Bailey's Baby Shower

I wish I could show a picture of all the beautiful gifts she got! I guess you will see her wearing most of them the 1st year ;)

Alijeh and me

my Mom or Grandma!

Me and Jennifer

Allie!!!

Tomi, Me, and Jessi

Mrs. Moe or Nana

Meghan, Emily, Me, and Amy

Amy, Mrs. Spinner (Amy's Mom), and Mrs. Moe gave me the cutest shower ever! Amy had made a clothes line with cute baby clothes pinned to it, the chandelier had paci's and adorable socks hanging from it and the food was so yummy! It really meant so much to me to have all my closest friends come and celebrate with me at the shower. When I am finished decorating Bailey's room I will post pics :) Only a few more weeks until we finally get to meet her!!!

Catching up...

One of Jackson's best buds Liam had his 2nd Birthday back in July and Jackson had a blast! He got to get together with the rest of the 3 Amigo's...Jackson, Liam, and Elliot! I just love how cute they looked eating at the table :)

This is Meredith, Nicole, Ashley, Alijeh, and Me at Ashley's shower at her mom's house. Ashley is one of my best friends and is getting married in October in Mexico.

Preschool!

Our big boy officially started Preschool last Thursday! I took these pictures right before we left for school the first day :) He goes 2 days a week for 3 hours each day. I thought it would seem like a lifetime, but have come to realize that it goes by in a flash!! It feels like I just dropped him off when I pick him up! The first day was tough for him (and me!). He had his good and bad moments. His teachers told me that someone drove up while they were outside playing in a car like mine and he started to do his "happy feet dance". Well, needless to say, when it was not me he freaked out!!

This week has been MUCH better! He cries when I drop him off, but they say only for a few minutes and that's it! He has not cried since the first day! I pray it keeps going that way!! He is soooo excited to see me when I pick him up and loves to point out his teachers and new little friends ;) In the car on the way home he said, "I play bubbles!" at least 20 times!!!! Melt my heart!

John and I LOVE to get his daily art work, it's too cute for words. Everyday they play outside for 45 min., have snack and story time, have music time, and play with the million toys in the room!

Here are some of his recent comments from the teachers (we get a daily report)...

**"Jackson didn't cry today! :) He loved playing with the ball machine."

**"Jackson loved playing outside. He kept asking for bubbles. He loves bubbles. He really enjoyed painting today! :)"

Da Beach!

A really cool stop along our long journey, The Chesapeake Bay!

This was a beautiful ship they had docked near the Ferry we took.

This is John and Jackson at the Chesapeake Bay

John chasing Jackson on the Cape May/Lewis, DE Ferry.

He LOVED the Ferry so much, we wished we had taken that route on our way home too!

My surprise 30th birthday party when we arrived! My whole family had matching t-shirt's that said, "kiss your 20's goodbye"!

The Ostien Grandparents and Great Grandparents

Jackson helping me blow out the candles!

Bailey's sweet new outfit!

He LOVED the shore! It took him about an hour the first day to get used to it and then we couldn't get him out!

In NYC to see the Broadway showing of Wicked~which was fantastic!

One of Dad's many trips to fill up the bucket :)

OPA!

This is my cousin Eric (I guess that would mean J's 2nd cousin) and they had a blast playing together this year! This is them giving each other a hug :)

We took Jackson to the little boardwalk by our house and he loved it!! He ran around like a madman and couldn't get enough of all the lights and noises!

We took the long drive to Avalon, NJ and it was so much fun! We took 2 days to drive each way and Jackson was such a good little man the whole way! The new van really helped a lot! It made the trip a lot easier on all of us! Jackson really enjoyed the beach so much this time. We noticed such a change in him that week. He started talking a lot more and remembering more people and new phrases. He loves to now say, "sea shore house" (GG taught him that!), "ocean", "da beach", "water"..and much more. He is also putting more words together to make little sentences too~it's sooooo cute! We had such a wonderful time and were sad the vacation had to end! Less than 8 weeks until our little girl arrives and we are counting down the days!!!

