Fratty Friday

Fratty Friday is a little (ok a lot) late today! When I don't have to get up and go to work, what's the rush? Jackson has on his shirt that is identical to his Dad's and his Merills (thanks Kevin and Kayla)! He is also sitting in his big boy chair that his She She got him for Christmas!

Since is is New Year's Eve I think it is an appropriate time to inform everyone about the changes/addition coming to the blog. Beginning on Wednesday, January 5 I will add "Keeping It Real Wednesdays" to the blog! Fratty Friday is super cute and Jackson is always put together, but I thought it would be fun to show everyone what it is like around our house the other 95% of the time. Spit up on the baby and mama, the funny clothes Matt dresses him in, the messes he makes, and the other day to day things that are not all that flattering! I hope everyone will enjoy it and laugh along with us! Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas - a tad late

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:11

Gran and Paw came down to keep Jackson the Wednesday and Thursday before Christmas because Jackson's day care closed at noon on Wednesday. That seems early to me, but I was glad Gran and Paw could come down and hang out with us. Matt and I were not sure how late he would have to work on Christmas Eve Eve, so we had Gran and Paw loaded Jackson up and took him on to Columbus after he ate at 9:30. He did great riding with them and slept the entire way. Later that afternoon we left town with the dogs in tow, it was like old times. When we got into town my dad had to take Jackson by the hardware store and the bank to show him off! It was adorable!!

On Christmas Eve we started out at Mrs. Karen's (see Fratty Friday), made our way to Gran and Paw's, headed to Matt's grandmother's in Alabama, and finally back to Cali to get in bed and wait on Santa. Jackson slept better than I did, I was too excited to sleep.

Christmas morning was fabulous! We stayed at my parents' house, but Gran, Paw, Gran Dan, She She, Aunt Anna, and Aunt Mimi all came for breakfast and to see Jackson on Christmas morning!! What could be better? Um, a white Christmas? Yup, it snowed!!! Can you believe it? Jackson loved every minute of it until we wore him out. He took a good nap and came back for round 2!

The next day it was off to Birmingham in more snow!

We had a great Christmas and could not have asked for a better one. Although - I have wish I had done a few things differently

1. Matt was right (don't tell him I admitted that) we should have put a limit on what everyone got Jackson. There are only so many toys one child needs. Next year we will donate more and spend less on him. Our house is busting at the seems with toys!

2. I want to leave Santa's Reindeer some food and a run way next year!

3. I wish I had taken more pictures of Jackson and all his cousins.

Whew - what a Christmas! It was so special and we are blessed beyond words! Merry Christmas!

Fratty Friday Christmas Eve Edition

It's a special Fratty Friday today. Not only is it Christmas Eve, but we were able to spend it with Jackson's biggest Fratty Friday fan, Mrs. Karen. If I don't get his picture posted by 8:00 a.m. I get a text from her - saying "where is Jackson's Fratty Friday picture?" Matt's family has a tradition of spending Christmas Eve morning at her house soooo today Mrs. Karen was able to spend Fratty Friday with him! Merry Christmas!! Santa Clause comes tonight.

What a Weekend!

We had so much going on this weekend, I will let the pictures tell the story!
On Friday Anna graduated from MC and then we had a party for her and her friends at our house.Saturday was breakfast at our house for our families that came in for the graduation and that night was Lauren and Wesley's wedding in Vicksburg.

Finally - Sunday was Christmas with Matt's parents.

Jackson Holding His Own Bottle

Every day Jackson amazes me with something new. This weekend he was holding and controlling his own bottle. He has been trying to hold it for a while, but this weekend he started reaching out for is and controlling it. We put his milk in a small bottle to try and help him out and we also let him try a sippy cup this weekend too (pictured below). And of course he drank out of it! He made a mess, but he was getting milk out and never slowed down. I am really tempted to give him a regular cup. I am telling you the kid will get his food no matter what! I did find a 6 month sippy cup at Wal-Mart yesterday that has a soft top. I didn't know they made such a thing, heck, I was not even sure when you should start a sippy cup, but according to NUK it's 6 months. Who knew? Maybe he won't make such a mess with the soft top. I love to see him progress, but that also means my little boy is growing up. :( Oh and look at those fat wrists! They look like we have rubber bands around them!

