A visit to Granny and PawPaws!

WE have had an amazing day..oh yeah! He is getting better and better every day. Today, we haven't even needed to do the sauna, or the automatic aspirator!!! He is just left with a tad bit of a runny nose and thats it! He was loud and talkative all day and I had to keep reminding myself "I missed his voice when it was gone, I missed his voice when it was gone"!!!

We have laid low since last week, but today we went to my grandparents to see the new house they have bought in The Woodlands! They have been in and out of buying an official "retirement" house for the last 10 years or maybe even more. BUT they finally did it and settled. I am soo excited and happy for them and the house is just perfect for them. I posted some pictures below.

The front:

Right when you walk in:

View from family room to front door:

Family room:

View from family room to backyard:

Kitchen view from family room:

There are 4 Bedrooms downstairs, one is master.

Here is the master bath: (at least the part I like, dont even get me started on the HUGE closet!)

Right when you go up the stairs you have this bathroom to the right:

And this game room open in front of you. To the right of the game room is a media room that they are going to turn into another guest room!

Nice right?!!!! I cant wait for Family Holidays there.

Jackson had a blast out there with us looking at the house and then enjoyed some more attention back at their house after lunch. I am so blessed to have such wonderful grandparents who are able to enjoy him and the best part is, he enjoys them too...you can tell by the many smiles in the pictures!!!

Anyways, tonight is Taylor's soccer game, so Jackson gets to watch his dad play and we are really excited about that. Hopefully the good and happy mood will last! Oh and can I say Thank you GOD for this weather? AMEN!!!!

Snot what we thought it was......

Welp, good news, its not strep....YAY!!!! So that means it is just the good ol run of the mill Cold. With lots and lots and lots of snot. Thus the first word in the title of this post. I really crack myself up. He is getting better, but still sounds congested, but at least he has his voice back for the most part. The automatic aspirator (in post below) has been working beautifully. This evening he didnt even cry with it! We have both a humidifier and a vaporizer in his room doing their magic and I really think that is helping. Along with the steam saunas and vapor baths, I tell yah, Taylor and I are c-l-e-a-n-e-d out.

I am so ready for him to be 100% better though. This afternoon he was really grouchy after he woke up from his nap, so thank god for Praise Baby, he hung out in his bouncy seat and watched that happily:

He also had his first successful try at a sippy cup, way to go buddy!

Here are those two teeth we were mentioning a few posts back...can you see them?...I know its hard, Ill try to get a better shot. By the way, those suckers are sharp.

Oh and I forgot to mention he was almost 19lbs at the doctor on Thursday. So anyways, that is about it on our home front with the little guy. We (meaning Taylor) did yardwork today...THANK GOD...it so needed some TLC. I think our neighbors were beginning to talk ;) Also way to go Ags, for bringing home another win. Making this family super proud and more confident than we have been in a long time!

Hopefully this week will include a visit from Grandma, and this coming weekend is a visit from Uncle Jack, Aunt Livvy and Madison..YAY!!! So cleaning the house is on high priority. Take care and have a great week.

Meanwhile we will keep on getting cuter and cuter!

My Poor Poor Baby

Jackson has his first official sickness. Runny nose, then stuffy nose, then coughing, you get the picture. He is not running a fever. The doctor (I took him this morning) said he either has a viral cold infection, which is going around like crazy; OR he has strep which he tested positive for initially. She said it probably is a false positive but they are waiting on the culture to either grow bacteria or not, which will be definite by tomorrow afternoon. Because of the initial positive she started him on an antibiotic just to be on the safe side (flash backs to when he was born and decided to not breathe (twice) and they couldn't find anything wrong with him so he was in NICU on antibiotics until the blood culture came back 48 hours later NEGATIVE!!!). SO here we are, alternating steam sauna in bathroom to loosen up mucus, plus automatic aspirator (pic below)

It is the Graco Automatic Aspirator and it plays 15 different songs as well! If you havent bought one of these you should, its a MUST and so far he is tolerating it a WHOLE lot more than the manual kind. By tolerating it, I mean he isnt screaming his head off, causing gagging, thus causing more drainage, then taking many minutes to calm down only to start it all over again. UGH.

