So yeah, I missed an entire year. As this blog is mostly for my benefit, and for the kids much later on, I'm disappointed in myself. I'll do better this year! Haha, since there was basically no mention of 2013, I am going to recap our year. It may be long, but, here goes...
Not long after Christmas, Chris' parents came down to stay a week or so. They normally stay almost a month, but since Jackson was to arrive in the very near future, they didn't stay long so that they could spend a lot of time with us after his birth. We always try to do something new with them every time they come, so this trip we decided to go to Old Town in Kissimmee. It's set up like an old town, with shops side by side, and store fronts opened up onto the street. They have old-themed diners, crafts, souvenir shops, and at the very end is a few fair-type amusement rides. We casually browsed the shops, ate lunch, and then let the kids ride a few of the rides. Chris rode with Piper and Halle as my huge pregnant belly wasn't accommodated in those little seats.
In February, Piper turned 2, and the very first of March, Halle turned 6. We didn't do a birthday party for them, instead we did whatever the girls wanted to do. Once we were up and ready to go it was already close to lunch time. Piper could really care less where we went to eat, so Halle picked Chik-fil-a. We ate, and they played for a while, and then we headed to Toys-R-Us. They both had a lot of birthday money to spend, and shopping with a two year old is never quick, so I think we were there for almost two hours! They were very happy with their finds, though, and wanted to go home immediately to un-box everything.
We took them out to eat that night, also, but most of the day was spent just playing with them. I love the simplicity of the things that our children wish for, and the things that make them happy - I know I could learn benefit from being a lot more like that.
Late March we took a vacation and drove the motor home to Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine, Florida. It is a beautiful park, tons of greenery and trees, and the beach was just a short walk away from our campsite. We spent most of our time biking, playing at the beach, or walking around downtown St. Augustine. We had a great time, and it was nice to be able to have a little down time before Jackson was due to arrive in April.
Ah, April! My pregnancy with Jackson had been so smooth up until his birth month, and then (of course) my blood pressure started to act up, and we ended up having to be seen at Winnie Palmer a couple of times before he arrived. I so badly wanted a VBAC, but with Florida being so strict, and Jackson not wanting to make a debut before the 40 week due date, I didn't have any choice left. So, early early early morning on April 19, Chris and I headed back into Winnie Palmer determined not to come out this time without our boy. All of the nurses and doctors were exceptional, and put to rest all of my fears about having to have a repeat cesarean. Because the cesarean wasn't an emergency, the procedures were much more laid back, and relaxed. I was able to breathe, stay calm, and be so fearful of the impending procedure. The problems that I had during my last cesarean with Piper were explained to the staff, and they amazingly had answers and solutions for all of them! I was wheeled into the operating room with almost no trepidation, and almost all excitement! Jackson arrived at 5:55 a.m. that Friday, April 19th. He weighed in at 7 lbs, 8 oz. He was perfect! My tubes were tied/slashed/burned/cut/ripped out, I was sown up, and taken to recovery. Jackson came right along with us to recovery, and he stayed with us the entire time.
He was almost 2 days old when we found out about his cataract. The attending pediatrician initially scared us to death telling us that he would never have vision in that eye, and it was likely that he had some kind of cancer. After almost ripping her head off and demanding to see a specialist, it was confirmed that it was indeed a cataract, he had no tumor, and with a little therapy work, he would see perfectly from that eye. I still cannot think of that lady pediatrician without wanting to hurt her for making me feel the worst dread that I had ever felt in my life. That was definitely a couple of the worst hours that I have ever spent as a parent.
At just under 6 weeks old, Jackson had eye surgery to remove the massive cataract. His natural lens had to come out, too, and he now wears a contact, or glasses to do the job that his natural lens would do. We're hoping to be able to look into having an artificial lens placed very soon.
In June I turned 30. It feels weird to be officially out of my 20s, but I didn't feel the dread that some said I would. Actually, it didn't upset me at all. Since we have been in Orlando, I started the tradition of asking for everyone to go out to a movie and dinner for my birthday. We get up early, go eat lunch, see movie, shop around the mall (I might end up with an outfit...or two), and then we eat dinner together. Chris and the girls are the best part of this life I have, and I can't think of any other way I would rather spend my birthdays than with them.
