The Harden Family

Photodocumentation

2010-11-10T09:32:00.008-06:00

I haven't updated in forever. I might as well just take an official proclaimed hiatus until May 2012 (my graduation). It has been a busy, busy fall!!! The boys and I have been to 2 MSU games (Jonathan could only go to one), traveling every weekend almost which is exhausting! They spent 3days in Memphis for Grammy's fall break. Anyway, this is what we have been up to in a photo montage from my camera:

In September we went to Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, AR for the about 5 days with Papa, Yetti, Uncle Heath, and Aunt Courtney. It was beautiful and great weather! The boys had so much fun. We stayed on the pontoon boat, ski boat, and jet ski all day long. I love the boys growing up on the water!

Captain Jackson

Oh Happy Boy! He was so good on the boat!

Captain CoCo

The first weekend in October we went to Texas for the annual Cade Octoberfest in Canton. Aunt Nae Nae and Uncle Chris Cade host it every year. They have a beautiful ranch with all the Cades living on it. There is so much to do and see...horses, animals, pool, pond, 4 wheelers, gators, toys, swings, airplanes, and more! It coincides with The First Monday. However, the stomach bug hit and no shopping was done. Jackson had a blast with all the family. He was so excited about the horses!

Most all his cousins were there for him to play with. He had so much fun! There were so many toys and animals!

Jackson rode a horse all by himself. He was not scared at all and did not want to get off. He has talked about that horse for a month now! Even naming his rocking horse "Nae Nae's horsie."

Even rode the BIG horse with Rachel Mamaw and Papaw Hobart are having their 50th anniversary this year. We had a presentation for them to surprise them with a cruise while we were in Texas. We all dressed up in tropical attire.

Jackson little best friend, Briley Dean, has his 2nd birthday party. It was so much fun!

The three amigos...Briley, Jackson, and Cashion

Jackson's sweet teachers Miss Burnie (aka "Burnie-Dine") and Michelle (aka "'Shell"). Obviously they love there kiddos to spend their Saturday at a birthday party!

The boys from Jackson's class. This one took several shots!

Here is Meg and Jackson. They have always been so sweet to each other. She made an appearance on the blog last year also.

CoCo likes to party too!

I can't believe the teachers got the entire class to sit down for a picture!

Halloween night!

Cohen is scooting everywhere. He is way more active than Jackson ever was. SCARY!

Everyone talks about how happy he is. You can look at him and he smiles. He is so dang precious!

He weighed 18 lbs and was 28 inches long at his 6 month appt.

THE END

More iPhone pics

2010-09-12T11:23:00.000-05:00

Cohen's first Mississippi State game. We didn't stay long. I underestimated the loudness of the LEGAL cowbells, even up in the boxed area where we sit.

Pictures from my iPhone

2010-09-12T07:52:00.000-05:00

Haven't updated in awhile and have some cute pics on the iPhone...

The Opening of the New Mississippi River Bridge

2010-07-26T13:23:00.004-05:00

This morning was a 5k (really about 10k because of the parking distance and underestimation of how long the bridge is) for the grand opening of the Mississippi River Bridge. We took the boys bright and early (6 AM start). It was a very large crowd. The bridge is so beautiful, along with everything it overlooks also. It was a little rough pushing the boys up the long incline of the bridge. I felt the burn! Jonathan ran most of it and turned around to meet us. It was lots of fun!

Funny boys

2010-07-19T12:53:00.004-05:00

Cohen has been rolling over for about 2 weeks now. He also is scooting while on his belly. He won't stay in one place! And we thought Jackson was active! He has been enjoying the ExerSaucer also these days!

Jackson loves putting his shoes "Mon" and "Moff." (Think, "let's put 'em on" and that is where is he got them) Now he loves our shoes too.

Riding with Uncle Heath in go-cart. Jackson loves any motorized vehicles ("mool" AKA Mule, "free-ler" AKA 4-wheeler, "gaaf-car" AKA golf cart, etc).

Out on the farm, there is a sunflower field. We took some photos of Jackson in it.

The Beach with Papa and Yetti

2010-07-08T15:28:00.012-05:00

Papa and Yetti took us to the beach while Jonathan was in South Africa for the World Cup. We had lots of fun!

We stopped in Hattiesburg on the way there and back to break up the trip for the boys. I think Jackson had the most fun there out of the entire week. The hotel was like a playground; Papa pushed him around in the chair and played hide-n-seek.

The boys were worn out from the car ride. They crashed immediately! We were watching the US vs Ghana here.Jackson loves the water. Papa had him jumping off the side the first time we went to the pool and blowing bubbles.

Cohen was too little to enjoy much. However, he was a sweet man all week. He did get really tired of traveling in his carseat.
He has such a serious look here, but look at those blue eyes against that blue chair!
Ready to go "fwimmin'!"

Talking with Yetti

We took Jackson to ride the bumper boats> we had to walk through the arcade to get there. He was getting down to all the music and sounds in there. We were laughing so hard!

Cohen loved riding in the baby bjorn all week long. Such a good sport!
Jackson had a blast on the bumper boats. He got soaking wet and loved it all!

We had a HUGE balcony (very childproof too) that we spent lots of time. Jackson loved watching the boats, airplanes, helicopters, tractors, and mules helping clean up the oil. He would get so excited by the airplanes and helicopters.

Happy baby...

It rained several times that week, but luckily there was a covered/open air pool. Action shot of Jackson jumping in...

Jackson was not too fond of the sand. He did not like it on his hands or feet. He warmed up yo it later in the week. I think it would have been different if he could have gotten closer to the water.On our way back, we stopped at Chuck E. Cheese's. Jackson saw him from across the restaurant and ran after him. Chuck E. had his back turned away and Jackson tugged on his shorts to get his attention. We could not believe it! I thought he would have been afraid. NOT AT ALL!

Jackson is obsessed with buses, so he did this majority of the time at CEC. Only left the bus when the music came on and the robotic Chuck E. started singing.

Unfortunately, I have realized I don't have tons of great pictures of Cohen for this trip. Jackson is so active so we photographed him a lot while doing different things. Here is a good one of Cohen and Yetti... THANKS PAPA AND YETTI FOR A GREAT WEEK!!!

Too fun to not post...

2010-07-08T14:54:00.004-05:00

My dad burned a CD of all the photos off his camera this week. These photos are older but too cute to not share.

Right after Cohen was born the boys and I were out at my parents' house while Jonathan was gone to a wedding or something. We practically have been living with them since Cohen's birth. It had rained and Jackson was itching to get outside. Papa took him out to play in the puddles. Papa taught him how to splash and stomp in the puddles. He had a blast!

Jackson started playing hide-n-seek a while ago excepts he always likes to hide rather than seek(but what kid doesn't?). He will hide quietly for a almost frightening long time. Here he is hiding...

And the joy of being found! The quality is poor but the look on his face is priceless. He immediately says and signs "more."

Jackson loves to ride on the Mule at my Papa and Yetti's. One night while Jackson was getting a bath by Yetti, Papa took Cohen from me and went outside. He then came back several minutes later and asked me to come outside. He was smiling ear-to-ear. I didn't know what he was doing?? He had his camera and asked me to take a picture of Cohen's first Mule ride. It made me tear up how excited he was as he took Cohen around the driveway loop!

Papa has also been teaching Jackson to golf with little plastic clubs. Jackson has gotten pretty good at making contact. We just keep having to remind him to use 2 hands. Papa is starting earlier with Cohen as you can see...

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-18T15:34:00.005-05:00

Brothers

2010-06-18T15:16:00.005-05:00

Lots of pictures with the sweet brothers.

CHEEEEESE...

This last one cracks me up. This may be an indication of how they may be together in the future. It looks like Cohen is yelling at someone while Jackson is making a mean gesture!

SERIOUSLY we couldn't ask for 2 sweeter boys.

Lately

2010-05-29T14:38:00.007-05:00

What have we been up to?

Jackson spent most of last week sick with high fever and a cough. Here he is pitiful looking, all rosy-cheeked from the fever...

He is much better now!

Cohen is so funny. He loves to sit like this and immediately falls asleep. He loves to be upright.
How different the boys are! I swear Jackson did not smile at this age; he was such a serious baby. Cohen? He is a big smiler. He is also starting to coo. Here he is talking with Yetti...
I tried to catch him smiling, but unsuccessful so far. But here is his sweet face...
This morning Jackson was sleeping, so I tried to sneak in a good picture of the boys. Jackson is usually blurred in all of them since he is always on the move. Cohen was sleeping but awoke when I started snapping.
I wish we had taken this with a real camera. It is precious. Jackson loves to lean in and give Cohen "love." Every time he says "AWWWWW." Can't you read his lips? Melts my heart!

Our Boys

2010-05-13T14:35:00.003-05:00

Jackson's first time holding his little brother. He is so sweet to him!

Welcome to the World Cohen!

2010-05-12T14:39:00.003-05:00

Although tomorrow he will already be three weeks old, this is Cohen's first debut on the blog. Life is crazy with two little ones, recovering from surgery, school, my recent hospital visit, and Heath's wedding. ANYWAY...here is our new little bundle of joy

Eight days overdue and weighing in at 8 lbs 4 oz, 18.5 inches long (however, he is measuring 21 inches now???)

The brothers first meeting. Jackson didn't know what to think with me in the hospital bed and all the strange devices (notice the nice SCD leggings), not to mention everyone he knows standing around looking at us. He did manage to point out all of Cohen's body parts. He was really great with him the day we got home. He is really warming up to him. Jackson is so good natured that it doesn't surprise me how good he is with his baby brother.

Today is the day!

2010-04-22T04:38:00.000-05:00

Our little Cohen William will enter the world today! At yesterday's OB visit, I was still not dilated but a fingertip and therefore unable to be induced. With my overdue deadline being Friday, my doctor scheduled a section. Though not how we planned, we can't wait to meet the little guy! Will post photos as soon as possible.

Tis the Season...

2010-04-12T18:27:00.004-05:00

for some water fun!

He loves his water table and being outside. This boy is anything but scared of water. Thank God! He is gonna be a little fish like his parents.

