Merry Christmas!!

Jackson's first Christmas went very well. On Christmas eve his Uncle Rob, Aunt Betty and cousins, Brandon, Brittany, Brooklyn and Breanna were there. As well as Grandma and Grandpa Glor. He wasn't in the best of spirits because he didn't sleep well the night before and missed a nap during the day. But all in all he had a great time.

Christmas day came and Jackson had a great time playing with all of his new toys. The biggest issue he has right now, is he want's so badly to be mobile, but just hasn't gotten there yet. He is starting to try and crawl, but usually ends in a face plant. Although, lately there hasn't been to much planting of the face.

Jackson's first official word... "kitty". Wow, we have repeated "mama" and "dada" to him no less than 60 times a day. We say "kitty" or "kitty cat" maybe 3 times a day or so. I guess he likes the cat better than us.



He's really getting good at pulling up on things. If he can reach a ledge than he will be standing up quickly. One of the toys he got for Christmas he likes to pull up on, but the toy keeps tipping over, so far Jackson has gotten a scraped nose from it. It is definitely not a unsupervised toy.

Stand and deliver

Jackson will try and stand up with anything now. He hasn't got the balance thing down the greatest yet, though. So at any given moment he may fall or slide, forward, backward, right or left. If he tries to pull up on something and he can't quite manage to do it, he will let you know in a very loud screeching way. He has also gotten pretty brave, once he gets standing he will just let go of whatever he is holding on to. Which, having not gotten the hang of balance, ends in tears.

Jackson is starting to make some progress towards crawling. He will get on one knee and one foot and his hands. But, that quickly turns into a face plant. Right now, I'm just thankful he is still a self-contained unit.

He is starting to get pretty good at drinking out of a cup. Except sometimes it seems like he forgets what he is doing, because as soon as the water hits his mouth he freaks out and spits it at you. Jackson is also getting good, hmm not good, but is able to feed himself. This is not the quickest way to do things. Nor is should it be counted as a meal, since only approxitmately 1% of the food actually gets in his mouth.

Jackson has found a new best friend. He has cast aside his old best friend, the ceiling fan, for Bailey, the 10 year old cat. It's a win-win situation. Bailey loves being petted, anytime, all the time. Jackson loves touching things. It's a match made in heaven. However, I sense turbulence ahead for this relationship. While Jackson was standing today and petting Bailey, he lost his balance. To try and steady himself, Jackson used, or rather, tried to use the cat's tail. Neither was happy with the outcome.

Cruising right along...

Jackson has been pulling up to standing for a few weeks now. Of course the first time he did it, I had left to run an errand for a minute so I wasn't here to see it. But the problem is most of the furniture in the house is a little to tall for him to pull up on. At his Uncle Rob's house though he pulled up to standing and he made a few steps around the table. The boy is officially a cruiser!!

He finally got his new car seat. He grew out of his infant one already. Jackson hates his new car seat though! He screams and cries every time he has to be put into it. He calms down after a few minutes.

Jackson has really been babbling the last few days. He has starting saying "D's" so we're hoping DA-DA is coming soon. He is also working on his top two teeth I think. They haven't popped through yet but he's been gnawing on everything like crazy.

He has also learned that he can make toys make sound by banging them into something. So he'll sit there and bang his plastic keys into the ground, or his rattle into his tray. It keeps him quite amused.

Well Jackson has grown out of another whole set of clothes. It's crazy how quickly he is growing up. It is sad to grow through and have to put away all the stuff he used to wear. There are a few I'm saving because they are just to cute, I hope to be able to make a quilt out of them someday.

Quick Jack Facts:
Sleep: 11-12 hours per night usually with one stretch of 6-8 hours.
Naps: 2-3 per day of varying lengths.
Main mode of transportation: Being carried or booty scooting.
Meals per day: 2 with some puffs or other tasty snacks thrown in.
Teeth: 2, with 2 more following quickly.
Favorite toy: Anything with a tag on it.
Favorite activity: Bouncing in my activity chair.

You want the tooth?!?!?! You can't handle the tooth!!!

So Jackson got his first cold last week. Damn kids, they are like germ factories. We went to a halloween party and within 24 hours of being around all those other kids, he was coughing and sneezing and cranky. He spiked a 102 degree fever that wouldn't come down even with tylenol, that lasted for about 36 hours. But he got over it, like they always do. Even when he was sick though if he wasn't sleeping he was bouncing off the walls!!

