Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Jackson at Seven Months


Oh, dear. My poor little boy. For the last two months, his month birthday has fallen both on a holiday and in the midst of craziness, and here I am again, VERY belatedly posting about his seventh month here on earth with us. Nothing special is going on next week (yes, he will turn eight months next week—I am not sure how that is possible, but it is true), so I’m going to do my best to post this month’s news on time.

As for the seventh month, it was full of all kinds of excitement. It started with Jackson’s first Thanksgiving and ended with his first Christmas Eve, with lots of action and adventure in between. He started babbling like crazy, mostly with “bah bah bahs” and began trying to pull up on things (although he hasn’t made a ton of progress there—if he has two fingers to grasp, he can pull himself up to standing, but he’s still a little intimidated to try pulling up on anything else). He started army crawling, which he did only very slowly at first but picked up a little steam over the month. His top two teeth came in (much to my chagrin—teeth on top and bottom have changed breastfeeding forever—OUCH) and he tried solid food for the first time. His first food, like his big sister’s was avocado. He gave the typical “what is this you are trying to put in my mouth?” face, but he took to eating from the spoon almost immediately, never thrusting any of the food back out. This is probably because he was almost three weeks past his six-month birthday before we started the solid foods, thanks to his GI issues. After avocados came sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and pears, all big hits. It has been so strange for me getting back into the swing of making all the baby food. It’s been a long time.

As for adventures, we spent a beautiful afternoon at Mount Vernon during the last weekend in November. The following week was Hudson’s birthday, so we spent some time at the Arboretum that day and took Jackson with us to drop off our gifts to the hospital and the animal shelter. Jackson’s Poppy came into town for Hudson’s birthday, and that weekend, we took Jackson to Zoo Lights at the National Zoo. Not really for the younger set, but I do think he enjoyed all the lights and musical displays. The next day, we went out to Butler’s Orchard to cut down our Christmas tree, and the wonderful Emily Large came with us and took Jackson’s 6-month photos there. You will see below how amazing they are. And then, of course, Jackson met Santa for the first time, a big moment for every kid, even if he doesn’t know it.

He continues to look so much like his big sister when she was this age, both of them still so round and chubby, not moving enough yet to start turning leaner and losing that baby fat, heads disproportionately bigger than their bodies. He’s quite a bit more, er, assertive (as Jessica diplomatically put it) than she was at this age, though. He is pretty bossy about letting you know when he’s not happy with his current situation. But as he continues to develop cognitively, he is learning to spend more and more time entertaining himself without any help from me, which is so neat to watch. He is exploring all the household goodies that are so much more interesting than toys—stainless steel bowls, wire whisks, giant serving spoons, soda bottles full of water. Who wants a toy that plays music when you can play with what the grown-ups have?

It really is hard to believe he’s getting ready to turn eight months old. Where did the time go? I have been thinking a lot lately about how very soon, he will be half as old as Hudson ever got. And then, one day in the not too distant future, he will be older than she ever was. Even though I am glad I did not know what was coming with Hudson, there is part of me that thinks about those milestones with Jackson. I can hardly imagine that he could be gone in just a little more than ten months from now. Obviously, I can’t and won’t live that way, but even the slightest breeze of that thought makes me grab this little boy up and close my eyes and squeeze him tight.

Lots and lots of pictures. Even if the time is slipping away, I will always have these pictures.





























11 comments:

  1. Thanks for my smile for the day!

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  2. What a sweet boy. Love these photos!

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  3. Such gorgeous photos of all of you.

    What a happy, happy boy!

    Kris

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  4. Hello.

    Came over from What now and why.

    I have spent the last hour, from the beginning to now.

    You poor woman.

    How I am crying for you,and an unimaginable loss.

    I will tell you this....I can't even begin to think about this in my life.

    You survive, day by day..you have survived.

    It is something that I know, my words can never express how your posts have been a slap in my face about the things I get depressed over.

    My children are growing up too fast, now teens, soon to be gone, and I can't shake the sadness over that.

    But I have them...and you reminded me of that.

    They may be gone in two years (oh,what will I do) but snap out of it, right? they're here.

    You're in my heart of hearts, for travelling the path you've had to travel.

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  5. My goodness, the resemblance between Jackson and Hudson is astounding. I imagine it's both a gift and a curse, all at once. He's so beautiful (as is she).

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  6. He is so precious. Thanks for sharing these photos.

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  7. Seeing the joy and smiles that little boy has brought back to all of you is the best gift ever. Jackson is such a smiley baby, what a beautiful child. I wish you guys a great 2012, all the luck and happiness in the world.

    Best,
    Jana

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  8. good morning...Jackson is pure sunshine. He's growing so fast and so very handsome (looking more like you and Hudson every day). Hope your move goes well - wish I was close enough to babysit! Allyson will soon be 8 and enjoying basketball...hope to see you soon.
    Love, Helen

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  9. That is a whole lot of adorable. The sweater!

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  10. We will miss him..we will keep in touch. A very observant little boy..and cute as hell..

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  11. Those are some of the most beautiful photos of YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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