Cookie Baking

Josh had to work yesterday, so Jax and I made some cookies and played the day away.  He helped me make spritz in the morning and then when Daddy got home we made some truffles.  Yes, he was in pajamas all day.  Recently he's decided he "yubs" his pajamas and asks to put them on as soon as we get home for the day.  We spend a lot of afternoons in pajamas these days :)

Santa Village

This year's trip to Rheault Farms to see Santa was at least a little warmer than last year! We checked out the trains first and it was quite a job to get Jax out of that building and onto the next one to check things out. If he could have watched those trains all night, I think he would have been a happy boy! After the trains, we checked out the arts and crafts, but Jax wanted nothing to do with that so we went on to Santa's house. We told him there might be trains in the house and so he ran ahead of us ~ Josh and I both were expecting him to come to a screeching halt when he saw Santa in the house, but he could have cared less. The elf helping Santa was handing out suckers and we told him he had to ask Santa for one and probably sit with Santa if he wanted one and he was perfectly fine with that. Once he sat with Santa and started talking to him, we couldn't get him to shut up! After visiting Santa, we decorated a cookie with Mrs. Claus (sorry that picture really sucks, there's no good place to stand in that kitchen to take pictures).

Writing a letter to Santa

Helping Papa & Grandma Get Tree

Jax went with Papa and Grandma to help cut down a Christmas tree on Tuesday, and then after picking out the perfect Christmas tree, went to the lake to play on the beach...in the snow.

Standing ON the lake!

Meet Hannah!

Last weekend, we went to Bismarck to see Tim & Shera and meet their new baby, Hannah (she was born on black Friday!) and to see Mike & Brandy. Jax was all about showing Hannah his trains and keeping an eye on her in case she needed anything. I think he was smitten. At one point, she sort of squawked and in a panic, Jax forgot Tim & Shera's name and yelled "People! People! The baby is hungry!" It was pretty funny.

Decorating the Tree

The first weekend in December we decorated the Christmas tree ~ Jax was all about helping until he realized that all those little cars in the box went on the tree, not for playing with. He's since adjusted to the fact that he can't play with them...Now I keep waiting for him to realize that there's presents under the tree!

Santa At The Library

This afternoon, we went to visit Santa at the library. As soon as we got there and I asked Jax if he wanted to talk to Santa, he gave him a look, noticed Santa waving at him and started walking backwards pretty quick. He never really warmed up to him (there's NO way he was going to sit with Santa today) and only talked to him because Mommy gave him one of Jaxon's tractors to check out. Then, Jax told him how to fix tires and how Daddy's truck was not at home and how he thought Daddy was maybe at work ~ all while not making eye contact with Santa.

We did make some projects to hang on our tree and stop by to say goodbye to Santa. He would talk to him and say thanks, but still stayed at LEAST an arm's length away. (Which made it hard for Santa to give him back his projects he'd thrown at him so Santa could see them...)

World Prematurity Day

Today is World Prematurity Day. Last year (and the years before last that I wasn't so aware of the day) it was just Prematurity Awareness. This year, we get the whole world involved. Something like 13 million babies worldwide are born prematurely every year. 1 million of those don't survive.

Last year, I wrote I tried to do my part of spreading the awareness by posting our story of Jaxon's birth. Never in a million years did I expect that one of the people that read it would be a mom whose twins were born prematurely when artificial surfectant was being tested. Her babies were among the first to use it. When I read her comment on my blog last year, I was so grateful to her and her babies for participating in a study that probably helped my son breathe 18 years later, I cried. (Today her babies are 20 years old! Happy birthday and thank you to them!)

Until Jax was born I was aware of premature births, but not aware of it. No one expect their baby to be born too early. 2 years, 6 months and 2 days later I am painfully aware of it. Last year's awareness day made me realize that I (whether I wanted to be or not) am apart of a community of preemie families. And that each of those families is tied to every other preemie baby that was, is and will be born from here on out. The work that the March of Dimes ties us all together and knowing that ... floors me. It also makes me feel like Jax, Josh and I aren't so alone in our story.

On this day, I hope you will be more aware of those 13 million babies, their families, all the doctors and nurses that work with those families, and what the March of Dimes does to help all of those people.

To our families and friends, I hope you realize how much we appreciated your support and love in those first 20 days. To any doctors or nurses that work with NICU babies, the work you do is amazing, though sometimes underappreciated. To our local March of Dimes chapter, especially Collette, thank you for checking in on us and answering our questions. And to that mom & her twins as well as any other preemie families whose story is tied to ours, thank you.