8 Months Old...

Where have the last 8 months gone? I can't believe another month has passed by already. I am so torn with emotion as I type this month's update. This month, more than ever, I am overcome with sadness at how quickly Jackson is growing as I realize he won’t be my little baby much longer. On the other hand, I am delighted to watch him grow, learn, and change each and every day. He sure is one special little boy, so full of personality and happy nearly all of the time!

The speed at which a baby develops is truly amazing! Jackson seem to be learning at least one new thing a day right now.  Every time we sit down to play with a toy it seems that he's accomplished a new task like pushing the button to make the balls pop or starting the race track toy. He is a very good “player” and enjoys pretty much every toy or non-toy object he can get his hands on! 

Here is an update on milestones reached this month:

• Jackson is crawling! It took him all month to master it but he is now moving forward on all fours. He loves to rock on your hands and knees and sometimes even lunges forward.
• He is sitting up easily from a crawling position.
• He is trying to pull up on furniture and large toys. We have to keep a very close eye on him!
• Jackson FINALLY cut a tooth! The second one has not cut all the way through yet but it will soon.
• He constantly bangs, shakes, and waves toys around. He is really good and switching objects back and forth between hands and are figuring out how things operate.
• Jacks has been laughing for a while, but his laugh just keeps getting better and better! He loves to be tickled and now laughs when I sniff him (I discovered this because his shirt smelled good the other day and when I sniffed it he started giggling so now I play sniff his shirt to get him rolling), kiss his belly, and sometimes when I’m just being silly!
• Jackson also loves to copy - actions and sounds. He mimics all of the time and sometimes we converse back and forth just copying each other's sounds. 
• He is doing much better at feeding himself little finger foods and using a self feeder with banana in it. He shovels puffs and melts right in his mouth!  I haven't been brave enough yet to let him try too many other finger foods but will start branching out soon.
• We added a third meal of solids and he continues to do very well with eating. His least favorite food this month was broccoli. We've also added meats into his daily menu. Here are the new foods we tried this month: strawberry banana, blueberry apple, mango, prunes, broccoli, zucchini, butternut squash, chicken potato and carrots, pork and sweet potatoes, and chicken apple and broccoli. 
• Jackson still wakes up once in the early morning to nurse. We are trying to stretch that out and get him to sleep all the way until morning. Hopefully, next month I will be able to report that we are all getting a full night of sleep! 
• We've had a little trouble trying to figure out his nap and sleep schedule the last week or so. We tried cutting the third nap and he seems to be falling asleep much quicker at night now.

This has been quite an exciting month. Not only has Jackson been growing and changing like crazy, but we also had a pretty busy schedule. We went to TN for Easter. The car trip was ROUGH to say the least! Thankfully the rest of the trip was nice. We had a pretty low key visit and even had Jackson dedicated on Easter Sunday. We spent one weekend at home after going to TN and then we traveled to Fayetteville to visit Corey and Claire Mullen. Their dog Annie just loved Jackson! We got to catch up with Justin and Callie while in Fayetteville, too. Another friend, Drew, also stayed with us several days this month because he is in the process of moving to Charlotte. And to cap off the month, Grammy and Granddaddy came for the weekend. We mostly hung out around the house besides going out to eat a couple of times. While they were visiting we also got to see My, Roseanne, Ron, Corky, Laurie, and Hilary – it was a busy month full visitors and traveling!

Here are a few pics of Jackson from this month :

This was Jackson's first time on the swing. He mostly just watched the other kids running around. 

Just hanging out and keeping my eye on mommy while she vacuums! 

This kid loves to kick back and prop his feet up! 

Working on feeding himself a little banana.

Napping while out on a stroll with mommy! 

Modeling! :) He constantly chews on that finger...

He scooted under the ottoman and was pretty darn proud of that accomplishment! 

Poor little fella bumped his head and got a bruise. Don't worry, he is still all smiles! 

Just enjoying some morning jump time!

This is how Jackson rides around Target. I try to sit him up straight but he always leans back over. He seems content. :) 

 This bib was obviously a gift from Abbey and Galen, the Tennessee fans in the family. :) Galen was deployed right after Jackson was born, so I took this picture of Jacks in the bib to send to Uncle G before he came home last week. Jackson looks forward to meeting his Uncle very soon! 

Just another day at the races...I love how Cooper is in the background watching for Mike to come home! 

I love this picture but it also makes me so sad...he looks like a toddler here! Such a tall boy and growing way too fast.

It has been another great month with this little bundle of joy. We look forward to many more! We are taking our first trip as a family of three to the mountains this weekend. We are pretty excited. Fingers crossed that the little man travels well and sleeps great! Stay tuned for an update on our trip! 

Happy 8 months baby boy! We love you so much! 

  

Eat, Play, Love

Eat, play, love....Throw a couple of quick naps in there and that pretty much sums up Jackson's daily schedule! Although this schedule may not sound that fascinating to some, I greatly enjoy a routine and love each and every day with my boy. It is so much fun to see him learn and grow. I watch in awe most days as he learns how a toy functions or he masters a new milestone. Babies learn and grow so quickly! It truly is an amazing thing to witness!

