5th Anniversary

Yesterday was Jill and my 5th wedding anniversary. 5 years ago we were married at the College United Methodist Church in Ventura, CA. This is the same church were my parents were married at.

It's been a great 5 years, and we wouldn't trade away any of it.

Jill got me a great picture frame with an engraving that said:
" I love you more and more each day,
Still forever yours in blue jeans"

Which is a reference to our first dance at our wedding to Neil Diamond's Forever in Blue Jeans.

I got her a necklace with three small diamonds; one for her, one for me, and one for Jackson.

For dinner we went to the Domain and ate at North, a nice Italian fusion restaurant. We had a caprisi salad to start, followed by a nice pasta with a Parmesan cream sauce with pine nuts, and an herb crusted pork tenderloin and potatoes.

Jackson had a good time while were there, and you can check out the pictures at the link below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/phorne96/5thAnniversaryAndOthers

A month of updates

Well, what has happened in the last month? Not a lot, and at the same time, a whole bunch. To name a few:

- Jackson started solid foods
- I tried to climb Mt. Shasta
- Jackson started giggling
- Jill and Jackson went to Kansas City for a week.
- Jackson went to the pool for the first time
- Jody came out for mother's day

Here is a link to a bunch of pictures from the last month:

http://picasaweb.google.com/phorne96/May08

Jackson's Baptism

We went to Ventura this last weekend to celebrate Jackson's baptism. The pastor that married Jill and I five years ago, Rev. Dave Horning, did us the honor of officiating Jackson's baptism at the St. Paul's Methodist Church in Oxnard, Ca. It was a wonderful service and there were many tears in church that day.

The trip was fantastic, and it was wonderful to see all of our family. It's amazing and humbling to know that so many people love Jackson just as much as we do. We took lots of pictures and you can see them here:

Jackson's Baptism

Jackson did a great job on the trip and he slept or just hung out for the flights and didn't fuss too much. It's strange now being the person with the baby instead of the wary traveler who scowls at the families with young children.

Getting ready for Mt. Shasta

Jackson and I have been taking walks in the morning to help get me ready for my attempt in May to summit Mt. Shasta in California. Jackson adds about 13.5lbs to my walk, and I wear 5lbs ankle weights on each ankle to help build muscle strength.

Walkies

Updated pics of Jackson

Here are some new pictures of Jackson. He turns three months old in just a few days, and we're so excited to see him grow up. He can recognize Jill now and knows her voice. He smiles a lot, but only when he's well rested. He's started to grasp things, and he can hold his head like a 4 month old, or so the Dr says.

Click on the picture below to see more pics:

3-27-08

Baby photo madness!

We're uploading even more photos! We're crazy with photos of the baby!

Tara came out to Austin this weekend to see the baby and hang with me for my birthday. Tara just fell in love with Jackson, as I'm sure the rest of our family will when they meet him. Here are some photos of Tara and Jackson as well as some others. :

http://picasaweb.google.com/phorne96/31008

It's a Photo Bonanza!

Click link for more Jackson photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/phorne96/3808

Some more smiling

Here is the new toy that Jeremy and Heather got us. It really is just amazing. He can watch this toy, and it makes him smile and laugh.

Jackson is almost 2 months old

Jackson is two months old tomorrow, and he's growing every day. He's almost 11.5lbs now, and he's outgrown his newborn clothes. He's fitting just right in to his 0-3 month clothes.

Also, it's like his brain just turned on in the last week or so. He now notices things that are going on in the world. Instead of looking at bright lights all the time he can look at and follow objects across his vision. He can focus on our faces, and will smile back at us when we smile. It's really amazing to watch him grow!

I have some new video of him watching a toy and smiling. I'll try to post it tonight.

Finally a video

Here's a video of me trying to get Jackson to smile. I'm not very successful and I only get about a quarter of a smile. And, yes, that is American Idol in the background. Stupid writers strike.

Baby bath time

 

Jackson is getting a bath!

New Pics

Here are some new Jackson pics!

http://picasaweb.google.com/phorne96/22208

No posts lately

Sorry we haven't posted lately. I'm working on some videos that I made of Jack, and I'll post them as soon as he stops fussing and gives me a few minutes.

Here's a new pic just to keep you satisfied:

Jackson is 1 month old today!

How far he has come!

Walking in the park one day

We went to the park today with Einstein and Jackson. Of course Jackson slept through the whole thing so we don't know if he enjoyed it or not. But, none the less it was a great time. It was funny to see how Einstein was protecting the pack. Usually if other dogs come around he hides between us and maybe growls at the dog. This time, he actively chased down other dogs that looked like they might come towards us, and wouldn't let any dogs near Jackson's carrier. I guess that is just his sheep herding instincts coming out.

