Jackson's Surgery

Jackson had surgery on Wednesday in Grand Forks. In case you don't know, he had some audiology testing done about a month ago and failed everything because of the chronic ear infections that he has had. Thankfully, I can report he now has 100% hearing in both ears and the surgery went great.

We checked in at 6am and he was done and released by 10am. He came right out of the anesethia and was a little groggy for a little while but by Wednesday night he was running and playing with Olivia - you would have never known he had surgery that day!

Before the surgery he only said about three words, mama, dada and baba. Now in just a matter of days, he has had a word EXPLOSION and now says a whole bunch. He says in addition to the three from before:
-Kitty
-Daisy
-Delilah
-Ball
-Baby
-Mi Mi (for aunty amy)
-Mindy (our daycare provider's name)
-Down (sometimes "get down")
-Uh Oh

And my favorite is he now calls me "Mommy" instead of mama - there is nothing more adorable than Jackson walking around the house calling out "mommy".....he is such a little mama's boy and I love it!

We've Moved!!

Well most of our stuff is at the new house. We spent the night there last night and Trevor and his work buddies moved all of the "big" items with a truck and trailer. It is so nice to have a "fresh start" in a beautiful house. The kids are so excited to have a play room and new bedrooms. Olivia was thrilled with her new purple bedroom - she wanted to just be in there the whole night hanging out.

We have to work on moving the cats and the little stuff so the next week or so will be constant back and forth with the cars full of stuff. I am so happy to be able to "weed" out some of the junk we have and get rid of it. I will post some updated pictures of the house once we get it organized with our stuff.

Our phone is hooked up so start calling the new telephone number and our internet is getting hooked up tonight.

Update on Jackson

Friday I took Jackson to Grand Forks to an audiologist for a hearing test. He failed all of them. They said he has hearing loss in both ears. They got us an appointment with an ear, nose and throat specialist so I took him yesterday. The dr said that due to the hearing loss and chronic ear infections, there is more than likely a fluid build up in his ear and that is why he isn't hearing correctly. On November 19th they are going to put him under, drain the fluid and insert tubes into his ears and redo the hearing tests to see if it was successful in getting his hearing back. I feel so bad for the little guy, all he has ever known is ear infections and being sick. Hopefully this will help him out and he will be able to hear and start talking.

I hate the fall

Seriously, it makes me so depressed because the weather is cold, everything is dying. The leaves turn so beautiful but then they just wither up and fall off the trees leaving them bare. I don't like the cold weather and winter is my least favorite season. Plus, I see it in the air, I don't think many people like fall because everyone seems crabby and down.

Enough about that. I haven't had too much to post lately other than about us moving to Roseau. We move into the house on November 1st - or start moving anyway. I want to paint each one of the kids bedrooms before we officially move their stuff in. Mom and dad are coming that weekend for Halloween so they will be here to help watch the kids and do what needs to be done.

Jackson is going next week to have his hearing checked by an audiologist in Grand Forks. He still doesn't say anything other than "Car" which for a boy I'm told by my sister's fiance is a great first word to have. I am just worried with all of the ear infections he has had, maybe there is something wrong and he's hearing us muffled or something. I am sure he isn't deaf or anything like that, I just want to have peace of mind. A little boy came into my office today who was only 2 months older than Jackson and he sat there and sang his A B C's for me letter for letter than started to show me things that were different colors and tell me what the color of it was. That is crazy! Jackson is so not there - not even close. He's either stubborn or can't hear.

I have been pretty busy with work. A few weeks ago I went down to the cities (St Paul, MN) for one week for work. I was nervous to be away from the kids but I had so much fun. I took a great class on Loss Mitigation (sounds fun hey? I bet you are soooo jealous) and got to hang out with a good friend who lives there on my birthday. It was nice to get away but I was happy to get home too.

Let's see, what else is new? Oh I know Amy and John are buying a house!! The owners of a beautiful victorian home that they've had their eyes on, finally accepted their offer and they are thrilled. They both love the big, old houses and it's right in Marquette so they'll be close to everything. So they are going a little out of order, but who cares right?

I am going to close now because as I type Olivia is upstairs in her room pouting (she's tired and not feeling great, we all have colds) and Jackson is tearing apart their castle in the living room (when Olivia sees that she is going to FLIP). I should probably make some dinner and feed them too. I'll keep blogging with the progress of the move. Keep watching!

We are Moving!

