The Abla Family Updates: May 2009

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Jackson is a month... already!

It is hard to believe that Jackson is already a month old! And he already seems to have grown so much! It is sad to see him not so teeny tiny anymore but exciting to see him grow & develop a personality. He is a good baby who is mostly content & laid back. He does super well in the car (as long as he isn't hungry!) & will go to sleep when the car is moving. He caught on really well to nursing & is doing really well with that. He gained a pound in 2.5 weeks (weighed 8lb 10oz at our 2 wk check-up) & grew 1.75" (measured in at 21.75" at the doctor visit... might not have had a truly accurate measurement at birth unless he is just growing like a weed!). He wakes about every 2-2.5 hrs at night to nurse which is rough sometimes but it will get better!

Our very helpful midwives, Anne & Margarett

Aunt Laura visiting from London

Jackson's very first bath @ 1 week old

1 week old

2 weeks old

3 weeks old (he is a very smiley baby for being so young!)

4 weeks old

This is how Jackson sleeps best... all swaddled up!

I made a point to introduce the bottle (with breast milk of course) to Jackson at just a few weeks old instead of waiting until he was several months old like we did with Isabella (who never would take a bottle). So far, Jackson takes it without any problems & Isabella has even got to help out with feeding him which she really enjoys. She asks me to pump some milk so she can feed Jackson. :)

Isabella is 33 months (2 3/4)!!

It is wild to think that Isabella will be 3 so soon!! She is growing up so fast & now seems even bigger since Jackson has arrived! She continues to amaze us with how much she learns. She is has a very good memory & pays attention to so many things. She is particularly good with names- we were at the book store and a mom called this little girl Sophie & a few minutes later Isabella was saying her name. I don't think I could have recalled her name if I was asked but Isabella was paying attention!

Isabella keeps us entertained with the many funny things she says. One day I was telling her to jump & she said that she couldn't because her battery was worn out. Then that same day I was telling her to leave the plants alone and she says, "I wonder when you are going to stop bothering me." Of course my reply was "Never!". :) She often asks Jackson, "How did you get out of mommy's tummy?"

Isabella is super sweet to her brother & loves to give him kisses. She also loves to help in any way she can and enjoys being known as "the big sister". We've had some adjustment issues mainly around Isabella's behavior but thankfully she is always super sweet to her brother.

Aunt Laura (Laurie to Isabella) came to visit from London just after Jackson's birth (she was hoping to make it for the birth but Jackson had other plans). Isabella had so much fun hanging out with Laura & learned all about puppet shows on you tube. It was very sad to see her go. The morning we were getting ready to take Laura to the airport Isabella was asking where we were going so we told her to take Laura to the airport for her to go home. Her eyes teared up and she said, "but that will be sad!" And that had me in tears!

Mother's Day photo

Isabella playing in her box house with cousins Cameron & Brendan

Helping brush little brother's hair after his bath

Isabella continues to enjoy dressing up as princesses and fairies...

We went to the zoo & saw the dino exhibit & had a fun time!

Feeding the geese at the zoo

Loving on Hope

Decorating easter eggs with pixie dust.... We had just had the conversation the day before (while watching Peter Pan) about how they were able to fly because they had Tinker Bell's pixie dust on them. So when I told her we were going to put this pixie dust on her easter eggs she asked, "then they will be able to fly?"

Finding easter eggs- what fun!

Easter basket & goodies

We went to the Jasmin Moran kids museum with Jennifer, Cameron, & Brendan & we all had a super fun time!

Isabella in her bumble bee hat

On Mother's day Isabella wished me happy mother's day & then started to sing me happy birthday. I told her it wasn't my birthday but it was mother's day. So then she started to sing this song (which she came up w/ all by herself!). So sweet! (sorry the video is sideways... I forget that you can't flip it like you can pictures!)