One Year

Dear Jackson,

Who would have thought that the feeling I had looking at a positive pregnancy test on July 7, 2005 would turn into the feeling I have today, celebrating your first year of life? It's amazing to think that you have been blessing us with your presence for a whole year!

It all started simply enough. Well, as simple as nine (ten) months of pregnancy can be! But after the pregnancy and 30+ hours of labor, we had a baby. Just like that, we went from a childless couple to the parents of an infant. Talk about scary! But you were pretty easy on us. :)

I got seven weeks off of work to spend with you, my new little bundle of joy. It was nice to be able to take our time getting used to each other and settling into this whole new experience. I learned very quickly that I had made the right decision about not returning back to work in the fall. How could I leave you all day? :)

Unfortunately, I did have to go back to work and finish out the last five weeks of the school year. But you had fun everyday with Mimi, Grandma, Kathleen, and Mandie. In May I got to celebrate my first Mother's Day. What a wonderful feeling!

Before long, it was summer and we had all the time in the world again. Your personality certainly started to show through! You very quickly proved yourself to be an extremely delightful kid. As it got warmer outside, you got to discover more of the world around you. We all discovered that you preferred the baby carrier to the stroller, as evidenced by your screaming the entire second half of a walk!

As your personality developed, so did your recognition of and appreciation for the people around you: Mimi, Poppa, and Uncle Sean, Grandma and Uncle John, and lots of friends.


In August, you took your first plane ride--to Seattle for Shauna's wedding. You did great on the plane and loved all of the fun stuff we did in the city. Soon after we returned, school started and we started daycare together.

September also brought cooler weather, a runny nose, and your first taste of solid food. Yum!

Six months was a big milestone. Not so much at the time, but looking back, the first six months of your life went really slowly and the last six months have just flown! Not to mention that you don't even look like a baby anymore. You're a little man!

For Halloween, you were a dragon. And a scary one!

For Thanksgiving, you had a cold. And a bad one!


For Christmas, you were just the best little kid celebrating your first Christmas. You got lots of presents and got to be a part of lots of traditions.

January brought the new year and a new big milestone for you--you FINALLY slept through the night! And what a difference it made for all of us! Luckily, you have kept it up!

We also got to experience some of Minnesota's finest snow--you loved it! You also started walking all over the place. Yikes!

All of this has brought us to where we are now--one year old. It's incredible to watch you grow and learn new things and figure out how stuff works. You're a smart little kid! We've enjoyed every moment of this first year, and we're so excited for many more!

Love you, dear boy

Mom :)

One year ago (again)

Friday, March 17, 2006. Normal day of school. I wore green. I drove straight from school to my doctor's office for my 40-week appointment. She regrettably informed me that although I was continuing to efface (cervix thinning out), I still was not dilating at all. Bummer. I left mentally prepared to be pregnant for at least another week. Three hours later, I was sitting in bed watching "Reba." It's something I hadn't watched before and haven't watched since. I think I was reading too. I remember feeling like I was getting the flu. Not stomach, but I was achy and feverish and just felt yucky. Then I had some odd cramps. "Surely not contractions," I thought. "I'm going to be pregnant for at least another week!" But they kept coming with some consistency. Weird. So I went to bed (Dan the snorer was sleeping downstairs--I didn't want to disturb his sleep with this possibility of news--one of us should be sleeping!). I was able to sleep with minimal cramp disturbance until about 3:00 am Saturday. I still didn't bother Dan until about 5:00 am, when I thought I had lost my "plug." (Fastforward to just before my water broke--I definitely had NOT lost my plug that morning. Yuck.) Anyway, he got up with me and started timing contractions. We called the hospital and they said to come when the contractions were a certain length and a certain distance apart. They weren't yet. So we called my doula, who came and waited out the day at our house. I remember going for a very short walk outside. I remember eating grapes. I remember Dan getting the video camera out and knowing that I'd regret him making an account of my blown up body. (I did). I remember making the decision to go to the hospital at 3:00 pm. In hindsight, I would have known that the contractions I'd been having for a few hours were nothing compared to what I would feel later on. I would have waited longer at home. I will next time. I remember Dan driving like a maniac to the hospital and our doula trying to follow him without breaking the law. We got to the hospital safely. I was wheeled into the labor and deliver triage area. They checked me. 2-3 centimeters. Crap! I should have waited! I will next time. So we walked around the LD floor. And we walked. And we walked. And we finally got a room. I was hooked up to an IV and all sorts of monitors. I changed into my own clothes. Something needed to feel familiar. Even if it was a nightshirt I'd bought at Kohl's only a week prior, it wasn't a hospital gown, and that's all that mattered. At some point, I remember getting into the bathtub. It didn't feel as good as I'd hoped. They decided to check me again at about 8:00 pm. Still 2-3 centimeters. Seriously? If contractions this bad aren't doing anything, I don't even want to know what kind are in my future! Since I hadn't slept since 3:00 am, I was given an antihistamine to help me relax and maybe even sleep between contractions. They also gave me a shot of morphine. I wish I hadn't gotten any of it. I won't next time. Although it was nice to sleep between contractions, it was quite the rude awakening when one came on. And the morphine just made me throw up and did nothing for the pain. After a few hours, the antihistamine wore off and I was completely coherent again. And things were starting to get serious. They checked me at 11:00 pm and I was about 8 cm. Yay! Something actually worked! Well, then all hell broke loose. For two hours, I was in what they call "transition." It's a really nice name for something that makes you feel like you want to grab the nearest sharp object and cut the baby out yourself because you're not sure how much longer you can deal with the contractions. For at least an hour of it, I had the urge to push with each contraction, but I couldn't because I wasn't fully dilated. Unless you've been through it, you have no idea how hard it is to stop your body from pushing. It's the craziest thing I've ever felt. FINALLY at a little after 1:00 am (30 HOURS since the first contraction), I was allowed to start pushing. My first push broke my water. After only a few more pushes (when it's still just the nurse coaching you through what to do), the nurse had to go get the doctor because this kid finally meant business and was coming very quickly. (I've heard first-time moms push for an average of 2 hours). The doctor came in and I continued to push. I really don't remember much of the pushing, actually. It lasted about 25 minutes, but I really only remember the very end of it. The doctor told me to give her a really hard push to get the head out. I gave her a really hard push and the whole baby came out! I guess I meant business too. At 1:36 am, Jackson Reed Bennett came into this world in all of his 9-1/2 pounds of glory. They put him up on my belly and all I remember thinking (after he lifted his own head up to look at me--no lie) was that this was a big baby. The next thing I remember thinking was how hungry and tired I was. Once I was stitched up and cleaned off and had my little bundled up babe, I was allowed to eat. It was the best hospital boxed lunch I've ever had. :) As for the sleeping, that didn't really happen until Sunday night. It was way too many hours to be awake at one time. But God gives something amazing to pregnant women and new mothers. It's an energy that is completely unexplained. I knew I was exhausted, but I knew I wasn't going to die. I would make it. I had this new life to take care of. I had to make it.
Reflecting on all of this a year later makes me remember how hard it all was. But there is something in me that can't wait to do it all again.

