8 Months and on the Move

Well, another month has come and gone and I can't believe we're already here! Jackson continues to be a very happy baby and loves to explore and learn new things...especially now that he crawls!!!  I have quickly discovered how un-baby proof our already baby-proofed house is, haha.  Each day he gets faster and faster and I'm loving every moment of it! I may not have much time to myself these days, but the days sure are becoming more eventful.  As such, this will be a short and sweet post :)

Jackson is definitely a Hochstrasser baby!  He refuses the binky and demands his thumb!

He is very proud of the new tricks he's learning: aka crawl and play with the outlets, crawl and pull books off the shelf, and (as he's doing here) book it for the computer/tv cords before mom catches me!  He was caught red-handed :)

 

Here's a video clip of Jackson crawling the day after he learned how to.  He has become more and more speedy with each passing day!

Thankfully, some of Jackson's naps are going much better.  He's not taking only 30 minute naps - YAY!!!  Here's the sleepy boy during one of his 1 1/2 hour nappers!!!

 

One of our favorite games to play is peek-a-boo...and now Jackson likes to pull the blanket from his face himself, hehe. 

8 months ago I was overjoyed to welcome Jackson into our family.  And now that we've had many days and nights together, some rough others fun, I am still overjoyed for this little blessing in my life! 

Happy 6 Months Jackson!

I can't believe my baby is already 6 months old!  Each month, week and day I am blessed to see his amazing progress and growth.  The newborn baby phase of winter has passed and he is now a big 6 month baby!  Let the months of moving onto mobility begin.  

Jackson's Personality Shining Through

Most days Jackson is my sunshine, angel baby... always ready to greet me with a BIG smile:

But, here and there he likes to add a bit of color to that sunshine personality of his.  

Sometimes he just wants to cry: 

Other times he says, "Mom, stop feeding me!  Can't you see the blue sky outside the window...it's sooooo interesting."

Of course, Jackson has mastered his "you know I'm cute"face - and he really is good at wooing the girls.  He gave this face to his Pediatrician to convince her to hold off on his shots because he had been recently sick...and who could say no to this face?!

"What are you doing? This is just too weird.  Put the camera away already!"

Uh oh, something just feels off here:

When Jackson is completely attentive on something he finds new and unexplainable, 

he concentrates hard and makes this funny face:

Photo Shoot!

I have LOVED being a stay-at-home mom with my little guy!  Yes, we've had our rough days; but those are definitely outweighed by the happy ones.  Something I've been trying to do periodically is have a photo shoot day (or morning).  On these days I dress him all cute-like and take lots of photos.  He is growing so fast that I can't seem to get enough photos!  And each time I've looked back on them, not only have I smiled because I love seeing my baby, but I also smile for the memories of that day.  These photo shoots really have helped to cement these days as unique and memorable.  

The first photo shoot day I dressed Jackson up in his Grandpa Mark's baby outfit.  My Grandma Willey saved it for her first great-grandson. 

 I really love the second of these two and want to get a large copy of it framed :)

 For Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Easter my Aunt Janeen bought Jackson an assortment of outfits.  Amongst them I found one that I completely fell in love with.  

Welcome Froggy Photo shoot!!!

 (And how could I not capture that cute bum!)

Off With the Photo Shoots and Onto the Trip 

 For Jackson's first day trip, we took him to the San Antonio Preserve on a short hike.  We've taken Jackson loads of places and on various trips of varying lengths, but usually he sleeps right through them. Now that Jackson is getting older it's harder for him to nap away from home so we have to go places while he is awake.  The San Antonio Preserve was one of the first "trips"(it's only 20 minutes from our home) that Jackson was awake for to enjoy - not including any grocery or shopping trips :P

Here's me and Jackson prior to the hike: 

On the way back we decided we better take some family photos before the hike was done and the moment gone. 

Jackson and Daddy (I love how attentive Jackson is here!):

Jackson and Mommy 

(Jack-Jack is going through a stick-out-your-tongue-and-blow-bubbles phase - super cute, hehe):

Things Jackson Loves To Do This Month / Accomplishments

He discovered his toes and is constantly trying to catch them:

Spot the dog is one of Jackson's favorite toys...I can't tell who is bigger :P

He LOVES to read books...especially if he gets to hold it.