Meanwhile he is a happy camper when he isnt tired, his appetite is still good, not as good as normal but still good. He just sounds awful bc of the scratchy throat, so when he tries to squeal or laugh or cry, its all raspy and whispery like. I never thought I would say this but I want his loud voice back!!! Crazy how when you ask for your eardrums to get a break, God grants it. Be careful what you wish for my friends!

Doesn't look too sick huh?

Now if Tay and I could only get some sleep at night. Too busy helping the little one breathe.

Have a great weekend,

there will be lots of good football...

Tech Vs. UH and of course

the AGGIES play uab.

GIG EM AGS!!!

Beat the hell outta uab!

Oh What a Night.. But this time I REALLY mean it!!

Another amazing night my friends, so Im leaving the song on the playlist.

WHY??? You ask?

JACKSON'S TEETH BROKE FREE!!!!

YAY JACKSON!!!!

Now, trying to get a picture of this monumental event that took place over night is I am realizing near impossible. So judging by the 5 times I tried to get it this morning, there may or may not be a picture coming. HOWEVER, I will try. He wiggles like a fish and sticks that tongue in the way, wish me luck!

BUT since I know you are all dying for some pictures, here is some from yesterday. Dixie has found a new happy place.

On Jacksons lap,

and he doesnt mind.

Because he loves her dearly.

Already best friends forever. Awwwww!

"Oh what a night..bum bum bum...bum bum bum bum.."

Your singing the song right now right? If not, turn your speakers up, that should do the trick.

I am ALL about sharing songs that are stuck in my head so that they in turn become stuck in yours. I am an equal opportunity song stuck in a head-er. HA!

But seriously.."Oh what a night"!

THE AGGIES WON....AGAIN!!! YAY!!!!!

We had a great day, taking Jackson up to College Station. I so was not going to submit him to Kyle Field just yet, so he hung out with Cami and Papa J,

at Taylors cousins house, Bill and Johnna. Believe me, he had a GREAT time. His 2nd cousins were all there:

Jackson, Anna Kate, Maggie, Hardy, and Joy

And he loved watching them play, laugh, fight over Thomas the Train, love on each other, and then crash from sheer exhaustion! He however didnt sleep very well because...BIG NEWS:

He's getting his two bottom teeth in!!!

YAY!!!

You can see a little white under the gums and the gums are starting to get swollen. He has been randomly fussy and restless at night for the last couple weeks, and I kept thinking it HAD to be the teeth, but never saw anything and then yesterday morning...WE SAW EM!!!

So we shall see how long it takes for those babies to pop through. THIS is the hard part I hear!

The weekend ended up with us making a stop in Brenham to see my best friend Brooke's little girl, Swayzee celebrate her 2nd Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWAYZEE GRACE,

I LOVE YOU AND AM HAVING SO MUCH FUN WATCHING YOU GROW!

Now, Taylor and I are seriously exhausted and worn out from the never ending night of air mattress sleeping and getting up to soothe teething baby. We may actually be in bed, just like Jackson by 8. No lie :)

To my Red Raider Brother and Wife: I am sorry you guys lost last night, feel free to come over and spend some cheer up time with Jackson. He really does make everything better:)

Oh and for some really good pictures hop on over to Uncle Jack, Aunt Olivia and Madison's blog to see what we were up to on our visit to Killeen last week!

Talking baby....

This week went by so quickly....ONCE I got my internet all sorted out that is! Jackson and I made a quick trip to see Taylor's folks, Cami and Papa J in Killeen on Tuesday and we came back yesterday (Thursday). All I can say is this boy is a S-P-O-I-L-E-D Squirrel. Cami and Papa J, set up his winter wardrobe, THANK YOU, Gave him lots of kisses and hugs and attention. His Uncle Jack, Aunt Olivia and cousin Madison came by to see him as well.

