Texas Bluebonnets

Yesterday, we went with Aaron's parents to Brenham to scope out the bluebonnets and take a few pics of the munchkin in the pretty flowers. The flowers were beautiful & EVERYWHERE, but many of the unfenced locations were in sort of dangerous areas to stop. We were able to find a couple of locations where we could stop on the side of the road (yes, we are some of those "crazies" that do that sort of thing) and snap a few pictures. A few is sort of an understatement for Papa -- he took almost 300 pictures! That's why we call him the Paparazzi! ;) Jackson was very patient with us as we plopped him in the flowers 3 different times, clucking, roaring, threatening to "get" him just to get him to smile. I think you'll agree we got some pretty cute ones!

Our son, the felon -- Should we have burned this one?

Papa, Gabby & Jackson

Get me outta here!

Update on Grandmother

Apparently, Grandmother's episodes were from dehydration and possibly from having a mini stroke. Once they got her rehydrated, she stopped losing consciousness. I'm still unclear on the "passing out" leading to "reviving" her. The message in our family occasionally gets altered as it goes from person to person (kind of like the game Telephone). She has since been released from the hospital, so I guess our hub-bub was all a little premature. It did however worry my Nana, so Nana....here is something to brighten your day!

Prayer Request

My 89 year old great-grandmother has been hospitalized in Lubbock. My Nana says she keeps "passing out," they revive her, she passes out again, etc, etc. My great-uncle told Nana that it doesn't look good. Nana was planning on going out there on Tuesday and has been trying to get her flight changed, but everything is full so far. So if you feel so inclined, please pray that Grandmother will stabilize and for our family in general.

One Tree Hill...pardon my french, but what the hell?

Ok, I know this is such a teeny-bopper show, but I must confess that I generally love it and have for a long time! Aaron makes crazy fun of me for watching it and always says "Oh, good. You're watching crap again!" Every week he says this and has said this for the last 4 or 5 years. I know Tiff watches it too (Aaron made fun of her too when he found out), so at least I'm not alone.

I have not had time to watch the last few episodes and so ended up watching the latest 2 last night from my DVR. Most of the story lines are good or at least hold my attention, but several "iffy" things have caught my attention...
1. In the episode from last week, Peyton finds out that her pregnancy is endangering her life, but struggles with the idea of ending the pregnancy. At the end of the episode, Peyton who is like maybe 8 weeks pregnant feels the baby kick and takes it as a sign she should go through with the pregnancy. I mean come on.... movement at 8 weeks??? It IS TV where kids go from age 5 to in college from one season to the next, so I let that one go.

2. The BIG ONE.... in this week's episode, Dan's transplant pager has gone off & he is waiting to be prepped for surgery. In the waiting room is some stoner guy who has brought his dog in to the emergency room for some animal ailment. The nurse is highly irritated, but seeing that he is under the influence tells him to sit down and she'd call a vet. Highly unlikely, but that isn't the kicker. You see the helicopter land and a man emerges with a cooler that says "Viable Organ." They transport the heart from the helipad to the OR, but for some reason they walk it through the waiting room (hmmm...). Just as the helicopter dude is passing in front of the stoner guy, the dog starts to run off & the helicopter man trips over the leash and the heart goes spilling across the floor (double hmmm...). The dog then begins to EAT the heart. Wait WHAT??? Is this for real? It must be part of an irrational dream Dan is having. Nope. It's really how the story was written. Who writes this crap? This is what the writers came up with AND decided to GO with?

I agree with Aaron, at least for this one episode. The next episode better be written more realistically or I will be forced to stop watching it!

26 Week Update

I am now 26 weeks 1 day into this pregnancy and huger (I know it isn't a word, but "bigger" didn't seem to adequately describe my size) than ever! My doctor's office called Friday & said I passed my glucose tolerance test. My mom said that I have always been a good test taker. ;) I passed with Jackson too, so I wasn't really concerned, but it is good to know. It would explain these giant babies I seem to produce though if I did have gestational diabetes. (Not that I would want that!) My babies are healthy and we couldn't be more grateful for that! Here is a pic from tonight to show my "progress." If you compare it to the picture from 6 weeks ago, there has been significant growth.