For those of you who stuck with this until the end, thank you. It was really more for me. And I realize that not all of this was one year ago today, but I thought it would be silly to split it up into three days. :) Plus, Monday (his actual birthday) will be his monthly letter from me.

One year ago...

...was my due date! I remember anticipating that date for nine (ten) months. I remember the feeling of seeing that date come and go and wondering when on earth this baby would come meet us. My, how the year has flown.

More to come in the following days!

Snow day!

The title doesn't actually go with the pictures below, although it seems that way. The title refers to the fact that most of the state is closed due to snow today. And that's a great thing for someone who does daycare for teachers! Although, it took Osseo forever to actually call it last night. Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Anoka-Hennepin were all closed for today by 9:00 last night (along with other big metro districts). But Osseo made us sweat it out until about 10:00. But nevertheless, we have a snow day, and it's awesome. It's even more awesome that it's Friday and we have a three-day weekend! Anyway, getting on with the pictures, last Sunday, we ventured outside with the Jack man and had some fun in the snow (you know, from the storm before this one we just had?). We got him a sled for Christmas, and this was the first time he was able to experience it. And he loved it so much! It was adorable! Here's proof. :)
(And thanks to Liam for the use of the awesome snowsuit!!)

Getting ready with Dad.

Here we go!


Oh, so fun!

Slow down, Mom!


Whoa, I think I'm done now.


I love my boy!

We set him down in the snow to get a picture of him just sitting there surrounded by white. He immediately rolled over and got stuck. Well, it's the thought....

Eleven months

Hey my dear boy,

You are one month away from being a year old! That's so amazing to me. Time continues to fly and you continue to amaze us with your sweet ways.

I am excited to say that you are sleeping through the night! Finally! You are consistently going down at about 7:00 and waking up at about 6:00. Sometimes you go back down for a little while (today you went back down until 8:30! Wow!). At least you are starting to figure out your nights, but as they have gotten better, your daytime naps have gotten worse. I guess if it's one or the other, I'd rather have the night sleep. :)

You are eating more and more these days, too. You LOVE grapes. It's kind of a pain, though; to avoid all choking hazards, they need to be peeled and cut up. But it's worth it because you are in your glory when there is a pile of them in front of you. You also started eating cheerios, which are just great fun (and cheaper than gerber puffs, so thank you).

We brought you to the nursery at church for the first time yesterday. You did pretty well. I can tell you have a little separation anxiety starting to set in lately. We have a babysitter at Dennis' when we have Soulmates, and it was a rough time for you on Saturday. You just don't want to leave people you know and love! Sweet thing.

The big news this month is that you started taking steps. You are still pretty tentative, but you do stand by yourself for longer periods of time and kind of lunge toward things. You have brand new shoes to help you, and you love them. You also love to give kisses, and you are very good at it. :) They are usually open mouth, tongue out, but we like them anyway. You are just so affectionate. You even try to kiss the kitties! They aren't as tolerant as we are....

