Summer Fun

I haven't blogged in a couple months and am feeling very behind, so here is a "summer fun" update on us. In June, Kit's mom and sister moved in with us temporarily. We have enjoyed having them around more and spending quality time with them before they both move off. We had the biggest garage sale in the history of Carlsbad (at least I think it must have been) and got rid of tons of stuff. What we didn't sell, we donated, so it felt very freeing to get rid of everything.
In July, we had a great time going to Denver and Mexico for Cindy and Jess's wedding. Jess and Cindy have an awesome condo in downtown Denver, so we look forward to going back to visiting them often. Denver is such a great city! We stayed at an amazing resort in Playa del Carmen and soaked up the sun and pool for a few days. Jackson loved the water, the sand, and the guacamole! The only downside to the trip was having to leave!

My brother and cousin Julie came to visit for a quick weekend. It was really fun hanging out with Julie and to see Chris meet Charise for the first time. Jackson and I also went with Nikki and Charise to visit our sister Trudi in Wisconsin. We had a great time at the zoo, shopping, eating cheese curds and brats, and relishing the cooler weather. We got to just hang out in the house with the windows open and no AC! That was priceless! We had a good time but were really to get back to daddy. While we were gone, Jackson cut his first tooth and we now have to trick him into eating baby food. He wants whatever mom and dad have instead. He is also crawling like crazy, pulling up with ease, and "cruising" around the house. I think it won't be long before he's walking and he's already getting into everything, so we are learning the in's and out's of "baby proofing" and what that really entails.

The day we got back from that trip, some good friends of ours came to visit from Oklahoma. We went to the caverns, ate some good mexican food, and played a lot of Wii frisbee golf. It was great to just hang out with good friends and be lazy all weekend. We have a couple weeks of calm before we go to Texas for a wedding and to visit family and then help see Kirstie off to college in Las Cruses. I am having fun with the trips, but it is much harder to travel with a baby and I look forward to some quiet days soon.

I have also been practising and improving on my photography skills. I took Cindy and Jess's wedding photos, did a friend's pictures of their kids, and soon will do some newborn pictures and another wedding in October. I have a lot to learn, but am enjoying the practice and seeing myself slowly improve. Here are some fun shots from our summer fun. I hope you enjoy! (most are just "snapshots" so don't judge the quality too hard. They aren't examples of my best work!)

7 Month old pictures

Jackson turned 7 months this week. I can't believe how quickly he's growing and changing. It seemed like he did nothing for so long and now all of a sudden he's developing so quickly. He's trying to crawl and gets really frustrated that he can't. He's getting quite attached to mommy and is fine playing with someone else until he sees her come in the room and then wants to be held. He's been spending lots of time with his cousin Charise this week since her mommy had to work. He loves to look at her, laugh at her when she cries, and tries to grab her hands and face. It will be good when she's bigger and can defend herself better.

I am trying to get better at my new photography hobby so I practiced on Jackson the other day. He's almost too big to do any naked pictures so I figured I needed to get some good shots while I can. Kit got me a great tripod for Mother's Day so I finally got to break it in. I still have a lot to learn, but I can tell I am improving. I hope to make it a little side job in the future, once I get good enough to not feel bad for charging people. :) Here are some of my favorites from the day.

Jackson's Half Birthday

Jackson turned 6 months on April 25th! I can't believe how quickly the last 6 months have flown by. He is getting big so quickly and already looks so different from his new born pictures. It is amazing how they grow and change right before your eyes. We had a little family 1/2 birthday party for him, mostly so Aunt Nikki could make him a cute cake. We had a baseball theme party and ate "ballpark" food, such as nachos, frito pies, and hot dogs. Really healthy, I know, but it was fun. Nikki made him a cute baseball cake and cupcakes and we had a few presents for him. He got some fun toys, books, and bathtub toys.

We took him for his 6 month checkup a few days later and he is already 23 lbs 9 oz and 29 inches long! He's wearing 18-24 month size cloths! I think he's going to be rolling around in his diaper mostly this summer. I'm running out of clothes for him at this rate! He is already too big for his infant car seat so we had to buy him a big boy one this week. I guess it is just in his genes to be a big baby. His daddy was 30 lbs by 1 year. I hope Jackson doesn't beat his record, my back can't take it!

Jackson and Nana opening presents and Nikki's awesome cake. It was so yummy! Thanks Nik!

