A Day At The Fair

We all ventured out to the Great Minnesota Get Together, otherwise known as the Minnesota State Fair on Wednesday.  What a great time!  We did all of the usual things -- visited all of the animal barns, including the llamas (my favorite!), walked, ate some cookies, stopped by the Twins booth, walked some more, ate some fried food, walked some more, etc.  I think you get the picture.  We tried a new food this year, one that I don't think I'll do again but it's worth mentioning just because it's weird.  One of my co-workers suggested it to me -- deep fried oreos cookies.  Not so great it turns out.  Love oreos but I think they need to stay out of the fryer. 

Anyway, Jackson has a good time but wasn't a fan of staying in the stroller.  We let him out a couple of times, first so that I could hold him in the animal barns.  It was hard to see from the stroller and I wanted him to feel like he was participating.  Well, we probably should have left him in there because all hell broke loose when we tried to put him back.  Not a pretty sight but we all survived. 

Here are some pictures from our day at the fair....

First stop, checking out the sheep.  I'm guessing that they had these covers on them to protect the wool from all the hands wanting to touch them before they get clipped.

Off to see the llamas!  Love them! 

Finally, the pigs -- cute but smelly.

In the cow barn they had little piglets that had just been born a few days earlier.  They were absolutely adorable!  Here we are checking them out.

Jackson pointing -- his new favorite past time.

Of course I didn't get a picture of it but Jackson did pet the little pig.

Finally, we had to make a stop at Choo Choo Bob's State Fair exhibit.  Jackson is a HUGE train fan.  I think he could have stayed in there for hours playing with all of the trains.  He was completely undaunted by the older kids and just had a great time.  I didn't get very good pictures because the little munchkin wouldn't stop moving. 

I definitely see a train set in the future.

Mom, stop trying to take pictures and just let me play!

Anyway, a good time was had by all! 

We are off to the cabin tomorrow for an entire week!  Can't wait!  It should be a little cool but that makes for good sleeping weather.  Perfect for just hanging out watching movies, reading and playing cards.

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!

Fourth of July (Finally!)

Well, I've finally done it!  I finally had time to get the pictures loaded onto the computer and posted!  I hope this helps tell the story of our wonderful trip to the cabin over the Fourth of July.  We had such a great time!  One of the highlights, of course, was celebrating Jackson's first birthday!  I still can't believe he's one although there are times when he seems much older.  Maybe it's the whole walking thing.  He's really getting to be such a big boy!  Slow down, honey!  Slow down!

Here is Jackson digging into more presents. 

After his birthday celebration with the Carters the previous weekend, I think he was getting the hang of this whole gift thing.

Hey Grandpa!  Look at my cool new train!

And then possibly the biggest hit of all....the Learn & Groove Musical Table!  He absolutely loves it and will stand and play for a long time!

Fun new bath toys from Aunt Kathleen and Tyler...and a mischievous look in his eyes too!

A new guitar!  I think he's practicing to take on his father in Guitar Hero!

Hopefully you can see the little train on the cake.  That train is very special and has been around as long as I can remember.  When I was a little girl, my Grandma Marcie put that little wooden train on our birthday cakes (I actually think it dates back to when my mom was a little girl).  There is space for five candles so it only worked until you turned five.  It was a very sad day when you were too old to have the train on your cake.  I believe when I turned 15 (or was it 25) and we celebrated with my grandparents, she brought out the train and put it on the cake for old time's sake.  She would just love that we had it there for Jackson's first birthday.  It would have put a huge smile on her face!  Such memories!

Yummy cake!!

And his trademark cheeseball grin.

Not too excited about his whole life vest thing but Mom and Dad say I have to have it.

Yikes!!  The water is freezing!!

We don't have a boat this year so one day we rented a pontoon boat to spend the afternoon out on the lake.  Jackson LOVED it!!  He stood at the front of the boat almost the entire time.  I really think he could have spent the entire afternoon just staring out at the lake.  I definitely think he's going to be a lake guy!

Could he be any cuter in his little hat and life jacket?

The proud grandparents with the remnants of the 2007 fire in the background.  We were so lucky!  The fire came within about a mile of the cabin.  This year, though, you can really see the green coming back.  In no time you won't be able to tell at all.

Trying out this whole lake swimming thing at the sand bar at the far end of the lake.  He wasn't too sure about it at first but by the end of the afternoon he was having a great time.

And back to the cabin! 

It was a wonderful week!  Jackson did such a great job and we all had fun.  As I've said before, it was over the Fourth that he became an official "walker."  Now that is his preferred mode of getting where he wants to do.  And over the last week he's perfected being able to stand up on his own so he no longer needs to hold onto someone or something.  Mom and Dad are having a hard time keeping up with all of his new little tricks! 

This weekend will really be exciting at our house!  We're officially moving Jackson into his own room.  He's essentially had his own room for months now because Scott and I have been sleeping in the basement bedroom.  Now that he's one, though, he really needs his own space (and we need our room back).  I'm excited to get everything organized and set up.  Lots of work but it will be worth it.  I hope he likes it!  Hopefully a new room won't disrupt his sleep too much.  He really is such a great sleeper, even though he likes to wake us up at 5:30am every morning.  Oh well, he's worth it! 

Cute Story from Daycare

I know, I still don't have the pictures from Fourth of July uploaded to my computer yet but we're getting there.  Things have been busy in the Carter household, with keeping up with a toddler that is CONSTANTLY on the go.  I never knew what true exhaustion was until now.

Michelle, Jackson's head teacher at daycare, told me the cutest story this morning when I dropped him off.  Apparently another little girl started there this week.  She's a little older, a crawler, so she's mobile.  Well, I guess yesterday afternoon this little girl was sitting behind Michelle on the floor and just started hitting Michelle on the back.  She laughed and said that she was getting a massage.  Well, when Jackson saw what was going on he marched right over, stepped between the little girl and Michelle, and gave Michelle a big hug.  He was trying to protect her!  How adorable!  My little boy is such a sweetie!

It's Official, Folks

We have a walker!  It is really unbelievable actually.  Jackson took his first hesitant steps over Memorial Day and by his first birthday he was walking all over the place.  I think a week at the cabin where there is more room to move around really helped.  Honestly though, the week before he was taking 5-6 steps at a time and by the middle of last week he was walking everywhere he wanted to go.  It's so stinkin' cute!!  Those little legs just trying to keep up with what he wants them to do!  I have a feeling that by Labor Day he'll be running.  Yikes!!

We had a great time up at the cabin.  We were able to spend the whole week up there and the relaxation and family time was just what the doctor ordered!  There was another first birthday celebration with the Blair side of the family, a new, wonderful dock installed, a pontoon boat ride and first swim in Gunflint Lake.  All very exciting!  Jackson loved it all, with the possible exception of his life jacket.  Not a fan but it was a requirement, of course. 

I don't have the pictures loaded onto the computer yet but I will get that done soon and will share everything from the trip!

Oh, I almost forgot!  Jackson had his one year doctor's appointment on Monday.  NO FLUID IN HIS EARS!!!  Yeah!!!  That is the first time that has happened since birth.  We were so excited!  He weighs 23 lbs, 11 ozs (50-75%) and is 31 inches long (90%).  He's growing like a bean!  He had to get three shots and was a trooper through it all.  Over the next month or so we'll be working on getting him off formula and onto whole milk.  My little boy is growing up!