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!!