2 Years Old

Last week my baby turned 2 years old!  I can't believe how big he is an how fast time has gone.

His birthday fell on a Friday so Arnold and I took the day off of work to spend with Jackson.  On Friday's my mom takes him to a dance class so it was neat to get to see that.  This dance class day was their Halloween celebration so Jackson got to go in his costume.

It was really fun to watch him in his class.  They did lots of jumping, stomping, clapping, spinning, and trying to follow instructions.

After dance class we went to my parents house for lunch, and then home for a nap.  After nap time we opened gifts, which Jackson was really into this year.

Jackson got three puzzles, a Sesame Street toy and ladybug ball spinning toy.  He also got a spoon, fork and knife, which seemed to be his favorite.

After presents we had one of his favorite meals, tacos, because it involves cheese, olives and beans.

After dinner it was time for cake!  Jackson we very excited about this.  We had been talking about his birthday for a while so he knew about the cake and candles.  We sang Happy Birthday, Jackson blew out the candles himself, and then he dug in!

It was great day!  

The next day we had a small family party in the afternoon.  Jackson is into Elmo now so I decided to sort of go with that theme.  I did a little bit of decorating and made my best attempt at an Elmo cake.  

People who came were grandma and grandad, nana and papa, aunt Andriana, aunt Mechelle, uncle Bill, and cousin Nikki.  We hung out for a little while when everyone arrived, snacking on grandad's cheese and some veggies.  Then it was present time!

Jackson has some very generous family members as he was spoiled with lots of gifts.  He got some trains, a ton of sports apparel, books, Elmo hat and mittens (made by nana), bubbles, a Bears hat, Little People airplane, broom and dustpan, microphone, puzzle, school bus, and fire truck.  He also got a few two dollar bills.  Jackson scored big and was very excited about everything he got!

After opening gifts we sat down for a dinner or ribs, potato salad, and baked beans (another favorite food of Jackson).  Next we cake time.  This didn't go over very well though.  I showed Jackson his cake before everyone came over but when it was time to sing and have cake, Jackson wanted nothing to do with it.  We didn't end up singing or giving Jack any of his Elmo cake.  After a while he wanted a cupcake and we were able to light a candle in that, but there was still no singing.  

Jackson had some chocolate ice cream with sprinkles too, which was a hit!  

Overall it was a wonderful party and great birthday weekend.  My baby is 2!

Working Hard

Since I did not blog in so long, there was a lot I didn't write about.  I'm trying to catch up.  This post should have been done at the beginning of May.

Jackson likes to build tall towers with his large Duplo blocks.  He's gotten pretty good at it and I noticed as the tower gets taller, his face works harder too.  Take a look:

Did you see it?  It was hard to get a good camera angle because of where he was playing so incase you didn't see it, here are the highlights:

He's so funny!  When he starts building the tower, he doesn't turn his lip up but as the tower gets taller, the lip goes up more.  I haven't noticed him making this face when he's concentrating on anything else.  We'll see if it carries over later.  He's a funny guy!

We're Back!

We're back!  Finally!  It has been WAY too long.  I can't believe it has been 2 and a half months since I posted last.  This is not ok.  There is so much to update on, I don't even know where to start.  Let's begin with video.  Here is Jackson playing.  He is now 19 months old.

Jackson is doing so much now!  He talks all the time and definitely has preferences for just about everything.  The words he has now are:

• mama
• dada
• Willow (wiwo)
• nana
• papa
• grandma (mamama)
• grandad (dadada)
• yes
• no (mo)
• up (upa)
• down (ddd)
• bath time (ba ba)
• thank you (tha tha)
• uh-oh
• baby
• hi!
• keys (ca ca)
• car (ca)
• dog (huh huh) like a dog panting
• duck 
• basket ball (ba ball)
• ball (ba ball)
• water (wawa)

Jackson also knows the sounds that the following animals make:

• dog
• cat
• duck
• cow
• sheep
• goat
• horse
• pig
• elephant
• tiger
• lion
• dragon
• dinosaur (the last four all make the same sound)

Jackson's favorite foods right now are:

• milk
• cheese
• strawberries
• ham
• beans (any type except the green ones)
• olives (green and black)

Jackson's favorite toys to play with right now are:

• balls
• bubbles
• drawing
• Duplo Legos
• puzzles

• 

  Farm Mash-Up and eggs

Jackson also loves to vacuum as can be seen in these action shots.

 

Jackson loves taking Willow on walks.  It usually takes us about 20 to 25 minutes to walk 2 blocks and back because of slow walking, trying out different surfaces to walk on, feeling the tree trunks, and pointing out every moving car, truck, van, bus, airplane, and helicopter that goes by.  (That's a lot when you live in the city.)

Jackson also still loves to read books.  He prefers board books and likes to read really any book.  He will read the books independently but loves when read to.

