Today was Jackson's very first day of school. And if you're wondering how I got such a great picture, let's just say that M&M's are like magic and "say candy" works a whole heck of a lot better than "say cheese".
Over the summer, I had decided to sign him up to attend preschool at our church from 9 to 1 on both Tuesdays and Thursdays, and despite the fact that I sobbed at the very thought of sending my first-born baby away to spend more one-on-one time with the baby growing in my belly, I knew deep down that it would be the best thing for him. He was all smiles till it was time for drop-off, but thankfully, he stopped crying as soon as I left the classroom. I stood around the corner just to make sure, and when I got back to the car, I may or may not have shed a few tears, too.
The four hours went quickly, and when I got there to pick him up, his teacher Ms. Kathy was in the hall. When I asked her how Jackson did, she let out a big sigh and casually mentioned that he had trouble with transitioning from one thing to the next and that he had thrown himself on the ground when it was time to leave the playground. Definitely not the best report, but somewhat understandable for a two-year-old who had never been to school before. The assistant also commented that it had been a long day {although I'm not sure if she meant for her, for Jackson, or for everyone} and that Jackson kept taking his shoes off {which I explained was probably because we take them off at home}, and then on the ride home, Jackson said very matter-of-factly, "I throw sand on kid." Yep, definitely not the successful first day that I had hoped for, but he did say that he had fun and that he wants to go back, so at least there's that.
After nap time, we met up with Lori, Charlie, and Lucy at Amy's Ice Creams and celebrated the first day of school with a rainbow sprinkle covered ice cream cone.
While on the playground, Lori and I also met a girl who was pregnant with her ninth baby...yes, really. Nine. She tried to convince us that while most people stop at two, it actually gets easier the more kids that you have, but neither of us were buying it. She said that her oldest was 13 and that all of them were about a year a half apart, and when I asked her for her secret, her response was that she home schools. Again, I'm not buying it. As much as I would love to raise 9 kids {who will all go through the terrible twos at some point or another} and drive a 15 passenger van {with a license plate that reads "Choose Life"...again, yes, really}, I just don't think I have it in me.
Last week, I took Jackson and Dean up to the church for "Meet the Teacher", and although I really wanted to get a picture of Jackson and Ms. Kathy together, Jackson was not the least bit interested. I settled for a picture out in the hall instead, and even that proved to be somewhat difficult.
"Hold your picture up so that I can see it" doesn't work nearly as well as "say candy".
That morning, I had promised Jackson that we would stop by Chick-fil-A on the way home. Come to find out, the location on the way home doesn't have a playground, but a promise is a promise so we pressed on and found one that did. I never take Jackson out to eat {especially not by myself}, but I was amazed how old he suddenly seemed sitting across from me. His eyes never left the playground, which is where we headed as soon as he was done.
It was incredibly chaotic and loud in there {see Dean's face in the next two pictures for proof}, but thankfully, he is able to nurse just about anywhere, so while Jackson ran around at the speed of light, Dean got his lunch in, too.
On the way out, Jackson and I treated ourselves to a little bit of ice cream. Unfortunately, his fell off the cone and onto the ground as soon as we got to the car, but thankfully for Jackson, I love him even more than I love ice cream, so I offered to share mine.
Dean was just happy to have a full belly and a clean diaper.
On Friday night, a bunch of couples from our Sunday School class met up at Gourmands Neighborhood Pub for dinner and drinks. Jackson spent the night at Pops and Memaw's house, and Dean went with us. Just like "Sweet Home Alabama", we had a baby...in a bar, but he did so well. Despite how loud it was in there, he slept in his car seat almost the entire time and only woke up at the end because it was time for him to eat.
Watching "Winnie the Pooh" outside on the big screen.
With Jackson away, we all slept in a little later than normal and then spent a good chunk of the morning just admiring and sweet talking this little guy. He started smiling for us last week, which is so fun, but he definitely makes us work for it.
Saturday evening was Miles's 5th birthday party, which is absolutely crazy since it seems like just yesterday we were up at the hospital admiring that sweet little newborn. Unfortunately, I was so busy chatting with all of the other guests {go figure} that I didn't get any pictures of the birthday boy, but in my defense, I can almost guarantee that he would have too busy to pose for me anyway. Jackson had the best time, and when we left, he was both sleepy and sweaty, which in my opinion are obvious signs of a great party.
Mmmmm....black icing.
The rest of us were tired, too, but of course, Dean kept the party going for both me and him that night.
On Sunday morning, we took the boys to Pease Park to play in the splash pad and on the playground...and of course to dig.
Until I became a mom, I had no idea just how much of a correlation there is between the words "it's a boy" and the amount of time spent digging in sand, rocks, mulch, etc.
Tuesday evening, my mom brought Donn's BBQ over, and Holly and Nelson joined us for dinner. I dressed Dean for the occasion, but unfortunately, he had a blowout diaper shortly before everyone got there, so I quickly snapped a picture {waist up, of course} and texted her before carefully stripping him down.
Jackson absolutely loved having all of them over at once and being the center of attention. During bath, we pulled out the shaving kit that Holly and Nelson had bought him, and Mimi and Aunt Holly did their best to convince him to use "just a little" and to "save some for next time".
Um, yeah...something like that. Jackson obviously thought differently.
Of course, Dean got loved on a little that night, too.
Nelson even held Dean for the very first time -- although Holly did somewhat corner him and gave him no other option. The only thing better than Nelson's expression is the look on Dean's. Obviously neither one of them was very sure about the situation.
Yesterday, Dean and I ran a few errands while Jackson was at my mom's house, and although he may not look like he was enjoying it, he really was such a great little shopping buddy. Aside from having to sneak into a Target dressing room for a quick diaper change and some milk, he was perfectly happy to just ride around in his car seat.
One of the highlights of this week was that the free 8x10 of our church family picture came in. As a little girl, I used to flip through the church directory dreaming of the day that I'd have a cute little family of my own, and now here we are. I am so thankful to be the wife/mom of this adorable crew...and am so glad that this photo features a tiny almost-2-week old baby and not a big ol' 38-week pregnant belly.
I'm also thankful that it's a pretty good picture of both boys because as I've found out, getting a good one of them together is not an easy task.
Exhibit A.
Exhibit B.
Exhibit C.
Getting a cute picture of them separately is more than doable.
But together? Pretty much impossible.
Oh well. Practice makes perfect, and I'm not a quitter -- especially when my babies are this gosh darn cute.
