Dear Drew...

It was one year ago today that we brought you home from the hospital. We both remember that day like it was just yesterday. For me, it was a day of mixed emotions. I was so happy to be leaving the small room we lived in for 2 short days. But, leaving meant that I would not be returning to Northside again as a new mom. And that's a hard thing to feel...even as I type this. It was a beautiful sunny day, still cold and still white from the snow that had fallen the day you were born. For daddy, coming home meant things were on track. The day you arrived in the world was slightly overshadowed for him by nurses rushing in the room and stopping my contractions because your heart rate kept dropping and they needed to stabilize you quickly. It lasted just a few minutes, but for Daddy, it felt like an eternity...a time where he was helpless to you and me. But, going home was a step in the right direction for him...and it was the "be all" sign that you were a happy, healthy baby boy.

There are so many things we think about when we see you. We think about all of the things we have seen and been a part of this first year. The sleepless nights were over in just a few short weeks. Your bout with RSV scared us, but ended without a hospital stay. Your milestones came and went...smiling, laughing, rolling over, first foods, sitting up, a first tooth, first words, and the list goes on and on. But, more than memories, we think about everything that the future holds for you and how excited we are to be a part of it. From simple day-to-day things like learning to walk and talk...to exciting new adventures like your first day of school and the day you graduate from college, as a Gator, of course. There are so many adventures coming your way. And as excited as we are to be a part of those adventures, there are anxieties that go with them. Worries about whether or not we did enough to help you make the RIGHT decision when it comes to tough choices. Hoping we raised you to be a gentleman...polite and understanding but strong and courageous. As a parent, there is a balance you try to achieve in helping a child become a well-rounded person and we will do all we can to help you become the man you will one day be.

As I close this letter, it is the end of an era. The end of your first year. The end of this blog. But, it is the beginning of so much more. It is the beginning of your life in our family. You have wedged yourself in to out hearts and our souls. And we are so thankful for the happy little person you are. You bring joy and laughter to each day. You make us smile with all your silly faces. And we will always remember you as the precious baby boy who came in to our lives and filled our hearts with love we didn't know was missing. We love you!!!

1 Year Well Check

We had our 1 year well check appointment and aside from the 4 shots Drew had to endure, the appointment went very well.

As always the most fun part of visiting the doctor is finding out how much this guy has grown since the last appointment. For his 1 year visit, Drew weighed in at 24 lbs. 3 oz. and was 29 1/2 inches long. He is the perfect Thanksgiving Butterball!! He had only gained 2 pounds since the last appointment, but there was no reason for concern. Now that he is completely on table food and moving all over the place to keep up with the girls, he's bound to stop gaining so much weight at some point. The doctor said his eating should nose dive in the next few months because he won't require as much food as he used to. But, we hope that he continues to want to eat all the healthy fruits and veggies he can't get enough of right now.

Other than the 4 slow motion teeth he has coming in right now, Drew is completely on track. He is developmentally perfect and we continue to enjoy watching all the new things he does every day. For now, he is learning how to pull up and get up on those chunky legs. He doesn't like to be there long because it's way too much work to stand up. So...we'll be waiting for a few months on those first steps. I am sure by the time summer rolls around and he has a choice to sit in the hot sun or walk to the pool...he'll choose the option of running!! He's a big fan of playing ball. Seems he'll be a righty when it's all said and done. He loves to throw the ball, crawl for it, and then throw it again. The girls continue to be his favorite entertainment. There is always something they do or say that make him smile and laugh. The 2 of them fight over him all the time. But, they love him tons and that's what important. Enjoy the pictures from the past month!!

Happy Birthday Drew!!!

Happy Birthday to our little baby boy!!!

We love you Drew!!

