Charleigh Jo is Here!

Charleigh Jo is here! She was born at 10:23 am on Monday, April 4th. She was 6 lb 11 oz and 19.5 in long. Now, for the quick birth story...

Jennie decided to pick up one more shift on Sunday, April 3rd, so she started her shift at 6:30 pm and started feeling labor pains shortly there after. Her patient had to get a C-section so she worked that surgery while breathing through contractions and then at about 1:30 am they sent her home. She came home and showered and grabbed her bags, while we called Nonni to come over to stay with Elliot. Then we headed to the hospital. Her water broke at about 5:30 am and she delivered at 10:30 ish. So, Jennie worked literally until up until Charleigh was born. They were joking that she was the only person to have been on the clock the same day that she delivered!

We have been home for two weeks and everyone is doing great! Elliot is really sweet to her and is a great helper around the house. Here are a couple of pictures from the last two weeks.

The first time that Elliot and Charleigh met

The first time that Mommy and Daddy met Charleigh

Elliot being silly!

Mommy before she delivered. Thanks to Holly for decorating the room!

Three beautiful girls!

This is Elliot a few days after being born

This is Charleigh. Very similar!

Sisters!

Mommy and her girls

Elliot happy to have a permanent play mate!

First bath at home

Sweet Girl!

Sorry Charleigh!

I can't believe that the last time I blogged was before Christmas! With Elliot we were blogging like crazy before she was born, but we have not been as good with Charleigh. Oh well, sorry sweet girl...

On that note, Charleigh will be here within the week! The latest she will come will be April 7th, but hopefully she will come on her own before that. Elliot keeps saying that it will be April 2nd, so we will see! Elliot is so excited to meet Charleigh and we can't wait to see them together! I will be better about blogging once she gets here, I promise!

Now for the update on Elliot. She is ridiculously smart and amazes us everyday with what she says and what she is able to do. She can recognize every letter and can count to 40. Her vocabulary is off the charts. She always talks in complete sentences and she uses big words that make us laugh. When we go see Jennie at work and look at the babies she always says "Those babies are adore-able!" and she will say "Dad you're embarrasin' me!" It is really funny. She has such a fun and ornery personality. She loves playing doctor and calls me Dr. Daddy and brings me patients (her stuffed animals) to see with what she calls a look-a-scope (an old stethoscope of Mommy's). We got her a little doctor kit and she knows all about blood pressure and shots. We asked her what smart means and she said, "It means you're right" and if we ask her where she learned something she says "I just learned it up." I'm sure that she is doing a lot of other funny stuff that I am forgetting so those of you that are around her alot feel free to add to the list in the comments. Here are a few pictures to hold everyone over until Charleigh gets here. T-minus 7 days and counting!

My very favorite picture taken by Uncle RyRy on her trip to Houston. It captures her personality perfectly!

Making a snow angel

Daddy and Elliot making a snow man. We waited a little long to get out and play, so our snow man ended up being a little small.

Relaxing and being cute!

We got out the baby stuff for Charleigh and Elliot found her old tub and calls it her boat.

Merry Christmas! (And Baby Info)

Merry Christmas! We are getting ready for the last Christmas with just three of us. Elliot is really excited about Christmas this year. She can't wait for Santa to come and has already asked us some tough questions like how Santa gets in the house! She is so smart. She loves to sing Christmas carols and can sing all of the words to Jingle Bells, Santa Clause is Coming to Town, and a few others (including Feliz Navidad). We hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas! As our present to you, here are some pictures! Scroll down for baby news!

Elliot loves to make "castles" with blankets for her and her friends to hang out in.

We had a gender revealing party...

And it's another girl! Her name is going to be Charleigh Jo Jackson! Elliot is so sweet when she talks about her. She is going to be a great big sister.

Skinny Jeans!

Dress up day!

Merry Christmas!

Here is a train that Elliot made with her friends...

Well, that is all from here. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Love, the Jackson's

Go Rangers and Other Awesome News!

A lot has happened since my last post, but the coolest thing is the Texas Rangers playoff run. I would like to say that it has been fun, it has, but it is also very stressful! I am so happy that the Rangers have made it to the World Series. There are a lot of great people that work there and deserve to be a part of something like this. A lot of people have asked me how I feel about the Rangers going to the World Series a year after I left, and honestly, I couldn't be happier for the following reasons: 1) this wouldn't have happened if I would have stayed (I keep telling myself this) 2) I have gotten to spend a lot more time with Elliot than I would have if I still worked there, especially since the playoffs cause you to work long hours 3) I would have had to work every game instead of getting to enjoy them 4) I still have many great friends that work there, which allow me great benefits, like playoff tickets! (I got to attend ALDS Game 3, ALCS Game 2, and I will be going to World Series Game 3). So while it would be nice to get a World Series ring, I know that I am in the right place and I know that I am still part of the Rangers' family.

ALDS Game 3 vs. Tampa Bay

ALCS Game 2 vs. New York

The Game 2 crew (Ryan, Chad, Wes, and Jordan) I don't know why the flash didn't work.

