Fashion Plate!

I just realized that Jackson finished his own first birthday party wearing no shirt. Yesterday he finished James's first birthday party wearing no pants... Hmmm...

The story is that while we were there I thought we had our first diaper blow-out in months, but it turns out Jackson managed to smear around some bean dip that had dropped somewhere. HA HA HA! It still resulted in Jackson spending the last little bit of the party in just a onesie and one sock...

The Bug's Stomach Bug :(

After three used trash bags, two baths, three toddler pj shirts, two pairs of toddler pj pants, four mommy shirts, one daddy shirt, three mommy pants, two loads of laundry, three stain treated patches of carpet, two stain treated couch cushions, and lots of tears, we have survived Jackson's first stomach bug! I got hit in the middle of the night Tuesday and am just finally feeling 100% today. Josh stayed home from work on Wednesday so I could work on recovering. Thursday I was feeling better so I sent him to work, but asked Mary Jo and Mark to keep James home since I wasn't feeling super yet. Good thing I only had my own little guy since he exploded with puke out of nowhere Thursday afternoon! I had just hit the point in the afternoon, right after Jackson's second nap, where I wasn't feeling so hot so I was laying on the couch "supervising" playtime. He brought me a book, I opened it and read the first page, and got peaches and sweet potatoes exploded all over me :( Poor thing was a little startled, but he really wasn't that upset. That was good since I had NO idea where to start the clean up process. Paxton was awesome and patiently waited downstairs behind the baby gate for the clean up to be complete.

I decided a bath was a good option. So I changed us out of our pukey clothes and popped Jackson in the bath. He was pretty happy in there and I was hoping that was it for him, since I had only gotten sick once myself. I had him smelling so nice again and had just sat him up on his changing table to put on his shirt when he erupted a second time. It was maybe even a little worse :( This time it really upset him. Since he only had his diaper on, I put him back in the bath. After rinsing him off and quickly getting some clean clothes on him, I sat him in his crib while I started on disaster cleanup. He got sick again in his crib one more time before I was able to get him laid down to try for a nap. This time I just changed his shirt. How many baths could we really have?! I also realized that the time had come to regret only purchasing one mattress protector! I thought it was ridiculous when Babies R Us recommended registering for two or three. When Jackson was really tiny (and the messiest, I thought) we laid lap pads under him when he was in his crib. I never had a reason to worry about the mattress protector since I had two things on top of it! Huh. I added that to my list of Resolve carpet cleaner and Pedialyte. I had gotten his room pretty clean. I started on the first floor and the laundry and had just gotten going when I heard him cry from upstairs. I found him getting sick a little again. By this time there wasn't anything coming up. I decided it was better to keep him with me instead of wondering what was going on upstairs. I wiped his shirt off and brought him downstairs. I had called Josh right away when Jackson first got sick and he was on his way home. He came in right as Jackson was in the midst of heaving a few more times. Jackson couldn't seem to go five minutes without getting sick. He had the saddest little face when I held washcloths under his mouth. It was like he was asking, "Why can't you make this stop Mommy?" SOOOO sad!!!

I finally called the doctor because I was worried he wasn't slowing down. Our favorite call-back nurse called us back and explained that there is a stomach bug going around and we shouldn't expect it to last any more than 24 hours. Phew! She gave us instructions for reintroducing food and drink and checking for dehydration. I'm so glad I called since Jackson couldn't settle down for quite a while. At first he would get his energy back for a few minutes and play before feeling sick again. After a little while he just wanted to sit in our laps. I moved downstairs to the family room with him and he sat with me for a few minutes. Then he climbed off my lap and I think he was going to play. Nope. He sat on the carpet, rolled over, stuck his bum in the air, and passed out on the spot...for almost four hours! We had just turned on the space heater, so it was just the buglet and the space heater! What a sweet (and pathetic) little guy!

He woke up on his own just before 9 and was super thirsty! It was almost worse to not let him drink all he wanted (doctor's orders, and my own knowledge from personal experience) than to feel helpless while he was sick :( He LOVED the orange Pedialyte :) We changed him and laid him in his own crib and he slept until 5:30 the next morning with just two wake-ups for a sip of something to drink. He was a champ yesterday! He seemed hungry for anything and everything and was back to eating more normal food than I was!




Today he isn't quite as perky. Josh said he was pretty clingy this morning. He has had more naps than usual, shorter in lenght the last two days. He seemed especially tired after his last one today. So much so that he didn't want any lunch. Hmmm... I'm sure his system is just resetting itself!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Josh stays healthy! He has been awesome at taking care of both of us and it would stink for him to get sick in return!