After his week of being sick we tried to get back into the routine of Jackson sleeping in his crib. Monday night, no dice, there wasn't anyway he was sleeping in that thing. Tuesday night he was up every half an hour for 4 hours or so. Wednesday night he woke up about a half an hour shrieking in pain. I just thought it was a new cereal he tried that night. Wednesday during the day, he wouldn't nap, at all. I just chalked it up to him still getting over his cold, and just being in a mood. Then thursday morning when we were at a play date, I put my finger in his mouth and low and behold there was a tooth popping through! I can't wait for the first toothy smile.

Jackson has been making leaps and bounds on the "talking" front. His first official word is "mama", he doesn't know what he is saying yet, but it still counts in my book. He can also say boo, and mmmmmmm. He is really starting to babble a lot.

Fall.

Now that the weather has started to cool down Jackson is really enjoying being outside. We go for walks every evening. Sometimes he'll nap in his stroller and sometimes he'll just watch the world passing around him.

Jackson can sit up all by himself now. He is very good about steadying himself on his arms. He can he bend down and get something and then sit back up. Now that he can sit up he hates laying down. He will lay on his back and kick to scoot himself around to get toys, but after he gets bored with that he just wants to sit up. I don't think he'll be a crawler. He generally doesn't have an interest in things that are out of his reach.

Jackson is on to two meals of solids a day. One in the morning after he wakes up and then one just before bed. He really loves eating solid food. We started working on drinking out of a cup. So far it's just making a huge mess, but he'll play around with his sippy cup for awhile.

He has also started babbling like crazy. He can say ha, ma, hi, ho, mo. He's getting close to saying mama. But whenever I say "Jackson can you say mama?" he just smiles and blows raspberries.

We took him to the pumpkin patch. He had an absolute blast!! He enjoyed the hay ride and the train ride. But he did not enjoy putting his head through the pumpkin!

Omaha here we come....

So we decided to take an impromptu day trip to the Omaha Zoo for Jackson's first trip. We got up first thing in the morning and loaded up the car and head on our way.

We hit the road at 9 am, Jackson was strapped into his car seat with a fully belly and heavy eyelids. We arrived after a few stops at noon, at the Omaha zoo. Jackson got strapped into his carrier, first stop...the desert dome! Jackson seemed to like the rocks more than any of the animals really. There was a part for nighttime predators which pitch black, neither mommy nor Jackson really cared for that part. We stayed about 4 hours at the zoo. Jackson seemed to have a decent enough time. Although, for him I think it will be much more enjoyable once he gets just a little bit older.

After the zoo we wandered around downtown Omaha for awhile and ate dinner at Spaghetti works. Jackson got to sit in his very first high chair. He looks too little to be in it, but he sat up perfectly in it. We stayed a little too long in Omaha and Jackson was not a happy camper on the way home. He screamed for nearly an hour and a half straight, no matter what we did. Next time we'll be better prepared.

And they all come tumbling down...

Jack took his first big spill...rolled right off the couch!! Luckily, he seems to be hardy as no permanent damage is apparent. He was all smiles a short time later.

He has finally started laughing. Although he has a very discerning sense of humor. A list of things that can make him laugh:

Tickling his neck
Grabbing his feet and saying in the most serious voice "I'm going to eat your toes"
Doing the "baby dance dance"

A very short list indeed. But hopefully it will get more and more. He'll let out a chuckle here or there on some things, but the things on the above list are really the only things to get him rolling.

Jackson has definetly found his voice. He still quietly takes the world in for the most part. But now he knows he can shriek, babble, scream and everything in between. He will do so for lengths of time.

He has been sleeping pretty good lately. (knock on wood) He will sleep for 8 hours at a stretch in his crib. After the 8 hours though, is another story. He then gets up for an hour or so and then back down for 2 hours. Then he is up for an hour, down for an hour. This continues until about 6ish. From then on he is up until bedtime at about 830 or 9. He is kind of kooky with his sleep.

We took him to the plaza art fair. He had such a good time. I carried him in the carrier for the whole time we were there and he loved it. He is enjoying it now that it is cooler outside and he can be carried around instead of stuck in his stroller.

For those about to rock.

