Updates galore....

Jackson had his 15 month well-baby check-up on Wednesday. He weighed 25lbs, 8oz and was 31.5 inches long. His head circumference was 47.5 centimeters. All of his percentiles were over the 50th percentile (I think they were 58, 63 and 66 respectively). He received FOUR vaccinations: DTaP, Prevnar, Varicella and Influenza. Those were rather difficult but at least I know he is now protected. He received 2 in each arm and at the end of the 4th one, he was starting to hyperventilate (I kid you not). I am unsure why the nurse gave him the vaccinations in his tricep; usually the thigh is muscle of choice. Apparently giving the vaccinations in the tricep is much more painful than the thigh and I think this is why he experienced greater pain this time. Jackson obviously did not feel very well for quite a few days after the vaccinations. He hasn't been feeling great anyway due to the fact that he has 3 molars erupting. I've given him Ibuprofen as needed and so far, that has definitely helped.

We are now in the process of taking his pacifier away. He absolutely loves it but the pediatrician noticed his upper right front tooth is leaning forward and believes this is from the pacifier usage. Being the dental hygienist I am, I freaked so it is now our mission to wean him of needing it. I waited a few days to get through the vaccinations but the time has come. We can either get rid of it cold turkey or start cutting the tip of the pacifier. We chose the latter and in a few days, we'll cut the pacifier nipple a little bit more. Every few days, you cut it just a bit more until they don't receive the satisfaction because the nipple is irregularly-shaped. I've read that this is a great way of weaning pacifier usage so hopefully it'll work for us. I can already tell that Jackson HATES the tip being cut off and he definitely takes the pacifier out and looks at it to figure out what is wrong with it. Let's pray for an easy weaning process!

I had my OB appt on Friday. I've gained 11 pounds and my blood pressure was great! I took the glucose test and find out the results tomorrow. Actually, if I don't hear from the OB's office, I passed. Praying for no phone call obviously! They found out that I have some sort of bacterial infection so I am currently on an antibiotic. It's just a 3-day antibiotic, a minor bacterial infection so no need to worry. All should be well in a few days! I start seeing the OB every 2 weeks now, which is kind of a pain. I don't recall beginning bi-monthly visits with Jackson until I was further along.....around 32 weeks. Oh well! Here is a 27 week belly picture:


Dan leaves for his carrier qualifications on Thursday evening. He actually is leaving with the aircraft carrier, which will pull out of port on Friday morning. He is spending the night on the carrier Thursday night. We had a 4D ultrasound scheduled for Friday afternoon but obviously that will have to be cancelled. We're hoping we can reschedule for this Wednesday, Halloween. If we are able to reschedule it, I'll post the pictures of Baby Girl Peters as soon as possible.

We also went to Picture People on Friday and took professional pictures of Jackson & Daniel in their flight suits. You may ask -- Jackson....flight suit?? We purchased a flight suit for Jackson for Halloween. He's dressing up as his Daddy for Halloween. I knew as soon as I bought the flight suit that we'd have to get professional pictures taken. Picture People actually asked us to fill out a model release form because they are going to advertise the first picture below in their studio. They also wanted to use it as an advertisement this weekend at the Norfolk Zoo. Apparently they had some Halloween festival at the Norfolk Zoo this weekend and various businesses had tables/exhibits set up for advertisements. So, Picture People wanted to use one picture for it (especially since Hampton Roads is 75% military). The pictures are available for viewing online but they are thumbnail-sized -- I've already contacted the company about why I can't view them larger. Anyway, here are the pictures -- sorry for the color distortion due to scanning (remember to click on the picture for a larger, clearer photo):







Just please keep Dan in your prayers this week as he prepares for and starts his carrier qualification landings (Friday/Saturday). He's a little anxious about them, rightly so! Dan should return from the aircraft carrier on next Monday/Tuesday. As soon as I hear from him, I'll pass the word and keep everyone posted!

A new blog....

I promise this one will stay. And the best part -- I can always make it password-protected if I feel the need to do so again. I'll try to update it once a week but it's tough to sometimes find the time. So bear with me.....

Most of you all know that we're pregnant again. Baby #2! Ready or not, here she comes. Totally unplanned but we're happy nonetheless. I'm almost 27 weeks. I guess 27 weeks marks the beginning of the 3rd trimester. Can't believe I'm already in the 3rd trimester!? Time flies!

Dan is practicing his carrier landings. In a couple weeks, he'll be doing real landings on the carrier at night. Thus, they are practicing like crazy at night so that he will become more "comfortable" with night landings. Strange -- I don't think anyone ever will feel comfortable landing a multimillion dollar jet onto an aircraft carrier, in the pitch-black dark, in the middle of ocean. Nevertheless, family day was on Friday. My parents, Jackson and I all went out to the outlying airfield (where they practice the landings) and took pictures of Dan flying, landing, etc. I also took a couple videos of him.
Here are some of the pictures (remember, you can click on the picture to enlarge it):
















And a couple videos:



Dan, Jackson and I also went to the Navy football Homecoming game this weekend. It was fun but definitely exhausting for us all. Not sure I want to do it again at 6.5 months pregnant AND with a 15 month old. We're still trying to catch up on our lost sleep. We got up early on Saturday morning, around 4:50AM, promptly left at 6:15AM and arrived in Annapolis around 10AM. We tailgated, went to the game, tailgated a bit more, went out to dinner and finally hit the sack around 11PM. Jackson gave into his exhaustion during the 3rd quarter of the football game. He slept in my lap for 45 minutes or so; however, he didn't fall asleep again until after we arrived at the hotel following dinner (around 9:30-10PM). It was a late night for him!

The next day, Dan took Jackson and I around the Naval Academy. We took a bunch of pictures of Jackson running around. I took as many as I could but my batteries were drained from all the carrier landing pics and videos from Friday.
Some pictures to share:




Jackson pointing to the Herndon monument:




A good family picture, except for the obvious:


Jackson pointing to the squirrel (he chased it shortly thereafter):


Jackson, pointing yet again, to the painted Tecumsah monument:


In front of Bancroft Hall:


We stopped by Mary Rose & Woody's home on the way back to Chesapeake. It was nice visiting with them. We got to see their "kids," who arn't really kids anymore. They're all grown up! Guess time has a way of doing that! Woody showed Dan his Mustang and took him for a spin. Michelle thoroughly enjoyed Jackson and had a great time playing with him. Jackson jumped on their trampoline and had a blast running around the house.

Jackson has his 15 month check-up tomorrow (and vaccinations!). They'll be able to tell me exactly how much he weighs and how tall he is. We've been weighing him on the scale here and his weight has ranged from 25-26.5 pounds. Big boy and stocky as ever!

I have an OB appointment on Friday. I have to take the Glucose test to ensure that I don't have gestational diabetes. After this appointment, I start going to see my OB every 2 weeks (instead of once a month). Around 34 weeks, I start going every week. I've gained 10 pounds, which my OB still considers "great." I gained more with Jackson but I think it's because I wasn't running after toddler -- good exercise. I'm sure I'll gain much more weight towards the end of my pregnancy (3rd trimester). I'm sure I gained about 15 pounds in my 3rd trimester with Jackson so I fully anticipate another 15 pounds between now and when I deliver by 38 weeks.

That's all folks! Sorry so long........until next time!