Happy Birthday, Ma'am!

We had another beautiful week in Southport and tried a new baby group where Jackson and I both met some very nice locals.  Along with the baby groups, we also got to have lunch with our friend from church, Paul.  Everywhere we went, Jackson was so well-behaved and showed-off his huge grin.

On Friday, we celebrated the Queen's birthday by watching her Thanksgiving Service at St. Paul's Cathedral on the BBC.  Instead of watching it at home though, we went to the local Methodist church and watched it on their big screen.  This was all organised by the Ainsdale Civic Society and they did a very thorough job, making everyone feel as though we were sitting with the royals in London.

Jackson and I arrived about ten minutes to eleven and when we found our seats (front row, of course), we were handed a hefty programme printed in colour!  When I flicked through the pages, I realised that every hymn and reading from the service was printed for us and when the camera panned through the audience (at St. Paul's), I got even more excited because our programmes looked just like the royals'!  Because of the camera angles and really clear audio, combined with the fact that we were sitting in pews in a traditional church setting, it felt like we were part of the crowd sitting behind the Queen.

My favourite parts of the service were the reading by David Attenborough of Michael Bond's 'reflections on the passing of the years' and listening to the St. Paul's Cathedral Choir made-up of all boys and men.  The whole service was quite enjoyable and Jackson's attention was captured for the entire event, aside from the short nap he took in the middle of it.

Uh-oh!  Jackson found the papers that we left on the floor

Who could get mad at this face?

Initiating his own tummy time, which sometimes turns into nap time

Sporting his cool pants that we got at the food festival

Banging on his ocean drum, trying to catch the beads inside

Developmental updates:  Jackson can now wave!  He waves back to us or initiates the waving himself, and he also waves to no one in particular.  We recently bought him a toddler-sized wheelbarrow and he has discovered the tyre by tipping the toy over and he likes to spin the tyre while the toy is upside down.  Jackson has started joining in singing when music is played--even at church.  He is eating a lot more food than he used to, filling his day with snacking instead of just the three regimented meals.  Thankfully though, he will eat anything we put in front of him.  This week he discovered his love for peaches.  Jackson is very at ease when he's put in his crib now and will nod off within five minutes whether it's for naps or bedtime.  He is moving around a lot more on the floor.  Since the day he was born, Jackson hasn't stopped moving, but now he is grabbing at cupboards and pulling things off of the coffee table and shelves.  He can reach farther and farther each day which I quickly discover when I set bowls of food on his highchair tray.  Luckily he hasn't spilled anything, but there have been many close calls.  When Jackson used to be put onto his stomach for tummy time, he would flip onto his back fairly quickly.  This past week though, we continue to find him on his stomach and staying that way for a long time, as if trying to piece together how to crawl, which is something I predict we will see very soon.  His 'speaking' skills are still coming along and he is confident to make a lot of noise wherever he goes.  Today, he said a sentence to himself and then laughed at the end of it.  (I really wish I knew what he was saying, but I'm sure he will continue to entertain us endlessly when we start to understand each other.)

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

Social Butterfly

Jackson loves to be around people and when he's not observing and taking in new sights and sounds, he doesn't hesitate to open up and talk to his baby friends and their parents.  He has a very inviting personality and he pulls strangers toward him and they often just speak to Jackson--I'm merely his chauffeur.

On Monday, England had a Bank Holiday so we got to have a day out and about with Lee.  The rest of the week included swimming, play dates at parks, and festivals in Southport.  Today Jackson turned eight-months-old and I noticed this week how much more fun he gets every day.  He's 'talking' more, enjoying trying new foods, becoming more sneaky and grabbing things around the house to play with, responding more to hugs and kisses and leaning in toward Lee and I for cuddles, and moves around more as he tries to figure out crawling.

It truly is amazing how much a baby changes in the first year.  As I put Jackson to bed tonight, I took in all of the ways he's changed even as he goes to sleep:  he likes to arrange his own blankets, position his stuffed animals, and to top it all off, grab a book to look through before he nods off to sleep.  I was trying to picture the first night in the hospital as this was all happening and I was filled with pride for my smart, adorable, sociable little baby and how much he's learned from his first day.  He is so easy-going and makes our lives so happy with every little thing that he does.

