Still here...

Hello! Again, I know many of you are wondering where I've been, considering I have so much more time on my hands... Well I'm actually MUCH busier now than ever! Hoping to calm down after the holidays, but we'll see!
To catch you all up to date,Dean came home on Saturday! Jax and I were actually out of town visiting Dad and Dixie, so we didn't get to see him till Monday. Dad and Dixie were more than happy to see us! The last time we saw them, was when they came to us a few months after Jax was born. It was a fun visit and of course we were equally spoiled. Nah, I take that back, Little Bit won that one.
After we left there, Dean drove down to Chattanooga and met us there, where we went to the TN Aquarium! It was awesome, and even more awesome cause there was no one there but us!!! Although I was a little sad because Jax didn't show as much interest in the aquarium or fish as he used to. He just wanted out and wanted to run!
Once we got home and settled, we got a bunch of scares! Jax came down with a ridiculous fever (which I'm positive came from his 1 year vaccinations on Tues). Then just as soon as we were preparing for that, we got a call from Dad that Dixie was in the ICU at UOA in Alabama. She had some bleeding on the brain, that originally was thought to be a ruptured brain annuerysm. Turns out it wasn't, even after the Dr's said it was. As of today they are still running tests and hopefully will find out tomorrow what caused it and why.
Now we are trying to get Jax up to par and just having family time and getting ready for more traveling before Dean goes back to work. We'll know more on when and where Monday so stay tuned. Jax is still really fighting this bug,(thank you Flu shots grr...) He's been miserable. Hardly eating, forcing fluids, can't sleep, doesn't wanna play, just no fun!

Hope you all are doing well! Please keep us as well as Dad and Dixie in your thoughts and prayers.
Love you,
Shylah, Dean and Jax

12 Months of Total Bliss...

Well sadly I have not been updating as much as I thought I would be once I stayed at home... I'll give you one reason why!!!! Jax has definitely kept me on my toes the last two weeks. I'll tell you! It's been so nice though being able to stay with him and really get to see how he is ALL the time, not just when Mommy's home. I've got my hands full for sure! =)

I can't believe Jax will be 1 tomorrow... I am excited, but of course sad at the same time. The last 364 days have flown by and yet, my itty bitty little boy,is such a big boy now. This year has been an absolutely thrilling and outstanding year, I just can't believe it's gone by so fast. Thankfully, I've taken the time to enjoy it. I haven't been as surprised at the things he has done as I thought I would be, because I waited for it, and embraced each milestone as it came. Some of the things that he has done, came a little faster than I actually was ready for, like walking, and teething haha, but I've been amazed each step, and am more proud of him than I can express. Jax has completely changed our lives by making it more challenging, but so much more enjoyable at the same time. Dean and I always joked about how our lives would be so boring if we didn't have our farm, and since we had Jax we couldn't imagine how our lives would be without him.

Walking upstairs to take a shower and having to throw about 5 things out of the tub, pulling toys out of the dishwasher, making everything in the house go a little bit higher up, and a little farther in on the shelves, pulling the smallest things out of his mouth, dropping the crib a little lower every other month, etc... all of which are completely normal we were told, and thankfully we've never taken it for granted. I know now that he's mobile, we're really in for it, but now that I have the time to be with him, I'm hoping I can stay one step ahead of him.

When we first brought Jax home, we were so surprised and still in shock that he was here so early, that we missed all the "what if's" and never really got to reflect on how fortunate we were to actually have him home. I get really choked up some days, now reflecting on how absolutely blessed we were to not have him in the NICU, that he didn't have a single thing wrong with him, and that he is completely healthy. I remember the Dr. telling us that our little 4lb, 11oz baby was the healthiest baby in the nursery that day. Every time I hear someone making a comment about how small he is, it's hard not to rattle everything off about his history, so I usually stop myself and just smile knowing that he is so amazing, just little! All of the milestone's he has hit, that we were told he would be months behind, and he was doing right when his age said he would, we celebrated a little more,thinking, yeah... we've got a super baby!!!

