Baltimore/DC

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

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

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

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

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

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'

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.