Jackson went to his first rock concert this weekend. The Record Bar has family friendly happy hours about once a month. This band called The Doo-Dads plays kid friendly rock and roll (the music is actually pretty good). They have a bubble machine and kiddie food. It was a pretty fun time. Jackson was rocking out for awhile. Then he partied a little too much and passed out! Party foul baby!






He has finally gotten big enough for his exersaucer thing. He sits in it for about 15 minutes or so. He enjoys the caterpillar on it the most. He would enjoy it much more if he could stuff it in his mouth. Jackson will/has to shove everything in his mouth. He is only happy if he has something to chew and or lick. He has also started sticking his tongue out and blowing rasberries, which daddy taught him. It is very cute indeed.

Still no teeth, but it seems like it is getting closer. He is finally starting to babble a little bit more and just last night started giving us a few laughs. Hopefully soon he'll be a giggling little boy.

Bedtime routine:
Eat food in my bumpo
Lounge in the bathtub and play splashy splashy
Get a massage from mom
Story from Dad
Get swaddled and nurse my way to dream land.
(I'm back to sleeping at least 6 hours in a row keep your fingers crossed!)

Sickboy...

So after Jackson got his shots, he got really sick the next day. It first thing in the morning when I noticed his body was burning up. I took his temperature and it was 101.2. So we gave him some tylenol and went about our day. I took him to yoga and he was a little fuss-pot.

An aside about yoga. This yoga class is for babies and mommies. In class this day there was a 3 month old, an 8 month old both of which were non mobile. There was also a one-year old who could walk and crawl. So Jackson was laying beside me for most of it as he was not feeling good. The walker/crawler baby came up to him and was looking at him and patting his face gently. I thought "ahhh how sweet, his first friend" Well then out of nowhere his "friend" tries to scoop out his eyeball with her finger. ACK! Yoga was pretty much over for us after that.

I had to work that night so we came home and I tried to get some sleep. Jackson's fever wasn't really affecting him. But then after I went to work Shawn said he screamed and was just acting funny. Shawn even had to call the Dr. who said to wait about another hour and if he didn't get better to bring him to the emergency room. Luckily, we didn't have to, but it was scary none-the-less. So now anytime he is getting shots I am going to make sure I am off for a few days.

He's been rocking the solid foods. He is up to eating 4 tablespoons of cereal. We have also tried sweet potatoes. Which he loves, the boy was born to eat I think. He will literally try to shove his face into the bowl that you are feeding him out of. He will also scream at you if you aren't doing it fast enough.

First things first....

Jackson tried solid food for the first time! And he loved it. Although more of it was on him than in him. He took to it like a fish to water.He happily sits in his blue bumpo seat and gobbles up bite after bite of baby oatmeal.

He finally got to meet his uncle Eric, aunt Melissa and cousins Koty and Hailey. He enjoyed their visit and the day out at the lake, wearing his super cool hawaiian outfit to look just like grandpa.




No more leaving him unattended!! He is starting to roll like nobody's business. He rolls over from belly to back as soon as he is put down on the floor. And if you put his favorite rattle just far enough out of his reach, he will roll over from his back to his belly. He also does the craziest back crawl! He will lay on his back and kick his feet to scoot himself across the floor. Shawn and I call it his TA-DA! move.

He went for his four month check-up today, and got more shots. Which is no fun for anyone! But he came home and slept most of the day.

Jack Fact's:
Weight 14 lbs 9 ounces
Length 25 inches
Favorite activity: Standing on someone's lap
Favorite song: We are the champions as sung by Mommy
Sleep: The past week has gone on a sleep strike and will only sleep while attached to mom.
To do list:
Try more foods (yams anyone?)
Start creeping
Try out some babbles

Feet first

Jackson has found his feet, and he wont let them go! He plays with them all day long and gets very upset when he can't reach them. And along with finding his feet he is now able to roll from his back on to his side and he can almost get himself into a sitting position. It's getting scary now that he is getting more mobile. I'll put him down in his crib and go back and he will be in a completely different spot and position.

It hasn't been the best week for Jackson. I had some dairy so his stomach has been bothering him again. So me and him have been up until about 4 am the last few nights because his stomach has been bothering him. It is not as bad as before, but there are still some screaming fits in there.

