Jackson Graham- Week 5

Jackson is 5 weeks old today! On Saturday he turned one month old, and on Monday we hit his actual due date! :)

We are starting to get into more regular rhythms with Jackson, well, as regular as things can be for a baby with two older siblings around! Sometimes he takes one nap in three different places (arms, car seat, crib!). He is pretty good natured and just goes with the flow of the day!

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Jackson Graham- Week 3

Jackson is 3 weeks old today! Ron went back to work this week and so it was my first week on my own with all three kids! It’s been a very smooth transition though. Going from 1 to 2 kids was definitely harder haha. It is taking some time to adjust to the amount of time it takes to get out the door now though!

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I'm Still Grieving

Shortly after we came home from the hospital, I was scrolling through the pictures that Ron had taken on his camera. This photo immediately stuck out to me. First, he captured the pure joy I was feeling in that moment of meeting my son Jackson for the first time. But secondly, it also reminded me of another picture Ron had captured just 10 months before.

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Waiting For Jackson

This evening, Ron and I (okay, Ron, while I watched) raised the crib mattress up in preparation for Jackson's arrival.  It might seem like a small act, but each little "to-do" that we knock off our list, is actually so weighty and feels like a step of faith.  Because raising that crib up means that I expect to put a baby in it.  What should be so certain in our minds, just isn't.  So I feel so vulnerable when we act in ways of certainty.  I want to believe that it's true, but in the same breath, my instinct is to "protect" myself, to guard my heart just a little.  As if not preparing a crib could somehow lessen the blow of losing a child.  I know this to be false, yet my mind still operates in this fashion, even if subconsciously.  So we make conscious efforts to be "normal" during this pregnancy.

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July/August 2018 Update

So I never did get around to writing my July family update, so I'll do one post for July and August here now!  

We spent the first part of July in Oklahoma.  This was super relaxing, and it is always great to spend time with family!  We got to set off fireworks, play in a pool, go to a jump space, do an escape room, go to a water park, and pedicures!  I'd say it was a pretty great trip!

Once we were back from Oklahoma, we settled into our summer routine.

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Pregnancy After Stillbirth

Today I thought I'd blog about what it's like to be pregnant after a stillbirth.  Of course, we are overjoyed and thrilled to be expecting again.  Those are the parts that people see on social media, so you already know the joy that we are experiencing this pregnancy.  But it doesn't mean that it is an easy journey to go through pregnancy again, so I thought I'd shed some light on our struggles these past 6 months.

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June 2018 Update

June was a fun and busy month for us!  It's been an unusually hot June for New York, so we've mostly spent the month trying to stay cool!  We went out to Long Island one day to visit family and take a quick trip to Robert Moses Beach.  Gigi, Bop, Uncle Jason, & Aunt Lexxie came to visit us, and Aly had her dance recital and moving up ceremony!  School ended on the 26th, and then we flew to OK the next day, where we still are!  Time is flying by, and I'm grateful to spend it with lots of friends and family!

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May 2018 Update

May was a fun-filled month!  Most notably, we found out we are having another boy, and we decided on his name--Jackson Graham Arevalo.  Aly got to go rock climbing, we visited grandparents in Long Island, we spent a day upstate, had a gender reveal party, everyone got a stomach bug, and we spent the weekend in Jersey for our 7th Annual Memorial Day Weekend. This has been such a fun tradition, getting to spend every year with some of our closest friends!

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