Lessons...

Happy 10 month birthday little BIG Jack! At his 9 month checkup, he weighed in at 22 pounds and 12 ounces, 28.5 inches long, and was 90th percentile for most things. Doctor said he was doing great....minus the minor ear infection. Luckily, it was a a very minor one. We didn't even know he had one until that appointment. An antibiotic prescription and we were out the door. 

Take One

Let's try this again...much better

Lots has happened since his 9 month old post. On December 13, we moved into our new house!! We managed to get the essentials unpacked and our Christmas tree put up within a few days. If you look around our house today, you will still find boxes that need to be unpacked. Oh well. That will come....right? 

Christmas was great with the kids!!! We took them to see Santa. Lucy talked about seeing him for several days before we actually went. She told us everything she was going to ask him to get her. Then as we approached the man himself, someone got really scared and screamed! She did not want to go. Jackson flew solo with him. Next year :) 

My two favorite people 

Family selfie 

Lucy got a new car for Christmas

And so did Jackson

After Christmas in Cincinnati, we headed to Athens for a few days and more Christmases. My brother and my niece came in from Arizona for Christmas. Lucy adores my niece, Saelem. She follows her around and mimics her. If Saelem had her hair in pigtails, Lucy had to have it too. It was very cute and sweet. Lucy and Saelem stayed up late, watched movies, had ice cream (that's what you do in December, right?), and played. 

Addison and Jackson 

Jackson and Saelem

Christmas morning at Gaga's house

We've learned several things this past month...

• do not put Lucy and Jackson in the same room to sleep. Lucy will climb into his pack-n-play with him and sleeping will not take place (see picture below from video monitor)
• Jackson doesn't like plums. He will lock his lips and shake his head "NO" to avoid the spoon with plums going into his mouth.
• childproofing needs to happen very soon. Jackson will crawl into a cabinet in the kitchen to get the pans out to play with them. 
• Lucy thinks snow = Christmas. She has to be reminded daily that Christmas comes once a year and won't come for a long time. Santa is on vacation. 
• don't waste money on big, expensive toddler gifts. Lucy will play with Jackson's baby toys more than she will play with her toys. 
• if you teach a baby (Jackson) to make sounds with his mouth, he will do it while you're feeding him and you will be covered in his food too. 
• Jackson will pull himself up on everything, including your pants, which makes things interesting when your pants begin creeping down. 

As always, here are some pictures of our adventures in the last month. 

The monitor picture of Lucy in Jackson's pack-n-play

Jackson's new shoes 

Stay warm out there! 

Love this time of year!

Today is one of the greatest days of the year....SNOW DAY! You read correctly. Today is a snow day. Today is one of the greatest perks to being a teacher. I'd be lying if I wasn't just as, or more excited than my students at the possibility of today being a snow day. I am spending today hanging with my two favorite people in the whole world, boxing up our stuff, and searching for the lost ipad :( 

Our big move into our new house is next Saturday! We close on the house Monday. Monday night, you'll find us painting our house. We will not be wasting any time between closing and moving day. So if you find yourself free on Saturday, December 14 and want to do some heavy lifting, let me know. We would love the extra help :) 

We've done lots of shopping for the house for necessities. Ted seems to think this one is a necessity. What do you think? 

Jackson is 9 months old!!! It is absolutely crazy how fast this year has gone. I felt like the first several weeks of his life were the longest weeks of my life. And now here I am, 9 months later. Crazy!! It definitely feels surreal. It feels like it was a dream or someone else was going through it. Anyway, he's 9 months old and on the move! He's crawling (not army crawling) all over the place!! One minute he's in the living room. The next minute, he's stuck in between chairs under the dining room table. He also has two bottom teeth that have popped through. He got teeth much earlier than Lucy. Her teeth did not come in until 11 months. His arrived a few months earlier. 

We spent our Thanksgiving in Athens with my family. We had so much fun! We ate, and played, and ate, and played some more, and shopped, and ate even more. It was more about the quality time with family than anything else. This year has taught us how very precious life is and how very important your loved ones are. We are not taking any of that granted. We are very thankful!! 

Addie, Lucy, & Gaga made a Thanksgiving wreath 

We finally have a kids table for Thanksgiving dinner :) 

Lucy with Aunt Teri and her cousin Quinnie...and of course 

Phil in the background photo-bombing

Addie and Jackson playing

Lucy and Quinnie, with a little photo-bombing Jackson in the background. 

I'm starting to think my family loves doing this :) 

On the way home from Athens, we met my family in Columbus at the zoo for Wild Lights. They were really good. The kids were all bundled up looking at Christmas lights and the animals. Lucy cried on the way out because she wanted to see "more animals". Maybe crying is an understatement. Ok. She screamed all the way out for "MORE ANIMALS!!!" 

Group shot

Hard to believe that Christmas will be here in a few short weeks. I hope you've got all/most of your shopping done. We're trying to get ours finished before we move. Not quite sure that's going to happen. 2013 will come to a close and we'll welcome 2014 with open arms! 

We wish you the Merriest Christmas 

and the Happiest New Year!! 

Lots of Love, 

Ted, Amanda, Lucy, & Jackson Schwieterman

8 months old....yesterday :(

As I was getting ready for work this morning, it dawned on me that Jackson was 8 months old. Yesterday. And I forgot. Wow! This mom needs to take a breath and slow down. Things have been quite hectic lately. I'm afraid that my kids are feeling that too :( 

He is so close to crawling that I feel if I just give him a little nudge, he'll take off! I tried that with Lucy and she fell on her face. So I won't try that with him. I'll let him figure it all out on his own. When he's not attempting to crawl, he's rolling everywhere!!! I think if I rolled as much as does, I'd be super duper dizzy! 

