Jackson cuteness

Doesn't he look like such a big boy?!?

Sweet friends

Check out our friend's blog to see some cute pictures of Noa and Kathryn learning to tumble together. Here's one I stole from their blog as a teaser:

Jackson at 10 months

Yes, so Jackson was 10 months old two weeks ago, and I'm finally just now getting around to his 10 month post. Sorry...he's the second child, what can I say? But just because he's the second doesn't mean we don't absolutely love him, because we do! It's hard to believe that next month he'll turn one! Where does the time go? Anyway, enjoy lots of pictures and random tidbits about our ten-month-old:

Jackson remains a super happy kid. He still laughs all the time, often at nothing in particular. He's bound to have a great sense of humor!
Anytime I am standing anywhere for even a moment, he crawls over to me and pulls up on my legs to be held.
And when I don't pick him up, this is what happens...

The funny thing is, as soon as he's being held, he's squirming to get back down to the floor. I honestly can't wait until he can walk, so that we can put him down more often (for instance, when we're out somewhere).

He loves playing outside, and crawls around everywhere. He's never minded the grass like many babies do. It even breaks him out a little, but he never seems to be bothered by it, so we let him go at it. Of course, the mulch is a big attraction...
...and it tastes pretty good too!
When he gets to the pavement, he often crawls like this. It's pretty funny, and also pretty smart. The poor kid's knees are so calloused and bruised from just regular crawling, so I guess the pavement it just a little too much.

Here's a close up of his pavement-crawl.
He has just recently discovered the stairs. He can crawl all the way up them (all 15!) by himself (with us walking right behind, of course). So, we had to bring out the baby gate. However, as you are about to see, it doesn't do much good...
Yup, he just slides it right over and proceeds up the stairs. :::::sigh:::: There he goes...!
Can you tell he's proud of himself?
Sometimes it doesn't work out so well to pull the gate, though.

In fact, it's very sad and frustrating.
This month Jackson started his first signs too (well, besides waving bye-bye). He now signs "more". He also started folding his hands when we pray before eating. The only thing is, I'm not sure if he's really do it to pray, or if he's signing more. Either way, it's cute!


A few weeks ago, Johnny made the comment to me that he thinks Jackson gets into more mischief than Kathryn did at his age. I just laughed and said, "Oh honey, I think you're just forgetting what it was like." However, I have since changed my mind, and agree with him. Here are two very minor examples of what he likes to get into...
He still loves to eat, but not like Kathryn did as a baby.
Some of his favorite foods are: avocados, bread, yogurt, crackers, goldfish, and Cheerios. He still nurses three times a day, which is super for us! I've tried to give him formula a couple of times, to which he gags and spits it out!
Some other random facts:
-He says "Ohhhh" a lot, often mimicking one of us.
-He loves to wave to people.
-He loves animals and will put his hands out toward them and grunt whenever he sees one.
-He still pulls up on things all the time, and is getting better at walking with us when we hold his hands.
-He gets upset if he sees someone eating, because he wants a bite too.
-He is still getting up around 6:00 in the morning. He'll usually nurse at that time, and then [hopefully] go right back down for another 30-60 minutes before being up for the day. Then he'll take one morning nap and one afternoon nap. The times of his naps vary greatly! Sometimes, he'll still take a third late afternoon nap if he has a short first afternoon nap that ends early.
-He just started crying occasionally if someone else takes him away from me.
-He is a mama's boy! He comes up to me all the time to lay his head on me, give me kisses, give me zverberts, etc.
-His primary love language continues to be zverberts, and we think it's hilarious.
-His new favorite game is chase. He loves to be chased, especially by Kathryn when I'm carrying him up the stairs.
-We are starting to do some hardcore teaching on the word "no". He seems to be understanding it and will occasionally obey. He's really good at coming to us when we call him.
-He's started "dancing" (bouncing) and waving his arms to music that he likes.

Kathryn...