Jackson got a hair cut FINALLY - his 2nd one! We went yesterday after school and waited for 1 hour. Ugh! We were a walk-in and arrived about 4:40pm. Let me first explain why we were late -- my students are doing a project on the Animal Kingdom and a few students asked if they could dissect an organism for extra credit. Being the science nerd I am, I said sure and agreed to help. So, I had two groups come in, one with a catfish & another with a lobster. I got the catfish going, explained what to do and turned them loose. The lobster on the other hand, was not so easy. You see, they brought the dang thing in ALIVE! Now tell me how we're supposed to dissect a live lobster? You can't without being just downright cruel, so we have to kill it all the while maintaining it's internal structure. No choice but to boil it. So we borrowed a large pot from the cooking/Home Ec lab and had to wait for the water to boil and then a little longer for the lobster to die. By the time all of that was done, it was 4:30 before I even left to go get Jackson. A day in the life of a biology teacher! So we get to Cool Cuts for Kids at 4:40 and sit down to wait. They finally take us at 5:35 but only after taking two 5:30 appointments before taking us. Moral of the story....make an appointment!

Jackson enjoyed his chicken & mac-n-cheese tonight. He took 2 reluctant bites of his asparagus and then wouldn't budge. We're working on using a fork. He will gladly use the fork if we stab the food for him, but seems to take the path of least resistance if we try to get him to stab the food himself. It's a work in progress and we'll keep trying....

Beach Bum

Yesterday Jackson went to the beach for the first time! He slept the entire way there, which was good since it took about an hour & a half due to traffic. We realized on the way there, that our camera was not in my purse like it usually is, so of course I was mucho peeved! Luckily, Gabby & Papa agreed to meet us there and came to our rescue! Thanks Gabby & Papa - we had fun!
Jackson loved the beach once we got there & got settled. I initally put SPF45 on him, but due to the intensity of the sun, Aaron suggested we put the SPF70 on him. We joked the whole time that he had SPF115 on. Later we put his rash guard shirt on which has SPF50, so in some areas Jackson was covered up to SPF165. Ha! ;) He is already the whitest white kid ever -- we need to let him get a tan, but I don't want him to burn! He played in the sand with his pail & dump trucks, watched the birds and mimicked the airplanes & helicopters. The water was a little (ok, a lot!) too cold, so we only dipped our feet. I think I saw on the news that the surf temperature was around 64 degrees. We'll take him back this summer when the water is warmer & see how he likes the ocean. For now, the beach was a hit!

Posing with Daddy

One of the brief moments he actually wore his hat

Walking on the beach with Mommy -- please excuse my pastiness!

Too cool!

The kid needs a haircut (on the agenda for today!) & the wind did nothing to disguise it!

Too cold, Daddy!

Tooth #8

Monday Jackson cut tooth #8. To this point, he had the top 4 teeth & 3 of the bottom ones. He started running fever Monday afternoon and the rest of the night. I thought he was coming down with a virus (this teething thing can be so tricky & disguise itself) -- he had a runny nose, was waking in the night & had a yucky diaper or two. I didn't think it was teething initially because there was no sign of the 4th bottom tooth, but alas I flipped him upside down, waited for him to holler, and there it was - molar #1! Phew - at least he wasn't sick! It was a few days of misery & not eating, but he finally seems just about back to normal.

Yesterday, I had my 25 week appointment. I had to drink that yucky glucose stuff for the glucose tolerance test. For those of you that aren't familiar, it tastes like really flat orange soda -ick! Other than that, everything was routine. Emerson kicked as we were listening to her heartbeat on the doppler. It sounded as if she kicked a duck or something, but it was neat!

