Best Friends

Since we brought Jackson home from the hospital, our dog Willow has noticed Jackson but Jackson hasn't paid much attention to Willow...until yesterday.  I was sitting on the couch holding J in my lap and Willow was laying next to us.  This isn't really anything new.  For a long time Willow has just laid on the couch right next to me and J.  But yesterday, for the first time, Jackson noticed Willow.  He looked at her and with two hands, reached for her.  Willow loved this.  She sat up and started licking Jackson's hands.  And Jackson got ahold of Willow and wouldn't...let...go.  Willow went to town.  She starting licking Jackson's legs, toes, neck, the back of his head, and finally his mouth.  You would think that Jack wouldn't like this.  That he would turn away or start to fuss or something.  Nope.  Instead, Jackson stuck his tongue out, grabbed Willow's ears, and pulled Willow closer to him.  It was hilarious!  Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any pictures of this.  And it figured it was just a funny one time thing.  Wrong.  Today, again, I was holding J and Willow was next to us.  As soon as Jackson noticed Willow and began reaching for her, Willow was all over him.  I got a few good pictures of this but it was difficult they were both moving so much.

Now before you say I'm a horrible mom, J was not in any danger and once I got the pictures, I separated the two of them.  It was difficult, because Willow kept coming back and Jackson kept reaching for her, but I did it.  I'm just glad Jackson has found a friend.

A Day of Firsts

Today was a great family day and a day of firsts!  J and I woke up this morning and played for a bit while we let daddy sleep.  While we were playing, Jackson discovered his feet for the first time!  He was in my lap facing me and began looking at his feet intently.  Then he grabbed them and held on! Then of course we had to wake daddy up to show him.  I tried to get a picture but I was too late.  This was the best I could do.

After figuring out his feet, we went out to Ann Sather for breakfast.  Delicious.  It was Jackson's first time there but unfortunately he didn't have anything to eat.  After breakfast we took a short trip to Target, which was NOT a first, and then came home and hung out for a while.  We read a few books, took a nap, and played some more, this time without feet.

Later on we took a bath with a toy for the first time.  At first J didn't seem interested, but after a few minutes he held on to the toy.

After bath time we tried our very first food: rice cereal!

We decided to start J on food because he recently seemed to be interested in food when I eat.  So, I started feeding him the rice cereal but he didn't really seem to enjoy it at first.

Not only did it appear that he didn't like the way it tasted, but he also had no idea what to do when the spoon was in his mouth and what to do with his tongue when the cereal was in there.  It was a very messy situation.

Towards the end of the feeding (just the last bite), J seemed to get the hang of it.

After dinner we got ready for bed and quickly fell asleep.  It was a wonderful day full of fun new things!

Oh So Tired!

About 3 or weeks ago, around the time Jackson turned 4 months, he started doing something a little different.  He began putting his hands on his head and over his eyes when he is tired.  Not only is this super cute, but is is also very helpful in knowing when he is tired.  His eyes get red, he sometimes gets fussy, and ALWAYS puts his hands on his head.  

It will be interesting to see if Jackson continues to do this as he gets older.  I love my boy!

What's the Problem?

This evening I had Jack in his bouncy seat on the counter while I was doing things in the kitchen when he began to get fussy.  He had recently been changed and fed, and it was around 5:30, a half hour from his bedtime, but didn't seem tired.  Jackson doesn't fuss very much and when he does it is usually because he is wet, hungry, or tired.  Since he wasn't any of these I wasn't sure what was going on.  He would fuss a minute or so, I would stop and talk to him and he would laugh a bit, and then fuss again.  After about 15 minutes of this I decided to pick him up and get him ready for bed, thinking he was probably just tired.  I started taking his sleep 'n play off and I saw this:

A giant feather in between his toes.  I took the feather off Jack's foot and then he seemed as happy as can be.  It seems like a feather wouldn't bother him but he is pretty ticklish so I guess this could have been the reason.  I don't know.  I just know it was funny.

Bubbles!

On Tuesday Jackson discovered something new he could do: blow bubbles.  And boy is it fun!  Before Tuesday Jackson spent most of his waking hours talking and laughing.  Since he discovered his tongue and figured out how to make bubbles, he spends most of his time doing this.  We go through a bib about every 30 minutes because they are so wet from blowing bubbles.  Here's a video of Jackson's new skill.

