Goodbye Old Friend...

What a momentous week we've had! Not only did our baby son have his first birthday, but he also got the go-ahead from Dr. R. to leave formula behind and begin whole milk. Yippee! So, goodbye Similac...you've been good to us this past year, but I don't think we'll miss you. I know we won't miss the $27 a week habit you've caused us! Does Jackson like whole milk? AND HOW! Here is a picture of him with his very first whole milk bottle. He scarfs it!

The Stats

Our one-year old boy is getting big! We took Jackson to his one-year check up this morning with the pediatrician (we love our pediatrician, by the way!). He now weighs 24.4 pounds (75th percentile) and is 31.5 inches tall (95th percentile). He's gained four pounds and has added an inch and a half to his height in three months. Way to go, Jackson! He took his immunizations like a champ...no tears even! As a special treat, Dr. R. gave Jackson a new book, and the nurse gave him a Curious George sticker. (I don't think we got all those perks when I was little!) Isn't being a one-year old grand?

Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby Son!

One year ago today, February 20, 2006, our precious baby son, Jackson, was born at 3:07 p.m. He weighed 7 lbs, 8 oz, and was 20 inches long. Thank you, God, for this amazing and wonderful blessing! Our prayer is that Jackson will be strong and healthy, will grow in the Lord, and will serve Him with his whole heart! We pray that as parents, we will raise him with love, kindness, grace, and respect, and that we can instill values in him that he can live by for his whole life. What a responsibility!

What fun we had today! We woke up to hearing our sweet boy playing in his crib. Nathan & I went in, video camera in hand, singing "Happy Birthday" to our son for the first time!We were blessed to spend lunch with Grandma & Grandpa D. What a fun time we had at Golden Corral! Our server even brought a yummy piece of chocolate cake - with sprinkles - to our table for Jackson to dig into.
Guess what we did after that? We turned Jackson's carseat around so he now faces forward. He has a brand new vantage point on the world!After running some errands, coming home to find lots of wonderful birthday cards and gifts in the mail, and spending a nice afternoon visit with our friends, Jimmy, Betty & Dot, we enjoyed a birthday dinner with our friends Jesse, Kara & Ethan at Chili's. What a fun day! Tomorrow we visit our pediatrician for Jackson's one-year check up where we'll find out what he weighs and how long he is now. Also included in this visit will be four more immunizations, poor little fella. :-(

Thank you to all of you who have walked beside us during this year-long journey. There have been many sleepless nights, approximately 2500 diaper changes, about 175 baths, numerous bottle feedings (and bottle washings!), countless at-home photo shoots, many miles in the car and in the airplanes, our fair share of bumps and bruises, a few tears...and it's been worth every single second! Oh, did we forget to mention never-ending hugs & kisses?? What an amazing year...I dare say the best year of our lives so far! We can't wait to see what this next year holds for our family. Thank you for your love & support!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

What a beautiful day we're having in Tucson today! It's bright, sunny, and 65 degrees this lovely afternoon. Jackson & I took a stroll through the neighborhood before coming home and watering the outdoor plants. He loves being outside! On our walk we came upon a small strip mall, so we walked along the sidewalk and peeked in the store windows. As we were walking I noticed Jackson see our reflection in the store windows and we would wave back and forth to each others' reflections. It was very sweet! It's so fun to see him experience all these new things in his world! Every day is a new adventure!

Cute Little Highchair Boy

Jackson's top teeth
Jackson's bottom teeth (take a look at those beautiful eyes!!)
Jackson being silly with his bib on his head

I Guess I'm Pretty Unique...

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 5 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

"B" is for...

BUDGET! Yes, folks, that is my big news... Our family started living on a budget as of Thursday, February 1, 2007. We've been doing ok this past year since I've been staying home, but we realized we frittered away a lot of our savings just to make it every month. Not good! So, we asked Nathan's brother & his wife, Scott & Sheli, to help us create a budget we can work with. Scott & Sheli have been living within a budget for most of their 19 years of marriage, so we knew they would have some great advice for us. Did they ever! (We have the Excel spreadsheet to prove it!) Of course, living within a budget means much more eating at home and much less eating out (darn!), but having money left at the end of the month will be so worth it. Plus, setting aside money for vacations, insurance payments, etc. will be helpful too.

We took our first "budget" grocery shopping trip on Saturday. Armed with the Fry's ad and an envelope full of coupons, we hit it hard and pulled up to the check out line with a cart full of groceries. Are you ready for this? Drum roll, please... We spent $103 and saved $83. WOW! My greatest bargain? A tube of Aquafresh toothpaste. How much? FREE!

So now I am a full-fledged coupon clipping, bargain shopping, budget living, stay-at-home wife & mommy. Life is good!