This past month we've been on the go! We've been to Athens several times. Jackson and Lucy experienced their first OU Homecoming. We went to the parade and tailgated for the game. I figured the kids wouldn't be able to handle the game. So we skipped that part (OU won if you're curious). Jackson experienced the Marching 110 on the parade route. He even slept through part of it. Still trying to figure out how that's possible. 

We have visited our house on a weekly basis. It is moving along so fast! Lucy has been through the house a lot. She even knows what room is hers and what room is "baby Jack's". 

Lucy participated in carving her very first pumpkin. She was definitely more interested in the seeds than anything else. Jackson even supervised. 

As most of you know, the weather on Halloween was terrible. It rained...and rained...and rained. Ted's parents neighborhood didn't postpone trick-or-treating. Cinderella braved the storms to get her candy. She was a little shy at first, but quickly got the hang of it. She kept saying, "next house daddy!" And off they would go to get more candy. I had to cut her off after about 30 minutes. She was soaking wet and so was I. I told her trick-or-treat was over. She kept asking why there were still kids outside :) I don't think I'll be able to get away with that again. 

Jackson was a bat. I wanted him to be a shark (because of my fascination and obsession with sharks). The shark costume was expensive, compared to the bat. The cheaper one won out. He was a super cute bat though :) He didn't participate in the trick-or-treating. He stayed in with Aunt Jill. 

Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite holiday's. I get to sit around the table with my whole family. We are a loud group. But we are a fun group! We laugh, cry, tell stories, and count our blessings. This year there is one more little blessing that I am so very thankful for :)

My loves...

Happy Thanksgiving All! 

Rockin & Rollin

Jackson is 7 months old today! I feel like I just posted his 6th month blog entry. This first year is going so fast! He was a whopping 21.5 pounds at his last doctor's visit. He placed 90th percentile in head and weight and 97th percentile in length. We've got a big boy! 

He has quickly moved out of his infant carrier and into the "big" car seat, facing backwards of course. Lucy had to be moved into her "big girl" seat so he could be in the car seat. He loves it. He has so much more room now than before. 

This boy is seriously on the move. He is going places and he will get there even if there are things in his way. He is rolling from literally one room to the other. It cracks me up to put him down in one spot, walk into another room, and come back to find that he has rolled far away from where I originally put him down. 

He has started on real food. He's not very fond of sweet potatoes. He sort of likes green beans. Today he started squash. According to Ted, he's a fan :) And he sometimes falls asleep in his high chair. 

The Congenital Heart Walk was a huge success!! Thanks again to all who donated, walked, or both! I've already started planning for next years! 

Following up from one of the previous entries (lots of changes), we are currently living in Ted's parents basement. We decided since we couldn't find a house out there that fit us, we would build one. Ground was broken September 19 and today we have windows! Things are progressing quite rapidly. We are beyond excited to move in. Lucy loves going out there and "playing in the dirt". She puts on her rain boots and walks around in the dirt and mud. I think it sunk in today that this house is soon going to be ours! It is on track to be finished sometime in December. 

I (hope) I can officially say that Lucy is potty trained!! She is telling us whenever she has to go and she's even pooping on the potty!! I had to buy a portable toilet for our trips to Athens. I was too afraid of stopping at a gas station and having to cart both kids in for her to go on a random potty. I know I'm slightly crazy. Anyway, I purchased a $12 toilet that sits in the car. Hands down - best $12 I have ever spent!!! Please take my advice - if you travel any distance, invest in a portable toilet to keep in the car. You will not be sorry. 

I so look forward to Halloween. It is my very favorite holiday! Costumes have already been purchased for both kids. I can't wait to dress them up and walk from house to house getting candy. Truth be told, we probably won't make it very far. Lucy has become very shy and will probably balk at walking up to a stranger's house. I think I'm ok with that though. 

Jackson loves our sitter Tina! Who wouldn't! She's so sweet and treats my kids like her own. I thought it was just Tina that he wanted to go there to see...until now. He has a little girlfriend there! Seriously cute! 

Happy (almost) Halloween! 

Thank You!

THANK YOU...from the bottom of my heart, thank you! 

Yesterday was such a fabulous day! It was the Congenital Heart Walk. You showed up in the cool temps, drizzly conditions, and walked for Jack's Pack. It was amazing. I teared up a few (or several) times. I was so amazed at all the support we've received throughout this journey. I set a goal in June to raise $250 for the walk. I also had a goal of getting 10 members to walk for Jack's Pack. I am proud to announce that we not only met our goal, we exceeded it! By a lot!! In the end, Jack's Pack raised $650 and recruited 16 members!! 

The Congenital Heart Walk in Greater Cincinnati raised a whopping $27,347.00! We are so proud to be part of this group. 

Thank you so much for all your support, donations, kind words, and your walking. All of this means the world to our family!! 

Here are some pictures from our fabulous day!  

And we're off! 

Jackson and me with our friends, Brooke and Tyson.Cutie-pie Tyson is also a CHD baby.  

Schwieterman Family :)

Jackson's uncle Charlie and cousin Addison. 

An adorable Jack's Pack supporter. 

Stare down time...

Ricky & Lucy :)

My favorite picture from the day...

THANK YOU!!