Santa visit and our lazy weekend

I have learned that once you become a parent lazy weekends become very rare. We are always busy doing something and even when we aren't we are busy chasing after Jackson. . .no more sleeping in and sitting around in our pj's all day. Well, this weekend was different. Susie kept Jackson on Friday night so Kurt and I could get our Christmas shopping done. We only had a few things left to pick up so it was nice (minus the minor allergic reaction that I had to something I ate at Applebees . . .I swear I hate that place). It was really nice to just hang out with Kurt. Usually when we have a "date night" it is with other people so it was really nice to just be the two of us.

On Saturday we took Jackson to see Santa. . .I should have known he would not be quite as receptive as I had hoped. He screamed when we tried to put him on Santa's lap, and Kurt ended up having to sit with him beside Santa.
Even if he wasn't too enthused about the whole experience, hopefully he will be one day when we tell him that the Santa House where he saw Santa was actually built by his great grandad (he is crazy about his great grandad). I feel truly blessed that Jackson has been able to know so many of his great grandparents.

After the Santa visit, we spent most of the day . . okay all day at Grammy and Grandpa's house. Jackson played and played until he finally gave in and took a nap. He looked too sweet not to share the photo.
There is really nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby. . beautiful.

Sunday was another lazy day. . . in fact, Jackson even crawled up on the couch to cuddle with Mommy and Daddy. It was so awesome. . .he is really getting cuddly, and I am loving every minute of it because I know the second he starts walking on his own he is going to want nothing to do with cuddling for awhile. He is too cute. . . he gives us kisses all the time . . and kisses Wrigley all the time. We are truly blessed.

All in all it was a great weekend. . . I know we will not have many weekends like this so we really took advantage of it . . .and loved every minute of it.

Who knows if we'll have time to post again until after Christmas so just in case we don't . . .I hope you all have a FABULOUS and blessed holiday.

Here are a couple of our Christmas Photos. We had them taken with Jackson's one year photos. He did great, and they actually turned out pretty cute. Here is a sample. . .


And here are a couple of his one year photos. . .

Our little Colt

My Aunt Wanda gave Jackson this Colts outfit for his birthday. It's the full deal. . .helmet, shoulder pads, etc. We went over to our neighbor's house for the game today so we thought we would break it out. He was too cute. It's so big that it will probably fit him next year too, but it was so cute that I had to post a picture. Enjoy!

November. . .what a Big month

November was a really big month for the Cantlon family. We celebrated my dad being cancer free after his surgery, celebrated Thanksgiving and our little guy's birthday, and Jackson had his first haircut. I always love this time of year. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love spending the evening with my Aunt Wanda and her family. The last two years we have been unable to make it so I was very excited for Thanksgiving this year. Thanksgiving was also Jackson's first birthday. I cannot believe he is one year old. It's crazy how fast time flies. He just gets more and more entertaining everyday. He is a little lover and we continue to feel blessed to have him in our lives.

We forgot our camera at Jackson's actual birthday party, but we were able to catch a few pictures while we celebrated with my family in Georgetown on Thanksgiving.

Pop Pop and the birthday boy. . .Dad has Jackson hooked on pretzel sticks now so every time we are down there he wants pretzels. I just thought this picture was pretty cute.

Jackson got this really cool activity table from Mom Mom and Pop Pop. He could not even wait to get it out of the box to play with it.
Hunter got him a little farmhouse with animals and letters for him to play with. He love it, but we are finding that the animals are easily overlooked and searching for them every night is getting old already. Oh well. . .as long as he's having fun.
Jackson did not really seem to be interested in his cake. He did touch the icing, but he did not seem to like the way it felt on his fingers. I was so looking forward to him having cake in his hair and everything, and he wanted nothing to do with it. . . just goes to show that little ones definitely have minds of their own. :)

Jackson also got his first haircut on his birthday. His hair was SO long, but we wanted Aunt Denise to give him his first haircut so we waited until Thanksgiving. He did awesome!! He sat really still until the very end, and then he got a little fussy, but it was way past naptime so I was pretty impressed.
The Before:
And the After:
He looks like such a different little boy with his haircut. He doesn't look like a baby anymore. It's exciting, but sad at the same time. Tear. . .

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful time with the Seitz's and the Cantlon's, and we're already looking forward to next year.