We spent most of this past Saturday with Yetti. She filled up his new pool with warm water and he LOVED it!
He worked up an appetite for one of Yetti's cupcakes. He was so funny eating it. It was his first one since his birthday party. **Excuse the bright green ear plug. He has to wear them for his tubes.**

Easter

2010-04-12T12:10:00.005-05:00

This was the first holiday that Jackson had any clue what was going on. He was super excited to see that the Easter Bunny had brought him toys. He got a bubble mower; a basket full of clothes, crayons, coloring book, sidewalk chalk, Peeps, and a lollipop; a cool pirate ship water table; and a little playground outside. As you can see, he was super excited!

He was excited to see his slide outside...
"You mean the Easter Bunny even came to Papa and Yetti's???!"
The Easter Bunny visited Jackson and Cohen at Papa and Yetti's. Jackson got lots of outfits, a golf set, a pool, several swimming suits and shoes, books, and lots of other toys. But his favorite is his Cozy Coupe "caaaaar." He LOVES it. He gets in, shuts the door, and says "bye bye" or "VROOOM." His little voice is precious!

Unfortunately, I did not get a good picture of him before we left for church. He looked so precious!
After church and all the other Easter festivities, we went back to Papa and Yetti's for an egg hunt, Jackson's first golf lesson from his Papa, and lots of rides his the coupe.

Fun Times

2010-04-12T11:48:00.003-05:00

I thought I would update the blog before Cohen arrives. It is hard enough to update it these days; I can't imagine how it will be in the next week or so. We are just waiting the little man to decide to make his arrival. My doctor has given him a deadline to the 23rd. I swear he is gonna take every moment of that time and still may never decide to come out an play with his big brother!

Jackson has been obsessed with bubbles lately. He is able to say "bubbles" among many, many other words..."car," "tractor," "boat," "no," "shoes," "two" (after being prompted by "one"), occasionally "three" after "two," "egg," "eat," "night night," "dog," "mommy," "dada," "papa," "roll, " and attempts "I love you" and "Yetti." He will pretty much try to say anything we prompt him to. He is so incredibly smart! I am amazed at how much fun it is to teach him and watch him explore this big world!

Jackson is a super happy child. SERIOUSLY, like incredibly happy ALL. THE. TIME. We know he is tired when he gets slightly fussy. We are super spoiled. I hope Cohen takes after him. I am afraid of how Cohen may rock our spoiled little world.

Lots of photos

2010-03-10T16:16:00.007-06:00

Here are lots of photos from January on...

We went to Birmingham to visit the Holts including 6-week old Ruthie. Jackson basically ignored sweet, precious Ru, either he was playing hard to get (they have an arranged marriage though) or this is insight on how he will be with Cohen.

In February, we went to Hot Springs with my parents. Jackson enjoyed seeing the horses at the races. He had a better time after we left early and took him to a toy store. He went WILD!

When we got a big snow, Papa built Jackson a snowman. Jackson pointed to his eyes, nose, and mouth.

He loves to open all our cabinets as you can see. Don't worry there is nothing harmful in them.

He knows he can play in the Tupperware cabinet and loves it. This is a great distraction while I am cooking!

It was so cold and yucky for so long. On the first nice day in January we went outside. He loved walking around in the yard, pointing at everything. Now when we go outside is obsessed with passing cars. He says "Vrooom!"

These are just some random bathtime photos of the sweet little man...

Lastly, I was talking with a friend who said I had not updated any pictures of the baby belly. Here is me today @ exactly 35 weeks. Not sure why it upload so small. I had an US last week and he is measuring almost 1.5 weeks early. I kept telling everyone that he feels bigger than JDH did. I was right....he is a big boy!

Mobile blogging

2010-02-25T05:26:00.003-06:00

***Warning, long sappy post with no photos but an update on our little men***
It's 5:15 a.m. I am on the couch with a restless, coughing little man who just woke, but haven't slept more than 2 hours myself tonight. It's been a rough pregnancy night! Anyway, I thought I would try my hand @ a mobile blog post. I have been wanting to update for so long, but my God life is so busy! Between JDH being sick for nearly 2 weeks now, doctors appts, Junior Auxillary Ball,the stomach bug rampant in every member of our immmediate and extended family, and school I can't find the time to do it all. Work has not even been a factor besides this weekend. I have missed 2 weeks of my 2 day/week clinic job because of JDH being sick then last week preparing for the ball. Jonathan has been BIG help with the sick little man, even taking him back to the MD so I could study for my 1st exam of the semester. I am, no we are, so dang lucky to have that man in our lives!
Anyway, this post was intended for a explanation of the lack of blogging along with some updates on our little men.
First briefly, Cohen is doing well. I have not seen him in a while since I haven't been at my clinic job where I get 3D ultrasounds done. What a change from our pregnancy with Jackson who we saw every other week from 23 weeks on! My OB doctor check ups have been good with the except of yesterday. I have been having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions which are normal, but the frequency (like every day, every few minutes) have increased but not the overall intensity. I mentioned to my MD. She decided to check my cervix which unfortunately has resonded to the contractions. So I have gotten 1 of 2 steriods shots to mature Cohen's lungs in preparation that he comes early and started on Procardia to help decrease the contractions.
Jackson is getting so very big and mature. He is definitely not a baby anymore. He is practically running everywhere. Though he doesn't speak many words besides "duck" and an occasional "uh oh" but tries to talk TONS, his receptive language is UNBELIEVABLE. He knows change diaper by heading to his room, eat, body parts (head, nose, mouth, belly, foot), up, drain in bathtub, ball, sun, dog, kitty, Sam, Lucy, Yetti, Papa, smacks when you say "kiss," winks to just the word "wink" now, and signs "more." There are probably more but I can't think of them right now. He has moved up to the bigger classroom @ school. He sat @ the table and took a nap on a mat on the first day in a chair with which they were very impressed. He just won't take a dang sippy! It is his nemesis! We were ready for him move up because he was the most developed in his class and scared it was holding him back, but suddenly he started doing all these grown-up things! Now I want to keep him my baby forever, which he will be. Reminds me of the book and my mom who have it to me @ age 17. I read that same book with the inscription in it to my little man now. "I'll love you forever, I'll like you always. As long as I am living, my baby you will be!" Though she gave me a copy of it when I was 17 it has always been a great book in my family. I can remember it circulated somehow through my Uncle Glen's (Mom's brother)family when I was not even a teen. I think that is where we get the saying we use a lot in my family "I LIKE you and I LOVE you." Okay, tears! I hope @ least this brings you a little joy! I promise to upload some photos soon
. If not me, maybe the ghostwriter will appear after a year long hiatus!

Some random videos/photos

2010-02-09T14:04:00.003-06:00

I was playing on J's Iphone and found these. Enjoy!

This is JDH in his Spongebob yellow gown before getting tubes and adenoids out back in mid-December. He has slimmed up so much in the last month now that he is walking.

I told Jonathan as soon as JDH started walking that he needed to start working on footwork skills for soccer. It took all of a minute to teach him. Unfortunately, it looks like he may be right-footed. He won't use his left. Is it too early to tie that foot down and make him left-footed??? KIDDING! (sorta)

I am trying to download the rest of them but having trouble.

What we have been up to...

2010-01-18T21:34:00.004-06:00

My last post was almost a month ago! Whew, keeping up with this blog, Jackson, health, and school have been a bit much lately. Here are a few pics off my camera to keep you all up-to-date.

This photo is right after my last posting. We were just about to leave to go celebrate Heath's graduation and Jackson's birthday.
Here are some photos of Christmas. Jackson, of course, had no clue what was going on; but he enjoyed tissue paper, ribbons, and the wooden spoons from my stocking. It was the year of the Snuggie, so of course Sam got one from Santa.

Since it was too cold outside, he tested out his new tricycle inside. Look at that intense look!Today was actually the first day we strolled outside in it. It was so nice with the sunshine and in the 50's.

Christmas morning, we went to Papa and Yetti's to see what Santa had brought Jackson there. He immediately found his Rudolph and clung to it most of the day.
He also got his own chair at Papa and Yetti's. Mississippi State!

While we opened presents, Jackson entertained himself with tissue paper.
Jackson got his camo this Christmas. He broke it in while Papa, Uncle Heath, and Daddy were working on the mule. I am not a fan of camo, especially on kiddos...BUT dang Jackson looks so cute in it!
Right after Christmas, Aunt Kiki and cousin Ava came to visit in Clarksdale. We went up there for the night to visit. Ava and Jackson are right at 6 months apart. He was very jealous of me holding her at first. **Lord, help us when Cohen gets here**

In other news, Jackson is walking. He has been on the verge for a while, but really started when Yetti was keeping him a few weekends ago. I am drawing a blank on anything else that is new with him. The pregnancy amnesia has been REALLY bad this go-around. Hopefully, it won't be another month before you hear from us again!

Birthday Boy

2009-12-22T17:12:00.002-06:00

Today is Jackson's first birthday! We spent the night at my parents after doing some Christmas cooking last night. Between us all, I bet he has had "Happy Birthday" sung to him 100 times! We came home in our PJ's after the men got done hunting. We immediately started watching the"Alvin and the Chipmunks" DVD which Jackson loved watching last night at their house. He dances the whole movie. He likes to sit in his chair his Poppi (my dad) made him.

This afternoon we spent it pushing his around on his train Poppi and Mimi gave to him for Christmas. Our backs are killing us!

We are about to head out to dinner to celebrate Jackson's birthday and Heath's graduation!

Happy 1st Birthday!!!

2009-12-22T16:28:00.003-06:00

Sunday afternoon we celebrated Jackson's first birthday. He was so good and entertaining! He definitely knew it was HIS party and he was suppose to be the center of attention.
It was an animal-themed party. I have been holding on to a Hannah Kate outfit I ordered back in the summer for him to wear. He was too cute! I am a little biased though.

My mom worked so hard on the cupcakes, smash cake, other decorative cakes, and the table setup. She is so talented! Everyone was amazed at it. THANKS SO MUCH YETTI! WE LOVE YOU AND APPRECIATE YOUR HARD WORK!

