Jackson's First Vacation

Jackson's first vacation was a huge success! He had a wonderful time and was a perfect little angel. We left for Pigeon Forge Friday night when Fred got home from work. We arrived in Pigeon Forge around 10:00. Jackson slept most of the way.

We woke up Saturday morning and ate breakfast at Mama's Farmhouse. It was outstanding! If you visit Pigeon Forge, I highly recommend the place. We then headed to the Tanger Five Oaks Outlet. Carter's was having a $5 sale, so Jackson got some new clothes. He is growing so fast. He is now wearing a 9 months. We stopped by the hotel for a little rest and a diaper change before going to the Incredible Christmas Place. I always get a personalized ornament each year, and I got to purchase one with 3 bears on it this year. :) We then went to Bennett's BBQ for lunch. It was really yummy. We did a little more shopping, and Jackson fell asleep. We went back to the room to let him take a little nap. For an afternoon snack, we went to the Apple Barn for a fried apple pie with ice cream. Outstanding! We browsed around in the shops at the Apple Barn and then went to the Old Mill Square to do some browsing. That night, we ate at the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant. It was really yummy, especially the apple fritters.

On Sunday, we started off our day by eating breakfast at the Smokies Breakfast House. I had some delicious french toast, and Fred had peanut butter pancakes. We then headed to DollyWood. Jackson absolutely loved DollyWood! He didn't cry even once while we were there. We purchased a super cute picture of Jackson and one of the three of us. We also bought Jackson a little DollyWood outfit. Dolly was actually in the park, but we didn't see her. :( After leaving DollyWood, we ate lunch at the Pottery House Cafe. It was delicious. We then went back to the hotel because Jackson was exhausted. He slept for a couple of hours. Around 5:00, we headed to the Black Bear Jamboree. Jackson loved the show. He watched the entire thing! After the show, we walked around Wal-Mart while Jackson slept in the buggy.

On Monday, we slept late and then went to Red Rooster Pancake House for breakfast. I had the chocolate eclair pancakes, and they were out of this world delicious! You must try them if you go. We did a little more shopping before heading back to Greenville. The trip was a huge success, and we can't wait to go back! We had so much fun!

Brave Parents

Well, Fred and I are taking somehwat of a risk this weekend. Jackson has never been on any kind of a long trip other than to see his grandparents in Mississippi. Tomorrow night we are leaving for our first official family vacation. Yay! It will just be a short trip to Pigeon Forge. We are leaving when Fred gets home from work Friday and returning home on Monday. Hotel rooms are so much cheaper before Labor Day weekend, and we desperately need to get away. Fred has been working so hard on his DDR, and he deserves some rest and relaxation. While I am very excited about the trip, I am just hoping that Jackson will have a good time. He is really a good little sport when it comes to traveling, and I am hoping this trip will be no exception. I am also hoping the weather will be nice. There is a slight chance for rain, but it's not a big one. Fred and I have season passes to DollyWood, and we are looking forward to strolling our little bundle of energy around the park. I will do my best to make lots of pictures. :)

Jackson's Best Buys

I thought I would compile a list of the baby products that have been a tremendous help to us. As new parents, everything was pretty much trial and error. We would read reviews and listen to other people's suggestions. Some products that others loved were no help to us, and other products were amazing! Anyway, I hope this list will be helpful to those who are expecting or will be in the future. There are in no particular order. I am just listing as I think of something. I will try to give more details about the items in a later post.

1. Fisher Price Lamb Swing & Bouncer
2. Diaper Genie II Elite
3. Fisher Price Whale Tub
4. Summer Infant SwaddleMe Wraps
5. Halo SleepSacks
6. Soothie Pacifiers
7. Receiving Blankets
8. Bright Starts Activity Center
9. Bumbo
10. Graco Pack n Play
11. Lightweight Stroller
12. Graco SnugRide 32

I'm sure there are probably a few more items, but there are the main ones I can think of right now. Hope this is helpful! :)

Super Sunday

We have certainly had a busy day today. I got out of bed around 7:20 this morning to start getting ready for church. It takes us a lot longer to get out of the house now that we have a baby. Jackson isn't the kind of baby you can just put down while you are getting ready. He wants someone playing with him and paying attention to him at all times. However, we did make it out of the house in time. Church was really good this morning. We are going through a series of sermons of "Building a Strong Family." We are really enjoying the series and look forward to each week. Jackson really seems to enjoy staying in the nursery. In fact, they didn't want to give him back to us today. One of the ladies was enjoying snuggling with him. I am so glad that he enjoys himself. It sure makes his parents feel good about leaving him.
After church we went to Mutt's for lunch. We really like eating there. They have such good food, and the price isn't bad either. Jackson is also a fan of Mutt's, even though he can't actually eat anything. He seems to find the place peaceful and usually falls asleep.
After lunch we had a few errands to run. I had to take some shoes back to Target and a few pieces of clothing back to Kohl's. We also had to go buy Lowe's for Fred some heavy duty staples and Sam's Club for Jackson's jumbo can of Enfamil. By the time we were finished, Fred and I were exhausted. Jackson slept through all of the shopping.
I can't believe the weekend has passed by so quickly. However, it seems that it always does. It is always nice having Fred home, and I miss him when he's at work. I am hoping this will be a great week. There is a really large chance for thunderstorms tomorrow, so I guess Jackson and I will be staying in. Maybe we will catch a nap or two. :)

Procrastination

Yes, I have definitely been a procrastinator lately when it comes to blogging. It has been forever since I have posted, and I really have no excuse. It really is my goal to start blogging more often, especially since I have such a cute baby to talk about.

We made our second trip to Mississippi the last week of April. My sister was graduating from college, and Jackson and I just couldn't miss the big event. We stayed a total of two weeks. We had a ton of fun but missed Daddy (Fred) very much. We will probably limit our future visits to one week so that Daddy won't be so lonely.

Jackson & Aunt MM

Jackson is now 4 1/2 months old. We took him for his 4 months checkup this week. He is right on track. He now weighs 17 pounds, 3 ounces and is 27.25 inches long. He is now wearing a 9 months clothes and a size 2 diaper. He takes 6 ounces of formula every three hours. His big milestones for the week are rolling over and starting rice cereal. He seems to really like the cereal and is grasping the concept of actually swallowing it. We can start baby food in two weeks. I think Fred and I are more excited about this than Jackson. He loves sitting at the table with us and admires our food. I think he will really enjoy eating.

Rice cereal is so yummy!

Fred has been super busy getting things ready for his DDR (Detailed Design Review) at work. He has been putting in a lot of extra time and working super hard. We are ready for it to be over so that he can sit back and relax.

I guess that's about all the excitement currently at the Roberts' house. I promise I really will start trying harder to update more often. Have a great week! :)