Of course he had to drink out of his Ole Miss sippy cup first!And look at this little face with milk dripping off of it and that smile of accomplishment! "I am a big boy mama"

Fratty Friday

There is so much going on I don't know where to start.

Jackson is 6 months old

Anna is graduating today and we are having her party at our house

Anna got a job teaching second grade starting in Jan

I am off today and Jackson and I are going to eat lunch with Smith (we were Phi Mu's together at Ole Miss and her husband is in his 1st year of residency, we'll be there one day :)) and her little boy Greer who is a month older than Jackson.

Oh and it's a week until Christmas Eve!!! But I am done Christmas shopping!!!

That's a LOT!

He is showing off his boots! He is so proud of them!! He told me this morning that "Uncle Buster said, you can't get much frattier than duck boots mama!"

At 6 months Jackson reaches for his mama :)

He LOVES his bouncer

He loves to laugh and talk

He eats carrots, pears, banana, sweet potatoes, and 7 oz of milk

I am still making the food he eats at home, but because of the (stupid) health department/government I have to take packaged food to daycare, but I am sure it won't kill him.

He is still on his 4 hour feeding schedule of 5:30, 9:30, and 1:30 a.m. and p.m. And a snack of 4oz some days.

He has opened his first Christmas gift and loved doing it. I didn't realize he would do so well at ripping the paper off.

He likes to be tickled

He sleeps 10 hours at night from 7:30 to 5:30 and would sleep longer if I let him. But to get out the door we have to get up that early.

Still not a huge pacifier kid. Thank goodness!

He can grab things with his hands and hold them for extended periods of time.

He still can't sit up on his own yet. He wants to lean forward and play with his feet.

He loves to pet Elle and Knox and they don't mind it. They have been so sweet with him.

He is still a mover and a shaker in his sleep. I put him down on one end of his crib on his back and when I come back in the morning he is on his belly on the other side of the bed.

I am sure I am missing something, but I can come back and update it later.

I also want to take some time while I am off over Christmas and print out his blog pages to do a scrap book! I am so thankful I have kept up with this!

And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy - The Son of God." Luke 1:35

Happy Friday and Merry Christmas!

Jackson Opening His First Christmas Gift

Our sweet friends Jenn and Lee and their little boy Max gave Jackson a new toy for Christmas that he LOVES. It was his first Christmas present to open and he really impressed me with his package opening skills. This Christmas is going to be crazy!!

He loves his new toy and wants to play with it every time he is on the floor. It was just out of his reach the other night and he started fussing until I moved it closer and he was immediately happy!

Around Our House

A little bit of this and a little bit of that! Jackson wore his scrubs yesterday for no special reason other than the fact that they are super cute!! Then when Matt got home from the hospital it was a perfect time for a photo op. Jackson is just so full of life now at 6 months old (today)! He laughs and giggles. He is so much fun that I am a little sad when I put him in bed at 7:30 every night, although I do enjoy my restful nights sleep lately. Then there are the pictures of Elle and Knox doing what they do best - nothing!! Matt and I have decided we want to come back as Elle and Knox.The pictures of Jackson by himself were taken right after I fed him, that is why he is so happy! His belly is full of bananas and cereal. I will post some 6 month pics of Jackson soon with an update of what all he's up to.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

More Pics From Fratty Friday

Here are the pics that did not download on Fratty Friday. This one was my favorite. So sweet!!

And this one is HYSTERICAL! The flash on my camera will go off before the picture is snapped and this is the face Jackson makes when it does it!!

And this one is SO sweet! He was hamming it up for me.

And then there is this one. I strapped him in his jump seat and walked out for a few minutes and this is what I came back to find. He is into everything now. He reaches for stuff and grabs at things. My life is about to get busier. It's hard to see but notice the q-tips all over the counter and his seat.

Busy Busy Weekend

Jackson and I hung out yesterday while Matt was on call! Sunday started out a little crazy b/c the power went out at church between the 9:30 and 11:00 services. Since our sanctuary is huge and has no windows they had to cancel the 11:00 service. So in our 11:00 3 year old Sunday school class we had barely gotten coats off of the kids when we had to put them right back on and send them out the door. So Jackson and I made it home early. We had a busy afternoon of juning (definition of juning - it originated from Rex [imagine that]. It is a term used to describe doing chores around the house and just buzzing around in general). I had pies to make and get ready for the week. J-man was so good while I got everything done and when we sat down to play he just laughed and laughed. He is such a sweet little boy! I thank God for him every day.

