Monday, January 31, 2011

Where Did the Time Go!?

Okay, can I just say that Jackson is becoming such a big boy?? Of course we're always so excited for each new development and every milestone that  he reaches but seriously where did the time go!? Last night Brian and I stayed up after Jackson was asleep just watching old videos of when I was pregnant and after Jackson was born. It was so funny watching them because we took such long videos of him just doing nothing and we laughed saying, "Him smiling was the most exciting thing we had to videotape!" Now he's doing something new every other day it seems like! He's crawling, sitting up, eating solid foods, and even clapping! Plus he's so big for his age he just seems way to old to be our little baby.




This is Jackson's new way of drinking his bottle. Of course, he's way too independent to let us ever hold the bottle for him. He wants to do things in his own time, on his own terms. So everytime we put him in his bouncer to eat he kicks back, crosses his legs, puts his hand behind his head, and just takes it all in. Oh, to be young : )


Jackson got his first haircut! We love his long hair and don't want to cut it at all but the sides were getting a little long to where they would sit on his ears and make him look a little mullett-y so a trim was necessary. It was hard for mom to cut his beautiful, soft, baby hair but it only ended up being a few snips from the sides and ended up being virtually painless for the both of us



He just has the cutest baby face!

Friday, January 28, 2011

My Best Friend's Birthday

Yesterday was Brian's birthday, so naturally I've been thinking about our last 3 years together and how grateful I am for the amazing husband I've been so blessed with! We met exactly 3 years and 2 weeks ago when my friend Wes Mallett invited me over to Brian's house for a little get together. For some reason I decided to wear jeans and a XL baggy gray fleece zip-up jacket. Later, when trying to understand my thought process in picking out that outfit, Brian thought it went a little something like this: "What can I wear that will accentuate my... Nothing." BUT despite my severe oversite and lack in taste, somehow I still caught Brian's eye. Since that night we met (January 13, 2008) we have seen each other EVERYDAY without fail. In case you're wondering, that is approximately 1,110 days straight.

One of my favorite stories that Brian tells about when we first met is when one day as we were driving together and having a great time and laughing he had this thought in his head: "Even if things don't work out with this girl, we are still going to be best friends." And thats exactly what we are! Best friends that get to live together and have a family together and see each other
every day for a thousand days.

I can't imagine my life without my best friend, husband, and father of Jackson! He's everything I've ever wanted in a husband and more, and I still don't know why he picked me! The dorky girl in a baggy, gray, fleece zip-up that talked about Harry Potter way too much and was way out of her league. Let's just say there was some divine intervention that night : )


So yesterday we celebrated this amazing man's 25th birthday by starting out with some home-made breakfast burritos. We then dropped off Jackson and headed to the beach! We were supposed to go snowboarding that day because you snowboard for free at China Peak, but the night before Jackson got really sick and was throwing up for almost an hour straight until there was nothing left, poor guy! So we decided to stay a little closer to home, and only in California can you decide not to go snowboarding in January and then head over to the beach for some surfing! It was BEAUTIFUL in Morro Bay! It was about 70 degrees and when I got out while Brian stayed in the water to surf a little longer I just took off the top of my wetsuit and layed in the sand soaking up the sun!

Brian and I planned our food very carefully yesterday, wanting to take advantage of every free thing we could! So we headed to Sylvester's in Los Osos for a free burger, then later that night after Brian's class we went to Big Bubba's for a free $20 meal! We ended the night with the only thing he actually asked for, a massage! I felt bad about celebrating his birthday with the Guster concert so early, but we decided that his birthday should just be a month long celebration : ) Because we were so full yesterday I didn't make a birthday dessert, so I'm making it up for him by making his two favorites over the next couple days: My mom's berry/brownie dessert and a Chocolate Malted Crunch ice cream cake. After all, there's still a few days left in January!


Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Weekend Trip to Utah

This last weekend we made the trip to Chris and Darci's wedding at the Timpanogos Temple in Utah. We're so glad we were able to be there as they got married!


Scott and Brittany










 Jackson loves the color red so much and wouldn't stop reaching for Brittany and he red coat!







Brian getting ready to open his early birthday present....


Reading the card that explains that his present would be useful on our roadtrip we're getting ready to take that weekend....


A little excited....


Oh! The new Guster CD!.....


So excited to find out we're going to the Guster concert in Salt Lake that Saturday!!!




We brought in our little point-and-shoot to the concert then realized while we were in there that the memory card was in our new digital camera so we had to take these pictures on my phone. This is the opening band for Guster


I got to touch the lead singer of Guster when he stood on the railing right in front of the crowd! I grabbed his knee then I actually held his hand!! We were so close we were right in the middle and only 3 people back, pretty much the perfect spot!


A last minute picture of us as we were leaving



7 Month Check-up

Most babies have a check-up when they are 6 months, but because of the holidays and our pediatrician going on maternity leave (without our knowledge of her even being pregnant!!) Jackson had his appointment at 7 months. Its always fun to compare Jackson's size to other babies around him and his being a month older at this appointment kind of puts a damper on that fun, but here is how he does at 7 months (the percentiles are for his age group, not compared to other 6 month olds):

Length: 28.5 inches (90th percentile)
Weight: 19 pounds 12 ounces (75th percentile)
Head Size: 47.9 cm (90th percentile)

So far he has pretty consistently been in the 75th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for length, but his head size has been getting higher and higher! He started out being in the 50% when he was born and has been just been going up from there and now he's in the 90%. Mima drove Jackson and I to his appointment so she got to be there to watch him be weighed and measured.

One exciting milestone that he has reached is that he's now crawling! People have been asking for awhile if he could and while he would inch his way forward every once in awhile, we couldn't give a definitive "yes" until now! I swear for Jackson once he starts doing something he just doesn't look back because it happened overnight! One day he's just rolling over and kind of twisting his way forward and the next he's doing the army crawl and there's nowhere he can't get to! Its one of those moments that we've been looking forward to so much but now that he's doing it its a whole new ballgame! Doing the dishes for 5 minutes straight without having to get him away from something (the heater, trashcan, etc.) is such an accomplishment!

More recently, Jackson has started clapping! It actually just happened yesterday as we were driving back from Utah for Chris and Darci's wedding. Its funny because we don't feel like we clap at him a lot so him learning to do so so early is actually kind of a surprise! As we were driving I would look back and he would be clapping to himself so we would encourage him by clapping and saying "Yay!" and ever since he has been doing it nonstop! He wakes up from a nap or I enter the room and there he is clapping with a big smile on his face! We're especially proud because the pediatrician was really impressed when he started doing it at the appointment and she said that its a 9 month skill that he has learned at 7 months! We're such typical proud parents ; )

He's also started eating baby foods. We started giving him rice cereal about a month ago and the doctor told us to now start giving him the jarred fruits and vegetables so we are moving right along to that! Its so fun to be trying all these new things with Jackson, he just gets more and more fun everyday!

Mima and Jackson



Just testing out the new Nikon D5000!








Playing at Boston and Cindy's while mommy tested out the new camera





Another first: Swinging on the swing!






We just love this boy so much!!!