Pictures of my sweet little monkey!

So I made spaghetti for supper this weekend and I thought the pictures turned out really cute and share worthy. So here goes.

Jackson looks like he has a beard from his spaghetti

Isn't he sweet!

For some reason he feels the need to share all his food with Macy.

You can imagine the joy this brings to my life.

In true southern fashion, this is how we decided to clean him off.
No seriously, the high chair was a mess after eating, and as I was cleaning it, Jackson discovered the joy of a water hose on a warm day. He had a blast!

Jackson and Tata at the zoo

A Bengel tiger that was swimming. He was checking out some birds on the other side of his fence.

This kid has me wrapped around his finger!

Checking out monkey island

The Moore/Gibson side of the family

The END!

So here's what I'm thinking....

I'm gonna have to pull bullet format, because let's face, I have things to do, and messages to spread. First things first.

• The end of an era has begun....We have decided to limit Jackson's paci time to nap time and bed time only. My Dad has joked with me for over 8 months now about how I was going to take his paci away when he hit one year. We are now pushing 21 months and he is still going strong with it. Last night, we began the standoff. Jackson's paci now has to stay in his bed, and when he wants to use it, he has to go sit in his crib. I'm such a meanie. Seriously though, he is getting this weird chapped lip thing from his paci, and it is just time for it to go. So, last night after bath time, Jackson's paci was taking a "nap" in his bed and he was practically begging for it. Have you ever tried to explain something to a toddler. It is IMPOSSIBLE. So after 20 minutes of crying that sounded truly pathetic, he agreed to go night night to go visit his paci. Here is what his Jackson's bedtime prayer sounded like:

Jeremy: "Dear God, we thank you for Jackson..."

Jackson: (interrupting Jeremy): NOOOOOOOOOOO

Jeremy: "Please help him sleep good tonight."

Jackson: (interrupting Jeremy): NOOOOOOOOOOO

I won't bore you with the rest. It pretty much sounded like that the entire time. It was hilarious though! Jackson can be a pistol when he wants something, and unfortunately for him, so can I. He did really good this morning though without it, so we'll see how this goes.

• I was driving this morning on my way to work and stopped at a traffic light. I looked out my window and there sat a brand new city school bus right next to me. Guess what...the driver was smoking...in a SCHOOL BUS! I do believe he has lost his mind. That breaks like a million rules, and I am such a tattletale that I got the bus number and called the BOE this morning to report him. I don't care if there were kids on that bus or not, he has no business making that bus (city property) smell like an ashtray. Ugh.

• Has anyone else noticed that more often than not, when you try to pay at the pump when you are filling up your car, that the gas pumps don't give you a receipt anymore and you have to go inside and get it. Um. Helllooooo. I am paying at the pump for a reason. It means that I do NOT want to go inside. Get it straight people!!!! There is one station here in town that NEVER has receipt paper in the pump. It burns me up. When I commented on this to the cashier, her response was, "I don't know how to work those things." Correct me if I'm wrong, but you are getting paid to work at a gas station right? Shouldn't knowing how to work the pumps be part of your orientation process. Just a thought....

Miley Cyrus. What can I say? A photo session with Annie Leibovitz should have thrown up red flags. Word to the wise...when a photographer asks your 15 year old daughter to take off her top and pose with just a sheet strategically covering her up, the answer is always no. NO. NO. NO. I would probably throw in a "over my dead body" for extra effect. I'm not gonna post that picture because it just looks like jail bait for a 15 year old to be posing so provocatively. You've probably already seen it anyway. If you haven't, save yourself the heartache. Also, the photos that include her dad, Mr. Achy Breaky Heart himself, Billy Ray, seem a tad bit inappropriate for a father/daughter duo to take together. Ick. Just my humble opinion in case anyone cares. I know you do.

I guess that's all. Sorry for the randomness. Have a great Tuesday, and I will post some pictures later of little man. Bye ya'll!

Happy Monday!

Hey everyone. I hope you had a good weekend. We did. On Saturday we went to the zoo with my parents and had a blast. The weather was forecasted to rain, but it turned out to be a really comfortable day with just a little drizzle. I would have posted pictures today, but I forgot my camera. Yesterday, both Jeremy and I ended up at Pri-Med on separate visits for this cough/cold/congestion crud that is going around. It turned out Jeremy had a sinus infection and I have an upper respiratory infection. How much fun is that. I have a touch of laryingitis right now, and I am praying that it goes away before Friday. That, you may remember, is when I have my ginormous conference for work.

