When Jackson was a newborn and spent most of the day crying inconsolably, I often wondered "is this what I really wanted?" I had always wanted to be a mom, and I loved that precious baby more than anything or anyone, but those days were so hard -- much harder than I ever imagined that they would be. I never would have admitted any of that at the time, but thankfully, all of that was just a stage {as is most of baby/toddlerhood} and nothing like our days are now.
These days, Jackson is such a joy to be around, and I absolutely love our days together. Yes, he has tantrums {what 2-year-old doesn't?}, but for the most part, he is such a happy kid, and we have so much fun together -- so much fun that I almost don't even remember the baby with the reflux and all of the screaming that came with it. His growing up has definitely been bittersweet. And speaking of growing up, Jackson got a much-needed haircut this week and aged a little bit more right before my eyes. Again, bittersweet.
Tuesdays have become our day to just hang around the house, and this week's Tuesday was no exception. Jackson kept himself busy playing both inside and out, and I did my fair share of playing with him while also getting a few things done around the house here and there {with a few breaks to give my feet and back a rest, too}.
This past fall, we inherited this plant from John Miller -- the very first neighbor that we met {who poked his head over the fence to say "hello" while I was taking a break from all the moving and everyone else was getting another truck load} and who with his wife Carolyn built the house two doors down from us in 1957, raised two boys, and has since moved out of state to be closer to family.
I had no idea the plant would be so beautiful, and now I'm just hoping that I can keep it alive so that there will always be a piece of the Miller family in Allandale.
It's moments like these that make me realize that this boy is, without a doubt, his father's son.
I would never even consider putting my feet anywhere but the footrests, but Ben is always looking for ways to break the "rules" and have more fun. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that this next kid is a boring rule-follower like me.
Jackson somehow found a stick of Ben's deodorant on the front porch, so of course, we both needed some. My knees have never stayed so fresh and dry.
He's a rule-breaker, and he's fast, too. One minute, he's filling up a bucket of water for all of his water blasters and guns...
...and the next minute, he's inside {while I'm still outside picking up} helping himself to the contents of our fridge.
Post-nap snuggles with Mommy -- complete with a movie and snack while it stormed outside. I decided to try something different and made a trail mix using almonds, craisins, and chocolate chips. He wasn't too keen on the almonds, but he liked the craisins...until he realized that there was chocolate in it, and then he ate nothing but the chips. Jackson 1, Mommy 0.
Daddy somehow lucked out that evening and got some some snuggling time, too. We're still not exactly sure why Jackson was so cuddly that evening {although we're thinking it had to do with the storm}, but we definitely took advantage of it.
Goofing off at Mimi's house.
Our genius of a kid built these slides all by himself, and I'm not biased at all.
On Thursday, we went to Stroller Strides at the mall and then stuck around just long enough for him to participate in the craft, too. While all of the other kids seem perfectly content to just stand around in one area and make a craft after we work out, my kid is ready to run as soon as I let him out of the stroller. Shocking, I know. Oh, and in case you're wondering what he made, it's a duck. Because, obviously, right?
The real reason he will sit through an hour-long workout -- an "M&N" cookie.
And no trip to the mall is complete without a stop to say "hello" to the fish and to the kids' shoe department at Nordstrom to swipe a balloon.
Meanwhile I was looking as wonderful as ever. While all the other shoppers were wearing the latest fashion trends, I was sporting some awesome boob sweat.
While at the mall, we also bought some Mother's Day gifts for all of the wonderful moms/grandmothers in our life. He may only be two, but he already knows the way to both his Mimi and his Memaw's hearts.
Helping me make the bed, which is a perfect example of why it takes me 5 times as long to do something with his "help" and the reason that I try to do so much when he is napping.
Pre-kid Lindsay had no idea that this would one day be considered "eating out" and such a staple in my diet.
Jackson officially has a favorite sucker flavor -- root beer {yuck!}.
And he will search the entire container until he finds one.
Yesterday morning, an excavator showed up next door, and I knew that we were in for a loud weekend.
