Mimosas, Snuggles, & Daddy's Nickels

On the days that I am home with Jackson, Ben will often ask if Jackson had a good day, and my reply is always "when does he not?"  I mean, seriously, between the parks, the playdates, the backyard digging, and the garbage truck spectating, our days pretty much revolve around him.  Don't get me wrong...I often have just as much as he does, but it's very rare that Jackson has a bad day.

When answering this question tonight, I also commented what a good life I think he has.  Ben was quick to respond with "don't we all?", and I guess he's right....we do.  Aside from the aches and pains that come with pregnancy {especially this time around} and the frequency at which I feel like I need to empty my bladder, life is pretty good right now.  That being said though, it'd be a whole lot better had I been able to sip on one of these at lunch earlier this week {for some odd reason, I always crave mimosas when I'm pregnant}.  My glass of ice water was pretty good, too but come August, there's a good chance we will be swinging by Mandola's on the way home from the hospital for a lemon basil mimosa.

Tuesday was a pretty laid-back day as we spent its entirety at the house.  As much as Jackson and I both love being out and about, we both seem to enjoy spending time at home more than usual these days.  Just as I'm starting to find myself with less energy, Jackson has become more interested in just playing with his toys or playing outside, and the timing has been great.  Despite the fact that neither one of us is a big TV person, we even spent a little more time than usual watching cartoons this past Tuesday morning, too.  We ate breakfast in the living room {although apparently the picnic bench wasn't quite up to Jackson's seating standards} and even did a little bit of snuggling.

A full lap and an even fuller heart.

"Hi Elmo."

Four wheelin' and fishin' for an Amos.

Now if we could only teach him to drop it instead of running off with it and breaking the line, we'd be in great shape.

It used to be that anytime something was broken or needed batteries, Jackson would say "Daddy fix it", but now, he alternates between that and "Pops fix it".  On this particular occasion, he brought me this cracked plastic Solo cup and said "Pops fix it...screwdriver".

I rarely dry my hair or put on makeup when Jackson is awake, but thankfully, he's learned a thing or two at Mimi's house.

Don't let those future blackmail pictures fool you though because he is still all boy...and throws rocks at ant mounds to prove it.

Such a sweet picture...despite its proximity to bedtime and the resulting blank stares.

You know you're a good dad when you will lie down on the sidewalk in your work clothes to have your body outlined in chalk.

This morning, we spent quite a bit of time building castles and using cookie cutters to cut both stars and hearts out of Bubber {similar but less dense than Play-Doh}.  Of course Jackson wanted two colors at once, and I did my best to keep them separated...

...but eventually the table looked like this, which is reason enough for me to believe that childhood Lindsay and Jackson would not have been friends.  That, and he also breaks his crayons.

Later this morning, we met up with the Crisp girls at their neighborhood park.  Jackson and Caroline had the best time playing together, but when I went to snap this photo and asked them to say "cheese", Caroline looked at me and smiled, and Jackson said "cheese" while also turning away from me and hopping off.  Boys.

Of course, Jackson's favorite part was climbing to the top of this.  And just think...one day soon, he'll have a little brother to teach all of these awesome tricks to, and then they can both give me heart attacks.

I'm still not exactly sure who he was talking to, but he was deep in conversation almost the entire way home.

A little bit of pre-nap selfies and snuggling.

Recently Heather and I have gotten into the habit of getting our kids together after nap to help get each other through the last couple of hours until the dads get home.  Sometimes we'll text each other, but mostly we just keep watch for each other through the window.  Jackson naps longer than her girls do though, so if her car is gone by the time he gets up, I will occasionally text her to see if they're somewhere fun and to see if we can join them.  Today we met up with them at Mayfield Park, which is one that I've never taken Jackson to.  I wasn't exactly sure how it would go {mostly because they don't have a playground}, but the kids had a great time walking around the grounds and ponds, looking for fish, and checking out the peacocks.

Looking for fish and seriously considering feeding them his goldfish...despite the fact that I had already asked him not to.  He later tripped and spilled all of them, and because some of them fell into the water, there was no reason to not throw all of them in at that point.  Convenient.

Seriously, where is this kid's mom?

The peacocks were gorgeous and even louder than I remembered.  And they were everywhere, too -- on the roof and in the trees, and of course, Jackson thought that was "so funny".

I should point out that Baby Graham was there, too, but Heather was holding him, so {unfortunately for him} he never got close enough to the water or the peacocks to make any of the pictures.

