Fire Trucks & Tigers

Over the weekend we checked out the Open House at the Mequon Fire Dept. Jackson had a great time with all the fire trucks, rescue dogs and the helicopters. He didn't want to spray the fire hose but loved watching the remote control fire truck squirt all the kids with water. We also picked out his Halloween costume and he is going to be a tiger this year (not a Clemson Tiger). Enjoy the pics.

Go, Diego, Go

Well we've been here a week now and its finally starting to feel like Wisconsin . It was beautiful and in the 80's all weekend and then a front moved in and is making me reconsider our decision to move north, just kidding. We've had a pretty busy week. Our things arrived on Friday and we spent all weekend unpacking and still have boxes to go thru. We were hoping to fit at least one car in the garage but didn't realize how much stuff we actually had.

We took a few breaks from unpacking over the beautiful weekend and took Jackson to a couple of the local parks. There seems to be a lot more up here and they are all great. We went out to see Lake Michigan and were hoping to go down to the beach but this side of the lake is a lot different than the other side. Over here you have to go down a cliff instead of the dunes. We were in flip flops and had Jackson and after a few close calls decided that we'd try again another time or head up to Port Washington were it is more like Holland or GH, but without the dunes. On Sunday we took Jackson to Milwaukee to see Go, Diego, Go. He did really good but got really shy and covered his face when the audience sang or stood up to dance. When it was over he said it was "So much fun". Then we drove around a bit in Milwaukee, we checked out Miller Park and found the hospital then went back home to continue unpacking.

This week Brandon had to go back to work and that left Jackson and I on our own. I think I've done pretty good, I haven't gotten lost, but have had to call Brandon a few times to ask him where I was or how to get somewhere. Yesterday we went out and bought underpants for Jackson. We also bought a few toys and treats that we have in a bag in the bathroom. So if he goes on the potty he can pick out something from the bag. Sounded like a good idea, but so far he's gone through 8 prs and has yet to tell me he has to go. Any suggestions? The time change hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. I think it's the worst at night. We are all ready for bed between 8-9pm. The cable guy came by this morning and since we now have cartoons Jackson has been glued to the TV all morning. I'm going to try to pry him away to play a little before we try for a nap. Wish us luck on the potty training. I'm beginning to think that puppy pads aren't such a bad idea. I'll try to post again soon.

Birthday Party!!

We spent our last weekend in SC giving a late birthday party for Jackson. As you can see from the pictures the kids had a blast and it was a great to see all of our friends before we moved north. Then we started taking things off the walls and getting ready for the movers. We got Bubba's crate all ready for his trip and took Jackson's fish over to play with Pierce's fish. Then our wonderful neighbors invited us over for a real spanish paella dinner. It was fabulous!! I'm really am excited about the move but I'm going to miss so many people. We've made a lot of great friends over the year and a few of them are like family to us. Hopefully they will come and visit us in WI.

The next week will be very crazy and emotional. We woke up early again this morning. Then tried to get Bubba to take his pill, I needed a little help from Brandon on that.Then it was off to the airport. Jackson was good with them leaving, we've tried to explain what is going on and he knows that him and I are going to go on a plane in a few days and daddy is going to pick us up and we will go to our new house. His therapist should be here soon for his last session, that will be a sad one. We love her and will miss her terribly. The movers should be here shortly after that and will start packing. I'm a little nervous how Jackson will take it when they pack his toys but have tried to explain that too. We have a bag for the hotel and he has his Diego rescue pack full of toys for the plane. Jackson and I will stay at a hotel tonight and tomorrow night and then we fly out on Wed late morning. Our things should be in WI by Friday so Brandon took that day off. I'll post again once we get in and get settled. Until then wish us luck.

Auntie Heather!!

Auntie Heather flew in from Florida to visit and keep us company while Daddy is in Wisconsin getting the new place ready! We've had a busy couple of days; we started with the park yesterday and feeding the ducks & geese. Which scared Auntie Heather :). Then this morning we had to bring Bubba to the vet and he is now ready to fly. We then went to play at Monkey Joe's and had lots of fun. This afternoon we went to the Apple Farm and played with the baby animals...the cow mooed at us and Jackson loved it!! We also saw the donkey, goats and the baby pig named Wilbur! Tomorrow is a pretty slow day with a visit to the NS, just for a follow up from the CT scan a couple of weeks ago. And Friday we are planning to go to the ZOO!!! Such a fun week and Jackson is having so much fun with his Auntie Heather.

We've called the movers!

Well we've found a place to call home at least for the winter. We have decided to rent a townhouse in Mequon, this is where Brandon's office is, for 9 months and take the time to look for something more permanent. They will have the townhouse ready for us on the 24th and Brandon will be staying there at that time. The movers will be coming to pack everything else on Oct. 1st. They said they will need two days, one to pack and one to load then they are off to WI. When Brandon leaves here on the first we are planning for him to take Bubba and then Jackson and I will be leaving here on the third. Our stuff is scheduled to be there on the 5th. Hopefully it will be!

