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!