One Day at a Time

I love May! The weather is warmer but not too hot and the days are long! This month hasn't been too busy, I started booking photo-shoots and we are re-doing our utility/front room. I'm getting excited for the months to come, because that means it's adventure time for our family. We have a lot planned (mostly reunions and weddings to attend) but we are also hoping to get in a few family vacations too.

I was so excited that Spring was here, in fact the other day I was soaking up the sun in 71 degrees...then I woke up to snow this morning :( Oh wells, spring has to come soon.


This month started off with a new adventure...Devin and I bought a new car (to us anyways). We have been having issues with our SUV and it was in the shop for over 3 weeks. They finally figured out what was wrong with it and it's going to cost an arm and a leg to pay for it. We had been discussing the need for a more fuel economy car that could fit two car seats. We test drove and visited many dealerships and finally made a purchase of a 2012 Dodge Avenger!


We love it and are still deciding on a name...our past vehicles were Herman and Beautimus. We have the Great (rotten) Pumpkin....and now we are down to Captain America, The Blueberry, or The Blue Dart. Kamille calls it the Boo Car. I like it because it drives really fast and doesn't cost as much to drive around :)


On April 8th my cousin Brooke got married in Rexburg, ID. I was her photographer and it was an interesting day for sure. Luckily we got there the day before and we took bride groom pictures, the next day, as we were walking out of the temple there was a snow/rain/wind storm. It was nasty outside and lasted a few hours. Lillian got to meet Devin's grandparents and see a lot of family. It was a nice girls trip with my mom.




For Easter we had my parents, Devin's parents and a few friends come over for a BBQ. It was cold and wet outside so we just hung out inside, ate good food and probably ate WAY too much candy. I didn't grow up having "Easter Baskets" with candy, dresses, eggs, and toys... I learned about them in college. So Devin and I discussed what traditions we wanted to start for our family and figured we would do Easter candy and eggs on Saturday and then put everything away and celebrate Easter on Sunday with the focus on Christ. That night we sat down and talked about Christ's Resurrection, it was an awesome way to end the day.


This last weekend Devin's brother Derek came up with his family and we attended Carlene's first time going through the Temple. It was so much fun to watch Kamille and Ethan play together. They were so nice and shared everything. They always wanted to be together! We got to tour a few forts in Western North Dakota and learn about trading posts and the early settlers. On Friday we drove down to Bismarck and stayed at a fun hotel with a water park. We all joined in the fun and rode the slides and tested out the sauna. It was awesome making fun memories with family that we don't get to see as much. Saturday we went to the temple, I felt terrible because a session lasts over two hours and Carlene's boyfriend's younger brothers and sister got to watch the 4 kids. I guess Lillian cried the whole time. As soon as I picked her up, she fell asleep for hours. It was so sad.

Funny Story Here:We told Ethan to give Kamille a kiss on the cheek. She then grabbed his face and puckered up! Then EVERYONE yelled, "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" It scared them both and they jumped back...but I was glad I caught this so we could blackmail them one day! haha

Kamille and Lillian are doing great! We have a Dr. appointment on Wednesday to check on the hole in Lillian's heart. We are hoping that it's all closed up and that she won't require surgery. Kamille is getting so big and bossy. Lately when Devin wants her to do something, he makes a "deal" with her and shakes hands on it. Today I told her to pick up her toys and she looked at me and said, "Toys, Chocolate, Deal?" Then she took my hand and shook it. I was a little confused then realized my little two year old conned me out of chocolate!




Devin and I have gotten off track on working out and eating better (probably due to the candy and snacks and travelling)....but the best thing about Monday is that it's the beginning and we can always start over. So today we got up, took our Thrive, ate a small healthy breakfast, and then worked out for a half hour. We then cleaned out our back room that was full of garbage and boxes. Now it looks so much better! Devin starts his 7 "days on" tomorrow and we are going to try our hardest to stay on track :)

Devin with his brother Derek and sister Carlene

Looking fancy

God Be With You,
Kaylynn Jackson

March has been a.......boring month to say the least. Nothing too exciting, just life! Some good days, some busy days, some stressful days and sometimes, just "days". We have had doctor's appointments, dentist appointments, and car appointments.


Kamille's Update:
She is turning 2 and half in a few weeks but is the size of a small 4 year old. She is wearing 3T and 4T and is getting more independent everyday. Since we have been home a lot this month we have really been hitting the potty training. At home we don't have hardly any accidents but then again she just drops her underwear and runs to the bathroom (that isn't quite acceptable in public). She LOVES to color, sing, and dance. We have been working on letters and numbers everyday. I like to print out coloring pages focusing on shapes, letters, and numbers. She loves her little sister so much and tries her hardest to play with her. I loved walking into the living room and saw Kamille with her dolls out and one was sitting on top of Lillian's belly. My two year old is also full of sass! A lot of time she walks up to me and says, "Mom, you get busy...I need LUNCH....I'm hungry!!!!"

