Random Selections

I will start this blog off by showcasing the "special" pictures Jackson took this evening.  He was supposed to be watching his new Elmo DVD from the library, but apparently he swiped the camera off the desk, took these lovely shots (plus MANY more), and then brought the camera upstairs to the kitchen with a sweet smile on his face :)

 We have had a busy week!  Unfortunately, I don't have pictures for lots of it :(  We started off the week with Valentine's Day!  Jackson and I drove to Leesburg to hang out with Sarah, Maddie, and Baby Brodie for the day.  We went to a playgroup that a friend of Sarah's was hosting--there was lots of yummy food and other cute babies for Jackson to admire.  He also developed a love for heart-shaped sugar cookies and chocolate covered strawberries...  We went back to Sarah's for the kiddoes to nap, and then Sarah left for a dentist appointment.  Such an exciting event, but we were happy to have it as an excuse to see them!  From Leesburg, Jackson and I drove to Springfield to pick up Josh and then head to Qdoba to meet the Buerstattes for dinner.  Qdoba ran a special where if you smooched your sweetie, you got one entree free!  Yay for free food!  We took this picture to commemorate Liam's first Valentine's day!!!

 On Tuesday morning, Brandi brought her crew over to play (including her mom who has been in town for a little over a week).  Neither Kaitlyn nor Jackson was in a super fantastic mood, but we enjoyed our time anyway!  (Kaitlyn was recovering from an ear infection and some congestion while Jackson was showing the early signs of croup--no fun for anyone!  We hope they are both on the mend!)  Jackson and KK did resort to their favorite game of pushing each other in the stroller, so that provided some smiles :)  Liam also tried out the little big blue chair.  

On Wednesday, I was supposed to get a double dose of Katherine with a playdate during the day and our monthly dessert night in the evening.  But, that was not to be as her boys are both sick!  What a week to be a toddler :(  Jackson and I ran some quick errands in the morning, and then began our hang-out session at home since our new fridge was supposed to be delivered some time between 11am and 5pm (quite the window, huh?).  Josh even made sure he'd be home as early as possible to help get the fridge inside, etc.  Yeah, the fridge showed up at 6:30pm :(  But, it was much easier than Josh anticipated to get the doors off (yup, they all had to come off in order for the fridge to fit through our front door), so that was a plus especially since he was doing it in the dark...  Why do we have a brand-new fridge hanging out in our living room now, you might ask?  Well, the new house does not come with a fridge, washer, or dryer.  We found a fantastic deal on a new fridge so we figured we'd go for it!  It looks kind of nice sitting there...LOL  Jackson came downstairs this morning, gave it a second look, ran over to it, and said, "Thank you, Mommy!"  LOL  Yup, that fridge is JUST for you, Kid!

Today, I took Jackson to the doctor to have his cough listened to.  Our favorite doctor had an opening, and she said he does have croup, but it wasn't bad enough to be compromising his breathing or anything like that.  She said most likely it will just turn into a regular cold in a couple of days.  Phew!  I'm glad I took him in because his barking cough sounded terrible!  He's still slightly pathetic when he gets going :(  He was SUCH a good boy at the doctor!  He didn't cry for the first time when they weighed him.  He and I had talked about how the doctor was going to look in his ears and his mouth and listen to him breathe.  He did really well at first, but then he got a little anxious, and his little lip began to quiver while he tried not to cry.  It was so sweet!

Speaking of another situation that made me proud: we joined Susie and Joe at their church for a pre-Valentine's dinner last Saturday night.  The youth was holding a fundraiser for their mission trips and set up a restaurant-style dinner AND provided childcare!!!  I tried not to get my hopes up too high that Jackson would go to the childcare, but I wanted to look forward to this if he did!  He did awesome!  He followed Rachel right into the room and had a ball playing with the toys!  His face when we came back was priceless :) He is really getting the hang of "Mommy and Daddy will leave for a bit, but then they'll come back!"  Yay!  The grown-ups had a lovely time at the Italian Cafe set up upstairs :)  I wish we had thought to take a picture...

Here are two adorable pictures of Jackson playing Big Brother to Baby Liam:

And, here is one more funny moment:  The last couple of days have been GORGEOUS!  I dressed Jackson in a short sleeve shirt today and he was so frustrated that he couldn't pull the sleeves all the way down to cover his arms!  LOL  For as long as he's really been aware of his clothing, it's been long-sleeve weather!  Poor little guy will just have to adjust :)