Weekend Snapshots

We went to the County Fair this weekend. It was the first time we have been in a really long time, and Jackson's first visit. Darla had a parking pass, so it we were pretty grateful to not have to load our stroller and baby gear onto the shuttle. Fun times! Brad and Lydia invited us over to watch the Tennessee game....we had fun, but obviously the Vols didn't. Better luck next time.

Baby Brain

I have often heard people mention that when they have a baby, it seems as if part of their brain disappears. As someone who is a little spacey sometimes, this what not good news for me. Examples of some of the not so intelligent experiences I have had prior to Jackson's birth are:
1. Driving away from the gas pump....with the hose still in my car.
2. Cooking frozen pizzas...with the cardboard still on the bottom of the pizza.
3. Walking through Wal-Mart with my skirt split all the way up to my heiny...(please do not try to form a visual)...
Anyway, today at church, I decided to take Jackson to the nursery after praise and worship. He was "talking", and our pastor was getting ready to preach, and I wanted to listen, and didn't want Jackson to disrupt church...so, I dropped him off in the nursery, and he was fine. I went back into the sanctuary, and towards the end of the service, Heather Ward and Addison (I thought) came into church and told me Jackson was crying. She met me in the hall and told me that they couldn't get Jackson to stop crying. So, I sped walked all the way to the nursery to comfort my little boy, all the while Heather followed me. I got to the nursery, and she said, "Alisha....here he is?!?" She had been carrying him the whole time. And I thought it was Addison. I felt so bad. Poor mommy, she needs some sleep!

7 Months Old!

Today, my little Jackaroo is seven months old. Wow! I can't believe that sweet, fragile, little newborn that I held in my arms is now rolling all over the place, sitting up, and trying his best to crawl. Jackson continues to bring more joy and happiness to us every single day.

He is waking up about 8 o'clock each morning. He is nursing about 6 or 7 times per day, and eating cereal twice per day. He has tried all of the first fruits and veggies, and likes all of them pretty well, except peas. We discovered that he will eat green beans, only if they have been warmed in the microwave for 10 seconds....so funny. I am proud to say that he is napping so much better! Yay for mommy! He is going to sleep about 11, and sleeps for about an hour, and again around 4, for another hour or so. He is going to sleep at night about 7:45...lately, he has been waking up again to eat around midnight, or just wanting his pacifier, or maybe it is more teeth...he hasn't told me why yet! Trial and error, I guess. Ha!

He loves his Exersaucer, and just chillaxin' on a blanket on the floor with a few toys and books. He also enjoys being outside, and having his little tummy tickled. Hmmm....he is wearing 6-9 month clothes now, and we recently changed over to Huggies diapers, instead of Pampers, and he is wearing a size 2. He broke out in a horrible rash when we tried to use the Cruisers. I think that is all that is new with Mr. Jack. We just love him so much!

Here are some pictures from our day today.

Just One of those Days

"I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all." Laura Ingalls Wilder

Today was just one of those days that you wish you could put in a bottle and keep forever. Jackson and I both slept in until almost 8:00. We lounged around in our pajamas until after 11:00. I did some laundry and vacuumed, and we watched Baby Einstein, "Old McDonald." Jackson napped, and I pulled everything out of our bedroom closet, and my mom stopped by and helped me rearrange/reorganize the chaos that lived inside of our closet. I got rid of 2 garbage bags full of random stuff, and some clothes that I haven't worn since I was in college, seriously. When Blake got home today, we spread out a huge blanket in the backyard, and spent some time together. Even Lady got in on the fun. The weather was perfect, and Jackson loved being outdoors. We stayed outside for a long time, with just the breeze blowing on our faces. It was a perfect afternoon.


My Two Boys!

He closed his eyes everytime the wind blew.

Memo: Attention All Dunder Mifflin Employees

Okay, so tomorrow the season premier of Blake and my favorite show, The Office, is coming on NBC at 9:00. We are so excited! I previously have not been an Office fan, and spent Thursday nights watching Grey's Anatomy, but got addicted to the show the first 6 weeks of Jackson's life. I started with Season 1, and watched one episode during each feeding session with Jackson, approximately 23 minutes. Blake and I have joked around stating that the theme song will create a Pavlovian response with our son, and that he will think it is time to eat every time he hears that song.

So without further ado, Blake and I would like to share with you our predictions of this season of The Office.
1) Jim and Pam - Their romance will mimick another popular NBC show, Friends, and the love saga between Jim and Pam will be exactly like Ross and Rachel.

2) Pam - Pam will no longer be an employee of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and will move to enroll in art school.

3) Dwight K. Shrute - Oh how our most favorite Beet Farmer has been sucked in to the oddest love triangle known to man. Dwight and Andy will definitely have a show down for Angela's heart (or whatever beats in her chest). We are sure it will include Dwight's incredible purple belt Karate skills matched up against Andy's freshmen self defense class he took at a particular university. Cornell ... Ever heard of it?

4) Michael Scott - He totally is going to be torn between two women, the new HR woman, and his long love, Jan Levinson Gould ( whoops! No Gould.) Who will he end up with? It is very obvious that the new lady from HR is the female Michael Scott; however, Jan is pregnant, and Michael might feel obligated to tie the knot with her. Our bet is he ends up with Jan.

5) Toby?? Is he really gone? We think not. Toby will be back this year.

