Hello Standing Bye Bye Bottle

Jackson standing by himself!



Jackson's Last Bottle. We've already weaned him off his daytime bottles, but he has been getting one 8oz bottle of milk at night. Tomorrow, we are not going to give him that nighttime bottle. Yikes! I honestly think Ryan is a little more upset about the weaning process than Jackson which is understandable. He's worried Jackson won't drink enough fluids...but I'm convinced it's the right time! Jackson is growing up so quickly!



Parker laughed for the first time today. He's been smiling off and on for a little bit now, but I haven't caught it on camera yet. He usually smiles and laughs only when he's cuddled up in my arms. Hopefully in the next few days I'll be able to capture it! :)

With love,
Anna

My Little Artist

Jackson scribbling on the fridge:



Jackson's First Piece of Art:



With love,
Anna

Play Date!

Today, Jackson, Parker,and I met our friends Becky and Theo at the park for a play date! It was a blast!

Jackson and Theo on the slide.



Jackson and Theo on the swings.



Parker sleeping while his brother plays.



With love,
Anna

A Fun Monday at the Pool

This morning, Jackson, Parker, Ryan, and I went to the pool at the YMCA. Parker and I watched while Ryan and Jackson swam. It was amazing to see Jackson trying to swim! It's incredible the progress he made in 8 weeks of swim lessons!



In other news, Parker is feeling better. Operation sippy cup is very successful; Jackson only had 1 bottle today! He even drank a couple of ounces from his sippy cup while we were at the grocery store!

With love,
Anna

Sippy Cup Success!

Parker is ready to eat so this will have to be quick:

Today we spent most of the day either at church or cleaning the house. We rearranged part of our living room and it looks awesome!

We finally found a sippy cup that works for Jackson... one with a straw! My mom suggested giving Jackson a little water at dinner last night from my glass with a straw and he did it so we went straw sippy cup shopping today. We bought Jackson one and he successfully used it throughout the afternoon and at dinner! There is hope for us yet! Operation sippy cup is back in business! Jackson also went to sleep tonight with NO CRYING!! :)

Parker is running a bit of a temp so we're watching it. He isn't acting sick though so I'm hopeful it's a fluke.

Here is a super cute picture of Jackson and his teeth; he has two already through the gum and a third one coming any day:



With love,
Anna

Grammy and Poppy Visit Ohio!

Today, Grammy and Poppy visited all of us in Ohio. It was an amazing day! We spent the morning hanging out at our house. Grammy and Poppy brought the boys a new toy box, chest of drawers, and finger puppets! Ryan put the toy box together today and it looks amazing! Then, we went to the Riverfront for lunch (Yum Yum!), Don Drumm to look around (a cool art studio), and then we went to the Tallmadge Circle Fair around dinnertime with our friends Kyle, Becky, and Theo. After that, we went out to eat Mexican for Poppy's birthday, and spent the rest of the night chilling out at our house. After that Poppy and Grammy left. It was really hard for me to watch them leave. I really miss my family, especially my parents and sisters. I know we made the right decision moving here so I could go to grad school, but not a day goes by that I don't wish I could see my family more often and let them see the boys more often. Someday, I know we'll be closer together again, and I'm really looking forward to that day.



Happy Birthday Poppy!

With love,
Anna

A Day to Celebrate

A year ago today, Jackson was discharged from the NICU. He weighed 6 pounds exactly and was almost three months old.



Today, he crawls, pulls to standing, cruises, walks holding onto toys, has two teeth, eats almost anything, and is one of the most amazing things in my life. He, his brother, his furry brothers and sisters, and his daddy are my world.



With love,
Anna