The Van Heules: September 2011

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Sunday

There is nothing better than a Sunday afternoon nap! Isn't he precious?

On Saturday, Clemson played Florida State and won! Tim and Jackson went to tailgate with everyone while I was babysitting for some of other favorite kids, the Youngs. They stayed at the tailgate for a little and then headed home to watch the game on TV when it got hot. Tim was also excited that he and Jackson got to watch the Wyoming game on TV. They never show Wyoming football games here!

I love my new chair!

I am done with pictures!

Hey Auntie Ga Ga!

Auntie Ga Ga is crazy!

Griswald Kids

No More Pictures!

I am watching my first Wyoming game on TV!

Jackson is 16 Weeks Old

Jackson is now 16 weeks old and growing bigger everyday! He is so sweet! He still loves to play with his Bumble Bee and links. He is still eating his fingers and now likes to chew on his toys. Jackson still loves music and looking at lights. He is still eating 4 1/2 ounces and wears mostly 3-6 months clothes.

We have gotten into a terrible habit. He has been waking up around 3:30 in the morning. He is not hungry, but he still wakes up. Tim is convinced that he is lonely. Anyway, we have been putting him into bed with us. Jackson goes right back to sleep and snuggles up beside one of us. However, we don't sleep very well. I know that we should not put him into bed with us, but it is so hard not to. When you have to be at work at 7, you don't want to be up from 3:00-4:00. We could let him cry, but I hate for him to cry. We will break the habit eventually.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Another Therapy Session

Jackson went to therapy again on Wednesday. This time he met with Carol, one of the physical therapists. Unfortunately, he did not want to cooperate with her. He was kind of fussy and did not want to turn his head. So for now, he will have to keep going every week to see Mrs. Kelly until he can turn his head when he is laying down. He can do it, but he never does it there. He was upset when he left too. He cries real tears now!

My head looks better.

Tummy Time is NOT my favorite!

Swinging calms me down!

On a positive note, we have had a couple of days of rain! Even though it has been humid, the rain has been nice. We even had a thunderstorm this morning. I can't remember the last time we had thunder!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Being Balanced

I was supposed to grade lots of papers today, but I didn't.

I was supposed to get ready for parent conferences, but I didn't.

I was supposed to clean the bathrooms today, but I didn't.

I was supposed to vacuum and mop, but I didn't.

I was supposed to get out all of the fall decorations, but I didn't.

But I did spend all day playing with Jackson and holding him. We even took a nap together (before our neighbor woke me up with her leaf blower!) I did make this apple cake from Southern Living. I did eat a wonderful dinner with my family and the Ivey children. What I did today was definitely better than what I had planned to do.

I love my job, but I hate everything I have to bring home with me. I work everyday from 7:00-3:30/4:00. That is an average of 45 hours a week. That doesn't count the additional hours I spend at home during the week and weekend. You always hear, "Teachers have it easy. They get 2 weeks off at Christmas, and 3 months off during the summer." I wish those people would spend a day in my shoes. We had to do a teacher writing last week about which IB attitude or attribute we wanted to work on this year. My goal is to be more balanced. I need to learn to balance home and school. Now that is Jackson is here I want to spend my time with him instead of doing all this school work!

I have always liked a clean and organized house. It is funny how my definitions of clean and organized have changed. I would rather spend time with Jackson and Tim (It wasn't that long ago that I used to vacuum every day!)! It is funny how life changes!

Some of the things I love about Jackson at 15 Weeks

For the most part, he is sleeping through the night! He usually goes to sleep between 9:00 and 10:00 and gets up around 5:00.
He giggles when he sleeps.
He likes to grab my hair and hold on while he is falling asleep.
He loves for Tim to hold him!
He loves to play with his Bumble Bee and look at himself in the mirror.
He loves to snuggle.
He loves music and singing.
He is the best thing that ever happened to me!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Better Late Than Never

So I have been meaning to do a new post all week, and then suddenly it was Saturday! This post will be a week in review!

Going to Church

I like to drool!

I love my Bumbo!

Wednesday = Therapy
Jackson went to his PT again on Wednesday. Thankfully, he was in a much better mood! Mrs. Kelly had him sitting up and turning his head! They also worked on rolling over! He is doing so well that that the PT is coming in next week to evaluate him. If he does well, then we will go to therapy every other week. That is great news! He has made so much progress even if he does hate those stretches. His head is looking great too!

I hate my stretches!

I am happy after therapy!

My head looks so much better!

Jackson's First PTA and His Last
I had my first PTA meeting of the school year on Thursday night. Tim had a training until 6:30, and I hated to leave him with my mom all day. I know she doesn't mind, but he would have been there for for over 12 hours, and I hate to do that. When we got to school, he was asleep. He woke up after about 15 minutes screaming! ( He never screams!) Of course, my room was packed with parents and students. Jackson would not stop screaming. He was so mad. His face got red, and nothing helped! I decided that I had to skip the performance and take Jackson home. (I hated to skip it to since a lot of my kids had speaking parts and two of my girls were singing solos.) As soon as we walked out of the building, he stopped crying! When we got home and I told Tim about it, Jackson just laughed! He is 15 weeks old and hates school already!

Melting Pot
Since Tim and I did not really go out for our anniversary or my birthday, we decided to go to the Melting Pot Friday night. We have not been there in years (plus we had a coupon!). My mom and dad kept Jackson, and we got a night out! It was nice to go out just the two of us, but I was also exhausted. We picked Baby J up about 8:45 and headed home. Jackson did not want to go to sleep. I don't know if it was because his schedule was different or what. He ended up sleeping in his swing, and Tim slept on the couch until 4:30. Then we switched places, and I slept on the couch.

I was going to take pictures of every course, but I was so hungry I forgot!

Is Fall Finally Here?
It has been pretty warm all week- in the upper 80s. We were able to enjoy nightly walks. Jackson loves to take walks! However, a cold front came in on Friday, and it got chilly! I don't think it made it out of the 60s. I like the low 80s.

Clemson v. Auburn/ Jackson is 15 Weeks Old!
We got up early to go tailgate at the Clemson game. We actually parked in our parking space for the first time. It is actually pretty good. Of course, Jackson was decked out in his Clemson gear! He is too cute!!!!! We went to my parents' tailgate spot and met up with them, Brent, Whitney, Tu Tu, Susan, Dumplin, and Rivers. We still are not brave enough to take Jackson into the game, so we gave our tickets to Tu Tu and Susan. After we left them, we walked downtown and updated Jackson's Clemson clothes. Then we headed home to watch the game. Clemson won 38-24 and beat Auburn, the defending National Champions! Plus we snapped their 17 game winning streak! Go Tigers!

Jackson is also 15 weeks old today! He is becoming more and more alert. He loves to play and talk. He is getting better about sleeping through the night. I still hate to leave him and go to school! Tim and I both live for the weekends!