10 Little Piggies

Jackson found his feet today! We have been working with him for a little while introducing his feet to him; wiggling them around, putting them up to his mouth, etc. Whenever you would put them to his mouth he would get such a kick out of it, smiling and laughing. And today he finally grabbed them himself and put them right up to suck on his toes! Now that he has found them, he thinks they are so cool. He definately favors his right foot so far- maybe he will be a righty? Either that or it just tastes better :)

Today was my first day home with Jackson after leaving Emerald Performance. It was such a lovely day. We leasurly woke up and had our milky breakfast (I had coffee and cereal with mine). Then we played a while in his gym, batting toys and gazing at ourselves in the mirror. It was such a beautiful morning, I decided to strap Jackson on in his Bjorn and do a little gardening. The weeds around our house are absolutly insane, and I am so excited to finally have the time to get them all under control. I thought I would first tackle the patch of land that is by our patio so it would finally look nice while you are sitting out there. There is a little wall there which made it a perfect place to work with Jackson in tow. I sat myself down and Jackson got completely worn out watching me pull weeds and throw them in a pile, pull weeds and throw them in a pile- head going back and forth the whole time. After lots of yawning, I layed him down for his nap and headed back outside to finish what I started. There is still a lot to do, but boy what a difference it already makes! After pulling out tons of grasses and weeds I even uncovered a little strawberry patch, rosey red strawberries already forming. They are so cute!

Tomorrow my parents are coming over to help me create my herb garden. I am so excited! For the past few years I have just had a little portable herb garden since we have just been renting. This will be my first REAL garden- a true token of homeownership. It is so cool. I will post pictures to show it off once it is all finished.

Well all this fresh air has worn me out so I think I am going to hit the sack a little early. This way I will be well rested for my big gardening day tomorrow.

Have a nice night!

3 days and counting....

So I am down to three more days left at work here in Cuyahoga Falls- and I have to say I am soooooo ready to be done. As much as I like it here, and love the people I work for I am so exhausted by the end of the day! I almost feel like I did after Jackson was born! Not only do I work an 8 hour day, but I drive for 3- so that makes an 11-12 hour day for everyone. Way too long for little Jackson to be away from his mommy and daddy 5 days a week (and way too long for mommy and daddy to be away from him too!) I go into the Macaroni Grill on Thursday the 31st for my orientation and then I am guessing I will be starting work officially the following week. It will be such a nice change.


I was reading the news paper yesterday and found out some pretty cool news. The very first eaglet was born in the Cuyahoga National Park in the past 70 years! The last time one was born here FDR was on office! Here the article all about it:

Eaglet arrival 70 years in the making

Categories: Breaking News

Brecksville - The last time bald eagles hatched in Cuyahoga County, FDR ruled from the White House, the Great Depression worsened and another World War crept closer.

Now, 70 years later, a newly hatched national symbol huddles in a 1,000-pound nest in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

"It's a real exciting time for the park," said interpretive ranger Paul Motts, standing on the Towpath Trail, across the Cuyahoga River from the birds' home. "It just shows our great efforts in trying to preserve areas like this."

The park service is also trying to preserve the eaglet, born April 3 in the V of a big, sparse tree.

Officials have shut off pedestrian access to the railroad tracks on the west side of the river and posted signs on the Towpath urging people not to dally. Trains chugging by on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, though, don't bother the birds, said park spokeswoman Mary Pat Doorley.

In the mid 1970s, when the valley was made a national park, only four pairs of bald eagles lived in Ohio, Motts said.

Now, the state has 164 nests - 116 of which hatched at least one chick this year, said Carla Maxwell, volunteer eagle coordinator for the Ohio Division of Wildlife. That's the most nests since the division began keeping count in the '70s.

"It's a big deal," Motts said. "The eagles were on decline, almost wiped out."

Their return to the river, like the blue herons' move there in the 1980s, signals the Cuyahoga's clean water and abundant fish, he said.

Bruce Abbott, an amateur bird watcher, comes to the river often to look at the eagles. "It's like a once-in-a-lifetime thing," he said.

Park officials hope not. They believe the eagles may return to the spot after a successful nesting, creating an eagle colony like that of the herons.

The eagles, then, would be a fixture in Cuyahoga County, not an I-remember-when footnote in history.

**article can be found {here} 

I think I will have to go and take a walk over there and see if I can get a few pictures. A photograph was posted at cleveland.com and the baby is so cute! Maybe this will be a good field trip for Jackson and I once I am working part time- strap him in the bjorn and go for a little hike. He would love it- he absolutly loves being outside. Mommy would care more about the eagles, but he would enjoy watching the trees and feeling the breeze in his hair.

Goodness, I can't wait until I am part time! All of the fun things I will get to do with him then. I won't be just limited to Saturdays and Sundays. I am so excited!

I gave my 2 weeks notice at work!