The first of July I was able to drive me and the kiddos home to spend a week in Trenton. It was so nice to be around family for a while. As soon as we arrived back in Orlando, Ben & Belinda, and their girls met us for dinner one night while they were vacationing close by. I truly do miss our friends and family so much, and I love when we are able to visit with them. The end of July we took a trip to Sarasota, Florida and spent a few days on the beach. I had never been to the gulf before, and we had a blast.
School started back in August. Hannah began 5th grade, and Halle 1st grade.
Part of me is so sad that they are growing up so fast, but the other part is so proud of the girls that they are growing up to be.
Chris' parents came down again in September for two weeks, and while they were here this visit, we checked out a place called Jungle Adventure. They have alligators, small and massive, and lots of other animals that are native to Florida. They teach you about the animals, and allow you to feed them. The girls were able to hold a snake, tarantula, and a hedgehog.
Hannah turned 11 in October, and we had a birthday party for her at Lynn & Mr. Frank's house. She invited on the of the little girls from her classroom, and they, and Bud & Faith, had a blast kayaking, knee boarding, and driving the jet ski. Hannah is such a water bug, and she absolutely loves
anything to do with water. She actually let us buy for her this year and wrap her gifts as opposed to her going shopping and picking everything out that she wants. She was very happy with her birthday, and said she really had a great day.
This Halloween was the first time that we let the girls pick out random designs for their pumpkins. We had always let them draw the faces free-handed and then helped them to cut it out. We had a
ton of stencils, and they went all through them (several times), and picked out the ones they liked best. Hannah's pumpkin is the cat/bat, Halle's has the scary face, and Piper's is Mickey. They were really cool when they were all done.
Chris' parents came down again for Thanksgiving, and we took our motor home over and parked beside theirs and planned to spend our Thanksgiving week camping with them. However, it didn't go as planned. On the way to the campsite I had to stop and let the VW dealer check out our van because the check engine light had come on. They were able to fix the problem quickly, but discovered that my van (with around 27,000 miles) had Michelin tires that were completely dry rotted. Great. The tires were still under the manufacturer warranty, so we went to have them exchanged. Almost $400 later, and we have brand new top-of-the-line Michelin tires. Turns out, they don't replace your tires, they just give you a discount toward the purchase of this "better" tire. Yeah, fine. We get back to the motor home, and the girls go off to play. About an hour later, Halle comes screaming because she's stepped into an ant hill. Poor girl, she had them all over her foot. Brenda was able to get water and get them off very quickly, but not before they had bitten her. Her foot was swollen and she had bites covering the entire top and bottom. That night, so thankful that the day was finally over, we all showered and headed to bed. Before we could get settled in, Chris started having what seemed like an allergic reaction to something. His breathing was extremely heavy, and he became congested in a matter of minutes. After a ton of Benadryl, and an angry wife nagging about going to the ER, we finally got some rest. The next night, he did the same thing again,
but worse. I tell you, I was scared (and I don't normally scare that easily). It all worked out okay, but we did figure out the culprit was the motor home, which now has to be sold. Sad, but I'm sure we'll find another that we will love just as much.
December is, of course, the rush of the holidays. With 4 kids, it takes a while to get everything together, wrapped, and ready for Christmas Eve and morning. We got it done, though, and the kids were so happy with everything. So much so, that as soon as all the gifts were opened, all of them disappeared for hours. It was weird not to be called, needed, or have to go break up a fight. Christmas Day was a good day!
Okay, so I think that brings us back to now! Whew. If you made it all through that, I'm impressed! Only one more thing to add. Chris was offered a promotion at work that will require a move to Denver, Pennsylvania. We thought about it, and decided that since we moved for this job, and he loves his job, that the only logical thing to do would be to accept and continue to move up with this company. As of right now we have a roughly defined move date of anywhere between the end of January to the middle of February. We are extremely excited! We've began buying everyone a winter wardrobe (we've neglected our winter wear from being in Florida so long), and I've started looking for doctors, schools, etc. We are flying up next weekend to look at the houses that we've picked out online, and hopefully nail down some finer details. Hopefully we'll know more after our trip, and I'll be able to update with definite moves dates, the house we picked, and even schools! So, more to come... : )
