Random Resourcefulness

16-Month Update

I can hardly believe Jackson hit the 16-month mark last week!  The summer flew by and each day is such a blessing and adventure, it only gets better and better. 

Jackson's been keeping us on our toes...he's a little of what he's been up to

• He constantly reminds us that monkeys say "oo-oo-ooo" and lions say "roarrrr" by making these sounds and pointing out the specific animal whenever he sees it.
• Give lots of "kissies" to his stuffies, Bella and toys.  He touches his lips to the object, then makes a clicking sound with his tongue, but not at the same time. Presh!
• Jabbers like crazy, saying cracker, Dada, Bella, doggy, car, truck, Bebe, tree, ball, choo-choo, Jackson -- most of which sound right with the exception of "Jackson", which sounds more like "da-ton".
• Loves to dance and shakes his tail-feather anytime there's music.  Loves watching his "Jackson Movie" dvd that Bebe made for him from the weekend he spent with them.
• Points to his nose, eyes, ears, belly button, wee-wee-, mouth, fingers, toes & knees on command.  When asked where his belly button is, he touches his wee-wee.
• Loves to "feed the piggy" by putting coins in his piggy bank.  He's ambidexterous and uber fast!
• Walks around in crazy ways: on his tippy toes, backwards, with wide stance, twirls in circles/gets dizzy & falls down, etc.  Must have picked that up at playschool!
• Climbs on and off and on and off his rocking horse, all the time, nonstop.  He tries to get on the horse with his sippy in hand (which never works), gets frusterated b/c he dropped the sippy, gets down to get the sippy, then tries again (same method)...over and over...we keep telling him he can't drink and ride!
• Its only a matter of time until he slams his fingers in a door b/c he is consumed with shutting each and every door he passes through or opens up.
• Love love loves Bella and lays his head on her anytime he can sneak up on her.  He's very gentle when petting her and loves to chase her around the house.  He also tries to sneak her food, which is probably why she's so tolerant!
• Loves to look at pictures of friends & family and tell me who is in each one.  Especially loves talking to Bebe on Skype.
• Demands to feed himself with his spoon & fork and is getting much better but still quite a mess.

At his 15 month visit last month, J weighed in at 22lb 6 oz (28%) and was 32" tall (48%).
Here are a few pics of the past few months...

He's loves hanging out by the dog bowls & has been known
to munch on dog food occasionally

Giving Dad eskimo kisses during his first trip to Waffle House

Our mechanic, Jim Beam, loves Jackson and gave him
a tour of the shop during my last oil change =)

This outfit is one of Ben's from when he was a baby.  Little Porky barely fit in it!

Beep Beep!

Hanging out at the Greer October Fest

Fall for Greenville

Somebody loved the carousel.  (And yes, the outfits were planned!)

Cleveland Park

Hangin' out with Slade.  I LOVE this picture!!

Pre-dinner snack of chocolate pudding...I'm the coolest mom ever!

The Great Outdoors

Last weekend, we took Jackson on his first camping trip!  Ben and I love to camp but we haven't been in nearly 2 years.  We decided that J was finally old enough to have fun playing in the woods & getting dirty, so we headed to Lake Hartwell for a single-night test run at Oconee Campground.  Rather than rough it at a road-side, rustic site like we usually do, we opted for a campground that provided necessary amenities; there is a lot to be said for a picnic table, a bath-house, water spigot, lantern hook & groomed campsite.
I booked the last available site online on the Wednesday prior, so we were pleasantly surprised to find our campsite in a prime location, with plenty of shade & a gradual slope down to the lake (as opposed to the cliff-like drop-off of the neighboring sites).  Jackson absolutely loved climbing up and down the steps leading to the tent pad and was all about exploring anything & everything.  To simplify, we opted for a dinner of campfire hotdogs as opposed to the traditional steak dinner, and did a breakfast of oatmeal & cereal instead of bacon, eggs, grits & toast.  We spent Saturday afternoon setting up our tent (which we dubbed as the Taj Mahal), picking pinecones for a to-be-determined holiday craft projects, throwing rocks, snacking & playing outside.  Once the sun went down, it got a little chilly, so we piled on the layers to stay warm -- the fire was a bit too dangerous for a toddler, so we played on the other side of the campsite under the light of the lantern.  Around 8pm, Jackson started pointing the tent, indicating he was ready to go to sleep, so we tucked him into his pack and play and he didn't make a peep until 8am.  Despite the mid-40 temps, we woke up with cold fingers but were warm other than that.  We spent a relaxing Sunday morning around the campsite and loaded up and left just in time for Jackson to nap the whole way home.

