and he found his toes today!!!

...and for the first time ever, Jackson grabbed his right foot with his right hand and held onto his big toe for a bit... also (as a side note)... he may look like Jake's mini-me, but he has Jacque's smile and laugh (giggle) and what a blessing for the sore hearts in our family to see a bit of the Angel we miss so much, shining through her youngest brother... as he is scooting and lifting his head while on his tummy... more candid shots coming later. He is just a miracle and a blessing.

jackson updates

I was thinking - early this morning - like 4am, when Jackson woke me from a sound and peaceful sleep with the pangs of hunger... that I totally forgot to update the blog with info on the newest events of my lil'guy! That is ridiculous... Normally, he lets me sleep until at least 630am and sometimes as late as 8am. This morning I will have a lot to do to get Dad ready for discharge from the hospital... but I really would've enjoyed some more solid sleep without the stress dreams of late. Like two nights ago when I dreamed I was a jet fighter pilot for the USA, ranked #15 in the nation (really? seriously? is that the weirdest thing or what?)... that is a dream for a teenage boy, not a 20-something mom of 3! Anyway, I was called to fight for our country as we were being attacked by an unnamed middle eastern country... and to make a long dream short... What the heck? I think it had something to do with Jeff buying this militant looking rifle of some sort for our friend George in CA... it looked a lot like those weapons seen in the arms of young children in war torn third world countries.... that, flying to CA, taking care of Dad... the pressure is obviously getting to me! LOL! Anyway, back to my favorite little dude. He is totally giggling out loud now... this started on April 21. He woke up with the biggest out loud giggle on his Auntie Kellie's birthday... since then, we have found tons of tickle spots to recreate the laughter. He is so outgoing ad fun... full of smiles and cuddles. Reminds me a lot of Jacque's personality... which, I won't lie, is a total blessing! He is also scooting a lot when I lay him onto his blanket for tummy time. Jackson is also drooling tons and mastering the spit bubble... teething just around the corner. He is starving all the time (I know he gets this from his Dad who can't go more than two hours without eating SOMETHING)... and his reflux is bad enough that now we are weighting down his formula bottles with a little rice cereal... it helps and educed projectile occurrences, but he is still a spitty kid. He has found his hands and definitely loves to have them in his mouth! Which is fine with me... I keep them clean... which will be less likely to happen as he gets older. He is playing in his exer-saucer and loves to punch the buttons to make the animal sounds and music as the reward. It is awesome to see him reach and grab, pull and push... all with purpose. Of course, if he gets ahold of it, he wants it straight away into his mouth! He is also a blanket kid.... preferring soft flannels and micro-fibers to anything else... he holds a piece, snuggles his burp rags in his sleep, and almost always needs one tightly grasped in his hands when going ni-night... I love that. Both my older kids were blanket lovers as well... and they call them their bubbies! Looks like Jackson will be a bubbie lover, too. He wakes up singing and talking... and he is such a good baby. Cranky Jack Jack Attach time has subsided and while he is a little more cranky in the evening, he is not screaming or acting colicky in any way... just a little more demanding and temperamental in the evening... but totally manageable... bye bye to Jack Jack Attack, which is fading into a distant memory... Hallelujah! So, that is the scoop... maybe I can get some more sleep before my day really gets going!

...its been forever!

I know it has been forever since I blogged... our family has been very busy taking care of Jeff's Dad... he has been in and our of 3 different hospitals and 2 rehab centers 6 different times over the last month and is now scheduled to go home first thing in the morning and mom is going to help him recover at home... much better than so many of the convalescent places he has been....

In the meantime, we have had Easter and Jake will be out of college next week - finishing up his freshman year. As soon as those transcripts get sent to LSU, he will have his answer for fall. Jackson is growing like a weed and this Saturday we are scheduled to take his first airplane vacation to California... I couldn't be more ready for a little break and some really good Mexican food! Miguel's Jr here I come! That should help my triglyceride count, NOT! Jackson also had his baptism on Easter Sunday... a few photos for you to enjoy and I promise to try to get back to blogging as often and as soon as possible.... I miss it so very much. Oh, Jeff is STILL working in OK and commuting home to TX on the weekends... that hasn't changed, but he has been desperate enough to get out of Oklahoma to apply for jobs in Alaska (North Slope) and Kazakhstan (Russia area on Caspian Sea).... can I just say COLD and HECK NO!!! That is total desperation though... We are all healthy and well here!

...long time coming...

Seriously, I don't even know where to begin with an update... after almost a month of events. Dad being sick and currently in the ICU takes a lot of my energy and devotion. And even though we are all emotionally and physically exhausted, I just keep plugging away. Jackson is growing so fast... bigger every day! He turned 12 weeks old this week and where does the time go? During the last few weeks we had a few more firsts to document: he focuses and listens intently to people now... he can also track someone across the room, or in the case of the dogs, watch them go round and round and round the table. That one is a riot with his very jerky head movements, but not letting those dogs out of his site. He has his first Polish Easter and he was baptized on Easter Sunday (photo above taken just before the service). He was so good and we did manage to get the baptism on video... i am just still learning how to upload that kind of thing. He met his Auntie Kellie (photo at very top) and cousins Tanner and Trenten for the first time and they all love him and he loves them, too. And now that I have made a mini-update, I feel a decrease in the pressure to get a blog done and I can go back to normal blogging. We continue to ask for prayers for Jeff's dad as he is in stable but very serious life-threatening condition.