I found out a few weeks ago that our neighbors plan to demo their house and build a new one -- and although Jackson will love having a construction site right next door, all I can think about is nap time, my soon-to-be newborn, and my soon-to-be-sleep-deprived self.
Breakfast with a view.
Later that morning, we met up with Cheryl and her kids at Jumpoline, but the only problem was -- we went to two different locations. After a few minutes of jumping and horseback riding, we realized what had happened, so Jackson and I got back in the car and drove to the other location.
Cheryl and I had a great time catching up while the kids played, and Jackson did his best to keep up with Miles and ran/jumped around till he was completely worn out. Although I'm pretty sure he still had more energy than me even at that point.
None of them were too enthused about taking a picture, but aren't they the cutest? I just love these kids so much.
Jackson and his best girl Avery.
Miles was so sweet and held the little kids' hands and showed them how to look both ways before crossing the street. Earlier this week, he had told Cheryl that we could watch the "babies" while he and "Lindsay's big guy" {a.k.a. Ben} jumped. Oh, Miles...he always has us laughing about something.
So thankful for our screened-in back porch and it's ability to satisfy Jackson's need to be outside even when it's sprinkling out.
When it was time for Jackson to go down for a nap, the construction had not yet started next door, but just in case, I turned Jackson's sound machine all the way up and brought in a box fan, too. It sounded like his room might take off at any minute, but he slept great, and when he eventually woke up, we treated ourselves to popsicles.
And then spent some time in the garage watching our driveway turn into a lake.
As soon as it stopped raining, we decided to get a closer look at the excavator. Just look at that smile!
Ben went to Dallas yesterday to help out with Habitat for Humanity {and will be home any minute now -- not that I'm counting or anything}, which left me and this guy all on our own for the evening. I didn't feel like cooking, so Jackson and I went out to eat and had what I'm pretty sure is our very first meal out together just the two of us.
An entire glass of ice water was spilled all over the table and all over the two of us, but overall, things went well. He watched ESPN while I tried to carry on a conversation {he's quite the man in training}, but he ate great, and let me eat, too, which is all that really matters. And I have mentioned how skilled he is at using chopsticks?
Afterwards we headed over to Northwest Park to burn off some energy, which was muddy but fun.
This morning, Kyle and Steve came over. The plan was to go to Touch-A-Truck first thing, but as soon as we saw/heard that this was happening next door, we decided to do a little spectating with the rest of our neighbors first. We left after they had knocked the bulk of it down, which only took about 20 minutes or so, which is crazy because something tells me it took a lot longer than that to build it.
Ben's company volunteered to bring a truck to Touch-A-Truck, which scored us free VIP tickets and included early entrance, up-close parking, and breakfast tacos. It's a good thing that we parked close, too, because this was Jackson's preferred means of getting there.
Jackson {and Pops} had a great time checking out all of the trucks -- climbing up into a lot of them and honking the horns, too.
Their very favorite truck was this one though -- for obvious reasons.
When Steve put his Wheeler hat on Jackson and looked at the camera with a smile bigger than I had ever see before, this pregnant and hormonal girl just about lost it.
They had a lot of other fun events at Touch-A-Truck, too -- a petting zoo, fishing, a bounce house, glittery tattoos, and even some live music.
When Kyle and Jackson first sat down to listen to the music, I thought that there was no way that Jackson would last very long, but he definitely surprised me. Mr. Will is a well-known band in Austin that specializes in children's music, and although his songs are the kind that get stuck in your head and that you find yourself singing days later, the kids love it. And apparently so does Jackson.
A quick stop by Josh and Catherine's house to feed their cat and to leave them a note written in chalk, too.
The view outside Jackson's bedroom window: every little boy's dream, and every mom's nightmare.
Thankfully Jackson did go down for a nap this afternoon despite what was going on just outside his window. Thank God for sound machines, box fans, and the fact that Ben should be home any minute. I love spending time just me and my boy, but the extra help is nice, too.
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