Jaxson has officially outgrown his infant tub and has graduated to the big tub! He loves the water and would stay in the tub all night if we let him. Kahlua is very curious and likes to watch Jax get his bath (I think she is just grateful its not her getting the bath).
Our time in Florida has been mostly spent in long sleeves and pants, but we did have one nice day that made it into the high 70’s. So we put Jax in his new bathing suit and brought him to the pool. He really enjoyed the swim. Of course, it helped that the pool was heated. (or was it? we were swimming in the family pool with lots of little kids!). We stayed in the water for probably 15 to 20 minutes, and I think Jax would have stayed in for another 20 if we let him. Right before we got out, we tried dunking him under water. We dunked him 3 times and while it was clear that he didn’t really enjoy it, he didn’t complain too much and returned to good spirits after the water cleared from his face. Overall, I think he had a great time and will take to the water quite well.
For Christmas, Santa brought us a new 720p HD video camera! So good news for you blog readers, we will now be adding in the occasional video. What could be a better subject for the first video blog post than when Jaxson meets his only living Great Grandparents. Ed and Madeline Ashline are Kristis' mothers' parents. A couple of days after Christmas we were able to drive to Ft. Myers to see them. Jax did great on the trip and we were able to get some nice pictures and memories from it.
The plane was not full, so they let me bring Jaxson's carseat on the plane with me. I put his carseat on the seat and within 5 minutes he was sound asleep. He slept right through the take off and for most of the flight. He woke up right as we started to descend into Orlando. I fed him, we landed and that was it!! It could not have gone any smoother. We are blessed with an amazing baby!!
Ok, so I am a couple of days late on this one. On Dec 20th, the day before Jaxs' 6 month, we started him on rice cereal. Following our doctors advice, she says that at this age giving food to Jax is strictly for entertainment purposes and so he can learn the swallowing reflex. So, Rice cereal was our choice. We decided to start solids because for some time now Jaxson has been watching us while we eat and stares intently at the spoon and follows it as it goes from the plate to our mouth. He will even open his mouth as we put the spoon in our mouth. A couple of days ago, we were eating french fries and as expected Jax would follow the fry as it went from the ketchup to my mouth. For the first fry, Jax looked a little upset that he was not getting any. On the next fry, he got a little more frustrated. Eventually by the 5th fry, Jax was crying. So, I guess its time he gets something other than milk. The doctor says that 
Jaxson recognizes that he is one of us, but he doesn't understand that he is little and can't do everything by himself, so when we are eating french fries for example, he doesn't understand why he is not included and shows his frustration. So, he took the rice cereal pretty well. Its really liquidy, so its not really eating. He took right on to the spoon, opening his mouth as the spoon got close. He did ok with the swallowing, but for the most part he just swished it around in his mouth. Overall, he did well wth his first feeding. Next meal will probably be avacado, we will put an update up from that when we do it.
Jaxson is 5 months old today. Lets put a little perspective on 5 months. 5 Months = 152.184249 days (google it). 5 Months is how long Martha Stewart was in prision for. As of December 1999, President Bill Clinton had spent only 152 days on holiday during his two terms, according to CBS News. Kristi and I have been awake at 2:00 AM for the last 152.184249 days to express enough milk for Jaxson to drink while Kristi is at work. Lets estimate that Jax has used 10 diapers a day (sometimes more, sometimes less), that works out to be 1521.84249 diapers so far, WOW! While it may be easy to focus on all the hard work and money we have spent in the last 5 months, the truth of the matter is, we have had 5 months of joy and happiness knowing that we have a happy and healthy baby boy. Every day he smiles and laughs a little more than he did the day before. We truly consider ourselves blessed. 