We had our own little family celebration on February 28th. After all...it was the official day we went in to the hospital, and Monday birthdays aren't the easiest to coordinate with everyone. So, we opted to celebrate a day early with the family here in town. Drew spent some time opening presents and got lots of fun new things. He got a bunch of cute little clothes, which he needed desperately, from Aunt Jenny and the Messicks. The girls made him a Build-A Bear Frog to go with his room and included a sound clip of them singing happy birthday to him. It was very cute and I am glad we will always have that reminder from his first birthday. Grandma and Grandpa Jackson got him a cute birthday bear for us to put in his keepsake box and a birthday shirt for him to wear on Monday. The Blums got him a beautiful frame with his name embossed on it and a small window for a picture from each month of his first year. Jackie had one of these done for Ian at his birthday party and I LOVED to frame. So glad we have one for Drew. And, mom and dad got Drew the Cozy Coupe to ride around the cul-de-sac in and a fun beach ball sprinkler to play with this summer. Of course, we had to get the boy some clothes as well. He's just growing way too fast!! After we opened presents, we headed outside to ride in the Cozy Coupe for a minute and then it was back inside to eat cake. Drew was not shy and loved eating every bite of his cake.

Enjoy the pictures and visit the Shutterfly site to see all of them.

http://therealjacksonfive.shutterfly.com

A Song for Me

Stealing Cinderella...Chuck Wicks
Cinderella...Steven Curtis Chapman
There Goes My Life...Kenny Chesney
My Little Girl...Tim McGraw
In My Daughter's Eyes...Martina McBride
I Saw God Today...George Strait
It Won't Be Like This For Long...Darius Rucker
Watching You...Rodney Atkins
I Loved Her First...Heartland

And the list goes on and on. I can come up with song after song, in every combination for daddies and daughters, mommies and daughters, and daddies and sons. But, I have yet to find one song that fits the bill for mommies and sons until now. You would think that daddy/daughter songs would be popular...and they are. But, mommy/son songs are no where near as easy to come by. In my little world, there are songs for everything. Bo and I have songs for each of the girls. And in our minds, it's the songs we hear playing in the background at their graduation, their wedding day, the big events in their lives. Thanks to my good friend Darby, I have finally found this song for Drew...the one I hear playing for the Mother-Groom dance at his wedding. And though it probably wasn't written for a mother and a son, I think it will do just fine. Because my little buddy is Never Alone...

Just a Little Snip

Today was Drew's dermatology appointment to have his little hemangioma removed. Everything went as planned and it was a very quick procedure.
When I was there for the consult visit the doctor gave me some numbing cream to put on his spot about 30 minutes prior to surgery to numb the area for the Laiticaine shot. So, we numbed his spot at 8:30 and were ready to go at 9:00. She stuck him with a small needle to numb the area completely. She cleaned the area and snipped the hemangioma right off. She gave Drew a grape lollipop (his first ever!!) to keep him occupied while she worked. It helped for the first few minutes, but by the time we got to the cauterizing, he was more irritated with us holding him still than eating the lollipop. So, he fussed and wiggled for a few minutes while she finished up and then we were good to go. We were finished and out of there in less than 30 minutes. He has a pressurized band-aid right now to keep the area from bleeding. But, I can take that off tomorrow, wash the area with soap and water and use a regular band-aid for the next week or so until it heals. Looking forward to the day we can see his face without a band-aid.

5 More Days...

We have only 5 more days to wait before the dermatologist will take off Drew's hemangioma. And that is music to our ears. We met with Dr. Koo yesterday afternoon and she confirmed it was, in fact, a hemangioma. I never realized how worried I was that it might be something more concerning until I heard her say those words and a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. She examined it thoroughly, asked a few questions and agreed that because of the trauma that this hemangioma was going through, it seemed logical to have it removed. She says it looks very superficial and the procedure will be very quick. She would have done it yesterday, but there wasn't enough nursing staff there to help. So, we rescheduled for Monday morning at 9:00. The sets of extra hands will help to keep Drew very still and, in turn, keep the small scar to a minimum. They simply will numb it, clip it, and cauterize it to stop the bleeding. There is always the potential for it to return, but we can deal with that if it happens. For now, we are excited and anxious to have this little booger removed so we can stop worrying about all the explosions of blood during nap time and bed time. I probably should take a picture or 2 before he goes in so we can always remember this little phase of Drew's first year...and the little red spot on his face.

