Ride 'Em Cowboy!

Like Father Like Son

Merry Christmas!!

What a wonderful Christmas we had with little Jackson this year! My mom & stepdad and Scott's parents came in to help us celebrate. Santa was hard at work on Christmas Eve putting together some of the toys:

The kitties even tried to help out:

The final product before we all headed to bed for the night:
We opened presents as soon as Jackson got up this morning, at first he was a little unsure, but quickly found out how exciting Christmas can be! He loved all the new toys to play with and eventually wore himself out.

We feel very blessed to have had such a wonderful Christmas this year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We stayed home this year and had family visit us. Jackson enjoyed all the extra attention from everyone! I snapped some fun photos of Jackson today at a couple different local parks:
These last two pics were taken exactly one year apart at the same location. He was tired of the paparazzi in both photos, but I love the comparison of how much he has changed in the last year!

18-Month Doctor Appointment

I took Jackson to see Dr G for his 18-month doctor appointment earlier this week. Jackson must not like Dr G's new office as he started screaming the moment I turned my car off in the parking lot until we were driving away an hour later. I was physically exhausted when we left, it takes A LOT of energy to hold and try to calm a screaming toddler for that long!

But anyways, the appointment itself went well, at least the part that I could hear :) Jackson weighs 25.3 pounds (50 percentile), is 32.5 inches tall (75 percentile) and still has a big ol' head (75 percentile). Dr G commented on how he was such a tall boy and was pleased with his development. Jackson had a little bit of fluid on his ears, no noticeable infection, but since he has had a little fluid at each of the last couple appointments, Dr G placed him on an antibiotic as a precaution. We go back in a couple weeks to have his ears rechecked (can't wait). The only shot Jackson received at this appointment was his flu shot, but he also had his hemoglobin checked and it was completely normal.

Here are a few recent pics. The first one is Jackson's second trip in the Mustang. He was a happy boy!This was Jackson over the weekend riding his John Deere and eating cheerios:

And finally here is a funny video of Jackson after he learned how to close the doors to Scott's office:

18 Months Old!

Jackson is now 18 months old! Time flies when you are busy chasing a little monkey around all the time! His 18-month checkup with Dr G is on Tuesday, so I will post more after the appointment with all his key details. But in the meantime, here are a couple photos from his recent school pictures (sorry about the quality, they didn't offer electronic images):

Here is what the crazy little monkey is doing these days:
- We only have a handful of consistent words, but he is starting to string together 2 and 3 word sentences to tell us what he wants

- The newest word is his attempt at saying "water"...he says "wa wa" and it technically means anything in a liquid form

- He will say the same words repeatedly until you acknowledge that you also see the "car", "ball", "mmmm" (cow), or "wa wa"

- He is very attached to Skipit; we lost Skipit one day not too long ago and he protested sleep (for awhile) because he didn't have his buddy to cuddle with

- He loves to share his love...he loves to cuddle, give hugs and blow kisses; he occasionally will try to give an actual kiss but it is very wet

- He has mastered the art of walking backwards and loves to practice; he typically giggles if anyone is watching him because he is so proud of his accomplishment

- He has finally learned how to crawl down the stairs on his belly, makes me slightly more comfortable with the many stairs in our house

- He loves to be outside! Lately he has really enjoyed walking up or down the street with me, we hold hands while we walk...so very sweet! He still loves to go for a ride in the stroller or wagon too!

- He is getting a little bit better about eating, at least at school. He is still pretty picky around us but will eat most of the foods offered at school. He still hates cheese, deli meats and mac & cheese. And has started to turn up his nose at some veggies that he used to like (peas, carrots) but they continue to offer them to him at school on a regular basis

- He still loves to sleep in on the weekends! We are very blessed with a great sleeper!

Rollin' in the Mustang

Jackson took his first ride in the Mustang today. Scott bought a racing themed car seat for the Mustang and we installed it this morning. Here's Jackson trying to "help" daddy make sure it is properly installed: Jackson really enjoyed the new ride! Here he is laughing and enjoying himself:

Happy Halloween!

Jackson was an adorable little monkey for Halloween this year (or a mouse or a bear as some people thought...) We weren't too sure what he would think of Halloween, all the dressed up people and excitement, so we were pleasantly surprised when he had a blast. There were some costumes that he was a little afraid of, but for the most part just wanted to be in the middle of all of the fun. We had a small trick-or-treat bucket for him, he was happy to carry around his Cheerios in it. I did take him to a couple houses for trick-or-treating, but he didn't want to take any of their treats. His favorite part of the night was getting to pet a neighbor's golden retriever. The dog was very gentle and was happy to let Jackson "pet" him (i.e, hit him) and pull his tail. Jackson also had a blast running around the driveway, showing off to whoever would pay attention. I even let Jackson try an M&M, he quickly made a face and spit it out.

