FitzFarm

Sorry, I didn't realize how long it had been

2010-10-07T12:50:00.004-06:00

Jillian enjoyed the petting zoo at the fair. She especially liked the pigs, but we couldn't get a good picture of them.

This is Jillian's new chair she got for her birthday that she loves sitting in and reading books.
She wasn't sure what to think of her cake at first, but then she tried to stuff the whole thing in her mouth.

She liked the bows the best, but her cousins had to open all her gifts for her because she wouldn't. She had a pretty great birthday even though she wasn't 100% well.

We are having 1 year pictures made next week finally, so I will post those as soon as I can.

Sorry, its a little book today

2010-08-27T12:44:00.008-06:00

I took over 120 pictures off my camera today, so here are a few.

We had lunch at my mom's 7/25 and Jillian enjoyed playing with her cousin Will. She didn't know what to think of the grass and pretty much stood in that one spot the whole time she was on it. Then when we got home, aunt Kerri brought over Mr. Bear, which my mom forgot to give us when we were there. Well, Jillian instantly fell in love and didn't let go of him for several days. She wok up in the mornings searching for him in her crib, so cute.

Then 7/30, we had my brother's b-day celebration at my mom's and Jillian was very entertaining. She found a fun game, she threw Mr. Bear to the floor and laughed at whatever adult/big kid picked it up and repeated this as long as he was handed back to her.
8/5, Below is our first trip to the Grace museum with Jillian. We stacked blocks and she is laughing because she just knocked over the stack. Clayton thought it would be funny to sit her in this little hole in the mat and after that, she kept trying to climb in the hole.

I just love that little butt in the air.
8/8, I took about a hundred of the shots below trying to get the perfect shot of her in this cute dress. I was having to shoot on the run because she kept running back and forth between Clay and I. Then the cutest one has my mom's hand in it :)

8/12, Jillian and I had an adventurous flight to St. Louis on our own. Here we are at Abilene Regional, which she enjoyed running around. Below, she slept all the way from Abilene to Dallas.

8/13, She loved this John Deere tractor and she was helping Grandpa roll out the freshly laid sod.

All the girls had brunch.

Jillian wanted a nap!!
This was the best shot of about 5, hard to get 2 tired babies to smile at the camera.
Jillian's first Imo's experience. Do you think she liked it?

The rehearsal dinner, Jillian had just given Aniyah a big smooch. They seemed to enjoy each other.
Wedding day: 8/14. What a cute picture of Jillian and Daddy!!
She was not so cooperative for her picture with me. "Let me down, I have stairs to climb!"
Cousin Abby

The whole family. I guess we don't need to see Jillian's face to know she is cute!!

She started dancing as soon as she saw all the kids dancing. She is the cutest dancer, I will have to post a video later.

The Fitzgerald clan post wedding get together.
8/15, she loved this bench, she would sit on it and swing her little legs.
This was a cute play area at the DFW airport. We had a 3, which turned into 4 hour layover, so we ate at Chili's. She insisted on holding the lemon during the entire meal.

So, I research everything when it comes to Jillian, but for some reason I forgot oral hygiene. This is particularly funny considering I am a speech Pathologist and I address oral hygiene as part of my job. Well, I sat by a dentist on one of my flights and drained all the info from her that I could. And here, 8/17, she has her first toothbrushing experience and it wasn't half bad.

Fun stuff this week

2010-07-21T17:48:00.003-06:00

Attempt at professional looking pictures:She moves too much right now for me to take her professional looking pics. And she won't keep her bow on, it tastes too good I guess.

This pic doesn't want to turn, but look at all those teeth.

Swim Party, which she really enjoyed:

Trip to the Zoo:
pointing at the flamingos
Looking at the monkeys
Pointing at the giraffe

Nothing witty

2010-07-15T17:45:00.004-06:00

The key to getting her to eat unliked vegetables is putting spaghetti sauce on everything

She thinks she is such a big girl she needs a big cup
Jillian with her great grandma at 4th of July/birthday celebrations

6/19: Uncle Mike with cousin Elizabeth and Grandpa with Jillian
6/17/10: 9 months and taking steps

She is growing so fast, I can't keep up. I have been sick for almost 2 months and got a middle ear infection yesterday. Can we say ouch?! Well, I think she will be really walking soon and I can't believe it. Its not fair that I have to miss most of the little changes because I am at work. It stinks.