Friday and Saturday were pretty packed too. Friday night our small group came over and Saturday my parents and Buster came down. I needed some major help from my mom. I had so much to do because we are having Anna's graduation party at our house. I am super excited and it gave me the kick in the rear I needed to get my house in order. I had not even wrapped any Christmas gifts. Thanks to Matt we got that done and all of the closets in our house have now been cleaned out thanks to my mom; however, now all that junk is in the attic :).

Speaking of tons to do - I am constantly looking for ways to make my life easier between working and taking care of an almost 6 month old. So this morning I broke down and put Jackson's bottles in the dishwasher. Having to wash them every night is for the birds. Unless someone comments and says this is a terrible idea I think this is the wave of the future.

But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19

Fratty Friday

First news of the day and the biggest - Jackson reached for me last night for the first time! Granted I was about to feed him and I have the food on me, but I'll take what I can get. Matt was holding him and I sat down in his glider so he knew what was about to happen. He leaned over and held out his arms for me. Ahh, made me melt.

I am using my poetic licence for today's Fratty Friday. I don't know many frat guys that wear Ole Miss Santa shirts, except maybe to a Christmas Swap so today will be Christmas Swap Fratty Friday! Jackson is wearing this outfit a few posts down, but I just LOVE it and had to put it on the blog again. Thanks Sheshe for the outfit! Jackson was in mid fall in this picture, but it turned out really cute! He wants to sit up on his own so bad! And look at those rosey red cheeks! Is that not the sweetest face you've ever seen? I call him Booger Man 90% of the time, Chub-alub 5% and Jackson the other 5. This morning he lived up to his Booger Man name, his little nose ran last night while he slept and he had snot all over his little face this morning.

I had several other pictures I wanted to posted from this morning, but they didn't download because my battery went dead. I will try and post them tomorrow. He has gotten pretty mobile now and I caught him red handed in the bathroom throwing q-tips all over the place. He had leaned up in his bouncer and was getting into everything on the bathroom counter. It has officially started, he's into everything.

For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas!

They Even Dress a Like

Matt had a long day/night on call and Jackson had a hard day of being Jacksie Man (it's a hard job being that darn cute). I had to wake both of them up for dinner.

A Merry Merry Christmas to You

Is it prideful to think Jackson is the cutest kid on the planet? And is it even worse to tell him he is the cutest kid on the planet? I could just eat him up and he makes Matt and me laugh all the time!

I have had this Bible verse running through my head since Sunday and thought I would post it and begin posting others through Christmas because I am just as guilty as the next person about putting an emphasis on things other than the real reason for the season. I have even caught myself singing more Rudolph songs than Jesus songs to Jackson. The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel - which means, God with us. Matthew 1:23

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

We had a wonderful weekend getting ready for Santa and hanging out around the house. We finally finished decorating the Christmas tree and hung our outside lights. Getting all that done also meant the Christmas storage boxes got put back in the attic and out of my living room floor! Thank God (and thank you Matt for putting them all back in the attic)!

This is Jackson's Ole Miss Christmas outfit! How cute is it?? The best part about it is that he will be able to wear the little pants after Christmas since they are not Christmas specific. And look at his dinosaur shoes!!! We found them on sale at Gap this weekend! They are the sweetest little shoes.

This is our photo op in front of the tree! When I put Jackson's PJs on him I couldn't resist putting his Santa attire on him too. The Santa booties are the best part. Especially when he was bouncing up and down in his bouncer in them (I have a video of that I will post tomorrow)! Judging by his smile I think he really liked the get-up!

Merry Christmas y'all!

Clones

I know I keep repeating myself, but it is a little scary how much Jackson and Matt look alike. These pictures are close, but do not do them justice. Jackson's head is more round and he has my eyes, but other than that they could be twins. Oh and the 1980's decor in Matt's pics makes a big difference too. If you have seen Jackson in person you will understand how scary it is when you see these pictures.

Fratty Friday

We did a video addition! With a special shout out to our biggest Fratty Friday fan, Mrs. Karen!!

