Many More "Firsts"

This past week Jackson has accomplished several more "firsts". As a mommy, I love how he continues to surprise me every day. He had his first visit to Red Robin, where his mommy and daddy's love began :) Grandma Binkley was lovin' on him big time. On July 8th we went and visited Great Mom Sheri and Great Poppy Ron and had lunch at the Club House. It was so beautiful that day and my proud grandparents were eager to show him off to all of their friends.
On July 9th, Jackson took his first ferry ride when we went over to Dabob Bay to stay with Sally for a few days. Even though it was hard for me to agree to two days away, it was much needed and Jackson and I slept most of the time. It was crazy how tired we were! When we weren't sleeping, Jackson was hard at work during "Tummy Time" and pushing his head all the way up on his own- it was beautiful to watch and he was so proud of himself.
On July 12th Jackson had his first trip to Morton's Steakhouse, downtown Seattle. This is a Dime Family tradition and it was great to show him off to the wait staff and show him what a steak truly looks like.
Then, on July 13th Jackson rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first time! You know you're a mommy when you feel like crying over something like that. We were all at Great Nana Barbara & Great Poppy Gary's house and all of us were shouting and cheering for him. It was a joyful event.

Welcome Jackson

On Saturday, July 5th, my parents threw a "Welcome Jackson" party at their place for my old friends and their friends as well. It was such a treat to see people who I haven't seen in years as well as meet new people that my parents were so proud to show Jackson off to. Matt and I felt very loved and blessed to celebrate with so many people.

*Left: "Great" Nana Barbara & Poppy Gary with Jackson

*Right: Friend from high school, Josh. We hadn't seen one another in 10 years. I can't believe I'm old enough to have friends that I haven't seen in that long!

Who has the most hot air? The guys had a contest to see who could blow up the rubber glove and pop it first. Very mature :)







Josh & his beautiful Annette

My friend, Shanica, from freshman year of college at SPU. She lived down the hall from me and I rollerbladed down the hallway past her room.







Michelle and I have been friends since Kindergarten and manage to stay in touch when I'm back in town.









Uncle Chad is loving on Jackson!









The cake welcoming our little man- it was delicious!










"Great" Mom Sheri & Jackson

Independence Day

We enjoyed our first full day in Seattle yesterday with a 4th of July party at Grandma & Grandpa Binkley's house. All of Matt's family (well most of them) came out to meet Jackson andcelebrate the 4th. Matt spent much of the day telling people "You're Welcome." and when they asked for what he told them, "For the independence I provide you." :) We shared many laughs and smiles and I was happy to see Jackson doing both of these things. He loves his family and enjoyed meeting most of them for the first time!

Great-Grandma O & Jackson
Jackson took a nap on his Uncle Chad
SMILES! :) Hi Mommy.
Cousin Amber & Jackson
G-Ma, Annette (Josh's better-half), Uncle Josh & Jackson
Auntie Ruth, Uncle Paul & Jackson
New Nike Warm-Ups for Jackson
Oh ya- Jackson is loving the gifts. Time to go.
Jackson loves his Grandma Binkley

A Long Day At O'Hare

We traveled home to Seattle yesterday. Jackson and I will be staying until July 16th and then my mom (G-Ma Dime) will be coming back with us for two weeks. Matt is only able to come out for the long weekend, but we'll take what we can get! Here is our adventures from yesterday:

Here is Matt with his one suitcase.

Here I am with my one suitcase.

And... here is Jackson with all of his luggage. Are you kidding me!?!?! Matt and I brought our wallets and iPods on the flight, but everything else was for Jackson, and neither one of us even got to use our iPods because we were so exhausted.

