A Florida Thanksgiving...

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend at grandma and grandpa Timmons house in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. After a LONG evening/night of driving we finally arrived to their house around 1:30 in the morning on Wednesday. Even though we woke up very sleep deprived on Wednesday we were ready to take on the beach with Jackson. It was the perfect day for a walk on the beach, 75 degrees and sunny! It was his first time ever stepping foot on the beach. At first he was unsure but ended up really liking it. We just walked around down by the water and let him play with the sand a bit. I cant wait til we can go back one day with him in bathing suits and all so we can build sands castles and play in the water.

Sugar had a wonderful time as well. She got to swim her heart out in the bayou behind grandma and grandpa's backyard. One day she swam for almost an hour straight without taking a break!

Jackson had such a great time exploring and hanging out in grandma and grandpa's backyard...

                                           

                               

                               

                             

                            
And boy did we have the most delicious Thanksgiving feast. Uncle Todd joined us that day...

On Saturday we went out to lunch before the Gator game...

                               
It took him some time to warm up to his great grandma because he has only met her once when he was 5 months old. Look how happy she was when he finally did...

                              

On Sunday morning we went to church with the family before embarking on our long journey home. Let me tell you, Jackson was a little angel. He sat on daddy's lap the entire hour and barely made a peep. He has never done that for us here at church.  And he looked so cute in his Sunday best...

                                     

The week before we left for our trip we were getting a bit worried because Jackson wasnt eating very well. Something about being on vacation gave him the most incredible appetite, or was it just grandma Timmons delicious cooking. He tried all kinds of new foods and hasnt stopped eating since! I think he was just getting bored with all the Stage 3 baby foods. This boy has to be gaining some good weight. He also slept like a champ on vacation. One afernoon he took a 3 hour nap! He really impressed us on this trip.

Halloween Weekend

We had a fun filled Halloween weekend consisting of cupcake baking, pumpkin carving, football watching (the Gators played won in a great game against Georgia), and Trick or Treating. Since this was Jackson's first year trick or treating we wanted to keep it low key so we just took him down our single street. We strolled him between houses but then let him walk up the driveways and to the front door. He was the cutest Woody you have ever seen! Aunt Chris made him an adorable costume. Here are some pictures from the weekend...

Time to remove the pumpkin guts...

Poor Sugar still had her cone but has since gotten to take it off. Long story short, she had emergency surgery for a bowel obstruction.

Pulling out these pumpkin guts is really fun!

The finished products, all carving courtesy of the talented Dave Reid...

The middle pumpkin represents Jack with his one tooth on the bottom

Wearing daddy's hat and cheering on the Gators

Playing in the Cozy Coupe during the game

Ready to go trick or treating...

And he's off!

Our first stop, the next door neighbor's house

Jack with his neighbor friend George, the fried egg







  






                                                                            

Pumpkin Patch 2010

This year we started a tradition of taking Jackson to the pumpkin patch, although we didnt buy a pumpkin there because we had previously bought a couple at the grocery store. At this point he is still too little to pick out his own pumpkin anyway. It was a beautiful afternoon, about 78 degrees and sunny. We got lost on the way there but after we finally arrived it was well worth it because Jackson had a blast! I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.....



Checking out the pumpkins. All the big ones were gone by the time we got there.




Family picture at the pumpkin patch




Grandpa teaching Jackson how to shuck corn




We found this old Radio Flyer that he rode in most of the time we were there




Petting the sheep. I had to stop him from pulling his ear. The sheep might not be as tolerant as Sugar is.




Just a close up...




Riding in the wagon through the corn maze...



Playing in the treehouse with mommy...

For other exciting news! Jackson cut his first tooth last Thursday. Grandma and grandpa noticed it while I was at work. It is a rigid little tooth on the bottom just barely poking through at this point. So far he hasnt had any typical teething symptoms like restlessness or fussiness. Lets hope they all pop up this smoothly!

Fall is in the air....

Finally, the Fall season is in full swing. Football, chili, candy corn, pumpkin spice candles, and cooler weather. I cant get enough of it! This past weekend grandma and grandpa Wolfe came to visit and got to meet Jackson for the first time. They were here for less than 24 hours but he warmed up to them very quickly. We hope to spend some time with them again, sooner rather than later. Here are some pics from their visit...