Some cute pics:

Tiger Update - 3 Months Post Surgery

It has been 3 months since Tiger's FHO surgery. Sadly, we have only seen small improvements. He has recently started putting weight on his leg, but doesn't have the muscle strength to flex his foot so he walks on the top part of his foot. And in the past few weeks he started to chew on his foot, at first we were excited as we thought that was a good sign. And it probably is, it most likely shows that he is regaining nerve function in his foot. The vet told me he probably feels a tingling sensation, like you do when you hand falls asleep. But unfortunately this tingling sensation became quite irritating for Tigee and he continued to chew on his foot. He eventually chewed off part of his foot pad on one of his toes. That is what motivated our vet appointment today. The good news is that the wound didn't appear deep or infected. The bad news is the only solution is to have him wear a collar. He has already figured out how to remove it while I am typing this. I reinstalled it, a little tighter this time, so he's busy trying to remove it again.

The vet did a very thorough exam and was pleased with most everything she saw. She said he does have nerve function in his foot, so that is a very good sign. But she said this is a very difficult surgery for a cat to recover from, and the progress is very slow and difficult. She spent some time showing me how to perform the physical therapy, basically we need to "bicycle" his leg 10 times twice per day. She said at first he probably won't allow more than a couple. She had me do one to ensure I understood what I needed to do, and boy was it difficult. I barely made it through one. Hopefully Scott and I will have some success as we start this new physical therapy routine!

Weekend Fun

Here are a few pics from over the weekend:

Jackson loves to play ball, he found this football in Scott's office and was having so much fun playing with it:


He also loves puzzles, here he is working on his John Deere shape sorter:


And finally, here is a silly pose of him; he still loves his push toys, but now he typically pulls them behind him around the house:

Pumpkin Patch

We stopped by the pumpkin patch on Saturday, it was a very quick trip to grab a few pics but it was almost impossible to get Jackson to sit still for a photo. So I have a few action shots. Jackson thought the pumpkins were very exciting and wanted to play with all of them, I was chasing him around the field the entire time we were there.

In To Everything

Jackson is definitely in to everything these days. He's keeps himself quite busy with his curious little personality. We know if we don't hear him for a couple minutes that he is probably doing something in another room that he shouldn't be. He really keeps us on our toes!

He was able to reach my work phone on the table this evening, it was so funny watching him "text", he was very excited about the new toy he found and we caught some cute pictures before I rescued my phone:Check out the crazy post-bath hairstyle! He has also figured out how to open the interior doors in our house. His favorite door to open is the pantry. You know he's hungry if he goes in there and starts bringing out all the food he can reach!

Big Changes

Last week was a big week for little Jackson...we decided to change Jackson's school. Monday evening was tough as we withdrew him from his old school. He had been there since he was just 8 weeks old, and we had all developed close relationships with the teachers and staff. But we knew it was the right thing to do. Then on Tuesday morning we dropped him off at the new school. He was excited as we walked in, new sights and sounds, but was very unhappy once we arrived at his classroom. I stayed with him for a little while, but finally realized he would never warm up to his teachers or his new friends while I was there. It was so sad because they had to tear him off of me as I tried to leave. On Wednesday morning I even got him to walk with me through the school, but he lost it the moment we turned the corner to his class. Day 2 was worse than Day 1. The teachers have told me that he is totally fine about 10 minutes or so after I leave. And they expect that after a couple weeks he will be able to handle drop off much better. Let's hope so! But other than the challenges at drop off, we are very happy with the new school so far. The program is very structured, and I think that is exactly what Jackson really needs in his daily routine. The group size is small, he is with a handful of other toddlers right at his age group.

Here are a couple recent pics taken about a week ago. Here is Mallory reading a book to Jackson:

And here is Jackson on the slide at the park:

Please!

Jackson learned a new word last week! He can now say "please" in sign language! I noticed it for the first time on Friday evening... he kept pointing to things, rubbing his chest and then pointing to himself. At first I didn't think anything of it, then I quickly realized that he was desperately trying to communicate with me. His school does a great job of working with him on sign language, but they never tell me what signs they are teaching him, so I always have to ask what things mean. After watching the chest rubbing for awhile, I started to wonder if it meant "please". On Saturday morning I finally googled it, he was saying "please"! I love that he is being so polite in his frequent demands for things :)

Here's a quick video I shot this morning on the way to school. Not the best demonstration of "please" but you can get the idea. He also signed "milk" this morning!

New Photos

Ok, so I'm a little behind on posts. Life is pretty crazy these days with work and chasing around our crazy little monkey. He doesn't sit still for long, so there aren't as many "photo ops" as there used to be. But here are a few photos we have taken over the last couple weeks.

He loves to ride in his wagon!

Thankfully it is football season! Here's Jackson sitting with Auntie Mal watching Michigan play football:

Unfortunately complete and total meltdowns are a part of our lives now. They typically occur because he can't communicate what he wants or needs or we are choosing to ignore what he is asking for. Either way, the result is a pretty nasty meltdown. This picture was taken post-meltdown, we messed with his hair once he was in a better mood:

Jackson absolutely LOVES water, he likes to "help" water the flowers, wants to "wash" his hands at any opportunity, loves bath time and enjoys playing with his water table.

