So I have been training for the 5K at the gym in the mornings. I do a set amount time rather than a distance right now, mainly because it’s easier on the treadmill for me to walk for a certain amount of time, then run for a certain amount of time.  I have been forcing myself to run more and walk less. Before I committed to this 5K, the longest I had run was 4 minutes. Now I know that doesn’t seem like much to some of you, but for me it was all I could do before I couldn’t breathe anymore! I read up on how to increase my lung capacity and how to avoid shin splints. I decided that I was just going to have to RUN. So last Thursday I did 8 minutes without stopping. Friday I did 10 minutes without stopping. I couldn’t believe that I was still alive! My legs were hurting earlier this week so I didn’t attempt to do any more than 10 minutes until today! I was the only one in the gym this morning besides Mari who works there! I put on my music and decided to get the job done! I did a 5 minute warm up and then started running…. I ran for 16 minutes then walked for 4 minutes then ran for another 8 minutes! I couldn’t believe that I had done so much! I am feeling so much more confident in my ability to do this 5K now.   I have until October to increase my speed and to improve my time, but I know I can do it! I had fallen off the healthy eating lifestyle some this summer, but I made a trip to Sam’s last night and stocked up on lots of fresh produce so that we can get back on track.  I need to come up with a new weight loss goal before the race. It is almost 2 months away and I think 20 lbs would be a fair and reasonable goal.  So 2olbs it is! I will update next week to let you all know how the training is going!

Jackson’s new love is the Disney movie Cars.  He has collected 10 new matchbox “cars” in the last 2 weeks…. (no, he’s not spoiled or anything!) He carries them everywhere he goes and attempts to carry way more than his hands can hold. Dan’s mom and dad found him a rug with little houses and roads on it and he loves to drive his cars on the rug. We have to watch the movie at least once a day too! He request “Queen, Queen” (Lightning McQueen)  He really only likes the parts where the cars are racing, but that’s ok! He watches the beginning and the ending really well!  The hardest part has been avoiding all things Lightning McQueen when we go to the store! He wants everything that has to do with a little red race car! We even had Balloon Dude Travis make Jackson a LMQ balloon at Big Lick’s the other night at dinner!

Dan’s mom and dad also got him a BIG book of Find Elmo.  It’s like Where’s Waldo? but instead we find Elmo and it has a little box with a few other items to find on the page.  Jackson is ridiculously good at finding all the little extra items.  The cutest thing about it though, when he’s looking around the page he takes his finger and taps it against his cheek and says, “hmmmmm” I have no idea where he came up with this, but it is ADORABLE!!!

It’s hard to believe we are closing in on his 2 year old birthday! He is talking so much these days and can do so much for himself!  We celebrated one of his best buds 2 year birthday on Tuesday! His name is Micah and he had a Mickey Mouse cake! His favorite gift was a piggy bank from his aunt. The kids all loved putting the pile of pennies into the bank!  It was very cute! Jackson’s birthday is next, then this buddy Will turns 2 in November. The next year should be tons of fun!

This post is going to a compilation of things I want to remember when Jackson is older and my memory is fading! He is just shy of 22 months old and he has really come up with some funny stuff in the last few weeks!

 

Some of the cutest things he’s doing these days are:

He says “Ummmmm…..” before he answers my questions! It’s just so funny to hear him say “ummm” like he is actually thinking about his answer before he says it!  Usually the “ummm” is followed by a resounding, “NO!”  Yesterday I asked him if he wanted some more tater tots after he had finished his. His response to me was “Ummm…. NO!”  Then later I asked him if he was ready to get out of the bath and he gave me the same answer!

 

Last night we were Skyping with Grammy and Papa Lee and Jackson was going to show off his 4-wheeler skills. He put on his “hat” which is a Redskins popcorn bucket. The only problem with his “hat” is that it covers his eyes when he has it on!  He hopped on his 4-wheeler with his hat on and scooted himself full force across the kitchen floor and WHAM! He smacked right into the trash can! He looked confused for a second and I laughed so hard. My stomach was aching and my eyes were watering!  I waited to see what he was going to do (i.e. if he learned his lesson about a hat that covers his eyes!) and he thought about it for a second, put that hat back on, scooted the 4-wheeler past the trash can and counter top and decided it was safer to just ride in the living room! Man I love that kid!!

