Easter Goodies / Mom's Progress

I have Jackson's Easter basket all ready! This little boy doesn't have a thing for chocolate candy, so I kept it light with only the Reese's Pieces. Everything you see here, save for the Children's Prayer Book ($8) and the Gerber utensils ($4), was only $1 each. I had taken Jackson outside yesterday to play in the driveway and enjoy the 40 degree weather... but realized we don't have any outside toys for him! I was thrilled to find the two bats/baseball sets and the big bouncy ball. Also, the egg shaped side walk chalk will be perfect for his little hands. He will love the bubbles and the squishy water balls when summer finally comes. I can't wait to see his face when he sees all the balls that the Easter Bunny brought him, those are his favorite right now :)

My mom came to visit for a few days this week. The first chance she has gotten since her last operation in mid Feb. The procedure went well as far as the results of her implants, however she experienced some nerve damage in her arms/neck that has persisted since she woke up from anesthesia. Mom has received a EMG test administered by a neuralogist which determined which nerve(s) were effected and confirmed that she has a buldging disk. It can be assumed that this damaged occured due to the several times she was hoisted to a sitting position during the operation to assess the progress of her implantation.

For the past three weeks, she has slowly started to get back the feeling and mobility of her right arm. But to compensate for the lack of control of her right arm, she has been needing to use her left arm alot more.... which has now begun to take it's toll on that pectoral muscle... which had just been lifted and had an implant inserted. So, this may be a slow process to recover from this unexpected event. We are still extremely fortunate for the results of her cancer having been contained where it was, and for no necessary need of further treatments. My parents are leaving for their long awaited, much deserved Mexican vacation this coming Saturday.

Holiday thru Photos

As I mentioned earlier, my camera took a dive before Christmas so I have limited photos to share with everyone. I am telling you - not having a camera is ALOT harder than I thought. I wanted to host a give away, but have NO way of showing you all the give away gift!!

Here is Jax with Ella & Nathan on New Years Day morning playing in their jammies.

Remember them here? March 2003. Jackson looks so rolly polly!!

The Whole Group.



My two boys

My family on Christmas Eve


Jackson's scarf that my aunt made for him.

Thanksgiving

We spent the holiday back home again to visit family. Thursday with my in laws and Saturday with my family. We had a great time just relaxing and enjoying the company.

Of Course I had my camera out the whole time :)

Because who can afford to miss a moment like this?

Or This?

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Again, I let a whole week go by without posting. I have been real busy. With Jackson down to one nap, I am limited with my free time. I have been spending it all on maintaining a household and working on my christmas gifts. I am super excited to show you all what I have been working on, but I have to wait... because many of the recipents read this blog :) And we can have the gifts being spoiled.

I have also been volunteering with the Children's Ministry at church. I know I have mentioned that here before, I have been asked to take on the Service Coordinator position for the second Sunday service. I help to coordinate the childcare rooms (Babies, Toddlers, 2s/3s and 4K). I have been really enjoying it because it has gotten me much more involved. I had been asking God to show me where I best fit there... because I really wanted to build relationships. I didn't have to look far, because I was approached about this. So that made me feel good and made me want to help.

I hope that everyone has enjoyed their thanksgiving and had a wonderful time with their families. I will be reading through your latest posts now... as it has been awhile for me :)

Jackson's First Trick or Treating!

Jackson did absolutely wonderful trick or treating.

Certainly, we didn't get very far - but all the while, Momma couldn't put down her camera :)

My Little HAPPY Garden Gnome is his natural habitat.




His birthday present from Grandma and Papa.

My two boys





TRICK OR TREAT!

200th Post!! / Halloween Sneak Peek

Today (Tuesday) is Paul and I's 2nd wedding anniversary. But this girl didn't realize that until she got an anniversary card in the mail yesterday from her grandmother :) Know how we're celebrating tonight? A plumber is coming to give us an estimate on a water softener :) Lovely!


I am ecstatic to report that today was a much better day for the Baby Man, and therefore for me as well :) There doesn't seem to be a tooth as a result of our recent dismay, but maybe it's just yet to be seen. I appreciate everyone's thoughtful words to my last post. I truly feel like I have my happy content Jackson back. We had a busy day of running errands, cleaning the house, playing in the kiddy pool and walking along with Mr. Loin. It felt so good to be laughing again with Jax. I actually had him laughing pretty hard at dinner that avocado bits were dropping from his mouth. I loved every minute of it. In moments like that, I feel like a good mother.

Did you hear him say "Mama" near the end?

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This is my 200th Post!

Yay!! I was shocked to see the other day that I was nearing 200, it snuck up on me. I apologize that I won't be doing a give away this time. I have done several recently and have a few in the works as we speak. I am a Give Away Diva though and I will be sharing one with you all real soon. So I decided to make myself a little gift instead :) I made a photo charm bracelet so I can showcase my two boys. Unfortuantely, our printer isn't the best quality so I am unable to get a real clear photo due to the small size. But I have worn everyday since I made it.

Halloween Sneak Peek

It's so hard to choose a costume trying to stay flexible with the weather. When I was a child, we were wearing snow pants underneath princess gowns. But now a days, you just don't know.

