Since I Last Posted

Another month has come and gone! February always feels so short to me.  Isn't it strange that 2-3 days makes such a big difference? 

The weekend that we spent with Travis' family, we all went to the Kamas Pool This was Jackson's first experience with swimming (besides his bath time adventures) and he LOVED it!  He had no fear, and he about gave me a heart attack on more than one occasion when he took a nose dive into the water!

First swimming experience...watch out Michael Phelps!

 Jackson is still on the move and getting faster all the time.  His latest thing is to start heading for something he isn't supposed to have (the dog's food, plants, remote control, etc), except it's not a "bee line "head for the object...it's more of start in the direction of the object, stop and look back to see if we are watching him, get our attention if he doesn't already have it to make sure we know he is on his way to being naughty, and THEN make a dash for whatever it may be.  It is pretty hilarious!

He is now pulling up on anything he can get his hands on, cruising along furniture, walking behind toys, and crawling up the stairs (we are still teaching him the going down part).  A few weeks ago he was playing on his jungle gym (i.e. the bar stool) and got high-centered on his belly and went face first into the floor.  Of course, for me watching him it all happened in slow motion and I couldn't get to him soon enough to catch him.  Well, he landed literally on his face and just sat there for a second not moving, not crying, nothing.  Once I got to him and picked him up THEN he started to cry, but not because he was hurt, because I had interrupted his game!  Heaven forbid if I make sure he's okay!

Playing in the "jungle gym"

Since my last update, he FINALLY cut his bottom two teeth!  He had a bought of the stomach flu about a week ago and it was very sad.  He wouldn't eat or drink anything, and what he did eat or drink, he puked right back up.  All he wanted was to cuddle...which was the only nice part since when he is healthy he won't sit still for more than two seconds.  The flu went away, but he was still acting irritable and not sleeping well, so I was convinced it must be another ear infection.  We took him to the doctor and found out that it wasn't his ears....it was his teeth....again...but this time instead of two on bottom there are FOUR on top that are red and swollen and working their way down!  Needless to say, we aren't getting much sleep around our house lately.

Jackson LOVES the vacuum cleaner, you would think it would scare him, but he chases it!

As for Travis and I, it's pretty much the daily/weekly grind of work and school.  The light at the end of the school tunnel is getting brighter and brighter for Travis and he (and I) can't wait to move on to the next (schooless) chapter of our lives!  It is going to be a big change since for the entire 8+ years that we have known each other one or both of us has always been in school.  I am sure that we will have no problem filling our time! 

At the beginning of February we both started doing the Insanity Program....and it may be cliche, but they are truly insane workouts! Each workout is approximately 40 minutes long and you do one 6 days a week.  It is a 60-day program, so we are about half way through and I can already tell a difference which is encouraging!  It feels really good to be getting back into shape again!  I can't wait for spring to get here so that I can get out and start running again.

This weekend we decided to get out of town for a few days so we are heading to St George to enjoy the spring like 65-70 degree weather that is predicted for the next few days!  I will be sure to take lots of pictures and post again when we get home :)

It Will Change Your Life

Despite my parent's best efforts during my childhood I have kept an awful habit most of my life...I bite my nails.  They tried so many things to get me to stop....bribery, anti-nail biting polish such as THIS, bribery, stories of all the gross germs that are under fingernails, and bribery.  On several occasions I stopped biting my nails and became a nail picker instead.  I know, it's gross.

Half of the problem was that on the small chance that I did get my nails to grow some, they were so thin and flimsy that they naturally wouldn't last long.  I have tried vitamins, creams, hardening polish....you name it, I've tried it all...or so I thought!

This stuff is AMAZING!!

Now, maybe it has something to do with the fact that I have been taking prenatal vitamins for over a year and a half now...but I kid you not, I could actually feel my nails getting harder and growing under this stuff!  I wouldn't have believed someone if they told me it was going to work, but I have definitely seen results.  A few days ago I actually had to TRIM and FILE my nails because they were getting too long...I am so proud! :)

9 (and a half) Months

Jackson turned 9 months on the 9th of January.  This month really has gotten away from me.  We kept saying that we would take some good pictures "this weekend" or "tomorrow"....well here we are, January 25th, Jackson is 9.5 months old and I FINALLY got around to it!...




We had our 9 month check-up a couple of weeks ago.  Jackson was very brave during the one shot that he needed this month and we were relieved to find out that his ears were clear (after 3 infections between October and December)  He weighed 18 lbs 5 oz and was 27.25 inches tall...that is 2 lbs heavier and 2 inches taller then he was at his 6 month check-up!  As far as percentiles go, he is still on the smaller end of things, but the doctor said that he is healthy and growing steadily so we have nothing to worry about.

Jackson has been acting like he was going to start crawling since a few weeks before Christmas.  Last Wednesday he took off for real and hasn't stopped since.  He also is starting to pull himself up on toys, furniture, the dogs...really anything that he can get a good grip on.  He loves looking at books by himself as well as being read to.  He has tunnel vision for cords and things that he is not supposed to have.  He is a VERY busy boy and has even had a couple of bumps and bruises already to prove it!

We are so lucky that he continues to be a good sleeper.  He takes 2 naps during the day and sleeps 10-12 hours at night.  Still no teeth, but he has been acting like he is going to get one off and on for 2 months now!  He has just about gotten the hang of his sippy cup, and so far he isn't a picky eater.  However, within the last month he has decided that he needs to be involved in the feeding process so we have to give him finger foods to keep his hands busy so that he will let us get a couple of bites into his cute little mouth!

It is amazing to me how fast he is changing and growing!  It seems like he learns to do something new every single day.  He really is a smart little guy and has such a fun personality.  His giggle is contagious and his smile warms my heart... I just can't get enough of our little man!

Christmas 2010 in a Nutshell

So once again, I have not posted for a month!  Nevertheless, I need to keep everyone updated on the latest happenings.  We had a wonderful Christmas (all 3 times that we celebrated it!) 


Christmas Eve at the Atwood's

We started off with Christmas Eve at Travis' parents house. Jackson had fun playing with his cousins, opening presents, and staying up way past his bedtime. Travis' Mom and Dad had an evening full of fun and crazy "minute to win it" games planned and we all enjoyed competing for the grand prize--a Kohl's gift card. Travis' youngest brother Parker was the winner (after a tie-breaker match with Travis' other brother Ben) I think that I came in dead last, or close to it!




  



Christmas at home

Next we had our own little Christmas at home.  Even though we knew Jackson wouldn't know the difference between an empty box and one with a present in it (and would probably like the box more than the present) we still wanted to spoil him just a little bit.  It was so fun to see him get excited about what he was opening just because we were excited!



Waiting to open presents at Grandpa and Grandma Haskin's

The week after Christmas, we were home for just a couple of days, (barely long enough to get some laundry done) before we left again to spend a week in Iowa. New Years Eve doubled as Christmas Eve with my family. We opened gifts to/from each other that night and then on New Years Day, Santa Claus had come!

We were not surprised that Jackson was spoiled rotten by his Grandpa and Grandmas, as well as his aunts and uncles.  Thank you to everyone for all the gifts and memories! Our first Christmas as a family of three was magical!!