Cole's First Christmas

It was so great to be home for Christmas! Basketball is usually getting in the way of our Christmas Day, but with careful planning, we were able to spend the whole day together.
One of the best things about having babies is dressing them up in ridiculous outfits. I must say, Cole was a perfect santa with his round chubby belly

It was so fun to introduce Cole to his aunts & uncles!

This year my sweet husband got me a diamond tennis bracelet and pepper spray in a pink case.

The best present of all was to be HOME...TOGETHER with our families this year. We are so blessed! God has been so good to us. Merry Christmas!

Chubsters

Baby boy got new pajamas today size 6-9 months! He is such a chubby boy & I love it!

status update

Tori, (my sister-in-law's sister) found this article in Scientific American. I think there may be some truth to it...it's entertaining if nothing else!

Study of Facebook Users Connects Narcissism and Low Self-EsteemIf your status update was "I'm so glamorous," you might not really think much of yourself
By John H. Tucker November 2, 2010 11



Are you a narcissist? Check your recent Facebook activity.

Social-networking sites offer users easy ways to present idealized images of themselves, even if those ideals don’t always square with their real-world personalities. Psychology researcher Soraya Mehdizadeh has discovered a way to poke through the offline-online curtain: she has used Facebook to predict a person’s level of narcissism and self-esteem.

Mehdizadeh, who conducted the study as an undergraduate at Toronto’s York University, gained access to the Facebook accounts of 100 college students and measured activities like photo sharing, wall postings and status updates; she also studied how frequently users logged on and how often they remained online during each session. Her findings were published recently in Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking.

After measuring each subject using the Narcissism Personality Inventory and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Meh­dizadeh, who graduated from York this past spring, discovered narcissists and people with lower self-esteem were more likely to spend more than an hour a day on Facebook and were more prone to post self-promotional photos (striking a pose or using Photoshop, for example). Narcissists were also more likely to showcase themselves through status updates (using phrases like “I’m so glamorous I bleed glitter”) and wall activity (posting self-serving links like “My Celebrity Look-alikes”).

Self-esteem and narcissism are often interrelated but don’t always go hand in hand. Some psychologists believe that narcissists—those who have a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, a need for admiration, as well as a lack of empathy—unconsciously inflate their sense of self-importance as a defense against feeling inadequate. Not enough empirical research has been produced to confirm that link, although Mehdizadeh’s study seems to support it. Because narcissists have less capacity to sustain intimate or long-term relationships, Mehdizadeh thinks that they would be more drawn to the online world of virtual friends and emotionally detached communication.

Although it seems that Facebook can be used by narcissists to fuel their inflated egos, Mehdizadeh stops short of proclaiming that excessive time spent on Facebook can turn regular users into narcissists. She also notes that social-networking sites might ultimately be found to have positive effects when used by people with low self-esteem or depression.

“If individuals with lower self-esteem are more prone to using Facebook,” she says, “the question becomes, ‘Can Facebook help raise self-esteem by allowing patients to talk to each other and help each other in a socially interactive environment?’ I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing that people with low self-esteem use Facebook.”




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Curls

For now, my beautiful baby is bald. But one day (hopefully soon) he will sprout some hair. And when he does, I hope its curly like his daddy's!

Showing off

Cole started rolling over from his tummy to back at 6 weeks. Every time I got the camera our he would never do it for me. Finally got it on camera!


Check out that form! Is he a future athlete or what?!

A few favorite things...

I'm not really an Oprah fan, however , I do look forward to her "Favorite Things" show every year.I mean Oprah is like a kazillionaire and probably enjoys only the best of THE BEST, so whatever makes her favorite things list must be pretty special, right? The sound of Oprah's voice lulled my little man to sleep so I got to watch the whole show in peace and quiet. Overall I was quite impressed. I like how she had deserving people in her audience that got to go home with the goods.

I tried to convince Luke that the holidays would really be merrier if I had THESE sequin uggs on my feet...
Turns out he not only hates sequins...but Uggs too. Guess I won't be getting these for Christmas.

Well, I have a few favorite things of my own (unfortunately, my audience will not be going home with any of these things...sorry.)


Shiseido Eyelash Curler

Cole does some of his best smiling and cooing at 4AM. As much as I like my sleep...I like him more. To hide my sleep deprivation, I use this eyelash curler. It makes my eyes look like they are actually open. I have been on a lifelong quest for flirty, curly, luscious lashes. I have bought every brand of eyelash curler out there. I'm gonna save you the time and the money and tell you now that this one is the best. You're welcome.

Williams-Sonoma olive oil mister

I've spent some time in Italy and have grown to appreciate fine olive oil. Sure, it's good for you, but not the gallon of it I like to drown my salad in. This is ideal for low fat cooking as it sprays foods with just a fine mist of oil. You can also add cheese, garlic, and herbs!

Body Shop: Coconut Body Butter

Imitated but never duplicated. This is THE BEST most yummiest smelling body butter. I've tried others but always come back to this one. It's super thick, but not greasy. It has a delicious coconut fragrance that's not overpowering. Its my summer staple.

OPI Pompeii Purple.

Been lovin this polish for years! I use to wear it on my super long acrylic nails in high school. Now I appreciate more of a natural look. But either way this shade of pinkish/purple looks great against tanned toes in the summer time.

Willamette Valley Vineyards Oregon Blossom.

I usually prefer reds, but wow this is good! It's sweet but not to sweet. Careful ...goes down realllllll easy.

Adjust-a-Button

Moveable buttons. Tacky? Yes, but not as tacky as the safety pin I was using before I found this. This product was a life saver the first months of pregnancy . You can move the top button on your pants up to an inch and a half in either direction. Genius! This could also be very helpful during the holidays when the average American gains 10 pounds. I recently saw a similar version at the dollar store. Although I'm not sure I'd want to trust the dollar store to hold up my pants...


Donna Karan -Cashmere Mist Deodorant

Sure $20 seems like a lot to pay for deodorant. But can you really put a price on dry underarms? This deodorant works great and smells great too.

TIGI S Factor -Body Boosting Plumping Spray

You know how smell evokes memory in a way that no other sense can? Well I used this for the first time on my honeymoon to Tahiti. Now every time I use it, it takes me back to Bora Bora. If you spray this on your hair and let it air dry it adds a lot of texture and does this messy/sexy/wavy thing.

And now.... my most favorite thing of all...

Sorry, there's only one of him and he's all mine!

We're back...+1

A lot has happened since I wrote last. Turns out we were not the best bloggers in Italy. We were much too busy eating pasta (cappellacci di zucca, how i miss you), drinking wine (procecco I, love you) and of course... making a baby!

Forget the Italian leather boots. I'd like to introduce you to the best thing ever to be made in Italy....

Cole Steven Jackson

Isn't he just the cutest lil bald man you've ever laid your eyes on? He has stolen my heart.

Although we failed miserably at our previous blogging attempt, in the year 2011 you will hear much more from us. We now have something amazing to blog about. I hope you like updates on cooing, drooling, and pooping!