She also made him a birthday bib. Thank goodness, because I had forgotten to get one!
Yetti also made lime sherbet punch which Jackson highly enjoyed! Mimi (my stepmother) and Yetti feeding Jackson punch. By the way, a little side note...my mom and stepmom get along GREAT which is sooooo nice for all of us!

He wasn't sure what to do with his smash cake. He didn't eat much of it, but he sure ended up smashing it to pieces...He got SO MANY great toys and gifts. Most of them were musical which he danced to. It is amazing how he can hear just a note or two and will start dancing. I guess he is gets it from his Mama! We sure know how to cut a rug on my side of the family! It makes me think about something a friend said this weekend. She says her mother always says "I just want my girls (she has 3) to find a man who will dance with them." I love that! Luckily I found one that loves to dance with me. I don't think he loves to dance, but he loves to dance with me. I got a good one! Jackson is definitely going to be a dancer.

Unfortunately I was so busy with him and the party, I didn't get to use my new camera that much. Yetti and Papa gave me my birthday present early (right before the party)...a big new Nikon digital camera! I have a great small digital camera, but I always borrow my mom's Canon Rebel for really nice photos. I didn't ask for it, wasn't even on my list...BUT I am soooooo excited about it and really wanted it! I didn't use it correctly all day. Many of the pictures were blurry. I didn't have the flash on, but the pictures are still pretty good. I didn't get to capture our house full of people. Here is Jackson and cousin Mary Grace. Then Jackson with Cashion playing with all the new toys...

We had so much fun with him. He was a ham! I can't believe he is one!

It's A Boy and He Shall Be Named...

2009-12-16T10:35:00.004-06:00

Cohen William Harden

We will call him Cohen. I just remembered that I had not even posted the announcement of the sex and his name! We were between two boy names for a while before we knew the sex. When we found out, we decided a few days later on Cohen. It is not a family name (it's a Jewish surname...so obviously, not a family name; I just googled it too and it's also Gaelic..but not from Jonathan's stint in Ireland). We just liked the name for a long time. Back in 2006, we we first started trying we were talking on Google chat one day while I was at work (hope my old Stern boss doesn't read this). When were both looking at a baby names website and discussing names. I saved the chat and have referenced it for our child namings and laughs for the funny banter that went back and forth. Cohen was high up on the list on that chat. Jackson was never discussed, but Jackson was only picked for the "JDH." Neat thing about the chat: at the end of our convo, our #1 name was Reese for a boy or a girl. However, our friends the Greens named their 2nd child Reese (unknowing our like for it, of course). Boy, they have really good taste in friends and names ;)

And William comes from my Mom's maiden name Williams. She is very special to us, and we want to pass that along to our little Cohen!

Well just wanted to keep you all up-to-date on baby Cohen. The baby belly is ever-growing. It is amazing how much more I am showing with this second one. I guess the ab muscles didn't have time to recover just 6-7 months after Jackson!

BTW...Jackson had surgery yesterday for tubes in his ears. They ended up taking his adenoids also. Today is is great and back to normal, minus lots of thick nasal drainage and very TERRIBLE breath! Now maybe he will sleep through the night for the first time in his life!

Santa Baby

2009-12-10T10:50:00.002-06:00

Our little Santa's helper all dressed up for Christmas this morning...

Playing Catch-up...

2009-12-10T09:06:00.004-06:00

Wow, life has been busy for us! I can't believe it was almost 6 weeks ago that I last blogged. I am very sorry! It has crazy around here at times. I just finished my first semester of acute care nurse practitioner school on Monday. I had fallen WAY behind while sick with the pregnancy, so I have been playing catch up since then. During that time I also lost all my motivation, but found it recently. Yay! We have been preparing for Heath's engagement shower, Jackson's first birthday, and the holidays. Jonathan has been working hard at the WAG (stock symbol for Walgreen's and nickname among us/other Walgreen's friends). He has been picking up some extra shifts. We are blessed to have such a hard-working hubby/dad inside and outside the home...wonder where he gets that from? ;) Hmmm...his dad! I will go off on a little tangent here. I feel so blessed with a husband who works so hard for his family, comes home, and works so hard around the house to help me. *okay I am crying now* He does laundry, helps me cook, unloads the dishwasher, gets up with Jackson at night, and countless other things...WITHOUT me asking! I know he learned this by example from his dad; it's really obvious. So thanks Jonathan AND Jodie!

Back to the subject I know you all came here for...Jackson! I will let the pictures tell you what is going on in his life. Unfortunately, we have been so busy I don't have many.

Jonathan loves popsicles which is one reason he stays so skinny without exercising. They are the sugar-free fruit popsicles (usually Eddy's or the Kroger-brand). He started snacking on these delish 20-calorie items instead of eating his typical chips and salsa, milk duds, etc. Anyway, they have become a favorite of Jackson's too...

He is grunting at his dad to give him more...
Yummo! He loves popsicles. He will come crawling fast as soon as he sees it!
It has been rather cold. This photo was the first day that it was super cold. We couldn't go outside, so Jackson and Sam admired the yard from the warmth of inside. They spend alot of their day fighting over the window seal. Sam usually is laying on it while Jackson like to us it to "cruise" up and down the window.

Lastly, here is just a cute smiling photo. He has 4 teeth now (2 top, 2 bottom). You can't see his top yet, they aren't full out.

Puppy love on Halloween

2009-11-05T21:17:00.004-06:00

Halloween weekend was very busy. It was so fun!

Jackson with his first trophy. First place in the costume contest!

The King of Pop even showed up this past weekend...

Back home with Mom

2009-11-05T20:23:00.007-06:00

For those of you that don't know, Jackson spent September and October going to daycare full-time . Thankfully, I am much better; and most importantly, our little man is back home with me during the day! During my sickness, he also spent alot of time at Papa and Yetti's. I had to show off his first combine ride. He is pretty attached to his Papa and at times has some separation anxiety. This really kicked in when Papa stepped out of the cab to get a photo! Papaw Hobart was driving and I think they MAYBE made only one row.

Papa saved a box from Yetti's new dryer and made "Fort Jackson." He loved it! Typical little boy!

Now that he is back home, Jonathan and Jackson have their morning time together consisting of breakfast and some play time. He has gotten on a pretty good routine of a morning and afternoon nap. Here he is passed out on his dad during a morning nap.

I guess he is used to having lots of photos because he knows what "cheese" means...

He also has learned to throw fits. BUT whip the camera out and he stops. I did a secret co-op to get these next few...We have been strolling while the weather (and my body) permit. We play lots. Sometimes so hard we pass out...

He plays so well by himself. Jackson really loves books. I hope it sticks forever! He will look at a book for a really long time just turning pages back and forth. I have tried multiple times to catch him on camera, BUT like I said before he gets very distracted when I take out the camera.

Go Dawgs!!!!

2009-10-26T14:00:00.006-05:00

This past weekend we ventured over to Starkville for the Bulldog/Gator matchup. It was so exciting for many reasons...our first and probably only game this season, Jackson's first game, and just the game itself! We tailgated, attempted to have Jackson's face painted, watched the walk through, and had lots of fun.

He did not enjoy the face painting as you can see. Needless to say, I will not be painting his nose for his Halloween costume! This trial run was a FAILURE!

Yetti, Jackson, and I hung out in the bookstore where Jackson found his buddy "Bully" the bullmoose (at least that is what we think it is). Yetti said he saw it and immediately took to it which is funny because he is not much into stuffed animals. It is a cute little thing with a moose head, long Velcro-arms and legs (like a monkey), and a MSU jersey. They have pretty much been inseparable since Jackson laid eyes on it. He even cried when the cashier took it to scan at checkout. We like Bully because he can be "hugging" Jackson's neck and not be dropped or lost. The next few photos show Bully's debut into our lives...

Mommy, Jackson, and Bully posing in front of the new jumbo-tron.

Jackson loves to bite Bully's antlers. He also loves to kiss him. So sweet...

Mamaw and Papaw Hobart with Jackson and Bully. All dressed in maroon...

Papa took Jackson over to the walk through. We were hoping Jackson would high five a few players, but he was took distracted by the crowds.Jackson loved every single bit of the game. He loved the cheering, the cowbells, the jumbo-tron, and the crowd. We sat in great chairback, covered seats. It was a pretty chilly night, but we were away from the elements. It was perfect for Jackson.

He even cheered the dawgs on by clapping and yelling...Very into the game...

Although we lost, it was an incredible game. So many memories were made! I forgot my camera, so Yetti had to give me all of hers. I know we have more pictures. I took some great ones of Jonathan and Jackson before the game. Will post them when I get them...

P.S. Yes I am now a brunette. Just trying a new look.

Zoo

2009-10-21T15:33:00.005-05:00

We took Jackson to the Memphis Zoo. I am sure we had more fun looking at the animals than he did. There were tons kids so he was so intrigued and distracted by them. He did watch the tigers and the hippos that were relatively close...

We enjoyed the new Teton Trek that just opened. We watch three grizzly cubs play, swim, and find/fight over a fish. Jackson looked like he would fit right in with his little bear coat... Jackson and one of the famous panda bears...

Jonathan thought it would be hilarious for Jackson to pose in Marco Polo's face. I have to say it really was. Nice mustache...

Sweet daddy and sweet baby boy. My two precious men...

Family photo in front of the hippo dressed as a Memphis tiger. All the animals out front were in costumes for Zoo Boo.

Sweet Aunt Holly (my best friend) came with us too. At lunch, she even fed and rocked him to sleep while we ate! She is the best...

October life

2009-10-21T14:58:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging. Since Jackson has been in daycare full-time while I have been sick with this pregnancy, there have been WAY fewer photo-ops. I am feeling much better! Starting in November, he will be back home with me like before...so more blogging material!

He is doing so much now. Life is so fun with him. He loves my phone. He will fuss if he sees me on it because he wants to play with it. He also has learned to put it to his ear, although usually it is behind his head. IT IS ADORABLE!