We are officially moving. Right now, we live about 15 miles out of Roseau in the country. We got rid of our house and are moving into Roseau which is where Trevor works. We are going to rent a beautiful house from a really nice family we know because they cannot sell it. The market is so bad right now and they have already moved away so they would like someone in the home over the winter. We have decided to rent because we will officially have NO TIES here in Minnesota and we can then up and leave when we want to. We are hoping to be gone from here within the next three years. It's wonderful to know that there is an end in sight (about living here).

The house is a beautiful one and a half story on a big, beautiful river lot. It has three bedrooms, 1 bathroom and two living areas. I will post some pictures below. We will be moving in on November 1st and I will send out change of address cards to everyone.

This is the front of the house and you can see a little of the garage:

Here is the back of the house - it has a very nice four seasons room built on the back with a free standing woodstove:

Here are some pictures of the kitchen/dining room area:

When you first walk into the house there is a living area:

These are some pictures of the four seasons room in the back - it has a free standing wood stove and leads to the back deck:

Jackson's 18 Month Appointment

Today Jackson went to the dr. to get his 18 month well baby check up and one shot. Overall the dr said he is doing very well, that he could tell he was a smart kid and knew what we were talking about when we spoke to him.

He weighed in at 24 pounds and 16 ounces and was 32 1/4 inches tall. He is a little on the small side for weight and on the higher end of the chart for height so that's good.

The one thing he is concerned about is his lack of talking. At this age they are supposed to say an average of 10 words (other than mama, dada and baba) and Jackson only says one "Car". He calls everything a car or just points and grunts and shows no desire to talk other than say car. He said that if Jack doesn't start to say some more words in the next few months, he wants to maybe refer him to a speech therapist.

Olivia's First Day of School

Today was Olivia's first day of preschool at Roseau School. She was so excited and after she got up, ate breakfeast and got ready, she grabbed her tinkerbelle backpack, her princess lunch box and put on her jacket and shoes. She sat on the couch and kept asking every few minutes if it was time to leave. Olivia has always been obsessed with the whole thought of school so we knew she'd have fun.

I just asked Olivia to tell me what to write on here about her first day of school. This is what she wants me to write:

Well, I did singing and we had quiet time, we had lunch, snack and we played. We washed our hands, went potty and I played with my friends. We went outside on the playground, we went to the library where I checked out a book about a turtle. It was a good day and I can't wait to go back again.

Here are some pictures from the day. I could only get pictures from before we got there because she refused to let me take any of her at the school, she said it was "too embarrassing".....sigh

Here she is eating breakfeast this morning:

Posing in her new school outfit:

Here is her new backpack and lunchbox:

And here we are outside getting ready to leave:

Wasn't she just born yesterday??

Who gets sick in August?

My friend emailed me this week and asked me that question because she said she got sick. Well I had an answer for her - JACKSON then myself.

It started out last week - On Tuesday, Jack was crabby and warm but he went to daycare anyway. Wednesday he spiked a fever of 103 so Trevor stayed home with him. Thursday the same thing so Trevor took him in to the dr. He had fluid in his ears (ear infection) a sore throat and all that fun stuff. They put him on an antibiotic and sent him home. He was sick with that stupid fever until Sunday morning.

That's when I woke up sick. I woke up, took a shower and literally went back to bed until 5pm. I felt warm, achy and had a sore throat and my eye was all swollen and matted. I went in to the dr yesterday and it turns out I have pink eye and strep throat. Fun stuff.

I haven't worked much for the last two days and I feel terrible about it because we are leaving for Michigan this weekend so I will be missing all next week of work. I do have to say that the place I work for is wonderful and they are all so kind and more concerned about you when you are sick than mad at you for missing work - that is something I am not used to.

Trevor went to the cities for a few days and he was starting to get a sore throat so hopefully he won't get as sick as Jackson and I. Let's all cross our fingers that Olivia doesn't get it.

We're Coming To Michigan

We are coming back home for vacation. We are leaving here on August 30th and staying in the UP until the 8th of September. During that time we are throwing my mom and dad a 40th wedding anniversary bbq. That is on Aug 31st, on Sunday at their house for dinnertime.

On the 6th of September some friends of ours are getting married in Iron Mountain so we are going to that without the kids. It'll be the first time we've gotten to go anywhere together without them.

I am hoping the weather stays nice because we'd like to go to Sugarloaf and the beach - Jack's never been to the beach so it should be fun. Olivia wants to go to the children's museum and I want to get up to Houghton to visit my great aunt and uncle.