Jackson is being to play by himself for longer periods of time. I can set him in the swing or down on the floor with some toys and he will entertain himself for usually around a half an hour before he gets too bored.

I think he is still working on cutting a tooth, nothing is poking through the skin yet, but if I try and put my finger in his mouth he screams at me.

What's ahead for Jackson:
4 month check up at the Dr's on August 7th, more shots and hopefully some solid food!

Being away.

Jackson survived his first time without mommy. I had to go back to work this weekend and so it was Jackson and Shawn to fend for themselves. He had a really hard time falling asleep the first night. Shawn said he was up until 4 am or so. Each night it got a little bit better though. Monday night he was asleep be 1230 am. (which is his bedtime).








He gave me a laugh the other day!! Shawn said he has laughed before, but that doesn't count since I wasn't around to hear it. But we were in wal-mart and I started tickling his feet and he gave me a couple of giggles. It's nice when the people in wal-mart think your crazy, because your crying at a laughing kid.

Quick Jack facts:

Favorite song: When the Ants go marching in.
Favorite toy: Penguin #1.
Things I am working on learning: Rolling over, laughing.
What's ahead: Starting solid foods soon!

Chomping at the bit...

So I think Jackson is starting to cut his first tooth. Since Monday he has been increasingly "fussy". One minute he will be fine and then he will freak out. Start "scrying" (screaming/crying) and shoving his fist into his mouth. He wont let me look in his mouth without screaming at me so I can't really see whats going on in there.

His first fourth of July was about 2 weeks ago. We took him over to his Uncle Rob's and Aunt Betty's. He got to meet his cousins, Brandon, Brianna, Brooklyn and Brittany. Jackson really enjoyed the fireworks. The noise got a little loud for him, but once I covered his ears, he just stared and stared at all the colors.





Quick Jack Facts:
15.5 weeks old. Sleeping about 8-9 hours a night. Takes a 1 hour nap, a 2 hour nap and then a few cat naps here and there. Favorite toy right now: ducky rattle. Favorite possession: blue and striped blankie.

And so it began.

I woke up on Saturday, March 29th 2008 knowing I was going to go into labor that day. I don't know how I knew, but I just did. Regardless, Shawn and I had tons of stuff to do that day, and I didn't want to freak him out so I didn't say anything. We left the house about 10 am and went to a farmer's market and spent some time with his dad. Then we did some shopping. In the evening we went over to a friend's house for a barbecue for his birthday. The whole day had been having little baby contractions, nothing painful at all. We stayed over at the friends house most of the evening and finally got home around 10pm. That's when the "fun" started. I had my first "real" contraction when we got home. I nearly fell down it was so painful. I immediately told Shawn, "Honey, I think I'm in labor". So for the next half an hour he ran around the house trying to gather everything up and get it ready to go. Then he layed down to try and get some rest since my contractions weren't all that close together yet. I sat on the couch and tried to do some word puzzles and relax (yeah right).

About 2 am my contractions had been the magical five minutes apart for about a half an hour. So I decided we were going to have to go to the hospital soon, so I mine as well jump in the shower and relax and clean up. By the time I got out of the shower, my contractions were 1-2 minutes apart. I went in to try and wake Shawn up and tell him we need to get to the hospital. In his tired state he said "No, no, you just need to lay down and get comfortable so we can talk about the situation" And I politely replied, "NO! We have to get to the hospital"

So we went, and waited and waited until they finally decided to admit me. We finally got to our room around 4 am or so. And I immediately asked for drugs. No one can ever prepare you for that pain and that breathing crap does not work at all. So after two rounds of nubain I asked for an epidural. They got the epidural in at around 6 am or so. And I was able to sleep for about an hour. And then at 7 I woke up feeling a lot of pressure. They checked me and I was at 8 cm dilated. So the nurse explained it will be about 2 hours before I would start pushing. Then while the nurse was still in the room I told her that it felt like I needed to push. She checked me again and sure enough I was at 10 cm and ready to go.The Doctor was still about 20 minutes away at this point and the nurses started getting a little freaked out because he was coming NOW. So there were about 7 different people in the room. 2 labor nurses, 2 nicu nurses, 2 mother baby nurses and the anesthetiologist. His head was about half out when the doctor finally came rushing in and delivered him the rest of the way. And at 852 am on March 30th 2008, Jackson Sidney Davis came screaming into the world.