Jackson's First Birthday!

The following was written last Wednesday:

The Francis family had a great visit and we were all really sad to see them leave.
Last Friday we went to the Wiggly Play Center in Frisco with Papa and Nana and the kids had a blast. Friday night we had a birthday dinner for Shelby. Luckily Jay and his parents were able to join us. Then we got ready for Jackson's party which was Saturday. Nana, Jenna and myself baked a healthy sugar free apple spice cake for Jackson, Lennon and Mia and Aunt Mandy sent us delicious lava cakes for everyone else at the party. The party Saturday was a ton of fun. Thanks to all of the grandparents, great grandparents and other friends and relatives who helped. Jackson is such a lucky little guy; not only did he get some wonderful toys but he has so many awesome people who love him so much! Then Sunday was Jackson's actual birthday. I still can't believe he's already 1! After church we went to my moms for a birthday lunch for Shelby's 29th with his grandparents, brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew. The kids are just precious and the 3 toddlers had a blast while the two older kiddos did their own thing. Shelby had to leave Sunday night to be at work Monday and Jenna and the kids were able to stay until Tuesday morning. We were so sad to say good buy but hopefully Jackson and I can go visit them sometime soon!
Today we went to the mall to get Jackson's 1 year pictures. My mom and Jeremy came with me to help solicit good smiles from Jax. . .thanks guys! And we also met up with Adrienne, Ellie and Peggy (A's mom). It was so nice to see them (I'm still ready for daily play group again). Luckily Jackson and Ellie are back on track after she saw the pictures of him and Skylar. It was so funny b/c as soon as he saw her he got so happy and then kept putting his head in her lap. He always wants to snuggle Adrienne and now that Ellie is getting bigger he's wanting to snuggle her as well. Adrienne has pictures on her blog (the link for Ellie's page is on the left) of Jackson and Ellie from today. These babies are just getting more and more fun by the day!

Jackson's First Haircut

I took Jackson to "Cool Cuts for Kids" today for his first haircut. He just needed a little trim in the front and to even things out a bit. Here are some before and after pictures of our funny little guy. . .


My little buddy sitting on the kitchen counter eating his carrots (and spilling some on his clothes which explains the change in clothes). See the long hair?



His hair is even more wild when he wakes up from a nap!



Here the poor little guy has gotten his medicine out of his diaper bag and is bringing it to me b/c he is STILL teething.



Happy after receiving some medicine. . .but still with the awesome peacock hair!



Looking a little nervious about those scissors.



Even more nervous as he realizes he can watch what she's doing in the mirror.



All done and enjoying the Thursday drive in his yellow convertible!



Proudly admiring himself in the hand mirror his stylist held up for him.



About to fuss because now that the scary part is over he wants to stay and play in the car!

"Little" Jack Walking!

Jackson took his first step in June. . .yet really didn't seem at all interested in abandoning his super fast "power crawl" until this week. This week he's really been walking quite a bit. He's walking across entire rooms several times an hour. We went to my dads office this afternoon and Jackson was excited to walk right up to Papa and snuggle on his shoulder! I'll try to get it on camera soon to post!

Ok, update time! First of all we are all now well, thank God! After Jackson got better I got the stomach flu. . .fun times! Luckily Jay didn't ever catch it.

Secondly, Jenna and the kids are here and Jackson is having an awesome time with his cousins. They are so sweet together! Lennon and Jax have been hugging each other (with such force they fall down each time) and putting their heads on each others shoulders. I love seeing them together. Today Jackson was in his stroller and had some purely o's and Lennon walked up. Jax would eat one and then feed one to Lennon. They are really becoming buddies! And as usual Mia is the greatest big sister and cousin in the world.

Another sweet thing is that Jackson now pats me on the back as soon as I pick him up each time. He's always been a snuggle baby but the back patting just kills me. He's so much fun (if I do say so myself)!

On the adventurous side he's climbing everything these days. I have turned my back for one second to find him on top of tables and all kinds of things! He loves to climb and to push buttons and turn lights on and off. We now have to keep the dishwasher and the water/ice dispenser locked. He will walk by and find a way to reach the water and start pouring it out and laughing. And each time he walks by the dishwasher he was turning it on as well. Luckily he hasn't figured out how to unlock either item yet!