Jackson's First Easter

We took a long road trip for Jackson's first Easter. We went back to our old home town (Durant Oklahoma) where Kit and I went to college and he was a youth pastor. Jackson did really well on the 10 hour trip (each way) and we had a great time hanging out with some old friends there. Jackson went to his first Easter egg hunt and got himself an egg with chocolates in it. Mom and dad enjoyed those! On Sunday, we went to our old church and enjoyed seeing the new building they are in. We spent the rest of the day in the car driving back to New Mexico, but I did get a shot of his Easter Sunday outfit. It was raining and cold so I had to put him in jeans instead of his cute matching khaki shorts. He still looked cute and grown up!

Jackson and our friends at his first Easter Egg hunt.

Dressed in his Easter Sunday best.

Rollie Polie

Jackson is rolling around like crazy now. I have to keep a close eye on him or he'll roll right out of the room onto the hard wood floor. He's also starting to try to crawl. He wiggles his arms and legs around like he's trying to get somewhere. I got a good video of one of his latest attempts in which he also shows his screeching talents off. Enjoy!

Baby Cousin!

Last week, Jackson got his first baby cousin, little Charise Elizabeth Young! She is so cute and perfect and we are all in love with her, especially Jackson. He was quite taken with her from the start and can't wait for her to get big enough to play with. For now he just watches her and tries to grab at her. It is really cute to watch how interested he is in her. He'll be a good big cousin and watch out for her as they grow up together.

5 Months Old

(The shirt says it all!)

Jackson turned 5 months old yesterday! I can't believe how quickly he's growing and the milestones he's already reaching. He's already eating cereal and will have his first vegies next week. He's rolling over both ways now and likes to pivot around on his exercise mat. He's starting to sit up but can't quite hold himself up for very long. If he holds himself up he's bent so far forward it looks painful, but he seems to like it.

When we moved home, our family had a little "Fiesta" party for Jackson. It was kind of a welcome home party and belated baby shower. We all had a really good time (Jackson slept through most of it) and he got so many great toys. When we left Thailand we could fit all his belongings in one small suitcase and diaper bag. Now he's got bouncy seats, swing, bumbo chair, strollers, and all sorts of other gadgets to keep himself entertained. He's gotten a little bit spoiled, but that's OK. One of his favorite things to do (and ours) is to get into his new jogger stroller and go for walks around the neighborhood or down to the river. We sometimes take our dog Roxy too and we all have a good time together. We love just being able to walk out our door and safely take a walk. We lived in a 14 story building in Thailand in the middle of town, so taking a walk wasn't quite as easy or enjoyable as it is here. We were constantly dodging pot holes in the sidewalk or scooters and lightposts. We are thankful for those simple convenient pleasures that we have here, but we still miss a lot of the conveniences of Thailand too. (Like $5 foot massages and a house helper to do the mopping!) So we're learning to be content wherever God takes us and count our blessings in each circumstance.

Here are a few recent pictures of Jackson:

"I love taking a bath!"

"No, my parents did not buy me anything purple...I'm just trying out my little cousin's bumbo chair until she decides to get here. I fill it up pretty good, huh?"

"Having some tummy time with my favorite toy, Elbert."

"Hanging out with my mommy in my very own big boy room." (Mommy still hasn't decorated it though!)

"New Mexico is COLD!!!"
Enjoying some cereal

Playing and drooling.

Lincoln National Forest

Last weekend we took a day trip to the area where Kit's family has been camping and hunting for years. He's always wanted to take me up there, so we packed a KFC lunch and hit the road. It is such a beautiful area (Guadalupe Mountains) and is only an hour from Carlsbad. I can't believe I've never been to that part of it before. We went with Kit's dad, step mom, and his sister and had a good time admiring the scenery, watching some local wildlife (deer, turkeys, and the occasional cow), and listening to Kit and his dad reminisce about past hunting trips. We're planning to take a camping trip up there in a couple months and the guys are going to enter the hunting draft for the fall. If you're ever in SE New Mexico, don't be fooled by the miles and miles of flat dessert. We have a lot of beautiful places off the beaten path. They don't call it "The land of enchantment" for nothing!

Kit and Kirstie in Hippie Cave
Two proud dads (Kit and Papa Joe)
Too sweet not to put on here for everyone to see.

Hanging out at the family camp site

The view near our campsite

Back in the USA!

