Thursday, December 31, 2009

New Year's Resolutions

Happy 2009, Welcome in 2010. Our pastor just gave a fantastic sermon last week about beginning again in 2010. He focused on making the Lord the Lord of our:
1. Tongue
2. Temper
3. Talents/Treasures/Time
4. Relationships

I really want to focus on #3. I didn't realize I had such a temper, but this year I have let the devil get a foothold in my mind in this area, and I would much rather that God be in control. Being angry and sitting there steaming about things does no good, it only makes me bitter and miserable. I want to be happier. So that's one of my resolutions.

2. Continue to eat healthfully and exercise regularly, without making it "one more thing I have to do." Maybe I'll start yoga again, just to change it up a bit, so as not to make my workouts so boring.

3. Give myself a break more. I think I'm too hard on myself. I try to do so many things all the time, I get upset when I can't do them all wonderfully.

4. Be happier with my husband. I just bought a book at Anthropologie called "Finding Happiness Together," and there are 60-75 different tips on how to do this. It's all about the little things, and I want my home to be full of joy!

5. Be in the word every day. I really want this so that I can grow closer to the Lord this year.

That's enough resolutions I think. I want to make them reasonable. I remember when I was younger, the resolution list would be really long, and it would always include, "Write in my diary/journal every day," which usually lasted less than a month. It also always included, "Be nicer to my sister." Ha! I still have my journals where I listed my resolutions (usually on page 1 as I started a new diary for the year--only half filled), I should pull them out and see what I wrote back then.

This year will be great, full of changes of course, which seems to happen every year. Baby Ruff #2 will be born in July, and I can't wait to see how this pregnancy goes! I heard its heartbeat again today at clinic, just for fun, and it was very strong and very loud. Praise the Lord!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Happy New Year!


Well, we survived Christmas. Unfortunately, everyone in the family EXCEPT Jackson has been sick, starting with me on Christmas day. Not so fun. But we are better, and we're praying for the family members that are still recovering. A yucky GI thing. No fun. But little J had a blast, he thoroughly enjoyed his presents this year, it was a lot better than last year. His fave gift was definitely the bulldozer he got from my Nana. But he's doing a good job not discriminating; he plays with all of his toys a little so they don't feel left out. :)

Jackson did the cutest thing last night in the car. I was listening to my music, and I heard him saying something repeatedly. I turned the music down, and he was saying, "One, two, three!" It was super cute. I guess he and his dad play a game and count like that, I was so happy to hear him say that.

Also, the last two nights I think he has been so excited to sleep in his own bed that he won't even let me rock him, he just says, "Bed, bed," and I put him in his crib and he goes to sleep on his own. My little baby is growing up!

Speaking of babies, I must officially announce on my blog that I am almost 12 weeks pregnant, hurray! I will be blogging more about my pregnancy now that the news is out.

Tomorrow...New Years' Resolutions...

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Three More Days...

We're counting down the days before Christmas now! I only have one more day of work left this week, provided none of my pregos go into labor (knock on wood). Today was a fun day off. I had to wake up early, unfortunately, because of Mr. Early Bird (aka Jackson), but JW let me have another hour of sleep a little later in the a.m., which was much appreciated. The family went to the Y, where I had a really good workout for once--it's SO much better to work out in the daytime than at 9pm, I just have so much more energy! At home, Jackson took a nap and I set out to finish my library book which was due back today--"The Friday Night Knitting Club." It was SO good, but I cried, which made Jackson come over and say, "Mama? Hold, hold!" He's so funny. Then we cleaned a bit, played, and I headed out for a doctor's appointment--more about that another day. JW had to play guitar tonight, so it was just me and little J for dinner. I made Bruschetta Chicken Bake, which Jackson loved, surprisingly! After dinner, the troops were getting restless, so I took Jackson out to Barnes and Noble just on a whim. It turned out to be a great idea! We went to the Kids' area, where they had a Thomas the Train table and set all set up and ready to play with--Jackson had a blast! We played for nearly a half hour! Jackson' faves were the mixer and Terence the "Bulldie." No surprise there. Then, Mommy needed a Starbucks, and Jackson got his milk and a granola bar that I had in the bag. We had a great day. I love my outings with Jackson.

Friday, December 11, 2009

It's The Holiday Season...

Well, Christmas is in full swing at the Ruff house. We started out by cutting down our very own live tree at Kluck's Nursery this week, then by decorating it. Jackson is doing surprisingly well with all of the decorations. I arranged the ornaments so that the unbreakable ones are at his level, which really helps.





Today, it was just the two of us on a much needed day off, so we headed out to Bronner's Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth. We had such a wonderful time; I only regret not bringing the stroller in, my arms certainly got a workout.

We perused the ornaments, and I picked out an Elmo one for Jackson. Then, we waited in line to see Santa, or "Ho Ho" as Jackson likes to call him. He wasn't too happy about sitting on his lap, but he really enjoyed sitting with a stuffed Elmo that was just his size!






Even though he didn't take a nap today, I really enjoyed time with my little guy. I'm ready for Christmas!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."--1 Thes 5:16-18

What a wonderful thanksgiving day! I'm in Delaware with my parents and my sister, and we've already enjoyed our harvest feast. We began our day with a 5K in downtown Wilmington, an annual tradition for the Graff/Ruff family. Jackson's finally down for his nap--he was more interested in playing with the Old Bay seasoning and Cloves than in eating turkey. He can actually name spices, he's going to be a chef someday! I wanted to note some things I am especially thankful for this year.

