Six Months Old

Our little buddy is HALFWAY THROUGH his first year of life!

Jackson Nazir Morgan

Six months old on 6-18-14

Milestones and Memories

1. First and Second Tooth

So, on the VERY DAY we left for a trip to New Orleans sans Jackson, my mom called me while we were in our connecting flight city to tell me that GG (Great Grandma Mary Jo) discovered his first tooth popped through! And, the day was on May 18th--his official 6 month mark. Believe me, I had a moment of mom guilt for not being there to feel this tooth. But, even if I stayed home and never left, the possibility of missing something important exists for us all. 

On day two of being away from the baby, my mom called me while I was in Jackson Square (oh, the irony) to "report" that Jackson's SECOND tooth just came in. I thought, "dogggone it!" While I could not be there to, I don't know...feel the tooth..I was happy to hear of my sweetie's progress.

2. First Father's Day

My family started doing a Father's Day brunch a handful of years ago and this brunch was a great way to celebrate Thomas' first Father's Day and Jackson's first time of celebrating his dad!

As usual, my family had a TON of food. (This is just a small sample of all the food that was present.) 

Thomas' presents...

After brunch with our extended family, we went on a picnic, just the three of us. 

This is one of my absolute favorite pictures of Jackson. 

Daydreamers.

Like father, like son.

 3. First Rainstorm

This wasn't the first time it rained since Jackson was born, but, this was the first hard rain we received where Jackson was old enough to be aware that the stuff falling from the sky was pretty darned interesting.

4. Growing, Growing, Growing!

As much as I do not miss the sleepless nights and I am enjoying the growing interaction between me and my little buddy, it is pretty sad to see how much he is growing. Time is just slipping away so quickly. 

It seems like every time I turn around, I'm packing up clothes that no longer fit. 

Le sigh. Sniff, sniff.

5. Becoming Quite the Little Artist

I know I sound like a broken record I'm sure, but Jackson's school is amazing. They always do art projects for holidays, but they also randomly send them home with little works of art like the ones below. I love that my buddy is having so much fun while mom and dad are working. (And the best part is the mess is at school! Score!) 

6. Memorial Day Weekend and 6 Month Pictures

This Memorial Day weekend, we actually just hung out together and had no big plans. It was so nice to not have a jam-packed schedule and to just have extra time to hang out with Jackson.

Apparently Sears and Olan Mills no longer are in business for photos in our area when we needed to take six month pictures for Jackson. Luckily my mom and one of my nieces had recently gotten pictures taken at a relatively new spot in town called Portrait Renovations. We were able to get in and out quickly, had our pictures before we left and we did not spend a fortune. It was perfect. This is a picture of Jackson in outfit number two. Before he had a meltdown. Between outfit number two and three. I don't blame you, kiddo!

7. First School Pictures

Our little guy looked so dapper for his very first school pictures! You can't see the adorable tie in this picture due to the way he was positioned, but he was seriously ready for the cameras. :) 

Cheers,

Samara

Five Months Old

Our little buddy drooled past his five month mark!

Jackson Nazir Morgan

Five months old on 5-18-14

Milestones and Memories

1. First Easter

Although Jackson was able to meet the Easter Bunny before his four month mark, Easter actually fell within the next month of his life. We tried to fill his first Easter with special moments and traditions. Warning: I have included several photos for this "memory". 

We started the day out by discovering the Easter basket left by the Easter Bunny.

The Easter Bunny left some Legos, a book, plenty of clothes, and other goodies like fruit and a soccer ball. 

After diving into Jackson's Easter basket, we headed to church where Jackson made quite the impression with his Easter suit. Church was followed by an impromptu family selfie session, Easter dinner with the family and an egg hunt. 

For some reason, people couldn't get over the shoes. (Never a bad thing!) 

Here he is hunting for eggs. I just love this picture. 

He found another one! 

The silly Easter Bunny left this basket for Jackson at his Aunt Angie and Uncle Adam's house! 

And this is, by far, my absolute favorite picture of Jackson on his first Easter. 

I just love his big, lazy baby eyes, his pot belly and the little drool on his lips. I will miss this when he is big someday!

2. Four Month Check Up

Due to the normal scheduling process of a physician's office, Jackson's Four Month Check Up was a couple of days after he completed his fourth month, so his visit technically occurred at the very beginning of month five. 

In the beginning of the appointment, Jackson was so happy and smiling, just lying on the table in his doctor's office. My husband sent me a picture with his stats including his weight and height--15 lbs, 13 ounces and 25 1/2 inches. Healthy baby boy with no issues!

Then his vaccinations came and the happy baby turned into this:

No worries, new moms. This crying lasted for only a very brief period and he bounced back to his happy self much quicker after his four month vaccinations than he did after his two month vaccinations. And, the crying for a few minutes is worth it to protect him from so many nasty--and sometimes deadly--things out there. 