Jax is just now starting to wear 6-9 months clothes, size 2 diapers, and still has his original carseat. He got to enjoy his swing up to 10 months only because he could climb out, and still enjoys his bouncer, all of which most babies outgrow in less than 6 months. He has 7, almost 8 teeth pushed through the gums, is walking/running, and only crawling when he falls. He can say Mama, Dadda, Buh-Bye, and No, along with his fully "matter of fact" sentences and other normal baby blabber. He understands what No means, although shakes his head and points and tells YOU no, then smiles and waits for a reaction. He has had only one fever, that lasted less than 12 hours, has never gone to the doctor other than his normal check-up's, and knock on wood, has not had any type of injury other than bumps from being clumsy. He is already off his pacifier (4 months ago),only sucked his thumb for one week, can already kinda use a straw, can drink from a sippy cup, (although he doesn't understand the concept of tipping it up), and has been eating adult "table" food since he was 9 months old. He started climbing stairs at 10 months old, has already figured out how to "safely" climb down, can get up and off the couch, and almost off the bed. This of course if just a summary. There are so many other amazing things that he does and can do, but for the sake of you all, I will stop there. =)

Looking at Jax right now figuring out what in and out means, playing contently in a laundry basket with a shampoo bottle, and being with Dean, and as a family, I realize how truly blessed my life is. The last year hasn't come without it's trying times for us, but because of our Faith, our Love and our Trust in each other, not to mention our amazing family and friends who have helped out so much, we've made it work.

I know that many of you wish you could be here with us tomorrow to celebrate Jaxon's birthday, and the holidays, but we will hopefully be having post birthday parties once we are back home to make up for it. Jax has already gotten the best birthday present that anyone can give him by seeing his Daddy yesterday!

Hopefully I'll have pictures tomorrow to post for you all to see and share. We're planning on taking him to a little version of Chuck E. Cheese's over at the mall, and just need to figure out chocolate vs. vanilla cake, pick up the "1" candle and some balloons!!!!

Now I'm off to cuddle my 11 month old...

Love you all!!

Shylah

Jax reuniting with Daddy!!!

I can not begin to describe how amazing this was to me yesterday. I had to hold Jax back once he heard Dean's voice, so that I could get it on video, and he just took off. This is the first time Dean has EVER seen Jax walk besides videos, and the first time Jax has walked to his Daddy! I didn't cry until later because I was in such awe of how Jax would't let Dean put him down, or anything. He didn't want anything to do with me once we were all together. =)

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Love you all

Shylah, Dean and Jax

Who knew a box could be so fun...

and some more walking...

Last one that I have for now... he was sitting in his seat, but you can't see because he stood up to walk and stayed standing for a while before we recorded... After he's done, he then proceeds to beat me over the head... hahaha... funny on the video but not so funny since it's everytime he get's excited!!!!
Enjoy!

More walking...

Here is another one. In this one he walks from the coffee table to me. Then crawls away...

I'm walkin' yes indeed I'm walkin'...

Lady's and Gentlemen... we have a walker on the lose! Yay for Jaxon! He's been taking wibblely wobbely stops up until now... Sharon brought him Dean's old chair (it's so little and perfect for him), and he's been sitting in that, then standing, then walking!!!!! Yes sir!

I'm absolutely thrilled! Now I know that as far as him being on the go walking, that might be a while away, but it's so exciting. Dean gave me permission to not hold him back, so I don't feel quite as bad, but still wish he could be here with us. I really want the "walk to me" moments between Dean and I - but maybe we'll be able to perfect that in just a few weeks! =)

Love Shylah, Dean and Jax!

Jax-O-Lanterns...

