September 2012

 Backtracking a little, the Jackson family had a big September.  We started out the month with Link's 2nd birthday.  It was a big "wheels" party, complete with everyone bringing their bikes, cars, and four-wheelers to Aunt Lori's for some fun.  The kids had a blast (even though Link was upset here after a crash) and it was a great way to celebrate the Little Man's birthday!

 Next, we had a big trip to Silver Dollar City.  Nan, Mammy, Lacy, and Link went with us.  We were blessed to have a woman stop us at the front gate and offer Mammy and Nan her guest passes for $10.  I already had a season pass, and a guest pass for Lacy, so that made for a pretty cheap day!  We had a great time, and all the kids were well-behaved.

 Next, Little Miss Erin turned 2 mos old in September.  She was really starting to pop out of her 0-3mos outfit here, but Mommy made it work.

 Finally, Mommy had to go back to work.  She had a great 10 weeks home with Erin, and Erin was sweet enough to smile for this picture so Mommy would have something bright and happy to look at when she went back to work. 

 

For the Jacksons in September, blessings were many!

Family Photos

 I mean seriously, can it get more cute than these amazing pics?!  I was so thrilled with our family pics, taken by "Simply Taken by Jen".  Jen is the wife of one of the firefighters that Sean works with, so she came highly recommended...by her husband!  But she didn't disappoint!

 I have wanted pics of the girls with Daddy's firefighting gear since he became a firefighter (and since before Erin was even a notion in our heads!)  Jen had some great ideas, and the girls were very cooperative. 

 It was a chilly, overcast day, but it looks like a gorgeous fall day in the pics.  These were the kind of pics I envisioned when I planned a fall wedding (but that I didn't really get).  Glad I got my "dream" fall pics after all, though!

I am REALLY behind on my blogging--mainly because my PC is downstairs, but our wireless internet is upstairs.  I could upload all my pics to the laptop, but that's a huge pain, and wah wah wah.  I will try to get caught up soon so you can see how much the girls are growing!

Elise "playing mom"

Elise is always watching and learning. Since her sister arrived, she's been "playing mom" a bit. She likes to give Erin her bottle, she is great at comforting her when she cries, and she is a champ at helping Erin get her pacifier.

You have to look very closely, but this is Elise "pumping". Sean was cracking up in the living room, and I heard him ask Elise if she was being Mommy. She told him no, but he insisted I come in to see what she was doing. This is what I found. I am sure in about 15 years she will kill me for this picture, but I just had to take it!

Tonight, she told me she wanted to make a bed for herself in the floor. I told her to go for it while I was making dinner. Erin was on a blanket in the floor, so she made her bed right next to her. Then she decided that Erin needed a bed, too. She went and got another blanket to cover her up with.

This isn't an example of Elise playing mom, but I wanted to share it--she got a big girl bike! She was so thrilled to get it and her new helmet. She's still figuring it all out, and is so cautious on it that she uses the brakes more than she pedals, but she still asks to ride it all the time. It was her "big" summer present--since her birthday falls in December, I feel bad for her and like to get her a summer present so she doesn't have to go 11 mos without presents. I am kind of a sucker like that :)

Erin-One Month Old

Erin was one month old two weeks ago, but I am slow getting this post up! I even took the pics two days late because I sort of forgot about these stickers that my sweet friend Hollie got for us!

I took this pic of my sleeping beauties and got in trouble because Sean didn't want a pic of him sleeping. Too bad, sucker, I thought it was cute :)

Easton and Taelyn were so excited to hold Erin. I especially loved the look on Taelyn's face--she is such a cutie!

Erin's Baptism

August 5th we had Erin baptized. We were blessed to have our dear friends Will and Jessie Kelb serve as her sponsors. Everything went really well.

Erin wore a beautiful gown that Mammy got for her--Elise's was way too big for her. She didn't peep the entire service--not even when she got baptized!

Elise was a huge helper during the baptism--she handed Pastor the handkerchief that he used to dry Erin's head. She was really curious about it all. She kept peeking into the font to see the water. This past Sunday when we were getting ready for church, she asked if she was going to get to help baptize Erin again :)

Welcome Home, Erin!

Erin was welcomed home to an awesome nursery!

I absolutely love Erin's room. It turned out so beautifully. In this pic, you can see the gorgeous initials that Jessie made for Erin, the shelf that Sean painted, and the quilt that I helped piece together on my grandma's rocking chair. The dresser was Elise's.

In this pic, you can see that Erin also got Elise's old crib and changing table. Mom and Rhonda got Erin her bedding, and I think it is perfect. I loved the red and white with accents of pink, blue and orange.

Lastly, Sean also painted this quilt rack for Erin's room. It holds some special homemade blankets that friends/family made for her. I would like to find a mirror or something to hang above it, but I will have to say that it is beautiful enough to stand alone. Sean did such a great job and I was so proud of him!

Erin Adele Jackson

Erin Adele Jackson was born on July 12, 2012 at 12:26pm. She weighed 8lbs, 6oz, and was 20 in long. Erin's birth story is so much more pleasant than Elise's, I am pleased to report.

We arrived at the hospital at 10:30am and they began prepping me for surgery. My nursing staff was really great and the whole process was really relaxing and pleasant (aside from one minor issue with my IV--I am a rough patient to stick because of my small veins). At exactly noon, they wheeled me back for surgery. Sean was in there with me as soon as they finished administering my block, and held my hand the whole time this time. I was so excited to see Erin the minute after she was born (my first words were "She's got such chubby cheeks!"), and I think Sean was glad to be able to be a part of it all this time, too.

My hospital stay was exhausting, but way better than my stay with Elise. My nurses were good, the food was good, and I didn't feel overwhelmed with everything, nor did I feel drugged up the whole time. A planned C-section was WAY easier for me. But, as you can see from the pic, I was still a new mom and with that comes that look of bone-tiredness. I was super-excited on Saturday to discover that one of the nurses taking care of Elise in the nursery was none other than my old friend Shelly! That was a fun surprise!

Sean's time while I was in the hospital was no doubt a little less exhausting--we decided to have him stay with Elise on Thursday so as not to disrupt her schedule too much, so he went home that night. Friday night she stayed with MawMaw because Sean actually worked on Saturday. We decided that since I'd still be in the hospital and have all that help, that would be one more day he could take off when I got home and really needed him. I was a little nervous about that, but it turned out great (he even got to come visit me with the crew on Sat) and he was still there first thing Sunday morning to bring us home.

I was thrilled that we had Elise come to the hospital with Sean on Sunday to help bring Erin and me home. She felt like such a good big sister and was a great help. She adores Erin and so far there has been very little jealousy. She mostly just gets mad when she wants to hold Erin and we're busy doing something else with her. Hopefully this adoration continues for the years to come!

To prove that Elise really does adore Erin, here is photographic evidence: Elise rarely shared her blanket with anyone under any circumstances. But while she was holding Erin one morning, she grabbed her blanket and wrapped Erin up with it! I was in such shock I almost didn't think to take a pic! (Glad I did, though!)

Erin was 2 weeks old yesterday, and while she is still figuring out how to sleep at night, and is a ravenous little thing at times (the pediatrician assures us this is normal and we should feed her when she acts hungry even if it has only been 30 mins), she is overall a pretty good baby. We are so blessed to have our two beautiful daughters, and are so thankful to all our friends and family who have sent their well wishes, brought food, or just stopped by to hold the baby or entertain Elise!