Jackson sings the ABC's

About a month ago Jackson learned his ABCs. We struggled for a while with LMNOP. Getting him to sing them on camera was nearly impossible but lots of fun. Below are a couple of "outtakes" and then the real deal. 

Take 1

 

Take 137

Finally!

Fourth of July Fun!

Yes, I know the fourth of July was almost a month ago. However, like many other posts in this blog I'm taking the approach of better late than never. Our family had a fabulous fourth! Here's how we spent the holiday weekend.

First, our church planned a group fellowship to the Rockies baseball game on Saturday night, the 3rd. We decided to attend and to take Jackson. We knew this would make a late night for the J man, so we napped him later than normal and stalled our arrival until the 2nd/3rd inning. Our hope, depending on his level of tiredness, was to stay for the post-game fireworks show. The plan worked perfectly. Jackson really seemed to enjoy the excitement of the game and didn't get too tired. The game ended on time and God blessed us with a cool night breeze.

The fireworks were incredible. By far the best show Cole or I had ever seen. Jackson was in awe. The noise level scared him a little at first but he sat in my lap and watched in amazement. Below is a picture a friend took of his initial reaction. Over the next few days he loved telling people about the fireworks. He would jump up and down throwing his hands through the air saying zoom, pow, whoosh! The whole family enjoyed the evening and Cole and I decided it was well worth making an annual event.

Our community hosts an annual pancake breakfast and parade on the 4th. We really enjoyed participating last year. The parade is informal. All the kids in the neighborhood (which if you are familiar with Stapleton, is a lot) decorate their bikes, wagons and scooters with festive red, white and blue and parade around Central Park. Due to the age of most of the kids, the parents parade with them. As a result, there are usually more parade participants than spectators. This year the 4th fell on a Sunday. As sad as we were to miss breakfast and the parade we felt it more important to attend church as normal. We planned to meet the Cassida's at the pool for dinner later that afternoon. Unfortunately, a thunderstorm derailed our plans. We ordered pizza at their house instead. Jackson and Gracie had a great time playing and running all over the house. They are enjoying a great stage in their relationship. They are best buds and love spending time with one another. Despite the change of plans and the weather we all had a great time visiting and really enjoyed the evening.

Cole of course had Monday off for the holiday. Jackson and I were really excited for the extra family time. Cole and I decided earlier in the weekend to treat Jackson to his first movie theater experience. Toy Story 3 was playing and we had heard great things about it. Jackson isn't really into movies yet. However, a couple of weeks ago in Texas he watched Toy Story 2 with his Aunt Ninny and seemed to enjoy it. Since we didn't know if he would sit through an entire movie, we took a "what the heck" approach to the whole thing. We would try the theater and if he liked it yea and if he didn't enjoy it or didn't want to sit through it we would leave.

Our plan was to attend the 9:45 am showing. It would be early enough in the day that he wasn't tired and would be over in time for lunch and nap. Jackson had other ideas. He slept until 9:15 that morning! By far a new record. We made the 10:10 showing instead. We used a booster seat for Jackson so the seat didn't fold up on him and loaded up on popcorn. The movie was great. Jackson loved it and so did we! He sat through the whole thing without any trouble. Although he did move over to my lap for the last 30 minutes or so. I relished in the snuggle time. If you haven't seen the movie, the boy is all grown up and leaving for college. The plot is about what he decides to do with his toys now that he is older. I'll confess to a tear or two. It was nice to sit with my sweet little boy and know I have several more years before he's going anywhere.

Our afternoon was loaded with activity as well. After nap, Cole and Jackson went to the park across the street for his first golf lesson with his real clubs. They had a great time. Jackson loves to play golf and Daddy is happy to teach him. Of course I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of their play date.

After golf, Jackson had soccer practice. You may be thinking that two is a little young for a formal soccer league. We agree, that's why we aren't part of one. Sarah Cassida organized a group of friends all with children ages two-four and we are meeting this summer at Central Park on Monday evenings for "practice." Most of the dads have volunteered to be coaches (including Cole). We ordered shirts for the kids but there aren't any formal games. The moms rotate bringing a snack and we always have a large cooler of water. There are about 16 kids signed up. Overall, the venture has been a huge success! As I mentioned its very informal so if you're on vacation or can't attend its not a big deal.