I have a stupid confession to make. I totally showed you guys how bad my math skills were during my previous post about CWE, but none of you caught it thank goodness. I told you that we had 560 books printed with 257 pages each, and that it added up to over 14,o0o pieces of paper. Whoops. Make that over 140,000 pieces of paper. Just a minor difference.

My Mom isn't going to let me live this one down. She would probably tell you all about the time I interviewed for my last job, basically 2 part time jobs in the same company and one of them happened to be an accounting assistant. Let me just share with you one thing. Math is NOT my gift. I just don't get it. You might as well be speaking Greek to me, because it just doesn't compute. Anyways, during my interview Rick asked me how my math skills were. My response..."Great. I love math." I'm such a liar. When I told my Mom about my interview she said, "You told him what? Are you kidding me?" I got the job. Let's just say that the first few months were interesting. Now, simple math is a breeze, normally, especially when calculators are involved.

Anyways, enough of that. Today is Jeremy and my 9 year anniversary for dating. We were talking about that last night and neither of us could believe it. We were just babies when we started to date. I love him so much, and am just blessed that he is part of Jackson and my life. He is such a keeper! So in honor of Jeremy, he goes......."Happy Anniversary Baby.....I got you on my Miiiihhhhiinnnndddddd."

Bloggy Giveaway Winner!

And the winner of the $25 Regal Cinemas giftcard is.....Jenna whose said that choosing a favorite movie like choosing a favorite child... SOME of her favorites include: Clue (it's just funny with GREAT performances) Clerks (it's crass and vulgar but you can see real love of what they were doing) Sophie's Choice (I cry EVERY time)And a new movie... Evening (it is a great woman bonding movie, and even my husband enjoyed it... a great story about not regretting the choices you make. I HIGHLY recommend it).

Congrats Jenna!!! I hope you have a great time at the movies.

And as for my friend Jenny who posted that her favorite movie was the Little Mermaid, and she and a "friend" would watch it about 20 times a day, I totally remember those days, and every word of that movie. Those were the best days!

Happy Birthday Kellyn!

I want to wish my amazing little sister, Kellyn, a wonderful 24th birthday. This is her "special" birthday because she is 24 on the 24th. Kellyn is beautiful, incredibly smart, a wonderful Christian, and such an inspiration to her big sister. She is also an amazing occupational therapist, so if you ever need some therapy, I can hook you up. I am so proud of her, and I also want to us this time to give her a belated thank you for doing my homework for me on the way to school during my junior and senior years of high school. I owe you ALOT! Anyways, have a great day and eat lots of cake. You're really skinny. You can do that. I love you Kellyn!

Happy Birthday Kellyn!!!!

Bloggy Giveaway

Hey ya'll! I am so stinking excited that I am having my first Bloggy carnival giveaway today. I am giving away a $25 Regal Movie gift card. It is good for admissions and concessions at Regal cinemas, United Artist theaters, and Edwards theaters. And who knows, with the cost of movies today you may actually have enough to have a date with your significant other (or a friend), and maybe, if you're lucky, get a small coke!

All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment telling me what your all time favorite movie is. Mine is Dirty Dancing in case you were wondering. I know you were. Oh yeah, also leave me your email address so I can let you know if you won. The contest will be open until Friday, April 25th at midnight, and is open to U.S. residents only. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, just make sure I have a valid email address that I can use to contact you. The drawing will be held over the weekend, and then I will email the lucky winner. Make sure you also check out the Bloggy Carnival for your chance to win tons of free stuff. Good luck, and thanks for visiting. Come back soon!

Bloggy Carnival is Back!!!

Hey everyone. I hope you had a good weekend. We did, but I am worn out! We had a good visit with Jeremy's family and now I am back to work again on CWE. I am crazy busy at work for the next two weeks. Anyways, I don't have much time to blog today, but I wanted to tell everyone to check out the Bloggy Carnival going on this week. It is the chance to win tons of free gifts and giveaways all for just clicking on some blogs. How much fun is that! I will post my own giveaway tomorrow so stay tuned. Have a great day and good luck with the giveaways!

Free Advice Friday and more!

For my 2nd edition of Free Advice Friday, I thought that I would discuss the simplicity of one of the best inventions ever: the blinker. It is a little known device on your car, that when used, indicates which way you want to go. I think some people have never been told about these features on their car, but when used, they work wonders!

