Jackson's Spring Program

Last night was Jackson's Spring Program at school. It was adorable! The 2 and 3 year old classes participated in the 45 minute program of song and dance.

The 3 year olds went first and then the 2 year olds pranced in. Jackson was the third to hit the stage. Once he walked across the stage, found me in the crowd, and smiled, it was over! I was expecting the emotions of "oh, there's my big boy" but I wasn't expecting to feel so much pride.

He did such a great job. He was singing along and doing the motions. He especially got into the “Deep and Wide” song. Some of his classmates just stood there and smiled, but he really got into a few of the songs. At one point, I looked around the crowd because I was so sure the entire audience was watching my precious little boy (they weren't! they were all watching their babies!)

Great job, Jackson! You looked so handsome and most importantly you were having fun!

Here's when Jackson first found me in the audience

His class

Getting into one of the songs

Towards the end he did get a little bored and found more excitement in the stage floor. We also saw a few yawns creep out of his mouth even though he took at 2+ hour nap before the show!

After the performance they all sat down to wait on dismissal. This is Jackson's teacher Mrs. Kristen on the right. She was sitting in front of the kids but moved towards the end because little Matthew (green sweater) started inching towards the edge of the stage as he danced!

My superstar!

Jackson and KD

(KD came down to watch the show before he, Jackson and Wesley headed to Disney World this morning!)

Our family after the show

Mommy and Jackson

Mommy and Philip

Philip didn't get to watch the show , but the word around the nursery was that his brother did a fabulous job. He was so proud!

The Potty Train

I did not think I would be one to rush Jackson into potty training. In fact, I didn't mention it much before Philip arrived. But once I had two in diapers, I quickly began pushing the potty on Mr. Jackson!

It seemed as though nothing we did got him interested in even sitting on the big-boy potty. Finally, I had the idea that if he went to the potty, we would take him on the train at the mall. That got him excited!

This attraction is a kid-size train that makes a loop around the North Point Mall. It is a luxury because it cost $4 per rider (where as the carousel is only $2 for the child - parent rides for free!). Jackson wouldn't even know about this ride if it weren't for Pop Pop. One day when my parents were in town they took Jackson to the mall and Jackson "some how" got Pop Pop to ride with him 3 times! Thanks, Dad :-)

Every time he gets money in the mail from family, he puts it in his piggy bank as train money. I told him we could go ride the train once he went potty on the big boy potty. Even with that treat lingering in the air, it still took him awhile to actually get on the potty and go, but as soon as he did, we made plans to head to the mall.

He was so excited about riding the train again but I think I was even more excited. Usually Jackson picks his dad to join him on all the fun things. This time though when Jackson was asked “Who do you want to go with you?” he said Mommy! YEAH!! I was so excited to share this with him!

Here are some of the pictures Wesley snapped of our 5 minute trip around the mall.

Oh, and I should point out that he went on the potty three times before we headed to the mall that night but to date he has yet to get back on it!

Mommy and Jackson waiting on the train

Jackson was so proud that he got to hold his own money.

Deciding which car we would sit in

Handing his money to the conductor

Getting his change and ticket

We have our ticket and are ready to go!

Here we go

(Yes, we are the only passengers on this little ride!)

Look at that happy face!

Whenever Jackson would see someone in the mall, he would wave! It was great to see the reactions from the shoppers. Everyone would stop, smile, and wave back to him!

All done!

The conductor let Jackson sit in the driver's seat and blow the whistle

And ring the bell

After the train stop for Jackson, we made a stop in the Apple Store for Wesley. While Wesley was checking out the new IPads, Jackson settled down to play Batman.

Even Philip enjoyed the time at the Apple Store!

Well, he enjoyed it until he got bored (like Mommy!)

Jacksonisms

Every day Jackson will say something that makes me smile. I always say, I should write this down but usually I don't. I did manage to jot down a few recent conversations that I wanted to make sure to remember.

Contractions: When the contractions for Philip started, they came on hard and fast. While we were still at home, I tried to hide the pain from Jackson, but I didn't do a good job.

When one particularly strong one hit, I was doubled over in pain. Jackson walked over to me and asked if he could hold my hand to help with the pain.

Then, in the car, another extremely painful one hit. I was talking very loudly through the pain until Jackson broke through and said, "Mommy, I can kiss it and make it better."

How sweet!

Snow: It was the Friday after we brought Philip home. The weather man had predicted snow for our area the night before. Jackson woke up early (very early) and wondered into our room. He was wide awake but I wasn't. Needing some time to adjust to the early morning wake up call, I thought of a stall tactic - I would have Jackson go investigate the snow out the window.

Me: Jackson, go look outside. There is something exciting waiting on you.

Jackson: (with so much excitement in his eyes, he could hardly stand it) A trash truck!

Me: No honey, not a trash truck. Something more exciting than a trash truck.

Jackson: A school bus!

The innocent beauty of a two-year old who knows what he loves and thinks there is nothing more exciting than large vehicles!

Mimi's Song: Jackson, Philip, and I were traveling to a friend's house one afternoon and our trip coincided with Philip's lunch time. Since the only option was to continue to Katey's house and feed him there, I let Philip cry. I tried to soothe him by singing some lullabies. After I finished "Rock-A-Bye Baby" Jackson spoke up from the back seat.

Jackson: Mommy, are you singing a Mimi Song?

Instead of knowing these songs as lullabies, he knew them as the songs his Mimi sings to him.

Me: Yes, Jackson, I was singing a Mimi Song.

