On the Go!

Jackson and I had a wonderful time hanging out with GiGi and Pop last week. My parents arrived in Greenville on Saturday and stayed at our house until Wednesday morning. After breakfast on Wednesday, we headed to Pigeon Forge. We had a great time in the mountains. We were on the go constantly, and Jackson was such a good little sport! He really is such a trooper! My parents went to a show for the first time during the trip. They have been going to Pigeon Forge for over twenty years and have never been to a show! It's hard to believe, right? We went to the Black Bear Jamboree. I really think they enjoyed it, and Jackson had a great time. He slept for the first half of the show, woke up and took a bottle, and danced for the remainder of the show. Fred and I always enjoy going to the Black Bear Jamboree, and I am glad my parents finally gave in and saw it.

I cannot believe that my sweet baby will be six months old tomorrow. Time has gone by so quickly! He smiles and laughs all the time. I don't think it will be much longer before he starts crawling. He has definitely mastered rolling over and scooting. He is not able to sit alone yet, but I can tell that he is getting stronger. I have to admit that we are looking forward to the day when he can sit in restaurant high chairs and shopping carts so that we don't have to carry around his car seat.

Thanks to GiGi and Pop, Jackson now has a high chair at home. I think he likes it. It had gotten dangerous to feed him in the bumbo because he tried to flip over in it. He is much safer strapped in the high chair. It also comes in handy when Fred and I are eating supper. We can put Jackson in his chair while we eat instead of trying to hold him. He constantly grabs at cups and plates. He would love to have a bite of food from the table.

I will try to post an update tomorrow of his height and weight after we visit the pediatrician. I am guessing he is a little over twenty pounds now. I know my opinion might be biased, but I think he is the cutest baby in the world. :)

Here are a few pictures from the trip and of Jackson in his new high chair.

Busy Morning

I got up around 6:45 this morning. Jackson was still asleep, so I made the bed, threw some laundry in the washing machine, washed bottles, ate breakfast, and took a shower. He got up around 7:50. I changed diaper and clothes, gave him a bottle, and put him in his bouncer while I got dressed and put on some makeup. The I grabbed the grocery list, and we headed to Publix. I managed to get the grocery shopping done in about thirty minutes. The morning hours are the best time to hit stores, especially if you are taking a baby along. Jackson was so good in Publix. He loves going out and about. I guess he gets that from his Mommy. :) When we made it back home, I put away the groceries while Jackson played. He started getting sleepy, so I put him in the swing. While he napped in his lamb swing, I made a coconut cream pie. By the time I finished the pie, Jackson woke up and was ready to eat. He ate half a jar of green beans and half a jar of pears. He played for a few minutes before getting ill. I tried giving him a bottle, but he wouldn't take it. He was sleepy again and fell asleep when I put him in his swing. This gave me time to grate some cheese for lasagna and wash up the dishes I used while making the pie. It was 12:15 by this point, so I sat down to rest before Fred came home for lunch. Jackson woke up as we were finishing our food, and he was ready for his bottle. We still need to go to Wal-Mart for diapers. I am pretty proud of myself for all I have accomplished today. However, I have to admit that I am tired. Jackson did not sleep well at all last night, and the lack of sleep is catching up with me. I am hoping that tonight will be much better. My parents will be here tomorrow, which makes me super excited. Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! :)

Getting Ready for Visitors

Jackson's grandparents are coming to visit us this weekend. I still have a lot to do to get ready. I have already made my menu, but the condition of the house is another story. I did do some dusting today, but that's about it. I swept the floors this past weekend, but I'm sure they will need it again before GiGi and Pop arrive. I have already warned by mom that the house might be a disaster. Jackson has done a great job of sleeping in his crib at night, but he has decided that his daytime naps should only take place in my arms. I really don't mind holding him while he sleeps, but it does keep me from getting any housework done. When Fred got home from work, I was able to take a shower, warm up supper, wash dishes, and dust. I also got the Fourth of July decorations out of the garage.

My parents will be staying with us for four nights. On Wednesday, we will leave Greenville and head to Pigeon Forge for three nights. I am excited about getting out of town for a few days and hope we have a great time. I am also hoping the heat will not be too extreme and that Jackson will be on his best behavior. Of course, being his mom, I think he is always a good boy. :)

Jackson went to bed around 7:45 last night and woke up at 7:45 this morning. I got up around 7:10 and was able to eat breakfast and get dressed before he awoke. We went for a walk around 8:10, and it was so nice outside! I am really hoping we can get out early more often. The later we wait, the hotter it gets. I cannot believe how hot it is here! On Monday, we went for a walk around 9:45, and I was covered in sweat. Here's a picture of Jackson in his stroller after our walk this morning.

The Move Upstairs

Jackson has done so well sleeping in his crib. He has now slept there for five nights. Each night has gotten easier. He cried for the first two nights but hasn't cried since. We are so proud of him. He is becoming such a big boy. I have to admit, though, that I miss sleeping with the little guy. However, I think he gets more rest in his own crib. He has room to stretch out and move around. His nightly routine goes a little something like this: eat rice cereal (super yummy!), take a bath, put on pajamas and sleep sack, take a bottle, get in crib and listen to/watch mobile. We then give him hugs and kisses and say our goodnights. We watch him on the monitor. The past two nights, it has taken him about 5-10 minutes to fall asleep. We have learned that it is best to put him down when we first notice he is getting tired. He doesn't handle it as well when he has reached the point of exhaustion. Here is a cute picture of our little man.