Jackson is now eating solids three times a day. He eats oatmeal cereal with a couple ounces of fruit for breakfast, about 3 ounces of a veggie plus some yogurt or applesauce for lunch, and about 4 ounces of a meat/veggie combo plus some more yogurt or applesauce for dinner. He also eats mum-mums, sweet potato puffs, and yogurt puffs with his meals if he still seems hungry. So far I've made almost all of his food. I really enjoy this and it is quite simple. I've had to put a little more thought into it now that we are doing combos and meats, but I find it fun. He has enjoyed almost every food he has eaten so far! His least favorites are probably broccoli and carrots; however, he seemed to like these two veggies better when mixed with other foods. I think he is going to be a big eater just like his daddy! Here are some pics of our more recent foods and Jacks trying them out:

The green is a Zucchini which was a hit - you can tell by the picture below. The other is sweet potato and pork which he also liked. Sweet potatoes are one of his favorites so I could probably mix it with anything and he'd eat it! 

The above mixture is apples and blueberries. He liked this as well but it was messy to clean and also caused some messy diapers. :) 

This is his breakfast: oatmeal and strawberries banana for his fruit. 

He has a mixed reaction to many of the foods, one bite he acts like it is chocking him and the next is delicious! Make up your mind boy....

When Jackson isn't eating, he is playing. He is so interested in EVERYTHING these days. We try to mix up playing in different rooms and with different toys. He often jumps in his jumper in the morning after eating and then we play with toys on the floor. We later play with more toys in the living room. We also have an exersaucer upstairs and try to get him in that on occasion too. I think it is good for him to be in different rooms/environments and he seems to enjoy taking in his surroundings. Of course the pets follow us wherever we go, and he LOVES to watch them. Every time they move lately it catches his attention. He could stare at them for minutes (that is a long time for someone with a very limited attention span!). I love watching him play with toys. He is picking up on things so quickly - he may play with a toy for the first time one day and the next seems to be playing with the toy as it is meant to be played with. He also knows how to turn many of his toys on now. Another thing I enjoy doing with him is reading. I love how he touches all of the pages! I'm not sure if this is because he likes the touch and feel books or what, but it is cute! Here are some play time pictures:

Beau caught his attention here. He spent a while trying to catch his tail! 

He is getting the hang of this toy. He still can't make all of the animals pop open but he has learned to shut them.

Sometimes you play so hard you just have to kick back and prop your feet up. :)  

We also try to get together each week with his friend Charlotte. Below are a couple of pictures of them "playing." I love the way babies interact with each other. They like to watch each other and crawl toward each other. From what I can tell, Jackson is starting to develop a little empathy. Every time that Charlotte lets out a shriek (even when it is a happy sound) he cries! It is funny and sweet at the same time. What a sweet boy....

I love how they just watch each other. They are also usually interested in the same toy. Don't worry, we haven't had any melt downs over sharing yet. 

Here are pictures to document his sensitivity. Above, just checking Charlotte out. Below, crying after she squealed. Love him. 

This play date was cut a little short because he was so emotional. In his defense he only napped for about 5 minutes that morning.

Man I love this baby boy! You guys may get tired of reading it but it is true. He is so happy and smiley. He also clings to his mommy which just melts my heart even more. He is starting to reach for me some or grab onto my arm when I try to pass him to someone else. I can feel his love for me too. :)  I'm so grateful I get to spend each day with him and that I get to be around to watch him grow.

I will have more of an update from the past month in the next day or two as the little man has grown another month older!

Trip to Fayetteville!

Mike, Jackson, Cooper, and I made a trip to Fayetteville, NC this past weekend to visit Corey and Claire Mullen. The Mullens are good friends from the dental school days. They only lived about a mile away from us during dental school and we spent several nights a week together, especially during American Idol season. :) After graduating, they moved back to their hometown Fayetteville. We've missed them dearly over the past two years but have been fortunate to get to visit each other on occasion.

Corey and Claire have a yellow lab Annie B, who is about the same age as Cooper. She and Cooper are BFF! I'm pretty sure that they miss each other even more than we humans do. They were inseparable all weekend! We always crated Cooper when we left the house and each time would find Annie's blanket by his crate when we returned. Isn't she sweet? Cooper did not want to leave their house - he stood on the porch and just looked at us with the saddest puppy eyes while Annie watched through the window. Finally, Mike carried him to the car. Shortly after leaving, Corey and Claire messaged to say that Annie threw up after Cooper left (a bunch of stuffing from one of the numerous toys they destroyed). Poor pups! We need to get them together more often.

