Week 1

I survived my first week back at work. I do not think I would have made it without the help of my Memaw. She took care of all of us :) We were able to establish a routine and Jackson slept until at least 4:30am each night except Sunday. The real test will be next Monday when we are on our own during the night and early morning hours. We will really miss the extra set of hands and snuggly kisses Memaw gives Jackson. I managed to only cry for a few minutes on the way to work Monday. Pulling out of the drive way it hit me that there were no more mommy filled days to be had. (note: I'm blogging from my phone while my tiny angel sleeps on my chest)

We have two more at home days before Jackson starts his "school". By that I mean we have family coming to stay with him. I know Wednesday will be very hard for me. I am not crazy about leaving him all by himself with strangers. I know he will be well taken care of it just makes me worry he will feel scared. I know... I'm overreacting.

Here's to hoping the next two days creep by. I need all the little man time I can get.

Papa Jack

My dad admits that back in the day he was not as hands on with me as Brent is with Jackson. He has said a few times that he feels bad that he didn't give my mom more help with me as a baby. I believe she would cut him some slack if she were here today to do so. I can't believe my dad was 23 when I was born. Brent's in his early 30's!! What a difference. My parents were just babies themselves. 

Here's my dad with me in the hospital...look at my mohawk!

At home a few days later...

Out of our whole family I can honestly say no one was more excited at our gender reveal party than my dad. He had hoped and prayed for a little boy. I knew that I would name him Jackson the second they said we were having a boy. Here are some pictures of Jackson & his Papa Jack...

I can already tell that they will be best friends :)

Grandpa

I came across this photo on my computer today and I couldn't resist sharing it. I'm not sure how I got it electronically but it has definitely made me want to scan more old pictures onto the computer. This is a picture of my grandpa and me taken when I was around a month old. How lucky am I to have the same type photo of him and Jackson :)

My grandpa is a man of few words. I can remember him bringing me Penn's hamburgers when I was little. I guess that was his excuse to come and visit me and my mom. He recently gave Jackson his collection of silver dollars that he collected back in the 1950's. I know Jackson will cherish them when he's big enough to understand what they are. I've been so happy to see that Jackson gives Grandpa joy. He comes and visits him (even on his own) when we are in Hartselle. I thank the lord each and every day for all of my grandparents who are now Jackson's great-grandparents. He is one lucky little man. 

Stationery Card

Madras Notes Thank You Card

Personalized graduation invitations & thank you cards by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

I ordered a few of these to keep on hand. I love sending mail almost as much as I love getting it :)

Jackson's Newborn Photos

Does it make me a bad mom that I'm just now blogging a few of my favorites from Jackson's newborn photo shoot? These photos were taken when he was 6 days old. I can't believe how much he's changed in such a short period of time. We were extremely pleased with the pictures. I was also able to make cute Christmas gifts from Shutterfly since we bought the cd and copyright release. I hope everyone is enjoying their new 2012 Baby Jackson calendars :)

One More Week

This picture says it all. I do not want to leave my little man. I can't believe that next Sunday night I will be preparing my things for work on Monday morning. I have enjoyed my 11 weeks of cuddle time and have begged countless times to stay home permanently. I know Jackson will be fine but I'm so sad about missing all his little movements, smiles, oohs & ahhs. I'm very jealous of the daycare workers he will be around for almost 10 hours a day. I keep praying that I won't break down in tears at work. I am lucky though to have my Memaw come and stay with him my first week back. I hope that makes my transition a little easier. He will start his first day of "school" in January. Wish us luck :(

Trust me... Jackson & I are not going to waste one moment of our last week together 24/7. I love this little man so much.

Poop Story

Life as a new mom has been exciting. I've touched more bodily fluids than I ever imagined and I'm only two months in. I must share this story though... It's not THAT gross...

