Play by Play

6:00 - Jackson is asleep early.He slept horrible the night before and would only take one 30min nap today. Even though he went down easy, I'm thinking we're in for another rough night.

6:23 - Oh what a shock! Crying and screaming uncontrollably. Lay him back down in crib and put my hand on his chest. Feeling my back tighten as I hunch in a pretzel like shape over his crib.

6:33 - Remove hand and start to tip toe out. Damn you creaky floors!! Crying begins again. I leave the room hoping he'll fall asleep.

6:56 - Has not stopped crying and I think I might join him. Go back in room and rock him in the glider. Falls asleep. Put him in crib and try to sneak away. Spidey senses alert Jackson of my maneuver and crying begins again. I leave the room anyways.

7:15 - Unbelievably he is still crying. This stubborn streak does not come from me! Go into room and sit next to his crib and hold his hand.

7:22 - He settles and appears to be asleep. So I let go of his hand. How dumb am I? Cue crying so I hold his hand and he stops crying. This is friggin' ridiculous!

7:28 - He has let go of my hand and is standing in the crib trying to talk to me. I ignore him and keep quiet. Trying hard not to laugh at his attempts to engage me in conversation.

7:33 - The Little Fucker is now playing with his crib toys and is laughing. I have a feeling he's laughing at me.

7:41 - I've inched my way to the door, he's started to notice. His baby talk is starting to sound angry but he continues to play. The dog is looking at me like I'm crazy and I'm starting to agree.

7:49 - Sitting at the door, it's slightly ajar. Debating if I should make my move.

7:50 - Think I'm going to do it. I'm going to open the door wider. Little Fucker is still playing behind me. Happy giggles and the jangling of crib toys can be heard.

7:52 - Crap! I think he saw me. Keeping very still, I'm almost in the hall. Afraid to turn around but playing has stopped.

7:55 - Has started yelling "dada" at my back as I sit in the hall. Never a good sign.

7:58 - Silence. Thought he might have gone down. I stupidly look over my shoulder and delighted squeals come from the crib. The dog and I are now fully in the hall. All we have to do is close the door.

8:00 - I heard a yawn from behind me so I close the door. He starts to cry, scream and fake cough all at the same time. He is PISSED OFF!!

8:07 - Still not letting up, he is in full on tantrum mode. I seriously don't know who he gets this from? Am debating my next move but am going to wait it out for a bit longer to see who will win this game of chicken.

8:11 - Silence. Could it be?

8:12 - Nope.

8:19 - Stretches of silence are increasing. Do I jinx myself and say he's finally falling asleep?

8:22 - I'm such a sucker. Have gone back in for another round. Am greeted by a tear stained, snot nosed baby who is standing and trying to catch his breath as he sobs.

8:23 - Almost falls asleep in my arms instantly. Poor overtired baby. Looking at him all warm and quiet makes me think he isn't such a Little Fucker after all.

8:25 - Continues to twitch and fight just as he's about to fall into a deep sleep. Am thinking my exit strategy will have involve a three stage process.

8:30 - Mission commences. Have stopped rocking and am sitting in the glider, he remains quiet and appears to be asleep. Phase two: As delicately as I can with a 22 lbs baby I attempt to gracefully stand and walk to the crib without any disruptions. Everything is looking good so far. Final phase: gently place the grenade (aka. sleeping baby) in the crib and hope it doesn't detonate.

8:33 - Success?!? After 2 hours, I have all my fingers and toes crossed that he is officially asleep. Hoping that I will not be ringing in the New Year in my son's room.

9:02 - Breaking open a well deserved bottle of wine!


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Santa Picture

I've been wanting to post this picture for awhile but for some reason or another just haven't. This is Jackson's first official Santa picture. I personally think Santa was just calling it in this year. Look at the eyes you can totally tell he's not smiling. Tyra would say he needs more "smeyes". Next year we will be holding better auditions ;) I have a feeling next year Santa will be smiling and Jackson not so much.

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

Christmas Came Early

We got our ornament today from the Holiday Ornament Swap organized by Offering of Love. Not only were we lucky enough to get an amazing ornament, but it was also an ornament that keeps on giving because the proceeds from the ornament go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

We were so fortunate to get our our ornament from the ladies at Looking for a Little Turtle. To say they have a lot so their plate right now is an understatement. So HUGE hugs and kisses to them for such a beautiful tree decoration and for taking the time to send us something so pretty. The picture below doesn't do it justice. Jackson has given it his full seal of approval. Next year they'll have TWO little ones opening up ornaments!!


And to the person who I have I'm beyond horrible for waiting so close to the holidays to get yours out but I swear it's on the way!

More Changes

So much to talk about I don’t even know where to start. This has been one crazy year!

In 2010:
1. We had Jackson
2. Sold our house
3. Moved to a different country
4. Amy started a new job with her same company
5. We travelled to the Dominican for my sister’s wedding (post on this to come later)
6. And to add to this list… I started a new job!

Amy and I “joke” that the only thing left on the list of big life events is a death and then we’ve experienced everything possible this year. For those who know me I HATE change so you can only imagine how excited I am for this year to be over and for the dust to settle a bit so we can slowly get into some sort of normalcy.

I’ve been at my new gig for a week now. I really like it! I’m getting to learn a lot of new things which is one of the reasons why I was interested in this position in the first place. But going from working from home to working downtown means a huge change from what our day used to be like for everyone. I think we’re all slowly adjusting. We’ve shifted Jackson’s bedtime later; he now goes to daycare full time and I have super mommy guilt about all of it. I’m hoping the daycare guilt soon. I HATE that because of my commute he is the first baby at daycare and one of the last to be picked up I think part of it might be weather related. I feel like Jackson and I never see the light of day. We leave when it’s dark and we come home when it’s dark. I feel like a write the following words in every post but here it goes anyway…I know it will get better. Hell, look at all the changes we’ve tackled so far and we’re still standing.

Birthday Girl

That's right! This little lady celebrated a birthday today. We've had one crazy year. A baby, a big move and she's been amazing through it all. Happy Birthday Amy!!

Confession

I am here to say that my 9 1/2 month old son does not sleep through the night. Not only does he not sleep through the night, he's not even close. Realistically I know that one day when we send him off to college we will be an individual that can sleep through the night but right now it just seems like it will never come. I thought this same thing when I'd see other babies in his class sitting up on their own or eating finger foods and now he does these things too. Just like those milestones I know the sleep will come too.

For the past 3 nights we've actually had some really great sleep nights. He's made it through the night doing a 5 hour stretch! It's funny how to some this might be a bad night but this extra time we're getting feels amazing. We get up in the morning and actually feel rested. I"m hoping that he's slowly starting to stretch out his sleep periods naturally.

So for all the other moms that also feel like all they hear about is how everyone else's baby is sleeping through the night. It's okay to be jealous (I know I am) but know you are not alone. My name is Melissa and my baby does NOT sleep through the night.

Namesake

My dad's name is Jack. He passed away unexpectedly the summer of 2002 of a massive heart attack. He was 56 years old. That's all I'm really going to say about his death. That day was beyond horrible and because of that I don't want it to be what represents the memory of him. It's the 25 years that I got to spend with him that I choose to remember.

I've been thinking a lot about him this week. I guess it's inevitable with my sister's upcoming wedding. Then today when watching Oprah who should be on but Garth Brooks, one of my dad's favorites. Seeing that he was on brought a smile to my face, it was a nice reminder to me that even though he's not here he's still around.