 Today I took Jackson to his first fair. We went to the Dixie Classic Fair up in Winston-Salem with Amber, Anderson, and Camden. It is the second largest fair in the state. We had a really good time and the weather could not have been more perfect. Jackson is still too little to enjoy even most of the kiddie rides but we look forward to going back next year!




Camden and Jack watching Amber and Anderson on the carousel



Jack and I on the carousel. Really the only ride he could go on

Jack waiting for the pig race to start. They ran by so fast he didnt even notice them!



Amber and Anderson on another ride

Over the past month, Jackson's walking is getting much more graceful. He is getting quicker too! He likes to climb on things now as well. We have noticed him loving on Sugar a lot lately. I really need to get a picture of him hugging her. It is a sight to see! Last week I taught him how to give kisses. So now when I say "kiss" and pucker my lips he will lean in and touch his lips to mine. We have a loveable little guy on our hands.

Jackson's one year check up

This morning we went for the one year check up. His stats we as follows:

Weight: 17 lbs 12.6 ounces (<5th%)
Height: 29 inches (25th%)
Head: 18 inches (25th%)

So, again this time our main issue is his weight. He is still low for his age but the doctor was happy because at least he is trailing along and not dropping, on the charts. He gave us a few suggestions to get his weight up. We will try less milk and focus more on solids. Although at this point that is tricky because he still has no teeth, which he assured us was normal and can sometimes take up to 18 months. We are gonna try some Pediasure as well, for extra calories We will go back in December to see him for another weight check.

We also discussed his development. Socially and physically he is doing well. It's his language we are going to work on. Some things we want to see: him waving bye bye, saying some words other than da da, and pointing out familiar objects.

Overall, he got a clean bill of health. We are so fortunate to have a happy and healthy little boy!

Little Otter

Tonight was Jackson's first swim lesson. We enrolled him in the Otter Baby 1 class at Little Otter Swim school, which is conveniently located about 3 miles from our house. Swim lessons is something I have been thinking about for Jackson since he was about 6 months old. He goes to class every Wednesday night and each class runs for 30 minutes. There are 5 other babies in his class. One person gets in the water with him during the class. Last night it was me. Dad, grandma, and grandpa were right there watching though. I wasnt sure how Jackson would react because there have been times in the past at the pool and such that he was not a big fan of the water. Tonight was a different story though, he was all smiles as we splashed, sang songs, and tried new skills in the water. I enjoyed the class myself, even more than I thought I would. We cant wait to go back next week!

First Birthday Celebrations

Our little boy is now a toddler. I can hardly believe it. I have to say though, each day is more fun than the one before, as he does new things. His latest accomlishent is learning to walk! Last Wednesday he took multiple steps (like 5 or 6) in a row. Everyday after that he has been adding on to it. Now he pretty much has it down pat. He mostly walks around the house now instead of crawl. It is so cute to watch too!
On to the birthday celebrations. It started the last weekend of August down in Florida at grandma and grandpa Timmons house. We went down there for a few days to visit. We had hopes of getting Jackson to the beach and on the boat for the first time but the weather had other plans for us. It pretty much rained the whole time, but we did get to have a family birthday celebration for Jackson and Brittney, who had a birthday at the beginning of August. It was a lot of fun to spend some time with Toby's side of the family.

Opening a present from Aunt Britt

I cant believe he kept the hat on!

Grandpa coming out with the cake

The next celebration, on his actual bithday, was with my side of the family. Aunt Chris, Unlce Bob, Kyle, Katie, and Delaney arrived that evening. Steph and Patrick came the next morning. We had a nice dinner and gave Jackson some of his presents.

Playing on the back deck waiting for our company to arrive

Opening a present

Trying out his new Tot Rod

Last but not least was his animal themed birthday party on Saturday. Which also happened to be the first Gator game of the season. It gave us two reasons to celebrate.  We had a great turn out at his party. It was great spending time with some of our friends that we wish we got to see more often. I think Jackson had a good time but I also think he became overwhelmed at times. We were shocked that he didnt want anything to do with the cake. He just sat in his highchair and cried while everyone stood around him singing and taking pictures. We even tried a second attempt at the cake later that night and he still didnt want anything to do with it. Jackson, along with the other kids, had a lot of fun playing with all the new toys though. We continued the celebrating all weekend long with the Schroeders.

 

                               

     Jackson with his cake after the singing and pictures stopped

   

Opening presents with mommy and daddy

With grandma on the back deck

Ready to relax with a cold beverage after the guests left

Checking out the scene downtown, the next day