Jackson's 12 Month Milestones

Our baby is 1 year old.

And he is on fire. The boy is on the go go go go go. Did I mention daycare told us he is one of the most active babies they have seen...maybe even ever....? 

One year pics - taken at church

 

Jackson is in full point mode. SO SO SO curious ALL THE TIME. Everything gets a point followed by a “da?” or “whoa” or “waw”. We could spend countless hours staring at all the pictures on the refrigerator or even in his books. Jackson likes going through every single one over and over. He points, says “da?” and then moves on to the next, “da?”, smiling bigger and bigger as we go through each one.

Finally made it out to eat! Celebrated Jackson's one year bday. It went better than I thought.

Don't be jealous of J's hairline or fuzzy hair!

 

Jackson is a walking pro, even started to jog here and there. I guess he figured out how to get places even faster. Super! He has four new pairs of sneakers to choose from to help him get where he needs to go to thanks to Grandma Cindy. Those little shoes are just too cute!!

Like my new kicks? How about this cool outfit?

 

He enjoys pulling our DVD player forward and trying to rip apart all the compartments. That doesn’t fly too well with dad. Trying hard not to overuse the word “no!”. He also has a SOFT spot for animals. ALL animals. This is why the zoo will be SO FUN for him. I CAN'T WAIT to take him!!!

Loved this fish tank at the chiropractor. Wouldn't say he enjoyed his adjustment so much though...

He spotted this dogie 100 feet away and marched over to her!

 

Jackson also LOVES staring out the open crack in the window…even if it’s snowing out in April (seriously!?!? Blizzard one day and 80 the next). He watches the cars, people, doggies…you name it. You can almost hear him thinking.

My favorite spot in the house

My favorite toy in the house (yes, travel size shampoo)

 

His pediatrician loved watching Jackson move throughout the exam room during his 12 month checkup. He was all over the place…ALL OVER. That was until the shots came in. He KNEW. He immediately burst into tears and looked at me like HELP ME, MOM!!! This KILLED ME. It was a tough appointment. She pulled the wax out of his ears (meaning pinning him down), he had three shots and had his finger pricked and blood drawn. I was so flustered by the time I got to work, I couldn’t see straight. These are the moments I wish I could be home with him. I shouldn’t have to pass him off to someone else. I should be the one comforting him. Grrrr.

Oh, let's see... weight: 21 lbs, height: 30 inches (or maybe taller than that?), head: 50% (I don't have the paper in front of me and it was so hard to pay attention with Jackson so upset).

I've officially incorporated working out into my playtime with Jackson. He loves being active so I'm going to wear him out. He loves his little indoor bike and he loves it more when I push him on it. I invented this thing called the monkey crawl. I get on all fours and then rest my hands on the base of the bike and fly through the house, pushing Jackson lap after lap. My butt, thighs and hamstrings burn. When I can’t catch my breath or go anymore, I collapse on the floor and Jackson jumps on me and we laugh. Then I chase him all over the house in a game of hide and seek. Fun stuff.

Pretty sure he would sit on this all day if someone pushed him all the time

 

Speaking of laying on the floor, when I am on all fours, Jackson will stop what he’s doing and come over to me. He likes to push my shirt up a little and pull at my pants until a mole on the small of my back shows. He then flicks this mole on my back. OK…so maybe there is a little of me in him. I always flick Karl’s ears…. I know. Weird.

FINALLY nicer weather hit and I was so excited to take Jackson to a park. SO EXCITED. Things aren't as crazy when I can let Jackson run wild outside. I like this nicer weather A LOT. We went to a couple different parks and I let him loose. He shrieked and shouted with excitement, especially watching all the other kids play. He followed them everywhere and up the stairs he went and through the blue tubes he went. Ummm…wait…what?? I had to chase after him – through the tubes I went. I felt like a kid again. We had a blast. And we went again when Karl got home (after a stop at the local Dairy Queen). Now this is what I’m talking about. This is what families do, right? This is all I ever wanted. TO SPEND SOME TIME TOGETHER. THE THREE OF US.

Beginning of the week...cold and snowy. WHACK.

 

End of the week - 80 degrees. He loves his awesome trike/stroller!

Hit up the river bottom as a family! Dad even got a wood tick...

Playing at the park - full speed ahead! Mom had to be quite flexible in those blue tube thingy

No words needed here....

Life is so much better with ice cream!

 

Ask for a hug and you’ll get it. BEST FEELING EVER. He’s really showing love. Hugging his stuffed animals and us. So sweet. So innocent. So precious.

Jackson loves flipping through all the pages of his books. He has one book he goes to all the time. A book full of colors. Want to know his favorite color? Or at least his favorite page? BROWN. Yeah. BROWN. Every single time he goes to his book, he MUST flip to the brown page. Then he laughs and smiles and points to the teddy, horse, monkey and owl. I also noticed he did his first finger painting at daycare. Guess what color? BROWN. OK…so we know he might not like all the colors his mom does.

My mom reading Jackson's favorite page...BROWN

 

I stopped all midnight feedings. I know. We’re going on night five. I was scared half to death to do this. But Jackson’s pediatrician reminded me about cavities. Yeah, yeah, yeah… I just was more nervous about losing more sleep by taking away the feedings. I was worried he'd be up and scream his brains out for hours. Not so! So far, so good. Last night he did wake a little at 3:00 a.m. and I went into his room and rubbed his back. He fell back asleep. Same again at 5. But now I’m worried his molars are coming in and he’ll be up lots. I was incredibly engorged and uncomfortable last week but taking all this day by day.

You’ve all heard of the Gummy Bear Song, right? This is one song that will STOP Jackson in his tracks and also got us through his one year pics. It’s about a 2 minute YouTube video, but 2 minutes is two minutes. I kind of am addicted to it too. I mean, a gummy bear jamming in a low rider? Sweet. Thanks Jenna!!

The Gummy Bear Song ROCKS

 

One of Jackson’s favorite things is to knock blocks over. Between Karl, my brothers, my dad and me, we try to outdo one another and build a bigger tower for Jackson. Jackson doesn’t mind…he gets crazy excited and then his eyes start fluttering because he knows what’s coming. He swipes a hand over the blocks and CRASH. Then he claps. YAY!

CRASH!

 

The street sweeper came through last week and Jackson would not take his eyes off of it. It was fun to watch him get excited (and stay preoccupied for more than a couple minutes). I was able to get lunches ready and packed up! Win-Win.

Way too cool, mom! "WAW!"

In a trance.