An Update on Us

Well first of all, today is Jackson's 17 month birthday. I just can't believe how fast time is flying by, it seriously seems like I was just having him or he was a newborn a few days ago. He is sick again right now, Trevor brought him to the dr today. He's had a temp. of 103 for three days now and hasn't been eating or drinking a whole lot. Other than the temp, he is still somewhat happy and still has a little energy but after three days we have to see what's going on with him. He now says "baba", "mama", "dada" and tries really hard to say "car" which is really cute. He does a lot of pointing and grunting to things and when he wants a bottle goes to the fridge and tries to pull the door open. He is such a comfort baby like Olivia was, he loves his blankie, his paci and his bottle.

My arm still isn't feeling the greatest but day by day it seems to get better. I think I probably just bruised it pretty badly because the pain is still there and sometimes goes into my neck and gives me headaches. I tried to get into the clinic this week but couldn't get an appt.

Olivia is doing great, she is going to start "big girl" preschool in the fall at Roseau school and is so excited about it. She loves the thought of going to school. She will go to a private preschool on Tuesday's and a public preschool on Thursdays. Plus she will start up dance again on Mondays. She is a typical girly girl who loves anything having to do with dress up, her barbies and dolls.

Trevor got back from a trip out to Colorado to test ATV's. He had a great time but is getting tired of traveling. We are currently looking for a house to rent in Roseau for the time being until we can figure out how/when to leave this area.

Add me to the clutzy list

So lately I have been having dizzy spells. I swear I thought I was pregnant because I always have dizzy spells at the begining of a pregnancy. I went to the dr on Wednesday and was so anxious that they couldn't find a blood pressure reading. Well it turns out that I have vertigo because of my sinus issues lately.

Friday morning I got up at 6am with the kids and Trevor. I got Jackson out of bed, changed him and as I was lifting him up I spun to the right and got a horrible dizzy spell. I fell down and was trying to protect him in the fall, I fell hard on my right shoulder on a pile of his toys. It hurt so bad!!

I went into convience care (the ER) on Saturday and they said "Well, we hope it's not a torn rotator cuff" Sigh. That would be horrible, it would require surgery and me to be laid up for six months. My mom had the surgery last year and it was horrible. The MRI machine wasn't available on the weekends so they xrayed it, it's not broken, put me in a sling and shot me up with some good drugs. They said if it doesn't start to feel better by the middle of the week, I have to go in for an MRI and see if it is a torn rotator cuff.

To make things even better, Trevor is in Colorado all week and now I am one handed. This will be fun.

Daycare Meet Jackson

Day after day we pick Jackson up from daycare and his provider Mindy tells us what a wonderful little boy he is and how sweet he is. We ask her nicely "Are you talking about our little boy Jackson?". She just looks at us and nods.

Today, she finally met the "real" Jackson LaJoye. Trevor went to pick up the kids from daycare and Jack was in the highchair trapped. Mindy told Trevor that she had to trap him somewhere where he couldn't get at anything just for a minute for a break. Jackson finally showed her his true colors.

It started with her checking on him because he was being a little too quiet. He was washing her bathroom with a washcloth that he dipped first into the toilet.

She destracted him and while she was cleaning up the bathroom, he was in the cat food playing around spreading it all over the house.

While she was cleaning that up, her husband Ron yelled from downstairs to come and get Jackson. He managed to get into some oil and had it everywhere and was walking in it.

Welcome to our world!!

Who Won The Fight?

So the kids are both pretty clumsy, they get that from my side of the family. After all, my sister Amy did manage to break her toe simply taking a shower....

Last week was a rough one for both of the kids. I picked up Jackson from daycare on friday and he had a pretty big bruise on his face. Apparently he was trying to climb up or down the stairs at daycare and a group of kids was running up and tripped him, he fell down the stairs. She said he only cried for a minute or two, that he is a tough guy. Here are a few pictures of him:

Saturday, while waiting for Amy to drive up and visit for Art in the Park (I will blog about that later), Olivia and I had a girls day. We went to Pamida to pick up some stuff, went to get some groceries and then went out to lunch to a place called "The Brickhouse". Olivia LOVES this restaurant and was so excited to go there that she was running across the parking lot and she tripped. Well, the poor little dear hit the brick side of the Brickhouse restaurant with her face. She hit so hard that she left a slobber mark on the building. We went in and had lunch and she seemed ok, she cried off and on all thru lunch but let's face it, Olivia tends to be a bit of a drama queen. I've seen her cry for four hours over a bug bite or a scrape on her knee. Well, the next day when we woke up, the bridge of her nose was so swollen and she started to turn purple. I will post a few pictures of the progress over the week.

