Months 7-9

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First 3 months

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The end of September started to feel more like fall. We got some pretty cold temperatures at night, down in the 20s, which caused us to turn on our heat! The last Saturday in Sept we did a 5k. It was a fundraiser for the school I used to teach at and it was good to get outside and see all my old co-workers. Jackson did very well in the stroller (we just walked) and Jason did well running :-) We have continued to try and make it to church on Sundays. Jackson usually ends up sleeping through most of the service, which gives us complements of how he is "such a good baby!" Can't complain there and he really is a very good baby! I can't believe he is 2 months old already! He is starting to do more and more things. He is down to crying/fussing only when he is hungry and tired. He is still eating about every 2 hours during the day, I keep crossing my fingers and hoping he will start spreading the feedings out a little longer, but...we are not quite there yet. 

Grandma Harp came the 1st weekend in October to visit Jackson! It was fun to see him interact with someone other than us. I think he did very well :-) We took our first trip to the mall and out to dinner when Grandma was here. We are trying to get him used to the carrier so that when we travel for the holidays we don't have to bring a stroller or car seat through the airports. I think it will work out.  

I also started going to Zumba with some friends on Saturday mornings. I am hoping that it gets me in shape at least a little closer to my pre-baby condition. I took the "eating for two" a bit too serious haha! It is held a one of the middle schools so it is a lot of teachers and people I know from teaching who go. Jackson and I also continue to walk during the week when Daddy is at work. 

Jackson went for his 2 month check-up this past week. He was 11lb, 23 3/4in, and got his first shots! He got three shots (2 in one leg and 1 in the other) Jason said he didn't cry until the last shot.  I was in the room but I couldn't handle holding his little arms down so Jason did it and stood between him and me so I couldn't see haha. Overall he handled them very well and he only got a little fever the next day. Hopefully all his shots will go that well. He slept quite a bit over the last few days and he even let me sleep for 4 hours straight a few nights in a row. I was hoping that this would be the new routine, but last night he woke up more frequently so we will see how the next couple of weeks go. He is also starting to not care for being swaddled anymore so any movement he makes I think he wakes himself up easier...

Yesterday we went and got our pumpkins. We actually grew one pumpkin in our garden this year! We are calling that Jackson's pumpkin so we went to the pumpkin patch for our pumpkins because yes we do still carve pumpkins every year!! I think we are going to do it next weekend so I will have to put up pictures when they are done. 

 Jackson is smiling more and more and starting to show us his personality a little more! He is following people and objects with his eyes and likes to "talk" to us. He has also done well in his bumbo seat. His head strength is pretty good. Yesterday during tummy time Jason saw him roll onto his side. He likes to kick with his legs a whole lot and they are pretty strong. Don't really think there is much else going on. I will keep trying to update on a fairly regular schedule :-) 

In his Syracuse shirt! 

See he looks kinda happy here!

2 months old on this day!

He was playing with Daddy

He likes to grab onto things more now

This is the pumpkin we grew in our garden

Jackson at the pumpkin patch

I think this is one of the only pictures we have of the three of us

Our pumpkins in the wheel barrow 

He didn't want to look at me, but the hat matches the lion on his outfit

Sunday means football!! We get to watch the Giants and the Cowboys on tv today (very rare occasion), but since I don't have a Giants onesie I guess he has to wear a Cowboys one...ewwww haha
He also likes the wrist rattles!

Alright...we are back and it is Fall!

I always think it will be easy to keep up the blog and it always seems to be the last thing on the list. haha Maybe I will move it up on the list to write at least a couple times a month.:-) The end of the summer was spent with our new addition who decided to wait until August 7th to arrive! All of our family visited in August to help us with Jackson. He got to meet his grandparents and aunts! It was great to have people here for the first 3 weeks. After everyone left Jackson and I got into more of a routine...if you can call it a routine with a newborn. Jackson and I spend our days playing on the play mat, going for walks, eating, and of course sleeping. I have to say I obviously haven't had any other babies but he is very well behaved and has been pretty easy to take care of. During the month of September we have done more things out and about. We went to the Idaho Falls Harvest Festival a few weekends ago. We just walked around and enjoyed the nice weather. Jackson likes his stroller and tends to fall asleep when we go out for walks. We also started going to "MOPS" which is a group for moms that meets 2 Thursdays out of each month. I think it will be a good place to meet other moms and get out of the house every once in awhile. Jackson has also made it through church 2 times. Everyone says he is so well behaved. Jason and I are wondering when that will change haha!  Below are some photos of Jackson. I have also been bad about taking pictures and videos. He has started to smile and move more and hopefully this week I can get some videos to post!

Jason and Jackson at the hospital

Aunt Heather arrived the day after Jackson was born and stayed the
night at the hospital so Jason could get some sleep :-)

Going home day!

Ready to go home

With aunt Julie

Grandma and Grandpa Luke sent flowers!

Aunt Haley 

Grandparents arrived!

Jackson's first trip to the falls

Doing what we do best!!

He loves his "Cool Daddy"

Bath time

More Grandparents!

