In Florida we have to make our own hygge. In the fall and winter, I crave cozying up by the fire with a soft blanket, even better if the snow is falling outside the window! Instead, it’s 80 degrees half the days in December. So we have to get creative. This year I discovered book after book with the same theme: a cute animal (or animals) are preparing for the change in seasons. Usually there are warm articles of clothing or homes involved. I am not ashamed to admit that I am probably a bigger fan of these than Arthur, but thankfully he’s on board and loves them too!! Here are my favorite hygg ..read more

In September we took a lovely babymoon to Vermont, at 28 weeks pregnant. Our fall schedule was already packed with travel and obligations, so I wasn’t going to insist on making a babymoon happen, but we had toyed around with the idea. We weren’t sure when we would be able to go (not to mention find babysitting) or even where we wanted to go. Then Whit’s parents had to reschedule their visit to Florida because we had Covid, and they generously offered us the money that was refunded after they cancelled our vacation house rental – AND they offered to come back and babysit for us! The dates the ..read more

Baby Daphne is here!! I had a feeling she would come earlier than her brother, and my suspicion was that she would come the weekend between 40 and 41 weeks – and she did (40 weeks + 3 days)! I had really wanted to get everything done on my pre-baby list AND have a couple days to just rest and relax – and I did!  Daphne Hazel Jackson arrived on December 13 at 11:13am weighing 7 lbs 15 oz and measuring 20.5 in long. Per my usual fashion, I’m going to share her birth story and not spare any details! Get settled in and here we go! At my 40 week appointment, the NST and ultrasound looked good ..read more

Here is part 2 of my pregnancy update! I’m writing this at 27.5 weeks, about 3 months left to go! CRAVINGS The biggest clue that I was having a girl is the ravenous hunger I felt in the first trimester (fortunately it has quelled in the second trimester!) and odd, strong cravings. With Arthur, I had cravings from time to time, mostly in the Target checkout line (hello Cheetos), and I had a strong sense of exactly what I or someone else needed to eat at that very moment (let me pick your perfect ice cream flavor!). This time, I almost left church in the middle of the service because I HAD to ..read more

I am currently 27 weeks pregnant with our second child, a baby girl due in December! Blogging has gone to the wayside, but I still loving reading blogs, so wanted to share an update how this pregnancy is going. I loved doing journal-style entries to document Arthur’s pregnancy, so be prepared for longer, story-style answers! I’m breaking this up into two parts, because true to style, I did not spare any details. TW: Previous Loss (there is another warning under the section header if you want to read the rest of the post and just skip that part) NEGATIVE TEST, POSITIVE TEST (Let’s just start o ..read more

Wow, I just found this finished draft saved from almost 2 years ago – whoops! Never too late to share If there’s one thing I want to see when I travel, it’s breathtaking beaches and stunning coastlines. I didn’t know that despite being so far north, France could have beaches with turquoise seas. From the first picture I saw of Étretat and its bright teal water, I knew I wanted to visit! Not only does this Norman town have beautiful water, it boasts impressive chalk cliffs (falaises in French) that jut out into the sea in arches and interesting formations (one looks like an elephant!). It may ..read more

Arthur just turned 15 months and we already have 5 (!) roundtrip flights under our belt, so I thought I would share a few things we’ve learned about traveling with a baby. First off, I will say that it does seem like there’s a sweet spot for traveling with an infant who doesn’t need to be as hands on yet before they turn into a wiggly toddler (for us that was 4-11 months). I’ll try to do an update in a year or two on how to manage a toddler on the plane. Fyi, there are a lot more “basic” tips but I tried not to put things you hear over and over. You can find those elsewhere, most of them I w ..read more

Arthur Thomas Jackson is here!! He was born on July 13, 2021 at 7:44am weighing 7lbs 7oz and measuring 20.5 inches long. I can’t even believe it. Pregnancy is this long waiting game of now and not yet. My baby guy lived in my belly and I bonded with him and felt his kicks and talked to him… yet he didn’t seem fully real either. Over the past week I’ve had so many moments of being completely in awe at this little boy – a real person – that is alive and on the outside now! It’s SO wild. The birthing process is incredible. I struggled with a good amount of anxiety throughout the pregnancy. Even ..read more

Wow, it feels like such a long time has passed since the last update! The third trimester has been so interesting, as I expected. The first two are pretty straightforward – the first trimester was nausea and fatigue and lying low, the second was fairly normal energy and lots of dreaming about what’s to come, and the third has been a mix of normal energy, major hormonal emotional swings, more physical challenges, and an insane amount of nesting. (38 weeks and 4 days when I wrote this, and 39 weeks and 1 day posting it!!) Physically 31 weeks at Leu Gardens A lot has changed over the course of t ..read more

21 weeks – my favorite picture of the little-but-visible bump!28 weeks on the beach in St. Augustine Note: I started writing this when I was 22 weeks, and then proceeded to spend all my spare time & energy working on the baby registry for the next 2-ish months (it’s like a part-time job!), so now I’m 28 weeks today and officially in the 3rd trimester! I’ll leave what I originally wrote and then add some current updates as well… so this will be pretty long, but hopefully enjoyable! Gender We chose to find out at our 20 week appointment… he’s a BOY! We were late to our appointment (despite m ..read more