 

He’s starting to say more and more words these days. I am always surprised by how much he knows!  Lately he has decided that he wants to read books together.  Books used to be a favorite snack for him… the bindings are delicious!!   Now his favorite books to read are “Max and Ruby mini books from Chick-fil-a, a baby sign language book where he does the signs as I read it. The only funny thing about it is that all of the words he is signing he can actually say! He also loves a book called Buzz, Buzz, Baby!  He likes to open the flaps and point to the pictures and name the things on the pages. He also loves the books with the pictures with one word underneath them. The ones with a picture of a duck thats says “Duck” and a train that says “train” hahaha! He loves for me to ask him to point to things in the book. It’s really quite cute!

He’s been wanting to read every night before he goes to bed, and I must say that it has quickly become my favorite part of the day. He snuggles up to me and we spend some nice quiet time just the two of us!

We have a busy weekend ahead with our friend Josh and Jess. Should be lots of fun if the weather holds up!

I decided today that I am going to run a 5K. I have been working out 4-5 days a week since March 11th and I have lost 32 lbs since then. I usually stick to the elliptical at the gym because it’s easy on my one bum knee. I have been wanting to do a 5K, but I am NOT a runner!  I have hemmed and hawed for long enough, I am going to do it.  I looked at the list of races offered in our area and there is a “I Am Woman 5K” at the end of October. It gives me enough time to really prepare myself and I was hoping for some cooler weather.  It’s an all women’s race and I think that is awesome!  I’m not out to win the race, or my age group, or any kind of awards. I am simply running to prove to myself that I can finish.  I feel like I am in the best shape, possibly of my life, and now is a great time to prove to myself that all of the hard work that I put in at 6AM is paying off.  I’ll keep the blog updated as far as how training is going, and I will definitely let everyone know when I have accomplished this feat.   If anyone wants to join me in the training or in the run, please let me know!  The more the merrier!

Last week Jackson had a photo shoot with one of my good friends. She is a phenomenal photographer and has an incredible eye for children’s photography.  We originally had planned to do the session at a local park that has some very pretty wooden bridges. On Tuesday night I ran into some friends who live on a farm in a local town and they invited us to come down to their old farm in the middle of nowhere for the photo shoot.  Lindsey agreed that we could meet down at the farm for the pictures and it turned out to be an amazing night of photographing! Jack was in a great mood and had taken a nice long nap for me! The house had wonderful old furniture that we were allowed to use however we wanted to! Lindsey has a very keen eye for settings and had it all set up just right for Jackson when we got outside!  An added bonus was that Jack is VERY picky about wearing hats…. he refused to wear the plaid flat hat every day until the minute the photo shoot started!

 

 

We took a few pictures with that outfit and then switched him into his jean overalls and headed down to the creek with my little country boy! He loved splashing in the little creek! He was jumping up and down and finally even got on his knees in the water to really get soaked! It was the perfect amount of water for a little guy to play in. Every time I look through the pictures and he sees the creek, he says, “AGAIN, AGAIN!”

We finished up the photo shoot with a very special lollypop shoot! Lindsey brought Jackson a huge, colorful lollypop to eat/play with! He absolutely loved it!! He licked it until his face was all different colors! At the very end, he got it stuck to his hat and it pulled his hat right off his head!

All in all, this was the most amazing photography experience I have ever had. A HUGE shout-out to Lindsey Nicole Photography! Check her out of Facebook for a whole album of Jackson’s pictures! She is amazing!  She has officially captured the pure joy and essence of Jackson on film!  I will treasure these pictures forever! Also a HUGE thank you to Molly and Ann Hunt for letting us come down to the farm and use their beautiful background for the evening! I will leave you with one last picture…. just because I can’t pick a favorite! 🙂

 

So this morning I wrote to all of you about how lovely my son was last night at dinner. I thought for sure that he would wake up and his fits and the terrible 2’s would be miraculously gone this morning…. yeah… I know, what a stupid thought!  We headed to the Community Market to grab Dan a special lunch today from Philippine Delight when the tantrum started. Right there in the middle of the floor, my kid, sprawled out, kicking and screaming over a….. SODA! I told him he could have the Sierra Mist when we got home and he thought he should have it right then and there.  After carrying him up 4 sets of stairs to get back to the car in 100 degree heat I buckled him in and told him simply, “No soda for Jackson.”  I then proceeded to back my car out of the parking space and hit a cement post sticking up separating the side walk and the parking lot I was in. It messed my front bumper up and dented it in. At this point, I was NOT a happy camper!

