Christmas (and 7 Months)

It has been a busy week for us. We have lots of pictures and some updates from our Christmas. Pictures: December 20th (around the house), December 22nd (my family's Christmas gathering), December 24th (around the house) and December 24th (Christmas Eve at home). From a few of the pictures you can see Jackson's two new teeth that are coming in. They are sharp. These pictures have been added to the weekly update as well. Updates: Jackson is starting to crawl, or more correctly rocking hands and knees, he is getting there soon. He has been eating a lot of solid food (toast and now some Cheerios). It is so much fun to see him change and grow and do new things everyday. He has gotten much better about tummy time and he can roll him self over basically at will. Today he rolled over three times to get near Mary as she was on the floor. Videos: Eating round 1 and round 2, unwrapping presents 1 and part 2, playing with his music box and playing with his drum. We did not travel North for the big Christmas gathering this year. We went for Thanksgiving and did not have the energy to do it again so soon. This was a very different Christmas for us, with just us at home. The less amount of driving sure helped with the stress. Tomorrow it is back to work.

More pictures

We have some more pictures from the week to post. Some from today of just around the house: him talking on the phone with his Nana and then "eating" at the table. Yesterday we went to pick out our Christmas tree. The Santa picture is from last week, but there was a theme so they all went together. Some from around the house on the 14th. We also have some pictures from last weeks "Birth to Three" class as well as our outside party. Jackson took bath this week and his hair was picture worthy.

Teething and then some...

Jackson had a rough week. He now has two teeth and did not at all enjoy getting that second one. We did some fun things anyway, though, like visit Santa and get a Christmas tree (a separate post soon to come here it is), try a bagel, go to a Birth to Three holiday party, and touch a star. This is the last week with Jackson's Gram here, so she's been taking some pictures as well. In January Jackson starts day care. It's a nice facility just a few blocks from our house and Jackson already has a couple friends there from our Birth to Three group. We have also updated and changed the format of the week by week pictures. By the way he is 207 days old. It sure is fun.

Tooth!

Last night we had another milestone. Jackson is beginning to cut his first tooth. We can feel it but it's still hard to see. He has been teething more and drooling a lot. We also have a new version of the week by week photos.

Jackson 198 Days

Jackson is now 198 days old. He is doing well. We have been busy the past few weeks and will mostly likely still be very busy through the end of the year as we tie up loose ends. We have some pictures from the last week. As you can see in picture 8 I got too close to the subject and was attacked. He is much more deliberate with his movements and he is getting faster when he lunges for things. He goes for glasses. Gram has seen this first hand as well. I have tiny smuges and prints on mine as well, I have cleaned up the camera for other pics. This week has the comparison pictures. But this time I would like some feed back on which of the two layouts people like [same pictures on both]: The original layout, or the new layout design. There may be other options in the future.

Jackson 188 days

Jackson is very observant, we have been repeating his sounds back to him. Kind of communicating. Then last week when he was hungry (guess one out of three) he was making "mmmmmmm" sounds. Like what Mary does when she feeds him cereal or puree. I can't say that he made the connection, but he sure did eat when we fed him after the verbal cue. He is also beginning to turn to his name. Then this evening he copied me as I stuck out my tongue at him. He as learned this trick and for the past hour, when he sees me, sticks out his tongue. You can tell that he is so proud of himself as well. Mary took some pictures of us playing "monkey see, monkey do." And this we have updated the week by week postings as well.

More Hummingbirds

This weekend we had more hummingbirds show up. I was very sure that I saw a second bird, Mary said she believed me, but her tone was less than convincing. We posted those pictures from last week, where the bird is not the flashy, but I thought that I saw some red on its head. Then today I got some pictures of the second bird, while Jackson and I typed this morning. Then later, I though I saw another bird that was different. Once again Mary says she believes me. But then this afternoon, she saw all three at once as well. It seems that the second bird, with the red head is the dominate male and very protective of his feeding area. He was chasing away the two other birds. ( bird one: small and green with gray chest, no red patches. Bird two: dominate male with red head, definately larger. And bird three: similar to one, but with red circles on is cheeks) We now think that we have a male, female and something else of the Anna's species, still the broad tailed is a possibility for the original. Then this evening we saw three birds on the feeder (odd I know) then then dominate male scared them all away. Therefore we have at least four birds. So I went to the store and purchased another feeder, that we put up on the other side of the yard. Hopefully this will allow for some kind of harmony in the clan.