Oh, I have been so terrible lately at updating! I apologize! Anyway, the fact that Jackson was 10 months old last week and I haven't posted about it is bothering me, but I also realized that I hadn't taken many pictures lately, so am waiting to get some more recent pics of him before posting (which of course means also loading them on the computer). But, for now, I figured an update on our sweet girl was in order, since she was officially two-and-a-half on July 5th!. I am not even sure where to start with her. She is growing so much now, and is officially a little girl (no baby!). Here is a creation of hers I came upon the other day...her imagination has really taken off, and although I'm not sure what all these characters were doing here, I know that she was intention in their placements. Oops, this pic is sideways. But here she is in her first "dress-up" clothes. Well, her first official ones, at least. She felt so pretty! (Notice the fancy high heels too!)
She has also taken to one of her baby dolls. She has named her Elizabeth, and carries her around in a little backpack/sling thing. She takes such good care of her. Her other baby's/friend's name is Kaya.

Swinging with daddy on the tire swing.

A few weeks ago, we were in Harrisonburg for a visit. On Sunday, my sister Ali was in a horse show at my Aunt Darlene's farm. So, we went by to watch her show. They opened a Tot Lead Line class, so Kathryn got to participate. It was her first show. Can you tell if she liked it or not?

My/our cousin Joey led the pony while I walked with her. He did a great job! Kathryn won a blue ribbon! The judge said the class was too close to call, so all riders walked away with blue ribbons. Kathryn was soooo proud of herself!
Showing it off for all to see...
Her cousin Payton was in the class as well. How cute is that?!?
Wee, no hands!

It was so cool to watch Ali show. She did a great job! She won a blue ribbon in this jumping class (that had tons of riders in it!)!!
I love this photo of her...look in the direction of the next jump. Great job!

Kathryn has been working out. Gotta build up those muscles so she can hold her own as Jackson gets bigger!
Showing her muscles. She's so strong!!

Some other fun/random facts:
-She is a pickier eater than she ever has been, but still loves more foods than most kids her age. Some of her favorites include: peas, black olives, cherry tomatoes, grilled cheese, spaghetti (with the sauce), sweet tea (the kid chugs it when she gets the chance), popsicles, strawberry ice cream, oatmeal, raisins, and cinnamon raisin bread.
-She loves to sing. Her two favorite songs right now are Amazing Grace and Jesus Loves Me. She will randomly break into song throughout the day, and I love it. She also amazes me at the songs she knows.
-She can quote a few Bible verses from memory: Eph. 6:1 and Prov. 3:5-6
-She loves to teach Jackson new things (as well as to boss him around and tell him when he's not supposed to be doing something).
-She still sleeps with her lovey, whom she loves dearly. She also likes to have blankets to snuggle with when she sleeps.
-She loves to play with other kids, and gets really excited when we go somewhere that has a nursery/childcare.
-She loves it when mommy and daddy go on a date!

Thirty-one eighteen giveaway

Check out http://blog.thirtyoneeighteen.com/ for some fun, awesome totes, purses, burp cloths, onesies, and other cute things, and while you're at it, enter the contest for a giveaway! Kimberly is super talented, and makes fun and useful things for mama and baby! If you're in need of a fun gift for a baby shower, she's got some great products, and even does custom orders. So, check out the website, enter the contest, and order some stuff!

Thoughts: "stay at home" mom

I thrive on productivity. Just ask my husband. As soon as I/we start cleaning or organizing, my energy levels soar! So, I have been struggling lately with feeling like the life is sometimes sucked out of me as a "stay at home" mom. I put that in quotations, because in reality I do work part-time (still at the Acts 2 Ministry, for those that are curious, going in one day a week and doing some work at home). As a SAHM, you'd think I'd get tons done during the day. But the reality is, I just get bare minimum done, and that's on a good day! So, when I get to the end of a day, and realize that "nothing" was accomplished, I am zapped. Not because I am necessarily physically tired (which I am), but because mentally, there was nothing to pick me up. I don't see anything checked off a list, I don't see any previously undone projects accomplished. Instead, I see a house with toys strewn about, dishes in the sink, laundry sitting in piles, mail stacked up, and wonder what I did with my whole day, anyway.