-my wonderful son Jackson, who is the love of my life
-the ability to see the world more and more through a child's eyes
-my ability to run a 5K
-God's sovereignty and perfect will in ALL things (Romans 12:8)
-my parents who will make the trip to Michigan no matter what (it was brutal, let me tell you!)
-my husband JW who has given up his goals to stay home with Jackson and allow me to achieve mine
-good friends who are always just a phone call away
-Cool Whip

Happy Thanksgiving! I'll post some pictures later.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Starbucks


I wish I had my camera today! I took Jackson into Starbucks since I was craving a Skinny Vanilla Latte. I ordered him an Organic Milk and an Apple Bran Muffin. We were both sitting at the bistro table, Jackson was wearing a sweater vest, a button-down shirt, and khakis, and he was sipping his organic milk and eating a bran muffin! It was priceless. I will have to try to recreate the moment when I have my camera, but I don't think my mind will ever forget that precious image. I'm starting him early on the Starbucks brand addiction.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Bethesda

I recently read a blog posting that referenced John 5:2ff; a paralyzed man was at the pool in Bethesda, a place where people that needed healing came to get it. Jesus saw the man and asked, "Do you want to get well?" Of course he did, but Jesus wanted him to have faith that it could happen! He healed him right there. Jesus asks me and all of us, "Do you want to get well?" To be healed from whatever--illness, sin, hurts, hangups. Answer him with a resounding "YES!" And believe.

Jacksoni-sms

Here is what Jackson has been up to:

He is 20 months old!
His favorite place to play in the basement, which is known simply by "Down, down!"
He loves to play with his "Shake'n'Go" cars from the movied "Cars," Mader ("may") and Lightning McQueen.
He imitates any word that we say and is so curious as to what everything is called.
When I make dinner, he rushes in to tell JW that din-din is ready ("Din-din, din-din!")
He's into eating eggs at breakfast again.
It's a real challenge to get him to eat regular dinner, but I persevere.
He is VERY stubborn, and he throws regular temper tantrums if he doesn't get his way.
When he wants me to hold him, he'll reach up his arms and say, "Hold, hold."
When he wakes up in the morning, I try to get him to say Good Morning to Daddy, but he just says, "Bye-bye" because he wants to go downstairs.
When we pray every morning, he sits quietly with us and even folds his hands sometimes.
He loves baths! He'll even tolerate me washing his hair now.
He can recognize quite a few letters on his own; as far as numbers, his fave is still the number "9."
I let him watch about 20 minutes of a John Deere DVD the other morning (he was up at 5:30am and I was running out of creative options to keep him quite while JW slept). He loved it! I'm trying not to let him watch TV officially until he turns 2, but I think every once in awhile it will be okay.
Grammi is now "mimi" and Grandma is now "ga-ga." Nana is still "nana," lucky her.

I haven't blogged in awhile, and so much has been going on, so I wanted to brainstorm and give a few updates so I won't forget how adorable my little boy is.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Walk By Faith

JW and I were blessed this past weekend to sing at our church. He played guitar as well. It was so much fun to sing together and worship God, and it was so cool to see everyone else really worshipping with us. We chose Jeremy Camp's song, "Walk By Faith," which went so well with our Pastor's sermon. Here is a link to the sermon. Click on "Sermons," then it's the sermon from November 15 entitled "The Real Church: Real Faith." Our song is at the very end, so you can scroll to the end to hear it. Of course, if you want to listen to the sermon too, it's great!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Updates


I haven't blogged since Halloween, and I wanted to make sure I wrote about it. The Friday before, JW and I took Jackson to the YMCA Trunk or Treat. We dressed him as a construction worker so that he could be comfortable yet still carry around his beloved bulldozer ("Bull-D"). Well he won in his age group for best costume! We were so proud of our little guy. I simply wrote "Book" on my face to be FaceBook, an idea I stole from a recent episode of "The Office." Jackson kept pointing at my face and saying "uh-oh."

The other day, JW and I went outside to tackle the leaves in our backyard. Jackson kept pushing over the trashcan with all of the leaves in it. Oh well.

Last night, we had dinner at our neighbor's house, and she had flautas, a Mexican dish. Jackson ate a whole one by himself!

Personally, I am just trying to make it through each day, work has been a bear. I pray for strength to get through this time, while still enjoying this precious time with my baby boy.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Rub a dub dub!

Finally--after 19 months of attempts, Jackson actually enjoyed his bath! Last night, I had to give him a bath after eating pizza--you can probably visualize the picture in your mind. I got in with him at first, washed him AND his hair--he cried during that part, but after that I got out, and he amazingly continued to play and splash around for another 15 minutes or so! I was so happy. I also added a bath mat last week, in hopes that it would be more comfortable than the cold hard tub, thanks to a recommendation from my sister and mom. That didn't help last week, but somehow last night it did. We'll see if the episode repeats itself...

Friday, October 23, 2009

So You Think You Can Dance?

Here are 2 short videos of Jackson dancing--it's hilarious!

Crazy Week

I never thought coming home from vacation would be so stressful! This has been one of the worst workweeks I have ever had. Monday I was overwhelmed with paperwork so I took a bunch home, spent 2 hours on Tuesday (my day off) getting it done. Monday night at 2am I got paged that one of my patients needed a stat C-section, so I rushed into the hospital for 2 hours to be with her (no, I didn't DO the section). Wednesday I didn't make it home in time to see Jackson before Care Group, so I didn't get to see my little guy until 9pm! Thursday I was getting ready to go to work when I get paged that one of my other patients has been admitted, her water broke, and she had been there since 2:30am--nobody paged me. Great. So now I'm headed into a full day of clinic and I have a patient there. But they reassured me she was doing well, a resident had done the initial assessment, so I planned to go see patients at clinic and head over to see her at lunchtime. Then I was so rudely interrupted by a phone call from an OB attending screaming in my ear blah blah blah. Long story short, I rushed into the hospital in tears (thankful, actually, to be pulled out of a very annoying physical exam with an older gentleman who just couldn't seem to stop telling me about His piercings...down there.) My patient was fine, but I had to sit there all day, cancel my clinic, and wait around...but finally at 8:30pm we brought a little girl into the world, and all was well. But I didn't get to see J again. This morning, I saw him for about half hour before rushing into the hospital AGAIN to round, head to clinic, and then I actually stayed until 7:40pm doing charting. Today was a world record--26 patients in one day! Wow. JW had to play guitar at church, so he actually dropped J off with me for 2 hours so I could finish up, and J did so well! He just played with his cars and this fake liver we have in the office. It was very funny. But I'm home now, J is in bed, and I was thinking "I'm so glad this week is over..." But then the pager went off again with the words, "Dr. Ruff, I have one of your patients here..." Well, she's headed home, so no worries, until the morning when I get to rise at 6am to round before JW has church stuff to do at 8am. What a whirlwind! Yesterday I was ready to quit. Today, I'm not, but I definitely am tired. And I just had vacation! When do I get another? :) Here are some pictures...