Thanksgiving

This last week we traveled up to Seattle for Thanksgiving. This drive was not as long as the last where we got stuck in Fife for 2+ hours. Jackson is okay traveling when he can see out of the windows and something is going on. The drive home was not as smooth when it got dark, but by then we were only a few hours from home. The point being we had a great time seeing family and friends. Last time we were up there was four months ago, and Jackson has changed drastically since then. He did a great job being passed around and seeing people that he may not have remembered and some new people as well. My brother now lives in Seattle so he came over to spend the day with my in-laws. All in all there were 19 people in their house. Like always is starts off okay, but when you have then many people inside and cooking all that food, it warms up quickly. And it was quite chilly outside, but nice a clear. The dogs also love going to Seattle because of their great dog park.

Jackson 6 months

Today Jackson is six months. We went to the Dr. for the check up and some shots. Jackson was great all day at home with me, but when he saw the nurse he started getting all worked up and then he later went over the edge. He is doing well other than that, he is up to 18# 7oz. This was a busy month for him. He had a big growth spurt and has gained about 0.5#/week. He got three shots today. Not a fan. He knows. But he is slightly above the average on height and weight. We have lots of pictures from this last week. In reverse order Bath time from the 14th, Birth to Three and around the house on the 15th, some hummingbirds from this weekend and then tonight's bath time. Then as always we he have the weekly update set of pictures. I have finished compiling my thesis and it is 262 pages of text. I will get it printed this weekend and then turned in next week.

Thesis Defense

On Tuesday afternoon I defended my thesis in front of my five committee members and others from the department. A good portion of my lab mates came as well as other co-workers from the floor. I had a 35min talk and then there were some questions from the audience, the questions without the audience was quite smooth. Then they got to leave and I was asked more questions by my committee, then I had to leave while they talked about me. After five minutes they emerged to tell me that I had passed. So now I just have a few small changes that I want to make to my thesis then print it out on the fancy paper with the correct page numbers. And then I am done. One co-worker of mine was able to take some pictures from before the talk and then some after at my reception.

Jackson 25 weeks (177 days)

This week Jackson turned 25 weeks. Next week is his 6 month Dr. appointment. He sure is growing a lot in the past few weeks. This last week he was able to sit up without being supported by us or his Bumbo chair. So we have some pictures of him sitting and balancing on his own. He is quite good. It is one thing to do sit on the floor, it is another as he can sit on our bed on the comforter and not fall over. We have also updated his weekly pictures.

Jackson 24 weeks (168 days)

Jackson had a busy last week with my mom and his Nana here (I know that we have already said that, but), and we have some more pictures from her visit. And then we have some pictures from the weekend. Jackson is now able to sit up on his own for about 30 sec. On Thursday at Birth to Three we was sitting for about 45 seconds. He usually rolls forward as he looks at his toes and then tries to chew them. This week his Gram is back. There are also some updates on his weekly pictures.

Jackson 5 months

We have now changed from counting in weeks (still do, and even days) to counting in months. He is now a little older than 5 months. It sure is moving fast, we have two sets of pictures from around the house and hanging out with uncle Brandon. It was good to spend time with Brandon (Jackson's Tio) and my mom (Jackson's Nana) this last week. My brother has moved out to Seattle and we are looking forward to seeing him again around Thanksgiving. On Tues. I turned in my thesis to my committee, it is 250 pages and man is it a great feeling to have that off my plate. I defend in two weeks, then two weeks for revisions then done. Sweet.

Pumpkins

This is two posts in one. First we have an update where went and got our pumpkins on Sat. Jackson slept for the whole field trip. But despite the he enjoyed the one Mary picked out for him. Then just on Tue. were we able to carve our pumpkins. We also have some updated pictures from the past few weeks on his "week by week" set.

Jackson Halloween (Day of)

Here are just a few pictures of Halloween from Wednesday afternoon/evening. We have some of our pumpkins once carved. Ours are never as good as Josh and Cam's. More picture will be up later this evening, after someone goes to sleep and we get dinner.

Jackson Sweet potato

October 21st-
Today's new addition was sweet potato. He is not a big fan. As you can see form the pictures he is not quite sure.

