Let Me Count The Ways

Look at this boy!! Just look at how adorable this little grin is and how cute his eyes look when they squint together, pushed up by the chubbiness of his cheeks!

Just for the fun of it, here are the top 10 reasons I love my son. We're going David Letterman style on this one, so counting down from ten:

10: He's starting that droning/singing himself to sleep thing that both cracks me up and makes me want to eat his cheeks.

9: He can muster a smile for me, even when he's downright pissed off at everyone else in the world. It's good to be the mama!

8: His experimentation with a whole new set of vocal sounds--ranging from high-pitched raptor squeal to a surprisingly low laugh--fills my day with GREAT entertainment.

7: I love my son because he doesn't judge my horrible dancing skills. In fact, he loves me even more when I dance with him. He thinks I'm cool (for at least another 11 to 12 years).

6: He lets me kiss his cheeks, even when I have monster morning breath. Is it obvious yet that I am addicted to his cheeks? They are my drug of choice.

5: He's given me a whole new appreciation for 3am. Well....I still don't know if I can really say that I appreciate 3am, but it certainly isn't as vile an hour when I'm with him.

4: He's given me the courage to face my fears--my fear of saliva, boogers, and poo explosions. 

3: He's given me the freedom to live in the present for the first time since my own child hood. I've spent so much of my life looking forward to what the future holds, and now I am content to let time pass as slowly as possible so as to cherish every little second.

2: I have a whole new appreciation for my own parents because of him.

1: He made me a mommy.

The following pictures are just a smattering of photos taken over the past 6 months. They are in random order, but most of them are from the first month he was home from the hospital.

End of Summer Day Dreaming

I inherited a dying cyclamen from my sister-in-law shortly before Jackson was born. I revived it and kept it alive until I re-potted it a couple of weeks ago. I looked up what a cyclamen needs in order to thrive, and in 2 weeks time, it has started growing eight more leaves! I'm pretty proud of myself. And I feel like a crazy old gardening lady.

Someday I want to have a gigantic, beautifully landscaped garden. I will tend to it with my long white hair done up in a messy bun, wearing a wide-brimmed sunhat, a lavender button-up shirt, worn out faded blue jeans, and boat shoes like my grandma used to wear. I will have one of those gardening aprons with the different pockets for spade, gardening sheers, and the like. And Terry will watch from the comfort of our wrap-around porch on his rocking chair. He'll wrap on the wooden porch with his cane when he thinks I've made a mistake, or to tell the neighbor kid to get the heck off his lawn and can't they tell that his wife works hard to make it look a certain way??? And then he'll say, "Kid's these days...." and then his sentence will trail off into a long, contented, albeit grumpy snore.

Cyclamen (US: /ˈsaɪkləmɛn/ sy-klə-men, UK: /ˈsɪkləmɛn/ sik-lə-men) is a genus of 23 species of perennials growing from tubers, valued for their flowers with upswept petals and variably patterned leaves. Cyclamen species are native from Europe and the Mediterranean region east to Iran, with one species in Somalia.
It was traditionally classified in the family Primulaceae but recently has been reclassified in the family Myrsinaceae. (Wikipedia, August 29th, 2011).

July & August Activities

We've been busy in the Spaulding household. I've been working from home now for a couple of months, which is both a blessing and a challenge. I've been able to work around Jackson's nap schedule with the help of my wonderful Mother-in-law, Nancy. Even though I'm back at work, Jackson and I still try to take walks on a regular basis and I am constantly amazed how many beautiful hiking trails exist on the Central Coast.

Jackson is now 5 and 1/2 months old, but developmentally, he's at a 3 and 1/2 month level due to being 2 months early. We're working on things like rolling over more consistently and on sitting up with the help of a Bumbo chair. Once he's able to sit a little more steadily, we'll be starting him on rice cereal!! How can it possibly be time for rice cereal already??

Terry's been busy at work and has been spending some of his free time on his new fishing boat. He's taken up fishing and has really been enjoying it. We're lucky to have 2 lakes within a relatively short distance from our place and Terry's already talking about the day he'll be able to take Jackson out on the boat with him. :)

Here are a few pictures from the lats week. Enjoy!

Jackson & his Ma-Na (Terry's mom goes by the Chinese name for "Grandma")

At the Elfin Forest in Morro Bay. A beautiful, overcast August morning.

Daddy & Jackson checking out his hand and footprint.

"Cool! I can still suck on my hand in this thing!"

"...but I can't stand up! NOOOOO!"

"Fine, mom. I'll pose, but I'm not happy about it."

Just a boy and his dog.

Mel: "Do I get a treat for sitting here so nicely?"

Jackson: "My dog is HUGE!"

Jackson: "Fetch me my bottle."

Jackson will talk to anyone who gives him the time of day. Remind you of anyone?? :)

Trip To Arizona

Jackson and I got a last minute opportunity to take a trip out to Arizona to see my parents. My sister was going to drive out for the memorial service of one of our high school teachers and she asked if we would be up for the trip. Kate graciously offered to drive us through the night so that it would be easier on Jackson. I'd been anxious to visit so that my parents could spend some time with their grandson--they hadn't seen him since he was 3 weeks old and have been patiently waiting for an opportunity to see him again.

While we were there, Jackson hit a major milestone: he rolled over from his back to his belly THREE TIMES! He hasn't done it since coming home, much to Terry's disappointment, but at least we know he can do it! 

And speaking of Terry, we sure missed him while we were gone. He had to work while we were away. We're planning another visit next month, though, so he'll get to go with us next time.  

We were able to spend 5 full days with my parents, which was wonderful. The trip was relaxing and Jackson did a GREAT job traveling. Here are a few pictures from our time in Arizona. Enjoy!

Summer Time

I know it's been a while, but here are a couple of pictures to show you how big our little guy is getting.

You have to be creative with swaddling when it's hot outside and you have no a/c!

"Mommy, why do you ALWAYS shove that thing in my face??"

He loves bath time with daddy.

All smiles

Nap time in his swing

Activity Mat!

Come play with me!

Mel loves her baby

It's my nap time. Can you tell?

I would really like to eat that apple, but I don't have teeth. So sad!

Mommy & Jackson

Jackson Shows Off His Range of Emotion

This boy has been smiling like crazy lately, which makes day-to-day life a lot of fun! Here are some of the cute expressions he's making these days. However, capturing a full fledged smile requires a quick, steady hand and I haven't quite mastered it yet. So I will keep trying so that I can showcase our little boy's excellent smiling skills.

We can't believe how big he's getting. Today he weighed in at 10lbs, 3oz, which means he has more than tripled his birth weight. Way to go, big guy!