Christmas Morning!

Jackson had such a nice Christmas.  It was heart warming to see his eyes light up with wonder when he walked down the steps to see that Santa had been to his house!  He didn't even know what to do first.  He went to a present, then started looking for Fireman Elf, then went back to the present, then went to the cookies and milk that Santa had eaten, then went back to the gifts!  He asked Santa for a Polar Express book, hockey equipment and an ambulance Lego set.  I am not sure who enjoyed the Lego's more, Jackson or his Dad.
Now when he sees advertisements on TV, instead of saying "maybe Santa can buy me that", he says "maybe I could get that for my birthday".  His birthday is in 7 months!  We are so fortunate to be able to have Jackson in our lives, and spoil him rotten.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we were heavy in preparation for Santa's arrival.  Oats and carrots were put out for the reindeer.  Milk was poured and homemade cookies were specially chosen for Santa & strategically placed so Santa could see them.  We also had a make your own pizza night!  Jackson was heavy on the ham, bacon and cheese!  He ate like a champ!  Christmas Day photos coming soon!

Christmas Program

Jackson had a nice Christmas program.  He did a really good job!  He sang I want a hippopotamus for Christmas, which was my favorite.  Afterwards, he went with Nana and Papa to go eat pancakes per their after school program tradition and spent the last 1/2 of the day with them.
The next day Jack's class had their Christmas pizza party and he gave his teachers their gifts.  He is off from December 20th until January 2nd now.  He is enjoying being at home, but misses his buddy "Broccoli".

Yesterday we were all together as a family.  Those days are few and far between right now so we enjoyed ourselves.  It was productive, so that made me happy!  Today is Mommy/Son day because Daddy is at work, but the next 2 days we are all home together which is awesome!

Last night Jackson was concerned if it didn't snow that Santa wouldn't come to our house.  We had a nice long talk about it.  Some of the things he says are so insightful, it floors me.  He is now looking forward to Santa again.  Tomorrow we will run to the grocery store and buy some carrots for the reindeer.  We want the reindeer to have a healthy snack since they have to pull around a sleigh and Santa all night!!

December update!

 We won some tickets to the local hockey game on the radio by honking "Grandma got run over by a reindeer"!

 At the game in hockey attire.

 Jack wanted a picture of himself with the Zamboni behind him.

 Jackson and I in front of our Christmas tree.

 Sneaky Fireman Elf on a Shelf was riding the gingerbread train.

