I'm headed to Michigan!

Well, it's that time of year again. Every year I head to East Lansing, Michigan around Labor Day for a weekend full of golf and football! My good friend Mike, who I worked with at Sears and Budweiser and still lives in Dallas, is from Michigan and his folks still live there. Conveniently, his parents live right on a golf course!! This is the 3rd year that we have made this pilgrimage, and I have been looking forward to it for a long time. The last couple of years we have been able to take in the first Michigan State football game (Mike's alma mater), but this year we will have to watch on TV because they are playing on the road at Cal. Mike's parents are headed to California to see the game first hand this year, so I will not have the pleasure of their company either (Mike's dad Doug played football for the Spartys back in the day...). As usual, Mike's brother Jim is going to make the trip up, and the three of us already have tee-times for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning!! The rest of my time will be spent in front of Mike's dad's huge HDTV downstairs watching football!!

I am sad that I am going to be without the company of my beautiful wife and beautiful son, but I know that they will be in good hands in NWA with the Grandparents.

As for now, I am sitting in a restaurant at the Little Rock airport, enjoying an adult beverage before my flight, and poking around the internet - and it looks something like this:

Off to Fayetnam!

Tomorrow, Jackson and I are off! We're headed to Fayetteville for a long weekend! I'm super excited about seeing my fam and for Jackson to hang out w/ his grandparents! I'm sure there will be many pictures to follow!

Visit to see Papa...

Ryan and I were out and about yesterday in Little Rock and decided to stop by to see Ryan's Dad... Of course, we took some pictures!

Poker Night!

On Saturday night, Ryan and I had some friends over to play some poker! Even though we didn't finish our game - we ended the game when I was the chip leader! WOOHOO! ... who knows how it would have ended though, if we would have actually finished the game!

Jackson's 3 Mos Today!

Last night, Ryan and I went to WMT but took a picture of Jackson in his car seat before we left. I had to post these pictures... This is Jackson coming home from the hospital when he was born and Jackson yesterday. Unreal. He's about 8 pounds heavier! We are SO Blessed!

May 25, 2008

August 22, 2008

10 Hours! WOOHOOO!

Baby J finally did it! He slept for 10 hours without waking or crying or anything! 830pm - 630am! Normally, he will sleep all night, but lately, there's been 1 instance where we've had to go in and put the paci back in for him and then he'd go back to sleep... which is not that bad but 10 hours without waking up is much better!!! And, he's already taken a GREAT nap this morning! I have the best baby in the world! I'm the mom - I'm allowed to say that!

On another note - our kitty Calvin has a new place to snuggle. We have this bowl on our kitchen table and he - a 12 POUND CAT - has managed to crawl into it and fall asleep. Now, he's in it all day long... Yesterday, he was bugging me at the computer and I went downstairs to see if he needed food -but no - Hobbes was in his bowl, so he was bored. :) Jackson is going to have so much fun picking on them when he gets bigger!

Bath Time for Baby J

Jackson LOVES bathtime! He's still so small that we both have to do it... Ryan holds his head and I give him the bath... but either way, Jackson totally loves it. He yawns and smiles and usually pees..... It's such a fun family ritual that we have. I'll be sad when he's too big to need both mom and dad - or either of us for that matter.

Baby J doesn't like storms!

I was on duty last night and got Jackson down about 830pm and I immediately landed in bed myself.. I don't know why I was so tired but mostly my mind was racing for some reason. So at 900pm, I heard the rains... then the thunder... and I was anxiously watching my little angel squirm and toss and turn on the monitor... squeek here and there.. but then, he finally did start crying... so I got up at 1030p, put the paci in his mouth and he fell back asleep. Good for me: Daddy was up last night playing video games online with his boyfriends. So he offered to take the monitor until he came to bed. Also good for me: Jackson apparently didn't want to go back to sleep. Everytime the thunder hit, he cried. This happened several times until at 100am, Ryan finally said goodbye to his buddies and ran upstairs and rocked Jackson to sleep.. then he came to bed. I guess I am thanking my lucky stars that Ryan was up already and I didn't have to stay up all night doing that... He didn't mind cuz he was up anyway. Poor baby Jackson! He was sound asleep this morning when my alarm clock went off and I had to go wake him up for his first bottle (we have a schedule, people!). So after his bottle, we played for a few minutes and I put him down, and he took his first nap pretty easily. I tried to let him nap in my bed so if it's REALLY storming one day, he could sleep w/ us... but he was in a new place, so he was looking around everywhere... he couldn't wind down cuz he was so curious about being in my bed that I had to put him back in his crib so he could nap. I guess we'll just cross our fingers for no storms!

Visit from Aunt Brandy!

My very good friend and bride-to-be Brandy stopped by today to visit Jackson and see our new house.... Jackson warmed up to her so quickly! Brandy and I have been friends forever! Our moms were best friends in high school, and we were in the same grade so even though she lived in Arkansas and I lived in Arizona most of the time, we remained friends! Now, she lives in Conway so hopefully we can spend more time together! She's getting married in October and I could not be happier for her! She will be the most beautiful bride - inside and out!

