Teeth

Welcome to tooth #2!

(Bottom left as you're looking at him...you know, just for my records...)

Angel

Kind of a sad post today. Two days ago, one of my childhood friends lost her second child. After three months of treatment in the NICU in Cincinnati, they were told their little girl would not make it - that her lung wasn't growing with the rest of her body - and they would face something no parent should have to face. I am absolutely heartbroken for them. I can't imagine burying one baby much less two. Her strength inspires me. Her story saddens me. And I have been hugging my two little boys much tighter ever since.

I came across a saying the other day that has had a profound impact on my thinking.

"Age is not a curse; it's a privilege".

Not many sayings have had such a deep impact on my life. But perhaps this one came along at just the right time. I have aged another year; my grandmother scared us all a couple of weeks ago when her health declined quickly (though she has since recovered surprising all of us including the doctors and herself); and my friend lost her little baby girl.

I feel I now have a stronger appreciation for life, people, and time. I love my boys so much. And I know they love me back. And I know they love each other, too. I am proud of and happy for their relationship and hope it holds them in good stead throughout their life. There is nothing quite the same as a sibling on whom you can lean and who can relate to you on a level no one else can.

Samuel laughs at Jackson most of the time...when he's not crying because Jackson took his toy, knocked him over, or hugged him too tightly. And Jackson adores his baby brother...sometimes too much. Jackson and I have a deal. Jackson likes to lay on Samuel. So he is allowed to lay on Samuel when Samuel learns how to walk. I figure by then Samuel will be the same size as Jackson and they can just have at it.

But for now, Jackson can help Samuel eat puffs.

And show him comfort and encouragement.

Because I'm sure that is what Maddy is doing with Ellie right now in whatever lies beyond death. There's one more star in the sky; one more angel in the heavens.

Peace, love and my deepest sympathy to the Hendricks family.

New Shoes

Jackson is so excited about his new Spiderman shoes from Aunt Holly.



He is all smiles!

Bad Hair Day

You're welcome.

Proof

Or more proof, should I say...

...that Jackson is a lefty.

(On a side note: what a cute little batter!)

The Birthday

It's my birthday!

I woke up to wonderful little boys (who I had to force to take a picture with me)





I got to celebrate later in the day with my sister, nephew, mom, dad and, of course, the boys.



I chose Nagasaki for my birthday dinner...more specifically, I wanted to sit at the Hibachi Grill and order Sake. I got an Apple Martini instead. It wasn't incredibly "kid friendly", but Jackson was a good sport and tried all the adult food, including his salad and soup.


Jackson really enjoyed watching the chef cook our meal in front of us. He didn't take his eyes off the grill.


The chef was very entertaining. And Jackson was delighted when he made fire shoot up in the air.


Everyone went back to the house for presents and cake.


I got everything on my list: a slow cooker, enrollment in the Cake Decorating Class at Michael's, and giftcards to Kohls and Amazon.

Jackson helped me blow out my candles...


...on the cake I made for myself :)


When I became a mother, I felt that birthdays should be equally about celebrating the mother of the birthday person as it is about the person who's birthday it is.
So, because I had a spare cookie cake lying around, I decorated it for my mother:


So happy birthday to me! And, thanks Mom, for pushing!

Slow Down

Oh my goodness...I love this little guy so much! And he is 28 months old today. 28 Months! That is 2 months off of 2 1/2 years.

He has the sweetest little personality. He is a great helper, and, for the most part, and excellent listener. His sense of humor is unique, and I love his different expressions.

I love his unbridled goofiness. He constantly is doing something to make me laugh.



Every Thursday, on my day off, I try to take the boys somewhere special. The past couple of weeks have brought:
The last craft hour of the summer. Jackson made a beautiful fish that he was very proud of.


A movie in a cinema. We saw Winnie the Pooh. His favorite part was the cinnamon pretzel and the Lion King preview. We left halfway through when Jackson looked at me and said "all done, Mama". He didn't care too much for Winnie the Pooh or his friends.


A trip to Petsmart, Lics, and the park. Of all the animals in the pet store, Jackson liked most the fish. From Lics, Jackson picked a grilled cheese...

...before going down the big twirly slide. About a billion times.



Jackson loves to read. He will chose a book (or puzzle) over a toy or TV show any day.


I am amazed at how well he speaks and what he knows and what he says.
One of my favorite stories from the past couple of weeks is this. My dad was outside mowing the lawn and pulling weeds. Jackson loves to mow the lawn, too. Dad says "Look at all this crap!" as he is throwing the weeds. Jackson says "Mama, Bapa is throwing crap!" It was hilarious!

I "interviewed" Jackson last week. It went a little something like this.
Me: What's your name?
Jackson: Jackson
Me: How old are you, Jackson?
Jackson: Jackson two.
Me: What is your favorite color, Jackson?
Jackson: Jackson geen. (that's gReen to you and I)
Me: What is your favorite animal, Jackson?
Jackson: Hippo!!!

He looks for the sun each morning and the moon each night. If it is cloudly, he tells me "the sun hiding behind the clouds, Mama". So sweet.

Tonight we were having pizza and his cheese was dripping off (yum). Jackson told me his pizza was crying. I love these "toddler-isms".

And when he is hungry he says "I hungry hungry hippo". Love this boy.

Jackson LOVES peanut butter and cake. Not so much ice cream. His favorite foods are oranges, peas, sausage, yogurt, applesauce, and anything with butter on it (that's his dad right there). I have been cooking at home a lot lately and have been trying some new things, and I think Jackson's new favorite meal might have to be cheesy tuna.