Camping is partially fun

2010-06-06T17:49:00.003-06:00

Jillian and her aunt Kerri at Kerri's new house, doesn't it look nice?!?
Nothing is coming out of this thing...
She never just falls to sleep on my lap, but she did with aunt Tammy in 2 seconds, no fair.
Playing cards with the big kids.
Awww, what a cute little belly:)
She didn't like the lake at first, but got to where she really like it. She also enjoyed watching the dogs swim out to her.

Sooo much to mention

2010-05-28T17:30:00.004-06:00

Program at her day care on tuesday.

Mmmm, lemon

Mother's day

Well, we had an 8 month birthday, my first mother's day, Jillian is cruising everywhere, now we have a tooth. I need to post some pictures because we are about to have our first semi-camping trip this weekend.

An 18 pound person can sure keep you busy

2010-04-15T16:19:00.006-06:00

Its just amazing. She and God amaze me daily. She really is doing something new every day. She was 7 months on Saturday and she is already standing on her own for a few seconds. I have to make her crawl because she just wants to pull up on everything. Here are a ton of pictures to show you how big she is.

Her first time in the big bathtub. She had a lot of fun.
First time sitting on her own in a shopping cart, of course at Lowe's. We go there more than the grocery store. She looks so big.
This was as good as we could get with the crazy wind. Of course s
Fun trip to the zoo, those are really big dogs and she just wanted to chew on her ring at the jaguars.
A little young for driving, don't you think?
Her really cute J onesie that she only got to wear this once at her cousin Kylee's 10th B-day.
Had to go to Abuelo's with grandma and grandpa.
Don always has a project to work on while he is here. Working on the bathroom this time.
Here is her first taste of food, not a big fan of bananas to start. Below is a couple weeks later and she is loving food, especially butternut squash.
She loves to eat now, even needs 2 spoons.
She is such a big girl, these are 6 month pictures even with Grandma Fitzgerald's dress. Next pictures she will probably be standing. It is hard to keep her on the backdrop right now.

She was cracking up and trying to jump off Grandma's lap. Guess she though avoiding getting dressed was funny.

Too cute to wait

2010-03-22T05:59:00.002-06:00

I have a ton of pictures I need to post. She has started eating a few fruits and veggies, crawling, pulling up, making more sounds, etc, but this video was too cute to wait. She discovered that she likes to stand in the play yard holding on to the sides and right before I video'd this she found out that she can play Peek A Boo with Mommy doing all her own hiding and popping out. She was absolutely cracking up before I turned the video camera on, but you can hear a few good giggles here. Hope this works.

which one is your favorite?

2010-03-02T18:23:00.002-06:00

I am trying to take six month pictures since that big day is next week. Which of these is your favorite?

February was a big month

2010-02-23T17:42:00.003-06:00

She has started doing so much this month it is unbelievable. She started sitting up last month, but she started maintaining her balance this month. She sits on the floor playing with her toys and when she starts to fall over most of the time she can catch her balance. Big thing a couple weeks ago she began pulling herself up on her knees and rocking on all fours. She is going to be crawling in no time at all and I don't think Clay and I are ready for that. She is going backwards right now and work herself off the blanket in under a minute usually. I don't think this is a milestone necessarily, but she has decided that she likes standing on her knees recently. She is so much fun, but also so much work. Not everything is fun and games. I seem to have developed mastitis. I ached from head to toe yesterday and ran a fever. Unfortunately, I have had ongoing problems in the left side for over a month now. The doctor started me on an antibiotic and I am hoping that it works itself out for good. I don't know if I can stand breastfeeding until she is a year if I am getting 4 plugged ducts a month. Well, enough about what is going on with us. Here is our beautiful girl who by the way has more than doubled her birthweight now at 17.5 pounds.

Spending quality time with the dogs!
She didn't want to smile, but I had to show her adorable new dress.
Valentine's Day she was wearing her cute new outfit from Grandma Fitz; I tried shoes, but she only kept them on for about 2 minutes.

Playing with Aunt Kerri and Cousin Kylee at Grandma Barber's house.

Super cute!!

