Nothing cures a bad week at work better than . . .

This GUY! Coming home from a tough work week to him and his wonderful mom / my wonderful wife has been just what I needed. They can make any bad day go away. Jackson has begun to sleep more consistently at night this week, and seems to be on the other side of his bout with the evil colic.

Jackson has to be around 11 pounds by now, and is too long for some of his outfits. He has transitioned out of some newborn clothes and into 0-3 months. He also moved out of his newborn diapers this week! My man is growing like a weed! This weekend he will get to spend it with Heather and I, since it is my weekend off from work. Should be a SUPER one!

This photo is one of the hundreds the greatest friend in the world(Alex Holt) took, while he and his wife (tLOHL) came for a visit. How about a few more . . .

One Month

In just an hour is Jackson's one month birthday! Yeah! At 11:32 am, he will be getting his birthday kiss from his mommy (anyone seen that episode of "Everyone Loves Raymond"?). I am a big "Raymond" fan...so probably not. Today Jackson is no longer considered a newborn; he has upgraded to infant status!

We had a great weekend with the Holts and enjoyed some delicious Central BBQ that Jonathan's parents brought on Saturday. Alex took some great photos with his high-tech camera with help from his photography assistant Jordan. He posted a few on his blog but hasn't finished editing all of them. I will put up the ones he posted. Jackson had his first non-family/non-doctor's outing on Sunday when we all went to the Country Club for brunch. He slept the entire time. We have been huddled up in the house all month since it is so cold and it is flu/cold/RSV season with the newborn. Oh yeah...Friday my parents insisted on keeping Jackson and kicked us out of the house to go on a date. We went to Cicero's to visit Ryan (the owner/friend) and just hang out. Ryan has always had a great selection of beer for Greenville, but he upgraded to 11 beers on tap. It is no Flying Saucer; but I think it was a breath of fresh air for Jonny, the beer connoisseur. It was very nice just to get out of the house for some social interaction for me!!

While nursing Jackson, most days I sit and think about all his little characteristics and idiosyncrasies. I figured I would indulge on a few of them...

1. We joke that he has a mullet or either early male pattern baldness. He has lots of "peach fuzz" and little hair on top of his head then on the sides and back it gets thicker (especially in the back @ his neck). So it is safe to say, he is all business in the front and party in the back.

2. His eyes are still blue gray. I have not noticed any change in them. But his eyelashes are growing so much!

3. He always wrinkles up his forehead when sitting on our shoulders to burp or just look around. It makes him look like an old man. It is so cute and funny. Alex appropriately titled this one "Excuse Me?" I have seen this picture so many times but laugh just as hard as I saw it the first time.4. He has his dad's full, kissable lips! Thank goodness!

5. He lets us know when he is hungry by a very loud smacking. It is so funny!

6. He has the strongest neck. At birth, he was able to pick his head up and hold it for several seconds. Now he can hold it for minutes! People are amazed, but I am not surprised. He had resistance training in the womb with my right ribs. I would always say he was headbutting them!

7.He is starting to coo and make lots of noises to try and talk to us!

8. When he starts getting mad, we know it before his face shows it. He starts to move his arms like he is conducting an orchestra. As he gets madder, they get to moving faster until he looks like he is wailing away at some bongos.

Now to the pictures....

Hectic week...

Okay after our last post, Jackson started becoming very colicky...screaming, crying, grunting, and having lots of terrible gas pains/stomach rumblings. I had to change my diet to try to eliminate a possible cause. I don't want to reminisce about any of it; it was a really bad week. Since Jonathan had to work this past weekend, I went to my parents' house. They gave be some wonderful respite. I was also very colicky as an infant, so my mom was EXCELLENT with him. She is such a natural. I swear everything comes so natural to her. I love to watch her "flow" so smoothly at anything she does (cooking, baby care, gardening, etc). This week has been a little better minus the new onset of large amounts of spitting up and him constantly hungry, so we went to the doctor today. As most cases with colic, it is just something that you have to endure. However, several things (increased coughing, strange gagging after feeding) pointed also to possible gastroesophageal reflux . We got a prescription for baby Zantac (on top of the probiotics we started last week) and an order to continue keep feeding him when he acts hungry. Hopefully, things will continue to improve especially since we have an exciting weekend! Jonathan's parents and one of their best friends (Mrs. Vicki) are coming for the day on Saturday AND the Holts from Birmingham for the weekend!! Very exciting! Sorry no photos, I think we only took one this week of Jonathan and Jackson "sunbathing" in sunlight in the kitchen (an attempt to calm Jackson); but it is not uploaded and I don't have time to right now.

PS...I wrote this on Thursday afternoon but our laptop dating back to caveman time froze up. Finally getting it published today!

Getting into a routine + Doctor Visit !!!

Well . . . This week has been great and interesting thus far! We have begun to settle in to our own family routine. We have spent several nights with just Heather, Jackson, and myself. Although it is alot harder than when my mom, or Heather's mom was staying with us, it has allowed us to settle into a decent routine. Heather will surely tell you she thinks I am alot more tired than usual, but it is all for a GREAT cause!

For the interesting, Jackson has really put a hurting on our washing machine and detergent. He has blown through countless diapers and outfits at an alarming rate. I believe before yesterday was over, he wore no fewer than 5 separate outfits, with many not making it off the changing table. They were pooped on, tee-teed on, and spit-up on! He was on a TEAR! I told Heather he had more costume changes than a Madonna concert.

Today, we have seen some of the same. But today was DOCTOR VISIT DAY!!! We went and saw our pediatrician for the first time today. Since we delivered in Jackson, our local MD obviously had yet to meet our son. Not only did he get a clean bill of health, his weigh has ballooned to 8 pounds and 5 ounces!!!!! He is gaining weight (which we figured, since he seemed bigger to us) and is healthy! That is a great relief!

What would an update be without pictures . . .

I believe this is the first time he has fallen asleep on my chest! Everyone else always made it look so easy! SUCCESS!

I am sure this won't be the last picture of this, but I can say this is the FIRST picture of Jackson sucking his thumb! HE IS SO CUTE !

Photo blog

Well, sorry we have been missing in action again. Since NYE we have been busy and out of our short-lived baby routine, so we have been REALLY tired! Grammy (Jonathan's mother) left NYE morning after many a wonderful meal, some excellent sweeping, and help at night with Jackson. Here is a picture of her the morning she left: Aunt Na Na and Rachel came by to see Jackson. They are here from Texas for the Hobart family Christmas. Rachel was so great with Jackson. She stayed with us while her mom and Mamaw went shopping. She is a natural!Conveniently, the big NYE part was in our neighborhood literally across the street and 2 doors down! Of course, Yetti eagerly volunteered to watch Jackson while we made an appearance. The whole family (Yetti, Papa, Uncle Heath, and Courtney) spent the night. All but Yetti went to the party. It was nice to get out for some social interaction, but we only stayed long enough to ring in the new year and head back to be with our baby boy!Jackson made his first outing to his great-grands house for New Year's day and the Hobart family Christmas. Of course, we had to dress him for the occasion...in Mississippi State gear! His Papaw Hobart loved it!