Jackson takes many short-short naps a day.  Hey, playing can be exhausting.  A

nd every once in a while he doesn't make it to his crib:

"Look everyone!  Did you see it? Did you see it?  I rolled over consecutively this month!!!"

With Jackson's new mobility he feels very successful when he gets his own toys.  

Jackson loves to smile for the camera...granted this isn't something new, this photo was just too adorable not to include :)

Lately, Jackson has found that he loves to take a bath.  I've been filling the tub deeper and letting him enjoy splashing about.  He absolutely finds it thrilling to flail his arms and pull his feet way up just to slap them back down into the water.  It is so fun to play with him in the tub.  Now whenever I give Jackson a bath I get one too.  

 As Jackson has learned to roll over and scoot inches at a time (which, did I mention he can cross the living room), he has begun to strengthen his core muscles in anticipation for crawling.  To do this, he does the "Superman" move practically all day.  I think he can even do it longer than me! 

Probably one of the most exciting things that has happened this month was starting Jackson on solids!  Jordan says I enjoy feeding Jackson more than he enjoys eating, but I'm just happy it's so fun for the both of us.  He's only had rice cereal so far, but he loves to sit in his highchair and eat.  He also likes to take the spoon from me and put it in his own mouth.  

I hope you enjoyed seeing 6 month old Jackson at a glance!  I love being his mom!!!  And I am so grateful to have such a wonderful husband like Jordan.  He is a great dad and I have found watching him and Jackson interact to be a joy.  Jackson lights up when Daddy gets him in the morning (or when he gets home at night if Jackson is still awake).  My boys bring smiles to my face every day :)

Jack-Jack Attack!

Yes, Jackson has entered Jack-Jack Attack mode - the mode of Jackson taking action!  He's not having tantrum fits or being overly weepy (at least for now), rather he has discovered the wonders of motion!

 Many times after naps or in the morning we'll find him a foot or two further up in the crib than where he started, haha.  Here's a photo of him taking a nap in his crib (sorry it's dark...but I feared turning on the light would wake him):

Another matter of motion he's discovered is avoiding tummy time.  He'll be on tummy time and get frustrated with it...so he'll roll over!  YES - HE ROLLS NOW!!!  I was so tickled the first time he did it (yesterday) I started to clap and shout, "YAY JACKSON!" I think I scared him, haha.  Ever since I have been putting him on tummy time more ofter, hoping to catch it on tape. And I did!  This is documentation of roll over number 4 (please pardon my silly baby talk voice in this clip):

 Jackson is growing sooo fast!  Today I cuddled with him for a couple hours while he slept...something I know I won't be able to do much longer.  And although I realize that I'll miss these moments I am grateful to be able to witness each little achievement he makes: smiling, laughing, cooing, grabbing a rattle, rolling over, and so much more! 

Jackson in all his Cuteness!

 We have sooo many cute photos of Jackson that just don't necessarily fit with one blog post or another...and who wants to miss out on baby photos?!   So, I decided to write a quick post about Jackson and how cute, loveable, funny, and great he is!!!!

 Jackson is not a big fan of putting on his Sunday clothes, but once dressed he is a happy baby again.  And he just looks too cute in those onsie church shirts!!!  

Especially when just sporting it with a diaper :P

Sometimes Jackson doesn't want to nap, but I can tell he's just beyond tired.  So I bring him into Jordan's and my bed and cuddle with him until he falls asleep.  I LOVE cuddling and am trying to get as much cuddle time from Jackson as possible.  I know pretty soon he'll be crawling all over the place and then cuddle time will be out the window!

And I just love watching him sleep!  He just looks so peaceful and cute :)  Here are a couple photos of Jackson curled up and ready to dream sweet dreams. 

 Jordan and I are soooo grateful to have this bundle of joy in our lives.  He makes us laugh; he makes us smile!  And I am extremely grateful for them both...couldn't ask for a better, more loving husband and such a joyous angel baby!!! 