Our Father's Day Weekend

We were going to spend Friday evening at the Twist drive thru in town for some much desired ice cream. But after Jackson had yet again refused most of his dinner (who could refuse pureed greenbean with mixed grain cereal?) and noticeable tugging on his ear along with some good homewhole crabbiness - I decided to call the doctor to ask about an ear infection. He has not had one before and I knew that symptoms of teething and ear infections were quite similar. I just didn't want to wait it out if he did infact have an ear infection. So - we took him in for the last appt. available at the clinic. Thank goodness - his ears are clear of infection! He does have the next bottom tooth surfacing so we chalked up the symptoms to be related to that. But the doctor gave us a perscription for 2.5% hydrocortizone ointment. We have been using the cream, which didn't seem to solve the problem. His eczema just relentless with his skin and this doctor we saw was pretty disturbed by how bad it was. So - hopefully this will shed some light on the issue! She went to a seminar that described severe eczema as being bacteria living on the skin. So - chlorinated pool dips would good because they will help with the bacteria on the skin, on the flip side it can also dry out the skin. What a nasty circle!

Saturday, we spent the whole gorgeous day outside at our neighbors camper at Kastle Kampgrounds. What an exciting place for campers! It is so family oriented! We will be spending a weekend there later this summer, but I don't have any photos of that day because my camera batteries died right before leaving :) But I do have to comment on how absolutely wonderful Jackson was that day for us. He was so flexible with his naps, was happy and content all day long! We were so happy and relaxed because of his good natured behavior!

Sunday was Father's Day! All Paul wanted to do was be at home with his family. We started the morning with a nice walk outside. It was peaceful quiet morning as many families were probably still sleeping... or at least allowing their dads to sleep in :) We made some breakfast for Daddy and then filled up the kiddy pool outside so that the boys could enjoy the warm weather. Jax is just loving the pool lately! He loved the neighbors pool, the campground pool and now our little pool that he can actually sit up and play in.

After the pool - we all took a well deserved nap! Then Jackson and I took Daddy out to dinner. I know Paul enjoyed his day with the family. He has proved time and time again to be such a wonderful father! There are a bunch of photos here from the weekend that I would like to share!

It was wouldn't be right for me not to mention my own father on Father's Day. He spend the weekend with my mother in Door County and I was unable to see him this weekend, though we did speak on the phone.

There isn't enough words, or long enough posts that I could create to describe what an amazing father I have. He's compassionate, understanding, willing and able! He knows how much he means to me :)

Jelly Beans and Snuggle Bug

So last week brought Jackson's first full roll!! He was really going to town on Wednesday and I have been ready with my camera everytime he's laying on his back... but unfortunately I have yet to capture the moment on film.

We spent Saturday with Paul's parents in Sussex. Jackson made the trip without cries and was excited to see his grandparents! He was quite entertained by all the excitement around his cousins. The Easter bunny brought all 3 boys a basket of candy (of course Jax will be sharing with us). Baby man got a new push truck toy and the older boys took their new kits outside to watch them fly! The boys were very attentive to the baby, making sure he had a toy to play with and even offered a few of theirs. I can not believe how BIG our two nephews have gotten since christmas!! Anthony has a few adult teeth coming in the front, which makes him look alot more grown up. And Little Bud's face is becoming for "boyish" and not so "babish" anymore!

The next morning we drove my parents. Brian and Emily came up from Chicago for the holiday and we celebrated hers and my birthdays as well. Of course, Jackson was the center of attention and several photos were taken!! Jackson sporting his bunny ears for a few! The Easter bunny brought Jax some very much appreciated bibs, baby food, sockies, swim trunks and many new books, including an adventure family bear hunt story complete with audio disk of Uncle Brian and Aunt Emi reading the book. We're going to have alot of fun with that! My grandmother stopped over a quick visit as well.

He did really well all weekend with all the attention and noise. Quite an environment change from the usual quiet days with just him and I. We were very thankful to spend the weekend with our families as we don't see them as often as we would like.

Paul and I will be going out to dinner this Friday. We will be taking advantage of one of the last weekends my cousin Jess will still be at UW Oshkosh before the summer starts. So, she will be babysitting. I think we might call this a real early birthday dinner for me :) We are suppose to be getting some real warm days here soon! Take time and get outside and enjoy it!!

Jax's 1st Christmas!!

It sure was an eventful week! Come Tuesday (23rd), we knew the weather was going to be a problem if we drove to West Bend on Christmas Eve. It was our original plan to visit with my family on Wednesday, Paul's family on Christmas Day and celebrate our first christmas as a family back here in Appleton on Friday. We then would drive back to West Bend for the big Puerling christmas on Saturday. But, we ended up driving to WB on Tuesday night to beat the bad weather and stayed there through the rest of the week. It was a better choice to stay safe.

Christmas Eve was nice at my parents. Brian and Emily came up from Chicago and my Grandma was there as well. Jackson was more than showered with gifts... lots of books to read him, adorable outfits, lullabye music... don't know where we're going to put all of his new toys!:) We certainly need to get a toy box now! Christmas day was very exciting at the Truttschels. The boys were celebrating the holiday like all boys do :), waiting anxiously to tear into their presents! Jackson had even MORE gifts to open! Can't wait to try out his bath toys. Paul will be kept busy uploading our photos to the digital photo frame his parents gave us. It holds about 400 photos! The next day, we relaxed at my parents house again. All the while, trying to keep Jax on his normal everyday schedule. He did very well with that. Continued to sleep alot at night, thank goodness!

Then Saturday, Jax met the entire Puerling family. Everyone was excited to meet and hold him. He makes a wonderful start to the next generation! First Great Grandbaby!

Paul, Jackson and I are about to open our gifts to one another, celebrating our christmas a little late :) You can get away with that when your child is a baby :)

I hope everyone had a safe and exciting holiday. Have a great New Years!! Think of us while we bring in the new year at 9:30pm! lol