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

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!

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!

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)

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!

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!

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! :)