More baby info :-)

Here is a letter that I wrote to the great-grandparents recently --- thought I'd post it on here too for anyone else interested. :-)

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Jackson is 14 weeks old tomorrow! He will have another Dr. appointment in about a month... but according to my own measurements, he is now 24 inches long (3.5 inches of growth!) and at least 14 lbs. He is getting heavy! A very solid little guy. He is sleeping well at night with usually an 8 hour stretch followed by a 3 hour stretch. He also naps pretty well, falling asleep by himself without crying for the majority of his naps! Although, in the last couple days he has begun not liking being put down for naps. Hopefully it is not a development that sticks around. Nursing is also going well. It took quite a while to go well, as Jackson tended to cry while eating fairly often, but it seems he has gotten over whatever was bothering him (I tried all kinds of things to help, but he just decided on his own when he was better!) He has now rolled over from belly to the back several times, although it still takes a lot of concentration and effort!

Jackson's favorite thing to do in the morning when he first wakes up is to "talk!" It is a lot of fun. He lays there and, very proud of himself, says, "Ghhhhoooo!" We go back and forth, mimicking each other's ghoo's and bhhoo's and whatever else. Precious time that I will cherish forever I'm sure! His favorite thing to do when he's starting to get sleepy is standing! I didn't expect him to enjoy standing this early, but he loves it! He is a big smiler, and likes to smile at most people who will talk to him and smile at him! He has had a few times of laughing... three times that I know of! The most recent time was someone scaring him that just made him laugh over and over! What a wonderful sound!

Jackson has gone on a trip to Bend with us, a trip to the zoo, dancing at Portland Dance Festival, a couple weddings, many BBQ's, and his favorite adventure this summer has been swimming! The last couple weeks here have been 100+ degree weather, so we escaped our A/C-free home and headed to Nona's pool! Jackson really enjoyed the water! No doubt he enjoyed cooling off too.

Jackson is getting pretty good at using his hands! He just recently has started to enjoy looking at bright, bold objects, and is also starting to reach out to try and touch them. I am learning to appreciate all those "unnecessary" toys that are set up to dangle bright objects in front of him! He also is getting pretty good at sucking his thumb, although the pacifier is still a close friend of his. :-)

Well, I think that's about it for where Jackson is at these days! I could probably go on for pages... but those are the highlights. :-)