The family at the local cider mill



Jackson gobbling up an apple...



and me in Cambridge at "The Coop," reminiscing about wanting to go to Harvard in my younger, less wiser years...

Friday, October 16, 2009

Unplugged...


I have to vent some major frustration with electronics. I got a new computer (Dell) a few months ago, and it has Windows Vista. So far, I've had no problem with it, thankfully. Last week I decided to finally update my palm pilot with my computer, but when I attempted this, I found out that my palm is not compatible with Vista. Great. Then, as I repeatedly attempted to charge my iPod to listen to music when I work out, and on turning it on read "No Battery Power," I discovered that my iPod battery will no longer hold a charge. Great. Finally, we're in Boston and my camera battery dies every time I ask a passerby to take my picture with JW. Convenient. So now I am seriously thinking about getting an iPod touch, which would be a palm, iPod, and camera all in one. We'll see. I may try to replace my iPod battery on my own; I found a 20 minute video tutorial online detailing exactly how to do this. We'll see how brave I am...

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Happy 3 year Anniversary!

So JW and are in Boston, ALONE, for our 3 year anniversary. I came here originally for a conference, and we decided to make it a mini-vacation, without Jackson. We're having a really good time; it's hard not to feel guilty when I'm not thinking of my baby 24-7, but it's nice sometimes to have non-mommy thoughts and just be with my husband. Jackson is thankfully doing very well with Grandma and Poppa; the biggest dilemma is that he lost his little shovel on "Digger" and keeps pointing on it and saying "uh-oh." Hopefully it will turn up. I'll try to take some pictures and post them later.
To my husband, JW, thank you for 3 wonderful years of marital bliss :) and for the best gift of all, our little love child Jackson. You are a wonderful leader of our househould and I look forward to learning and loving a lot more together. Love you!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Happy!


Yesterday, Jackson busted out with "Happy!" and he keeps on saying it. What a cutie pie! He is definitely a happy baby. It just makes my heart smile to hear him say it. This picture is of him inside of our anniversary present box from JW's mom--he just went ahead and climbed in, and I proceeded to wrap him up. It provided him with at least an hour of entertainment. It was great!

"The LOrd your God is with you, the Mightly Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing."--Zephaniah 3:17

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Supermodel

Jackson and I spent the weekend in Pittsburgh--we went for my cousin's baby shower, but it was a great excuse to see our family. I was so impressed by how well he did in the car and in Nana's house (she is the queen of nick-nacks). He listened so well, and other than keeping me (and Grandpa and Paula) up the first night until 3am, he slept really well too.

Now we're back home and glad to be with Daddy again. Yesterday, I took him to Walmart, and while we were in the checkout line, he pointed at the cover of a magazine with a beautiful brunette on the cover, and he said "mama." I said thank you for the complement! What a sweet little man. :) If only I could see myself as he sees me :)

Sunday, September 20, 2009

18 month pics, by Sarah Ruff


I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.

Here are some pics from our recent trip to Paul and Jona Seeley's house. We had a blast on the boat, and Jackson was a real trooper, making it most of the day without a nap. Enjoy the pictures!

Friday, September 18, 2009

The Lexicon, Finished...

Here is a recap of Jackson's First 50 Words; from here on, it probably will not be worth it to keep track, although I may occasionally highlight something cute. It just seems like every day it's something new...he's really into repeating what JW and I say. Careful! There are about 2 words that he is repeatedly saying, but we haven't yet figured out what he is referring to. Someday...
Jackson's First Lexicon:
1. Dada (his all-time favorite chant, especially when I ask him to say "mama.")
2. Mama
3. Basketball (ba-ball)
4. Ball
5. Slide/'side (outside)
6. Bye-bye
7. "Men!" for Amen after grace
8. Truck
9. Tiger (as in Woods); for real, he pointed at the TV screen during the golf tournament and said it!
10. Bear
11. Jesus
12. Bible
13. Knee
14. Pinecone (it sounds really wierd)
15. Pea
16. Night-night
17. Water
18. Bottle
19. Up
20. Down (very clear)
21. Ow
22. More
23. Moon
24. Book
25. Wall
26. Y (as in YMCA)
27. Motorcycle
28. Boom
29. Boing!
30. Me
31. Mine
32. More, please
33. Nose
34. Boots
35. Barn
36. Corn
37. No-no (for Noah, as in the Ark)
38. Sit
39. Emma (our neighbor)
40. Choo-choo
41. Shoes
42. Bull-Dee (for bulldozer)
43. Wiggle (as in what the crocodile does and what he does with his toes)
44. Door
45. Pee-pee
46. Bath
47. Hose
48. Banana
49. Tomato
50. Hot

