7 Month Milestones

We have had so many new things happen this month with Jackson that I wanted to share it with yall. Here is the list of things he is up to as of 7 months. He is:

1. Crawling....scary!!!!
2. Pulling up to a stand.....also scary!!!!
3. Using his "pinchers" to grab things (his thumb and first finger)
4. Able to get himself into a seated positon without help
5. Does the bear crawl alot, with hands and feet on the ground
6. Started throwing things intentionally

A little more info about these fun new developments:

We have had to remove his bumper from the crib because he was pulling up and standing, and the bumper would have been a great step in the escape route.
We have had to start baby proofing the house since he is now into everything!
I have been feeding him some of the Gerber snacks which are kinda like cheerios, but we break then into really small pieces for him. He loves them! I put them in my hand and he practices his pinchers to feed himself. The other day I put him down and as I did the dishes I watched him crawl a little and he got his pinchers out and was trying to pick something up on the floor. I went in to see what he was doing and he was chasing a spider! He kept crawling toward it, trying to pick it up! It would have been straight to the mouth. Joey and I have our hands full!
I tell yall what, I think it just keeps getting better. You think it can't because they are just so great each day, but the more personality that comes out, and the closer we get to real communication we just get even more excited. What a blessing this is!

What I Need You To Know......

As I sat there rocking Jackson to sleep, I was really struck at how big he has already gotten. Allowing my mind to wander, I began thinking of my own life and the brevity of life in general. I remembered like yesterday how thirty was old. It seems like I just graduated high school, yet my ten year reunion is this year. This train of thought led me to really ask myself what it was that I wanted for Jackson in these very short years that we have here on earth. I want a lot for him, but if I had only one thing to choose, one bit of advice or wisdom that I could give him, what would it be? Rocking Jackson in my arms made me think of my unfailing love for him and immediately I knew what it was. So the remainder of this is what I wrote for him. I wrote this for my baby boy, the one that stole my heart just 7 months ago.

Jackson,
Baby, you are only 7 months old, yet as I sit here in our rocking chair I can’t believe how the time has gone. I don’t know where it goes, I just know it goes fast. I was just overcome by the love that I feel for you already, and I needed to write this to you, or I feared my heart just might burst if I didn’t get it out. I wanted to tell you the one thing that I need you to know. Don’t worry we will talk about this a lot as you grow, but I needed to say it now, before you can even understand me. I know there are so many things as a parent I want for you and to teach you, but there is one thing that I want more than all the rest. Jackson, more than anything, I want you to know the love of the Savior, Jesus. More than even health or happiness or security, I pray that you know Him. Through everything, he has weathered the storms with me, and he is the only thing that is constant. He never changes and he never leaves us, even when we may take our eyes off of Him. I need you to know the peace and the joy that I have in Him. I speak of the brevity of life, only to point you to Him who gave his life for us. He is the way the truth and the life. It is Him alone who saves, and Him alone who is the Way. I know in the midst of the craziness of life, through sickenss and pain, struggle and hard times, I have one constant, and that is knowing Jesus’ love and the one hundred percent assurance that I will be with him in heaven. Though this life is brief, we have the gift of eternal life if only we choose Him. He offers this invitation to everyone. He says “For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” More than anything I want you to know His love, because though mine will fail you, His never will.
I love you with all the love I have,
Mom

More Family Fun

We came back from Kentucky and on sunday we headed over to my in-laws house and had a blast! We are so blessed to have such great family! We all ate fabulous food, swam in the pool and chatted it up. Jackson had a blast in his baby pool and also swimming with Carson in the big pool. Thanks Kraus' fam for a great day!

Swimming with his Gran


I swam with him in his baby pool

Beep hanging out in the pool

He got his hat and ready to go



Carson loves jumping into the pool

Kentucky Part Three

Well, we had such an amazing family reunion. If you couldn't already tell from my previous posts it was amazing! We really enjoyed hanging out with everyone and catching up. Joey loved going fishing with all the guys and drinking coffee with the early risers each morning. I loved getting to finally get up on skis again! I forgot how much fun it was to fly behind a boat across the water. I have to say the late evening pick up game was also tons of fun. Although I lost, and my cousin Conner drained the winning three in my face it was still a blast! We also played poker and a mean game of family soccer. One other highlight that begs to be mentioned is teaching my 12 year old cousin Kent to water ski. He did awesome! I am so blessed to have such a great family, and how they loved on Jackson was such a joy to watch. Thanks everyone for loving us like you do and for the most fantastic reunion to date!


So sweet


Crazy!!!!

Tera and Chloe


How precious is she?!!!



Auntie and me playing with Jackson

My beautiful family (minus the two babies Jackson and Chloe)