Bath Time!

Last Sunday Jordan and I gave Jackson his first bath!  As with most babies, the sink made for a perfect bathtub.  

And since Jackson's Great Aunt Janeen (dubbed Grandma Janeen, hehe) has made a theme of turtle and frog onsies, hats, mittens, and PJs...I couldn't resist the cute bath mat that was turtle shaped!  It just was too fun and only a couple dollars more than the regular, boring bath mats.

Now, like most babies, Jackson doesn't like to be cold and has thus never liked it when we've changed his clothes.  Well, let's just say bath time was no exception.

Jackson only cried for about a minute and then calmed right down; which was nice for photos, seeing as the whole bath only lasted 5 minutes, haha. 

Jackson's favorite part of the whole affair was cuddle time with mommy all wrapped up in his big towel.  

 

He was happy just cradled there.

It may have been my favorite part too...I really like to just hold and enjoy Jackson.  You know, when you can hold your baby just to hold him and not because you have to feed him or change his diaper. 

Here's Jackson in all his cuteness!  

He has set high standards on good looks for future siblings (hehe).

This picture makes one of my top 10!

Jordan and I loved giving Jackson his first bath and are looking forward to bath number two.  Hopefully this time Jackson won't pee on me while Jordan runs for cover, hahaha.  And, yes, that is a true story.

Goodbye 2nd Trimester!

The second trimester is coming to a close and the third trimester is about to begin.  I can't believe how fast time has gone by...already 26 weeks!  And for the first time, just a couple days ago, a stranger asked when I was expecting.  That was an exciting moment - knowing that I've "popped".  

With the end of the 2nd trimester, also comes many new and exciting changes for Jordan and I.  First of all, I quit nannying a week or so prior to our St. Louis trip and am now prepping for our big move into a 2 BR apartment.  House hunting is slow, but keeps me busy.  I even put together a "packing/cleaning plan" so that come the moving date everything is ready to go without rushing to get things done at the last minute.

Granted, life would be pretty tedious and boring if packing and apartment hunting was all I did.  Another pass-time that has brought many hours of entertainment and great deals is freecycle.  This is a website that allows people to post things they're getting rid of for free in the area.  I signed up for the Los Altos group...it's a more established and well-off part of the Bay area.  One of my first finds was a Christmas Advent Calendar.  

This project was started, but never finished by its previous owner.  So I took on the task.  I nailed, sanded, painted and assembled most all parts.  I must say, I was pretty excited with the end result.  

Each day leading up to Christmas the numbered boxes have a new ornament to add to the tree.  By Christmas you have a decked out tree: 

With the stockings I'm making and this new advent calendar, I'm feeling our home will be much more of a Winter Wonderland this year :)

Freecycle has also been the source of many great finds.  This past week, I found a Pali crib being given away for free.  Come to find out, the crib was in practically new condition - barely a scratch or ding to be seen!  (Not viewed below because it's now disassembled for the move).  After packing up the crib, the family also asked if we'd like a portable high chair.  Of course, I said yes.  And after washing it up, it's also proven to be quite a find.  Not only is it in great condition, but I was glad that it has neutral coloring!  

Jordan and I are feeling so blessed right now.  Yes, the expenses of a baby aren't too extreme, but when you think of all the little and big things you absolutely need it's sometimes a bit overwhelming.  The generosity of our friends and family in helping us to prepare for our little guy has meant so much to us.  And receiving the crib and high chair in practically new condition, for free has been the cherry on top...filling us with much gratitude.  

Lastly, I'd like to share my most recent baby project - a swaddling blanket.  Some of you may remember that I made one for my Visiting Teachee.  It turned out so cute I just had to make one for our little guy too.  You can' have too many blankets!

In case you can't tell, the back is checkered yellow and white, the front has little elephants all over that say "stomp".   

I suppose it's no wonder with following freecycle, house hunting, preparing to move, and doing baby crafts that time has flown by.  With each day and each kick from the baby I get a bit more excited for our little guy!