Big Heart

This is Jackson's 31 AND 32 month update. We have been a busy bunch the past couple of months!

Weight: 26.6 lbs

Height: about 36"

He is wearing 24 Month/2T size clothes and size 6 shoes.

Favorite activities:

Working puzzles. And he is very good at it. He can work up to a 48 piece puzzle by himself.

Watching movies (and working puzzles) on "the Pad" (Dad's iPad). He is seriously addicted to the iPad. I'm not kidding.

His favorite shows now are Wonder Pets, Backyardigans, Blue's Clues and Dora. My Dad tried to get him interested in "sailor man" aka Popeye. It lasted 2 episodes. But at least now he knows the theme song.

Jackson still has Daddy Fish. He even picked out some cool things to go in Daddy's Fishes home...a pink tree and a soccer ball.

Speaking of soccer, Jackson had his last soccer class about a month ago. In the 24 weeks he has been there, I have noticed an improvement in his listening skills as well as his physical capabilities. He really enjoyed playing soccer, but I thought we'd give it a break for a while. Hopefully in the new year, I will be able to enroll him in tumbling!

Jackson is so interested in anything musical. I took him to the dress rehearsal for a timpani concerto that the EPO was doing on their Classics 2 concert. I expected Jackson to like the drums! As we walked in, they were rehearsing the overture for the concert. Jackson's eyes just got really big as he sat and watched. He sat still for a good 30 minutes...almost twice through the concerto!

And when I asked him what his favorite instrument was...the TUBA! I thought maybe he had just heard it somewhere, so asked him where the tuba was and sure enough...he pointed right to it (it...yes only one tuba in a nearly 60 piece orchestra). 

We also went to see my parents' church choir's Christmas program. Jackson loved all the music.

We were able to have a special date on December 4th when I took Jackson to see the Peppermint Pops.

We only stayed for the first half as I could sense he was getting restless (it was during his naptime). Santa made an appearance at the end of the first half and Jackson chased him out to the lobby. He needed to tell him he wanted puzzles for Christmas! 

Jackson is still a great sleeper. He sleeps roughly from 8:30pm - 7:45am, and still takes a 3 hour nap. He plays quietly in his crib (yes, I will keep him in that crib as long as humanly possible) until I come and get him. He has a library of books in there that he loves to read.

Before bed, we snuggle, watch one episode of his choice, and read a book. I love this snuggle time with him.

After bath time, Jackson likes to hide underneath the towel and say "where is me?". I then have to guess and then he pulls off the towel, I scream and he laughs. Rinse and repeat. It's a current favorite of his.

I am constantly amazed at Jackson's clearness of speech and vocabulary. I love carrying on conversations with him. Sometime he comes out with the most random things...like "I want 40 dollars". Huh? He is also getting into the make believe stage. He'll say "Look Mommy a dragon!" And then we describe the dragon or pretend to run or whatever he wants to do next. It is fun seeing his imagination at work. He is so funny, too! This is his silly face.

Aunt Holly taught him how to stick out his tongue while taking pictures. One night, I was going through the pictures on my phone that I had taken that day. I noticed some interesting pictures of Jackson. Apparently he had stolen my phone and took some self portraits...with his tongue sticking out!

Jackson is a good eater. He'll eat ALMOST anything. Though there are somethings that he insists he doesn't "yike" (like)...pickles, for one. And pepperoni. If you ask him what he ate for lunch at daycare, he'll almost always tell you pizza and peaches. I think that is what he wishes he could eat every day. He LOVES the IHOP. Pancakes rank up there on his favorite food list. Mac&Cheese, pizza, oranges, applesauce, and yogurt also rank high on the list.

For the most part, he is well behaved. He has the typical moments of not sharing and being two, but mostly he is good-natured and easy going. I like to think it is because I work WITH him instead of struggling against him. I pick my battles and I try to make sure he receives enough one-on-one time with me in a positive setting. I find that if I let him make a decision instead of telling him what to do, life is a lot easier. I try to model good behavior for him at all times, too. He is like a little monkey...saying and doing whatever he sees. He is very polite saying "yes, please", "no, thank you", "thank you", "please"... Of course, I can't take all the credit. He has a wonderful daycare provider in Brandy.

Jackson goes to Ms Brandy's Monday through Thursday. On Friday's the boys stay home with me. I try and do fun things on Fridays. Over the past few months we have built forts

And tall towers

But most of all, Jackson is so so sweet. He is kind and loving and conscientious. He doesn't like to see people upset, and is quick to give a kiss to make it feel better. He tells me "I love you" freely and has even said "you make me happy, Mommy". His heart is so big.

I love you, Sweet Pea!