Spring break has been pretty uneventful & I can't believe it is almost over. Boo! Tomorrow I am getting a massage (much needed) and Saturday I think we are going to take Jackson to the beach for the first time. Don't get too excited -- it's just Galveston, but it isn't far and we're curious to see how they have recovered to this point after Ike. Hopefully, I can get rid of this pastiness I have since I haven't been able to tan....

The Gordie Foundation

At the risk of sounding like I have really become my mother, I feel like I really should share this with you.

My school has recently started a chapter of The Gordie Foundation. It was started in memory of Lynn “Gordie” Bailey who died as a result of binge drinking at the University of Colorado after being there for only 4 weeks. The purpose of the club is to develop a “Circle of Trust” among the students in which they commit to knowing the signs of alcohol poisoning and more importantly, commit to helping someone who is in trouble instead of looking away or not calling for help because they don’t want to get them in trouble with their parents. We introduced this today right before Spring Break as we all know binge drinking has a tendency to occur at this time.

This club IN NO WAY ENCOURAGES OR CONDONES UNDERAGE DRINKING. It is about encouraging kids to know the danger signs so that if they are around someone who has been drinking they can help them. The slogan is “Make a call. Save a life.” Gordie's story has been made into a movie also called Haze. We showed the trailer to the movie to our students. It was very graphic, showing actual pictures of how Gordie was found, but hopefully it will make the kids stop & think!

When I think of some of the stupid stuff we did when we were in college -- believe it or not, I was pretty good (not perfect, but better than most) in high school, it's a wonder I made it! After becoming a mother, I now know why my parents were so "mean/unreasonable/totally uncool" when I was in middle & high school. Jackson is only one, but after hearing the story of Gordie, I immediately emailed Aaron & my mom to tell them that Jackson would be attending Rice University and living at home FOREVER! My sweet Momma replied with "I will remember you said that. You have no idea how often I cried at night worrying about both you and Brennan." She also reminded me that we cannot shelter our children forever. Not only will they turn out to be major 40 year old freaks that live in their mother's basement, but they will not learn the right things to do. Instead we have to teach them to make good decisions and to hear their own voice above that of the crowd's. My mom is so wise and I am so grateful now that she & my Dad were "so totally uncool" back then! Thank you & I love you both!

Zach's Birthday Party

Yesterday we went to a birthday party for one of Jackson's little friends. Zach is in Jackson's class and his mom & I have been friends for about 4 years. We teach together & she and I seem to flip flop being pregnant. There's a joke in the school that the White Wing (our school halls are color coded) is very fertile. In the last 3 years, 4 babies have been born just within our hall and then there's Emerson on the way. There were only about 2 other kids Jackson's age at the party, but Zach has a 3 yr old brother and there were several other family friends with kids that age. One of the couples owns a bouncy house and brought it. The older kids had a blast jumping in it, but when they all got tired of it, Jackson had a turn! He had so much fun walking around inside trying to keep his balance. Then a little 2 year old girl got in & was jumping...Jackson loved it! She bounced him around everywhere and he was just laughing and having the best time. Once she got out, Jackson knew what he was supposed to do and he started jumping too. It was so cute! Aaron & I talked about how we might look into getting one of those things sometime in the future. It was instant entertainment!

Here are a few pictures:

Jackson enjoying his party hat!

The birthday boy & his family!

Zach wasn't in the best of moods when we were trying to get a picture of the boys together, so we'll have to try that later...

Today we celebrated my Nana's 70th birthday. Her real birthday was yesterday, but we didn't celebrate until today. We went to eat at a boat called Redfish Seafood & Grille, but when we opened the menu we discovered it was more of a sushi place than what we had expected. We were all able to find something we wanted to (or in my case, could) eat & it ended up being delicious! Then we went back to Nana's so that she could open her gifts. My mom & uncle got her an iPod, so then we spent the rest of the afternoon setting up the iTunes and teaching her how to download music and work the iPod. She was so excited to be able to carry her Andre Bocelli with her. It was cute! Happy Birthday, Nana! We love you.

This week...