Since this is our first Halloween with Jax, I decided to carve pumpkins after-all. I wanted to have Jax help me, and possibly paint the baby pumpkin, but I didn't feel that was a good idea, so Jax quietly played under my feet while I carved these two...
I'll tell you what... Mom, DJ... It takes more to cutting the top off then I remember... I really could have used Dean last night! I also remember the pumpkin scooping process a lot messier, and gunky... I hardly had any seeds from the two - I am going to try and attempt to make pumpkin seeds, so I guess I'll have a good trial before I buy another pumpkin for more seeds...
It was fun doing these two, although I messed up my big one... I wanted to make fangs, but of course I cut straight across on the bottom, so I ended up shoving the eyes in his mouth to make fangs of some sort... I'll call him my redneck pumpkin since his teeth are hardly in... haha. The Jax-o-Lantern, was equally challenging. I too messed that one up by cutting the "A" completely out, which also messed up my "X", but was able to (impatiently) put it all back together. The actual carving on that one only took about 5 mins, but then I spent another 45 mins, trying to get the triangle in the A to hang... and then fix the X side. I used sewing needles since I didn't have toothpicks lying around... I pity the teenager that try's to mess with my son's pumpkins this year... (Hopefully no one will, but I've seen smashed pumpkins in our neighborhood before). If you don't know where to grab, the needles, all 4 of them will poke you, and it hurts like hell... I contemplated putting a sign by them that said "these are the pumpkins for my 1 year olds 1st Halloween, touch them, I'll kill you..." but decided if one of them ended up shot dead or something in the "hood" I didn't want the cops banging on my door. Lol! 

 I think they turned out pretty neat! I still have to pick up some candles to use, since I ended up shoving bday candles in the base and lighting them. Well the big one, I had a big candle in it... but I didn't want to leave it in there.

Carving pumpkins, baking and spoiling an almost walking little boy this week was so much fun. Of course I wish Dean were here to help and enjoy it all, but hopefully I'm doing a good job of keeping him included by videos and pictures! =)

Love you,

Shylah and Jax

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

Poor Dean! The weather has finally hit in Williamsport, PA! He called me yesterday saying that it was starting to snow, (and of course me being me, thought Dean was probably over exaggerating, and thinking more on the lines of what he consideres snow in TN) Haha - well guess not. He left work yesterday night, and there was about 2 1/2 inches on his truck and ground, and then this is a picture from this morning when he got up on the mountain. I feel bad, especially knowing his idea of snow and the reality of where he is at - You don't get snow days in PA! I asked him if they would be working today, and he said "Yup, it's not lightning". Typically that is all that they stop work for, lightning and/or high winds that make the building of the windmills too dangerous. So be sending your warm thoughts his way. At his house and off the mountain, it's not too bad, however being on the mountain, and then climbing the towers has to be pretty miserable. =( I am looking all over the place for chains and snow tires for him, and hopefully will find something that will work for his truck, and can be delivered, as they have been working every day for the past 2 weeks. I wish I were there now, I would make sure he had a full thermos of coffee/hot chocolate to last the day, and little hand warmers to keep him cozy...

Me personally, I am excited about the thought of snow. I love wearing sweaters and bundling up, but of course that hasn't happened in two years. I am just now wearing short sleeves vs. tank tops - and can finally wear jeans without rolling them up to my knees! Plus the idea of Jaxon all bundled in a cute little snowsuit makes me giggle, along with itty bitty little mittens on his little hands! =)

Well off to enjoy my 50 degree weather! Hope you all have a great day!

-Shylah, Jax and a very cold Dean...

Jaxon and the Great Pumpkin...

Yay!!! We started a new tradition!!!! I am pleased to let you all know that I officially went to my first pumpkin patch with Jax!!!! (I really wish Dean could have been there - but next year he will!!!) It was SO much fun, and Jax loved it! I decided to go, and then ended up meeting my friend Tammy and her family there, so we all had fun, and Jax and I were able to take a few pictures together instead of just him! We watched pig races (heehee), and went on a hay ride, and rode a tractor, and ate fresh popcorn, played in the corn mazes, and bounced on this huge bouncy balloon called the "Corn Popper" - no pictures of that though since I guess all the pictures had a nice view of my butt hanging out... =( Hahaha...

It was so much fun, and despite the weather forecast, it was absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to go again next year as a family, and have Dean get to share in the fun... but until then, here are some pictures! Jax picked out his own pumpkin, then I bought another one to go next to his on the porch... Still not sure what I'll carve, I might just paint Jaxon's since it's little, and that way maybe Jax can actually help! I'm going to try and upload the pictures a different way. They should appear in a slide show to the right of this page... If they don't we'll figure it out another way!

Hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I did capturing them!!! Happy Fall and almost Halloween!

Jove Shylah, Dean and Jaxon!!!!

Well folks...