Anyway, back to the trip. It was great catching up with the Mullens. After arriving Friday evening, we had a delicious dinner prepared by Claire. Saturday morning we took a nice stroll through the neighborhood and had breakfast. They took us to their country club for lunch that afternoon. We then got to visit with another dental school couple, Justin and Callie. It has been almost a year since we last saw them, so we were glad to get to catch up with them as well. We ended up ordering in Saturday evening so that Jacks could sleep. Sunday we went to brunch before watching Corey, Claire, and Justin play soccer. We then all got together to watch the Master's. Jackson did not travel very well on Friday night, so we thought it would be best to stick around until his bedtime that way he could sleep in the car. This worked out much better! We may have to travel this way from now one....

Here are a few pics from the weekend. Unfortunately, I did not take many but was able to steal a couple from Claire and Corey:

Jackson's first time behind the wheel! Don't worry, we made it safely. :)

Annie has never been around babies, I'd say she did pretty well for the first time! We only lost one hand...haha. She loved licking Jackson's fingers and toes and he thought it was soooo funny!

Here's Jacks with Aunt Claire! They got to spend a lot of quality time together. 

Oh you know, just reading our bedtime story. Annie appreciated it more than Jackson. 

Enjoying some time outdoors! 

Now one with mommy. Love my boy! 

This was taken right before we left. Wish I had a picture of them both as we were leaving. They are too sweet together. Cooper loved Annie's bed and she was very kind to share. Love these two! 

All in all, we had a wonderful weekend! We always have a blast when we get together with these two (three). We will be seeing them again soon at our friend Nate's wedding this summer and then again when Callie and Justin get married in the fall (and hopefully some in between as well!). Love you guys! 

We've also been getting to spend a lot of time with another Dental school friend Drew. He is in the process of relocating to Charlotte from DC and has been staying with us some over the last few weeks. He officially moves this weekend. Mike and I have really enjoyed getting to catch up with so many friends lately and are happy to have one moving closer to us! Cooper loves Drew a lot too and thinks that Drew is his visitor....I'm sure he will be sad when Drew is no longer staying here! haha Drew also has a dog, Finley. It will be nice to get the dogs together some now. Cooper has missed his doggy friends as much as we've missed our friends! 

Easter Weekend: Color Run & Family Fun

We were in TN over Easter weekend. It was nice to go home and visit with family for the holiday; however, the trip there and back did not go so well. A few weeks ago, when we traveled to Arlington, Jackson did pretty well in the car. We expected the same thing this trip - boy, were we wrong! He was not happy to be in the car either trip. We think he is just so much more aware of what is going on now and also very routine. He did not want to be confined in the car seat when it was play time. Poor thing.

Anyway, the rest of the trip was nice and relaxing. We had a pretty low key day on Friday. The biggest excitement was a cow that strolled through the backyard (yes, that really happened!). Dad and Corey were working so we just pretty much hung out at the house all day. Mike got to catch up on some reading and Grandma, Gigi, and Abbs got to catch up on some Jackson time!

Saturday Jenny and I ran in the Color Run. Abbey was planning to run with me but could not due to having surgery. Luckily, Jenny Oliver (a college teammate and good friend) was able to run with me. It was such a fun race! Basically, you get sprayed with color at each kilometer. The Color Run's claim is to be the "Happiest 5k on the Planet," and I believe that it was. We had a lot of fun and plan to do it again in the future. Abbey also looks forward to running in it next time! Here are our before and after pictures:

Pre-race with our nice, clean, white shirts! 

Post-race covered in color! So much fun. :)

Easter Sunday was also pretty relaxed. We listened to a great sermon and hung out at the house. Jeff, Denise, and the kiddos joined us for Easter dinner. The kids had an Easter egg hunt and even let little Jackson participate. Jeff performed a baby dedication for Jackson. This was very special to us not only because we were having Jackson dedicated to the Lord, but also because Jeff is a close family friend who performed our marriage ceremony. We are so glad that he has been able to be a part of so many important events in our lives.

Here are some pictures from the baby dedication, Easter egg hunt, and the rest of the weekend:

I wasn't joking when I said there was a cow in the backyard...maybe he is replacing the Easter Bunny? 

 Kylie feeding Jackson breakfast. She referred to herself as "Mama Kylie" most of the weekend! 

 The Easter Bunny was good to these two sweet kiddos! 

Helping Jacks open his first Easter basket.

Kylie playing with her baby cousin. She enjoyed spending time with him but did comment that she got bored because he did not do much. :) haha

What a handsome little fella in his Easter outfit!

Sitting with Gramps and and playing with his toes! 

Baby dedication. Don't mind the wine glasses! 

Hunting for eggs with Uncle C!! 

Now with Mal! 

Kylie had a little help from Cooper when it came to hunting eggs. He sure seemed to think this was a lot of fun! Cooper also took it upon himself to climb down the steps to the pool after playing fetch on Saturday...guess he needed to cool off. Crazy dog. 

Kylie and Cooper with their baskets! :) 

All the kids at the end of the hunt. Robby did not want his picture taken. He was more interested in what was inside the eggs! 

Someone could not wait until Grams sat down....this boy sure knows what a bottle is now! 

The only pic of Abbs all weekend. Looks pretty good in a bow tie. :)  

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend! We look forward to a couple of weeks at home before taking another long trip with Jackson.