Baptism!

We had Jack baptized last Sunday. Poor guy had to sit through 1 hour of mass then 1 hour for the baptism (was supposed to be 20-30 minutes, but the priest has now been fondly nicknamed 'Father Tangent', I won't say who gave him the name...but you know who you are, heehee!). He was a good boy through almost all of the service...cried a little here and there - but what else was he to do? He's a baby after all!

Here's our little man in his suit and tie all ready for the baptism (and by 'ready' I'm referring to the fact that he has got his soother firmly attached nearby and ready to go!). I got him the most adorable little shoes to go with the suit but I don't have a good picture of them - hopefully he'll get to wear them again (don't worry - Jack's cheap mother bought them on consignment for $10...can't beat that price!).


And...her is Jack getting baptized. It might look like he's crying but he's not...he's just excited about the water getting poured on his head!


This is what he looks like when he's crying...yup - he did not like getting oil put on his shoulder, but he settled down and was pretty darn good the rest of the service:)


Jason (Jay) and Susan (Sue) Corrigan are Jack's godparents - we were so happy they agreed to be there for him on this special day...and it will be awesome to have them in his life in such a special role.


The usual full family shot at the front of the church.


Here we are at the end of the baptism day, we had all gone back to my in-laws house for a BBQ lunch after the service. We ended up getting home around 6pm...and we were TIRED!!! Benson was the only one not tired (he sat around the house all day) so he was very happy to have us home.


This was taken just last night. Jack had a bit of a fussy day...I'm thinking he might be teething again or maybe I shouldn't try diagnose his fussiness...we're all entitled to have a cranky day now and again aren't we? Anyway, we generally don't give him a soother except when he's going to sleep...but today I put the 'plug' in to help him not be fussy (read: to stop crying and whining), when we tried to take it out for his bath it was a definite 'NO' on his part and we weren't going to fight the suction power to yank it out. Anyway - I expected he would just spit it out into the bath but nope, he sucked on that thing the whole bath and was very very content doing so!



These aren't the shoes he wore to the baptism but they are his other shoes. I used to think that buying shoes for babies was a waste of money (okay, I still kind of think that) but I saw these and caved and bought them and I love them...I might have to exercise some self control next time I go shopping because now that I've seen him in 2 pairs of shoes I want MORE!!! It makes him look like a little boy...I love it!

Poor Little Guy! :(

Jackson had his first vaccinations today (late I know, long story, don't give me any grief - I've heard it all already). It was SO sad:( 4 shots - 2 in each leg and he was NOT happy about it at all). He cried and cried and looked at me with his sad eyes like "why are you doing this to me Mom?" (I had to hold him and tight too, the nurse said "vice grip on his legs please!")

Anyway, I cried and cried during the process...I'm only telling you because I think it's kind of funny that I'm a complete wimp! He calmed down quite quickly after the shots were done (and so did I but I still have some lingering sadness when I think of his poor little scrunched up red face and tears pouring out his eyes and down into his ears...sniff sniff) and he was great on the car ride home. Then he slept 3 hours (I slept 1 hour) and woke up, ate, then started freaking out again for almost 45 minutes. I finally got him calmed down and to sleep (with the help of some medication...thank goodness for children's Tylenol - I knew there was a reason I had some in the house). Then he woke up and was in good spirits for when Ian came home!

Then tonight Ian noticed that Jack's 2nd tooth has broken through his bottom gums...so I expect that was bothering him as well! Poor Little Guy!

[Oh funny story - I was at the clinic and the nurse was telling me what side effects to watch for, what to be or not be concerned about, etc., and I say "oh - if he's got a fever or something can I give him some Tylenol 3's?" and she looked at me horrified and said "No, never", so I said "What? Why not" and she said "Tylenol 3's..." and I said "oops, I meant children's Tylenol" and she said "for a moment I was thinking 'what kind of parent are you' haha" so of course I replied "Oh of course I wouldn't give him T3's...I only give him that when he isn't sleeping well!" (then I promptly told he I was joking before she could pick up the phone and call social services)]

He's sleeping now...so I don't know if he'll be up 25 times tonight or sleep through the night...hopefully the latter! Tomorrow I'll be ripping the Band-Aids off his legs...4 times...

Happy (Belated) 4 Month Birthday Jackson!

So August 12 was Jack's 4 month birthday! We 'celebrated' by going camping with his Great Aunt and Uncle (Diane and Allan). We went to La Conner, Washington (near Anacortes...near Burlington...about 1 hour south of the border...anyways if you don't know where it is just move on...). We didn't really 'camp' per se, we actually rented a cabin on the ocean and spent a lot of time at my Aunt and Uncle's campsite (they have a trailer...so really - there was no roughin' it to be had).

So here are a couple pic's taken of Jack on his 'birthday'. This one is of him hanging out on the futon in the cabin (like I said...we weren't really roughin' it at all). He is playing with his new toy...a monkey on a round rattle that he basically picked out himself (Ian put him down in the store in his carseat and he started looking at this toy - Ian handed it to him and he grabbed it and loved it...so we bought it for him - what else are parents supposed to do...say 'no'??? Hahah).



And this is him in the car ride down to the campsite. The border line up was 'only' 30 minutes (not bad compared to the times I heard on the radio today...3.5-4 hours???? Yikes!!!). Anyway, this was the longest he had been in the car for - he did pretty good but I think he was getting a little tired of it by this point.