That's all the predictions we have. You let us know what you predict. Happy Viewing. I suggest ice cream sandwiches and Awesome Blossom, extra awesome.

Alisha and Blake
Co-Presidents of the Committee to Plan Parties

The Sweetest Sound

In the evenings, after dinner has been cooked, and the kitchen has been cleaned, we most always have family time together, just the three of us. Sometimes we go for walks, sometimes we sit on the back porch and just chat, and some days, we just spread a big quilt out in Jackson's nursery floor, and play, talk, and read books with him. Tonight we were all sitting on the quilt, and Jackson was playing with his little cell phone that he loves, and Blake starting tickling his belly. He started giggling and laughing so hard he could hardly catch a breath! His little tummy is so ticklish, and I just love hearing that sweet sound of an innocent, sweet, baby laugh. That baby laugh is on my list of sweet sounds, right under my favorite: the first time I heard his cry on the day he was born!

Sunday Snapshots

Jackson pulling Granny's hair!

All of the Grandchildren and Great Grandchild!

I bought this outfit for Jackson the day I found out he was a baby boy!

Hi, mommy!

Ready for the big leagues!

Bagels and Birthdays

Last night, we were invited to our first family get together at Brad and Lydia's new place, most commonly known as "The Freemansion." We were invited over to celebrate Lydia's birthday with Lydia and Brad's parents. They had prepared a wonderful spaghetti dinner, salad, and garlic bread. For dessert, we had a choice of cookie cake, or funfetti cake...yummy! After Lydia opened her gifts, Blake, Jackson, and I stayed behind and and watched the first episode of Season 4 of The Office. We didn't get home last night until about 11:00. We had such a fun time hanging out with the newest Freeman's.

Blake and I have started new bimonthly tradition that we hope to keep doing...We always go grocery shopping together every other Saturday. We always go with a well planned and thought out list, and can usually not have to return to the grocery store for two weeks (unless we need more milk, bread, etc.). Since Jackson has joined our family, we don't sleep in on Saturday's anymore, so after he wakes up on Saturday morning (usually around 7), we get dressed in "Saturday clothes" (running shorts, tennis shoes, no make up), and head to Panera for breakfast. After we are finished with our breakfast, we finalize our menu for the next two weeks, finalize our list, and head to Super Bi Lo, for our grocery trip. We had alot of fun today....We got everything we needed for our meals for the coming weeks, and I bought ingredients for a new recipe, Chicken Tortilla Soup. I can't wait to make it this week!

Tomorrow, we are celebrating another birthday. We will be celebrating Granny Freeman's 80th birthday. More birthday cake, yummy!

Which Child Is It?

Blake is a very deep sleeper, even more so when he is very tired. Chasing a couple of hundred middle schoolers makes him exhausted, not to mention he has some allergies that are giving him some sinus issues. No fun for him! Blake is infamous for making very funny comments, which make for very funny stories, when he is awakened from a slumber suddenly. I have many hilarious stories from the first few weeks at home with a newborn that are definitly worthy of a stand up comedy routine. Last night around midnight, Jackson started crying (possible pacifier retrievel or midnight snack, I don't even remember). I got up and was walking towards Jackson's room, and Blake asks me, "Which child is it?" I looked at him, and said, "As in children????" He then says, "Nevermind, I know what I am saying," and went back to sleep." This afternoon, we were discussing our dialogue from the previous night, and he remembered that he had been dreaming that we had a houseful of children that were running around everywhere. Hmmm.....I wonder what that was supposed to mean....

Sitting Up!

Jackson has been sitting up, with support, for a couple of weeks. For the past couple of days, he has started sitting up on his own! He looks like such a big boy. He is so curious about everything he can get his chubby little hands on, and I love it! He has also started scooting around on the floor backwards. Yesterday, I was in his nursery putting some laundry away, and Jackson was laying on his play mat. By the time I was finished putting away his towels, he was under the rocking chair! I can't believe he is growing so fast!

My Sweet Little Piranha

Webster defines pi·ra·nha as "a small South American fish that has very sharp teeth that may attack and inflict dangerous wounds upon humans." With that being stated, my sweet 6 month old baby just had his fifth tooth make a grand appearance this morning, sometime between midnight and 4 a.m. As many teeth arrive in pairs, number 6 is on its way. The first two teeth that Jackson cut did not give him any problems at all. But, the front teeth, and the set of bottom teeth that most recently came in, have really made it difficult for him to sleep, and he also had a bit of a runny nose. Poor baby. He bit my finger at work this morning (I was checking for more teeth), and it really hurt. Those teeth are REALLY sharp. I must admit, I am getting a little apprehensive at the beginning of each feeding.....I really hope that my little piranha does not inflict any dangerous wounds upon me.....

Alisha

Late Comers!!

We have finally made the jump to blogger. Our babysite expires on Saturday, so we decided to follow the crowd and create a blog. Our only hope is that in the future, we can be the ones who come up with what website to use and everyone will follow us.
Maybe http://www.weareawesomeandpeoplewanttoreadaboutussodeleteyourlameblogpageandpostthegrossdetailsofyourlifeonthissite.org/.

It's a nonprofit site.

We hope that you will enjoy our future installment of what life is like onLightning Drive and with our wonderful Jackson.

Ta Ta for now. You are awesome and I am...

Yours,
Blake