Grammy found out that he enjoys riding in his dump truck. He loves this dump truck Aunt San gave him before he was born. He loves spinning the wheels, pushing it, and climbing in it.In the morning, he will be standing up or playing with his lamb. All smiles of course!

Happy 9 months!

2009-09-22T09:28:00.005-05:00

Oh, Jackson! My how you have grown! You are the joy of our lives. It is hard to believe you have been in our lives for nine months. You have grown so much. Everyday it seems there is something new. Just yesterday you started really pulling up fully by yourself and even tried to climb the stairs... Two weekends ago, you began moving from your stomach to a sitting position. We had never even seen you try this before and magically you just did it! Now you crawl a few feet, sit up, back to the tummy, crawl, and sit up again. You are all over the house. There is no corralling you! You like playing under the dining room table....You are a social butterfly. You will go to nearly anyone (unless you are really tired). At school, they say you are a "ladies' man" because you go between the only two little girls in the class. You on many occasions have tried to kiss both of them. Here you are with one of your little girlfriends, Meg. Your dad says that when he brings you in the mornings and she is there she scoots to you as fast as she can. Your teachers say that you like to put her pacifier in her mouth for her. Just like your dad, you already know how to take care of a woman ;)

Lastly, I will leave everyone with this adorable picture of you which pretty much sums up how you are 99.9% of the time...

Baltimore/DC

2009-09-09T15:19:00.004-05:00

Papa had a conference in Baltimore last week and asked us to go along and keep Yetti company. Unfortunately, Jonathan was unable to go; so Jackson and I made the trip with them. It was many first for Jackson. He did great on his first plane ride. Getting through security was like a circus with 3 laptops, a stroller, bottles, baby food, every one's shoes (including Jackson), and an infant! The poor line that developed behind us! We made it, checked in the hotel, and then spent the afternoon walking around Inner Harbor. Here are a few pictures from the Inner Harbor:

People watching...

Lots of boats and action going on...

Sunday, we ate that morning (well noonish) in Baltimore at The Blue Moon Cafe (sorry, couldn't find a good link). I seen an episode of "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" about it a LONG time ago, BUT it's Captain Crunch French Toast stuck with me. Guy Fieri seemed to love it and for good reason. All three of us ate it and though we had to wait over two hours for a table (very small restaurant and very popular)...it was soooooooooo worth it. We all loved it! If you are ever in Baltimore, it is a MUST!!! After eating, we took a train to D.C. for the day. Of course, it was Jackson's first train ride. Like always, he was a champ. He lasted all day without being fussy.
We decided to take a double decker bus instead of strolling everywhere, normally I would love to walk all over the city but it was hot and I was nauseated. Here they are with the Lincoln Memorial in the background:

That night we ate dinner in beautiful Union Station in DC before heading back to Baltimore.

Monday, we ate breakfast. He had his first tastes of pancakes which he loved.

Then the search by his Yetti for an Orioles jersey was on! We had tickets the next night to the Orioles-Yankees game. Though his Papa is a Yankees' fan, all there were in Baltimore was Orioles' gear. So here is his adorable Oriole self:

Unfortunately, on Monday afternoon I was super-nauseated which worsened through the evening. I sent them off to dinner without me and not an hour later was I calling them to come get me and take me to the hospital. Two Baltimore ERs (first the trauma center...thanks Mr. Cabbie, then Mercy Hospital), two ultrasounds, pelvic exams, blood draws, four bags of fluid, and eight hours later...we were told to fly home as soon as possible and go on bedrest. Scared to death, we came home the next day. Jonathan and I went to see my local OB who said I was too early to be on bedrest for my Subchorionic Hemorrhage. We have an ultrasound in three weeks to see if it has resolved or worsened. Poor Jonathan was a wreck not being there and not knowing every step of what was going on! So needless to say, we didn't make it to the game or to NYC where we were going on Wednesday through Friday. It was good to be home and back with Jonathan after such a scary event. It is hard to not be together in those kinds of situation when you have toughed it out together and leaned on one another for the last eight years! So far this pregnancy has not been too different from Jackson's, hospital visit early on and lots of vomiting. He gave us so much trouble in utero that now he is making up for it by being the happiest, sweetest little thing. Bring it on Baby #2! Be just like your big brother!!!! ;)

Big News

2009-09-09T14:09:00.004-05:00

For those of you that don't know, Jackson is going to be a big brother. We found out about two weeks ago that I was pregnant. It was a shocker but nonetheless very exciting news. Baby #2 is due April 14th. That will make them almost 16 months apart. Life will be crazy come April!

Jackson is growing so much, more than ever in the personality department. It is truly unbelievable the things that he has started doing lately. It really is something new everyday! Here are a list of things going on with him right now:

-Eating baby food well (FINALLY)

-Learning finger foods (fruits, Cheerios, etc)

-Army crawling like a champ...not sure he'll ever crawl. He is just fine with his present method.

-Though he won't get on all fours to crawl, he'll do it just to crawl over or into things which he LOVES doing. As seen below:

-Waves goodbye and hello which just makes me smile every time!

-Does need assistance to pull up but loves to stand holding on to something for hours!

-Plays chase with us. We will crawl out of sight, he will come find us, then once he does he immediately turns around, squeals, and takes off away from us! It is precious. I think he learned this from his Yetti and Papa who always play a similar game but just with Yetti holding him and Papa chasing him.

-Rocks back and forth and dances when happy or prompted to dance.

-Knows the meaning of "no" and sometimes gets his feelings hurt after telling him not to do something. It is the most pitiful sight!

-Spits out his pacifier for food or his bottle. It is so funny!

I am sure there are many more funny/adorable things that he is doing, but that is all I have for you right now. He still is the happiest little man.

Jackson's First Beach Vacay

2009-08-16T18:24:00.002-05:00

This past week was a week for firsts for Jackson. It was his first trip to the beach. We went to Destin with Yetti, Papa, Uncle Heath, Aunt Courtney (yes, she is Aunt Courtney official now...they got engaged on our trip!!), and Uncle Rhett (who was there for only a few days). It was such a nice week! The beach is very different with a little one. Instead of just bringing a cooler of beer, a bathing suit, and maybe a chair/umbrella...there are a hundred other items also to bring. We had a cabana, baby pool, bottles, toys, diapers, swim diapers, outfits, pacifiers, baby sunscreen, etc. It was a workout loading and unloading for the beach! Jackson loves the water and of course loved the ocean. He didn't get in the first day because the waves were too big, but later that week he got in and swam in his float. He liked the sand and would try to eat it when possible. Here he is on his first day after he reached over in the sand and grabbed a handful. I got most of it out of his hand, but you can see he still wanted to eat it!Like I said early, there were lots of firsts. His Yetti taught him lots of things this week. He yells (in a very cute way) anytime she opens her mouth wide. Also with her persistence, he is now eating baby food! He finally opened his mouth to eat and now does it every time. Ironically, she was not there the first time it happened. Here he is yelling with his Yetti.

Silly boy! He was so great all weekend long. Unfortunately, you can't see what else happened this week in this photo. BUT...he got his first tooth!On Monday Papa, Heath, Rhett, Courtney, and Jonathan went deep sea fishing. Yetti, Jackson, and I met them at the dock when they came back in. We didn't expect to be there that too long, so Jackson didn't have sunscreen on. He got his first little bit of sun. He had the cutest farmer's tan from this outfit!
Lastly, this is my favorite photo from my camera all week long. His eyes are so blue!

He is also scooting, getting on all fours and rocking, and on the verge of crawling. I would imagine that he will be crawling in the next few days or weeks. SCARY! He also started throwing temper tantrums. The first time he did it I thought he was hurt or having some strange seizure! It was crazy, but I soon figured it out that he just wanted out of the high chair. I will have more photos soon. I didn't use my camera much since Yetti's is so much better. By the way, my camera is not as bad as these photos make it seem. I just had it on a night setting from the night of the proposal and never changed it. Oh well...

Weekend in Memphis

2009-08-16T18:03:00.003-05:00

A few weekends ago we went to Memphis for the weekend to Jonathan's parents. Grammy and Granddad had planned for family to come over for lunch on Saturday. We got to see Aunt Terry, Mrs. Vicki, Granddad (who we refer to as Docky since there are two Granddads on the same side), Grandmom, Aunt Sandy, Uncle Kevin, Granddad and Grammy.

Grandmom played the piano with Jackson. He loves music or any interesting noises.Jackson had fun sitting in Docky's lap. He also loved playing with his chest hair which was way too funny! Poor Docky was such a good sport!

Blogging Hiatus

2009-08-04T12:37:00.004-05:00

I know many of you have been aware of our blogging hiatus. We had a lot going since our last post and just have not been feeling the whole blogging thing. I know many of you use this to keep updated on Jackson and his growth progress, so I will keep my head high and press on!

Our little man is getting very big. Scooting everywhere, pulling up on his knees, and soon to be crawling. He loves to stand and hold onto a pair of hands or piece of furniture. He loves the water whether pool, lake, bath, or the faucet! He still isn't eating baby food well. It takes prying his mouth open or tricking him to make him laugh and shoving it in! He is talking alot, saying his da's, pa's, ba's, ga's, and now ta's. One night we were all snuggled on the couch and I got up to get something and said "Got it!" Low and behold, Jackson repeated something that sounded just like "Got it!" Jonathan and I both heard it and stared in amazement. Needless to say, it is getting that time to REALLY watch our four-letter words! Unfortunately, the last month has also involved a cold, lingering ear infection, and discovery of a penicillin allergy.

I have just a few pictures for you guys...

This is my step-niece Baylee. It was her mom and her first time to meet Jackson. Baylee does not want a little brother but she said "Jackson is so fun and good" that she wished Jackson was her mom's baby boy! haha! She was great entertainment for him while us adults visited. Notice the contrast of skin. Jackson is very white, but gosh....look at his glow next to her. You almost need sunglasses!

We leave for the beach on Friday. I think we are all ready, but Jackson may be the most. He is the only one packed. Here he is ready to make the drive...

