Guess Who Caved?

Guess which one of us parental units caved with the paci? Any bets? Scroll down for the answer.

Answer: Neither!!! Based on my post from yesterday, you were probably betting on Jeremy! We are now 48 hours paci free. Jackson isn't too much of a happy camper about it, but I think we may be over the worst. As far as I'm concerned, this battle has been won! We are not opening that can of worms again!

Jackson wearing Daddy's tie

Doesn't he look handsome!

He knows all his shapes, but no, he didn't do the drawing!

The Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Jackson is one of those kids that just loves his paci. We lovingly call it "dat" around our house. For the last 6 months or so, our precious son has walked around with a pink dat, much to our chagrin. Now I swore that when Jackson turned a year old that we were going to take his paci away. Then I said we would take it away when he turned 2. Now, he is 2 1/2, and it's time for it to go! Luckily, he is not one of those kids that has it in his mouth all the time, but quite simply, I'm tired of fooling with it.

The process has begun...

It all started quite accidently yesterday on our way to church. I packed his bag and completely forgot to put his paci in. He didn't notice until we were on our way home from church and then he asked about it. I told him that we would have to find it when we got home. When we got home I helped him look for it, secretly hoping that I would be able to find it first and hide it. I got my wish. I spotted it on the bathroom counter and slid it under some stuff so he wouldn't see it. It was really pushing nap time, so I just told him that we would keep looking for it after nap. It took awhile for him to fall asleep, but after a few minutes, he was out.

When he woke up he asked for it, and I just kept pretending that I didn't know where it was, and then distracted him with an ice cream sandwich for snack. He did say that "Daddy probably just put it somewhere. He can find it." I just played it off, and he didn't ask for his paci again until much later in the evening when we were on our way home from visiting my grandmother in the nursing home. He said:

Jackson: "I WANNNNTTTTT MYYYYY PACCCIIIIIIIIIII"
Me: "Jackson, we don't where it is. You probably put it somewhere."
Jackson: "I didn't put it anywhere!"

I think he's on to us...

Bed-time was a little hairy, but eventually he fell asleep only to wake up again at 12:00. And 2:00. And 2:30. This time with a fever.

Jeremy was thisclose to giving in and giving him the paci when he started crying, but I convinced him to let us keep pushing through. I knew it wasn't going to be easy or fun, but this is something that we just have to do.

So far, we have pushed the 24 hour mark of being paci free. Jeremy has Jackson at the doctor right now, but he went paci free. This is a HUGE step for us. I'm hoping the worse is over, but I know that that could be wishful thinking.

So, I have a fun little poll going up about whether or not you think we are done with the paci. I can't wait to see how much confidence y'all have in us! Have a great Monday!

P.S. I'm also totally willing to accept hints, tips, or tricks to make this transition easier!

Big News in the Wade Family!

And no, it's not like the Jones' big news....

Guess who went to sleep without a pacifier last night?

If you guessed Jeremy you are only half right. That's right...Jackson actually fell asleep last night without his pacifier. He asked for it several times and we kept telling him that we had left it at school. After about 10 minutes of restlessness, he was out like a light. He did great until about 11:30 last night when he started crying and Jeremy went and gave it to him.

We're taking baby steps here people...

Then, around 5:30 he started waking up so Jeremy got him and put him in the bed with us. When the alarm went off I got up, took my shower, and then went to go wake Jackson up by rubbing his back.

Ya'll, there is nothing sweeter in the whole world than a sleeping child. They look so peaceful, happy, and innocent. They don't have a care in the world. I was cuddled up to Jackson when his eyes started opening, and he reached his chubby little hand up to my shoulder, where he proceeded to try and push me off the bed.

His first words of the day: "No Mommy, no. Mommy get up. Mommy get out."

Um. Seriously. I was kicked out of my own bed by my flesh and blood. The little stinker....

Jackson and his pink "dat"

We have tried to get rid of Jackson's pacifier (aka "dat) for over a year now, and have had little success. We have worked our way through about 5 dats now, and as one is lost instead of just trying to quit cold turkey we end up giving in to "I need dat" to the point that Jeremy is sent on a mad dash trip to Walmart for more dats.

On his last trip about 2 weeks ago he came home with the only 2 pack of Nuk pacifiers left in the store.

They came in pink and orange.

Now I am all for some level of gender equality, but I am just not too keen on the thought of my toddler son walking around with a pink dat in his mouth. Call me sexist, but I just don't think it looks right.

On Sunday morning Jackson was left to his own devices for about 5 minutes while Jeremy and I finished getting ready for church. When we were about 2 minutes from walking out the door to head to church I realized that dat was nowhere to be found. I can't begin to describe the level of stress as we began to frantically flip couch cushions and look under pillows for dat. I even got
down on Jackson's level and began pleading with him to show me where dat was. Our conversation sounded something like this:

Me: "Jackson, where's dat?"
Jackson: (shrugging shoulders up) "Where Dat?"
Me: "No sweetheart, that is what I need to know. Where did you put dat?"
Jackson: "I want dat."
Me: "Me too Jackson. Me too."
Jackson: (now insert sound of whining and pleading) "I want dat."
Me: "Jackson, in a minute we are going to have to go to church without dat. I need to know where you put your dat. Otherwise, you are either going to church without
dat, or with a pink dat. Please go find dat."
Jackson: "Where Dat?"
Me: "I give up. Jeremy, please go get the pink dat. We have to go."

Want to see how cute he looks? This was taken after church.

We eventually found the orange dat in his toy box and life has returned to normal, and by normal I mean that I still have an almost 2 year old in love with his pink paci. Life is good!

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!

15 months old!!!

In the midst of Bite-gate 2007, I forgot to mention that Jackson is 15 months old today. Whoo-hooo. Here is a list of some of the words that he has learned:

• Mamma
• Dadda
• Mimi
• Nana
• No
• Car
• Truck
• Moon
• Baby
• Book
• Dat (I will explain this in a second)
• Da (as in dog)

In case you were wondering, "dat" refers to his pacifier. Let me explain. We are trying to get Jackson to give up the pacifier. It is not going very well. Sometimes, when I can tell that Jackson really doesn't need his paci right then, I say, "Jackson, give the that (refering to the paci). You don't need that" and he willingly hands his paci over. My Mom figured out the other day that Jackson had started calling his paci "dat" as in "that" from hearing us say it all the time. So now, if we tell Jackson to go get "that", he always comes back with his paci. Isn't that too cute!

Jackson goes back to the doctor for his checkup on Monday. I think he is due for some vaccinations, but I am not sure. I will update later. Have a great Wednesday!