First Big Snowfall for Jackson - 7.5 months

Let it snow! Let it snow!

Me and the little man sledding on December 9

Last I heard, we were supposed to get 2-4 inches. We made it to 12 inches. Funny. It was a beautiful snow but a LOT. Jackson wasn't sure he liked the big flakes flying in his eyes, but for the most part, he LOVED staring out the window at dad shoveling and the kids sledding and marching through the snow.

It just kept snowing and snowing...

And snowing...

And snowing...

And snowing...

Jackson LOVES staring out the window, especially when it's snowing!

On to other news....

Just me sitting here all nice and tall

Jackson is officially crawling.
No more army crawl. Straight up crawling and fast, fast, fast. I noticed this two Fridays ago after we got home from work (the dusting of snow made the commute nice and long. Yuck). I also noticed Jackson started to push himself up onto his knees, but wasn't totally sure...until we went over to my brother's for dinner on Saturday night. Jackson crawled over to the stairs and climbed up two steps just like that. We couldn't believe it. And he's been doing a triangle stance every now and then, trying to get himself to stand. He's a crazy man.

Just me looking all cute again

Says “Bwah-Bwah”
Jackson has been making more sounds and more noises. The best is hearing him get up in the morning. He has a lot of fun turning on his mobile and watching it. He crawls all over the crib in excitement and raises and lowers his voice. My dad claims he said "da" today.
 

Pushes himself to stand when crawling over my knees
The other night I was playing with him on the floor. Sometimes he doesn’t like to go too far from me, so he climbs back onto my lap. Now, he crawls up my legs and pushes himself up so he stands. He is so strong!

Makes hilarious faces
I could stare at Jackson forever ALL the time. I’m so worried I’m going to miss something since he’s so full of life and energy. He is so funny when he’s playing. Jackson makes so many animated faces.

 

Body might not like blueberries
We were feeding him blueberries but he started spitting them up more and more and decorating our carpet. Plus, when he poops, it stains his butt!!! I’m not so sure his body is ready for blueberries. Going to cut back.

Weaning from bottle to sippy cup
I mentioned in a previous post that Jackson decided to stop taking the bottle while at daycare. I called the nurse who said that is quite common for babies his age (7.5 to 9 months), as long as he has wet diapers. He has VERY heavy diapers, especially at night. He’s starting to drink 3 ounces from the sippy cup, so we’re making progress. He definitely likes to nurse morning and night and has been getting up more often. Hmph. Mom is tired.

Climbs stairs
We were over at my brother Mike’s for dinner and let Jackson crawl around and he headed right for the stairs and climbed up two of them. We were like…wha???

Tried zucchini, parsnips and carrots
Still making his foods and so far Jackson has been willing to try all. I wish I could get my hands on peaches and nectarines and apricots and watermelon… All the fruits that are kind of out of season. I’m not sure how comfortable I am about cooking up fruit from other countries just because of the pesticides used over there. Most countries took all the pesticides that have been banned here to use on their crops. Soooo….

Loves puffs
I have never seen someone get so excited over little cereal pieces. As soon as I shake the container with the puffs in them, Jackson smiles and says, “Mmmmmmmmm”and kicks his little feet. Sometimes he even claps!

Clapping his handsSpeaking of clapping, he does this a lot. I love it. What a happy happy boy. 

Clapping his hands!

 

Sleeping is still hit or miss.
The month of November into December was really tough on me when it comes to sleep. Not a whole lot. And then finally...FINALLY... last night he slept the whole night through. THANK YOU LORD.

Gets crazy excited when Karl and I come home from work or when he sees either of us.
I love those smiles. We also love when we get him in the morning how he's peeking through the railings of his crib.

Peek a boo

I see you!

 

The wave.
Has started waving, but only when his hand is touching his chin. Hasn’t quite figured out how to extend arm and wave. It is the CUTEST EVER.

Mean Mary JackWhen I was little, I used to scrunch up my nose and pull in my face and make a heavy breathing noise. My parents called me Mean Mary Jean. And now Jackson is doing the exact same thing. Hilarious.

Love this little man!!!

 

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Jackson is 7.5 Months

I feel like I've dropped the ball on this blog. I know, it's been what, maybe two weeks since I posted about Jackson, but still. I feel like my head is about to roll off. There is a LOT going on in our lives. A LOT. I know others have it way worse than we do, so I try to look at the positives and give thanks for all we have been blessed with, but sometimes things get HARD.

The worst: we have to find new care for Jackson. (Yes, I bawled and find myself freaking out a lot about it. I don't trust just anyone). Secondly, I always find myself comparing myself to other moms. I don't know how they do it. HOW? But that is for another post, which is much needed. I need a therapy session and some heavy workout sessions. I finally made it to the gym yesterday after three weeks. It's time to start thinking POSITIVE.