I am officially in move-out mode here at work. It's bittersweet in the sense that I am finally getting to do what I've dreamed about doing since the second Jax was born, but at the same time, I'm extremely scared. I am not going to know what to do with myself come Nov. 1st. I'm sure really it'll be more like Nov. 11th, when I realize I quit my job and I don't have to go back. I'm hoping to leave the ole' job on good graces, and some day if I need it, be able to come back. I've got a lot of well wishers hoping Dean and I the best, and lots of "please come backs!!!" from some of my counter parts in our Home Office's so that is a nice note to go out on.

I'm just cleaning up my cubical, and going through folders and folders and folders of documents, and notes, and emails, and and and... I'm also creating a "will" for all my coworkers, and will be having an auction for all the stuff I bought and use here to make my job easier...

On top of getting ready here at work, I'm also trying to get some stuff cleared out at home. If I downsize now, when it's time to move we'll have so much less to go through. I've been trying to tackle on spot at a time vs. one room at a time, so that I don't get carried away with something I might actually want/need later. The garage is slowly becoming my main target, as all the stuff I throw out there is literally thrown, and I can no longer call it a garage... it's more like a black hole. I'm scared to go out there every morning to get the dogs food. We plan on moving with as little as possible, and hoping in each new place we call home we can find either furnished living, or buy only what we need (bed, tv, table). All I plan on taking is a few items... (one couch, Jaxon's room, hope chest dad built, maybe the coffee table and that's pretty much it) So I've got a lot of work to do once I am through here and back from visiting Dean! =)

Other than that - life is good. Extremely blessed to have so much help with family and friends with Jaxon. Less than 20 days to go and I am so excited!!!! I've got to plan my trip to see Dean, plan Jaxon's first bday (which I think we're gunna have 3 mini parties) and then start the tedious task of actually getting the house ready which included a few cosmetic repairs and then redoing our master bath... **sigh**

Well just thought I would post a little something other than Jax for once... =) Although that post will come this weekend. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week! Be safe and take care!

Love you!

Shylah, Dean and Jax

Part 2...

And one more for ya...

Walking walking walking....

Won't be long everyone... I've actually got video of him walking all by himself, but we figured we would try and get some on my phone and send it... Sorry if they don't straighten out some. Won't be long till he's mowing the lawn! =)

Family Portraits... (finally)

Well Dean came home to visit us over the weekend! We had two full days of family time, and just hanging out. It was so nice, and Dean got to sleep in his own bed!!! While he was here, we decided to go and get some quick pictures made up! Since he's been gone, we no longer have pictures of us. It's all Jax since no one is there to take the other's picture!!!! These are just the "negative" pictures, I guess - We won't get the enhanced ones till Oct. 5th. But I figured I would share with you all before then!

We love you all and hope you are doing well!!!

Xoxoxo - Shylah, Dean and Jax!

Now I lay me down to sleep...

Sunday night proved too much for Jaxon after a loooooong day of cranky-ness. Poor baby. I was sitting right there as he pulled a "Grandpa" nodding off, then "What, what? I'm awake", then back to nodding off. Finally he fell asleep, and I let him hahaha... I left him there for about 10 mins, then took him upstairs to bed, only then was he WIDE awake, and up for two more hours!

I pray the Lord my soul to keep...

Sweet Nashings...

Wow! Nash allowed this! On his bed at that. Good puppy! :-) Nash has not been so thrilled about Jax ever since he came along. Of course he has to fight for attention between baby and him, and so he rarely even bats an eye at Jax... so that fact that Jax crawled to Nash and then proceeded to sit on him, and Nash let him shocks me!

Continuation...

Well Jax has continued to use the voice he learned he has... and for some ODD reason =), has decided that "Dada" is the new word of choice... only when he's yelling though. He's also discovered, kitchen's and bathroom's are where he get's the most reaction, as that is where he is by far the loudest! This was last night, and Mom was outside with the dogs barking, and she heard him screaming and yelling Dada all the way outside. Of course, I missed it when he was really yelling, after all I was trying to get him bathed...

**Just a side note: Ya'll do know, that for the record he said Mama first... just saying!

Xoxoxo
Shylah

Jax discovered Toilet Paper...

Toilet Paper! Unrolled, shredded, and then eaten by Jaxon! Part goat, part cat, part boy! This was at 5:30 am this morning!!!! (Yeah we both went to sleep at 8:00 - so we were well rested!)

