Adventure should have been his middle name

Jackson is quite an adventurous little boy, and he makes my heart skip a beat at least once a day. Here are a few of the things I've managed to get a record of...



I caught him under this table the other day and when he fell off, breaking open the chess set in the process, he just laughed. I'm glad that was his reaction, because I would have felt really bad for not putting down the camera. Oops.



He also really enjoys his anywhere chair, but right now he uses it more for climbing than for sitting.






His other favorite thing is to climb stairs. We can always tell when we have forgotten to close the baby gate, since we hear a thunder of hands and knees racing towards the stairs. (We are always there by the time he reaches the bottom step to be his "spotter.") He climbs up the stairs quickly and beams with pride the entire way. We are still working on going down - he really prefers the climb over the descent.

Jackson is also getting much better with his cruising. We got him a ride on toy that he's loving so far. We sit him on it and push him around the house, and the other day, he was walking behind the train. How soon do they go from this to walking? Its going so quickly!



(Obviously Sophie was not impressed.)

Happy Birthday Mimi!

Last night we celebrated Nancy's birthday with a fun party at Elway's with all of Nancy's friends. It was a blast! All of the guests were wondering if the baby would make an appearance, and once Jackson arrived he was the hit of the party! His Mimi showed him off to all of her friends and even shared some of her birthday brownie sundae with him (while I pretended not to watch how much ice cream my baby ate - isn't that what grandparents are for?).









Happy Birthday Nancy!!!

2nd Tooth!

Jackson's 2nd tooth finally broke through this weekend. Its in the front on the bottom, next to his other tooth. We have been waiting for it to pop through for weeks. I knew something was up with Jackson when on Friday night he woke up about 4 times throughout the night, even after a dose of Motrin. Finally by lunchtime on Saturday, there it was!

Josh was relived that Jackson was no longer "dentally challenged" - I think he was getting worried. (Even though Jackson is pretty much on track with getting his teeth.)

No new pics of the tooth today. Our camera battery is dead, and I need to get to the store...I will instead leave you with some recent father/son story time.

10 Months Old!

Jackson turned 10 months old on Friday, and it took me until today to take his picture. And it was hard. There wasn't much light in the house today, and trying to photograph a busy busy boy with out using the flash was a struggle. (I hate using the flash, and really need to get a better camera that will allow me to set the aperture.)






Here is what Jackson is up to this month:
-cruising everywhere...I like to think his personal soundtrack is the 80's favorite "Ain't nothin' gonna to break my stride
Nobody's gonna slow me down, oh-no
I got to keep on movin'"
-still only has one tooth, with another on the way...any.day.now.
-still enjoys sticking out his tongue, and it was virtually impossible to get a pic of him without the tongue out
-thinking about changing from 2 naps to one, and frustrating mom in the process
-says "dada" consistently, but we're not really sure to whom he is referring
-has learned inflection and often questions "eh?"..."eh?"
-has a routine with mom where he will quickly crawl over to her, lay fat out on the floor and wait for a mini massage, then is off on his way again

Birthday Fun

Jackson went to his first birthday party this weekend for his friend Katelyn, who turned one. It was held at Little Monkey Bizness, an awesome place for a party, with slides, bouncy areas and a fun place for little crawlers. Jackson was all over the place and showed no fear going down, or up, the slides.

Jackson loves Katelyn...

Happy guy...

Fun on the slide...

Climbing up...

..and into the tree house...


For the birthday girl, I was able to practice my sewing skills and made a cute pillowcase dress. I really had no idea what I was doing, but during Jackson's naptime I was able to make this:


I'm pretty proud of it, especially since I didn't actually start with a pillowcase, just a yard of fabric. For the pattern, I copied one of our pillowcases and then worked from several free internet tutorials to make my design. Unfortunately for Jackson, there are so many cute sewing projects for girls, I just have to keep my eye out for cute boy stuff I can make for him. Until then, I'll make girly gifts like this one for my friends.

Speaking of birthdays, plans are underway for Jackson's 1st and I am very excited. Since I am no longer planning weddings and parties professionally, I think I will have to keep myself in check with the extreme amount of things I want to do for his birthday. When you start wondering how much a margarita machine rental is, you know its time to step away from the planning. (And also remember that this is a kid's party!) Oh well, you only have one 1st birthday...

She's Crafty

Three years ago Josh gave me a sewing machine for my birthday. It was what I asked for, but for some reason it sat in its box until last month. I learned to sew in my middle school home economics class, and totally remember making a locker caddy from the most horrible looking fabrics. Since then, I had barely touched a sewing machine and had only made some things here and there using stitch witchery (iron on, no sew required fusing). When Jackson's first Halloween came around, I remembered the amazing handmade costumes my mom and grandmother had made for me as a child, and I wanted to do the same for Jackson.

Well, I ended buying Jackson's costume, because the idea of using a sewing machine was so intimidating. I recently found this cool craft supply store in Denver, Fancy Tiger Crafts, and signed up for their Sewing 101 class.

The three hour class gave me the confidence to face my intimidating machine, and I even made a cute credit card/gift card holder that was perfect for my sister-in-law.

With my new found skills and tight budget, I decided that this year Christmas was going to be a handmade holiday. Here are some photos of my craftiness:

Coasters


Sweater quilt


I used three old sweaters and backed it with warm fleece


Reusable Coffee Cup Cozy
(I haven't tested it out yet...yay, a reason to stop at Starbucks!)


My workspace (i.e. dining room table) with an attempt to applique a t shirt for Jackson


Next on my project list...
An appliqued shirt for Jackson's birthday, and a "Happy Birthday" fabric banner.

Jackson's First Christmas

Since I took some time off blogging for the holiday, here is a follow up of our little guy's first Christmas.

We spent a week in NJ visiting my family and had a great time. I realized when we got back that I barely took any pictures, but here are some photos of Christmas morning...

"Pppsssttt...Dad, wake up. Santa Claus came last night!!!"


"Why is he not as excited as I am?"


"Ok, a few more minutes."


"Time to see what Santa brought!"










I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year!

Last night, our little family rung in the New Year sound asleep, snuggled in our beds, and it was absolutely perfect!

We celebrated earlier in the evening, family style, hosting a fabulous dinner with Josh's mom, brother and his brother's girlfriend. On the menu - Beef Tenderloin with a yummy mustard glaze, Cabernet Thyme Reduction, Caesar Salad with homemade dressing, Champagne Risotto with Asparagus and for predinner nibbles, Hot Spinach & Artichoke dip. Everyone contributed and it made for a relaxed fun night with family.

I was happy to to be able to use my china and add a little festive table setting (its in my blood as a party planner).



This morning, our goal is to stay in our pj's as long as possible and just hang out. Looking back over 2009, its amazing the way our life has changed. Having Jackson in our lives has brought me a new perspective, and I am so grateful for that. We've had so much joy in our life the past 12 months, but there have also been plenty of struggles. As I get used to living in the "grown up" world more and more, I realize that there will always be struggles. Its how you deal with the challenges and how you celebrate the positive that really defines your life.

I don't usually make resolutions, but I have a few this year. For a broad resolution, I hope to make the most out of my time with Jackson. To encourage him as he grows and enjoy the different stages that are to come. Another resolution is to eat better and healthier, meaning less processed foods. My goal is to remove high fructose corn syrup from our house. I picked this ingredient since it is in the majority of processed foods, and I'd so much rather eat plain old sugar. I won't throw food away, but I'm not going to buy anything with HFCS anymore. However, I will give myself the right to have a soda now and then, just not in the house. (Can't give up Dr. Pepper completely!)

What are your resolutions for the year?