Me and my little man at 7.5 months in Roscoe, Illinois

But first, let's talk about Jackson.

We noticed his first moles/freckles a little after Jackson's 6 month birthday. Our pediatrician said that it's normal for the moles and freckles to start showing around this time. And knowing all the moles I have, I'm sure he'll have his share.

We are back to heavy teething. Jackson has his bottom two teeth but he is now back to biting my shoulder when I hold him, so something is up. He'll clench his fists out of nowhere and start to scream. And he's drooling excessively once again. And he didn't sleep much at all when we were at my parents. Now that we're back home, he's taking 2+ hour naps at a time. Thank you Jesus!

Jackson and Grandpa Gary

I feel like Jackson is on a nursing strike. More so a bottle strike than anything. He nurses great early morning and before bed (those comfort times). It's the times in-between I'm not sure about. He will nurse maybe 2 minutes tops throughout the day when I'm with him on weekends. How is he even getting enough? Jenna (our daycare) says he's been refusing the bottle too. Could be a teething issue or I thought maybe my hormones are going whack right now? Maybe my monthly visitor will come back soon? Not that I'm looking forward to that.  I hear that can change the taste of milk.

Doppelganger

We have been feeding Jackson healthy solids three times a day and some of those organic puff cheerio looking snacks so he works on his pincher grabbing technique. A typical work week:

1. I'll nurse him usually 3:00/4:00 a.m. (I really love when it's closer to 5:00!!! Usually once a week I get lucky and he sleeps all the way through the night.)
2. He has a bottle (4-5 oz) and oatmeal with a fruit shortly after arriving to daycare.
3. Lunch is another bottle (he's down to taking maybe 3 oz right now), 1/2 a Yo-Baby yogurt, a fruit and a veggie. Jenna will put the extra milk in his food so he's getting the 5 ounces he was before. We always give him the veggie first and sometimes two veggies.
4. He'll have another bottle in the afternoon and this is where he's not totally interested in drinking it at all. We're almost to the point of giving him a snack at this time too. However, we realized we still had the 0-3 month flow nipple on his bottles. We just bought the 6+ month ones and hope that makes a difference. Way to go mom for catching that a few months too late... Oops.
5. After I pick him up from work, I'll nurse him (which is a super quick nurse) and feed him dinner, which is usually chicken, a veggie and a fruit. Sometimes even more!!!
6. I nurse him right before bed, which is usually 30 minutes to an hour after he eats dinner. He more times than not chugs down.

We've introduced a lot more homemade food: peas, green beans, plums, blueberries, asparagus, etc. He's eaten everything so far (knock on wood). Yes, still making it all in our hand blender or our food processor (and now Karl brought home the Ninja, which he is dying to try). Making food can become a project in itself. I am still hoping to try peaches/nectarines (out of season), parsnips, carrots, zucchini and yellow squash. I think after 9 or 10 months, I'll start feeding him everything we eat.

Jackson's eyes still are blue on the outside, but I feel like a paint can of brown has splashed in his eyes and the color is starting to take over. The blue is almost changing to a green too...

Jackson with Great Grandma Powalish over Thanksgiving

Jackson is army crawling everywhere and he is FAST. Whoa. He's going to be REALLY fast when he gets this whole crawling thing down. Here is him army crawling - http://youtu.be/4krrk_fvAsk

Jackson has a TON of energy. I thought maybe he had A.D.D since everyone who holds him asks if he ever stays still. The answer: no. He jumps constantly. He moves all the time. ALL THE TIME. If not moving, his legs are wiggling. In his sleep. In my arms. On the floor. ALWAYS. He has maybe cuddled with me twice. That's it. Otherwise he is ALWAYS MOVING. OK...so we know he got this from me.

I love how he head-butts into my legs when I sit with him on the floor and let him move around or how he gets all silly and throws his hands up and covers his eyes like we're embarrassing him.

He also LOVES to play peek-a-boo. He grabs a cloth and covers his eyes and rips it away. Karl and I both chime in and Jackson smiles and laughs. He is SUCH a happy baby.

One of his favorite things to do is look outside. He could do this forever. He loved doing this at my parent's house because he could watch the squirrels and birds since they live in the woods.

Looking out the window at Gpa and Gma Powalish's

He is sounding out words more too and loves when I talk to him slowly. He responds by laughing or smiling when I say "Ma-Ma" or "Da-Da".

His favorite place to go is under the coffee table in the living room and lift up the rug. We don't like him going under there because we're worried he'll whack his head. But, he loves army crawling over there for some reason.

Jackson and Great Grandpa Harry

He also loves when we clap our hands or stomp them on the ground. He has tried clapping his own hands together. Any way he can make sound, he's all about it.

We love this little man and watching him grow into somebody really cool.

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