Jackson really likes brushing his hair, putting chapstick on, and putting lotion on my legs.

(I have to say, I feel like I'm writing a personal ad for Jackson and for all my SPED people, I'm writing his PLOP).

Jackson LOVES to dance and listen to music.  He likes Jim Gill's songs and Super Simple Learning songs.

Jackson gives us kisses AND hugs now, which is the best!  Now we're just waiting for the "I love you".

First Pair of Shoes

Jackson's a pretty good walker these days.  This winter has been bad so we haven't gone out much, but he does walk around Target a lot, often pushing his stroller.  Last week the weather was starting to get nice so we decided to hit up Stride Rite.  Jack got his feet measured (size 6 wide), and we tried on a few pairs.

When I first took a pair of shoes out and put them on the floor, Jack tried to step into them.  Super cute.  I go them on his feet and for half a second he wasn't a fan, but then started walking around with them on like a pro!  He was so funny.  He would take a couple of steps, then bend over and touch the shoes, and then walk some more and repeat.

We decided to go with the Step 2: Early Walkers which are super flexible and Jackson seemed to be comfortable wearing them.  They only have two different color choices in his size, navy and grey, and blue and green.  We decided to go with these:

And Jack is super excited about them!

He loves to carry them around the house and try to put them on.  He also knows that now when we go out, he puts on his hat, coat, and shoes.  So cute!

Yesterday it was actually nice outside (before the 6 inches of snow we got this morning), and Jackson took Willow for a walk.

He held her leash and they walked down the street with Jackson's new shoes on.  How fun!  Until Jackson tripped and scraped his face.

Poor baby!  He's only tripped a few times with his shoes on, but I guess this happens when you wear shoes.  (Happens to me all the time.)  He hasn't fallen since then and his fall hasn't seemed to discourage him or his fondness of his shoes.  My baby's getting so big!

Gym Class

A few months ago I decided I wanted to enroll Jackson in gym class.  We are so blessed to have my mother-in-law and mom watch him while Arnold and I work.  I LOVE this and wouldn't change it but he also doesn't get much time with peers.  So after some research and trial classes, I decided on My Gym in Skokie.  They sing and do some stretching exercises and then the kids are free to play on the equipment.  The teachers set up the gym differently each week so there's always something new.  They also bring out swings and other special equipment.  After free time, they teachers bring out a small ball pit and a bunch of noisy toys, and this is supposed to be "separation time" where parents hang back while the kids play.  After that the teachers do some songs with puppets, and then we sing out goodbye song.  This all sounded perfect for Jackson!  Thanks to a very generous gym membership, we have been going every Saturday for a few months now.

When we first started going, Jackson was very apprehensive to do almost anything.  He didn't want to try any of the equipment or play with any of the toys, and got upset when the teachers would talk to him.  He also wouldn't leave my side and certainly wouldn't interact with any of the other children.  This went on for a few weeks, with only slight improvement with separation and social interaction.  So I decided Jackson might do better if just Arnold took him and I stayed home.  The first week only Arnold and Jack went, there was giant snowstorm that morning and Jack was one of two students at the class.  He did great socializing and separating from Arnold, but we didn't really know if that was from the small amount of people, or no mommy.  The next week when he went with Arnold he was a little clingy, but better.  He played with other kids and on the equipment, and didn't get upset when the teachers talked to him.  Since then, he interacted and separated more every week.  Yesterday, Jack did great!  He climbed through the giant tunnel,

went down the slide,

climbed on the mats,

climbed on the ladder,

and swung in the "gondola".

He also played in the small ball bit,

and danced and kissed the sheep during music time.

He played with his friends Erik, Zara, Ryan, and another Jackson.  He separated from Arnold pretty quickly and approached other kids.  He even let one of the teachers pick him up and put him on some equipment!  I love that he is separating more and interacting!  I am a little sad that I haven't been able to watch him but I know he does better with Arnold.  In a few weeks I'll try going with him and see what happens.  Right now I'm just loving that he loves gym class!

Mr. Independent

I've been pretty busy these days.  I'm not sure if you realize it or not, but I'm almost 16 months old and doing pretty much everything by myself.  Let me fill you in on everything I am taking care of now:

-Home repairs

-Cleaning

-Personal hygiene

(teeth brushing and deodorant application) 

(hair combing)

(nail clipping)

-Helping myself to snacks

-Helping myself to some TV

(Mom put this "don't touch"sign on the TV but I still figured out how to turn it on using the remote.  Doesn't she know how old I am now??)

-Setting the table for dinner

-Caring for the young

-Caring for the old

(clipping daddy's toenails)

-Watching over stuffed animals so they don't get scared at night

It's a lot to care of but someone's got to do it!  Especially since mommy doesn't always do it right!