My parents own their own engineering company and recently met with a representative from a big chain store who wanted their business. Anyway, as a parting gift, he gave my parents several knick knacks with their logo, including a selfie stick with a built-in button on the handle. After receiving it, my mom asked if I wanted it (umm, yeah! The one Brandon gifted me last year broke :/) and we finally tried it out for the first time last week.
Jackson took all these pictures by himself and they seriously crack me up -- that is a look of concentration if ever I saw one! I can't wait to dig out these "fierce" pictures when Jackson is 16 :)
It's hard to believe that we have a little 26-month-old running around the house... it has definitely been another busy and fun month for our Jackson! Here are a few of the things we've been up to:
~Shortly after Jackson was born, my aunt gifted him this super soft and adorable elephant that I have been calling "Blue." Over the last week, Jax has been grabbing Blue the minute he gets into bed and cuddles with him for the rest of the night... it is seriously the cutest thing ever and I'm excited to see him getting attached to a stuffed animal. (When I was little, I had "Teddy" -- a little pink bear my Aunt Judy gave me.)
~Last weekend, we took Jackson to his first ever movie theater movie and he did WAY better than we'd expected! He was so engrossed with the movie (Kung Fu Panda 3 -- the Deadpool poster was a joke), snacks, and getting to sit in his own chair, but became a little restless after about an hour. For the last half hour, he just quietly walked between Brandon, me, and the three steps next to my seat.
~A few times a week, we get together with friends and Jackson gets so excited whenever he sees them! His besties names are Joshua, Jeremy, Emery, and Dylan. (We keep running into Emery and Dylan at church and every time Jax sees them, he gets extremely giddy and can't stop waving/pointing to them!)
~Our adoration dates are continuing to go well -- I can't believe how well this kid does in church! He is so good at sitting quietly and loves pointing to Jesus, observing all the goings on, and shaking hands after the Lord's Prayer. Maybe he'll be a priest?
~Since Brandon is off Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, we try to make one of the days our "family day" where we go out and do something fun together (whether it be a park trip, area attraction, etc.). Anyway, we went to the Butterfly Pavilion a few weeks ago and had a blast!! I think he's still a little young to really "get" it, but he sure liked looking for butterflies in the butterfly room!
~Jackson is continuing to repeat/mimic everything we say and do, so we decided to cancel his speech evaluation. If he isn't enunciating any better in the next few months, we may reevaluate our decision, but for now it just doesn't seem necessary. Jax can now point to every letter himself and say what it is and continues to enjoy making animal sounds, doing his school work (ABC Mouse), and reading with mom.
I think it is safe to say that Valentine's 2016 is going down in the books as one of the best ever!
As a teenager, I always had the stereotypical "Valentine's Day needs to include flowers, candy, movie dates, blah, blah, blah," but now that I am a grown, (at least I like to think) more mature person, I truly enjoy the simpler, more laid back things...
...and that's exactly what this Valentine's Day was!
Since Brandon works 10 hour shifts Sunday-Wednesday, we celebrated V-Day on Saturday by taking my Great Aunt Millie to mass, followed by meeting my parents and brother at one of our favorite restaurants. It was seriously no fuss and exactly what we all needed!
After dessert, Jackson worked on his selfie game...
...and then took this (surprisingly good!) picture of his Uncle Joe.
I regret nothing.
Since Brandon worked Sunday, Jax and I spent the day doing a little light cleaning, watching Netflix, crafting, reading, napping, making Lauren Elizabeth's fabulous buffalo chicken egg rolls and my famous fruit pizza, and then watching the Jimmy Fallon Valentine's Day special after Brandon got home.
I hope your Valentine's Day was filled with everything your heart desires! Now please excuse me while I go scope out the clearance candy at King Soopers...
We are officially one week into the 2016 Lenten season and I can't help but feel that this has already been one of the most spiritually fulfilling ones that I have ever observed.
As I mentioned last week, one of my goals this Lent was to attend adoration once a week with Jackson (an idea that was given to me by the fabulous Jessica), which we did for the first time yesterday. Truth be told, I was a little nervous about taking Jax to his first adoration, especially since he is a toddler and the chapel itself is very small and quiet.
I have come to the conclusion that I am going to have a hard time with Jackson when he's a teenager because he is seriously the perfect toddler... he didn't make a peep the entire 15 minutes we were in the chapel and just looked around and pointed to all the crosses. (If you ask him to stop doing something, he normally does without making a fuss AND he likes helping out around the house... seriously, is this a dream?!) It was such a peaceful and special moment that I decided we need to continue these weekly "dates" throughout the year.
After leaving the adoration chapel, we walked outside and sat in front of the Blessed Mother, said a few Hail Mary's (I didn't learn the prayer until I was in junior high and want to teach him while he's young), and then headed to the car. In an effort to prolong our special day, we went to lunch at Chick-fil-a and shared some Cold Stone before running a few errands and returning home for nap time.
Part of me feels silly for feeling the need to instigate weekly "dates" with my toddler (especially since we spend every waking moment together), but I think that doing something out-of-the-norm together each week will benefit us both. I believe these adoration dates will do just that.
During lunch, I decided that we will always go to either lunch or to the park after praying in the chapel, so that as Jackson gets older, we can sit and talk about Jesus, our faith, and what this time together means to us.
Even though my baby is growing up way too quickly, I look forward to him being able to talk and having meaningful, post-adoration chats with me... but in the meantime, I will continue to soak up these sweet days with my sweet boy!
Are you ready for a somewhat sad and pitiful story?