-Shylah

Mama say mama... No DADA!

This was Jaxon's first yelling conversation. I have a feeling we'll see many more of these days ahead!!!! He's been saying Dada and Mama along with various other words of his own language "Jaxonese", however this is by far the loudest I've ever heard my monster!

Meet Frogg...

Everyone, meet Frogg! After 9 1/2 months of sneaking Frogg into Jaxon's crib, nights of "Oh my gosh, we left him downstairs", and "turn around, we left Frogg at home", all while Jax was completely oblivious to what we were doing, he's finally caught on that Frogg is his lovey, comfort, and snuggle buddy. It's really been the last week that he's cuddled up when he was tired and wanted a nap, that instead of fussing or running to me, he went and found Frogg and laid down with him. I figured now would be a good time to introduce him.


Frogg was a present given to Jax from Carolyn Epps, Michael's mom. I fell in love instantly. When I was prego, I was searching frantically for a blanket that had some sort of unique stuffed animal to it. All I ever found were bears, dogs and ducks... all of which are perfectly fine, I just wanted something a little more unique, and something that wouldn't get mixed up at daycare. I begged Carolyn for about 2 months straight to please make me one, and due to time and her pain tolerance when sewing, she opted to look extra hard for a special one. Well she did and I absolutely love it. So does Jax!!!! It's just a simple blanket made locally in WA State, that has blue and white pin stripes on one side, and a velour feeling fabric with a Frog's head on the other... It's so soft and snuggly. I often wondered when people would question why my child was naked, but wrapped in an extremely warm blanket in the winter, instead of clothed with no blanket, and why we always had it in tow for even a quick trip to the store. (All that know Jax, know he's a heater and you can't have a fully clothed and bundled blanketed Jax!) Hahaha. See people, I have my reasons...

Frogg met Jaxon in the hospital, we brought our special blanket for bringing him home in, and threw in Frog for whatever our reason was at the time. We forced Frogg to sleep with Jax at every nap, in the swing, in the car, in the bed and in the crib... Every time we went somewhere, so did Frogg. We tried an actual stuffed animal, and he liked Geroff, the Giraffe when he was a little bit younger, but now, when holding the two of them, he doesn't even bat an eye to Geroff... kind of sad, but we were much more persistent with Frogg. Part of me wants to pout, that in the past week he'd rather have a blanket to cuddle with instead of me or Dean, but then again, it does give me a break!!! And as I've also found out this week, that when he doesn't feel good and really wants comfort he still comes to Mommy.

When Jax is fussy, all I have to do is hold up Frogg, drop it on the ground, and Voila! He's happy, although he gets mad immediately when he can't figure out how to crawl and take Frogg with him. I've also crossed a dilemma of when to wash Frogg. Since it's been a constant in the past week, this also includes eating, playing with him after eating and before washing, and on the road, which almost always has some sort of food included... therefore Frogg gets dirty, grimy and needs to be washed. So when do you wash your child's beloved toy, blanket or whatever? It's obviously NOT during the day when at any moment your child wants to take a nap and won't when it's not there... Lol... I learned that today... and boy did I pay for it!

So everyone, now you've met Frogg... =) Hope this brief but necessary introduction floods your memory of days when your child or children had their "Frogg" and puts a smile on your face

Xoxoxo

Shylah, Jax and Frogg!

The making of a windmill...

Here are some of things that Dean is doing... Now I am probably going to mess up half of this, but I'll try my best to get it right...

Here is a crane lifting and putting the "nacelle" on the base. The base is 300 ft high, and the nacelle, I am not sure how big it is, but it's huge. The base is about the size of a 2 car garage, and then goes all the way up with a lone silver ladder that Dean is now climbing... Scary huh!?!?!? The nacelle is bigger than that, and is the brains of the windmill... it holds the motors, and also is where the fans, blades or the windmill thingy attaches to.

Here is another view of the base and the nacelle...

Here are some that they have already put up and are running. This is obviously from a distance, so you can't quite tell how big they are...

