3D Ultrasound

I went to the doctor on Monday for my check up and my 3D ultrasound and i have to say... hes going to be cute! :-) We got a couple good pictures and a video that i posted below. He's already measuring almost 4 pounds so i imagine hes going to be big :-/. You can see in a couple of the ultrasound pictures that he has chubby cheeks and being able to see his face make me even more excited for him to be here! During the ultrasound Lexi kept asking why he was yellow. The woman doing my ultrasound explained to her that's just the color they chose the picture to be, he is colored just like her. She was really funny during the whole thing she just kept asking questions. Evan wasn't being so cooperative, he had the cord right in front of his face and kept wiggling so it took a little while to get these pictures and you can see the cord in a couple of the pictures.

You can see his face in the top left corner.

You can see in this one he has the same nose as Lexi... cute as a button! :-)

This is a cheek shot and you can kind of see his lips and you can see the cord in front of his face.

This one looks a little creepy because of the stuff in front of his face but i like it because you can see him smiling.

Here is the link to the video of the ultrasound (my blog wouldn't let me upload it so i had to put it on YouTube.) If you watch it you will get to see him swallowing and he takes a big yawn about half way through. Its so fun to see him acting like a baby because the past ultrasounds hes been pretty calm. He was very active during this one! We are so excited for him to be here and with the baby shower around the corner its starting to seem more real that we will be here soon. I am now going every 2 weeks to my doctor and from what we were talking about and with how big he is probably going to be i will more than likely induced the week of November 15th. We are happy for that because now i know Spencer will be able to be there for the birth and he will be able to take time off for the baby and be able to spend time with his family when they come down for thanksgiving too! I will be 38 weeks on the 15th of November so i don't think he will come before that but I'm hoping he doesn't decide to come even earlier... but then again i have no control of when hes ready to come! :-) Lets just hope he can wait till then.

Our Project

So with me now being a stay at home mom i have gotten so much done in my house. Honestly i have cleaned my entire house top to bottom including organizing the kids room, pantry and my closet. With all that being done i was having a hard time finding things to do around my house. We had found a side table next to the dumpster in front of our apartment about a year ago and haven't really done anything with it. It was ugly and a little scratched but the table itself has a nice style and didn't have anything majorly wrong with it. i have been trying to figure out what to do with it but never found an idea i loved. Now that I'm home most of the day i got tired of looking at the ugly table so i was thinking of ideas of what to do with it. So i found a picture online of a branch with cherry blossoms (our front rooms is kind of a "around the world" theme so it matched with some of our more Asian decor) that i loved so i brought it home to Spencer and told him that's what i wanted on the table. I sanded down the entire table and painted the legs and top the solid colors i wanted and Spencer painted the design on the top. It turned out so good and our grand total on the table was only about $20 including supplies and the paints so i think it was a great find and I'm so happy with how it turned out. Here are some pictures of the before and after.

Here is the table before. I started sanding the top and one of the legs before i realized i needed a before picture so it did look a little better than this originally

Here is the top after a little bit of sanding.
Here is the table before the design. It took quite a few coats to get the coverage we wanted from the red and tan and it looks a little more orange in this picture. Its like a lipstick red.

Here is a picture of Spencer starting the design. The only caption that fits the look on his face is "you're dumb" :-) he thought i was being silly and didn't need to take a picture of him painting it but oh well... i did it anyway! :-)

Here is the finished product! It turned out awesome and the gloss coat we used on top of that made it super easy to wipe off and its has a nice glossy finish.

i am so happy with how it turned out and i also love that Spencer got to use his talents on something in our house. He is a very talented artist and i wish i can do more to get him back into it so i may find another few "projects" he can help with! :-)

And the name is...

We have officially decided this new little baby boy's name will be Evan Spencer Jackson! We are so excited for him to come in November and its now seeming more real now that he has a name. I also had some awesome coupons for Joann's so I went out and bought some letters to put up in the kids room. I did the same thing for Lexi so now the new baby has some too! You cant really tell in the picture but the sides of the letters are a bright green and I love those colors because 1) I love bright colors and 2) Lexi and Evan will be sharing a room so these colors go with the bedding I want for his crib and the colors in Lexi's room. I'm so excited!

