February Update...so much to talk about!

Wow...it's been over a month since I have updated this! I can't believe how busy this past month has been for us. I'm very glad it's almost over and am really looking forward to March when things will slow down a bit!

Troy spent the last part of January and first part of February immersed in interviews and mid-term tests. He currently has two offers for the summer - one in Minneapolis and one in Dallas. Both companies are flying us to their respective locations and have full weekends planned for us to try and sell us on why we should choose them. Jackson is going to be a pro at traveling on a plane after the next few weeks!! :-)

I also spent the last part of January and first part of February studying and took a Group Fitness certification exam last weekend so that I can hopefully get a job teaching group fitness classes at a gym (ex. step aerobics). Cross your fingers that I passed! If I don't though, I have a year to retake it without any costs, which is super nice! What better job is there than free daycare (at the gym), a paycheck and a great work-out all in one?!?! If I pass this, I can also go on to get certified in really fun stuff like kick-boxing, cycling, etc. I'll keep you updated on my status!!

Now to Jack...the part that everyone really cares about! :-) He is getting so big and literally changing every week. He will be four months old a week from today on the 25th...I really can't believe how fast it's gone. I'm excited to take him to the dr. and see how much he weighs! He is still wearing 0-3 month clothes but hopefully he'll be moving up in the next few weeks! Below are some things he's really interested in now...

• His Hands! He is fascinated by his hands and grabbing onto anything in his reach. He loves to suck on them, stare at them or just watch them reaching and grabbing!
• His links! He will just grab and stare and move them from hand to hand.
• Story time! He has become an active participant in story time. He not only loves to look at the pictures but he grabs at the pages and tries to help turn them!
• Drooling! It's officially begun...let's hope the teeth are still a few months off though!
• Flying! He loves to have us lift him up and pretend he's superman! There is a picture below...
• His Bumbo! He's finally big enough to sit in it by himself, which is super nice because he can sit up on the countertop while we are working in the kitchen and still feel like he's included!
• His Baby Einstein Activity Center! He is just barely big enough (although his feet still don't touch the ground) but he is so interested in this new bouncy thing with music and toys attached! It's a great way for him to expend some energy!
• Nap time!!! After a few months of never sleeping longer than 30 minutes at a time, I think we have accomplished a feat!! He is now taking 1-1 1/2 hour naps 3 times a day. It's so nice because he is happier and I can actually get stuff done (like this blog)!! :-)

As always, below are some pictures of our little guy...enjoy!

Mommy and Jack just hangin out...
Jackson "flying" Happy Baby... Playing with "Tad"... His new activity toy...just big enough! I took a LOT of photos at 3 months...poor kid...

Everything goes in the mouth...including our fingers...

Storytime...

So cute!! One of my favorites!

January So Far...

We are officially back into the swing of things!! Troy is busy busy busy trying to secure a summer internship and believe it or not, that's almost a full time job in itself! He is doing a GREAT job though of balancing family and school. He is the one who gets up with Jackson in the mornings so he can spend time with him and give him a bottle before he's off for the day and home almost every night to do the bedtime routine with Jack before he goes to bed!

Speaking of bedtime routine, it has been established! Each night around 5:15 we start a bath, followed by a baby massage and jammies. Then we give him a bottle, read him a book and finally end with the infamous bouncy ball! Usually he's asleep around 6:30. This past week he has been sleeping around 8-9 hours straight after he goes down!! He gets up once to eat and then goes back to bed until around 6:30 or 7am! Big breakthrough! I can totally live with that for a while.

Our TCU Horned Frogs made it to a BCS bowl for the first time this year! We were so excited for them...too bad the game was so sad in the end. They had an amazing year though and ended up 6th overall, which is still not too bad at all! Maurine gave Jack a TCU onesie with matching socks so he could cheer on the Frogs too, so we made sure to take a few pictures and shared them below! He looks pretty good in Horned Frog purple! Also...he will officially be announced to the TCU alumni in the March 2010 issue of the TCU Magazine wearing his TCU clothes!

And here is an overall update on our little guy...

New things that Jackson loves:

1. Bath Time! He is soooo happy in the bath! He can be screaming his brains out beforehand and as soon as you take him into the bathroom and take his clothes off he gets a huge smile on his face.
2. Storytime! He seems to be really engaged now when we read him stories. He loves looking at the pictures on each page.
3. His TONGUE!! He has officially discovered it and loves sticking it out at us. We play fun games where we stick it out at him and he copies us! Probably not the best thing to teach your child but for now it's fun!
4. His Octopus and Tad, the learning tadpole! He stares at both lovingly while he smiles and coos at them during playtime! So funny and yet so sweet at the same time!
   