There is a new friend at Leishman's these days. Dena gave birth to Kenna a couple of weeks ago. So when she is done with maternity leave in about a month, we'll have one more baby in the mix! You are very curious about the baby. I'm sure you just want to love her, but when you go at her with your hand in a fist above your head, we get nervous.

Bless you, baby, in this last month of your first year. And thanks for all of the fun you add to our days!

Love,
Mom


Hanging with Daddy (and sporting some pretty rosy cheeks!)

Eating a duck in the bathtub.

Eating Grandma's walker.
Playing with Homer and Kaelin.

Watching "Dora" with Connor. You manly men.

Sweet boy

Here are some semi-recent pics to hold you over until Monday (11 months, pictures and all).

So happy to be playing! Nevermind that the cats have stollen all 4 balls that make this game any fun....

Sleeping with daddy. Hmm, is daddy sleeping too?


Playing with Homer the dog. What a nice, tolerant dog.


These are the girls I watch--Kaelin, Reagan, and Remi--in addition to Jackson and Connor (Kaelin's brother). They don't always dress like this.

Oh, this is big

Jackson is (almost) walking.

To the point where his cute little suede-bottomed leather shoes weren't cutting it anymore. Yes, we ventured into the cold on Saturday and got REAL baby walking shoes. Oh, that was fun for the checkbook. But they're adorable.

It's a little surreal to watch him let go of things and just stand there. Then he'll take a couple of steps and look at me like, "Um, I'm not sure what to do now" and then fall to the ground and crawl the rest of the way to his destination.

And we thought crawling was a big transition. There's REALLY no stopping him now. :)

It's bathtime!

Well, Jackson had his first "big boy" bath last week. When he was super little, he took baths in a plastic tub; once he could sit up, he graduated to the kitchen sink. That is consequently my first choice--easy on the back. But he was getting cramped, so we decided to give the big tub a try. Boy, did he think that was a great idea! Here are some pictures that Jack is bound to rip to shreds someday. :)

Mmm....turtle....

(excuse the red eyes.....)

What having a 10-month-old keeps you from....

Bloggies! I realized today that I neglected to continue in last year's blog awards for my blog friends. Shoot! I'm going to blame being a mom and being preoccupied. But check out last year's and reminisce with me! (For some reason, I can't link to the individual post. If you care enough, click on "December 2005" and it should be the first post listed).

Time for bed.

Dreams

So, I had a really bizarre dream this morning. Here it is, as written to Ashley, who was the other main character in the story:

The beginning was an episode of 24 and I was flying in a plane with Bill Buchanan (one of the main characters). We ended up picking up who we thought to be a terrorist. She was actually on the good side, but she made us almost crash the plane in Maple Grove. Except, as you headed east in Maple Grove, instead of hitting Osseo, there were a bunch of mountains. After landing/semi-crashing the plane, I headed to my parents' house, which was actually at the Gap. And you were there! You came over for dinner and you were eating salad when I walked in. You asked me if you could have more dressing. My dad said that there was more "sausage dressing" in the fridge, but the thought of that almost made you throw up. So I cam back in with "Lite Italian" and it already had croutons in the bottle. After giving you the dressing, I decided to take Jack and my brother to go climb the aforementioned mountains. But we got halfway up and had to stop because they had painted the mountains and they were slippery. Then I came back to the house (aka Gap) and soon after, I woke up.

Anyone wanna take this one? I think it means that I was simply not sleeping deeply enough. :)

Ten months

Dear Jackson,

You're smarter than a monkey! A friend of ours told us a while ago (when his son was your age) that when a baby reaches the 10-month mark, he is officially smarter than a monkey. Oh, we're so proud of you!

Yes, you are ten months old. Just a couple months until you're a year--it's so weird to think of it that way. You are continuing to develop quite the little personality. You love to laugh and talk to us in your own little language. We can't wait until you are saying actual words and we can really have a conversation!

We're working on your sleep, which isn't really improving. You've had some tears the last couple of nights, but you are starting to sleep longer periods since I'm not nursing you overnight anymore. Maybe once you get the idea that I'm not an all-night snack bar, you'll stop bothering to wake up at 2:30! In other eating-related news, it's always a great accomplishment to get you to keep down your food. You've had the same cold on and off since about October, and you get pretty full of gunk, and sometimes it makes you puke. Such a bummer!

We celebrated your first Christmas last month. How exciting! When it came to opening gifts, you were really more interested in eating the bits of paper you could pry from the packages. All the more to make you gag! You got lots of fun things. Mostly clothes from Grandma, Mimi, and Poppa. Uncle John painted a cute little rocking chair for you, and you love sitting in it. And of course, lots of little toys that are exciting simply because they are new! We also got you a sled, and even though we've had some snow, we haven't had a chance to use it yet. It will be so exciting when we can!

You had your 9-month pictures taken last week (even though it was closer to 10 months....). You were a little stinker! The photographer would get you to smile, and then when he got back into position with his camera, you would give him a very serious look. I think we got some cute shots, though. Now that you're more mobile, you gave me quite the workout for the half hour we were in there. Up. Down. Crawl away. Roll over. Up. Down. Up. Crawl. Good thing you're cute!