*No, this picture is not cheesy tuna...it is Pasta with Meatballs.

Jackson still goes to soccer class every week. With each passing week he gets better and better. He loves to run fast and jump, and his kicking is getting to be much more accurate. We were finally able to break out the new Nikes Mio bought him last year. Goes well with his soccer outfit, don't you think?



And, oh, how he loves his brother.


Seriously...He...REALLY...loves his little brother.


Sometimes he loves him TOO much.

Jackson can count to "11" (random, right?), say and recognize his ABCs, sing in tune (phew!), and dance. And he still has no interested in using the toilet.

Jackson is a typical two year old...I constantly hear "my do it". And while I am so proud of how independent he is getting, I struggle with letting my baby go. This past 28 months has gone so fast and as time moves on it just seems to go more quickly. So each day I try to get all the snuggles, kisses, and smiles from this sweet little boy that I possibly can. Slow down, Sweet Pea!

Time Flies

It seems like I say the same thing every month. IT HAS GONE SO FAST!

I can't believe my baby is 8 months old!


Samuel is a sweet and happy baby. He is always smiling and is content to go with the flow.

Just lately Samuel has been getting up on his hands and knees and rocking. I think he'll be crawling before too long! Then...watch out world! Actually...watch out Jackson!

Just as Jackson did, Samuel enjoys spending his afternoon time in his Exersaucer watching Yo Gabba Gabba chewing on a teething biscuit.



Samuel still isn't the best sleeper, waking twice a night to eat. I believe he is honestly hungry. He doesn't nurse horribly well during the day because he is so distracted with everything around him. He nurses GREAT at night. He nurses 5 times during the day and 1 side each time at night...so 6 times total. In addition, he has cereal for breakfast and fruits and veggies for dinner. He is very picky...he'll only eat food that I make for him. And I still haven't figured out which foods cause him to get constipated. So far I have cut out rice and oatmeal. I am thinking I need to alter MY diet just a bit to include more fiber. But then again, Samuel has never been a frequent pooper. So maybe that is just his thing. Nap times are generally fine as long as he is at home in his bed. He doesn't sleep well on the go...too much to see!
Samuel also has been going to daycare a little bit during the week. I have been pumping like a madwoman, but Samuel REFUSES to take his milk out of anything except for the breast. Brandy has ended up taking the valve out of a sippy cup and pouring my expressed milk little by little into his mouth. I'm not too fussed about it, though. When Samuel starts daycare full time in a couple of weeks, he'll take his 10:00 nurse via sippy cup and I can drive over and nurse him on my lunch hour. That's the good thing about working only 6 minutes away!


When we don't feel like taking a full bath, Samuel takes a mini-bath in the sink. He loves playing in the running faucet water.


He also enjoys sitting in the big boy bath tub splashing about with Jackson.



He has the bluest eyes. Sometimes they catch in the light just so and take my breath away. Those eyes will cause major heartbreak someday!



Samuel doesn't much care for large groups of people. He would prefer to play with just a few. He doesn't like people all up in his face (who does), and loud noises frighten him. When someone waves at him, he smiles automatically.


I love seeing how much he learns and grows every day. He is becoming more interested in playing with toys. He is learning how to bang things together, shake things to make noise, and pull the rings off the pole...but not without a little concentration.

I love how he gets so proud of himself. And when he gets excited he flaps his arms like he is flying.

Most of all, I love how when I walk in a room, his face just lights up, his arms and legs start going, and he squeals in delight. He is such a Mama's Boy. And I cannot get enough of my sweet little guy!

Pancho and Lefty

I think we might have a lefty on our hands!

Jackson consistently...

...eats with his left hand



...colors with his left hand



...and kicks with his left foot.



Just like his Nana.

Smile

Today we're all smiles!


But wait! What's that? Go in a little closer...


Oh yeh! It's a tooth!

It's not the greatest picture because, let's face it, who likes people putting their fingers (and cameras) in your mouth. But there is a little tooth popping through...the lower left one in the front (right if you're looking at him)*. And there might be a little toofer popping through up on the top, too. Can't get a good enough look in there. He has like 6 or so tooth bumps so I'm thinking before month's end, he'll have several new pearly whites.

*If I were a dentist, I'd know the exact name of that tooth.

When I'm 64

Jackson is way into how old people are lately. He knows Jackson is two...as his shirt says and his fingers are trying to say. He knows Mommy is "turty" and Samuel is zero. I was trying to teach him how old his Daddy is...but I guess it was just too much of a mouthful, so he just says "Daddy six".

True story. Can't make that stuff up.

No Day But Today

Today I started the process of checking something off my bucket list.
I took my very first flight lesson.

I got to fly a Cessna 172. It is a very tiny 4-seater plane.

My instructor, Chris, was awesome. He let me take control almost right away and I flew him from one end of Evansville to the other and back.

We even flew over my house! (He took the reigns while I took pictures...couldn't help it *blush*)



He showed me where to find Evansville's own "Crop Circle"... AKA stick figure man. Can you see him down there?



In total, we were in the air for about 45 minutes. I felt like I learned a lot fairly quickly, and didn't feel overwhelmed at all like I thought I would be. I can't quite find the right words to accurately describe what it felt like to be flying a plane. I absolutely LOVED it. In fact, I can't stop thinking about flying again!

I need to fly 40 hours to qualify to take the test to get my private pilot's license. It isn't the cheapest hobby to have...so I'll have to take the lessons as I can afford them. This is definitely something I will pursue though.

love. Love. LOVE!