Happy Halloween!

The other night we carved our big pumpkin. It was my first time using a template, and it is MUCH harder than it looks! The pumpkin is titled "Bugaboo." The medium pumpkin is Jackson's and we used stickers Mimi sent to decorate it :)

Jackson dressed up as Jackson Hole, WY for Halloween :) The hand-made onesie was complimented by horsey slippers and a stuffed moose!

Jackson got to spend the evening with his buddy, James the Monkey!

Front

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Pumpkin-ing!

We had a wonderful family outing to Cox Farms Fall Festival! It was a beautiful fall day on Sunday, and we definitely took advantage of it! Josh and I really had a good time, and I think Jackson had a lot of fun too! He really enjoyed sampling the fresh apple cider :) There were lots of farm animals to look at and pet. We saw a couple of HUGE mama pigs snuggling with their very new piglets.
There were ponies to ride, but this guy was just hanging out by the fence letting little people pet him!
We successfully found our way out of the corn maze! LOL It was more of a path, but still a good time.
I think the goat farm was one of my favorite parts! The goats were really cute! Of course they were acting extra adorable since everyone came in with food for them. They were just the right size for our little bug to pet.

Jackson as a goat!!!

There were a bunch of these big slides! Josh and I were in heaven, and Jackson really seemed to like them! We each took a turn taking him on this one. The last thing we did before we left for the day was to go down the biggest one as a family. You had to use a sack and everything!

A Jackson-sized pumpkin!

What are these big, orange things? I think they are funny!

A very nice gentleman offered to take our picture in the pumpkin patch. Not the best, but still cute :)

My One Year Old! Yikes!

That sounds so weird to say! We had our belated one year check up today and it went infinitely better than I thought it would! I was so paranoid that we were going to get "yelled" at for still using a bottle, feeding J-Man tub veggies in order to get some veggie nutrition in him, and for not giving him more finger food. I know, poor Josh... Anyways, my fears were relieved the minute the nurse asked the question, "Does he feed himself any foods?" The way she said "any" made me realize that there are probably lots of one year olds out there that aren't feeding themselves food! Jackson will feed himself pretty much any kind of fruit, toast, graham fish, and puffs. We saw our favorite doctor and she was awesome! She said we can go ahead and start using whole milk instead of formula. If he doesn't like the taste right away, she said it was fine to still mix some of it with formula. She also explained that for all intents and purposes, fruits and veggies have the same nutritional benefits. Phew! She also said if he likes the tub veggies, go for it! We came away from the appointment with the realization that in the doctor's eyes, it is more important that Jackson is picking up and feeding himself any foods. That he most certainly is :) She also answered all of my other questions: *When should we see the dentist? Around three years. *Does he need "real" shoes yet? Not necessarily. Gym shoes or soft-soled shoes are both providing protection, and that is the real concern. *Where did this rash/bumpiness come from? Dry skin. It's that time of year! *What does she recommend for diaper rash? Zinc. The whiter the cream, the better! *How does she feel about the H1N1 vaccine? Recommends it, but they aren't sure when/if they are getting any! Jackson's stats from this visit are: Height: 29.5 inches (about 50th percentile) Weight: 22 pounds, 4 ounces (about 50th percentile) Head circumference: 19 inches (90th percentile) Hmmm... ;)

Fun October Things

It has been an extremely busy month and Jackson keeps trying new things and showing us new tricks! Not only can he sign "more," but he also knows "all done!" This is pretty helpful during meals :) He is just starting to blow kisses, which is super cute!

My mom and grandma were supervising bath time in Evanston and Jackson stole his Nan's favorite job of combing his hair! We had given him his comb as a distraction while I diapered and lotioned, and he started combing his hair! As cute as that was, the really funny part is that he will use almost anything as a comb! A fork, a Q-tip, a block, pretty much anything! My mom gave him a fun phone that talks and makes sounds, but Jackson loved picking up the hand piece and babbling into it as if he were talking to someone! He has always LOVED our phones, but he gets that he can chat into his own little phone :)