Well Baby Check-up

2009-06-30T22:51:00.003-05:00

On many occasions we have tried spoon feeding Jackson. You can chalk them up to pretty unsuccessful. Last Friday was our most successful of them all. We have tried cereal, green beans, and now carrots. He won't open his mouth. He have to get him to smile to put in the food. Yes...this is a gag. Goodness. He is just not interested in baby food!

We discussed this in our 6 month well baby checkup today. It is not a problem says Dr. Gillespie. We'll just press on until he finally does show some interest. Stats on today:

Weight: 17 lbs 4 oz (36th percentile)

Height: 27 inches (60th percentile)

We all thought he was going to be a lot heavier than that! There were even some bets placed with the wager of changing poopy diapers in our family!

Just A Swangin'

2009-06-30T22:37:00.003-05:00

The swing from Easter is finally up at Yetti and Papa's house. This was his first time in it, and he loves it as you can see. Glad he is adventurous like his dad and mom.

Week of News (plural new, not the nightly report)

2009-06-30T21:38:00.005-05:00

Lots of new little things going on around the Harden home. We feel like from here on there will be a "something" with him everyday! I had a really tough time this past week with him turning six months. I love all the growing and developments, but...gosh, it is going SOOOO FAST!

He likes to sit up on Daddy's shoulders using his hair as reins! haha. I think we all have fond memories of being on our daddy's shoulders. Like we can take on the world!
He loves the water. Here he is a his pool at Yetti and Papa's. He is not scared at all! He kicks his legs and even splashes it in his face. I am so glad because his parents sure love the water! This morning his Daddy caught him eating his sock that WAS on his foot...

Looks like he is trying to stuff it in before someone took it from him...

Yes, he is wearing in the above photos a mismatched outfit. He is somehow managing in the middle of the night to pee on everything. I was having to wash his Swaddle-Me, change the sheets, and wash him every morning. In fact we used to refer to his green Swaddle-Me as his "pea-pod." Now? It is the "pee-pod." I have also utilized what I considered so ugly but, now, so efficient...the Ultimate Crib Sheet. Last night was out first night to not use the Swaddle-Me. It went just okay...I guess. He woke up at 4 AM and wanted to stay awake. That is not his normal routine. He was just as happy and content but just WIDE-AWAKE! I had three unsuccessful attempts of rocking him back to sleep, laying him down asleep, and then he would immediately pop open his eyes. We finally just let him cry it out. I had read about Ferber Method and other Cry-It-Out methods. Luckily as soon I was out of site, he only cried maybe a minute longer. Thanks God! That would have been very hard.

Jackson is 6 months old!

2009-06-22T19:23:00.004-05:00

His first 1/2 birthday! I have a feeling in 7-10 years, we will be having a swimming party on this date! These 6 months have flown by. And although there have been ups and downs (mostly ups) it is hard to remember all the great times we have had. When people always said (and still say) that time flies by with kids, I have never really listened. But to all of you out there, you are right!

Jackson is, as we say, "so big" now. He is so active. He is constantly kicking his legs, pulling up, standing up with assistance, sitting with/without assistance, rolling over, laughing, and talking jibberish. I am sure it won't be long until he says his first word/s, and begins to crawl. Just a few days ago, he was splashing in a baby pool and would not even mind when he kicked water into his own face.

He is an absolute joy to be around. He smiles at everyone, and has yet to be scared of people, which I am so proud of. I was a shy little boy, and hope he is more of a people person! Words really can't describe how precious he is. His mommy told me today that he must know today is his 1/2 birthday because he has been extra happy today! We are so proud to show him off, and are excited when new people meet him for the first time!

Here's to you Jackson, as today you are 6 months old!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T21:17:00.003-05:00

Jonathan,

Happy Father's Day on your first official Father's day (celebrating this year was much better than last year, huh?)! I knew I was marrying an incredible guy. We didn't talk about children that much back in the dating years, but it amazes me how we are always on the same page with raising our little man. Although you had never been around babies before Jackson was born, you really seemed like a pro just minutes after his birth...I will always tell Jackson about your "special" morning time while you let me get a few extra hours of sleep. It means so much that you are not only so attentive to his needs but also mine. You are the most caring father... I also love how much fun you are with our little man. You take so much pride in every little thing he does. I am so glad you want Jackson to experience so many things in this world...
I hope Jackson grows up to be just like you. You are the best husband and father. We are so lucky! Thanks for everything you do. HAPPY DADDY'S DAY!!!!

Mimi and Poppy's

2009-06-08T17:32:00.002-05:00

Saturday night we spent the night at Mimi and Poppy's house (my dad and step-mom). Jackson got to ride the four-wheeler and lawn mower there. He loved both of course. We also got to see Uncle Heath and Aunt Courtney. Unfortunately, we didn't get any photos with Mimi but she got plenty of time loving on Jackson!

Random Happenings...

2009-06-08T16:24:00.002-05:00

We have tried Jackson on cereal which he really does not like. We also gave him green beans one day which he gagged at the taste of...not once but twice! We also tried carrots which he was indifferent too. Hopefully, he will like the real green beans later in life because hat is a staple around here!
Jackson has started really teething. Though none have cut through, it is apparent that there are teeth on the way. He did not sleep at all last Sunday through Wednesday nights. He wants to bite everything and gets very frustrated if he cannot. He will attack your face, hands, arms, etc if it is within gnawing distance. Here he is biting on Yetti's chin which is something that I used to do to my Mamaw Margie and Great Aunt Dean. Mom said they loved to have me do that to them. I have seen photos of me doing it to both of them, but I haven't been able to locate them. That is on my to-do list this week along with 2,827,432,304 other things... We went to Moon Lake to my Aunt San and Uncle Rodney's house for a family get-together. They have a big pier with a pontoon boat and kinds of other water toys. Aunt San had a baby pool set up for Jackson on the pier. We had lunch and lots fellowship. Uncle Rodney took to Jackson. They were big buds all day long. Here they are napping together...

Jackson loves the water. He liked splashing in the baby pool since the lake water was too cold!

Papa has made it a regular occurrence to take Jackson on a four-wheeler or Gator ride around the yard. Jackson will cry when he turns it off. He is definitely an outdoorsy-kinda boy already!

Pools Days

2009-06-08T16:15:00.002-05:00

The Country Club pool has opened and we have been hitting it up. Jackson loves the water. He has been a few times with us and a few times with his Yetti. These photos were from last Tuesday.
What a cool little dude!

Playdate with Max

2009-06-08T15:35:00.003-05:00

Jackson and I had a playdate with a high school friend, Margaret, and her son, Max, a few weeks ago. We drove out to the big city of Stringtown, MS to the Margaret's parents' house where she and Sal were staying for the weekend. The Youngs have a beautiful new house and grandbaby! It was so great catching up and meeting Max! Jackson looked like a beast compared to Max who was just two months. I first wrote giant but changed it to beast since Max is super long, and I am sure will be very tall and an excellent basketball player like his mommy one day ;)
Tummy time...Max likes it a whole lot more than Jackson did at his age. Look how beautiful Max's coloring is! He is so adorable!

Jackson just wanted to hold him. Max? He wasn't so sure...

Five Months

2009-05-22T11:58:00.003-05:00

I can't believe he is already five months. I swear it seems like we just posted his four month photo. Life has been busy but uneventful. He is growing so much, talking more (lots of "baa baa-ing"), almost sitting up, and scooting/squirming lots. His hair is getting thicker. His motor skills get better everyday. He has started really noticing Sam. It has taken so long because Sam runs at every move of Jackson and never comes within reach of him. This was a rare moment this morning. Sam wants this toy really bad because it has a squeaker like his toys. Right after the photo Jackson lunged (well, toppled) towards him to touch Sam; and Sam, of course, took off to not return anytime soon.

Mother's Day Weekend

2009-05-13T10:04:00.008-05:00

Jonathan decided to take us to New Orleans for Mother's Day weekend. We love the Big Easy! It is still lingering in the background as a possible move in the future. We stayed at one of favorite hotels, Le Pavillon and ate at most of all our favorite restaurants (Port of Call, Brocato's, Liuzza's, and again Brocato's with goodies to bring home). We walked around the Quarter and, of course, had beignets and Café Au Lait at Café Du Monde like every tourist in NOLA. Our hotel has an awesome rooftop pool which is one reason we chose it. Sunday morning we took Jackson swimming for the first time (photos to follow in the next post). He was pretty indifferent to it. I think it was because he is so young right now. We can't wait for the Country Club's pool to open. His Yetti has gotten him three floats already. We are ready to break them in!

We are about to head into the French Quarter here. Jackson was so cute when we were walking back from lunch. He was squealing and waving his arms. I wish we had a dollar for every comment we got one his glasses, happiness, cuteness, and good nature!

The Streetcar driver was so sweet and made us pose for this cool picture!

Bathing Jackson in the fancy sink. He didn't mind. He loves the water.

Photo-op during our super long wait at Jacques-Imo's.

Jackson loved partying it up in NOLA! He was all smiles all weekend! HOW LUCKY WE ARE!

Random Photos

2009-05-13T09:53:00.002-05:00

Here are some random photos from the past week or so. It gives you a little view of our life. Jonathan and Jackson can be found on the couch most mornings for a morning nap. Jackson goes from Exersaucer to playmat to bouncer to our laps when not napping. He is so active!
Napping on the couch with me in the afternoon. He has gotten to where he likes to snuggle to the Boppy during his nap. Doesn't he look like a little teenager here?

Reading a book from Aunt Terry. He likes to look at books now but is always trying to turn the page before you finish reading it.

Busy, busy

2009-05-05T16:51:00.002-05:00

Sorry I have been absent from the family blogging, I have been busy with little things in the past few weeks. Out-of-town tennis matches, out-of-town guests, work weekends, meetings, and other little things that have been keeping me away from the blog. Luckily after a guilt trip, Jonathan picked up some of my slack and posted last week. Not too much going on with Jackson except him constantly rolling over (but only to the left...how funny!), new bursts of laughter, and we learned this weekend that he likes other little kids. He laughed the hardest I have ever seen and actually reached for a friend's two year old daughter this weekend. He loved little Emelie. It was precious and, of course, I cried. He just wanted to touch her face (like he was making sure she was real to verify that he wasn't the only little one in this world). Can't wait to see him around other little ones. Yetti and Papa kept him this weekend while we worked. Saturday was the Cotton Classic which Jackson and Yetti strolled in the 5K. Here is a photo of her team (coworkers and local news anchors). Yetti was so proud of him. She said he talked to everyone and fell asleep during the last mile or so. They then went to the arts and crafts festival, but he slept right through it.

