Happy Halloween!

Jackson's first holiday -- Halloween! We had big plans to dress up as a family, Ben & I being Mexicans & Jackson being a burrito, but those plans got nixed due to cancelled Halloween parties & an infant who hated his burrito costume. So, we went with Plan B and Jackson rocked his glow-in-the-dark skeleton jammies (which, I might add, he's been wearing since September). Ben was a cowboy & I was the party-pooper who didn't dress up.

The unhappy little burrito

Best costume of the night, BY FAR!

Baby's 1st Pumpkin

Bronchiowhat?!??!

So little Jackson had a rough last week. Last Saturday, Jackson woke up with a raspy, barking cough & a hoarse little cry and after a visit to the pediatrician, we were diagnosed with croup. He seemed to get better on Sunday & Monday, so of course I took him to MMO on Tuesday (I swear, he seemed 100% fine, plus I had a looong to-do list).

Around 12:30, I got a call from the director, informing me that little Jackson was wheezing, his chest was heaving with each breath & he was refusing food. Alarmed, I rushed him back to the pedi. They checked his O2 levels & gave him a breathing treatment, which immediately improved his breathing. We were sent home with a nebulizer, some really expensive medication & "just in case" instructions to rush him to the ER if he started turning blue (I mean, was it really necessary to scare me by telling me that?) Did I mention how much Jackson HATED those once-every-4-hours-around-the-clock breathing treatments? I mean, screaming incessantly until he hyperventilated. That night, Ben was giving him his bedtime treatment when I couldn't take it anymore. It was so hard for me to see him so miserable, I was a mess. Desperately, I got on my knees and starting praying for God to give Jackson calmness & peace during his treatments. By God's grace, not 2 minutes later, Jackson stopped crying, closed his eyes and fell asleep for the rest of the treatment. Ever since that prayer, EVERY time we give J a treatment, he closes his eyes and peacefully relaxes, even if he's not sleeping.

My baby is 4 months old!

Its so amazing how quickly time flies by...I cannot believe Baby Jackson is 4 months old! He had his 4-month well baby appointment on Monday and he is right on track on all fronts. Jackson is in the 58th percentile for weight and in the upper 20s for height & head circumference. He was being a show-off for the doctor, kicking & swatting like crazy, standing up (with help of course!) & cracking smiles right & left. All of his excitement came to a screeching halt when he got his shots, though. Talk about some big alligator tears!

Below are a series of photos I've taken each month. Its amazing to see his progress!

(In Jackson's defense, the 2-month pic was taken closer up so he appears alot chunkier than he actually was)

Tonight we're gonna party like its 1999...

This weekend was my 10-year high school reunion. Its so hard to believe its been 10 years & even harder to believe that by midnight, I was so beat that I could barely keep my eyes open! My all nighters have transitioned from bar-hopping to baby feeding. But it was great to catch up with old friends & also have a "night out" (thanks to Bebe & PopPaw for Jackson-sitting). Unfortunately, Ben didn't go with me to Hickory since he's cramming for his PE exam which is this Friday :(

On Saturday, we went up to Poppy & Nanny's. Poppy taught Jackson how to ride on his shoulders & before we knew it, Jackson had a fistful of Poppy's hair in each hand, like he was holding handlebars. If you think he's happy now, just wait until he learns to steamroll & "rassel"!!

Sunday morning, we got up early and came home so we could spend the day playing with Ben. We went to the pumpkin patch and poor Jackson had to be woken up from his car nap in order to take the requisite pictures...he was so grumpy!! When we got home, we spent the afternoon playing cornhole in the backyard & chilling in the airchair. I LOVE fall!

Riding on Poppy's shoulders

Pumpkin Pout

Keeping that noggin warm!

Helloooo, Mother's Morning Out!

Tuesday was sweet pea's first day of "playschool" as we call it. I had originally signed him up to start a few weeks ago, but got cold feet and postponed the inevitable until this week. He is only going 1 morning a week right now, mainly so we can practice getting up & out of the house by 9am. It was hard handing him over to the sweet teachers at Mother's Morning Out, but I didn't feel quite as guilty since I did spoil him a bit the night before. When he woke up crying (3 times, I might add), I ending up rocking/snoozing with him for a couple hours instead of putting him back down like I usually do. All in all, his first day of playschool was a success & his teachers sung his praises. As much as I missed my baby, I must admit how glorious it was to run errands without a stroller in tow for once.

The past few days have been really gross & rainy, so we've been playing inside, mostly wearing our jammies all day long. Here are a few pics of how we've been spending our time :)

Helping Mommy make egg salad!

Hanging out with Maddie & Bella

Fall for Greenville

With a gorgeous sunny fall Sunday on hand, our little family of 3 ventured downtown for the Fall for Greenville festivities. We met Alisha (aka BFF), Alex & their sweet little 10 week old Ethan downtown and enjoyed sampling lots of food from various local restaurants. In a matter of less than 2 hours, both Ethan & Jackson had major diaper leaks (unfortunately, Jackson's was of the messier sort). Just as Ethan had been changed into a dry change of clothes, I made the comment that it was a good thing it wasn't Jackson with the blowout because we'd left home without a change of clothes. No sooner had I gotten those words out of my mouth did my little stinker let it rip, resulting in major outfit damage. That signaled the end of our fall festivities for the day, so we cleaned up as much collateral damage as we could and hit the rusty dusty trail.

Happy boys post-blowout

Jackson & Ethan, BFFs already

Double fisting, Daddy-style

And we're off!

So rather than attempt to capture all of our precious memories by jotting down notes in Jackson's baby book or by archiving old emails, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and start a blog, like everyone else in the 21st century seems to have done. This will hopefully serve as a wonderful way to share all of the unforgetables as they happen!