Jackson Semi Solid Food (Banana)

October 16th-
Today we have added some banana mash to Jacksons rice base mush. He seems to like the new addition to his food. We will continue this for a few days then try another food. We have some pictures from his Banana feeding.

Jackson 21 weeks

As you can tell from last weeks post we have started trying some semi-solid food. He seems to like it, it is more paste than like soup. Thus far he has tried rice cereal and then some oatmeal. He seems to prefer the oatmeal. At first it was mostly fun to spit it out then lick it off the bib. Now he seems to actually be eating it. Mary has been letting him taste and lick some fruit. Not too much we need to focus on the veggies so he doesn't get a sweet tooth. So we have some pictures of him licking/tasting fruit. And then this evening he was so tired he fell asleeping during the Leafs/Sabers games (Mary brought up an interesting point why is it Leafs not Leaves?), which was surprising because the last ten minutes were great and the OT was darn good. This weeks update picture comes from his fruit tasting.

Jackson 20 weeks old

This is the second back to back post of the day. This covers that last week. We have been continuing to feed him his slurry. This week he has been doing a lot of rolling over from front to back. He goes 90% of the time to the right with his right arm going up and over. Here are the weekly series pictures. And the addition to the week by week progression.

Jackson 19 weeks old

This week is a two for one (Oct. 1st and 8th). I have last weeks update and this one. The more exciting news is that we have moved Jackson, or at least introducing him to semi solid food. Which is more like a slurry or rice paste. He is trying, and it sure is fun to watch. Here are pictures from the week, as well as the update. So we have tried feeding him a couple times. Most of the food just dribbles out.

Jackson Videos

Last week we got Jackson a new toy. Here we have few videos of him playing in his new toy. We have three great little snipettes for y'all: first one of him bouncing, a second of him bouncing, and (yes, yes I know) a third of him bouncing (with bonus laughing). Tomorrow we will do the weekly update with some pictures. I hope this helps 'till then.

Jackson 18 weeks old

This week Jackson turns 18 weeks old. On Monday he had his 4 month Dr. Appt. All is well. His weight is in the 5o% and length is 55%. He got three shots, not too happy with that part, but hey who would be. Yesterday [day after] he was fussy, but today he seems much happier. We have some pictures from the last week, including two from out "Birth to Three" group from Thursday. The best one is, unfortunately, the one with my head in the way. But you can see all 12 kids, and Jackson (ours) and Aiden have not yet begun full meltdown. Which is in the second picture. Then we have a our weekly update series as well. We bundled him up well for a trip to the dog park on Sunday morning. It was cold [for him] around 55°F. We are getting a new roof today. So more home improvement pictures to be posted later.

Jackson 17 weeks old

This weekend we also went to a volunteer dinner at the Arboretum that works in conjunction with the Friends of Buford Park in the area. We have a few pictures from that event [the weekly update picture comes from there as well]. This has been a busy week and especially weekend as you can tell from the last few posts [and even more so because they are late] This week Jackson's milestones are: we are starting to hear consonants in his sounds. [but like everything else I may need an objective opinion to back me up] On a side note I am quite sure I heard him say "aqua" yesterday.[*independent verification needed] I blame Gram and Bebo [Julie and Fernando] for that one. And he is still growing, a lot, we are moving into his 6-9 month clothes, he is quite tall. This are moving along. I am back at school after my summer internship. I have been writing a lot and feel good about what I have gotten done. We have the four month appointment on Monday, all seems to be on schedule.

Fence Final stages

After the beach we came home and worked on house projects. Last week we did the post installation. This week we: installed the wire, planted the Honey Suckle and added the post caps. The fence looks quite nice if I do say so myself. You can see for your self here.

Beach

On Saturday we went to the beach. It was Jackson's first trip out to the coast. He seemed to enjoy it, he was wrapped up tightly and under Mary's coat for a good portion of the time. The weather was cool, there was some rain but a great trip to take before the real weather starts up. We took a few pictures of the field trip.

