13 Months

Jackson, at 13 months you:

• took 14 steps! You lose your balance a little but are able to catch yourself and keep going. You clapped for yourself when you finished.
• had your first visit with the dentist. Mommy was worried about your front tooth so we went to check it out. Dr. Wagner said that it was probably a genetic thing and you just have an extra tooth that is fused to the one that is supposed to be there. He said you may need to have it pulled when the time comes. You also may not have a permanant tooth behind it so you would have to have an implant.
• can say "all done" when you feel like it. You said it really clearly for a couple days but then you stopped. Mommy thinks you just started focusing on walking instead.
• make the cheesiest laugh. You squish up your face and breathe in and out really fast. You think you are pretty cool when you do that.
• love singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider and the froggy song. You say "Gonk, Gonk" when it is over.
• brush your teeth with a big boy tooth brush. You bit mommy's finger so hard when the finger one.
• love to eat grilled cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
• still throw every vegetable over the side of your high chair. Mommy still feeds you purees so you get the nutrients you need.
• love reading your books. When you are in the right mood, you will sit with a book and flip the pages over and over again. Your favorite thing to do is pull all the books off your shelf upstairs.
• are drinking soy milk for a little while as mommy tries to figure out what's making your diapers so yucky. You are in disposables right now but Mommy really wants to get back to the cloth.
• throw your toys down the basement stairs through the gate.
• are having a hard time figuring out when to nap. Some days you want to take two naps and other days only one. You still sleep great at night!
• are getting naughty! You like to play in Claire's water bowl, you crawl as fast as you can into the pantry when it is open and pull everything off the shelves, and you dump cups of water over the side of the bathtub. Mommy gets so frustrated but you just laugh.
• are starting to show some separation anxiety. If you notice that mommy leaves the house to go get the mail or to get something from the car, you cry at the door. It's so sad to see you so sad.

We love you little BIG boy!

Funny Daddy

FOURTEEN

Go ahead! Count 'em for yourself!

A Little Place Called Pentwater

We are so lucky to have Mimi and Grandpa who are so lucky to have Kyle and Sue who are so lucky to have a cottage in Pentwater, Michigan. It is the cutest little town along Lake Michigan about halfway (maybe? I could be very wrong) up the east side of the lake. They built the cottage a few years ago and it is a very relaxing place to spend a few days. We loved it. Thanks for inviting us Mimi and Grandpa!

On our first full day there we went to lunch at a dairy. The smell of Jackson's diapers fit in well there. We enjoyed our delicious sandwiches, a bottomless cup of milk, and spending some quality time with the cows.

Grandpa and JJ testing out the tractor

We stopped at the cutest little bakery along the road for some caramel apple pie and rhubarb pie.The lighting made for some good pictures. :) Love my little buddy.Isn't it the cutest?

When we got home JJ spent some time in the swing with Mimi. This kid loves to swing!Then we played on the trampoline. He LOVED it! See?Then Mommy's bottom got wet as she got off the trampoline! We brought lots of extra clothes though.

Before bath time I decided to see how he would like the sandbox. He doesn't like to have dirty hands so I was interested in how he would do. He was very serious in there but he seemed to enjoy him self. The bath water was DIRTY at then end of day 1!On our second full day there we went to the market in town (Grandpa stayed home with JJ so he could nap (which really meant scream for two hours and then finally fall asleep right before we were supposed to leave for lunch). I woke him up after an hour and we headed to a fish house that is amazing. You pick your fish and they fry it there for you. We took in to a park across the street and had a nice picnic. JJ enjoyed his fried whitefish.

After a delicious fish lunch we went to the beach. The water was COLD but we had a great time! That's our group in the top right. JJ's headed over to make friends with some neighbors. ;)After some not very good nights of sleep, I was ready to get him to his own bed by our last day. Could we please take JJ's entire nursury to Pentwater next time???

Thanks Kyle and Sue for a great few days. The hospitality was amazing, as always!

Birthday Party

I was really excited that Jackson't first birthday happened to fall on a Saturday. I was so fun to celebrate on his actual birthday with our family and friends. Both sets of grandparents as well as Uncle Mike were able to make the trip. They all arrived on Friday, we had some nice chats and a yummy dinner at Luigi's and then I forced them all to help me prepare the party. :)

Really, I don't know what I would have done without them. I thought that I had done a lot to prepare, which I had, but there was still so much to do that couldn't be done early. It was really fun to decorate though! I had to promise Bryan that I wouldn't do this for every birthday.

I ordered the banner and labels for the picture pots from a site on etsy. They were perfect! I picked up 15 helium balloons on Friday and it took me no fewer than 15 minutes to try and shove them all in the back of our Rav 4. It was comical...to everyone but me. They are hard to see but along the mantel were pictures of Jackson from every month.

I had to figure out a way to use all the wooden numbers I had painted for his calendar pictures so they ended up as centerpieces. I made the tissue pom poms to hang from the light as a little something extra.

This was our sweets table. Jackson's smash cake was the big cupcake in the middle. Thanks for the pan Aunt Monica! Then there were pretzel sticks and cupcakes for the party guests.

I don't have any pictures of his cake eating yet. They are on Mimi and Grandpa's camera. I'll post those, as well as some other decoration pictures, when I get them.

