First Trip to the Beach

On Saturday, we took our first trip to the beach as a family of 3 (and we loved having "Aunti" Jenn with us, too)!!!  Jackson wasn't too sure of things at first...the wind constantly blowing in his face, sun shining, sand in his toes and the waves crashing over his sweet little toes!  Jackson was so stimulated by everything at first that he quickly passed out for a beach nap while the waves crashed nearby. 

 He liked sticking his toes in the sand, but when that first wave came up and washed over his feet, he definitely screamed.  However, once he got used to the water, he seemed to really enjoy having his feet submerged.  I have a feeling that there will be many beach trips in our future!!

He was so tuckered out by the end of the day that he couldn't even stay awake while we packed up all the gear.  Nap time continued in the car with Monkey!

Jackson travels to Space

Every night for the past week and a half Jackson has traveled to space!!  Grammie got him this really cool spacesuit that he puts on around 8pm each night and takes off about 7am again in the morning.  Just kidding...at least about the space thing.  He stays in his crib all night! But you never know, he may travel to space in his dreams!  

However, Grammie did get him this really cool sleep suit that apparently does wonders to encourage sleep for babies.  Although we haven't seen dramatic improvement in his sleep habits, it has helped us transition from swaddlers and on average, he currently wakes me up about twice each night.

On a different note, Jackson had his two month checkup with the doctor this week and he was an absolute stud!  He had 8 vaccines given to him within a span of about 30 seconds and hardly cried at all!  He screamed for the initial pricks and then was totally cool once he was in Mommy's arms.  He weighed about 12.5 pounds and was 23 inches long, which puts him in the 50th percentile for both weight and height.  

2 Months Old

Jackson loves long stroller walks, playing peek-a-boo, smiling, kicking his piano mat and "talking" with mommy and daddy!!  He would rather eat the giraffe than play with it.  He is very observant and is perfectly content to walk around and just look at everything!!  He is strong and will scoot the length of the couch, our bed and his crib if given the opportunity.  Last time we weighed him, he was a whopping 12 pounds...the boy is growing!

1 Month Old

Jackson is just now starting to become more alert!  He still sleeps way more than he is awake during the day.  He is a champion eater and has a voracious appetite!  His arms and legs never rest.  He is constantly kicking his legs and unintentionally knocking his pacifier out of his mouth with his hands.    

First Outing as a Family

We were feeling brave one Saturday and decided to take both boys out to a festival for a few hours.  A nearby restaurant was having a "Grateful Dog" benefit with food, music, contests and vendors; including all the local rescue shelters.  Both Boosie and Jackson were a hit!  The music was louder than expected and we ended up eating quickly and not staying long.

 

The MANY (???) pastimes of Jackson

Jackson is a young man of many affinities, among those, sleeping seems to be a favorite!  Although he seems to sleep fine in his crib at night, he does prefer nap time to be in the arms of mommy or daddy or Gammie/Grandma or Pappa/Grandpa...and when he's in the company of a loved one, almost any position will work!

On occasion, he does like to do more than just sleep...like help Momma garden...

...or show off his mighty muscles! 

Playtime is always fun...at least for maybe 15 minutes.

He also enjoys crying!  It stimulates the blood flow to the head and exercises the lungs and abdomen.   

Or sucking on pretty much anything that his mouth comes in contact with... 

  
But his favorite of all...is just to sleep!!!

Bath Time!

When Jackson was about a week and a half old, he had his first bath.  He wasn't so sure of the whole process, but once he got over the initial shock of being placed in the water, he realized that he quite enjoys sitting in warm water.  

He doesn't mind the scrubbing and cleaning of the neck rolls as long as a steady flow of warm water envelops his body.  This may be from the squeeze of a full washcloth or, his favorite, when daddy pours a cup of warm water down his chest or the back of his head.  

This is from a bath a few weeks later...you can see how much he had already grown by where his head falls in the bathtub.  Still enjoying his baths....hopefully this won't change as he gets older!

Jackson Meets Boosie

Boosie had become very accustomed to being an only child for the past year and needless to say has had some very mixed emotions about our new family addition.  He loved having all the family in town to give him extra treats and attention.  Who wouldn't love having more people to play fetch and tug-a-war with!!!  He knew something was up when "mommy" and "daddy" were gone for two days and all his new friends would come home excited and smelling funny (like baby).  When we first arrived home, we left the baby with Grammie (Bryan's Mama) while we brought a Jackson blanket inside for him to smell.  He was really just too excited to pay any attention to the blanket, but that all quickly changed the moment Jackson was brought in!!  

We WERE expecting him to be really excited and yet gentle with the baby; however, we weren't expecting the uncertainty that he first exhibited.  He literally ran behind Bryan to hide and peaked his head from behind Bryan's body to view Jackson.  Very slowly, he approached Jackson and sniffed the baby with uncertainty.  

It didn't take long, though, before he wanted to greet Jackson just like any other "friend," with lots of sweet Boosie kisses!! We quickly had to limit this interaction to only Jackson's little baby feet.  We wanted Boosie to get used to being around Jackson, but still wanted to protect Jackson from Boosie's unknowing strength and exuberant "licker." 

Boosie quickly became attached and would not let Mom or Jackson out of his sight and if they were in different rooms, he would go back and forth checking on both.  Anytime Jackson would cry, Boosie was immediately there to check on him.  However, he quickly learned that Jackson cries all the time and it doesn't necessarily warrant him getting out of his soft, comfy bed each and every time.  However, he does insist on checking on Jackson multiple times each night.  He will rouse from his bed, walk across the house, push the nursery door open, check on his baby, and sometimes will even stay and sleep at the foot of the crib.  This happens two or three times each night.  

He insists that he will be a great big brother to Jackson as he is quick to supervise playtime!  Time will only tell how close these two peas in a pod will become!!