The First Week

The first week with daddy gone is finally coming to an end and we are soo excited to have him back! We've had a pretty busy week, it started with a trip to the pediatrician on Tues. Jackson is 37 3/4" inches tall, (which is in the 50th percentile), and weighs 25.6 lbs and all else checks out okay. Wednesday we went to Monkey Joe's with our friend Pierce. The boys jumped up and down and ran around until we were tired from watching them. Then we all went out for taco's for lunch. Later that night Jackson and I ran through the sprinkler and then ate some ice cream. Okay, we've had ice cream probably everyday since daddy's been gone, but who's counting. :). Thursday we had an early appt at the hospital to get a follow up CT and get some blood work done. It was a long morning and Jackson was NOT happy about any of it. Thursday night we went to the local HS football game with Pierce and his mommy and daddy. They have season tickets and the game was televised on Fox Sports Net. Jackson had fun watching all the excitement and the people. We left at half time and went home to bed, he fell right asleep. Today we went for a ride on a train at a local park and played on the playground and sandbox. After that we went home for lunch and some more ice cream then a nap. And we finished the week by going to Pierce's house and running in his sprinkler. Over all it was a pretty good week but we are looking forward to this weekend and spending some quality time with daddy.

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day! Hope you all had a great and relaxing holiday weekend. Things here have been nice a quiet for a couple of weeks. We've been trying to get things picked up and fixed up to put the house on the market which should happen this week.


Brandon left this morning for Wisconsin. He starts the new job tomorrow and wanted to get there early enough to drive around and get familiar with his new surroundings. He is staying at a Residence Inn near work and in his spare time he will be looking for a new place to call home. He called this evening and said it really reminds him of west michigan. It sounds like he really likes it and I'm looking forward to seeing it.


So far Jackson is doing okay with daddy being gone. He was great at the airport and saying goodbye until we got back to the car and I was driving home. Apparently it's not okay for mommy to drive daddy's car. He got over that and has only cried a couple of times for him. We are counting the number of sleeps before daddy will be home again. I'm not sure he really understands where he is but when asked he'll tell you that daddy rode an airplane and is looking for a new house. Health wise, he seems to be doing GREAT! He's pretty much doing everything he was before we went to the hospital. He's still a little shy and is very picky but doing good. We have a busy week ahead of us with Dr. appts, house inspections and meeting with the moving company but we are looking forward to this weekend when we get to see daddy again. We'll post again soon.

He's 3!!!

Jackson had his third birthday on Friday. We celebrated by taking him and his friend Pierce to Hollywild zoo (most of the animals have been in movies or commercials). The boys had a great time seeing, petting and feeding the animals. They also got to ride a train and a safari bus. With all the excitement and the heat Jackson fell asleep on the way home. For his birthday dinner he wanted sausage pizza, graham crackers and ketchup. Mmmmmm, delicious!! We put candles on his pizza since he's not a big cake eater and he blew them out. The neighbors came over after dinner to celebrate with birthday cake ice cream cones, he loves ice cream! We ended the day watching Tom & Jerry and then it was off to bed. Nana and Papa Barnett came in on Saturday afternoon and he spent the rest of the weekend showing off and playing with Lucy. What a great weekend!

PICC is Out

Just wanted to do a quick post and let you all know that the PICC line came out on Monday afternoon. No problems and he seems to be doing well. On Tuesday we had our most normal day yet and went to the pool. All of his neighborhood friends were there and happy to see him. He was a little shy at first but quickly came around. He has a new toy (thanks Eric) a powerwheels motorcycle that he likes to drive up to the playground & the pool. He's also been working on his golf game. We'll have to take him to play putt-putt again soon. We are getting ready for Nana and Papa Barnett to visit this weekend and he turns three on friday!

Home

We've been home now since Sunday afternoon and things seem to be going well. Jackson is pretty much back to his old self just a little slower, which isn't bad thing. As of right now, daddy is sleeping in Jackson's bed and Jackson is sleeping in our room with me. It allows daddy to get some sleep because Jackson is still waking up quite often and has to have meds at 4am. He gets the PICC line taken out on Monday and we may try to switch back then.

He's been starting the days good. When he wakes the indention in his head is full and hard to see. As the day progresses and he is up on his feet it returns and "sinks" in. This gets painful for him and he has to lay down. The NS said it is normal and the body will have to get use to a having a "bigger" head. Until then, he has to lay down when it becomes to much. When he lays down he is fine for the most part and wants to play. Every now and again it can be too much for him and we have to give him some meds for the pain.

Yesterday he drove his tractor to the playground. I tried to get him to ride in the stroller but he said he "needed" to ride the tractor. It's been insanely HOT down here and so we've been playing inside most of the time and watching movies when he has to lay down. The neighbor kids, Suzanne and Christopher came over last night to watch Tom & Jerry with him and he had a lot of fun playing with them. It was great to do something normal again.

I've posted a couple of pictures taken since we've been home. It'll be nice once he gets the PICC line out and can use both arms again.