Sometimes when you are crawling around at home, you'll put your head down on the carpet like you're going to sleep. It's super cute. You've also done it to Ruby while she's in her little cat bed. It's adorable! And it's a good thing she's so nice, because you tend to pull her fur and push down on her belly sometimes. You know she's your friend!

We're so excited about how independent you're becoming. Soon you'll be walking around all over the place! You're growing up so quickly, and we just love that we get to be a part of it! You are just too much fun. Keep up the giggles, the quirky expressions, the sweet snuggles, and the priceless cooing.

I love you to the moon and back!

Love,
Mom

A challenge to bloggers

I have spent the last hour looking at my blog. I started in the beginning (February of 2005!) and followed it until the present. It was great fun! Quite the stroll down memory lane. My challenge to you is to do the same! It's really fun! And really a time-waster, so be careful. I started when Jack was awake, and he was contently crawling around the living room, testing the edibility of various objects. Yum. He's been asleep for a half hour now, and I should really take a shower or do something productive before he wakes up!

In other news, Jack doesn't sleep. Every morning I wake up thinking, "I don't know how much longer I can do this." But what other choice do I have? I have to do this! It's wearing on me, though. I always feel ready for a nap. And I never get one, unfortunately. :) So, if anyone has wisdom for me in this arena, I'm willing to try anything! Honestly, getting him to sleep for more than an hour at a time at night will be an improvement. He's almost 10 months, for crying out loud! At least he's a precious little guy. :)

A couple of cute pictures....

Happy Friday before a long weekend! Here's my cute almost-10-month-old boy!

What a tired face. I think the black and white makes it even more tired-looking.


The man with Lucy, who more or less tolerates him.

Hope all is well out there in blogland. :)

Beautiful child

For Adrienne, whose precious Noah gets to meet Jesus this afternoon.

beautiful child right from the moment you were born
you overtook my heart my world
my beautiful child

tender and sweet both in your crying and your sleep
you radiate a sense of hope
you're beautiful

And I have seen the most amazing sights
in my travels on the earth
misty seas and amber harbor lights
and other things of matchless worth

but next to you all of the beauty seems so plain
you would think I'd never seen a beautiful thing

And I have seen the most amazing sights
in my travels on the earth
seven sacred pools on starry nights
and other things of matchless worth

but next to you all of the beauty seems so plain
you would think i'd never seen a beautiful thing

I have seen the most amazing sights
in my travels on the earth
moonlight sleeping on the canyon heights
and other things of matchless worth

but next to you all of the beauty seems so plain
you would think i'd never seen a beautiful thing

sara groves

"I think I would have liked that man"

I said this to my mom the other day in reference to former president Gerald Ford. I remember feeling the same way about Reagan when he died. I was not alive during Ford's administration, and I was eight years old when Reagan left office. So during Reagan's funeral two and a half years ago and during Ford's right now, I feel like I am learning so much about these men. These are surely men who would have had my vote. :) And Ford's situation in particular just can't be beat. This poor guy wasn't elected anything, and all of a sudden he's in charge of a country that is a mess! No thanks! Anyway, television today is bound to be filled with more memories of this former president, and I'm glad I'm still "on vacation" and able to watch it.

Jack at Christmas

Here are some photos from last week.


Here is Jack is his first chair gift. My brother-in-law sanded and painted this for him, and he loves it! It's pretty cute.


In transit. Since both of our families are in town, we do a lot of driving Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. What a trouper!


Chair gift #2. We got him a great chair from Pottery Barn Kids. He promptly climbed onto it, stood against the back, and fell right over. But he's learning to sit. And we're learning to put it against things so the falling over can't happen. He's also sporting his "Hugh Hefner pajamas" in this photo. They are little man pajamas, and they're super cute. But the first time he wore them, Dan put them on him and brought him out to me with the top button undone. I said, "Daniel! He looks like Hugh Hefner!"

More soon. We're getting bad at taking pictures, so hang in there with us. :)

Happy New Year!

New Year's Day is always a weird day. It tends to sneak up on me. It's as if I've had "resolutions" in my head for a few weeks, and all of a sudden, they need to be implemented. Nothing big this year. Just the standard "rid the house of leftover Christmas junk food," "get more organized," "get the 9-month-old to sleep through the night." Maybe that last one should be Jackson's resolution. "I resolve to finally let my parents have a full night's sleep." Oh, someday. Last night in particular was a battle. We went out (with him) at around 7:00 (his usual bedtime) and didn't get home until 10:00. He did remarkably well while we were out, but getting to bed three hours late somehow sent a memo to the rest of his body to wake up every hour (or 45 minutes on a couple of occasions) until 7:30. Seriously, I just have to keep telling myself "This, too, shall pass." We still marvel at what a delightful child he is when he's awake. He's more than making up for it, I guess.

Well, that was a tangent if I've ever had one. No other big news. I promise to post more pictures soon. We have a new computer, and I have yet to download pictures onto it. I'm sure it's no harder than it was on the old computer, but it gives me an excuse for falling behind. :)

Happy 2007, everyone!