Maybe someone can make me believe otherwise, but I feel like EVERYONE is looking at me when Jackson is throwing these fits. I can’t tell if their thoughts lean more towards pity for me because they have been in my shoes and feel terribly for me, or if they are wondering why I let my child behave in such a manner, or if they flat out wish I would get him out of there as fast as possible.  I tend to think most of them are sitting there wondering how I am going to respond…. will I walk away, will I spank him, or will I pick him up and walk out with a smile on my face?  Either way, I hope we out grow these soon.  I realize that he’s not even 2 year, but maybe my kid will acquire these amazing rationalizing skills over night! (One can dream, right?

 

Anyway, I’m going to give you a sneak peek at some pictures from Jackson’s photo shoot he had the other night. You would NEVER know that the kid in these pictures could be so misbehaved only a few days later!!  More about the photo shoot tomorrow! G’night Ya’ll!

 

 

 

 

So I feel like I need to log last nights experience simply so I can go back in a few years and see that it was only a stage and that we moved past it quickly!  I have had 3 kids at my house for the past 2 weeks now and this past week has been very smooth. The newborn has been on somewhat of a schedule and it makes it easier for me to plan around her naps/feedings. I think that Jackson has dealt with having a new baby in the house extremely well. He loves the baby and often turns on the bouncy seat and tells her it will be ok if she is crying.  Jack was well behaved all day yesterday until….. The RESTAURANT!

It was 100 degrees here yesterday and the A/C at home was having a hard time keeping up. I was looking forward to getting out of the house to celebrate a friends son’s birthday.  We got to the Mexican Restaurant to eat and Jackson decided he was going to fall apart. As soon as we went to sit down, he wouldn’t sit in his own seat. He would ONLY sit on my lap. The restaurant felt like it was about 85 degrees inside and I felt like I was going to DIE!!!  He wouldn’t go to any of our friends or their kids that were eating with our group and every time I tried to put him down or eat MY food he would scream bloody murder. My patience was wearing VERY thin.  He kept asking if we could leave (Mommy, bye-bye on repeat) and then I realized that he wanted some candy that they keep in jars when you first walk in the door.  I was so frustrated that I just decided to buy him a lollypop so I could at least eat MY food!  (Great parenting, I know)  I scarfed down my fajita just in time for them to start serving birthday cake. Surprise, my son wants cake to go with his lollypop dinner.  I was so over it at this point I just let him have a piece. We left there to attempt a 30 minute play that a friends daughter was in and his fit started the second we walked in the doors of the school gym. He didn’t want to be there either. He wanted to be outside. The only problem with that is that IT WAS STILL 100 DEGREES OUTSIDE!! After about 2-3 minutes of the play we left. Only after a battle of getting him to stop crying long enough to get my purse out of the auditorium.  We came home, he still refused to eat his dinner I had ordered for him, and I put him to bed at 9. I then put myself to bed at 9:30. I was beat. I seriously hate days like that. I hope that today goes better because Dan is working all weekend, and I might lose my mind if we repeat last nights performance again.

Well, we are off to Romp n’ Roll for our weekly class… wish us luck folks!!

Phew!  Today definitely felt like a Monday. I keep two little ones who were both suffering a case of the Monday’s too.  I really thought last week that we had gotten on a fairly good schedule, but all three of them switched it up on me today!  All this means is that I will head to bed a little earlier tonight, and be ready to go tomorrow and do it all over again…. Hopefully in Tuesday mode though!

I took Jackson to Romp n’ Roll to play tonight so he could burn some energy. He sure loves it there! He loves playing with older kids and they had 2 older boys running around in there tonight. He was in heaven!  We decided to eat dinner at Sonic and I thought it would be a special treat to let him sit in the passenger seat while we ate.  He loves sitting up front, he didn’t love the food!  All he wanted to do was drink his Sprite. He is obsessed with drinking things out of a straw.  We took his food home and he ended up eating some of it before bed! Silly boy!  He has also been wanting to eat Kraft Singles Cheese for almost every meal. He had a piece of that with his dinner too!