SPLASH PARK

So yesterday all of us (Kim, Nat, Rachel and My Mom) and all the kids went to the Goodyear splash park. Everyone had so much fun! My shoulders, chest and a little of my back got totally fried because i was so worried about Lexi getting burnt i forgot to put on sun screen for myself. oops... Also i was putting all of our stuff down after putting sunscreen on the kids and all of a sudden the strap of my swim suit completely snapped off the back! So with a little help and creativity from my mom we converted my strappy swim suit into a halter top at the splash park! :-) Here are some pictures from our day of fun...
Kolsen wanted me to help him get under the dump buckets. This also counts as my 20 week belly shot :-)

I was surprised how well Lexi did. She hates getting water in her face in the tub but she loved every minute of it.

She was a little nervous to get dumped but mommy got dumped too which made it so much more fun!

Stomping on the water shooting out of the ground... such fun!

Playing in the water tunnel

Running through the water tunnel

Splish Splash

This is my only complaint about kids swimwear.... She had a CONSTANT WEDGIE the entire time and kept having to pull it out. LoL

LEXI POSE! I like this picture because the shadow looks cool plus it just sums up Lexi... :-)

We had so much fun and are already planning on going back with daddy! :-)

Baby Names

Ok so here is my dilemma... as you can see i have posted a poll about baby names (i have also text my friends who don't usually check my blog and asked their opinion and it was a tie). I keep going back and forth between the 2 and Spencer isn't being much help. He just keeps giving me the "we have 4 months to pick a name" bit and he wont give me his opinion other then he has said he likes both of those names. I love them both! So i have looked up the meanings of both the names and here's what they mean:

Evan-God is Good

Brayden-Brave

They both have good meanings so that didn't help much. His middle name will be Spencer but that also sounds good with both names (Evan Spencer Jackson or Brayden Spencer Jackson). I like the name Evan because i think its a very classic name and i have always liked it. I like to name Brayden too because its different and i don't know very many kids named that. Lexi likes both names and it depends on the day which name i think we are going to choose. I have also double checked on both my side and Spencer's side and none of our relatives have those names that i know of, which is a good thing. I am stuck... Spencer does have a point that we have a few months to decide, but its just that with Lexi there was no questions that was her name from the very beginning and with this little boy its been harder. I am just kind of ranting because i am hoping that voicing my opinions will help me to decide which one i like more...... i don't like decisions......

To my wonderful husband...

HAPPY 5TH ANNIVERSARY!

Spencer,

I want to thank you for everything you do and have done for our family. I am grateful for each and every day I get to spend with you and I love you more then I can ever say. I know these last 5 years have not been easy but I wouldn't trade them for the world. I think because of our trials it has made our relationship so much stronger and I appreciate it much more. We have made a beautiful little girl and have a wonderful little boy on the way and I couldn't even begin to imagine having this joy with anyone but you. I love you with all of my heart and I hope to have many more years to show you how much I mean that. I LOVE YOU!

With Love,
Heather

The Big Announcment......

ITS A BOY!

We had our 18 week ultrasound this morning and its definatly a baby boy! I tried to get the bum shot on here but the quailty didnt look good so we will save him some early humiliation. We have no clue on a name yet but i will post it as soon as we figure it out for ourselves. Lexi is so excited to have a baby brother and spencer didnt quite believe me when i told him but he is so stoked to have a son! My appointment was super early this morning so he didnt go but it was fun for me to be able to tell him. We are so excited to welcome this little baby boy into our family and cant wait to see him!

Spencer has one less organ...

OK so the surgery was almost a week ago and Spencer is doing great. The surgery was only about an hour long and it went really smoothly with no complications. He is still a little uncomfortable and one of his incisions is still pretty painful but hes recovering well. Today was his first day back to work so we will see how that goes. He has his 2 week follow up next wednesday so we will hopefully find out everything is ok and the problems hes been having is fixed. thanks for everyone who called to check on him.