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Nightshade and tomatoes


So yesterday I spent most of the day weeding after finding poisonous nightshade in our neighbor's garden that had creeped through the fence into ours, right where the tomato plant is. I'm not sure if that is what Jackson ate the other day, but I'm not taking any chances in the future. After I finished with our yard, I went next door and asked the neighbors if I could tackle theirs, which I did. I think there is no more left, thank goodness, but I know it can come back, so I will be vigilant. While I was weeding, J was eating tomatoes, so many that his butt is going to be very sore over the next few days. He looked so funny with his cheeks full and tomato juice dribbling down his chin, combined with the dirt from his hands. We actually had another bath (2 in 2 days, record!) and he did okay. Other funny things today:
-while I was dusting, he was taking a tissure and wiping everything off
-while I was cleaning the bathroom, he took the glass cleaner and aimed it into the toilet like he was going to help, too
-while I was sweeping, he took his brush and helped me sweep
-he couldn't get enough bananas, either, eating 2 entire ones in the course of the day
-he wanted me to sing "If I Were a Butterful" over an over, after he would point at the butterfly in "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," and he would try to do the hand motions with me

Monday, September 14, 2009

18 Months Old!


Jackson is getting so old! I can't believe he is halfway to his second birthday, wow. Today was intereting...JW called me at work to tell me that he thought Jackson had eaten a random berry on a branch on the ground in our backyard. Thankfully, it was only half of one because J spit it out, but it was still a little scary, and I don't know where the branch came from. So I called Poison Control, which was very helpful; they said that as long as the child eats only a few, even if it is poisonous, you usually don't have to worry. So I chose not to...I am still trying to ID the berry, taking it to some nurseries until we can figure it out, because it would be good to know. And we have discarded all of the other branches with berries in the yard. He is completely fine, sleeping soundly, and I think no harm was done. Thank the Lord!
When I got home from work, I took Jackson outside to pull some weeds and pick some more baby tomatoes, which he promptly ate. He got so much dirt in his hair from the garden that we had to get a bath. I got one with him this time, so it thankfully wasn't a huge deal, he did okay. Here is a silly picture of him after the bath. Happy 18 month birthday baby!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Fun Pics





Today we went to a local park to watch JW play roller hockey with some friends from church. To keep Jackson from entering the rink, which he kept attempting to do, I took him to the playground. He had a lot of fun in the sandbox, and he went down the slide all by himself. I also took some pictures of him chomping on some baby tomatoes; as you can see, he loves them, even for breakfast!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Great Weekend!


What a fun weekend! Jackson is blowing me away with all of his words. He gets more animated by the minute. He did so well away from home--we were at Darin and Bethany's one night, and Grammi's for 2 more nights. He did wonderfully! I am such a proud mommy. :) One of the cutest things was when he brought me his tennis shoes and said "shoes" for the first time. He wanted to go play outside. So cute! And yesterday, I was pulling weeds at home, and he wanted to help. He "stole" my weeding tool and walked around the yard poking it into the ground. It was really cute. Then he was pretending to water the plants with the watering can--there wasn't any water in it. I picked our baby tomatoes off the plant, and J stole one and ate it before I could wash it. Oops, but he really looked adorable with tomato juice running off his chin. Here are his latest words:
41. Shoes
42. Bull-Dee (for bulldozer)
43. Wiggle (as in what the crocodile does and what he does with his toes)

Friday, September 4, 2009

Sadness...


So, I feel this blog wouldn't be an honest reflection of my life if I didn't include my recent drama. Everyone reading this blog knows about this, but this way I can get it out. I found out I was pregnant about a month ago, which was a shock at first, but then JW and I were really excited about it. When we went to have the ultrasound last week, to see how far along I was, since I had no clue without a last period to go by, there wasn't a heartbeat. I was so sad! I'm still haunted by the image of the little baby without a heartbeat, it was so precious and so tiny, but you could tell it was a little baby! So anyway, to make a long story short, it has taken 2 D and C's now and a night in the hospital last night due to an infection, but now I think I am on the road to physical and emotional recovery. Physically, I feel a ton better now that my fever is gone, I'm no bleeding, and I'm not in any pain. Emotionally, I feel fine at the moment, but sometimes at night I'm still traumatized by the ultrasound, so I know I will have my moments. But in the big scheme of things, I am very thankful for Jackson and JW and the hope that someday we will be able to add to our family if that is what God wants. And this experience has taught me even more to rely on God and I think it has drawn me closer to Him as well, which is always a good thing. My favorite Bible verse right now is 2 Corinthians 12:9, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

One Year Down...

Yesterday was my one year anniversary at Health Delivery in Saginaw! I can hardly believe it. 3 years to go before NC calls again... God willing, of course. I feel very happy and accomplished to have made it through one year already. Just wanted to share!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

More Words...


34. Boots
35. Barn
36. Corn
37. No-no (for Noah, as in the Ark)
38. Sit
39. Emma (our neighbor)
40. Choo-choo

Jackson has been a little handful lately! We've had to do a few time-outs because he purposefully is not listening. It just mostly involves throwing his toys and standing on the couch, and usually it occurs at night when he is getting tired. It's funny because he is starting to point at the couch now and say "No, no" and "sit," so we know he is beginning to understand. It's hard to think of such a cutie pie having evil thoughts, but you can see it! Otherwise, he continues to sleep through the night until 5 or 6 am, and his latest favorite toy is a wind-up jeep that follows the track on a book about Old MacDonald. I actually enjoy playing with it myself! :)

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Silly Video



Jackson got a little too aggressive on eating his hummus tonight at dinner, and he actually got a perioral rash! It went away in about an hour or so. He likes hummus just like his mom! I got him to perform in this little video, it's a good sampling of his latest "tricks."

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

More Words!

