NURSE PRACTITIONER!

It's official I am now a certified pediatric nurse practitioner (CPNP)!!  School is over my boards are passed now to turn in all of my paperwork to the state to get my license (the easy part).  The most stressful part was pushing the "do you want to submit your exam, yes or no?" button and waiting for the screen to refresh to see if I passed my exam.  Thankfully I did!  I couldn't have completed school without my wonderful family and I am so thankful to God and my family that I am now an NP.  

 

Initial exam notification! :-)

Graduation

Now to enjoy my summer and find a new job :-)

News...

We are excited to announce that baby #2 is on his/her way!! We are expecting our little one to make his/her debut sometime around Oct 6th.

Jackson wore his "Big Brother" shirt to church on Sunday to help us share the news.  He seems pretty excited about being a big brother.  Right now he says he is having a little sister whom we should name "Baby Jackson Boy" (This is also the name he told Aunt Val to name her baby (a boy))  I think he just loves the name Jackson :-)

The big brother!!

Christmas time

Christmas has to be one of my favorite times of the year.  I love looking for just the right gift for someone.  I love the joy and excitement, the wonder and awe.  I especially love watching it all unfold through the eyes of my little guy.  At two he is all in to the wonder and awe and not into the greedy I want toys stage.  He doesn't even really know that you get toys at Christmas.  He whispers to the tree.... "wow, it's so beautiful!", "Wow.... look at that!",  "Good morning tree, how are you?".  He is excited about the advent calendar and moving the bear through the house because it means he gets to play with the little bear.  He loves to look at lights and touch the ornaments and he loves to play with baby Jesus in the stable and look at "the star in the East" as he calls it. 

For Christians especially there is lots of controversy surrounding Christmas, especially Santa.  This is something I have been thinking about a lot recently because I know that next year Jackson will understand, oh presents come at Christmas and Santa comes... (I am kind of sad because some of that sweet unselfish innocence will be gone).  Some say, don't tell them about Santa, some say tell them he is fake, some say let them believe and then they will eventually grow out of it.  I think I am of the mind to tell him about Santa, but not about the North Pole and reindeer and elves Santa but about St. Nicholas, the "real" Santa and how he was a person who gave to those in need.  How we give gifts to others because God gave to us. 

The fun thing about having your own family is starting traditions... one that I am leaning toward is that everyone receives 3 gifts because that is what the wise men brought to baby Jesus.  Another is the celebration of Dia de los Reyes, or the Day of the Kings in Jan where they celebrate the wise men bringing gifts to baby Jesus.  I think it is a neat celebration that keeps in mind the true story of Christmas, and since my great-grandparents are from Spain it would be fun to celebrate some of that heritage.  (On Dia de los Reyes children put out shoes with hay in it for the camels to eat and the kings leave them small gifts in return.)   

No matter what we decide on, one thing is a given here... there will always be a nativity to play with and bedtime Bible stories for the month of December will consist of reading the Christmas story over and over and over until Jesus' birthday. 

This year we will be making a birthday cake for Jesus too (I'm excited about having Jackson help me with this). 

No matter what your traditions, beliefs on Santa, etc.  My biggest prayer and hope is that the love of God will be shown to you this Christmas as we reflect on his love for us and the gift of His son!

Merry Christmas!

 Playing with his nativity

He made sure everyone was able to see baby Jesus :-)

2!?! Already?!

Where has the time gone?? It seems like only yesterday we were bringing home our new baby from the hospital or watching him crawl for the first time or hearing him say his first words or celebrating his 1st birthday but now..... He is 2!!

Jackson has changed so much in the past year... he went from saying 20-40 words at 1 to well over 1,000 words now. He knows all his colors, shapes, and letters. He sings us songs, 'reads' (recites) his favorite books and plays pretend with us. And this summer he said his 1st bible verse, Hebrews 13:16 "Do good to others, share what you have". (Thanks Veggie Tales books!) He is running and loves to throw everything.
He is definitely looking less baby and more toddler and it's kinda sad. Dan loves how big he is growing and can't wait till he is bigger but I am desparately clinging onto the special bond we have now. He still is Mommy's little boy and often prefers me to Dan. We still have morning cuddles (because Mommy doesn't want to get up at 5:30 or 6). And Jackson loves to give Mama hugs and kisses (I'll take every one I can get!!).
I love his talkative growing nature but each day that ticks by is another day closer to the day that I will no longer be the favorite, the day where he won't want cuddles and kisses, a day I hope is a LONG way off!!