My dad was one of those really great dads. There was that Christmas that he was so excited about the Nintendo he bought us for Christmas that he took it out for us before the 25th, or the times that my sister or I would make him so mad that he would kick the air in frustration as he was scolding us. He would be there at my softball games and when I went away to college he would always call to tell me what the weather was like where I was and what events were going on in town in case I was looking for something to do. He used to call me "kiddo" and when we would go somewhere he would walk beside me and rest his hand on the base of my neck.

It's because of all these reasons and many more that we named Jackson after him. My grandpa died when my dad was 18 years old. I never really talked to my dad about it, about what it was like for him to lose a dad at such a young age. I wish I would have and I wish I would have asked more about my grandfather. I don't really know that much about him or feel that great of a connection. I refuse for this to be the case with Jackson. Jackson will know about his Grandpa Jack and understand why he was named after him.

I guess days like these always seem to come up around holidays and big events like weddings and babies. Today is just one of those days that I'm just missing my dad more than normal.

A Life Lesson from Jackson

Today has been a very long day filled with getting the dreaded call from daycare that your baby has a fever and then taking said baby to a doctor's appointment. So no formal blog post today. Instead I'm going to pass along a very important lesson that Jackson taught me today.

Everyone knows that you shouldn't drink and drive or run with scissors BUT did you know that you shouldn't eat blueberries and mangoes when you're sleepy???

Runaway Day

Today plain sucked. Jackson isn't feeling well and because of it he's been an emotional basket case. If I put him down he cries, if I sit down holding him he cries, if I give him space he cries. But then for a fleeting moment he will find a blissful distraction and the tears stop momentarily until he remembers that he's supposed to be fussy. Case in point: (please ignore my horrible sounding voice)



This was my entire day. On top of it, work was horrible and everything seemed to go wrong. So not only was I trying to balance dealing with Fussy Gussy I had work drama as well. Needless to say I failed miserably at both. So what did I do? If I was a little kid again I think I would have packed up my favorite belongings in my backpack and run away from home. Since that wasn't an option I packed us all up and went to the park. For 30min today, everything was okay. Jackson was a happy boy swinging in the swings and I intentionally left my phone at home so work couldn't follow me there.

I wish I could say that this moment turned the day around and it ended on a positive note but unfortunately it didn't. Jackson continued to have meltdown after meltdown. So when it was time for bed and after an hour of trying to get him down to no avail I plucked my snotty, hiccuping, tear stained boy out of his crib and brought him into our darkened living room where under a fuzzy blanket he laid against me and we watched Yo Gaba Gaba until he had calmed down enough to be put back to bed. Sometimes you just have to do what works and tonight that was what worked. I'm hoping he feels better tomorrow. Based on all the blogs I've been reading it sounds like I'm not alone when it comes to having a sick baby right now.

Night Terrors

A post at the Offering of Love's blog helped me feel so much more normal, with the added bonus of helping me find something else to post about.

Jackson slept in our bed for the first three months of his life. We ultimately moved him to his crib because Amy and I weren't getting any sleep in the few short hours that we were being afforded. Even though he was in bed with us for such a short time I didn't realize what an affect if would have on me.

Fast forward to 6 months later and I'm still waking up multiple times a night in a sheer panic. I'm convinced that Jackson has either gotten tangled in the covers or has fallen out of bed. There has been some nights where I have woken up on all fours next to the bed thinking that Jackson has rolled under it. Poor Amy has been woken up by me frantically patting the covers in my attempt to look for Jackson. She's had many conversations with me (who is half asleep) trying to convince me that Jackson is okay and safe in his crib. This happens weekly!

So you can understand my excitement at seeing the post at the Offering of Love's blog and all the comments of others who have had these same late night panic attacks over baby. I'm hoping they end soon for both my sake and for poor Amy who has to deal with a crazy person in the wee hours of the morning.

More

Jackson has learned how to sign "more" he started doing it when he was eating and has quickly learned that it can apply to almost everything in his life.

Being a Mom

Next In Line posted some interesting questions on her blog today so I thought I would answer them on mine.

The Biggest Surprises

One of the biggest surprises is that even though he is over nine months old I still can't believe Jackson is actually ours. Before he was even here I remember looking in his empty crib and thinking that it would soon be his bed. Now, each night when I put him down in his crib I still look down and can't believe the crib is now filled with this amazing little boy.

I also can't believe how much sleep you don't get but somehow your body keeps on going. There are days where you just feel like a shell of a person and you go through the day on auto pilot. Sure, you hear about how you don't get sleep but we didn't really understand the lack of any downtime. There is always something that needs to be done.

Things that totally would have grossed me out before I don't even think twice about now. I've had every imaginable bodily fluid on me and on my clothes. I changed the rankest of diapers, washed god knows what out of my hair and I can't even begin to count the number of times I've been peed on. Through it all I haven't gagged once or wanted to change anything.

My Most Unglamorous Mama Day

Without a doubt this was the time of "The Sickness". Amy was up here in Toronto and Jackson and I were going it alone in Austin. A stomach bug had taken out Jackson's entire daycare class but I still held out hope that he wouldn't get it. Unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky and it was 48 hours of changing diaper after diaper while breastfeeding more than normal to keep him hydrated. I didn't know how I was going to make it through but then I got "The Sickness".

It was hard enough just trying to look after Jackson while feeling like absolute hell but to make matters worse our house was on the market and we had people coming through the house. I will never forget strapping Jackson into his car seat that I covered in a towel to protect against any mishaps and tossed the dog in the back seat next to him. We then drove around the corner to wait it out. Jackson was thankfully entertained by the dog as I sat in the front seat throwing up into garbage bags I brought with me. After 20 min of waiting, the people who ended up buying our house left and Jackson and I crawled back into the bathroom to play in the fort we had created there.

Favorite mama and babies activities

Bedtime Breastfeeding

Jackson is not one of those snuggle, cuddle babies. When he nurses during the day he's constantly distracted, sitting up, laying back down, twisting backwards because he heard a noise. But at bed time he's all mine. I'm his sole focus and I LOVE IT. He snuggles in close, pats my face, and puts his palm up to my mouth for me to give him kisses. No matter how hard of a day it's been that moment makes up for everything.

Bathtime

Amy's favorite part of the day is bath time with Jackson. That is their moment to play, be silly and just be together one on one. It's so much fun to hear them splashing and laughing from the other room.

My advice for other moms

The best advice I ever heard and will give here is that if you survived the day with everyone still alive it was a successful day. It is so true! You can stress about how much or what the baby should be eating, where the baby should be sleeping and for how long or should the baby be crawling/talking/walking but ultimately if you survived the day, it really doesn't matter what you did to get there. Sure the baby took all his naps in the swing, it's okay if the baby drinks formula, and just because your baby isn't crawling/talking/walking when they are "supposed to" doesn't mean they are less intelligent than other babies that are. Are you all still alive? Yes? Then you did a great job today.

Now it's your turn. What about you? What advice do you have? what was your most unglamorous day? What surprised you the most and what has been the most fun?

Packing Anxiety

We are now 9 days away from our trip and I'm getting the creepy crawly stress feeling starting at the base of my neck. I think I'm going to pack Jackson's suitcase over the weekend to at least try and get a bit of a jump on things. We've never traveled with Jackson for a week long vacation before and the older he gets I feel like the more stuff he needs. It would also be different if we were going somewhere that if I forget something I can just run to the grocery store and buy it. But I don't think they are going to have diapers for sale at the all inclusive resort in the Dominican.