3. First Overnight Stay At Grandma No No's House

My mom, as a Grandma, goes by a couple of different names. One of them is "Grandma Go Go" because she is always on the go and the other is "Grandma No No". I think she was dubbed Grandma No No because she said "no" to the grandkids when they were younger, but I like to think it's because she's the rebel--naughty--grandma, always spoiling the grandkids.

Grandma No No offered to take Jackson for the evening on the weekend before our wedding anniversary so we could stay out later and be able to still get some rest. We missed our baby, but he was in good hands with Grandma, had a great time and showed up to church looking like this:

I'll take the credit for his outfit, but kudos goes to Grandma No No for maneuvering that tricky jacket on! 

4. Holding His Bottle

While it's not the first time he's ever held his bottle, it was the first time he held it through the entire feeding. We never wanted to be the pushy parents, trying to force him through developments. My philosophy thus far has been simply encouraging what is natural. I figure he will move through these things when he is ready. 

5. First Teacher Appreciation Week

Jackson attends a wonderful daycare and the administration was kind enough to give us a heads up about Teacher Appreciation Week. I have to admit, it was pretty funny coming up with ideas of gifts to get his wonderful teachers and classroom assistants. 

You can read more about Jackson's first Teacher Appreciation Week here.

6. First Time Saying "Mama"

Jackson says "Mama"

I know it seems a bit unbelievable that he would say that at such an early age, but he did. (Oh, don't worry, I'm not bragging. He has other areas he's probably "behind" on, lol, but this one was really cool to witness, so I had to share!) It's not an extremely articulate "mama", but in the video, when he looks to his right, smiles and mouthes something (what appears to sound and look like "mama"), I had just entered (and quickly left when I noticed my husband was videotaping) and left the room.

7. Visit to Grandma Vicki's House

I have a friend I call my "other mother" so naturally, she is now Jackson's "Grandma". Due to the awful winter and Grandma Vicki having another grandbaby (OK, her actual grand baby) born near the same time (and just life, crazy life), Jackson didn't meet his grandma until this month. Vicki sent me a message saying we needed to get a date in the books because "seriously, Jackson will be walking before I meet him". She was right!

So, we got Jackson all dolled up and headed to Grandma Vicki's for dinner. We were able to meet the newest addition to Vicki's family and spend time with the rest of our "extended family". It was a great night and I was kicking myself for having waited so long to visit!

8. First Mother's Day

Although this day actually celebrates me, the mother, it was Jackson's first time being able to celebrate it with me. You can read more about what Jackson did for me and for his grandmas and aunts here.

As you can see from this picture, he was hard at work for Mother's Day presents to give to the ladies in the family!

9. Jackson's First Soccer Game

 Recently, the first semi-professional soccer team--known as "Lansing United"--started up in Lansing. On Mommy's first night of a new class, Jackson and Daddy bundled up and headed to the very first Lansing United soccer game.

Jackson was able to meet a handful of Daddy's friends who had seen him on Facebook, but not yet had the chance to meet him in person. 

He loved the big, green field and watching the players run up and down the field and kick the ball around. Jackson is a people watcher--much like his mom and dad--and resultantly had a great time. He greeted everyone with a smile and one of Daddy's friends described him as a "perfect little sir". 

Cheers,

Samara

Five on Friday

I don't know what your week was like, but mine was full of deadlines and other stressors. 

I seriously just finished some nonsense assignment that our prof threw at us at the last minute. I think the assignment was created to buy him time to finish creating the final exam he was supposed to have ready by now, but I digress.

Who is ready to say "Goodbye work week, hello weekEND"? Raise your hand high for this week's Five on Friday!

1. Favorite Month

May has always been one of my favorite months. Not just because it's my birthday month, but because my two favorite seasons in Michigan are spring and fall, so basically any of the spring and fall months are good in my books. However, May contains my birthday and now, Mother's Day and our wedding anniversary. (OK, May always contained Mother's Day, but I can now enjoy it as a mother.)

2. Ice Cream Teether

Jackson is officially teething. He has been drooling and eating his fists for weeks (months, even), but wasn't teething. We'd bought a few different kinds of teethers and he hadn't really cared for them. I show up to daycare one day to pick him up and see him happily lying there, sucking on and swinging this cute teether. The handles are small and the chew area is large so babies can independently soothe themselves. His daycare always knows best with this kind of stuff. So, of course, we promptly ordered some of these teethers to have at home.

3. Low-Fat Dessert

Some time ago, I posted a low-fat strawberry dessert recipe. Well, my husband walked in tonight with these crêpes, so I had to switch up the recipe. Oh my. It was delicious!! And even fewer Weight Watchers points than the dessert shells in the previous recipe. ONE Weight Watcher point, people! 