11 Months and Counting!!

Drew is 11 months old today!! It feels like it's been so long since I have written in his blog. Not much is new, not much has changed with this growing baby boy. But, there are always stories to tell.

First, there's still no weight or height update to write about. We go to the doctor's on March 4th for his 1 year well check, so we'll have to wait until then to hear about how big this guy is.

We are, however, going to the doctor's tomorrow for a different reason. I haven't been very good about blogging about the growing hemangioma on Drew's face. It was something that popped up back in November, just before his 9 month well check. At his appointment, the doctor explained that it is in fact a hemangioma and that it seemed odd that it appeared so late after birth. Typically they tend to show up within weeks of birth and can last from 2 years to 10 years, but eventually they will go away on their own. The only time the doctors get involved with hemangiomas is if the start to effect important development...such as eye sight, feeding, breathing, etc. Because Drew's was on the side of his face, close to his temple, my job was to watch it and if it start to get larger at a rapid pace to call the doctor. By the end of December it was larger. It had gone from about the size of a pencil point to the size of a pencil eraser. And by mid-January it had gotten even larger still and had become raised, almost detached, except at small place at the top of the hemangioma. So....after thinking about it long enough, I called and talked to the doctor about the growth over the past month and she seemed to think it was very normal. All hemangiomas go through a rapid growth phase and then stop for a couple months then they tend to involute. She seemed to think we were in that growth phase and it would be ending soon. So, we decided the best idea would be to follow up with it at the 1 year well check. The very next morning, I walked in to Drew's room and there was spots of blood all over his sheets and clothes. At some point throughout the night he had rubbed his hemangioma against the mattress and because it was so raised and only attached slightly, it caused it to "tear" and bleed. I was good and didn't freak out. By the time I had walked in there, it had stopped bleeding and seemed to have scabbed over. So, I put a band-aid on it and left it alone. That weekend, I removed the band-aid to let the hemangioma air dry for a little bit and then it was time for Drew to nap. So, I put him down like always and about 45 minutes later he was upstairs fussing for his pacifier. Bo went in to give it to him and called me in immediately. I walked in to his room and he was covered from head to toe in blood. The sheets were soaked through. His clothes were covered and you couldn't see the color of his skin because it was all red. Bo put him in the tub and we got him cleaned off. We put a new band-aid on his face and called it an afternoon...there was no way he was napping without his little bunny and there was no point in fighting it. (Not to mention, 30 minutes after all this happened, Ally came barrelling out of her room throwing up all over the place. But, that's a different story, entirely.) So, the next morning I called the doctor again and explained that I was sorry for sounding overly concerned about this hemangioma but that things had changed over the past couple of days since we had last talked. I explained the new happenings and she agreed that we needed to go and see a dermatologist about it now. Ulcerated hemangiomas can be painful and give way to infection. And now that we fall in to that category, it's time to do something about it. This all took place the first week of January and we are now in the first week of February. The hemangioma has been covered since the day it really ulcerated and we are anxious to see what the dermatologist will say. It seems obvious to us that it needs to come off...certainly we can't keep a band-aid on his face for the next several years until it decides to go away on it's own. Plus, the bleeding and infection are even bigger issues. The hemangioma has outgrown band-aids at this point. It has gotten so big that the pad on the band-aid is too small and it gets stuck on the sticky stuff. Every time I change the band-aid now, I put a piece of gauze between the band-aid and the hemangioma to keep it from sticking and ripping when the band-aid comes off. For now, this is working. The hemangioma seems pretty stable right now. It is still barely attached. I can lift it up completely and see plain skin underneath it. Hopefully by Wednesday at this time, I'll have new news to report about it being gone or at least a plan to get rid of it.