This is a really pretty picture, and I assume what Dean sees on a daily basis since they are working so late each night. Again not a close up, but still amazing. Dean told me last night, that each of those blades are 125 ft, 40 yards... yeah imagine a running back running the length of these at 40 yards, and it's pretty impressive. Cherie was telling me today that to assemble just one windmill it takes 12 semi trucks to bring in all the pieces and just one blade is considered a wide load for a semi.

Today Dean got to climb all the way up one, and sit on top of the nacelle... Scary... yeah, he called me from the top of it... I yelled and he laughed and reassured me how big they were... He said the view was breathtaking. I can only imagine.

I think on Thursday, Cherie and I are going to drive up to where they work, and see if we can get a view.

Well off to feed the Micro and take a nap. Love you all!

Update: he just sent me these from the top of the nacelle, so not only is he calling and talking on the phone while on these things, he's also taking pictures... LOVELY!!!!

The third one shows the lake that is up there. That is pretty cool! All of these are amazing... But the last one would make me vomit to look down and see that! Yikes!!!!

Mindless Monday...

Jax fast asleep in the laundry basket. 1. I didn't want to leave him alone on the bed while I was making dinner and 2. He was climbing in it already... =) He's absolutely LOVING Daddy's house and seeing Dean!!!!! He's figured out this apartment like the back of his hand. The nice thing about this place, is there isn't a lot that he can get in to, so it's pretty much baby proofed. He does laps in this place!

Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Well we FINALLY got to Pennsylvania. We got here around 6:30 last night. The trip was long, but all in all in wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... Now I do have to do this again in 5 days, and by myself this time instead of having help from Cherie with Jax. So we'll see how that goes. We stopped after 5 hours of driving on Friday and stayed the night in Cincinnati. Jax wasn't too fond of the drive on Friday and after about an hour of Jax screaming in the backseat, I thought
Cherie and I were both going to blow a gasket and give up. I fought back and knew it would be better to get ahead so we wouldn't be getting here at midnight on Saturday. Glad we did that because we only had to wait one hour to see Dean! On Saturday the drive up was really pretty... not a whole lot different from what I've seen traveling every where else in life... but you know... Jax figured out really fast that sleeping was the best way to pass travel time, and pretty much slept the entire way. He slept for a good 2+ hours then we stopped right after we got into Ohio, ate, fed the baby etc... then hit the road again. Jax was asleep again in about 20 mins and slept hard that time... he woke up playing and singing, and we only had to stop once more on my behalf! Really hoping he does that again when I leave on Friday!

After we got here, I was quite impressed by my home away from home. Yeah, I keep saying Dean's house... but I was quickly corrected, that Dean's house and my house are the same house, so really, I have two homes... Yeah you know... that's how we do it. =) It's gorgeous. Cherie and Vito are right across the hall, and Cherie promised me that she would take care of Dean from now on, at least on the feeding front. Yeah poor guy... I walked in and all he had in the cupboards were Spaghetti O's, bread, and chips... fridge consisted of Eggs, expired Milk, and two condiments... (Thanks Cherie in advance!) The apartment Dean is staying in is very nice. It's not huge, but it's not a dinky little space either. It's fully furnished, so it feels homey. All Dean had to do was put up a few Titans things, pictures of us and a blanket that reminded him of Jax on the bed. This house has reconfirmed my love for Victorian Style homes, and definitely added it as a must when we finally buy another home. The kitchen is so cute, and overlooks the park across the street... all minus the kitchen cupboards, it's perfect. The cupboards are painted Husky colors, Anyways, Dean seems to really like it here. We went and drove around the town today, still have some exploring to do, but there's a ton of extra people and traffic to avoid with the Little League World Series going on about 5 miles away. It's pretty exciting all that this town does for it. We went to Denny's this morning for breakfast and got to see a bunch of little leaguers all decked out. Too cute.

Today we've just relaxed and have been spending some time together. Tomorrow Cherie and I will have a lot of time to figure out the rest of the town, clean the house, grocery shop, etc... =)

FYI... Dean just bought a computer today, so he will be able to check emails, and keep ya'll in the loop of how he is doing. Just don't expect something right away, as Sunday's are about his only free time... and of course, we come first! =)

Love you all, and will post pictures when I get home.

Xoxoxo

Shylah, Dean and Jax

Counting down the days...

