Jacksonisms

It's been awhile since I've shared some of the hilarious things that Jackson has said lately. So here goes...

After seeing a baby at Walmart: "You see that baby over there? That kid has the hugest arms I've ever seen. We're talking fat!"

After taking several family pictures for our church directory: "I've got a secret to tell you Daddy! If we take any more family pictures, I'M NOT!"

After listening to me sing Kung Fu Fighting to him one too many times: "So why was everybody kung fu fighting?"

After getting stung by a bee/wasp/fly thing on Saturday when he was playing outside: "I need you to go to facebook and tell everyone that I got stung by a bee or a wasp or a fly."

After figuring out Anderson doesn't know how to do much these days: "So pretty much all Anderson does is eat, sleep and poop?"

After seeing Anderson peeing in the bathtub: "When Daddy comes in here you should point Anderson at him!"

After realizing that I'm not nursing anymore, he pointed to my chest and said, "If you're not nursing anymore, why are those things still so fat?"

How I love that kiddo of mine!

Where Has The Time Gone?

Jackson graduates from Pre-K today. His class is having a graduation program and luncheon today, and I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. His class has been practicing for the graduation for what seems like weeks, and Jackson gets to hold the Bible during the pledge time. Although I'm not supposed to know about it, Jackson let it slip that they had cap and gown pictures done, and that they were taught several songs and Jeremiah 29:11.

I'm not quite sure how 4 1/2 years have slipped by me like they have. How has time flown by so quickly? How is it even possible that this cutie about to graduate from Pre-K?
I'll make sure to post pictures and hopefully video really soon. Just keep your fingers crossed for me that I don't lose it! It's not easy to watch him grow up so fast!

Sweet Child Of Mine

I had to leave much earlier than normal due to my travel plans Monday morning. On my way out of the door I noticed that another one of my lilies had bloomed overnight. I had been watching them closely and I made sure to show the first bloom to Jackson on Easter morning. He was just as impressed by the pretty bloom as I was, and I made sure to let him know not to touch the bloom because it might break.

On my way out of town Monday morning my cell phone rang. The caller ID showed Jeremy's number, so I answered it assuming that Jeremy was asking me something about Jackson's school stuff. I was pleasantly surprised when it was Jackson calling me from Jeremy's phone

Jackson: "Mama, did you know that your flower has two blooms on it today?"
Me: "I know! Isn't it pretty!"
Jackson: "It sure is. I made sure not to touch the middle of the flower just like you told me, and I touched the petal real, real careful!
Me: "That's good! I'm glad you were so careful."
Jackson: "I didn't break your flowers at all!"
Me: "Thank you sweetie. I hope you have a great day at school. I love you!"
Jackson: "Love you too, Mama! Bye!"

Jackson then handed the phone back to Jeremy and that's when Jeremy told me that Jackson had spotted the new bloom when they were leaving for school and he insisted that he get to tell me all about the new bloom because he knew, "Mama would be so happy!"

How I love that sweet child of mine!

Life Changing Bathtime

Jackson was in our church service this past Sunday morning and saw a boy in our church get baptized. This was Jackson's first time seeing a baptism, although he has heard about it before. Jackson bombarded me with questions after the service was over about the baptism:

"Why did Bro. Bruce put Graham under the water?"
"Did the water go up his nose?"
"Am I going to be baptized?"
"Why did he wear that white thing (the robe)?"
"Does he have to stay under the water for a long time?"

I answered all of his questions and I assumed that the subject of baptism was done for the day. Apparently I was wrong. As Jackson was taking his bath later that night I heard lots of commotion in the bathroom. Since Jeremy was in charge of bath time that night I had to find out what was going on. It turned out that Jackson was practicing baptizing himself in the bathtub over and over again. I walked into the bathroom and Jackson said, "Am I a new person now?" :)

After we answered a few more questions we realized that Jackson decided that he had been baptized enough and he moved on to baptizing Batman instead. So rest easy fellow Believers; Batman could be living in a mansion next door to you up in Heaven one day!

Would You Rather? (Interview with Jackson)

Would you rather only be able to whisper or only be able to shout?
Whisper because people might be on the phone.

Would you rather be a giant hamster or a tiny rhino?
A tiny rhino because it sounds more fun!

Would you rather be a great big giant, or a little tiny person that can fit in my hand?
A great big giant so I can step on things.

Would you rather eat pickles all day or drink mustard all day? (Jackson and I hate both pickles and mustard) Drink mustard.

Would you rather have humongous feet or a humongous nose?
A giant nose because then I would look like a grownup. (I have no idea what he's talking about!)

Would you rather have to get a shot in your booty or a shot in your arm?
A shot in my arm because it doesn't hurt to sit down then.

Would you rather hold a snake or a spider?
A spider.

Would you rather swim in a pool of Jello or play in a big mud puddle?
Play in a big mud puddle!

Would you rather have a pet porcupine or a pet skunk?
A pet skunk because I like them better.

Would you rather live at the beach or live at the zoo?
Live at the beach.