Amy is a little stressed out too because she's feels she doesn't have anything to wear that is beach wedding appropriate. So off to the mall we went. As you can image our trip was an epic fail. Seriously, what did we really think we would find? A nice pair of linen pants tucked amongst the sweaters and flannel? We have a plan B that hopefully will work out. If not, it's going to be wool pants and a festive snowflake turtle neck.

I feel like we always are in these situations before trips or major events and we always end up pulling through and making it work but with Jackson now in tow there are so many more variables. Hopefully we still persevere.

Customer Service

I have to say I LOVE companies that have excellent customer service. I bought Jackson a new pair of Robeez shoes a couple weeks ago. He basically wore them 5 times. When putting them on yesterday the entire back of the shoe tore. I was so pissed. I'm not normally a complaints person but for the amount of money I spent on these teeny tiny shoes and factoring in the fact he only wore them a handful of times, I was heated.

So I wrote a very curt email to Robeez customer service voicing my displeasure and my disappointment in their quality. Let me tell you how excited and surprised I was to see an email this morning from Robeez customer service apologizing for the faulty shoes and that they have shipped a new pair free of charge. Standing ovation and two thumbs up to Robeez for their amazing customer service!

Cra-zy

Ummmm...well, wow. Really that's all I can think to say. The meeting with the cat sitter was at the very least interesting. In the 15 minutes that she was here I learned:

1. She has a sciatic nerve problem
2. That her house is now worth $1.8 million
3. That there was a time that her and her husband separated
4. That she has a bunch of gay friends but none of them are women
5. She started her period today
6. She knows how to swear (I have no problems with swearing but find it odd to do so during a business transaction with someone you just met)

She seemed to like the animals, so we'll see. I have a feeling we'll just be using her for our trip and Christmas and then shop around a bit more. Aside from the over share she just rubbed me the wrong way. I felt like the whole time she was telling me what I should be doing with my animals. It reminded me of those strangers that always have an opinion about what your doing with your child.

I'm not sure if we've introduced you all but here are the little ladies in our lives:

This is our oldest, Olive. She's one chatty cat and loves to be all up in your business. We sometimes have to hide our hands because if she sees them she'll run over and rub her head against them. She is a total Mama cat. If she hears her sisters fighting she'll charge into the room and beat up poor Campbell, even when he's just sleeping and had nothing to do with the fight.

Our middle child is Ivy. Her nickname is Poison Ivy. I have a love hate relationship with this girl. She loves to hiss and if you walk past her when she's not in the mood you'll get a swat. Very independent and a true loner. She does have a soft side that comes out at night when I go to bed. It's our time together. She'll see me go to bed and jump in and come up and snuggle for a few minutes before taking off. I'll even get a kiss on the hand some nights.

And last is our baby Fern. She was scooped out of a dumpster when she was 4 weeks old and I think we threaten her daily to throw her back in. She'll then do something funny and all is forgiven. She is our court jester and Campbell's best friend. They will chase, play and groom each other. She's our one cat who doesn't have a set place in the house. She'll just randomly go to sleep in the strangest places. Half the time you'll practically trip over her because she's spread eagle on her back, legs dangling in all different directions in the middle of the hallway.

These kitties are Jackson's favorite things in the house, whenever they are near he perks up and gets excited. Right now his sound for kitty is "kich". Hard to spell but sounds like a cat hissing with a k sound.

Filler

I think Jackson might be signing "more". It could be complete fluke but he was doing it today at dinner when I would stop feeding him. We'll see if he does it again tomorrow. Jackson has also started saying "mama". He in no ways associates either one of us with that word but it beats hearing him say "dada" all the time.

Basically this is a quickie post so I don't fail at NaBloPoMo. We have the cat sitter coming tomorrow morning to meet the girls and get the lay of the land before we go on vacation in 12 days (in case anyone out there is counting along with me). So instead of writing Pulitzer prize winning material on here I'm madly cleaning the house to make it look like we always live the complete opposite of how we in fact do live.

The Fun Mom

I already see how our roles are playing out. Amy is going to be the fun mom and I'm... not. I know before Jackson came Amy was worried about that there would be a lack of connection, that he might for some reason not see her as mom or not love her the same way he would love me. Even now with her crazy work schedule she gets so sad thinking he will forget her or not want to be with her cause she can't spend as much time with him as I do. I hope she sees how unnecessary her fears are. Jackson just adores her. She can make him laugh like no other. She literally can just walk in a room and the kid cracks up. When she's in another room and he hears her, he'll pull himself up on the very tips of his toes to peer over the baby gate in hopes of getting a glimpse of her. And when he does, his face nearly splits in two with the smile he gives her. Amy will roll around on the floor with him, toss him into the air and basically do all the things that make him think she is the most totally awesomest mom in the whole wide world!

Beans and Toast

I guess perseverance pays off. Normally I think I would have just given up and put beans and toast in the maybe column when it comes to foods Jackson likes. For some reason we tried again tonight and huge success!

This was only one of many odd happenings with Jackson today. Aside from becoming a master of the finger foods, he took two naps today both being over an hour which is unheard of. It was so surreal that we were even talking about going in to check on him because we thought something might be wrong.

Then (I think because of the awesome napping) Jackson stayed up an hour past his normal bedtime. Normally, by 6:00 he's rubbing his eyes and getting fussy. Tonight that didn't start until 7:00. So when we started seeing the signs I nursed him and put him in his crib. He was wide awake so I was anticipating the screams as I left the room and closed the door. But tonight not a peep. He must have just closed his eyes and went to sleep.

As excited as I am about the awesome day he's had, I can't help but think this is the quiet before the storm.

Foto Friday

He looks like such a scamp in this picture. I'm so sad his hair has started to fall :(

Lazy. Plain and Simple

This is how I feel.

I'm shocked we're only on the 11th day of the month. It feels like I've been blogging for more than that. Since nothing really happened today worth sharing I'm going to pull out the bullets.

- Jackson was up at 5:00am this morning so F-U-N or should I say F-U-C-K-E-D U-P!

- He actually ate 3 black beans I put on his tray at dinner time!! But then he looked over and saw the puffs can on the table and it was game over

- Jackson is starting to wave and say ba-ba when I drop him off at daycare. Super cute!

- Tooth number 7 has FINALLY made its way through

- I feel like a loser because for daycare we have to fill out an emergency contact card and we have no one to write down :(

- We leave for the Dominican in 16 days!!

- I just ate an entire tub of hummus with a whole bag of pita chips and I don't feel bad about it

- I just had the most amazing can of Coca Cola (with said pita chips and hummus). And not the diet stuff either, it was the real thing in all its sugary glory. Condensation was dripping down the can. I drank it too fast and feel I didn't savor it as I should have.

- Watching the Oprah show I taped today (waiting for Thursday shows to start). I'm trying hard to listen to what Marie is saying but her messed up plastic surgery lips are making that impossible.

- Think I'll go read others blogs and will have Oprah on in the background so I can listen but not have to look. Win! Win!

Until tomorrow!

Suckered

Amy has been working really really hard. There are multiple days during the week when she doesn't see Jackson. It makes her so sad, understandably. To try and help I pumped extra yesterday thinking I could pump enough for his 3 bottles for daycare and have a bottle for Amy to feed to Jackson at night.

