Travel Often

“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” — Rosalia de Castro

Love Deeply, but Laugh Along the Way

"Happiness is only real when shared." - Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

View Marriage as an Adventure

"Love is a flower which turns into fruit at marriage." ~Finnish Proverb

Fuel your body with GOOD (It's the only one you get)

He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything. - Arabian Proverb

Open your Soul to Motherhood

A Grand Adventure is About to Begin - Winnie the Pooh

A New Kind of Love is Born

Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

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.

 

It's All About the Small Stuff

Some of the unusual things that made me smile last week

You know when you're going at TURBO SPEED? Yeah, pretty much every day, right? Well I'm kind of over it. Except I'm having the hardest time letting stuff go so I'm living in a cycle of madness here. There is always SO MUCH TO DO ALL THE TIME. I'm working at it though. But with that said, there are only a few things that stop me in my tracks these days and either make me bust a gut or force me to simply STOP and SOAK in the good around me.

Last week, it was these moments for me:

Say what??? Did I read that right??? My bust a gut moment.
A gorgeous snowfall on April 23. Ahhhh. God's work.
So pretty! (Plus, I knew it'd melt by the end of the day, so it was OK in my book)
I took the long way to work to capture these shots. Late? Oh well.

For one second I wanted to ENJOY what was going on around me. And I did. I didn't care. All I have been doing is rushing through everything just to keep up. Sound familiar? I didn't want to miss the opportunity to be silly and laugh or the last snowfall of the season...even if we're talking April here...

I'm trying to capture as much as I can in video and pictures because maybe when I'm old, I can actually let this all soak in and remember how awesome I had it. I just wish I could realize it now and ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY. Of course I know what I have, but I'm talking about throwing my head back and laughing myself silly and not worrying about the dishes or menu planning or laundry or paying bills. JUST LIVING IN THE MOMENT. These pictures help me get there.