5 months old

Jackson turned 5 months old this week! I need to get him on a scale to see how much he weighs, but we do know that he is almost 27 inches long. He is growing through his clothes so fast I can harldy keep up!

It has been three weeks since I started my new job and Jackson has taken very well to spending the weekdays with his Nana & Cappie or Grammy & Randy. Sean and I are so thankful that he is being watched and cared for by the best!

Just about 2 weeks ago we started him on baby food and he has been doing great. So far he's tried rice cereal, oatmeal, applesauce, peaches, pears, sweet potato, and peas. Feeding him is really fun but we both get covered in food because he thinks it is really funny to blow bubbles with food in his mouth!

Jackson is also starting to sit up on his own (although mostly hunched over resting on his belly) and he also discovered his feet! He hasn't pulled them in his mouth yet, but I'm sure that's not too far away.

He is also becoming much more interactive and starting to make new sounds. So far we've heard a little "da da" and "mmmma". I don't think he realizes what he is saying yet, but it's very cute anyway!

I can't believe the holidays are just around the corner. This Thanksgiving we plan to go to La Grande with my side of the family and spend Christmas here in the Tri-Cities. For now I just can't wait to see what the rest of month 5 has in store.

Love you baby boy!

4 months old

Dang it I got lazy about updating my blog again! Jackson is now 4 1/2 months old and weighing in at a hefty 20 lbs.

I can't believe how quickly he is growing and learning. He is like a sponge! Some of his biggest accomplishments in month 4 have been learning to "johnny jump" and roll over by himself! It is the cutest thing to see him bouncing and giggling in the door way!

It's a good thing that my mother-in-law, Dawn, kept her johnny jumper from when her kids were babies. It may be almost 30 years old, but it works like a charm! The new ones in stores just don't work quite the same... believe me... my mom and I have tried about 3 other brands but none of them are quite as springy.

Well Halloween is almost here and I can't wait for the festivities to begin! We had a fun time going to the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago. Jackson had his first hayride and trip through a corn maze. We are planning to dress him up as a tiger (as long as he hasn't grown out of his costume) and the Rae's are having a Halloween party so that should be fun!

Growing up so fast!

Jackson is about 3 1/2 months old now and learning so many new things! His biggest accomplishment this week was learning to roll over from his back to his tummy. He's doing a lot better about tummy time and doesn't fuss about it as much. He's also starting to reach for toys while he's on his belly.

Every morning he gets up with me and sits in his chair while I get some coffee. Then we usually spend some time playing on the floor or reading books. The look on his face while I read to him is precious - he is just mezmorized by the colorful pages!

Over the last few weeks he's been taking a little bit longer naps and doesn't cry for very long if I put him in his crib. When I'm really struggling to get him to go to bed I just take a nap right alongside him. He loves to cuddle!

3 months old

Jackson turned 3 months old this week. The "little" guy is around 19 or 20 lbs! My arms are getting stronger by the day :)

Last night he went on his first church outing to hear his Nana's singing group perform. The music was wonderful and he was an angel baby. He even spoke up and babbled when the pastor asked the congregation to voice any joys or need for prayers. He was showing off all the new sounds he can make and it was very cute!

Jackson is also gaining a lot of strength in his neck and back (although he still hates tummy time). He loves to be pulled up into a sitting position and also enjoys the view when he's standing up.

Earlier this week we moved Jackson's crib into a separate bedroom so he can have a quieter place to sleep. Sean and I don't have to tip toe around at night anymore too! I keep the monitor next to me at night so I can hear all his grunts, hiccups, and cries. During the day we have the webcam set up so I can check on him while he naps. Such wonderful technology we have!

Love you baby boy,

~ Mommy

12 weeks old

I can't believe my baby Jackson is almost 3 months old! Just in the last week or so he's been developing such a personality and likes and dislikes.

He loves sleeping next to mommy & daddy in the morning. I usually pull him in to bed with us after he's slept in his crib all night and I can usually get a few more hours of sleep that way. When he is ready to get up for the day he just smacks me in the face a few times :)

We found out this week that he loves watching tv. I almost feel guilty letting him watch tv in his swing, but he gets so tickled and just laughs and shouts the whole time. It's very cute!