Otherwise, it has been a pretty uneventful month. Drew has become quite the crawler. And he has started pulling up to his knees and now his feet. It probably won't be long before he starts taking those first few steps. He's continued to eat us out of house and home. He eats anything and everything put in front him. He has become quite picky with the baby food though...we're pretty much done with that. He's not a huge fan of applesauce right now because he thinks it's baby food. But, he eats everything we eat...which is a far cry from the girls when they were this age. He loves pizza and tacos, meatballs and noodles, chicken and rice, all the veggies and all the fruits. In fact, I can't think of one thing he hasn't tried and liked. We will go poor trying to keep this kid fed.

Here are a few pictures from the past month...enjoy!!


Sweet, sleepy baby boy.
This is how you sleep when you crash and burn after playing in the crib WAY TOO LONG!!
Mmmmmm...I love meatballs.
Nooooo....don't take my picture again. I'm a mess!!!
Ally and Kelsey love to share their popsicles with Drew.
Blowing kisses to you...

Buddy is 10 Months Old!!

Drew turned 10 months old today!!! The time is just flying by and we hope that it slows down very soon. Drew is crawling...normally, not commando style...and gets in to everything now. He has figured out where the playroom and the bathroom are and he loves to go in those rooms because he knows he's not supposed to. So, for now, the doors stay closed all the time. Eventually, we'll have to make the playroom home for his things as well, but for now, there's just too much in there he can get a hold of. We have no idea how much this little chunker weighs this month and we probably won't have an official weight or height check again until he goes for his 1 year appointment. But, we are positive he continues to put on the pounds. He eats everything we put in front of him...veggies, bread, crackers, pizza, meatballs, pancakes, noodles, tomatoes, whatever he can get in his mouth. He is the human vacuum cleaner and that comes from his daddy. Other than continuing to grow and move around, there isn't much new that he does yet. But, he loves to go through all of his tricks when someone new walks in the room. He always raises his hands above his head for "So Big", he claps, and then he waves hi. Sooner or later, we'll have to add blowing kisses to our routine. Enjoy the pictures from the past month.
10 Months Old

Drew and Ally riding the car.

I can crawl...

Making a mess of mommy's magazines.

Ooooh...it's Santa!!

Baby's First Christmas

Drew's first Christmas was tons of fun. Of course, he had to be up a little earlier than usual because of his overly excited sisters, but he adjusted well. We spent the morning opening gifts and just let Drew work at his own pace. Many of his gifts were so much bigger than the ones for the girls because of what they were...a ride-on Fire Truck, the Little People Airport, a Jungle Treehouse with animals, and mommy's favorite...the Busy Ball Popper. Drew was very happy to finally be allowed to rip open paper and not get pulled away from it...a daily activity we do here with Mommy's magazines. After we ripped through presents here, we went to spend some time with Uncle Stefan, Aunt Jackie, Ava and Ian. We opened more presents there and got a super cool train that makes noises and it carries blocks. By nap time he was ready to sleep and get away from all the noise of Christmas morning. We spent the afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa's house where we got to see Great Grandpa John. Great Grandpa John got Drew a wobbly, blow-up Penguin with balls in side and it makes noise when you push it over. Drew wasn't so keen on it at first because he didn't like that it popped back up at him after he knocked it over, but by the end of the day it was one of his favorites. Our little guy was ready for bed by the time 7:00 rolled around and he went right to sleep while visions of sugar plums danced in his head...or at least visions of that silly penguin.

Santa Baby

When we headed to do the family pictures for Christmas this year, I had them take Drew's 9 month picture. And...I couldn't resist posting it. He's my little Santa Baby!!!

Doctor Business

On Thursday the 3rd, Drew had his 9 month appointment. And, as we had expected, it went very well. He's hitting all of his milestones...babbling, crawling, sitting up, pulling up...and growing to be quite the busy boy.
He weighed in at a full 22 lbs. and 6 oz. He was 27.5 inches tall. The doctor checked his ears first since they seemed to be the hot topic for the month of November and she said they both looked clear. So, that was fabulous news. The antibiotic is still working a number on his system, but that should be through within the week, we hope. She checked out the little red bump on his face and confirmed that it is in deed a hemangioma. She was surprised at how late in his first year it has surfaced. Typically, they appear very shortly after birth. But, she thinks it may have been there under the skin and was so small it couldn't pop up until now. She doesn't expect that it will get much bigger and that it will go away on it's own with in the next few months or so. Until it goes away, we keep an eye on it for growth. Should it continue to get larger, there are options to have it surgically removed, but she's thinking we won't need that option.
And, that's all from the MD...a clean bill of health...which is worth it's weight in gold to us!!! So blessed to have a happy healthy baby boy!!
I'm 9 months old!!!

