Jake's first Thanksgiving

Well this year was Jake's first Thanksgiving and his first multi day away from home trip all at once.  I will admit I was a little nervous just because it was so new but he did great!  We left Wednesday after work around 4:30 and made it to Paducah a little before 8.  We were so glad to get there and Jake's cousins Alli and Katie were super excited to see him too!  We got some great pictures of them loving on him!  Katie was so gentle and Alli made sure to show that she is a big girl (5) and so maybe she can babysit soon.  :)

We had a great time visiting with the Heacox side of the family all day on Thursday.  Jake did wonderful, but he was so interested in everything that was going on that he just didn't want to take a nap.  That made for a sleepy and a little fussy baby by bedtime, but nothing too crazy.  :)

Friday was going to be a hectic day as I planned to venture out to do some Black Friday shopping with my sister in law Sara but my mom called to let me know she got the things on my list so I headed back to bed which was GREAT!  We enjoyed a relaxing day on Friday with the exception of Brad not feeling well. 

Saturday we made our next trip as we ventured down to Lewisburg to see my family.  We normally would only go to one side for Thanksgiving but my grandparents from Michigan came down so we had to go see them.  Jake still hadn't met his great grandparents!!  It was great to see them and let them hold him.  Even though it was brief because they were dealing with colds and didn't want to give it to him which we appreciated.  Then Jake also got to meet his Great Aunt Barb and Aunt Ari.  He met so many people that weekend!  He just loved it AND he loved the attention!  He was the life of the party. 

Jake traveled so well to Paducah and Lewisburg so we should have known it wouldn't be as perfect on the way home.  We left by 1:00 which should normally be enough time to get back here to pick up Oscar at the vet but we had to make a few stops on the way.  Jake was a little hungry when we stopped for gas so I fed him a few ounces and he fell asleep so we got back on the road.  Well 30 minutes later he was hungry again so we had to stop again and feed him another 3.5 ounces AND he had the BEST (extreme sarcasm here) dirty diaper ever to change in the car.  It was a memory to say the least.  We were pressing it pretty close but we got back just in time to pick up Oscar by 5 when the vet closed. 

All in all it was a very eventful and productive holiday weekend.  Now I'm ready for a vacation!!!  

Is it REALLY almost Thanksgiving??

People told me that time would fly once Jake arrived but there are no words to describe just how quickly time is passing!  Next week will be our first Thanksgiving with Jake!  I have always been thankful for my family, friends, animals, place in life, and much more but this year I have so much more to be thankful for!  I could not imagine my life any differently! 

So in the last few weeks we have experienced our fair share of sickness in the Heacox house.  Just after Halloween I came down with the flu and was out of work for almost a week (I was getting better the weekend of 11/6/10), then Jake came down with a cough and the following weekend we were fighting a fever of almost 102 all night (weekend of 11/13/10).  We were up almost every hour giving him a cool bath to try to stop it from rising because we had already giving the max dosage of baby tylenol in a 24 hour period!  It was very scary!  I also learned the next day that we may have had the bath a little too cold because Jaker started to shiver which can make the body work to warm up and that is NOT what we needed.  Now this weekend (11/20/10) Brad is sick from either a stomach virus or some bad food and hasnt gotten out of the bed since Friday afternoon AND Jake has fever again! 

At least this time Jake still seems happy.  You wouldnt know he had fever this weekend to look at him, but last weekend...that was a whole different experience.  Last weekend we knew Jake didnt feel well because of his cough and congestion but also because he was fussy and wouldnt smile at all AND he wouldnt eat!  That was the first time ever our little man pushed away food.  Needless to say when he finally started to eat again I was one happy mommy.  Thank goodness for Brad.  He keeps me sane and remindes me not to freak out which is very difficult for me!  I just get so worried!
In the last few weeks Jake has hit some great milestones too!  He has started to sleep through the night regularly.  He generally goes to sleep around 9:30 or 10:00 and we have been waking him up around 7 or 7:30!  That is so amazing to me!  Unfortunatly with his wonderful fevers and whatnot the all too perfect sleep routine hit an abrupt stop about a week and a half before thanksgiving.  Hopefully we'll get back to that soon.  Also, he is working on sitting up!  He sometimes forgets or gets distracted and falls over but he has gotten pretty good at sitting for about 30 seconds or so.  He also LOVES to play with his toys and pass them back and forth between his hands or drop it on his blanket and inch his way to get it.  He really really wants to crawl too!  He is scooting around and trying desparately to pick up his booty and army crawl.  The other day he had his stomach totally off the floor and it looked like he was doing a push up!  I have a feeling we wont be enjoying this immoble Jake for too much longer.  My guess is by New Years taht he will be army crawling pretty well to get around.  We'll see if I'm right soon enough though!

Chewbacca anyone??

We have been a busy family in October and that is also true for Halloween! (as you can tell my posts are a little behind!)  It was so fun for Jake at school the week of Halloween.  Each day was themed and the baby's got to dress up for school!  :)  Some days were easier than others but it was a lot of fun.  We went to the KidTech Fall Festival on the 28th.  We got there a little late but thats ok.  It was still geat to see everything going on.  Then we went to Missouri to spend time with family and celebrate Derek's birthday.  Jake had such a great time playing with his cousins and meeting Will and Jackson for the first time!  It was so much fun to see them all together! 

