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.

Meet me at DQ

First off, happy anniversary to my hubby! Marrying Brett was the best thing that ever happened to me. He is a wonderful husband and an amazing father. He is so much fun to be married to and I can't imagine my life without him. Sadly, we didn't get to see each other today, but I am anxiously awaiting a phone call from him. 

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Since I got my new phone (which I LOVE by the way), it has been so convenient to have a fairly decent camera with me at all times. But, unfortunately, it's only fairly decent if you have a subject who actually looks at the camera for longer than 0.2 seconds. The shutter speed stinks. I don't think I've actually gotten a picture of Jackson's face, well, ever. He's a very busy boy. He has no time for looking at cameras.

After taking these not-so-great pictures of Jackson's head, I decided I needed a smaller case for my "nice" camera so I can bring it along with me and actually have a decent picture of him to post on here. I can't wait to get it in the mail tomorrow. I love Amazon.

I actually did end up getting one of his face, trampoline-hair and all.

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We spent the past couple of days with these adorable kiddos (my niece and nephews). Jackson had a blast. He loves playing with cousins. Luckily he has a lot of them.

He also loves ice cream. Right before I took this picture, he tried to grab my ice cream and we had this little casualty.

We all had a good laugh, except Jackson.

Teeth

Guess who got a two new teeth?? I'll give you a hint, it's not me.

Yep, that's right. Jackson finally has two bottom teeth. I'm pretty sure he's gonna love them. 

As a side note, the answer to that question also could have been Brett. He's had quite a bit of dental work done recently. :)

He won't be showing off his teeth anytime soon, but isn't he handsome?

10 Months {plus 11 days}

I've been meaning to write this post for 11 days now, but I guess late is better than never (even if Jackson is almost closer to 11 months now).

I've been pretty really sick for the past few days. I mean like unable to get out of bed or open my eyes. It's probably definitely the worst I have ever felt. But, I think I'll skip all the rest of the details. Thanks to wonderful friends who took care of Jackson while Brett was taking care of me, and thanks to my amazing husband for taking such good care of me. I have the best friends and husband ever. Thankfully, I am on the mend, I think.

Anyway, on to more fun topics. Jackson is now 10 months and 11 days! He is so much fun! I've missed him these past few days that I haven't gotten to spend with him. I am so glad to be back on the floor reading to him and playing with him. He now weighs 19.7 lbs and is 30 inches long. So, here's what he's been up to:

• Crawling everywhere,
• Getting into everything,
• Learning to pull himself to a standing position,
• Loving to play Brett's guitar,
• Dancing whenever music comes on, 
• Still making lots of loud noises all the time, (I think that he thinks he's singing), 
• Pulling my hair as I write this, and 
• Being the cutest and happiest baby ever.

I love him.

I seem to have lost my phone number, could I borrow yours?

This is a joke of course...Jackson really doesn't need your numbers. :)

Percentiles

It's been a few weeks now, but I just realized that I forgot to post Jackson's 9 month stats. So, here they are...

Weight: 18.4 lbs. 17%

Height: 30 in. 94%

Head Circumference: 18.5 in. 91 %

Still tall and skinny with a big head, and cute as ever of course!

One trick baby

Jackson's latest (and only trick so far) is that he dances when we sing. It's the cutest thing ever. He's definitely our kid!