Last night, we went to the Schlitterbahn's Hill Country Christmas in New Braunfel's, Texas. Jackson fell asleep for a few minutes but he was awake for most of the night. We watched some shows, are some good food, went sightseeing through the park and watched my dad, John, and Lucas slide down a bobsled. Jackson's favorite part was the carousel ride with Mimi. 
Santa's big entrance
Santa brought Mrs.Clause and their dog, Maggie (go figure!)
Jackson and Daddy watching Santa and his family head back to the North Pole to get ready for Christmas!
Mom's Group at Church put on Lunch with Santa. I have been helping organize and decorate for the shindig so I was especially excited. Santa flew in (and out) on a helicopter. He came in for lunch and for lots of picture taking. Jackson actually fell asleep while we were waiting in line to get his picture taken. Since I was helping with the lunch, we were there late. Santa and Mrs. Clause graciously offered to retake our pictures. The second round were really cute and Russell and I even got in one of the pictures. Lunch with Santa was a blast and really got us in the Christmas spirit. Can't wait until next year! 
We just had to open another gift today. I couldn't stand the excitement anymore! Here, Jackson opened his Walk n Ride toy. You can ride the toy and you can push it and it helps with walking. He loves it. he especially likes all the little gadgets on it . . . as you can tell by the bottom picture where he is about to tip over trying to play with the spinner! 
Yesterday we had our Christmas Party with Mom's Group. I felt a little guilty because I think I had more fun than Jackson. Jackson enjoyed seeing the other kiddos decorating cookies but he wanted his mommy to hold him most of the time. I sure didn't mind but I did get a good workout. He is usually a little more social but he is teething so he wanted me to be close. Since I was holding him, I didn't get any pics at the party. Here are a few I snapped after the long nap he took when we got home. 
We are so excited about Christmas this year that we decided to give Jackson one of his gifts today. He is going to get so much stuff, it only makes since to spread the fun out. Here he is with his Laugh and Learn Musical Table. He loves it!
This morning, I was holding Jackson and he reached up to hold onto the jumperoo. Before I knew it he was standing up on his own (with a little assistance from the jumperoo bar). I was right behind him so that he would not fall but I quickly realized he was holding himself up with no problems. I guess we are going to bypass crawling and move straight to walking!Jackson adores crazy Christmas characters even though they scare most kids (and animals). The family cat and dog gone running. Not Jackson. He loves them. What a hoot!
Around noon today, the snow started falling in Austin. Here are a few pics. It is expected to stick so, if it does, I'll snap more pics.Well, today I celebrated another year. It was definitely not one of the best. Jackson and I are in Austin this week since Russell has a busy work week. Russell told me that Lubbock got three inches of snow yesterday. I guess I would have had a white birthday. I'm not too sad about that. Afterall, I'm sure we will see snow this year.
The birthday bummer was that Jackson woke up from his afternoon nap yesterday with a runny nose. He had also been pulling on his ear that last few days which made me concerned that he might have an earache. Then, he woke up twice during the night. This morning, my mom and I took him to the doctor I'm glad he went to the doctor here in Austin for his four month check-up so we had a local doctor. Fortunately, Jackson only has a cold. Unfortunately, they had to flush out the ear wax to confirm that he did not have an ear infection. He hated it! They had a really hard time flushing out his ear and he was raging mad! I felt so bad, as all mommy's do at the doctor's office. The doctor said most children get about six colds a year the first few years so we are doing great since he is already seven months old and this is his first illness. I have been dreading the first illness so it is good to have this behind us.
This afternoon, Jackson seemed to be feeling much better so I shot this video of him in the walker. My parents have lots of tile floor space so he has much more room to practice his skills. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a much better day for both of us!
