Jackson's baptism and my return to work

On Sunday, we had the joy of having Jackson baptized at our church in Norfolk, Trinity Presbyterian Church.  We are so blessed to call him our son and continually pray for God's guidance as we learn how to parent him.  We pray that he will become a strong man of God and we are so grateful for all of you who have prayed for him (and us!) and continue to do so.  

 Carter is reading the charge to us as parents that we acknowledge that Jackson is in need of a saviour and we will raise him in the grace and knowledge of the saviour we know, and the charge to the church to support Jackson as he grows.  Check out pastor Jack's face...he loves kids :)

 Getting baptized

 Our family (Jackson 12 weeks and still the king of spit-up!)

 The grandparents made it for the baptism (Pop pop and grandmom McKay, granddad and grandmother Beth Byrne). We also got a late Christmas present from great grandpa and great nana McKay, a children's Bible with special notes from both of them (Nana's is in Japanese, how special!) 

 Jackson LOVES Itsy Bitsy Spider and has started to mimic hand motions for that song! 

     On another note, I go back to work part-time tomorrow and have very mixed emotions about it. I am incredibly excited to go back to work because I really do love my job.  Working 20 hours should be a perfect amount of time to allow me to stay current, excited and not get worn down with a full 40 hours of patient care which would leave me yearning for Friday some weeks.  I'll be doing normal treatments, sports performance evals (runners, swimmers) and dry needling, making each and every day very different, which is what I enjoy about being a PT.  I'll have two 10 hour days which end at 7pm, a time that was exhausting when I first started, became more exhausting when I was pregnant and I think will just leave me missing Jackson now.  As he starts to have a more regular bed time at 7/8pm, I might not get a chance to see him until our middle of the night feeding and sometimes it's hard to be excited about a baby at 2am :)

     We have a babysitter from church/ODU coming to the house to stay with Jackson, which is an answer to prayer. She is amazing and I know she will take great care of our precious little boy. We had her over for dinner the other week and I proceeded to give her a full tour of every nook and cranny in the house, told her ALL about Jackson and went through the Babysitter Binder I prepared. As crazy as it all seems, giving her all the information has allowed me to have a great sense of peace about leaving him tomorrow.  Recently, people have been telling me that I am so relaxed, easygoing, etc both in my roles as "Heather" and "Mom", which many of you (myself included) may say is crazy! I am queen of to-do lists, maximizing time, cleaning and organizing. However, since getting married to Jonathan we have begun to rub off on each other in a very good way, allowing me to slow down, rest and enjoy more of life.  I think this phase of life with Jackson is a way to allow me to surrender some control, relax a little and enjoy where God has me, as part-time healer and part-time-stay-at-home-mom (I don't think there is such thing as a 'part-time mom' just a 'part-time-stay-at-home-mom'.) It is my wish that by working and parenting I will be able to do both with energy and joy.  I hope I can fully concentrate on work tomorrow knowing that Jackson is in good hands with Liz and that I am no less of a mother for wanting to work a little during the week.  

 Some precious cuddle time with Jackson in his new sling

 Changing time with daddy

 He loves being naked on his changing table (hopefully this stops at an appropriate point in his life!) Sometimes I bring him upstairs just to play and see him smile even if his diaper is clean. We adore his smile

Getting in 'tummy time' however we can while he is still smiling

Firsts

It's amazing how time flies. It seems like Jonathan and I can't remember a day without little Jackson in our lives. It's been 11.5 weeks and he is growing like a weed and starting to hit those milestones.  Sometimes I find myself just sitting and staring at Jackson, marveling about how perfectly made he is.  Other times I am running around like a crazy lady, heavy diaper bag on one shoulder, infant carrier on an arm, grocery bags in the other, Lincoln following along behind like the good dog that he is.  Here are some of Jackson's firsts that we have enjoyed!

-Jackson started to smile and now smiles more consistently. What a joy to go into his room in the morning, lean over his crib and see his face light up! His smile makes me melt and even cry tears of joy.  

-He tracks all types of objects and faces very well now

-He can see longer distances and follow us across the room

-He recognizes voices, mostly of mom and dad when we come near him

-He LOVES his hands! We have a thumb sucker in the Byrne household, which is ok with us if he's a self-soother. Means we don't have to run for the pacifier as often at night.  But if sucking his thumb is good, the thumb and first finger are even better! Try to put those two fingers in your mouth...yes, it's pretty awkward to watch him.

