Like Mother Like Son

When people used to ask, "How does he sleep?" I thought that since Jackson woke up three or four times to eat, that he wasn't a good sleeper.  But, after speaking to the nurse when he got his second round of shots, she said that if he only wakes up to eat and doesn't try to whine or play, then he's considered a 'good sleeper.'

I must be even luckier than I thought because Jackson has done this for nearly 16 weeks straight!  He's always eaten and gone straight back to sleep until anywhere from 8:30 to 10 A.M.  Listening to other moms' stories about what could happen in the middle of the night, I'm even more thankful for Jackson.  He's the best!

Something that happened which was surprisingly unusual:  at baby massage class this week, Jackson had a meltdown and nothing--not a diaper change, feed, song, walk around--could stop him from crying.  After about ten minutes of shifting around and trying to fix the situation, he suddenly stopped, caught his breath, and was very happy.  I looked to see what he found to calm himself down and it was a mirror!  He continued to stare at himself for the duration of the session and cried immediately if I turned him to face another way.  My dad, mom, brother, and sister know that I had quite the 'mirror problem' growing up and would practise facial expressions, impressions, or conversations with my reflection.  Has Jackson inherited this disorder/skill (depending on how you look at it)?  Only time will tell.

Twice this week, Jackson took his muslin cloth and covered his face, then pulled down one corner to just peek out with one eye.  He did this over and over on both occasions and laughed when he peeked out and I said, "Peek-a-boo!" to him.  Apparently, most babies start to initiate peek-a-boo around the nine-month mark so I don't know how he's figured out this skill already.  (And I know sometimes things happen by chance, but since Jackson did this twice on two different days, I'm giving him credit for the new skill.)

One of my new friends from playgroup invited Jackson and I to meet her and her little boy yesterday at Southport's Play Town which is similar to Chuck E. Cheese's.  There are two sides and one is only for "under 4's."  I expected to only stay for about an hour or so, but we were there for four-and-a-half hours!  Jackson loved the ball pit area and laughed and smiled at the other little kids.  I held him as he went down a short baby slide but he wasn't too sure about that.  Jackson made new sounds of delight and it was nice to see him coming alive in a new environment.  Although as a mom, it was hard to see past the cesspool of germs, I was happy to see him enjoying his little fifteen-week self.  As soon as we got home though, I threw him in the baby bath and for the first time, he kicked and waved his arms, splashing all over the kitchen and me.  He must have been working out all the excitement of the day.

Mickey Mouse Varsity Team

Go Tribe!

Our little dinosaur

Dressing-up for the little ladies at playgroup

The Elvis lip

Loving the ball pit at Play Town

Developmental updates:  Jackson had two days of eating and sleeping very frequently so I interpreted this as another growth spurt.  He can hold his rattles and musical instruments easily now and has mastered a tight grip.  A few times, Jackson stared at and whined for his talking dog toy until I got it for him from across the room.  He loves the feeling of a scarf wafting over his face and seems very happy if we do this for minutes on end.  Jackson seems to be growing out of his play gym and isn't as amused by it as he once was.  He almost kicked the frame of it down this past week, so it may be a toy that needs to be retired.  And today, for the first time, he rolled over on his own!

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.