Jackson 16 weeks

As usual we are behind. Jackson is doing well, we have achieved a few more milestones. This last week he rolled from his tummy to his back. [After a lot of twisting back and forth to the sides] Once again he was surprised with what he did, but this was more pleasant than rolling onto his tummy. Then tonight when we were watching Jeopardy and I was feeding him, he took the bottle from me and "held" it between his wet little fists. As this week's set of pictures will show: Mary has brought out the mirror and he is doing his "torture" in front of it. The mirror does seem to make it more acceptable. Today Mary got him a Bumbo chair that can help him sit up. So far so good. He has the neck strength but not that back and stomach strength yet. I am sure we will see more of it. This should help. We have also updated the week by week pictures. Sorry, we just have stills for this update.

Jackson Videos

We took some video of Jackson this weekend. We have four great little snipettes for y'all: first one of him talking, a second of him talking, and (yes, yes I know) a third of him talking (with bonus wiggling) and finally one of him chatting with my parents via the computer out in CT. Tomorrow we will do the weekly update with some pictures. I hope this helps 'till then.

New Fence, stages one->three

We are getting a lot of our house projects done this summer/fall. Yesterday and then into today Mary removed grass from the yard. This is where the lavendar was located. Then today we dug
six holes for the fence posts. Then placed the fence posts in. We had to do it in stages because it got up 93F here this afternoon ( a tad warm for digging holes). Tomorrow Mary will find the plants and then we will string them up with more pictures to follow. There are four pics including the title one: title, second, third and fourth.

Jackson 15 Weeks old

Jackson is becoming much more lively. Today we have a video of him laughing with Mary. We have been doing lots of walking with him in the jogging stroller. On Saturday Mary went for a 3+ mile walk with her Moms and Kids walking group. Then in the afternoon we walked to the Saturday Market (2+ miles round trip). We got some goat cheese and Interlaken grapes ( small, sweet and seedless), a nice olive loaf of bread and some fancy chevre cheese. That night Mary made stuffed mushrooms and nice spread for the bread with the cheese. Then tonight after it cooled off, we went for a walk around the neighborhood, about 2.6 miles. We are planning on grilling tomorrow and spending more quality time with the kid. We have a few more pictures from the week, mostly of "tummy time", and then our new picture for the update. I can't believe that he is 105 days old. In real time that is not even 4 mouths.

Jackson 14 Weeks old

Today Jackson is 14 weeks old. He is over 13 pounds and doing great. Last night he slept from 9PM to 6AM. He is doing much better than I expected and was warned about. We have been continuing with his dreaded "tummy time" he can stand a few minutes of it at a time. This weekend we walked up to the Saturday market, he like going for field trips which is great. I have some weekly pictures from that trip. And as always we have updated his week by week up date. This week I am going to try something that we haven't done since Jan. A few sound clips, this week he was very very talkative so we have two.

Jackson Sound clip one.

And then

Jackson Sound clip two.

I will test them out tonight before we go to bed so I hope that they work for you all. Mary has survived her first week back at work and I only have three weeks left in my internship. Keep you fingers crossed for us.

Jackson Rolls over

Today Jackson rolled over from his back to his stomach. He was not too pleased with himself once he realized what he had done. We have not been able to get him to roll the other way, front to back. And he is still not a fan of "tummy time", but we have been doing at least 5 minutes a day on his front. On other news Mary survived her first week back at work and Jackson's Gram survived one week with him. We will get the weekly update up soon [i.e. Monday].

Jackson 13 Weeks old

This week has not been that busy, but the past three days have been. On Saturday Gram and Bebo came down. Then we all went to the fair that evening. We have two sets of pictures: one for the week and a second from the fair. We also have our weekly Jackson update. Today Mary went back to work, it flew by for her. And Gram brought Jackson over for an afternoon meeting. All the critters were well behaved. My internship is going well and I have to go back to school soon to finish. I will really, I mean really try, to do a mid week upday.

