I took the day off yesterday because Jackson had his 4-month checkup (with shots). We had a GREAT day. This is a picture of him all bundled up for a nice walk on a beautiful fall day. Don't you love his new hat?

TGIF

I just had lunch with Jackson's future babysitter, Kelly, and her daughter Vienne today. Af ter a LONG search for the right babysitter, a mutual friend put us in touch with each other and after my grandma leaves for Florida, Kelly will be watching Jack every day while I'm at work. The great news is that Kelly's home is within walking distance of my office and she has a 7-month-old daughter that Jack can play with. By the time he's going to Kelly's he'll be sitting up and able to play and interact with her a little bit. Kelly and I decided to have lunch to get to know each other a little better. I have to admit I was a little nervous - wondering what she'd think of me. I had e-mailed her asking her for references and sent her questions like "what would you do if both of our kids were crying?". I was sure she'd think I was some neurotic, over-protective mom, but fortunately it seems like Kelly and I take care of our kids pretty similiarly - at least from what I know so far. She can't let her little one cry for hours; she does tons of research about sleeping, feeding, etc...; and she interacted with her daughter just like I do with Jack. We had a lot to talk about since we both have little ones and the lunch went wonderfully. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted, knowing that Jack will be in the care of a competent, loving, normal person. I have really high hopes for this situation and I hope that Jack will be a more well-rounded kid after spending time with Kelly and her daughter. Thank you, Jess, for putting us in touch with each other. I don't know what I'd do without you!

In other news ...
DJ is in the middle of harvest. He and his dad started cutting beans on Monday and things are going smoothly. They've already finished three farms and are working on cutting the beans at the home farm today. DJ has been pulling some long hours and says he's getting tired and missing Jackson. It is supposed to rain for the next few days so hopefully that will give him a break and a chance for all of us to spend time together.

Friday night we are headed for a night out. I can't wait! It's been a while since I've had a night out with friends. Our cousin Sara and her boyfriend Casey are going to babysit - thanks, Sara! I'll be returning the favor and watching your little one soon. :) Can't wait until Carter gets here!

I'm headed to New York next week for work. This will be my first time away from Jack overnight. DJ is nervous about taking care of Jack alone at night, but I know that he will do a great job. Jackson LOVES his dad. It's really not fair - I get up with him at night, but guess who gets the first big smile every morning? You guessed it ... DAD.

:)

He's a Talker

Here is a video of Jackson. He is very vocal when he's happy. I love it when he "talks" to me - I know he's trying to say something - just not sure what. :) He is four months old, he's rolling over, and he has TWO TEETH!

Hiccups

Here's a video that my mom took on her phone of Jackson with the Hiccups. Not a lot happening but thought a video of my cutie pie might be fun to watch.

Happy Halloween

Last weekend we had our friends Meghan, John, Madison, Justin, Kara and Ava over to carve pumpkins. I was hoping to get some great photos of Jackson with his first pumpkin, but unfortunately he was ready for bed before we could get any cute shots. We still had a great time! The kids ended up playing with each other and the adults did most of the carving. Here are a few photos from our night ...

Jackson's 1st Pumpkin (Carved by Mom)

John and Madison

Kara carving her perfect pumpkin :)

Meghan and Madison

The boys hard at work!

Kara & Av

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to my girls, Jess and Heidi! (Jess October 15 and Heidi October 16.) I love you guys and hope that you have a great birthday and a fabulous year ahead. Enjoy it ladies ... this will be the last year of your 20s!

Oh ... did I mention that I have TWO YEARS left of my twenties? I just wanted to make sure you both knew that.

Vegas here we come!

Here are a few of my favorite memories of each of you ...

Jess

• You hopped around on one foot for DAYS when I broke my foot in 1st grade. Talk about being a GREAT friend.
• Remember when we used to sneak out of your parents house through the garage window? What excatly were we sneaking out for? I don't remember doing much after we "broke out". Hee!
• I will always remember winning the doubles bareback class with you at the fair.
• Remember when a certain someone showed up at my house after a little vino tasting and DJ thought someone was trying to break in? I'll never forget the sound of your giggles as you skipped past my bedroom door at 2 a.m. :)

Heidi

• Every year in our yearbooks we would write, "let's go swimming at your house and riding horses at my house" ... yet, we never did it!
• Windsor. So much fun. Remember this: "Citizenship?". . . "Yes."
• Playing the drums on stage at The Landing. Yes, that's right folks, The Landing.
• Tequila night with Woodlee!
• Eating at the "good dorm" and watching the very last 90210 our Freshman year at Purdue
  
  

Planning Ahead

This month I set up a 529 College Savings plan for Jackson and also created a Roth IRA for our retirement. Lately I've been thinking about the future a lot - probably because of Jackson - and I want to be sure that we can pay for his education and also that we have a nest egg for retirement. I would highly recommend that my friends and family set up a Roth IRA - they are great because taxes are deducted before the money is invested, not after. This means that when you cash it in, you receive ALL of the money that is in your fund.

Here's a little information about Roth IRA's:

• Its a good idea to contribute as much in an IRA as the government will allow you to. This is because the more you save in a tax-favored account, the more tax-protected money you can rack up!
• If you're under 50, and you're in my income bracket, you can only contribute up to $5,000 per year or the total of your taxable income - whatever is smaller.
• In a Roth IRA, you can take out money whenever you want, as long as you don't take out any earnings ony our investments - if you take out earnings, you'll incur a 10% penalty. This is different from traditional IRAs.

Setting up these funds literally took about 10 minutes each. It's something I've been wanting to do for a long time - now that I know how easy it was I wish I would have done it sooner!

Happy saving!

No Fair!

After a wonderful month-long visit I took my mom to the airport on Saturday morning. She took care of Jackson for my first month back at work and it was wonderful. Tonight - for the first time in five weeks - I don't know what we're going to have for dinner. :) Fortunately there was no time for an emotional goodbye because we were running so late. It is probably better that I didn't have time to think about losing my "granny nanny" because I would have been a wreck! I think my mom missed Florida and my Dad just a little bit. Case and point - the picture below. This sign is posted at my parents' beach club. Look at the air and ocean tempurature. No. Fair.

Today I went to work out for the first time since having Jackson. While I was on maternity leave I walked him in the stroller almost every day, but today was the first time I had to use my muscles. My legs are jello and I realized that my abs are GONE. It's okay though - very worth it. For all of you ladies out there who haven't been pregnant yet, I'm going to share a little secret with you...After you have your baby, the weight will come off. Even if you think it won't, it will. But there's a catch - even though you lose the weight, everything looks very, very different! :) That's why I'm working out at lunch now - to get everything back to looking like it did before - hopefully better!

Update: I found someone to watch Jackson! My friend Jessica's friend Kelly has agreed to watch Jackson after my Grandma leaves for Florida. I am thrilled because she will be watching him 5 days a week and there will only be one other little one there with him - her 6 month old daughter Vienne. I am still getting to know Kelly, but she seems very down to earth and we seem to share the same opinions about raising our kids. I am so blessed to have found someone like her. It just goes to show you - persistence and patience really pay off!