Christmas 2008

First Family Christmas Picture

With Opa & Nana

All the Ballard Grandkids

Dan,Will,John,& Jackson

I know...but don't they look so cute

Grandma & Stephen

All the Ballard kids and their kids :)

Amy, Will, Me, and Jackson

His new "I'm REALLY sad" face

Me showing him his presents from Santa

It was by far the best Christmas ever with Jackson in our lives! He was our favorite Christmas present. We got to visit with all of John's family and my parents. It was so great to visit with everyone. Jackson even slept through the night on Christmas Eve...guess he didn't want to run into Santa.

Santa!

The official Santa Picture

Festive Attire

Me, Grandma, & Jackson

Grandma feeding Jackson

Me and my Mom took Jackson to see Santa for the first time and it was a blast! Jackson was very well behaved, and I could not say that for all the children visiting Santa that day! But, I am sure my day will come :) It was cool to see the other children so excited to tell Santa what they wanted...I can't wait for all the Christmas's to come!

**By the way, I figured out that if you click on the pictures you can see most of them much bigger. Then hit the back arrow to get back to the blog.

Jackson's 2nd Month

John showing Jackson the leaves outside

Just about to head to bed!

2nd Month Check-up...

Weight: 12lbs 3oz (75%ile)

Height: 23.75 inch (75%ile)

Jackson's 2nd month has been a lot of fun! He is starting to do some cool stuff (well, cool to me). He opens his hands a lot more, puts them in his mouth a bunch, and seems to realize that they are his! He follows us around the room now, which is just so neat! He laughs and smiles all the time, especially when John gets him in the mornings...it's as if it is the best treat ever~even when he is dying of hunger, John can get a smile :) He has started to be a tad bit more fussy and wants us to hold him more often now. When he is in his swing he looks directly at a picture I have of John & I sitting on the end table...he just stares at it forever! The cooing has been incredible...I could listen to it all day long :)

Thanksgiving Road Trip!

We took Jackson on his first long road trip to Memphis for Thanksgiving! We all had a great time and I am pretty sure he enjoyed the Turkey dinner :) As you can see, we can't wait for him to walk, j/k~ actually we just thought he looked so funny like that! Check out the video of Jackson and my dad...he is just talking away! The pic of Jackson all bundled up is how I take him on a walk everyday, and yes...I laugh every time I see him in it! On our way home we stopped in Birmingham to visit John's sister Emily and her husband Robert & their dogs Bear & Eva :) Bear seemed pretty interested in Jackson :)

Party Time

Meredith,Me,Ashley, & Alijeh holding Jackson

Alijeh and Jackson

Me,Amanda, & Jackson

This was Jackson's first party! My friend Meredith was having a house warming party and we had a blast. Jackson got passed around and was such a good boy! He smiled a bunch and it was great to catch up with everyone!

Cheeeeeeese

We actually caught Jackson's first smile (not gas related) on the video camera!! **Turn up your volume and you can hear him cooing! Janet & John (John's parents) are the ones who finally got him to do it! Since then he smiles all the time, like the picture above. His newest thing to smile at is ceiling fans...can you believe it?!?! He is obsessed with them and we can get a smile every time he sees a fan!

Jackson meets Will

Jackson has a cousin that was born only 2 weeks behind him to the day. Amy and Daniel now have 3 beautiful children and we are so happy that he will have a playmate his age in the family!! We could not wait to go to Auburn so Jackson could meet Will (5 weeks old), Avery (will be 2 in Feb.), and Miles (just turned 5). They all seemed to get along great and we can't wait to watch them grow up together!

First Real Bath

Jackson's first real bath was so much better than the sponge baths! He didn't know what to think of it! He didn't mind it near as much...and every time since then has gotten better and better :) Hopefully someday he loves them! And look how cute his belly is!!!

Our first "play date"

We went over and hung out with Liam and Jessi (one of my best friends) when Jackson was about 4 weeks old. Liam is just 3 months older than Jackson :) I could not get Jackson to wake up for that picture~I tried everything! hahaha

3 Week Photo Shoot

Jackson did pretty good for his first photo shoot...he got a little fussy at one point, that is why you see his passy in a few pics :)

Jackson's First Month

First month check-up...

Weight: 10lbs 8oz (75%ile)

Height: 22 inches (75%ile)

Jackson's first month was a whirlwind. A friend of mine described it best...you feel as if you are in a fog! Jackson is a great eater!! He had the hiccups ALL the time and hated them! He probably peed and pooped on me & his dad on average once everyday! As far as sleeping goes he went to 5 hours in between feedings here and there, but mostly 3-4. During the day it was every 2 hours on the dot! He hated taking sponge baths and loved his car seat~knocked out within 5 min every time! He absolutely loved to fall asleep on peoples chest :) I think he is what the call a "textbook baby". He usually only cries when he is hungry and occasionally when he is just being fussy :) And YES, I know how lucky we are :)

Jackson Arrives!!

Jackson was born October 2, 2008. He weighed 7lbs 14oz & was 20 inches long. He has blue eyes and light brown hair (what little hair is on the back of his head!) I had a great labor and delivery and John and I just couldn't believe he was FINALLY here (after all he was 4 days late). Jackson screamed for his first 20 minutes of his life and was awake at least half the day after that! He was a perfect angel in the hospital, except for the few times he tried to poop on his dad :)

Coming home was so surreal. I don't think either of us could still believe that we actually had a baby...OUR BABY! hahaha Our first night was not a good one to say the least, he screamed almost the whole night! After the second night things got much better. He still woke up every 2 hours for feedings...but didn't cry much in between for the next two weeks.

Jackson's Room

Here are some pictures of Jackson's room for those of you who have not made it over to the house or our out of town family :)