Happy Six Month Birthday Jackson!

Jackson is 6 months old!!!

I can't even believe how fast time has gone. Really. I can only imagine how fast the next six months are going to go.

Jackson wearing "My First Birthday" Shirt...even though he's only 6 months! Hey... it was $.97!!

Here's what's new with Jackson...

He's getting better and better at sitting. Yes, he needs to hold on to something to stay sitting for longer periods of time, but he can do it. Still a bit wobbly. For example, I let him sit by himself for awhile (as he held on to the jungle gym for support) and a few minutes later he fell forward into a bit of a gymnastic flip. He looked shocked, but soon was smiling. We'll get there!


Just hanging out here...sitting with my friend Gerry the giraffe. (Karl has names for all Jackson's toys! Super fun.)

Gerry and I are buds!

Jackson was born with super strong legs. When he came out of me, he was practically standing and could hold his neck really well. It's no surprise he'll stand if we hold his hands and walk behind him. Now, he's dead set on being walked over to the jungle gym where he can hang on to the bars and chew on the plastic top in the middle. He loves doing this. I can let go and he'll go to town...all on his own! Big boy.

Working on my leg muscles!!!

Tall man standing

Give me something to chew on!!

Oh, and one area I AM SUPER PROUD OF MYSELF in is NURSING!!!!!!! I DID IT FOR 6 MONTHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND WHILE WORKING FULL TIME 3 of those 6 months. HUGE accomplishment in my eyes because breastfeeding is a big time commitment. BIG. HUGE. I would not back down as much as I wanted to at times because I was so exhausted. I kept going. AND I DID IT!!! And I am damn proud of myself. I feel like we're getting a good system down too. I never know how much Jackson is getting from me, but after 10 minutes he seems satisfied and then I let him go play. He can go a few hours without wanting to eat again, so I assume he's getting enough. ??? No issues with production as of right now, so something must be working.

I noticed Jackson was squinting and blinking his eyes more, especially after he ate. I was super nervous there was a neurological issue or something going on so I went straight to Google. It sounds like this is common and we have nothing to worry about. Still...I plan to bring this up in his 6 month appointment.


Mr. Blinky

And then back to smiling!

And then right to hamming it up like usual!

Did I mention my dad is SO FUNNY??

Speaking of Jackson's 6-month appointment... His pediatrician cancelled so he'll be almost 7 months when he goes in for his third round of shots and weight check. Curious where he's at now that we introduced food. All I know is those size 2 diapers are getting tighter and tighter!

Speaking of food, Jackson has had whole grain organic oatmeal, barley, rice cereal and homemade sweet potatoes, bananas, avocados and apples. The face he made while eating apples was priceless!!! All these have been super easy to make and prepare. Now...wondering if I should introduce a second meal of the day? He seems pretty happy with eating once a day for now though.

Those apples were pretty tart! But I like!

Jackson is a huge fan of being on his belly. He doesn't stay on his back for long and before we know it, he's flipped over.

On my belly like always!

He kicks those legs of his and jumps with them a lot. I'll pick Jackson up to nurse and he's constantly pushing his legs against me so he's jumping off my lap or pillow. Then he'll keep bouncing. And he smiles and laughs when he does this. When Karl gives him a bath, he kicks like crazy!!! Non-stop kicking. Michael Phelps anyone? Oh, and his eyes are getting browner...

Me? Cute??? DUH!

Jackson is super observant right now. If I'm nursing him and he hears Karl come home from work, he's looking for him. If I'm nursing him in the family room and he hears the washer or dryer downstairs, he has to pause and look around. If I turn the TV on for even a second to DVR a show, he stops and tries to find where the voices are coming from. So I don't even bother. I guess it's good for all of us to watch very little TV, if any... Karl and I will catch up on a show or two over the weekend if we can after Jackson is in bed. Also, Jackson will sit in his stroller for hours and watch everything going on outside. We turned our fake fireplace on and he stared and stared at the lights.

These lights are NEAT! (Don't worry...I don't EVER leave him unattended!!!)

When I pick him up from daycare and am holding him, more often than not, he'll bury his face in my chest and push off with his legs while he's doing this. Trying to figure out if this is him wanting food or telling me he's tired. Or...maybe that he's just happy to see me:)

Jackson is still teething. Chewing on EVERYTHING! No teeth yet!

I chew on everything!

He's been saying "ba-ba" and just started saying "ca-ca" the other night. When I say it back, he smiles like crazy. Like he thinks I understand what he's trying to say. It's so cute.

He's starting to laugh more if I kiss his belly while changing him or his neck after I've fed him or pick him up to cuddle. He will start laughing. LOVE this sound. LOVE IT.

We have a nice nighttime routine down. We have learned THE HARD WAY that we have a window of time to get Jackson in bed by. Jackson MUST be in his jammies and eating between 6-8 p.m. If I haven't started nursing him in his nursery before 8:00 hits, HOLY SCREAM FEST. And I mean...no stopping the SCREAM. Like...I had to bring him downstairs and put him in his swing just to settle him down...(yes, tried the whole crying it out for quite awhile but we're talking SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM). Right now his bedtime is between 7:00-8:00 p.m. and works great. Karl is reading to Jackson every night so they have more bonding time since Karl has been working so much. ONLY hard part is not everyone understands why I can't hang out at night... It's still hard for me to do this especially with nursing... I know. I know. Give Karl a bottle and call it a night. But I LOVE THIS TIME with Jackson. This is MY time. And with working all day. I MISS HIM!!! Hang tight!

Dad and Jackson enjoying story time!

With Jackson going down between 7-8:00 p.m. (sometimes he still nurses until 8:30 but he's in a dream feed), he gets up around 3/4 a.m. I can totally deal with this. Though 4/5 a.m. would be ideal. We're getting there! He will get up sometimes between 12:45-2:30 but we try and let him whimper it out some. He's not really full out screaming around this time. If he is, something is up and I go get him and nurse him. Usually we can go until 4 though and I'll feed him at this time and put him back down. Karl wakes him up at 7:00 and brings him to daycare.

I cleaned out his closet and said goodbye to most ALL his 0-3 month clothes. SAD. Tucked them away for the next one... Sad because some of the clothes he never even wore!!!!!! What if we have a girl next??? Maybe we'll have to have three kids:) :) :)

LOVE when he wraps his arms around me and presses his face to my cheek. I know he's really trying to chew my face off but I pretend it's him wanting to kiss me. The kiss and hug feel amazing.

A kiss??? Maybe... He loves chewing on my cheeks. HA!

I try my hardest to get Jackson outside for a minimum of 10 minutes (much longer if we can!). I bundle him up and off we go!!! He even had a bit of a cold in this picture but fresh air is GOOD!

On a quick walk after work! Little chilly but we bundle up!

Speaking of cold...Jackson had his second one of the year so far. They last about 10 days total...three days being pretty rough.

Being a mom is FUN STUFF!!!! It really does keeps getting better and better and better... And it has only begun! WooHOO!!!

Oh, and last, but not least...here is a video of mom and dad waking Jackson up before daycare wishing him a HAPPY 6TH MONTH BIRTHDAY!!! http://youtu.be/LQhGC60_dgs

WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!