Show and Tell Tuesday | What's In a Name

I am linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals for Show and Tell Tuesday! We are sharing "what's in a name" today and I'm going to focus on my two babies - Jillian Harper and Noodle!

Jillian Harper is my baby girl that was born sleeping on April 2, 2014 - You can read about her by following the links listed here! When we found out we were pregnant we immediately started thinking of baby names - for boys and girls. My husband is Jonathan and me being Jacqueline we are often referred to as J&J. We knew before we even thought of having kids that we wanted to name our child something that starts with J. We found out we were having a baby girl at about 15 weeks and knew we would name her Jillian Harper within a few hours.

For as long as I remember I have loved the name Harper - but that obviously doesn't start with a J, so I wanted it to be our daughter's middle name. In going through the hundreds of J names for girls Jonathan and I agreed on only about 4. We disagreed on about 400. We discussed our top 3-4 names and decided that Jillian Harper was a beautiful name, and it was perfect for our little one.

I was living in Blacksburg for the summer when I decided I was going to get a puppy. My roommate at the time told me of dogs that were being adopted out of the Virginia Tech Vet School so I thought I'd go see them. Going into it I had no intention of getting a dog, but after seeing Noodle I knew that he was going to be mine! I confirmed that I would pick him up the next morning, and went to get everything you need for a puppy!

I picked up the cage, toys, food, bowls, and a leash. I knew I needed to get him a collar with a tag, but for that I would need a name. After discussing dog names with my friends I landed on Noodle. While at the time everyone thought I was crazy and had other suggestions, I knew this was a perfect name for him. I thought of it because from the first time I saw him he was flopping around like a wet noodle. He is my first born and baby - even though he will be 9 years old later this month!

Where I've Lived - Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Thank you for joining me for Where I've Lived - Fort Lauderdale Edition. I cannot believe that this is the sixth city where I have lived - and so many things have happened since we moved here.

Jonathan's company moved him to Fort Lauderdale in July of 2012, but I didn't move down from South Carolina until November of that year. While it wasn't fun to live apart after we had just been engaged, and were trying to plan a wedding - we knew that it was the best thing for our family and our future. Our plan was that I would move down to Fort Lauderdale by January regardless of if I found a job, but luckily I found a position and my company moved me down here!

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When Jonathan first moved down here his company found him an apartment for 6 months. This allowed us to look for a place to live and not have to find something immediately. Since we didn't know the area we decided we wanted to live close to work, needed at least 2 bedrooms, and that was about it. We found a place on SE 17th Street and were only 2 miles from my work and about 1 mile from his. Although there were some annoying parts of living there, we stayed for the first year and resigned the lease to stay another year.

A few months into our 2nd years lease, we found out we were expecting a baby. We knew the apartment was way to small for a family of 3 and broke our lease to move to a townhouse in Plantation. We LOVE our townhouse and I don't know how we lived in our cramped apartment for the first year. We now live about 20 minutes from work, but are a lot closer to many of the activities we like in the area. It is definitely a shorter drive to hang out with family, go to our doctor/dentist, and we are really close to the BB&T Center where there are tons of things going on.

Fort Lauderdale will always have a special place in my heart because this is where we became a family. Jonathan and I lived here when we got married, found out we were expecting and welcomed Jillian Harper into this world. I know we will not live here forever, but Fort Lauderdale will always live in our hearts.

We have made some great friends and had a lot of fun times with family over the past couple of years. We have started a new tradition of monthly game nights, and look forward to continuing this in the years to come. Jonathan and I have also made it to a few sporting events - professional hockey, football and baseball games. Maybe 2015 will be the year we make it to a Heat basketball game!

I had trouble picking only a few pictures - so here are a bunch from the past couple of years in Fort Lauderdale!

If you missed my previous Where I've Lived posts you can read them here:

Columbus Ohio

Blacksburg, Virginia

Palm Desert, California

West Palm Beach, Florida
Bluffton, South Carolina

I am sure that a lot will change over during the time that we live in Fort Lauderdale - and I'll make sure to update this post every now and then with the exciting things that are going on around here!

Wednesday Weekly Recap

Happy Wednesday to all! I hope that you all enjoy the recap of the past week and that you have a great week!

Wednesday, April 1, 2015 

Wednesday night we celebrated Jillian's birthday at Ocean 2000, the restaurant at The Pelican Grand. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset that turned into a moonlit dinner and celebrated our baby girl. 

Thursday, April 2, 2015

 Jonathan and I love our daughter, Jillian Harper. We miss her every day and on her first birthday we celebrated her with a trip to Butterfly World. We spent the entire day together remembering our baby girl.

