Merry Christmas

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was good and the best part about it, is that it is our last one away from home! (That knowledge kept us from getting too home sick.) Only 1 1/2 months until we're back! We can't wait to see everyone! Our Christmas was pretty laid back. We just hung out at home for the morning, eating breakfast, opening our gift, skyping with family, and then went to some friend's house for the afternoon to eat and play scrabble. We have really loved our time here in Thailand, but the holidays are always the hardest things to miss out on. Our hearts are at home with our family and we wish we could have been there in person to celebrate with you all. But the reason for the season is Christ and to honor Him. And we know that our obedience in being here for as long as He's asked us to, is honoring to Him. So that gives us some comfort. But next year we're planning to celebrate like crazy and make up for the 2 Christmas' Days we've missed! Here are some pictures from our holiday.

Looking "our best" on Christmas morning!

Jackson, always looking cute and ready for a photo.

Trying to High-Five his friend Brody.

This must have been the tenth or so photo. I think Jackson was getting a little tired of modeling.

Two Months & Quite the Chunk

Jackson was two months old on Christmas Day. He had his 2 month check up this week and weighs a whopping 15 lbs and over 24 inches long already! We're hoping he's going to be really tall like his Grandpa Joe and Uncle Kale. He's grinning and making little giggle noises on cue now. It is so fun to listen to the little noises that burst out of him occasionally. Sometimes he looks as shocked as us at what he can do now! A couple weeks ago we had some family portraits done. Here are a few of the best.

Our little angel

He didn't like wearing the hat!

Learning to Smile

Jackson is over 5 weeks now, and has traded in those sleepy-time grins for real gurgling smiles when he is wide awake. It is so fun for us to see him developing in these small ways because we're seeing glimpses of his personality coming to life. The best part of his smiles, is the timing in which he chooses to give them. One of the best smiles I (Stacy) have received was after tickling him to stay awake while he was eating, he grinned really big, gave a little giggle, and let a mouth full of milk go all over himself. Another one was after he had been screaming from his bed and I went in to put the pacifier in his mouth, he instantly stopped crying and gave me a very mischievous grin like he was proud of the control he has over me. And the best grin so far came at 4am, right after he sprayed poo-poo all over me while I tried to change his diaper. He was either smiling because it was funny, or because it felt good to get that out. Probably the latter. I did not think it was possible for him to get any cuter, but I must admit he is even more so while he's grinning. Here is a picture and some video of him grinning at the couch for no apparent reason.

1 Month old

Jackson is 1 month old now and growing so quickly. He's already over 12lbs! This last weekend he had his 1 month check up and his first shot (he did not like that!) He is healthy and thriving but does have a bad case of baby acne right now. We're trying to get him on a good schedule and he seems to be doing well with it. He has slept really well (for several longer stretches) the last two nights, which mommy REALLY appreciates! And, he's sleeping in his own bed and putting himself to sleep (most of the time). He loves bath time and this week he had his first real bath in his own tub. Here are some pictures from this past week.

(Sleeping soundly in his own bed)

I tried this hat out, but he's not quite big enough for it yet.

Loving bathtime

Our little towel-head monster

Jackson is wearing Kit's old baby outfit that he wore home from the hospital.