I found this picture of Brandy and I at Easter when we were kids being held by our mommas! I, of course, am the one in yellow with her daddy's cowboy hat on and Brandy is the adorable one with the bonnet!

Baker Family Visit!

Our good friends Amberly and Mike stopped by our house in North Little Rock on Saturday and brought their beautiful baby girl - Emma.... Jackson is only 6 days older than Emma so we totally expect them to be fast buddies. It was so nice to have them here. Jackson LOVED Amberly - he must have been able to tell she is a nurse and works in the nursery of a hospital! She's pretty darn comfortable holding babies and Jackson almost fell asleep in her arms! Emma actually did fall asleep while I was holding her - it was pretty sweet! Amberly has family in North Little Rock, so we hope to get to see her and baby Emma more often.. and Mike too! :)

Exercise Buddies!

This afternoon, Jackson was getting a little fussy and didn't want to nap - so I decided that he could just work out w/ me! I made a little set up for him on the bed in the guest room where I exericise and he was quite content! He even fell asleep while I was on the trampoline (It was strength training day). I had Jennifer Lopez turned up so loud - I have no idea how he fell asleep with all of that noise, but I worked out for about an hour! He only slept for about 20 of that, but he was working his legs pretty good - he kicked off a sock! He wanted to get in on the action, so I laid him down and did "girl" pushups over him and gave him a smack-a-roo each time I went down. He thought that was pretty funny. We took some pics together! We had a good time! :)

This baby knows how to pose! :)

He certainly should - considering we do "photo shoots" just about every single day! Here are some from today!!

Jackson's New Trick

We had to take off the bumper pad on this side cuz we keep waking up in the morning to this! This morning, Jackson didn't want to wake up! I had to go wake him up at 650am!! He slept from 900pm - 650am! Still working on getting him down at 800pm but that may just take some time! :) He's TOO cute! He only knows how to move this direction - he hasn't figured out how to turn his body the other direction yet.

Bored in the Doc's Office...

Ryan and I were waiting in the room in the doc's office when I remembered that I had my camera!! So we made use of it and had a little fun goofing off w/ the camera. Jackson was a good sport!

Dr. Rodgers said Jackson is A-OK! :)

We had a visit to the pediatrician today... I called yesterday cuz some things were bothering me... #1: Jackson has thrush - it's been on his tongue since he was about 3 weeks old. It's not going away despite the 2 medications we've given him. #2: Jackson breathes funny sometimes - even snores. Sometimes the breathing is erratic and it's just freaked me out. #3: When we "let him cry" - sometimes, he breaks into these cold sweats. He's completely soaked the sheet many times but his hands and feet and forehead are all cold to the touch... So just to be safe, I called the nurse yesterday and she suggested that I bring him in. Ryan - being the UNBELIEVABLE father that he is - surprised us again and showed up at the doc!!! I love when he's there cuz he hears things I don't hear sometimes... plus, I love the moral support. Mommies always worry too much about their kids and I'm no exception! So it's nice to have him there! So we got in pretty fast - I figured out the system! I take the appt AFTER he gets back from lunch and we're usually in and out! It's great! Anyway - so the doc said that the thrush looked better and he thinks it will go away eventually - keep doing what we're doing (sterilizing everything, etc). Breathing: He thought Jackson sounded a little raspy - so he did a chest x-ray - said he looks excellent - no problems. He does think that Jackson has reflux and that is contributing to his fussiness, and difficulty eating sometimes and also part of the breathing issue... He's not worried but he did give me some reflux medicine. On the cold sweats, he said that he thinks Jackson is just getting worked up and since I keep his room at 70 degrees, it's just he's a sweaty baby in a cold room. He did do a fingerstick and checked to make sure Jackson isn't anemic and he wasn't... so no worries there either. He ok'd my feeding schedule... I'm cutting back on a feeding for Jackson. He's going to just get 5 feedings a day at 6oz each.... He said we were really feeding him at the high end of ounces.... (we were feeding him 36/day) - so 30 is closer to normal. Plus, we're going to be putting him to bed at 800pm every night... so we'll cross our fingers that he'll continue to sleep until 630a - 645a... We'll see!!
Jackson is SUPER chunky! He now weighs 13lbs, 5oz!!! He was 11lbs, 14oz just a little over 2weeks ago! Yikes!! :)

Daddy's little boy...

Here's a picture of Jackson and his Daddy that was taken on Saturday. Personally, I don't think that he looks anything like me when you put the two of us together! I still contend that he looks like me when he is sleeping, but when those big brown eyes are open he is his mama all the way!

We had another rough night last night. It was my night to be "on duty," and it was Daddy vs. Jackson's gas --> and the toots took the title! Baby J was so tired that he was falling asleep as soon as I put him down, but 15-20 minutes later he would wake up kicking and screaming! Poor little guy was full of gas =( He finally went to sleep for good around 2:15am, and I got to bed about 2:30am. I decided to sleep upstairs in the guest room as not to disturb my beautiful bride who was sleeping downstairs. Every time my 200+ lb frame goes up and down those stairs it sounds like the house is coming down!! Jackson woke up at his usual time for his morning bottle, and he was all smiles! I immediately forgot about how tired I was when I saw him giggling.... babies have a way of doing that to you! =)

FYI: My Cubbies are still rocking and rolling!