Last night Leanne brought Skylar over and Jackson played with her for awhile. They were just precious! Skylar kept hugging and kissing Jackson and he loved it.
Here are some pictures of the cousins and then of Skylar and Jax.

Missed Showers :(

Well, after the last entry you are probably thinking this refers to the 3 of us missing showers due to lack of sleep. But rest assured we are clean! I had to miss Jennifer's baby shower today due to Jackson being sick. And the pediatrician said I shouldn't even go to Joanie's shower tomorrow either. She said adults weren't getting the bug but could be carriers and so I shouldn't be around pregnant women for 48 hours:( Such a bummer as I was looking so forward to seeing both of you! But I'd feel terrible if I got anyone sick. . .especially while they were pregnant. We have to at least get together next week so I can give you your presents!

Puke and Rally!

Well, yesterday started out really great. Jay was home, Jenna and the kids were in town, it seemed to be the beginning of a wonderful weekend. We hung out with the Francis clan (minus Shelby who was at work) and my dad (Laura was also at work). Then the Francis family went to Greenville and dad came over to have dinner and watch the Olympics with us. Things were great until about 8:45 when Jackson started coughing. . .and then throwing up. Basically Jay and I were up until 4 a.m. Back in the "olden" days that would have meant we had been to a party and had a really awesome time with our friends. My, how the times have changed. Jackson threw up until 4 in the morning. I was just glad Jay was home b/c we rallied around Jackson each time he got sick. One of us would be frantically changing crib sheets another getting the bath ready and comforting him. As Jack Black says. . ."that's teamwork!" It was a wild night where I changed shirts 7. . .yes 7 times and Jay ended up at Wal Mart buying pedialyte at 2 a.m. We gave Jackson some silver/pedialyte cocktails and he was able to go back to sleep until the late hour of 6 a.m. We were thrilled to hear his sweet little voice not sick this morning but praying that he would realize he'd only been sleeping for 2 hours and go back down. The latter did not happen. Oh well.
He really seems to be doing better but the pediatrician said this bug is rampant in Dallas right now and it lasts anywhere from 24 hours to almost 2 weeks. We are thanking God (and crossing our fingers) that he is already better and will sleep uninterrupted this evening!
So, for those of you in Dallas. . .good luck and stock up on pedialyte and silver!

Catching Up. . .

At the end of last week Lindsay and Ivan came over. As usual the boys had a great time playing and we had a great time talking. I got a few pictures of the kiddos but none of them together.




The weekend was a whirlwind but so much fun. Jay came home Friday night and Jackson was SO happy to see him Saturday morning. He basically got hysterical crying anytime Jay put him down (which is not so great for Jay's injured back.) Saturday we went to Ryan's surprise party and Jackson loved seeing Aunt Shonda. Then Jay and I went with Lesley and Cameron to see Joel McHale (from The Soup) live. . .it was AWESOME. He was so funny and Ashley stayed with Jackson for us. THANKS ASH!!!
Sunday we went to church and then just relaxed! Monday started VBX (Vacation Bible Extreme) at Chase Oaks and I was teaching first grade. I had 15 7 year olds and it was a serious challenge. I am now amazed by elementary school teachers. It should have been a serious clue when I got my class roster and one of the women said "wow, you've got 5 of the wildest boys in the 1st grade all together." Of course I dismissed it assuming that growing up with brothers had adequately equipped me. How very flawed my thinking was didn't punch me in the face until several of the boys were punching each other. After several attacks, many smacks, indian rug burns, head locks, punches etc. I realized I was seeing into my future of being a mother of a son (or sons depending on how God has things planned). Even more confusing was the fact that after beating each other and then coming to tell me they would cry if I separated them b/c they are "best friends as good as brothers and needed to sit together!!!!" The experience overall was awesome and I was even able to witness to a little girl who wasn't a Christian and had never been to church. Today was the last day and I will miss the kiddos but will be very happy for Jackson to be back on his schedule. He had a great time in the nursury but missed his naps. His teachers were really great though and gave him lots of love which I really appreciated. We have a really incredible church and the more I volunteer there the more I love it.

