Look Mom! Hands!

Jackson is now 11 1/2 weeks old.

He has discovered his hands and how to use them, sort of. He likes to suck and chew on them, and gets quite covered in drool doing it. When he was born he sucked on his hand, but stopped doing it after a week or two. Actually he sucked on it before he was born; he had a blister on the back of his hand from sucking on it before he was born. Looks like he's picked up the habit again---hopefully he won't get another blister!
While he can't grab onto things yet, he still uses his hands to get his pacifier back in his mouth sometimes. He just kind of pushes it up with his arm/hand.

He's holding his head and upper body up pretty well during tummy time these days, and consequently is grunting and fussing during it less. He hasn't rolled over again since that one time 5 weeks ago, but he probably would if I put him down on the floor more often. He moves his arms and legs like he's trying to crawl, but of course his body isn't off the ground and he isn't going anywhere.

Jackson also is deciding that he likes to sit up now, rather than lay back. If he's laying back he'll do crunches to try to sit up. I tried putting him in the little BebePod seat thing two weeks ago and it didn't really work very well, but when I put him in it yesterday he did great and loved being able to sit up. He's really holding his head up well these days.

I love watching him grow and learn new things!

Sweet little baby boy!

We just got back the pictures that a friend took when Jackson was 3 weeks old. It's amazing the difference that 8 weeks has made! He looks so tiny in these pictures. They all turned out so well! I feel so lucky to have these pictures; it is something that you can't ever go back and re-do. The five above are a few of my favorites---but you've really got to see the ones below too. I have limited this slide show to my favorite 72 pictures of the 355 that Stephanie took. If you want to see the other 283, come on over.
THANK YOU, STEPHANIE!!!!! You are awesome!

No Comment.

Grrr! Why won't blogger let me leave comments??? Looks like they're changing the format for comment stuff or something, and it isn't quite fixed yet. I can't comment on other people's blogs and they can't comment on mine. And it is annoying. What's the point of posts if they can't be commented upon?

And you can't even leave a comment to commiserated with me about the frustration this brings to us all.

Epiphany Day

e·piph·a·ny  [i-pif-uh-nee]: a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

 

For those of you who have known either Natalie or me for more than two years, you'll remember that there was an awkward period between us. It is not uncommon for people to really question their choice to be dating someone, especially when things start to get serious. I like to think it is uncommon for two people to break up (actually, one of us did the breaking up part) and then start dating again almost exactly a year later.

Yes, Natalie broke off our relationship while I was in China during the Fall 2005 semester. This is me alone, untamed, conquering the Great Wall in Hun-like fashion.

After both of had dated other people, we realized that we really missed each other. We had run into each other (ouch!) on campus, reconnected and on October 21, 2006, we hiked the Y together.

The next night I joined Natalie and her roommates for some Sunday evening games. I had just received word that a dear friend from my mission had passed away, and as Natalie walked me to my car...she's a sly one...I asked her for a hug. Mind you, I had no idea where things would lead, or if she was even still--or should I say again--interested in me. She obliged with the hug. When

 she didn't let go, I knew something was up. Pretty smart guy, aren't I?

Not knowing what to say, but wanting to say something, it seemed our resulting courtship and marriage were hinged on that pivotal moment, when with a stroke of brilliance I simply asked, "So...had any epiphanies lately?"

She had. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Georgia, Georgia

We had a good visit with the West family in Georgia last week...We got there on the 9th; Jack went back on the 14th, and Jackson & I left on the 17th. We had a great visit and we did a lot of stuff in a short time, some of which I've never done before even though I grew up here.
I was nervous about flying with Jackson---I hoped he wouldn't be too fussy and that the air pressure changes wouldn't bother him. He did really well though. He slept the entire time on both flights to GA, and was pretty good on the way back too...just a little fussy but not too bad.


We went to Andersonville, Georgia, to see the POW camp where Union soldiers were held during the Civil War. We watched a movie about it before we went so we knew more about it, which made the trip a whole lot more meaningful.

There is a mansion in my hometown that has always been a mystery to me. We'd pass the big gated entrance on the way to church every Sunday, but all you could see through the thick trees was a glimpse of the red roof. They've recently opened it up to the public so it was very interesting to get to tour through there and see inside the house and the pretty gardens surrounding it.


We went to FDR's Little White House in Warm Springs, GA. FDR came here for 20 years to vacation and to use the natural warm springs as treatment for his polio. He died here on March 12, 1945 while having is portrait painted. Wow, I feel like I'm writing a report for school.

We went to Callaway Gardens---I always like to go there when ever I go home. They were getting ready for their Fall Festival thing, so we took advantage of the pumpkin patch to take Jackson's picture. I'll have to post more pictures of this later.
It was great to be able to spend time with my family and to be home for a little while! Of course everyone enjoyed seeing Jackson!

A few favorite pastimes

Autumn's in the air

In the six years that I've been in the area during the fall, this is the first time I've seen the Alpine Loop.  We went with our friends Aaron and Maren and drove through & had a picnic on Friday evening.  The trees were so beautiful.  I love the fall!  I love the cool, crisp air and the changing colors of the trees.

2 month check up

Jackson had his 2 month doctor's visit today. He's weighing in at 12 lbs, 14 oz and is 23 1/2 inches long. That puts him in about the 75th percentile for both length and weight, and he's in the 12th for head circumference. He got shots today too...I was nervous about taking him by myself, since I don't have a very good history with needles, but I did it. I decided that if I start taking the kids when they are too young to know that I hate it, by the time they are old enough to catch on, hopefully I'll be better about it. We both did a pretty good job though, I must say. Jackson only cried as they were poking him and calmed down quickly after. And I didn't cry at all :) We've been giving him baby tylenol every 4 hours and so far he seems to be ok...a little fussy, but he usually is at night anyway.
We had his pictures taken at Target last night too. He wasn't in the best mood, but I think we got a few cute ones. I haven't picked any out yet, but I'll post some if I can when they're online.

Baby food

Last year we did a lot of canning--- peach halves, apple sauce, apple slices, and apple pie filling. We've still got a pretty good amount of it, and I've got my hands full these days, so I turned down two offers for free peaches. Then a lady in my ward offered her house, supplies, and expertise to can baby food. We'll be needing lots of that in the next few months, and with her help and everything, I thought it sounded like a pretty good deal. Unfortunately all my sources for free peaches were no longer available. I did get some from a fruit stand for half price because they were very ripe, but since we were mushing it all up anyway it didn't really matter. Next I had to find pint jars. Apparently you have to act early in the season to find them around here! Our WalMart was out of them, and so were the three Macey's grocery stores that I called. I finally found them at a different WalMart. I just realized nobody is going to care about that. Oh well.
I went over to the Furr's house this morning and we did 14 jars of peaches, and will finish up the rest tomorrow...probably another 14 jars worth. We'll be doing two bushels pears on Monday or Tuesday. I hope this baby likes peaches & pears.

I have always thought that "can," when used as a verb, as in "I am going to can peaches & pears tomorrow" should be spelled "cann." I have to stop myself from spelling it that way sometimes.
Anyone have some fruit I can cann?