Expressions of Love...Or Something Like That

Last night Jackson woke up having a pretty bad coughing spell. We gave him his cough medicine and used his inhaler and I settled him back into our bed so I could keep an eye on him. We were all snuggled up together when he very quietly said, "Mama, can I ask you a question?"

Thinking that he was going to say one of my sweet sayings like, "Do you know how much I love you" I said, "Yes, Jackson. Ask me anything."

He snuggled up closer to me like he had a secret and whispered in my ear, "Mama, what's a wedgie?"

After I finished laughing I promised him that I would show him a wedgie on his Daddy this morning!

Hello, Time? I Would Like For You To Be Still

I registered Jackson for kindergarten on Wednesday. As I was waiting I was wondering where in the world 4 and a half years have gone. How is it that I'm in the process of registering Jackson for kindergarten already, when it seems like we just brought him home from the hospital? I filled out the paperwork early Wednesday morning and then brought Jackson back to the school when I got off from work for his assessment. He was so excited to be walking into his future school that he could hardly stand it! The principal of the school talked with me for a second and then she took Jackson into her office for his school assessment. He was nervous to leave me for a second, but then off he went. When she came back she said that he had done great! The principal said that although he is young (which we already knew, obviously), he was completely ready for school. Whew! I was so relieved!

After Jackson got done with his assessment the principal told us that we could feel free to walk around the school and check things out. We quickly found the kindergarten hall which is broken up into colored pods with 4 teachers in each pod. The halls were decorated with kids artwork and pictures, and the paintings were really cute. Jackson loved it, especially peeking into the classrooms! Jackson loved the cafeteria and he's already pestering me about riding the bus, which is soo not going to happen, I just haven't had the heart to tell him yet!

When we got home I gave him his bath and got him ready for church. He was telling me all about what he had to do during his assessment, things like write his name, tell her his address and phone number, draw shapes, and identify letters. He acted like everything was no big deal, easy schmezy! As I was drying him off I told him that I was probably going to cry when it was time for him to go to kindergarten. He asked why and I just told him that it's hard for me to watch him grow up so fast. His response, "You don't have to cry Mommy. I'm just going to play for a little bit and then I'll come home!"

I know that all this "growing up" stuff is inevitable, I just can't help but wonder if it ever gets any easier...

Rodeo Roundup

Life has been so busy around here that I haven’t even had the chance to tell you all about us taking Jackson to his first rodeo! We had such a good time, and we were so lucky to be given some great tickets by a friend of mine. We took Miranda’s little girl, Gracie, and she and Jackson had a blast! We got there early enough to enjoy the livestock exhibits and the kids got to ride a mechanical bull! Jackson especially loved the bulls, but the entire evening was really fun, and the kids really loved their cotton candy! Enjoy the pics!

Gracie and Jackson petting a calf

Checking out the wild horses!

The two cutest little kiddos in their matching hats!

Jackson riding the mechanical bull!

So stinking cute!

Yee-hah!! Ride’em cowboy!

Gracie’s turn!

Cute little cowgirl!

Jeremy, Jackson and Gracie

Me and my favorite cowboy!

My best shot at taking a picture of the bulls!

We had such a good time, and I can’t wait to take both of my little cowboys with us next year!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Jackson has become a little fish at Nana's pool, and he loves every second in the water! Enjoy the video!

Summer Has Arrived

Summer has arrived with a vengeance, and it's already kicking my hiney!

To beat the heat, we've been enjoying Jackson's swimming pool in our backyard lately. Jackson let me take some pictures the other day (shocking, I know!), and I just knew that his grandmother's and aunts would just love these pictures. Of course everyone else can enjoy them also!





Take care!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Last night during bathtime I decided to get all wild and crazy and put a tattoo on Jackson. We got the tattoo at the Sherrif's Office booth at our fair a few weeks back. Of course, like most people with tattoos, he wasn't ready to stop with one!

Jackson's new pose! He makes this face all the time now!

Double trouble!

Check out my guns!

Does this mean he's an undercover agent?

And after we got him out of the tub Jackson looked at me and said, "Thank you so much Mama for my tattoos!" Jeremy officially called it last night that if Jackson decides to get inked when he's older, it's all my fault!

And speaking of Jeremy, this morning as I was getting ready he came into the bedroom and said:

Jeremy: "Amy, Jackson can almost say 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' all by himself!"

Me: "Really?"

Jeremy: "Well, he can say the 'supercali' part!"

Me (insert crickets chirping): "That's not even close to the whole thing. You are sooo going to end up on the blog for that."

Have a great day!

In a Decade or So...

Jeremy and I have a relatively extensive DVD collection that includes a lot of movies that are way too scary or intense for Jackson to watch. I'm a stickler for only letting him see things that won't scare the daylights out of him, no matter how much he wants to see a movie that he finds in our collection.

For some reason Jackson is obsessed with Spider Man and he must be hearing about it from someone at his school. He even knows how Spider Man throws his webs. It's beyond me how he knows this stuff exists, because it sure isn't because of us.