All my hard work paid off and Amy was so excited. So the moment came, crying baby. Amy excitedly goes in to see her son who she hasn't seen on over 24 hours. She snuggles down into the glider, cradles Jackson and gives him what he's been crying for...milk. Ummm, we were so wrong. Cue HYSTERICAL SCREAMING, PUSHING and KICKING. Basically a major meltdown. Jackson was EXTREMELY pissed off. We tried everything but he just didn't want his bottle. So I tried nursing to see what would happen and wouldn't you know he settled right down and snuggled in close.

This only proves that he is so not nursing for food when I feed him at night. We've totally been played (even though we've expected it all along).

Gourmet , No Way!

Jackson has always been an easy eater when it's come to his pureed baby foods. He's more or less eaten everything I've made him, well except for carrots (gag, spit out and complete body shudder). We're slowly getting him to eat more finger foods. So far our successes have been:

- mangoes (wont pick it up on his own)
- bananas (won't pick it up on his own)
- graham crackers
- Mum Mums
- toasted whole wheat bread
- Cheerios
- Puffs

Oh Puffs. He's worse than our dog Campbell. Jackson can hear a can of Puffs being shaken in another room and the kid goes wild with anticipation. We've tried other things. For example, tonight I provided an array of cut up green beans, peas and corn. Nope, wouldn't even look at it. I was hoping that he would be more of a foodie by the time we went on vacation so I wouldn't have to bring a bunch of baby food with us. It's not looking like that's going to happen.

Here We Go Again

We've been letting it slide, making excuses, caving cause it's easier but tonight I'm putting my foot down and he's not happy. Here come the bedtime laws!

It started out with the he's teething excuse. Then we transitioned into he has a cold and then we went back to he's teething. This has been going on for about a month now and each night has progressively gotten worse, with the pinnacle being last night when he was up practically every hour. I'm sure the time change was a contributing factor but just writing that makes me feel like I'm making excuses again.

So tonight it begins. He went down around 6:30 and by 8:30 he was already up and crying. I held firm and didn't nurse him back to sleep. I went in there and "comforted" a baby who pushed, hit, screamed and snotted all over me but eventually he did go back down and fell asleep on his own.

We'll see how the rest of the night goes. I hope I have the strength to not go in and nurse him every time he gets up. It's just so easy and I can go back to sleep so much sooner. *sigh*

Gramma - by Jackson

Hi everybody! It's me! It's Jackson. Mama says I can't go night night yet so I get to tell you about Gramma's visit. I didn't know Gramma was coming to visit. Mama said I wasn't getting to go to school but she didn't say why and when I woke up I WAS SO MAD cause I love school so I wasn't going to give Mama any cuddles, so there! But Mama didn't come into my room Gramma did!

Gramma and I had so much fun! I can't remember everything because I AM SO TIRED! But I do know we played lots and I showed her all my toys. I think Gramma didn't think I had enough toys because she bought me new toys. I don't think I have enough toys either so I love my new toys and I love Gramma. I heard Gramma say that I am a very loud boy. I don't think I'm loud, I just think people don't listen to me. Oh yeah, my toys, my favoritest toy is my new horsie, I call him Tex.


We had the bestest time playing at the park, I even got to go down a big boy slide, but not by myself :( Mama and Gramma said babies can't go down the slide but I'm NOT A BABY I'M A BIG BOY! So Gramma helped me go down the slide and took me on the big boy swings.


I had lots and lots to tell Gramma. I had big secrets to share.


We talked lots about how Campbell keeps licking on my face, how much I love the kitties but they run away when I come over to say hi and we talked lots and lots about my pooping problems. Remember when I was a good pooper? I'm not a good pooper anymore. Gramma said she had a secret weapon...PRUNES AND PEARS!!


Every time I woke up Gramma was here and it was great but now Gramma left and I am so sad, I am so sad AND SO MAD. I DON'T WANT GRAMMA TO GO!I DON'T WANT TO EAT MY DINNER! I DON'T WANT TO TAKE A BATH! I DON'T LIKE MY JAMMIES WITH THE DUCKIES ON THEM OR WHEN MAMA PUTS COLD DIAPER CREAM ON MY...

Jackson has been put to bed and will not be able to finish this entry. - Melissa

Times Are a Changin'

Well here we go. I'm anticipating a horrible week of fussy baby. I'm hoping that the time change goes smoothly and he isn't too affected. I'm predicting I'll be up at some ungodly hour tomorrow morning and attempting to keep a very tired baby up longer than he wants tomorrow night.

It seems so long ago that this would be one of those exciting nights out at the bars where you get to stay out an hour later, drink for one more hour, going to bed as the sun comes up. Now here I am hurriedly typing this post so I can go to bed in an attempt to be rested so that i can get up before the crack of dawn to play and have breakfast with the cutest little boy in the whole world. How times have changed. I wouldn't have it any other way!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Something to Laugh About

Things have been a little stressful lately at our place. Last night Amy and I only got two hours sleep so I'm hoping that a video counts as a blog post.

WTF and MYOB

Riding an elevator down to the train a women who seemed innocent enough commented on how cute Jackson was and mentioned that she saw on Dr. Oz that sugar kills and that I shouldn't give the baby any sugar. I smiled and told her I had no plans to give him any in the near future. She then took out a flyer explaining that she worked for some health organization and that introducing a healthy lifestyle to the masses was her passion. She continued talking about healthy eating when thankfully the train arrived. We purposely walked in the opposite direction of her and got on the train.

Sitting down and talking to Jackson I see her lumber over across the train car seeking us out. She sits across from us and starts in again about all the food information she forgot to tell us on the platform. Apparently Jackson needs to eat lots of root vegetables and avocado. I try not to engage and think I'm giving a ton of non verbal cues basically indicating I'm not wanting to hear her advice anymore but she's just not getting it. Up until this point I only found her annoying but this is when the crazy came out. She then looks at Jackson again and goes on and on about how much she loves him, and wishes she could take him home so he could sleep in her bed and be her baby!! I'm totally not kidding. She literally said these words.

Needless to say I pulled his stroller closer to me and took him out to hold on my lap. Partly because I was feeling very uneasy and partly because he was getting fussy. Crazy Pants McGee then starts offering more advice and instructs me that I need to take his coat off because he's hot and that's why he was fussy. Let me just say this was not the reason and even if it was the reason and he had beads of sweat dripping down his brow there is no way in hell I would listen to her and take off the damn coat.

So now that Jackson is out of her grasp and I'm ignoring her she promptly moves into the now open seat next to me. I'm extremely excited that our stop is next and start to gather our things. The whole time listening to how I need to expose him to music and to church because it's good for him and to make sure he doesn't touch the subway pole cause it's dirty. It's then that I see out of the corner of my eye that she has grabbed Jackson's hand and has given it a kiss, saying I love you baby. Once again, I'm so not kidding. We arrive at our stop and as we quickly exit hear her give us multiple God bless you's and I love you baby's.

I'm pretty shocked that I've lived in Toronto for almost 2 months now and I've only now just had my first experience with big city crazy. What an introduction!!

Fairy Tale Boobs

I have never been a big boob girl. I think mine could have best been described as Goldilocks boobs. Not to big and not too small, they were just right. Since having Jackson and still breastfeeding I guess you would say that they are bigger than they used to be. This of course is pretty oblivious to me mind you. I think I have body dis morphia. I honestly don't think I look the way I actually look. I never thought my body changed that much during pregnancy and then I would catch a peripheral glimpse of myself in the mirror and get smacked upside the head with how I actually looked. Same thing now, I assume I look the same way I did pre-pregnancy. Apparently I don't.