28. Boom
29. Boing!
30. Me
31. Mine
32. More, please
33. Nose

Monday, August 24, 2009

HG TV


I've been watching a lot of HG TV lately, and yesterday while running with the family, I spotted these two ugly chairs by the curb, ready for garbage pickup the next day. I figured this was a perfect opportunity to snag the chairs and do something cool with them to add seating to our great room, especially since our home is going to be hosting our care group this fall and we are scarce on seating. Images of chairs and sofas flashed in my head all night long, slipcovers or sheets or what. Today while at the great Walmart, I found a "furniture throw" which seemed perfect, so I bought it and gave it a try. After some help from JW in rearranging the furniture, I am very proud of the finished product, and all for only $22! We'll see what Jackson thinks of the arrangement in the morning...

Thomas the Train



Yesterday, Jackson and I met Aunt Bethany at Huckleberry Railroad in Flint for "A Day Out With Thomas the Train." It was so much fun! The ride was a bit long, lasting 40 minutes, hard for any little one to still for so long, but J did really well! He even survived a shopping spree by the girls at Birch Run on the way home...he was the only one that benefitted from the trip, may I add. The best part of yesterday was that we both slept for 12 hours! We were both happy campers that day. :)

Friday, August 21, 2009

Weaned!


Just a note that Jackson is officially done nursing! It hasn't been too bad of a transition for either of us. I think the key has been that he has really cool sippy cups that he enjoys drinking out of. I'm going to reward myself this weekend by getting some non-nursing bras, for the first time in 17 months! I'm pretty excited. And Jackson and I are finding other ways to bond--he's become much more of a snuggler.

The other update is that he is SUCH a car fanatic now. Meaning the matchbox car variety. He carries around either his tractor, bulldozer, backhoe, or skidsteer constantly, even eating and sleeping while clutching his prized possession. It's really cute.

I have another word to add:

27. Motorcycle.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

One man's junk...

25. Wall
26. Y (as in YMCA)

What a busy and fun day today. J slept thru the night until 5:45am, what a success! We had a fun time playing together, then getting JW off to camp. Just before he left, I realized I left the lights to the Honda on last night and the battery was dead. Oops! Thankfully, JW handled it really well, jumped the car, and everything was fine. He wasn't even late! Thank you honey!
Then I took Jackson to Walmart, the bank (he flirted with the drive-up lady), and the YMCA. He did great in the nursery and I had a great workout. Then home, more playing, and naptime. I had a dentist appt so we had our friend's daughter come babysit, and it went really well. He didn't even come get me when I got home!
Then we took a trip to Upland Hills Farm to see Daddy and "shop" through Jason and Jenny's old toys. It was so much fun, Jackson was most impressed with the toy cars (of course), and he is currently fast asleep clutching a toy tractor for dear life. Sigh. I'm tired, night-night!

Monday, August 10, 2009

Pictures

I haven't blogged in awhile. We've been trying to get adjusted to JW being back at home, which has been great. Plus, I've been at the hospital on call a lot, which is always a challenge. Jackson has been great as usual. He seems to get cuter every day. My big accomplisment (?) lately is that I've been trying to wean him. Last week, I fed him milk from a cup at bedtime and only nursed him 2x/day. This a.m. started my attempt to cut out the morning feeding. When he woke up crying at 5am wanting milk, I went downstairs first, got his milk ready in his sippy cup, and went up to feed him. He took it down like a champ, I was really surprised, and he didn't ask again for "mommy" milk all morning! This will be an interesting week, because JW is doing another camp, this one at Upland Hills Farm in Oxford, so Jackson will be watched by Jenny Webster, JW's mom, and me of course. I think he'll be just fine. He is very adaptable, thankfully. Here are some cute pics of him lately:

Playing with the Nostalgic "Little People" I got him Cheesing for the camera
Looking dapper in his new outfit
Jamming to Daddy's ipod shuffle
Looking scholarly in Grandma's glasses

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Lexicon, Continued...

22. More
23. Moon
24. Book

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Chicken Pox


So I think the little guy has the chicken pox. He had a fever for three days, and on day 2 we noticed tiny little vesicles consistent with the chicken pox. It stinks, because he got the vaccine, but I guess this happens sometimes. The good news is that it will likely be a milder case. He's finally having a little more energy today, which is a blessing. Thankfully, Grandma and Grandpa are here to give him lots of loving. Unfortunately, Mommy has to be at the hospital all day inducing a girl into labor; it is so hard to be away from my little one when I know he's not feeling so hot. Sigh. He's so funny, he is carrying his little Tylenol bottle around like it's his favorite toy. What is so appealing about that?

One more unrelated thing. Well, it's related in the fact that I love my baby and I want to help protect all babies in the world and let them be born. My friend Peg posted an article on her blog that I wanted you to read. Click here to read it. We really need to be praying about what our president is doing, and try to contact our legislature to make our voices heard. Peace out!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Lexicon, continued...

19. Up
20. Down (very clear)
21. Ow

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Growing Up...

What a day! I had to leave at 7:15am this morning to go to work, and I didn't get home until 7:45pm, when Jackson already fell asleep! Thankfully, Grammi kept him in the rocking chair so I could snuggle with him for a few minutes before he went into his crib. He was so adorable! Apparently they had a very busy day, with reading books, watering the flowers, pretending to drive Grammi's car, climbing up and down the slide, etc. Grammi said that right before I got home, Jackson reached his arms up for Grammi to pick him up, said something resembling "Up," then laid his head down on her shoulder and starting waving night-night. So that's what precipitated bedtime. How adorable! I can't wait until I get to see him in the morning (or in the middle of the night as it may be.) Ta-ta!

Monday, July 20, 2009

We Miss Daddy!

JW is in my favorite state, now, North Carolina...coaching his basketball camp and enjoying the sunshine. Jackson and I are missing him, but we get to video chat online, which is really cool. Jackson is enjoying his Grammi, and Grandma and Grandpa come at the end of the week. He is as active as ever--his new thing is doing flips on the couch. Maybe he'll be a gymnast, although I think JW would freak. :) One random note...last night Jackson actually refused the breast and drank his bedtime milk from a cup and then slept straight through until 5am. But then he breastfed twice before I left for work in the morning. But still, it was kind of random, and I'll try to encourage it more often! Back to work...

