shadows

jackson and i were playing on the floor this morning. he was looking at something, but i couldn't figure out what it was at first. then i realized he was looking at the shadow of my hand. i started to move my hand around and it was so cute to watch him try to grab it's shadow.

jackson has a new cousin!

eric's sister, emily, and her family have a new addition. paige renee was born at 11:44am on march, 28th. she weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces and was 19" long. the labor and delivery went very well and mom and baby are doing great.

paige renee:

auntie nell holding paige for the 1st time:
jackson with his new cousin:
mommy and baby:

spring snow

in a previous post, i was complaining about the snow we were getting on the 1st day of spring. i guess i spoke too soon. the next day we got even more snow. and today, march 29th, we have at least 6 INCHES. 6 INCHES OF SNOW AT THE END OF MARCH!!!! it's ridiculous!

this is a picture of the snow on the 1st day of spring...the snow on the ground is left over from the winter. so no accumulation this day.

this is a picture from the second day of spring. as you can see we got a good 2-3 inches. luckily it all melted within a day or two.
and here's today. i took this picture about an hour ago and it's still snowing. there's probably an extra inch or two more than you see here! needless to say, i am SO ready for the sun.

money, money, money...money

for christmas jackson's great-oma and opa got him a counting money jar with about $20 in it. it's really cool...as you put money in it, it keeps track of the total amount. it can tell if you're putting in a dime, nickel, penny, etc. eric and i decided (kinda jokingly, kinda seriously) that it will be jackson's college fund. he's up to $42.78. we figured if we continue at this rate (not counting interest rate, cause when it gets full we'll open a savings account for him) he'll have just under $4,000. i guess that's not too bad, but certainly won't cover much if he plans on going to a private school.

what a mess!

jackson used to sleep with a baby positioner to help keep him on his side. recently, we've stopped using it (partly due to the fact that eric read something about it not being safe once babies can roll and partly because we thought he might sleep better if he had more freedom to move). it's been working just fine...and i think he is sleeping better. one problem i've noticed is that because he can move freely, he ends up on his tummy a lot. i'm not worried about him being on his tummy, it's just that it seems to cause his diapers to leak through way more than before. this morning was the worst. i went in to feed him at 5:45am and noticed he was soaking wet. i was hoping he'd go back to sleep after eating, so i didn't want to change him, but i knew i had to. so i kept the lights really dim and began getting him into a dry diaper and pj's. after i got the new diaper on i felt something weird on his tummy. you know how diapers have that stuff in them that turns to some sort of gel-like substance once it gets wet? well it exploded out the top of the diaper and was caked on this tummy! gross!! i was able to get it mostly cleaned off and what was the biggest surprise to me was that after he ate, he went back to sleep with no problem and slept until after 8am!!! we're going to have to figure something out so this doesn't continue to happen. what a mess!

a little grumpy...

first of all jackson decided that 5am would be a good time to be awake this morning. i tried putting him back to sleep for 45 minutes only to lay him down and have him wake up all happy. so, we get up (not like i hadn't been awake since 3am for no apparent reason). i put him in his exersaucer so i could kind of relax. he was happy. then he coughed and gagged a little. then, he barfed all over the exersaucer. great! he's had a bit of a cold, so i'm hoping he just kinda gagged on something and that he's not getting more sick.
i figured jackson wouldn't be awake long before he was ready for a nap, and i was right. around 6:45 he was back in bed. so, i lay down to try to get some sleep. yeah, right! jackson's not been napping well the last few days and this morning was no exception. i had to help him get back to sleep several times during his 1 1/2 nap. so...no sleep for mommy.
then, i caught a glimpse of something between the blinds so i open them up and sure enough...it's SNOWING! IT'S SPRING NOW!!! WHY IS IT SNOWING?!!! not happy about this. (it has since stopped snowing, but i'm still going to complain about it).
i guess that's all that's making me grumpy so far (but it's only 9:30am...i'm sure i'll come up with other things before the day is through).
here's hoping for a better day...or maybe a better attitude! :)

