Week 16

June 24-30

We had a great week! I finished my hospital orientation and now I will start on the floor with a nurse. I have to shadow her for awhile and get familiar with how things work, the equipment, procedures, etc. This will last a few weeks until I feel comfortable with handling everything on my own. I will let you know how it goes. My first day will be the Tuesday the 30th.

This past weekend Ed had duty on Saturday so Jack and I were on our own. We went to Viera and met some friends for some shopping and lunch. I finally got much needed new clothes. I have been avoiding buying new clothes because I'm still at that in-between stage. I have been wearing some of my maternity clothes, but now they look ridiculous and hang off of me. The problem is that my regular clothes still don't fit quite right so I had to give in. Luckily, Old Navy was having a massive sale and I ended up getting 3 shirts, a pair of jeans, a cute jean skirt, and a bathing suit all for around $60.00. So now I have a few outfits I can wear while I continue to lose weight. I am still in the weight loss competition we started at my other job. It was supposed to end the last day in June, but we are extending it until the end of July. I'm not sure what place I'm in, but I am determined to win it because the winnings are getting pretty big. :) I think that pretty soon I am going to step up the workout to running. I have been speed walking every morning with Jack. I can't run with him b/c I read that babies shouldn't be in jogging strollers until at least 6 months since it can strain their necks.

I also FINALLY decided on crib bedding for Jack's room. I held off when I was pregnant because I didn't know if he was going to be a boy or girl. I already have a lot of blue in his room so I needed something that would match. Here is what I ordered. The collection is called "It's a Jungle Out There." I don't know if anyone has looked at crib bedding lately, but some of the sets are absolutely ridiculous. Most of them only have 4 pieces-quilt, sheet, bumper, skirt and they are upwards of $300-$500. If you want the mobile or other accessories they run around $50 apiece. I personally think that is insane for a crib because babies are not going to be in them for very long. This particular set is 10 pieces and it includes the quilt, sheet, bumper, skirt, mobile, diaper stacker, valence, and 3 wall hangings. We will have to get 2 extra valences for his other windows. Comment and let me know what you think.

Saturday while Ed was on duty I got out Jack's jumperoo and put it together. I waited until Ed came home on Sunday so we could both be there when he tried it for the first time. I was worried he might still be too small, but he just barely fits and he LOVES it!!!!! Here is a video of him trying it out for the first time.

Week 15

June 17-23

This past week was really hard for us. We found out last Monday that Ed's grandfather had passed away and so we had to quickly make plans to fly up to Pittsburgh for the funeral. Monday was a crazy day. I found out I got my job, we got plane tickets, and packed all of our stuff to travel. Tuesday morning (very early) I had to stop by the hospital to do my drug test and bloodwork, fill out papers, and other not so fun pre-job stuff. Then I rushed home where Ed and Jack were waiting to leave with the car packed, we rushed to the airport, rushed to the terminal, and just made our plane.

It was Jack's first plane ride, very sad under the circumstances. He did very well on the plane and if it bothered him at all he didn't act like it. We finally arrived in Pittsburgh late Tuesday afternoon and met up with the family. It was a bittersweet few days as the family remembered all the good times they had with "Big Al." It was nice to hear all the stories. Thursday was the viewing and Friday was the funeral. It was a beautiful service and his grandfather was buried next to his grandmother.

Saturday we flew home and tried to recover from the stressful week. Sunday we celebrated FATHER'S DAY!! Ed's first Father's Day as a new dad. We cooked and hung out as a family. I watched Jack so he could play a few hours of video games uninterrupted. I attempted to clean as much as I could while Jack took naps. I also spent a good part of the afternoon baking cookies so he could give them to his instructors at work. When he found out about his grandfather they didn't even hesitate and got him out of work within a few minutes, so I wanted to thank them for their kindness. That night I cooked a delicious dinner that Ed had requested a few weeks ago when I asked him what he wanted. I made filets, crab legs, baked potatoes, asparagus, and crescent rolls. Ed drank some of his favorite beers. It was a nice day. Monday was definitely hard to face. We have yet to unpack our suitcases from the trip. Monday morning I started my hospital orientation and Ed had to go back to work so we were both away from Jack for the first time. He did very well for the sitter. She took him for a walk, played with him, and he drank his bottles pretty well.

