Walking On Sunshine

Upon speaking with my mother last week, I asked her "did you read the blog". She responded with "there weren't any videos." And that was that. So this week there are three. Jackson must've known he should up the ante as far as doing video-worthy things are concerned or Nana might lose interest. That and simply lots of interesting stuff happened this week!

So here we are, week 46..


I'll start with the food. I think it was the most predominant part of the week. We indeed went to the Farmer's Market last Sunday where we picked up lots and lots of Organic Produce (and some Banana Bread...which I let Jackson try).

I spent the entirety of Monday afternoon cooking. I made corn, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, zucchini, apples, peaches, pears, and millet. Now we're stocked up for at least the better part of a month! Go mommy! We also bought a watermelon for Jackson to try. After a few minutes of studying the thing, he wolfed it down. It was very messy, but delicious.


We also stopped by the Lolly Shoppe this week. They sell a lot of American foods. If you have been with me since the beginning, I am sure you remember the blog about craving American food and discovering the Lolly Shoppe. Well, we went there this week with the intention of buying Dr Pepper, Peanut Butter M&Ms, and Reese's Cups for my girl's group class (I promised them an American themed party on their last class of the term). While browsing the shop, I saw a box of Graham Crackers. The price tag said $9 (this place is EXPENSIVE... imported food, bah), but they were going for $4 so I bought them as a snack for Jackson. Score! He likes Graham Crackers, too!


Jackson also started on diluted Apple Juice in his sippy cup for afternoon snack. Loves it. So far, lots of winners this week, eh? And finally, we may or may not have let him try a McDonald's french fry... and he may or may not have liked it. That's all I'm saying.




Movie time. Jackson has been clicking his tongue for a while. But we just now managed to get it on video. So for your entertainment, Jackson clicking his tongue (followed by him eating a Cocoa Pop..certainly not a staple in his diet, but we thought it'd be fun to see him try it. It was. Fun, that is).




Yesterday, we finally turned his car seat around. He is over the required weight limit (9kg here - he is 9.5kg) though not a year old yet, but we figure close enough. He seemed to really enjoy being able to look at everything from the other angle and he likes being able to see David and I as we drive.


Apparently, it was too much excitement. So he slept.



We had a couple of rough nights this week due to teething. Tooth number 7 came through on last Sunday. It seems to have calmed down though tooth number 8 is still not through. I think maybe it could have been his molars starting to journey towards the surface and bothering him. He just wasn't himself for a couple of days... very clingy and whingy. He is drooling A LOT even for him, and bites everything. Everything. EVERYTHING. David's nose included. Drew blood. Not pretty.

We have taken to walking in the evenings when I don't teach. I need the exercise and Jackson needs the fresh air. On Friday, we went out... it was a bit overcast, but didn't look menacing. So I pushed the stroller up the hill to the track, started to take some pictures (because I am sure I have the most well documented baby in history)...

when rain. Lots of it. And wind. So I start heading home... and as the cars are passing me on the street I am sure they are thinking "that's one crazy lady taking her baby for a walk in the rain". But who got the last laugh? The rain stopped when we neared home and though we were completely drenched, we caught site of not one, but two gorgeous rainbows.


I have been trying to take Jackson outside to play a bit more now the weather is nicer. We spent Wednesday morning at the park. I meant to go to a park with toys... this particular park had no toys. But it turns out we didn't need toys. Jackson was OBSESSED with leaves.





Swimming lessons on Thursday morning were great. His usual teacher, Miss Paula, was at a funeral so we had Miss Alicia instead. She was really impressed with Jackson's water confidence and ability to get to where he wanted to go by himself.

On Friday, we heard a knock on the door, and the nice post lady delivered us a package from Nana and Bapa! YAY!


We opened it up, and guess what Jackson immediately recognized...

Yup, the cookies. Went straight for them, the little stinker!
There were a lot of goodies in there for us. Thank you Bapa and Nana for sending it! (And yes, we definitely LOVE those cheeks!)


This week brought some major progress to some up and coming milestones. Jackson has been working very hard on standing by himself. He is definitely getting better at it every day.


He is also practicing walking! He walks holding someone's hand:


And he enjoys walking with his walker toy:



As always, there were some beautiful moments this week.
Jackson listened as Daddy serenaded him with the guitar. And then tried to play himself.


And I finally caught a picture of Jackson's biggest "I'm tired" cue - playing with his ears. This is especially poignant because my sister played (plays) with her ears when she is tired.



Jackson has developed a gorgeous smile that looks more and more grown up every day.

I can't believe how quickly this has all gone! Tomorrow we are going out to the party supplies shop to see what we can find for Jackson's first birthday party.

I have two more lessons to teach next week and then I am on a 4 week break. I am looking forward to the break for several reasons. Firstly, I desperately need to work on my Master's thesis. And secondly, I can't wait to spend some QT with Jackson without having the afternoon interruption! There is always so much to do and so little time to do it in! I am looking forward to evening strolls. And morning snuggles in bed.

So from our house to yours, thanks for reading! And we'll talk to you again next week!