Here are some pictures of the park and a few others:

http://picasaweb.google.com/phorne96/230802

Fussy face:

Our baby is so advanced

"The Old Man"

We've been remiss in updating the blog recently. We've just been busy with that thing..what's it called? Oh yeah, raising a baby. Just kidding. :)

Jack has been doing really well. We went to see a Lactation Consultant today to work on Jill's breastfeeding, where they weighed Jack and he's already gained a full pound since our visit to the pediatrician last week. Baby's are supposed to gain about an ounce a day and Jack is gaining almost 1.8 ounces per day. What can I say? Our baby is so advanced.

I've been bugged by numerous friends and relatives to update the blog with more pictures and some videos so here we have some.

Here's a slew of new pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/phorne96/Jackson123

Here are some videos. It's tough to get quality videos because Jackson invariably stops doing what ever cute thing he's doing by the time you've found that camera and turned it on.

Tummy Time
It's important for babies to get at least a half an hour of tummy time every day. Since doctors no longer recommend babies sleep on their tummies because of SIDs concerns they need time to strengthen their neck, back and arms. Here you can see Jackson enjoying his tummy time.



Hiccups
Babies get the hiccups a lot. Here you can watch him make weired faces while having a diaphragmatic spasm. I believe you can here a Scrubs rerun in the background.

A small update

Jack's been home with us for a few days now and things are going great. It's so much easier taking care of him here at home as opposed to in the hospital. Jill and I have a good system down for the feedings at night. We have to feed him every three hours, so we have feedings at 12:30AM, 3:30AM and 6:30AM. I'm taking the 3:30AM feeding, where I'm using a bottle with breast milk to feed him. This allows each of us to get some decent sleep while making sure that he's fed.

We went out on our first trip with Jackson today. We went to Home Depot and Target real quick to pick up a few things. Jack actually slept the whole time, so I don't know if he got anything out of it, but Jill really enjoyed pushing around the stroller.

I am working on some video of the little guy, but he stubbornly refuses to do anything except lay there when the camera is on.

New pics have been uploaded also:
http://picasaweb.google.com/phorne96/Jackson11308

Heartfelt Thanks

I wanted to express our sincere thanks and heartfelt gratitude to all the staff of the North Austin Medical Center, especially those members of the Labor & Delivery, Postpartum, and the NICU groups we met. It was their professionalism, caring, and concern that helped Jill and I make sure that Jackson was delivered and came home safely. I'd like to specifically thank the nurses Caitlin, Marla, Sherry, and Chris as well as Doctor Smith for delivering him safely, and then Doctors Wong and Breed for looking after him in the NICU.

Again, thank you for all of your help.

So excited

New pics of Jackson at the bottom of the post

Jill and I are just so excited that we were able to bring Jackson home today. We spent a total of 6 day's in the hospital and it really was beginning to feel like we'd never leave. It was almost like being in a prison. We stayed in a room that we kept dark and we walked the same few hallways for that whole time, and there are almost no windows. It was becoming a little surreal.

I don't think I mentioned this, but Jill was discharged from the hospital yesterday and they were letting us stay in one of the rooms free of charge because Jackson was in the NICU.That was pretty awesome of them, and I don't think I've ever seen an institution give anything away like that. However, they did evict us today because a woman who had just gone in to labor was going to need the room. They had warned us that was possible, so we weren't surprised. That kind of forced us to go home, shower and change which was a good thing. We swung back to the NICU a couple of times for feedings, and the doctor came by around 4PM and told us that he felt pretty confident in letting Jackson come home today. We were ecstatic, and as soon as the nurse got the discharge papers we were out of there.

We had Jill's mom, Jodi, meet us outside with Einstein when we got home so they could be introduced to each other in a non-territorial way for a dog. (Which was something someone told us was a good idea) It was the funniest thing to watch Einstein react to Jackson. We thought that he might sniff at him and then go do his thing like he does so often. But, when Einstein saw him as we pulled Jackson out of the car in his car seat he flipped out. He started jumping up and down trying to sniff him and running around at my feet trying to see him. I assume it's the smell of a newborn baby that must trigger some sort of pack mentality in him. Now, Einstein sits at the feet of whoever is holding Jackson and tries to sniff him, and when Jackson cries out Einstein will pop up his head and moan a little. It's wild. And it's even weirder when he starts pacing around Jill when she breast feeds.

Ok, I'm going to sign off now. With 45 minutes of sleep last night, and something like 8 hours in the last 5 days.

New pics of Jackson:
http://picasaweb.google.com/phorne96/NewJacksonPhotos

We're bring Jackson home! Doctor signed off on a good bill of health. Huzzah!