We're moving...

Its true. About 3 days after Kaitlyn was born, we found out Kevin was being offered a promotion, which means they want us to move back to Wisconsin. It was a bit much to take in all at once, and I'm just barely realizing what it means. It means that we now leave the wonderful friends that we've made over the past 2 years and 6 months. But I can't start thinking about that yet because we don't move until September and I'll get a headache if I cry until then. So, I'm thinking about what else this move means. It means we get to go back to the wonderful friends we met while we lived in Wisconsin for 8 months. Kevin and I have hoped to go back sometime and this is our chance. We really loved that area and all that we were able to do there. Also, Jackson will finally get a back yard! Homes are SO much cheaper there so it will be nice to find something that will give us a little more room. This is a great opportunity for us and although we don't have any family there I'm so grateful that I get to be with my little family no matter where I go.
Here are some pics of Jackson to look at so this post isn't so boring!

Playing Catch up

Could you tell that I'm a bit behind on my blogging? Yesterday I finally decided it was time to get caught up, thus all the posts. But there are still more! And of course we keep taking pictures around here. Don't worry, I do have excuses for not being up-to-date on my blogging. :)

First of all, I've been exhausted! Kaitlyn has had a few good nights. For instance, one night last week we put her down at 10:00 PM and we didn't hear from her until 5:45 AM. Unfortunately I woke up at 3:00 and then 4:00 wondering if she was alright, and then, of course, I had to pump. But this week she has been very hard to get to sleep. I'll change her, feed her, burp her, swaddle her (what more could any newborn want?) and then she is all of a sudden wide awake. Then when we put her in her crib, she starts to scream, so we rock her and hold her and she acts like she is starving, so I feed her some more and end up starting all over again. Last night she was awake from 6PM- 12AM. She finally fell asleep when we turned the humidifier on. But she woke up at 1:30 and didn't seem very interested in eating. In fact she fell asleep on the pillow she was laying on. So I put that pillow on the couch and put a blanket on Kaitlyn and let her sleep that way until she woke up at 5:00. I know, I'm breaking all the rules of where a newborn is supposed to sleep- but hey, she was asleep and I wasn't about to wake her up to put her in her crib.
Another second excuse as to why I haven't been blogging is because I've had mastitis- yeah, not fun at all. I would definitely recommend not getting it. :) Thank goodness Kevin was home during the worst part of it, the kids have been pretty good for me, and a kind friend took Jackson to a library carnival yesterday since I didn't have the energy to get everyone ready for the day, let alone chase a toddler around.

And the third reason I haven't been too good about blogging will have to wait until the next post...
But in the meantime, you can watch this video of the first (and only) time Jackson "held" Kaitlyn. I already posted pictures of it awhile back, but I thought the video was cute too.

All about Kaitlyn

When I looked back at the time that Jackson was born I realized that he had a post all about him every week, or more! So I thought Kaitlyn deserved a post all to herself! Here she is at about 3 weeks and I just love this little outfit. Its been nice having a baby in the summer so I don't worry so much about her getting cold.
Isn't the back cute? I've never seen an outfit like this before.

I love that she does tummy time so well. Jackson would SCREAM the whole time he was on his tummy.

Okay, so after awhile she doesn't like it so much, but I think she was just ready to eat!

Now Kaitlyn is four weeks old (as of today) and she has been smiling and cooing. Its so much fun to watch her change, although I know she will grow up so fast and I just want to enjoy every minute of her life!

Our Special Visitor

Last Wednesday night we picked up my sister, Tiffany from the airport. It was so much fun to have her here with us. She and Jackson became instant buddies.

She loved holding Kaitlyn, especially since she is expecting a baby girl in December!

I can't believe I'm posting this picture, but its the only one of the two of us. We decided to take a picture because we have about the same size bellies right now. She is about 20 weeks right now, and I'm 3 weeks postpartum.

Thanks for coming Tiff! We love you!

Daddy Time

I thought this picture was so cute of Kevin with his two kids reading together. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Grossarth for such a great book!

Berry Picking

At the beginning of July we went raspberry and strawberry picking and look what we saw!


These baby birds were in a nest in the middle of one of the raspberry bush! They were so much fun to watch.

Kaitlyn and I picking berries.

Jackson was such a good helper. He helped pick the berries off the bushes. At first he didn't want to eat them, but he finally tried them and wouldn't stop eating them! I think we ate more than we went home with.

Look at that berry face...

The Vacuum & Baking

Jackson got this little vacuum as a gift from Kaitlyn. He LOVES vacuums so we decided to get him a real one so that he can actually help out around the house. Plus it costs no more than the toy ones. Funny thing is, he never wants us to plug it in. Its a little too scary to hear that loud noise!