I'm a Real Estate Agent!!

I am officially a Real Estate Agent!! I started taking classes online 6 months ago and just finished the whole process last week. The online classes were extremely time consuming (I did them for 6 months every time Jackson would nap or go to bed!) and after I completed those I had to pass the course exam, then pass the state exam. I am so very glad it is all done with! With a lot of interviews and researching I decided to go with Solid Source Realty, Ga. http://www.solidsourcerealty.com/ They were by far the best company I came across, had the best technology, and all that I was looking for in a broker. Now comes the fun and challenging part...helping people buy and sell homes!!! If you ever want help buying/selling your home feel free to give me a call, I would love to be your agent :)

Grandma!!

Grandma came over after work one day last week for a visit. Jackson had so much fun! He would go over and push the button on his toy and then run to Grandma! It was such a good night...we had dinner, gave Jackson a bath, and just played :) We are so excited she is now working at Kennestone Hospital in Marietta and will be closer to us! That is also where I gave birth to Jackson and where I will have Bailey too :)

4th of July

Jackson was concentrating on an awesome toy Aunt Amy had given him!

Happy 4th of July!!!

This was his face basically the whole time ;) He was also pointing and saying "dars"=stars over and over and over again, because he thought the fireworks looked like stars. He actually woke up the next morning and the first thing he said to us was "dars" and he pointed up ;)

Aunt Emmie chasing all the kids!

Cooper came with us to Auburn too and had a great time!

Miles taking Jackson for a ride!

We spent the 4th in Auburn with John's whole family. Jackson is now saying Amy, Miles, Avery, and Will very good now. He still has to work on Uncle Dan, Uncle Bert, and Aunt Emmie :) He is saying more and more everyday~it's so cool to see him learning things. Aunt Amy also taught him to say Dinosaur and it is soooo cute to hear him do it. Right now I am in the middle of moving Jackson's things into his new big boy room (we are putting Bailey in his old room). I will post pics when his new room is almost complete. I am also working on getting the new guest bedroom in what we call the "top top room" ready by hanging curtains and moving picture frames up there and other nick-nacks from the old guest bedroom. John had finished the drain by the garage and is just about to start painting the front of the house (I will post those pics as well when he gets started).

Reflecting on 30 years

My brother meeting me for the first time :)

At my Grandmom and Grandad's pool!

This was me and Amy in 8th grade (it was Halloween and we just wore my cheerleader outfits as costumes!)

Ashley, Nicole, Meredith, Me, and Allie at our High school Graduation

One of the first times I went to John's house, I think we had only been on a few dates at this point :)

One of the happiest days of my life!!

My college graduation day!

Jackson was born only a few moments earlier and this was our first official picture as a family :)

This was taken yesterday at White Water for my birthday celebration!

It was hard to go through and only pick a few pictures to reflect back on my entire 30 years. Those are just some of my favorite moments. I think my Grandad Ostien explained getting older to me best. He told me that from the inside looking out, you always feel the same age...the outside looking in however, is a whole other story ;) He was so right!! I can still see myself at 16 riding around in the car with Allie, Ashley, Nicole, and Meredith like it was just yesterday!!! I still can not believe that 15 years has gone by since those days. I can say one thing for sure though, if I had a glimpse into my future life back then...I would have been ecstatic! I really am so blessed to have the life I do today. I am happily married to the man of my dreams who has given me a life I could not have even dreamed for and help me to reach goals I never felt possible, I have a wonderful family who have always supported me in all that I do, the best in-laws a girl could ask for (feels weird even calling them that, because they feel like my own parents...sisters and brothers), I have my college degree, I never thought I could love the way I do until I had Jackson~he is my heart, my baby girl Bailey on the way~who I can't wait to meet!!!!, and a beautiful home :) Life is just as I would always hoped it would be :)