Merry Christmas!

It's the most wonderful time of the year.....

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to my blog friends. I hope you get everything you're wishing for. Like peace on earth, a new Kitchenaid mixer, and flannel pajamas. I was hoping for a full night's sleep. Oh well. I did get a pretty amazing gift, though. My best friend called yesterday while we were driving to my parents' house. She got married a few years ago and moved to Fargo, ND where her husband's job was. Just recently, they relocated to Grand Island, NE for his new job. Well, unfortunately, the job fell through. But, he has some leads in Inver Grove Heights and they will be moving back to the cities! I'm so excited!

Here's to too much to eat, much too much to drink, and all sorts of merriment. :)

Christmas Meme

Well, I'm not sure I know what a "meme" is, and I'm just assuming that I'm the Erin that Gloria is referring to. Nevertheless, you are all invited along for the ride...

1. Egg nog or Hot Chocolate?
Neither, unfortunately. Hot beverages make me sick to my stomach. I know I'm weird. It makes for some pretty interesting faces behind the counter at Caribou when I'm ordering a vanilla cooler in the middle of January.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
He wraps them. One of my favorite stories of my mother's childhood is that she and each of her six siblings would be assigned a chair or couch cushion in the livingroom, and when they came downstairs on Christmas morning, all of their gifts would be lying on their cushion unwrapped.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Our (artificial) tree has white lights. But I have vowed to get rid of it after this year. It's broken and just generally a pain in the butt. Outside, we have white icicle lights and colored lights on the bushes.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Nope. My roommate in college brought real mistletoe home once and it actually kind of stinks.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Usually right after Thanksgiving. However, it was more like a week or so into December this year. I'm gonna blame Jack. :)

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
Steak. For as long as I can remember, Christmas dinner has been steak.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child.
Decorating the house. We would make paper chains that my dad hung around the room. So tacky, but kind of cute.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I actually don't remember ever believing in Santa. I do remember witnessing some hearts broken when I taught kindergarten a couple years ago. Oh, kids can be cruel.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas eve?
We open gifts with our families on Christmas Eve. Dan and I (and I guess we'll include Jackson this year) open gifts Christmas Day.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
As previously stated, it has white lights. The ornaments are extremely eccentric. There are some dating back to each of our childhoods, and some that we've collected in our 4 1/2 years of marriage. It's random, but it's beautiful!

11. Snow! Love it or dread it?
Right now, I love it. Come March, I'm ready to see it leave.

12. Can you ice skate?
I haven't since I was about 11, but I assume I still have the skills.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Actually, it has to do with question #12. I remember asking for ice skates one year. I unwrapped the box and realized it was ice skates. When I opened the box, my dad's OLD ice skates were lying there, looking quite pathetic. It was a cute trick. :)

14. What is the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Family.

15. What is your favorite Holiday dessert?
Christmas cookies in general.

16. What is your favorite Holiday tradition?
Christmas Eve fondue. Yum!

17. What tops your tree?
Well, nothing. The top of our tree is too floppy to hold anything. We have a cool star, though!

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Definitely giving.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
This is hard. I love Christmas music. I just heard "Do You Hear What I Hear" on the radio, so I'll go with that. It will change in an hour or so. :)

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
They're fine. I'm more of a chocolate girl!

All right, Lisa, you're next! Enjoy.

Nine months

Jack,

Well, this is a milestone birthday for you. You have officially been in this world for as long as you were inside me! And when I think about the last 18 months, the pregnant nine sure felt longer than the motherhood nine have! We can hardly believe that in a mere three months you will be one year old. Crazy!

Let's see...newsworthy information. You aren't sleeping much these days. In fact, as I write this, Dad has just gone up to check on you because you woke up after only being asleep for 45 minutes. What's up? Some people try to make us feel better and say that you just love being around us so much that it's hard for you to go to bed. It's a lovely thought, but I'd rather just get some sleep. :) You tend to wake up a lot at night. Sometimes we have a couple nights in a row of "better" sleeping, which simply means that you only wake up two or three times as opposed to six or seven. Right now, you aren't feeling well, and you tend to wake yourself up when you cough. This is the second time you've been sick in the last month or so. The first was right around Thanksgiving. You just had some bad congestion and a cough, but your nose got so infected, so the doctor prescribed Amoxicillin. You thought it was pretty yummy! I don't think there is anything wrong with you right now that antibiotics would help, but we do have your nine-month appointment on Thursday just in case!

Your first Thanksgiving was pretty low-key since you were sick. In fact, we didn't even get to Berube's house until after everyone had already eaten because you were finally taking a good nap and we didn't want to interrupt it! I wish I could say that you enjoyed the feast, but being sick left you with very little appetite, and let's face it--we would have had to stick it all in the blender. Yuck. Speaking of eating, you are broadening your horizons a little bit and eating a larger amount of food at every meal. You still gag sometimes (especially when you're sick--dang phlegm), but you are getting pretty good at keeping everything down. You especially like yogurt and any fruit. And you simply tolerate vegetables! You really like "chewing" pieces of real food while we eat dinner. Sometimes you just collect little pieces of food in your mouth and never swallow!