This picture of Jackson was taken at 11:30. His party started at 11:00. Silly boy was going to nap right through it! I always love it when babies sleep with their bum in the air and I have never seen Jackson do it. This is how I found him that day though. It must have been his gift to me for being his momma for a whole year!

We are so lucky to have so many friends in this same stage of life. Actually, what's really amazing is that didn't know any of the people in this picture a year ago. I met them all, just the moms and babies, at Cradle Talk. We have become great friends! We had one busy living room!

After Jackson ate his cake, Nana gave him a quick bath.

Then we opened presents! Thanks for all the toys, clothes, and books!

These are a few of the babies. This is Tommy, Jackson, Macy, and Molly!And this is what parents look like when they are trying to get their babies to pose for a picture. :)

He loves walking with his new toys! Family picture with our one year old.

It was a great day! We are so blessed to have Jackson in our lives as well as such great family and friends! May the next year be as awesome as the last.

One Year Old!!!!

Two things are stumping me right now. One, how have three weeks passed since I last posted and two, HOW IS MY BABY ONE YEAR OLD???

Oh my goodness. Here is is final calendar photoshoot. Thank goodness! These were getting harder and harder. I am planning on continuing the montly updates though because it's a great way to record everything he's doing and it changes so much at this age.




Jackson, at twelve months you are:

• 21 pounds and 1 ounce. That's in the 25th percentile.


• 30.3 inches tall. That's the 65th perfectile.


• still stuffing a lot of brains in your head. It is a little under 19 inches in circumference. That's the 82nd percentile.


• calling everything "Dada." When we ask you to say Mama you say Dada again or just stick out your tongue and blow a raspberry.


• eating a lot of table foods. Your favorite is still yogurt and mommy still has a hard time getting you to eat vegetables unless they are pureed.


• cruising along everywhere as long as you don't have to let go.


• not a risk taker. Mommy tries to get you to take a few steps but even if you only have to travel a very small distance, you still drop down to crawl.


• loving the pool. You like to swim in the big pool the best. It is a zero entry pool so that's your favorite place. You make a lot of friends there because you crawl straight towards all the women sitting in their chairs in the water.


• not liking to get your face wet. You still have a hard time going under water and you open your mouth every time. You are starting to hate bath time too and try to climb out as soon as we get your hair wet.


• becoming a bit more hesitant when someone other than Mommy or Daddy holds you. You get a little scared look on your face but you usually don't cry.


• very pleasant in the church nursery. All the volunteers get so excited when you come in. Mommy likes to see what you are doing when we come and get you. You are usually playing on the floor with a toy all by yourself.


• watching Mommy use sign language but are not using any yourself. You usually just laugh at Mommy.


• FINALLY not getting any bottles during the night! Mommy thought you would take a long time to stop waking up for the early morning bottle but it only took three nights. Your normal night is from 6:45 until 6:30 the next morning. That's good news because Momma needs her sleep!


• getting long hair that is starting to curl at the ends. It's so sweet. Mommy and Daddy debate about how long your hair should be. We kind of like it long. It's your signature look because most babies don't have so much hair.


• not working on any new teeth. You still have 8! Or nine, depending on how you count your front tooth. You, silly boy, grew TWO teeth where only one should be. Don't worry though! Mommy and Daddy are saving money for your braces some day. :)

We love you little man!

Jackson is 11 Months Old...Three Weeks Ago

It's been crazy around here the last few weeks. I get to watch Addison a couple days a week and not having those two days to get stuff done really makes a difference. I love watching her though! JJ loves to have someone to play with and it's great practice for when I have my own two to take care of. I also was busy last week with getting everything in order for Bryan's surprise weekend. I had our friends Dan, Charis, and Jeremy come in from Ohio! He was really surprised! Anyway, enough excuses. You're really here to see Jackson. Let's be honest.

Jackson, at 11 months you are:

• pulling up on everything. You don't really sit to play anymore. You crawl with toys in your hands and take them to the stairs. You like to put your toys between the spindles while you are standing.


• crusing around the furniture. You can get anywhere as long as there is something to hold on to.


• eating more table food. You are getting picky though. Mommy gets frustrated because you throw the healthy stuff off the side of your high chair. You love sharing the food you don't want with Claire.


• drinking from a sippy cup at times. Mommy tried to get you to switch from the bottles but lately you have been throwing the cup down and crying until you get the bottle. That's okay. We'll just hold on to the bottles a little while longer.


• babbling like crazy. You say mamama and dadadada but Mommy and Daddy aren't sure that you really know what you are saying.


• not needing your early morning bottle anymore. Mommy is so happy. Your usual night is from 6:30 or 7:00 at night until 6 the next morning.


• getting better at napping but are not consistent at all. It makes each day an adventure for sure. Mommy finally stopped stressing about it and you decided to sleep better. You have taken several 2 hour naps! Then, there are other days when you only sleep about 40 minutes total!


• developing more of an opinion! You cry when Mommy takes something from you that you want. When you are really sad you put your face on the ground and scream. It's sad and funny at the same time.


• learning how to share. When your friend Addison stays with us, you get very sad when she takes your toy. You try to pull it back but sometimes it doesn't work and you cry. You take her toys all the time though.


• very difficult during diaper changes. You scream like having your diaper changed is the worst thing in the world.


• clapping! When Mommy says, "Yay" you start clapping your hands and smile.


• getting so big! Slow down please.

Mommy and Daddy love you sweet boy!