Father Son Time

Jackson has started to go to bed at 7:00 or even 6:30 like he did last night, so it is rare that Matt gets to see him for any length of time. I hate it too because from 5:00 to 6:30 he is a mess. He laughs and smiles and just cuts up. The past two nights at around 6:30 though it is like a light switch, he starts to fuss and is ready to eat again and go to bed for the night. He has adopted his mother's sleeping habits. If you didn't already know, sleeping is my favorite hobby. If I am not in bed by 10:00 I am up LATE. I really like crawl into bed around 9:00. He was trying to help Matt send a text message. He was mesmerized by the light on his phone. He also really likes the Christmas tree lights. He might like ornaments too if we ever get any up. That is on my to do list for this weekend along with 20 other things. I guess if I stayed up later I could get some of this done during the week.

He looked over and smiled for the camera. I guess I have a camera pointed at him so much he knows what to do.

Only one more day until Fratty Friday Mrs. Karen!!

Gobble Gobble

Jackson's first Thanksgiving slap wore him out! We lugged him all over the place and when we finally made it home yesterday he was so tired he looked so out of it! We did Thanksgiving lunch with my parents, dinner with Matt's mom's family and as you can see from the picture below they are a small crowd, then Friday night we hung out with Gran and Paw, and lastly we went over to my cousin Ashli's new house to see them and watch the Rebels play like they have all season! Poor Jackson was so tired of his car seat! It's either that or he is teething or both. He was not bad, just fussier than usual!

When we got home on Sunday we went to get our Christmas tree! There are several cute pics from that! I will put up more once we get it decorated. There are also some adorable pictures of Jackson with his Gran and Paw!
It was a wonderful Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for! Now it be be Christmas before we know it! AHHH!

Who is that Baby?

It is not Fratty Friday, but we did have an impromptu photo shoot this morning. He was just so funny looking at himself in the bathroom mirror. I am not sure if he is vain and likes looking at himself or if he thinks it's another baby playing with him.

He usually looks at himself in the mirror, but this morning he leaned over as you can see below to get a closer look at who that baby in the mirror was.Then when he figured it out he was laughing hysterically!He's just so happy! I hope he stays this way FOREVER! He was like "look who I found mom!" And this was after our bath this morning! He just looked so cute in his frog towel. I would like to point out that I fed him, bathed him, got him dressed, loaded the car, got myself ready, and dropped him off at day care by 7:30. I am telling you it's a miracle that God performs at my house every morning! I don't know how we do it, but I am so glad we do! Oh and he only got a bath this morning because we seem to run out of time to bathe him at night especially since he goes to bed by 7:30.

Victor's Visit from the Ukraine

Last June Matt and I went to the Ukraine on a mission trip with Broadmoor Baptist in Madison. It was an unforgettable experience! Our translator, Victor came to the states for the first time last week and we had a chance to see him and show Jackson off at a get together! Of course the get together involved food, we are Baptist. Victor is an amazing guy and we were the envy of our group when he was assigned to us. Seeing him again reminded me or how blessed we are in America. I lose sight of that sometimes when I think about our current leaders, but the reality is we are still a free country and can worship as we choose. Ukrainians are free today, but they have not always been and are still learning how to live freely. Many Ukrainians will still tell you they are Orthodox, but only because that was the country's religion under the Soviet Union. Victor's work has helped many Ukrainians become Christians and without him and the work of other Ukrainian Baptists none of this would have been possible.

On another note - I do not know what that face is Jackson is making, but everyone at the dinner that night talked about how good he was.

LSU Weekend

We have made it a tradition to travel to Baton Rouge every time the Rebels take on the Tigers, and this year was no exception. We also had an extra reason to go, my friend Lauren who is from BR had a wedding shower on Friday night. It was great to see everyone and catch up. It was a fun weekend even if out Rebels lost. Elle and Jackson got to meet for the first time. She was not too sure about him or me, but she loved Matt's mom Mrs. Shelia. I wish we all could live in the same place and hang out all the time, but I'll take what I can get.
We have a short week ahead of us and I cannot wait to take Jackson home for Thanksgiving and let him meet family he has not met yet!