Thursday, July 16, 2009

On Call

So right now I am in the hospital being an ATTENDING at a delivery with a resident. How cool is that!? I get to sleep until the resident calls me. Of course instead of sleeping I am blogging. But in time... I probably will get a good night sleep here, too! I'm excited, can you tell?

Re: my little gem, he and Daddy went blueberry picking yesterday, and apparently it was a blast. That's Jackson's new fave food, I think. I wish I could have been there, but I'll take him sometime and get some pics to share.

My big accomplishment yesterday was finding his little animal magnets. We were missing 2 for the longest time, and finally J was pointing underneath the fridge--I got a flashlight, and sure enough, they were all the way at the back under the fridge. I tried various tools to retrieve them before finally finding success with something I found in the garage. Don't ask me what it's called, I don't know. But I was very proud of myself. Jackson didn't care, but JW and I were bothered by not knowing where the cow and sheep butts were. :)

Well, back to sleep!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Busy Day


What a whirlwind of a day! Take a look...
6:30am...wake up, make coffee, fold laundry
7:15am...Jackson wakes up, feed everyone breakfast, get ready for work
8:00am...leave for the hospital
10:15am...finish rounding
10:45am...relieve JW so that he can go to the Y; Jackson is sleeping, so I pick up, fold more laundry, empty the dishwasher, check email
12:15pm...Jackson wakes up; change and feed him, leave for Olive Garden for a nice lunch with JW and Jackson
1:30pm...leave Olive Garden, it was a success, Jackson ate some breadsticks
2:00pm...play at the park, but Jackson was more interested in watching the digger move dirt.
3:00pm...leave for the spa to get my eyebrows waxed
4:00pm...Pure Barre, it kicked my booty!
5:00pm...Walmart and Aldi for some necessary shopping
6:00pm...make BLT wraps for the family, unload groceries
7:00pm...bike ride/jog with the neighbor girls and Jackson in the stroller
8:30pm...rock Jackson to sleep; it took a little longer than normal because he had the hiccups for FOREVER!
9:00pm...Kroger to finish shopping, with a quick stop at Rite Aid on a mission to find jellybeans for JW--mission accomplished!
10:00pm...2 games of Yahtzee with JW
11:00pm...ready to call it a BUSY DAY!

But I had to share just one more thing...The funniest thing about today was trying to feed Jackson dinner. He would eat, but only if he could hold the mayonnaise jar, which he proceeded to carry around the house after dinner before finally depositing it in front of the fridge. It was pretty funny.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

The Saginaw Zoo



Yesterday, the Websters and Smiths visited us for our monthly dinner. The boys went golfing, while the girls plus Jackson went to the Saginaw Zoo. What a great little zoo! Not a lot of exotic animals--there were monkeys, farm animals, kangaroos, a python, and a butterfly garden--but perfect for little ones. Jackson and Sydney enjoyed the zoo train, the carousel, and the playground. Also, I tried out the baby backpack that a friend gave me hand-me-down, and it worked out really well. Jackson enjoyed being up high but close to me, and we didn't have to fight over being in the stroller.

For our dinner, I chose to try out a recipe from Family Circle, "Rich Squash Casserole", and it was delicious! I definitely recommend it. I doubled it, and it was wonderful.

Video from Lake Louise

Click Here

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Lexicon, continued...

14. Pinecone (it sounds really wierd)
15. Pea
16. Night-night
17. Water
18. Bottle

Mr. Independent


JW just called to tell me that when they were at the YMCA, JW went to pick up Jackson, and before Jackson saw him, JW watched incredulously as Jackson, all alone, proceeded to climb up the stairs of the slide and go down by himself, with no help! Can you believe it! I wish I could have seen that.

Fourth Of July


Delayed entry, but I have been pretty busy lately.
Last Friday, we went to Oxford to celebrate the fourth with our friends and family. We spent the day with Grammi and Grauntie Jane, and then we went over to Jason and Jenny's at Upland Hills Farm for dinner and fireworks. J had such a great time at the farm, and so did I--it was like his farm books came to life, with baby animals everywhere we looked. My favorite was the new kittens who were 2 days old and nursing--I could relate to the mama kitten, who kept walking away from her babies--I think she needed a little time for herself! It's hard enough with one baby nursing, but she had five at once! It was really beautiful. Jackson liked chasing the ducks all over the place as well. I got to hold a baby chick, and I freaked out when I tried to pick up a rabbit. You can tell I wasn't raised on a farm. :) I wasn't planning on staying for the fireworks, but J fell asleep in my arms, so we thought it would be okay. Jackson woke up for the display, and he loved them! He just pointed at the fireworks and smiled...it was great to know that he's not scared of them. So we enjoyed a great Fourth of July with our friends, and "Spot Goes to the Farm" came to life for us.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Camp Lake Louise

I finally got a chance to surf the Internet here at camp, and I wanted to blog! We're having a great time here. Jackson is in his element: he is in the middle of nature, has a huge audience of adoring fans, and both parents at the same time for an entire week! There are about 60 kids here, all in high school, and they are great. As the Camp Health Officer, or Nurse, or Doctor, or whatever you want to call me, I see the kids after breakfast and before dinner to give their meds or give them a bandaid or some cortisone cream or some tampons...and then anytime in between that they need me. We only had one major incident so far, a boy who was playing basketball in the wrong shoes and broke his foot. We had to send him to the hospital for xrays, which confirmed my suspicion that it was indeed broken and not a sprain. He's doing fine, now. Otherwise, it's been great spending time with baby boy and getting to know the kids. I don't really miss the phone or the computer much, but I do miss sleeping, as that is something I don't get a whole lot of. The kids have about 75 minutes a day after lunch to nap--"H Hour," or horizontal hour--but usually I'm playing with the little guy. JW is in his element--he gets to play guitar for the praise band, video, and put together slide shows and the DVD that the kids get to go home with. Everyone loves him, of course.

