Trendsetter

For the past week, Jackson and I have been listening to Elvis's Christmas album in the car.  I have tried to give the radio a chance here and there, but nothing else compares to Elvis.

On Thursday morning, I heard a little voice from the back of the car singing.  Jackson was trying to sing along with Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me.  I was surprised that after only a few times of listening to this song, he was catching on to it pretty well.  I wouldn't mind if all of this Elvis training paid off one day and we could have the next coming of The King (of rock-and-roll) on our hands.  But until then, we do seem to at least have a little trendsetter at nursery.

Yesterday, we went for our third Santa visit at the nursery's Christmas Market.  And, for the third time in a row, Jackson has been too scared to approach Santa.  This year, he reached a new level of fright though, by refusing to even make eye contact with the 'jolly old elf.'  We arrived in good time to meet Santa with a new strategy, but Jackson went mute and got stage fright about six feet from Santa so eight other children went in front of us until he mustered up the courage to hide behind me, latch on to my leg, and gather his present.  Lee and I got a high-five out of the deal with Santa, but that was not (unsurprisingly) encouraging to Jackson.  (Once he has made up his mind, there is usually no going back.)  Disappointingly, Jackson screamed when he saw his present--thankfully out of sight of Santa and the elves--because he didn't want a teddy bear; he wanted a train.  I let him know his reaction was not appropriate, but he continued to screamed his head off.

After this little scene, Lee wanted to give up and go home; however, I had just driven about an hour in the car and I was not about to hop right back in and drive off.  So, we went to look at the big Christmas tree and hear the live music.  After a little while of walking around and eating a sausage in a pretzel bun, Jackson noticed there was an unused stage.  With a little bit of thought about what to do next, he took centre stage and started busting out his best moves.  Song after song, he put on a show and each song ended with a finale pose.  The room applauded the singers, but Jackson thought they were clapping for them.  (Maybe some of them were?  I was).

Eventually, a few of his nursery friends joined in the dance party happening on the stage.  This was the second trendsetting moment of the night.  A parent of another boy in Jackson's class approached us and said, "Jackson is quite the trendsetter."  I thought he was talking about Jackson's natural coolness in general, but then this man's wife went on:  "We had to go and buy a pack of vests today because Joshua told us, 'Jackson wears vests.'"  (Vests in the US are tank tops.)  To this, I said, "Are you serious?  I wonder how he even knew that Jackson wears undershirts?"  And the father said, "Apparently, the boys have been discussing it."  The 'boys' being two- and three-year-olds.  Man, I would have liked to hear that conversation!

Here is one last story about Jackson being a trendsetter, but in the best way in my opinion:  The mother of one of Jackson's friends approached me earlier this week when we were both dropping off our boys.  This was the first time I had the chance to meet her, but I had seen her son many times playing with Jackson.  She said, "On Ellis's first day at nursery, Jackson was the first person to bring him a car and ask him to play.  I thought that was so sweet and I will never forget that."  This was really nice to hear and I was so proud of Jackson's goodness and awareness of others.  This did match with the fact that we never have any reports of him being unkind to anyone else and his teachers often tell us about statements he makes where he tries to make sure everyone is included such as "we can all be friends."

So, for all of the inevitable tantrums and tête-à-têtes that are bound to happen here on out (because parents are usually the only form of discipline that children will ever have or should have if we do our job right), I will take solace in knowing that Jackson has this innate ability to be a friend to everyone.  I wouldn't have my Santa-fearing, Elvis singing, show-stop dancing, love-thy-neighbour, trendsetting little boy any other way.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr., give her my love.
Rest in peace, Bella -- all dogs go to Heaven.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jackson!

On Thursday, 4th October, we celebrated Jackson's 3rd birthday.  He now says, "I am number three," or "I am a big boy," if you ask him how old he is.  His understanding of what a birthday party is has changed so much from last year.  Once he knew he was going to have a birthday party at home, Jackson waited at the door to welcome "the people" even though the party was days away.  When Jackson saw all of the balloons and decorations, he very emphatically said, "Oh, thank you!" and gave Lee and I big hugs.  He is such a little treasure.

We couldn't have asked for better weather--and health--this year!  We were so lucky to have dry, sunny, and moderately warm weather for an outdoor party.  And as for the health, the last two years, we were in the Ormskirk hospital on the day or a week after Jackson's party.  Thankfully, this year, everyone was healthy and thoroughly enjoyed the party in the sunshine. 