We Enjoy and Recommend

I got Jackson Peek a Who with part of a Barnes and Noble gift card we got for the holidays. It is definitely a new favorite! I have to say I really like it too :) Nina Laden has a couple of other good looking books and I'm checking the library for those!

This has been a favorite for a while now. My friend, Amanda, recommended it a while ago and I think it is one of the most adorable things I've ever seen! It seems like it's getting a little hard to find, which is a shame!

We discovered this series at James's house and Jackson loved this one! We asked for a few more for the holidays and Jackson got this monkey one and a puppy one for Hanukkah! Word on the street is that Mimi has another one tucked away for a future occasion! I had heard of them before, but never really looked at them. They are such a different twist on the touch-n-feel books--I love them!

I'm still hoping that Jackson will drink out of a traditional sippy cup (mostly because we were given lots as gifts before he was born and they are really cute), but these are the best straw cups I've found so far! The straw part is easy to take apart and put together. There are lots of clicks so you can double check your work ;) I have already had a few casualties of leaky milk cups and a diaper bag full of apple juice :( I have been using the Munchkin ones and they are great, but a little harder to clean and put together.

These are super yummy! Jackson likes them, but I sneak one or two when he has a snack! They are a little hard to find, but totally worth it!

We Now Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Program

Yesterday we started a somewhat normal routine again. James was dropped off for the first time in three weeks and Jackson is excited to have his playmate back again! I definitely enjoyed my three weeks "off," but it's nothing like the two weeks I had when I was "just" teaching and could sit around doing nothing, eating bon-bons on my winter break ;)

Jackson is really testing out his climbing skills... He conquered the stairs months ago with no fear and has continued on to many other things! We were watching TV the other day and looked over to see him sitting ON his learning table! Yikes! We took the legs off, and it now is a floor toy... He LOVED crawling over Meemaw's lowest counter in the kitchen. That has translated to enjoying crawling under our coffee table at home. I just ordered him a super cute chair from Pottery Barn Kids since he loved climbing into James's car seat, settling in, and playing with toys. I can't wait for it to come so he has his own little seat!

While in Covington, Jackson started saying, "Mmmm!" after tasting something yummy! We love that because we think it has helped him expand his eating choices. He let us know that he now enjoys ham, macaroni and cheese (grown-up stuff, not just the baby kind), chips, and a special pudding/fruit salad Meemaw made for Christmas. He also is showing a lot of interest in drinking from a water bottle. Josh helped him drink a whole bunch one day. Maybe Mommy can get over her clean-freakishness so he can learn how to drink out of a cup...and use a spoon...and a fork...

While next Christmas should be tons of fun with Jackson really into opening presents, he finally started to get the hang of it on this trip! He didn't quite know what to do at Mimi and Grandpa's, but at Gramma J's he pulled the tissue right out of his bag! We made such a big deal about it, he figured out it was a neat trick. That translated to him trying his best to "open" his aunt, uncle, and cousins' presents! I think we managed to preserve them all!

Teeth report: Four back molars are working their way through as well as three or four others! Yikes! No wonder we had a Mr. Crankypants on our hands...

Winter Break: Epilogue

Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2010!

December 31, 2008 (Well, technically, January 1, 2009)
12 weeks old

December 31, 2009

14 1/2 months old

Winter Break: Part 3: Chapter 4

We have had such a nice day so far! The weather is pretty yucky, so we just stayed in. Jackson woke up for the first time at 5:20am and I decided if I'm really trying to get him back on track, I'm really doing it! Anything before 6am is not an option. So, he cried himself back to sleep (it took a pretty long time!). He got up again just before 7--much better! Since he had gotten up a little later than usual, he didn't go down for his nap until a touch later. It also took him a long time to settle down. He wasn't up from his nap until 11, and that pushed back his afternoon nap. Phew! Other than having a hard time getting to and staying asleep, Jackson has been so happy to play with his toys and his puppy! I came upstairs after throwing in some laundry and found him situated in James' car seat! He spent a good portion of the afternoon in it! He realized he could reach right into his toy basket--smart cookie! The first time I saw him, he had his laptop out and was dancing to "B-I-N-G-O." Then he had his Elmo remote and then his truck. Such a funny guys! My mom gave him a bear puppet/book and he has been kissing it all day. It is so stinking cute to hear him make kissing sounds! He also takes it over to Pax and gives Pax kisses from the bear. What a sweet boy :)

Winter Break: Part 3: Intermission

Uncle Larry brought these pajamas back from Jackson Hole, WY for Jackson's birthday! They were a HUGE hit! The front says Bear Hugs and the back has two paws hugging around! They are so cute! I wish they came in big people sizes... I fully intend to make a pillow out of the shirt once Jackson outgrows them. It will match the bedding I've already picked out for Jackson's big boy bed... Yes, I know that is quite a while away. Just call me prepared :)