Practice starts with the coaches rounding all the kids up to "take a knee." Next its warm-up time with 15 jumping jacks. If you've never seen 2-4 year olds do jumping jacks let me tell you it is hilarious. Then they move on to random soccer drills. Due to the age of the kids, it usually takes a couple of moms to facilitate the lines and make sure everyone is taking their turn and paying attention. Jackson is one of the youngest and since I don't have another baby to watch this is where I usually contribute. Its so much fun to watch them try to dribble the ball or kick it into the little goals. The coaches do a great job of playing "bad goalie" and letting the ball pass through for each kid at least once. They get so excited! Not only do the kids love it but they are learning great skills- other than just soccer. Mainly how to follow directions, take turns, pay attention in a large group and get along with their "teammates." Below are a few pictures from our July 5th practice.

Taking a knee with Coach Daddy

Jumping Jacks

Dribbling Drill

Jackson and Gracie after a "hard" practice

Whew! It made me tired just writing about our fourth of July. However, it sure was fun! Hope you all had a great one as well.

First trip to the golf course

Golf is Cole's favorite hobby. He grew up playing and wants J to grow up playing. Today was a big day. Jackson got the special treat of accompanying Daddy and three of Daddy's friends to the golf course! Jackson has looked forward to it all week and was beyond excited this morning. The first thing he said was, I get to go play golf today!

J just recently started trying out his real golf clubs at the park and in the backyard with dad. They are of course a lot heavier than his play sets made of plastic. Cole says he does a good job of making contact with the ball and has a pretty good swing for a two year old.

The course they played was Thorn Creek in Thornton, Colorado. Cole said J did a great job listening and trying to stay quiet while others hit. Due to the crowd, Jackson didn't get to hit very often on the course but got plenty of practice in at the range. He LOVES golf carts so that was a big draw too. One of Daddy's friends gave Jackson a bright yellow golf ball at the end of the round and he has yet to let it out of his sight! While I did manage to wrangle it away for a bath, he insisted on taking it to bed.

Sadly, Cole's game suffered a little bit with Jackson around but both really enjoyed the father/son bonding time. I was really proud of Cole for inviting Jackson when no other children were going. It really demonstrates his commitment to passing on his love of the game at an early age. More importantly, it meant the world to Jackson. This will surely be the first of many golf outings together.

Redecorating the nursery

Construction is under way on Clara's nursery. I love decorating so I'm in my happy place. I also love preparing for a new baby's arrival by creating a space especially for them. I think it is the way I nest. The first change we made was to add bead board to the bottom portion of the walls. I thought it would add a sweet touch to the room. While J and I were visiting family in Texas, Cole worked tirelessly to hang it as a surprise. It looks great! What a sweet husband I have! Since then, we've painted the room (a light shade of aqua) and purchased a picture to hang above the changing table. The chair and bedding have also been ordered. Its still a work in process but here is a sneak peek:

A few Saturdays ago, Cole and Jackson converted the toddler bed back to a crib. J loves helping Daddy with his tools. I couldn't resist snapping a couple of pictures of my boys hard at work.

Now that the crib is complete, I am reminded of why we moved J to the toddler bed at 19 months. Our little monkey is constantly climbing in and out of it. Here's hoping he tires of this activity before baby sister arrives!

Jackson's Big Boy room

The nursery in our house is empty. At least for now. A couple of weeks ago, we moved Jackson into his "big boy" room. I'm a planner and wanted Jackson happy and settled in his new room before we brought a new baby home. I gave myself a target date of July 15th. That way Jackson would have 3 months to adjust to his new setting and hopefully it wouldn't feel like his move had anything to do with the baby. Additionally, it gives me 3 months to prepare the nursery for Clara.

Well no need for a target date. This move went quickly. I had picked out the bedding and was waiting for it to arrive to pick a paint color. It arrived on a Friday and the next day I asked Cole to help me move some of the artwork into the new room to assist with the choice of paint color. We napped Jackson in our room and got started thinking we'd only be at it an hour or so. Needless to say, we were wrong.