The theme for this year was Disney's Cars.  I made a cake and attempted to create a racetrack on the top.  This was really difficult as it was my first time using fondant and I only make one cake a year, so even the application of the buttercream frosting around the edges proved to be a challenge.  In the end, Jackson loved his "racetrack cake" and everybody said that it tasted good.  (Phew!  Until next year . . . )  Also, while Lee and I were running around the house with last minute preparations, Jackson, who is usually happy to play independently, caught my eye because I noticed a light green spot on his face.  It was a splotch of buttercream frosting.  I ran to the cake and took a good look.  One of the cars had been rolled through the grassy icing and placed onto the track and there were about ten holes along the side of the cake poking through to the Devil's Food chocolate.  "Jackson!  Did you eat some frosting?"  He merely cowered his head and slowly nodded.  Then, he said, "Sorry, Mommy."  I did what I could to correct the cake to its original 'splendour' and tried to just let it go.  Remember what I said about the good health?  Honestly, I will take a little cake blunder over having to worry about my son's well-being. 

Jackson had a wonderful time with his little friends and cousins.  We set up a ball pit in the backyard with a slide leading into it which turned out to be a big hit.  Then, there was an inflatable tyre which was used as a beanbag toss target.  Lee and I made a Hot Wheels racing board out of wood and chalkboard paint and that was surprisingly a hit with the kids, too.  And, we were pleased that everyone ended up staying an extra hour-and-a-half!  For people who rarely get out and about, apparently we throw one 'belter' of a party.

In England, everyone opens their presents after the guests leave.  I'm not sure how old this tradition is or why it started, but after going to many children's parties, this seems to be the pattern.  It's a nice way to keep the party going, though, and to extend the enjoyment for little tots who want it to be their "party day" every day.  The 'big gifts' for Jackson this year were his red balance bike (which he calls his "motorbike") and his Micro Scalextric (which is a remote controlled race track with two cars).  The first day we set-up the track, he mastered holding both remote controls and racing the cars against each other!

When he woke up on Sunday, Jackson said, "My party?  One more time?" 

Happy birthday, Jackson!

Jackson has a method of opening presents:  He will say, "Oh wow!" only when every bit of paper has been removed--even though the picture on the outside of the box has been clearly visible for at least three minutes.

 

Day of the birthday party

 

 

 

 

 

Taking a dance break

Jackson really enjoys when everyone sings "Happy Birthday" to him

Impromptu story time with Ralph's dad.  After the children had their food, cake, and ice cream, they were ready to play indoors for a bit and have a little rest time.

"Ready, set, go!"

Happy to open all of his presents from his friends

It's my party and I'll sleep if I want to.

A peaceful end to a very exciting day!

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

Life Is but a Dream

When Jackson wants to sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat, he requests the "Life is but a dream" song.  And how fitting!  With Jackson, life is a dream and we go through most days merrily.  It's been quite a while since I posted, but I'll give you the highlights of the summer and some updates of Jackson's developments and funny quotations of late.

For six weeks, I kept Jackson at home over the summer break from school.  We worked on potty training and while he is doing pretty well with it, he still hasn't mastered the technique of telling us when "it's time."  I'm not too worried about it since everyone seems to figure it out at some point.  He is gradually getting better week-by-week; so as long as we keep improving, then that's all right with me.

Since we didn't travel too far from home, we saved our pennies and had frugal adventures to the park, around the village, and to the beach.  Unfortunately, we had to replace a part for our car that not only took six weeks to arrive, but it also cost as much as our York trip (that we took in the spring).  So, the Summer of Potty Training turned out to be a blessing in disguise!  We saved money and had to avoid driving the car, so it all turned out for the best.

A new experience for us has been toddler birthday parties.  The first day back to nursery, Jackson came home with four invitations and he also got one from a soccer teammate.  Basically, every weekend for about a month straight, we have parties to go to.  It's nice to get to know the children he plays with every day a little better and have a chance to meet their parents.  Jackson is pretty cool and handles playing with everyone quite easily.  His social skills are impressive and he likes to meet and greet everyone, sometimes trying to engage them in a freestyle dance session.  Jackson isn't too keen on eating cake or the party food; he enjoys the games and music, though.

At the end of August, we ended the soccer lessons and switched to swimming.  Jackson seems to like the new sport and seeing as, for a year, he never came around to the idea of liking the soccer drills, I think we were all ready for a change.  He is carrying on his dance lessons at nursery, too.  Because of the swimming lessons, we did have to change from Zumbini to Groovy Tiddlers.  His teachers said that the classes are fairly similar, and Jackson hasn't mentioned a difference, so everyone is happy with the arrangement.