As I was walking with the kids this morning, I saw a woman heading out to her car with coffee mug and tote bag in hand, dressed nicely, obviously off to work. And I envied her. And then I felt immediately guilty. But for a moment, I remembered what it felt like to have somewhere to be, to have people who were counting on you, to have adults to speak with, to have challenges before you to master, to get to the end of the day and feel like you then had a chance to go home and relax or change your environment at least and ready yourself to face a new day.

But then, I decided I would choose to view the positive. After all, I was walking in the cool morning air with my kids. I didn't have anywhere I needed to be, and could decide my own schedule for the day. Even though I don't get much accomplished, I am making a long-term investment in my children, in my family, in my community, and in the world. (No, I am not blowing that out of proportion; I truly believe that.) I often have to remind myself that playing with my children is an accomplishment, not one that I can physically "see", but one that is felt. I am so blessed to be able to pour my time and energy into training them, to teaching them, to loving them, to running our home the best it can be (mess and all!). And for that, I am thankful.

Quotable

We went out to eat with Johnny's parents tonight at a pizza place called Humble Pie. On the way out, there were some wine bottles on the counter.
Kathryn: "Grandma, what's that?"
Grandma: "Wine."
Kathryn: "Yeah, I like wine!"

While I was rocking her to go to sleep tonight:
Kathryn: "Mama, where's Cindy?"
Me: "She's on a mission trip."
Kathryn: "Cindy come over, stay here, mama and daddy go on a date!"
Me: "Sounds good to me!"

ok, easier to compare

UPDATE: We showed this to Kathryn, and asked her "Where's Buddy?". She pointed to the first picture and then the second, and said, "Buddy here, and Buddy here!"

Just because it's fun to see, here are Kathryn and Jackson, both at 9 months old. Can you tell they're siblings? Do you think they look alike? Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Jackson at 9 months

So yes, Jackson turned 9 months old a couple of weeks ago, and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it. I'm sure nobody is complaining, though, especially after getting to see all these cute pictures and hear about what our little man is up to these days. (In case you are curious, you can compare Kathryn and Jackson by looking at Kathryn's 9 month post here.)

Jackson is a mover in his sleep, just like Kathryn was and is. He is always sure to be cuddling up to something, though, like his lovey.
A few weeks ago he was having troubles getting to sleep at naptime. He now stands at the corner of his crib, which is right at the door, and cries there because he knows that's where we come in his room. Well, after he realized it wasn't going to work, he apparently sat right now and fell asleep, sitting in the corner of his bed! Don't worry, I moved him after I took this picture!
Regarding sleep, he is finally doing much better! He goes to bed around 7:30 0r 8:00 (unless we're out late, which occurs more often in the summer), and sleeps until about 6:30 or 7:30. He is definitely more of an early riser than Kathryn ever was. He still naps 2-3 times a day, depending on how early he wakes up and how long his naps have been for the day.


He still laughs all the time, sometimes at simply nothing! He is hilarious, and has such a funny laugh! We see faces like this from him all the time:
He is crawling all over the place, and fast! He especially loves going after things he knows he shouldn't have, like his sister's cup.
Laughing again...
He woke up from a nap the other morning looking a little rough...!

He also makes this face a lot, while sucking in his bottom lip.
Some other fun facts:
-He can pop with his mouth really well too.
-He loves to give zverberts (sp?). He will do it over and over again, especially on his mama!
-He is still nursing about 4 times a day (every once in a while 3 times a day).
-He loves to eat, and eats a lot. His favorites are avocados, Cheerios, puffs, and shoes.
-He still waves bye-bye very enthusiastically.
-He has two teeth.
-He reaches out for anybody to hold him.
-He loves to cuddle.
-He loves his big sister!
-He weighs 19lb 3oz (only the 25th percentile!) and is 29.3 inches long (79th percentile!). The weight really surprised me, but the doctor wasn't concerned. He really does eat a lot; he's just very active as well!
-He still loves to babble a lot too. His most common word: "dada".