6 months

jackson had his 1/2 birthday on march 10th. even though i've heard it a million times, i still can't believe how fast it goes.
yesterday was his 6 month doctor's appointment. he's a big boy. he weighs 20 lbs 5.5 ounces and is 28 1/2 inches. (that's 90% for weight and 95% for height.) he's not in the high percentiles all around...his head size is 42.5 cm...that's just 10% :)

splish splash

jackson likes his baths. i mentioned in an earlier post that jackson took his first bath at my sister's house, and really enjoyed the big people's bath. so, we have started giving him his baths in the big tub. eric got some good pictures of jackson kicking and splashing.

get ready...get set...

splash!

funny gift

there's this convenient store called zip stop near eric's job site that he had begun to get in the habit of visiting often during his lunch break. i balance our check book, so when he'd give me his receipts i'd give him a bad time about spending money at zip stop. we decided it'd be cheaper for us to buy his snacks at the grocery store instead of a convenient store. so for the most part, he stopped going to zip stop. however, every so often i'll get a receipt from him from the store and give him a bad time. the other week, i received just such a receipt and when i said some smart remark to him, he got all excited and said, "I GOT YOU A SURPRISE!" i kinda thought it'd be a candy bar or something. (what else would he get at a convenient store.) a candy bar wouldn't be good enough from my dear husband...this is what i got:

a fake rose wrapped in plastic with a little cardboard heart that says "i love you". and a little teddy bear with a crooked bow tie!! you can't totally appreciate how funny it is without seeing it in real life :) he now has it taped to the computer! i'm so thankful for a husband with such a great sense of humor!

over the river and through the woods...

...to aunt jennie's house we go! jackson and i took a road trip to newberg last week. this was the first time i've driven more than an hour with him without eric. we had all taken a couple trips before (to bend and to seattle) and jackson did really well, so i assumed this trip would be the same...and it was! thankfully he sleeps well in the car (especially on the freeway).
we had a busy week:
sunday-drive from couer d'alene to kennewick (stop for starbucks, taco bell-for me and a yummy bottle of formula-for jackson). drive from kennewick to the memaloose state park rest stop (another yummy bottle of formula-for jackson and a close up of squirrels that are not afraid of humans). drive from rest stop to newberg. about a 7 hour trek in all...not bad! jackson got his first bath in a big tub at aunt jennie's...and he loved it! (no more baths in the baby bath tub in the kitchen anymore)
monday-i had a meeting all day, so aunt jennie took the day off of work to watch jackson. they went to the store to get his cousin, kiah's birthday snacks for friends at daycare. then, went to the daycare and jackson had fun in the exercsauser there for awhile. then, they went to cousin, micah's school where jackson got to be micah's share bag surprise! then it was time for a nap and back to the daycare/school to pick up the cousins. aunt jennie said he did great!
tuesday-jackson and i got to spend the day with my sister-in-law, sarah, and her 3 kids. yeah...more cousins for jackson to play with. we played at aunt sarah's for awhile, then went to mcdonald's where the older cousins got to expend energy in the play area and the adults got to have a nice chat. then, jackson and i headed to mcminnville (where jennie works at her kids' school) and the 3 of us went to a consignment store. we got a few things for jackson and a new pair of shoes for me! then, back home for dinner and bedtime...oh and for the adults to watch a few episodes of 'the office' :)
wednesday-jackson and i met our friend, garth, for coffee at the cottage. after a short nap, we went to grandma and grandpa mardock's for lunch. then back to mcminnville to have jen watch jackson while i got my hair cut and highlighted...thanks jen (for watching jackson and for the haircut/highlight!) jackson and i went straight from there to ixtapa for dinner with dad and susan and grandma and grandpa chandler.
thursday-the day we'd waited for all week. jen got to take the day off, so we went to the coast to go shopping at the outlets! we found lots of stuff for jackson (thanks again, jen!) and a few things for jennie. i also picked up some salt water taffy to bring home to eric. it was fun to spend the day with my sis! then, back to the school to get micah and kiah and off to the mall for pictures. we haven't had any done for jackson and since he turned 6 months on monday, i thought it'd be fun to get his picture taken and also some with his cousins. this turned out to be a bit of a bigger deal than originally planned (due to the fact the mall we were going to no longer had a 'picture people' and the other mall didn't have time to get us in until 7:40pm. we ended up not getting home until 10:30!) but the pictures turned out really cute and the kids all did really well (even though it was way past their bed times!) so, then back home to pack and get ready for out trek home. it took me 1 1/2 to get all our stuff together...we came with a lot of stuff and left with even more!
friday-fed jackson and got stuff packed in car for our trip back home. grandpa met me at the gas station to fill up my tank...thanks, grandpa! then, jen called and asked for a favor...she forgot something at home that micah needed for class. even though it'd take an hour to get to the school and back, i did it because she had done so much for jackson and i all week. so, by 10am we were on our way! the trip home took a little longer, but jackson did great again! now i just need to get everything put away...

