Weight Alert!

Jackson weighed 15lbs 10oz at the doctor this morning when we went to get his flu shot!!!! My mom actually asked if the doctor thought I might be feeding him too much!!!

Who Dat?/Carrots/Swine Flu!!!

I went to Fulton this afternoon for a shower for Brittany and Jason decided to get a little crafty while I was gone. He got one of Jackson's plain white onesies and made our little Saints fan his very on Saints gear! I have to admit I was very impressed with Jason's handy work! Jackson made it almost through the second quarter of the game before he gave into sleep- he was pretty sleepy when I snapped this picture of my two boys!


On another note- we have been super busy since our last post! Jackson has eaten and loved all of gerber's 1st foods vegetables and we only lack pears and prunes in the fruits! He is definitely a healthy eater!!! He loves everything- check out the picture below- I think he likes carrots more than applesauce!!!


Jackson is also doing his best to sit up all by himself! He is getting better at it each and every day! He isn't pulling up on things yet, but if I stand him up in front of his activity center he can hold himself up for quite some time! We have also decided that our house will never be quiet again- if he is awake he is either talking or laughing hysterically! Those are the best sounds in the world! We also went for Jackson's six month check-up (we are one month behind because he is seven months old, but really only four- anyway)- the doctor said Jackson is doing everything a perfectly healthy 6 month old would do!!! How wonderful to know that he is catching up at such a fast pace! He also weighed a whopping 14lbs 7oz!!!! He amazes us each and everyday!

Unbelieveable- I still have to pinch myself when I think about this one- after keeping practically everyone away from Jackson the entire five months we have been home from the hospital I finally went back to work part-time two weeks ago. We found an amazing lady from the church to come to our house to watch him. After keeping Jackson on Tuesday and Wednesday two weeks ago our precious nanny was diagnosed with H1N1. Seriously- what are the chances? I was definitely on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Luckily, she didn't start feeling bad until the Saturday after she kept him on Wednesday so our pediatrician said she probably contracted it sometime Thursday night or Friday morning. Jackson has been great and I know now more than ever that our little man has his very own guardian angel!

Texas Baby!

Jackson decided to give a shout out to his Texas roots today by wearing his "Texas Baby" onesie and cowboy boots given to him by his very precious nurse Nici from Baylor in Dallas. When she sent them to us they both looked so big that I couldn't even imagine him being able to fit into either, but I'm glad we put them on him today because the onesie definitely won't fit for much longer! Thanks Nici- you know you will always hold such a special place in our hearts!

"There's a Party in My Tummy!"

I feel like I must explain that the title of this post is a song from a show we watch on Nick Jr. called Yo Gabba Gabba. We sing this song all of the time while Jackson is eating- he thinks it is hillarious which in turn causes him to laugh and open his mouth wide enough for the spoon to fit inside (this comes in handy when he thinks he is finished eating and mommy thinks he isn't)! Anyway- After eating cereal for over a month and getting up to two tablespoons of cereal twice a day, our wonderful pediatrician told us it was time to start baby food! We are always walking a very thin line between the age Jackson really is and the age he should be so we try to just end up somewhere in the middle. For those of you who know me, you know I have always been a bit of a worrier, prior to even having a preemie. I have asked everyone I know who has a baby, has ever had a baby, and has ever known anyone who has a baby what baby food to start with, how often, how much, etc. My dear friend Jill even e-mailed me her sweet Ford's entire feeding schedule to give me an idea of how I can give him all of the nourishment he needs in a day and have him in bed at a decent time. I'm working to get him on a good schedule since I will be going back to work two days a week at the end of January so my auditor ways have kicked in and I am itching for a set schedule. The jury is still out on how our new routine is working-I'm waiting on him to wake up hungry at any minute! So back to the point of this post- drum roll please- Jackson ate GREEN BEANS for the first time yesterday!!! He really didn't seem to mind them a bit- poor Jason was a good enough sport to try them before I gave them to him- he said they tasted just like they smell- imagine that. For some reason this made me feel better about giving them to him- what a good daddy! I've added a few pictures of this joyous milestone! One thing I have learned is that plastic bibs are a must!



EXTRA'S:
This is a picture of my two favorite men!

Jackson has been working so hard to feed himself- he hasn't conquered his big bottle, but is a pro at holding his little bottle we put his vitamins in! He is growing up too fast:(

A little news about our other child! Oscar turned 5 on December 28th! We always have a themed party for him and this year it was Sponge Bob. I wouldn't have chosen this theme, but as much as I hate to admit it we didn't remember his birthday until two o'clock in the afternoon the day of so Jason ran to Target after work and got whatever they had. Oscar enjoyed his party and his cupcake- a tradition 5 years in the making! We promise we will make it up to him next year!

