Friday, November 7, 2008

Music, Monkey and Memories


There have been a lot of things going on in the Whittington house as of late. Some worthy of mentioning, others not so much.

First off... Jackson is 10 months old today! I can't even believe we are only two months shy of a year. The memories seem to haunt me these days. I can't go through a day without being reminded of last year somehow.

It must be that EVERYWHERE it's starting to feel like the holidays... EVERYWHERE specifically referring to Starbucks and Peet's, but still... I LOVE the holidays! I start feeling all ooey gooey inside (just ask Daniel).




But last year was so different. I was on bedrest from the beginning of December. I spent the entire month there, well, until I finally got admitted to Sierra Vista on December 28th (after a solid month of contractions every 30 seconds to 5 minutes). My family joined me at our house last year for Christmas while I lie on the couch trying to get in the holiday spirit. I feel like I missed last year's holiday season, so I'm trying to enjoy this one as much as possible. And now I have a little companion to share it with.

That all to say, the memories are flooding back. And they're a bit overwhelming at times. It feels as though the pain rushes in, crashing down on me, then departs much like an ocean wave. This past year has been one of the hardest of my life. And now our sweet, broken baby is nearing the ripe old age of one...



Jackson is growing and changing so much right now. He just started rolling over, and now he ROLLS all over the house. It is really quite funny. He's one fast roller! He's also getting better at sitting up. This has been a long time coming, and we are so proud of his progress. He is also getting really tall and weighs about 22 lbs. He is one solid boy.

And he absolutely LOVES people! He will smile and try to engage anyone who comes to our house. In fact, last week the keyboard repair guy came over. The whole time Jackson was trying to get his attention... smiling, talking, rolling towards him. Unfortunately, the repair guy was too busy repairing to notice him. I felt a bit sad for a minute, until I realized Jackson wasn't a bit discouraged. He was just trying harder! And he does this, whether we're in the grocery store, the coffee shop, wherever we are. His sweet yet feisty spirit makes this mom's heart melt.




His palate surgery is set for Wednesday, November 12th, less than a week away. He will also get a G-tube in at the same time. We have been putting a tube down his throat for almost 10 months, and, as you can probably imagine, Jackson is not a big fan. But, thankfully, we have been able to get him enough food and keep him thriving through the OG tube. We are going to try to capture the process of tube feeding, as a type of memoire of the way he had to eat for his first 10 months of life. If and when we do that, we'll make sure to share it here.

Jackson is getting better at eating some solids. So far, he is a huge fan of sweet potatoes, carrots, winter squash, and of course cereal. He is not so much the fan of fruit at this point in time. Crazy, I know. But we just started yogurt, and he LOVES it! In fact, he has gotten mad at me the past couple days when I have put it away. Oh yeah, that brings me to another new thing...

Jackson has been throwing fits! The other day he was playing with a toy piano he has, one of his favorites at the moment. He was lying on his side, playing with it, when I noticed him start to get frustrated. I'm not entirely sure what he was trying to get it to do, but he started yelling at it and pounding on it... HARD. Then, all of a sudden, he threw himself onto his back, and started yelling while slamming his hands and stomping his feet on the ground. I watched in amazement, until it was over, and then I just started laughing. It was just the funniest thing to watch an almost 10 month old do. He definitely has a mind of his own! And we're seeing that more and more these days.


Just a couple recaps... We had a fun Halloween! Jackson was a monkey. I had that planned for awhile, as I thought he would make a perfect little monkey. Then a bit later, we added this:


Every monkey needs a Man in the Yellow Hat!



We spent the evening with our friends and their sweet boy Stewart, who was born the same week as Jackson. Stewie was the cutest little Superman EVER! We had a great time walking around their neighborhood, eating homemade caramel popcorn and yummy chili and sitting around sharing stories.

In other news, Daniel is working on a new recording and has asked ME to play keys on it! This has been a very challenging and yet fun experience thus far. It has been a bit of a whole family experience, as we have been taking Jackson to practices. He sits in his chair with his bright orange earplugs, and listens to the music. He loves it! I think we have a musician in the making...

5 comments:

Joy Howse said...

I completely understand how you feel around the holidays. My little guy just turned 8 months old but I find myself thinking multiple times a day 'what was going on last year when I was preggo?' Remember that you and Jackson are in my thoughts and prayers on Wed.
Oh, he makes a darn cute monkey and I can't believe you got your man to dress up. I beg mine every year and have never won. Very adorable.

Andrea said...

He is so beautiful. It is so fun to watch babies grow. My little guys is 6 months old today. It is amazing to see how fast they show their little personalities. Darren has learned to cry when I take something from him. It is hard not to laugh!
I pray that everything goes well on the 12th. You are such a wonderful mom. I am sure at times you are very overwhelmed. I feel that way a lot, and I have not had the struggles you have had to go through. It is amazing what we can do as mothers when we are put in tough situation. There is an inner strength that we have to have as mothers. I know that the only way that I can get through each day is with pray and guidance from the Lord. It is so wonderful to know that I am never alone. May the Lord bless you and your family.

PS On a lighter note, he is the cutest little monkey I have ever seen. I can't believe he weighs 22 lbs. What a tank! I am sure you are getting some big muscles caring him around. I love the man in the yellow hat! too cute!!!

jenny said...

Jackson is a handsome little fellow! I love to see his repaired lip, as it gives me hope for my little Bella. Do you live in SLO? If so, I'd love to meet up with you and little Jackson sometime! My husband is deploying in 2 weeks and I'm going to "move" home to SLO to be with my parents for two months. Will you be around at all?

Shawna Herring Photography said...

Halle, I had no idea...last I saw you, you were still pregnant. He is so adorable! I will be thinking and praying for you all tomorrow...Love, love, love.

Anonymous said...

After the traumatic birth of my preemie baby I thought I would never get over the horror of our birth experience. The first aniversary of his birth was the most difficult time. I cried and cried on his birthday. The second year has been a year of tremendous healing. I hope you find that time does make things easier to deal with. You are in my prayers.