Happy Halloween!!

Since we only have a family of 4, we let Mr. T fill in...Hope you enjoy!

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/q7sdSTIspZ3tEwbr

p.s.-I pity the fool! :)

11 Weeks

Jackson just continues to grow like a weed every day. Some days I look at him and he just looks so much taller and older, almost like he is growing by the minute. He smiles ALL the time now, and he is just a very pleasant, happy baby. He sleeps for 8 hours every night now, although last night he woke up screaming from what I can only assume was an upset tummy. It was definitely a painful cry :( That was way out of the ordinary for him, but he settled right back down after he fed and went back to sleep until 8 AM. He is back to normal today, though and has been a very content baby ever since. Also, since he was born we have been swaddling him at night so that he would sleep a little better, but he has begun busting out of his swaddle. I mean, he completely busts out of it and it is one of those velcro swaddle me things, so he is a strong little guy. I guess this was his way of telling us that he was over it, so his days of being swaddled to sleep are officially over.

I know this is going to sound crazy, but for the last few weeks he has been really drooling a lot and last night I noticed that he has a pointy edge in his gums, sort of where one of his canines would be. I rubbed my finger across it and it feels gummy, but there isnt one on the other side of his mouth. Is it possible that he is teething? I know it is really early for that, so maybe it is just how his gums are naturally? Plus, I also know that the first teeth that babies usually cut is one of their primary incisors, so maybe it really is nothing. Justin's mom was in town and she looked at it and said it almost looks like the beginnings of a tooth wanting to come in, but she wasnt completely sure. So it is a mystery for now. He isnt fussy, running a fever, biting, or rubbing at it...he is just drooling a lot. I guess time will tell!

Speaking of Justin's mom, she and Carl came to visit and Jackson had a wonderful time spending the weekend with them. He was so good and gave lots of smiles. They babysat for us while we went to my 10 year reunion, which was lots of fun. I wish more people showed up for the reunion, but we still had a great time. Anyway, Jackson did well the first night, but was a little fussy for them the second night. Yesterday, we all went out to Awendaw for lunch and had a fabulous lunch at SeeWee. I got some shrimp, fried okra, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and hush puppies...YUM!

Please excuse the blurry pics this week. Not sure why they turned out that way. We also got our pictures back from Kim, which turned out wonderfully! Now we can get the birth announcements done and sent out. I wish we had gotten the pics done sooner, but oh well. Better late than never, right?

Here are a few:

http://www.collages.net/store/emailedphoto2.asp?uniqueproduct=122071073

http://www.collages.net/store/emailedphoto2.asp?uniqueproduct=122071068

http://www.collages.net/store/emailedphoto2.asp?uniqueproduct=122071151

10 Weeks

Could he be any cuter? I guess everyone thinks that about their baby, but I could stare at him all day! :) These are pictures of him in one of his Halloween onesies. We havent decided what he is going to be for Halloween yet, but we have it narrowed down to two...Superman or Yoda. I think Justin is really pushing for Superman, but either costume is adorable! I think Yoda is hilarous though. Here they are:

Today Jackson got his photos taken by Kim Graham (kimgraham.net), who was our wedding photographer. We love Kim and she is wonderful! She has the best personality and does fabulous work! She absolutely loved little Jackson and he was definitely flirting with her. He did great and we can't wait to see the pictures. We couldnt get any of him posed while sleeping, though. That little booger kept waking up everytime we laid him down to pose him. And wouldnt you know that after Kim left, Jackson passed out cold. Oh well, I still am so glad that we finally got them done and that he did well for them. Jackson did manage to pee all over daddy when he was getting naked for his pictures, though...HAHA! So now that the pictures are finally done, we are no longer putting mitts on Jackson's hands. We were keeping them on so that he didnt scratch his face too bad before pictures, but it is time for him to have full use of his hands all the time.

He continues to be a little eating and sleeping champ. He weighs almost 12 lbs now! Also, every night he sleeps for 8 hours straight. What a blessing that is and I hope he keeps it up! He has begun smiling and "talking" to not only mommy and daddy, but also to "Mr Picture" which is a Jim Booth print in our living room, "Mr Tree", our ficus tree, and at the animals in the mobile on his swing. It is the sweetest thing when I walk in and see him smiling a big gummy grin at these things. I wonder what they are saying to him?! :)

This coming weekend is my 10 yr high school reunion...What?! Where has the time gone? I am looking forward to seeing everybody and I hope there is a good turnout. Also, Justin's mom and Carl are coming to town for a few days to stay with us and see Jackson. Jackson is already looking forward to their visit! Another big day coming up is Oct 28th-our 3rd wedding anniversary. Time really flies! We have a really nice dinner planned at the Woodlands, and I am so looking forward to that. Seems like just yesterday we were getting all geared up for our wedding, which such a perfect day! Here we are, three years later with the most beautiful baby boy...life is good!