Ultrasound and a Surgery...

Baby Jackson at 10 weeks

Here is the 2nd ultrasound Ive gotten on our new bundle of joy. The first one you cant really even see the baby so i didn't post it (Sorry this one is kind of fuzzy too its a cell phone picure of a picture.) The tech was checking on the heartbeat and got a quick picture for me. The baby has a very strong heartbeat and is measuring right along with where it should be. Its so fun because it actually looks like a baby now so Lexi was so excited when Spencer showed her the picture. She told him that when mommy's tummy gets big enough it will turn into a door and the baby will walk out.... she has quite an imagination. Instead of telling her the gory details of what REALLY happens i'll let her think my tummy is a door. :-) She is so fun and you can tell she is really excited about this baby. It is starting to seem real and we are all very excited.

And now about the surgery... Spencer has been struggling with stomach problems for about a year now. I will spare you the details but after lots of testing it looks like he is going to have his Gall Bladder removed next Thursday. Its not a major surgery and it should only take about a week, maybe less, to heal up and the doctor said he should feel better almost immediately. The doctor said they can do it Laparoscopicly (sorry if i spelled that wrong); he said they will make 1 cut above his belly button and 3 just under his rib cage and they wont be very big. The surgery itself should only take about an hour and if everything goes well he should be able to leave the hospital the same day. I am nervous because I'm a worrier but we are both glad there will be an end in sight for his pain. Keep him in your prayers and i will let you know how everything goes.

Blah....

Ok.... I am just going to say it.... this better be a boy! :-) lol I'm totally joking and we will be so excited if its a girl too but i have been so much more sick with this one so i hope that means its a boy. I have already broken my record for puking (2 times isn't a hard record to break but still). I have tried the nausea medication which helps a little but not much and every time i drink cold water i throw that up too. I am having such a hard time finding things that taste good and its so frustrating. Anything with too much fiber makes me sick, anything that's too spicy gives me horrible heartburn anything that is sweet makes me gag.... is my first trimester over yet??? sorry if that's TMI but i don't know what else to do. any help or suggestions?

Baby #2

OK baby update time! i went to the doctor on Monday and got an ultrasound. he said everything looks great. There is only one baby and I'm due on November 29th so that means I'll be 7 weeks on Monday. The baby was so small so it was hard to see but she was able to zoom in when she did the internal ultrasound and i could see the baby's little heart beating. She printed off a picture but i don't know how to use my dads scanner so I'll try to post it soon. We cant wait to find out if its a boy or a girl... Lexi thinks its a brother. :-) Lets hope shes right. This pregnancy is already very different from the last one. I feel so sick all the time even though i dont really throw up but i was able to get some nausea medication from the doctor and that has helped a lot. Lexi has been a great help around the house and is very concerned that i dont feel well. I love that little girl with all of my heart and we are all so excited about this new addition.

Lots of change!

Hey everyone! Rachel just posted all the photos of Lexi's photo shoot on her blog so heres the link: http://iluvmysnakes.blogspot.com/ She edited some of them so check it out!

Also, some of you may not have heard but i got laid off on Thursday. They were doing cut backs due to everything thats going on, i don't know details so i don't want to put words in their mouths buts thats my understanding. I was 1 of 4 who got let go on Thursday but i was given the option to go back until Tuesday. I went back Friday and finished the stuff i was working on then i left. It was really hard to say goodbye to everyone there since i had been working there for over a year. Everyone asked me how i was doing and honestly... i don't blame them. From a business standpoint i can see why they needed to do it and i don't feel like it was directed at me. Out of my department i was the least experienced so it was a logical choice for me to be the one to go. I know it was a hard decision to let those people go as well as me but i firmly believe everything happens for a reason. I think everything will work out for the best even though it may seem a little hard right now. I'm trying to be as positive as i can because there is nothing i can do to change their decision. I have made some really good friends and i am very grateful for the opportunity Alan and Debbie gave me to try something totally new to me. This is a new chapter in our lives and we will end up on top... i know it!

