Baby's 1st Christmas

The holidays have come & gone and its hard to believe that Jackson's first Christmas is over! We spent most of our time in Hickory visiting my family.

Fortunately, Bebe & PopPaw & Nanny & Poppy have lots of baby essentials, which lightens our load. However, we still haul a car's worth of must-haves, which means I end up spending more time packing & unpacking then we do being gone. The little dude racked up with the presents...a handmade rocking horse, a red wagon, new Trumpette cowboy boot socks, bath toys, lots of new outfits & toys galore.
Here are some of our favorite pictures that capture Jackson's first Christmas.

Mischevious little rascal!

Enjoys the ribbon more than the present itself.

Did I mention that this little guy LOVES his Daddy?

Holding on to Poppy's hiking stick.

I know this is ridiculous, but hey, we had the Santa suit so we had to get a picture in it :)

Christmas Eve with Nanny & Poppy

Christmas Day with Uncle Mikey & soon-to-be Aunt Jenn!

Playing with Bebe!

Trying out the rocking horsey that PopPaw made with love!

Last weekend, we celebrated New Year's Day with a trip to Lowes...which resulted in Jackson's first ride in a shopping cart. He was a rockstar.

On the mend!

Our pediatrician & I are quickly becoming BFFs. We have been to the doctor's office 5 times over the past 15 days. Little J has gone through wheezing ("potentially asthma??"), rashes ("allergy-related eczema"), more wheezing ("definitely allergy-related"), double ear-infections & more wheezing ("let's start on him nebulizer meds twice a day"). By the fifth visit, we were finally referred to an allergist, who was coerced into seeing us the same week. Based on the symptoms & the opinions of our pedi, J's teachers at nursery school & various co-worker of mine, we just knew he was going to be allergic to everything from nuts to dogs to wheat.

Then yesterday -- Oh what sweet relief for everyone to be so wrong! After giving the allergist the rundown on J's situation, he tested him for the top 5 food allergies, all of which he would be exposed to through nursing -- nuts, dairy, soy, wheat & eggs-- plus dog (since the dogs lick him daily). All of the allergy tests came back negative! And environmental allergies are not a factor since he has not been exposed to much yet. So the diagnosis on the eczema was that he just has very sensitive skin & still requires lots of moisturizing. As for the wheezing, he thinks it sounds like tracheomalacia, which just means that the walls of his windpipe are floppy & the cartilage very partially blocks his airway, hence the wheezing. This is common in infants & our course of action is for him to outgrow it. We are so thankful for this better-than-expected diagnosis and can finally rest assured that our little man is on the up and up!

Despite the seemingly perpetual sickness, we continued our Christmas tradition of going to a tree farm in Brevard to pick & cut our tree. It was a family affair -- the few & far between "rides" the dogs to get go on. Although this year, they had to ride in the back of the truck as opposed to the toasty warm cab. And they didn't make the family picture, either.

I've also been busy whipping up organic, homemade baby food. Yesterday, Jackson had his first bite of veggies -- carrots! He thought they were delicious & cleaned his plate...though it appears most of it ended up on his face.

Other tidbit -- Newly aquired skills this week: Jackson has learned how to scratch his itches, habitually kick off his right sock, scream out loud to get our attention and can almost sit up unassisted. He has become really interested in his little stuffed Wolfie & is constantly grabbing for my hair, necklace, anything he can reach. He is such a joy and each & every day, we learn something new about our little blessing.

Jumping Jackson

So little Jackson is accomplishing things by leaps & bounds. Over the past week, he's learned to roll over (both ways), jump up & down like crazy in his jumperoo, enjoy tummy-time without having a hissy fit, seek us out across the room, remove & replace his paci (only once), suck his tiny little thumb, sit in his highchair without a meltdown, "converse" with us in his sweet little baby babbles and change his own diaper (just kidding -- I wish!!) It's simply amazing how much he learns & soaks up each day.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we headed to Hickory to spend time with friends & family. We had a great, relaxing but busy trip. On Saturday, Jackson went to his first NC State game, which was a very unexpected yet exciting victory over Carolina! He did better than we expected & didn't get freaked out by all of the commotion & noise. Jackson also got to meet Anderson, Kempter & Shannon, Britney & Chad and lots of other college friends!

Playing with Bebe

Jumping like crazy in Bebe's jumperoo

Trying to pick up chicks at Poppy's

Uncle Mikey & Jackson's future Aunt Jenn!




Tuckered out from all the tailgating!

Jackson's 1st State game -- Go Pack!

The fam tailgating at halftime.

Poppy's little good luck charm!

5 fabulous months

It's so hard to believe that little Jackson is 5 months old!! Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday we were leaving the hospital with an itty-bitty 4-1/2 pound fragile little preemie. It also seems like yesterday when we gave him his first real bath, had our first outing, saw his first smile & heard his first little laugh. Everyone also tells you how quickly these precious weeks & months fly by, but its hard to grasp until you live through it.
These 5 months have been the most wonderful, rewarding, exhausting & joyful months of our lives and I truly feel blessed that God gave us this wonderful gift of life.

5-month weigh-in...16.6 lbs

This baby LOVES to stand up...I swear he'll walk before he crawls!

Flash back to June '09...check out the scrawny legs on this little guy!

Another newborn pic...its hard to remember how TINY he was!

Fall Fun!!

We've had a busy few weeks, with me starting back to work part-time and trying to juggle mommying, working, cooking, cleaning, playing & the dozen other everyday things. The cooking & cleaning usually get side-stepped in favor of the more enjoyable things. Despite our busy lives, we've managed to have plenty of fun.

Rockin' the doorway jumper!

Swinging double with Slade at playgroup

Go Philip Rivers!!

Playing at Ethan's house!

Nanny & Poppy came to visit!

Jackson's fav toy -- his little piano

HE FINALLY DID IT!!

Oh the day has finally arrived...Jackson FINALLY slept through the night (just 3 days shy of his 5-month b-day). It's amazing what 8 uninterrupted hours of precious, blissful sleep with do for you. We have been anticipating this joyful day for months. 10pm - 7:15 am....Thank you Jackson!!

UPDATE: Last night, Jackson slumped back into his old routine, waking every several hours. Getting such a small taste of a full night's sleep is almost worse than not getting it a all!

Last weekend, Sally (my BFF from high school) and her precious little princess Betsy came to visit. We had a great time playing with the little ones, shopping & eating. Sally, being an old pro with 2 children, imparted some of her baby-wisdom on me. Growing up, we always called Sally "Mama Sal" because she was always the responsible one. Now, the nickname has new meaning, as she was an integral part of getting Jackson & Mommy straightened out in terms of scheduling & self-soothing. So thanks, Mama Sal aka Baby Whisperer :)! I give you full credit for Jackson's first full night's sleep!! Now come back and help him redeem himself!

Jackson & Betsy playing in Noah's Ark

My little red wagon

When Jackson was 2 weeks old, Poppy & Nanny brought him a miniature red wagon. He was so tiny that he could lay down in that wagon with room to spare. Last week, we put Jackson back in the wagon...the pictures speak for themselves!