Here are some photos from his birthday celebration with our friends....

Blowing out candles

(I've taught him that fire is dangerous and he is to run to Mommy and say help, help, fire, fire if he sees a fire.... so as a result (one I won't discourage) he was afraid to blow out his candle because it had fire on it) :-)

CAKE!
His Birthday Cake (we celebrated on Halloween)

My handsome little boy!

Looking forward to many new memories and adventures in the next year!

Alot can happen in 5 months...

Yep, that's how long it has been since I last blogged!! I told myself this year I would do better but once againg life (mostly school) has gotten in the way.

In the past 5 months we have.....

Spent summer days playing in the baby pool.....

Went with Dan's Family to the beach....

and Jackson actually liked the ocean this year...

Enjoyed beautiful scenery and sunsets...

Recieved a chipped front tooth (and his first dental visit) thanks to a scooter accident....

Went with my(Ellis) family to Colonial Williamsburg and Bush Gardens (my 1st vacation with my family in 4 years!!) We took Jackson on his first water rides and his first roller coaster... :-)

Jackson took his first airplane ride with Mommy and Mamo (my mom) to go visit Great-Grandma Riley

She was so extited for us to be there... we had lots of fun spending the week with her.

In the Fall we've enjoyed the beautiful weather and changing leaves...

And went trick-or-treating for Halloween in our favorite Monkey costume...

(Which Jackson insisted on wearing today complete with carrying around the pumpkin bucket)

Stay tuned for birthday photos!! I can't believe he is now 2!

"Twinkle, Twinkle..." (video)

"Twinkle, Twinkle..." (video)
Originally uploaded by The Alburgers

I know I haven't updated in a million years (what can I say except that school gets in the way of fun things). Jackson is growing like a weed (well only his brain is growing like a weed, he's still short and think (umm... yay Ellis genes I guess). Hard to believe sometimes that he's still only 1 1/2.

Allergy testing

Today Jackson went for allergy testing (he only had to get some blood drawn thankfully) to see if he has a peanut allergy. Poor little guy was not happy about getting stuck! Even in the car he kept whimpering so we had to go get some fun bandaids to make his 'boo boo' a little easier to bear. Jackson loves Mater from Disney's Cars so we sorted through the box to find some Mater bandaids.

Jackson showing off his boo boo

He wanted some extra bandaids to make it better.

Hopefully we'll get the results next week. Meanwhile the EpiPen is in the diaper bag... just in case, I need to remember to stock the Benedryl too.

10/52, 11/52

11/52

"Diapers in the sun"

On the 1st nice truly Spring day I had to pull out the drying rack and get those diapers out in the sun to soak up some nice warm rays!

10/52"Spring has sprung"

We couldn't resist having a picnic on the deck on the 1st warm day of Spring. Jackson LOVES to be outside and is constantly asking to go play on the deck. He goes over to all the young plants and says "Go, Go, Go" (Grow, Grow, Grow). So sweet! Here Jackson is enjoying a yummy strawberry that just smells like Spring!

9/52

9/52

"First Pet"

This is Jackson's 1st pet a red beta fish that Jackson named all by himself!! I was expecting his name to be fish... what else would a 16 month old name a fish? Jackson surprised us by deciding to call his fish "Gummy". So Gummy the fish has now become part of the family. He lives in an aquarium in Jackson's room and Jackson LOVES to see him. Many conversations in his room sound like this. J-"Gummy!" Me-"Yes, that's Gummy. What's Gummy doing?" J-"Gummy eat" "Bubbles, Bubbles!" (Jackson likes the bubbles the filter makes in the tank. So cute!

6/52, 7/52, 8/52

6/52

"Guys"

Dan and Jackson playing with Daddy's Legos, or as Jackson calls them, "guys".

7/52

Not the best picture of Jackson, but these are snap shots from our every day life... this one is "Hives" :-(

After our 1st PB sandwhich Jackson broke out with hives where ever the PB had touched his skin. Sigh... of course I already had the benedryl drawn up 'just in case' and wouldn't my kid be the one to need it! I am hoping it's something he'll out grow, but for now we're trying soy butter (I wanted to try Almond butter but it wasn't at the grocery store... next time I'm at T.J.) For a kid with hives he's pretty happy!

8/52

"Cloth!"

We decided to try cloth diapering (so far I really like it). Isn't he so cute with his 'fancy pants'?!

Blizzard Part 1

Here are some photos from blizzard #1. We recieved 29inches of snow and as I write snow is falling thick for blizzard #2 this week (11 inches so far and it should snow till 8pm tonight).