Jackson 12 Weeks old

Jackson has grown a lot in the past week. [Weekly update] We have been weighing him at home by difference from one of us on the scale. (I feel like Homer in the Simpson's episode where he raises a lobster and he doesn't tare the scale to his own weight. He just "remembers" his own weight, which was years past. From that he thinks that his lobster is over sixty pounds. When I do that I think of the South Park line "Simpsons did it." As if nothing new can ever been done.) Jackson is now up to about 13 pounds, and when he sleeps he really sleeps. At his last doctor's visit he was right on track where he needed to be. Over the past few days we've noticed him becoming more aware of his body. I think mostly his feet. When we have been playing with him we pretend to eat his toes, he laughs, then puts his feet back up by your face. And then today Mary had him on the floor on his little gym and he was kicking the hanging toys and reaching with his hands with real purpose. You can see for yourself in the small gallery of pictures from this week. We will try to update more often but unless you want Chemistry talks as well, this may been where we are in terms of frequency. We have been doing more evening walks now that it has cooled off. We got an inStep jogging/running stroller last week and have been putting it through its paces. On Saturday I bought a cheap bike computer from Joe's and installed it. That afternoon we walked to the downtown and back, 2.85 miles. Mary has been using it during the day as well on trips to the store. From one of the baby showers we got carseat/stroller insert for smaller kids so that they don't slide around as much. Besides we don't jog with him, we just walk. I will have to get pics of this soon.

Jackson 11 Weeks old

I know that every week we look back at when he was born. He sure has changed a lot. I look at my week by week pictures almost daily. I just can't get over how much he has changed. Last week was a growing weekend for sure, there were days of just crazy fussing then it look liked he slept most of the weekend. He may have caught up on sleep but we did not. But due to a couple crazy nights we were not able to make it out to family camp this last weekend. Last week my brother was here from CT. He taught us how to use our camera. And he took some pictures of us with Jackson. I even think that I have some of him with Jackson somewhere. I will try to get those up as a mid week bonus.

Jackson 10 Weeks old

I am behind as usual. But we have some pictures from the last few days. With the visit of Uncle Brandon there have been lots more pictures. Jackson is doing a great job dealing with all the new people. Brandon has been practicing his photography on Jackson, I mean what a great subject. I will post more of his gallery later. But I do have the weekly progressions updated. We are having lots of fun seeing his personality appear.

Jackson Visits Seattle

Yesterday when we were in Seattle Jackson got to meet a bunch of his family that he had not yet met. He had met some of my side, but now it was time to meet some from the maternal side. He met his Uncle Mike, Uncle Josh and Aunt Cam, great gram, tia abuela (great aunt) and tio abuelo (great uncle). I was able to get a few pictures [ there are a lot that I missed, an issue that I will fix next time, which I am afraid will not be until Thanksgiving.] But of those ones that we took here are a few of the good ones. Jackson was real trooper. The drive up on Friday was very long, including 2.5 hours just north of Fife on I-5, where we only went two miles. A tanker truck had flipped and spilled gas on the roadway. [All in all our drive from Eugene to Seattle took over 8.5 hours. I had anticipated a 6 hour trip which included two x half hour Jackson breaks.] He likes the car [or did before then] when it is moving. Being stagnant was not fun. The drive back today was a shade over five hours, including one stop for Jackson. The point of this was Jackson travels well and did great with so many new people. This post will not replace the weekly update which will be later tomorrow.

Seattle Birthday Party

Yesterday we had a belated Birthday for Mary and her mom in Seattle. It was good day in Seattle. I was able to snap a few pictures from the party. Mary and her mom both got suet bar holders and a suet bar for feeding birds.

Jackson 9 Weeks old

I first need to say that we will get better about more frequent posts. We are doing the smallest bit that I promised of the once weekly posting. So here are this weeks pictures. [I just love this picture here, it is like he needs a scepter as he addresses his subjects or he is an actor from Apocalypto] And the update to the week by week page. This has been a fun week as we look ahead to how Jackson will be as we watch Miguel grow up in Ann Arbor ( he is a few weeks older). This week also has a bit of history as a good friend of mine from NC had her baby last week.

From Jenn (and Taylor) blog-

"On Friday, July 13, 2007 at 2:40 a.m. we got into the car and headed to the birthing center. We arrived at the center at 3:00 a.m. and the midwife met us at the car. Then at 3:16 a.m. Dylan Jason Poole came into this world. Yes that is right 16 minutes from when we arrived at the center he was born. He is a beautiful little guy, 5 lbs. 11 ounces, 19.5” tall."

So we have been looking at old pictures and reminiscing a little. This just proves that there is something in the water. So many boys. We have yet to hear from our friends Jeff and Kelly but they are expecting a boy as well.

