Gymnastics tryout

Adam's preschool group took a field trip to Casecade Elite Gymnastics a couple of weeks ago. We hadn't tried anything like this before, and I wasn't sure what Adam would think. He had a great time!! Here are a few pictures.
They did lots of going back and forth in different ways - hopping on one foot, frog jumps, walking backwards, and lots more. I like this picture of Adam walking back to the start with the teacher. I'm not sure what he's saying to Brielle, but the hands on the hips make me think he's telling her something he thinks is important.

They tried out a bunch of stuff sitting down too - touching toes, bending and twisting.
Then they took turns going down the "runway" (that's what Adam called it!) and giving the teacher a hi-5!

They switched rooms and did some trampoline jumping and then tumbling over all these mats. Lots of climbing!

This was the highlight for Adam. He's still talking about swinging on this rope and dropping down into the pit. He was very proud that he actually let go of the rope and dropped - he's still telling me that no one else in his class would let go!

And, playing in the pit with foam blocks is always fun!

This was a really great field trip. I think I'll look for something like this to do in the summer. Adam really had a great time!!

Dishwasher duty

Adam is quickly learning the value of money. At the begining of this year, Scott and I decided it was time to give Adam a couple of chores to do, and a little bit of an allowance so he could learn about tithing and saving money and all those good things. So, we started out with him helping to unload the dishwasher. The first couple of times, he just put the silverware away, and when he was finished I would give him $.50, which he would add to his money jar. Well, he really enjoys emptying the dishwasher. Everytime I tell him the dishes are clean and ask him to help empty it, he says "Then you will give me some coinys?" I guess I set a wrong precedence when I gave him the money right after he did his job. I'll have to work on that one later. But, he is doing a great job with this little chore. He has started to help with everything in the dishwasher, and today, he wanted to do it all by himself (I hope this enthusiam continues as he gets older). At first, I was a little concerned because this is what the kitchen counter looked like after he emptied out the cups and bowls. He's pretty proud of himself - can you tell?
He recovered nicely and ended up putting all those cups and bowls away. I helped with the plates on the bottom, but he did everything else. When did he get big enough to do all that? Not that I'm complaining - dishwasher emptier is a great first job - now, what should I have him learn next? Any suggestions?

Yes, it has been 6 months!

I'm finding it hard to believe that my little guy is 6 months old! Where did those 6 months fly off too? I just can't get enough of this kid! Look at those eyes!

Jackson will see the doctor this coming Thursday for his 6 month checkup. I pulled out the information from Adam's 6 month checkup and he was 28 inches tall (95%), and 20 pounds (95%). I think Jackson will now out weigh his brother, but we'll find out for sure on Thursday. I'll post the statistics then.

We had family pictures taken this past Saturday and got some cute pictures of Jackson. I'll post them here when we get them back, so for now, you can see the total lack of pictures I've taken over the past month. Most of the pictures below were all taken this morning while we played on the floor.
Jackson has found his toes, which makes diaper changes a bit more difficult. His legs are so chubby that he sometimes has a hard time keeping a grip on those toes, but he does love holding on to them!

He's getting better and better at sitting up on his own.

I couldn't resist putting this one in. I love the look on his face and those BIG eyes!
Here's some tummy time and a cute diaper bum. Jackson is still not a fan of tummy time, but he will tolerate it for short amounts of time. He actually tried to move a little today to try and get to the camera. He normally just lays there and lets you know how unhappy he is about being on his tummy.

You know he's about ready to give up when he starts laying his head on the ground for a rest!

Here's the classic drool shot. He's still a champion drooler, but no teeth to make all the drool worth while!

I had to include a chubby leg picture. I don't think this picture even does the chubbiness justice. This kid has serious chubby legs! They are very cute! I'm thinking he's going to start using those legs any day now to get around, so the chubbiness won't be around forever!