So here’s my free advice for today.
1. When you need to turn, or change directions, use your blinker. It’s that simple.

2. If you see someone with their blinker on, and you can move over to let people over, do it. It’s common sense, and it's just plain courteous. They in turn should give you the friendly over the shoulder wave that constitutes as a 70 mph "thank you" when you do it. It drives me crazy when I need to merge onto the interstate and people are driving along, not paying me any attention, with 3 lanes open beside them, and they don’ t move over, and here I am about to run into a bridge because I can’t get over. OMG. If you see a blinker, and you can move over a lane, for the love of all things right and good in this world, MOVE OVER.

3. If someone lets you, make sure you give them the over the shoulder wave. We have to be polite folks!

The total irony of this post is that the right blinker on Jeremy’s car has a short in it, and now matter how many times we have it replaced, it keeps shorting out. It drives me nuts.

In other news, Rocks in My Dryer had a contest yesterday to see who can come up with the best haikus about their Mom. I LOVE my Mom, and we are closer now than we have ever been in my life. She is one of my rocks. The winner of the contest gets $1000.00. I submitted 4, and although I wasn’t a finalist, I wanted to share them with you. Remember haikus have 3 lines, 1st line with 5 syllables, 2nd line with 7 syllables, and 3rd line with 5 syllables.

My mother knows me,
the good, the bad, the ugly,
and loves me anyway.

I love how you now
sing the same songs to my child
that you sang to me.

I love that you knew,
without me saying a word,
that I was pregnant.

"Mom, what's for supper?"
as soon as you walked inside,
now I get the same.

And for this weekend, we are packing up the car and heading to MS to visit with Jeremy’s family. This will be our first trip in new van, and I am planning on watching Finding Nemo and Lion King all the way to MS. Jeremy is gonna love hearing me sing Hakuna Matata all the way. See ya soon Wade family! I am lucky enough to have a half a day off from work, so we can actually get an early start on our trip. So bye ya’ll and have a great weekend!

CWE (Church Weekday Education)

So we finally have the books ready to print for my CWE conference coming up in May. I have said that it is a big conference, but did I mention that it is HUGE. We have 500 people registered right now, and are preparing for 560 people to be there. The books that we have printing have 257 pages each! For all you tree-huggers out there that adds up to over 14,000 pieces of paper. Holy Cow!!! We have an awesome printer downstairs, but even with it, 100 copies of the books will take 7 hours to be printed because they are so detailed. The picture on the left is our logo that the guys in our communications office designed. Doesn't it look good. We are offering 128 classes during 12 sessions, so it has really been alot to put together, but it has taught me alot about event planning. After this, Jackson's b'day party should be a breeze! This conference is so big it takes 6 months to put together, and I am thanking God that it only comes once a year!!!

No more Chik-Fil-A for me. Ever. I mean it!!

Okay, so you may remember my last adventures at Chik-Fil-A that happened with Jackson. At least on this trip to "Eat More Chikin" I stayed fully clothed. We went on Tuesday night. I had rushed home from work to run by the car dealership to pick up my car. We had to have the remote control for the DVD player replaced, and Jeremy had taken Jackson to the Dr. for his cough.

Anyways, we agreed to meet for supper at Chik-Fil-A. Everything was fine, the only mishap inside the restaurant involved me having to crawl halfway up the kiddie slide to grab Jackson by the ankles and pull him out. Jeremy was laughing so hard at me, and I can only imagine how great my butt looked as I was wiggling my way up the slide. So attractive.

So when we left, we both had our separate cars, and just as I was about to leave, Jeremy got back out of his car and walked over to me. His car wouldn't start. Ugh. Nothing would happen if you tried to crank it. So frustrating!!! Kellyn came up and brought her jumper cables, and even with that, nothing would happen. So after about an hour of sitting around waiting for a tow truck to come get the car, I took Jackson over to Mom's where we watched Biggest Loser and waited on Jeremy and my Dad to get back. The verdict from the car dealership: the starter had gone out. So, with our wallets significantly lighter, and a new starter installed in Jeremy's car, I have sworn off Chik-Fil-A for the near future. Nothing good ever happens to me there, even though I really like their chicken sandwich. And their Polynesian sauce. That stuff is REALLY good!

Do you think the drive thru counts?

Works for Me Wednesday

For todays WFMW over at Shannon's, I am going to share my little sister Kellyn's recipe for delicious and so simple chicken burritos. Here goes.