Jackson 8 Weeks old

Sorry for the late update [see previous post for details]. We have some great pictures from the last week. I have also up dated the week by week comparison. Mary and Courtney will post pictures soon of their field trip to the wineries around town some time soon. Jackson had his 2 month check on Monday. All is good. He got some vaccinations and was not too pleased after the first set. But does not appear to be too damaged. He is still very lively and getting more and more interactive every day. He smiles, laughs and looks around most of the time during the day.

Baxter - The broken puppy

I know that Jackson's adoring fans were in anticipation of his weekly update. That did not appear yesterday as regularly scheduled. That is because I had to take Baxter to the Emergency Vet clinic last night for a 2cm laceration to his leg. When I got home from my internship I was greeted with the normal excitement and then some. My sister and Jackson's aunt was here. She is out from NC for a few days visiting family here. I was informed that Baxter had gotten out of the yard, again..somehow. After a few minutes we noticed blood on the floor and he was bleeding all over. But he did not seem to be bothered. We we packed the cut with quick stop and I took him to the emergency 24hr vet. After some cleaning and staples we came home for dinner. He appears to be okay, but because of this we did not get the update done.

July 8th, Jackson is 7 weeks (almost)

Today Jackson is almost 7 weeks old is just amazing how time flies. We have the week by week update. It is crazy to compare them side by side, since we see him everyday the changes are not as large to us. But recently they seem to be more drastic and we are noticing the difference. Today we did "tummy time" [...drop and give me twenty...] , no real push ups but as you can see from these pictures there is some head control. We have been doing a few minutes at a time of supervised exercise. This morning Jackson and I went for an errand to get Mary her morning decaf latte. Then we read the paper [just the comics], then some journal articles before he decided that he had had enough chemistry and Mary should not be sleeping any more. Then we handed off. Since then we have naps, "tummy time" and more relaxing.

July 4th & 5th

Yesterday we went to Salem for a fourth of July party at one of my aunts. There was some great grilling as usual. I made some Deviled eggs. And Mary has now informed me that I am to make then for every social event we attend. She then qualified that to "when appropriate" [I guess that means I will not bring them to the opera, not that we go....] We have some pictures from yesterday and today. Jackson is getting baths often now. They seem to help calm him down in the evening. He looks so cute under his towel. We are doing well, he is getting more and more interesting as he interacts with us more. There is voice [maybe tone] recognition and we are getting more smiles from him.

Jackson 6 Weeks old

I know that officially it is not weekly update time (till tomorrow) but I have so many good pictures from last night and this afternoon to share that we could not resist. So here are some (more than the normal amount of) pictures. And I have used this as a chance to update the weekly photo list as well. More music and dancing (wigging) he is very involved and looking around at everything. I am still not to sure how much he actually sees. But none the less he is very interested in his surroundings. We are going to have more music playing in the house for him.

more pics and Video

Sorry for the late addition but here are some more pictures (stills and a video) from the 25th and 26th. Jackson is getting more alert he is looking around. Today we got our first social smile as he is reacting to us and there is a lot more interaction. As you see from the video he like music. But he is not as vocal as Miguel is yet, but we do have a few weeks to catch up. But I will blame the dogs in advance. Because I will bet they are not talking with Jackson as much as Tenzin is with Miguel.

Jackson 5 Weeks old

Today Jackson is now five weeks old. We have a picture from today. We have also made an ongoing page that compares all the weeks together. Things have drastically changed for us in this short amount of time. He is a lot of fun. He really likes music, he dances (okay wiggles might be a better description) and seems to be enjoying himself. I can only imagine how much more exciting things are going to get. We are taking him out for walks, both with and without the dogs. We have gone to the park and other fun places, we have not yet taken him on errands. We are waiting until there is a need. Currently we divide and conquer. His neck is getting much stronger he can hold his head up longer and still looks around at everything.

Pacifier

We have been able to get Jackson to take pacifier this evening to help him calm down. I was able to shoot a small video of him. It is similar to the mobile or the hiccups videos.

DWJ BBQ

Today was the second annual Johnson-Hof BBQ. This followed the first annual Johnson-Hof Symposium. Though it is our second science meeting last year we met up at the ISMSC, that was in Victoria, BC. This year our northern neighbors came down here. On Friday we had ten talks then today it was BBQ at the Johnson house. This is Jackson first meeting with my co-workers, it seemed to have gone well. Mary and I made Deviled Eggs that did not last long. Melanie brought some wonderful chocolate cookies that I will have to make. Tim made some beer utilizing hops from our garden from last season. I liked the beer. I was great for this time of year. And as usual our boss made so great stuff from the grill. Like every other time I came home stuffed.