4 months = Good times

2009-04-28T19:18:00.007-05:00

Man, oh, man! Blog ghost writer is back. For those of you who have seen Jackson in the past few weeks, you will know just what I am talking about. For all the others, I hope you can see him again/soon. Our little man is absolutely precious. He is so much fun, full of smiles, and is laughing all the time. It is absolutley heartwarming, and as a parent, I can say it truly makes me feel SO LOVED! When I walk into the room, or come home from work, he smiles when he sees me! There is no feeling in the world like this!

Just last week, Jackson turned 4 months old! He is now grabbing at anything within his reach (including my glasses), "talking" more and more, and just being so much more active. He is so observant, always looking around as far as he can see.

Today, we went to the doctor for his 4 month (and 1 week) shots. Our doctor had to reschedule our appointment last week due to becoming a grandfather. Today our "little man" weighed in at 14 lbs 8 oz! Up 4 pounds since his 2 month appointment! He was 25 inches long, and getting bigger and cuter by the day. Since those shots, he has been fairly fussy, but we have been handling it in style. Hopefully his night won't be too rough!

Lately, his mommy and I have been working out/running fairly regularly. We have thoroughly enjoyed "strolling: with him on our runs! As you can see, he enjoyes going as well! Hopefully, those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting Jackson, will get to meet him soon! He is such a JOY!

Easter (Part Three)

2009-04-13T16:40:00.003-05:00

The Easter Bunny also came to see Jackson at my parents' house. He must have been REALLY good over there because he got a Radio Flyer wagon literally overflowing with goodies. He got 2 cute beach towels, a walker toy, an outdoor swing, 2 floats, 2 rattles, 2 teething toys, books, stuffed animals, a very cute Easter basket, and 25 outfits ranging from onesies, jumpers, rompers, swimsuits, sleepers, and some 3 piece sets. YES TWENTY-FIVE!! He will be set for awhile! Here he is in his Easter pajamas.

Easter (Part Two)

2009-04-13T16:29:00.003-05:00

The Easter Bunny came to visit Jackson. He got several outfits, a burp cloth/bib set, a hat, a cross, socks, and a stuffed duck.

Checking out all his presents...

Playing with his new friend...
The aftereffects after he spit up on his new friend. Poor duckie!

Easter (Part One)

2009-04-13T15:30:00.006-05:00

Tuesday we went to get Jackson's photo taken with the semi-scary Easter Bunny. He, of course, was clueless about this huge, freaky bunny holding him.

The day before Easter we dyed eggs at my mom's house. Yes, we still dye eggs...just like we still have Santa and the Easter Bunny. I would even bet if I had to get a tooth pulled or one was knocked out that my mom would make sure the Tooth Fairy came. Jackson didn't participate but he did play with them afterwards.
Thinking about grabbing it.

Yay! He's holding it.

Papa's little golfer wearing Papa's hat.

Papa holding him while Yetti makes him giggle. It was great!

A Week of New Things

2009-04-13T15:10:00.002-05:00

Within a week, Jackson began doing all these new things. First the Thursday before last, I woke up to him @ 4:30 AM babbling to his mobile. He has babbled before but it has been provoked with lots of talking to him first. Then last Sunday, he started using his foot to bring his toy to him in the bouncer. He now is grabbing and purposely playing with the toys on his bouncer with the help of his feet!

He also had purposely grabbed things. Here is the sequence of his grabbing my glasses. I am sure later this will not be so cute.

He also is mimicking us when we motorboat...video coming soon.

SMILE: a random photo shoot

2009-04-13T14:50:00.002-05:00

April 5, 2009

Weekly Update

2009-04-02T13:58:00.003-05:00

Oh my! It is crazy how things have happened just overnight it seems. He started grabbing his toys, started babbling, and just interacting all the time (always smiling). I have had to start supplementing with formula unfortunately; however, with that has come a big growth spurt. He is back to being a chubby cheek boy like he was in the first month of life. It is crazy how fast he put on the fat rolls! Haha!

This is our first trip to Wal-Mart in the BabyBjörn. He loved it. He fell asleep @ the checkout.

This past weekend we went to Poppy and Mimi's (my dad and stepmom) while Jonathan went to the NCAA basketball tourney. It was so nice to spend time with them. They spoiled him too!

I forgot my camera, so these are from my cell phone. I wish I had a video camera because Poppy played the harmonica and guitar for Jackson. It is amazing that he can just pick up an instrument and play it. He played Brahms' lullaby on the harmonica and Jackson couldn't stop smiling! My dad got that from my wonderful Mamaw Margie.

Three Months and Mommy Goes Back to Work

2009-03-26T16:09:00.007-05:00

On Sunday, Jackson turned 3 months! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to spend it with him since I went back to work this weekend. My plan is to work every other Saturday and Sunday (same as Jonathan). My parents kept him this weekend. They had lots of fun. It was all photo-documented. They had excitedly prepared for this weekend for a long time (bought a swing, bouncer, carseat base, pack-and-play, wipe warmer, diapers, blankets, books, tub seat, and who know what else). I think everyone in Greenville knew what they were up to this weekend. They were so excited! It was a beautiful weekend for them. They strolled, rocked on the front porch, rode the four-wheeler (slowly), had multiple photoshoots with lots of wardrobe changes, played with all his new toys, had bathtime, and much much more.

Playing with his mommy's teething ring.

Bathtime!

Of course his great-grandmother had to come visit! She loves babies!

And lastly my favorite...

Easter Basket Hunt...

2009-03-17T21:08:00.003-05:00

I have been hunting for a cute Easter basket for Jackson's future Easter egg hunts and Easter Bunny visits. I love my Easter basket I had growing up (it is still brought out each year at my mom's). I wish I could find one like it or even half as cute as it. It was a basket but the bottom was stuffed round like a pillow with cute fabric and the front was a bunny face with long ears. Anyway, Easter baskets now are too big, UGLY, or plain. A big basket with a liner you get monogrammed??? It looks like an organizational item instead of a kid's Easter basket. Anyway, I gave up on the hunt and caved in to getting two baskets: one small for the hunt (a semi-cute one) and the other one a big CUTE one he will keep forever for the Easter bunny. It was my mom's idea to make him a larger scale bucket than she has been making for her monogramming business. IT IS ADORABLE! She needs to sell these.
I have to tell you that when we left my parents' house at 9 PM on Monday night nothing was assembled. My mom arrived with this bucket the next morning. It is truly ridiculous how creative/talented she is. AMAZING.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T20:55:00.003-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you all enjoyed some green beer like us! Here is the photos documenting today. First, Jackson smiling in his outfit! Tonight, my men in green. How cute!

The country club had a big event for St. Patty's day. Papa was there and of course held Jackson the whole time! He is so very proud of his grandson. I thought he was going to take him home with him.

Jonathan took these pictures this morning. He is normally all smiles in the A.M.

I love this one because it is like he is saying "Get it over with!"

11 weeks!

2009-03-11T14:38:00.002-05:00

Jackson is now 11 weeks. Not too much really going on right now. Just life with our little man. Here are some photos from this past week. Enjoy!I tried to catch him staring at me hands and rings. He loves for me to play with his hands and has found his hands a few times. he was mesmerized by them here UNTIL I pulled out the shiny silver camera. You can tell it distracted him. I am laughing at all the photos of his Boppy included. We usually have a photography session when it is just me and him, so naturally the Boppy is his holder. Not to mention that the Boppy is his nursing pillow, and well he likes to do that ALOT!

Since just a few weeks of age, Jackson has loved the TV. He will watch it all the time. I guess it is the colors and all the lights. Anyway, his Yetti propped him up to watch TV and just like a man has the remote in hand!

10 Week Update

2009-03-04T14:36:00.003-06:00

This week our little man is 10 weeks old. He is growing more and more each day, especially his personality! This past weekend the Armstrongs (Nic and Morgan) and Thomases (Drew and Annalisa) came down to visit. We had a big dinner on Friday night with lots of visiting with Jackson. Saturday was Kiwanis pancakes; I don't think us girls go out of our PJ's until that evening! Saturday night was Uncle Heath's belated birthday celebration with "make your own" pizzas and tropical drinks courtesy of bartender Jonathan. We have been reminiscing about our honeymoon and wanting to be at the swim-up bar drinking Dirty Bananas, Jamaican Smiles, Hummingbirds, etc. Funny thing...while drinking the tropical drinks, it started snowing! Nothing stuck really though. The weekend with lots of fellowship was very nice. Unfortunately, I didn't bust out the camera until Sunday when Nic and Morgan were leaving. So we didn't capture any of the Thomases' visit.

Nic with Jackson (I don't think he has held many babies, but you couldn't tell)

Morgan spoiling Jackson. She and Annalisa are going to be greats moms! It comes so natural!

On Monday, Jackson's playmat came in. He loves it! He loves to look in the mirror attached. He loves to watch the lights and all the bright colors. He even tries to talk to the toucan, giraffe, and butterflies! His daddy took this photo on his phone.
This morning while I was catching up on my sleep (Jackson was up every other hour last night for some unknown reason), Jackson and his daddy were having playtime. Here he is smiling at his daddy. Jonathan did really good to capture these. Jackson gets sidetracked by the shiny silver camera and stops smiling normally.

2 Month Stats

2009-02-27T10:46:00.002-06:00

Weight: 10 lbs 8 oz (25th percentile)
Length: 22.5 inches (50th percentile)

We forgot to post his stats from his 2 month visit from last week. I believe these photos were taken the day after his shots. He wasn't feeling very well. He and I slept on the couch that night. He was so pitiful with his weak moaning and crying. Needless to say, we both slept most of the next day as you can see by the photos. They were taken in our bed which I don't think we moved from much that day.
We are very excited to be having the Armstrongs and Thomases to visit this weekend.

