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!

English Peas Strike II

I made a vow that I would make Jackson's baby food rather than buy the prepackaged stuff. For normal women that would not be that big a deal, but for the woman that doesn't cook it's a HUGE deal. This was my mess on Sunday night when I tried making Jackson's peas. I made enough for three feedings, but little did I know he would hate them.

This looks kind of like a pore cleaning mask. I don't blame him for not wanting it, but we had so much left over I had to give it one more shot. I made it less thick this time by adding milk to it and hoped for the best.

This was his reaction. Strike 2.

He has it all over him and his face because he would NOT open his mouth!

And this face sums it up. "Mom please stop sticking the nasty stuff in my mouth." After seeing that face I could not torture him any longer, so I threw the peas out and came back with cereal. He got so excited when I sat down with it and opened wide as the spoon came towards him. The kid knows what he likes and it ain't English peas!

Finger Liking Good!

You have to watch this video first to see how much Jackson likes to eat. Then watch the one below to see what he thinks about english peas. I have not laughed that hard in a while.

Jackson Eating Peas

We found something Jackson does not like to eat. We tried giving him Peas last night for the first time and I don't think he was a big fan. You be the judge.

Love Love Love

First of all I hope everyone enjoyed the extra hour of sleep as much as I did. Now, I have been meaning to post this for a while, but we LOVE LOVE LOVE Mrs. Bradley at Jackson's day care! She is the main lady in his room and she is so wonderful with him!! We talked about a nanny and seriously pursued it, but Mrs. Bradley is so wonderful we have kept Jackson in day care. She keeps him on schedule, he sleeps so much better when he has been with her during the day, and most importantly she loves him and he loves her! She just makes over him and talks to him and when I drop him off and pick him up he just looks at her and smiles. It makes me feel so good! As everyone knows Jackson's first day of day care was really rough on me, but she has made the experience so great! She really is one of many blessings in our life!

Which brings me to the other blessings I thank God for every day and realized this morning I needed to post them since I think about them every day! Some of them are obvious and what people think about every day, but others are very small and may seem silly, but I am SO grateful!

The obvious stuff -

- First of all and obviously a wonderful husband - My mother will attest to this, but I am hard to put up with. I think, scratch that I know he is the only male on the planet that could put up with me! And he is a saint for it! I love him, but as everyone also knows he is easy to love because he is so great! My mom can attest to that too.

- A happy healthy baby - I thank God every day he is healthy and SO happy. He only cries when he is hungry and laughs all the time. What more could I ask for? I could just eat him up!!

Family that loves Jackson to pieces - I have recently learned that not all babies have huge families that shower them with love. Oh Jackson does. He's rotten!

My job - I love my job. I have worked for the same company for 6 years and I have been able to do lots of different things! I am not in a high stress position right now which has worked out wonderfully since Jackson has been born.

The kind of crazy stuff -

- I'm allergic to eye make-up - I use to hate this fact when I was in high school and college, but now it is the biggest blessing. I never really wore it so I don't know what I am missing. Since I don't wear it I don't spend money or time on it!

- This brings me to my newest blessing that speeds up my getting ready process. My new wavy hair God gave me after Jackson was born! I don't dry it any more and it just dries wavy. I LOVE IT! And now I can get ready in 30 minutes.

These are not even close to all of our blessings, but they were they ones on my mind this morning! Happy Sunday.

Like He Needed Anything Else

Here ya go Munchkin - Here is what all we got Jackson at Mistletoe, like he needed anything else!! Elf on the Shelf and The Night Before Christmas books He for sure didn't need any more Christmas outfits, but HOW CUTE IT THIS??? The dump truck outfit!!

Reindeer socks!!

Santa footed PJs

Ole Miss sweat pants and Santa Shirt!

And Mama got her something too :)

Fratty Friday

It's a baseball themed Fratty Friday! Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I had to clean up another diaper blow out this morning. Jackson's diaper blow outs are more like sneak attacks, you never know he has done it until you pick him up and uncover the carnage. Dirty diapers don't bother him, the only time the kid cries is because he's hungry. Which is good for us because we know what action to take when he does start crying. So he was just doing a little tummy time in our bed this morning when I went to move him and there it was all of his side and our bed. Thank goodness Friday is change the sheets day!
Happy Friday!

Afternoon with the Kids

Me - "Hey Jackson, do you want to lay in the floor and play with your toys?"
Jackson - "No mom, I just want to lay in the floor and watch Sports Center. I want to see what team picked up Randy Moss."
The kid is addicted to Sports Center. He even positioned himself where he could see the TV after I put him down. Should we be letting him watch Sports Center or should we have in some baby DVD? I am open for suggestions. When we get home in the afternoons Jackson lays in the floor and plays for about 30 minutes and while I change, put up all our stuff from the day, and get ready to feed him a little cereal. Elle and Knox sniff him and try to take his toys away. I snapped a few pictures of afternoons around our house.

Check out the Rebel bib I bought for Jackson last weekend in Oxford! I was so excited they had it and he loves it as you can tell by his smiling face in the picture.

Halloween

This is the only picture I got of Jackson on Halloween because he was so worn out on Sunday after such a big weekend in Oxford. We ate with the Richardson's on our way out of town and Lauren was of course hogging Jackson again! He has his little pumpkin shirt and Ole Miss hat Mr. Bob and Mrs. Mary Lou gave him. It actually fits when you pull the strap as tight as it will go. It is super cute on him! Before we left town we put Jackson in his LAST outfit we brought. It was his scrubs his Sheshe bought him. He had a bad case of the spit ups and we had been changing him so much because of it. I just hate I didn't get a picture, but I posted a picture of him in them the other day.
Another first over the weekend was Jackson pitching a fit in the restaurant! He was hungry (even though it wasn't time for him to eat) and his bottle was in the car. Matt quickly ran out to the car to get it, but while he was screaming and disturbing the entire restaurant it felt like an eternity. We gave him the bottle and he was as happy as a lark. He decided we were eating so he should eat too. That kid!

Jackson in The Grove

So besides Christmas I think this last weekend was one of the biggest first events in little J man's life! He LOVED every minute of it and he was the best baby! Friday night we went to Uncle Buster's and he grilled for us and all the other families of his roommates. We had to bundle Jackson up good to make sure he didn't get sick. Look at those eyes - he didn't want to miss anything.We wore the little man out for sure! This was him passed out on Uncle Buster's bed in a barricade of pillows. He needed his rest for sure because the next day was the big one! His first trip to The Grove. I mulled over what items I should take to put him down in. I am not sure why I thought he would ever be put down! He was held from 11:00 until about 6:00 when Munchkin put him down for a nap. We even had a little heater pointed toward his stroller where he took a nap. He was so warm and cozy, so much so he slept through the hustle and bustle of the tent after the game.

Some of the pictures include Jackson in his first Ole Miss hat, hanging out with Uncle Buster in the Baby Bjorn while Uncle Buster used him to try and pick up chicks, our first family picture in The Grove, meeting Mr. Puddin for the first time, asleep in Auntie Quanie's arms (she is a baby hog by the way and we enjoyed every free minute of it), and last but not least with Mrs. Bevill who made him the little Col Reb smocked outfit he had on as outfit number 1 (he had 3 wardrobe changes during the day).

What a weekend!! We had a blast and he was so good. I wish I had a picture of him and his Aunt Corey because she fell in love with him again and we might have found a soft spot in her heart. Notice I said 'might have.' Hotty Toddy!