4. Jackson Is On A Roll

So, unless you are a SAHM (stay-at-home mom), you probably miss many "firsts". And honestly, even SAHM's can be a victim of this as you are not sitting, staring at your baby for hours on end each day. But, when we miss a first because it happened while the baby was at daycare, it's still a first for us because it's the first time we're seeing it and doesn't bother me at all like I thought it might. 

I felt no loss in excitement tonight when my husband and I patiently watched our crabby son (to be fair, this was during the "witching hour" (the couple hour timeframe before bed) ever so slowly roll from his stomach to his back while on his colorful baby "gym". 

I'd privately thought that maybe I didn't have enough of a goofy parent factor within me to get excited about this milestone, but nope, I proved that I am a full-fledged nerd in this regard. I happily clapped and gave my excited praises through a big, stupid smile that seemed permanently stuck to my face. What a night! Mom is so proud of you, Jackson!

5. Approaching Two Years 

It's true what they say, that after a certain age, life just barrels ahead and the years seem to add up in the blink of an eye. The time goes even faster when your'e, ahem, older AND in love. 

It's hard to believe that I met my Thomas four years ago and that we are now approaching our second wedding anniversary. (Official date is May 5th, but we are celebrating tomorrow evening.) Last year, I was newly pregnant and nauseous around the clock. As a result, we had a very laid-back wedding anniversary out of town. We plan on staying in town this year and having an evening out.

I am such a fortunate lady to have someone at my side who is truly my best friend. I can't imagine traveling this road called life with anyone else but my T-Mo.

Cheers,

Samara

Four Months Old

Our little buddy recently passed his four month mark!

Jackson Nazir Morgan

Four months old on 4-18-14

Milestones and Memories

1. First Day At Daycare

I did previously include Jackson's first day at "school" for one of my Five on Friday posts, but since this was a milestone event for him during his fourth month, I couldn't leave it out!!

Jackson's daycare is amazing. I was so hesitant (read: PARANOID) about leaving him at a daycare, but his is no average daycare. The activities they have for the children and the care that they give them have me confident he will be well-prepared for Kindergarten in every developmental aspect. I also happen to know he loves his teacher and she takes such good care of him. 




2. First Fancy Schmancy Shopping Spree

OK, I realize Baby Gap is not Louis Vuitton, but I can sure tell you that growing up without much, we never had Baby Gap ANYTHING! So to me, Baby Gap is pretty darned fancy. Since Jackson did so well for his trial day at daycare, we spoiled him just a little (OK, at this age, we're really spoiling ourselves with the cuteness overload) and bought a handful of outfits for him. 

3. Loving The Outdoors

Unfortunately this little guy was born into one of the worst winters ever. EVER. I used to prop him up in the window during one of many ice/snow/windstorms and say "See that out there? One day you'll actually get to experience it and not just look at it from the inside of our house!" 

It's crazy that at four months old, this kid is just recently starting to enjoy simple things like walking over to GG's and taking a leisurely stroller ride. No amount of bundling up would have been sufficient to take him out more than necessary in this winter. And even if I could have bundled him up enough, how in the world would I have navigated a stroller through all that crap? Icy sidewalks, uneven mounds of snow packed into the walkways making even walking treacherous let alone pushing a stroller. 

It's no surprise that his daily school reports have included bits about how he loves being outdoors more than any of the other babies. His reports say he smiles the minute he is outside and that he loves watching the cars drive by. 

4. First Visit With The Easter Bunny

I posted this picture to Facebook a few weeks ago.

Jackson was able to meet the Easter bunny for the first time. He was mostly laid back and just chewing away on his hand. I'm sure next year he will be much more aware, so I savored this first visit and relaxed demeanor by our little guy.

The Easter bunny was kind enough to bring little baskets for all who visited him and took a picture. 

5. Trying New Things

This Bumbo was given to me as a gift by a lovely co-worker of mine before our little guy came along. We finally pulled it out during his fourth month. He is still a little wobbly in it, but we can finally get him started in on using it. I love seeing his reaction to new contraptions as they give him a different vantage point to view his little world from. 

Here he is in his new bouncy chair. I'm going to try and scale back on all this stuff once he is moving and does not consequently look bored half the time. 

6. Talking, Talking, Talking 

Our little buddy is really beginning to find his voice. During the fourth month, he has made all types of squawking noises, attempts at vowel sounds and all other sorts of random practice for the day (not ridiculously far off) he will actually put those noises to good use--the day he begins to speak. 

Some of the noises sound like babbling and then he will begin to make noises that are more varied, that catch your attention, that surprise you and that make you laugh.

My absolute favorite talking sessions are first thing in the morning when he is awake in his room and just hanging out before Mom or Dad come to get him. It's like a beautiful little conversation he is having by himself and it is music to my ears to catch him in the middle of it.

Cheers,

Samara