We can't wait to go back next Spring and stay for the whole weekend!

Our campsite

Jackson & Daddy relaxing

 

Inside the back room of the Taj Mahal --
notice their is plenty of room for the queen size air mattress & the pack-n-play.

He loved going up and down the steps...
and loved how we let him drink Capri Suns & eat a little junk food.

This boy loves to accessorize with belts, bags, Daddy's bike helmet, etc.

 

Helping Daddy start the fire.



Lakeside dining.  What a wonderful family weekend!



Playing in the dark...had to sport the camo sweats - we are camping, after all!

Check out all the layers this little humpty-dumpty is wearing!

Snuggling with Mommy

This baby loves camping!

And he adores his Daddy!

Bon Voyage / Happy 60th Mom!!

I realize I have been MIA for a while on the blog...life just gets so busy that blogging/web-surfing/etc just get crowded out.  However, its impossible for me to skip documenting a month of our lives simply because I am overwhelmingly busy.  SO, I'm going to back-track and catch up!

In mid-September, I took Mom on a Mother/Daughter cruise for her 60th (yes, 60th!!) birthday!  For Christmas last year, Ben and I gave Mom a voucher for a to-be-determined mother/daughter trip and so we decided to do a cruise to Key West & Cozumel.  Talk about an amazing memory we'll always cherish...its not often that we get to get away, other than a few hours here or there for shopping :)

On September 16, we flew down to Ft. Lauderdale, and got to fit in a little lunchtime visit with my cousin Laura while she chauffeured us from the airport to the port.  Laura is expecting her first baby in February so we got to see her precious baby bump.  What a great way to start our trip!  Once we got on the ship, we posted up at the pool to soak up as much sun as we could.  (Its not often that I get 5 baby-free days!)  We pretty much spent the entire time eating, sun-bathing, playing penny slots (ahem, Mom!) and just relaxing!  We had so much fun spending time together and I know we both will remember this trip for the rest of our lives. 

Laura & her baby bump

Cheers!  We made it!  Happy Bday Momma!

Mom winning big at the penny slots.  $20 last alot long here then it does at the black jack tables!!



Welcome to Key West



Classy

All gussied up for the Captain's Dinner

Heading into Cozumel for a morning of haggling. 
Quote of the day from a street vendor: "Same crap, cheaper price, just for you, Barbie."



All the bargaining called for a frosty pina colada!



Instead of bar stools, this bar had "bouncy" saddles  there were mounted on a gigantic spring...
think playground toy for grown-ups =)

Soaking up some sun...can you believe she's 60????

Chillin' on the beach



Enjoying our last day of vacation...time flies when you're having fun!
But I sure did miss Jackson (& Ben too!)

Back on the home front, Ben was on Daddy-Duty.  I am blessed with such a selfless, generous hubby who willingly watched Jackson for 5 days while I set sail in paradise.  Little did he know that Jackson would have the worst case of diaper rash while I was gone -- blistering, swollen, cutting teeth, can't-even-wear-a-diaper diaper rash. So Ben, being the resourceful engineer, devised a solution: Ditch the diaper & keep the baby outside as much as possible.  During my 3-minute calls home to check on my boys, I pieced together that a) Jackson was painfully raw & sore and no amount of Boudreaux's could make him feel better, b) he'd only peed on the rug twice (?!?!?) and c) he pooped on the deck but don't worry, Ben was johnny on the spot with the water hose.  The pictures say it all....