After church last Sunday we went to Logan's Roadhouse for lunch. Jackson was perfect and slept in his infant carrier the whole time. Once we finished eating I fed him his bottle in the car while we waited on the rest of Brent's family to come meet us. I could tell that Jackson had on a stinky but decided to wait until he was finished eating before changing him. Since we were in a parking lot I decided to stand outside the tahoe and lay him in the backseat. He was so happy when I opened up his diaper and saw his HUGE 2 day in the works "Prize". It was everywhere! I had to laugh at the amount of green poop my baby had produced. But wait... Mid diaper change he decided to release a flood of thick green poo!!! I was in shock and started mumbling about needing help as I shoved the new clean diaper against him to attempt to block the flow of lava from hitting our new leather seats. Jackson giggled the whole time! I then started throwing dirty wipes and diapers on the pavement. Thankfully I was able to keep the mess on me and not him and his fancy Sunday outfit. Brent picked up all the dirty debris from my big pile and off we went to the gas station to clean me and the diaper changing pad up. Once all evidence of poop was gone I was able to laugh it off. I've never seen or touched any substance like that before. I know it won't be the last though!

Year in Review

I cannot take credit for the idea for this post. I saw this on a couple of blogs I follow and thought it was a great idea to recap our 2011. So without further explanation here is our year in review...

Living it up in Cancun

Hiking... and a bit of complaining on my part

Spilling the beans... We are Pregnant!

Baby Shopping begins...

Enjoyed Doo Dah Day!

Celebrating Dad's 50th

Vacation in Destin

Baby Shower Fun

Thomas Family Vacation

Got a new "Mom" Car

Now a Family of Three

 Jackson's First Christmas

We were very blessed in 2011. It was truly a life changing year. Who would have thought that this time last year Jackson was just a thought. He's brought so much joy to our lives and he's only been with us for two months. I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for our family. 

Little Man

Jackson doesn't always wear what Brent calls "Sissy Clothes". Brent was so proud of Jackson in his little man Gap clothes. These pictures were taken before we went to our Christmas program at church.

Happy 2 Months Jackson

Jackson turned 2 months old on New Year's Day. He's such a character these days. I love that he is "oohing" and "ahhing" back at us. He likes to laugh and squeal. It's so fun to sit and carry on a conversation with him. I can only imagine that he thinks I'm nuts. I sing all kinds of funny songs that don't make sense to him. It's fun though!

Jackson's Stats

14lbs 5oz
25 1/2 inches long

He's getting so big! He gained 4lbs in 1 month :)

This expression is just like Brent's

"Mom stop taking my picture!"

So Happy!

We went to the pediatrician today for 2 month shots. Not fun! Jackson was a champ while we were there but has been extremely fussy this afternoon. It breaks my heart to see him scream so hard. I'm hoping the night isn't too bad. He has been giving us 5 consecutive hours of sleep lately. It's so nice! I keep thinking one day we will wake up and realize he's slept all night. 

I can't believe how fast he's growing up. We are definitely soaking up every minute and taking tons of pictures.

MawMaw & PawPaw's Christmas

Growing up I used to spend every Christmas Eve Eve at my grandparents house. It was a tradition for all of the kids to spend the night of December 23rd with my grandparents. I can't tell you how many funny memories I have from that. My favorite involved putting a sleeping bag on my head and walking down the hall to scare younger cousins. We'd always get in trouble for not going to sleep. Then all the kids would be zombies moments after opening gifts. We counted up and I believe there were 13 of us grandkids back in the day. Since then there have been countless great grandkids added (including the one I contributed this year :) ) Now that everyone is grown with families of their own it's hard to get us all in one place. To account for that this year my Mawmaw decided to have two Christmas gatherings. We went to the first one which took place earlier in December. Here are a few photos...

My MawMaw

 My cousin Janna & her twins

 MawMaw & PawPaw openings gifts

 Aunt Tricia & Jackson

 Sleeping Angel

Visiting the Jenkins

Due to our hectic Christmas schedules we are never able to make it to Brent's grandparents house on Christmas Eve. We decided to go and visit them a few days early and give them their gifts. Brent bought Jackson a cap to match his grandpa last summer when we were at the beach. It was so sweet seeing how happy it made Brent's Papaw when Jackson came in the house in a hat just like his. It was the biggest smile I've ever seen his grandfather make.