The Jackson Jingle

Yes, we started decorating for Christmas already. Hear me out though! We will be gone until this coming weekend, home for a week, out of town for a week, home for a week, and then gone for almost two weeks in Evanston. We figured we needed to embrace the holidays in our own house while we could! Anyways, we obviously decorated last night for the holidays and Jackson LOVED it! He couldn't get enough of watching us string the lights on the tree. It was so adorable!

We just had a wonderfully long visit with my mom (Mimi to Jackson). She was here for ten days and we had such a good time! I can't wait for him to meet the rest of our families and our friends! We realize every day how lucky we are to have such a happy and sweet baby!

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

We can't believe how big Jackson is getting! He seems so different to us and we see him everyday. It will be interesting to see what other people think who don't see him all the time. Some of Jackson's favorite things are: listening to music, having dance parties with his daddy, hanging out in his bouncy chair in the kitchen with us while we cook, checking out lights, staring at ceiling fans (in fact, that's what Jackson is asking Santa for: a ceiling fan for his room and an electrician to install it), getting licked by his puppy, talking walks, riding in the car, and let's not forget the most favorite activity: EATING!

Some of my favorite things about Jackson so far are: his wonderful, sweet, baby smell, how happy he looks when he realizes one of us is holding him, the faces he makes when he's eating, how he throws his head back and scrunches up his mouth when he's done eating, bath time, his smiles (whether voluntary or not), the cute little sounds he makes, and that he is happiest sleeping on either Josh or me.

I know both of these lists are going to grow and I can't wait to see how!

So Lucky

I just wanted to use a little blog space to brag about my wonderful husband! From the minute Jackson was born and I was rather unable to help out with much since I couldn't feel anything beneath my pelvis, Josh has jumped in and done everything he can to help out. He gets me whatever I need. Even though I've been at this motherhood thing for five weeks, I still don't have everything perfectly set up around me when I sit down to feed Jackson. We are lucky enough to have a good eater on our hands, but whenever I sit down to feed him, I might be committing to an hour long session or more! Even though he is back at work, Josh doesn't hesitate to get up in the middle of the night to bring Jackson to me when he's hungry or to just put the pacifier back in. The best thing, however, is that Josh has made a rule with himself that he will not let me hold the baby during dinner. He always takes care of keeping Jackson happy while I eat with two hands! It's really nice to know that I have that to look forward to each day! He is truly wonderful to me and a fabulous dad! I wish everyone could have a Josh :)

Being Normal

I am quite proud of us for managing to function somewhat normally since having a baby! I've made it a goal to try and get out of the house each day and I've done pretty well. Jackson has successfully accompanied me on normal errands to Target, Walmart, the library, and the grocery store. We've taken him out to restaurants and he is a wonderful dining companion :) I was even able to continue my normal Monday night routine of hanging out at the mall while Josh plays basketball! Jackson LOVED looking around at the sights and was even cooperative enough to be fed while we were hanging out at Barnes and Noble! That's probably the accomplishment I am the most proud of :) He also managed not to scream while I changed him in the public bathroom. He was quite happy, actually...

We have big plans coming up that include travelling--stay tuned!

Jackson Meets FEMA

Today we got to show off Jackson to everyone at FEMA! It was a beautiful day so we started by meeting Josh and a few friends outside for lunch. Then we headed inside to check out Daddy's cube and meet the other FEMA Friends. He had a wonderful time on his outing and stayed awake almost the whole time we made the rounds :)

Other than that, things are going really well! We get out of the house almost every day and Jackson seems to enjoy these outings as much I do! We have been back to the doctor several times because Jackson isn't gaining weight quite as quickly as the doctors would like. We went most recently today and were told that he is doing just great and that we didn't have to come back again until the normally scheduled two month check-up. YAY! Jackson now weighs in at 8lbs 9oz. Even though this is just a few ounces heavier than when he was born, he feels SO much heavier!

We feel so blessed because Jackson is making this parenthood thing pretty easy :) He eats like a champ (sometimes it feels like that's ALL he does every day...), lets us get a very decent amount of sleep each night, and is just so much fun when he is awake (which is more often than we would have thought). He LOVES his pacifier and is getting quite adept at maneuvering it around his mouth. He also likes rides in the car and walks in the woods with Paxton. I totally feel like I just wrote a personal ad for my four week old son! LOL Anyways, that's the latest update!