Friday, April 3, 2015

Forgetting it was Friday during Lent, I made an amazing steak salad for dinner. I typically buy meat from Omaha Steaks whenever they have specials - and these were awesome. I also tried a new dressing called Cilantro Avocado by Bolthouse Farms, you definitely need to try it!

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Jonathan wasn't feeling well, so we ate burgers in bed and watched basketball. It was a very relaxing night, and I honestly didn't stay awake for the whole game but was happy to see the Badgers beat the Wildcats! GO BIG 10! 

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Easter Sunday was celebrated with Family - and I made these super cute Easter Jars for everyone. Check out the DIY instructions here if you want to make these for your Family and Friends next year!

Monday, April 6, 2015

Spending our staycation at the beach last week, I was able to get a little bit of a base tan. As I would like to keep my tan and build on it, I decided to spend a couple of hours at the pool on Monday. After getting some time in the sun I headed to the salon to get my hair colored. Pictures to come in the next couple of days!

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Tuesday was a really busy day at work and I didn't get to leave until around 6:30. I came home, made dinner and went to bed. Jonathan has been sick since Saturday and I am really trying not to get sick... but I am not sure it is working. Keep your fingers crossed that all of this medicine keeps me from catching anything.

Jillian Harper's First Birthday



Jillian Harper Foster,

Happy birthday sweet girl! I cannot believe it has been 1 year since we held you in our arms. Not a day goes by that we do not think about you and wish you were still here with us. Daddy and I have been on a staycation this week celebrating you. We would give anything to have you here with us, but we know that you are here in spirit. We know you are up in heaven looking down on us and making sure we are okay. We love you with all our hearts.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

If you are not familiar with Jillian Harper's birth story - you can check out the 3-part posts that I made for her last year:

Jillian Harper | Part 1

Jillian Harper | Part 2

Jillian Harper | Part 3

Jillian Harper | Weekly Photos

Happy Wednesday everyone! Take a look at the recap of the past week and I'll see you back here next week!

Thursday, March 26, 2015

 

 

 

Jonathan's boss and his family will be staying at the Resort where I work beginning tomorrow. As a fun amenity for his daughters I made them each a tumbler with their name, and an anchor. I filled them with candy and will have them in the room prior to check-in. I'm hoping that they like them!

Friday, March 27, 2015

 

 

 

 

Friday was a foggy, rainy day - my least favorite type of day to work. Working at a resort on the beach, everyone expects perfect weather and often complain when it is not. I had a lot of work to get done today but would have preferred to be laying in be watching movies while it was crappy outside.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

 

 

Saturday a wonderful woman passed away and she will be missed by many. Growing up I spent a lot of time at the Hall's house, and Mary was like second mom. I will never forget the fun vacations I was a part of, the holiday parties or random nights at the bars. I am praying for her family, especially Sam, Meaghan and Ryan.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

 

Lately I have been off on Sunday, but this week I worked since I will be off Monday - Thursday. When the sun is beautiful on your drive into work, it makes working on your usual day off a lot easier! I was able to finish up all outstanding items at work and won't have to do any work at all while I am on my staycation!

Monday, March 30, 2015

 

 

 

As Jillian's birthday is on Thursday, Jonathan and I decided to get away for a few days. We decided on a staycation and headed to the Pelican Grand Resort. Our first day we spent time relaxing on the beach, then headed to dinner at Shooters Waterfront. We sat there for a few hours listening to a live band and enjoying the beautiful day.

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

  

 

 

 



 

Day two of our staycation started with sleeping in - something that does not happen very often in our house. I was up by 8:00 and Jonathan slept until around 9:30. We headed down to relax in rocking chairs before heading to the beach. We spent most of the day relaxing in the sun and then took naps before dinner. We ate at the hotel bar, and were able to sit outside listening to the ocean waves. It was perfect!

Tuesday Thoughts | Wish

 

A few weeks ago I had to pick out a book to send as part of a baby shower gift and I headed to Target. I wasn't sure what I was going to get, but thought I'd look through their selection before deciding on one. While I decided on Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney, I found another book that I decided to buy for Jonathan and I.

While I was looking through the books I found an awesome book that made me tear up when I was reading it. I had never heard of it, but it is called Wish by Matthew Cordell. It is the story of two parents [elephants] that want nothing more than to have a baby. They are wishing, and planning, and waiting...and waiting. Eventually, after a storm finally comes a baby and their wish comes true.  I have read dozens of books over the past year, and this children's book spoke to me more than anything else I have read. I would definitely recommend buying it for any expecting parents that have been through child loss and are expecting a rainbow baby, or anyone that has struggled to conceive - it isn't necessarily the book for everyone.