She wanted to go to church two hours early... I told her no

Always reading books to Lillian

My little Princess

Lillian's Update:
Lillian is almost 3 months old and is just the happiest baby. She likes to sit up and look around and likes to stand holding our hands. She is wobbly but loves it! She is growing like a weed. At her first appointment she was in the 20th percentile and in one month she moved up to the 53 percentile. Now she grew out of her 0-3 and I am moving her to 3-6 clothes. Lillian smiles at everyone and shows off her cute dimples. This last month she had her baby blessing, it was such a good day! When Lillian was born, she had a small heart murmur. The doctor's weren't too worried but we have a check up next month to make sure the hole has closed. Her pediatrician says that she can't hear anything so we are hoping for the best.

Morning snuggles

Baby Blessing

Happy Girl

Devin's Update:
Devin is working hard and always helping me out with the girls. I'm one lucky woman to have a man who encourages me to be healthier. Devin has lost over 45 pounds in the last two years! I'm so proud of him. He's willing to try new foods and to change his lifestyle to help me in my goals. My favorite part of the day is when he get's home from work and Kamille and yells, "He's HOME!!!!" She runs to the door and jumps into daddy's arms. I just watch and can't help but smile.

Reading to his girls

He's the best

Looking handsome

My Update:
I'm just trying to be the best mom and wife I can be! My days are filled with cleaning the house, feeding and changing a baby, mountains of laundry, making dinner, and loving my family. I just started our "Jackson Adventure Book"....basically a scrapbook that covers all the small travels and big events in our life. I take a million and one pictures a year and figured I better get them printed and scrapbook everything. I'm really excited because I LOVE arts and crafts.
3 weeks after having Lillian I started back on Thrive and began my workouts and eating healthier. It's been 7 weeks since and I haven't lost any weight still but I'm down more that 15 inches....that puts my total to 34 inches and 30 pounds in the last 2 years. I feel great and even though I'm not losing weight yet I know that it will come. Now that North Dakota got the memo that it was spring, I'm so excited to get outside. I just ordered my double jogging stroller/bike trailer today!

After a workout..yuck!

Picture with my princess

Two years ago and now!

God be with you,
Kaylynn Jackson

I know I say this a lot...but "Life is Good!" Everyone has their ups and downs but if we just choose to smile and see the good in things you really can see that life is good :)

This February has been pretty low key. We didn't do much just focused on eating better and getting more exercise. It's been warming up in North Dakota and I'm hoping that we don't get anymore storms. Some days I look outside and it's so sunny and the snow looks like it should be melting...so I step out to breathe in fresh air only to find that it's 18 degrees not....45! I always check my outside temps now and don't trust the sunshine.

A few weeks ago I decided to paint my bedroom and change it up a bit. When we moved in, we took the Winnie the Pooh room because it was the bigger room. The curtains were falling apart and I have no idea how old they were. I painted the room light beige and one wall is teal. We changed the furniture around, added a new bedspread and new curtains. It's so much more relaxing and I actually like to go in my room.

Our Bedroom

Kamille Update: She is growing so fast! Last week I put away her 24 Month and 2T. She is now wearing 3T and some 4T. She has been working on potty training a lot. Everyday after Devin leaves we take her pants and diaper off and I let her run around and play. She has her little potty but she really likes to use the big toilet. She knows how to flush and wash her hands and then it's chocolate time. She is doing so good! She's been watching ABC movies and playing ABC games on my phone. When I sing the song...she tries really hard but just mixes all the letters around. Her numbers go like this.... 1,2,1,2,1,.....3.....8,9,10! So we are still working on that. She does however know her colors! She's one smart 2 year old :)

Painting time!!! She loves to paint!

Waiting at the Dr. Office for Lillian to finish

Lillian's Update: When we went in for Lillian's dr. appointment, she was doing great. Her jaundice was all gone and she was already over 9 lbs. She is smiling so much more and loves Kamille. Sometimes I worry Kamille is going to hurt her or smother her...but when I look at Lillian she is just so happy. She is sleeping mostly through the night and I usually have to only get up once to feed and change her. She also likes to sit up and see everything.

weigh in time

The new little dress I bought her the other day

So I have been doing really good this month on eating better and exercising more. I am getting my week 4 measurements on Monday so I'm not sure how much I have lost, but I can see that I've lost inches already. My clothes are getting loose and I've been having so much fun.

Today!!! 2-24

Smiling :)

Left a few days ago....Right Spring 2015

Every morning I try to get up at 5:30 and work out. I do different things everyday. Sometimes I do just dance or a hard cardio workout. This one is my favorite!
For eating better we cut out a lot of carbs and sugar. No more pasta, rice, potatoes...etc. Here are some examples of what we are eating and it's all delicious!


I'm so glad that we are making these changes in our life. We are losing weight, we are happier, and best of all we are teaching our children to make healthy choices!

God be with you,
Kaylynn Jackson