I'm Nine Months Old!!

Drew turned 9 months old today. So, he has officially been on this earth longer than he cooked in my belly. For some reason, that always feels like an eternity and his being here has flown by. We have our 9 month well check on Thursday, so I will be sure to post his new height and weight as soon as I get them.

For now though, Drew continues to grow big and strong. He has lots of new tricks this month and seems to have put it all together quickly. For starters, our newest, endearing trick is to clap...especially when we are eating food. And, while that seems fun, it often ends up in him wearing more than he has eaten. He has begun crawling, but it's mostly the commando style crawl that all babies start with. For now, it gets him where he needs to go...which is typically mommy's magazine basket so that he can tear up all the pages. And, once he figured out how to sit up from a crawling position, that opened a whole new world. Because now we can get where we want to go and get to sitting and reach things that are higher up. We are especially fond of mommy's vinyl rolls and scrapbooking supplies right now. All of this to say that he is well on his way to getting in to things and it is time to baby proof this house. I'm sure in just a few weeks he'll kick it in to high gear with real crawling and the pulling up won't be far along.

Drew has finally taken to saying one word...mama. And that's only because it's easy when he's humming during feeding times. it just comes naturally. But, we work on dada too. He loves to babble and finds that people will laugh at him when he screams. So, it's hard to get him quiet once he starts his little squeals because he thinks he's entertaining.

Below are some pictures of our last month. Enjoy!!


My sisters like to dress me up...

Drew can clap...

I should be sleeping. But now that I can get up and sit on my own, I like to skip nap and play with my aquarium.

Forget baby food...these mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving are WAY BETTER!!!

8 Months Old

Happy 8 Months Buddy!!! It has gone by so fast and it has been tons of fun!!!
No news to report on Drew's height or weight for another month yet. But, he continues to grow big and strong. Drew's first 2 teeth popped through (finally!!) this month. It's funny to watch him rub his tongue over top of them as if to say, "Hey...this feels weird. What are these things??" The constant drooling and drippy nose, however, has led to another ear infection. It's his 2nd one since birth, but nothing to be concerned about. I forgot from the first ear infection when he was just 5 weeks old how badly the antibiotics tear up his little belly. The poor boy gets a full teaspoon of Amoxil, twice a day. They base it on weight and we all know he has tons of that. So, he's been quite cranky these few days. I'm hoping it's the antibiotics making him feel yucky and not because they aren't working. We'll see how he is after the 10 days are up, I suppose. Otherwise, there isn't much new to report. Drew continues to get better at sitting and he's even started rocking on all fours if you put him up on all fours. He hasn't figure out how to get up on all fours on his own. So, it won't be long until this blog has a post about him crawling all over the place and wreaking havoc on everything here.

Enjoy some pics from the last month...
I'm 8 months old!!

Me and my puppy, Peanut.
My first tooth...
Sweet, sleepy, baby!!

Me and My Sissies

I loved watching evey minute that Ally spent with Kelsey as a baby. Being a sister myself, I was so excited about what the future held for these 2 girls as sisters. It was probably the biggest reason we had them so close in age. And now that Ally and Kelsey are actually old enough to know and remember Drew as a baby, it is even more fun watching them be big sisters together.
Ally adores everything about Drew. Her day is not complete unless she can hold him and hug him and kiss him and love him endlessly. She gets so excited to see him laugh and smile. And she loves when he does new things for her like rolling over or sitting up to play with her. Her favorite part is "watching Drew" when I have something I need to get done. It makes her feel so grown up. And she really is quite good at it...even if Drew is fussy.
Kelsey took a little longer to like Drew. But, now that she does, she enjoys all of the things that Ally does. She loves to play with him and make him smile. She is super excited that he sits beside her in the car. And, she has become quite the helper while Ally is away at school. She knows what he likes and does her very best to keep him smiling all day long.
It has been such a blessing to watch the three of them grown in to brother and sisters. And it's going to be even more fun to watch them as they grow older together.
The Big Sis

The Bigger Sis

We Have Our First Tooth!!

