Five Months

Jackson is five months old! Where does the time go??

He is a man on the move now with his back-scoot maneuver. He can cross the room before you know it. At his 4 month check-up he was in the 95th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for height, so he's still "thriving" to say the least. Last night he had some peas with his dinner - first solids beside cereal and to no one's surprise, they were a hit.







Caroline started school last week and loves it. I think her favorite part is that they have a class pet, a guinea pig named Rocky. My favorite thing is her impression of him shivering with fear in his purple plastic castle within his cage. If I were a guinea pig facing 15 3-year olds, I'd be shivering in my castle too!

We've been spending our afternoons outdoors mainly in an effort to occupy Caroline since we've given up the nap. I know I've mentioned the nap ditch before, but this time it's officially happening. After several 9:30 bedtimes post-nap, I've thrown in the towel and we're happily back to a 7 p.m. bedtime. But boy, are we all exhausted at 7 p.m.!

We traveled to San Francisco earlier this month and had a great time. On the horizon is Jackson's baptism in a few weeks, so the grandparents will be coming in for that soon. Now we just have to hope Mr. Pudgy can fit into the baptismal gown....

Recent happenings

Well I've been terrible about keeping up with the blog, but here's the run down of our late summer...

We had lots of visitors in June & July - mostly by the grandparents but also Josh's Aunt Pam & Uncle Andy and my Aunt Jan & Uncle Mike. I think Jackson has spent half of his life at the beach so far, between going at least once a week here at home (plus extra visits with guests) and then spending two weeks on the Gulf Coast in August, he is quite the beach baby. But it fits him, he continues to be a very laid back kid.



Caroline loved her month of preschool (a warm-up for the fall) and then had a blast spending two weeks at the beach. We had a great week in Destin with the McDowell's - having all the kids together was a hoot!



Our week with my family in Seagrove was really special too. I can't remember the last time I've seen my parents and sister at the same time since she's lived overseas. I wish her husband, Steve, could have been able to be there, but we had margaritas in his honor everyday!



Jackson continues to thrive. He rolled over for the first time at the beach with my parents and has also started eating some solid food which is a big hit. I won't have his 4 month stats until his appointment Sept. 10th, but he's been pretty much in the 95th percentile for height and weight so far.



We are off to San Francisco for an extended Labor Day weekend soon - Josh will attend the hand surgery meeting and then we'll visit with my family in the bay area with Mom for a few extra days. Should be fun!

First Day of Preschool

Caroline started preschool today!
Her new school has a summer program for the 3 year olds to participate in and get used to the school before the fall.
She had a great time and there were no tears, by either of us! Several of the other kids seemed to have a hard time with mom or dad leaving, but Caroline is Miss Independent and barely looked up from what she was doing to say goodbye to me (although I did get an enthusiastic response at noon when I picked her up).
Her teacher said she had a nice time and enjoyed dancing during music time (big surprise there!). Here are a few pictures from the first exploratory moments when we first arrived.

bath time

So round, squishy and happy.....

So sweet!

This picture is actually from last weekend when Jackson turned 6 weeks old. He is such a cuddler and so sweet and plump, I just had to post it!

Caroline has been enjoying a lot of outside time in the backyard since we haven't been going out quite as much as usual (because I'm still getting the hang of this going out with two kids thing!). Fortunately, our little yard is a perfect play place for a three year old. Here she is doing a little sidewalk chalk on the patio.

Jackson is smiling!

Whew!
These past weeks have flown by... busy, busy. Jackson is growing like a weed and has started really smiling at us - so sweet! Caroline gets a big laugh when he smiles for her.
We think he's about 12 pounds now but we won't get an official weigh in again until his 2 month checkup. He is noticeably heavier, fills out his 3 month sized clothes and I always get comments when we're out like "how many months is your baby?" - he's just huge! Such a difference from Caroline who is still a string bean.

the last few weeks

The last three weeks have flown by! Josh was home with us for a week and we enjoyed some family time.


















Jackson is growing like a little weed. His weight was up just over 9 pounds and he had grown two inches by his two week check up! He continues to plump up and is becoming chubalicious - the double chin is in full effect. His personality continues to be very chill and he rarely fusses or cries but is very chatty as far as babies go (lots of coos).

Caroline started t-ball and has had two "games" with her team, the Green Frogs. It has become a family affair, although Jackson usually sleeps through the whole thing. She is still taking swim lessons and is doing great with those. She has taken pretty well to becoming a big sister - she's very sweet and caring with Jackson, she asks to hold him all the time and likes to be a part of diaper changing and baths for him - overall, she's quite the helper. We are so proud of her!