2010-02-04T21:55:00.003-06:00

These are really cute, so I couldn't wait to post them, but don't print it. This is from film and I think the machine that printed them was messed up. I am going to see if they will reprint. Let me know if you want it emailed to you.

4 1/2 months, really?

2010-01-25T18:54:00.004-06:00

I cannot believe she is already 4 1/2 months old. Time flies when you're busy caring for a baby. I can't ever seem to get all that needs to be done in a day accomplished. Unfortunately, as you can tell, blogging is low on the totem pole. I generally try to keep eating and sleeping at the top and now that includes for a little ome and not just myself anymore. We have been sick or busy for the past month and I haven't taken near as many pictures as I would like. And Clayton doesn't take pictures, so if I don't take them, they don't get taken. Well, Jillian had croup this week and that big of a cough should come from that small of a person. She seems to have also passed the cough along to me. Clay also started class 3 nights a week. Stress is at an all-time high in our house now, so please say a prayer for us Well, what you came for, here are some pictures.

Jillian's 1st Christmas

2009-12-30T19:46:00.004-06:00

We had a very busy day on Christmas. We read the Christmas story as a family, then we went to my mom's for lunch and opening presents. Jillian had a small fever and a very snotty nose when she woke up on Christmas, but she stayed in good spirits most of the day. She did put on a good show for the picture of all the cousins, but still so cute. She decided she wanted to wear all 4 Christmas outfits she had. She looked cute in each one and I think was tired of being held by the end of the day. As you can see below, she slept through the opening of presents. She will enjoy all that she got though. What I want for the new year is a well baby.

Waldo and Jillian have recently developed a keen interest in one another.

I should post more often

2009-12-20T21:15:00.005-06:00

How can we ever say no to those eyes, its just not going to happen.
What a cute little Christmas girl.
This girl can sleep anywhere, but never for very long:

She is getting sooo strong and has started rolling over this week. She hasn't quite made it, but is getting very close.

Thanksgiving and stuff

2009-12-06T16:01:00.007-06:00

It has been a while, so I am posting a lot of pictures, but not all of them. If you want any particular pictures, just ask me if I have it and I can email it to you. We had a lot of fun in St. Louis, and Jillian did pretty well on the plane. She was extra tired when we got back from all the meeting new people and going to new places.
Awww, how sweet.
Poor Izaiah, Jillian just was not as much fun as he thought she would be. She was napping when we got to Mark and Emma's and Izaiah kept asking "Can Jillian play with me now?"
He got out this blanket and cuddled up next to her (for about 10 seconds)
Grandpa thoroughly enjoyed showing off Miss Jillian at his office and she didn't seem to mind.
These girls are getting way too big too fast.
Jillian enjoyed napping with aunt Dan and cousin Aniya.
Bailey was a pro at holding Jilly.
Riley's first question when we got to St. Louis was, "Can I hold Jillian?"
She is getting so big and strong. She manages herself well in the Jumperoo and likes to talk to the little bear.
Grandma Barber gave Jillian this cute outfit and she is fascinated with the little skirt. She grabs it, looks at it and tries to pull it to her mouth.
Cute winter bear coat!! This makes it nearly impossible to buckle her carseat.

She had her baby blessing at church on November 22. She did well on stage.
The dreaded tummy time, but what a cute head.

Managing Time

2009-11-17T19:05:00.003-06:00

Is impossible especially with a baby. I never know what my evenings are going to look like. Will she be happy and content, will she be fussy and need holding all night? I have no idea what I will be able to get done. Unfortunately, she has been sick for about a week, so it has been the latter. Day care is great, but she has had almost every sort of sickness possible since she started 2 weeks ago. I also noticed that I have gone 2 weeks without taking pictures of her. We went to Kmart to get pics made because her baby blessing is next Sunday and I wanted some cute pics. Turns out, it takes 2 weeks to get pictures from them. Fortunately, we will get them the day before we leave for St. Louis. In the meantime, I needed cute pictures for the blessing on Sunday. This is my attempt at studio pictures from home. Not too shabby for no backdrops or props. It is hard to get a bad picture of such a cute girl. I love the dog picture, she loves dogs already :) She has really started talking to me and it is so cute. She makes several different sounds and waits her turn to talk. She will have great language skills once she is ready to use actual words. I love knowing all that I know, but it is also annoying because I find myself sometimes looking at her as a "case" so to speak. Another speech pathologist told me that she transcribed her daughter's first words, so hopefully I won't be that bad. Oh well, better too much interaction and learning than not enough.

