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!

What a week...., and it's only Tuesday!

We have had a very busy week, and it is only Tuesday!  Yesterday Jackson went to therapy, and he did great!  In fact, he did so good climbing up and down the stairs that he has graduated!  Yesterday was our last day at Pediatric Therapy Works!  While we will miss Mrs. Carol and Mrs. Kelly, we are so happy to be done! I can definitely say that they have been a blessing in our lives! They were both so supportive and understanding.  Plus they were great with Jackson even when he was in one of his moods or especially stubborn!

My two graduate classes have started this week.  While it is nice to not have class on Saturdays, there are some weeks where we have to drive to Furman twice.  That makes for a long day especially when school is already so stressful!  I hate that I am missing so much time with Jackson, but hopefully it will all be worth it when I am finished!

In the past few weeks, Jackson's vocabulary has exploded!  He pretty much repeats whatever we say. "No" is one of his favorite words.  He has also learned: football, yes, duck, puppy, whale, up, book, truck, bus, shoes, cookie, and baby.  I am amazed at what he has learned in the past 2 weeks! My mom takes him so many places, and he also picks up so much from school and church.

Things are changing...

We have been planning this for some time, but it was still hard. We ordered new furniture for the downstairs family room right after Thanksgiving.  We knew we had to do something about the Abby and Max before the furniture arrived. We had hoped to find someone to take them, but we couldn't. Tim had to take them to the Humane Society where they do try to place the animals in homes. It was heartbreaking getting them in the carrier, and I cried until I literally made myself sick.

 I have had Abby for seven and a half years.  I have been through a lot with her, and she kept me company and made many moves with me. She was always a circus cat and loved to climb.  Jackson absolutely adored Abby.  He would call her and cuddle with her and chase her.  She let him pull on her. Abby was really good with Jackson, and I have felt so guilty about this.

I had Max for more than four years. Shandi gave him to me. Her cat had kittens, and I had always wanted an orange cat. He loved laundry and always wanted to get in the underwear.  He was big and fluffy, and you could always find clumps of orange hair. He did not want anything to do with Jackson.  He would often run away and hide when Jackson would chase him.

I have always liked cats, because of their attitude.  They will come to you when they want you. I will really miss Abby and Max. I wish there had been another way to handle it, but we live on a busy road and knew they would get run over if we put them outside.

The reason we had to get rid of the cats is our new furniture.  We also bought a new dining room table, and Tim is refinishing some chairs.

The holiday break went by too quickly.  I am sad to leave Jackson and go back to work.  I have thouroughly enjoyed being lazy. I hate that I didnt get more done around the house, but I am thankful for much-needed rest and the brain break.

Jackson is 19 months old!

I feel like I just did the post for 18 months! Jackson's vocabulary has exploded this last month. He talks all of the time!

• Words- mommy, daddy, pizza, please, Jake, blue, Jackson, truck, moo, nose, baby, ball, cookie, puppy
• He loves the iPad. He even told me " No, Mommy" when I tried to take it away from him.
• Knows how to throw a good temper tantrum!
• Loves to eat pizza. He now recognizes the smell of pizza. We picked some up the other night and he said pizza as soon as we got it in the car!
• Still wears 18-24 months clothes, size 5 diapers
• His eating habits are not as consistent. Some days he only eats good one meal a day.
• We are getting rid of paci. He only gets it at night and at nap time. Now he chews on toys and his blanket.
• Loves all of his new cars, trucks, and trains!
• We are now going to therapy every other week. Hopefully, he will be done soon!
• We bought him some new big boy bedding since he will be moving across the hall.
  • He loves to dance.
  

He has a cold today, but we are going to eat at Frodo's tonight. Maybe that will cheer him up!

Dreary Day

I am done with winter and cloudiness. It hasn't even been that cold, but cold enough and windy enough to keep us inside. I am ready for green grass, flowers, blue skies, and warmer weather! Jackson and I ran some errands and played at home. I am depressed that I only have a few days left before I go back to school. Grandma and Grandpa cheered us up with some beautiful flowers to celebrate New Baby!

New Baby is a .....BOY!

I am really going to be outnumbered in my house now! New Baby is a boy! We are excited to add a new wild man to our family. (Sorry New Baby, but I was hoping for a girl.) Maybe this is why I have 15 boys in my class this year; God is preparing me to live in a house with all boys. It is nice that we do not need to buy new clothes or toys. We are even being really lazy and not changing the nursery at all. We are moving Jackson across the hall and decorating his room in trains. These next few months are going to be crazy with work and my classes, so this does make things easier.

Of course New Baby (we have no possible names as of right now) would not cooperate this morning, so we really didn't get any good ultrasound pictures. We only saw his face once and never could get any profile pictures. It looks like I am going to have another stubborn little boy. Thankfully, New Baby looked very healthy. My blood pressure is high again, so that is just something that will have to be monitored. I know that the stress from my job doesn't help anything, but I don't have a choice about that.

My mom kept Jackson while we went. We brought Jackson home a blue balloon to tell him about his new baby brother. He was not impressed. He usually loves balloons, but he didn't care anything about this one. It was next to impossible to get him to take a picture with it especially once he got dressed because he hated his outfit.

We need help with names. Any suggestions?