April showers bring May Flowers

Happy May! It's been fairly busy here. I've gone back to work pretty much full time again. I'd like to say I enjoy it, but I miss the time with Skyler. Mother's Day was great. I got crepes for breakfast! I had to rush off to work after :/ but otherwise it was a pretty good day. Mr. Jabbermouth has been talking up a storm lately. He sure does have an enormous amount of things to say. He is also rolling over from tummy to back (hates being on his stomach), and is giggling all the time. It is the cutest thing! I have video of all of it, but I can't figure out how to rotate them so they are facing the right way....any thoughts? I have pictures of what we've been up to though. Enjoy!



My first race! it was only a 5 k, but hey, you have to start somewhere! With life getting pretty crazy lately, our running schedule has taken a toll. We've had to put it on hold, but don't worry, the 1/2 marathon is still in the agenda!

Skyler's feet were cold, so I put on my booties. Haha, he didn't much care for them.

Montana on top of Gibralter Rock on a nice warm day.

Our family self portrait!

Skyler sucking on his hands (like he does almost constantly now) on top of Gibralter.

So the next few pictures are from the Wilderness in Wis. Dells. The weather has been nasty lately so we met up with some friends and went swimming in the indoor water park! Skyler loved it!

Sky and I drying off.

Us in the lazy river.

The swing was still a little big for him....

The sign said for children under 42'....I thought I was pretty close :)

Hanging out in the kiddie section.

More summer fun to follow!

Whistle while you work...

Happy April to all! And Happy Easter as well!

All is well here in Wisconsin. Skyler's kidney test results came back with good news....his kidneys are working great! The funniest part was that Sky didn't seem to mind the test, he actually smiled at the doc.

I went back to work at Erehwon for a few days, just to help out for the holiday. I don't go back officially until after April 19th. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was hard to be away from Skyler for 10 hours, but it just made coming home to him that much better! While I was working, the Jackson family took Skyler on his first climbing outing! Of course he is still a bit small to get on the rock himself, he had fun with everyone there, especially his buddy Harper! Here are some pictures of the special day!

Skyler at Railroad Ampitherater.

Nick belaying from the hamock, and doing a great job :)

Kaytie climbing up the pillar.

Todd giving Jack the Ripper an honest effort while Nick takes notes for his gander :)

Chillaxin'

Todd and Harper, probably giving him his first "A'game" speech :)

Justin tieing in for Pine Tree Step Across while Sara K waits to belay with Montana.

Kaytie and Skyler

Jordan and Skyler

Justin and Skyler :)


Aunt Laura comes back to Wisconsin from Florida next week! It will be here first time meeting Skyler and we are all really excited. She will be here for a week and then on to Arizona to start the next job. With her being home and Justin's birthday, we have alot to look forward to in the next few weeks!

As always, check in for more updates!

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish!

Hey there all. No new news on the kidneys other than it's a "mild" case. The docter still wants us to do the x-ray test to make sure that the kidney is functioning normally, which is April 1st, no foolin'. We should know everything there is to know about Skylers' kidneys after that.

The other day, Justin and I took Skyler to the Shed Aquarium in Chicago. It was AWESOME! Skyler watched all the fish and was just mesmerized! He loved it. He was even awake for practically 9 hours (little cat naps of about 5-10 min here and there). Unfortunately for us, the over-stimulation, although worth it at the time, did some damage to Skyler's sleep schedule. It took him all weekend to back on track!

The fun doesn't stop there. Apex Adventure Alliance had a great weekend to kick off the season! Although it wasn't as warm as it was about a week ago (about a 15-20 degree difference, actually haha), it was great to get out on the rock! I found out I'm a little rusty on the climbing skills, but it was encouraging to be back after only 2 months after having Skyler.

As always, here are some pictures from the aquarium for your enjoyment.

Skyler just started smiling 2 weeks ago and he just doesn't want to stop, which is alright by us! It makes all the screaming worth it :)

Justin and Skyler enjoying the brightly colored fish.

Skyler LOVED the jellyfish! (sorry for the blurriness)

Momma and baby Beluga whale (baby is blurry and hard to see, but there, trust me)

The sea horses are always my favorite!

Justin and Jordan showing Skyler the fish.

That's it for now. On to spring!

Moving right along...

Well we are moving into Skyler's second month and it's been amazing! He is in a nightly routine of being crabby from 7 until 11-12 (still), feeding at 3, and again at 6. I was hoping that we would be moving toward longer periods of sleep, but at least he is consistent. I'm sure it will happen soon. I know this 3 hour stretch of sleep will not be on my "missing it" list.

