Mother's Day Weekend

A few weeks ago, I told Eric I'd like to go home for Mother's Day weekend as it has been forever since we've been to my parent's house!  Friday after work, we picked up my sister and headed home.  Saturday morning, my parents, sister, Eric, Jackson and I met both of my grandmas, grandpa, and uncle for a Mother's Day breakfast.  It was so good  to see everyone and for them to see Jackson.   Afterwards, we headed to Silver Dollar City for the day.  Although it got pretty warm in the afternoon, we had such a good day!! As I mentioned in my last post, Jackson is still battling this last ear infection.  In addition to this, the poor boy is cutting all four of his top teeth and contracted hand, foot, and mouth disease from daycare.  He just can't seem to win!!  With all of this going on, we weren't sure how he would do at Silver Dollar City, but he was awesome!  He rode two rides and did really good on those! To be perfectly honest, he seemed bored with them.  Haha!  Hopefully he inherited his mama's love for a good rollar coaster!  Saturday evening, we cooked dinner and then after Jackson went to bed, we all played dominoes.  Due to not feeling good, Jackson didn't sleep great either night so we spent Sunday catching up on our rest.  It was such a good weekend!!  

Jackson tried ice cream for the first time and, of course, loved it!!

9 Months

Even though Jackson turned 10 months old last Tuesday, I want to go ahead and do a blog post for his 9th month because it was such a big one for him!  Here are some of the highlights from the last month.  

My sweet boy!

Jackson met one of his big milestones the weekend before Easter.  My mom and grandma came down to spend some time with all of us and Jackson decided it would be a perfect time to start walking!  Prior to this weekend, he had been pulling up on everything, walking around the room while holding on to furniture, and taking a few steps, 2-3 at a time.  But that weekend, he stood up and took off across the room.  Once he had figured it out, there was no stopping him.  It is rare to see him crawl anymore, which makes me kinda sad!  He is growing up too fast! 

Jackson got his first haircut on Easter weekend!  His hair was driving Eric and I crazy so we decided it was time for a trim.  We took him to Pigtails & Crewcuts in Little Rock and he did surprisingly well, especially considering he didn't feel very good! 

Jackson played in their playroom while waiting for his turn.

He got to sit in the police car. :)

He looks like a little boy! :(

My mom and dad planned to come down for Easter, but Jackson wasn't feeling good due to an ear infection.  We weren't sure we would even make it to church so we told them to stay home.  We didn't want them to make the long drive to sit at home with a sick baby.  Thankfully, he seemed to be a little better Sunday morning and we were able to attend our church's Easter service.  He got his first Easter "basket" from the Easter Bunny and after church we went to Eric's parents for lunch.  The rest of the day was spend napping and relaxing after our busy weekend!

His Easter presents from Mimi and Popi arrived later. :)

The weekend after Easter, we had family pictures taken on Saturday by our local favorite photographer, Imelda Campbell, and then participated in our church's Baby Dedication Day on Sunday (I mentioned it was a busy month, right!?).   

I love how much this picture captures his personality!! 

 

Baby Dedication Day!  We were so happy to participate in this special event!

Also during this month, Jackson discovered his ball pit.  About two months ago, I bought an inflatable pool and filled it with balls.  It has been sitting in the living room, completely ignored.  One night, Jackson reached in for a ball and discovered he could crawl in.  Since then, he has spent a lot of time crawling in and out.  He has also mastered the art of throwing.  This means that anything that is handed to him usually ends up on the floor.  He is always so proud of this! :)

Here are Jackson's 9 month stats:

- At Jackson's 9 month checkup on April 14th, he weighed 20 lbs 12 ounces (51st percentile), was 28.5 inches long (55th percentile), and his head circumference was 18.5" (89th percentile).  I feel like he has grown even since then!

- Jackson is now wearing size 4 diapers and still has to be double diapered at night.  He is still wearing mostly 9 month clothing, but is able to fit into a few smaller 12 month outfits. 

- Jackson still gets four 8 ounce bottles (Alimentum) with 4 teaspoons of rice cereal at 8:00 am, 12:00 pm, 4:00 pm, and 8:00 pm.  Over the past few weeks, we have incorporated a lot more table food into Jackson's diet and he has been doing very well with it!  There really haven't been many foods he has refused to eat.

- Jackson has become a much better sleeper over the last month.  There are still nights he will wake up, but once he finds his paci, he usually falls right back asleep.  He typically is in bed by 8:00 at night and we have to wake him up to get ready for daycare at 7:00 each morning.  On the weekends, we let him sleep and he usually doesn't wake up until closer to 8:30.  He struggles with naps at daycare, probably because he is such a busybody! This sometimes causes problems in the evening because he is so tired.  There are still days he will take a 45 minute to 1 hour nap before dinner. 

- At Jackson's 9 month checkup, I talked to the doctor about stopping his Prevacid since he has been spitting up less and less.  We decided to give it one more month so hopefully that transition goes smoothly!  On the down side, my poor boy has had a rough time with his ears over the last 5 weeks.  He had 3 ear infections within 4 weeks, with the first two being treated with an oral antibiotic and then the last had to be treated with antibiotic injections (NOT FUN!).  We decided it was time for a visit to the ENT and he had his tubes put in last Tuesday.  After the procedure, the doctor told us he still had a pretty bad ear infection and prescribed another round of oral antibiotics along with the typical antibiotic ear drops.  I'm praying the tubes will help with all of these ear issues!  

- Jackson still "talks" all the time!  He says "dada," "mama," and has mastered "uh oh."  There are several times he acts like he is repeating what we are saying to him, like "ball," but he just hasn't quite mastered putting those particular sounds together. :)

-Jackson is still quite the strong willed child, but I honestly wouldn't change this for the world!  He has so much personality, knows exactly what he wants (as well as what he doesn't!), and is persistent in working toward getting his way.  Haha!  I believe he will grow into such an independent little guy!

- Likes:  He loves playing in the water during bathtime!  We leave for the beach in less than a month and I can't wait to see how he does with the ocean water!  Jackson also loves being outside.  After coming home after getting his tubes, Jackson was very upset.  As soon as I walked into our backyard, he immediately quit crying.  He gets really upset when he has to come back inside though!  Jackson has recently developed a love for balls.  He usually has one in his hand when walking through the house.  Right now, I would have to say Jackson loves being with his mom and dad more than anything.  We are dealing with a little bit of separation anxiety and Jackson gets pretty upset if we leave the room. 

- Dislikes:  Jackson still becomes an angry little man when his diaper is changed.  I'll probably never figure that one out!  He hates being put in his carseat.  As soon as the car starts moving, he is fine, but the process of getting him strapped in is a battle!  Also, as much as Jackson loves being outside, he hates the grass!  I don't know if it is because of how it feels or what.  He will play on the concrete all day long, but the minute he hits the grass, it is not good! :)

As sad as it makes me that my little boy is growing up so fast, he is SO much fun to be around, ear infections and all!  To watch him learn, grow, and discover new things is so amazing!  There is nothing more precious than watching him walk up to me at daycare with a smile on his face and his arms lifted up and giving that boy a big hug!  We love this precious boy!