Celebrate

This weekend we celebrated.  We celebrated my sweet little boy growing from my little baby into my little boy!  There were tears.  There was laughter.  Hugs and Kisses too.  I am lucky to have such a sweet little man in my life!

 

A little bit about Jackson at 1...

- 26 lbs, 3 oz -

- 30.25 inches long -

- Has a head circumference of 48.7 (yes people, that is 90th percentile!) -

- Has the most amazingly big, bright blue eyes that melt anyone's heart! -

- Waves hello and bye -

- Says 'hi' (which just happened to be my first real word!) -

- Says Dada and sometimes Mama -

- LOVES water...washing hands, hot tub, baths, watching us shower (and trying to get in!) -

- Smiles BIG, and shows off all his teeth! -

- Has 7 teeth -

- Is sleeping through the night and is like clock work when it comes to his routine -

- Stands by himself (followed by some panic if figures out no one is holding him!) -

- Loves his puppy and tracks her down and waits with his mouth open for kisses (she is the only one that doesn't have to beg for kisses!) -

- Loves balloons! -

- Loves playing with toys and can be quite happy playing with things for quite a while - 

- Shares very well.  Food, toys, drinks! -

- Has made peek-a-boo a must-play every day! -

- LOVES playing with balls...and has become quite good at 'pass' or 'catch' -

- When we tell him 'no' he stops what he's doing and shakes his head no! -

- Scales along furniture and the odd time will reach and travel between pieces -

- Has taken his first (and hopefully only!) ambulance ride when we woke up to Croup -

- Eats fairly well.  Yogurt is his food of choice! -

- LOVES horsey rides on your knee -

- Loves adrenaline rushed...being upside down is a favorite past time! -

- Reaches up when you say 'arms up', making life so much easier -

- Points at things...sometimes with babble, sometimes with wonder -

- Loves to clap and/or throw his arms up in the air in a 'woo hoo' fashion -

- pats his legs in beat to certain songs we sing -

- Blows kisses (just starting to do this) -

- Give 'high fives' -

- Laughs a lot and often -

- Naps twice a day -

- Loves to be around other people.  He rarely plays shy.  Complete ham! -

- I'm sure there's more...but I just can't think of them! -

 

 Dear Jackson,

I remember the very moment I knew you were close to coming into our lives!  It was early!  4 AM to be exact...I wasn't expecting it because it was a month too soon!  We were ready though...had been waiting long enough - so we shared your enthusiasm!  My water broke, and off to the hospital I went.  Daddy was busy flying home early...and then we waited together...and waited...and waited!  The wait was worth it!  You were perfect!  Chubby cheeks, thick dark hair, little hands, tiny nose!  I could have marveled at you all day and night!  You were strong.  SO STRONG for being so early and new.  No one believed you were a preemie.  We were lucky in so many ways!  You spent your first few days in the Intermediate Care Nursery - and I always felt blessed when we went to visit you because amongst all these tiny new premature babies was you - this 8 lb, 15 oz boy!  This is when Moose quickly became your nickname.  We mean this nickname with all the love and pride in the world!  You were so big and strong and defied all the preemie cliches!

Over the past year you have grown in so many ways!  I can't pinpoint when you grew from my baby to my little boy - and recently I find myself thinking about this a lot!  It was all such a blur!  I have loved every stage we've experienced together!  You have taught me so much about life, love, and what it means to be a family.  Our lives have changed so much with you in them.  It is unreal how such a little person can have such a big impact - and not just on me and Daddy - but everyone around you as well!  You have a special charisma to you.  A way about you that makes people want to smile and be happy!  You are truly unique and special.  I hope you never lose your magic touch and genuine love for everything you do.  You're excitement about the world has everyone around you excited about the world too...and that's pretty great! 

I loved you before I met you, Jackson.  I love you now that you're the biggest part of my life.  And I will love you always and forever down whatever path life holds for you.