Jackson continues to be a very happy baby! He's enjoying eating more and more solid foods - not sure what the doctor will have to say about that since they told me not to offer him anything but rice cereal until 6 months. But, he's a big guy - and my body just isn't producing all the milk he needs (sorry if that's TMI) - even supplementing with formula once or twice a day wasn't enough. He's an eater! Today at a Primary meeting, one of the gals had made muffins and everyone was laughing at Jackson staring down my muffin while he sat on my lap. He just wants real food! Is that such a bad thing? (Don't tell the doctor that I gave him some muffin to eat).

I gotta say, I love this little guy! It is so fun to go get him out of bed every morning, he has a huge smile on his face! He is definately a morning kid! And such a talker! I love to listen to him talking! (By the way, I sent in the video of his funny noise to AFV the other day - we'll let you know if we hear anything about it). Still can't believe he is 6 months old!

This is the way we sleep at night...

I've said it before - Jackson is a champion sleeper! He has slept thru the night since he was about 3 months old. The downside to this is that he is not a snuggler. No rocking with his head on your shoulder, no swaying, no cuddling. He lets you know when he's ready to go to bed, and is not happy until he's laid down with his blanket. This is what he looks like after you lay him in bed. No fussing or anything. He just grabs for that blanket, and gets ready to go to sleep.

This is what Jackson looks like when you check on him after he has gone to sleep.
At first, I was very nervous that I always found the blanket covering his face. Flashes of magazine articles about not putting your baby in a crib with a blanket because they can suffocate. Well, I tried not giving him the blanket, and he wouldn't go to sleep. So, he gets his blanket and falls asleep with it over his face, and I check on him before I go to bed and fold the blanket down. Often, he'll wake up in the night and we'll hear him talking. Once the talking stops, I'll go in and check on him, and the blanket has once again migrated up to his face. I've also noticed that if I'm trying to get him to sleep during my few free moments at church - like during the 15 minutes of primary singing time - (remember, he's not a sleep in your arms baby - this can be VERY difficult!), if I put a blanket or a burpie over his face, he stops fighting much more quickly and falls asleep.
Adam was not a "lovie" kid. He didn't have a stuffed toy, or a blanket, or anything that he HAD to have to go to bed. I remember a lot more rocking and patting to get him to sleep. Just another of the ways these guys are different.

Another Meeting?

Saturday morning, Adam woke up earlier than normal. I told him to go get back in bed and I would come lay down with him. We laid there for about half an hour, talking and enjoying a quiet morning. Adam finally decided it was time to see if it was really "morning-day" and see if the sun was up. He opened the blind in his room to see that it was light out, but he couldn't see the sun because it was a very cloudy morning. Adam's take on the clouds - "the sun is in a meeting, mom". I guess the sun has lots of meetings around here!

Is he laughing or crying? You be the judge!

So, Jackson has been making this really funny noise. He does it all the time, and often very loudly - especially during prayers at church! Most of the time when he does it, he is happy, but sometimes he is starting to get to the "I'm bored" phase of laying on the ground.
If all went well, there should be a little video here. Watch it one time, and see how cute our little guy is, and then watch it again, but close your eyes. Sometimes it's really hard to tell if he is laughing or crying. What a silly little guy - huh. We sure do love him.

"I was a Prophet?"

Yesterday in Primary, the music leader started teaching the kids the song "Follow the Prophet". We used to sing this song fairly often here at home, but I guess it's been awhile. Although, Adam does know the chorus really well! He's been sitting here at the table with me working on some coloring masterpieces and the whole time he's been singing the chorus to "Follow the Prophet" over and over. So, I decided to sing a couple of the verses. I started with the Adam verse, and then moved on to the Noah verse, and then went back to the Adam verse. I looked over at my Adam just now and he had a look of surprise and confusion on his face. He just blurted out "Me and Noah were prophets in the other day?" I tried to explain that Noah and Adam were prophets from a long time ago, and they had the same names as my Adam and his cousin Noah. Then he asked, "When me and Noah grow bigger and bigger, we get to be prophets?" I decided I'm not going to argue about that one. I'll let him set his sights high!!