Skyler has a doctor's appointment next week to check out his kidneys because they vary in size. It is not a major concern. If it had been, it would have been checked out in a more timely fashion. They just want to make sure everything is working as it should. I will post shortly after we get the results.

Other news on the homefront is that Justin, Laura, and I have started our training! We plan on running a 1/2 marathon sometime after September. We haven't chosen one yet, so if you have any ideas on a good one to start with, let us know! Preferably, one with a desired vacation spot near by (wink). Hey, sometimes you just have to kill two birds with one stone!

Spring is in the air here in Wisconsin, and we are loving it! Soon, Skyler, Montana and I will be out at Devil's Lake, rocking it with Apex Adventure Alliance! Very stoked to introduce my little man to the awesomeness his life will entail. In the meantime, we will continue to hike daily and grow with eachother.

Skyler taking a nap, which he does oh so often.

Skyler and Harper (Skyler's bff) enjoying eachothers' company on the floor.

Sky and I visiting friends in Milwaukee.

Ice falls at Parfey's Glen

Green fern in Parfey's Glen

Sky and I hiking with Kelly at Parfey's Glen.

Very Brigadoon-like atmosphere with the fog. It was eerily beautiful.

Kelly telling Montana what's what.

Sweet tree

Hiking into the fog

That's the update. Hope all is well everywhere else!

There's a Wocket in my Pocket

There really isn't a wocket in my pocket, but it is one of the many books that Skyler has been read over the weeks. Things are coming along in Skyler's world. His feeding is better and on some-what of a schedule (though still only 3 hours of sleep at a time for us at best) and he is very alert and aware of his surroundings. He didn't much like his first bath time, but the many we've had after have been more enjoyable for him. Since I don't want to embarrass him too much in life, we'll keep those pictures for his future wedding (maybe the girlfriends if he's lucky haha). He is now into that "fussy" stage at 3, going on 4 weeks and man is it fun! Wailing from 7pm to around 11pm is the best! (sarcasm) Although, I have to count my blessings because at least it is only about 4 hours long, not the whole day and not through the night. That and he's so darn cute when he's not wailing in your ear. So he's still a keeper. :)

A friend of mine from high school came over and took some professional pictures of Skyler and I. He obviously was the main focus, I just happen to be there. This is just one of many. You can go to her website to check out more... photographybykait.photoreflect.com .... in the albert file... shoot me an email for the password if you are interested in checking them out. She did an amazing job!!

Some people have been asking how Montana has been handling the new baby in the family and I think this picture sums it up. If Montana could have puppies, she would be an excellent mother! She took to Skyler immediately when we brought him home with the smallest, cutest kiss and has been in love with him ever since. She even keeps the cats away (or maybe she thought it was just a good reason to chase them more). Either way, she is amazingly good with Skyler, the newest member of the "pack".

We took Sklyer out on his first hike on Super Bowl Sunday. At 20 days old, he took it like a champ! We didn't go terribly far, seeing as the healing process takes ridiculously long with c-sections, but it was far enough to make me sore the next day. It was well worth it for Skylers' first hike though because it was so pretty. We went to Baxter's Hallow and the snow was beautifully coming down in huge flakes (the ones you stick your tongue out for). We all had a blast!

Stay tuned for more updates......

Cute as a button

Well we are finally home! We were released from the hospital Saturday afternoon and it was a blessing!

Although it feels great to be home instead of the hospital, I'm still fighting off infections. I was on high risk for infection because my immune system was low when we were released, and sure enough, Sunday evening I spiked a fever. Now on anitbiotics (again) I'm working real hard to just be healthy, let alone recover from the c-section surgery. The road to recovery has been a long and bumpy one. We haven't hit pavement yet, but we are working on it.

Skyler is doing great. Healthy as a horse and eating like a champ. His sucking skills are yet to be determined, and he is still hesitant to come to me directly for food, but he is getting the food he needs and meeting is daily "output" requirements :).

Here are some more pictures for you all to enjoy.



Skyler rockin' it in Mom's baby blanket..ya vintage!

Grandma getting excited about going home.

Skyler's first time in the car seat.

First car ride :)

Sky testing out the vibrating seat from Grandma Jackson.




One happy little family :)

Sky working on his facials

Just being his cute little self...


...and working really hard at it too :)