Till we see Dean!!!! We drive up on Saturday morning! Cherie, Jax and I will be driving for a long time, so please be thinking of us starting very early to very late... It's a 12+ hour drive straight through, so of course tack on 2+ more hours for feedings, bathroom and diaper breaks, and time for Jax to get out of his seat and play...

P.S. - I know I promised lots of pictures from my trip to WA almost a month ago... there are so many of those that I am compiling them into an album to post on here... I will put them up, and it's almost done... just few more days... =) So much to catch everyone up on... but that's the life of a single parent right now loll... not a lot of computer time except for here at work!

Love you!
Shylah

Yay it's almost football season!!!!

Clearly he was excited as we geared up to watch the first PreSeason game of 2009!!! Go Titans!

A World of Changes...

Hello all... well I'm pretty sure all of you now know that Dean took the job with Turner Brothers and on Sunday he left, and is now up in Pennsylvania. He'll be working there, we're thinking for the next 8-10 months. While he is up there, Jax and I will be holding the fort down in Nashville and I will continue working for the next few months until we can go up there with him. We are learning new details as we get them, so for the first project, it's all a guessing game. (For those that didn't know, Dean will be working as a QC Lead on QC Operations Team. What he is working for is a crane and rigging company that helps with the erection of Windmills, and other various things. Vito, Jaxon's Godfather works for Turner Brothers, and has been in the business for years now, and extended the opportunity to Dean. It's a contractor for the major companies that are putting up all the windmill farms around the states. With that, we would be moving project to project, state to state).

The good news is, is I will be able to stay with Jax once I quit here at Unum. It's actually sad because I'll be leaving my family here at work, however, the one thing I know for certain I can do better than anything, is raise my family!!!! I'll be a stay at home mom, and Dean will be the working man. I'll still have a job ahead of me. Once we find out where the next project is, it then becomes my job to hunt for housing, recreational things, moving, etc... So noneoftheless, I'll still have a job, just with the luxury of having Jax in tow.

Another thing with this move, is that I'll have free time once we are situated and will be able to visit more often than I do now. We are very excited about this job opportunity for Dean and the future it holds for us. If all goes well, and Dean does a great job - which we know he will... this could possibly be the company Dean retires with. With the economy in the state that it's in, and the fact that renewable energy is taking a precedence over any other projects going on in our country, it's a great foot in the door and opens a whole bunch more down the road!

Along with all this excitement comes some down falls too. Dean is going to be working anywhere from 60-90+ hours a week for starters... I know! That is going to be Dean's challenge. My challenges are going to be working full time (either 60-90 days - pending Dean's benefit start date), being a single mom, taking care of the house, the bills, the animals, etc, etc... I am very blessed to have help from so many friends and family, and I will definitely be taking anyone up on additional help! =) For the first two weeks, Sharon, Dean's mom will be staying with us and watching Jax while I am at work. We've called several daycare centers, and they are not willing to take him short time, and if they would, they would still charge me the full price and full month even if I were to take a week off to see Dean. August 13-15, I will be in TX hopefully winning a singing competition, and then I'll be back home and working for a week before Jax and I plan to go up and see Daddy!!!! The hardest part of our new journey is going to be Jaxon's feelings, and reaction to everything. It's day two that Dean's been gone, and so far, Jax is just a little confused as to why he hasn't seen Daddy, but hasn't been upset. Once he figures out what is going on, and that he won't see Daddy every day, then we'll have an issue, but so far so good! We've got lots of picture books with Jax and Dad everywhere, as well as a very sweet and funny video Dean recorded for Jax to watch to hopefully cheer him up! We also plan, with Dean's first paycheck, to buy a good computer for him that has a camera/video and then one for us at home to use with Skype or some other video broadcast so that Dean doesn't miss too much!

It might be a rough few years living the "military life", but we figured this would be the best time now while we have babies (pets included), to make the jump, and set ourselves up for the future. Once we have kid(s) in school, then we will reevaluate our situation and see if it's feasible to keep moving, and stay in the same spot. Cherie and Vito have been living this life for a few years together now... Since Dean is being mentored by Vito - at least we won't be moving to a bunch of new towns alone. We're hoping that the jobs Vito get's called on, he will take Dean with him... therefore when he get the news of a new project date, I will have experienced help in playing our next move... It will also be comforting to not walk into a new city knowing that Dean will be working a lot of hours, and for me, not knowing a soul, I'll have Cherie there with me. (BTW - most of these towns are podunk, out in the middle of nowhere, lol - so she will very much be a nice thing to have around!) All in all, we are soooo excited about this opportunity and the future it holds for us.