Last night, I took Jackson with me to deliver dinner to some friend’s. One set of friends just had a baby last week, and the other set of friends are due to have a baby in the next few weeks.  He loves both of the families other children. His friend Micah is really close to his age and they are two crazy boys when they get together. They wrestle and argue and both of them think that everything is “MINE”  The other family has a 5 year old named Brooklyn. She is as crazy about Jack as he is about her! It’s so funny to see how attached he can be to someone 4 years older than him. He really loves “B” and they are so cute when they play together. He helped her eat her dinner and she gave him two Thomas trains!

 

Well… wish us luck that tomorrow is a happier day at the Lee’s house!  We will get the hang of having 3 kids in the house soon!

Well it’s been over a year since I updated my blog. Pathetic, I know! Only a few things have happened since Jackson was 5 months old. Mainly he learned how to crawl, then walk, then he had a big 1 year birthday, then learned how to run, climb… he’s practically driving now! He’s 21 months old and is really the cutest kid I know! He’s into all things “Thomas the Train” and also loves balls, Elmo, and his pups! We spent last week in Myrtle Beach, SC and he had an absolute blast. The first day at the beach he was so brave and fearless. We were all hanging out on the sand bar when Jack ran off of it and fell under water. He must have swallowed salt water and got scared and refused to go back in the ocean the rest of the week! We did get him back in the sand thankfully, but he was done with swimming in the ocean. He can swim around the pool all by himself when he has his little Puddle Jumper floaty on. The lazy river was his favorite thing to do in Myrtle. He could have floated around that thing for hours if we had let him!

Well, I would like think that I will update this sooner then next July. I won’t make any promises though! I even forgot my user name and password this time!

Jack’s 2nd birthday is planned for Romp n’ Roll this year! I made sure to book it early so that I could get the time and day that I really wanted! I know he is going to have a BLAST there! Not to mention, I don’t have to deal with having it at my house again!

A quick shout out to Ashley Taylor of http://joshandashleytaylor.blogspot.com/ She started her blog tonight and it reminded me that I had a blog once upon a time! Thanks Ash!

Chunky monkey!

Could it possibly be that my little baby is already 5 months old? It seems like he’s been here all along and it also seems like he was born yesterday!   I figured I would write a little bit about what he’s doing these days so that all of you will be informed (cause I know you care!!) and so that when I look back, I will be able to remember and share with him!

• Almost sitting up! He can hold himself pretty steady, but he still tips over from all of his wiggling!
• Eating solid food! He loves applesauce the best, he has also had sweet potatoes, squash, bananas and for the first time today, peaches!   While Grammy and Papa Lee were visiting, we took him to Cracker Barrel and he ate an entire bowl of applesauce!  He was diving for the spoon with his mouth wide open for every bite! He never eats like that when I mix it with rice cereal!  We tried a small bite of watered down mashed potatoes, and he wanted nothing to do with those!
• Jackson played in his jonny jumper for the first time this weekend! It took him a few minutes to figure out how to move himself around, but he figured it out! It has a musical, light up toy on the front and he loved playing with that!
• His favorite thing to do is play in the exersaucer. He will play in there for close to 45 minutes if I catch him at the right time of day… meaning he’s not hungry or tired!
• He’s still napping 2-3 times a day. Depending on the day, these can last anywhere from 45 minutes to 2.5 hours! He goes to bed at 9:00 pm and wakes up at 7:00 am every day. I LOVE that he sleeps through the night!

• He eats everything in sight. This could mean his blankets, his toys, our fingers, his fingers, or even the dogs! I’m fairly confidant that he’s teething, but who knows when that first tooth will actually pop through! I’ve heard stories of children teething for months before anything actually came through!

I think this pretty much sums up what my little man is up to on a daily basis! It’s a beautifulllll day here and I plan on enjoying it to the fullest!  I see the park in our near future!

Until next time….

P.s. notice how I am trying to be better about this?!?!   You’re welcome!