Jackson and my mom had some fun making banana bread.

While Kevin was making rolls one Sunday (yes, my husband makes rolls and they are wonderful!) Jackson felt that he needed to help, and he sure did!

Well, at least he helped to eat the dough!

The Fourth of July

On the Forth of July we went over to celebrate with some neighbors for a BBQ and of course some great fireworks! All the kids got to set off a few sparklers. Unfortunately, on about the third one, Jackson got a little too wild and the sparkler ended up burning him on his chest! He started screaming and I picked him up and ran for the house for some ice. Thanks to many of the people there, we treated the burns and they are looking much better now. I thought Jackson wouldn't want anything to do with fireworks after that, but he wanted to stay and watch them! I guess he has some of his dad in him! I just hope that doesn't mean we will be spending most summers going to the ER! :)

Jetty Island

On the Fourth of July we decided to venture out to Jetty Island. We hadn't ever been there before and it was a lot of fun, even though we could only be there for 20 minutes- seriously. Hey, we were doing good to just get out of the house at all that day. We barely missed the 12:00 ferry, which meant we had to wait for the 12:30 ferry and the next ferry coming back was 1:45. By that time Jackson was getting tired and we knew we would have to get him home quick if we wanted him to have a nap, therefore we were only on the island for 20 minutes, but it was well worth it.
What a beautiful day!

Splash, Splash

It wouldn't be a trip to the beach without a little sand throwing!

The Joys of Having Two

People have asked what is harder- going from no kids to one, or from one to two. Having Jackson was definitely a huge change in our lives, but I have to say, I never imagined having two kids would be this hard. I think it is just going to take time and I think that Jackson's age is a huge factor in why the past two and a half weeks have been tough. The hardest thing for me is when Jackson gets jealous and wants me to put Kaitlyn down if I'm holding her. He even gets upset if Kevin gives me a hug! So he is a little possessive, but things have been getting a lot better. As you can see in the photos below, Jackson has moments where he just wants to give Kaitlyn lots of love. We have to be really fast in grabbing the camera so we can capture those moments!

Today marks the first day that I am officially alone with the kiddos now that my mom has gone home and Kevin has used his "paternity leave." The day has gone well, besides the time that Jackson fell headfirst off the rocking chair while I was changing Kaitlyn's diaper and then the phone rang and it was Kevin, who wondered why both our babies were screaming! I just had to laugh so that I wouldn't cry. But really, I love these two little people and I'm glad I get to be their mom.

While my mom was here, she took these pictures while I was snuggling with Kaitlyn.

In my last checkup before Kaitlyn was born, the Dr. told me this was the position she was in. Crazy to think that a week and a half earlier she fit inside me!

A Special Visit

Four days after Kaitlyn was born, my mom flew in to stay with us. Unfortunately, the eight days went by way to fast and we are all wondering where she went. She and Jackson would start each day with a two hour walk, exploring the whole neighborhood and playing on a nearby playground. This was wonderful for me because I was able to get a little more sleep and catch up on other things I needed to get done. My mom gave Jackson a much-needed hair cut and he actually held pretty still for her. Of course we had to distract him with food! He looks even more like a little boy now.
When Jackson was taking a nap, my mom quickly snatched up Kaitlyn and loved snuggling with her.

These are her first two grandbabies, and I'd say she has had a lot of fun spoiling them! We sure miss you mom!

Beautiful Baby Girl

This is Kaitlyn Jean at one week old (which was last Thursday). I've always said that I'm not the "pink" type of girl. I didn't think I would want to dress my baby girl in all pink, but it looks like I've changed my mind. I have LOVED having a boy and now I'm having lots of fun dressing up a girl. We have definitely been falling in love over here.

And just for the comparison, here is Jackson at one week. I think they looked a lot alike at birth, but now I am seeing lots of differences.

All About Jackson

Since its all about Jackson these days, I thought I'd better do a whole post dedicated just to him. :) The day that I went into labor, I had been feeling pretty sick. I basically hadn't slept the past three nights and I was EXHAUSTED! I woke up Wednesday morning and decided that Jackson and I would spend the day at home. It turned out to be a lot of fun. He brought his little chair into my room and we watched I Love Lucy reruns together. Well he actually never sat and watched any of them, and I had to keep getting up to see what he was doing, but it was still fun to spend some time with him. These were the last pictures I took of him before we had Kaitlyn. Apparently he thought my mascara was lip gloss...

The Friday after Kaitlyn was born, Kevin took Jackson up to a father and son's campout. They only stayed for the evening, but it was nice to let Jackson go run free. I think they had a lot of fun.