Thanks for the prayers

For any of you who said a prayer for my dad yesterday, thanks!! His surgery went well. They only had to remove 20% of the kidney, and he is doing well recovering in the hospital. As crazy as it sounds, I am positive that Phillip's spirit was in Mom and Dad's house this weekend. He kept him safe when he fell through the skylight, and I truly believe he kept him safe during surgery, as well. Anyway, thanks for the prayers. We really appreciate it.

Nine days. . .is it possible to just stop time????

Jackson will be ONE YEAR OLD in 9 days, and I just don't know how I feel about it. Obviously I am excited, but part of me is really sad. . . my little guy is growing up. He is developing the sweetest little personality, but I know that with his new personality and soon to be independence (once he lets go and realizes that he CAN walk), he is not going to want his mommy anymore. . .at least not in the same way. I'm planning his party, trying to schedule his one year photos, and trying to find somewhere to get his first haircut, and it just feels like he is no longer going to be a baby. . .I think I need some time to adjust to this. :)

Yes, I know it has been over a month. . . .

So it has been a busy month. The day after I posted last, my dad fell through the roof of a barn. He ended up with several broken ribs and they found a mass on his kidney when they were checking his injuries. Apparently masses in this location on the kidney are cancerous 90% of the time so he is scheduled for surgery on the 17th. That is IF he gets over the pneumonia that he developed after his fall. Ugh. Oh and the day he fell would have been my brother's 32nd birthday. Now, I believe that the fall happened so we could find this mass before it got out of hand, and I believe Phillip held Dad up on the rafter and kept him from falling the other 20 feet to the concrete floor below. If you don't mind, though, say a few prayers for him next Monday morning.

We went down to see Mom and Dad the weekend of the 11th. The 11th is Mom's birthday and we wanted to see Dad (considering he had just had a four day visit to the hospital). We were supposed to go to Hanover's Homecoming on Saturday, but we were exhausted so we just headed home instead.

The next weekend was my 10 year class reunion. . .wow, I am getting old. It was also my 29th birthday. . . I can't believe I will be 30 next year. . scary. Anyway, the reunion was really fun. I got to see a lot of people that I have not seen for years. We had a lot of fun . . .not quite as much fun as some people . . but we probably felt better the next day than they did. :) It was really great to see everyone, and it made me miss being in Harrison County again. .

Okay, now on to the stuff that you came here for. . pictures of Jackson. :)

Our little cowboy. . . visiting Mom and Dad on Mom's birthday weekend. I can't believe how much Hunter looks like Phillip. . . more and more everyday.
Here he is with some major "bed head" and isn't he just adorable. . .

Jackson and I have both been sick this month . . . he was sick from Wednesday before Halloween until Saturday so we did not get many pics of him in his costume. . . here are the few that we were able to get. . .He was a little monster. We were able to get him out to go trick or treating for a few minutes but then he screamed for a couple hours. . .finally fell asleep . . .and woke up screaming again at about 11:30. I was so scared. . . we couldn't figure out what was wrong and I was super close to calling Dr. Forkin . . .then, I thought, "let's try Mylicon." It calmed him right down. . . oh I can't wait until he can tell us what hurts. :) The first one is during the day on Halloween. . . he has a shirt on that says "Don't Make Me Scare You." You can tell by looking at him that he doesn't really feel well.


Kurt has been just dying to see Jackson in his camo pants and orange vest. . . He even wants us to have some of his first birthday pictures taken in it. . . Well, we broke it out the other day and I have to say, he was too precious. Hunting season starts Saturday so I'm sure we'll be breaking it out again next weekend. Here's just a quick peek. . look at him standing up . . .he walks around like a champ . . as long as he's holding on to something. . .just not confident enough yet to let go.
And Finally. . . sorry this has been so long. . .On Monday, October 27th, Hunter was officially adopted by my parents. It has been way too long, but it is a relief that all the craziness and endless court dates, etc. are finally over. Hopefully, that poor boy doesn't have to deal with any more heartache for a long time. In the meantime, we are all ecstatic!! This has been a long time coming. . .

Just Because

Just because I think my son is adorable. . .