First, the furniture laid out completely different than I had planned. Jackson wanted his chair to accompany him to his new room. He loves his chair. We read in it every night. He reads/plays in it every day. He has been rocked and comforted countless times in that chair. I too agreed the chair was necessary. Even if he had been ok without it, I wasn't ready to give up those sweet special moments when he and I snuggle to read and rock together. The problem is the chair is kind of big. It is a glider, recliner and was going in a small room with a double bed, chest of drawers and one wall taken by a very large window. Finally, we found a workable arrangement for everything. Being pregnant, you can imagine I wasn't much help during this process. Cole was a trooper and arranged the furniture in several positions until I was happy. We started placing the artwork on the walls about the time J woke up. He walked in, took a look around and then with a concerned look on his face said, "mommy, the airplane doesn't go there." I responded with, "it doesn't, where does it go?" He took me by the hand, led me through the jack and jill bath into the nursery and pointed to the spot it previously occupied. "There, mommy. It goes there." Uh-oh. This wasn't going the way I had hoped. On and on it went with the rest of his stuff. It was very confusing to him for some of his stuff (even if it was just decorations) to be in one room and the rest in another. Cole and I decided then that a slow and methodical move wasn't going to work. He needed to wake up with everything moved and perfectly in its place to understand. So that is what we did. We worked for the rest of the day and pretty late that night until we finished it. The next morning Jackson woke up to his brand new big boy room! Happily our efforts proved worthwhile, J loves it! Here are a few pics of the finished product. I was really pleased with the way it turned out.

I still need to replace the picture in the above frame. I have one picked out just need to upload it and order it. J keeps asking me who those people are!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Everyone says the age of two can be terrible. However, I must say I am loving it so far! Jackson is in such a sweet stage. I don't want to forget a minute of this time, so here are a few of my favorite things J is doing right now.

1. Love, love, love

Jackson is in love with EVERYTHING. He spontaneously tells us how much he loves us several times a day. I confess it melts my heart every single time. He tells us he loves his toys or what he's having for dinner....even when its carrots. I think part of this "love fest" is just an extension of his overall very happy demeanor. He is extremely happy 99% of the time. He wakes up with a huge smile on his face and can get excited about even the most mundane tasks. I love telling him the night before what we will be doing the next day because his face lights up regardless of the agenda. Going to the grocery store is one of my least favorite activities, but J looks forward to it every week so he can drive the "car" cart at the store. He smiles and waves at all the other shoppers while he pretends he's zipping his little car along the speedway. Jackson told me the other day out of the blue, "Mommy, I love baby sister. I be kind to her and not hit her" (J has two rules: be kind and be a good listener. Everything seems to fall into those two categories. They are easy for him to remember and he is doing a pretty good job of taking ownership of both). Once again my heart was a puddle as I want so much for them to be close and to have a strong sibling bond. Cole and I are so thankful for J's happy, laid-back personality. Both of us are pretty spontaneous so it is a huge help that Jackson is so willing to go with the flow. Obviously, there are lots of changes in store for our little family in the coming months. We're hoping Jackson's "love of life" continues and helps him make a smooth transition.

2. Non-stop chatter

Jackson is a talker. I honestly have no idea where he gets it. :) He started talking early and hasn't stopped. The language explosion that has taken place in our house in the last 6-8 months is phenomenal. I think every parent will speak in amazement of that time when their cute little blob of a baby starts saying their first words. You quickly realize how much they've been paying attention the WHOLE time. Jackson has recently moved beyond words of identification and small phrases to being able to communicate his thoughts and feelings in sentences. It is so much fun! I love watching him communicate with his little friends. The things they find to talk about crack me up. For example, the other day Jackson and his friend Gracie were sitting on the back porch eating their lunch when I hear Gracie tell Jackson. "Your sister is in your mommy's tummy." Jackson responds with, "yeah. She kicks. It not kind." Another conversation later the same day went something like this. Gracie: "my hair is in my eyes". Jackson: "I love your hair, it beautitul (beautiful)". Gracie: "Thank you, your hair beautiful too". Jackson (removing his hat): "It is, It is beautitul!"

For the most part, J is pretty articulate. However, there are a few words that still need to be translated. Most of them he can say correctly, but he has said them incorrectly so long they've stuck. Either way its fun and I kind of like his sweet toddler speak even more than if he said everything correctly. A couple of ones I want to remember:

merk= milk

birk= book

porn= corn (this one usually illicits a smile from daddy)

I need a piss/pisses and hugs= I need a kiss/kisses and hugs

melmo= elmo

money= monkey (his favorite toy) He recently started saying this one correctly

chockit= chocolate (where he got his love of chocolate is a mystery)

wetuz= because

3. Mr. Manners

I'll admit it I'm a stickler for manners. I think the world would be nicer if everyone used please and thank you on a more regular basis. And while it sometimes ages me, I think its very appropriate when children address adults with ma'am and sir. Blame it on the Southerner in me. Cole and I have been very pleased to notice recently that J has really taken to using good manners without too much coaching from us. He almost always says thank you and you're welcome. In fact, he will say thank you until you acknowledge it with, you're welcome. He also says "bless you" if someone sneezes. He's pretty good at please too. Although, sometimes his desire for instant gratification overtakes his ability to remember please. Usually, we just have to look at him or ask him what he says when he wants something and he remembers. If he doesn't want something he responds with, "no thank you". We're still working on yes ma'am etc. When he does say it it comes out "yes man". Hopefully, the next few months will do nothing but improve this trend.