Mr. Talkative

2009-02-19T15:22:00.006-06:00

Please ignore my annoying voice on here (the things you do to get a baby to talk). Not great quality since it was taken on my cell phone. I think he is definitely going to be right-handed; watch him move that thing!

Oh he is getting so BIG!

2009-02-19T14:43:00.005-06:00

I have been trying to capture his smile on camera for the last 2 weeks, but it is really hard! I finally got one today! Not the greatest, but is so very cute. Here is what else we have been up to...

A little belated Valentine from Jackson. Some of you may have received it from my cell on Valentines.

Here are Uncle Heath and Aunt Courtney posing with Jackson. I tricked them into this photo for our homemade Valentines (a special tradition of my mom) that we all did for each other. Look at Jackson looking at the camera!About a week and a half ago, I decided to start watching all the HBO series (Sopranos, Entourage, Big Love). My first is "Big Love" about Utah polygamists. It is very entertaining! On one episode, Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" was playing. Jackson woke up and as usual wanted to smile and coo. So I sang to him. After thinking about it I felt pretty guilty about the lyrics (think Rachel on "Friends" singing "Baby Got Back" to Emma). Anyway, later that week we discovered that Jackson loves to stare at himself in the mirror. Now I don't feel so bad ;)

Here is Jackson just being a sleepy boy.

Finally...the moment I have been trying to capture for SO LONG!

Weekly Update

2009-02-05T15:18:00.005-06:00

Not too much has been going on here in the land of Jackson. He is cooing lots, and we love to talk to each other. He loves sitting in his Boppy, has been liking his swing more and more everyday, and even has enjoyed his sling while Mommy put up clothes. He immediately went to sleep and even self-comforted by finding his thumb to suck.Jackson and Mommy went to Daddy's work to "show him off." Here is Daddy with Mr. Fontana (another pharmacist). We traveled to Jackson this week for my 6 week followup appointment. It was a good day...Jackson made the trip well (with help of some lullabyes that intrigue him), I got a clean bill of health, and we hate a Newk's (which we love and frequented during my pregnancy visit days). Back to the lullabyes, he loves this one Mozart-like version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." He immediately quiets and gets a pensive look on his face. I think it is the sharp, high pitched tones in it. Also, I have been meaning to post this FOREVER. Here is Aunt Terry's very appropriate Xmas gift for Sam...

Lastly, here are some more great photos from Alex's photo shoot.

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

2009-01-31T07:46:00.007-06:00

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

2009-01-22T09:56:00.006-06:00

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...

2009-01-15T15:44:00.004-06:00

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 !!!

2009-01-06T19:39:00.008-06:00

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

2009-01-03T14:18:00.005-06:00

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!

Happy ONE WHOLE WEEK birthday!

2008-12-29T22:50:00.002-06:00

Today at 1132AM, Jackson turned one week old. I can't believe he has blessed our lives for one whole week. We are getting more and more into a routine and loving our little man more and more everyday (if that is possible?!). Jonathan went back to work for 4 hours today. He handled it better than I thought probably since it was so busy (a Monday and after a major holiday). We also ventured out without Jackson to get my beautiful ring sized. Jonathan gave me 2 diamond bands with a sapphire and diamond band to go in between them. They will be ready tomorrow...will have to take a photo. We had a visitor today. My good friend from high school, Preston Lee, came by to see us. His sis has 3 little ones, so he held him like a pro as you can see. Jackson is also opening his eyes more and making hilarious faces as you can see in the photo with his Yetti (my mom). Lastly, is my absolute favorite photo yet. This is Jonathan just minutes after Jackson was born. This picture moves me so much. Again, can't write about it too much. I am crying again thinking about Jonathan with Jackson. SORRY :(

I'm BAAACK!

2008-12-28T14:28:00.005-06:00

Sorry the new mommy has been M.I.A. I have been a little busy! Luckily, the wonderful daddy has stepped in to update the blog on top of all his other duties/wonderful things he has been doing. Life is so great with our new addition. It is truly amazing how much love is filling this house. I can't get too sentimental because I am still hormonal and can cry unbelievably easy when talking about Jonathan, Jackson, or the amazing feeling of parenthood. Sam is also adjusting to Jackson. He has been very distant; he gets a very a concerned look on his face when Jackson cries. He is REALLY tired, since we aren't going to bed like normal and he won't go to bed without us. He is getting warmed up to the idea of being a big brother everyday. I have got to get him in his Xmas present that Aunt Terry (Jonathan's dad's sister) gave him. Maybe that can be a picture for tomorrow. It is SO VERY APPROPRIATE! Anyway, we are taking photos daily (ok, almost hourly to be honest). Jonathan has been uploading them to Facebook. PLEASE DON'T FRET!! You DON'T have to join Facebook to view our links. We ARE NOT quitting the blog and WILL continue blogging, but it is very difficult and time consuming to upload every photo to this blog. Here are some photos from today! Mom's three men all snuggled up!
The closet Sam has gotten to Jackson besides the occasional sniffing.

Jackson's first TUMMY TIME! Can't have him missing his milestones!

5 Day Update...

2008-12-27T08:50:00.003-06:00

Ghost writer part deux!

Not too much going, on here. Well, I guess there is alot of love and attention. Jackson has probably been held by about 20 people by now! We have had alot of family over for meals in the last few days (not cooked by us, of course), and it has been nice. I don't want this to turn into a brag-blog (I think I just coined a new term), but he is the best, most-beautiful baby ever! He is really content and only cries when he is hungry, or when we change his diaper. It has been an amazing experience, thus far, and it will only get better.

He is starting to open his eyes more and more and I really enjoy that time, just me looking at him, and him looking at me! I had the best time doing that with him last night. Heather had laid down for a nap, and he started fussing a bit. So I walked him around the house (all the while his eyes just staring at me), and we just bonded. Then I laid him on the carpet in the nursery and just listened to a great lullaby CD (Rockabye Baby! Bob Marley) as I sang softly to him. It was my favorite/closest moment with him to date. I can't wait for more of those.

Well, I have uploaded alot of photos to Facebook, and I thought for all those non-facebookers out there I could post the links to all the photos that we have taken thus far, plus some from Heather's mom.

Jackson Dane Harden - taken on our camera and Heather's mom
Phone photos - just my phone photos

Alot has happened since the last post (HE'S HERE)!!!

2008-12-25T08:23:00.019-06:00

Words cannot describe how amazing the feeling of actual parenthood is! This is a special ghost-writer edition of the Harden blog. Dear old dad, here. Anyhow, Jackson Dane was born on Monday, December 22nd at 11:32 am, by C-section. He was 7 lbs, 13 oz, and 20.5 inches long!!

A little bit of details of our experience...We got to the hospital, and although Heather was having contractions every 3-5 minutes, she was not dilated at all. We decided that we would have a C-section that morning. Everyone was amazing at UMC, we really have been so amazed and pleased with the care we received. Everything went well, but Heather did have some blood pressure issues after her spinal was done. She also had a rough first day, with alot of nausea and vomitting due to the morphine and Dilaudid she received initially. After that, and a few other hiccups here and there, everything was much better. We actually got to come home a day early, and got home last night around 5:00pm. We were very thankful to be home, and to have "our little man" home for Christmas.

Our first night at home was typical: sleep for about 1.5-2.5 hours, wake up and Heather feed Jackson, repeat for the entire night. Luckily, we also had Heather's mom (Sheree) here to help with all the responsibilities. She has been a great help. Also, my mom will be staying for around a week starting today, so we are very lucky and blessed!

I bet some of you reading out there are saying, "Enough writing/reading, more pictures!" so without further ado, more of the star of the show (and our lives), Jackson Dane Harden:

The last photo is Jackson with his "elf on the shelf"

Still Waiting.........

2008-12-09T13:40:00.002-06:00

Today was doctor visit day. No dilation, so we are still just waiting. Everything else was good. He is still head down (YEAH!). We go back next Tuesday. Hopefully, I will have progressed some by then.

38 Weeks and Waiting

2008-12-08T09:58:00.002-06:00

Today marks 38 weeks. We are just waiting for our little man to decide to come and join us. Just wanted to keep everyone updated. Go tomorrow for our weekly visit. Will continue to keep you all updated!

Answered Prayers...

2008-12-02T10:52:00.003-06:00

We are going to have our hands full with our little man Jackson. Last night at the hotel while laying in bed, I told Jonathan that I couldn't feel his head like I normally do at my ribs. I had also said earlier that I felt more pressure on my bladder. Anyway, we went to the doctor early this morning. Low and behold, he has turned and is head down. I know this had to have happened yesterday afternoon during my running around like crazy getting ready for our trip to Jackson. We are very glad he turned. He threw a kink in lots of people's plans, but it is all for the best! Now it's a waiting game, and I can hardly wait to meet this little man!

Oh yeah...on the ultrasound, he was giving us a thumbs up. They also said that he is "DEFINITELY" a boy, has long feet, and has rolls of fat on his arms (although his Uncle Heath says they are really muscles).

Has the big day arrived???

2008-12-01T10:00:00.003-06:00

Jonathan and I leave tonight for Jackson. We have an early Tuesday morning appointment and most likely the ECV or a C-section on Wednesday morning. Keep us in your prayers. We are very anxious! I would post a possible last picture of the baby belly, but I really don't think I have grown much more. The scales reaffirm that also, so no picture. Maybe next time I post I will be a mommy!!!!

