6 (SIX!!) Months

That's half a year people!  I know I say this all the time, but I can't believe how fast time has gone by!

My little man is growing and changing all the time, and it is such a joy to watch.  So here are some of his new things:

He still loves his food.  In addition to his cereal, he eats pears, apples, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, green beans and peas.  His favorites are probably the pears and sweet potatoes.  Least favorite: peas.  So far I have made all of his food and I am finally making good use of my food processor :).  Despite all that eating, he is still a skinny little guy.  At the doctor, they weighed him at 16lbs 9oz (which is the 25th percentile).  I thought he was heavier than that, but I guess not.  He feels heavier anyway.  They also measured him at 27" long/tall, but I am pretty sure that is wrong not quite accurate.  I measure him at 28" and I am more inclined to trust my measurement since the nurse made her first mark when he was sitting up and then the second one when he laid down.  Plus he had been wrinkling and playing with the paper.  (I know, I sound like one of those mom-knows-better-than-the-professional type person, but really its only in this case!)

He can sit!  All by himself!  And it happened practically overnight.  I mean, he has progressively been able to sit for longer, but he just surprised me one day.  He also babbles all the time and its so cute.  He still loves his feet and now puts them in his mouth during diaper changes.  Which, as you can imagine, makes diaper changing slightly more difficult.  He can roll from his back to his front (I know because I have had to go turn him back over in the middle of the night.  Why do yo have to turn him over?  You already said he can roll from his tummy to back.  True.  He can.  However, he was already up against the side of his crib and was trying to roll over into the side, which wasn't working.  Thus, I had to go turn him over) but he doesn't really do it.  Kid is still not a fan of being on his tummy.  But, he is getting better, especially in the last couple of days and can push his whole torso up off the ground.  I also think he is teething, Kyle doesn't.  I can't see or feel anything, but if this isn't teething drool, I would really hate to see what is.  And he chews on everything.  Everything.  We'll see.  Eventually, I will be right ;)  Let's see, he doesn't really have a "favorite" toy.  He still loves his pooh bear, which is now in his crib, but he also likes his sophie the giraffe, his moose, his stackable rings and his blocks.   He still loves to take a bath and splashes everywhere.  He also gives "kisses"!  I love it.  It really just consists of him grabbing my face pulling it up to his mouth so he can slobber all over me.  But he grins so big after and it is just so cute.

So, here is my sweetness:  (Sorry that the quality isn't so good.  I emailed them from my phone.  When we upload pictures and videos to the picasa site, I will let you know)

Perspective

It is amazing how time and perspective are related.  The longer the amount of time, the more you have the ability to look at a situation with (at the very least) rationality and appreciation, and in some cases understanding.

Two years ago was one of the hardest times of my life thus far.  We lost our first baby.  Yes, I was only 8 weeks along, but it was still a baby.  Last year, I saw and heard my little Jackson's heart beat.  And now he is here and going on 6 months old.

So now, as I hold my precious son in my arms, how do I feel about our miscarriage?  It is a hard question to answer, even now.  On one hand, it still fills me with sadness to know that there was going to be a child that we were not able to meet, that didn't have a chance at life.  On the other hand, without that situation, I would not have Jackson, who I cannot imagine life without and I love more than I ever thought possible.  I know that I would have the same feelings and emotions had our first baby been healthy.  But it wasn't and now I have my baby boy.

So here is the conclusion I have come to:  It is all evidence of God's goodness.  Was it good that we lost a baby?  Of course not.  And just as it grieved our hearts, it grieved God's heart.  God does not sit in apathy as the world (and His children) hurt.  It hurts Him as a Father who watches His children in pain and struggle.  And He hates it.  He hates is so much that He sent His son to suffer and die that we might not.   Yes, there will be pain this side of heaven because of sin.  But in the time between now and when God redeems the earth of sin, we have a God that suffers with us, who empathizes with our pain because He Himself experienced our pain and more.  And out of that pain and suffering comes the greatest gift we could ever receive:  salvation.  That is how I view our experience the past couple of years (on a much smaller scale of course).  Out of pain and suffering came a great blessing, our baby Jackson.  So, yes, it saddens me that we lost a child, but I am so thankful for the child I now have that would not be here if our circumstances had been different.  So I give God all the glory, in our pain and joy, and am confident of His constant love and His blessings.

Cuteness for the day:

Little man waiting for his breakfast (last week I think):

2 posts below...

Feet

A progression of pictures:

"Oh my feet!  They are so cool..."

"Mom, why are you taking pictures of me?"

"Ok, I'll smile"

See post below....

Months 4 and 5

Yes, its true.  Jackson is 5 months old.  It has gone by sooo fast, and I have loved every minute of it!  Although, I do kind of wish I could make it go a little slower.  He is just so sweet and has the best personality.  Well, I probably think that because he is just like his daddy and I like him, just a little ;), so it's no wonder I enjoy Jackson so much.  Ok, so here is what has been going on:

Month 4:
He changed and grew so much this month!  He started giggling and just smiles all the time.  He figured out how to roll from his back to his tummy in the middle of the month, took a break from it, and then picked it back up again.  He also talks a lot.  Probably because I talk to him all the time.  Kyle was gone for about half of this month, but when he got back home, they picked up right where they left off.  He still adores his daddy.  After Kyle was done with his travels, it was time for a little vacation and Jackson got to make his first trip to Texas!  We went to the great state a week and a half before Christmas so he could meet a lot of his family.  He was a little overwhelmed at first, but he quickly decided he liked all the attention and people wanting to hold him all the time.  We got to have 2 Christmases this year, one in Houston and then a small family one here in SC.  I will just say, even though the concept of presents was lost on the little man, he cleaned up!  It was so nice to be able to see our family and also to have a Christmas just the 3 of us. I am so thankful Kyle was here and got to spend Jackson's first Christmas with him.  He is such a big eater and is growing so fast!  In fact, he had taken up practically newborn hours again.  He woke up at least once a night hungry.  So, just before he turned 4 months we started rice cereal.  It went over well.  It took a couple of days to get used to, but it didn't take too long for him to figure out that it was good stuff! We also went to the doctor at the end of the month, and he weighed 15 pounds (50th percentile) and was 26 inches long (90th percentile).  He got shots, which he again didn't enjoy, but as soon as we picked him up he was fine and was just snuggly the rest of the day.

