Slacker

Basically I have been a blog slacker lately. Things are very busy at home, and school is very stressful.  We are trying to get ready for New Baby (still no name). Jackson has become a wild man! By the time, my head finally hits the pillow, I am out!

New Baby is always on the move! When I finally get to sit down, he goes crazy! I can't wait to meet this little man. The good news is that I passed the long glucose test. I go back to the doctor March 11, so we will find out how he is doing then.

I have also been slack about taking pictures of Jackson.  I hate it because he is at a fun age. He talks all the time, and pretty much repeats what he hears. He will even order at a restaurant as long as they have grilled cheese or pizza. He has also developed a nasty temper and throws fits daily. He loves trucks, buses, and trains!

My goal is to do better in March!

Clemson

It is a beautiful, warm day in SC. After lunch, we decided to take Jackson to the Botanical Gardens in Clemson. On this 65 degree today, it was packed. Jackson loved running around. He laughed and laughed! We walked a long way.  I am not used to walking that far,  and I was in pain. We decided to get some Clemson ice cream afterwards, and that made me feel better. Jackson loved it! We had to wait in line for about 20 minutes, but it was worth it!

Super Saturday

There is no better way to spend a Saturday morning than at AnMed doing the 3 (really 4) hour glucose test. I had to take a day off from school on Wednesday for the 1 hour test. My glucose was 140. In order to pass, it can't be over 140. Dr. Hearn wanted me to do the long one since I am measuring ahead and Jackson was so big.

I am starving. I have graded all of my papers, and I still have 45 minutes! Hopefully my glucose will be below 140 or right at it!

Snow?

We woke up this morning to snow flurries, so Jackson and I went outside in our pajamas to experience it.  Jackson loved it and cried when we came back inside.  As quickly as it started, it ended! (It was 60 degrees yesterday.)  We had a lazy morning but enjoyed every minute of it.  Tim and I went to see a movie today, and Jackson stayed with my parents.  Then we enjoyed a quiet evening at home.  It is so nice to be lazy on the weekends since that does not exist during the week!

Jackson tried Good & Plenty candy today and loved it.  This cannot be my child!  He did enjoy yogurt last night from Yogurt Mountain, so maybe he is mine!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day or not!  This has to be one of the worst days of the year to be a teacher!  Valentine's Day is always crazy, and I am glad that it is almost over!

I had bus duty and class today, so I left this morning before Jackson was awake and got home after he went to sleep. He has had a few busy days.  Yesterday he had a Valentine's party at Story Time at the library.  We made Valentine's for all of his friends there. He was excited about seeing all the ones he got from his friends.  I hate I missed his first party!  He also took some Valentine treats to his teachers at school today and made us a couple of surprises. He and Tim enjoyed pizza as their Valentine's Day dinner. 

I hate that I missed spending the day with my boys today, but I am glad another Valentine's has come and gone.

Whitney's Baby Shower

Today we had a family baby shower for Whitney and Brent and Baby Parker! It was the perfect time to have this at my house because I was forced to do some cleaning and organizing! My mom did all of the decorating and a lot of the cooking. My aunts and cousins also helped out. Whitney and Brent got lots of great stuff. Here are just a few pictures. I didn’t get as many as I wanted to. ( Invitations by Milestone Designs and flowers by Electric City Blooms)

We tried to get pictures of the three babies. This is the first time they have all been together. As you can see, Will was the only one who was happy. Jackson and Brynlee were both tired. I love the one where they all have their iPhones!

We are excited that Parker will be here in the next month, and then New Baby’s arrival will be even closer!

Jackson is 20 months old!

It is so crazy to think that Jackson is 20 months old! He is getting so big!


• Wears 18-24m clothes

• Wears size 5.5/ 6 wide shoes

• Wears size 5 diapers

• TALKS all the time and repeats everything! He can now say Papa, Grandpa, Grandma, Frodos, Ice (ice cream). He walks around saying Mommy all of the time. I think he does that because he knows I love it!

• He will say “No,” and he means it.

• His favorite new thing is to “hide” and then say “Boo!” He does this over and over! It is so cute, and he pretty much does it anywhere.

• Loves trains and trucks

• Loves to eat pizza, peas, pouches…

• Love to go to Mama Penn’s with Noni and TuTu where they let him eat butter and drink half and half cups.

• Has gotten picky about his clothes. He will throw a fit if he does not like his outfit.

• Love to be outside!

• Love to run everywhere. He goes wild in stores.

• Loves that Noni takes him to feed the “qak qaks” after school.