Also, my 1st appointment and ultrasound is on Monday so i'll make sure to post those as soon as i can!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

Photo Shoot

Hey everyone here are some super cute pictures Rachel took of lexi. make sure you pay attention to the last one... that ones my favorite! :-)

MY LITTLE MODEL


SUPER CUTE!!!




DANCING QUEEN!

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SOLD!!!

OK so drama about the truck... we found a buyer on Thursday that wanted to take the truck for about 300 under what we were wanting for the truck. Ive never sold a truck so i took the offer. they then called back 5 minutes before they were coming to get the signed title and cancelled their offer.. ARGH!!! so i called our second offer back and we got the truck SOLD for more then what we accepted for our first offer which was a blessing in disguise!!! finally... we are glad its over! :-)

Tootsie found a new home...

We found tootsie a new home. One of the ladies i work with decided she wanted a bigger dog. She doesn't have any children so her dogs are her babies. She has a decent sized backyard and 3 other dogs. So now tootsie has a place to run and friends to play with. It was a hard decision to make but i think she is much happier there.

Tootsie Dog...

Our family has come to a very hard decision... we are going to find tootsie a new home. We have had tootsie since she was about 7 weeks old and she will be 3 the end of this month. We were trying to get into a house and since it looks like that is not happening as soon as we thought i don't think its fair for her to be stuck in out tiny apartment all day. We don't want to just give her to the pound because we love her very much and want to find her a good home with a family that will be able to give her the attention she deserves. She is very loving and absolutely AMAZING with kids. If anything she loves Lexi too much... lets just say Lexi's face is right it tootsies level and she loves to give kisses! She has never been aggressive with anyone and will love you all day if you let her. If you know anyone that is looking for a good famiy dog she is it. Like i said before she is almost 3 years old, house trained, she is a staffordshire terrior and she has been fixed but besides that has had no medical problems. She has a lot of energy and loves to play with her bone and tennis balls. We have a crate, big fluffy dog bed, shampoo/skin care products, lots of toys, a leash collar and harness, a big container of dog food and treats which she gets to take to wherever her new home is. If anyone knows someone who would like her and give her a good home please call us or email me. We would like to find her a good home since we cant keep her. We love her very much and this has been a very hard decision to make but we think its best for her... :-(

***FOR SALE***

Hey everyone! We are selling spencers truck so if you know of anyone who is in the market for one let me know. We would like to sell it as quickly as possible.

1999 Ford Ranger EXT Step Side, single cab, 4.0 liter V.6, 5 speed manual transmission, 108,000 miles, air conditioning needs recharged, windshield has a crack but body is in good shape.

We bought the truck to tow Spencer's dirt bike but we don't have the bike anymore and we already bought a new family car so we need to sell this truck. it runs awesome and has been a very reliable truck for our family. We are asking $3,700 OBO so if you have any questions or you are interested in buying it please email fordranger99forsale@hotmail.com or call or text me at (623)680-4507.



http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/cto/1567331062.html

Quick Update

Hey everyone sorry it has been forever since I've posted. It seems like i don't have time for anything anymore!!! lol here's a couple updates.

Spencer:
Well on the 26Th of this month will be 6 months since he has started working for DOC. He loves his jobs and has had some pretty good stories com out of it. It is hard on him but i love him being able to do something he is proud of and enjoys. Me and Lexi miss him when hes gone but love it more when hes home!

Lexi:
Lexi is still the crazy silly little girl she always has been. She will be 3 next month (crazy i know) but it seems like she has been in our lives for a lot longer than 3 years. She is such a bundle of energy and keeps me on my toes. We are still trying to potty train and are slowly fazing in her "big girl panties". She has Minnie mouse, princess and Tinkerbell panties and LOVES THEM!!! lol Its silly that something so little makes her happy but it has helped her because she doesn't want to get any of them yucky! We have had a few accidents but for the most part she is doing really well. But we are still having to work on her telling us BEFORE she has to tinkle! :-P

Me:
Nothing to exciting on my end. I'm still at Gorenter as the receptionist and not much else is going on right now. My car broke down twice in the last 6 weeks and we have had to put a lot of money in it to fix it but besides that not much is happening with me.

