Shy Baby

Still don't know what we're having. Uncooperative baby. :( Luckily I found out about a place where students training to be ultrasound technicians will do an ultrasound for free. You can bet I am making an appointment first thing Monday morning. I am too much of a planner to wait until the birthday!!

Jackson and Great-Grandma

My grandma is 92 years old. With both mom and dad gone I look forward to seeing her every Thanksgiving. Nothing has changed at her house since I was a little girl and it feels like home. Last year we were not able to go up since it was right after Jackson was born but I was so excited to take him up this year and for him to meet his great-grandma and have some authentic Italian cooking. (Yep, she still cooks) Grandma is really amazing. She is in excellent health for her age. She still gets out and works in her yard, goes to the store, and takes care of her house. She finally gave up her driving license at 90 because "90 is too old to be driving, and the gas is too expensive." I laughed so hard when she told me that. I never knew there was such a big difference from when you are 89 to the day you turn 90.
I tell her all the time that she is my hero and that if I live to be that old that I can only hope I get around as good as her.

Jackson was excited to show her his toy bag.



"Look at this one Grandma... it plays music!"



Grandma love :)


Jackson got the "Grandma approval" She said he was a good boy.

Catch Up Blog

OK, OK!! After getting an earful from many of you I decided it was probably time to update my blog. SO here goes.

I got a little ambitious and decided to make Jackson's halloween costume. I thought it might save me some money and I couldn't find anything I liked in the stores. Well, it cost me more than if I would have just bought one and of course I procrastinated and was sewing the night before halloween. I think it may be the first and last costume I ever make.
But he does look pretty cute!!

Here's a couple of pictures of Jackson's actual 1st birthday dinner. Turkey, mashed potatoes and carrots. YUM!

A couple of weeks later we had a little party for Jackson. Here he is eating his lunch.

Opening presents...

Can you say SPOILED!! (but worth every penny :)

I know what you're thinking..."Wow, Darci you made a great cake!!" Nope its from Costco.

Who gets cake in their ear?? Really!!

I promise I will do my best to keep this up better. OH, and in case you haven't heard...Joel and I are expecting #2!! I am due at the end of April and I have my ultrasound next Friday to find out the gender. So stay tuned!!!

Time to babyproof!!

You can imagine my surprise when I walked out into the living room and found this!! Now he is pulling himself up on anything and everything that he can get his hands on. (Even unsteady things which has resulted in a few tears and bumps) This kid is a mover! Once he started crawling he started chasing the cat around the house, he is walking along the furniture, and I don't think it will be too much longer before he is walking by himself! As you can see he is pretty proud of himself! Not bad for my little preemie guy!

Summertime=Swimming!!

Even though we don't have a pool we didn't want Jackson to be deprived of his first summer swimming experience. So we got him a little blow up pool. I think he thinks that he is taking a bath outside, but he seems to like it. Plus it gives me an excuse to get outside and try to get a little tan!

Such a good year!

Most people find out I teach 8th grade and have the same sort of reaction. "Oh, you are brave" or "How do you handle those kids?" or something to that effect. Before I started teaching I would have thought that I would have been scared of them myself, but I love my job! This year that just past has been my favorite so far. It went super fast, especially since I was gone for a third of it with Jackson's birth, and I had the greatest kids. I absoluetly LOVED my homeroom class this year. They were such a fun group of young men and young women and I really got to know each and every one of them. They are smart, respectful, (I never had any major discpline problems with them) and they were fun to teach. They even would get excited about the things they were learning. A teacher's dream come true!
The last couple of weeks of the school year were so fun. We have tons of special 8th grade promoting activities and it is fun to watch the kids be kids. Sometimes I have to remind myself that they are really just children in almost grown up bodies but being with them at Disneyland and playing games with them proves just that. I will really miss this group of kids and I hope that my class next year will be just as great.