Jackson has been doing some cute things while we've been here. No new words, but last night, after finishing my second novel of the week, I decided to write him a list of the cute things he's been doing, with the ultimate intention of blogging it. Here goes:

--When the counsellors and campers were having their basketball game, I thought it would be a great idea to take you down to watch. You only wanted to get into the action, though, and would have been trampled underfoot if it weren't for my quick Mommy skills. We had to leave while you threw a tantrum because you really really wanted to play. The next day, when Daddy and I brought you down by ourselves to run all over the court, you didn't want any part of it. Instead, you proceeded to run thru the tall grass "Little House on the Prairie" style. Cute.
--You think that baths and showers are torture devices.
--You don't like the lake, but you will run full speed to the end of the dock and stop abruptly. You also love stepping on and off the sides of the dock into one inch of water. You like throwing your little fish toys into the water, but if they float too far away (past your knees deep) you just stand there and reach out for someone to get them for you.
--If you get dirt on your hands, you reach your hand out for me to brush it off.
--You like walking up to plants and pulling the leaves off.
--You love practicing stepping up and down. There is a rock on a platform in the center of the field here, and you like to step up, plaster yourself flat against the rock in stealth mode, look around to see who's watching you, and then step back down.
--You have really enjoyed expanding your dietary preferences to include Yoplait strawberry yogurt (but not the strawberry chunks), real bacon, macaroni salad, and pizza! You still won't eat grilled cheese.
--You don't like napping here, it's too exciting. But you will lay your head down on the yucky bug-gut-encrusted carpet when you get tired.
--You think that the Benadryl bottle is a morraca. (spelling?)
--You still like to point at my chest with one little finger when you want milk, and when I ask if that's what you want, you giggle mischievously.

Those are my thoughts for the day. I miss everyone, but I'm safe and having a good time with my family. Talk to you when I get home! Check out the camp's website at www.lakelouisecommunity.org.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Early Birds...


Jackson has been waking up at 5 a.m. all week. It's been pretty exhausting for JW and me. Today, I just couldn't take it anymore. When J woke up, I nursed him and brought him into the guest bed to see if he would doze a little more. He always gets too distracted in our bedroom because he wants to play with the fan, the nightlight, my glasses, my phone, my pager, and the various other niceties that a mommy and daddy keep by the bed. Yay, he slept with me until 7:45! So I had 15 minutes to get ready, but it was totally worth it. I don't think I could have made it thru this day of 23 patients otherwise. One more day of work before camp, I'm counting down. How bad will tomorrow be...

Babies Don't Keep...

I was chatting with Francis, my nurse, today, about house cleaning. I was saying that I used to think I had to do everything every week, but then I realized in the big scheme of things, it doesn't really matter if you dust a shelf that nobody really sees. I told her that when I feel that I should be doing something other than watching J play, I often bring to mine the lines of a poem that I remember Mom had hanging in our house when I was little. I remember that it was cross-stitched, and I remember that it was talking about how you should forget about doing all your housework, because it will always be there, but your baby will not always be a baby. So today, I googled the poem, and here it is. I never saw the poem in its entirety before, I thought it was very cute. So I wanted to post it on my blog. Also, I have another word to add:
13. Knee--he said it clear as day today, multiple times!

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep
.

- Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

Monday, June 15, 2009

Daily Amusings

I have another 2 words to add to Jackson's list:

11. Jesus (said while pointing to the picture of Jesus in his baby bible. I've also taught him that the picture of Mary, as in Mary and Martha, next to Jesus is actually "Mama." Oh well)
12. Bible (I know it seems wierd, but he says it as he's bringing me the bible, and it's definitely a different sound than "book" or "ball.")

Now, keep in mind that his words often are not reoccuring. They are pretty random at this point. But it's a start! Oh, he meowed yesterday too. He loves cats, not like me.

Since I haven't been blogging very much, I have a few cute things to add.

On Saturday, we took JW's mom to dinner at Apple Mountain Ski and Golf Resort, one of our new faves. It was the first meal out with Jackson that I actually enjoyed. He did so well! He ate almost the entire duration of the meal, allowing me to enjoy my meal too. It helped that I ordered a big salad with pineapple, mandarin oranges, strawberries, and turkey bites; ok, so I ended up eating mostly lettuce, but hey, it was worth it. :)

JW and J were playing in the yard, and JW had his golf club and ball out there. J was definitely playing with the ball, and when JW went to look for it, it was gone. The three of us searched the yard, the dirt, the plants, but still have yet to find it. It's a mystery... We did find a doggy toy that is a ball, which of course J loves to play with.

Jackson is back into the "tickle mitt," a mitten that allows your fingers to poke out and makes you look like a monster with which you tickle the baby. I taught him to put it on himself, and he looks so funny with his "monster" hand.

We're getting ready to go to Camp Lake Louise next week, so be prepared for another lull in blogging, but I'll try to keep track of all the funny things that happen and write when we get back. Oh, by the way, J is 15 months old!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Oopsie!


Today J and I went to Birch Run to get JW his Father's Day present. After a few stores, he was getting restless, so I sat down on one of the benches to nurse him. When we were done, I wondered why he wasn't sitting up. It turns out that his little finger was stuck in the holes in the bench--he couldn't get it out, but he kept pulling, as I was trying to get him to stop pulling. I finally just yanked it out, and I was so sad, he was crying. It was a little red and swollen, but he could move it fine, and it got better throughout the evening, so I think it's ok, but Dr. Mommy was scared. To make it up to him, I bought him some cute clothes at Carter's and a little puppy dog that barks when you pull the string. "Can't buy me love..."