Sunday:

Monday:

Friday:

And Today (Saturday)

I have to admit, she is being a sport about it. She says it doesn't hurt and only took motrin for the first two days. I think it looks much worse than it is. We did skip a few events in the community this week because I didn't want gossip to start about how both of my kids were beat up. It looks like they got in a fight but we aren't sure who won.

The Kids Pictures

Last weekend, we took the kids to Fargo for the night to get away. We went to Chuck E. Cheese, stayed the night in a hotel and did some swimming and got the kids pictures taken at Sears. Jackson was not used to having his picture taken and was in no mood. Olivia however was the typical model diva like always. We were able to get a few good pictures.

Olivia posing

Jackson

And finally - a couple of them together - they are just so cute - These are my two favorites.

My Job

Well I have been at my new job for over a month and it seems to be going really well. It is just full of ups and downs. For those of you who don't know, I am a foreclosure counselor. People contact me who are in financial trouble and are either already in the foreclosure process or fear that it may be approaching in the future. Even those who are current on their mortgage and think they can't make a payment in the future can call me. I work for a non profit organization so the service of completely free of charge and you don't have to qualify.

After the client contacts me, I put together a budget for them and then determine if they can continue on with the mortgage, if it's affordable if I am able to "fix" the problem. If it's affordable, I negotiate with the mortgage company and try to find a solution. I have had a couple really good outcomes and a few people that I have unfortunately have not been able to help. It's such a stressful job but can be so rewarding.

Our 4th of July

We didn't do too much too exciting over the fourth. Mom and Dad came for about a week and we ran a garage sale. Since we will be moving in the fall, we wanted to do a major DOWNSIZE. We sold a TON, but the sad part is it doesn't look like it at all.


On the day of the fourth we took the kids to a parade and they had so much fun. Jack loved the big trucks and all the action and Olivia and dad had fun getting the candy!! Here are a few pics.

Here are the kids before the parade in their 4th of July outfits:

Here are a few at the parade with mom and dad:

Here are the kids watching the parade:

That night we went to the Warroad Fireworks - The Kids also loved those!! Jack all of a sudden went quiet, layed on Trevor's lap and just watched.

Here are a few that I took of the actual fireworks, I am not a professional so they aren't the best but I thought they were kind of cool:

Nothing New Around Here

Really there hasn't been too much going on to report - I can't believe that June is almost over already. Today Jackson is 15 months old. He still not talking at all and still getting into everything!!

I just got back from my trip to St. Paul for work. It was nice to get away and I miss the traffic so much. I miss interstates and people and shopping. My hotel was really nice and right across the street from two of my favorite stores: Kohl's and TJ Maxx so I had a good time. There was a Perkins right next door and Walmart and Target within a few blocks as well. I was also pleasantly surprised when I checked in because I was upgraded to a whirpool suite. I had dinner with my friend Steph who lives in the cities on Monday night and had a great time. The class itself was ok. I did learn a bit more about my job which is important.

Speaking of my job, it's such an emotional job. It is a stressful job and I am axiously awaiting the client that I can actually help to stay in their home.

The kids are doing great - Olivia is going to preschool this summer one day a week and they are both in daycare full time. We keep them busy with Ranger rides and playing outside on the weekends.

Trevor gets to go to Las Vegas in a couple weeks for work - now why can't I go there??

I get to go out of town!!

First of all, let me tell you all how much I am absolutely loving my new job. It's nice to have a "grown up" job and be treated like a human being and not be subject to someone else's bipolar mood swings. (It's a long story) Anyway, I am appreciated and doing something wonderful by helping people. I have met with my first three clients this week and am really getting going.

On Monday I get to go to St. Paul for three wonderful days all by myself. Work is paying for it because it's for training, I'm taking a two day class on foreclosure mitigation - I know it probably sounds so boring to you guys but I am really looking forward to it. Plus it's a little payback to Trevor for him always being gone!!

GO Detroit!!

I am so excited that the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup!! I watched the games - all that I could and rooted them on. I want to see them win - I am from Michigan and proud of it. I actually made a bet with a guy from work - he said there was no way they would win that last game because it was in Pittsburgh. So, we bet a pop - I was happy when I got to work that next morning and there was an A&W Root beer on my desk!!

I also got some supercute pictures of my little boy watching the game in his RED WINGS shirt that I got him on ebay. This part of having a boy I must admit is so fun!!