Oh, back to the grind

2009-11-04T17:52:00.003-06:00

Lots of pictures and very little time to talk about them. Her adorable pictures pretty much speak for themselves. I started back to work this week and want to spend as much time with her as possible in the evenings.

MOPS & cute pics

2009-10-26T11:30:00.004-06:00

We had all "Melanie wear" on today down to the socks and it was a big hit at the MOPS meeting this morning. For those of you that don't know, MOPS is Mothers of Preschoolers. Although I won't be able to go very much if at all because I work it was nice to visit today and I met a lot of nice moms. There was a 3 month old at my table that was smaller than Jillian. Today's topic was depression, which was good for me. It is comforting to know that everyone gets depressed and stressed and even more so once a baby is in the picture. Motherhood is awesome, but it means saying goodbye to a lot of things you once knew and completely changing your lifestyle and doing all of this on less sleep than your body needs. I love my husband, but he truly doesn't understand the change that this has meant in my life. Every little thing I do, I have to first think about what the baby is doing or what she needs. I can't just get up and go to the bathroom when I need to, I have to make sure she is in a secure place first and that her needs are met. I can't go to a MOPS meeting without having to make sure she's eaten, dressed and clean not to mention myself as well and then while I am at the meeting I have to figure out how to feed her without completely exposing myself to the world. Wow, motherhood. Its good to know now, I am not alone. I looked around the room and other mothers were juggling their babies under crazy nursing wraps, standing up bouncing around vigorously to hush their babies, grabbing diapers and wipes while balancing their baby in the other arm and running from the room with a screaming baby. Mothers just do what they have to do, end of story.

Just chillin' like a big girl.
I didn't think I would, but I love the bows. She looks soooo cute with a little bow on her head as if she could get any cuter.
Those toes are just priceless.
We had to bundle up this night because it got really cold. Her crazy mom even made her wear socks on her hands while she slept.

Attempted wedding

2009-10-20T14:23:00.004-06:00

She looked so cute in her little bow, but she decided she did not want us to watch the wedding. At least she looked adorable.
She looks so big in Kylee's lap. this was great, as soon as Kerri set Jillian in her lap she started pooping. Kylee didn't want to hold her much longer.
All I have to say is "awwwww."

Rough couple weeks...

2009-10-16T15:28:00.004-06:00

I missed a 1 month post, so here is a 5 week 1 day post. :) This has been some week. I went to work to get a flu shot last Wednesday and ended up with a fever that night. A rash had started showing up a few days earlier and I guess the fever made it flare up more. So I had the flu and now I have the world's worst rash from head to toe. This rash is called urticaria and it is more like a mutation than a rash and it has caused so much swelling that I have gained 5 pounds. My coworkers have suggested that I need to go back to work to get some rest. I can't believe I only have 2 weeks left before I go back and I haven't had any time to enjoy with my daughter because I have had some ailment the whole time. Well, hopefully the new medication I start today will work fast and I can have a little peace before returning to work.

And what you all wanted...Isn't she sooo cute?
Clay is teaching her "So big"
"Mom, I can pick my head up, what's the big deal?"
She had the cutest biggest smile here and was just talking up a storm to me, so precious.
Miss Jillian is enjoying her time with Aunt Mel.

3 weeks today!!

2009-10-01T18:27:00.004-06:00

Unfortunately, this will be the last time she will wear this super cute newborn outfit.

I can't believe this has been the shortest 3 weeks of my life and the craziest. Despite a rough start with the breastfeeding, she is growing fast and eating well. She now weighs 9 lbs 6 oz. We are trying really hard to get a schedule, but it has been difficult. I miss having my helpers around. I suppose we will get the hang of it, hopefully before my 7 weeks of maternity leave is over.

More fun pictures!!

2009-09-29T19:00:00.003-06:00

Oh, big stretch!!

Rough life
A half a smile
Big yawn.
Isn't she just the cutest thing you have ever seen?

Don & Debbie's short visit

2009-09-29T18:48:00.004-06:00

She will be so much bigger when she sees Grandma and Grandpa for Thanksgiving. She will love meeting all her aunts, uncles and cousins.