9 Weeks

This week I have posted a video of Jackson smiling. Its not the complete big, wide, gummy grin, but its still adorable! I have also posted pictures from a couple of weeks ago of his first visit with his great grandparents, as well as his visit with Aunt Meri this past weekend. He was such a good boy during both visits and managed to give a bunch of smiles for everyone. This past weekend we went out to the park under the new Arthur Ravenel Bridge and it was gorgeous! We swung on the swings overlooking the cooper river and the weather was perfect. We also ran some errands to the mall, Kohls, and PetsMart. On Sunday we met up with Meri and had lunch and dessert and Jackson was such a good boy. He continues to smile more and more and seems to become a little more alert every day.

On Thursday, our wedding photographer is coming to photograph Jackson so that we can FINALLY order birth announcements and get them out. We have been trying to get these pictures taken for awhile now, but Jackson had a small rash and cradle cap which has been slowly disappearing and we have been waiting for that to go away. We are so excited to see Kim and I can't wait to see how the photos turn out!

One thing that has been wonderful this week is that Jackson has been sleeping for 7 1/2-8 1/2 hours every night. Even though I have to wake up to pump, I am still getting some longer sleep stretches. I used to watch the sun come up every morning, but lately I have been waking up with a hint of daylight and it feels good! I usually bring him downstairs when he wakes up and nurse him so that Justin can get some more sleep before work. Then Jackson and I usually get about an hour nap together until we are up for the day. I love it because we lay down on the couch together and he snuggles up to me and passes out. He is so peaceful and it makes it easy for me to fall back to sleep! What a sweet boy!

2 Month Dr Visit

Well it went better than expected!

First things first: Jackson is officially 10 lbs 12 oz! Also, he is a little over 23 inches long. The Dr. said that he is in the 25th percentile for weight, 50th percentile for height, and the 25th-50th percentile for head circumference. Jackson had a great check up and Dr. Drew said he is just perfect. Jackson was SO good for the appt. and was just looking around checking things out.

At the end of the appt, the nurse came in to give him his shots. He got three shots and as soon as the first needle went in, he just looked to be in so much pain and started crying. His face turned beet red and he was so upset he could barely take a breath. But it was over as soon as it started and he calmed down almost instantly. I went ahead and nursed him right in the exam room afterward and he fell fast asleep. He seems fine now and does not seem like he is in pain at all...thank goodness! Lets hope that was the worst of it!! We are so proud of our big boy!

8 Weeks

Hope you enjoy the pics of Jackson from today. He is officially a little over 8 weeks old and a couple days short of being 2 months old...Time is flying! Tomorrow is his big dr. appt to see Dr. Drew (pediatrician) and Justin and I are both dreading having to take our precious baby for his shots. I hope he doesnt hold it against us too much :( His little frown still breaks my heart every time he is unhappy.

He has been doing great with this sleeping and gives us anywhere between 6-7 1/2 hours every night, which is great! He is also napping a little more during the day and has begun to like his swing again which gives me a little more of a break. He loves to be held a lot and to snuggle with mommy or daddy during naptime. We have also come to the conclusion that he is just not going to be a pacifier baby. He would take it for about 5-10 minutes at a time during his first few weeks, but now he wont take it at all. We have tried several different types, and he gets extremely offended when you put any of them in his mouth. If he is already crying and upset, you can FORGET trying to give him a pacifier, as it seems to make him even more mad! We are so fortunate that although he hates the paci, he will take bottles of pumped milk, usually from his daddy. He only gets an occasional bottle (about 2 per week) but he goes back and forth between the bottle and breast easily...thank goodness!! He is still exclusively on breastmilk and I plan to keep it that way for as long as possible. So far so good :)

We weighed him tonight and we both got 11 lbs even for his weight...We will have his official weight tomorrow and I am looking forward to that because I want to see how accurate our weight estimates are. He is definitely getting heavier to carry around. He is like a little piglet or butterball turkey! In the pictures above, he is wearing his "Leo" onesie, which was the very first baby purchase that Justin and I made. If you can read the small print, it says "born leader and loves the limelight"...I think that will be true!

I realize that every post is all about Jackson, so I will add that Justin and I are doing great! We are just enjoying every day of this new life and getting out a good bit. We try take Jackson out several times a week for picnics in the park, lunch out at restaurants, shopping, etc. We have already been for family walks on the Battery, Waterfront Park, Azalea Park, the County Park, and many others. Justin and I got to go out on our own to a friend's couples shower last weekend and it was strange to be alone, but really nice to get out for a little while with just the two of us. Still, we missed Jackson so much when we were out and thought/talked about him most of the time! :)

Well, I will try and do a short update tomorrow after his appt about how it went. Heres hoping that it goes better than we are expecting :)