Happy First Memorial Day, Jackson!  We celebrated by going to the promenade in Southport, enjoying the sunshine, and eating at a Chinese restaurant.

Snuggled in bed with his bunny and Sleep Sheep

Finding new ways to play in the ball pit.  He leaned out so he could grab his pack of baby wipes which he loves to crinkle.

Play date at the park with his friend Penny

The heron...the saga continues

A play date at Hesketh Park with many babies and moms

Baby Fonzie

Jackson's first Ainsdale Gala Fun Day watching 'Rumple the Magician'

After the Fun Day, we went to Southport's annual Food and Drink Festival

Mommy and Jackson love food festivals!

Happy Eight Months, Jackson!

Developmental updates:  Jackson still loves to play with and 'read' tags on his toys and we often catch him quietly examining the labels instead of playing.  He likes to join in conversations and this week, he responded to the other moms at the park when they talked to him.  Four nights this week, Jackson only woke up once during the night so hopefully this trend will carry on.  Jackson doesn't need his pacifier to go to sleep anymore and he rarely uses it during the day.  We got the paddling pool out on Tuesday and Jackson still loves the water.  He has a little watering can and I poured the water near him and he had a lot of fun putting his hand under the flow of the water.  Jackson gives 'kisses' by leaning his open mouth on my face and sort of slobbering.  His new favourite song is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Once I Caught a Fish Alive.

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

The Birds

I really enjoy my walks with Jackson to the pond to feed the ducks, but not being a fan of birds bigger than a finch, our walk sometimes turns into a brisk jog.  The first day I saw the heron, I broke into a cold sweat and took pictures of it, hiding behind the trees like a paparazzo, then sneaked back out to the main path and headed home.  Luckily though that time, it was on the island about 100 feet away.  The next time we saw it, the heron had relocated to the ducklings' spot which is about 15 feet from the edge of the path.  This was incredibly frightening, but we were already half-way around the pond, so I had to be brave for Jackson and finish the walk.

Once, the coots must have been able to smell our bread bag as we approached, because they waddled out onto shore with their jelly-looking white and black webbed feet.  Again, a cold sweat set in and my hands could barely grip the bag to open it.  I tried to control my breathing and once I caught a bit of the bread, I ripped off what I could and threw it in the water so they went back to their zone and we stayed in ours.

But this week, nature came knocking on our doorstep--our back doorstep to be exact.  Thursday morning I looked out to admire our backyard and flowerbed when I saw a hefty pigeon prancing around our patio.  I thought this was strange since birds usually keep their distance from our back door, but then I realised what all of the fuss was about:  this pigeon was comforting its dead friend!

Cue the cold sweat and the shock and horror.  I started screaming and running through the house, hoping that I hadn't seen what I knew I did.  I looked again.  The pigeon was still there, not moving--dead.  Jackson thought I was acting odd, but he just laughed it off and continued playing in his Little Tikes garden centre.

I knew that I didn't have it in me to take care of the situation out back, so I called Lee to warn him of what would await his arrival when he got home from work.  I assumed he wouldn't want to deal with the death, therefore I had already planned on paying a local handyman to dispose of the problem for us.  To my surprise, Lee said that he would take care of it.  My hero!  So I closed the curtains and we didn't venture into the backyard at all that day.

Needless to say, the backyard is all cleared up now.  Life goes on.

Playing in his pool sans water

Jackson's new favourite toy--an inflatable rattle

Three types of birds in one shot:  mallards, black-headed gulls, and coots

Jackson 'gets' bird watching now and enjoys looking at the ducks

Nope, not teeth in there; just a Babybel

He's rediscovered an old toy and likes dancing around in his door bouncer

Developmental updates:  Jackson is getting in position to crawl now, he just needs to coordinate his knees and hands.  A couple of times this week, Jackson looked like he was waving so I think this will become a more regular occurrence once he gets the hang of it.  In public, Jackson is getting more vocal--not nearly as vocal as he is at home, but he is a lot more confident speaking in front of groups.  He is rolling his arms more and more and sometimes slaps his hands together inadvertently, so clapping may be starting soon, too.  Jackson's new favourite food is lasagne.  He still likes to play on his own sometimes and he talks to himself while he plays.

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