Month 5:
My sweet boy was just a ball if smiles and laughter this month!  Since we figured out how to roll over, it is hard to keep him on his tummy.  I think he could roll from his back to his tummy if he wanted, but he doesn't really like tummy time (still), so I think he is not interested.  He is so wiggly though and really wants to be able to sit up, so we are working on that.  He sleeps on his side most of the time (he puts himself there) and very often does a 180 during the night (as in his feet end up where I put his head).  He still wakes up to eat once, despite being on solids.  Boy is just hungry.  We have also graduated from just rice cereal to pears and squash.  The pears were easy to get used to.  The squash, well he eats it, but I don't know how much he likes it.  He is still growing and some of his 3-6 month clothes are starting to get small.  Not around but length wise.  He's tall and skinny, just like his dad.  Speaking of dad, Kyle was around all this month and it was sooooo nice!  I know it won't last, so I am just so thankful that he has been home for (what seems like) so long!  Anyway, Jackson's baby hair started falling out a couple of months ago and I guess now he is getting his "big boy" hair.  It's blond.  I love it.  He is a blond haired, blue eyed boy - which runs in our families, but are traits that neither Kyle nor I possess.  I think his eyes will stay blue, but I guess we will see with time.  He is taking more interest in his toys now that he can make them do stuff.  He reaches for and picks up whatever he wants as long as it is in reach.  And he loves his feet.  Loves them.  He "found" them last month, but now grabs them whenever he is sitting up or when I change his diaper.  He still talks all the time and it is so sweet to listen to.

That is about all (that I can remember).  Here is what you really want (a few pictures):

Month 2 AND 3 Update

Ok, I wrote this a long time ago and forgot to publish it (I think because I was waiting to upload pictures, but all the pictures are now on the picasa site, so go there).  Obviously, Jackson is NOT 3 months old; he is, in fact, a week away from being 5 months old.  5!!  Anyway, stay tuned for a 4 and 5 month update.  Until then, here's what he did 2 months ago ;)


My baby is 3 months old.  I don't know if 3 months have ever gone by so fast!  So, even though a lot of these updates are "old hat" now, it's mostly for me to remember when he did things so that [someday] when I sit down to do his baby book, I remember when all these things happened.

Month 2:
He smiled!  His first smile was for his dad when Kyle went to go get him up from a nap.  Possibly one of the cutest things I have ever seen and he has been doing it a lot since.  He also has an airplane mobile over his changing table that he loves.  He even started "talking" to it.  He is a big eater and nurses or takes a bottle just fine.  He got over his "colic"; I think it was mostly gas pains.  Whatever it was, he is over it.  He got his 2 month shots at the end of the month and was not happy about it.  He did NOT enjoy the shots at all, but as soon as we let the doctor's office he calmed down and was pretty much a snuggly, sleepy baby the rest of the day.  The next day he was back up and at it!  Such a trooper!  Right after he turned 2 months, it was his first Halloween.  I didn't dress him up this year because we didn't really have anywhere to go, but he did have a couple of Halloween outfits that were sent to him, so he wore those.  Kyle was gone for Halloween, but my parents were in town and we handed out candy to trick-or-treaters.

Month 3:
He is such a smiley baby!  He loves his mommy and absolutely adores his daddy!  He "talks" all the time, probably because his mommy talks to him so much (because daddy has been gone so much)!  He has also started giggling an laughing and I love it!  Of course when I get out the video camera to try and capture these moments, he stops and just stares at me with a very serious look on his face.  He still doesn't like tummy time and wants to roll over from his tummy to his back so badly.  He can't quite do it without my help, but he is getting so close.  Even though he doesn't really like tummy time, he loves to play "airplane" with mommy where I basically just lay on the ground and hold him up in the air over me.  He loves to ride in the car and look out the window; no sleeping in the car for this baby unless he is just super tired.  He found his hands this month and they are pretty much always in his mouth.  He can suck his thumb, but mostly prefers his pacifier or to chew on his fist.  And he drools everywhere!  He has taken more of an interest in his toys, can hold and shake his rattle and even grabs it from my hand sometimes.  Actually, he tried to put it in his mouth and often hits himself in the face with it.  Its kind of funny. He is still a big eater and takes down a 5oz bottle like it is nothing.  He also went on a very strange, very stressful (for mommy at least) nursing strike or a few days.  I have no idea why he did that, but it lasted about 3 days.  On the 4th day he woke up and went back to nursing like he had never had any objection to it.  Baffling.  I still can barely keep up with is appetite though, so I am thinking he will probably start rice cereal next month.  Speaking of big appetites, he also got to celebrate his first thanksgiving!  Kyle was gone (again), so we headed over to a friends house where he slept most of the time.  We came home, played for a little bit and then Jackson went to bed and I watched the Aggies beat tu!  The only thing that would have made it better were if Kyle had been here.

Picture Updates

So we have figured out an easier way to share our pictures with everyone. We will continue to use this website and sort our albums by upload date. So this update will be under todays date, January 10, 2011. I probably wont be notifications via the blog whenever we update pictures, so be sure to check the other website for the latest Jackson photos. Also, we will be trying to upload videos in the future. Enjoy!