Baby Philip: One morning, Jackson was playing dolls with his friend Alayna. I asked him what his baby's name was. His response:

"Baby Philip like yours Mommy."

Muffins: One morning as I was feeding Philip, I asked Wesley to make blueberry muffins with Jackson. Jackson and I love making muffins and I thought Wesley would enjoy this special time with him as well.

As they were starting the process, Jackson turned to Wesley and said "Mommy, we need eggs."

Wesley responded "Well, first, my name is Da-Da."

With out skipping a beat, Jackson responded "And, my name is Jackson."

Glad they got through those introductions!

Milk: The other night, we took a family trip to Chick-fil-a. At our restaurant, there is a hostess who walks around and asks if she can get you anything – refill, ketchup, napkins, etc. The hostess had been around once and asked Wesley she could refill his drink. He said, “Yes, sweet tea, please.” She returned the filed cup and went on her way.

A few minutes later, Jackson finished his bottle of milk.

Jackson: “Mommy, can I have some more milk please?”

Me: “Sorry, Jackson, we don’t have any more milk.”

Jackson: “Well, can you get that “boy” to get me some”

What? I then looked up looked up and saw him pointing to the hostess

Smart little boy…(who needs to work on gender recognition!)

Comparison Pictures

Everyone has been asking me if Philip looks like Jackson. It is hard to say. They are such different little boys that I don't realize their similarities on a daily basis. But when I pulled out Jackson’s baby pictures, I could definitely see the brotherly resemblance. Especially when I realized I had snapped some of the same poses with both of them!

What do you think?

Jackson - 6 weeks

Philip - 8 weeks

Jackson - 6 weeks

Philip - 7 weeks



Jackson - 12 weeks

Philip - 8 weeks

Neither of my boys liked their legs to be swaddled!

Country Music Half Marathon

Once again, my dad and sister Susan trained for the Country Music 1/2 Marathon. They completed the whole marathon back in 2005, the half in 2006 and and this year decided to tackle the half again.

It was a nasty morning in Nashville but they braved the race in the rain. Once it started lightening though they decided it would be smarter to get off the course. They made it miles around 10 miles before they had to call it quits.

I am so proud of them for their endurance and for braving the weather as long as they did. We couldn't be up there to cheer them on, but Emily sent me pictures of the drenched walkers as they headed home.

Way to go, Dad and Susan!

Torticollis

At Philip’s two month check-up last week, I commented on a flat spot on his head. I thought it was getting worse and was different because instead of being on the back of his head like Jackson’s was, it was on the side.

Dr. Jimerson looked him over and agreed something was off. She noticed he has difficulty turning to the left. She referred us to a physical therapist and we had our first appointment with Cindy on Tuesday.

Her diagnosis was left torticollis. He has trouble rotating his neck to the left because the muscles on the left side of his neck are short.

To help strengthen those muscles, Cindy gave me some stretches to do with Philip at home. Also, she showed me a new way to carry him, encouraged more tummy time, and suggested a new way for him to sleep.

In addition to those changes, we are to start approaching Philip from the left to force him to look that way, and we are placing all his toys on the left side so he will turn towards them. I have enlisted Jackson’s help with the treatment. He stands on Philip’s left side and makes funny faces. Sometimes, it works and Philip turns towards the noise!

We traveled back to the therapist again this morning and she can already see improvement. She did some additional stretching and with the stuff we are doing at home and what she will do at the office, she believes he will be all better soon.

YEAH!

I will keep everyone posted as he continues to improve.

Nashville Visit

This weekend we traveled back to Nashville for a special event. My dad had purchased tickets to hear Tim Tebow speak at Lipscomb. He and the boys - Tim, Wesley and Ryan's dad (Ryan wasn't able to make it) - enjoyed an evening out. They said Tebow did a great job which is saying a lot from 4 huge UT fans!

Caleb, Joshua, Rebekah and Susan came over while the boys were out for dinner. Philip was spoiled with attention from Joshua and Caleb.


Joshua even got Philip to smile!

Most of the weekend, Philip could be found nesteled in someone's arms. His favorite place - with his Net!

Earlier on Saturday, we were able to catch one of Joshua and Caleb's baseball games. They did a great job!

Joshua #9 running home.

Caleb (#8) running to his dad on first base.

Caleb playing first

Joshua in the outfield

Look to the left to see Wesley's truck and you can see even Flash joined us for the game

Caleb and Joshua

Jackson loved watching his cousins play ball

And loved playing with Rebekah!

Sunday afternoon, we were able to spend some time over at my Mimi and Papa's. They have a great yard, and I was excited about Jackson being able to run around and play on his toys over there. While we were all outside enjoying the day, Susan and her boys showed up! What a treat! We spent an hour or so just watching the kids (and Wes) play and enjoying the beautiful spring day.

Practicing their funny faces

Wonder where Jackson learned how to do a funny face?

Mimi (with Philip), Leanne, Mom, Caleb and Joshua

Mimi (again with Philip) and Leanne

Sunday night, Emily and Ryan came over to watch the ACM awards with us. We put Jackson to bed before they started and thought he went down easily. It wasn’t until my mom went upstairs for something that she “caught” him sitting in our room. When asked what he was doing, he replied watching “TB.”

I had left the TV on in our room, and he had gone in there to watch. She told him that she thought he was supposed to be in bed. Okay, he jumped into our bed and continued to watch the television. Being the Mimi she didn’t stop him. He was in bed like he was supposed to be!

I went to go check out the situation. Sure enough, his bed was empty and he was sound asleep watching "TB"!