6 Weeks

Here's a new picture of Jackson. I had my 6 week doctor's appointment this week, and everything was good, so I'm now allowed to lift things and exercise again...I just need my back to recover from whatever I did to it!

A schedule that seems to be working

It's been another fun weekend so far. It started with a visit from Ross' Aunt Carol and Uncle Mike who now live in Austin. We really enjoyed catching up with them. Unfortunately, Jackson slept through their visit, so we don't have any pictures.

We've finally figured out Jackson's schedule...at least for now! He wakes up to eat around 6 AM, takes a nap at 8, wakes up to eat at 10, takes nap #2 at 12, eats again at 2, takes nap #3 at 4, eats at 6, takes a bath and goes down for the night at 8. We wake him to eat at 10, and sometimes he wakes up to eat around 2 or 3 in the morning. Then we start all over again. He doesn't always follow this routine, but it's nice to have an idea of what he needs each day.

Thanks to finally figuring this out, we were able to enjoy a fun evening with our friends, Chris and Emma. Friday night Jackson went for his first swim at their house. Really he just floated, but he loved it! He was so relaxed. I guess it sort of felt like home after spending 41 weeks floating in my belly. Around 8 that night we put Jackson down to sleep in a pack-n-play, and the adults played Skip Bo, which is one of our favorite card games. Around 10 we took him home so he could eat and go to bed in his crib. It worked out really well, and we had a great time! We forgot the camera, but hopefully next time we'll get some pics.

Today our friends Christy and Jason and their daughter Chloe babysat Jackson so Ross and I could go to the wedding of my friend from work, Glen, and his new bride, Christie. It was the longest I've been away from Jackson, but I didn't have to worry about him at all with such wonderful and seasoned parents taking care of him. It was a beautiful wedding, and we had fun visiting with a lot of my friends from work since it's been almost 7 weeks since I was there. It was fun to catch up and hear about the latest happenings. I miss it, but I also can't imagine going back right now like some people have to do. I'm so glad I have 5 more weeks to enjoy our precious little boy!

Smiling

We had a fun-filled weekend! Our life group from church met Friday night, which was the first one we've had since Jackson's arrival. He did pretty well but was hungry for a good bit of the time, which meant I was glued to a chair. It was great to see everyone again though!

Saturday was mostly spent catching up on some yard work and resting, but Sunday we drove to Galveston where we met up with my Grandparents from Ruston, LA and my Aunt Barbara from Irvine, CA. They were on a vacation and decided to make their way over here. They even took care of Jackson for a little while so Ross and I could go for a walk on the beach.

Today they came by the house to see where we live, and I was able to capture a picture of my Aunt Barabara making Jackson smile. He's been smiling for a couple of weeks now, but we haven't been able to get a picture of one until today...

Birthday Celebration

I love birthdays...especially the part where you eat cake! Mine was a couple of days ago, and the cake was good! So was the celebration with friends. We went to my favorite Mexican restaurant, Lupe Tortilla, and I got the best birthday present ever...Jackson. I just got it a little early. ;-) Actually, Jackson gave me a great gift...8 hours of sleep and a wonderful day!

Here's a pic from the celebration. We got the album fixed, so there are more pics from the evening in the B-day album.

Thanks to everyone for the many happy b-day wishes.

We've also updated Jackson's album with more pics and created an album from my friend Emma's B-day, so be sure to check them out too!

First Road Trip

This weekend was our first official trip with Jackson, and he did really well! We drove to Shreveport on Friday afternoon, which took a good bit longer since we had to stop a couple of times to feed Jackson. He slept during most of the drive, and ended up sleeping almost 7 hours that night!

Saturday morning we went to Ruston for the graveside service for my cousin's son, Alexander. It was a very sad but nice service. It's always hard to understand why God does things the way he does in situations like this. Jackson was born only 6 days before Alexander and Andrew, which made the loss of Alexander even harder for me. It was wonderful to meet Andrew this weekend though. The rest of the day was spent visiting with family and friends. Jackson got to meet both sets of his great grandparents on my side of the family!

Jackson slept really well that night too...6 hours! Unfortunately, the trend didn't continue when we got home.

Here are some pics from the weekend...

Great Grandmother (Dot, E's Grandmother), Nana (Deana, E's mom), and Jackson

The girl cousins. Meg, Stephanie, Tiffany, and Elizabeth

Elizabeth, Ross, and Jackson

E, G-daddy (Kim, E's Dad), Great Mamaw (Marty, E's Mamaw), and Jackson

Great Papaw (Hank, E's Papaw) and Jackson

Barbara and Jackson

Great Grandmother with Jackson and Andrew

Great Grandmother holding Andrew and Great Granddaddy (Harry Dean, E's Granddaddy) holding Jackson Dean

Grandparents

Jackson is 3 weeks old tomorrow! It's fun to watch him grow and change a little every day. We're still trying to figure out the crying...it's beginning to sound like we have a colicky baby on our hands, so for those who decide to visit or who we come to see, be prepared for some unconsolable crying!

Speaking of visitors, Ross' parents were here for a couple of days, and my mom is headed to Houston tonight. Here are a couple of pics of Jackson with his Grandmother and Granddad.