My sister is getting married at the end of the month and tonight was the first night I tried on the bridesmaid dress. BAM! hello girls, will you please try and behave yourselves and stay in the dress please. I'm seriously hoping that A) I can find some sort of under garment to rein these ladies in and B) Jack doesn't get sight of me at the wedding and decide to claw my dress down.

Needless to say I'm terrified to try on my bikini!!

9 Month Well Visit

Yesterday was Jackson's first trip to the doctor in a while (knock on wood). I brought him in for his 9 month well visit. I have to admit I felt a little fish out of water because this was also our first foray into the Canadian Healthcare system.

Everything checked out great! Jackson weighs 21 lbs 8 oz and is 29 inches long. Around the 75 percentile for both. He was a real trooper when getting his immunization and flu shots. He only cried a little and was soon smiling again. It honestly was a pretty uneventful trip.

We won't be covered by Ontario health insurance until December so I was prepared to pay a bunch of money for this visit. I know what it's like going to doctor's offices and signing a credit card receipt for hundreds if not thousands of dollars because of insurance not covering. So you can only imagine my shock when the TOTAL bill came to $50.10!!

So in celebration I got a coffee and Jackson got a Mum Mum for the train ride home.

Happy faces!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Halloween

Apparently I need some motivation to blog, October's posts were very lackluster. So, in order to get my ass in gear I'm signing up for NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). For those who don't know this basically means I will be posting an entry everyday for the month of November. If this doesn't get me back in the posting habit nothing will.

We had a great Halloween weekend! Full of new friends and fun activities. Jackson was a ferocious Tiger, RAWR!!!



On Saturday we went to Boo at the Zoo with the babies/kids from J and DZ and Other-Motherhood. Everyone had a great time. All the kids were dressed up and so cute! I think it's hilarious that we went to the zoo and Jackson's favorite thing to see was the fish.

Jackson and Sadie

Then on the BIG DAY (aka Halloween), we were invited by the ladies of 2 Girls in Love to meet up with some of their friends and go Trick or Treating. We had a great first Halloween in Toronto and made some great memories. It was fun to see their little guy Jackson (yes, his name is Jackson too. It's only the coolest name on the planet!), who is a little over a year older than Jack toddle up to the houses with his candy sack. I kept thinking that next year Jack would be doing that and it seems unbelievable. Jack was a real trooper staying out past his normal bedtime and going from door-to door. He even scored Mama some candy!


We have been so fortunate to have met so many great people through our blog. They've really made our move to Toronto so much easier. Thanks ladies!!

Holy Hell

Jackson has been pulling himself up onto everything for about a month now. He reaches his arms so high, grips his tiny little fingers onto anything he can get a hold of and then using all of his power pops himself up onto two legs. We are so proud of him and you can see he is so proud of himself.

Lately this major milestone has become a major nightmare. Bedtime used to be something I enjoyed, it would be our time to snuggle while he nursed and I read to him. He would slowly get tired and I'd put him in his crib with a goodnight kiss. Sure, there were nights where he would fuss for 10min or so but he would eventually fall asleep.

This past week everything has changed. During our quiet time before bed he seems agitated, not really feeding, kicking, grunting, the whole deal. I eventually put him in his crib and he pops up right away and stands in his crib rubbing his eyes and crying. I leave the room and his crying only escalates into blood curdling screams. I leave him in there for a few minutes and when I go back I find him still standing, with tears and snot running down his face. I lay him down again, try patting his back, sushing, the whole deal but nothing seems to work. And God forbid I actually pick him up because then he really loses it, screaming and throwing himself backwards, pushing away from me. Bedtime has now extended into an hour and a half ordeal. So far it's ended with me nursing him again which gets him to settle down and become calmer. He'll do a full feeding and I can even put him back in his crib where he falls asleep.

Along with this, he's not sleeping well anymore, waking multiple times throughout the night. Amy and I are both exhausted and I'm at my wits end. I feel so bad for him and nothing I do offers him any comfort. I'm hoping that he's just teething and that this ends soon.

So please raise your hand if you're being an absolute terror at bedtime!

Hoarders

Have you ever watched that TV show Hoarders? The one where people let their stuff pile up and up and up to the point where they're nearly drowning in it and then are paralyzed to do anything about it. That's how I feel about this blog. There have been countless times where I've wanted to make an entry, then didn't and now I'm all full up in my head with posts. It's gotten so overwhelming that I did what I felt was the easiest thing to do...nothing. But as all hoarders know this is not the answer because things continue to build and eventually you become that person who's body is found under their mountain of junk. (True story: http://www.newser.com/story/99215/missing-woman-found-dead-buried-under-junk-in-home.html)

So I have decided to slowly declutter my brain and clean out my head of posts. I'll leave the downer posts until later because two crappy posts in a row would turn even the sunniest of personalities sour. So happy times it is and what has been bringing a smile to our face during all our upheaval? JACKSON!

We have finally found a daycare for Mr. Jackson. He's been going part time 3 days a week for a couple weeks now. It's given me the chance to get the house in order and to be able to focus 100% on my work. Finding daycare up here is so damn difficult. Because maternity leave is 52 weeks, I guess their isn't a huge need for infant care. Add to that we wanted to send him somewhere licensed and add to that a large percentage of facilities have to take a certain number of subsidy kids we were starting to freak out at the limited number of choices.

Thankfully a couple blog readers stepped up with recommendations and we couldn't be happier. Because he's 8 months old, he's the baby of the baby class with the rest of the kiddos being between 12-18 months. So, he gets extra cuddles from all the teachers. Needless to say we love the place, they love Jack AND they have WEBCAM!! WIN, WIN, WIN! So after writing this I think it only fair that I be honest and say that maybe not 100% of my focus is work when he's a daycare. How can you not obsessively look at this?

Before you ask. Yes there are teachers and other kids in the room :)I just didn't feel right about taking a picture of them without permission/approval. He's having a blast and bring home craft projects and new skills like pulling himself up on things (which will be a topic of a whole other post).

Whew! That was a bit of a long post. Thanks for baring with me on that one. I promise to post soon and to not let my head get so buried in thoughts again.

Truthiness

Well we've officially been in Toronto one whole week. I was debating about what I was going to write on the blog about everything, should I just go with the canned response of "everything is fine" or "we're getting settled" but then I realized I had to be honest because that really is the point of this blog. To document our lives so we can look back and remember.

So the answer to the question of "How is everything going?" is that this is really hard and lonely. I'm not a big change person and here I am thrust into a situation where EVERYTHING is different and I know no one. I guess you can say it's getting better. I used to cry at least once a day about being here but the tears have stopped and I'm slowly starting to accept that this is our new life.

The first day we arrived Amy picked us up from the airport and made a comment when about going home. It felt so wrong for her to use that term for this place that we live, it's a house it's not our home. Home for me is still Austin.

I so desperately miss my friends, Jack's daycare, our house where Jack was born, even the little things like our grocery store. Even though I was born and raised in Canada it feels like such a foreign place. Amy and I joke that if we had moved to some far off country it might be easier because you expect things to be different. But living here and it being in some aspects very much like the US it makes the difference all the more jarring.

