Jackson is 3!

Jackson turned 3 on Sunday, November 28th. Time has flown by & sometimes it makes me sad at how fast he is growing up! I look at my mom & Ann and wonder if they ache at not being able to hold us in their laps & love on us the way they did when we were young. Of course, one of my favorite things to do to this day, is lay my head in my mom's lap & let her run her fingers through my hair. Puts me in such a relaxed state! I digress.

Jackson is such a little man these days. You can hold perfectly normal, adult conversations with him. Of course, there are a lot of why, Mommies thrown back at me, but I knew that time would come. And sometimes he gets irate at random facts of life. For example, the other day he asked what sharks eat - this is a game he likes to play. It went something like this:

J: What do sharks eat?

Me: What do you think they eat?

J: Fish.

Me: Yep, that's right!

J: What else?

Me: Sea lions.

J: (bursting into tears) Nooooo, Mommy. Not sea lions. Never. Never. I.don't.like.that!

Me: Well, Jackson just because we don't like something doesn't make it not true.

J: (snubbing) No, Mommy! It can't be true. It can't.

It was all very dramatic and similar episodes occur when we talk about lions & zebras. Then other times he will tell you what things eat, etc and not freak out about it. He's very moody like that.

Jackson went for his 3 year well check on Monday (11/29). Dr. P was very impressed with his vocabulary, counting, ABCs, etc. I told him that when Jackson is counting by himself, he'll count much higher than if I ask him to count. He said he probably gets bored with the game and just stops. He was just glad he could count.

His stats were: 38 1/4 inches - 71%

31 lbs - 43%

Tall & skinny - I was actually sort of surprised by the height stat because I would not call him tall exactly, but his pants have been getting shorter & shorter so maybe he's in a growth spurt! His weight doesn't surprise me because he eats like a bird, but Dr. P said Jackson is in control of quantity, I am in control of quality.

His robot birthday party is not until this weekend, so I will post picture then, but on his actual birthday, Daddy made giant, green dianosaur pancakes and then we took him to the zoo to ride the train & see the animals. His fav!

We didn't even have a plate big enough - he ate off the cutting board.

Yaya & Pops came to the zoo with us.

Jackson did not want to pose - he wanted to see the "hullaphants!"

He was better in this one with Yaya & Pops!

We love this little booger so much! I can't imagine a world without him. Happy 3rd Birthday, Wacko! Mommy & Daddy & ALL your family love you SO much!

Mosquitoes bite!

Emme has always been very allergic to mosquitoes. Her bites swell up big & giant and become warm & hard knots. This lasts a couple of days and then they subside. Saturday morning, we had a garage sale & since the weather was so beautiful, we let the kids spend most of the day out with us. Then Saturday evening, we went to some friends' house to watch the Tech game and the kids played out back most of the time too. Emme was eaten up with mosquito bites. Bad mommy for not putting bug spray on her! Sunday morning, she woke up with a very swollen eye. I kept touching it to make sure it wasn't tender indicating cellulitis. It wasn't so I knew it was just one of those rotten bites! We went to the zoo & it never seemed to bother her. We gave her Benadryl that night, but Monday morning, it was MUCH worse. She could barely open her eye - poor bitty! I gave her some Benadryl again and then when I picked her up from school it was so much better! By Tuesday it was back to normal. My mom said the same thing used to happen to me when I was little. Hopefully, she grows out of it too!

A few pics

Here are a few recent pics of the Wacko! The first 2 are from our trip to the zoo on Saturday. Of course, Jackson loved it, especially the monkeys & this time he liked the armadillos too! The next 2 pics are of his "duck boat." I filled the bathtub with water before putting his duck tub in. I then realized it needed a little water in it too for counterbalance. Jackson had fun moving himself back & forth in the tub by holding on to the side.

A week of many firsts!

Jackson has been one busy boy! Last Wednesday, Jackson & I played hookie (shhh...don't tell)! He had a Dr's appointment for a follow up on his ear infection & to get his 2nd flu shot. Well, not only did his ear infection not clear up, but now he has 2 ears infected. Ugh! Poor little guy. But he seems fine and so I thought we'd do something fun.

First we went to see Miss Abigail. She's 3 weeks old now & cute as a bug! I took Denise some Chick-fil-a and held Abigail while Denise & Jackson played. It was great to chat with Denise and hold a bitty baby again seeing as mine is almost 20 lbs. Jackson was MUY jealous so I can already tell it is going to be rough when another baby comes along.

Around 3, we met Aaron downtown and we all went to the ZOO! This was Jackson AND Aaron's first time at the Houston Zoo. They both LOVED it! Jackson was so cute, reaching for & waving at the animals (especially the CRAZY monkeys), pointing at things & trying to go to the giraffe. For those of you not familiar with Houston, our zoo is in the medical center and so there are many hospitals with helipads surrounding the zoo. Jackson would freeze the second he heard a helicopter & look up in the sky until he saw it at which point he begin pointing at the helicopter. It was so cute! We stayed for 3 hours & closed down the zoo -- I remember when we used to close down the bars now it's the zoo. My, how times have changed! ;) Here are some pics -- of course, I forgot the camera so we had to buy a disposable. Sorry for the quality...

Mommy & Jackson as Prairie Dogs

Jackson did not like being an eagle!

Pointing at the sea lions

Hi, Orangutan!

The Hiler Fam at the Zoo

Saturday was Jackson's first night away from Mom & Dad. He spent the night with Yaya & Pops and they had the best time! From what I hear, he slept in between them and flip flopped all night long -- that sounds about right! He woke up Sunday morning about 9am (late for him!) and ate breakfast. Any guesses to what Yaya & Pops allowed him to eat? Pears & pudding. Pudding for breakfast? Seriously? My mom said it is very similar to cereal -- hmmm... do you think I got to eat pudding for breakfast when I was little? THEN, not 45 minutes later my dad gave him blackberry cobbler & ice cream. Crazy people! Anyway, he did great and we did great, but we couldn't wait to go pick him up! Now, I'll feel more comfortable leaving him for the weekend in February when we go to Fredricksburg for Gina's wedding.