Since I take so many of the pictures we don't have too many of me and Jack together - which is okay...everyone only really wants to see him anyway! But here is a pic of Jack and me in the cabin (seriously we had only been there for one night and it's already a mess - just look behind me), I'm sporting my new 'do'...I hadn't cut my hair in over a year and it was so long and irritating so it was time to chop chop and start fresh. Every time I cut my hair I say I'm going to keep it that length then it starts to grow and I think 'hey, I'd like to have long hair', then it gets long and I think 'why did I do this, it's awful'...and the cycle continues. So right now - I think I'm going to let it grow about an inch then keep it at that length...stay tuned!



Here is the view from the beach just behind our cabin. Ian went out first thing in the morning (thanks to an early wake up call from you know who...I'll give you a hint - it starts with a 'J' and ends in 'ack'). The ocean looks like glass - so pretty!



On our last day 'camping' we went to Deception Pass. It's our 2nd time there but the 1st time we did not bring our camera so I wanted to go back 1) 'cause it's so darn beautiful and 2) to get some pic's of the beauty that is less than 2 hours from home! This picture was taken from the bridge over the water looking down at the beach we were going to walk down to.



This picture is taken from the beach (in the photo above) looking up at the bridge we just came down from!



I love this picture of Ian and Jackson just looking at the water and little waves. It's so fun to see Jack getting so mesmerized by things that we barely even notice anymore - I mean - he's not critically evaluating what he sees but it's new and it captivates him so it's pretty neat to watch.



We walked back up to the bridge and kept on walking up, and up, and up...we walked to the Summit (of what exactly I don't know, but it was steep and awful...but worth it in the end). Jack fell asleep on the way up even though Dad was working his buns off to get to the top.



After coming back down from the Summit we went to a State Park (the name of the State Park I'm not sure...I'm beginning to notice a trend here...I seriously need to pay more attention to these things - no wonder I'm so bad at geography...you know...it's probably called 'Washington State Park'...but I really have no idea). We had lunch (courtesy of Auntie Diane and Uncle Allan) and then just vegged out for a couple hours enjoying the sunshine. Here is my Aunt doing exactly that...enjoying the warmth of the day and soaking in the fresh ocean air!



I decided to add these last two photos because I think they are just plain silly. Jack was just chillin' out at my Aunt and Uncle's campsite and was totally and completely enthralled by a wooden bird they had hanging from the roof...it was spin and turn in the wind and he just thought it was the greatest thing.



And here is the bird that had him so excited!



No...we didn't steal it away with us when we left! Jack will just have to wait until next year to see it again!

Videos - Rolling Over and 'Eating' Sushi!

Here is a video of Jackson rolling over...sort of! He's figured out how to go stomach to back...but he hates his tummy time so much that he usually starts freaking out before he considers rolling over (and I guess he knows that freaking out means mom will pick him up...bad habit - I know). When he was just an itty bitty little baby he rolled over a few times (at about 10 days old then again at about 3 weeks) I was surprised and thought it was probably just a fluke...and I guessI was right because he didn't care to repeat it again until recently!



Okay, okay, okay...I know we're not supposed to give him raw / solid...whatever...food until he's older but c'mon...he's a bit of a lump on a log (a lump that smiles and giggles but still a lump) so Ian and I find enjoyment in doing things we're not supposed to (heehee). We like to see his reaction to different foods...I have let him gum my nectarine (a big hit), given him a smear of yogurt (a big hit...can't remember what flavor), let him gum a piece of orange (so-so reaction), had a swig or two of alcohol (kidding...just making sure you're reading closely). Anyway, on this day - don't know what prompted it...but we decided to let him have a little taste of the pickled ginger that comes with sushi...he LOVED IT!! Please understand - we don't let him actually eat these things...we just let him get a bit of the flavor on his lips and gums...but in this instance - holy crap-oly we had to hold onto that ginger for dear life...did I say he LOVED IT?! See for yourself....

He's getting so big!!

I took this photo of Jackson last week...so that I could compare it to the photo below that I took on April 30 when he was only a couple of weeks old. I don't usually notice quite how much he has changed because I seem him every day...I notice new things - like vocalization and motor skills and stuff like that but I seem to have trouble remembering just how little and wrinkly he was! And in comparing these two photos it seems my pumpkin's head is getting a little big and square...yikes!




Jackson has been sort of figuring out how to grab things that he wants. He then tries to bring them to his mouth (what else is there to do with toys?) but usually ends up hitting himself in his head...sometimes followed by crying 'cause when he hits himself he really hits himself good and hard (he only has full strength or nothing at all...there is no in between)!



So the significance of the photo below is that this is how I found him yesterday morning when he woke up. I did not put him to bed like this (of course)! He was put to bed in the usual manner of head near the top and feet near the bottom...but he managed to wiggle free of his blankets and turn himself around. I guess it's time to start raising the side of the crib!



Today was the first time we put him in the stroller the 'big boy' way. He usually is in his car seat which attaches to the stroller and faces backwards. So until now he's only had a view of mom or dad when we go for walks. Now he has a view of the whole world! Which now means that mom and dad aren't his whole world...sniff sniff:( (Ha ha!)

Totally stolen...

I'm soooo mad at the photography company that came to take pictures of Jackson back in June...they totally dilly dallied around with making an appointment to view the photos and despite my multiple phone messages to them (starting off nice, getting more and more grumpy) they never called me back!!! Today, some poor woman who had no idea what was going on phoned to give me the electronic link to the photos...so I didn't get mad at her - she didn't even know there had been a problem...argh!

Anyway - I'm not paying them a cent for any photos so I'll have to be satisfied looking at them on line...or well...anyway...nuff said.

Here are some of the best shots...enjoy:)