A Night Away From Mom and Dad

Jackson spent his first night away from us on Saturday. I was really worried about it, but it was actually not that bad. Kurt and I went to Nippers with Heather, Chris, and Sarah so we decided to let Jackson stay with his Grammy. We had a lot of fun, which kept our minds off of it, but boy did we miss him. We were both very happy to see him on Sunday morning. He, on the other hand, did not seem like it even phased him. :)

A Good Weekend

What a beautiful weekend! Kurt, Jackson, & I went to the soccer games at WEBO on Saturday and then hung out at home for the rest of the afternoon. Jackson and Wrigley have really become good buddies lately, but I think Wrigley is becoming possessive of HIS toys. Because of this, I think Jackson is extra interested in Wrigley's toys. . . probably just because we say no no that's Wrigleys over and over again. Anyway, they played a friendly game of keep away in the driveway on Saturday. It all started with Jackson grabbing Wrigley's toy.
And then . . .he taunted Wrigley with it.
Wrigley would grab it out of his hand and then when Jackson did not seem interested anymore, he would let his guard down. . . just in time for Jackson to grab it back.
Of course, then, Wrigley would go after it again. In this picture, Jackson turned around and pointed at us like, "come on people, he just took MY toy . . aren't you going to do anything about it??" It was really cute.
And in the end, Wrigley won. For once, he won!!

Oh the Fun is just beginning

Oh my . . . I don't know if I am ready for this. Tonight after school Jackson stood on his own for a few seconds. It was really exciting . .and Kurt was even here to see it. THEN, we went over to hang out with Dani & the kids (our neighbors) and I turned around to see Jackson CRAWLING UP THE STAIRS. He was a pro. I swear he looked like he had been doing it for days, and he made it all the way to the 5th stair with no help. Emmy and Ty were at the top of the stairs saying, "come on Jackson, you can do it." It was really cute, but man are we in for trouble. Looks like we might be going to buy another gate tomorrow. . .

Just out for a Saturday drive

A four hour drive . . . where Jackson threw his toys on the floor repeatedly. . .and screamed until we picked them up. He's pretty spoiled now that we have been car pooling to work each day. On most days, there is someone in the back seat with him to keep him entertained so he has learned to just scream until he gets what he wants. . . Boy was that fun!!
Anyway, our trip was to St. Louis (or close to it) to see Annie, Abby, Scott, and the new Miss Olivia. Olivia is just as beautiful as her big sister, who by the way looks like a mini Andrea. We had a really nice time visiting with everyone. Annie had a pretty full house so we did not stay long, but it was nice to see Annie. We live so far apart and I miss her A LOT. It is still so strange to think that both of my best friends have TWO girls now. We are really growing up . . . hee hee.
Abby took a little while to warm up to Jackson, but she had a lot going on . . . and after a while they were good buds!
While I wish that I lived closer to Annie and Sarah and their girls, I realize that it's not going to happen anytime soon. . . and I cherish the times I get to spend with them . . and I look forward to the times that our kids get to play together. BUT . . .I also realize that while the distance sucks, it doesn't matter how far apart we are. I have two of the best friends a girl could ask for and whether we are four minutes or four hours away, they will always be my best friends and I am grateful for that. :)

It's been way too long. . .

It has been way too long since my last post. Jackson has been busy learning all sorts of new tricks and keeping me busy chasing after him so I have not really had much energy to do anything after he goes to bed (including adding to the blog). Jackson is "talking" more than ever. He just jabbers all the time, and we love it. He has recently started pointing at things. . .all the time. Sometimes, it is easy to tell what he is pointing at but sometimes I have NO idea what he is pointing at or why. Oh well. . it's fun . .and super cute. . so I just talk about whatever is in the general direction of his finger pointing. He is getting closer to walking every day. He has started cruising pretty easily and this weekend he was standing while barely holding onto the couch with one hand.
He's also been helping with chores around the house. This usually consists of him opening drawers while I am washing dishes or crawling under my legs while I am loading or unloading the dishwasher, but on occasion he really tries to help. . . and it is too too cute. Kurt and I were cleaning the house last Sunday when we got home from our visit with Annie (while I will talk about later) and I walked around the corner to find Jackson helping Kurt sort the laundry. It was too cute.
Life just gets more and more fun everyday. I find myself looking at him when he sleeps and wondering how in the world there are mothers out there who can give up their babies. He is such a miracle and blessing from God. We are truly blessed and we are reminded of this with every smile, kiss, or sweet hug that Jackson gives us.

