Jackson's First Christmas

(Click on the photo to be taken to a photo album).
Toys, toys and more toys. That sums up Jackson's first Christmas.

What a lucky little boy to have so many people bestowing new items on him to capture his attention and imagination! He'll be playing basketball, learning about life on the farm and listening to Mozart.

In return, he gave out smiles and laughter, cooing and screaming at every new face and adventure.

And the best part -- there is still half a family waiting to celebrate with him!

Now, where are Mommy and Daddy going to put all this stuff???

Early Christmas

We celebrated Christmas a little early with Jacks. Since we'll be out of town next weekend, we decided to let the little guy open his gifts tonight.

Of course, he had no idea what was going on -- but he enjoyed all the fuss Mommy and Daddy made over his first Christmas!

Santa Baby

Jackson got to visit not one but two Santa's for his first Christmas!

We didn't know if he would melt down or enjoy the experience. He was fairly nonchalant about it.

The funniest part -- that hungry reindeer eyeing Jackson like a snack. We're not sure if that's why Jacks grabbed hold of Santa's beard for safety.

Mommy & Daddy & Nana & Me

Daddy and Nana (Daddy's Mommy) accompanied Mommy and Me to Mommy and Me last weekend!

Confused?

Mommy & Me is the class Mommy takes me to every week at a local college. We do fun stuff with other babies, like play games, practice tummy time and sing songs.

This class is called Baby Rocks, Baby Rolls and it's a blast.

It was awesome to have Daddy and Nana there with Mommy and me!

A "Model" Child?

Jackson's smile is infectious. And now it will grace part of a brochure for A Mother's Care -- a doula service that Meredith employed to help us bring Jackson into the world! His little smiling face will be seen by people across South Florida. Pretty cool.

6 Months Already???

Two hours of sleep. Breastfeeding struggles. Trying to interpret strange, never-ending cries.

Those wonderful moments feel like they happened just yesterday.

But actually, it's been the fastest 6 months in recorded history -- at least in my recorded history.

Jackson is 6 months old. He has grown 7 inches and put on more than 6 and a half pounds. In the doctor's words, "He's a tall, skinny baby." Just like his parents.

What did he do on his 6 month birthday? He read the paper with daddy, got fed some rice cereal by Nana and hung out with Mommy when she got home from her internship.

The weekend before, Jackson visited Mommy's family in Sarasota.

He has enriched our lives over these past 6 months and we are so looking forward to the exciting discoveries of the next 6 months.

Somebody Likes Trains

We may have a future conductor on our hands! Our good friend Richard Harvey bought Jackson his first train set. After about two hours, Meredith and I finally got it set up and Jackson enjoyed watching the train on the track. Woo-Woo!

All I want for Christmas is a new front tooth? (UPDATE)

Jackson might have that in time for December 25. The little guy is sporting a sprout of a tooth on his bottom gum.

It's barely poking through the surface, but it's there. He doesn't seem to be in too much pain yet but Mom and Dad are waiting for the wailing.

Someday soon this tiny toothless grin will be replaced by a toothy smile.

UPDATE: Little we know. It's not a tooth, according to our pediatrician. It's an Epstein Pearl. That was our second guess.

Holiday Warm-Up

Here's a little holiday sampler for your viewing pleasure.

Even though I'm toiling this Thanksgiving Day -- I will meet Mere and Jackson in Sarasota on Friday -- I thought I would pass along some photos from our Christmas card shoot two weeks ago.

Our good friend Meredith snapped these photos for us at a Fort Lauderdale park.

The only catch is -- the photo we chose for the Christmas card is not included. That will be a surprise when it arrives in your mailbox. These pictures show Meredith and I have so much to be thankful for! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Got Cereal?

A couple of new experiences for Jackson. He ate some rice cereal with breast milk the other day. He ate it but was wary!

Also, our friends Meredith and Rene loaned us a bouncing swing. Another toy in our cluttered universe :)

We've Gone Batty

So, we had to dress up our little munchkin for his first Halloween. He was our little bat. Mommy tried to create a little scene for him to fly around in. He seemed to like dressing up. We are looking forward to celebrating lots of first holidays in the next two months.

In Honor of Halloween...

Jackson loves to laugh...and loves to be scared!

Playin'

Jacks is getting so much better at sitting up on his own...and he likes to eat anything in front of him!

Jacks-o-Lantern

Jackson enjoyed his trip to a pumpkin patch on Saturday. Mere and I met up with another couple of new parents on a beautiful fall day.

Jackson played with his friend Elli and sat up on his own -- for a few seconds, at least.

In a couple of weeks he'll experience his first Halloween...and get lots of candy (for Daddy).

Jackson Goes to Baltimore

Jackson recently enjoyed his first plane ride and first trip outside the state of Florida! The Codd's took an 8-day vacation to visit my family in Baltimore...

He got to meet more family members and friends than we can count and seemed to flash a smile for each one of them.

There were so many highlights -- Cousin Amy's wedding, family reunion at Lauren's, outings with Nana, playtime with Poppy and Gramsy, meeting Aunt Val, Uncle Shawn and Cousin Wyatt, and so many more!

Next time maybe he'll take in an Oriole game and eat a crabcake!

Here are some pictures from our trip...just click on the picture and it will take you to the photo album.

Changes

Lots of new stuff going on -- Jackson is actively grabbing for things, checking them out and often trying to stuff them into his mouth.

He is also beginning to roll over! He rolls onto his right side, flops onto his belly but cannot move his right arm out of the way. He'll figure it out soon. Exciting stuff!

Jackson also is the inspiration for his Daddy's fantasy football team, the Fighting Jacksons. We'll see how they fare in Week One.

Laughing Boy

Mere and I were driving home from a visit with friends Tuesday and Jackson was so tickled by one of his toys. He just laughed up a storm!

Growing and Growing

Jackson is 11 weeks old! Hard to believe. Here's a few new pics of our little guy...