Trip 2 to the falls

Playing on the playmat

He has grown to love the mirror

"Hello, who should I call?"

Reading with Daddy

Jackson is almost 2 months old now and is starting to "talk" more and hold up his head by himself. He loves the playmat and is starting to focus and follow objects and toys. He also has started smiling at us and I believe it isn't just gas haha! 

I will do my best to keep up the blog with photos and happenings!

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Ready for Some Football

Jackson and I are all ready for Jackson's first Aggie game. 
We had a small wardrobe problem earlier today when Melissa dressed him in a blue onesie and blue and orange overalls.  I fixed that after our walk this morning though.  I think Jackson may have even tried to say Gig'em Ags when I got him dressed properly.

How is summer going so fast?

Well it is already the end of June somehow.... We have tried to enjoy the nice weather we have had throughout the month. It has started to get hotter in the past couple weeks and I finally had to turn on the ac the other day. haha. Ok so here are the highlights:

We went to Grand Teton National Park for a day. It was gorgeous as usual. We had a picnic lunch with a great view of the mountains and then did a little hiking around Jenny Lake. We got our wildlife sighting on the way back down the Jenny Lake trail. We were walking and Jason stopped and said, "Is that a horse drinking or a moose?"  It was a moose. We were about 20ft from it drinking out of the lake. Then we started walking on the path and it crossed right in front of us. After hiking we drove down to Jackson Hole to have dinner before heading home. We brought our new video camera and once I get the programs on my computer or go use Jason's we can start adding some video clips to these updates.

My mom and aunt came to visit for a couple days! We picked them up in Salt Lake City and then went to see the Great Salt Lake and the Olympic Cauldron Park from the 2002 Olympics. We saw someone rowing on the lake. Now I know I just need to go down to Salt Lake if I ever want to row again. haha. I wish they had some here in Idaho. It was neat to see the torch and all the pictures from the Olympic Games. We decided on Jason's Deli for lunch. It is nice to eat places we don't have in Idaho Falls. It was a good day! Then my mom, aunt, and I went to Mesa Falls and the St. Anthony Sand Dunes the next day. I wanted to show them the falls and it is a pretty close drive, which is nice. It was another great day. We had a picnic lunch and then on the way home we stopped in St. Anthony, which is a town not too far from Idaho Falls, because I have always wanted to see the sand dunes. Apparently the part in Napoleon Dynamite where they are riding on the sand dunes was filmed at the St. Anthony Sand Dunes in Idaho. It is so weird because you just drive down a road off the highway and then there is a whole bunch of sand. Description below:
"It is a 10,600 acre playground of clear, shifting, white quartz sand and is known for its unique beauty and exceptional recreation opportunities. Prevailing winds carried the sand from the nearby Teton and Snake Rivers and deposited it as dunes among the hills. These hills were once active volcanic vents pouring great depths of lava over the earth." We took some pictures and my mom and aunt tried to get me to drive down this day parking road, where I briefly got stuck in the sand. It was very much like driving on snow. haha. There were people riding dune buggies and 4 wheelers all over.

The next day we did some shopping and we also had to go to Reed's Dairy because they have the best ice cream! I also took them to Alive After Five, which is in downtown Idaho Falls. It has live music and drinks. It was a great way to end their visit.

I have continued to try and get ready for the baby. The other day I washed all the clothes and blankets so I could organize them and put them away. Below I will finally add some pictures of the baby room. It is pretty much done. This month we also had another ultrasound, while unexpected I was kind of excited because I had been dreaming we were going to have a girl haha. The ultrasound tech confirmed it was a boy so I am feeling pretty confident at this point. His cheeks looked pretty chubby haha! She had no concerns and said he looks great! We officially have a month to go before our due date. I for some reason think I will go a little early, but Jason thinks late for sure. So I guess we will wait and see what our little one has planned for us.

Jason enjoyed his off Friday fishing this past week. He said he had a good day and caught some fish here and there. He went up near Mesa Falls to Bear Gulch and the Warm River. 

Teton Range on the right, flat mt. is Mt. Moran

You will probably see pictures of these every year because I don't think you can see them enough. 

On out hike around Jenny Lake

I love clear mountain water

moose drinking from Jenny Lake

strolling across the walking path

Great Salt Lake, I was not ready for the picture and there were little bugs or sand fleas everywhere!!

Salt Lake

One last shot of the lake

The actual torch that was carried (glare from the glass around it)

My mom and I 

Jason and I in front of the torch

Mom in front of lower Mesa Falls

Mom and I in front of Upper Mesa Falls

They clear the road so the sand dunes don't completely cover  them. 

Those dots on the hills are the people riding around.

stop sign haha

Our cherries are ready. This was the first bowl we picked this year. 

This is a picture with the swing and car seat there in front. 

I took them out for this one so you could see the crib. The cradle will go in our room eventually.
It was Jason's cradle when he was a baby.

Shot of the dresser/changing table. The stroller is over in the corner.

Rocking chair 

Bear Gulch where Jason went fishing

Another view