DOUBLE DIGITS, YO!!

Jackson slept through the night a few times this week -- 4 out of 7 nights, so it's a promising trend.  Here are some highlights from the week.

 
     Jackson with his Maw-Maw

The many faces of JDC --- >>>

 
     Before a walk outside -- I know the glasses look dorky, but it's so bright outside, and we have to protect the eyes!

 Jackson's Visit with Amelia:

 
   Just bein' a happy baby (and not spitting up -- what a treat!)

He's discovered his tongue this week, and is fascinated with sticking it out and moving it around.  Here's a short video of him tongue-talking (since it has recently replaced most of the babbling he was doing last week).

Next week -- I go back to work :(  I'm really sad to be leaving the little man for so much of the day, but on the flip side, I'm also ready to get back in the work world (I do miss my job and coworkers too!).  Wish me luck (J's been fussy tonight, and I have to keep convincing myself he's not actively manipulating me and trying to lay the guilt trip on me for going back to work....haha)!!

I ventured into the busy uptown scene one day this week for drinks and celebrating with Christy and some of her coworker buddies -- she's leaving our company (which is a sad thing for the company, but the right thing for Christy, for sure).  It was really odd to be amidst the hustle & bustle of uptown Charlotte after being away for so long!  But I really enjoyed getting out and having some good wine with friends. 

Here's a picture of some of us at the restaurant:

I'm so glad I had a chance to work with and meet Christy!  But I'm definitely happy that she is moving on in a better direction for her life and career :)  And I'm kinda jealous that she'll probably get to go chill at her family's beach house for a little bit --- get some sun for me, girl!

Somebody (well, three people really) slept through the night last night!  To bed at 8:00 and not awake until 6:45.  Let's hope it wasn't an isolated incident :)

Nine weeks old today!  (....but honestly, I'm getting to the point where I"m forgetting which "week"......but I feel like I'm supposed to remember up until 12 weeks old before I can just stick with months......it's what a good mom does, right?! :)   )

This week Jackson had a lot of outings!  He went out with Stephanie for lunch and some visiting.  And he had his doctor appointment on Friday (more on that below).  Also, we took him out to lunch twice --- Applebee's & Johnny B's (we're starting to be more comfortable with taking him out in public now that he doesn't go 0-to-60-crying as much). 

He had his 2 month check up, and it went well.  Everything looks great with his physical health and development.  He officially weighed 13 lbs, 12 oz, and measured 23.5 in. in height, which is right on track for his growth curve.  But he did have to get his 2 month vaccinations (2 shots and one oral vaccine).  We had used a numbing cream to numb his skin, and we gave him sugar water on his pacifier to help, but he still cried a little bit (although he started crying when the nurse gave him the oral vaccine, so who knows if he was crying from pain or not....)  He was a bit fussy and slightly feverish for a couple of days afterwards, but not too bad.  He goes back at 4 months and will have his next round of immunizations then.

At the doctor's office during the check up

We also had a visit from Adam & Hannah this weekend, and it was the first time they had met Jackson.  He's a lot more fun now with a good bit of interaction, smiling, and laughing, and much less crying than the first month, so it's a good time to meet him :)  I think they had fun with him (even though he did go poo play-dough factory once). 

Next week is my last week at home before returning to work.  I'm ready to get back in a work routine, but on the flip side I am really sad about missing out on so much of Jackson's alert / awake time each day (he's usually tired and chilled out by 6:00, and heads to bed by 7:30).  So I need to really enjoy the next week with him!!

Amy tagged me, so here goes -- >

jobs that I have had:
1. Target- rockin the red & khaki (same answer as the Ames -- shout outs to the Lynn Rd & Garner Targets!)
2. Executive Assistant
3. Bookkeeper / HR Assistant
4. Inventory Specialist (Meredith College Beehive, countin' chips every week)

I'll tag Hannah & Stephaine :)

Seeing as how Young Jackson is now two months old I felt it was time to induct him into the Finer Things Club. 

I'm sure all he is thinking is "I wish the Jolie-Pitt's had room for a chubby white boy..."

Jackson is 2 months old today! 

Here's a growth comparison:
 
1 week old
   - 9 lbs, 5 oz
   - 22 in.

2 months old
   - 14 lbs (approx) -- between percentile 75 & 90
   - 24.5 in (approx) -- between percentile 75 & 90
   *** stuffed animal in crib only for scale purposes :)

Jackson is 8 weeks old today!

Liz & Rex in Concord.  I was so glad to get to see the Ames, my (former) "Roomie!" and daily-email-partner-in-crime (although haven't been as good with that since the little man arrived --- I promise to be better soon!).  We had a couple of good "that's what she said"s and lots of laughs about random stuff.  Josh tsked me and reminded me to not be the "yaaaa gotta see the baby!" people from Seinfeld

....so I had to pull myself out of baby mode!  Haha :)  And I'm betting Joel & Josh traded lawn / computer tips, as usual.  Or maybe they were talking about what great wives they have when they went off to talk in the office.....I'm SURE that's what it was!

1. The double swaddle at night -- this works great at keeping his arms away from his face / head, which kept him from going to sleep.  He would easily break out of one blanket, and the velcro ones were annoying and he could often break his arms out of those too.
2. The diaper-pinned-armholes of a sleep blanket for day naps -- found this tip online.  The sleep blanket is a great quick way to cover him up for a nap, but again, his flailing arms kept him awake!  So we've pinned up the armholes to keep his busy hands inside the blanket.  We've only done this for a couple of days, but it seems to be working great!

We broke a few night-time sleep records this week, and one night he slept 8-9 hours before a feeding, and then didn't wake again until the morning!  He's also consolidated his day napping, and is consistently sleeping in the crib for those also (versus the random play yard / carrier naps previously).  Today he had 4 solid naps, ranging from 30 min to 2 hours.  I'm crossing my fingers these trends continue!  I keep reading that larger babies develop mature sleep habits earlier, so I'm hoping that's the case for our big 'un!

Next week we're looking forward to a few things --- Jackson's officially 2 months old on the 17th, he has another well-child medical appointment, and Adam & Hannah are visiting!

Here are some of the pictures / video from this week:

Video -- he's always really talkative and happy after he wakes up in the mornings :)

Here's the video I didn't get a chance to post last night