Jackson's Bath

Today Jackson got a bath in the kitchen sink. This one worked much better on us than our attempt in the regular tube. There is less back trouble and a much smoother event. He seems to like it, or at the very least not dislike. I guess that we should not get too picky. We, I, took some pictures of the bath.

Just around home

Just a calm day around the house, not a lot to report. We just took a few pictures and thought that we would share them.

Four weeks old

Today Jackson is 4 weeks. It is hard to imagine. Things are going well. We are learning some of his personality and his needs. Sleep is better some days than others. We will get one night of 11PM to 4AM then the next is 12M, 2AM, 4:30AM, and then again at 7AM just to make sure all is well. We will see what tonight brings, but in the interim we have some pictures from today

Fathers Day

Fathers day trip up to Salem to visit with lots of family. I have some pictures here from the event. We were able to get a few 4 generation pictures of the Rubys as well as us. We got some great pictures of cousins from my generation and some second cousins from the next generation.

Graduation

Today I "graduated" from the UO. It is not quite real as I still have lots of work to do, but it was nice to walk while my parents are here. There is lots of writing to do. But what I have to do now is no longer lab work, so I can get some of it done at home ( in all that free time) in small chucks as I can. I will get it done this summer and then defend at the beginning of the fall. My dad took some pictures and I have posted a few here.

Jackson Faces

A busy week with Nana and grampa visiting from the east coast. Jackson is getting very expressive. I was able to get a few pictures, here from him showing off. I am going to believe that he is acutally listen and responding to us. We have taken him to the dog park a few times and a few walks around the neighborohood he does like to get out in his front carrier.

Jackson 3 Weeks old

As you can tell from the lack of update we have all been busy. But for the least little bit I have a weekly update. As usual there are busy times. Jackson's paternal grandparents (Nana and Grampa not to be confused or mixed with Gram and Bebo) arrived on Saturday. Then on Sunday Great Aunt B, Aunt MiKy and with cousins Hannah and Emily came down from Portland for a visit. I have some pictures here from the weekend. We had great time visiting. Everyone left tired, and those of us that stayed had a nap. This evening we went to the dog park with Jackson, but when we got there an got him out of the car we needed a complete change of clothes. So Mary, Nana and the dogs went for a walk while I went home and changed him. We were able to make it back to do one loop with everyone else. The "babyBjorn" carrier works quite well. Not a lot is planned for the week. Thursday Jackson will go in with Mom to her work to meet the co-workers. Saturday is graduation here so he we get another outting. The Chem Dept grad should be small but we will see how he does. Then Sunday we be crazy as it is fathers day and we are all going to Salem for the afternoon. I have lots of pictures from those events to share later.

Jackson 2 Weeks old

Well, on Sunday I told you that I had not seen the "old Faithful" Today I sit here corrected. To clarify, I saw something different. I would more describe it as a Hawaiian lava slide or small eruption. There was not a lot of force and distance like say a geyser but more of a prolonged steady flow. Engough of the imagary. Today we had the two week Dr. check up. Baby is doing great, he is 9# [up past the birth weight of 8# 6oz] not bad for two weeks. He is at the 50%, dead center, good news I guess. And he is now only 21.5in, so as was expected his cone head has shrunk down to the normal round. They did another PKU test, results to follow, he was not too keen on them drawing blood from his heel. I have some pictures here from this afternoon. Tomorrow the hockey season may end and we [yes, Jackson and I - not just the royal "we"] will be wathcing it. Jackson has already been a good influence on me there has been less yelling, especially at the diving on Monday. Some of these players should get their own Oscar nominations [..cough..Neil...cough... Emery..cough] but tomorrow will be a sad and fun day as we get to see the cup. Ah, I remember Wednesday October 4th like it was yesterday. My point is Jackson likes hockey so I guess that we will keep him. More news as it happens. But as promised here are pictures from day 0 and today [day 14]