Hope you enjoy the pictures below!

Mommy and Jackson reading a book before bed

How cute are these socks!?!
Ready to watch the game and cheer on the Frogs! "Touchdown!!"

Bundled up on a chilly day...love the hat!!

So excited for playtime!!

TCU photo shoot...

This is the one that will be in the magazine...you can actually see the "TCU" part

"I LOVE my octopus!"

Again...just soooo excited for playtime!

And now...tuckered out from playtime!

Sweet little boy...

Bath Time!!

Bath Time with the tongue!

Happy New Year!

We made it through our first long road trip! Jack did so great! We spent December 15th through January 1st in Minneapolis visiting family and friends. Jackson slept the entire trip there except for one feeding and diaper change in Madison! The trip was one of our fastest ever - only 7 hours!

It was so wonderful to see everyone. We were able to celebrate my birthday with friends and family and also multiple Christmases with family too. Although we didn't have any downtime the entire trip it was great to see everyone!

After returning to Chicago, Jackson definitely had an adjustment period of getting back on a schedule! He did not like the fact that Mommy and Daddy weren't willing to hold him for every single second of the day since that was what he had become used to being around all the people for the past few weeks. Day by day he's getting better...

He turned 2 months while we were there - on Christmas day! I can't believe how time flies. My little man is growing up! He is so smiley now and makes eye contact with us. He's sleeping up to 5-6 hours at a time now when he goes down for the night too which is a major improvement! We brought him in for his 2 month check-up on December 14th, right before we left town and he weighted 9 lbs, 5 oz. On our way to Minneapolis he was still wearing Newborn size clothes but by the time we left he was definitely in 0-3 month clothes! I think he might be catching up finally and will be moving on to 3-6 month clothes not too long from now. He is super long and skinny so the biggest problem is getting his pants to stay up! He was still in the 10th percentile in weight when we had him in on the 14th, but I think he had a major growth spurt right after that so I can't wait for his 4 month appointment to see how big he's gotten!

Below are some pictures from our time in Minneapolis! Enjoy!

Christmas Eve

Papa and Jack
Grandpa and Jack

The Williams' Family

Mommy and Jack

Great-Grandma Mitzel with Jack and me

Daddy and Jack-tummy time!

My 27th Birthday!

Present time! Jack's first laptop - Elmo style!

The Anderson Family

Jack's Christmas Outfit

Christmas Morning!

Christmas Day with Nana

December so far...

Jack is so fun! He has had a few milestones this month already! So far, he has started sleeping in his own crib, taking a bottle twice a day, sitting in his Bumbo, helping Daddy hold his bottle and best of all...smiling at us! His favorite pastime is playing on his Baby Einstein activity mat. He grabs at his toys, smiles at Mr. Whale and Mr. Octopus, does tummy time on it and uses it to do his infamous "scooting!" He still loves climbing up Daddy too! Now we just have to master the sleeping through the night thing... I suppose that will come with time.

Troy is done with his first quarter of classes...finally!! My mom came down to help out during finals which was super helpful. Troy was able to fully concentrate on school and I still had and second set of hands. He finished on 12/9 and so now we are just hanging out as a family relaxing for a few days. It's so fun and I feel so fortunate that Jack has this time with his Daddy. They are such buddies...it's so fun to watch them spend so much time together bonding.

Wednesday we will hop in the car after Jackson's middle of the night feeding and attempt to drive to Minneapolis in under 8 hours...we'll see! :-) It will be so fun to bring him there and introduce him to all of our friends and family who haven't met him yet! We have a pretty busy schedule while we're home but it will be fun! Lots of pictures to come from Jack's first Christmas, I'm sure, so check back after then to see more photos! Also, there are several more photos on the Shutterfly site so check that out too! Below are a few of my favorites from the last few days...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Williams family!

Jackson playing on his activity mat - his favorite thing to do!

Sitting in the Bumbo for the first time!

Holding his bottle!

Jack and Daddy

All bundled up for the cold weather!

"Touchdown!"

"Please stop taking pictures of me!" :-)

Auntie Amy and Jack!