We've been back for 1 1/2 months now, but we've been pretty busy so I haven't kept up with our blog very well. We're starting to feel more settled now so I'll try to do a better job. Over the last month or so we had a few weeks of Kit being home with Jackson and I during the days, while looking for a job. We loved it, especially me, but we've had to let go of that since he has a job now. He's working out at the WIPP site outside of Carlsbad, which is where he was hoping to get a job. It is on a temporary basis at the moment, but it looks like he might get a more permanent job soon. The only down side is he has to get up and out the door at 5am everyday! That is quite an adjustment from his last job. But he gets every other friday off, so that makes up for it.

Everyone keeps asking us what our future plans are but we don't really know. So we are just going to stay here until the Lord tells us to do something different. We're happy to be here and around our family so much more, but we do miss Thailand (even more than we thought we would.) We were very blessed to live there for 2 years and to have all the wonderful friends we had there.

Jackson took some time adjusting to living here. We were traveling a lot even before we traveled home so his schedule was non-existent by the time we got here. To make things worse, we moved from a really warm tropical climate to the extreme opposite. Dry, cool, desert. The dust and other new allergens really worked him over the first couple weeks. We ended up having to take him to the doctor for his weezing and get a breathing machine for him. He's doing much better now though, and is sleeping and eating better too. The last couple months have definately been harder than the first few were, but God is good and has made us able to handle it all. Parenting is definately an on-going learning process.

My family surprised us with a weekend with them all in the mountains. My sister Trudi and her husband Grant (whom I hadn't met yet) and my brother Chris, cousin Julie, and my nephew Keiten all made a long trip to be here for it. We had so much fun being with them all again (it had been 3 years) and getting up in the cold mountain air was so refreshing. We are big sissies for the cold after living in Thailand for two years. One day it is warm here and the next it is cold and windy.

Here are a few pictures from our welcoming party at the airport and our weekend in the mountains.

Our welcoming party in Roswell!

The cake from our Fiesta/Baby shower!
Kit partying it up at the Fiesta!

Stacy's family in Ruidoso, NM
The Kleins trying to stay warm in the mountains (there was snow, but it melted before we took the pictures).

3 months!

Jackson is a little over 3 months now and is quite the chunk! Everyone keeps asking "what are you feeding him?" We had him weighed and measured and he is over 19 lbs now! He is off the growth charts in weight and well above average in head size and body length. He is a growing boy that is for sure! His 6 month old clothes are getting pretty snug and mommy is looking forward to shopping for the big stuff for him when we get back to America. Here are some pictures that show his size. Mind the nudity!

Godzilla baby!

Big ol' hiney-ho! You can see my mullet-in-progress too!

AGM

We just got back from spending two and half weeks in Southern Thailand for our annual meeting. It was a lot different than last year since we had Jackson with us. Mom and Jackson had to fly down by ourselves which was a little difficult without dad. We survived though. Jackson didn't really like the change of day to day activity and really didn't like being in childcare. He refused to nap on days we put him in childcare so that made for some restless nights too. He got a lot better when mom just kept him out of childcare and kept him with her all day.

He got to see the beach for the first time, but no swimming just yet. He'll have to wait until this summer when we go to Mexico for his grandma's wedding. We enjoyed getting to see lots of friends that we have made while living overseas and it was sad to say goodbye to some we may never see again.

While we were down there, Jackson accomplished his first "roll". He went from tummy to back all by himself. I was able to capture his progress in some photos since it took him a while to actually do it. We also had a small dedication service at this meeting for all the new babies. We promised to raise him according to God's word and to teach him about Christ. He got a little certificate of dedication and his first New Testament. "Dedication" is the right word because that is what it is going to take for us to raise him "in the way of the Lord." But we are serious about doing so and take great joy in our responsibility to care for this sweet gift from God.

We leave in just a few days for America! While we have loved living in Thailand, we are overjoyed to get to see our family and friends and live close to most of them for a while. We're not sure what God has in store for our future yet, but we feel a peace about going home for a while and enjoying our family (and them enjoying Jackson). We are also really excited about the many "little conveniences" at home. Like Drive through food, big parking spaces, traffic that obeys the laws (for the most part), Walmart, frozen veggies, vacuum cleaner, washing machine/dryer, dish washer (oh yeah!), everyone speaks English, Sonic happy hour, Allsups burritos (that one is for Kit only!), being able to drink the tap water, hot water that doesn't run out, 4 seasons, and NO humidity!!! (no more afro for Stacy!). We hope to see you all soon!

Here are some pictures from our time at annual meeting.

Getting started
Here I go!
I made it over!

Getting ready and awake for my dedication