So to put it mildly, he got some really good one on one action. AND yes, he is going through withdrawals today. Actually had what I would call the meltdown of '09 in the car this afternoon. OF COURSE when I climbed back there (Taylor was driving) and started giving him kisses and singing to him, he was immediately calmed. Dont even think you wouldnt do the same if your kid was screaming AND I MEAN SCREAMING in the backseat. None of that "Cry it out, BS is tolerable in that small environment". Oh and no, I am SURE there was nothing else wrong with him. Oh well, he is such a happy, smiley, giggly, TALKATIVE (all the time) soul, I should be able to take a meltdown or two every now and then.

Here are some pictures I took from the awesome visit. It was too short, but we will see them this weekend while they babysit Jackson during the aTm game. Olivia and Camille took some good pics so hopefully Ill get copies of those to post also. I dont have one of Camille and Jackson on my camera :( so as soon as I get one that we took with other cameras, Ill post it! So sorry Camille!

Love this picture with Olivia. Soo sweet!

Uncle Jack, manning the bean bag boy.

I highly recommend a bean bag for a baby FYI!

Madison reading to Jackson

NOW about the talking I mentioned a few paragraphs up.

Here is my ode to all friends and family:

I am sorry. So very sorry.

I should have been more, ahem, well, non talkative,

basically my whole life past.

I am sorry.

My child, Whom I love more than anything,

is talkative....

JUST like his momma.

AND loud.

Just like his momma.

He even talks himself to sleep...seriously,

and Im sorry.

There, I said it.

I am being paid back.

......Sigh........

Just like my mother threatened.

..Sigh....

AT least tomorrow is aggie football, and at the games....my talking loudly (only during appropriate times that is) is necessary.

There is a place for Jackson and I at least, where we are truly accepted.

Thank you Kyle Field.

There are no words....

I must fill you in before you look at the following pictures. Jackson has big ol cheeks so we decided he should go as a Squirrel for Halloween. When we got the costume it was WAY to big. But we put it on him to see what it looked like, and really, well, there are no words.

I will say that Taylor and I were laughing so hard we were crying.

Now I have to figure out what can possibly top this that fits him for Halloween.

$$$Now...Anyone interested in this adorable squirrel costume? Its size 12 months and super cute. Email me if your interested. Model NOT included!

Catch-Up (said the onion to the squashed tomato)...

SOOOO sorry I haven’t updated in a week. My phone AND internet went out and I had to have a guy come out to fix it, 4 different times, still not completely fixed so no 5 month slideshow yet. Its an uploading problem. I am not kidding, I think I went through withdrawals from many technology related addictions. One of them being this blog. I try to update every few days, so this was killer, no lie. Maranda said I had dropped to 6^th or so on her list of blogs...I am always 1^st or 2^nd. Terrifying, really. I made it though. Im okay, a little frazzled and withdrawn but okay. Thanks for your concern :)

Okay so get your seat cushions, its a super long blog to catch you up. I wanted to make it shorter but we do know that it is me we are talking about and if I get a little sidetracked and write more than a few words, well, its okay bc that’s just my style friends! If you just want to get to the Jackson stuff, scroll down where it says Jackson is 5 Months Old! Thats where you find the purpose of this blog!!!

Last Sunday was the “Florida or Bust” party Chelsea and I threw for Matt and Jordan. The food was delicious (man, my brother Troy CAN smoke some brisket I tell yah), and the company was even better. Jackson woke up grumpy Sun, lets just say it NEVER got better and the day that Taylor and I thought we would barely have to hold our child bc of all the family wanting to get their turn turned into a day we HAD to hold our child most of the time bc, its like hot potato, no one wanted to be holding the baby when he decided to cry!!! Which was often unfortunately. Here is a picture of Matt and Jordan at the party. Thank you Aunt Chelsea for finally being able to soothe the crying baby!