We have had a pretty fun and busy couple of weeks around here.  Last weekend we saw Santa!  Jackson told him that he wanted Lego's, hockey stuff and a Polar Express book.  He did a great job of making eye contact and expressing himself to Santa.  For a child that is shy, he had no problem jumping up beside Santa for a photo & telling him what he wanted for Christmas.
We also won some tickets to a hockey game and had a nice time.  We usually go a couple times a year but this year we are being more conservative on outgoing costs due to the mass amount of additional outgoing expenses we have had lately.  Jackson was so excited about the game, he started talking when Bill picked him up from school, and didn't stop talking until the overtime period was over and he was back in his car seat out cold!  This child loves hockey more than anything else.  For some reason this particular game had a lot of fights.  Jackson yelled at the players that they were going to be on the naughty list so they had better stop fighting and just play hockey!  Super cute child I have in my opinion.
Jackson's school is closed for about 2 1/2 weeks coming up, so we have done crazy rescheduling to give him a lot of time at home instead of with the back up babysitter.  This week is his Christmas show, so I hope to post some video of it.  He will be singing "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas", and "We wish you a Merry Christmas".  He is promising to sing instead of just play with his bff Brock while on stage. We will see about that.  Also, Nana and Papa are driving down for it so more than likely he will just make faces at Papa the entire time. 
We have officially named the baby now, her name is Alexandria.  Jackson will tell you that Alexandria is her name after she comes out of my belly.  While she is in my belly she is still Princess Fireman Sam.  He asks me about 20 times a day what Princess is doing.  He is still saving toys, asking good questions and preparing to be a big brother.  As for me, I am getting pretty testy about the preconceived notions of adoption and pregnancy.  My guess is about 90 people out of 100 have asked a very inappropriate question or made an inappropriate comment.  I understand people try to make sense of things that are not the norm, but the ignorance continues to floor me...as well as the personal questions people feel they are entitled to ask.  For those folks out there that have not adopted & may not understand that each person adopts for their own reasons, I would suggest you leave your assumptions at the table, or leave them to yourself.  Last night at my company Christmas party, I was asked how many pregnancies I have had within the first 5 minutes.  Within the first 10 minutes I was surrounded by a group of women that wanted to share with me that God allowed this finally to happen because we had blessed another soul,  I was at that party for over 4 hours, so I bet I got another 30 questions or comments.  Why not ask "how is the baby", "how is Jackson", "everything healthy so far"?  Versus, "how much did you spend on fertility treatments", "how many miscarriages have you had", and "being a mom for the first time will be so exciting".  Even, "have you been trying" is acceptable!  Ask, don't assume!  I guess I am off on a tangent and need to rein my hormonal self in now.  Sorry!
Off my soap box I believe that Jackson and I may go see Wreck it Ralph later.  He has been asking to see the movie and it looks cute.  The last one we saw made both Jack and I cry because a dog died in it, Wreck it Ralph seems a bit more upbeat.  Bill had to work today so he can take off next Friday since school is closed....so it is just the super kid and I today.  Maybe I see a milkshake in our future too.....

Coming in a Christmas card soon!

It's a girl!

It's true, we are pregnant!  5 months pregnant as a matter of fact!  Now that I look like I am smuggling a bowling ball, we had to come clean.  How did this happen??
Well, lets start from the beginning.  Bill and I decided we would try one time.  Yeah, that's right, ONE time.  Within 2 weeks I was bent over with my head buried in the toilet on a Sunday morning.  Jackson was very concerned Mommy had a 'hurt belly', and I was starting to wonder 'what the heck'.  Bill was mainly offended that I had puked up the breakfast he made (and have done the same several times since).
So a couple of weeks later I was in Texas with work and decided to pick up a $1 pregnancy test from the Dollar Tree.  I actually felt a little silly being a 39 year old woman and asking the 19 year old at the counter to unlock the secret cabinet so I could buy one.  Keeping it classy, I went from the Dollar Tree to DQ and took a quick test.  For some reason that week, I wanted to eat nothing but chocolate dipped cones from DQ so it seems appropriate.  Anyway, the test showed a positive.  REALLY?  Wow.  I took a picture of the test and texted it to Bill immediately.  No candle lit dinners or sunset walks on the beach to announce the news for this family!  His response was something like "wow", then something like "really"?
After that, it was a series of weekly visits to my lady doc. She was skeptical so she kept making me come back week after week to make sure there was still a heartbeat.  My labs were suspect, so I just kept on going.  Finally, I asked for a referral to an OBGYN (she doesn't deliver babies), so she sent me to a lady in town that had the attention span of a 2 year old all jacked up on Mt Dew.  She didn't weight me, take my blood pressure, answer questions or do follow up blood work, which all seemed wacky given the dip in my levels.  After much research, I chose my own practice and am happy there.
Bill and Jack went with me to one of my appointments and they saw a heartbeat.  Jackson just thought they were looking at my belly because I had had surgery a few months before, he didn't know what he was seeing.  He did think it was super cool though.
Since I am over 35,  they gave me the option to do advanced aging tests.  Mt Dew doctor said I had to do them, and I didn't have a choice.  This practice gave me the choice.  Bill and I decided to do it, because they do a really thorough ultrasound and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to see a heartbeat.  We also wanted to know what to prepare for.  All the tests came back favorable, we were both surprised and happy.
We decided to tell Jackson at about the 4 month mark.  The conversations with him make everything worth it and bring me so much joy.  This child is hilarious.  Prior to us telling him, here are some comments (he was on to me).

