First Haircut

It was a big weekend for us -- on Saturday Jackson got his first haircut.  I've been holding off for as long as I thought acceptable but I finally gave in.  He needed it.  It was time.

I made the appointment for a kids salon so they would (hopefully) know how to deal with a child who absolutely, in no uncertain terms, wanted to get his hair cut.  Turns out I didn't need to be worried.  While I was having an anxiety attack over the whole thing, Jackson was as cool as a cucumber.  Give my son a new experience and he takes it all in, no problem at all.  He didn't even mind having to wait 20 minutes because they were busy.  Here are some pictures from the big event.

A pre-cut picture.  The salon gave each child an "adventure pass" that they could redeem afterwards for a prize.  Jackson's prize was a skull and crossbones sticker.  I believe it is now currently in our garbage.  Oh well.  Cute idea though!

Getting ready!  As you can tell, Jackson was a little unsure about what was going to happen -- or maybe it was sitting in the Bumbo which he hasn't used in many months.  Each station had a TV with cartoons playing to help distract the kids.  What a great idea!

Jackson has an adorable stuffed monkey that he got from Gramma Carter for his birthday.  We brought that along as a little security toy. 

Hamming it up for the camera.

The finished product.  Not the best picture ever but oh well.  I'm having a hard time admitting that my little boy isn't really a baby anymore so I didn't have them cut too much hair off.  Just enough so that he no longer looks like he's sporting a mullet.

We had "one year" portraits taken on Sunday.  I know, it's a month late but July really got away from me and this was the earliest we could do it.  Jackson just loves the camera and he took some great pictures, including some cute ones in his little Mauer baseball jersey with a Twins hat, baseball and bat.  I can't wait to get them back.

Also on Sunday, the Carters brought over the bookshelf Casey made for Jackson.  Kind of a belated birthday gift.  Wow!  It's just perfect in his new bedroom!  It has four shelves for books on top and two bins for toys on the bottom. 

I think he likes it!  It looks even better now that it's full of Jackson's books and toys.

So, we're still really busy but loving watching Jackson grow!  Some of the things he is really enjoying these days are playing with Little People, chasing the kitties around the house, opening and closing doors (especially the french doors with windows in them -- he likes to look through and see what's on the other side after he's closed the doors), climbing onto anything and everything, and reading.  In the last month or two his love of books and reading has become very apparent.  He loves to pick out a book, bring it to us and sit on our laps while we read it to him.  Then he will go get another book -- this can go on for quite some time.  And I love every minute of it!  His favorite book right now is "Goodnight Moon."  That was one of my favorites too so I love reading it to him. 

As summer winds down, we are looking forward to a trip to the Minnesota State Fair and another week up at the cabin over Labor Day.  We are also looking forward to temperatures that aren't flirting with 100 and the cool days that fall brings.  We hope everyone is doing well! 

Until next time, take care!

Could it be possible?

We're not sure, we can't be positive but it did sound like Jackson said "thank you" in response to being given a bite of banana this morning.  Scott and I both heard it.  I heard it a couple of days ago too but was almost too excited/thrilled/amazed/shocked to think that it wasn't a fluke.  He doesn't say it every time but he does say it and my heart is filled with pride each time.

Saying "please" and "thank you" is so incredibly important, especially within a family.  To me, it is a way of saying "I love you" and truly appreciate whatever it is that has been done.  When things are done for us, even the little things like unloading the dishwasher or taking out the garbage or any of the many little things that it takes for a household to function well, it's important that we show our gratitude.  All of those little deeds are done out of love for the family. 

I hope that someday those words spill out of Jackson's mouth like they did this morning.  Not because that's what he's supposed to do or because that's what mom wants him to do, but because he truly means it.  Because he knows that the little things are most often the big things.  Because all of those everyday things mean that you are loved.

A Rough Week

Well, it's kind of been a rough week in our neck of the woods.  It really started last weekend.  Everything started off fine on Friday when Scott and I went to the Twins game, a birthday gift for Scott from my parents.  We had a wonderful time, the weather was perfect and the Twins won!  Yeah!  It was a nice chance to get away from being "mom and dad" for a while and just enjoy each other's company, although we did spend quite a bit of time talking about bringing Jackson to his first game at Target Field. 

Saturday was spent moving furniture, steam-cleaning carpets, etc. in an effort to move Jackson into his own bedroom.  After a VERY long afternoon nap, he woke up around 5pm and proceeded to vomit all over me.  And again about 5 minutes later.  Within an hour and a half, Jackson had thrown up 5 times and couldn't keep anything down.  Two calls were made to his pediatrician and we started giving him 2 teaspoons of water every five minutes to keep him hydrated.  After another one hour nap, he appeared to be doing much better and even took a bottle.  By Sunday morning he was back to his usual happy, loving self.  Thank goodness!  We finished moving furniture and Jackson spent his first night in his new room Sunday night.  He did great and seems to love having his own space (and so do we!).

The rough week continued on Tuesday when I picked up Jackson from daycare.  Apparently he went on a biting spree during the day.  He had bitten a couple of times before but it's been quite a while and I really thought we were getting it under control.  Biting is such a frustrating thing because from everything I have read, it is very natural and quite common for toddlers to bite -- or hit or kick.  It's partially a form of communication because they don't yet have words and also a method of getting attention.  At such a young age they don't understand the concept of hurting others.  They also don't fully understand discipline either so how do you discipline a one-year old for such an action?  It's enough to drive a mother insane! 

Apparently this time, the parent of the bitten child got very upset about the situation and left an angry note for the head infant room teacher.  Of course, I feel just terrible about the entire thing!  I don't know what to do and it's even more frustrating because I'm not there to see what is going on.  Was Jackson provoked?  What happened leading up to the incident?  How was it handled by the teachers?  I just don't know what I'm supposed to do to prevent it from happening again but I would do anything if I just knew what to do.  And it makes me feel like a terrible mother that my child is causing problems at daycare.  Another frustrating aspect of this is that Jackson very rarely bites at home.  Maybe once a month he will try to bite either Scott or me.  We try to handle it as best we can.  Tell him "ouch" and "we kiss, we don't bite," and we stop whatever we were doing with him so he might learn that if he bites, the play stops.  These are all things we've been told to do.  But really, how can I try to correct a behavior that hardly ever happens around me?  AHHHH!!!!!

So, needless to say, it's been a long week and I'm really looking forward to this weekend.  We're going out for dinner with some friends on Saturday night.  Can't wait!  I'm hoping we'll have time for an outing with Jackson on Sunday since we've been so busy with house stuff the last couple of weeks.  Keeping my fingers crossed!