"Solids"

Jackson started rice cereal at 6 months, then moved to oatmeal for a few weeks, and straight on to green beans. Here's some requisite messy face pictures, along with a priceless video of his first taste of veggies. He was not impressed. But, a good eater nonetheless! At one week shy of 7 months, he is weighing in at 21 lbs and 27 inches. He's still a butterball, but just a longer one:)

First Fever :(

Jackson had his first fever this week, and I wound up staying home with him to make sure he was ok before we exposed him to his playmate Henry, and to comfort him of course. Lately my advice to new moms has been to outsource everything you just can't get done yourself anymore. Being business-minded, it comes down to how much your time is worth, and if I can get someone else to do things for me cheaper and faster, and it makes the house not fall apart between 2 hectic careers, a dog, and a baby - done. But lately I stepped back and realized that we've outsourced all the stuff I used to do - dogwalking, daycare, meal preparation, house cleaning, tax preparation, financial management - and a few thoughts struck me. First, those activities weren't 'worth' anything inside the house, but as soon as someone else is doing the same activity, suddenly it now has a value (and a high one at that!) Second, how the hell was I able to get all those things done?? And finally, the one thing I never want to outsource, that was reinforced when Jackson was sick, was being his mama. When you feel like crap and you can't yet express what's wrong and you just want to be held...there's no substitute for mom. And as much as I wasn't thrilled about trying to work from home and take care of Jackson for the day, I relished the time just holding him all day and reading and laughing, because soon he'll jump off my lap and make mudpies and not be in the mood to cuddle. But for now, sorry kid - you're all mine!

Sitting Up

Here is a video of Jackson learning to sit up at 5.5 months. It was amazing to watch his progress literally improve from one day to the next, right around Kevin's birthday on Jan 14th. Happy birthday papa!

Train Exhibit

At the end of December we checked out the train exhibit at the National Botanical Gardens with Mozzie and Opa; I think all of us were more impressed with the handcrafted displays than he was, but he was very interested in watching the trains. Maybe he'll take after cousin Dylan and be train-obsessed; whose famous quote at the age of 5 was: "Mom, I want to be a doctor, a conductor, and a daddy - but I'll have to choose because I won't have time for all 3." Being back at work full time for 3 months now, I think I agree with the wisdom of a five year old...

My First Christmas and Hanukkah

We had a great holiday and Jackson loved being around his cousin Chambers, Aunt Jame, and Uncle TJ, who were up for Christmas and Chambers' 2nd birthday. It was hard for us to believe that it was this time last year that we told our families we were pregnant, and now we have a squirming little monkey. We were able to visit my parents and sister for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, then Kevin's side for the rest of Christmas Day and a Hanukkah celebration the week before.

This year, we also celebrated both traditions for Jackson; we lit Hannukah candles every night and got his first Christmas tree. We've joined an interfaith group in Maryland that we attend most Sundays that is a gathering of 200 families that are Christian and Jewish in the DC area and looking for a place where their kids can learn about and celebrate both. It is called the Interfaith Families Project (IFFP), and so far we've really enjoyed the laid back approach and the minister who leads the group (with a rabbi) has been quite taken with Jackson!