• Pulling up my shirt in Kohls and announcing "WOW Mommy, your belly is HUGE".
• "Mommy, either you are eating too much or you have a baby in your belly...which is it?"

When we told Jackson, we wanted to try to make it special, here is the conversation:
Us - Jackson we have a surprise for you.
J - What is the surprise
Us - Feel my belly, there is a baby in there
J - Really?
Us - Yeah, you are going to be a big brother
J - Wow
J - Now what is the surprise
Us - That IS the surprise
J - Oh

Since that night, there have been a lot of questions an comments.

• How will the baby come out of there?
• Will the baby try to go back in there after he is out?
• Will it have teeth, and will it bite me?
• Will it talk?
• What will it say?
• Can I teach it how to play Hockey?
• Can I name it Fireman Sam?
• I will teach it how to walk.
• I am saving my Halloween candy for it
• What is the baby doing right now?

He has been both apprehensive and excited, but is looking forward to being a big brother.  Personally, I have really suffered with extreme guilt over the pregnancy.  It is difficult to even write about it.  We have been considering fostering or adopting again for some time (which I would still like to do), but we can't afford to adopt.  Plain and simple.  I don't want Jackson to ever feel like he is different, unless the 'different' means the most special kid in the entire world...because he is.  I have finally been able to get a grip on reality and have calmed down significantly.  Although it is still my priority to make sure Jackson always feels like my #1 big boy and to teach and show him how absolutely wonderful he is and how lucky we are to have come together as a family and be his Mommy and Daddy.  Okay, I am tearing up...pregnancy hormones!!!
In the next couple months, we will register.  Jackson will be able to choose the bedroom decor and a bunch of other things, if he is interested.  He has changed the name from "Firemen Sam" to "Princess Fireman Sam" so something tells me that she will have a fireman themed room!  Ha!

Thanksgiving weekend

These first 2 photos are Jackson and Emily taking photos of each other with Copper the dog.

Decorating the tree at home

Nana and Papa wore out the kiddos

Four days off together, I still can't believe it.  We went to Nana and Papa's for a few nights then came home on Saturday afternoon and still had all day Sunday to put up the tree and decorate the house.  Jackson had a blast playing with his bff Emily. 
On the way home we stopped and purchased an Elf on a Shelf.  That has been a pretty funny experience and Jackson is super pumped up about finding it every morning and of course he has been on his best behavior!  He reported me to the Elf when I wouldn't let him have candy for dinner.  I overheard him telling Elf that he needs to tell Santa to put Mommy on the naughty list because of it!  Ha!
I really enjoyed my time with Bill and Jack this last weekend.  Jackson is such a sweet, loving, child.  He is smart, sweet and funny.  I can't believe we are lucky enough to have him in our family.  We are truly blessed!

Chuck E Cheeses!

We went to Chuck E Cheeses again!  Jackson likes to play air hockey, but Daddy prefers to just get tickets to get a prize at the end!  He rode every ride there about 3 times, and really enjoyed himself.  At the end, after all of his hard work....he chose a blue whistle.  Go Jackson!

Halloween

We had a pretty fun Halloween!  Jackson had a nice program at school.  He is the spiderman on the far left beside Batman (AKA "Brock").  He sang all the songs but it's hard to tell because he didn't want to take his mask off.  He sang "Halloween is here",  and the verses were "black cat sitting on a fence", and "owl is hooting in a tree".  He did have a conversation with Batman during most of the event though. 
When we got home, we walked our new neighborhood and Jackson said "treat or treat" about 100 times.  He always said thank you, and is just such a good kid.  After we went around, we passed out candy at our house for awhile.  He seemed to enjoy passing out candy as much as receiving it.