Also, JW and I have been struggling to get J to eat more than cheese and fruit and cheerios. He won't touch bread, pancakes, waffles, mac and cheese, or banana muffins. Tonight for dinner I made an Indian chicken recipe with curry sauce and cauliflower, and he gobbled it up! Who knew? He's an international sort of dude. I'll take it.

Being Silly



I have to add to Jackson's Lexicon:


7. "Men!" for Amen after grace
8. Truck
9. Tiger (as in Woods); for real, he pointed at the TV screen during the golf tournament and said it!
10. Bear


Jackson has been so funny the last few days, I just have to share so that I don't forget:


  • He fell on the driveway and scraped his knee. It was a pretty good scrape. I was teaching him that it was a "boo-boo," and I would kiss it. Then I showed him Mommy's boo-boo from cutting herself with the knife (surprise, surprise), and he kissed it! So adorable!

  • I bought him Tadoodles, which are Crayola's brand of Toddler-shaped crayons. They look like eggs. J thought they were a toy and just wanted to bang them together. When JW left the room for a second, on returning, he saw the J had blue crayon all over his face--he had eaten the tip off the crayon! I guess he's not old enough to color...

  • I bought J a new book, Spot Goes to the Farm. There is one page that he keeps turning to, that of a duck in a pond. But for some reason, he's obsessed with the reeds (cattails) behind the pond, and he keeps incessantly pointing at them and talking about them. I'm not sure what he thinks they are, exactly, but he sounds really concerned about whatever it is. It's a mystery for now...


Thursday, June 4, 2009

First Lexicon

Someone recently told me that I should keep track of Jackson's first 50 words, for they are known as his "first lexicon." We're not at 50 yet, but it is certainly amazing to see every day how much he is trying to say and imitate. So far:

1. Dada (his all-time favorite chant, especially when I ask him to say "mama.")
2. Mama
3. Basketball (ba-ball)
4. Ball
5. Slide/'side (outside)
6. Bye-bye

I'll keep adding on. I just spent my first night in a long time away from my two men; JW had a golf outing yesterday and Aunt Jane watched Jackson. Because it started so early yesterday morning, the guys left the night before. Jackson had a rough time sleeping until JW lay down with him; I slept great! But I definitely missed the little guy--and my big guy too. Absence makes the heart grow fonder for sure. I had a great time playing with J when I got home yesterday--he was so funny! He likes to take Old MacDonald and his horsie and set them on the coffee table, then move them to his tractor, and back and forth they go. He was playing "catch" with me, but he has trouble throwing the ball forward; it always goes behind his head and he acts so surprised when it ends up across the room behind him.

Finally, I forgot to blog on Saturday when I had my first Pampered Chef party. I was so excited because I've never been able to go--well, it turned out that I didn't get to stay at my own, either, because I had to deliver a baby in the middle of it. I was super nervous because it was my first delivery here out of residency, but it worked out so perfectly. Mom and baby are doing fine, and my wonderful boss actually came to the hospital to be my moral support, which was such an answer to prayer. Oh well, I will have to go to someone else's party sometime. A baby was totally worth it.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Paid In Full




Today was a great momentous day because JW and I now own both of our vehicles. Our title for the Honda came in the mail. We were super excited because now we can just focus on saving for our future first home. Yay!

Jackson was a "doll" today. I got out my old Cabbage Patch Kid preemie, dressed it in one of his old onesies and his newborn baby hat, and gave it to him. He loved it! I told him to brush the baby's hair and he did (although the baby is bald like him) and I told him to feed the baby its bottle and he shoved the bottle in baby's eye--close enough! It was precious!
We just got back from Cincinnati, where we spent a great weekend with our family, the Chapins and the Smiths. Jackson loved playing with the dog Cooper and his cousin Emily--he even helped her practice the piano!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day!

What a wonderful day today--I got to spend time with my mom (and Dad), my mother-in-law, the man who made me a mother, and my little baby boy. We went to church, where JW played on the worship team, then after nap, took everyone out to brunch at Jake's. Jackson was so good at a fancy restaurant, with only a booster seat to keep him out of trouble. My favorite part of the day was just watching Jackson play--he is such a show-off, especially around his grandparents. They've been calling him "Cheeser" because of his cheesy smile--I just love him! Happy Mother's day to all you moms!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Yoga anyone?


So I finally got myself motivated to go on a nice long run today, and I took Jackson along in the BOB stroller. It felt so nice to get outside and do something to help myself feel better. J did really well; he took off his shoe, which I had to confiscate along with his sock so that he wouldn't toss it into the road. What is the nursery rhyme about the little boy with one shoe off and one shoe on? Jackson is in that state a lot. :)
When we got home, I was stretching on the ground outside, and Jackson got down on the ground with me and imitated the position I was in. It was so cute! He really liked it when I bent forward to touch my toes, he thought I was playing peek-a-boo!


"Diddle diddle dumpling, my son John.

He went to bed with his socks on.

One shoe off and one shoe on.

Diddle diddle dumpling, my son John!"




Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Spring has Sprung!


Wow, it's been way too long since I've blogged, a whole month! I've been truly enjoying this time in Jackson's development. He is so cute, and continues to get cuter. I think what's so fun is watching him learn so much--new things to explore, new sounds to try out, the outside... What a blessing! He seems to be smiling 24/7, except when he's crying, which is usually when he's clinging to my legs. Separation anxiety is still an issue at times, but I try to treasure it since I know all too soon he won't want anything to do with me and I will be missing these days. Sleeping through the night continues to be a blessing, as we are all resting better. Also this month we visited North Carolina with our friends and had a blast--check out my Snapfish photos, they're great. It was sad because I really want to be in North Carolina, but I'm also feeling very blessed that I have such wonderful friends there that I can count on anytime. Jackson loved the sand and the ocean, and it makes me excited for his continued discovery of nature.