Baby Dedication

We dedicated Jackson to the Lord on Nov 21 with our friends and family gathered around. I made it hectic on myself by trying to rearrange my kitchen and living room, prepare a big lunch, and have the family back at our place after the service. Our duplex isn't huge and we haven't had more than a few couples over at once, so I was nervous about hosting a bigger group on a rainy day, but it went really well and the reception part of it came together as planned.

With prepping the food and house I felt pretty distracted from what we were all there for. Later I thought of how it reminded me of a mini-wedding were you get so wrapped up in planning the after-party that you nearly forget about the vows you're there to make. It didn't help that Jack severely soiled his outfit moments before we were called on stage and Dan and I were tearing around to get him clean and re-clothed in time. Then there were camera malfunctions...all that to say that I was distracted.

We did have a good time together as a family, but after everyone left I skyped with my dad, who missed it all at home with the flu, and he encouraged me to take a moment to reflect on the day, how I felt, and the gravity of the promise that we made. The seriousness of the prayer over Jackson finally hit me and I started to realize the commitment we'd made and how hard it will be to honor it over the next few decades. Only the Lord can give us what we need to raise this child up. I pray that Dan and I can look to Him every step of the way.

 Pastor Alex prays for Jackson

 He falls asleep with Uncle Dubb

 Me with nephew Evan

 Having lunch and opening gifts

 Jack got a kids Bible

 and awesome giraffe shoes

 He LOVED turning the pages by himself

 Evan and Grammie Cheryl

 Grandma and Jack

 Knockout blow

Guitar Lessons

Jackson got his first guitar lesson from Papa Barrett at Thanksgiving. He got to pull on the strings and slap the body of the guitar to make music. I'm not sure which of these two loved it more.

 Playing in the case.

 And getting back out.

Dino with a cold

 This video is from Halloween.  We all had colds and were trying to nap after a Halloween party.  Dan actually slept through the first part of this video even though he was being harassed.  I guess he's a much deeper sleeper than he used to be.

Mischief

For someone who doesn't crawl yet, Jack always seems to be busy with something, but he's usually smiling while he gets things done.

 Pulling the toys on the bouncer

 Showing off his gums

 Concentrating

 Making it hard to finish a diaper change

New stacking cups to play with.  He can sit on his own so the boppy is there just in case he decides to arch back and I can't catch his head fast enough.

 He's got multiple toys in reach

 Getting frustrated with them

He's got it and he won't let go!

First Food

Jackson got his first rice cereal this week. He was very interested in grabbing the spoon and making a mess, but he actually ate quite a bit. The last few nights he's continued to eat the whole bowl of cereal and even opens his mouth for more. I think he likes the attention of the feeding time.

 Jack's silver spoon and silver bowl. The bowl was a gift from his great grandmother.  It originally belonged to Jackson's great-great-great-great grandmother. Isn't that awesome! The spoon is a bit newer, a gift from Dan's co-worker when Jack was born.

 Wearing the bib and ready to go.

Trying the first bites.

 Sucking on his lower lip.

 Weird faces.

 And spoon grabbing.

 Dan takes a turn behind the spoon.

 A mess.

 Pretty happy with the results!

Baby's Laughing Game

Jack and I have spend the last week and a half at home with a bad cold. It's been hard having to cancel all of our activities and stay in the house with a sick little baby, but I just didn't have the energy to get going. He was also really clingy to me and didn't want to go to Dan at all, so I was exhausted from holding him all day and feeding him all night as he woke much more often than usual. Jackson's better now and I'm almost there, but moments like this video make it so worthwhile to spend my days with him. His new game that he wants to play all day is "look at me and I'll laugh for you." My favorite game yet!

Tickling