Our Weekend

This weekend we had the opportunity to go to barrel races. I have never been to anything like this and I used to ride horses when I was younger. My friend's daughter, father, and niece were competing. I have to say that I was a little concerned about taking Jackson - whether it was going to be too hot, what kind of situation it was going to be to sit down and haul all the stuff around.... and whether or not Jackson would last very long without a very good nap. The races started in the morning. Thankfully, he slept on the way there for a good forty minutes... not normally long enough for a morning nap. But, we went with it. Unfortunately, I missed seeing my friend's daughter ride. It turned out fantastic! Jackson loved seeing the horses and tractors. The weather was overcast and not too hot. It was under a nice shelter where picnic tables were set up, fans were running, and there was plenty of room to spread out. He watched in awe as they horses ran around. I think he was more amazed by the tractors that came through every so often. My friends and I took Jackson to the stables with all the horses. He was so excited - he was reaching with no fear. I am not sure if that's good or bad! It was definitely cute. My friend got some pictures with the horse. I will have to wait for her to email them to me. After much playing and watching, Jackson sacked out in my lap amidst the loud announcers and music. After that, I drove back to Easley and had lunch with my friends. He got a little antsy at lunch, but did beautifully considering the lack of sleep. When we got home, it wasn't an hour later that he was passed out cold for a sizable afternoon nap. The only thing missing from the day was Justin - he was working. Here are some pictures of the morning.

Today, we enjoyed another swim at the neighbor's (Tim & Sue) house. Jackson was quite taken with Sue. They are such sweet neighbors to let us enjoy their pool.

I think that about covers it. The weekend was fun! It all leads up to the fun planned for next weekend! We really look forward to seeing our family for the fourth!

Nine Months!

Yesterday, Jackson hit the 9 month mark! Has it really been 9 months?! Sometimes I think time is flying and other times I feel like I don't remember what it was like to not have him in my life. Thankfully, no shots were involved. I do have to say that I was quite impressed with my son. He had the finger prick this time instead of shots. He didn't cry at all. He just watched the girl squeeze the blood out of his finger like a champ - curiously checking out what she was doing. He was AWESOME! Here are his stats:

Weight: 21 lbs, 10 oz
Length: 29 inches

The doctor was quite pleased with his growth. In fact, we have to start scaling back on the formula (YEAH!).

Another update - He has learned how to sit up from laying down. It has been the source of much frustration the last few weeks. He would end up on his belly and not know how to get back up and sit down. He's finally figured out to balance on his knees, back up and sit down. It's the small things sometimes that can be the most exciting. He is quite proud of himself (and so am I). He also has started doing planks - pushing up on to his toes and picking up his hips. It's the funniest thing. Sometimes it ends up looking like yoga - a downward dog move with his little butt in the air. I barely caught it on video yesterday... It's not quite the yoga move that it has looked like, but you get the idea - very funny.

Downward Dog from Heather Gray on Vimeo.

Stay tuned for another post about our day today. It calls for it's own post.

Monday Night Fun

Monday Night Fun from Heather Gray on Vimeo.

Pool Time

This weekend brought a few fun things. One - Justin and I got a much needed date night on Friday thanks to Grandma (Justin's mom). She came up and spent the night. Justin and I went to Tsunami at the recommendation of a friend from work. May I say that it was excellent. We had a fabulous time. Conincidentally, our date night happened to be the same night 11 years ago that we had our first date. Eleven years - I can hardly remember a time without Justin. Thank goodness for my wonderful husband! This also marked the first time that either me or Justin was with Jackson when he was put to bed. I survived! I have to take baby steps to let go of the control freak that resides within me! Jackson had a wonderful time visiting with Grandma.

Today, thanks to our neighbors Tim and Sue, Jackson had his first experience in a real pool. He was hesitant at first, but after a few minutes of holding him in a little bit of water,I was able to put him in the float that we were given (courtesy of Aunt Leslie). He thoroughly enjoyed it. He was actually kicking his feet to get around between me and Justin. It was precious. It also wore him out and he took an excellent afternoon nap.

A couple of other things to note - Jackson can feed himself bottles now. It is so exciting and so sad at the same time. He doesn't quite get that he needs to tip it back when it gets low, but he is pretty good at it. It certainly makes life a little easier. He also has another tooth on top - so we are up to five teeth!

He was just perfect all weekend! We are so blessed with THE BEST baby ever. Attached are a few pictures of our weekend.

Also, I forgot to mention our fun a few weekends ago. We had our first play date over at the Haines' house. They have twins that are just precious - about a year older than Jackson. I feel the need to give them the credit they are due. We had a wonderful dinner and visit with them. The kids were all so great together. Unfortunately, I forgot the camera for our visit, so I didn't capture any pictures from the visit.

This is for Meme

My First Ride from Heather Gray on Vimeo.

My Newest Trick...

In addition to being able to give high fives now, Jackson is steadily working towards crawling. Right now, I venture to call him an inch worm. I wish I had him on camera when Justin got home today. He could see him in the door and got so excited. He inched all the way over to get him. I know it made Justin's day! We both had caught him inching once or twice this week, but not continuously. He wasn't really getting anywhere. Well, he is now! Crawling, here we come... which means trouble for me and Justin!! Check him out!

Inch Worm! from Heather Gray on Vimeo.