• Love to watch Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Chuggington.

• Is also fond of some You Tube videos.

• Can definitely throw some huge fits! Some of them are crazy!

• We still have paci but only during naps and bedtime.



I am just amazed at how much he has changed over the past few months. He seems like such a big boy now instead of a baby! It makes me sad, but I love watching everything he is learning. We are so blessed to have such a happy and healthy little boy. He has the best personality and makes our days much brighter!

Jackson's First Ear Infection

Jackson has been sick for the past two weeks.  He has had a really bad cold.  He will get better for a few days, and then he is sick again.  My mom took him to Dr. Hart today, and he has his first ear infection.  I guess that is pretty good to go 20 months without one.  Jackson does not like to go to the doctor, so he screamed and then screamed louder when he had to get his ears cleaned.  He feels much better now that he has a couple of doses of antibiotics in him.

Jackson's New Room

We have been working really hard to get ready for the new baby. Even though I would love to sell our house, I know that it is not an option right now.  We (Tim) switched all of the furniture around in the guest room to make Jackson’s new room.  He has a new comforter and a new big boy bed. We just have to decide on a paint color.  Pictures of everything to come soon.

Wow!

Wow!  What a crazy week it has been!  We have had crazy weather, a mini-vacation, a basketball game, and a doctor's appointment plus our everyday craziness!  Last Friday we got out of school early because of freezing rain, so we dismissed at 11:00. We all enjoyed an afternoon nap, and we were grateful we never lost power. Then this past Wednesday, we had crazy tornado-like weather and got out of school early again!  Wednesday's weather was definitely more scary than Friday's!  Luckily the storm weakened before it got to us, but we still had lots of wind and rain.  Where else can you get freezing rain and a tornado warnings in January?

We spent most of last weekend in Charleston celebrating Brynlee's first birthday. We left early Saturday, and Jackson slept the entire trip!  We decided to go downtown for a little bit to let Jackson get out and see the horses. He liked pointing at them, but he did not want to get close to them.  We also walked down by the fountains and went to the Market.  Then we headed to the big birthday.  Brynlee really wanted to play with Jackson, but Jackson wanted no part of Brynlee. In fact, he would usually cry whenever she came near him. It was quite funny! Jackson enjoyed spending most of his time outside looking at the ducks, eating chocolate, and playing football with the big kids. After the party, we stayed at Mardie and Mike's along with Tu Tu, Kristi, Briggs, Cookie, and my mom. Jackson liked playing the napkin game with Briggs (Jackson throws a napkin on the floor. Briggs picks it up. Jackson laughs hysterically. ) We had breakfast the next day, and Brynlee stalked Jackson some more before we left. They finally got along when we were leaving!

Some of my students were singing the National Anthem at the Clemson Women's Basketball game, so we picked up the Iveys and headed to the game Sunday evening when we got home.  The kids did a great job.  Jackson loved pointing to the Tiger, but he did not want to get close to him!

On Tuesday, Jackson had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Johnson at the Jervey Eye Center, and Noni went with us. Jackson was fine and loved looking at the fish.  The minute we went in the exam room, he flipped out!  The good news is that everything looks good with his eyes, and we don't have to go back!  Of course, I am not sure how the doctor could say that considering we saw him all of two minutes, and he barely got to look at Jackson's eyes because he was crying! 

Ringling Brothers Circus was arriving in Greenville Tuesday, and they always do the "elephant walk" from the train station to the Bi-Lo Center.  That was supposed to start at 9, but we decided to drive downtown and see if it was still going on at 9:30.  When we got there, there were tons of people waiting to see them.  We parked and got a great spot.  Jackson sat in the stroller and was being pretty good.  He was entertained by all of the other kids around. We waited about 20 minutes before we saw the elephants.  I was expecting them to walk slow, but they were really fast.  Then the horses walked by.  Of course, Jackson was more interested in the trucks driving down the street, but I am still glad we went. Then we went shopping around Greenville.

I had class on Thursday at Furman, and Tim had to be at school, so Jackson spent the night with my parents on Thursday. He has learned a new trick.  On Thursday morning, he got out of bed by himself and went into the playroom. I was in the bathroom drying my hair, and I can't believe he didn't come in there.  He did his new trick at my parents' too.  He got out of bed by himself and went to the kitchen.  I don't know why he has been waking up so early and doing that.

 He has been battling a cold for about two weeks now, and we are all ready for him to feel better. We have big plans of cleaning and organizing this weekend.  We will see if it gets done or if exhaustion takes over!

I will add pictures soon!