Fratty Friday

5 month old Frat Star!! I am combining Fratty Friday with Jackson's 5 month old post. He was 5 months old on Tuesday, but I have not had time to take his picture or do a post. This week has been crazy and this weekend and next week will not be any less crazy.
Jackson is wearing his 'going to class' frat outfit today! We had a button up picked out, but I didn't get it over his head good and he spit up on it! So we opted for the 'I dig the Rebels' t-shirt from Uncle Buster. He is such a mess. That is all I can say! What all is Jackson up to at 5 months? The better question is what is he NOT up to?
He laughs all the time.
He gets teased and puts his head in mine or Matt's chest.
Still only cries when he is hungry or sleepy.
He is a very happy baby and people comment on it all the time.
He sleeps from 7:30 or 8:00 until 5:30 the next morning.
He only wakes up in the middle of the night if he does not feel well.
He moves ALL over the bed at night. We do have to go move him some times in the middle of the night because he will wedge himself at the very top of the bed and his sensor cannot feel him breathe so it goes off. When we move him he does not even budge.
We lay him down the same way every night, on his back with his head at the top right of the bed. But when we go back in the morning he might be laying the opposite way, he may be on his stomach, he may be on his side. You just never know.
He rolls over, but we have not seen him in action yet. He does it while we are not watching.
He started playing in a bouncer this week and LOVES it.
He likes things that light up.
He likes to pet the dogs and they don't mind it.
He eats baby food 3 times a day now. We have only tried peas and bananas. Peas were a disaster and bananas were a hit. I am still trying to make all his food.
When I am holding him at night as we sit on the couch he stares at Matt when he talks like he knows what he is saying.

He is just Jacksie Man, the most loved kid on the planet!

Big Boy in His Bouncer

This was on Sunday. We put Jackson in his bouncer for the first time and he LOVED it!!

Jackson Loving on Elle

This was on Saturday! Look how sweet Elle is being! She just let's Jackson mess with her and she does not care.

Lazy Weekend

We had a lazy weekend, but here are some of the highlights.

Bath time....... Play time in the bouncer Matt just put together.......

He seems to really like the piano feature with the light up keys and music.

This was on Friday. Look how big he has gotten. It makes me sad.

On Friday night Matt and I were in bed by 8:30 and could not have been happier about it! I think we have also figured out a good night time routine with Jackson. He goes down at 8:00 and has been sleeping until 4:45. We just need him to make it at least 15 more minutes, but I am not complaining because continuous sleep is golden.

Saturday Matt had to work, but was done by 9:00 (he went in at 5:00) so Jackson and I met him for breakfast at Primos. Oh so good!! Then Ben and Shannon came over to watch Ole Miss get beat badly by Tennessee. Grrrrr. John and Laura also came over while they were in town and met J man! He was of course hamming it up for Laura and Shannon, he's a ladies man.

Sunday was church as usual, but this Sunday Matt and I had 29 3 and 4 year olds in Sunday school. Luckily we had a Helping Hands person in there too, but 29 kids is a heap! If anyone from Pinelake reads this we could use more volunteers at 11:00 :). We took Jackson to Lowe's for the first time and he thought it was a lot cooler than the grocery store. He liked the tools and Christmas lights for sure! We went to buy a deep freezer. Our freezer only had one shelf of big people food, the other shelves were full of Jackson's food. It was past time for a deep freezer!

Pretty boring huh? What does it mean when the hightlights of your weekend are going to bed at 8:30 and buying a deep freezer for breast milk? I guess it means your parents of a 5 month old and loving every minute of it!!!!

Fratty Friday

Munchkin came down to keep Jackson yesterday while I went to Dallas for work. It was only a day trip, but it was a LONG day. While Jackson and Munchkin hung out she dressed him up in his Ole Miss football jersey. It looks like it was made for him. So sweet.Then this morning before Munchkin left she took this Fratty Friday picture for us. This was not the best picture, but it was the only one that downloaded. I love my wireless picture card, but it does not always want to work. I think we have worn it out. So, nothing says fratty like a button up shirt and a zip-up fleece jacket. He is so sporty. I will post the other pictures when they finally download! Happy Friday.

Father Son Time

Usually it's just Jackson and me at home in the late afternoons, but Matt left the hospital early on Tuesday and hung out with us during Jackson's play time. And here they are doing their favorite thing - watching ESPN! I think this picture is so funny because every time Jackson plays with his toy cell phone Matt tells him "This is what pays the bills man." He looks so interested in it!