I think the hardest adjustment for me is being thrust into the roll of stay at home mom. In someways I feel like I'm just bumbling along trying to keep the day exciting for Jackson while at the same time not losing my mind being cooped up in the house most of the day. I don't feel like I'm doing a very good job. My feelings are only made to feel more real when Jackson cries most of the day. Rationally I know he's upset because of the two new teeth he has coming in but emotionally I think it's because hes not happy with me. I'm going to try to venture out to a baby thing this week at one of the Ontario Early Years Centers and see how it goes, maybe it will help lift both our spirits.

I know it will get better, I know I need to move forward, I know I need to get out of the house, I know these things. I know that things will get less hard and be less lonely over time. I really do, it just doesn't help in the moment.

Almost Crawling

A New Normal

Well Friday I left Austin, before Melissa and Jackson, to move to Austin to get the new house ready for the animals. Leaving Austin was so difficult for me because there are so many great people that live in Austin that we have grown to love.

Austin has so much history for us (10 years). It is where I fell in love with Melissa, bought my first house, adopted 3 great animals and Fern (just kidding), started to plan the idea of having a baby, found out after many disappointments that Melissa was pregnant, Jackson was born at home and I adopted Jackson.

You can see why it was so hard to leave so much history and great people. I will miss Austin so much and I will definitely go back to visit the people we consider family. But there are some positives to living in Toronto. which I can talk about in another post but one I really wanted to mention is about our status. Now that we live in Canada we can officially check the married box on forms!

The animals left Austin Saturday (3 am) to drive to Houston to get on a plane to make the move to Toronto. If you don’t know us I should tell you that our animals mean so much to us they are part of the family. So every decision regarding the time of the move, when I move and when Melissa moves was made around what was best for them. It didn’t work out as we wanted but we chose the best option given to us. Poor Melissa had to send them off in their cages at 3am and it was difficult for her to do.

During the day, I tried to make their new home better and bought them all sorts of goodies and toys. After 2.5 hours in the Toronto Airport they came to their new home. I was so happy to see them and they were happy to see me. Three of them sleep with me on my air mattress. It wasn’t as traumatic as I thought it would be on them. I think this whole process was more difficult on us than it was for them.

Well, the final phase of the move is done. We have our stuff and are slowly unpacking. Now that Melissa and Jackson are here it feels a lot better. Our life has been chaotic for what feels like a month and I am ready to get things back to normal, a new normal.

Rolling Pro

It's hard to believe this is the same boy who used to get stuck on his arm :)

Tuesday - Day 7

Oh Mommy,

There is so much that's happened. Remember when Mama said we were going somewhere special yesterday? Well Mama is a BIG FAT LIAR! You know where she took me Mommy?!? To the doctor! And you know what they did to me Mommy?!? They stuck things in my ears and my mouth and THEN they gave me two shots! I wish I could say I didn't cry, but I did, but only a little bit. Mama said I was a very brave boy and she was very proud of me. I got two very cool band-aids on my legs that had cars on them. I was so excited to show my friends at school, but Mama took them off during bath time so I had nothing to show my friends :(


Oh, guess what? I'm also a BIG BOY!! I weigh 18lbs 6oz and I'm 28 inches tall. I showed the doctor all the things I can do now like sitting up by myself and rolling over. Mama brought toys for me to play with but I didn't need them because I played with the fun crinkly paper that was on the bed. It made noise and I could tear it up and then put it in my mouth but then Mama took the pieces away and wouldn't let me put them in my mouth. She is so not fun.

I had a great day in school today. There is a new girl in my class, her name is Sarah she seems pretty nice but I think I'm going to stick with the girlfriends I have. Having three girlfriends would be too much so I think Sarah and I will only be friends. Miss. Cassandra says I am so good at sleeping now. Today at school I took a nap for 2 whole hours. I don't know if Mama told you but when I sleep in my crib I sleep on my tummy. It is sooo nice and comfy. Why didn't I sleep on my tummy before??

I better go to bed. I like bedtime more now that I can sleep on my tummy, even though Mama still says I have to follow the bedtime laws.

Two more sleeps until you come home Mommy!
Jackson

Sunday - Day 5

Dear Mommy,

Today was soooo boring! We didn't do anything :( I woke up, ate, slept, pooped, ate, slept... see how boring! We did take a walk this morning but it was the same one as yesterday, so I wasn't impressed AT ALL! After I took a super long nap Mama said we could go to the Target, I was really excited because they have toys at the Target! But do you know what we bought, a sprinkler?!? What am I going to do with a sprinkler? Maybe when I'm a bigger boy I'll like it but I told Mama that she bought a super lame toy. So since I didn't get any new toys at the Target I just hung out on my belly most of the day trying to find fun things to do. See my bored face?


Mama made me some bananas to take to school tomorrow, she let me have a taste off her finger. It was very yummy and I got excited for dinner but then when it was dinnertime I had to eat the butternut squash she made. I've had butternut squash before, I wanted something new and exciting not more boringness.

I can't wait to go to school tomorrow where fun things happen and I'm not a bored baby! Mama says tomorrow is going to be a big day and she is going to pick me up early from school. She won't tell me where we're going and says I'll find out when I get there. This doesn't sound good.

Sloppy kisses,
Jackson

Saturday - Day 4

Hi Mommy,

I'm sorry this letter is so late. I was out late celebrating my half birthday last night. We went to Tia Lili's house and I got to play with Tia Lili, Craig and Nell too. I had so much fun! Mama brought a weird baby crib with her that I got to sleep in. I was a good boy and went to sleep right away.

I had the best day yesterday! Mama said I slept sooo good so I could do whatever I wanted. So I picked lots of fun things to do. First we went on a super long walk. I loved it. It was so nice I almost fell asleep. Campbell came too and would bark so loud at the other doggies.

That walk made me soooo tired I couldn't stay awake at all. Mama was going to put me in my crib but it was my day and I could do whatever I wanted so I took a big long nap sleeping on Mama.
But the best part of the day was water time!! I had sooo much fun playing in the water with my cups. I splashed and splashed. It was the best! I even got Mama wet too.

It was the best half birthday EVER!!



xoxo,
Jackson


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday - Day 3

Hola Mommy,

I have to whisper cause Mama thinks I'm sleeping. I have been playing a fun game with Mama. I will lay in my crib and cry and cry but she won't come right away so I roll on my tummy and cry louder. Then Mama comes!! I smile and laugh at her but she puts me on my back and then she leaves again. So I roll back on my tummy so she comes back :) It took her a long time to figure out I can roll back all by myself and didn't need her help to get on my back again. It was soooo funny!

Last night was not good. I woke up and cried lots so I didn't sleep much. I was soooo tired this morning that I fell asleep on the way to school. One second I was home and then I opened my eyes and I was at school. I wish I could close my eyes and open them and you would be home!

I heard Mama tell my teachers that I was a bad sleeper last night and that I would be a grumpy Gus today. So you know what, I was! All I wanted today was some alone time but everyone was up in my business. I played in the exasaucer and my friends would come over to play with the toys. I yelled at them to LEAVE ME ALONE! Then I played in the doughnut, I told them I was king of the doughnut and they needed to LEAVE ME ALONE! but they still came over and wanted to play so Miss. Amber blew some bubbles and I tried to pop them which made me VERY happy.

I was so excited for dinner! Mama said I would get to eat something new but then she said it was green beans and rice and I got very scared. I HATE rice cereal! But you know what? Green beans and rice is VERY tasty. I couldn't help making yummy noises and slapping my hands on my tray. Mmmmm...mmmm.