We will see how the next few weeks go as we ease into our new schedules. There are a lot of challenges ahead of us. We have a couple of people in our family facing illnessa and other struggles. The only thing we can really do is pray for the best and live each day the best way we know how.

Week 14

June 10-16

This week we attempted to take Jack to Ed's work picnic. The HEAT definitely ruined everything. I know we live in Florida, but since we live at the beach it is usually a little bit breezy and cooler than some places we have been. The picnic started at 11:00 am so we figured we could stay for a little while. We were so excited and got Jack all ready to go, packed all of his stuff, and drove to the place where everyone would be.

It was sooooo ridiculously hot that we ended up spending probably 30 minutes and realized we had to get the baby out of there. Even standing in the shade with a large fan blowing on us, he was sweating and uncomfortable. Oh well, maybe next time. The good thing about Florida is that you can pretty much be outside with a baby most of the year except for the summer months. We will try again soon.

Since we couldn't be at the picnic we went home and let Jack rest awhile, then when he woke up we went to the animal shelter with our friend Chris (Tyson) to help him pick out a friend for his cat Lincoln. Jack loved all the animals! Here is the cat I wanted Tyson to get.

Jack checking out all the animals. Hilarious face!!

Sad News

Ed's grandfather (Pap-Pap) passed away this morning so we will be out of town for awhile.
Here is a picture of Pap-Pap with us at our wedding. He will be greatly missed.

Week 13

June 3-June 9

This week was pretty uneventful. Still no word about the new job. On Monday Jack and I went to a "Breastfeeding Support Group". I was a little skeptical because I've never been to one, but it was actually really nice. There were about 7 moms with babies, some very close in age to Jack. I met one mom I clicked with, we are going to make plans to have coffee sometime. Her baby is named Joaquin, "Jack" in Spanish! :) We are definitely going back to the meeting next week.

Monday afternoon Ed clicked on something and crashed our computer. We kind of knew it was going to go sometime in the near future (after all it is from my freshman year in college 7 years ago). The guy that came to fix it basically built us a new computer and used as many of the old parts as he could. It works fine now, but I think in the next year we are going to have to give in and buy a new one. When Ed starts school he will need a reliable computer. I didn't get many pictures this week. Here is a funny video.

Week 12

May 27-June 2

This week we kind of hung out around the house and stuck to our schedule. After the Baptism weekend it was nice to get back into the usual routine. Jack & I have been walking every morning with 3 other moms and their babies for about an hour. It's the first thing we do after we wake up and he eats. He loves to sit up in his stroller and see everything. Hope enjoys it too!

I have been looking for a new job and I think I have found one. It is on a pediatric unit in a small local hospital. The unit is tiny with only 8 beds. When I first called about the job the nurse manager asked if I could come in for an interview in the next hour. I wasn't planning on that happening so quickly and I had Jack (Ed was at work). She said I should just bring him with me.

So...Jack came with mommy on her job interview. We had a long talk in the elevator on the way up to the floor about how it was very important he behave himself. The interview ended up lasting over an hour and Jack was VERY good. :) He ended up falling asleep.

I'm waiting to hear back about whether or not I officially got the job. Apparently there is a policy in this hospital that they can't offer the job until they have posted it for the current hospital employees for 3 days. We are keeping our fingers crossed!

New things we have been trying:

Jack sat in his Bumbo chair for the first time this week. He absolutely loved it!! He's really good at holding his head up. He can sit in the chair for about 5 minutes straight before his head starts bobbing.
Jack still goes to sleep with his "friend". He likes to play with it as he falls asleep.

Still likes his "tummy time" mat. We do a few minutes on his back and a few minutes on his tummy a few times every day. I thought this was a funny face.

Since I will possibly be going back to work full time Ed and I decided to hire a part-time nanny to watch Jack. We decided he will probably do better if he can stick to his routine and be in his own house. If I get the job it will be Friday, Saturday, & Sunday 7am-7pm. We will only need someone Friday mornings until Ed gets home from work, then Ed will be watching Jack for the rest of the weekend. We interviewed someone and I think she is going to work out well. Hopefully Jack does okay. He's never really been without one of us.

Last Sunday we went to a Military Wife Appreciation Brunch. It was at the pier on Cocoa Beach. We got to hang out with some of our friends that Ed works with.

These last 2 pictures are for Sami. She got him these pajamas and I promised when he grew into them we would put up pictures for her. I personally like the ones that say "I'm Just Bananas Over Mommy". :)