Jackson's Room

I thought I would document and share Jackson's baby room.  From just about the time I found out I was pregnant I was excited about creating a baby room.  My problem was I didn't know where to start.  After doing much research and finding photos of super cute nurseries online I still didn't know where to start.  So, after much procrastination auntie Carolyn very graciously decided to step in and help.  She helped me with ideas and gave me deadlines for getting stuff done.  I emailed her pictures of stuff I liked, we checked out paint colors at the hardware store, and went shopping.  There were countless trips to Vogue Fabrics and boutique baby stores.  Thank goodness for Carolyn because I'm not sure it would have gotten done otherwise.  After some hard work, creativity, and lots of auntie Carolyn direction, here it is:

The room when you first walk in.

A view from the back.

View from the crib.

Book shelves that daddy built and a little chair from great grandma's house.

Great grandpa's favorite chair, re-upholstered and looking brand new!

A Chicago painting me and daddy found when I was pregnant, a wedding photo, a picture of Willow, and three fun paintings daddy got me for Christmas a few years ago.  Although this wasn't his intention, I knew these would go in a baby room.  These are all hanging over J's dresser/changing table.

Baby J in my belly, weeks 7, 9, and 20.

More of baby J in my belly, weeks 23, 29, and 37.

A custom bookshelf.  We bought the book shelf and paneling, painted it turquoise, and used it for the back.

Cute shelf with J's Bears shoes and an adorable bath towel from auntie Carolyn and uncle Ben.

Dresser/Changing Table

Baby J's crib with an owl mobile I made.

Jackson's name sign given to him by aunties Carolyn, Beth and Sabrina after he was born.

A painting given to Jackson and me from daddy.

A custom closet that daddy installed with awesome pull-out toy drawers.

So that's it!  I love Jackson's room!  It makes me feel so happy every time I go in there!

Visit to Gran Gran's

We hadn't seen Gran Gran (Arnold's paternal grandma) for a couple of months so we decided to go visit her today.  Andriana (Arnold's sister) was also there on spring break.  So we got up this morning, after losing an hour of sleep, and were soon on our way to Rockford.  Jackson was so good during the drive, sleeping the whole way.  We met Andriana and Gran Gran at the Olive Garden and had a nice lunch.  Andriana and Gran Gran got plenty of kisses in, and got to see Jackson doing some of his fun new things.  He also talked to them for a while.  After lunch we had to head back home to get baby J in bed.  It was a short visit with Gran Gran and Andriana, but a great one!

Weekend at the Orso's

Last weekend my mom, Jackson, and I drove to St. Louis to see the Orsos and more importantly, attend Lydia's bridal shower.  This was the first weekend Jackson and I would be away from home and the first time away from daddy.  Since it was our first trip away, I wasn't sure how much stuff I would need.  This is what I ended up bringing:

Only one of those bags was mine.  I did end up packing way more than I needed, and didn't even take the bouncy seat out of the car.  Oh well.  Better too much than not enough.

We left Chicago on Saturday morning and arrived in St. Louis late afternoon.  Jackson did really well in the car, getting fussy only towards the end of the drive.  When we got to the Orso's we took a tour of their beautiful new house and then Angie and the kids came over and we caught up a bit.  We had a delicious dinner and ended up going to bed early.

Sunday morning we woke up and got ready for the shower!  Angie and Melanie hosted a beautiful shower at Angie's house.  The bride-to-be looked as beautiful as ever!  We played games, ate some great food, and got to see all the wonderful gifts Lydia received.  Towards the end of the shower, Lydia's fiance Tom dropped by to help with the gifts.  The shower was wonderful but the best part was how grateful and appreciative Lydia was that her sisters had thrown her a shower and that so many people came to celebrate her upcoming wedding.  She is so sweet!

Mom and Linda, mother of the bride.

The bride and I at the beginning of the shower.

Lydia and Tom receiving their wedding invitation framed.

The happy couple!

Mom, Lydia, and me.

Jackson with Grandma at the shower.

The cake!

Monday morning we had breakfast at the Orso's and then headed back to Chicago.  The weekend went by quickly and seemed too short, but it was great!  We can't wait to come back in April for the wedding!