This weekend, we got new shoes and a new winter coat for Jackson.  While we were waiting for the store employee to bring out the shoes, Lee thought he would play an I Spy game with Jackson.  He said, "I spy a colour beginning with 'b.'"  Jackson thought about it and responded, "Black."  Well, my mouth hit the floor; I was shocked!  Then, Lee said, "I spy a colour beginning with 'p.'"  Jackson said, "Pink."  Speechless, again.  Lee tried one more time, "I spy a colour beginning with 'w.'"  Jackson said, "White."  Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle!  We showered Jackson with praise and compliments, but I'm not sure he knew how amazing this was.

At nursery last week, Jackson had a bit of a 'teacher moment' with all of the other children at lunchtime.  Apparently, they all need to wait until everyone is done eating to get up and wash their hands; however, Jackson (like me) talks a lot when he eats, thus making him a very slow eater.  On this day, as a couple of children started to get up and wanted to move on with their day, Jackson said, "Hey Guys!  Sit down.  I'm not done, yet."  The children all obeyed, which I was surprised to hear and the teacher reiterated the rules of waiting for everyone to finish.

Last weekend, we went to town to get a few things for Jackson's upcoming birthday party.  There was a really good singer perched outside of the old BHS and Jackson took notice of the boy's skills.  Never missing a chance to dance to good music, Jackson decided the area around a little poplar tree would be his stage and for three songs, he put on a little show.  Most people smiled as they went by, but one little baby about the age of one, stopped to watch Jackson's dancing and then joined in.  I love his confidence and fun-loving spirit.

Today, Jackson bumped his head on the kitchen counter's overhang and as we were checking on him, he wasn't crying, but said, "Maybe a little brioche will help?"  When we said no to that, he said, "Okay, some cookies."

Over the past couple of months, Jackson has gone from pronouncing his name as 'Gadget' to 'Jatson.'

Sidenote:  I originally started writing this on September 16th, but it's time to move on to writing about Jackson's 3rd birthday party.  So, although this may sound a bit dated, it's a brief update of the summer and start of the school year and it will have to do for now.  Life is busy, but a wonderfully rewarding dream, with a three-year-old.

Celebrating Wimbledon at nursery

In July, soaking up the sun at Grandpa Don's house

"Driving" Grandpa Don's lawnmower

Happy to pose for a picture, but disappointed when he moved the levers and it didn't turn on

Talking to the fish with cousin Connor

Riding solo

Great weather at the Annual Ainsdale Flower Show

Jackson requested an ice cream cone and after a few licks, he got tired of eating it, so Mommy had to help

Jackson chose the car that played Queen songs

Fun, fun, fun for everyone

Jackson only likes to go down slides on his stomach.  He was being so delightful that the slide man let him go down two extra times for free!

I think Jackson chose this same jeep last year and luckily, he didn't mind riding in the back--it was much busier this year

He's got the hang of it now . . .

All of my teacher gifts from my wonderful class last year

Jackson getting into the dinosaur party spirit at Penny's 3rd birthday party

This is Jackson's new pose when I tell him to "stand up straight"

Touring the Botanical Gardens

We had a beautiful summer in Southport and this was an end-of-summer trip to the beach 

(located about a mile from our house)

Earning his first gold medal for finishing the football season

Riding the see-saw with Ralph at the children's centre event in Ainsdale Park

A play date with Thomas at the park

Exploring Formby Park with Mommy and Daddy

Pretending to be a little pig hiding from the Big Bad Wolf

Jackson's first swimming lesson

Shocked to see someone "flying" through the air at the circus

Jackson loved the circus so we will probably make this an annual event--and maybe take cushions next time to sit on for Lee and I

A few photos of my classroom

Jackson and Benedict dancing at Jack's 3rd birthday party

Helping to rake up the grass clippings like Daddy

Doing some football drills

I couldn't be prouder!  I am so happy to have an interesting, hilarious, entertaining little boy!

First day of being in the Hedgehog class at nursery

The Great Race

Crafting and playing at Edison's 3rd birthday party

Enjoying party sweets at Weston's 3rd birthday party

All of the children got to meet Marshall and Chase from Paw Patrol at the party

Trying on his Halloween costume sent from the US by Aunt P.  He loved it and immediately took on the role by 'blowing fire' and 'flying' around the room.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.