I will be a lot more needy I am sure in the next few months, so if I call on you as family and friends for support, please do. I'll need a lot of lifting, motivating and reassurance during this time.

We Love you all - and are so happy to share this news with you!

Xoxox
Shylah, Dean, Jax (and the farm)

I can stand!!!!

Well Jaxon has officially figured out how to climb, squat and stand! He's been doing it now for the past few days. It actually started with the dog cages, then he forgot he could do it, and figured it out in a few days later... In the crib, then he found the couch, then he found the chair, and the bouncer, and the stairs... Of course we watch him and can't leave him alone now... =)

Yes he fell! I missed him standing...

Happy 4th of July!!!!

Well our first 4th of July with Jax was an interesting one this year. Gone are the days (for now) of relaxing and enjoying the show. I was more concerned with how loud the fireworks were for Jax, and making sure I was watching his cues and making a big fuss with my "oohs and aghs" for him to catch on - but he didn't seem to care. It was a torrential down pour which made for an interesting night. Jax was more impressed with the rain and the chore it was to keep him dry! He was the only one that stayed dry thanks to clever coordination and Aunt Rachels one and only umbrella. =) We stopped by Graham and showed him off! No one cared we had a baby in a bar, or cared to say hi to Dean and I, they were only interested in the Micro. It was fun to actually show him off and not just share pictures. It was a great weekend with family and friends. Now we are tidying up the house and trying to get some much needed R&R. Hope everyone had a safe weekend. We love you!

Jax and the Johnny Jumper...

This is Jax in his Johnny Jumper (Jump&Go) that my co-worker Wil got him... Poor thing is 7 1/2 months old and can't even fit in this thing... we had to take it down because his arms aren't higher than the seat top... =( It works good as a swing though lol... *sigh* maybe he'll be able to fit in it later this summer...

Goober wearing Uncle DJ's stolen hat!!!! Can't wait to see everyone! I'm counting the days down!!!

Well Shucks...

I'm not certain when I'll be getting photo's to you, either on here or by email. My lovely hubby decided it was a good idea to wash the camera... (I'm still clueless as to how that happened...)

Anyways, we are looking on ebay, craigslist, etc... for a used camera since this is NOT the time to be camera less... We've got so many things coming up, not to mention a very photogenic little boy that loves his picture being taken - so hopefully we can find something soon!!!!

In the meantime we do have our cell phones to take pictures - so we'll try to make sure we get those posted sometime.

Hope you all have a great weekend and a Happy 4th of July!!! We love you!

Shylah, Dean and Jax!!!

Welcome to my world...

Well here I am! A working mom, who has no desire to do anything else but be a mom and a wife... yes I am officially blogging. I am mostly doing this for all of my family and friends that are not here with us locally as a way to stay connected with our family and theirs.
With that said - ShylahsWorld - A Day in the Life - can now be yours as well. A friend referred me to this website - and let me know that it's not a myspace, or facebook, or a twitter, etc... etc... it's merely a place where I can publish news, thoughts, stories and who knows - I've heard of authors getting their starts after people following their blogs... I've always like the thought of being a writer/author for something...
As an introduction, my goals with this page are to do all the above. I want to post major events that happen in my life for those of you to share with me... like the fact that Jaxon just downed about 9 oz. of water/juice in maybe 2 mins. It's hot hot hot here - and boy does he feel it too... I'm going to hate my electric bill this month - but I definitely can't live without the ac and neither can Jax! I plan on posting pictures and videos on here - and that way all you can see what Jax is doing! =)
I'm not 100% familiar with this website - I'll be learning as I go, but I do believe you can subscribe to any new post's and/or blogs and that way when I update something you will be notified!
I love you all and wish I could be there with you in person to share my new life - but thanks to modern day technology, I can come close!!!!

-Shylah