4 Firsts in One Day!

Boy - things are moving quickly now in the Baby Stearle Household! :)

J-Man had 4 Firsts Today:

1. First time to drink out of a straw (in a sippy cup)!!

2. First time to have watermelon! YUM!

3. First time to eat a grilled cheese sandwich! He had 1/2 the whole thing!!

4. First time to have diaper rash (poor baby) :-(

Wow - there's bricks there!

Yesterday, when J was napping, I decided to go out and pull some weeds... The weeds in our yard are out of control... I spent about 2 1/2 hrs pulling weeds.... J was outside w/me at the end... which he LOVES! Here's a before and after of our side yard... and I was only in the middle of finishing it... (but had to run in before I could finish). I counted 12 mosquito bites on my legs today.

Kitties and Music - Does it get any better!?

On this day.... 7 years ago....

Dear Ryan,

I remember before I knew you were my soulmate, I had dreamed of you... I pictured my life with a gorgeous, funny, caring, giving, intelligent, strong, kind Christian man. I thought I was only dreaming - that man cannot possibly exist. But then you came around... You were everything I had dreamed of and MORE! God truly blessed me 100,000 times over by introducing us. I am the luckiest woman in the world to be your wife. The last 7 years have been the best years of my life. You mean the world to me.

I love you!
FOREVER AND ALWAYS!

xxoo -

Keisha

Big Boy Changes, Week 1

Update: Well, we have some good news and some bad news!

Good News:

1. Jackson does VERY well w/o his paci during the day! I don't think he even needs it unless we're at the gym cuz he's still not completely comfortable there yet. But otherwise, he just uses it to sleep (again, not attempting to break that habit until everything else is done. I need my sleep!).

2. Jackson and I went to the gym yesterday and he only cried the last few minutes (cuz his favorite 2 girls went home). So YAY! We're doing much much better when being away from mommy and daddy....

3. Sippy Cup: Jackson has only received sippy cups during the day - no bottle... He doesn't like it particularly... and isn't really holding his head back to drink of it very well... but he's working on it and doesn't fret too badly with it. I have been keeping a juice cup and a milk cup out for him to drink on... Eventually, I'll just have the juice but for now, we're learning... I think the week after his birthday, I'll cut out the morning bottle and that will be sippy cup only too.

4. MILK: Today Jackson started milk!! He didn't seem to even notice the difference at all... so fingers crossed! YAY for $25/week extra in our pockets! Finally! :)

5. Highchair: Jackson is doing better in his highchair.... He does GREAT w/ his breakfast cuz I put on the Baby Einstein video and he is totally into it. So he just eats his breakfast and watches his show and does great! I'm going to get more of those videos cuz I think he may be tired of Old McDonald on the Farm and Numbers 1-5. haha....

6. Music box: We haven't used it for napping at all and he is napping perfect w/o it... I think tonight, we'll try using it w/o hitting repeat, so then at the end of the month we can try to eliminate it completely...

Bad News:

1. Wake Up Time has creeped up to 545am!!! OK - this is NOT COOL! I am going to take Connie's advice and since we normally used to put him down at 700pm, I'm moving it up 15 min every week slowly... instead of just jumping to 800p. Also, Ry and I have decided that we're not going in to get him until 630am. So he is just chilling in there until 630am... then when I up his bedtime, I'll up the time I go get him... so 730p bedtime, 645am when I go get him (assuming he's awake). Again, trial and error... who knows what will work. I just know that 545am = too early for Keisha!

2. Sippy cup: Ok - so he's not really holding it up... How do I teach him to tilt his head back to drink it!?

3. Daddy's Boy: Ok - so I do like that he's a daddy's boy but lately, it's just getting ridiculous. He's starting to where he cries when he sees Ryan and Ryan isn't holding him... when Ry leaves in the mornings, J freaks out. He screams and watches Ryan out of the window as he drives off crying and just throwing a fit... I mean, wow.

