35 Week Dr Appt

Yesterday I had my 35 week dr appt. Everything went well. Jordyn's heartbeat was in the 140's and I'm measuring right on track. They did the Group B Strep test and I'll ask them the result at my next appt, which will be next week. I start going every week now. YAY!!!! We're in the home stretch now. YAY!!!!!

Today, I went to the Parris Island Fire Department and they made sure my car seat was properly installed. GO ME, it was, except it needed to be a little tighter, so they did that. Tomorrow is my SC baby shower and I'm SO excited. We're going to have a blast!

And of course my picture of the day. Here's yesterday and today's:


I asked Dylan to let me take a picture of him and this is what I got. HAHA!!!!

Just fooling around in the car and of course, he HAD to honk the horn before getting out. LOL!

365 Photo Project Update

So I had a plan that I never made known to at least post my picture of the day everyday, even if that was all I posted. Well we see how well that worked the past few days. WAY TO GO.....NOT! So I thought I'd share the past few days now and here's hoping that I can start it tomorrow. And if not, you'll see a post in another few days with another few pictures. LOL!

My new loves! This washer and dryer ROCK!!!!!

My friend's little girl testing out Jordyn's toys!

This is the letter that Dylan wrote to Jordyn to put in her baby book and read when she's 18

Some bows I made for Jordyn. Why pay for them when I can make them cheaper?

Happy New Year!!!!

Welcome 2011!!!! So many new, exciting and kinda scary things are upon this year.

Our first major event....Jordyn's arrival!!!! When people ask when I'm due, I can now officially say next month, although on the 16th I'll be 37 weeks and considered full term and she is MORE than welcome to arrive the 16th or later )as long as she's not late. lol). We are SO excited and ready to meet her. OK, well maybe not completely ready. I would like to finish washing her clothes, making our hospital bags and installing the car seat, all of which I hope to have done by the end of the week. I also have to find her a new coming home outfit since several people have told me the one I picked out will be too big for her. :( They should not put 0-3 months if it will not fit a baby when they are 0. LOL!!!

The saddest thing about her arrival is the fact that TJ won't be able to be there. I know there's nothing we can do, but I wish there was. I hate that he has to wait about a week to meet her. I don't know if reality has quite set in for him yet about her either. With him not being here, he doesn't really see any changes, other than me growing. And up until Christmas Day, he hadn't been able to feel her move. You could tell when it happened though, he thought it was pretty cool and I think maybe it set in just a little but not all the way. HAHA!!!

Dylan, on the other hand, is well aware of everything and extremely excited. Everytime we go to the store, he wants to get her something. He's always wanting to feel her move and every night he kisses and hugts my belly and tells her goodnight. I hope the excitement stays once she's here but I somehow get the feeling, that some of it will go away when he realizes just what having a little sister is like. LOL!!!

This coming weekend is my SC baby shower and I'm super excited. My friends, Tana and Brett, have been working really hard and I just know it's going to be awesome. I owe them big time.

Our next exciting event to happen is TJ coming home. He'll be home about 6-8 weeks after Jordyn is born and I'm so anxious to have him back. I know we see him every week, but it's not the same as having him home. Someone to watch a movie with, help me with anything I need, let me go to the store by myself (which you have NO idea how excited I am about that. lol) and all the other awesome reasons to have him here.

The scary part about that is though, is the unknown and what exactly we're going to do when he comes home. Hopefully he'll have a job lined up, which will make it all much easier and less stressfull but that unknown of what's beyond the Marine Corp is very scary to me. TJ seems OK about it, which helps me a lot. If he's scared, he's not showing it.

As for what's going to happen after that, we'll just have to wait and see, but with a new baby, home, job and lifestyle, I'm sure there will be enough to make 2011 fly by.

As for these resolutions everyone makes, I don't want to go too crazy on myself and set something that is unrealistic. I've decided to make two. Nothing too fancy or to difficult, but just something I would like to accomplish. My first one is to stay updated with this blog. I know what you're thinking. "You didn't do it last time you said it. What's different this time?" And honestly I don't know. I'm not saying I'll update everyday, but my goal is twice a month. Enough to let everyone know what's going on with us crazy Jacksons. Plus twice a month doesn't sound like too much. That's only 24 entries for the year. And here's the first. HEY! I'm already halfway done for the month of January! GO ME!!!!!