The siblings at Game 2

I have also created a little Ranger fan. Elliot can name about half the roster, but her favorite is the manager, Wash. He is the only one that she can identify every time on TV, she will say, "There's Wash!" If fact, one night when the game was on, I was trying to get her to brush her teeth. She didn't want to, then she saw Wash on TV and I told her, "Wash wants you to brush your teeth." and she said, "OK!" And she let me brush her teeth. Talk about a motivator!

She has stayed up for the last two celebrations and she loves to watch them get excited. She asks tons of questions too. The other day she was playing in the living room when someone said "Cliff Lee" on TV and she stopped and said "Cliff Lee! Go Rangers!"

Here is a video of Elliot talking about the Rangers. She says she likes Wash, Vlad, Mike, and Josh, then she kind of loses her train of thought. I think you can understand everything after that. After she says "Win the World Series!" she goes into 'play mode' and starts talking about a game she was playing before we started recording. Her imagination is awesome!





As you can see in the video, Elliot is in big girl panties! She decided she wanted to start potty training at the end of August and she picked it up very quickly. She hasn't had very many accidents, and even though we put a diaper on her at night, it is dry 9 times out of 10 when she wakes up. And, we really wanted her out of diapers because....

Baby #2 is on the way! Our due date is April 6 and we are very excited! Elliot is also excited about being a big sister and she says she is going to ask God for a sister. She talks to Mommy's belly too! It is so sweet.

Elliot's Birthday Party

I know that this is a month late, but I have been busy trying to get my teaching certification and find a job. The good news is that I have completed one and almost done with the other. I have a job teaching 7th grade math at the school that is a mile from our house. I am very excited, but nervous at the same time. However, with that said, I envision my life getting very busy once school starts, so blogging my continue to be sporadic. I will try to put some pictures up when I can.

Elliot's Birthday Party was a huge success. She was a little sad when it was over, but she has handled it well. Here are some pictures from the big day!

Here is Elliot out side in her birthday outfit. Note the Minnie-style bow!

Elliot's Birthday Cake

Jennie took care of all of the decorations and did a great job. Elliot loved all of the streamers and balloons.

Ready to open presents!

Elliot opening presents

Close-up of Elliot's Cake

It rained during her party, but Nonni and Pops got her rain boots and a rain jacket, so she got to try them out immediately. She went out and stomped in the puddles.

Here she is looking for the insy-winsy spider that is "up the water spout."

This is Elliot on July 4th.

She loves to wear her rain boots all of the time. She will just wear them around the house. It is very cute...

I Don't Know

Here is a video of Elliot reading a book to Elmo. It features my new favorite phrase, which is "I don't know." She says it when you ask her a question that she doesn't know, oddly enough... It is really cute. You can also tell in the video how excited she is for her birthday. We sing Happy Birthday at least 50 times a day and she always ends blowing the candles out. She will be ready on July 2nd!

23 months...

Elliot is 23 months old and she is so big! She is talking (and singing) really clearly now. Her hair is getting really long. She has molars in on the top and bottom (her teeth come in slow!). She is really into doing everything herself. She loves orange juice (we have to hide it so she won't see it in the fridge). She still loves outside, but she is afraid of bugs. Such a girl!

She loves to sing. She is a little songbird that always has a song in her heart. Her setlist varies every day, but it usually consists of "Jesus Loves Me" "ABC's" and "Old MacDonald". She even made up a new song this week about her water wings for the pool. It goes,

Water Wings

Water Wings

Water, Water, Water Wings.

She made it up all on her own! I will try to record all of her songs (like a concert) and put it up here, but we all know how good at blogging I have been lately.

She is also talking a ton. Her new thing is "What (or Who) is missing?" If it is just Daddy and Elliot in the car she says, "Who we missing?" And I'll say "I don't know, Who?" And she'll say "Mommy!" Or when she is doing one of her puzzles and she is missing a piece she will ask what's missing. You get the picture, it is really cute.

She also said "Love you Mommy" to Jennie last week spontaneously. It was the first time that she said it first.

She is obsessed with her birthday. You ask her when it is and she says July 2nd. She is always singing Happy Birthday and making pretend cakes for us that we have to blow the candles out on. I'm afraid she is going to be crushed when her birthday is over.

She is very proud of her name and doesn't want you to call her anything else. If you say, "Are you a silly girl?" She'll say, "No, I Ellie Grace Jackson!"

Elliot and Daddy always have cuddle time after her baths. And then she runs around the house like a "naked bird"! She will ask, "I run naked bird?"

We took her to her first movie at the theatre (the new Shrek) and she was good...until her snacks ran out. Then she got pretty bored. It was pretty funny when Shrek said something, then the theatre was quiet and she said, "Oh Shrek..." Need to work on those movie manners.

Here she is in her chair just being cute...
Starting to work on that swing a little early! Looks like we got a switch hitter on our hands. Don't worry, I only make her practice for 2 hours in the morning and an hour after her nap...

She loves swimming, water, and anything that has to do with outside. Here she is in her little pool for the back yard. She loves going to the park so much that she would go everyday no matter the weather. We have to tell her the reasons why she can't go, so now, when we drive by the park she says, "Too winy (windy), Too cold" even it isn't windy or cold!