Oh no! I think I hear Mama coming to check on me. I gotta pretend to be sleeping.

Love you lots,
Jackson

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday - Day 2

Mommy,

I am so mad! I don't like Mama and her bedtime laws. I kept trying to talk to her about it all night long. I told her lots of times that I wanted to go to the big bed and drink milk and talk but she said I needed to stay in my baby crib because there was no room in the big bed cause Campbell was sleeping. I don't like Campbell!

Mama called me Cranky Pants McGee all morning, she would not listen to me when I would yell at her that my name is not Cranky Pants, it's Jackson Miles!! It ruined my whole morning and I yelled at everyone. Miss. Cassandra said I needed a nap so I took a long nap and when I woke up I wasn't mad anymore.

Did I tell you that I am a very handsome baby? Miss. Cassandra was taking pictures of me and my friends today so I had to look in the mirror lots to practice my cute face. I really like looking at myself. Good thing I am so handsome so it's not hard to do.

Even though I was not mad at school when Mama came to get me I got mad all over again. I couldn't help it, Mama knows how to push my buttons. She wasn't feeding me my butternut squash fast enough, she didn't make bath time fun and when she was drying me off she told me we are doing bedtime laws again tonight. So I think I'm going to go to bed fast tonight so I don't have to listen to her anymore.

Can you come home today and Mama go there?
Jackson




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wednesday - Day 1

Dear Mommy,

I'm so sad that you had to go away again. I miss you sooo much when you are gone and I wanted to tell you about my day at school today! So Mama said I should write you letters again.

I had a super great day! Miss. Becky read me tons of stories and she also played ball with me. She would roll the ball to me and it was sooooo funny!! I also showed off to my friends how I can sit up all by myself. I did practice some more today so when you get back I will be amazing. BUT the BIG NEWS is that I had a big boy poop. It wasn't gross and all over the place like babies poop it was small and hard and stayed in my diaper. I got to keep my same outfit on all day long.

You don't know it but I heard you and Mama talking this morning about my outfit. I don't like how you said my pants and my shirt don't look good together. I think I look super cute and the girls in my class think so too. Look at how they were all over me. I was so handsome today!!



Mama says now that no one has the sickness and no one is having anymore sleepovers at our house she is laying down the bedtime law. I'm scared Mommy! I liked rule breaking and staying up late and waking up lots. I don't want bedtime laws :( I had good naps today so I don't think it's fair that I have to have to follow the laws at night when I was a good boy during the day!

Ah man, Mama says I gotta go get ready for bed. So not fair.

Love you,
Jackson

P.S. I'm so so sorry I gave you the sickness and please tell Grandma I'm sorry she got it too.

BIG NEWS!

Let me start off by saying, no we aren't pregnant again and no we aren't even thinking about #2 for a while. The big news is we're moving!! (and not from Blogger to Wordpress either.) We are packing up 10 years of our life spent in our amazing town of Austin and moving WAY north to Toronto.

Why the move you might ask? Amy has an amazing job opportunity that we just couldn't pass up. We're excited, sad and scared for this new adventure. The closer we come to move time (end of August) the fear and sadness starts to overpower the excitement. We just gave notice to Jackson's amazing daycare when his last day will be and we're almost at the tail end of finalizing our house sale (the house where Jackson was born). What used to be a distant thought is now quickly becoming reality.

The thought of moving to a city where we don't know a soul and where we have to start fresh with everything is a bit daunting. Every time I think about it I practically burst into tears thinking about all the friends we're leaving behind. How long it took us to find Jackson the perfect daycare and pediatrician. How we know where to find the best Mexican food in the city. 10 years of a life and now I feel like we're resetting the clock and are back at zero. So if there are any Torontonians out their reading this please tell me it's going to be okay.

I don't mean for this to sound like such a downer post. We're very excited for a fresh start in a new city and all the opportunities that it will afford us. It's just hard to leave the people and places you love so much. So hang on tight because we'll be posting a lot about our upcoming adventure.

Also, Amy's going away again this week which means more Jackson letters!!

Wednesday - Day 10

Helloooo Mommy!

I am so very very excited that you are coming home tomorrow. I've missed you to the moon and back! Sometimes I would cry and Mama would think it was because I was hungry or tired but really it was because I was missing you real bad.

I had a very dirty day today. Mama came into my room to start the day and my jammies were covered in poop! Not sick poop like before but peanut butter poop. I don't think Mama was very happy this morning like I was. We were both VERY sleepy though. We talked A LOT all night long, well really I did most of the talking. I was so tired that I fell asleep on the way to school.

I had bananas for morning snack today. Miss. Cassandra didn't put it with cereal so it was very tasty. I ate it all up! I then had tons of fun playing in the exasaucer but then I pooped again and they had to take it away :( All my friends were mad at me cause no one could play in it cause they had to wash my poop away.

I also napped two whole times for a long time and I drank all of my bottles. After I drank one of my bottles I pooped again! But this time I got to keep on my same outfit. Miss. Cassandra asked me what in the world have I been eating. I told her bananas, remember?!?

It rained here today. I got to go outside and watch the rain fall down. Then before I knew it it was the end of the day. I think I was so excited that Mama was coming that I pooped again!! Miss. Cassandra was cleaning me up when Mama came to get me. So see, it was a VERY dirty day!

I'm going to go to sleep so fast tonight so that it will be tomorrow sooner so you will be home to give me kisses and cuddles.


I love you so much Mommy!
Jackson

Tuesday - Day 9

Hi Mommy,

Today was AMAZING!!I had a really really scary dream this morning, I was so scared that I screamed and screamed and screamed so Mama took me to the big bed with her and Campbell. We went back to sleep and I didn't have anymore bad dreams. Also I didn't poop my pants the whole night!!

Mama and Miss Erin had a BIG talk with me at school this morning. They told me that I had to promise to take a big nap today. So guess what? I DID! I slept for a whole hour this morning and I even took an afternoon nap. Miss. Cassandra gave me cereal with pears for morning snack, it was so sooo gross I gagged lots. But then she just gave me some pears and I ate it all up! So tasty! No more cereal please.

Mommy, I have a secret. I'm in love. There is a girl in my class named Gretchen. She is very very cute. So today to show her how much I love her I kept taking her toys away from her. I think tomorrow I might kick her to show her how I feel.

My favoritest part of the day was going for a buggy ride. Remember when I first went to school and I had to ride in the back of the buggy sitting in a baby seat?!? Not anymore!! I got to be a big boy and sit in the the front.


I don't know if Mama's told you yet but I have been such a good boy when I go to bed. After Mama feeds me and rocks me and reads me a book she puts me in my crib and I go to sleep right away! I like to sleep on my side all the time now, sometimes she forgets so I have to roll on my side myself. Mama says only two more sleeps and you come home. I'm so excited!!

Love,
Jackson

Monday - Day 8

Dear Mommy,

My letter is going to be very little because Mama says I have to go to bed NOW!

I don't know if Mama told you but I went back to school today!! I wanted to go back sooo bad so I could see my friends again and show everyone how I can roll over whenever I want. I was so excited that I forgot that I now like bananas, so when it was time for morning snack and I got rice cereal and bananas I made a yucky face and spit it out instead of saying yummy. I'm so mad at myself!!