My second resolution is complete the 365 Photo Project. It's where you take a picture a day for the entire year. Last year, I didn't do so hot but I'm hoping this year will be easier. With Jordyn, I have decided I want to do a picture a day for her first year, so I can use a lot of these pictures together. Kind of like for 2 for 1 deal. Plus, Dylan is growing up so fast too. And I want to make sure we can treasure all those little things he does. And if I can follow through with it, it would be kinda cool to make a scrapbook for the kids highlighting what we've done throughout the year. Something they can look back on later. But that's getting WAY ahead of myself. I should just stick with taking the pictures first. LOL!!!!

So to kick off 2011 right here's the first picture of the year. I think it has become a new favorite of mine of Dylan.

I've been talking to Dylan about how when Jordyn is born we need to read stories to her and now that he's learning to read, he can help by reading to her too. This afternoon he came up to me and asked if he could read her a story today, so before bedtime, we sat down and I let him pick out a book and read it to her.

GA Baby Shower

This past weekend, Dylan and I headed to GA for my baby shower. I know, it's a but early but we won't be back until after Jordyn is born so my mom sister did it now. It was FANTASTIC! I had such a great time and I'm so grateful to the people that were able to make it. They truly made it a special day. My friend Samie made my cake and diaper cake and they look spectacular! And the cake was DELICIOUS and coming from a non-cake eater that says a lot. LOL!!!







































Sunday, we went to a restaurant called The Flying Machine. It's at the Gwinnett County Airport and sits on te runway so you can watch the planes land and take off. Dylan thought it was the coolest thing and insisted on taking pictures of every plane that took off or landed.














After we ate lunch, we met up with Carol, Bobby and Casey at Malibu and played some mini golf and games and took the kids on the go carts. Well I didn't go, but my dad took Dylan. Casey and Dylan LOVED it! I can't wait til he's tall enough to ride by himself. He's going to really love it then. Everytime he passed us, he had to wave.















And our last adventure before heading home was to the Lego Store, Monday. We didn't tell him where we were going. We just said it was a surprise. I wanted him to figure it out all on his own. And when he walked into that Lego Store, he was in heaven. He was in awe at everything. We let him pick out his own cup of Legos and make 3 Lego people. I think he probably thought, that was the best trip EVER!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!

Her name will be Jordyn Marie Jackson.

When we got there, the girl checking us in told me she didnt think they would let me bring them in but she asked and they said it was fine. The few wives that were there waiting to see their husbands knew what I was trying to do. The place isn't big and they heard me talking about it. Of course, they're all curious and wanting to know now too. LOL!!!! We get in the room and I see TJ, give him a hug and a kiss and tell him Happy Birthday and thats about as far as I get. I have to know. So he looks at the pictures that I have and then we pull out the sealed pictures. We look together and I can't help but get SUPER excited and say, "I told you it was a girl," The whole room busts out laughing, even the guards. Poor TJ just put his head in hands. He's speechless and completely shocked. He really thought there was no way it could be a girl. To be honest, I think he's slightly disappointed even though he won't say it. I told him it was OK to be. It happens and I know he'll be fine with it but he still won't admit it. Of course, I think he's scared to have a girl too, but I know he'll do fine.

TJ's family along with my sister are completely shocked as well. My sister was convinced it was a boy and TJ's family always said they don't think any of them will have girls. Well, not anymore. LOL!!!!! TJ's dad sent me a reply text that said, "Really? Are you sure?" And all his stepmom could say was, "WOW!" HAHA!!!!

And here is a picture of her first onesie. I saw it today and immediately thought of TJ and how much he would love it.

It's Been A Crazy Few Months

So, I didn't do so well at staying updated, so let's have another go at it.

The past few months have been crazy. With the end of T-Ball, came the ridiculously hot weather. It was so hot, it was too miserable to go outside. Also, towards the middle of May, TJ got into som trouble at work, so he was sat down. It turned into a big deal and he was facing a court martial and possible brig time. Within two weeks of TJ being sat down, we found that we were expecting. Not exactly perfect timing, but when is it ever when it comes to having a chid?