-And with the discovery of hands comes DROOL. It's everywhere. Little trails of drool. Big puddles on his clothes, bib, hands, sheets. Thank goodness for sheet savers and bibs.

-Bath time is fun now; no more crying! 

-He's wearing size 2 diapers

-We have pretty much put away all 0-3 month clothes.  He's consistently wearing 3-6 or even some straight 6 month clothes. Dang. Chunker :)

-His extensor muscles are strong enough to do airplane, but we go easy on that one because I get covered in drool and/or spit-up

-He has slept "through the night" - 6 hours in one stretch! Technically it's not through the night since he goes to bed at 7/8pm and it must be after 12pm to count, but hey, 6 hours is 6 hours and I LOVE to go to bed at that time with him.

-When you are with someone 24/7 and one person is sick, the other one is not far behind. I got sick on New Years day and Jackson got his first cold 4 days later. It's so sad to listen to his little cough.  

-Now that he knows he has hands, he can hit thing on purpose. He loves the playtime mat that we got from the Bonners. So far he prefers to hit with his left hand and he likes the rattle more than other noise-less toys.  

Baby's First Christmas

Things have finally settled down after a busy few weeks. Jackson has been a traveling baby in his 10 weeks, making it to Hatteras, Virginia Beach, Delaware and New Jersey. It's time to relax!

Christmas had a whole new meaning this year to me after giving birth to Jackson.  One morning I was just staring at him in amazement of how wonderfully made he is, how precious, how dependent on his parents.  Jackson is going to grow up little by little, meeting milestones on the way to becoming an adult.  Jesus, although He is perfect and God, was also born a precious little baby to Mary and Joseph.  What joy the must have had raising him on earth! My friend also shared her similar reflections the other day and recommended a song by Andrew Peterson entitled Labor of Love.  Even though the season has passed, we can still reflect on the amazing experience of Mary on that glorious night when Christ was born.  

Here is a little of what we've been up to the last month..

Singing carols at our  Bible Study Christmas party

 Visit from Elizabeth, Meghan (photographer) and Knox (15 weeks here).

 3rd annual Elf and sugar cookies night at our house.  Katie, our neighbor, loved the cookies!

 Jackson turned 2 months on December 22nd!!

 Grandaddy carries on a tradition from Jonathan's childhood and reads 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to Jackson

 Christmas brunch with Leya and Brock, Joel and Caroline at the Byrne's house. Delicious food made by Grandmother Beth and good company

 Christmas Eve service in Springfield with the McKays

 Every baby needs a Christmas bow

Jackson met Aunt Chase for the first time. She and Uncle Matt completely spoiled him with hugs and play time.  He was EXHAUSTED after all the holiday festivities but loved meeting/seeing his aunts, cousins and great grandparents.

We have obviously been taking a ton of pictures but we can't post them all here. Feel free to check out the rest on Snapfish!
Snapfish photos of Jackson

The many hats of Jackson

At first, hats weren't really his thing and he would find every possible way to wiggle out of them.  However, he has really grown to enjoy them which makes our lives as parents very fun because he is so stinking cute in hats! 

 His first "hat", really a head stocking that he wore in the hospital. Luckily we had two of these because Lincoln proceeded to ingest one of them and puke it up at night...not re-wearable.

 Lovingly hand-knitted by Leya but his head was already too big for it. We kept it on him the when he was one day old for about 10 minutes before it popped off. Just enough for a good photo-op. We have also learned that we must photo every cut outfit in the first 5 minutes of him wearing it or else it's covered in some bodily fluid

 Hand-knit by Lisa's mom, who has taken me in for many family dinners when Jonathan is working. She made him a matching stroller blanket which is perfect for the 70 degree December we are having!

 His first Halloween hat

 Wa-hoo-wa! Even though we lost, he still looked good!

 Precious green hat with ears from Hannah, Ross and Ila. This is our new favorite hat and he wears it everywhere and gets so many compliments! Ila also gave him the little weasel...it comes out to play when we are changing his diaper and kisses his naked belly!   He loves it!

 Yet another hand-made hat from one of Beth and Matt's neighbors. This Elf hat has a bell on it so we can tell when he starts to wake up :)  She made this big enough for him to wear next year (we hope!)