I was having so much fun that I just didn't want to nap at all today. Miss. Cassandra tried to make me sleep and that made me VERY mad. So I yelled sooo loud. Miss. Cassandra tattle tailed on me and told Mama I only slept for 30min. I love Miss. Cassandra a whole bunch but I don't like that she told on me. So because she told Mama, the whole way home all I heard was how tired I looked and that I was going to bed as soon as we got home. That means no dinner and no bath time :( I only get to drink my milk and get cuddles tonight.

Do I look sleepy?? I don't think so!

Mama says times up and I got to go to bed now.

Love you bunches!
Jackson


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sunday - Day 7

Hiya Mommy!

I want to say how much I love you and miss you and how you are my favoritest Mommy.

Today was a very very bad day. I'm mad at Mama, I'm mad at Campbell, I'm mad at the iguana on my exasaucer and I'm mad at my bathtub Tigger. I know if you were here I wouldn't be mad at you cause you are the bestest.

I was sound asleep this morning when Mama comes into my room and wakes me up because she said she heard me poop REALLY LOUD over the monitor and it woke her up. When she lifted me out of my crib there was poop dripping everywhere!! It was on me, on my jammies, on my sheets, EVERYWHERE! I felt bad that I pooped my pants again but now I'm glad I did cause I'm mad at Mama! I had such a bad day and Mama didn't try and help me at all!!!

She put me in the exasaucer to play but then I tried to put the iguana in my mouth but he doesn't want to go in my mouth so I yell at him, "IGUANA GET IN MY MOUTH!" but he still doesn't listen so I got more mad and Mama said no more exasaucer. So then Mama says she'll play with me on the floor. She gets all MY toys out and puts them down and we have so much fun playing but then Campbell comes and takes MY toys away. So I yell at him, "CAMPBELL BRING BACK MY TOYS!" but he doesn't listen to me either so I got more mad and Mama said no more floor time. Oh...here is proof..See me roll over to see Campbell with all MY toys?!?


Mama says I was acting mad cause I was tired so I yelled at her too "NO MAMA, I'M NOT TIRED!". Mama said we all needed to take a chill pill so she packed Campbell and me up in the car and we went for a drive. I didn't want to have anything to do with Mama and Campbell because I was sooo mad at them so I took a nap. But I held on to my toy real tight so Campbell wouldn't try and steal it when I was sleeping.


Then at dinnertime Mama made me butternut squash. I think she should have asked me first what I wanted so even though I love butternut squash when she gave it to me I spit it out and even made a gagging face. So I yelled at her again "BUTTERNUT SQUASH IS GROSS MAMA!!" I know that if you were here Mommy you would have asked me what I wanted because you are a good Mommy.

So Mama says that she thinks we should have a bath and go to bed. I was so excited because I was going to play with my favoritest toy, bathtub Tigger. But when we get in the bath he kept floating away from me no matter how many times Mama brought him to me. So I had to yell at him too!

I'm very tired from all of my yelling today so I'm going to go to bed and dream of you Mommy cause I love you the most!

Hugs and Kisses,
Jackson

Saturday - Day 6

Hi Mommy!

I'm so sorry I didn't write you yesterday. Mama got the sickness too :( I know I shouldn't say this but I had sooooo much fun when Mama and I had the sickness. She built a fort in the bathroom with pillows and blankets and we played in there for awhile, I drank lots and lots of milk cause Mama said I needed to cause I keep pooping my pants. But best of all Auntie JD came by today to look after me, we had a blast! I think Mama went and took a nap and had a shower. I know for sure she had a shower cause the next time I saw her she gave me lots of cuddles and she smelled WAY better.

Remember how I said I'm eating lots and lots? I'm drinking so much that Mama has to feed me milk from the bottle. She takes these bags out of this cold place and tells me I'm drinking liquid gold. At first I was soooo excited to drink liquid gold, but then Mama gave it to me and it tasted like normal milk. I didn't want to hurt her feelings so I just drank the whole bottle and smiled real big. Mama's drinking bottles too, we went to the store and she got these bottles that are all different colors. She says they will help her feel better cause they have electricity in them. But I bet electricity will taste the same as liquid gold, so I'm fine with just drinking my milk.

I don't know if Mama told you yet but I'm rolling over ALL THE TIME! Mama will put me on my back and then...BAM I'm on my tummy. I know they say Back is Best but I think they should say Tummy is TOTALLY AWESOME, cause it is. I don't know how I kept getting stuck on my arm this whole time?!? Rolling over is super easy. But I did get scared last night when I rolled over in my crib and got stuck on my tummy. So scary. I cried and Mama put me back on my side and I went back to sleep.


I better go and check to make sure Mama is doing okay. I love you and can't wait until you come home.

Jackson

Thursday - Day 4

Dear Mommy,

Oh Mommy, Mommy, Mommy. I got the sickness :( I can't stop pooping my pants. I even puked up some of my breakfast. I have to tell you that rice cereal tastes the same coming up as it does going down. I don't think I want to eat rice cereal anymore.

So far I have been through 3 outfits. My favoritest jammies, a onesie that Mama says you hate and then Mama finally thought she outsmarted me and just had me wear a t-shirt but then I had a REALLY explosive watery poop and that outfit had to go into the laundry too. Mama said we are playing a fun new game today called, "Don't poop on Mama" but I don't think it's a game, I think Mama is scared of me. Whenever I sit or lay down on something she always makes sure there's a towel underneath me. She's had to change my diapers LOTS!

Mama took me to the doctors today too. In case I haven't told you, I don't like it there. When I go there they shove things in my different holes or poke me with things that make me cry. I was a big boy today though and didn't cry once. I'm so sad,the doctor said I can't see my friends again until Monday BUT that means I get to be with Mama all day today, tomorrow and the weekend!!

I was so excited for bath time with Mama so that I could play with Tigger again but Mama didn't give me a bath in the big bath like normal, she put me in the baby bath. I told her I wasn't a baby but she said I was and we fought again and bath time was over quickly. Don't worry about us though, we made up again when she fed me and rocked me to sleep.


Love you!
Jackson

Wednesday - Day 3

Mommy,

Mama and I are fighting. She is being so unfair!!! Last night at 2:00am she told me I was such a good boy for letting her sleep 3 hours, so good that I should get a gold star. But when I woke her up every hour after that to talk about it she took my gold star away :( She doesn't understand! I'm all by myself in my room with no one to talk to about the gold star so I have to bring her back in to talk. When I woke up this morning I gave her a BIG smile to see if she would give me my star back, I think it worked because she gave me a big smile too. But then I peed on your big bed and pooed my pants and ruined another outfit on the way to school this morning so now I don't think I'll ever see my gold star again :( Can you talk to her for me???

I had a great day at school today. I played a lot on the floor and when my friends crawled by I would try to grab them. The best part was when Mama surprised me and came in during her lunch break to give me lots of kisses, cuddles and milk. Oh! I almost forgot. I had snack time with the other babies. I had oat cereal and pears. Miss. Cassandra said I could stop helping her put my spoon in my mouth but I think it makes me look like a big boy.

Almost my whole class went home today because they were sick. There was puke and poo EVERYWHERE! Gretchen and I were the last babies standing. I hope I don't get it and have to stay home tomorrow :(

Mama gave me bananas for dinner. Remember when I didn't like bananas? What was I thinking?!? I LOVE bananas. Mama made them from scratch for me and they were very yummy in my tummy. Mama says I have to go to bed on time tonight because she wants me to get lots of sleep so I don't get sick like my friends. I'm going to be such a good boy and go to sleep right away.



xoxo,
Jackson

P.S. Remember to ask her about the star.