not always a bowl full of cherries

some days are just the pits...like today. it started with a diaper blow-out. (yesterday started the same, luckily it was a day far better than today). since jackson's been waking up around 6am, he's ready for a nap around 8. so, he had been fed and was getting sleepy. i did the normal routine-rock him, sing to him, and he falls asleep...but not this morning. i tried and tried and tried and tried and tried some more. then it was time to eat again. so i fed him and tried to get him to sleep. i tried and tried and tried and tried some more. it literally took 4 hours and 15 minutes to get him to sleep! (he wanted to sleep, i'm sure...but just got too tired, i think. he was not a happy camper!) needless to say, there were many tears shed (by the both of us). 20 minutes into his nap, he was crying again. i rocked him again, and he slept for another 20-30 minutes. more crying. more rocking. more crying by me. finally more sleeping. he slept for another 40 minutes. and i actually slept for 1/2 an hour. he woke up and was actually happy for awhile! so i took advantage of the fact he could entertain himself for a bit and made some lunch. there were fish sticks in the freezer...the directions said i could cook them in the microwave. i know, gross...but i was hungry. it was after 2pm and i hadn't eaten since 7am and the microwave way was way faster than the oven. so i pulled out some fish sticks and popped them in the microwave for the amount of time recommended on the box. i hear the microwave beep and open it to find fossilized sticks where my fish sticks were supposed to be. fine, i'll just eat a piece of toast (it's time to go grocery shopping...not a lot of choices). i get my toast and call the car insurance place (our car was hit a couple weeks ago...another story for another time), they're not going to cover some of the rental car costs (it's the other guy's insurance company...the one who hit our car...the one who's fault it is that my car's in the shop and i have to deal with the not-so-wonderful folks at the car rental place). i hung up on the insurance guy. i know...rude, but if he only knew what my day had been like. so, i call the rental car place to talk to the guy that sold me some sort of insurance i didn't need on the rental car (that's what the other guy's insurance isn't paying for). he's busy with another customer. "yes, please have him call me back." no call. an hour later, still no call. 2 hours later...forget it, we're just going to take the rental car back and i'll do without a car for tomorrow. (it's not like we made it out of the house today anyway!) thankfully, by this time, my wonderful husband is home. we took the car back, got jackson more formula, went through the drive through at arby's, and headed home. for the last couple hours nothing bad has happened. eric fed jackson and put him to bed. please, God, help him to sleep well tonight. God knows what i can handle and won't give me more than that, right? so that has to means tomorrow will be a better day!

thanks for listening/reading. now that i've got that off my chest, i can relax and enjoy 'the office' rerun.

where's daddy?

each morning when eric leaves for work, he gives me a kiss and tells me he loves me. and if jackson is up (which is most of the time) he'll give jackson a kiss and tell him he loves him. then, he's out the door and off to work. almost always jackson will watch him leave, then stare at the door for a bit. jackson really loves his daddy...i love that! so, where does daddy go? currently, he's working on condos in downtown coeur d'alene:a close up:

and before that he was working on the new rec center at eastern washington university:he's also worked on condos in sandpoint and the waste water treatment plant in spokane (don't have pictures of those). jackson and i are so thankful for eric's hard work, so that i don't have to work outside of the home. Thanks daddy...we love you, too! xoxo

good eater

jackson tried avocado sunday evening. it made him gag. since i had blended up extra, we tried again last night. he couldn't get enough! it's hard for me to not hold down his hands while i feed him. i'm not a big fan of the mess, but i know i've got to learn to deal with it...from pics i've seen of others' kids, i know it gets much worse!
"let me help!"
"more?"

give me something to hold onto

jackson does this cute thing while he's eating. he'll grab his foot and swing it back and forth. if he doesn't grab his foot he'll just kinda wave his arm around until he finds something to grab...usually my hand. he's so cute!