Merry Christmas- FINALLY!!!

Merry "Belated" Christmas Everyone! I realize this post is just a little overdue- Christmas was here and gone before we knew it! We had a very Merry Christmas! We spent Christmas eve baking gingerbread cookies for Santa and curled up on the couch watching a movie! We finished the night reading "The Night Before Christmas" and the story of Jesus's birth from the bible to Jackson-the first of many wonderful Christmas traditions! I think I was more excited about Santa Claus coming than anyone in the house! I was up at five and never went back to sleep! After waking Jason up because Oscar was up and ready to open his presents we both couldn't contain ourselves and we woke Jackson up around seven. Take a look at the picture below- you can tell he had no clue what was going on!


We spent Christmas day with all of our family at our house and the day after Christmas at Nona's. It was so nice to be with all of our family to celebrate such a special day!
This picture is of Jackson's Christmas outfit- I finally got to dress him in knee-high socks!

Family Christmas Pic!

The Most Precious Christmas Centerpiece Ever!

Jackson in his new winter hat!

Santa's Cookies and Milk!

Mommy's Reindeer!
This really might be our favorite picture of all time!

Favorite Christmas Toy!
Out of all of the presents Jackson got for Christmas this year his absolute favorite seems to be this rattle! Imagine that!

Smiling in his Christmas Jammies!

Eye Update!

We went to the eye doctor today after our month long break and we got great news! Jackson's eyes are fully mature and both look great! This means our next appointment is 3 months away and we are finally finished with those terrible, painful eye exams! Now we will just go back to check his vision, which only involves drops and light! I have never actually watched what they do to his eyes- I always walked out of the room when he was in the NICU and they've always advised me to close my eyes even though I am holding him since we have been visitng the office. I do know it involves little clips that look like paper clips that hold his eyes open and the object of the exam is to look at the back of his eyes- sounds awful, right? It is always the longest three minutes of my life. Luckily today was our last one!!! Dr. Hoenhn also checked Jackson's vision today for the first time. She said he seems to be a little nearsighted, but nothing that would require glasses! This can get better or worse- like any normal persons eyes- so that is why we will continue to go back every few months. We feel extremely blessed to get such amazing news! Merry Christmas to mommy!
Jackson also became an eye model for the second time today. I guess I forgot to talk about this after our last appointment. We see two doctors every time we go for a check-up. The first one, a guy from Australia, is more concerned with the strength and alignment of Jackson's eyes. He also teaches at UT, and has become obsessed with Jackson's big baby blues! He always performs some test using light and prisms and he asked last month if he could video Jackson's reaction. I told him that was fine as long as he wasn't using Jackson as an example of what your eyes shouldn't do! Agreeing to this turned our hour long appointment into a two hour appointment. Mom was with us last time- he had her holding the light while he held the prism and a huge camera. Today he said Jackson's eyes were even better and he wanted to film him again. I couldn't say no even though I really wanted to. He also let me see the video he made from our last appointment. You see Jackson's entire face- big blue pacifier in his mouth- and all you hear is him angrily mumbling the entire time. This of course melted my heart- when most people would be laughing hysterically. Luckily- Mr. Australia is going back home for a few months so hopefully our next appointment won't take quite as long!
We go get Jackson's 3rd RSV shot tomorrow (poor baby) so I should have a weight update!

Happy "Half" Birthday Jackson!

Yesterday was Jackson's "half" birthday! I cannot believe he is already six months old! Jason told me that my friend Jill and I are the only ones who celebrate "half" birthdays- which I don't believe- but I decided we had to do something to celebrate! I tried to do the easy thing and call the bakery to get a cake made, but somehow they were all booked- so I took it upon myself to make a cupcake cake for our little man! I know it must seem silly to bake cupcakes for someone who can't eat them, but we always had some type of cake for everyone in the NICU for Jackson's 1, 2, and 3 month birthdays, so it just seemed like the thing to do. I've attached a few pictures of my work of art and Jackson taking a look at his cake.



We also put Jackson in this exercauser (thanks Ashlee!) for the first time this week! He had the best time watching Jason put all of the pieces together so I knew he was just going to love playing in it! He stayed in it for about ten minutes the first time- eyes wide- just taking it all in. When I put him in it the next day he was like a seasoned pro- playing with all of its bells and whistles!



Jason and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary on the ninth! Nona and KK came up to babysit and we actual left the house for a few hours and went to dinner. I honestly can't remember the last time we went on a date, and sadly I know the last picture we took together was at the Cotton Bowl last January.



These are two "after bath" pictures I just love!