Olivia's Dance Recital

Last week was Olivia's second dance recital. These girls were much goofier than the last time so it was basically a chaotic mess but hilarious. There was a part during the ballet number where all the girls (5 of them) had to get in a circle, hold hands and dance round and round. Well, during the dress rehersal, the girls almost got into the circle - Olivia knew what she was doing so she was standing there with both hands out looking annoyed because the other girls weren't doing what they were supposed to, another two girls were literally fist fighting over who got to hold Olivia's hand and then another little girl was holding hands with the two girls so hard and yanking on their arms so they were crying....the poor dance teacher. After the third or fourth attempt to get these girls to dance in this circle, she fell on the stage and said "I give up"....LMAO - it was funny.

The night of the show was cute - the girls looked adorable and that's all that counts - they are only 4!! Here are some pictures from that night.

Olivia getting her hair done by her favorite babysitter Alyssa:

Here is one of Olivia dancing on stage - she was pretty good at remembering the moves:

This one is of her and another little girl dancing:

Here is the circle I was talking about - when they finally did get into the circle it was a lot of laughing and screeching - very funny!

This one I thought was really cute - I volunteered to sit with the girls in front so they could watch after their second dance number was over - talk about wild animals - trying to get 5 little girls to sit still in front of the stage was like trying to herd cats!! They each went a different way. Finally, they all just lined up in front of the stage (minus the one I lost! LOL) and I got this adorable shot:

Here is Olivia with her dance teacher Miss Emily

And here she is with her bouquet of flowers we got her - purple of course!

Olivia's Dance Recita

Olivia's Dance Recita

I know, I know

I know it's been awhile already but I have an excuse - I got a new job. It happened really fast. For the last month or so I have been very unhappy with my job at the vet clinic for a couple reasons. Reasons that I won't go into on a public forum because I'm way too nice. Anyway, there was a job advertised in the newspaper that I was really interested in and was more in my field of finance. So I applied for it and was offered the job less than 24 hours after interviewing and they wanted me to start ASAP. I have already been there for three days and I love it. Now, the funny part - what my job is....

I am a foreclosure counselor. Yes I know, I know - incredibly ironic but hey I have knowledge in the field. What I am doing is working for a non profit organization that helps people when they are struggling financially. My specific area is for people who fear that they are going into foreclosure. It is a really rewarding job and so far I have done a ton of marketing - it's a fairly new program and so I have to get the word out there that it's being offered.

In two weeks I get to travel to St. Paul for three days for training. I am excited because I will get to travel with this job quite a bit. Anyways...that's my excuse for not blogging.

The kids are doing great - Jackson is a busy, busy boy and seems to have the energy of the energizer bunny. It must be a boy thing because he never stops and has to climb everything. Plus, he wants to be outside all day long!! He will scream if you bring him in. He also eats constantly - remember how Olivia never ate - well he is the opposite. He often eats his meal and finishes hers.

Olivia is also doing well - she has her dance recital on Tuesday and is very excited. She is confident and knows the dance inside and out. She is making new friends and growing up so darn fast - sometimes I look at her and think she's more like six rather than four.

Trevor is busy with work and he's been putting in a new transmission in one of our cars - that's two cars and two transmissions. Then, last week something happened to his 4 wheeler's transmission too. I swear we have the worst luck with those things.

Anway - I think I am off to bed but just wanted to check in and let you all know (if anyone reads this) that we are doing great. Oh and I have another thing to say:

GO DETROIT!! 1 more game and we win the Stanley Cup!! Whoo Hoo!

My Baby Girl is 4 Today!!

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY OLIVIA NICOLE!!

On May 14th at 3:26 am Olivia Nicole came into the world. She was just the cutest little bald baby. She weighed 7 pounds exactly and was 21.5 inches long.

Olivia is a great kid - she's very smart (a little too smart) and knows what she wants. She has beautiful blue eyes and long blonde hair (who knew she'd ever get hair??) She is a total girlie girl yet loves to ride the Ranger and loves her new pink helmet.

I just can't even describe how wonderful she is so I'm going to do a little photo trip down memory lane to show you how much she's grown.

This is Olivia in the hospital after coming out of the NICU oxygen bubble:

And this is Olivia around the time of her first Christmas - She was about 6 or 7 months old and this was also the first picture of her sitting up on her own!

This is around the time of her 1st birthday - we flew back to Michigan and had a big party for her there - shortly after she ended up in the hospital with Rotovirus. Luckily since then she hasn't been all that sick.

Here is Olivia's second Christmas - It was a lot of fun because she was starting to understand it and kind of liked opening her presents:

And finally - we have some hair - this is right after her 2nd birthday!

This picture is when she was about 2 1/2. She loves to color and would spend hours coloring and drawing pictures:

This next one is one of my favorites of her - she really started to look like a little lady in this. It was right before Jackson was born:

And this one is pretty self explainatory - it's Olivia on her 3 year birthday: