Thankful for so Much!

November comes and goes so fast and with the anticipation of Christmas, sometimes we forget to slow down and just be thankful...the things our family is thankful for in 2010

- Thankful for semi-easy childbirth, recovery process and all the help and support we had during that time
- Thankful for our beautiful healthy baby boy that we have been blessed with
- Thankful for our families-honestly don't know what we would do without them!
- Thankful for our own health and the health of our family members and friends
- Thankful that we continue to have jobs during these hard times
- Thankful that we do not go hungry like so many do and that we have a place to call "home"
- Thankful that Jaxson has awesome loving grandparents
- Thankful that Jaxson has a good doctor who doesn't mind that I call biweekly :)
- Thankful that Jaxson is growing everyday and learning new things
- Thankful that God watches over us while we travel- we are always on the road going somewhere!

We have so many things to be thankful for and there's no way I could list them all. We will be spending the day with the Shaffer's tomorrow and will have our Thanksgiving dinner with the Overton's on Saturday. Hope everyone has a safe and Happy THANKSgiving!

Recalls Recalls

It seems like something is always getting recalled these days. Today I learned that another important item in Jaxson's life has been recalled...let's start from the beginning

The beloved Nap Nanny: Jaxson's best friend for several weeks/months. Luckily it was only the 1st generation so we were safe...

http://www.napnanny.com/

Our cherished Similac Sensitive: Originally I had hoped to switch him at some point to Gerber Good Start so I thought since the Similac had been recalled...why not! I will tell you why not: fussy gassy unhappy baby...so we are glad to have Similac back on the shelf in the normal size container. Only about 8 more weeks of that expensive crap good stuff.

http://www.similac.com/

Today I see that his teething tablets have been recalled. If they recall Orajel, we will be in A LOT of trouble!

http://www.hylands.com/

Our First Weekend Apart

A couple of weekends ago (Nov 12-14) Emmett and I went to Columbus for the Buckeye vs. Penn State game and while there we did some a lot of shopping! We also did A LOT of walking. While it was a much needed getaway I really hated leaving Jaxson and had a lot of first-time-mommy anxiety: what if we have a wreck on the way there, what if something happens to us, what if something happens while we are gone, what if what if what if. We had a great time at the game and had GREAT seats. Emmett and I actually got to catch up on what was going on with us J It was nice to spend time with Emm again and laugh about silly things (our trip to Target and the crazy random things Emm says sometimes).

I’m pretty sure Jaxson’s hair grew a couple of inches while we were gone (of course only on the one side). I am really trying to hold out until his first birthday for his first haircut, but the left side of his hair looks ridiculous because it’s so much longer than the right side and it flips out constantly like a little wing. Anyway, back to our trip….we got started on our Christmas shopping and the 1 toy we bought for Jaxson we ended up giving it to him as soon as we got home! We are such suckers! I was so ready to get home and see my baby boy so we left Columbus at 5:15 a.m. CST and were home by 11:00 a.m. I know how much I missed Jaxson but Emm missed him a lot too because every time we weren’t talking, Emm was looking at Jaxson’s pictures on facebook.  J He loves his baby boy…

Game Day

Stranger Anxiety...

Right now Jaxson is going through a stranger anxiety/clingy stage…and while I love that he wants to be held and wants me to “protect” him…it’s WEARING ME OUT! Not to mention, it’s making his daycare teacher tired too! He’s been clingy, fussy, not sleeping well, eating 2x as much and just “off” this week so I called the doctor to make sure I didn’t need to make him an appointment to get his ears checked and he said it’s probably just a phase along with teething. While I’m glad he’s extra hungry, because it means he’s growing, I can’t keep him fed! He ate “real” green beans last night for the first time. To my knowledge (grandparents are a little sneaky), this is his first real meal. He actually picked them up with his hands and put them in his mouth. While everything that doesn’t need to go to the mouth does, I couldn’t get him to put food in his mouth. FINALLY, he figured it out J He continues to like his juice and water and is back to loving his bottle. He eats baby food really good and eats the little puff snacks. Jaxson has always loved music but now when he hears his toys play specific songs and if he’s standing up he will bounce and it looks like he’s dancing! LOVE IT! He’s a super fast crawler and loves to open/close cabinet doors and occasionally drag things out of cabinets. He loves to get in his closet and drag everything out of the baskets, especially the “smell-good plastic throw away bags for diapers.” Jaxson was always a good sleeper and would sleep all night in his bed without moving. Now, he rolls all over the bed and changes positions 184,394,300 times and rarely makes it a whole night in his bed…where he ends up in our bed which puts me on the very- very edge barely hanging on just hoping for a little bit of sleep without falling off the bed J He’s such a little sweetie when he wants to be but can be so very mischievous and I think he enjoys getting into things he knows he’s not supposed to play with just to hear us say “NO” to look back at us *smile* and then keep right on doing it. He also does a staring contest with me when I say “NO” and I give him my meanest mommy face…which leads me to laughing and him smiling and we are right back to where we started.  I love- adore- cherish that child of mine!

 

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

Shutterfly is offering 50 free Christmas cards to bloggers! I have always had a good experience with Shutterfly! After I got married in 2007, I did two hardback photo memory books for my mother and my    m-i-l of our wedding pictures. They looked awesome and I was so pleased with the quality of the book and the way the pictures turned out! After Jaxson was born in January 2010, I again turned to Shutterfly for his birth announcements. They shipped them to me really fast and I was very pleased with the way they turned out. I love the glossy look!

This is the birth announcement layout I chose:
                               


Shutterfly has the most adorable options for Christmas cards this year in their 2010 collection! It’s going to be hard to just choose 1 layout!

I love the ones with multiple pictures, because I can show how Jaxson has grown through the year!



             

Christmas Cards from Shutterfly

Shutterfly is doing a promotion for any blogger to receive 50 free Christmas cards! All you have to do is register & blog about it! Go check it out if you haven't already! I ordered Jaxson's birth announcements from Shutterfly and loved the quality! I also did two photo memory books for my wedding pictures from Shutterfly a few years ago and they turned out great! Get Started!

Happy Halloween!

Jaxson Cole's 1st Halloween!! Our little lion....grrrr....

9 Months Old!

9 months...I have to keep saying it over and over because I'm still in denial...my baby is 9 months old! He is such a joy right now because he is sooo active and loves to be involved in everything! He had his 9 month checkup today and he weighed 18 pounds 12 ounces and was 29 3/4 inches long. He is in the 90th percentile for his height and just below the 50th percentile for weight. Jaxson is such a good eater and loves loves his baby food. Lately, he has pushed the bottle away which causes us to be up at 2-3 a.m. getting a bottle ready because someone is hungry. He loves apple juice and has just started drinking out of a sippy cup. He is wearing size 9-12 month clothes and some 18 mth things. He loves to play with his toys and loves to be in the walker or stroller going somewhere! He still says "da-da" and "ba-ba" and has said "ma-ma" once! He pulls up on anything and everything and has been caught standing alone for a few seconds :) He's a very fast crawler and loves playing with his bath toys! Jaxson reaches for someone to pick him up, claps his hands and cries when I leave him at daycare. He loves to get into "yelling" contest to see who is the loudest. He still sings himself to sleep and loves his paci, especially in the middle of the night.

Jaxson Cole we love you and have enjoyed every minute of the last 9 months!

P.S.- Moma can't wait to go Christmas shopping for you soon!!