Thoughts and prayers

I think I need some prayers this week. Wednesday will mark the 3rd anniversary of Phillip's death, and I have really been struggling with it this year. I'm not sure why this year is different than the last two, but it has really been getting to me. I have found myself getting really grumpy and short with everyone, and I cry almost every time I think about him. Anyway, I anticipate that Wednesday will be very difficult for me & my family. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Please pray that God will give us all the strength to get through the day and that he will help us remember the good times we had with Phillip instead of our anger and sadness that he is no longer with us.
I miss my brother very much . . . this is one of the last few times that I saw him . . . we had such a good night. . . I am grateful that God blessed me with this experience so I have this memory to look back on. Please keep us in your prayers this week.

A day at the park and a visit with Hunter

Mom and Dad and Hunter came up last weekend to visit. It's funny how often we see them now that Jackson is here. They never came up this much before he was born. . .It is so fun to see Hunter with Jackson. He just loves him. Every time he sees him, he hugs and kisses on him. . .too cute. . . especially since he can be so rotten at times. He has really been doing much better at school. . . he started off rocky, but he seems to be getting the hang of it.. .maybe the consistency is going to be good for him. :) Kurt and Jackson and I met Chris, Heather, & Rees at the park on Labor Day. It was a lot of fun. . .
Daddy and Jackson in their matching hats and glasses. . .what studs!!
Jackson went down the slide for the first time. . .and he did not really have much of a response to it . . like most things, he couldn't care less one way or the other. . .
Daddy took him on the carousel. . .it was so cute, but again, he had very little reaction.
And at the end of the day, he was sleepy. . . fell asleep before we even made it out of the park. . . It was a really good day. ..we always love hanging out with the Knapps. And...I did not even know this park existed so I am pretty excited about taking him again . . maybe next time Mom and Dad and Hunter come up for a visit. . .we'll see.

just Jackson

Jackson continues to move everywhere lately. . . and fast. Every time I turn around he is crawling after something that he doesn't really need to be crawling after. . .

Or, he is pulling up on things. . . sharp things. . .and I am freaking out that he will fall and poke an eye out. . . okay so I know he is not going to poke an eye out but he could choose softer surfaces to pull up on . . .

Oh the joys of being a mommy . . . who worries. . . A LOT!!

Updates on the Cantlons

Okay, so Annie yelled at me today for not posting any pictures of Jackson, and when I got on here to post I realized that it has been almost a month since I have posted. A lot has happened in the Cantlon house in the last month. Here it is in a nutshell. . .

In one of my last posts I mentioned that Jackson started crawling. . . On August 1st, he started crawling. Tomorrow is August 31st, and he is now flying all over the place. He is fast. . . we can barely keep up. He is into everything. . very curious. . . a good thing, but very tiring for Mommy and Daddy. Anyway, it has been really exciting to see him discover so many new things now that he is on the go. . . He is particularly interested in Daddy's books, stereo equipment, and laptop computer cord. . .We tell him no no quite often. . . He looks at us with a devilish grin and smiles before going right back to what we told him no no about. . .


After his nap today, this is how Kurt and I found him. . . He can finally pull himself up and stay up in his crib. . . uh oh, we thought, I guess it is time to babyproof. . .he will probably start pulling up on other things soon. . . little did we know that soon meant 5 minutes later. He pulled himself up on the coffee table like he was an old pro. . .and then, before we knew it, he was shuffling his feet to move around the table a little bit. . .when he learns something new, he definitely goes with it. I can't believe he just started crawling at the beginning of the month. . .and now, he's pulling up on everything. . .our baby boy is definitely growing up. . . I bet he's walking by 10 months. Oh yeah, he turned nine months old this week. . .

Kurt is back in classes now. . .and doing his internship . . . and working full time. . so needless to say, we're pretty busy around here. He LOVES his internship, and I think he is really looking forward to next summer so he can get a job in school counseling. I am too. . .it will be so nice to have summers off together . . . Well, I think that is about it for us . . .for now. . . I realized today that I need to take more pictures of Jackson. I have really been slacking lately. . .Next time it won't be three weeks, Annie, I promise. :)