Poop Monster

We are all doing well - had a few nights with less sleep than normal (before baby). It has not yet caught up to me. I seem to fall asleep during his 11PM feed and then awake for the 3 or 4 AM one. And then again for the 7ish one, but on a much more positive note I am getting a lot done in those earlier mornings between 7 & 8 AM. For example Mary had her Sunday morning breakfast in had around 9 instead of the usual 11:30ish. Mary is being a real trooper and doing so well. Since I have been negligent on web stuff we have a few days worth of pictures here including a visit from Great Grandma Gatlin as well as Great Aunts Diane and Leslyn, from this afternoon. I am looking forward to my parents showing up next week so that he can meet his other set of Grand parents. Then on Father's Day I am going to get a four generation picture, we have one of me as a toddler and I am looking forward to starting a father's day tradition. It looks like Miguel in Michigan has been talking to Jackson here as they are soiling fresh diapers as soon as they are secure. Of course I should not complain, on Thursday Mary had an "Old Faithful, only with bright orange poop." [ this is a direct quote, some things I am happy to miss]

Jackson 1 Week old

Jackson and Mary are doing very well. I have a few pictures from yesterday here. Mary went our the to the library and got a huge stack of books. Jackson is sleeping well [knock on wood] so we will see how long that lasts. Right now he loves to be held and rocked. He seems to have a very strong neck and is able to pick his head up and look around. I have decided to weekly [atleast] post pictures of the progression since day 0. So this week is "week 1" and we have picture 0 and day 7.

Hiccups

Today Jackson had a bad case of the hiccups, we were able to get a short video of him in the crib. Here he is with the hiccups

Mobile Video

Today we used the camera to get small video of Jackson watching his mobile in his crib. You can see it by clicking here Video ( you may need quick time to view this)

Jackson's Mobile

We had a very relaxing day here. Both Jackson and Mary were able to rest a lot today. I shot a short video of Jackson watching his mobile in his crib. He has not yet started to grab at it, but when he does we will need to lower the crib or maybe hack the toy to make it rotate faster. Julie did a lot of cooking so we will be well fed for the next week or so.

Today was a great day at home we read the paper. Jackson just loves "Get Fuzzy" I think that we will keep him he even laughs at my readings. He was also able to relax in his comfy chair. Stella did get an up close and personal look at him. He and Mary had a great restful evening as he was able to be close to her and take a nap. We are looking forward to the long weekend.

Relaxing at home

Today was a great day at home. Jackson and a Mary have been resting a lot and are enjoying the quiteness. It will be good to get back onto a schedule and maybe with some luck we can get Jackson into some kind of pattern. This evening he had a case of the hiccups, I got a short video below. Jackson's uncle Josh and Aunt Cam are already looking for toys. But Josh wants to get him a machete, thank goodness Cam's cooler head has prevailed. Maybe later.

Jackson at Home

Today we brough Jackson home. He and Mary are resting well, he seemed to really enjoy the car ride home [i.e. he slept]. He seems to be quite content and relaxed. The dogs now know what is up but they are still figuring out how to react. They have both sniffed him and are appearing to be uninterested. But his evening cries did cause some amazement, they have not put the two together that he is the source of the noise. Mary got some rest yesterday at the hospital and I am hoping that she will do better at home with more familiar surroundings. I was able to get some pictures yesterday as we visited in the hospital with the Larios grand parents on May 22 while still at the hospital. I am looking forward to June when my parents arrive and he can visit with the other set as well.

Gram's prediction

May 21:
"You have a great deal of confidence in your ability and what you can
accomplish. You are original and compelling; love nature and sports.
You love your home, like to make it beautiful and are devoted to your
family."

We have arrival, and our winner is Julie with the 21st. He is Jackson Thomas Gatlin, 8 pounds 6 oz and 22.5 in long. He arrived at 8:58PM PST after about 2 hours of hard pushing. Our first set of pictures are here.

Not yet

There is no baby out yet. It looks like I am going to lose the pool at the rate we are going. Today more cleaning. That seems to be all we do now [laugh it up], I have put lots of stuff for later in the attic so the house is cleaner and stuff is now quite well organized. I have an email all ready that I just need to fill in the details [name, date, time, weigh, height, full head of hair and what not] and then send once the baby arrives. So I will let everyone know in as timely a manner as possible. Depending on the time only a few people will get a frantic call. But they are the grand parents as it is the first grand child on both sides.