Your personality is just the best. I think you know that you're funny! And you're very smart. When we ask, "How big is Jackson?", you raise your arms over your head and we all say, "SO BIG!", and you laugh and clap for yourself. You are crawling everywhere. We have gates all over the place. And you are drawn to cords. Dad is pretty sure you are bound to be an electrician when you grow up. :) If they weren't potentially dangerous, we'd let you have your fun with them. But there's the whole electrocution risk and everything. Oh, bother.

Christmas is next week, and we are SO looking forward to experiencing the holiday with you. We have lots of fun presents for you to open if you ever figure out how or get past the excitement of the paper itself. We really wish it would snow so you could experience a white Christmas! Besides, one of your gifts requires snow; unless we want to look like the crazy neighbors pulling their child in a sled down the dry blacktop street! No thanks.

When people hear what our nights with you are like, I think they feel sorry for us. Or you. Or both. But the truth is, you are so delightful during the day, it makes the nights a little more bearable. Don't get me wrong, I'd love a full night's sleep one of these days, but until you figure it out, you are just the most lovable, awesome kid around. Watching you grow up brings us joy beyond belief, and I know it will only get better.

Bless you, baby. I love you.

Love,
Mom.

I got it!

Okay, I've reclaimed my Japanese IQ test score. And I remember what I did, in case you need help. :) So glad I figured it out!

I'm such a nerd.

Put on your thinking caps!

All right, here's a little brain teaser for all of you. It reminds me of a math problem I had around 6th grade. Anyway, it's a Japanese IQ test, and it's apparently given to job applicants in Japan. Click here and good luck! I did finally get it, and I can now go sleep peacefully!
Happy Friday!
:)

UPDATE....I just went back to the site to retrace my steps and remember what I did to solve it. You know, in case you got stuck and needed a hint or two. Well, I am totally stuck again. So, if you figure it out, let me know! So much for going to sleep peacefully! Dang.

Like a baby

I caught the last half of Law and Order last night. That's kind of a hard show to follow when you come in halfway through, but it's also the kind of show that hooks you no matter when you start watching. Anyway, the verdict ended up being kind of controversial and at the very end, one of the new attorneys asked Jack McCoy "How do you sleep at night?" And Jack looked her square in the eye and said, "Like a baby."

And I said, "Like a baby!? You poor thing!"

Who is Dick Wolf (L&O creator) to assume that all babies sleep so well that we ought to compare our own great sleep to theirs?

I'm not bitter. I'm just sleep deprived.

All done!

It's official. I am DONE Christmas shopping! And other than a quick trip to Target to exchange a broken baby gate, I did not shop on Black Friday. :) It feels really good to be done. Although there is a little part of me that is mourning the fact that I will not once have to deal with a crowded mall in the weeks to come. Ah, well, I'll get over it.

I other quick news...
Jackson is still sick but slowly getting over it. Poor kid would get coughing so hard that he would throw up. (Sorry if you are reading this over your dinner....). We did get some amoxicillin for him because his nose was actually getting infected from the congestion. He loves it--bubble gum or cotton candy or something.
I saw the movie The Shawshank Redemption last week for the first time. Amazing. I can't imagine that there's anyone else out there who hasn't seen it, but if you are one of them, you need to.
I am a little nauseated with radio stations that are already exclusively playing Christmas music. Especially since Thanksgiving was so early this year, it just feels weird. At least give it until December. And even then, it's nice to throw in a non-holiday song once in a while!

Adios!

Picture time! Yay!

Jack insists on proving to me that he can, indeed, feed himself. We're not sure how much of the sweet potato puree actually ended up in his mouth.


Jackson and Connor conversing over the exersaucer toys. This is Jack's "fake" smile.

Jackson the dragon, Kaelin the kitty, and Connor the bear on Halloween.

Naked baby!

Bathtime with Mimi. So silly!

"Help! There are gates everywhere all of a sudden! They've trapped me in!"

Playing with Lucy.

Now, for the other babies in our life:

This is Lucy on top of the cupboards. She usually gets up and then can't figure out how to get back down, so she sits and stares at us until we help her. It's rather pathetic. :)

This is Lucy sporting the latest in cat accessories, glowing green eyes. Something happened with the flash from the camera, but how spooky does she look?

Eight months

My dear boy,

I'm sad to say that I am starting this report the same way I started it last month---you're sick! It's just terrible. Runny nose, congestion, cough, lack of appetite, lack of sleeping. You had your first trip to Urgent Care this afternoon to rule out an ear infection. Unfortunately, a little peace of mind doesn't come without a price--a 30-minute drive, a $25 co-pay, and a 45-minute wait. Oh well. Glad to know it's nothing life-threatening!

In other news, you are eating lots of different foods. Your favorite thing to eat is yogurt with bananas. You aren't crazy about your vegetables! And you still love mangoes. :) You also have more teeth to "chew" food with--the two on bottom and four on top! Ouch.... You were starting to sleep a little better before you got sick. For two nights in a row, we didn't hear from you until 4:00 am! That's a big deal around here. It's hard to believe that you actually slept through the night for two weeks back in July. Not sure what happened!