We have these awesome shelves in Jackson's room. We inherited them in our last house and they look perfect in Jackson's room above the changing table. The only problem is that Jackson thinks everything on them is for his entertainment... He knocked over the little cup of Q-tips I keep up there and once they were all on the changing pad, he started putting one or two back in the cup. So helpful! He really is enjoying putting things IN things, including puffs into whatever bowl I'm holding at dinner. Sometimes he just wants to dip it, but other times he leaves it in there. What a weirdo! LOL On a related note, he has started really sharing! The other day, he was playing with one of his trucks and he brought another truck over to James and offered it up. So sweet! He also tried to offer a dog toy to Paxton while they were lying on the rug together. Such a nice brother :)

Yesterday Jackson took his first steps!!! I got to see them in the morning, and Josh once he got home from work! It's about three or four at a time, but he definitely did it! Now, it's just a matter of him WANTING to do it...

We are enjoying a quiet weekend of family time. We are also working on getting rid of this wicked diaper rash Jackson suddenly developed on Wednesday! Poor little guy! We've been letting him "air out," which has been quite funny! I don't think he knows the difference, but it's so cute seeing him crawl around that way. We've only had one "accident." Maybe he's potty trained? ;)

Big Boy Bath!

Before you judge, I'm not THAT paranoid! Jackson was so happy in his "infant/toddler" tub that we just went with it! I started thinking that once he was officially one, and we were back from our trip home, we should try the Big Boy Tub! I purchased a Boon Flo Faucet/Spout Cover and it has been well worth my $10 already! Not only does it cover the spout so Jackson can't hurt his head bumping it, but it also lets us still use the lever to turn on the shower. There is even a nifty spot to add bubble bath and then it is evenly distributed while filling the tub! I also got a fun ducky non-slip mat and an awesome new tub toy to initiate Jackson into the big tub :) The new toy is a turtle on a little car and it floats in the tub, and rolls on land! Right up his alley! He LOVES it and spends bath time rolling it back and forth along the floor of the tub. SO cute! I am still experimenting with how high to fill said tub...

Thursday Buglet Update

Enjoying a day of shopping with Auntie Cassie and Jonah (Mimi was there too, but she is taking the picture. Jonah was munching on Cheerios and Jackson wanted some!)

Seeing Allison for the first time since he was a few weeks old!

Traditional dinner at California Pizza Kitchen with Auntie Kelly, Mimi, Auntie Abbey, and Auntie Dale! (Next time there will be one more since Auntie Kelly is pregnant!!!)

Meeting Alexis Kate :)

Excited to see Daddy after a few days away!

Kisses for Lawrence (aka Alice) the camel! "Alice the Camel" was Jackson's first favorite song. Mimi found him a stuffed camel for his birthday!

Well, we are back from our wonderfully long birthday celebration/visit to Evanston :) Jackson and I were lucky enough to arrive last Thursday morning and stay until this past Monday. Josh was able to join us for the second half. We went outlet shopping with Auntie Cassie and Jonah, had lunch with my good friend (and college roommate) Allison, hired a babysitter, shopped, ate yummy food (as always!), met Aunt Katie's new little girl Lexi, and had a wonderful birthday party with good friends :)

Jackson had such a good time at Mimi and Grandpa's house! I was thrilled because he was an amazing sleeper! Even better than he had been doing at home! Mimi and Grandpa just renovated two rooms on the main level, along with which came some new sets of shelves. There were a couple of shelves just for Jackson's books and toys! He knew right where to go each morning! The first afternoon we were in town, Jackson and I went to the Skokie Library, which brought back lots of memories for me, but made me so jealous! The library is beautiful after major renovation and rearranging and there was a HUGE selection of board books! We checked out quite a nice selection to enjoy during our visit. This leads me to one of Jackson's new activities: "reading!" I read to him when he was tiny, but then he got to wiggly to sit still. Now, he brings books over and likes to be read to! Thankfully, this kept him busy for much of the plane rides! His favorite book is Baby Colors by Rachel Hale. He LOVES that one! Mimi got him a Halloween Elmo book with flaps and that is a close second :)

Jackson is also starting to give real kisses! They are still pretty slobbery, and a bit open-mouthed, but it doesn't look like he's going to eat your whole face now ;) He usually will give a kiss when asked, but there have been quite a few times lately that he crawls over and gives a kiss on his own. He is sooo sweet! He even likes giving Paxton kisses! SO CUTE!