4. Fun lion

Jackson's imagination has really started revealing itself. I think this goes hand in hand with how much he's talking. Lately, he will tell us these outlandish stories that he clearly has completely made up. Most are pretty hilarious. For example, he tells us there is a lion that lives in his room. However, no need to worry this is not a "scary lion, its a fun lion!" Fun lion talks to him and keeps him company in his room after we put him to bed or at nap time. When you ask him what fun lion says, he responds with "RRRROAR! Fun lion also watches Curious George with Jackson before he falls asleep. Jackson does NOT have a TV in his room. However, he thinks he can watch it on the back of his door every night. If you go in there, he says "shhh, pay tention (attention). George is starting." A few other recent examples:

The other day after swim lessons, Jackson said, "mom, stop car" Thinking we'd forgotten something or he had to go to the bathroom I said why and he responded, "there is a shark back here!"

He's also informed me that Pop bought him a blue golf cart to take to the golf course and that he is the only one who can drive it. It goes zoom, zoom really fast!

Lately, we've had a guest at dinner every night. It is a blue butterfly that flies around the kitchen. It lands in Jackson's hand and he's able to touch it and tell us how soft and beautiful it is.

Holding a long plastic puzzle piece to his ear, J tells me he is calling his Aunt Ninny and that he needs his suitcase so he can visit her in Tollege Stason (College Station). I want to go to Tekis (Texas) and see everyone.

The stories are endless and it is so much fun to watch his imagination at work!

4. Growing Pains

While I'm sure the above accounts make it look like we have a perfect child, I'll be the first to assure you we don't. This stage is sweet but it has its challenges just like any other. J is no exception. Right now we are struggling with aggressiveness. Unfortunately, he responds to situations by hitting and pushing before thinking and acting more appropriately. We're working hard on being kind to everyone but it is often a struggle. I don't believe he hits with the intention of being mean or malicious. Rather I think his emotional maturity is lacking when it comes to interacting with friends and not getting what he wants. This is a common theme among my friends with boys. In fact, he usually realizes his mistake immediately and runs to tell me what he did. He is typically genuinely remorseful. We discipline these actions appropriately and talk frequently about the importance of being kind to one another.

Overall, Cole and I's parenting philosophy is to focus on the positive and not dwell too much on the negative. Like any other stage of childhood and development, we know "this too will pass." If the last two years are any indication they will pass all too quickly. We want to remember each stage as fondly as possible. One day I'm sure we will look back at the "struggles" with a smile for these things are what make Jackson Jackson and we couldn't love him more.

More Birthday fun at Monkey Bizness

Jackson's actual birthday was on a Thursday, but we held his birthday party the following Saturday. Since Jackson loves monkeys and all things physical (running, jumping, climbing etc.), we decided to have his party at Little Monkey Bizness. Monkey Bizness is an indoor jungle gym/play area for kids. Their website bills it as 3-4,000 square feet of bounce houses, climbing structures, obstacle courses, play houses etc. The best way I can describe it is a kids play paradise that is made of soft surfaces and entirely safe. The kids could run, play and explore to their hearts content and the parents could sit back and relax knowing their children were safe (although I did see a few parents participating too!). The kids had a great time! After play time, everyone went into the arts and craft room to decorate monkey masks. When the masks were complete, it was time for pizza and cupcakes! It was a great party and J and his friends had a blast!

This is one of my favorite shots. Every time I looked up J was running from one play area to the next with his tongue hanging out...he just couldn't believe how much there was to do and couldn't get to each place fast enough!

I had a great time making the "monkey cakes," as Jackson called them, for the party. Thanks Whitney for the idea and my neighbor Stephanie and her daughter Hogan for helping me ice and decorate the 50 cupcakes!

Thank you to all the families who joined us for the party. We have been extremely blessed to make so many great friends since our move to Denver. You all made J's party really special. Thanks for sharing his big day with us!