These are the five golf carts that we take from house to house and to the lake

This is the view of the lake from my aunt Judy and uncle Keith's deck

Photo op with my aunt June and some cousins

Bennett chillin' on the deck

Auntie and mom having fun


He had passed out from all the fun

My cousin Sloan being adorable

Aunt Jess had to share Jackson alot this week

My cousin Trish and Jackson

We had to play in the lake

My cousin Phil with his beautiful baby, Chloe

Kentucky Part Two

Day two was just as great as the first. We woke up, ate a great breakfast of pancakes, sausage, eggs, and fresh fruit and then we headed off to church where my cousin, Brian attends. It was neat going into town and seeing what the town of Glasgow was like. The church service was great, and we even got to hear Brian sing. He is so talented!!! When we got back home, Brian and Jess and I took the speed boat out on the lake for some skiing. Joey and Johnny took a few of the kids on the pontoon boat to watch, and my cousin Phil and his wife took out one of the wave runners. It was a blast! While we skied the people on the pontoon were either swimming or just laying out getting some sun, and then we would switch to give everyone turns to ski and do the wave runner. Joey and I took the wave runner at one point and had a blast trying to jump some wakes. Joey even let me drive with him on the back! I promised I wouldn’t throw him. We got back to the house, and the boys went out fishing with my uncle Keith, whom they adore. Jackson, meanwhile has had a blast! He has been going crazy here, between the numerous aunts, uncles and cousins giving him tons of attention, the lake, the blow up pool, the sprinklers, and all the toys he is in heaven! Joey and I have laughed at how excited he has been this whole trip. He has been putting on a show for everybody. In fact he crawled for the first time at my Auntie and Jim's house! He had been army crawling, but he was up and did it! He also has perfected this trick. The only way to describe it is to watch this video. He is already an entertainer!

Kentucky- Part One

What a perfect day. It was fantastic. As a lot of yall know, Joey and I were very nervous about taking Jackson onto a plane. He definitely is a mover and we didn’t know how he would handle the two hour flight. Well, he did wonderful! He woke up right as we were taking off, so we gave him a bottle and he had no problems with his ears. He entertained the two rows of people around us with his “singing” and his babble. He was just loving being with tons of people. We couldn’t have asked for a better flight, and as we landed we were SO thankful we decided to fly. We arrived at my Aunt Judy’s house with most of my family to greet us. I love them so much. Of course my mom’s sisters were fighting over Jackson immediately, and we sat around on the deck just talking and catching up. If you have never met my family you need to someday. They really are just the most genuinely kind and giving people I know. They just exude love. They wrap you up with the most welcoming hearts, and make you feel so special. I loved talking to all of them. It was time for dinner and it was served in my aunt Judy’s outdoor kitchen attached to their HUGE deck. We had a fish fry, with the fish my uncle Keith caught, but of course I ate chicken, and we topped it off with some fresh fruit and cheesecake. What a meal! The day was already so perfect and then my cousin Brian took us out on the Pontoon boat to watch the sunset. The weather was great with a nice breeze and we even saw a deer on the bank. Watching the sun set on the lake was awesome. It was time for Jackson’s bedtime, and as I sat on the bed with my baby sound asleep in my arms, looking out at the water with the lightening bugs glowing, thinking about my precious family, I told myself that it just doesn’t get any better than this.


Watch out lake, here I come!

Uncle Jimmy letting Jackson borrow his glasses

Jackson and his precious cousin Chloe

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Jackson swinging with his aunt June Bug

Jackson playing with his aunt Vicki

Jackson with his shades on

Boot Camp

Well, we have officially completed the very first boot camp today. It has been a blast! I have loved being with each of these girls and helping them reach their fitness goals. Really everyone of them has done so well and have accomplished so much! Amanda, we missed you this week, but know you are living it up in Florida. We had seven ladies participate. The five ladies that were measured and weighed lost a total of 19 1/2 lbs and 23 1/4 inches!!!! Go girls! We are going to start a new one in a few weeks, which I am excited about!

Check out the gun show!!!!

O Child Of MIne

There is a prayer that I pray over him every day called O Child Of Mine.
"O child of mine
May you always know
The Savior's love
Wherever you go

His blessings and grace
Are truly divine,
Love Him always,
O child of mine.

Joey and I are trying to let Jackson fall asleep in his crib and lately he has been very clingy, not
allowing us to lay him in his crib at all. The second we try to lay him down he would start to cry. We decided
to try to let him "cry it out" a little. This was sooooo hard! The only thing I kept doing was praying that
prayer over and over and praying that he wouldn't hate me. He finally went down after about 35 minutes of
screaming, but then slept for 2 and a half hours!!!!!! He wore himself out! This was such a hard thing
for me to do. I didn't think it would be this hard, but I felt so helpless. I couldn't do anything. Sometimes in
the trials of motherhood all you can do is pray.

The Hammock And The Kiss

Ok...I have lots of pictures to share with you. First, of all check out the hottie and the baby. I thought these were great pictures of both of them.



We went to some friend's house this weekend and swam in their pool and hung out with their sweet family. Thanks Ted and Julie for so much fun, food and fellowship.
This is their sweet baby Max. How precious!

This is their other baby, Tatum. How gorgeous!!!

We had our first experience in a hammock. So much fun!




Tatum asked if she could kiss Jackson, and she planted one on his lips. So cute!!! Check out his face. Hilarious!!



I don't think he knew what that was


He kept leaning toward her for more kisses. Yikes....we're in trouble!




Thanks Julie and Ted for such an awesome day. Jackson loved it and so did we! We will have to do it again soon. Love yall!

Fun on the 4th

What a blast we had celebrating with family on the 4th! My parents came in town and worked tirelessly on fixing our roof and a few other smaller jobs. Thanks mom and dad so much for all your hard work. When they weren't working we all hung out with Jackson pool side. Well, his baby pool anyway. Jackson LOVES the water!!!! It is hilarious to watch him splash and kick. He dunks his face and trys to drink the water. He is wild! He had so much fun, and that was just the beginning. On sunday we all went to celebrate with Joey's family pool side. This was the big grown up pool, which Jackson just loved. He swam with his cousin Carson, and kept trying to take his floaties. What a blast!