While the story of each child is different, I feel that this book truly speaks to our current situation. As we approach Jillian Harper's first birthday on Thursday we cannot celebrate it with her. We can think about her, talk about her, and celebrate the short time she was here with us - but it is different than celebrating a birthday for someone that is living. We miss her every day and will never forget her. I wish every day that we could have had more time with her, and that she was here with us now.

As we move through life right now, it seems like we are still in the stage of waiting with a storm cloud above our heads. In no way am I saying that every day is a bad day, and we have tons of great days. Jonathan and I definitely want to have more children, but do not know when or if that will ever happen. We are praying, and wishing that sometime soon we will have another child...a living child... Jillian Harper's brother or sister... Until that day we will continue to pray, and wait, and Wish...

Wednesday Weekly Recap

Happy Wednesday to all! I am back after a very busy week with very little blogging... I know I have planned to blog at least 3 times a week, so let's see if that can happen this week! Enjoy the recap of the past week - full of lots of pictures!

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

When we announced to everyone on Facebook that we were pregnant with Jillian, the video was set to this song. We now refer to it as Jillian's song, and I have it set as a favorite in the jeep. Some days I cry, some days I smile but I always think of my baby girl when I hear this song. It was on the radio right when I got in the car Wednesday morning. It was just what I needed on my 10th day of work in a row before a long weekend. I love the times I can bring Jillian into everyday life even though she is no longer with us.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

On Thursday morning we were up early to catch a direct flight from Miami, Florida --> Norfolk, Virginia. We were heading to Virginia for a wedding and looking forward to spending time visiting with friends. We were NOT looking forward to the very cold weather that we would face all weekend.

We spent time at Jonathan's parents house when we first arrived in town. Jonathan spent time with Sonny before hitting the golfing range with his dad, Bruce. Sharon and I went shopping and ran a few errands. By late afternoon it was SNOWING and we were making plans with friends.



We decided to go to Buffalo Wild Wings with Alisa and Chris, Zach and Emily before having to pick-up Bridget from the airport. We had a great time hanging out and it was so nice to catch up with everyone. Bridget's flight was cancelled, and we decided to head back to Jonathan's parents, drink some wine and head to bed. It was a great first day of "vacation."

Friday, February 13, 2015

Friday was our 19th Monthaversary - a monthly "holiday" that we celebrate with a photo on instagram and a card for Jonathan. I am not sure how long we will be celebrating these monthly holidays, but I really enjoy remembering our wedding day and how much has happened since that day.

Friday morning/afternoon I worked with the "moms" to put on a bridal luncheon for Ashlea. Her wedding was the reason why I was in town, and I helped with the flower arrangements and food prep/service. Everything was beautiful, but my phone died so I didn't get any other pictures during the event.



After the luncheon I got my nails done, and then met up with Jonathan. He was busy all day at Dave and Buster's with the groomsmen. I was so happy to meet baby Hunter on Friday, while having dinner with his parents, David and Katie. After dinner we went to O'Connor's Brewing Co. to meet up with Zach, Melissa and Jesse before heading to Downtown Portsmouth. It was soooo much fun, but definitely made for a tiring night.  

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Saturday morning I had my hair curled for the wedding by Amy at Change's while Jonathan got a hot lather shave from his cousin Allison at Jake's Place. Then we went to lunch at Doumar's - which was awesome! Bacon Grilled Cheese and Butter Pecan Ice Cream is the way to my stomach (and heart on Valentine's day)!

Saturday evening we were happy to attend Kyle and Ashlea's wedding in Suffolk. They had a beautiful wedding ceremony at The First Lady of Suffolk followed by an awesome reception at The Hilton Garden Inn. 

Sunday, February 15, 2015

 

On Sunday we had to fly back home - and were definitely ready for the warm Florida weather! Unfortunately one part of our flight was cancelled, and we were going to have to rent a car to drive from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale. Things worked in our favor during an oversold flight situation - we were each given flight and mean vouchers, and booked on a later flight to Miami. We had beers in the air while waiting to board and were able to arrange for Madeline to pick us up in Miami! Thanks Madeline!!

Monday, February 16, 2015

While we were in Virginia we had to board Noodle at Barker's Pet Center. Since he was there over Valentine's Day they helped him to make us a Valentine. Even though I was sick yesterday and could not go to work, it was nice to be home cuddling with Noodle Bug.  

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

On September 30, 2014 I gave up drinking Diet Coke (and all pop). While I LOVE it, I know how bad pop is for you. In the 140 days since I gave it up, I have only had 4 Diet Cokes - about 1 a month. I'd say I am doing well, but Jonathan brought some home and they are very tempting...