Four Months Old and a Feeding Attempt

Jackson is four months old! I can hardly believe it. I always thought the people who said, "Time goes so fast when you have kids," and, "It feels like my little boy was just born yesterday," were crazy. Evidently, they knew what they were talking about. I have even found myself saying some of the same cliche things. Here's a quick update.

He had his four month doctors appointment yesterday. Here are his stats:

Height: 25 1/8 inches (60th percentile)
Weight: 13 lb 4 oz (25th percentile)
Head: 17 inches (78th percentile)

So basically, he is a tall, skinny kid with a big head. We just think it's because he's so smart. We were also told to try feeding him solids, starting with rice cereal. I thought he would like it. I was wrong. Here are a few before pictures.

And an after picture. Doesn't that look say it all? "Mom and Dad, why are you doing this to me?" You'd never guess we were just trying to feed him.

And here's a video of the whole thing. He hardly even got any of it in his mouth. He most definitely did NOT like what he did try though. :-) Oh well, better luck next time.

I hope they call me on a mission...

I hope they call me on a mission....when I have grown a foot or two (or three or four). :-)


Smiling because he knows it's almost bath time and time to get out of his third outfit of the day.

This is why babies shouldn't really have pets. This is only seconds before Jackson's 'pet' Patch got an up close and personal look at the inside of his mouth.

This is one of my favorite recent pictures. Dallin's cousin, Stacey, watches Jackson for a few hours when I go to work. One day, when Dallin went to pick him up, this is the cute hat the had him all dressed up in.

University of Utah...here we come...again!

Dallin got into the University of Utah for graduate school! I am so proud of him and all of the hard work he has done. He will be getting a master's degree in public administration. He describes it as similar to an MBA, but for working in the public or governmental sectors. We just found out last week that he got in. The reason I wrote that we will be going to the University of Utah again is because that is where I got my master's degree from last year. I had a pretty good experience there. Dallin has been the first to say that he will be a Ute who still bleeds Aggie blue. I have to agree with him. We will always be Aggies at heart. :-) I am pretty nervous because this means new jobs, a different apartment and new people and places. We are sad to leave all of our friends and our ward here in Logan. It has been such a great place for us. It will be strange to leave since this is the only place we have lived since we have been married. It will be an adventure though. We are excited to be closer to family. I was pretty nervous when we first decided to move and do graduate school. I'm feeling much better now. We have a little sign in our living room that says, "Family: It's not where you go or what you do, it's who is beside you that counts." That is so true. Everything will be great as long as I've got my boys: Dallin and Jackson. I sure love them both.

On another side note, I took my licensure exam last Saturday. This was probably the biggest test I have ever taken (and the most expensive). It basically covered everything I have ever learned in social work. I had to pass this test in order to get my license to practice social work in Utah. Luckily, I passed! It is such a relief to know that I no longer have to tote my study materials everywhere with me and try to study in every spare minute that I have. No more weight on my back of a test looming before me. I wanted to take it right after I graduated, but with a new baby and family difficulties, last Saturday is when I finally got it done. At least it is now finshed. I feel so relieved! Hooray!

Rolls and Giggles

This last week has been wonderful. Someone once told me that their favorite age for their kids was four months. I can now understand why they would say that. Jackson turned four months old on Saturday and he has really been so much fun lately. He is all smiles and dimples. To me, there is nothing better in the world than when he looks at me and just grins. :-) It melts my heart. Dallin and I were also talking the other day about Jackson's development. I always expected his development to be more gradual. However, it seems like one morning he just wakes up and says, "I think I'm ready to smile today," or, "I think I'll roll over now." It's so funny. This last week, Jackson finally got the hang of rolling over. He's done it once before, but it was probably an accident. It's kind of funny how he does it. He uses the weight of his head to kind of flop over. It's cute though.

The other thing he just started is giggling. There have been a few other times when I thought he may have giggled. Now I'm sure. We were down at Dallin's parent's house over the weekend and Dallin really got him going. I tried to video some of the giggles, but Jackson was already pretty tired from all of the laughing. Who would have thought that laughing could take so much out of you. He was wiped out afterwards.

We were also able to spend some time with our families this weekend. First my mom came up to visit on Friday since she had the day off and "needed a Jackson fix." :-) It was a lot of fun to see her and spend some time together. Then, we spent Friday night and Saturday with Dallin's family. Dallin's sister, Lisa, and her husband, Andrew, were visiting from Louisiana. We had a lot of fun with his family and were all able to go to the temple together on Saturday thanks to an amazing Aunt and Uncle who watched the four grandkids. Then we had a great family dinner. The next day, we spent some more time with another Aunt and Uncle and a cousin who is working on her MPA at the U right now. It will be a lot of fun to spend more time with them and their little girl. Last, but not least, we were able to visit my brother and his wife before we left town. It was so much fun to chat with them. They are expecting a little baby next November and are excited that we will be closer. Jackson will get to know his first Bown cousin better this way. All in all, this weekend left me feeling so grateful for a wonderful family, both on the Bown and Koecher side. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many loving and supportive people. I couldn't ask for a better family. :-)

Here are a few other pictures. What can I say, I really like taking pictures of my little guy. :)

Jackson has also discovered his feet. He loves to grab them. Between his hands and his feet, he takes his toys with him wherever he goes.

Sleeping on Dad's shoulder.

The stylish little guy.

This is the face I usually get when I'm taking pictures of Jackson. The reason....he is camera shy! I have never heard of a little boy who is four months old who is camera shy, but Jackson is. He will be smiling and happy and as soon as I get a camera, or even the camera on my phone out, he will stare at it and make this 'deer in the headlights' face. As soon as the camera is gone, he continues with his smiling, happy faces. It is getting pretty difficult to catch any of his other cute faces. Don't worry though, I'll keep trying. :-)