What a weekend! Ryan got beat up!

Busy Busy Busy!! Ryan and I got a lot accomplished this weekend! Saturday: We went to Ken and Hollie's baby shower in Little Rock, got some groceries, straightened up the garage, hung some pictures, and Ryan tinted 2 of the rooms upstairs. Sunday was fun because we got to lounge around, and we took Baby J to WMT so I could buy a scanner... Emptied the last of our "need to unpack" boxes around the house and we had our friends Eugene and Darcy over for some turkey burgers on the grill! I LOVE having Ryan home during the day! It was nice to have a weekend where we could just hang out and get some stuff done w/ just the 3 of us... I'll let Ryan post about his night last night (Poor thing!) w/ Jackson. I'm sure he'll tell the story better than me... Anyway - SARAH PATRICK: I am so sorry that I haven't called you back yet - As you know, I'm terrible w/ the phone thing but I promise I will when I have some spare minutes! :) I love you girl! I will be in town over Labor Day weekend and I'd love to get together! - That also goes for any of my girlfriends - we should do some big lunch thing or something! :)


This video is quite cute, I must say! Ryan was attacked by a 12 pounder! WOAH!

Giggle Mohawk Boy!

You'll have to excuse the camera shifting... If I'm looking thru the camera and not directly at Jackson, he just sits there... I think he stares at the "red light" - so I have to distract him and make him think I'm not taping it! :)

Tough Day for Baby Jackson

Boy - tough for both of us! I'm trying to get "napping" under control, so I know I'm supposed to let him cry for a while... Well, let me tell you - this boy has a bit of his momma's stubborn side. He won't stop crying! He cried - or I should say SCREAMED - for 20 minutes, despite nothing being wrong w/ him at all. After 20 minutes, I went back in, put the paci back in his mouth, and sound asleep! That was the 1st and 2nd round. 3rd round - oh no - he's not going to sleep! Not my little baby - he's going to KEEP screaming - for 2 hours!!! I purposely laid him down 30 minutes earlier so he might be able to get at least 90 minutes of continuous sleep... but no - instead, he just whaled for 120 minutes. I kept going in, putting paci back in after 20 minutes... we did that 3 times! But then, when I'd give him his bottle - he could barely stay awake to take it! He cannot stay awake!! It's like WW3 to keep him awake enough to at least get 5 of the 6oz down! Talk about tough - the love your life screaming hysterically for 20 minutes is enough to pull your hair OUT. I almost did once. But I have to teach him - I know he's getting used to mom and dad letting him cry for 5 minutes and coming back in and rubbing his little head and all... it was getting so bad that he wasn't napping for more than 10 minutes at a time! If I was lucky, he'd sleep for 30 minutes in a day. I know I shouldn't be complaining because he does sleep 8 hours every night - but come on - 8 hours is what an adult needs in a day.. a baby needs much more in a day! And he just is SOOOO stubborn! I just have to be MORE stubborn than him. Ryan says I should turn the volume off the monitor so I can just watch him but not have to listen to the screaming... Well, I just can't do that. What if he starts choking or something? I just can't chance it. I know nothing will happen - but what if?!! Volume stays on. I just have to toughen up to the sound of him crying - but maybe he'll learn quickly (babies always do, right!?) and he'll just go down for a nap like he's supposed to. The book (Babywise) says that if I can just stay calm and let him cry it out - it won't take long before he realizes "oh - this is naptime and I'm pretty tired so I'm going to go to sleep now."... The saga continues... This is him today after he woke up from Round 1...

I finally did it!! I got Keisha on a motorcycle! As expected, she even had a good time! After we got off of the bike, she couldn't quit smiling. The chances of me finally getting that bike I've been wanting for years now are looking better than ever! =)

This past weekend, Keisha's dad and I embarked on a 180 mile motorcycle ride covering a large portion of northern Arkansas. We even dipped into Missouri long enough for Don to buy a lotto ticket. Our travels took us through Rogers, Seligman, Eagle Rock, Eureka Springs, Berryville, Kingston, Boxley, back through Kingston, and finally back to Springdale. It was hot, but it was a great day to ride!! My favorite part of the ride was when we stopped at the Pied Piper Pub & Inn in Eureka Springs for a beer. The beer was so good! We couldn't decide if the beer really tasted that good or if we were just that thirsty from riding all day!

As Chandler would say.."Can he BE any cuter!?"

Sorry - I'm a hopeless FRIENDS fanatic! Here is my beautiful boy today! I'm trying to get him to hold on to the keys his Grandma C bought him... He likes when they shake but he hasn't figured out that he's the one shaking them! :) My heart MELTS when he smiles like this! Being a mom is the BEST job in the whole wide world! What a blessing!

Fun times in Fayetteville...

We had a good time in Fayetteville this weekend... My dad grilled out - my brother got a new dog - Sam and Ryan was chillin.. My reunion was fun! This pic is me, Ana, RoseAnn and Steph. The other is Ryan and Amberly. Jackson got a bit out of his routine but he seems to be back in the groove today, so that's good!