Chicken Burritos

1 package boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can of black beans rinsed and drained

2 cups salsa

2 cups cheese

1 package of large flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350. Spray Pam onto a 13x9 inch pan. Chop chicken into small pieces and cook until done. Drain the chicken, and then add the black beans, salsa, and cheese and stir until melted. Take the flour tortillas and put 2-3 scoops of filling in and roll up. Place into the 13x9 pan and when all the burritos are made (I usually make 8), cover them with the extra chicken and salsa mix and then cover with cheese. Cook in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with sour cream and guacamole.

This could easily be done with beef, and so many other things can be added into the salsa and cheese to spice it up. The whole meal takes about 30 minutes to make, and the longest part is cutting the chicken up. It's so easy and delicious and it definitely works for me!

20 months old!

Today is Jackson's 20 month b'day. It is amazing how much he has grown. His new words from this weekend were: guitar, grass, ice cream, and basically repeating anything we said. He is too cute! I hope you enjoy the video. Have a great day, and leave me some comments!!!

Audrey Caroline

You may remember my link last Friday to the blog for Audrey Caroline. She was born on Monday, and lived 2 1/2 hours. The following link is to a letter that her Mom, Angie wrote to her. I have sat here and cried reading her sweet words. As a Mom, my heart is breaking for them in the loss of their daughter. Please remember Todd and Angie Smith, along with their 3 daughters, in your prayers as they continue to thank God for the short but sweet life of their precious Audrey.

Free Advice Friday

So I am going to start a new weekly thing for my 2 or 3 loyal readers, Free Advice Friday. This will be a chance for you to get some free advice just for showing up. Here goes with my first edition. I hope you enjoy, but even if you don't, it will still be free, and I'll probably keep doing it anyway.

Tanning

Ladies, I like many of you, enjoy being tan. I'm rather Casperish right now, but in about a month I will start enjoying the artificial rays of my local tanning salon. I know it's bad for me, but it would be really bad for Amy's wedding album to show some ghostly white bridesmaid for the next 50+ years. I'm tanning solely for Amy. It's all her fault. I also happen to think that tan-fat looks better than pasty white-fat. My own version of camouflage.

Anyways, when tanning, it is best to keep in mind that when you start to look like an Oompa Loompa, it is best to lay off for awhile. Oompa Loompa orange is NOT a good color to have on anyone. I say this because the sweet girl that checked me out at my Dr.'s appt on Tuesday had this color, and it was not working for her. It doesn't really work for anyone. Skin like leather from tanning too much also doesn't really work for anyone. I went to high school with a girl who owned her own tanning bed, and she would lay in it before school everyday. She looked terrible. I bet she still does. Anyone from PHS class of 1998 knows exactly who I am talking about.

The same color rules apply to self tanner and spray on tans. Both can have catastrophic results. Raise your hand if you have ever had the tell-tale orange streaks from using a self tanner. I have. Knees, elbows, and ankles are the hardest parts to make look good. I myself have never had a spray on tan, simply because I am not so hot on the idea of stripping down to my undies infront of some total stranger so they can blast me with orange spray paint. It's just not for me. So keep the basic rules of tanning in mind as you get ready for summer:

1. Start slow. If you went to work this morning looking um, pale, then don't go get a spray on tan during your lunch hour and expect for people to not know it's fake.
2. If you are Oompa Loompa orange during the months of December-February, it is extremely obvious that you are tanning. Who cares if you are pale during the winter. Hellooo. You are supposed to be pale during the cold months. It's practically the law. At least I like to think it is.
3. Lotion, lotion, lotion.
4. Wash hands quickly after self-tanning. It's imperative!!!
5. Avoid Oompa Loompa orange at all costs. If you start to look that color, quit going!!!

That's all. Tune in next week for more free advice until I run out of stuff to say. Have a great weekend!

My little pirate

Hey ya'll. It has been a super busy week so I haven't had a chance to post much. Here are some new pictures that I took of Jackson playing in our backyard. Isn't he cute!

Jackson crying when Macy ran by him too fast and scared him.

Look at how cute he is!

Such a big boy!

I love his sweet smile!

My little pirate

Soles4Souls Update!!!

The shoes are gone, and I am so glad for that. We collected 627 pairs, and filled up 25 bags with all the shoes. Here are some pictures in case you ever wondered what 627 pictures would look like in the back of a church van. I will post a picture of our shoe mountain later.

They were literally stuffed 3 deep, including the floor of the church van. Crazy.

