Thursday, May 17th was a big day for us. We got to welcome Brady into this world. He has been such a blessing to us from the moment he was born. He was 7 lbs 4oz and 20 1/2 inches long.
Before you have your second child, it is hard to imagine how you could love another child as much as you love the first one. Luke and I talked about this a lot before Brady was born. From the moment he was born, I understood how it works. Your love as a parent doesn't have to divide between the two boys. It completely multiplies. I could never love my two, precious boys more. They are both special in their own ways.
Jackson has a huge heart. He is so loving to Brady. He gets very concerned when he cries. He tries to give him his pacifier. He is constantly giving him toys and covering him with blankets. The best part is when he says "baby Brady" in a sweet, loving voice. He says it quietly and bends down to give him a kiss. We are definitely going to have to teach him to be gentle with Brady. He is like every other two year old boy. He is rough and plays rough. Jackson is still adjusting to sharing mom, but I think the biggest problem is that I can't lift Jackson up for couple more weeks. He doesn't quite understand why I can't help him do things like I did last week.
Brady is a sweet baby. He loves to cuddle and be held. I think he looks like Jackson when he was a newborn. One funny thing about him is that he has peed on just about every doctor or nurse that has checked him (at least 5 different people if not more). Apparently, he doesn't like them to mess with him. He is known at Providence Hospital as the baby that pooped and hit the wall. All the nurses that came in after that incident (if you want to know the whole story, you will have to ask me in person) would be laughing saying that they had heard about what happened. I love holding him and watching him sleep.
My heart is bursting with love for all my boys. I'm looking forward to watching them grow!
We invited some friends over and tried finger painting for the first time! The boys weren't sure what to think at first, but eventually they seemed to like it. Jackson enjoyed painting himself more than the paper as you will be able to tell from the pictures. It was messy, but a lot of fun! Here are some pictures from the finger painting.
What Mom? I'm not dirty!
The 3 boys when we were done.
He definitely fell and rolled right in the paint.
How we started... it looks so neat and tidy!
Jackson about 10 seconds after we started painting.
Checking out his friend's picture.
He is definitely painting his leg and not the paper.
Summer is here! It might not be on the calendar, but in my books it is here. The weather has been BEAUTIFUL the last few weeks. I spent so much of the winter complaining about the cold that now I need to make sure to appreciate the nice weather. This week it has been in the mid 50s, which is warm here! Most of the snow is melting. It is melting a lot faster than I thought it would. We spend at least 2-3 hours outside everyday. Jackson can't get enough of it. He constantly wants to be outside. I don't mind though. I am already planning on spending most of my summer playing in the backyard, front yard, or at a park. It's fun to watch Jackson outside. He is all boy! The first thing he goes for is the puddles or mud or even dog poop. I have found him holding dog poop a few times now. I guess Luke and I are going to have to get better at picking it up everyday! Right now Jackson's favorite thing to do outside is shovel the snow with a little shovel I got him. I'm not sure what he is going to do when it all melts. I'm going to have to get him some outside toys.
We have been going on a walk most days after dinner. We have a great trail not far from our house. Last night we decided to take Jackson out of the stroller and let him walk. He LOVED it. He "galloped" or "ran" the whole time. He probably walked at least 3/4 of a mile.
Walking with Daddy on the trail
The other ones that are loving the good weather are Bruiser and Cookie! Bruiser really gets depressed during the winter months when he can't spend time outside. He sleeps probably 22 hours a day. I always look forward to when he can finally spend time outside. He is such a different dog when he is outside!
Jackson taking a snack break from playing outside.
Three more weeks until Brady comes! We are ready. I know it is going to rock my world, but after 9 months of waiting, I say bring it on. We haven't had an ultrasound since week 21, so I am ready to see Brady!
I'm also ready for my family to come up here. My mom and dad are coming in three weeks and then my sister and niece are coming in the beginning of June. I'm so excited for Melanie and Mollee to get to see where we live. I hope they love it! In July all of Luke's family is coming to visit. It will be so much fun to have all the cousins together. Jackson is going to love playing with Desmond, Charlie, and Cooper!
Here is an update of what we've been up to lately:
Jackson is doing great! He is 19 months now, which is hard to believe! Trust me he is acting like he is that close to the terrible twos. He can sure throw a good fit. It has been interesting learning how to deal with it. He is starting to talk a lot more. It amazes me how everyday he is saying new words! He gets frustrated when I can't always understand him. Some of his favorite things right now are Elmo, Sesame Street, the ipad, jumping, dancing, and being outside. He loves playing with other children and harassing our dogs.
Anchorage set a new record for snowfall this winter. Yesterday we got the 3.3 more inches we needed to pass the previous record set in the 50's. We had 133.6 inches as of 4pm yesterday and it was still snowing. That is more than 11 feet incase you were wondering. We still have HUGE snow piles in our yard and all around town. So to sum up our winter since October 30th is snow, snow and more snow. Throw some really cold temperatures in there for January and February and you know what my last 5 months have been like.
