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...

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.

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!

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!

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!"

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.

Where's Baby's Tongue?

I know it's been awhile since I blogged--things have been pretty hectic. I just was at a conference in Ann Arbor for 2 days, commuting each day, so I haven't seen my little J in awhile. We had a fun reunion today, with lots of hugs and kisses. Our favorite thing is to stick out our tongues at each other. What a cutie pie! He's been going thru some separation anxiety, which is hard on all of us, but the good news is that he has been sleeping thru the night in his own bed, praise God! It's been a long time coming (a year!), but all in God's time, right? He's starting to say "mama" a bit more audibly, which is very pleasing to my ears. Otherwise, he kind of sounds like a character from Sesame Street most of the time. :)