You are having a great time playing with Connor everyday. And you enjoy the girls, too. They mostly just make you giggle. So does Homer the dog! When I say, "Where's the puppy?" You look around until you see him. You're brilliant. :)

You experienced your first Halloween a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't really any big deal, though. I got your costume on to take a picture with Connor and Kaelin, and we stopped by Mimi and Poppa's with it on to help me justify buying it in the first place! It was a freezing cold night, so it wasn't worth going to anyone else's house. We only got one family of trick-or-treaters at our house!

You are talking like crazy. Unfortunately, none of it makes sense yet. Lots of "bababa" and "dadada" and "jafkeicajvuoawut," which I think means something in Slovak.... Sometimes you'll wake up in the morning or after a nap and just start talking to yourself. You also like to stand up in your crib and shake it like crazy. It's a very funny sound through the monitor.

We are SO looking forward to the holidays with you. Thanksgiving is this week. And Christmas will be so exciting! I have a feeling you're going to be a spoiled little boy. It will be very interesting to see what you do with a Christmas tree. Your big thing lately is pulling yourself up on things. If you do that with a tree, you'll end up on the ground with a tree on top of you. Not a good thing. We'll have to talk. We have gates everywhere to keep you out of trouble. Poppa made a terrific gate for the stop of the stairs. And there are gates at both entrances to the kitchen to keep you out. It took you breaking a bowl and measuring cup and getting into the cat's water one too many times, but the gates are up!

You are growing like crazy. We look at pictures from when you were first born and we can't believe you were ever really that tiny! And you weren't a tiny baby! It's so fun to watch you grow and learn new things. I love every stage you go through, and I can't wait to witness the ones yet to come. Thanks for being a swell kid!

Love you,
Mom

Bumper sticker greatness

"I hope that someday schools get all of the money they need and the air force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber."

What I know

I can't tell you who's ahead of whom in the politial races happening in this state and country right now. But I can tell you how paper grocery bags are made, thanks to Mr. McFeely's video on Mr. Rogers today.

I can't tell you who was on Leno or Letterman last night or any night for the past few months, for that matter. But I can tell you how loud a 1 1/2-year-old screams when the toy she is playing with is taken away by her 3 1/2-year-old sister. (It's loud).

I can't tell you about any new restaurants or cool new places in the Twin Cities. But I can tell you that two small pieces of Halloween candy are all the incentive a 2 1/2-year-old needs to finish her peas.

I can't tell you about the latest Hollywood romance or scandal. But I can tell you that Dora the Explorer underwear works wonders for young female potty trainers.

I can't tell you how to lose 10 pounds in five days or get ahead in the workplace. But I can tell you that a baby who wakes up from a nap with a smile on his face can just about make your day!

My, how my world has changed.

:)

Words to teethe by

"The difficult truth is that there are real limits to how much comfort we can bring to loved ones when they hurt. When a baby starts teething, both he and his parents will find themselves up against the limits of comfort: Not even holding or being held will make the pain go away. For a baby, it may be one of his or her earliest lessons that life will have times like that. For the parents, it will be another chance to become more comfortable with what we can and cannot fix."

Fred Rogers, Many Ways to Say I Love You

Seven months

Hey little man,

Well, you are sick. For the first time, too! I'm pretty sure it's because you have more teeth coming in. Which is weird because your first two teeth came without any extra fussing or anything. But this time you've got the works--runny nose, congestion, fever, excessive drooling, more crabby than usual. Oh well. You need teeth in this life, so this is just something we'll all have to endure!

Other than the teeth, life as a seven-month-old isn't too bad! You are crawling more and more every day. It was so exciting when you first did it; then you kind of forgot. You would start moving and have this look on your face like, "I know I did something new last night, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it was." You're a little wobbly, but it's cute. :) Your newfound mobility also means trouble. You are able to get into a lot more things. We're in the process of figuring out a gate for the top of the stairs. And you like to move to the coffee table and try to pull yourself up. Which, unfortunately, has resulted in a few bumps on your head. I'm pretty sure Lucy sees your crawling as a bit of competition. You aren't just a little lump of baby anymore!

You are loving eating solid foods. I'm so glad we waited until last month. You eat yogurt with fruit for breakfast, rice and fruit for lunch, and rice and vegetable for dinner. With some breastmilk in the middle. :) Now that you're seven months, there are more things you can eat. Peas, green beans, asparagus. You will like your green veggies!

We are in the middle of MEA weekend, which means a couple of days off for us since teachers don't have to go to work. It's lovely to be able to be with you everyday, but it's even better when it's just the two of us in our own house! You are doing well adjusting to our days at Leishmans. I think you are excited for Connor to start moving around so you can get into trouble together. Or at least so you can play with each other!

Your nighttime sleep isn't going so well. I think right now I can blame the teething and accompanying congestion and fever. However, your daytime naps have never been better! You predictably take a 1 1/2 to 2 hour morning nap and about a 2 hour afternoon nap. It's just heavenly. After the months of catnapping you survived on! Anyway, I hope once you are feeling better that we can get on a better nighttime schedule. We all need our rest!