1st Zoo Trip

We took Jackson to the zoo for the first time today. We took advantage of the day off and the cooler weather to make the trip. He loves animals, so we thought he would totally love this! Thankfully he slept in pretty late this morning, which was perfect since he wouldn't be able to get his afternoon nap at the normal time. We spent about two hours looking at various animals, he was so excited at almost every exhibit. He seemed to like the gorillas, the rhino, the kangaroos and the miniature deer (no idea what they were called) the most. We all had a blast and can't wait for our next trip. Here are a few pics:

Car

"Car" is Jackson's favorite word. He says it a zillion times a day, every time he sees a car or truck or a toy that has wheels. We definitely have a gear-head in the making. Probably not a surprise, cars are a big deal around here. And speaking of cars, we finally picked up the Mustang today. We had some work done, then it was in a car show, and then a little more work done. Scott was so excited to finally pick it up. In fact, he took some photos of it in front of the shop. And then tonight he washed it, and Jackson even tried to help. I really wish I had my camera handy, it was adorable watching Jackson try to "wash" the car. He was imitating everything his dad did, so cute. Anyways, he's one of the pics Scott took today:

15-Month Doctor Appointment

I took Jackson to the doctor for his 15-month checkup this morning. He must have regular nightmares about this place because the moment we walked into the exam room he again started screaming his head off and didn't stop until we were driving away. He was throwing such a fit that the nurses and the doctor had to repeat themselves a few times just so I could hear what they were saying. Dr. G said it is totally normal for him to have a fear of the doctor's office and exam, but if this trend continues I will probably develop a fear as well. Other than the screaming, it was a great appointment. He continues to grow at a healthy rate. He now weighs 24lbs 7 oz (50th percentile), is 31.5 inches tall (75th percentile), and still has a big head (80th percentile). Here are a few more of his recent developments:
- He has a small vocabulary now..."car", "cat", "ball", "down", "diaper", "dada", and the occasional "mamamama" when he really wants to get my attention. He thinks he has an entire vocabulary of other words, but we have absolutely no idea what he is saying. He will babble complete sentences of nonsense and then look at us for a response.
- He can point to his (or someone else's) nose, ear, head and toes.
- His favorite past time is pointing to various objects and having you identify them for him. We have many conversations that go something like this "light", "spoon", "chair", "light", "chair", "light", "chair", "light", "light", "light", "light"...
- He loves to "help" with the laundry, will always come quickly when I am moving clothes from the washer to the dryer to provide assistance. I give him small light items and he places them in the dryer (most of the time).
- He also likes to help throw things in the trash can. Which is great until he starts to take all of the items back out of the trash can and hand them to you.
- We have completely eliminated all bottles, he happily drinks only from sippy cups now. And dropping those last two bottles was actually a breeze, don't know why we thought it would be so challenging. He now occasionally asks to drink from a water bottle, which typically just ends up in both of us getting soaked.
- He is a fairly good eater, only mildly picky. He loves most fruit, will tolerate most veggies. Thinks Cheerios are the best thing in the world. When he doesn't like something he will quickly spit it out of his mouth and turn his head away.
- We are trying to get him to use a spoon, but he can't really get it yet. He typically tries for awhile but then just dives in with his hands.
- He will occasionally tell me that he has a dirty diaper and would like it changed. Most of the time though he will run away from me and protest the diaper change.
- He is still an incredible sleeper, sleeping in sometimes later than we do on weekends!
- We have incorporated reading a couple books at bedtime. It's not really reading as much as it is identifying everything he points at in the book. His favorites right now are Goodnight Moon and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We "read" for a few minutes and then he will snuggle up as he gets ready to get into bed.
- He has become very attached to Skipit (his dog lovie). He loves all stuffed animals and lovies, but has a strong bond with Skipit. He reaches for Skipit immediately when he gets in bed and cuddles.
- On a less happy note, we experience frequent temper tantrums now as he gets easily frustrated when he can't communicate what he wants or we won't give him what he wants. He also is known to bite and/or hit. Dr G gave us many pointers today on how to start incorporating timeouts and handling the tantrums. I also talked with his school to ensure they are utilizing the same techniques when he is acting out in the classroom. Oh the joys of having a "spirited" toddler! :)

Here is a picture of him trying Blue Bell ice cream for the first time last night! He LOVED it at first, but then I think he decided that the cold was weird.


Here is a picture showing his love for stuffed animals. He decided to cuddle with his Michigan Bear on the way to school:

A New Teething Toy??

Last night on the way to dinner I turned around and this is how I found Jackson:

He thought it was hilarious! He alternated between biting his toes and laughing hysterically. It was pretty entertaining. Maybe this will help him stop biting his friends??