I will try and post some updated pictures of us when i get them. Yhat's all for now! :-)

Birthday, Graduation and Lots of Partying!!

22 years ago on April 15th i was born into this great world.... lol I love birthdays! Everyone is always nice to you and you get free stuff! My morning started out really nice i got up out of bed got ready and got Lexi up and dressed and got to my moms house earlier then i should have. I for some reason got their over half an hour before i had to leave. I don't know why i got up and ready so early and/or why i thought i had to but i did! lol I get there and my mom was making me German pancakes (MY FAVORITE) but little did i know that was just a distraction! I finish breakfast and go out and to my surprise my car has been written all over! It says "your hott", "honk its my birthday" (i got 3 honks and a big wave!) "I'm 22 today"!! I loved it! So i call into KMLE to request a song and Tim and Willy sang happy birthday to me! I have it recorded and will see if my dad can help me post in on here. It was so cool they actually played it on the radio! Then i get to work and i find a donut on my desk from one of my friends at work so i got a second breakfast. The day went by pretty smooth. Lots of compliments and well wishes and then after me and a few of my work friends went out to miracle mile i get another surprise. One of the guys had bought me this brownie cake thing that was dipped in chocolate frosting from Karsh's bakery. YUM!!! Then i got off work a little early had dinner with my family and had MORE chocolate! It was defiantly not a day for diets! lol So tomorrow me and Spencer are celebrating by going out with a few couples for an evening at Dave and Busters! I'm so excited. ALSO as a birthday present from the Jackson family i am treating myself to a massage at lavenders day spa tomorrow morning! I'm SO excited for that too! :-)

OK so the biggest hurdle for Spencer is over... HE PASSED HIS PHYSICAL TEST!!! We were really worried about it because of how bad his shin splints got but he called me yesterday around 8:15 to tell me he passed. We are all so proud of him and i am SO glad its almost over! He comes home tonight and this is the last weekend he will have to go back to Tucson. I'm so excited to have a husband again! :) he graduates next Friday and I'm sure we are both ready for this to be all over! these 9 weeks have gone by slow and fast at the same time! I'm so proud of Spencer for all that he has accomplished and i love him with all my heart. 1 more week and he gets to have a career he truly enjoys!

Now for the partying.... For those of you that want to come we are having a party for Spencer's graduation from the academy. It will be at my moms house at 6:30, SATURDAY the 25th. We will be having dinner and snacks so please let me know if you coming so we know how many people to cook for. Lori and Anthony are coming down so they will be there too if you want to stop by and say hi. We are so excited to celebrate Spencer and would love to see any of you who would like to come! Any questions call me 623-680-4507. Thanks guys!

6 weeks and counting...

Here's a quick update!! Spencer has been in the academy for about 3 weeks now and he is doing good. Hes having problems with shin splints but other then that he is doing really well. The 1st test he took he was 4th in the class and the second test he took he had the second highest score at 96.5% (i think... either that or 95.6%) I am very proud of him for studying so hard and doing so well! He has made a few friends that he rides home with on the weekends which is nice and saves us gas money! lol He got his uniform last week and i LOVE the way he looks in it. The shirt is a little baggy but we are going to see if G-ma Davis can take it in a little bit. This is his "formal" uniform, once he starts working at Lewis prison in buckeye he can wear a polo and his BDU's (there like tough guy cargo pants! lol jk ;-) ) Its nice getting to talk to him in the evenings but its been hard for me being by myself all week long. I've been spending a lot of time at my moms which i don't mind but they might be getting sick of me ;-)!!! lol Lexi misses him too. Almost every day on the ride home she says "we're going to go see my daddy?" and i have to remind her that hes in Tucson and she says"daddy is in Tucson ill see him later" because that's what i tell her every day! She love to talk to him on the phone too and has started telling him about her days! You can tell he really misses her! I love my husband with all of my heart and countdown the weekdays till he comes on Friday night! I miss him but I'm so proud of him for all hes doing to better our lives. I'm glad he has finally found something he truly enjoys as a career!