No? Well, I'm going to tell it anyway! (Feel free to skip :)
I am on the steering team for our Magnificat Mom's group at church and I absolutely love it -- I have made some wonderful friends who I meet with for play dates, coffee/wine drinking, etc., and have learned so much about myself and our Catholic faith along the way! Anyway, I signed up to bring an egg dish to our meeting last Thursday, which I COMPLETELY forgot about until Wednesday evening. I ended up opting to make this last minute and had it all prepared Wednesday night and ready to pop in the oven for Thursday morning.
So I get up early...
Bake my casserole...
Make myself look somewhat presentable...
Wake up Jax/get him ready...
Take casserole out of oven...
Make coffee/prepare Jackson's milk cup...
Fasten "handy" plastic top (with handle!) to my casserole dish...
Stand there like an idiot for 10 seconds and pray that it miraculously stuck to the pan.
"SON OF A...." I started to yell, quickly stopping myself as I saw my fast-learning toddler round the corner. Brandon heard the thud/near cursing, came running downstairs, witnessed the mess, and began to nervously laugh... which in turn made me laugh (which was probably better than crying). My initial thoughts were to say "screw it," go back to bed, and skip the meeting, but I knew it wouldn't be fair of me to back out of my commitment... So, I did the logical thing and rolled into the McDonald's drive-thru, ordered one-dozen burritos and Sausage McMuffins, and headed to our meeting.
The morning may have started off on the wrong foot, but it quickly turned around when I started visiting with the other moms and listening to the fabulous Jessica's insight on Sacramental Preparation. While Jessica spoke to our group about her favorite resources and how to approach each Sacrament with your child, it dawned on me that the Lenten season is upon us -- HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!
I know I talked last year about how Lent is my favorite time of the liturgical year, but I think it's worth repeating since it is a time of hope, peace, and renewal in both the Church as well as ourselves. To be completely honest, it never really clicked with me just how powerful and special this time of year is until I had a son of my own. (Side Note: Some kids at the library weren't letting Jackson play with them a few weeks ago and my first instinct was to run to his side, scold them, and protect him, but I knew I needed to just stand back and let him handle it -- it obviously phased me a lot more than it did him, because he just shrugged it off and found another new friend to play with while I went home and cried, pondering how Mary was able to be so perfect and full of grace while watching her Son die on the cross not just those who loved him, but for those who spat at him, threw rocks, and inserted nails into His hands and feet.)
It wasn't until after I had Jackson that I realized Lent isn't about giving up things for Christ; it's about becoming closer to Him. When this realization came to be, I decided it was time to stop giving up things for petty reasons ("Ooh, if I give up candy, I can lose some weight!") and start taking up things to better my relationship with Him. Over the last few years, I have done this by reading the daily Scriptures and reflections on my Laudate app, as well as reading through/studying Fr. Robert Barron's daily reflection emails (which I highly, highly recommend).
I have decided to continue doing these things this Lenten season, but will also be adding something new: During Jessica's talk on Thursday, she mentioned having weekly adoration "dates" with her son, which is probably the coolest thing I have ever heard. So, Jackson and I will start having these dates AT LEAST once a week as well and I cannot be more excited!
I pray that you all have a peaceful and fulfilling Lenten season. Here's to a wonderful 40 days!
I know that I said I wasn't going to post any more of Jackson's monthly updates after he turned two, but... he's learning/growing/changing so much and I want to document and share it! That being said, I have decided to start a monthly series entitled "That Kid!" (which is what I say whenever he does something funny/surprising/cute/etc.) that recaps what our boy has been up to.
Here has what he's been up to since December 22nd:
~We had Jackson's 2-year well check a few days after we returned from Mexico and all was well! Jax is still a little squirt (10% for height; 3% for weight) but pleasantly surprised the doctor when he grabbed a pen and began meticulously drawing on a piece of paper... she said his fine motor skills are excellent, but was concerned as to why he still isn't saying much. We have an appointment to get his speech evaluated later this month and as soon as I made the appointment, he began repeating everything we say. Little stinker! He reminds me SO much of his cousin, Benny (Brandon's sister's son) in terms of development -- Benny was also a late walker/talker and is now a brilliant little 6-year-old. We're still going to go to his appointment though, so stand by for an update later this month.
~As I mentioned, Jax is now repeating everything we say and knows his entire alphabet (he doesn't say it very clearly, but can point to random letters and numbers on command)! It's amazing just how much he's grown and changed over the last month :( See below for videos of him doing his alphabet and animal sounds.
~Jackson's sense of humor absolutely kills me! He's gotten to the age where he tries to make people laugh by making funny faces, tickling, etc. He is also quite the little mimicker and will pretend to cough, laugh, and sneeze if he hears someone doing it within a two-mile vicinity.
~Cutest video ever (that fits Jackson's personality to a t)!
~As I mentioned in our recent "big boy" room reveal, Jax is FINALLY into reading and I couldn't be more excited! His favorites right now are Good Night Colorado (which we read 4-5 times a day -- here he is doing the motions), Annie Bananie, and Tom & Jerry's Merry Christmas.
~Major bragging post (bear with me): A few weeks ago, we went to a BBQ at a friend's house and everyone there couldn't get over how well behaved and content Jax is -- one of the couples there was talking about how when their kids were two, they were into everything, whereas Jax just likes to walk around and look at things, but never touches them. We are so lucky to have such a content guy who listens well and finds ways of entertaining himself (like at church last week when he put on Chapstick for the entire hour)!
~Last weekend we went to my parent's house for my mom's birthday/my hometown museum's annual fundraiser dinner and Jax was SO against wearing a tie until he saw my dad wearing one... After that, he thought he was pretty cool stuff and even pretended to straighten it like grandpa.
~I'll go ahead and wrap up this post by gushing about how independent/smart this little guy is! He picks up things SO quickly (we have a 26 piece alphabet puzzle that he can do in a matter of minutes) and is such a big help anymore -- he even likes getting his own water when he's thirsty!
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