Needless to say, I am ready to see green. Jackson is so ready to be able to go outside. He begs me everyday to go outside. Now that it has been 35-40 degrees, it is warm enough, we just need the snow to melt so we can go to the parks. The other nice thing is the sun has been out a lot lately and the days are getting longer!!! It isn't even starting to get dark until after 9 now. I love it, but it does affect Jackson's sleeping. He is having a hard time falling asleep. He has been sitting in his crib for at least an hour after his bedtime before he falls asleep.
Only 5 1/2 more weeks until Brady will be here! I am excited to meet him and not be pregnant anymore. Jackson will be a great big brother! I am already praying that he has a smooth transition and isn't too jealous.
These are a few pictures from today! We had fun with the Elmo Easter basket, but I want Jackson to first and most importantly know that Easter is about Jesus rising from the dead! I hope we can communicate that to him in a way he will never forget!
Dressed up in his Easter clothes
Funny face and curly hair. It turns out Jackson has inherited some of his dads curls. I love it!
Enough pictures! Why won't you let me get down and play in the snow?!?
"Outside, outside, outside!"
Digging into the Elmo Easter basket after naptime.
Last Sunday, we took Jackson sledding again. This time we met up with our friends Kara, Dan and their son Caleb. The weather was pretty cold, but the sun was out which always makes it seem warmer. It was fun watching the boys play in the snow. It is pretty deep, so they fell a lot. Jackson enjoyed scooping the snow in his glove and trying to throw it. He also seemed to like sledding. Most of the times down the hill, he gave no reaction at all, but he didn't cry so I take that as a good thing. He even climbed back in the sled once and sat there like he wanted to go again. His favorite was when Luke laid him down in the sled and ran in circles pulling the sled behind him.
Here are a few video clips from the afternoon!
Jackson has had a nasty cold this week, which means no fun for us! We have basically stayed in the house all week. By today, I was going stir crazy. Beyond that we haven't been up to much.
Last night, I did get to see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights)!!! I heard there was a high chance of seeing them in Anchorage and then quite a few of my friends said they had seen them from their driveways. Our house is surrounded by street lights so I was unable to see them from our house. One of my friends called me right before midnight to tell me they were very active so I left Luke at home with Jackson, jumped in the car, and drove to a neighborhood that is not so bright. I was in such a hurry, I forgot my phone and my camera! Oh yeah, and to complete my Alaskan night, right outside of my neighborhood there was a HUGE moose.
I can't even begin to describe how cool the northern lights are. At first they looked like light, wispy clouds. Then they turned green and started basically dancing. It was amazing and erie all at the same time. They would get longer and shorter and brighter and then fade. Then they would disappear. Then another part of the sky would light up. At one point they were so intense that they changed to a light purple! One of my friends who was in a better location said she saw pinks and reds.
The only thing I could think about while I was watching the lights was how amazing God is! He is so creative! When you watch them show up, disappear, dance, and change colors it made me think about angels watching over us in the sky. It was even a little erie because it made me think of spiritual warfare that occurs around us everyday and the battles that are fought for our souls. It was even a reminder that God is really there! It is such an amazing thing that only God could create something like it!
I can't take credit for this picture, but it is one a friend took last night in Anchorage. This is what they looked like when I saw them!
We were finally able to take Jackson sledding. It was beautiful outside, so we took advantage of it! It's amazing how warm 30 degrees feels after you have endured a whole month of 0 degrees or below. Luke and I were excited that Jackson seemed to love sledding. He would giggle the whole way down the hill. This gives us hope that he will like skiing in the future! I think we might try to take him skiing next winter.
"Alright Daddy, I'm ready!"
On their way up the hill for the first time
Let's do it again!
Ready, set, go!
On the way down
This is fun!
He wasn't the most successful walking in this snow. It was pretty deep.
Jackson's eyes water as soon as we get outside in the cold. Is this normal?!?
One more time!
Not a bad view to look at everyday! Anchorage is surrounded by mountains.
The weather has finally warmed up above zero and we got about a foot of snow yesterday so we decided to go outside to play. We went to four different stores to get a sled and none of them had any sleds. Does that make sense? We are in Anchorage, Alaska and the snow will be on the ground for at least three more months. Why could we not find a sled? We are set for a record snowfall this winter. I believe we have had somewhere around 107 inches of snow so far this.
We had to give up on the sled search because Jackson's shopping tolerance doesn't last long (neither does Luke's). We still wanted to go outside, so we just played in our front yard. Here are some pictures from our time outside.
Playing outside with Daddy
This is the pile of snow we have accumulated from shoveling our driveway this winter.
This is the pile of snow from them plowing our cul-de-sac. They have come and hauled the pile off five or six times already this winter. Last winter, they only hauled it off maybe two times.
Luke and Jackson standing on the pile of snow.
Jackson in his snow bibs
Rosy cheeks from being outside
Jackson hanging with Bruiser
Here is a cute picture from last weekend! He is getting so big.
This is Jackson's first time playing with play dough. He had no idea what to think and would not touch it at first. He would just barely poke it with his fingers. Of course, he tried to eat it. It was homemade play dough so no harm done, but I don't think he liked it. After he saw me play with it, he decided to really play with it.
