Model in the Making

Last Monday Jackson participated in his first modeling gig. The lady that made the beanies he wore in his newborn photos is launching her fall collection and needed some models. Although he wasn't paid for the gig, the photos that were taken were enough for me! Jackson is so photogenic and the pictures really show what big, beautiful eyes he has. Here are a few of my favorites:

If you are interested in purchasing the beanies, you can check them out here: http://www.tinytoppers.etsy.com/

2 months

On Tuesday, Jackson turned 2 months old. It blows me away that it has been 2 whole months since I brought home this little angel and since then, so much has changed. We took him to the doctor and here are his current stats:

Weight: 13 lbs, 14 oz.

Height: 24 inches

Head Circumference: 15 1/2 inches

Here are just a few things that have changed from month ONE to month TWO:

*Jackson has his FIRST cousin, Kea.

*He is sleeping through the night (yeah for mommy & daddy)

*He is wearing size 2 diapers.

*He smiles all day long (and on the verge of laughter).

*He went to his first wedding and was SOOOOO good!

*He is wearing size 3-6 month clothing.

*Enjoyed his very first Seahawks & Huskies games with Daddy.

*Knows who Daddy & Mommy are and looks for our faces.

*Has named all of his mobile friends (swing: Ned, Dusty & Lucky and Crib: Danny, Joe, Donnie, Jon, & Jordan).

*Jackson is talking so much, especially when Daddy sings Jason Mraz songs to him.
*Holds his neck up REALLY well.

*Loves snuggle time with Mommy.
*Smiles so big when Daddy tickles his neck.
*Can't keep his eyes off of "Mr. Fan" at Grandma & Grandpa Sogn's and "Mr. Tree" at Grandma & Papa Makanani's.

I'm sure there are tons more things to list, and each day something new arrives. We just love this little guy so much it brings us to tears. The love in our house grows every second, of every day. Happy 2 month Jackson, you little chunker!

The Newest Edition

Jackson got a special delivery from the stork 2 weeks ago: his very first cousin!

Leina & Lincoln Manahan welcomed their first daughter, La'akea (Kea) Manahan on September 10th at 1:11pm. She weighed 7lbs, 3oz and was 19 3/4 inches long. She is absolutely beautiful looking JUST like her mommy.

Jackson and Kea are a little over 7 weeks apart, so we know that they are going to be SO close growing up together. Shane and I couldn't be happier for Leina and Lincoln -little Kea is so precious and tiny (of course, compared to her moose of a cousin, Jackson).

Here are so fun photos from the day:

First Seahawks Sunday!!!!!

I'll never forget the date. September 13th, 2009 was the first of many Seahawks Sundays I got to spend with my son. It started early at 8AM even though the game wasn't for 5 more hours. Jackson woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to tailgate :) It started with ESPN pregame at 9AM followed by 2 boring games, Cleveland/Minnesota and Cincy/Denver. Jackson and I laid on the bed upstairs watching the games and at times it looked like he was going to literally ask me some questions.

After those games, we made the trip to my parents' house where everything was ready to go. Everyone was in their Seahawks blue and the snacks were ready! As the game went on, Jackson just sat there watching the game and never made a sound, although he did cry during both Matt Hasselbeck interceptions and I have to say, so did I. During a lull in the second quarter with the Hawks leading 7-0 and not much else going on, Jackson decided to "liven things up" by having a ridiculous back spreader that took the whole room by storm. (I know all you parents know what I'm talking about, and for those expecting just wait) It was absolutely ridiculous and a moment I'll never forget. 2 diapers, 30 wipes, and one Seahawks jersey later, the Seahawks started pounding the Rams to a tune of 28-0 and my son was awake to see it all, although toward the end he was pretty tired.

I'd like to think that Jackson's explosive moment was just a coincidence, but on a deeper level it looks as though he just wanted to get the party started. That's my son and it's a day I'll never forget!

We've got a smiler!

Over the past few weeks Jackson has been smiling and "talking" quite a bit. OUR VEGETABLE IS NOW A HAM! He can definitely track faces and knows mine and Shane's voices very well. Although I seem to always miss it by a few seconds, I have captured a few snapshots of his smile and even a video of him "talking". Unfortunately, the video won't post - but it's pretty darn cute!

Shane and I can't stop saying about how much we love this little boy. He just melts our hearts everyday - and he is SO GOOD! He sleeps well (about 6 hours a night), he smiles at us, he travels well, lets anyone hold him, only gets fussy when he wants something, and overall is just a chill baby. I'm sure this will change in the coming months and years ahead, so we are definitely loving EVERY moment RIGHT NOW!

6 week post-partum appointment news

Yesterday I had my post-partum appointment. I was quite excited for this day because I was ready to hear from my doctor that everything was great, I was all healed up and ready to get back to normal activity. Well, that wasn't really the case....

Flashback to 2 weeks after Jackson was born, I had some bleeding that didn't look just right. I passed a clot the size of a golf ball and contacted the on-call doctor immediately - she indicated that I should go into the office the following day to get an ultrasound just to make sure everything was okay - it wasn't. At first the ultrasound tech was pretty cool, until she said, "Have you ever heard of the term dermoid?" Shane and I just looked at each other and replied, "No, what's that?" She said, "Oh it's a tumor" (very casually). SHOCK set it - but when we talked to my doctor afterwards, he just mentioned that I had some more cysts that he wanted to keep an eye on (I have had ovarian cysts for quite some time). He didn't seem worried, but asked that I schedule a follow-up ultrasound at my 6 week post-partum appointment.
So yesterday I had the ultrasound before my appointment. At first the ultrasound tech was really talkative, telling me what everything was that we were looking at....then she got quiet...I KNEW something was up. She finished up and we were taken to a room where we met my doctor. Usually he comes in and never sits down and/or puts down my chart - today, he put down my chart and sat down.

He indicated that I do indeed have a tumor on my right ovary - the GOOD thing is that it's a benign tumor and that there is an EXTREMELY small chance that it is cancerous. The bad thing is that it MUST be removed via surgery. The even WORSE part, is that if it's bad enough, he will have to remove my right ovary. The tumor that I have is called a dermoid cyst: http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/sdermoid-cyst and the surgery that will be performed is laporascopy: http://www.medicinenet.com/laparoscopy/article.htm.

I don't think it's really quite hit me yet that I have this tumor and/or I will be having surgery. The nurse called me about 20 minutes ago to schedule the surgery - set for October 16th at 7am. Shane of course is worried, but trying to stay calm. He keeps telling me that he loves me, and that he can't do this alone.....(don't worry honey, I'm not going to die!). I think it will be real to me as I'm being wheeled into surgery......What worries me the MOST is that I may have an ovary removed. As most of you know, Shane and I definitely want more children - and anything that may hinder that dream will shatter my heart into a million pieces.
Thoughts and prayers during this time are requested....

I didn't think it was possible...

I was talking to Brianne the other day and wondering how it's possible to love someone so much. I mean I love my wife more than anything on earth and when Jackson came I knew I'd love him, but I didn't think it was possible that I could love him this much. I mean a person's heart isn't that big and everyone likes to put limits on things so I figured that I have only so much love to give, that is until I saw my little boy for the first time. I love him so much and want the best for him. I love watching him grow and change and I'm so thankful to be there for it all. I guess when he gets older and asks me, "Daddy how do you have room to love so many people?" I'll answer, "Jackson, when you love something that much, you just make some more room" ;)