Tuesday was a really hard day for us. Emotionally that is. We dropped Jackson off at Marandas (Everyone take a second to thank god for best friends) so she could babysit while we went to Lana’s Celebration Service in the Woodlands. It was such a beautiful service. I really walked away just feeling so full of the love and spirit that was packed in that place of worship. We celebrated her life, and listened to friends and family speak amazing words about Lana. She WAS and IS amazing. You should read their blog, it is very spiritually motivating. Really makes you want to be a better Christian. Very emotional morning. Jackson had a great time at Maranda’s, here are some pictures of that:

Watching TV..some babysitter that is...he he he!

Jake found a new recliner, and no that is NOT his car seat.

Tori and Jackson resting on the floor.

Jake loved the iguana eye on Jacksons shirt!

And when he pointed it out to Jackson, he loved it too!

Really there are no words for this picture

Too cute.

THEN that night we had dinner with Troy, Chelsea, Matt and Jordan to say goodbye. We wont see them until Thanksgiving, which will be the longest I have gone without seeing my brother. It stinks. No lie. I will miss them A LOT. Really I will miss being able to just get together for dinner or lunch and the availability that comes with family living close by. They will have so much fun in Miami though. WEAR LOTS OF SUNSCREEN GUYS!!!! Jackson is definitely going to miss them, hopefully we can try and go up there next summer/spring. Here are a few pics from our dinner.

In mid bounce

The rest of the week went by in a blur, just really not much going on. Yesterday we went to Riley's bday party..HAPPY 3rd BDAY Riley! And in the evening we went to see the grandparents perform at their church. Jackson loved it. Anything with lights, music and action and he is GAME! This morning we ended up the weekend with church, and another visit from Comcast (thanks to that guy I can do my blog now :))

NOW the big stuff about Jackson:

WEDNESDAY HE TURNED 5 MONTHS OLD!!!!!!

Another month down. I really cant believe that he is almost half a year old. It seems like just yesterday I had my big ol belly. Well maybe that’s bc I am still so flubby, I might be in denial on how long the flub has stayed around.

Here’s what Jackson has accomplished this last month:

~Has eaten and LOVED sweet potatoes, applesauce, avocado, pears, bananas, and carrots. DOES NOT like (icky faces and gagging noises included) green beans or sweet peas. (unless we trick him and mix it with sweet potatoes).

~Loves to be where we are, does not like to be left alone. Ham much? So did not get that from me ;)

~Is a Jumping Jumparoo in his Jumper. He goes TO TOWN in that thing! When he is not in the Jumper he still jumps around on your lap. He is part rabbit, I think. Or kangaroo.

~Is VERY interested in the dog at all times pretty much. Grabs at her hair (poor girl), she gives him kisses.

~Flipping over like a pancake when on the floor. Really good at rolling around now. Yesterday he rotated about 180 degrees to get closer to a toy.

~Is scooching around on his tummy. No lift off yet!

~Sitting up really well, almost without any help at all for a period of time.

~ Smiles and laughs A LOT.

~Sits in his little bath tub like a big boy. No more leaning back.

~Plays in the water a little, trying to grab at his toys floating around in there.

~Started lifting his arms when he wants to be picked up. So cute.

~actually playing with his toys, grabbing for them, etc.

~Just overall he is growing and learning so quickly. Its just crazy.

He is a pure joy and so much fun. I will post a link to his slideshow when I get it done, should be tomorrow. I am loving every minute with this kiddo and really excited to see what the next month brings.

One Month

Five Months!

AND weighing in now at 18lbs.

I have failed miserably at a few short words. I may need an intervention. Really though, I have been without internet and phone so is anyone surprised I need to “purge” myself a little? Didn’t think so.

Have a great few days friends, we will catch up again soon :) Like probably tomorrow. I cant help it, I am addicted like I said and this past week was R-O-U-G-H on me. Just ask my friends, or Taylor, or Jackson, or the self help line I tied up for like 38 hours! Just kidding!