Anyways, Jackson will wonder into our office occasionally and pull out a movie. He will usually bring it to me and just to appease him, I flip it over to the back and look at the rating. 99% of the time it's PG 13 and I tell him that he can't watch it until he's bigger.

Yesterday Jackson went into the office and came out with our copy of Spider Man. He handed me the movie and said that he wanted to watch Spider Man because, "It's not too scary for me." I turned it over and spotted the PG 13 rating and gave him the usual spiel about it being too scary for him. Jackson grabbed the movie back, flipped it over, and very adamantly said, "Uh-huh. I can watch this movie. It says right here (pointing to the movie), 'This movie is good for Jackson.'"

Nice try little man....

Just a Spoonful of Sugar (Or Zyrtec)

I've told you in the past that I have issues with hypochondria and that Jackson seems to have inherited that trait from me. Actually, he could have gotten from either me or Jeremy because we both tend to have a "sky is falling" mentality as far as our personal health care is concerned. But that is neither here nor there.

Anywho....

Jackson is on a maintenance dose of Zyrtec to help with his seasonal allergies and eczema. He takes 1/2 tsp every morning like it's candy. So this morning I was on my own with Jackson because Jeremy had to head out of town at the unholy hour of 5:00 this morning. Jackson was sitting at the table eating his cereal when he said, "Momma, I'm not feeling berry (very) good."

Fearing the swine flu which is rampant in our area right now, I asked him what was wrong.

Jackson said (in a completely normal voice), "I can't talk because of my allergies. I need my Zyrtec. In a cup, please." I got down the Zyrtec and poured the dose into a medicine cup. Jackson took it and about 2 seconds later announced, "I'm feeling all better now. My allergies are gone and I can talk now!"

It's so nice when Momma can make it better things better in less than 30 seconds!!

And you can just call me Mary Poppins...

Dear Jackson,

Happy 3rd Birthday little man! I can't believe how much time has flown by. It's amazing how much you have changed in the last year. At only three years old, you are already such a smart little boy with an amazing vocabulary and such a sweet spirit. It's been a crazy year for us! Just a few months ago I realized that you were carrying on full grown up conversations with us, you have moved into your own big boy bed, you started a new preschool, and you are now finally potty trained! It cracks me up when I'm pestering you about going to the potty and you look at me and say, "Mommy, I will TELL you when I need to go potty!" You are such an independent little man, although I can't imagine where you got that from!

You love reading books with us, have lots of books memorized, play with about a million trucks and cars that are scattered all over the house, and share your big boy bed with no less than 8 stuffed animals each night, your favorite one right now being your puppy, Jack! We also have enjoyed watching Night At the Museum about 20 times a day with you since you discovered the movie on the shelf. I'm waiting for you to rediscover "Silly Monsters" again!

During the last three years I've watched all the ways you've grown and changed, and I thank God daily for letting me be your Mommy! We had prayed for a baby, and when we found out you were on your way, our hearts were overjoyed. You have more than fulfilled my every dream and expectation of being your mother. The other night as I was tucking you into bed I whispered something into your ear that I tell you every day; I said, "I love you to the moon..." You finished with "and back!" Then you got quiet for a second and said, "That's a long way, Momma!"

It sure is kiddo, but I do love you to the moon and back! Happy Birthday Jackson!

Love,

Momma

Someone did NOT want his picture taken this morning!

A cutie even in the midst of a tantrum!

You and your umbrella!

Happy Birthday Jackson!!!

3 years ago today at exactly 5:00 p.m.

I looked like this...

and was walking down the halls of the hospital to check in for my scheduled induction to meet this precious gift the following day,

and life has never been the same since.

3 years ago today I was close to having a panic attack because I was so terrified of "having" a baby.

3 years ago today I knew that I would love a child with my whole heart, but I had no idea the depth of that love.

3 years ago today I knew that in less than 24 hours I would forever change my life by having a baby, but I had no idea how completely it would change me, and more so, that I would love the "new" me.

3 years ago today I was still a woman pregnant for the first time, feeling Jackson kick inside me and waiting for the induction to get started at midnight. Now, I'm a tried and true veteran of labor who would do anything and everything for her child.

And it's been so worth it....

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

I promised pictures from Jackson's birthday party and here they are! Like I said before, Jackson had a "monkey" themed birthday party at our YMCA's indoor playground. It was so much fun, and I was so pleased with how everything turned out. The kids had fun, and the adults got tired just watching them! Enjoy the pictures!

The Monkey Invitation (minus our specifics)

The cake based on the invitation

The Birthday Boy in Action!

He was a moving target the entire party!

Our Monkey Climbing!

Taking a little rest!

Kloe

Cousin Abbie

Noah

And his sweet sister, Maddie

Bella Hope

Gracie

Avery

Layton (wearing an adorable monkey shirt!)

Mason and Gracie

Our other Chloe

And the birthday boy!

Time for cake!

He got so shy while we were singing "Happy Birthday" to him!

Enjoying cake and ice cream

Time for presents!

A monkey for our monkey!

The Wade/Wade/Knight Families!

The Moore/Wade/Gibson families!

And this was how I felt when the party was over!