helping?

jackson decided he'd help me with the laundry this morning. he doesn't know how to fold clothes yet, so he thought it'd be helpful to pull the basket off the couch. it ended up on his head!

thanks to help from his mom, he finally got the basket off his head.

look mom...no hands

i think i mentioned that jackson's been learning to stand on his own...i got this picture the other day. he'll only do it if he has something in his hands...i think that he concentrates in it rather than the fact he's standing. this week he's also taken a step between furniture a few times. he'll let go of the chair and take a step to the couch, then hold on again. there's something exciting about the fact that he'll be walking soon, but i also realize that means even more chasing!

sleeping

so my friend sent me this book. after reading most the parts that applied to babies of jackson's age, i realized jackson really needs to get more sleep and better sleep. one thing i really like about this book is that he doesn't say here's how you get your baby to sleep and if you don't do it this way, you're a bad mom. he does, however, recommend some ways of helping your child get the best quality sleep...namely helping him learn to fall asleep on his own. we knew it would mean some crying. i knew i'd have to wait until the weekend when eric would be home for emotional support. last night was our first attempt. while we were listening to jackson cry i told eric, "i'm sure this is going to be one of those things where we look back in a few days and say...'we should have done this sooner.'" and i think i'm right. within 25 minutes jackson was sound asleep and slept for 9 hours straight. i fed him, put him back down, and then he slept until 6:45am. then it was time for his 1st nap. eric was huckleberry picking this morning so i was on my own. i fed jackson his bottle and prayed that he would fall asleep quickly. he cried for 13 minutes and slept for 1 1/2 hours. already he's been sleeping better than he has in a few weeks...and it's just our 1st day!!! i knew it worked for other babies and other families, i just wasn't sure it'd work for us. i'm so glad we're headed down this road. especially with another one coming in a few months. (who's name, by the way, we've settled on...carter gregory. carter is from the movie the bucket list and gregory is eric's dad's name.)
so...here's to better sleep for all of us. at least for a few more months! :)

standing

over the last couple weeks, jackson has been practicing standing unassisted. although it's usually only for a second or two, he's getting there. and yesterday he stood for at least 10 seconds while he was focusing on something else. pretty soon he'll be taking steps, then running, then going to school, then getting married...okay i'll stop there and just enjoy today :)

company

my aunt carolyn and uncle ron stayed at our place last monday for the night on their way to montana. it was fun to get to spend some time with them and jackson really enjoyed having them around. we took them for a walk on the boardwalk and then eric bbq'd some chicken for dinner. they stayed in our "guest house" (our new camper) and then were on their way. although it was a short trip, we enjoyed having them here. one highlight was uncle ron doing the dishes after dinner and breakfast. what an awesome guy!

jackson with his great-aunt carolyn
uncle ron and eric chatting

family fun night

last sunday evening we had family fun night at eric's oma and opa's. here are some cute pictures:

jackson with his opa
our niece, lauren, looking at pictures with her great oma & opa
eric's brother and sister with our nephew, daniel
aren't we cute?! me and my mom-in-law
jackson with his cousin, paige

our brother-in-law, darrin, with his daughter

1st haircut

last saturday jackson had his first haircut. he didn't have lots of hair to be cut, but our main purpose was to get rid of his baby mullet. after he was born he lost all of his hair except this little strip in the back that looked like a little mullet (or a mustache). and as his hair started growing back his mullet just kept growing longer. it got to the point that we couldn't handle it anymore...so we took him to a kids' haircutting place. he got to sit on a purple and white zebra, watch a baby einstein video, play with toys and have a sucker! with all these distractions he did really well. i was surprised at what a difference it made. he's lookin' sharp now! they even gave us a little certificate with a bit of his hair commemorating his 1st haircut!

before...you can kinda see his baby mullet in this picture
playing with toys on the purple & white zebra
he even sat really still while she used the clippers...the sucker helped, i'm sure!
after
no more mullet!