Sunday Denise & Abigail came over. We have been playing some kind of strange scheduling game for about 2 months trying to get together. Finally the stars aligned and Miss Abigail & Mr. Jackson got to play. Not that they really played together since they are about a year apart, but I Denise and I had a lovely visit! I'm sure Abigail & Emerson will have much more in common and will be fast friends! Now, if we could just get Aaron & Joel together....

Wednesday, Jackson and I decided to try our neighborhood play group again. We went back in October about 4 or 5 times. Everyone was really nice & welcoming, but with Jackson not walking yet and all the other kids being 2-5, it just wasn't as fun for him. Now there seems to be more kids closer to his age and even some younger. We had a great time! The moms are super nice and I even found out that 2 of them used to work in my district. Jackson was all over the place so I actually didn't get to visit with the moms that much. He climbed up on the playground equipment just like the big kids. He did take one tiny tumble off the side, but he didn't even cry when he landed in the gravel. (Sounds way worse than it was!) Anyway, we were there for a little over an hour and when I picked him up and started walking to the car, he started screaming. He obviously LOVED it! He was utterly exhausted when we got home, but it was well worth it for him to have so much fun! I have penciled it in to my calendar as a weekly event. This summer we'll be able to attend the Thursday morning play group also and they are considering a swim time too. Hopefully, I can con Yaya, Gabby or Nana into watching Emerson so that I can take Jackson to that once a week or every other week. We'll have to work something out.

Well, now we're off to another fun filled weekend. We have 2 birthday parties, an anniversary party and Bryan & Candace are coming into town! Should be great especially with this great weather! Yall have a good one too!

15 Months -- it's a LONG one!

Jackson turned 15 months old on Saturday. 15 months has FLOWN by! He had his well check yesterday. Dr. P was amazed with his vocabulary...as I was listing off all the words he can say (mama, dada, bye-bye, hi, milk, cat, dog, yaya, go, ball), the body parts he can point to (nose, ears, belly button & occasionally eyes) & the animal sounds he can mimic (dog, cow, duck, bird to which he says "caca" - instead of caw-caw!), Dr. P said "All I wanted was at least 3. Impressive!" That's Jackson in a nut shell -- impressive! I'm sort of biased though. He also understands short commands like get your pappy, pick up your cup, let's go outside, find the ball, etc.

I asked about Jackson's recent aversion to veggies and whether or not we should be giving vitamins. Dr. P said that we can give Polyvisal, but that if it is only one food group he is avoiding, he should be getting all he the nutrients he needs. Jackson will eat broccoli, avocado, corn, potatoes (sweet or russet) and carrots if they have been cooked with a roast, but most other veggies end up on the floor, especially green beans. We continue to offer them at every meal, so hopefully he will soon come out of this phase & go back to eating his veggies. I feel like all he eats is mac-n-cheese, chicken, steak, noodles & grilled cheeses, but as I listed the vegetables he eats, I felt a little better about it. He will tear up some fruit too! Dr. P suggested that we offer ONLY vegetables and he will eat them if he "gets hungry enough." Seems cruel though. He even suggested we do that for a whole week. Overall, he wasn't concerned about his eating. I also, asked about autism -- this is something that TOTALLY freaks me out, especially being a teacher and being that it is way more common in boys than girls, I thought I should ask about the link between that and vaccinations. Dr. P said there is no evidence that the 2 are related unless you listen to "Hollywood's most respected doctors, like Jenny McCarthy, who are also trying to sell books & make appearances on Oprah." That Dr. P is a funny one! The whole time we were talking Jackson was bouncing off the walls, babbling and playing with toys. Aaron & I were juggling him the whole time. Based on all of that, Dr. P said he could tell us right now that our child is NOT autistic! LOL! A relief nonetheless.

Here are his latest stats:

Height: 31" - 50th percentile

Weight: 21 lbs 13 oz - 15th percentile

Head Circumference: 18" - 50th percentile

Yaya was worried about Jackson being in the 10th percentile for weight at the 12 month well check. Hopefully, the 5 percentage point gain will ease her mind! ;)

Our non-autistic child who would barely sit still for a chair pic!