These were the crates we filled up.

Have a great afternoon! Bye Ya'll!!!

I've Been Tagged!

I was tagged by my sweet sister-in-law, Amy so let's see what I can come up with.

Five things on my to-do list today...
1. Work on my CWE conference for May
2. Teach GA's tonight at church
3. Eat dinner with Miranda and her family
4. Play with Jackson when I get home from work!
5. Work on my CWE conference for May (did I already list that? Whoops. It's a REALLY big conference...500 people)

Five snacks I enjoy...
1. Popcorn (especially my Dad's homemade)
2. Toasted cheerios (once again, my Dad's...if you want the recipe I'll gladly share)
3. Any fruit
4. Chips and dip
5. Starburst

Five things I would do if I were a billionaire ...
1. Give to our church
2. Give to our families
3. Travel the world with our families
4. Give to some charities that I wish I could give to now, especially Compassion International.
5. Have an awesome retirement!

Five bad habits...
1. Worry too much about little things.
2. I tend to get OCD about things and sometimes I think I need some therapy.
3. I can really hold a grudge.
4. I tend to be a perfectionist.
5. I want to please everyone at all times, which is virtually impossible.

Five places I have lived ...
1. Prattville, AL
2. Millbrook, AL
3. Auburn, AL
4. Birmingham, AL
5. That's all.

Five jobs I've had...
1. Ministry Assistant
2. Volunteer Coordinator
3. Abstinence Educator
4. Daycare teacher
5. Lifeguard

I tag:

Grits with Cheese

Miranda

Michelle

Ashley

Candy

Works for Me Wednesday

For todays edition of WFMW, I am going to share about my favorite baby bottles, Dr. Browns. We had to switch to these when Jackson was a few months old because he had such a problem with gas and spitting up, and we were desperate. They were a lifesaver! They look like regular bottles from the outside, but the inside has a tube that actually pushes the air into the bottom of the bottle as the baby drinks. That way, they don't inhale so much air, and don't have so much gas. They come in 4oz and 8oz bottles, and while they do cost a little bit more, they are so worth it. We used them forever, and I will definitely use them again.

As a freebie, I am throwing in a non-dorsement of a sippy cup that we have quit using. It is the First Years "Take and Toss" sippy cup, and let me just share with you how quickly we tossed them. They were really cheap, and that is what caught my eye, but they are cheap for a reason. They are terrible! The idea of a cup that you can throw away is okay, but the way these are designed is pathetic. The lid of the cup leaks really bad, and the entire lid pops off when they are dropped. This could be really bad if you had a dark juice or Kool-aid in the cup. The top of the spout also can get really gunky and gross. So, take my word for it, and toss these out of your buggy if you are considering buying them

That's all for today. Come visit me again soon for more WFMW ideas. Have a great day!

Shake Your Booty!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

3 important blogs to check out

Through various methods of blogstalking, I have found 3 blogs that I really felt like I needed to share.

The first is Bring the Rain. It is the blog of Angie Smith, wife of Todd Smith (of the Christian band, Selah) and is about their unborn daughter, Audrey Caroline. She will be born on Monday, and they have known since Angie was 20 weeks pregnant that Audrey will not make it once she is born. The blog began in January, and has been about sharing their journey of loving Audrey as as much as possible while they still have her with them. Please lift the entire Smith family up in your prayers, and check out their blog if you have a chance. Their faith and unwavering love of God will bless you.

The second one is Adopting William. It is about a family that is trying to adopt a special needs child, William, from Liberia. It has been quite a journey for the family, and is being expediated because of William's severe health problems.

The last one is Confessions of a CF Husband and is about a husband, Nathan, whose wife Tricia has cystic fibrosis. They also have a daughter named Gwyneth, who was born 15 weeks early. Tricia just got a new set of lungs 2 days ago, and is still recovering. Please be in prayer that everything continues going good, and that her body continues to accept the new lungs.

Please go check both these blogs out, and especially remember the Smith family and Tricia in your prayers. I know these are not "Happy" blogs, but they have all really touched me. Have a great weekend!

Oh Yeah!

So here are the details on the new car. We had been in the market for a *gasp* Minivan for about a month now. Let me be clear. I was very opposed to a minivan. Jeremy was very much in favor of a minivan. He figured that since we know we want 1 more child, then we have to have more room. Well hmmmpphh. There was no stinking way that I was going to be one those soccer Mom's driving a small tank. Then I test drove one. A 2007 Uplander LT. Hmm. Not so bad. Very roomy, spacious, quite (especially compared to my little Taurus), and the DVD player, duel impact side airbags, automatic sliding door, built in carseat, and OnStar did absolutely nothing to sway my opinions. Nothing at all. Yeah right...