Aren't they cute! This was right before the promotion ceremony in case you are wondering why they are dressed up.

Besides hoping to get another great class, I am excited about next year for another reason. I will working part time, 3 days a week, so that I can stay home with Jackson a little more. I think it will be a really good balance for me.

by the way- I'm not sure about the legalites of putting minor's pictures on the web. If somebody knows that its a problem please let me know. I don't want to get in trouble I just wanted to show off my awesome class.

Dodger Game

I know it has been a long time since my last post. Life has just gotten very busy.
Last weekend we took Jackson to his first baseball game. I don't know who thought this would be a good idea. It started at 7 and he starts to get ready for bed at 8, applause scares him, and he hates to be confined to sitting in your lap. But we went anyway!!! We only lasted until the 4th inning and even then we were up and down with him the whole time. Despite all of that I was super excited to see him wear his hat and carry his glove. He loves the taste of leather apparently!
We kept trying to get him on the jumbo-tron but were unsuccessful. Maybe next time if we stay for the whole game we'll get him on.

Easter Eggs

I know he's a little young but we didn't want Jackson to miss out on his first Easter dying Easter Eggs. I think he enjoyed himself. He was definitely interested in what he and daddy were doing!

1st Picture Session

We took Jackson to get pictures taken this week. I wasn't quite sure how he would do but he was such a ham! He was giggling and flirting with the girl taking the pictures. It was so much fun, and so hard to decide which ones to buy. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Reading

On Jackson's 5 month birthday (I can't beleive its already been 5 months) he was enjoying his book of colors. (With 2 teachers for parents we want to start reading early!)

Here he is enjoying green.

Jackson: "Wow, this is a great book, green is so interesting!"

"Frogs are green...okay..."

"I wonder what is on the next page!"

"YELLOW!! I DON"T LIKE YELLOW!!"

I guess for now we'll stick to green!

Bath Time!

A couple of months ago Jackson would scream and scream until his bath was over. As you can see he now very much enjoys his bath time. I think he would stay in the water and splash all night long if we let him. I always think he looks so cute in his towel.

My Sweet Boy

I don't have any funny or cute stories about this one, and I know its a little blurry, but I just love his cute little face in this picture!

Back to Work/ Spring Break

Last week I had to go back to work. I had a very hard time leaving my baby. Every single morning I cried and wanted to stay home. It is amazing how such a little person can change all of your priorities. Well, I made it through the first week! Every day I would rush home to spend time with Jackson and then this week I was on Spring Break and got to be with him all day every day again!! I absolutely love being with him! He is able to play for longer periods of time and it is so much fun to watch every little thing he does. This is his new favorite game... He sits in his Bumbo and plays with a toy for a couple of minutes...



Then he bats it off of the tray and waits for me to put it back on so we can start all over again!

Man, he has me wrapped around his little adorable finger! Who would of ever thought that picking up a toy a hundred times would be something to look forward to every day!

Sittin on the Couch

Jackson can now sit up with some support so sometimes he likes to sit on the couch and play with his toys or just watch TV. He will just ignore me and stare at the TV, such a typical boy!

I have no idea what he is doing in the picture but I think it is hilarious! I think it is one for his high school yearbook for sure!

Crooked Smiles and Mommy Toes

Like every other American teenager I had to take biology in high school and college. In those classes we learned about genetics and how there are dominate and recessive genes. When Joel and I found out we were going to have a baby we would have bet the farm that he would look exactly like me...I mean, I have every dominate feature that you could possibly think of. So we were both very surprised how much Jackson looks like his daddy. Almost exactly like his daddy, especially the eyes. I wanted to go back and tell my biology teachers that they didn't know what they were talking about.
Well even though everyone sees Joel in Jackson there is some Darci in him too. For example his hands and feet. He has the classic long skinny Banks toes. I had to take this picture to prove that I am really his mom! See how we even both have our big toes lifted, this was not planned, I didn't notice it until a few days later. I've also noticed lately that Jackson has my mom's crooked smile. I absolutely love his little crooked smile and how it reminds me of my mom. There are also a lot of my personality traits that are surfacing in Jackson, like the fact that he isn't 100% happy when he first wakes up. He needs a little extra time in the morning and after naps.
Bottom line...it is so much fun to see both Joel and me in this little baby. It is such a little miracle how it all works!

