Lesson of the Week

Prunes and yogurt do not mix.

I have learned this lesson this week. In a baaaaaaad way....

Don't give babies (or any human that has a normal digestive system) these 2 food items together. The results are disastrous! And odoriferous! ugh.

I'm still trying to recover from it all.

These are the culprits:



I'll write more later when I am of sound mind (and nose)...

Scooter

hey guys - it's me, jackson.

shh...mommy doesn't know i'm on the 'puter.

i have to make this quick. she'll be back soon. i'm getting more mobile. check out what i did today. i was on my playmat, and next thing ya know, i was at the wall. i can only scoot backwards now, but soon i'll be crawling...and then, my plans to take over the world will begin.

you've been warned....

Baby Teeth

Chomp, chomp, chomp...





That's right folks - Jackson is getting his first baby teeth! I discovered this yesterday as he was biting my finger (as he usually does several times a day). Instead of his drooly gums, I felt a little poke from a tooth that is breaking through. It was like a little saw. I think both of his bottom teeth are coming in - we'll be able to tell better in the coming days.

We gave him a carrot to chew on - he laughed hysterically when we rubbed it against his bottom teeth, but after about 5 minutes, he didn't seem to like the taste (we haven't progressed to carrots as a food yet - we'll see if he likes 'em!), so he threw it down. I think he just liked the coolness on his gums.

Of course he is biting everything now...favorite teething items of note: the BOTTOM of his bottle (?) and human shoulders. Yes, shoulders. Go figure! He's not into the teething rings, chilled or unchilled, right now. Maybe later? If you have any other suggestions for teething items, do let me know!

In the meantime, stay tuned for more updates on the little biter.






"Teething" in the 21st Century:

Family Pictures

We had our first family pictures taken a few weeks ago and I just picked up the photos! Here are a few (okay...alot!) for your viewing pleasure:


Jason and Jack look so cute! I have the goofiest "I'm taking my first family pictures" grin. lol.

Jackson being too cute on his homemade blanket:







Daddy and Mommy kissy-poo pictures:




I just love this one:


Happy family!


Don't worry--- we have extras for you and will give them to you next time we see ya! NY and AZ folks - I'll be mailing them to you.

6 Month Check-up

Today Jackson had his 6 month doctor visit!

Unfortunately, I scheduled the visit in the afternoon apparently right in the middle of his nap. He slept the whole way there, in the waiting room, and into the exam room. How was I supposed to know this 2 months ago? Well, Jackson let me know, in no uncertain way, that he does NOT like afternoon appointments. When we rolled into the exam room, the surly nurse told me to undress him. So, I tried to gently wake the sleeping beau up and he totally freaked out and started crying like crazy, looking around like "Where am I??! What is this place??!". I tried to soothe him, but the nurse gave me a "hurry up" look. So, he cried when he got weighed, and during all of the other measurements. I, stupidly, said "Oh, he really doesn't cry much!" and she gave me a look like "Yeah, right!". No, but really, Nurse Ratchet, he doesn't!

We'll our little nugget is still over 95% in length (28 1/2 in.) and is 75% in weight (18lbs 8oz). The doc wrote a prescription to start flouride drops for his teef. "But, he doesn't have any..." I say. Still, he wants him to start. Okaaay. Apparently, he will continue to take the drops for years! I had no idea - Mommy learned something new today. : ) We can also expand his foods to yogurt, cottage cheese, and table food (mashed potatoes, overcooked broccoli, etc.). Last, but not least, he got one shot today. Only cried for a minute, and then was fine.

On the way out, I made his next appointment...in the morning next time.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

We've been working on getting our garden together this past week over Jason's Spring Break. We've planted 8 tomato plants [Hillbilly, Pineapple, Green Zebra, Black Cherries, Early Girl, Yellow Pears, Beefsteak, and a white variety that I can't remember the name of] and a few sweet pea sprouts. We have broccoli, red leaf lettuce, swiss chard, little pumpkins, moon & star watermelons started and will transplant them once they have sprouted. We're thinking of adding some spinach, too.

Here is a picture of the tomato bed. Since we always have such a problem with squirrels, we decided to squirrel-proof the bed by making a frame and placing fine bird netting over it. The front panel rolls up so the plants can be accessed. Its an experiment - we'll see how it turns out!

Jackson was next to us every step of the way! He'll be able to taste some of the veggies (sweet peas and pumpkins at least) over the summer. Yum yum! Hopefully, our tomatoes will turn out as good as Opas and Millies! They are our tomato inspiration. : )

You can click on the photos to enlarge. There are 2 plants missing as we planted them after the picture was taken (they had to be revived a bit due to the heat) but they're all in there now.

Spring Time

Spring is definitely here! Jason is on Spring Break this week and we've been keeping busy. The week started off with Easter. We went to church, then brunch at Mima and Poppa Stull's, afternoon visit with Erik and family, and home for our first Easter family dinner with lil' Jackson. Unfortunately, we didn't take too many pictures on Easter, but here are a few.

Jason's cousins, Matthew and Raechel, with Jackson:



Jackson's cousins, Sir Caleb and Princess Hailey, hunting for eggs:



The next day, we decided to drive up the coast to Mendocino for our first overnight away from home with Jackson. On the way up, we stopped off at the vista point after we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge:

San Francisco in the background




We also stopped off at Anderson Valley Brewing Company on HWY 253. As you can see below, mayhem ensued...



Jackson did very well on his first night away from home. He slept in his pack-n-play and enjoyed the sights around town from his backpack. It was SUPER windy, though (50 mph winds!), and we were glad he did not blow away.



Today the weather was much nicer (close to 80) and we decided to have lunch at the beach in Capitola. Here are some pics:









AND - I'd also like to mention that a very special family friend paid a visit during Lala's 90th birthday party from New York State - Webby! Here is a picture of Jason, Jackson, and Webby. He is a dear family friend and we were so happy we were able to introduce him to Jackson. : )