4. Food Throwing: Ok - his new thing is to throw his food on the floor when he's done eating. This is driving me nuts. I have tried the gentle hand slap and say NO very sternly.... nothing works - he laughs when I do that. He's testing me already.. isn't this supposed to happen when they are 2!? Not already.... geez!

Outside Baby!

Jackson has been itching to get outside... Well, today was muddy, but oh well - who cares! It washes off! Our friends Brandon and Laura are here this weekend for a wedding, so they brought their Yorkie Sofie - and J loves her! Here's some playing pics!
Jackson found the water containter we were using for Ken and Hollie's dogs... it was full of water from the rain... uh-oh!

And he finally just ended up dumping the whole container of water out on himself... Hence, the wet pants.

He is ALWAYS waving HI! :)

Hands Full!

OK - when Jackson started walking, everyone said "now, you have your hands full." Not the case... he got a LOT easier when he was walking... but - now, he's officially a handful!

Here's why:
He throws temper tantrums that put anyone to shame... He can usually be distracted from it, but dang! This boy can scream when he doesn't get his way! WHOA!

Today - I was in the kitchen and then all of a sudden, Jackson started crying loudly... I went into the living room and this is what I found! He was stuck behind the sofa!!

He is soooooo curious! Today, he spent about 10 minutes watching our neighbor mow her yard!

And lastly - he has figured out how to throw his food in the floor. He thinks is comical. So I have no idea how to tackle this one.. He doesn't understand what no means... and he thinks it's funny when I slap his little hand... Tone doesn't work either - but he's just too young to understand, so we'll just have to keep trying saying no and distracting him from things like this until he gets older and I can start to teach him that it's also not funny when he gets a handful of hair from pulling the cats' hair! I think we may have a stinker on our hands!! A cute one though! :)

Ice Cream Cone!

Debbie treated J and I to lunch yesterday at Jason's Deli... Jackson had his first ice cream cone! He gobbled it down too - even the cone! Too cute! He loves his Nana!

Big Boy Changes, Day 1

Well yesterday we started our big boy changes.... very very gradually. He took a bottle morning and night but the middle of the day was all sippy cups! He drank 1 1/2 sippy cups of formula - which is pretty great, I think. I am weaning him slowly... I'll maintain the morning bottle and evening bottle or a week or so and then cut the morning and then later cut the evening one... I think Jackson reacts best to slow change. Also, we did not have a paci (with the exception of our 1 1/2 hrs at the gym) all day unless sleeping.. He was a little fussy but not bad! At the gym, he is still crying when I leave, and having crying spats here and there, but usually when I check on him now, he's playing on the ground w/ the other kids... so we're making progress.. this is good motivation to keep my booty going to the gym!

Today: Jackson watched the whole Baby Einstein DVD again today but this time he was INTO it! He was giggling and glued to the TV! He ate a 1/2 banana, some blackberries, couple orange slices, some cheerios and a granola bar all in those 30 minutes and happily in his high chair! YAY! I gave him his first bottle when he woke up this morning and then before nap, he was hungry, so I made him a full bottle and transferred to sippy cup and he rejected it at first... very frustrated, but then when I put it in his mouth, he took it - maybe only 2 oz though... but that's ok. If he's really hungry, he'll drink! Also, no music box for this nap... fingers crossed!

My new obstacle is this.... Jackson is clearly ready for bed around 630p - 700p. But he's waking up at 600am!!! I want him to sleep until 800am at least! I guess that means I need to try to keep him up until 800p.... but how do I do that when he's clearly ready for bed!? Well, one thing I'm trying is putting him down for his naps a little later... so normally he would nap his first nap at 830am and then again around 1230p. So - I put him down at 945am this morning - but that was his first real signs of needing a nap too... so maybe this will help adjust his schedule back a little... I admit... trial and error is a regular thing w/ us these days!

The MONSTER is getting to him... What kind of face is this!?

Big Changes for the J-Man!