With the possibility of TJ going to the brig, we decided to go ahead and get married. We were just going to have a courthouse wedding, but my friends insisted on doing something small. So, in the 24 hour waiting period SC has, I talked to TJ and we agreed to have our friend, who is a Chaplain, marry us, and perform the ceremony on the beach with a friends. We didn't have to plan a thing. My friends did it all and it was beautiful. I wouldnt have had it any other way. It was beautiful outside.

Because of everything going on, we didn't get a honeymoon, but that's OK. One day, we'll take our own trip and just live it up then. After the wedding, we had to start figuring out what we were going to do with TJ going to court and leaving. Our first step was to talk to housing and get me enrolled in DEERS and TriCare. Those were both pretty easy. We got a house on Laurel Bay in 3 days and moved in right away since I couldn't do most of the heavy lifting.

Then court day came. Bobbie kept Dylan while we went to court to see what exactly they were going to sentence TJ with. We were there all day and in the end they sentenced him to 10 months in the brig and they'll kick him out of the Marine Corp after he's done. With good behavior, TJ can get out in 8 1/2 months. That day was definitely one of the hardest days we had to deal with.

After TJ left, I had to get this house unpacked and ready for Dylan's birthday party. The birthday party was a HUGE success. He had a blast and we definitely got Toy Story decked that day.

Dylan had a busy two weeks in August. On top of a birthday party, he also had swim lessons, which he LOVED!!!! When we started the lessons, my main goal for him was to put his head under water, a task we've been working on since last summer but have had no success with. Not only did Dylan accomplish putting his head underwater, he also learned to jump into the pool by himself and swim with a boogie board. WOO HOO!!!!!

Dylan has also had another big day in his life: The First Day Of School!!!!!! Last Monday, August 16th, was his first day. All week last week was a half day. Today marked the first day of a full day for him and he loved it! Let's keep our fingers crossed his love of learning never goes away. It will make for a much easier 13 years. LOL!!!!!

With the beginning of school, we also have the beginning of soccer. His first practice was Thursday. He seems to love it. The parents, on the other hand, were anxiously awaiting the end of practice. It was ridiculously hot. We all can't wait for it to start cooling down.

It was two weeks after TJ left, that we finally heard from him. It took them forever to get our number approved for phone calls. His first call was on Dylan's birthday. It made his day. And now that our number is approved, he can call whenever. This past Friday, visitation was approved so I went out there Saturday to visit. We decided not to bring Dylan the first time just to see what it was like. It was SO GREAT to see him! But it does make me miss him more. Knowing he's so close but I can't see him is hard sometimes. Next weekend, I'm going to take Dylan. We're going Sunday since Dylan has his opening soccer ceremonies Saturday.

Among everything going in, I've had doctor appointments for the baby and everything is going well. I found out last week though, I failed the 1 hour glucose test, so now I have to take the 3 hour test on Friday. I am not looking forward to this. Hopefully I'll pass that one and won't have gestational diabetes. My next ultrasound is Sept. 1oth. I pretty much begged radiology to let me do it a little early in hopes to find out the sex of the baby so I can tell TJ when we go visit for his birthday. Let's keep our fingers crossed Baby Jackson isn't going to be shy that day so we can find out if we're having a boy or girl. And on the 13th is my regular doctor appointment.

Mother's Day

I had a great first "Mother's Day." TJ had to work so we went to IHOP for breakfast and then when he headed off to work, me and Dylan headed out to Hunting Island.

Our fist stop was the pier, where we got to touch a baby snad shark (some had caught one fishing), saw 3 dolphins in the water and got ridiculousy close to a bird (I have NO idea what kind it was. LOL!!!)





















Our 2nd stop was the lighthouse on Hunting Island. Dylan was actually just a few inches to short but the man who sold tickets let him go anyway. Dylan walks in looks and sees how high we have to climb, and goes, "HOLY MOLY!!!" I almost cried I was laughing so hard. He is fascinated when we get to the top. Not nercous at all about being up so high. That's my little man!

Our 3rd and final stop was THE BEACH!!!! We collected LOTS of seashells, played in the water and even saw two washed up jellyfish. And finally after collecting all our seashells, we went home and made our own Mother's Day Seashell Vase