Jackson is using his hands a little more this week and gets excited when we give him a blanket to chew on. I can put him in one of his swings or baby chairs with a few toys and his blanket and he'll keep himself busy while I get a few things done.

I'm still struggling to get him to take naps during the day. He gets so mad when he gets tired and really fights falling to sleep. He seems to only need 2 or 3 cat naps lasting 30-45 mins if I'm lucky.

Being back home has been great already. Jackson gets to play with his cousin all the time and has been spoiled by his grandparents. He even got to go swimming for the first time and absolutely loved it!

Love you baby boy!

- Mommy

11 weeks old

Seeing as it has been 2 months since my last post I've got a lot to cover!

First of all, Jackson is doing absolutely great. He's a very happy, healthy boy, and so loveable! Over the last 11 weeks he has really been growing. At our last appointment (Aug 12th) he weighed over 15 pounds and was 25 inches long. According to the charts he is in the 97th percentile. He's growing through his clothes already too... now wearing size 6month!

Jackson is also sleeping through the night now. In fact, last night he slept for 9 hours straight, woke up and ate at 7am and then slept in until 10am! A huge improvement from waking every two hours for a diaper change and feeding. Everyone who told me that "things will get better" was totally right.

So far he really enjoys his nightly baths too. Either Sean or myself usually get in the tub with him and he just gets very calm and likes to "swim" in the water. Afterward he gets in his jammies and nurses and then goes right to sleep.

He is also very active and vocal. When he wakes up in the morning he has plenty of happy shouts and ah goos for me. Lots of big smiles too! Can't wait until he starts giggling and laughing!

Overall he's a pretty happy guy unless you put him on his tummy for too long. He starts to scream after about 5 minutes but we're working on it every day.


In mommy & daddy news, we made the decision to move back to the Tri-cities. We are leaving Duvall this weekend (Aug 28th) and headed back to our hometown to raise Jackson with both sets of grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins!

The decision wasn't easy, but with the cost of child care alone it would have been almost impossible for us to stay here. Sean was fortunate to find a job very quickly which helped solidify our plans. I put in my notice at my job and I'm still looking for the
right opportunity to come up. Right now, being a full time mom and wife is my job and I'm happy about that!

Love you Jackson,

- Mommy

Jackson has arrived!!

This post is quite a bit late, but the good news is Jackson has arrived and is doing great! Here are a few quick updates since I only have a little time before he wakes up from his nap :)

In my last post I mentioned that I was getting induced, but as luck would have it I started going into labor around 8pm on June 11th while all my family started rolling into town. Talk about good timing! At first the pain just started as cramping and then started growing stronger and stronger. By 10pm Sean and I were headed to the hospital. Once I was admitted the nurses found that my water had already broken or was slowly leaking so they needed to keep me there until baby was born. I continued to have really strong contractions for a few hours while we waited for the anesthesiologist to arrive. It felt like days had passed before he arrived, but the epidural really was a life saver. I don't know how women go without it. A few more hours passed and by about 6am I was at 10 cm and ready to push. At 6:40a.m. Jackson made his way into the world and weighed a whopping 8lbs 13oz, 21.5 inches long!

I was discharged from the hospital on the 13th, but I only stayed home for a few hours before I spiked a bad fever and had to return to the emergency room. The next few days are now a blur, but unfortunately I got a urinary and uterine infection and had to be hospitalized for 48 hours. It was really not the way I pictured things starting out. Anyways, Sean and both our families were a huge help in my recovery and I can't thank them enough!!

With all of that behind me now I am finally enjoying being a mom to Jackson... and he is just amazingly perfect! He's growing like a weed already. He is 2 weeks old and already put on 2 pounds :) This is of course because he wants to eat every 1 to 2 hours. Right now he naps most of the day and isn't the best about sleeping at night. He wakes up about every 2 hours with a wet diaper and ready to eat. Last night he did have a 4 hour stretch of sleep, so hopefully we are getting the hard part out of the way.

Baby is waking up now, so I've gotta cut this short even though I could go on forever about how great Jackson is :)