Two Kids

It's official! I am seven weeks in as a mother of two kids. There are moments when I look at Gracie and Jackson, and can't really believe that they are both mine. What a blessing to have them both. I can only hope that Drew and I can do them justice as their parents. God created us to be their mom and dad. My prayer is that we can live up to this amazing challenge!

Since I haven't posted in so long, I'll give you all a brief update in this post. Hopefully, I'll find time in the next day or two to upload some pictures so you can see how much my little family has grown!

Gracie is four now and in pre-K. I'm still a little shocked at how quickly time is passing. I know it's cliche, but it really does feel like just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital. When we are doing the simple things, like eating dinner, or getting ready for school, I sometimes look at her in awe. She is so amazing and so big. I feel blessed to be her mom and to get to watch her grow and change...although I wouldn't mind if the growing and changing slowed down a bit!

Jackson was born on July 29 at 8:20 AM via repeat C-section. Luckily, my pregnancy with him was blissfully uneventful! There were no health scares for him or bad tests. Thank the Lord, because I don't know if we could have gone through that again! Anyway, Jackson was born perfectly healthy and gorgeous. He weighed in at a whole pound less than Gracie at birth at 7 pounds, nine ounces. He was only 19.5 inches and he both looked and felt SO small!!

My time in the hospital was really great. I can't say it was painless (major abdominal surgery wouldn't be, right?) but I had my wonderful doctor, Dr. Rose, and amazing nurses. I seriously loved every one of my nurses at San Dimas Community Hospital. While there, I was lucky enough to get visits from my Aunt Marlene, Uncle David, Brenda, Shannon, Kristin, Isaac, Kelly (twice!), Jen, Jim, Sue, Mary, Tim, Shelbey, my parents, and Drew's parents. I know that many people who read this have no idea who these people are, but I had to record their names for my own memory. =) Several of my AVID students wanted to visit, but I held them at bay! As much as I love them and consider them a part of my family, I didn't feel like having them see me in such a state.

Jackson has been a more challenging infant than his big sister. The poor little guy has colic, so napping and sleeping through the night are not easy. I'm praying that this condition eases quickly for his sake and ours. I go back to work in two weeks, so I'm hopeful that I'll be able to sleep a bit more by then. Sleep deprivation aside, this little guy is the best addition to our family. He is absolutely adorable and very sweet when he's feeling well. Like his sister, he has chubby cheeks and sweet smiles.

Before Baby Jackson was born, I prayed and prayed that Gracie would love her little brother. She acted excited that she was getting a brother, but I knew that she would actually have to meet him to understand what this really meant. My prayer was answered from the moment Gracie saw her baby brother. According to Drew (I was still in recovery at the time), she loved her little baby immediately. Even after we came home to "her" territory, she was excited to have Jackson around. She is such a good little mama to her "brudder."

I truly hope to keep this blog updated every couple of days. My wish is to use this as my own memory keepsake of day to day life as my little family grows together. I hope you are all well!