Jackson will be 1 year old on May 23 - just a couple weeks away.... So I thought I would share with you all of his big changes coming up.

SIPPY CUP: We've been drinking juice from a sippy cup for about 3 months - and he does a good job. When we go places, I usually fill up a cup of juice and put it between his legs and he downs it while we're driving... So yesterday I put 4 oz of his bottle in his sippy cup and we sat there and he drank fine out of it. He didn't finish it, so I just left it out and he ended up drinking the rest of it on his own! He never started holding a bottle on his own, so for him to be holding and drinking from a sippy cup on his own is a relief.

MILK: I have officially purchased my last Similac Sensitive! We are going to finish out what we have and then - it's milk time! I hope he transitions easily.... fingers crossed.

PACI: I've already started taking away his paci during the day... so for the most part,it's just when we're out in town and for bed. I'm not brave enough to not take it with us when go out to the store or something, but yesterday, I took it and put it in my purse. And he did GREAT without it! Lately, he's been cranky about 300p and I know he would calm right down with that paci, but I just have to let him figure it out... so no paci during the day! :) I'll work on the nighttime later... Maybe when we have a new baby and I'm up all night with it anyway - that's when I'll do it. haha.

EATING: This is our biggest thing that needs to improve. Jackson loves to eat finger foods and feed himself... but he doesn't like to sit still. So the highchair is his enemy. He WILL NOT sit there long enough for me to feed him a jar of baby food. He throws the loudest fit - his face turns red and he just screams, with his mouth shut (very talented don't you think!). He did well today but only if he is sitting there and feeding himself. He doesn't take to the spoon well. I think I may try soon to just give him some soft food in a bowl and a spoon and let him make a mess of it all. Maybe he'll figure out how to feed himself but as of now - he slaps that spoon out of my hand - usually landing in my lap with food all over both of us. But he loves to have anything Ry and I are eating and we usually let him (no nuts or honey though). So far, he seems to love everything - especially fruit, fresh veggies, hummus. Yesterday, we gave him some pinto beans and LOVED those!! :) He has 5 teeth and another that will poke through any day now!

BABY EINSTEIN: Up until this point, Jackson has watched 0 tv. I just don't believe in the TV as a "baby sitter" for your baby... plus, they say it's not just good for them that early. So we finally started a Baby Einstein "Old McDonald on the Farm" and "Numbers 1:5." So far, he seems ok if I put him in his highchair w/ some banana or something and he'll sit and watch it. But he has a very short attention span. He was giggling this morning at the pony on the video... so I think he's catching on. I want to go ahead and get him adjusted to SOME tv though because we'll be making several trips a year to Milwaukee to see Ryan's mom and family soon - so I want him to be able to watch the DVD while we're driving...

UNDERSTANDING: It's amazing to me how much he understands! I will say "Jackson, go get a cheerio, and he'll go over to his snack table and grab one." Or "J, who is here - do you hear someone here" and he'll go over to the window! He's amazing! He waves "hi" and "bye" to everyone - even the cats! He only says a few words still - mostly "DADA" and when I'm lucky "MOMMA" but he is constantly jabbering. He loves music too - he will clap every time he hears a song!

MUSIC BOX: We play Jackson's music box at naptime and bedtime - in a repeat mode... so yes, that means that every night since about 9wks old, we've listened to this music on the monitor all night. It's actually soothing music and doesn't bother me at all, but I know that he needs to be able to fall asleep and sleep without it. So starting at his birthday... maybe before, I'll stop the naptime music and then slowly transition him without it completely. I think he'll do fine. I might miss it though - haha.