Well Monday was my first day back to work from maternity leave. What a loooooooooong week this has been. Bonnie is our nanny, so at least I did not have to stress over Day Care. But the worst part (aside from having to leave Jackson) is that Bonnie lives a half hour away from me and then she is an hour away from my work- yup, that makes 3 hours driving a day (and that is on a good traffic day, no construction, accidents, etc). I have to wake up a 5:00am to get myself awake, and ready for work, get him up and packed up, etc. By the time I get home from picking up Jackson it is about 8:00, and it is time to get him ready for bed! I don't even get to see him really. It is so depressing!

So after much talking and thinking with Scott, I have decided to quit my job and work part time waitressing. I got a job at The Macaroni Grill, this restaurant that I used to work at many years ago. They are letting me work 3-4 days a week and do just lunches during the week (unless I want to pick up dinner shifts!) I am so excited! Plus, the restaurant is only 5 minutes away from my sisters house! So no more stress, late hours, long drives, and I get to spend 4 days a week at home with Jackson. It is all such a relief.

This part time thing will definately be better. I have been slowly telling everyone at work; and you know what, everyone has been so amazing. They are all very supportive and understanding. Which has made it so much better. I was so nervous about quitting! But most people have told me that they think I am making the right decision. many said they would have done the exact same thing. They have been very sweet telling me I will be missed, and how great it was having me back. I was definately lucky to work for such a kind company. 

My last day here will be May 30th and then I will be starting at the restaurant. I am actually really loking forward to it, suprisingly enough. Some of my friends are still working there, so I will have familiar faces. Plus it will be busy. I will be on my feet running around so hopfully it will help me loose some of this extra baby weight I haven't lost yet- I just have to be good with staying away from all that yummy pasta!!

My 1st Mother's Day

Today was my very first Mother's Day- and how special it was! First I woke up in the morning to have a lovely bonding time feeding Jackson. While rocking him I thought back to how amazing his birth was and how in just 12 weeks I have changed so much as a woman and a person. My life has a new purpose that I never could have dreamed would feel so wonderful. We have been blessed with such a gift. I will be forever thanking God for trusting us with our precious boy.

After Scott woke up we played with Jackson in his gym had lots of smiles. Then Scott gave me the most beautiful gift from Jackson. It is a pendant of a mother and child and their arms incircle to make a heart. It is so beautiful and absolutly perfect.

We spent the afternoon with Sandy going out to lunch at Clemetine's and then browsed around Grand Pacific Junction. Sandy was so sweet, she gave me these wonderful stepping stones to place in one of my new garden's (whenever it is that we finally make them!) and also two Creeping Flocks plants. They are this beautiful lavender color. I can't wait to plant them.

The evening we visited over at the Jill's and had a lovely dinner and just enjoyed eachother's company. My mom gave me my whole start to my herb garden! I know what I am doing this weekend! I hope we have nice weather so I can get it all dug up and placed. Bonnie gave me the most beautiful Orchid. It is this very pretty purple color. I hope that I can take good care of her- I have never been good with Orchids. But I will definately try! This was such a special day and i will always remember it.

Thank you Mom's- I have such amazing role model's in each of you. All I can hope is that I can become as wonderful a mother as you have all been to me, Scott and Anna and Sophie. I love you!

Happy Birthday Mimi!!!

Happy Birthday Mom! We love you so much and hope today is special. We can't wait to party this afternoon!

Oh, and Jackson is requesting some holding time today with the birthday girl.

Love you!!!!

One Week of Maternity Leave Left

Wow, I knew it was going to be hard to go back to work. However, I never could have anticipated how hard it actually would be. I have spent every single day so closely with Jackson for the past 11 weeks- I cannot imagine not having that same closeness with him. I am going to miss him more than anything. I am just so very sad. I do not even want to think about it! .....so enough about that.....


Ok, on to Jackson cuteness! He is getting sooooo big! I can hardly believe how much he has grown. Every single day he does something new, something cuter then ever. Now he is getting so playful. I put him in his gym and he bats at the toys, studies himself in the mirror and laughs the whole time. He has favorite toys now too. He just loooooves the horsy toy in his gym. There are four different toys, all brightly colored, but the horse is the one he gives the most attention too. He has also really taken to this stuffed bear that the body is a little blanket. It is silky on one side and super soft on the other. You give it to him and he snuggles right up with it. He likes to rub the soft side on his face and sucks on it sometimes too. Now even if he gets fussy, you give him the bear and he calms right down. It is so precious seeing him snuggly like that!

Jackson has become super vocal too. I love hearing his voice and all of the sweet noises he makes. You can have these cute little "conversations" with him. I just can't get enough!

This week I will be doing my best to make the most of this last week with my little prince; soaking up our entire special one on one time. I know I will look back so fondly of this Mommy and Baby Time. What an amazing experience this has been!