We have been working to teach Jackson the sign for "more," and he totally got it just a couple days before his birthday! I'm still not entirely sure when he's full at meal times because he likes to just keep asking for more, but it's pretty cool to have this communication! Sometimes when we are in the car or on a walk, he'll ask for more and we aren't sure what he wants more of! He probably just likes the reaction he gets...

Jackson's great love right now is cars and trucks! He had a little fire truck for a while and he loves pushing it around! Side note: this all started with his love for pushing ANYTHING around! Josh and I got him a bigger truck for his birthday that was a huge hit. He also got a plane that wheels around and some nesting cars that he LOVES :) I can do trucks and cars--this is good!

We will get Jackson's latest set of stats next week when we see the doctor for the one year check-up! Our trip threw off the schedule a bit, and we had to wait a little to get in with our favorite doctor.

A Year in Photos

Happy First Birthday Jackson!!!

Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday dear Jackson!
Happy birthday to you!

Jackson had a wonderful first birthday day! Daddy sang to him as soon as he woke up and the Happy Birthday song is officially the new favorite song :) We had a pretty low-key day, but it was a great family day. We went out for lunch and played with some new toys. Jackson loved hanging out in the kitchen with me while I worked on his special birthday treats! We gave him a piece of cake, but he wasn't too interested. I think it's because he had a HUGE dinner! There is more cake to come tomorrow during his party, so we'll see how that goes. Jackson's big trick that he performed today for the first time is that he waved while saying, "Bye bye!" SO cute!

Josh and I just can't get over our little guy. We have just started to believe that he was actually ours. There's no way we can process that he's been around for a whole year! We've had fun reminiscing the last couple of days and today. Josh set his alarm to alert us to the official birthday (1:58pm ET). We sang Happy Birthday again :)

We know Jackson won't remember any of this in the future, but we had a great day celebrating with him :)

Not Such a "New" Mom

I have loved every minute of my journey to and through motherhood :) I loved being pregnant, luckily! I also have loved having my pal Jackson around for a whole year. I have learned a whole lot in that time:

*I can successfully entertain a nine-month old on a twelve hour car trip.
*I can travel with an infant/toddler in a relatively organized and low-stress manner.
*I know all the ins and outs of breast feeding and pumping.
*I have tons of tricks up my sleeve for keeping a baby entertained while being changed.
*I have an equal number of tricks to get a little guy to eat a meal.
*I don't get quite as annoyed when unhelpful advice is thrown my way.
*I'm still looking for a response to the people that tell us we should enjoy Jackson because there's no way our second will ever be this good.
*I realize the importance of naps.
*Spray-n-Wash is my best friend.
*I am starting to realize that I need to listen to my friends and husband when they tell me that a certain, frustrating stage will not last forever. I'm still working on this one...
*I try hard to not give the annoying advice I didn't appreciate to my pregnant friends.
*I am in awe of how fabulous each new stage is.

I never imagined I would love talking about babies, baby stuff, and parenthood this much! I LOVE IT :)

This Time Last Year

I have had such a good time reminiscing about last year! I can't believe how excited we were to meet Jackson, to hold him, and to see what he looked like. Now we've gotten to hang out with him for a whole year! SO much has changed (obviously) and we are loving it!

Things we already don't have to do anymore:
*tally the number of wet and dirty diapers
*keep track of for how long Jackson ate (although I kept it going for MUCH longer than necessary...)
*jump up to get something done the minute Jackson is finished eating, because he could get hungry again at ANY minute
*obsess about body temperature--he's probably NOT cold all the time anymore
*swaddle and unswaddle a zillion times a night
*change more than ten diapers a day
*keep a bucket of water ready to soak numerous pieces of clothing a day
*use gauze and Vaseline
*pop the paci in every five seconds
*playing the game of "Is it gas or a real smile???"

Things we are doing now:
*moving breakables even higher than Pax's tail level
*opening and closing baby gates multiple times a day
*using a big boy car seat that stays in the car all the time
*still obsessing about the amount of food eaten in a day
*learning to use a sippy cup
*only using pacis at night and in the car
*looking for everyday items that could be used as toys
*laughing with Jackson
*sleeping through the night