WALKING: Jackson started walking at 9 1/2 mos old... which I've been told is very early. I contend it's probably because he's so heavy that I sat him down a lot and our floors are hard on the knees - so it didn't feel so good to crawl... He just figured it out. Well, he finally hit another big step this week -he went from a sit/crawl position to a standing position. He used to just use something (or someone) to pull himself up, but now he is just go go go! :)

ANIMALS: This is something I've personally worked VERY hard on it. I have convinced Ryan that when Jackson watches us with the kitties, he copies how we interact with them. So we like to scratch them and stuff, but he doesn't understand that so he ends up pulling their hair out. Well, now when he's watching, we only open hand pet them... so he has gotten GREAT at doing that. He hasn't pulled their hair in almost a week! He also loves dogs! He doesn't mind when they jump on him or lick his face... he giggles! So I want to keep exposing him to animals because he's going to always be around them and I don't want him to fear them.

PERSONALITY: Jackson's got quite the personality! He has many things we can tell that come from me (affection, temper, appetite, need for attention and company) and from his daddy (humor, happiness, intelligence (I hope this one stays!), energy). I love watching his little mind work too - he loves to try to figure things out and doesn't quit as easy as you would think. He's got a great memory and I'm blown away at how much he understands. I just think the best days are still ahead of us and how exciting is that!


DADDY'S BOY at the Farmers' Market yesterday...

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for." ~Anonymous

Red Dog!

When I was in high school, I bought a big coin cointainer shaped in the form of a big bottle of beer - Red Dog. I chose that because I didn't realize that Red Dog was really a form of beer and I liked the container... anyway.... When Ry and I got married, we counted the money in it which was a hundred dollars or so and we used it in Hawaii on our honeymoon. We decided to start fresh when we got married and we've been adding our loose change to it for almost 7 years now! Well, over the years, we've counted it and rolled it to ease w/ future counting, but we hadn't counted it in almost 3 years! So last night, we took on the challenge after J went to bed... and geez - we have almost $550! How exciting! As much as I want to use this money for my new camera that I want SOOOOOO desperately... Our original plan was to use to to go to Hawaii after 5 years of marriage... but! We did NOT have enough money in there for that and at the time, didn't have enough to go to Hawaii for our anniversary either....

So what will we use it for, you ask!? We're going to keep saving for another 3 years... In 2012, we will celebrate 10 years of marriage and we've decided we want to go to London for the Olympics! :) So maybe this money will buy one of our plane tickets to London! In the meantime, we'll keep chugging this big ol' thing (that I can no longer lift, but can scoot!) around wherever we move... lol!

Almost a Year...

Wow - I remember this time last year like it was yesterday... just waiting and hoping Jackson would hurry up and stir around and be ready to get out... lol. But nope... I had no idea at the time that I would have had to force him out. haha. Well, I've done a lot of reflecting lately with his 1st Birthday approaching so quickly.... and I know every parent says this, but Dang! I have an AWESOME kid! He just got his 5th tooth and just this week will now stand back up and walk from a sitting position. He was already doing that, but only if he pulled himself up while holding onto to something, but now, he's just up and down without any support! He's a speed machine now! He waves "hi" and "bye" all the time now and loves to do that to strangers. He's a great eater as long as I'm not feeding him .. He wants to do it himself! He's a big-time Daddy's Boy (hopefully I'll get to share some of that as he gets older). He loves animals and being outside. I feel so unbelievably blessed to have these 2 beyond-wonderful boys in my life... I do not know what I ever did to deserve such Grace, but I am eternally thankful! :)

This was Jackson earlier today... He wanted to play in the stickers!

10K in the rain, thunder and lightening... Check!

Yesterday, Ryan, Darcy, Ken and I completed the Toad Suck Daze 10K.... in the driving, pouring, nearly-hailing, thundering/lightening rain! I have to admit - I felt like I had on a 20 pound weighted vest and pants on me, but we motored through - no stopping for the entire 6.2 miles (my new record). My time wasn't exceptional by basic standards, but it was pretty darn good (for me) considering the weather we were beating through. This was my friend Darcy's first 10K and she's doing the 10K in Springdale w/ us in June as well. I think the next one will feel like a breeze considering the weather conditions of this one. I must thank Jackson's papa and nana for coming over to our house at 630am to stay with Jackson while we did this... we GREATLY appreciate it!