 Little Santa hat

 Big Santa hat

Jackson's first outing in his north face snowsuit from Katy at my work. She has a matching on in pink for her new baby (due any day!) and we are excited to get our two kids together. Who knows, another possible girlfriend? :)  

This hat is from Aunt Joyce and crew out in Colorado. We are hoping it gets much colder here so he can wear it more. It makes him look like a rock star with a pacifier

Sip N See

On December 10th, Grandmother Beth and Granddad Byrne hosted a fabulous Sip N See followed by a Gawk and Guzzle in honor of little Jackson, who was 7 weeks old.  Everything was perfect, from the homemade sailboat cookies to the M&M's with "JB" on them.  Jackson thoroughly enjoyed his first cocktail party and cookout and was exhausted by the end of the evening.  It's hard to be oohed and aahed over all day and to be held by so many adoring fans (who all washed their hands, thank you!)  

Homemade cookies

Being held by Grandmother Beth at the party

Passed out in Chic's arms after an exhausting day of fun!

Just a few good pictures

Jackson is growing up so quickly. We love dressing him up in new outfits (but we can't get attached to them because he spits up so much!), playing with him on the floor and watching his new facial expressions emerge. Last thursday he started to smile for me in the mornings and now he will smile for other people! He has very pleasant awake time where he can entertain himself for a little period of time. My left bicep breathes a sigh of relief!  He also started to have a somewhat regular bedtime at 7pm and is sleeping quietly in his crib for 2 hours at a time.  I know...not a long time you all might say, but for him to sleep quietly is a miracle! So, we are still not getting a ton of sleep around the Byrne household but Jackson is a happy, smily baby who is growing very well and is so loved!

 Love his yawns

 He slept next to me in the mini-pack-n-play at mom and dad's house.  The basement was pretty cold so I put him in a hat and gloves. I woke up and he was stuck to the velcro on the side of the crib!!

 This is why we don't swaddle him...Houdini!

 Lincoln has realized that the screaming creature might be fun to play with, or at least sniff, especially when he has something in his diaper.

 Sailor Jackson

 This is after one of his startle reflexes, but then he continues to sleep like this. It can't be comfortable! Reminds me of Thriller

Tummy time, 7 weeks. He is so alert now, so we get to enjoy his eyes more and more.

Thanksgiving Travels

Jackson has been BUSY over the Thanksgiving holidays! He took his first long trips away from the home and he did a great job. We never knew that packing for a vacation, or even one night away, would require so much stuff. Whew. 

We are so thankful for Jackson this year. He is healthy, happy and we can't imagine our lives without him.  

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you".  1 Thess 5:17-18

Jackson has some play time with Grandmother Beth! He loves playing with her and being held by the Byrne grandparents.  They are also excellent at changing diapers, for which we are very grateful!  :)

The guys at our 3rd annual trip to Hatteras, NC after Thanksgiving.  Jackson is the only boy baby who is part of these trips. Looks like there will be many days of dolls and dress up in his future!

Jonathan and Jackson chill out on the couch for game day. Jonathan was cheering on Newcastle (soccer) and Jackson was getting very excited (as you can clearly tell from the picture) for the Tech vs. UVA game.

 Tummy time. Look at how much he can lift his head now! It's getting better every day!

This is Jackson's new buddy, Ilah Hanger, who was born in late May.  Jackson has many potential girlfriends to choose from in this group!

Go HOOS!!

 Jonathan started another rotation in the ED in December and he began with a week of night shifts (11pm to 7am, plus time for paperwork). This is a pretty overwhelming rotation for both of us because I am alone at nights, we don't see each other and Jonathan has to sleep during the day, which is not as easy as you would imagine. So, Jackson and I packed up for a trip to Springfield to see Grandmom and Pop Pop. Thank goodness for help from grandparents! They were amazing; cooking, holding Jackson and playing with him when he was awake.

While we were up in Springfield we went to see Jackson's Great Nana and Great Grandpa McKay in Delaware. What an amazing chance for them to hold their first great grandson!  I loved watching my grandparents taken on a new role as greats.  We are hoping that Jackson also has a chance to meet Great Grammy Byrne soon as well (she lives in Mass which makes it a little more difficult, but we are trying!). Meanwhile, we keep her updated with lots of pictures of her quickly-growing greatgrandson.

Four generations of "McKays". Greatgrandpa, Greatnana, Pop Pop, mom and Jackson (exhausted from a long day of being loved by everyone!)