Tonight, I had a work happy hour to go to, so the boys were on their own for dinner.  I had put a roast in the crockpot that morning, but it was Jackson who decided they should also eat some orange slices with their dinner...and that they should also be dipped in A1, too {yuck!}.

Thankfully, I got home just in time for the bedtime routine and in time to witness this cuteness.

But even more importantly than that, thankfully I made it home just in time to hear one of the funniest things that Jackson has ever said.  Earlier this evening while Ben was changing shirts, Jackson pointed out "Daddy's nickels" {a word I taught him when he started calling his own boo-boos and wanted a band-aid} and then his "biiiiiig belly button".  However, things got even funnier at bedtime because when Ben was telling me the story, Jackson lifted up Ben's shirt to take another look and this time pointed to the hair and said "poo-poo on it" and "wash it off".  Jackson could not figure out what was so funny, but Ben and I were dying.  Like I've said before, parenthood is so humbling, and I can't wait until the day that Jackson tells someone that Daddy's "nickels" and belly button have poo-poo on them.

An Outer Ear Infection & The Balancing Act

I'm beginning to realize that as a parent, you walk a fine line between letting your kid run your world and being so strict that each of you is completely miserable.  The hardest part of my week is right after work when it comes time to get Jackson out of Mimi's car and into mine.  Part of me thinks {or hopes!} that the main reason that he doesn't want to go with me is because he knows what lies ahead of him {another 20+ minutes in traffic}, but it is always a struggle.

This past Monday, Jackson came down with an outer ear infection {a.k.a. swimmer's ear}.  He had told us the evening before that his ear was hurting and would wince whenever we bumped it, so on that next morning, Mimi took him to the doctor while I was at work, and sure enough -- it was infected.  Thankfully, Tylenol seemed to help {and the antibiotic ear drops quickly put an end to it}, but when it came time to make the big car switch after work that day, I definitely cut him more slack than normal.  As usual, he didn't want to get in his car seat and instead wanted in the front, so I let him.  He then wanted me to get in the back and shut all of the doors to pretend like he was driving me around.  I humored him, and he had the greatest time.  A few minutes later, I told him that it was Mommy's turn, and much to my surprise, he eagerly climbed into his car seat so that I could take a turn.  I'll be the first to admit that this trick will probably never work again, and I'm sure many parents would disagree that this is even the right way to go about it, but like I said before, it's all about walking the fine line.  I gave in a little, but I also didn't have to listen to him whine the whole way home, so for me, it was a win.

But back to the ear the infection...  Thankfully, it didn't slow him down too much this week.  We did miss out on our last week of swim lessons, which was a bummer, but after just one day of ear drops, Jackson was already saying that it was starting to "feel better".  Thankfully he was so good about letting us put the drops in, too.  Every morning and at both nap time and bedtime, he would lay across our laps and watch what is now one of his very favorite short films -- Disney's "Feast".

On Tuesday, we skipped swim lessons and hung out at home instead.  Thankfully, Jackson seemed to be perfectly content just playing around the house and in the back/front yard.  

It helped that there was a backhoe digging next door with the purpose of turning off the gas in preparation for the demo {and eventual rebuild} of the house that should happen next month.  I'm still not sure how I feel about the whole thing, but something tells me that Jackson is going to love having a loud construction site next door.  His newborn baby brother and his sleep-deprived mother...maybe not so much.

Yoga anyone?  

Despite his convincing, the dogs were not feeling it.

My little lunch date.

Helping himself to the chocolate milk and drinking it straight from the carton.

Something tells me there's a good chance I'll be able to recreate this picture in a few years.

On Wednesday, I had a work reunion of sorts -- a couple of my current coworkers {Stephanie and Ralph} and I met up with a couple of our former coworkers {Chris and Kathy} for lunch, and upon request, Chris bring along the two lovely ladies on the left {Grace and Genevieve}, too.  I hadn't seen Genevieve since shortly after she was born, and nobody else had even met her yet, so needless to say, she was the star of the show.

She didn't seem to mind though.

Time for ear drops and another viewing of "Feast".  Side note: we have not yet transitioned him to his new bed, but we do lie/play on it from time to time.

On Thursday, we spent the morning at home again just taking it easy.  We hunted rolly pollies {or as Jackson says "another pollie"}...

...and played some golf.  Please notice that almost every ball he currently owns {a.k.a. the ones that he's swiped from Daddy} is set up on a tee and his bath time foam letters are all over the ground, too, because...why not?