So I got my new car, and not a moment too soon. Let me be clear, my little Taurus has been a great car, and very reliable, but driving the Taurus around town with no air conditioning was getting so delightful here in the south. Anyways, I LOVE the new car, and we got a good deal, which always makes it hurt a little less.

In other news, Jeremy and I are driving our church van tomorrow to Roanoke, AL to deliver our shoes for Soles4Souls. We were able to collect an overwhelming 627 pairs of shoes!! I am so excited about that, especially considering they all go to help people all around the world. Pretty amazing. I hope everyone has a great weekend, and I'll see ya'll next week. Bye!

Holy Cow!!!

We just bought a new car (a crossover Mini-van/SUV) 2007 Chevy Uplander. Details later...

Happy Birthday Ben!

Today is Jeremy's younger brother Ben's Birthday. He is 22 years old, and a senior at the University of Southern Mississippi. We wanted to wish him a wonderful birthday and I hope that he has a terrific day.

Happy Birthday Ben!

Works For Me Wednesday

Today is a favorite edition of Works for me Wednesday over at Shannon's in which I am supposed to share one of my favorite previous editions of WFMW, so I am going to once again share two of my favorite crockpot recipes. I hope you enjoy!

Crockpot Beans
Add to Crockpot:
1 can Lima beans drained
1 can Pinto beans drained
1 can Pork-n-Beans
1 can Kidney beans drained
1 1/2 lbs of ground beef drained
1 lb bacon (I use the quick kind you put in the microwave, about 10-12 slices) crumbled
1 small chopped onion
1 chopped Bell pepper (optional)

In a separate bowl mix:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 BBQ sauce (The BBQ sauce can really change the taste. If you like spicy, use spicy. I use honey bbq)
1/2 cup worcestershire sauce

Add the sauce mix to the crockpot and stir well. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Serve over white rice. Delicious!

Chicken Taco Soup

1 chopped onion

1 16 oz can chili beans

1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 15 oz corn, drained (I also added 1 small can of shoe peg corn)

1 8 oz tomato sauce

1 can chicken broth

2 cans Rotel, un-drained (Use the mild Rotel if you're not a hot-spicy fan)

1 pkg taco seasoning

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat

Place ingredients 1-7 in a slow cooker. Stir in taco seasoning. Lay chicken breasts on top until just covered by other ingredients. Cook on low for 5 hours. Take out chicken breasts and shred and then stir back into soup. Cook 2 more hours. Garnish with sour cream, shredded cheese, and crushed tortilla chips. (I cooked the chicken a little longer than 5 hours to begin with, and the chicken was literally falling apart. I then added it back and cooked for about an hour longer).This is so easy and I can’t wait to have it again. I hope you enjoy!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you come back soon. Have a great day!

No Soup for You!

I would like to give a huge thanks to Lyndsey for her suggestion to try a juice box to help get Jackson to drink out of a straw. Our little monkey had been chewing our straws to bits, but her suggestion of trying a juice box worked perfect. Jackson is now a master with his juice boxes, but we haven't had a chance to try with a real straw. I think/hope it will go smoothly from here. Thanks Lyndsey!!

In other news, Jackson has added tons of new words to his vocabulary. Just yesterday, before heading to work, he really surprised us.

Me: (to Jeremy as he was changing a ridiculously dirty diaper): "Jeremy, what are you having for lunch?"

Jeremy: "Soup."

Jackson: "Soup." "Soup." "I like soup."

Me (to Jeremy in shock): "Did he just say he likes soup? Since when is he saying 3 word sentences?"

Jeremy: "No idea, but I heard it too."

Me (to Jackson): "Do you like soup?"

Jackson: "Nooooooooo."

Guess what we had for supper last night? You got it...Soup. I couldn't resist! And you know what, he loved my soup!

Other words: Turtle, rabbit, shoe, sock, milk, bath, water, cup, phish, no, yes, up, book, please, more, dank (as in thank-you), Mace, dog, cow, duck, truck, and tons more that I can't even come up with now. He is also saying please, more, eat, and thank you in baby sign. We are so proud of our little man. I will post a couple of new videos tomorrow, but I gotta run for now. Have a great afternoon!