mother's day

finley's birthday party

yesterday jackson went to his friend finley's birthday party. he had a great time splashing in the kiddie pool. the highlight for me was when jackson gave finley a sweet birthday kiss. they both leaned in and carefully pressed their little lips together. it was adorable. i wish i had a photo of that moment.

little dude

jackson loves wearing hats now.. after winter is over and spring is here.. he thought he was outtasight wearing a hat AND sunglasses. he was proud as a peacock to show daddy his look.

one word at a time

learning to communicate

jackson's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds, and my pea brain is struggling
to learn his new language. "ta-kee" means "stinky". he thinks it's hilarious to randomly
say this. He especially loves to smell a diaper and shout that it's STINKY!
His first joke was to tell me that the picture of a horse in his room is a monkey.
I heard this joke at least 50 times. He laughs and laughs when I say "No!" dramatically and
tell him that's a HORSE! "Munggee" he says again, and laughs like it's the first time he's told this joke.

backyard thoughts

jackson is getting more confident and independent in the back yard. he takes off on his own adventures and seems content to play alone now. he loves to decimate flowers, throw rocks, dig his fingers into soil, pick berries, follow bees and butterflies.. he's so content outside.
yesterday our neighbor brought over a bird that had flown into her glass and stunned himself. jackson observed him in his little box, and the little bird looked back. he had nothing to say. i wonder if he even made the connection between the flying things outside his window and that tiny little creature. the bird flew away moments after we met him.
i can remember when i was a child, i often felt like understanding something was on the edge of my mind, but the wonder of being in the moment frequently kept me from making the bigger connections. i daydream that jackson will come to realizations in life much sooner than i did, and that he will be a wise child, aware of himself and attuned to the world around him. for now we practice being attuned to each other.

Easter

papaw & mimi visit!

my parents came to visit last week. they spent lots of time with jackson and really bonded with him. he was saying "papaw" and "mimi" constantly. they brought him colored pencils, which were a big hit. ashlea and chris came over for a spaghetti dinner- one of jackson's favorites.

Warm winter weather

we've had a wonderful warm spell this week. i hope it means that spring will be early this year. jackson is a natural-born nature lover. he takes my hand many times every day and drags me to the back door. he wants to be outside constantly. he loves to play in the sand, smell flowers, throw rocks, slide and play with the cats. he is fearless out there, which can be a little scary for me.

corndog- woof!

jackson likes corndogs. he calls them "woof". he barks while he eats them.

tooltime

jackson tried his hand with a screwdriver recently. he was so intent on getting his "work" done like daddy. he was proud when they got the aquarium off the side of his crib. i love to see that triumphant look on his face.

visit with nana and daddy jack

i took jackson to visit his great grandparents this week (on jason's side). nana made us a delicious chicken casserole with green peas. nana loves to see jackson eat. she served him lots of cookies and two kinds of ice cream for dessert. (miraculously he still fell asleep on the way home) before i made this picture, daddy jack hoisted jackson up in his arms, full of strength. jackson took the cookie out of his mouth just long enough to say cheese.