She's so cute

2009-09-24T11:57:00.002-06:00

She thinks she is a big girl holding that head up.

She likes her baths.

More Pictures

2009-09-23T17:22:00.002-06:00

One Week Old Today!!

2009-09-17T16:30:00.005-06:00

Her first trip to the doctor started out okay until they pricked her foot.
Not sure on the color of her eyes, but I love when she is looking at me.
Who knew something so little could have such a hold over two adults.
Here is my beautiful baby, Jillian, one week old. She does a lot of sleeping these days. I can't believe God can change your life so much in a matter of one night. She is the most perfect thing I have ever seen and I love her more than I ever thought possible. God is so good and although things have been crazy since she got here I know she is going to make my life so much more fulfilling. We are having fun and can't wait to see what God has in store for us.

Jillian Kate

2009-09-12T19:42:00.003-06:00

She finally joined us on 9/10/09 @ 8:43 pm weighing 8 lbs and was 20 in long.

2009-08-05T21:11:00.005-06:00

Baby's room Before:

Baby's Room Now:
Clay did an excellent job painting, putting in a ceiling fan and especially laying, staining and finishing the floors. His dad came this week and helped finish it up and move in/build furniture. I think it is soo cute and it will look even better once we get some decorations up on the walls. I can't believe I am 36 weeks tomorrow, wow!! Now, if we can just get the rest of the house looking this good. :) Clayton has the best dad ever, I love it when he comes to visit.

Our baby girl!!

2009-05-06T19:04:00.006-06:00

Here she is and she is saying hello. Our top name choice right now is Jillian Kate, but I won't say that we have settled completely. We are so excited and glad that she is healthy. Due date is September 4th and I am afraid it will be here before we know it. This week, she has really decided to start moving vigorously and you can even see my stomach move sometimes. It is such a miracle and God amazes me daily with her growth.

Few and Far Between

2008-10-29T18:24:00.006-06:00

Well, we don't have kids yet, at least the kind that everyone else wants pictures of, so I just don't post very often. We are officially in our new home and have our old home on the market. We also now have 4 dogs. We have "No name dog" our new boxer. If you have any ideas on names, please let us know. He is a bit of a stubborn one, but that is all boxers. We are leaning right now towards Waldo. The black and brown dog is Cera, the shepherd mix is Molly and the black lab is Ghandi, our first dog. Most of you have met these three, but not everyone. And we have king of the whole house, our cat Yoda. We love our animals dearly, but soon we will have our house in order enough to have foster children. Then you all will get fun pictures and I will expect comments. But until then, I don't expect many visits, nor do I expect you will read this one. If you do read this, please pray that we can get things in order soon because I know there are many children out there that need families like us to get it together in a hurry.

Our new house, hopefully!!

2008-07-05T21:19:00.010-06:00

Here it is, we should be closing by the end of the month!! I think it will look a little different with our furniture and some updating. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a massive laundry room, great kitchen/dining area, and 3 living areas.

Our first home

2005-10-11T16:57:00.000-06:00

We got a house today!! As long as all inspections go well, we will be in within a month, Yea!! Here is your tour:
Here is the house:

Here is the entry way:

Here is the living room:

Here is the kitchen:

Here is the bathroom:

Here are the bedrooms and a closet:

Here is the laundry room (nice and big):

Here is the backyard and porch (and water well):

There are trees in Abilene and two are in our bachyard!!

And here is the garage:

So there it is and we are so excited and ready to move in. Thank God for giving us patience over the past several months. I think this will be a great move and a perfect house for us.

2005-06-08T19:18:00.000-06:00

Two prairie dogs at the zoo.

2005-06-08T19:16:00.000-06:00

My entire family at the gardens. I took this picture using the timer on my camera. I am the one in the black shirt on the right.

2005-06-08T19:15:00.000-06:00

My brother, Jason and his family at the gardens.

2005-06-08T19:14:00.000-06:00

Kylee and Austin at the Missouri Botanical Gardens

2005-06-08T19:13:00.000-06:00

Will, my newest nephew!!

2005-06-08T19:12:00.000-06:00

My sister-in-law and new nephew.

2005-06-08T19:00:00.000-06:00

This is all the women at my church's annual Ladies' Retreat 2005.