday to walk to the carnival. Gracie will have a blast with Bailey on the rides. Well, Sorry it's been a while. Things are crazy!! Life is GREAT!!

Weekend at Grandmas

Well, Jaxson and I went on a little road trip. Joe worked this morning and is working a wedding tonight at the hotel. He's staying there because he has to work at 5am. I was going to stay at the hotel with him but decided instead of sitting in the room by myself, I would take Jaxson to stay with Grandma and then go to church Sunday morning. So, here we are. We went for a stroller ride and went to Tuscola for some shopping. It's been a fun filled day and now I'm worn out and ready for bed. Good news though, Jaxson slept 7 hours last night!!! 7 HOURS!!! It was awesome. We will see how he does for Grandma tonight. Him and Grandma are tight though. Thank God my mom stayed with us for a few days when we first brought him home. She rocked him and got pretty close with the little guy. They are buddies. She was so great helping us with everything and she got up with him at night so we could sleep. That's what she is doing tonight. Momma is going to get some sleep without looking at the video monitor every two minutes. Grandma has got it under control.

Jaxson Kenneth Smith

He's here!!! I went to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon around 1:30pm. I had been having contractions that morning. Once Joe got home from work we headed to the hospital because my contractions were about six minutes apart. I was dilated to four centimeters and about 90% effaced. I went for the epidural as soon as I could, which was about 4:00pm. The doctor came into check around 6:00 and I was dilated to six centimeters and that is when she broke my water. I was hoping things would go quickly but that didn't seem to be the case. I wasn't checked again until 9:00pm and I was 8 centimeters. I finally got to start pushing around 1:00am and little Jaxson was born at 1:51 am on August 6, 2009. Everything went great. He weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and he was 21 1/2 inches long. He is our little prince. I could sit and stare at him all day. Thank God for my mom who has been staying with us the past few days. Its really been a great help. Joe goes back to work tomorrow so we will see how things go. I'm excited for Gracyn to come and meet her baby brother. We are all doing awesome. A lot of family came over today to visit. It truly is a blessing to have our little guy home. I'm just amazed by him.

...Seriously, this is nuts!

Still no baby. I'm going absolutely insane. I thought for sure I would have had him by now. I've been having contractions. Or what I think are contractions. They usually start in the evening and then I start to think that once I go to bed, I'll be waking up in the middle of the night to head to the hospital. Not the case. I do have a doctor's apointment tomorrow. As far as I know, we will be deciding on a date for me to be induced. We got the monitor set up today!!! It is a video one where we will be able to see him on the screen. I'm super excited about that. Hopefully I will be able to put up good news tomorrow. It's time to take a nap for now.

The Waiting Game

I just painted the letters of her name. The flowers and Princess banner are wall clings.

I thought I did pretty good!!

Well, the due date was today. Sadly, Jaxson is not with us yet. The good news is I have been cramping since last night. Nothing intense yet and they are way far apart but I'm hoping it's the start at least. Today I was going insane and I decided to do some painting. I painted Jaxson's name on his wall and Gracyn's name on her wall. I must say it turned out pretty darn good. I had to do something to pass the time. The doctor said if I don't have him by Monday, we will set a date for me to be induced. I'm really really hoping I do not have to wait until next week!! All I do is think about being in labor. I'm going crazy!!

I'm officially a Blogger

Well, the time has come for me to try and share what is happening with my family with everyone who would like to read about it. Things are about to get super busy around here so we will see how this goes. My husband Joe and I are expecting our first child, tomorrow is the due date!! I'm so ready for him to be here it is not even funny anymore!! I know Joe is ready as well. I also have a four year old step daughter. She is....little miss attitude. She thinks she can get away with everything, maybe at her moms but not when she is at dads house. She is getting very excited to be a big sister. I'm so ready and so excited to be a mom. I can't wait to meet our little guy and I can't wait for you all to meet him as well!! So long for now. I will be keeping you posted!