Pregnancy

I'm so excited to finally be able to write about our new little addition.

I'm calling him/her "Froggy" for now because of this cute ultrasound picture of his/her belly and froggy legs. 

I'm relieved that I can finally stop trying to hide my expanding waistline in over-sized sweaters and sweatshirts. It will no longer be necessary for people to sneak glances of my stomach and wonder whether I am pregnant. :)

I've already started to embrace the stretchy pants and maternity clothes. I can't believe how much earlier I am showing this time around.

When I ask Jackson where the baby is, he points to my stomach.

The most frequent question I have gotten from people is whether I will find out what the gender of this baby is. (In case you didn't know, we were told during two ultrasounds that Jackson was a girl. We were surprised, to say the least!) The answer is yes. We don't have anything to lose this time. We are already prepared for a baby girl and a baby boy! Either way, I think diapers will be our only purchase.

We are so excited to have another little one. May could not come soon enough!

Our Exciting News

My strawberry jam accomplisment

I have been about the least crafty person around lately. My life has even felt a little emptier without a project or two to work on. I just haven't had the energy or the time lately.

However, I did find it in me to make some homemade strawberry jam last week, which is a HUGE accomplishment for me. I feel like I've finally completed my rite of passage into motherhood. Don't all good mothers serve homemade jam and homemade bread?? I guess I'll have to work on the bread thing now.

 I've always thought it seemed too difficult to do, so I settled for the store bought stuff.

No more settling for me. I am in love with stuff. I'm also in love with how easy it was to make.

The hardest hour and ten minutes of my week

I knew parenthood was going to be hard. What I didn't know was that 99% of that difficulty (at least in the toddler years) would be wrapped up into one hour and ten minutes of our weekly church meeting.

During the other 166 hours and 50 minutes of the week, Jackson's penchant for being loud and active is socially acceptable and doesn't elicit the stares of dozens of people. 

As hard as I try, I cannot keep him contained during church, let alone still and attentive. Each week I pack snacks, toys, books, etc. I've even tried getting him new toys that he can only play with during church. He goes through all of these things usually within the first ten minutes. Then he wants to call for his Dada on the stand, say "hi" dozens of times to the people sitting around us, throw toys at the kids behind him, roam the walkways, climb the stairs to the stand, spill Cheerios all over and watch me pick them up...I could go on. 

At any moment, I could probably count at least a dozen people watching him. I can only imagine that some people are thinking he's cute, others are wondering why I can't keep my kid quiet, and others are just feeling bad for me.

I am no match for this little guy and his endless energy, but I think I've found something that is...

Last Sunday, as I was packing Jackson's snacks, (which usually consist of dried fruit, Nutrigrain bars, and and Cheerios)I decided to pack up some of these delicious Nutter Butter Bites, just in case I reached the end of my rope with him. I did.

These made him an angel for at least a half an hour. Thank you, Nutter Butter Bites. You will be a staple in my Sunday bag from now on. Go ahead and judge. What kind of parent feeds their kid cookies at 10:00 AM anyway??

Just Chillaxin

Jackson has become so difficult to photograph these days. He's constantly on-the-go and doesn't stop for anything. So, when he sat on the couch for longer than 2 seconds, I had to take advantage.

I just love this picture. I'm not sure what he was doing, but I think it's hilarious. Legs crossed and all.

I have totally become the person who only blogs about her kid. But, he's pretty much the center of my world right now and it's just the way I like it. 

Plus, I have to put plenty of pictures of him on here just in case his grandparents (my parents), who are in China for the year, actually check my blog every once in a while.

15 (Almost 16) Months

Stats: 

Weight: 24.1 lbs; 43%

Height: 33.3 in.; 95%

Head Circ.: 78%

Looks like he's finally growing into his head. Sweet.

I can't believe I have a 15 month old. Where has the time gone? He is seriously the cutest, sweetest, most happy and fun little guy ever. But, of course, I'm biased. :)

He finally started walking a few weeks ago. Woo hoo! He now has 6 teeth, too. He is very very friendly. He literally says "hi" multiple times to everybody we walk by in Target, the grocery store, and anywhere we go. He constantly has strangers smiling and laughing.

He loves bananas, pizza, and everything sweet. He loves playing with his little basketball hoop, playing Brett's drums, and knocking down anything that's stackable. He loves music and he gives really good kisses.

Oh gosh, I love this kid. He makes me smile every day.

Rough Guy

Sometimes Most of the time, Jackson is a little very rough. I'm constantly guarding my head and face from flying toys and hitting hands. We try to teach him to be gentle, soft, and cautious, but it's just not sinking in yet.

Unfortunately, due to Jackson's roughness, we've had a few accidents in the past week. Last week, Jackson took a nosedive into Brett's drum set and got a big gash above his eye. I freaked, of course. We made our first trip to the walk-in clinic with him, where he got his cut glued shut. It ended up not being too deep, so hopefully it won't leave a scar.

Last night, I was on the receiving end of Jackson's roughness when he slammed the back of his head into my mouth as I was lying on the floor. Ouch. I immediately got a fat lip and my tooth is still feeling a little numb. I am really really hoping that he didn't do any permanent damage to my tooth.  I'm thinking that I should start wearing a helmet around the house.

I don't have any pictures of our little mishaps, but here's a picture of Jackson after he took all the wipes out of the containers while he was supposed to be napping. This is one of his favorite hobbies, next to taking all the cards out of my wallet. Note to self: do not leave wipes on the changing table where Jackson can reach them.