It's A Wonderful Life

Lately it seems as though Jackson's favorite phrase is either "mine do it" or "Jackson do it".  Whether it's using his fishing pole or giving himself Tylenol {he's currently cutting his 2-year molars}, he wants to do it all by himself -- even if he's not really able to and even if takes him forever.  More often that not though, these phrases are eventually followed up with a "help you" when he finally realizes that he does in fact need help -- even if it's just a little bit.

It's amazing how much his vocabulary is taking off these days.  At night, he'll lie in bed and tell himself all sorts of stories to the point that he's cracking up laughing at himself.  He's not speaking in complete sentences quite yet, but we can always tell what he's talking about, and he moves from one subject to the next so quickly.  He'll often start chanting, too, and some of his favorites include "gar-bage truck...gar-bage truck" and "Char-lie back...Charlie...back" {Charlie and his parents just moved back home after being away for a couple of months for a kitchen/bathroom remodel}.

Another super cute thing that he says is when he's looking for something {for instance a train while riding in the car or a cereal box in the pantry}.  He'll say "cereal, are you?" in the same sing-songy voice that I use to say "where are you?" when he's hiding from me, and then, whenever he finds what he's looking for, he'll say "ere-is" for "here it is".

My absolute favorite though is when he makes a burping noise, looks around, and says "Hobbes tooted".  Seriously, this kid is all boy.  We're trying to teach him to say "excuse me" after tooting or burping {because right now, he just looks at us and laughs}, and thankfully he's starting to catch on, so after he says "Hobbes tooted", he'll usually say "goo-fy" {excuse me}, too.

Jackson loves when "Cake" {Kate} and "Lah-la"/"the other Cake" {Lila} are outside, and he was in Heaven when Kate suggested that he lie down so that she could draw him using sidewalk chalk.

Running...

...running...

...and more running.

A boy who takes off his jammies is one who has to wear his sleepers inside-out.

Showing off his most recent boo-boo.  I hate that he's always getting so many scrapes and bruises, but as Ben put it, I better get used to it because his arms and legs will more than likely look like this for years to come.

Such a sweet picture, and if you ask me, the camo-wearing dad and shirtless, sucker-eating kid just make it that much classier.

12+ years ago when Ben and I started dating, I so sweetly made it known that I would rather drive with the windows up, and now I can't go anywhere without a certain little someone in the back insisting "windows down".  Paybacks are rough!

While making French toast, I walked to the other side of the kitchen to grab something and then turned back around to see this.  "What's wrong, Mom?"

Excuse the raccoon eyes, but walking down the convenient store construction site after swim class has become a regular thing now.  They weren't doing any digging on Tuesday, but they were removing the tanks and all of the gas inside, which was apparently pretty cool, too.

The promise of pretzels in the car was the only way that I was able to lure him away.

We love our house, all of the shade that our huge trees provide, and our proximity to Shoal Creek, but we do NOT love the mosquitoes and are therefore having someone come out every two weeks to spray for them.  So far, it seems to help, and as another bonus -- who needs cable when you have the Mosquito Squad?

Ben had to work late that night, so I decided to try my hand at being "the fun parent" and treated Jackson {and myself} to a dinner of burgers, nuggets, and chocolate shakes.

A little bit of bathtub fishin'.

Taking a picture for dad with his very favorite page in the Emergency Vehicles book.

When he woke up on Friday, he asked to go swimming again {apparently two days of swim lessons in one week isn't enough}, but I did my best to get him excited about going to Stroller Strides instead.  A few minutes later he said "cookie" and then clarified by saying "M&N cookie", and then I had to break his heart by explaining that we weren't going to the mall but to Zilker Park instead.  Apparently Ben has created a {cookie} monster.

Jackson ended up lucking out though because on our way to class, the drizzle turned to rain, and I chickened out and decided to head to the mall to run a few quick errands instead.  Nevermind that he was riding in an umbrella stroller -- he wanted my umbrella, too!

And there was no convincing him that we no longer needed it once we were inside.

Jackson and his "M&N cookie".  I guess he knew what he was talking about after all.

After the mall, we met up with a few Stroller Strides moms and kiddos at My Gym so that they could burn off some energy despite the rain.

Raising boys is not for the faint of heart.

That evening, Ben and I went to the WTS Heart of Texas Chapter's gala and had a great time gambling the night away.

Meanwhile Jackson spent the night in Round Rock with Pops and Grandma, and we could tell by the enormous grin in almost all of the photos that they sent that he wasn't having any fun at all.

The next morning, Ben and I took advantage of the fact that our toddler was away and slept in.  I forced myself to stay in bed till 11 and woke up feeling better than I have in a long time.  Kyle and Steve brought Jackson back over shortly before his nap, and that evening, we went over to the Sotos' house for dinner.  Cheryl and I often get together on the days that she just has Avery, so Jackson was super excited about playing with Miles, and Miles was so sweet about playing with him, too.

I really wanted to get a picture of the three of them together, but Jackson was not nearly as cooperative as these two cuties, so the one above will have to do.

Today, we spent the morning just playing at home and across the street with Evelyn and Harper.  These three kids play so sweetly together {the girls definitely help influence the tone}.  They ate {healthy kale-filled} Popsicles...

...and did lots of hand-holding too.  Jackson took Evelyn by the hand and said "c'mon, Evelyn, mine house", and as they walked off together, Harper hollered "I want to hold hands, too" and grabbed his other one.  This sweet boy has no idea just how good he has it.

At one point, he fell down in the grass, and both girls came running to help him up.  It didn't take him long to realize this cause-and-effect relationship though, so falling down quickly became his new thing.  Again, this sweet boy has it so rough.

Doing his best to fit in and looking super cute in the process.

This evening, we went to Kyle and Steve's house for dinner.

As if Jackson weren't already Meemaw's favorite, him wanting to help her wash {the front right corner of} her car certainly helps.

Reading bedtime stories to not only Jackson but to Corduroy and Hobbes, too -- all while wearing stickers all over his face, and I've never been more in love.

It's a wonderful life, and this face tells me that he agrees.