Daddy and Jackson shoveling snow (that is up to Jackson's head)

The deck

Jackson loves the snow

Mommy and Jackson shoveling snow

5/52

My little snow baby

(Blizzard #1)

Where is Jackson?

In blizzard 1 we recieved 29 inches of snow... we are in for another 20-30 more inches by tomorrow night!! Where will we put it all?

4/52

Tempertantrums

And slience

Pictures

My friend Andrea (a WONDERFUL photographer), is doing a weekly photo project where she captures a snap shot of her family's everyday life or a portrait of her kids, etc. I thought it was such a wonderful idea that I think I am going to do the same thing too. So here are my 1st three weeks.
1/52

Bathtime

2/52

Second Christmas

3/52

Little Chef

(PS. Be sure to check Andrea's blog in the next week or two for some belated 1st birthday pictures of this cute little boy!)

New resolution

OK, my new resolution is to post something at least once a week... we'll see how that goes since most of the "Jackson is a sleep time" is spent on school work (and he loves to play with the computer when he's awake... or have Mommy read books to him).

I just finished 3 weeks (49hrs) of newborn nursery clinical. I got to do all the 1st assessments on the babies (only a few looked as small and scrawny as mine did). I did get to see some interesting things like babies with extra fingers, extra nipples, drug withdrawal, and jaundice. I loved working with the other NP's and the new families.

Jackson is getting more 'toddler like' every day. He almost never crawls anymore and he is starting to look more like a big boy and less like a baby, and he's talking up a storm. He has over 50 words in his vocabulary! He LOVES to read, and by LOVES I mean that's what we do 80% of our awake/non eating time. The other night Dan asked if Jackson plays with any of his toys anymore because all Jackson wants to do is read a book, many times it's the same book in a row. I have actually taken to hiding books halfway through the day so that Jackson is forced to pick a new book to read (there are only so many times in a row that I can read "Old McDonald" or "ABC's" or "Helpers are Heros". Jackson is even starting to anticipate the letters in the alphabet because we read his ABC book so much. Ex. If I say "'A' American Ants" Jackson then says "B", and so on with most of the letters A-O. "F" Fox with fish" is his favorite letter. I am thrilled that Jackson loves books and I hope that this love will continue as he gets older!

Jackson is also a huge fan of belly buttons (thanks to his "Belly Button Book" Sandra Boyton). Not necessarily his own button but definitely Mommy's and Daddy's buttons, he pokes us in the stomach and yells "Button!" (it make me realize how out of shape my button is) :-)

Classes start again on Tues so I am gearing up for another semester of papers, tests, studying and clinical... only 16 months to go (not that I am counting :-) ).

Here are a few new pics of my boys and fam that I have been taking with my new camera...

Jackson and Aunt Megan

A Christmas gift from Dan's Uncle and family



And last but not least......

My boys!!

Snow

I am writing from the hospital where I have been for the past almost 24 hours (with 12 more still to go). The snow is beautiful (well what we can see of it). Yesterday AM I walked through 6in of snow with my suitcase to meet wonderful friends who gave me a ride to the hospital for the start of one long weekend. After 12 hours of work we made a "dorm room" for the 5 of us nurses on our unit who were staying the night. It was quite cozy in our room and the hospital provided meals for us who stayed overnight.

Throughout the day we were able to see the snow from our windows (I know it is a lot but it doesn't look as deep from our windows as I am sure it really is).

I can't wait to get home to see my family, I will definitely be ready to leave here at the end of 36hours.

One!?!

I can't believe Jackson is 1 already! The year went by so fast!! He's growing and learning so fast. I love that he can talk some and sign a few words... though sometimes the words he likes to learn are a little funny (yesterday he decided to learn the word hiney "eye-nee" when I was changing his diaper and then proceeded to say it all day long... :-) He's cute in the morning when he signs eat and asks for his "oh-mow" (oatmeal) and when he hears any noise at the door he immediately asks if that's dada.

Stats: 19lb 2oz, 28 1/4inches. 4 signs, 15+words and 5 animal sounds.... and counting.... Walking.... um only 2 or 3 steps, maybe someday we'll realize it's a good mode of transportation.

Here are some pics from his 1st birthday and Halloween.

Jackson's cake (the one the guests ate) he loves his pirate bath duck so we decided to make that his cake.

Time for cake! Jackson got his own little cake.

Yummy.



His 1 year shirt I made

At the petting zoo/farm on Halloween

The cutest pumpkin in the patch!