Life with the Liggetts: The Stubborn Gene

When Jackson began to near the "terrible twos" and started throwing tantrums, I often asked Ben if it felt like he was looking into the mirror. He didn't find my comment very funny, but he did often agree -- even if it was somewhat reluctantly. For those of you who don't know Ben, patience isn't really one of his strengths. Although he is incredibly patient with both me and Jackson, when it comes to any home improvement project or being forced to walk behind a group of slow people, he often has a hard time keeping his cool.

Lately though, Jackson has become incredibly stubborn, and I guess you could say that it's payback time. Ben says that there is no doubt in his mind that he got the stubborn gene from me and that's he just trying to figure out which one of us is worse. Personally, I like to think of myself as "determined", but I guess I have to admit that the word "stubborn" fits, too.

Between the two of us, this week has been interesting. Call it "stubbornness" or call it "good parenting", but I've spent a good portion of the week setting my expectations and enforcing them, and thankfully I think I'm winning...at least for now. There were several nights this week that we wouldn't let Jackson outside to play with the neighborhood kids until he had eaten at least one bite of his dinner, and although it took him about 30 minutes the first night, by the end of the week, he learned to eat it right up. Being more stubborn than your toddler = winning.

On Tuesday, we had swim lessons, and Jackson was ready to put his suit on as soon as he got up. Never mind the fact that we still had a couple of hours before we had to leave the house...I came around the corner and found this. Stubborn and determined. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

After swim lessons, we ran a few errands. We went to three different stores, which I'm pretty sure is an all-time record for Jackson, and he did so good at each one of them {although the snacks definitely helped}.

In fact, he did so good, I even let him buy a bouncy ball at Old Navy...

...and pick out a new toy in the bubbles section at Kohl's. Of course, he picked out the biggest thing they had -- the Bubble Fun Set, which includes all sorts of new wands and blowers.

We tried it out as soon as Jackson got up from his nap, and both he and Amos loved it. Definitely money well spent.

The water was cold, and it was almost time for bed, but that didn't stop Charlie, Jackson, and Lila from stripping down for a quick dip.

Obviously he wasn't ready for swim class to be over quite yet. The struggle is real, y'all.

A quick stop to check on the construction progress...

...followed up with trip to the grocery store.

It was a beautiful day, so we decided to have a picnic lunch in the front yard. I've also decided that picnics are the only way to keep your house clean for longer than 5 minutes when you have a toddler, so as long as it's good weather, you will find us outside.

I knew it was nap time when he let me hold him like this and rock back and forth for a good minute or so. There's no better feeling than snuggles from my sweet boy.

When Jackson got up, it was super dark outside and looked like it was going to pour at any moment, so I turned on "An American Tale", which came out in 1986 and was Ben's very favorite movie when he was little. Jackson loved it -- despite the fact that he didn't even come close to having the attention span to sit through all of it.

Thursday night, Ben had to go to a function for work, so Kyle and Steve brought Chick-fil-A over for dinner. By the time they got there, the weather had cleared back up, so we headed back outside, and then they took us to get ice cream cones.

These two are so funny together. Taking turns flying Charlie's airplane and working out a little, too.

Jackson woke up in the greatest mood on Friday -- despite the fact that he had tangled himself up in his shirt trying to get it off.

I promised him that we would go to the playground afterward Stroller Strides, so as soon as I let him out of the stroller, he stuck his tongue out for the camera and took off.

It seemed as though every elementary age student in Austin was at Zilker on a field trip, but Jackson didn't seem to mind one bit. He loves kids -- especially kids that are older than him, so in his eyes, the more, the merrier.

He loved running around with the bigger boys, and it was so cute how he thought they were playing with him...when in reality, I'm pretty sure they didn't even notice that he was there.

The funniest part was when a mom that I didn't know commented to me on how rough all of the older boys were playing and how it made her glad that she had only girls. I couldn't help but point to Jackson and my belly and respond with "yeah, well I have one little boy now and another on the way, so I guess you could say that's my future". She responded with a simple "congrats", which led me to believe that I might have caught her a little off guard.

While at Zilker, we also headed down to the springs to throw in a few rocks and then stopped by the canoe/kayak rental place to watch the boats.

Jackson sat in my lap for the longest time just watching people get in their boats and paddle off, and when I asked him if he'd like to go out on a boat one day with me and Daddy, he looked up at me with the biggest eyes and an even bigger grin and said "yeah....ride boat".

Friday evening, Kyle and Steve came over to watch Jackson so that we could go out on a date. Blue Baker for dinner, a trip to both Babies R Us and Bed Bath and Beyond, and a quick stop through the Hat Creek drive-thru for shakes -- because it doesn't get any more romantic than that.

Yesterday, after some post-breakfast snuggles on the kitchen floor {we take them when/wherever we can get them}...

...we headed to Camp Mabry for the Texas Military Forces Open House. Unfortunately, the air show portion was cancelled because of the cloudy {and potentially rainy} weather, but Jackson enjoyed it all the same, and we did get to see one helicopter land, which is more than enough for a two-year-old.

Jackson loved watching the big kids try to knock each other off of the these platforms. He really wanted to do it, too, and thankfully, the guy running it let us put him up there and pretend. What I wasn't expecting was the workout that it was to get him up there while also keeping myself upright on the moonwalk. His excitement alone made it all worth it though.

While in the back of the ambulance, they let him put on the headphones to talk/listen to the driver. They told him that after he said something, he could go up to the front and play with the lights, so of course, he said "hi"...in the quietest voice ever.

On the way back to the truck, we caught a ride in a golf cart, and it was all Jackson could do to stay awake.

Yesterday afternoon, we went to Kyle and Steve's house for dinner and to meet the new "baby chickens". As expected, Jackson loved them. Of course, he wanted to pick them up, which worried me a little, but thankfully he was so gentle and sweet.

At one point, I suggested that he tell them a story, and that's when he leaned in and said in a very matter-of-fact tone "garbage truck".

Today after church, Holly, my mom, and I hosted a bridal shower for Kaitlyn who is getting married this June. It's crazy to think the little girl who I remember wearing Barney underwear like it was yesterday is old enough to be getting married, but then again, we figured out during the shower that we've been friends for 20 years, so I guess it only makes sense.

We kept it simple, but thankfully everything turned out beautifully and delicious. Kaitlyn got a bunch of wonderful gifts, and we also had a great time catching up with old friends, making new ones, and hearing more about her fiance Andrew.

My mom with two of her Sunday School besties -- Alice and Amy

Meanwhile, the boys were having a party of their own at our house....complete with a red carpet {a.k.a. parchment paper}.

This evening when I got home, we decided to take Jackson to Hat Creek for dinner -- because a restaurant with a playground is definitely where it's at when you're a parent. He had quite a bit of energy to burn before bed, so we sat next to the playground and let him play in-between bites...and although it may sound like he was the one "winning", he definitely ate more than he would have had we forced him to eat before he played, and as an added bonus, Ben and I got to sit and talk for longer than 2 minutes, too.