On the way to Jamba Juice to pick up our free smoothies in celebration of their 25th anniversary, I asked Jackson what flavor he wanted, and he responded with "chocolate shake".  Nice try, kid.

We also stopped at Target, and since I didn't need much, I decided to let Jackson walk instead of ride in the cart.  Big mistake.  I basically ended up following him around the entire store and was amazed that he somehow found both the ice cream and toy truck aisle.  Thankfully he's still at an age where I can tell him that they're not ours and that we can't take them home, but I know this answer won't suffice for long.

The days are definitely starting to get warmer.  By the time Ben got home from work, he was drenched in sweat.

Peekaboo.

On Friday, I decided to take Jackson to the Thinkery.  We hadn't been in awhile, and I wanted to get him out of the house despite the fact that it had been storming all night/early morning.  It took a little convincing {apparently Jackson has grown quite fond of staying at home}, but not long after he and Hobbes shared a rice cake snack, we were off.

The water exhibit is still one of Jackson's favorites, and he especially loves getting a chance to use one of the drumsticks, which seem to become more scarce with each visit that we make.  Note to self: buy and donate drumsticks to the Thinkery.

Turning the crank and filling the bucket above until it eventually tips over and spills water out everywhere.

Driving his train while eyeing another.  All of the moms laugh at how long the boys spend at this exhibit when they all have something almost exactly like this at home.

Another favorite exhibit -- putting planes together and launching them into the air.

I lured him out of the Thinkery by promising him that we would go feed the ducks before we headed home.  Armed with a loaf of bread, Jackson was quite the popular guy among this crowd.

Thankfully we ran out of bread and were about to head back to the car by the time the geese made their way over because they were not nearly as sweet as the ducks and pigeons.  Even I found them somewhat intimidating, so I can only imagine how Jackson felt.

Ben had gone to a funeral near the border for a friend's dad and wasn't due back home until close to bedtime, so that evening, my mom came over to play and eat pizza with us.  Of course, Jackson loved having her over and spent most of the evening fishing and digging with her.

Long hair don't care.

After recently cleaning out the guest room and converting it to a big boy room for Jackson, I had quite a few things to get rid of, so yesterday morning, I had a garage sale with Cheryl at her house.  I didn't have nearly the amount of stuff that I usually do or any big ticket items, but I still made about $100, so I was pretty happy about that.  Plus, in a way, it was almost like I got paid $100 to hang out and catch up with Cheryl.  Definitely not a bad gig if you ask me.  Meanwhile, the boys had what Ben fondly refers to as a "dudes' day" and after picking up donuts for breakfast, they went to Zilker Park.  And if you're wondering why Ben let him go to Zilker in his Elmo pajama shirt, just know that he is also a believer of the "balancing act".  Jackson originally didn't want to change out of his Elmo jammies at all, but thankfully Ben was able to talk him into wearing just the shirt and to leave the pants that have Elmo's face plastered all over them at home.

On their way home with a red balloon sword and blue holder.

And so begins Jackson's many of years of using the playscape in a way that it was not intended.

While driving his golf balls around, he would periodically turn around to check on them and to tell them to "hold on tight".  I'm still not 100% sure where he got that, but I'm thinking it must be something that he picked up while riding in the John Deere Gator with Ben's parents.

Last night, my Dad and Patty came to town, and we went out to dinner at La Mancha to celebrate my birthday.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the whole group {Grandma and Valerie came, too}, I did get this cute one of all the kids in the backseat.

You know you're a mom when you're completely okay with and actually would prefer to have someone else blow out the candles {and spit} on your birthday cake.

A quick photo op before bed.

This morning, we went to church, and after Jackson got up from his nap, we headed to Ben's parents' house to celebrate Josh's birthday.  On the way there, I decided we should pick up snow cones, and if you're wondering why his tongue does not match the color of his snow cones, it's because he traded me his sugar-free grape one after taking a taste of my super sugary banana colada one.  This kid's no fool.

I'm not quite sure this is what Uncle Josh had in mind for his 28th birthday party, but Jackson was definitely a fan.

 A family Gator ride to the neighborhood pond.

 Shooting hoops and slam dunking with Uncle Josh.

 The birthday boy with two of his very favorite people.

Tonight, as we were packing up to leave, the birds flying above us were also trying to get organized...

...and I began to wonder...who's in charge up there?  The parents or the toddlers?  Or maybe they've come to the realization that it's all just a balancing act {a.k.a. mass chaos at times} for them, too.