By the way, As you can see I am WAY overdue for a pedicure! I guess having children changes priorities. Don't worry though, I won't have ugly feet for too much longer. After seeing this picture I am making a point to go get one this week!

We Have Corrupted Him Already!

I am very aware that it makes me sound old but, I LOVE JEOPARDY!Especially teen week when I can actually answer some of the questions. We watch it almost every night. This particular night I was in the kitchen making dinner and came out to see Jackson watching. I think it is the first time he has even noticed the TV. But hey, I guess there are worse things he could be watching. We moved his swing so that he didn't have to strain his neck to watch. Maybe his first words will be in the form of a question!
Don't worry he hasn't been too corrupted. He had no interest in Wheel of Fortune......YET!

3 years down...eternity to go!

Today is our 3 year anniversary. On one hand it seems like the last 3 years have just flown by, and on the other hand it seems like we have been together forever. Either way the last 3 years have been awesome. Here is a quick recap of "Joel and Darci".

2005- Met in the singles ward in Claremont.
I went to one of his concerts at the high school where he teaches. I was very impressed.
I told Joel "I think I'm going to marry you!"
Most guys would have run screaming, but without missing a beat he replied "I'm free on Saturday!"
He asked me out for our first date right after that.
We dated from M arch-September
Got engaged in September.
Bought a house in October. I moved in.
Planned a wedding.

2006- Married 2/11 in the Redlands, California Temple
Joel moved in.

2007- Married =)

2008- Married =)
Jackson born 11/3

2009- Living happily ever after



A couple of my favorite wedding pics.






And here we are today. Happy as can be!




I really love my husband and my life with him. I am so lucky to have him. Everyone who knows him just adores him and he really is my best friend. Since it is our 3rd year anniversary, here are just 3 of the many reasons I love my Joel.

1. He makes me laugh every single day. I mean it, there has not been a single day since we started dating when he hasn't made me laugh. He is the funniest person I know.
2. His testimony. He has such awesome faith and is such a good example to me and for Jackson. He truly makes me want to be a better person to be worthy of him.
3. He does everything in his power to make me happy. He is always thoughtful and considerate and puts up with my sometimes difficultness. What more could a girl want!

He really is the best!! And we are genuinely happy. And I know that this is just the beginning. I look forward to every day and more happiness to come.

Thanks Chelsi

So apparently, having a blog has made me a member of the "Blogger Family". There are some wonderful people in this family. Like Chelsi. She is my sister-in-law's friend, who I've never even met, but she made me the new header for my blog. She is so awesome to do that for me. See...there still are plenty of nice people in the world.

Parenting Preemies

Every Tuesday Jackson and I go to a Preemie class that is sponsered by the hospital. Different nurses come and talk about things to expect and not expect with a premature baby. Sometimes I wonder why we even go at all. He is doing so great, and often the topics and concerns don't even apply to him. But there is a free lunch and I'm always up for that!! Even the other moms there say that he doesn't even seem like a preemie. This day Jackson was smiling and talking to me and everyone was loving it. I think I need to get a faster camera though, I always seem to miss that perfect smile.


Darci: Who do you love the most?
Jackson: MOMMY!!
(I know that is what he is saying)

Life at Home

I have been off of work since Jackson was born and don't have to go back until mid-March. I am loving every minute of being home with him. Since sometimes I get a little bored we starting going for walks every day as long as the weather is nice. This day it was just a little cold so I bundled him up and out we went. This is what he looked like at the end of the walk. I just love this picture!