Big Boy Jackson

Last night was Jackson's first night to sleep in his crib. Yes, we were the parents who let our child sleep in the bed with us. However, since he has become such a squirm worm, we felt it was time for him to move out. We used the method of waiting a certain number of minutes and then checking on him. It worked out well, and he really didn't cry very long. He was very happy to see us this morning. We put him to bed around 9:30, and he woke up at 7:00. He took a bottle and played in his activity center. Then we headed to Target and Wal-Mart. Shopping at 8:15 in the morning is so nice! We pretty much had Target to ourselves! I am hoping that the sleeping arrangement will get easier with time. Ultimately, we know it's the best thing for Jackson. We love him so much, and it's hard to hear him cry. However, I think he knows that we love him and would never do anything to upset him. We have a baby monitor so that we can see and hear him at all times. It is so nice being able to know what he is doing at all times without being in his room. It was definitely a great investment.

Free Yogurt

Fred and I have a Buddy's Lot membership. Buddy's Lot is basically a club you join to get unlimited coupons to certain businesses. A membership costs $25 and is good for one year. The membership easily pays for itself. If we didn't have this, we would rarely ever go out for dessert. One of the coupons is a buy one, get one free at TCBY. We went to TCBY last night for shivers. They accidentally made mine wrong and gave us the "accident" at no charge. Therefore, by using our coupon and getting the mistake for free, we ended up with three shivers for the price of one. What a deal! The freebie is currently in the freezer. I'm sure we'll get to it eventually.
I am definitely a firm believer in using coupons. We have saved a great deal of money by shopping the sales and using coupons. Since I am now staying at home with Jackson, every penny we can save is super important. We barely ever buy wipes or baby food without a coupon and only spend about $5 per outfit on Jackson's clothes. I always browse the publix ad before we go to the store. There are many times I can get something on sale and use a coupon, which is a double bonus. Also, Publix doubles coupons up to $0.50. There have even been a couple of times where I have saved as much or more than I spent.
We also have a membership to Sam's Club. Thank you to my parents for renewing it for us! We buy Jackson's diapers and formula at Sam's, which saves us a lot! We also get toilet paper, paper towels, batteries, and LeSeur peas at Sam's.
I can honestly say it gives me a good feeling to be a thrifty shopper and save money. Even if we were wealthy, I would still be clipping coupons. After all, a penny saved is a penny earned! :)

Wild Child

Well, I think it's official. Jackson is most definitely a wild child! He has so much energy and is so strong. Pretty much the only time he cries is when he is fighting sleep, which has become a very regular thing. He just hates giving in to taking a nap. Personally, I would jump at the chance to take a nap in a nice comfy swing while lullabies play and sheep spin above my head. I mean, really, wouldn't that be the life?
We are trying to get Jackson started on a nighttime routine. He usually eats his rice cereal and takes a bottle sometime after 7:00. He is in the tub around 8:00. He then gets in his pajamas and watches/listens to his mobile. Then it's time to get in the sleep sack and get tucked in. He did really well last night. However, when I went to bed, he immediately woke up. I think he has some kind of sixth sense that wakes him up when I enter the room. He sleeps in a pack n play in our bedroom because his crib is upstairs. Our plan is to move him upstairs when he starts sleeping through the night. By the way, when is that going to happen? People have always told us that he would start sleeping through the night once he started eating rice cereal. Well, he has now been eating rice cereal for a month. However, he now gets up more during the night than he did before he at rice cereal. What's up with that? On a positive note, he absolutely loves the stuff. He gobbles it down with a huge smile on his face. Fred tasted it but said it was pretty yucky. However, Jackson acts as if he's eating a steak or some amazing dessert!
Anyway, back to being a wild child. He is probably his wildest when he gets in his bumbo. I guess he feels secure enough in it to move around. He wiggles and sways so much in the thing that he can make you dizzy. He leans over the side and tries to touch the ground. I am honestly a little scared that he is going to turn over in it. I keep an eye on him and even have it on a padded mat on the floor, but he still makes me nervous.
One of his "tricks" is arching his back and leaning his neck back so far that it is difficult to hold him. I worry that he is going to fall over the arm of the recliner and hit the floor. To only be five months old, this baby is so strong. I am literally worn out by the end of the day. My arms feel like jello by 5:00. Thank goodness it's not much longer before Fred gets home from work.
Jackson is such a good little traveler. It doesn't matter if it's a long trip or a ride to the grocery store, he is such a good sport. He has somewhat learned to entertain himself for short periods of time, which is a huge help. It gives me time to throw some laundry in the washing machine or wash his bottles. It is also nice when we go out to eat because we don't have to worry about spending our meal time trying to keep him occupied. In the eyes of his parents, Jackson is perfect!
Here's a little video of Jackson having a good time in his Bumbo. Enjoy!

Jackson's First Bites

We have recently started Jackson on rice cereal and baby food. He has been on the rice cereal for almost a month now, and he absolutely loves it! The baby food is a different story. The pediatrician told us to try him on all of the vegetables before we start the fruits. He has to eat the same veggie for 5 days before he can start a different one so that we can make sure he doesn't have food allergies. So far, he has had peas and carrots. He despises the peas, but he did pretty well on the carrots. We are going to try squash tomorrow.

We didn't do anything exciting for Memorial Day weekend. The weather here was really bad. It rained pretty much the whole day. Jackson and I ended up sleeping a good bit during the day, and Fred did some cleaning around the house. He is such a sweet hubby! Fred and I also tried a new recipe. We made Paula Deen's lasagna, and it was delicious! The recipe is definitely a keeper. Fred also requested that I make a hospitality cake, and it is also great! Who says you need to go out to have good food? Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure. :)

Peas are yucky!

The Lady & Sons Lasagna

Hospitality Cake