First Few Days

A few days after he was born Garrett got to meet Grandma Jackson and Uncle Billy and Aunt Donna. He was such a good baby and loved to be cuddled by his new family!



Just before we left the hospital on Sunday, Aunt Donna took one of our first family pictures:

...and then Garrett was bundled up in his car seat for the ride home. He did really great and was alert almost the entire ride home.
Here are some random shots from Garrett's first week at home...

Garrett and his frog from Aunt Sandy
Our friend Sue was right on when she gave us the onesie Garrett is wearing here

Garrett Steven Jackson

Here he is!

Born Thursday, August 13, 2009
7:31 a.m.
7 lbs 12 oz
19 inches long
Such a beautiful baby!

Week 39

I can hardly believe that we are in the final stretch of the pregnancy! Little Guy will make his appearance any day...well...could be any hour now! Though Steve and I are both a bit nervous, we are anxiously awaiting his arrival.
Wednesday was my last day at work until October! That sounds crazy to me! I'm trying to take it easy, but also take care of a few things around the house, make last minute runs to Target & HyVee, etc.
We had my last weekly doctor's appointment on Thursday. As of the appointment, I was dialated to about 1-2 cm. I can definitely feel that baby has started his move downward, so we're on our way!
I can't believe how fortunate we've been with the weather so far this summer! It's barely gotten above 85 degrees. Last night we took advantage of the cooler weather & decided to go for a walk. Steve and I headed down the street to check out the road construction & construction of the aquatic center (for those of you from FD - we could see 2 big holes in the ground & what looks like the beginning of a lazy river!). The hottest days of summer are ahead of us this weekend. Hopefully I'll be spending my time in an air conditioned hosptial room. However, if Little Guy does not decide to make his appearance by Wednesday, 8/12, my doctor will induce labor. Hopefully it will not come to that...but at least we have an end in sight!

Following are a few pictures of Kersee & Belle. They LOVE peanut butter! So when we're at the end of a jar, we'll save them until we have 2 so that we can give each dog their own jar to clean out. It's funny to watch them try to get their tongues as far into the jar as possible. Belle can typically clean out her jar...and then she'll grab Kersee's when he's finished & clean it out too!

Creativity

Believe it or not, I have taken some time in the past month or so to do a little crafting. Following is a pic of a shower card I made for our cousin Shelly (who recently welcomed her own little cowboy into the family!) Steve came up with the idea of displaying the card with our little guy's rope:

This card is one I made for a co-worker who recently retired. I'm not really crazy about putting my own handwriting on a card - especially on the front - but I didn't have anything else that would work. I don't think it turned out too bad:

I have a craft room full of fun papers, embellishments, ribbons, stickers, die cuts, etc. that I love to play around with. But sometimes I find myself in a last-minute situation and end up buying (horror!) a card from the store. I know that in the coming months my time will be well-taken over by little guy, so I am hoping to crack open the door of the craft room to throw together a bunch of all-occasion cards. However...if I don't get it done, I hope you'll forgive me if someday you receive a store bought card from me. :-)

Cowboy Nursery

After my mom came to visit we were able to put the nursery together. Mom made all of the bedding & curtains...I think it all looks GREAT! She is SO talented! What do you think?

Shower w/the Girls!

(Click here for more fun pix of the shower via Darci's blog!)

Me at 36 weeks!

This weekend a few of my girlfriends threw me a baby shower. It was a small gathering, and very casual...just how we like it! They all provided me with some great tips & advice that I'm sure I'll put to good use very soon!

Erica, me & Jenny:
My cousin Stacy & 2 of her 3 girls, Camryn & Chloe, also made the trip from Boone...which was SO great! Cami was adored by all. :-)

(Sorry I don't have a pic of all those who attended...my camera was acting up that day. Hopefully Darci has some that I'll be able to put up soon!)

Family Visit & Projects

This year's 4th of July was a special one because we were visited by my entire family! My mom flew in from Georgia & met my brother in Kansas City...they drove up to Iowa together. A few days later, my sister and her husband made their appearance in the middle of their vacation that has taken them many interesting places.
For some reason, I was not good about getting my camera out to take pix while they were here...but I did get a few shots of the home improvement projects that took place. The two main projects that I was excited to see completed were replacing the front/back storm doors, and putting up new exterior lighting at the front door. My mom also chipped in by painting the front door to match our shutters, and by way of fixing a slow faucet, my brother replaced the existing faucet in the upstairs bathroom...
Please don't think that if you come to visit the Jackson's you'll get put to work...all projects were completed voluntarily!! (I hope this doesn't scare away any potential visitors!)

Front Door Before (the lights have already been replaced). The door was starting to rot & I cannot wait to get rid of the white pillars on each side of the door (will have to wait on that tho, I want to replace with shutters that we'll have to special order):

Front Door During - Billy, Dave & Steve working hard:

Dave & Billy clowning around:
Front Door After!
Mom painting door:
Green Door:

Somehow, my sister, Sandra, missed out on getting in any of the pictures I took...sneaky! But I did get a pic of her hubby Billy and Belle...she found a new best friend who carries treats!