Jackson Is Three Months Old!

I absolutely love being Jackson's mommy! We have had so much fun watching him grow and change (although it is kind of bitter-sweet)! I can't believe how much changes in just a few short months! He is so amazing!

We were told by his doctors that he would probably act more like his 'corrected gestational' age more than his actual age since he was 5 weeks early (3 months, but acting more like a 2 month old). In early April, he began following us/toys with his eyes and focusing on things more. He has become fascinated with the world around him. Also in early April, he began lifting his head while on his tummy. Most importantly, Jackson smiled his first REAL smile on March 31st! Now he smiles all the time and we think he is really close to giggling because he gets really excited! Its such an awesome feeling to see his little face grinning back at us!

Jackson got his first shots on April 1st. I was used to watching him get poked and stuck from his time in the NICU, but this time he cried SO hard!!! It was a little hard to watch. Poor little guy! Despite getting such awesome crayola band-aids, he was not a happy camper for the rest of the day!

Also this past month Jackson celebrated his first Easter! The Easter Bunny brought him lots of goodies! He got a book that tells the story of Easter (baby-rated), a sock monkey (because we call him our little monkey), an exer-saucer (still too small for it), and chocolate Easter bunnies (for mommy)! He looked so handsome in his Easter outfit!

On April 30th, Jackson discovered his left hand! He still doesn't have much control over it, but when it is around his mouth he can hold it there and suck/drool all over it! A lefty maybe???

Jackson and I have stayed very busy. We walk to the park every chance we get, weather-permitting. We spend hours there reading, playing, and napping. He loves it when I let his feet touch the grass! Daddy goes to the park with us on Sundays when the weather is nice! Here are a few pictures from Jackson's first trip to the park on March 22nd.

Here are a few, more recent pictures of us at the park.

Worn out from a long afternoon at the park with Mommy!

...and here's a video of Jackson at the park!

When we aren't at the park, we spend lots of time reading, singing, and dancing! Jackson loves "Little Einstein" books and toys. His favorite songs right now are "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" (he loves watching me do the motions) and "You Are My Sunshine" (always calms him down when he's upset).

I almost forgot one of the most important milestones that happened in the past month! Jackson actually slept for 6 hours (hallelujah)! It has happened a few times now...hopefully soon it will be all the time!