Lots to talk about...

Jackson is feeling better!! He's crankier and fussier than he's ever been (minus his first month of life)... and still has a runny nose, but he's better. Thank God for that.

I mailed Jackson's invitations out yesterday. His first birthday is quickly approaching, so I mailed out the invites early... Mostly cuz it's over Memorial Day weekend and I know people make plans, so I wanted to send early... We're having the party in Northwest Arkansas cuz that's where most of our family and friends and I just think it's easier.... I sent out invitations to people who I thought would want to come... If you didn't get an invite, and you'd like to come - just let me know!! :)


I owe Ryan $10 again. Dang it. I really like I'll be there next week though - and if I can lose 4 lbs next week, I get to gain back my $10. So far, he's up $20. I have been working out a lot and eating great, so I know it's just a matter of time.. I'm not going to get discouraged. Only 3 pounds until I am at my pre-baby weight! YAY! Shoot!!

I ran 5 miles yesterday!!! This is an all time record for me... Cuz even though I've ran 2 10K's (6.2 mi) - I always stopped and walked a couple times... So this time was 5 miles NO STOPPING and UP THOSE FREAKIN' HILLS TOO!! Our neighborhood is bad for hills, so I've been trying to train w/ the hills cuz I know it only makes me that much better (and works my booty). So needless to say, I am HUGELY proud of myself for pushing myself... I always tell Ryan that it's funny cuz when I run - I talk myself out of stopping at least 5 times. I say "ok.. as soon as I get to that 2nd mile, I'll stop and walk for a sec." Or "when I get up this hill, I'm going to walk for 1 minute.. that won't be too bad." But then as soon as I get up that hill or whatever, I say "no - it's over now.. just keep going." I'm sure if someone was listening to my thoughts, they would think I'm nuts.

Anyway - Jackson and I went to swim class yesterday and took a pic w/ our new buddies Amanda and Noah. :) Swim class is fun, but mommy has to get a new bathing suit - suitable for a mommy... I haven't been in this position before! haha.

If you've got 5 minutes to spare...

I'm calling this video "5 Minutes in the Life of Jackson Stearle." People ask me why I'm so tired when I stay home w/ this baby all day.... awh - those are usually NOT stay-at-home mom's.... So this video should explain why my sweet angel must be constantly monitored... He's always on the go and always testing his limits.... What a cutie pie! PLEASE EXCUSE MY "UH-UH-UH" SOUND... I'm trying not to say "no" so much but when I listened back to this - I think my "uh-uh" sounds dumb!

My poor baby...

Yesterday when we got up, I noticed J's head was really hot... Since he hasn't been feeling well - we knew he had about a 101 fever but this felt VERY warm... so I went upstairs and did the dreaded "butt thermometer" and sure enough...103.7! Then, I gave him some tyllenol and went downstairs to tell Ry... he didn't believe me so we checked it again... sure enough 103.3. My poor baby boy! So I immediately called and got us into the doc at 1020am.... By the time we got to the doc, his fever was gone (of course) so we look like paranoid parents... but that's ok... I was thankful that Dr. Chad was able to check his ears for ear infection and his throat for strep... both checked out ok - J just has a yucky cold.... That - in combination with - 2 teeth that are trying to come thru at the same time. He's especially cranky as you can imagine... requiring me to hold him and walk around (not sit - that is not ok - must be walking around).... and as soon as I set him down, scream time! Sadly we also missed our swim class yesterday! Hopefully he will be feeling better for Wed's swim class.
I guess J must have gotten this cold from the child care at the gym... and then he has given it to me! So I'm a sniffling, sneezing, sore throat mess too. I went to bed at 900p last night... so exhausted!

At one point yesterday, I couldn't get him calmed down, so we went outside to see what Scout and Putty (Ken/Hollie's dogs) were up to. That was the only time he would be happy yesterday... so I captured some pics, of course! You can see he doesn't feel good just by looking at his little puffy eyes...