After months of waiting and waiting and wondering and wondering...we finally have a small tooth that has popped through the gums!!!! It's still coming through, so I imagine we are in for a few more days of fussing and snotting and drooling, but at least the initial part of the tooth is through. Maybe we'll be singing "All I Want for Christmas is my 2 Front Teeth" for Christmas!!

Times...they are a changin'

And I mean that literally...not figuratively!! Drew started a new schedule today. We'll see how it goes. He's been such a good sleeper that I haven't ever taken him off of the 3 naps a day he's been on since shortly after birth. Both girls were the same way, but gave up the 3rd nap right around 6 months. Drew hit 7 months last week and would probably still take all 3 naps a day if I let him. But, the naps themselves are getting much shorter. So, instead of fighting him, I am changing his nap schedule to 2 longer ones a day now. Unfortunately, that means a few months with no break in the day for me. Drew will sleep from 10-12 and be up from 12-2...when all of my other kids are sleeping. Then, he'll go down for a long afternoon nap just when all the others are starting to get up. This probably means I'll be instituting the mid-day coffee break just to keep going. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, though it means my baby boy is getting bigger. Only a few months of this routine and he'll be down to one nap a day. And that just blows my mind!!!

7 Whole Months

Wittle Guy turned 7 months old today. But, he is hardly a little guy!! We don't get any weight checks now until 9 months, but my guess is that he's really pushing the weight limit on some of his toys. It seems he grows by pounds everyday. And he is such a load to carry around.
What did we do this month??? We are getting much better at sitting...although some would say it's just rolls piled up on one another that hold Drew up. He can reach for toys and not fall over, so he's definitely improving. We still love the swing and the jumper, but I'm not sure we have much time left in either. Drew sits up straight in the swing and I just wait for the momentum of him and the swing to cause it to fall over. And the jumper....let's just hope this house was made of quality materials. I am waiting for the door frame to come crashing down around us. He loves to jump around in it, but I'm not so sure the door jam will hold his weight much longer.
Drew had a lot of first trips this month. First, we did our annual apple picking trip to the North Georgia Mountains. It's hard to believe last year at this time we were still waiting to see what was brewing inside me. Drew also enjoyed his first trip to the beach this month in Navarre, Florida. And, as we expected, he loved the pool, he loved the ocean, and even enjoyed relaxing in a baby pool on the sand. Thankfully we did not try to eat any of it.
Speaking of eating...we are very well in to our routine of new foods. We have tried all the veggies and are still working on the fruits. He only gets 4 days of a new fruit and then we switch back to veggies for a couple days so we don't get so used to the sweet stuff. He is most happiest in his chair when he knows food is on the way!!
Finally...we spent a whole weekend away from mom and dad this past month. We headed to Gainesville for a Gator game and Drew stayed with his sisters and cousins at Aunt Jackie and Uncle Stefan's house. And, to our knowledge, he managed with a smile on his face. Although, I doubt, Jackie would tell us any different.

Enjoy some pics from the last month...
7 months old!!

Daddy and Drew working on a project.

I Love Eating!!!

Drew's Baptism

Today was a special day for the Jackson family and baby Drew. Lots of family and friends came out to celebrate our little boy. Pastor Dave did a great job with the baptism and Drew was a good boy...not one tear until it was time for nap. Thanks to everyone who shared in our special day with Drew.

Click on the link below to see the full set of pictures. Thanks to Darby Rose Photography for most of the pictures taken in the church. We love you Darby!!
http://therealjacksonfive.shutterfly.com/