Jay came home today and we are looking forward to a great family weekend. Jen and her kids also came into town today so I'm sure I'll have tons of kiddo pictures up in a few days. Seeing Jackson with Mia and Lennon is just amazing.

Finding a New Pediatrician. . .

I'm so bummed that Jackson's awesome pediatrician is retiring this month:( She's been so wonderful for the last 11 months. She has decided to be a stay at home mom to her 5 year old son. She has a daughter that is 10 years older than her son and she said she missed way too much of her life with the demanding MD schedule. So, while I'm nervously searching for someone good enough to replace her. . .I'm really happy for her. She was so excited telling me about signing up to be the room mother for her sons class and just being with her little guy all day. So, while I'm thrilled for her. . .if you have an awesome pediatrician please give me their info!

Welcome Cora Ann Oldenburg!!!

I am so excited that today Cora Ann was born! She weighed 8 pounds 3.6 ounces and measured at 20 inches. Carolyn, Chris and Cora are all doing great and I just can't wait to meet her!

Poor Little Guy

Today Jackson basically cried ALL day. The two new teeth growing in were really bothering him. He kept pulling his teething drops out of his diaper bag and bringing them to me despite the fact that it was usually five minutes after I had just given him a dose. The only time he was happy was when Gaga was sitting in the back seat of the car with him feeding him on the way to the airport or when I was rocking him. So, needless to say we spent a lot of time in the glider today. I sure will be glad when he's totally done teething. . .experienced moms out there. . .when does it end???? Hopefully these two teeth will be the worst bout!

Funny Jackson

This is kind of an old story but I forgot to write about it: Jackson is always wanting to hit (and break. . .sorry guys!) the wooden blinds at Adrienne and Damian's house. Of course we pull up all of the ones on the windows but the ones on the back door can't be pulled up. So we are always telling him "no" and keeping him away from the blinds as much as possible. He now crawls towards the blinds but as soon as you look at him he lays down flat with his face on the ground and his eyes closed. As soon as you look away he crawls as fast as possible and then when you glance back he again appears to be taking a little nap on the floor looking like such an innocent and sweet baby. We were all getting so cracked up watching him be so sneaky. I know he thinks he's devised such a cleaver way to gain access to the blinds. I mentioned that this behavior must be from Jay's genes and a few friends dared to credit the Sheriff side with such a plot. The jury is still out but it's definitely hysterical to watch. I need to try to get it on video!
The picture below is unrelated to the story but I just think his expression is so funny!

This has been such a fun week so far. Yesterday Christina came over to swim with her two kids, Reagan and Cooper. The kids had fun and I'm sure they slept really well after all of that playing! I just wish I had gotten some pictures of the 3 of them together. Last night Ashley came over to keep me company since Jay was out of town, it was great to catch up!
Today Bill and Grandmommy came over to spend some time with Jackson. He took several steps in a row (several times) and also said mama and dada while they were here. He kept saying dada and trying to leave the living room and when I finally followed him he crawled straight into Jay's office and climbed into his chair and then said "dada ba?" with his inquisitive hands up in his usual "ba" way:)
Jackson was a little fussy today because two more teeth are popping through. When those two pop out he'll have four on the bottom and four on the top.
I can't believe he's already almost one. It went by SO fast and watching him grow and develop the last year has been a true blessing!


Jackson having fun with Bill




Grandmommy and Jax



I just had to throw this one in b/c it's GM and Jax in the same glider but this one was taken Aug. 29th 2007.

Jackson Update!

Our little guy is so much fun lately! He's always trying to make people laugh and flirts with everyone. He's still taking 3-4 steps at a time but quickly decides that crawling is faster. I'm not really sure when he will walk full time b/c he's been taking steps since early June but not really seeming very interested in actual walking. He's signing a lot although his signs are kind of a version of what we sign. . .he adapts them for his ease:)
This last weekend was awesome, Jay and I had a wonderful time at a hotel in Dallas and Jackson had a blast with his Gaga and Paw Paw. Thanks so much mom for taking such good care of our little man!
Jackson's favorite thing to do is still spend time with his daddy. Even when I'm feeding him he always has to wave at Jay or be sure Jay's looking and smiling at him. It's so cute! Last night when my mom brought him back he just wanted to snuggle with Jay.