35 Week Doctor Visit

2008-11-18T16:13:00.002-06:00

Today was our 35 week doctor's visit. It was pretty much uneventful but very informative. Of course, he is still breech. The doctor listened to his heart, measured my belly (fundus), and gave of lots of info about the next visit. We are suppose to start seeing her every week now; but since he is breech and I have been feeling so well, we are just going back at 37 weeks for an appt and the external version. We see the doctor on Tuesday, December 2nd during which they do an ultrasound to check his size and the amount of amniotic fluid. If he is too big or there is too little fluid, they would not try the version. If all that checks out okay, then we go for the version early the next morning (she could only do it during the 37th week on a Monday or Wednesday). Well I turn 37 weeks on Monday at midnight (according to UMC's way of calculating), so that left us with Wednesday. I am really happy that we didn't have to choose a day. I didn't like the idea of determining his birthday. That is God's department, not mine. So Wednesday, December 3rd early morning we go to the hospital. I go to an OR where they start an epidural and give a medication to relax my uterus and start the procedure. Jonny will be there "to hold my hand" as the Dr. Hampton said. If successful, we stay most of the day just for observation. If unsuccessful or Jackson has any distress, then they will do a C-section right then and there. I hoping for success. The next two weeks are probably going to be the longest weeks of our lives!

Updates

2008-11-17T17:31:00.012-06:00

I figured there are a few things on which y'all need to be updated:

1. We did go to Baton Rouge this weekend to meet my birthmother's entire family. It was the first visit since I initially met Dana (my birthmother) on September 29th. I made the trip just fine. I have been feeling and moving alot better recently so that helped. My doctor gave me the go-ahead last visit. I don't think I could have asked for it to go better. I have been so at peace about it all. I wasn't nervous, just very eager. It is truly amazing how wonderful it went. Everyone was so welcoming! Dana has three children: Travis who is 23 and about to join the Air Force, Tyler 21 (I believe) who is a police officer in the Air Force and scheduled to deploy to Iraq in June, and Elizabeth 18 who is a senior in high school. The three of them were so welcoming and sweet. They are all three really cool. Dana has four sisters and a brother. They were all there with all their children and grandchildren plus Dana's mom. Dana said the head count was about 45 and it was the first time in a long time that everyone in the family had been together. My mom, stepdad, brother, brother's girlfriend, Aunt San (mom's sister), and step-grandparents all came also to share in the experience. It is no doubt that this is all in God's plans. I feel so blessed with how it all went. Here are some photos: Dana, me, and Mom at the first meeting on September 29th.

Dana and me at our first meeting on September 29th.

Travis, Dana, me, Elizabeth, and Tyler.

2. The baby belly is continuing to grow. My Aunt San (who saw me last weekend and this weekend) said that the belly must have grown like three inches in one week. I agree that it is steadily growing...yeah, it means our little man is getting BIG! This photo was taken tonight. I am exactly 35 weeks. 3. Tomorrow is a doctor visit day. I figure that it will be a quick and uneventful visit. I wish he would turn in the meantime. He must take after his mom in that aspect (I was breech but more than anything I am stubborn)! Anyway, will let you know how the visit goes.

4. Lots of you have asked about the nursery. We only are lacking the rug which is on back order until mid December.

Hope you all enjoy. Sorry it is SO long!

Our Crazy Dog

2008-11-14T15:04:00.004-06:00

On Tuesday Jonathan put together the swing our sweet friend Holly got Jackson. We moved it to the living room since the nursery is so small. Sam is not a fan of it, especially if it is swinging. I took a video on my phone of it. It is cut a little short because I was laughing so hard when he took off running. I am glad he is scared of it instead of trying to get to the mobile or toys attached to it. He has been standing on his back legs and whining to get to the nursery mobile since I put it on the crib.

Turn That Crown Upside-Down

2008-11-11T19:29:00.008-06:00

Well the last few days I have been that "pregnancy miserable" AKA very short of breath, heartburn, indigestion, and uncomfortable from him being so high. He is also still breech, so that compounds the problem. Today was what we call "Super Tuesday." Jonathan is off every Tuesday, and we usually have a lunch date followed by errands or whatever we want. We look so forward to Tuesdays. We watched a Lamaze video that the UMC nurse educator gave to us. We have already been to childbirth class here in Greenville, but it lightly touched on breathing. We finished watching it tonight. I got inspired to try to turn him after hearing about natural labor. I really want to avoid a C-section. I had read home remedies of using frozen vegetables to turn the baby. You place the cold items your upper belly, and the baby is supposed to move to a warmer spot. I have put this off for a week because it seems pretty cruel. BUT I really want him to move. I also read that you can lie down with your pelvis elevated for 20 minutes, ten times a day. I decided to try it all at once. Can you see my desperation???? We also added Sam's heating pad (yes, he is so spoiled that he has a heating pad) to my lower abdomen. It was pretty comical until I started laughing while upside down and stretched my already stretched abdominal muscles. I had to literally roll off the couch into Jonathan's arms. I felt so silly. It in no way worked. I was left walking off the pain from stretched muscle, a really red belly from the frozen food, and a really active (guessing very mad) boy pushing even more on my ribs. Jonathan photo-documented the event. So enjoy!

Not the most flattering photo, but funny.

P.S. In all the "literature" it kept mentioning frozen peas. We used frozen mangoes and frozen artichoke hearts. Surely, that didn't have anything to do with it??? ;)

Latest Doctor Visits

2008-11-06T08:36:00.009-06:00

We went on Monday to Jackson for two appointments on early Tuesday morning. It was nice to get away for the night and go to dinner. At 8 o'clock that morning was a followup ultrasound for Jackson's brain.

The good news: the ventricle size had not progressed anymore and is measuring the same as all the other times. Meaning we don't have to go back for anymore ultrasounds with the high risk MDs. It is bittersweet. We are so happy he is okay, but we loved the ultrasounds and the staff there! The ultrasounds were usually about 45 minutes long with the staff just playing and trying to get a perfect picture of his face for us. They are wonderful! We did get a 3D or 4D (not sure which) picture of his profile. He was not wanting to say "cheese" and look at the camera!

The bad news: he is breech! One reason why we couldn't get a good picture of his face. He is face down with his head underneath my right ribs. That explains the reappearance in the last week or so of heartburn and shortness of breath. Two weeks ago when we went to the doctor, he was already engaged into my pelvis and I was 80% effaced (my cervix was thinned 80%). Not the best news. Obviously now he is not putting any pressure on my cervix. At 10:45 we had my OB visit. She didn't check me this time, so updates on effacement or dilation. However, we did have to talk about what to expect if he didn't turn positions on his own. If he doesn't turn by week 37, we will go in that week (the week of Dec. 2nd) for a procedure called External Version. Thanks to my nursing school friend, Bailey, who works at UMC labor and delivery (where we will deliver), I have all the info about it. We will go in to the L&D floor and to an OR for the procedure. I will get an epidural since it is supposed to be very uncomfortable. There are 3 doctors present. They will give a medication to relax the uterus. Then they will try to turn him manually guided by ultrasound. If anything goes wrong (like his heart rate drops) or he just won't turn, they will go ahead with a C-section right then hence why we are in the OR. Hopefully, this will all be avoided by him turning in the next 4 weeks on his own. They should have sent us home with a portable ultrasound machine because I am constantly feeling on my belly and playing "Guess The Body Part."

Here is the 3D or 4D picture. It is not great quality, because it is photo taken with my phone and emailed to me. The scanner is upstairs in the newly moved office, so I can't scan the original. Maybe Jonathan will scan it later and upload it.
OH YEAH! During the ultrasound, the doctor was talking about how much hair he has! He must take after his daddy!

The Expanding Baby Belly

2008-10-31T13:30:00.011-05:00

We haven't done a great job of documenting the progress of the belly growth. My mom has though. I am sure her camera is filled with nothing but shots of my belly. She cracks me up because she angles the camera down as to have the belly the center of the photo. I don't have those pics, so here are the few I do have. Also, on the subject of bellies. It is really funny when you are pregnant and see people you know. Their eyes are focused on your belly when asking "how are you doing?" or just saying hello. I am sure I do it too but never realized it until now.
Finally starting to have a bump at 17 or 18 weeks. I am very proud of it!

The belly at 21 weeks at the beach.

The belly at 29 weeks. We haven't done a great job of documenting the progress of the belly, so this one is from my Blackberry that I texted to some of you. This was taken last week at 32 weeks. Getting BIG!!

The Vain Blogger

2008-10-30T16:30:00.003-05:00

Before starting this blog, I snooped around others blogs for the last few months or maybe even longer. By snooping I mean following the link from someone's Facebook profile to their blog, then seeing their friend's blog and so on. It becomes one convoluted blog-stalking adventure. Most of these blogs are family-oriented. Then there is your occasional "Vain Blogger." It has just irritated me seeing these people blog (most of these are girls). They think that getting married, starting nursing school, building a house, OR making it to the state tennis tournament at a 2.5 level is qualification enough to blog (very boringly I might add) about their life. No witty comments, no hilarious views of life as mentioned in my previous post. The saddest fact is I know these people, and they all live near their family...so it's not about keeping them informed. And did I mention THEY ARE SO BORING?! I did not start this blog to gripe. I promise it will be a "family-oriented" blog. Besides IT is the cool thing to do.

Giving In...

2008-10-29T16:53:00.005-05:00

Alright so now that we are expanding the family soon, I (Heather) gave in to the peer pressure/trendy "family" thing to do and started a blog. We have several relatives and friends all over the country, so why not take advantage of this wonderful world wide web and keep everyone updated on the Hardens and baby Jackson (ETA December 22). Though I do have to throw out there the following disclaimers:

1. It's been a long time since I have had to write paragraphs non-nursing related and especially not in medical shorthand. I even find myself writing in cards trying to use the symbols for "with" ("c" with a bar over it) or "without" ("s" with a bar over it). So bear with me if my grammar, spelling, and punctuation (especially comma usage) isn't the best.

2. I am not one of those witty people with a hilarious view of life and can turn the most mundane event into a side-splitting laugh session (Michael Williams aka Killer) nor am I a great writer with notorious "bank stories" or what is now accounting stories(Alex Holt).

3. I should have paid more attention in my Computer Science class in college. Making the HTML links above was a task. Therefore, there may be some kinks when I start posting pics.

4. Lastly, please don't expect daily updates. I am too much of a perfectionist to write daily. It is way too stressful because I actually made an outline on paper as to what I was going to write in this first blog. I have always been this way, and I don't think there is any breaking this habit now.

Maybe, Jonathan will make some guest appearances as a ghost writer. Anyway, welcome to the Harden Family Blog!!