Matt and I have been super nervous about flying home to Seattle with Jackson, but he ended up being the least of our worries yesterday. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 3:35pm and continued to get delayed every hour because the airplane had been struck by lightening when coming into Chicago and needed to undergo inspections to make sure it was safe. Always the positive one, I was just grateful that we were going to be safe and that we weren't on the trip when it was hit by lightening. So, after a six-hour delay we were off! What a day. I was overwhelmed with emotion on the plane when I looked over at my sweet husband next to me, who helped SO much with all of the preparation and work it takes to fly with an eight-week old baby, and then I looked down to see my sweet boy sleeping in my arms. I felt so blessed. Life is good.We had dinner at the Chili's in the O'Hare airport. Mommy was more interested in the margarita then the food... :)

Daddy is so tired and Jackson is having none of it- too much to see at the airport!Getting ready to board the plane- finally passed out after being at the airport for 7 hours.

First flight- he did great, and yes, I'm as tired as I look :)

Oh baby! Going to the doctor...

Jackson turned seven weeks old this week and we noticed a huge change in his sleeping and eating and just about everything else. People told me to watch for that sixth-week growth spurt, but it was still tough. He wanted to eat every hour and a half and eat a lot! It was like having a newborn all over again. Then when six and a half weeks hit he changed over night! He is sleeping through the night now (something we can only praise Jesus for!) and eating every 3-4 hours. When we went in for his check-up with the doctor on Friday he weighed in at 12 lbs and 22 inches. He's gained 5 lbs since we left the hospital and he's grown 2 inches! I love watching him grow, and lately he's been looking for me or watching me go out of the room and talking and smiling to me ("talking" = cooing:) I am enjoying him so much and can't wait to bring him home on Thursday to meet the Seattle gang.Jackson also had his first chiropractic adjustment last week. He was great and didn't even cry- even though it was all new and maybe scary to him. Luckily he's very familiar with Dr. Cole and how kind she is.

The Clark Family Visits!

The Clark Family visited us from Indiana this weekend and we had so much fun! It's nice to have another baby around for Jackson to hang out with and he was definitely into his new friend Jazmin.
Jaedin was our little "Toothless Wonder" and what a big help! He helped push Jackson in his HUGE stroller when we went for a walk on the beach.
Here he is after eating his blue ice cream treat- luckily it matches his shirt because he's wearing it all over his face like a pro'!
Jackson is ready for our walk! It was 85 degrees and sunny that day so he needed to wear his hat.We also went to the annual "Taste of Chicago". Here is Matt with Jackson for his first "Taste". It is our 3rd Taste since moving to Chicago.

Kim and Jaedin are tastin' up a storm with the corn on the cob- yummmmmm...It was a busy and blessed weekend.

Love,
Nicole, Matt & Jackson

Who Knew?

Who knew that I would someday believe more strongly (or at least hope for) the power of prayer because of a crying (a.k.a. screaming) baby so badly in need of sleep? Who knew that I loved my sleep so much and I would miss it more than food? Who knew that my daily choices would come down to sleep, shower or eat? and that sleep would always win. Who knew that I could go hours with only one eye done with makeup before having enough time to look at myself in the mirror, only to see that the "done" eye had smudged all over my face so that I looked like Mike Tyson after a match? Who knew that I could fall more in love with a man I've known almost ten years and thought I knew so well already? Who knew that my husband would hold and speak so gently with our son that my heart would melt every time? Who knew life could be so wonderful?

Growing so fast!

Jackson is beginning to smile. I tried to record his first couple of smiles and then the camera died (love that modern technology) but I got part of it.

Hiccups

Stephen and Alisha posted their sweet little Olivia when she got hiccups and I am now following their lead. Enjoy!

Boys Will Be Boys

Even at 5 weeks old, boys seem to get dirty without even blinking! We have been taking lots of baths lately, and luckily it really calms Jackson down before bedtime. He has a new bathrobe that turns him into the cutest little duck in all of Chicago. The other picture of him in a blue towel was when we were almost ready for bed and he peed all over everything (and everyONE) during his last diaper change for the night. If it hadn't been in his hair... :) Either way- 5 weeks looks good on the little guy. He's aging well.