December Update

So much for my goal of blogging every week on a more regular basis...Maybe once we get back home and don't have a traveling experience scheduled every other week! We are halfway through our Illinois visit and Jackson proves himself to be a seasoned traveler! We left our house last Saturday morning and made many stops. We stopped to see Jackson's Great-Grandma Jarvis. We went from there to the annual Smith family Christmas celebration. After that we spent the night at Great-Grandma Smith's house. Sunday morning we left Covington, VA for Indianapolis. That was the longest day of driving and Jackson did very well. It was amazing to feel the ridiculous decline in temperature when we stopped for gas in Indiana! We spent Sunday night with my best friend, Katie, and her family before finally arriving in Evanston at Mimi and Grandpa's house!

Jackson has been quite a charming house guest! He has been super smiley and has chatted up a storm with anyone who will listen! He has gotten to meet so many of his mommy and daddy's friends! He especially enjoyed time with Grandpa and Uncle Larry, who FINALLY got to meet Jackson!!! As exciting as this time of year is, Jackson slept through ALL holiday festivities. There was one night of Hanukkah during which he was awake so we could take the annual family picture. Otherwise he's missed it all! That doesn't mean that he didn't benefit from the holiday season. He has quite a few new outfits, toys, and some great books to add to his collection at home. Luckily, Mimi and Grandpa have a Christmas tree decorated so he can entertain himself during his awake times. He just LOVES Christmas trees!

Developmentally Jackson seems to be doing great! There are many times during the day when he will choose to suck on his hands instead of his pacifier. He has pretty good control over those fists these days. He is holding his head up really well and his thighs are SO strong (I guess all that chubbiness is good for something!). He loves standing up and looking around. Unfortunately, he is so curious in his surroundings that he doesn't always nap when he should. We've gotten to know a new cry: the "I'm overstimulated and super tired" cry. That one isn't so fun, but after a fair amount of jiggling, he usually ends up getting in a good nap.

We can't believe that Jackson will be three months old in a couple of weeks! We are desperately trying to slow down time, but in the meantime, we are enjoying every minute with our sweet little guy!

Chatting with Daddy

What a Handy Reminder

Our second road trip was very successful! We had a really good time with Jackson in Philadelphia. Actually, he had a good time keeping Mommy company while Daddy was busy with work. It was really nice to all be together after Josh finished his sessions for the day--totally worth tagging along.

We hadn't even been in Philly for three hours when I managed to win The Worst Mother of the Year Award! I was so proud of myself before we left that morning because I had Jackson fed and ready to go on time. Great! He got one bottle on the way and then we were going right to lunch once we arrived. I thought about changing his diaper, but then he was sleeping and I would have had to take him out of the carseat and out of his outdoor outfit, etc. I figured we wouldn't be gone that long and I could just do it when we got back. Well, when we got back, he was hungry so I put it off to feed him. He started making some strange noises then so I figured we should take a break and get a new diaper. I was pretty much expecting for him to have blown out through his clothes. I was totally surprised when I started changing him and he didn't seem to have leaked...until I rolled him over a little and saw poop smeared all the way up his back! AHHH!!! I don't know how long he was sitting in that! Miraculously, it didn't go thru to his main outfit or the car seat. I did throw away the plain white onesie he was wearing. There was no way it was getting clean and I wasn't going to deal with it in the hotel. Might I add that Mr. Jackson was mighty smiley and happy during this process...

Up until this unfortunate incident, there have probably been two times in Jackson's whole life so far where he fussed because of a wet or dirty diaper. However, he now fusses more when he needs a new diaper. Is this to make sure I don't forget about him??? LOL

In other news, we had an impromptu doctor's appointment today and Jackson now weighs 10 lbs 12 ozs! WOO HOO!!! The doctor said when he hits 12 lbs, we can start looking for him to sleep longer at night. Just a couple more weeks!

Jackson's First Storytime

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Blog

Today we went for Jackson's two month check-up and I couldn't believe how fast time is going! I want to try to get back to using this blog for the reason we started it: to document all things (exciting or frustrating) that go along with pregnancy and parenthood. I used to blog every Tuesday after we had read our weekly update. I'm thinking that Thursdays make more sense now since Jackson will reach weekly birthdays then :)

Our two month check-up went really well this morning despite Jackson being hungry and cold when we got going! He had probably the best night of sleep last night and didn't quite wake-up to finish eating before we left! He weighs 10 lbs 3.1 ozs! Woo hoo! The doctor was pleased with everything she saw and the things we told her. He did get two shots, but he was a champ! We go back in two more months for his four month check-up!

Probably our favorite development is that Jackson is "talking" to us all the time! Yesterday afternoon when Josh called Jackson laughed out loud! It was so cute! We just love watching him smile and coo at us! He loves looking at lights and ceiling fans! Luckily, both great-grandmas had excellent ceiling fans for his enjoyment while we visited for Thanksgiving :) Yesterday I noticed him making real progress at sucking on his hands/fingers. He seems to enjoy most of his tummy time sessions and holds his head up really well!

We took our first road trip for Thanksgiving which also meant Jackson's first out-of-town experience! We spent time with both Virginia great-grandmas and he got to meet some other friends and family along the way. He traveled like an old pro and was so easy, even out of his everyday routine. I think he won over many hearts while we were gone! I'm hoping this easygoing nature continues as we are spending this coming week in Philly while Josh attends meetings for work!

We are so blessed to have such a happy baby! He is so content and so much fun to be with!

Traumatized!

I have quickly gone from crying and upset to fuming and quite aggravated. With Cox Communications. Let me start by saying that Jackson and I are having a GREAT day! I judge that by the fact that he has been happy in his swing for MUCH longer than usual and I had found my second chance to pump before bedtime! So, I'm sitting on the couch zoning out to some lovely daytime TV, Jackson is content in his swing, I'm thrilled that pumping is going so well, and I look up to see a gigantic man IN our backyard! I was in the family room which has the large sliding doors that open to the backyard and deck. I immediately panicked and totally froze before trying to cover myself up (which is very difficult with no hands available). Once I was more decent I opened the door and asked if I could help him. He starts going on and on about some problem with the cable wiring and I really didn't care. I was interested in how he got into our backyard (we have a locked gate), what he was doing there without me doing, and the fact that he was smoking. I did check one thing for him and when I came back to the door he was making faces thru it at Jackson. Not harmful at all, but he had already creeped me out and I just had no interest in him playing nice with my baby. I eventually got him to go away, but not without asking how he got in. He said he just pulled on the gate and it opened. Hmmm...Josh and I are both very cautious to make sure the gate is locked when we use it so that the area is safe for Pax...

Now, to clarify, this guy wasn't intentionally peeking in or being really creepy, but I also feel like he should not have helped himself to our backyard without me knowing. I have not been terribly modest with my nursing (I'm quite proud of all the places I have done it in), but pumping is a whole different arena! You really don't want company while you're doing that.

Time to make a complaint phone call to Cox now...