We drove back to Collierville on Sunday and my parents ended up coming into town to help Brad work on his Explorer.  They had some issues but eventually they fixed it all up.  Mom was a huge help to us for handing out candy since the guys were working on the car and I was feeding Jake at first.  It was too fun to see all the little kids dressed in their costumes, smiling, and saying "Trick or Treat!".  I'm not a fan of Halloween but that make it all worth it to see the joy in these kid's faces.

Here are a few pictures from the parties!  Isnt Jake the cutest Chewbacca ever?!?  :) 

  

 

  

          

Mr. Smiley

Well I didnt know it was possible but Jake has become even more smiley and happy.  Even though he has been kinda sick with a cold and had nasty crusty eyes for a few days he has stayed his happy self.  He started rolling over this week too (week of 10/17/10)!  He has rolled from his belly to back before but this week was the first time that he went from back to belly.  We were/are so proud.  You can tell he is really really working hard to get onto his belly.  Its so cute!

Here are a few video's of his happiness. :)  I'll keep working on getting these video's to upload.  Hopefully it will be posted soon!

Here is another

Jake's also learning how to use his hands much more effectively.  When we bring out a bottle he sees it and smiles and reaches for it.  Once he gets his hands on it  he pulls it right to his mouth.  It is the cutest thing!!

So much is going on this month!  Jake has been making crafts like bat wings with his footprints during "school".  They are so cute!  Jake is looking forward to meeting more family and especially his's cousin's, Will and Jackson during Derek's birthday party on October 30, 2010.  We can't wait!!

Fall is here!

My how the days and weeks are flying by now! It seems like just yesterday we were preparing to have Jake and now he is almost 4 months old!  How does that happen!?!  October is upon us.  I'm loving the cooler weather (when we have the cool days) but a few of the mornings have been pretty nippy.  The leaves are starting to change and fall just like all the changes in our lives.  I was thinking the other day that this time last year I was just about to find out we were pregnant.  It is amazing how life has changed in one fast year. 

Well we got Jakes school pictures in a few weeks ago.  They are just adorable!  I was amazed that we got a DVD with all the proofs.  It was so hard to choose.  I'm glad that i was able to be there and jump in a few.  :)  I just love the shot with his feet and my hands!

We have been getting out and about more and more in the last few weeks but it is so tempting to stay at home and just watch my little man.  Brad has to work late with softball, football, and volleyball lately.  I cant wait until he gets a break and cna come home to see Jake and I after work more often!

Jake has really found his hands and feet recently!  He just loves to look at them and stick them in his mouth.  A sure way to make him smile is to play patty cake or to make his toes touch his cheeks.  He just loves that!  But he is a happy baby so you will often get quite a few smiles if you just give him a little lovin.  He is gaining weight and growing like a weed!  He is 13lbs 14oz as of Saturday! 

We had to take him in to the Lebonheur urgent care Friday night because he had a cough that sounded horrible.  His teachers were concerned and so were we.  They did a chest x-ray and tested for RSV.  Everything came back normal so they think it was just a cold and the drainage was causing the cough.  Poor little guy.  When we got there Brad and I made him a bottle because we knew it was about time for him to eat...but we quickly realized we forgot the nipple on the bottle.  I felt so bad!  How do you bring a bottle with no nipple!?!  Apparently I'm the one that does that sort of thing.  So Jake and I went to the car to nurse while Brad waited for them to call us back.  At least we still have that option.  :)  We got bored in the waiting room once they took us back so we took a few picutures. 

We went to Dexter for the Heacox family reunion yesterday it was great to see everyone!  Here are a few pictures of the fun!

12 weeks and 12 pounds!

Jake has been growing non stop and learning lots of new things.  He had a huge growth spurt and grew from 10lb 10oz to now 12lb 3oz in a week.  He's been averaging around 4 or 5oz a week so more than a pound like that is huge.  Jake really started to find his hands in the last few weeks too.  He is enjoying sucking his thumb.  :) 

Jake had his first school pictures just a few days before he was three months old!  Brad usually drops him off in the morning but i happened to bring him that day.  Luckily I did because they were starting pictures for his class when I was there and she actually let me get in a few!  I was so excited!  I cannot wait to get them back!

We also experienced Jake's first cold.  I felt so bad for him!  Jake's teachers at KidTech called around 4 on Thursday because he was running a fever.  We took him to the after hours clinic and they were not concerned. After some baby tylenol the fever broke and he was just congested.  He wasnt able to go back to school because they have to be 24 hours fever free before they can go back.  Brad stayed with him in the morning, our awesome neighbor Maryfrances watched him from 10:30 to 11:30 when I got home, and then I stayed with him the rest of the day.  By Saturday he was feeling better but still not 100%.  All I wanted was to be able to make him feel better.  :(

Sunday Grandma and Grandpa came to visit and they brought Uncle Ryan!  Yay!  Jake was so excited to see them and meet uncle Ryan.    

Labor Day Fun

Well this past week flew by.  We all had a great Labor Day.  We grilled out with a few friends at our house on Sunday.  Here are a few pictures...  We had a great time and Jake LOVED visiting with everyone and playing with Harrison

On Monday we had a great time with our awesome neighbors: Mary Francis and Steve.  They grilled ribs and had the neighbors on either side over.  It was my first time for ribs and I absolutely loved them.  Usually everyone puts BBQ sauce on ribs so i never try them, but steve cooks them dry it was awesome!  While we were ther Jake had his first dip in the pool.  We couldnt find little swimmers his size so we just put him in up to the diaper but he loved it.  I think he would've been happy to totally jump in.  He was just so happy!  What a great way to spend the Labor Day weekend!