The only two words that could sum up what I want to say to you are

THANK YOU.

Love, Mommy

xoxox

Strawberry Cake

 Last night we had some strawberry cake that I had made paired with some ice cream and fresh strawberries!  It was delicious!  We gave some to Jackson in hopes it would be good practice for tomorrow!  He enjoyed it!  

Notice how sore is nose is underneath from all the booger wiping.  Poor Moose :(

Nothing can keep his spirits down!  Look at that smile!

He liked it so much he didn't want to waste a second so while we were feeding him the crumbs, he met us at the bottom to shovel it in!

So CUTE!

He was giving kisses out for free yesterday after dessert!  Maybe I should give him strawberry cake every night!!

 Can't wait for this busy day to come to a close tonight and to have tomorrow to enjoy this amazing little boy!

Shoe Stealer

Jackson loves to play with shoes if they are laying around!  I missed the moment here - but he had one sandal on each hand and was pawing at the dryer.   What a goof. 

Kissing the dryer.  He LOVES the dryer!

Patio Furniture

 Yesterday was such a super busy day - I don't think I stopped until 10 pm at night and I woke up exhausted today!  However, I got tonnes done and feel much better about Saturday approaching! 

Among all the errands and projects yesterday, our patio furniture got delivered!  I LOVE it.  I love the way it looks and how comfy and cosy it is.  I am not crazy about the stripes - but we looked at EVERYTHING and this really was our favorite set and we kept coming back to it!  I think some nice bright toss cushions instead of the others will completely change the look!  And really, there will only be the one chair with the stripes!  With some colorful pop on it - I don't think I'll mind it at all!  All in all - I am so thrilled and can't wait to spend much time relaxing out here!  Jackson fully approved - ESPECIALLY of the chair, because it rocks - and he figured out how to make it rock on his own!  Hence the first picture! At one point he even clapped for it!

Happy Home Day Daddy!  These were supposed to be posted last night for you - but I ran out of steam!  We miss you and can't wait for you to come relax with us!

Leftovers.

I totally feel like I've been slacking in the picture department lately - and it makes me sad and I'm sorry - but I'm hoping that I can pick right back up!  I've been super busy the past little while and find myself with little free time to play with.  I appreciate all the gentle reminders to get on my blog and update!  So, I make a promise now to get back into the routine! 

Dinner tonight...leftover spaghetti!  Yummers!

Jackson is still coughing and a big mucousy, but I feel that it's getting better.  I am so excited, anxious, and a bit sad about this weekend's birthday party!  He is getting so big!  His new favorite thing (which he's been doing for a while, but not so consistently) is waving at people and saying "Hi".  He also blew kisses a couple nights ago - and it was friggin cute!  Tonight, my dad was over helping with something for the weekend (thanks!) and he went to say good night to Jackson, who was already in bed for the night but not sleeping - and Jackson waved to him and gave him a high five.  Melts my little heart!

Miss you Daddy!  TWO more sleeps :)

Guilty as Charged

 This is what happens while you're cleaning up breakfast in this house!

 Fleeing the crime scene!

Getting there...

Today I made Moose spaghetti for lunch in hopes it would help get his appetite for solids back!  He enjoyed some of it - but his consumption isn't quite up to par just yet!  

 Gotta love the quality of iPhone photos!  But, it's better than nothing!

Three more sleeps! :)

Handsome

 Today was Jackson's buddy's Birthday!  Yup, Aidan turned the big 1!  I can't believe how fast time goes!  I pulled a couple photos of Moose from the party for daddy tonight!  He was looking quite handsome - if I do say so myself :)

No interest in the cake at all!  He smooshes it in his fingers and that's it! 

He was LOVING ripping the unwrapped wrapping paper in half!  He made a pile of ripped paper and would just keep adding to it as Aidan opened the gifts! 

 Miss you Daddy - it already feels like you've been gone for a week already - I can't believe it's only been two days :(