One thing you are liking more these days is looking at books. Sometimes you are too distracted by wanting to chew the pages. But when you are focused, you love the pictures. And I think you like hearing the stories too. :) You have a few toys that you really enjoy playing with, but some items are just way more exciting than actual toys--remote controls, cell phones, water bottles, watches, cats. There is just so much to explore. And besides, how are you supposed to know what's a toy and what isn't?!

When we were in Seattle in August, someone asked me what it was like being a mom. I said it was more than I ever imagined and that you were more than I could ever ask for. And it's the truth! I never knew it would be this much fun and I never imagined that I could love you so much. The amount of joy that you bring to our days is incredible. You are an amazing child. And I am always amazed at what new things you do and how you grow. But I look forward to witnessing all of it.

I love you, baby!
Love,
Mom

Movin' and groovin'

I'm falling behind this month. Jack will be 7 months on Thursday, and I have a pathetic number of pictures on the camera. Here are some of them. :)

My favorite thing to dress Jack in is overalls. There's just something so cute about it.

Mmmm...an apple! Talk about solid food! Actually, when I am eating an apple, I sometimes give it to Jack to suck on. You can hear his little bottom teeth scraping against it. Adorable.

Jack's first experience of being bundled up for the cold weather. He wasn't thrilled. When I put the hat on, he kept looking up like, "What the heck is on me?" And he can't move all that well in the jacket, since I got it big enough to last all winter. Oh well. Such is life in Minnesota!

My little reader! My brother-in-law John is home from school in Boston, and Jack loves hanging out with him!

Officially mobile!

That's right, folks. Our boy is now a crawling boy. And as Dan so eloquently put it last night, "Buddy, you just became a whole lot more dangerous." :)

6-month portraits

We just got Jack's 6-month pictures back from Target. Here are some good shots!

Yup, this is his Halloween costume--a dragon. He's the softest dragon ever. :)

Are you using the whole buffalo?

For those of you who may have happened to attend the Sara Groves concert on Saturday night, you just saw the title of this blog and said, "Hey! She went to the concert too!" For those of you who did not have the opportunity to be there, you are saying, "Um, what does Sara Groves have to do with buffalo?" Allow me....
I love Sara Groves. I remember the first time I saw her--she came to Open Door when Conversations was coming out for the first time. (It was later re-released with two additional songs). She was very pregnant with her son Kirby (now joined by brother Toby). There was just something about her that hooked me right away. She has an amazing way with words and writes incredible music to boot. I have looked forward to the release of every recording she has put out and was so excited to learn that she was going to be at Bethel this past weekend. I bought two tickets and Dan and I had a great date night planned. Unfortunately, Dan got really sick and spent the better portion of the weekend on the couch. My friend Katie came to the rescue and joined me for the concert. (I even got to have dinner with her and her husband Ben--not exactly a date night, but still way fun!).
Sara explained that this year has been a life-changing year for her and her family. She and her husband Troy had the opportunity to travel to Africa and get connected with a ministry that builds wells so that people don't have to walk miles on end for "clean" water. She mentioned that she had approached the trip expecting to teach the people in Africa something about God or bring something new to their faith. Instead, she learned so much from them and brought back new and exciting revelations from God.
Sara used an analogy to show how God got her attention. If you've seen the movie Dances with Wolves, you know the scene where the Sioux come over the side of the hill with Kevin Costner, only to find the whole field filled with buffalo carcasses. Someone had gotten there first and taken the best part of the buffalo for themselves. The Sioux were so devasted by this because they take great pride in using every single part of the buffalo in their lives, and someone had wasted so much of the animal. They eat the meat. They use the fur as coverings for their shelters. The bladder holds water. The bones can be made into tools. What God pointed out to Sara in the back of a van on the dusty roads in Africa was that she wasn't using her whole spiritual buffalo. He began to reveal to her things in her life that were being wasted. She began to notice that this could hold water or that could be made into a tool.
I love this analogy! And it made me really think about my own crazy life. What it not being used as it should be? What am I completely wasting? I don't necessarily have answers to those questions yet, but it certainly is the new topic of conversation between me and God. :)
So, are you using the whole buffalo?

I love Fred

Rogers, that is. As in Mister Rogers. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is by FAR my favorite children's show. And now that I spend my days with five children under the age of 3, I've seen my fair share of PBS. I love that they are still playing reruns of it. And what's fun is that they are reruns that I remember from when I was young! But honestly, he was a pretty amazing man. And I think I have more appreciation for what he does now that I'm an adult. And a mom. And a teacher. His corny little songs (all of which he wrote, by the way) are really so perfect! And his neighbors. And the fact that he changes into sneakers and a sweater at the beginning of every episode. And the traffic light in the middle of his house. And the neighborhood of make-believe. And his fish tank. And I could go on and on. Instead, if you want a little walk down memory lane, check out his website. I'm not ashamed to say that I have officially made naptime 1:30 so that we can all learn something from the neighborhood before snoozing. :)