I'm Not Trying to Out-Mom You

Usually on Saturdays, we try to do something as a family and today it was a trip to Southport's town centre for a walk around in the only slightly brisk winter weather.  We stopped for a late lunch at the newly refurbished New China City.  (It's name was always "New China City" even before the redecorating, ironically.)

Eating out is always a treat, but there is no question that as soon as Jackson started walking, it became a bigger challenge than ever before because there is a very short window of time that we have to work with before the novelty of taste-testing off of Mommy and Daddy's plate wears off and he wants to travel around and through the restaurant.  We try to time the dining experience so that he falls asleep about half-way through which gives us time to finish our meals and discuss the week's events.  Today, however, Jackson didn't take a nap all day--which was a first--so we ended up taking the rest of our meal home when our little explorer wanted to run laps around the fish tank and water features.

The other hurdle that we encountered was another baby at the table beside us.  This baby's mom was very attentive and talkative with her tot and doing a good job of making-up 'conversation' with a baby about the same age as Jackson.  The only problem with sitting beside another young family is if I tried to talk to Jackson with the same comments that all moms say ("What a good boy!"  "You are so smart."  "Oh!  Do you see the fish?" etc.), then it sounds like I'm mocking the other mom.

There isn't a problem if "Mom 1" is not talking to her child or the baby is asleep; there wouldn't be any comparisons made by any bystanders then.  But, out of fear of sounding like a parrot, I used minimal conversation with Jackson until the other mom left.  I was afraid it would sound like I was trying to 'out-mom' her and it would turn into a verbal who-loves-their-baby-the-most competition.  If the restaurant was a bit louder (for instance, at a Pizza Hut), then it's a free-for-all because we struggle to even hear the table next to us; however, with a quieter table-clothed restaurant, only one baby-talking Mom is acceptable.

I didn't worry too much about Jackson feeling rejected because as soon as they finished their ice cream, we showered him in compliments and included him in our conversation.  I don't think he was too damaged.

Modelling his cuddly, soft robe (dressing gown)

Hugging his bunny and sitting in his 'spot' to go up to bed 

Not quite ready for sleep!  One more game of chase before bedtime

Developmental updates:  This week at nursery, we found out that Jackson is quite the Casanova.  At the beginning of the week, it was Sadie's name that was being tossed around because apparently, when she goes home, the only word she says is "Jackson" over and over.  By the end of the week, he was giving hugs to Tabitha and the nursery teachers said that on Friday, they were giving each other 'kisses.'  Oh great!  Well, at least he is a caring and sweet boy and being a good friend instead of hitting or biting.  Always look on the bright side of life.  Do do, do doo do doo do do.  Jackson is also starting to nod and shake his head to answer questions, although we're not sure that he completely understands the 'yes' and 'no' connotations, respectively.  It's cute nonetheless.  He has also begun playing with his cars and trucks in a more 'grown-up' way by gliding them along tracks and down ramps instead of just across the floor or on tables.

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

Mommie Dearest

For one reason or another, Mommie Dearest became one of my favourite movies when I was about 13-years-old.  Television networks in the U.S. replayed it at least once a month and I managed to catch it in bits--hoping to watch the wire hanger scene if nothing else.

Jackson and I had our own little Mommie Dearest moment this week.  We were playing with his Bristle Blocks that he got for Christmas.  He got 226 of these blocks last week and he loves playing with them.  As we were building side-by-side, I noticed that every piece I picked-up, he snatched out of my hands.  I figured that a lesson in sharing was due so, after the fifth attempt at holding my piece to myself and pointing out the other 225 pieces that he could have, I held my ground and didn't let go.  When Jackson didn't get his way, he screamed and smacked me in the face--right on the eye!  I was genuinely shocked so an audible gasp came out and I said quite sternly, "You do not hit."

Then Jackson put out his bottom lip, furrowed his brow, and looked away from me, down at the ground.  He kept this position for about two minutes and I didn't know what else to do, so I sat as still as I could and although I wanted to give him a hug and say that 'it was all right,' I didn't.  I was also hoping that this was the first time he had hit someone because he didn't get his way.  Jackson broke the silence by offering up one of the blocks from the pile to share with me.

We saw this smacking before when he hit the wall a few weeks ago because we wouldn't let him stick his fingers in a plug socket.  I spoke to his nursery teachers this week and they said that they've never seen him hit, let alone get angry, which I was relieved to hear.  I was also really happy to know that he tests the waters at home with us to see what he should or should not do.  Hopefully these little lessons will pay off in a good way in the end and will not make him hate us and resent us forever.

I don't know if we are always doing the right thing, but we try to always make the best decisions for Jackson to live the best life possible and for him to become the best boy he can be.

After a day of playing with his friends at nursery, Jackson loves to come home to a ripe banana

Jackson and Thomas playing together at The Fun Factor this morning

Developmental updates:  Jackson is beginning to understand the words nose, mouth, milk, banana, outside, and bed.  He points to noses, mouths, the refrigerator for milk, the bananas on the counter, the door (and sometimes sits on the first step by the front door when he's ready to go), and he starts climbing the stairs when he hears the word bed.  He also understands the difference between hugs and kisses and has done these actions to everything from the Home Alone DVD to his stuffed animals to us.  Jackson is so loving and caring and we love when he chooses to give hugs and kisses on his own and we would love to know what drives him to make the decision to do so.  This week, Jackson turned 15 months old!  With every new month since he turned one, I picture how he was a year ago and it's remarkable at how much he can do now.  I think my favourite thing about Jackson growing-up is his more prominent personality and distinctive likes and dislikes.

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

Ringing in the New Year

What a week!  It seems like Christmas was a month ago already.  We had a nice, quiet Christmas Day at home with just the three of us.  It took Jackson a span of eight hours to open his presents because he wanted to play with all of them as soon as he opened them.  Then of course, we had to give him time to take naps and to eat.  We were exhausted at the end of it all!  It was a big change from last year, though, and much more enjoyable to see him rip open the paper himself and get excited about his new things.

On Boxing Day, we spent the day with Lee's family at his Grandma and Grandpa's house in Neston.  Jackson had a lot of fun and skipped both of his naps that day so that he could keep playing with his cousins.  We ended up leaving with three unopened presents because Jackson was distracted with all of the toys that were already set-up and also, he was quite pleased to just run around and chase the other children.  (It wasn't until Friday that he finally opened the remainder of his gifts.)

Tuesday was still a Bank Holiday, so Lee had the day off with us and that was the day that my brother and sister-in-law, Scott and Kirsten, arrived!  We had a really fun week with them going around Southport and Liverpool and luckily, we had really good weather every day.  It was great to see Jackson playing with some of his Ohio family and he acted like he knew them his entire life.  Thankfully, this week went really slowly and although we only got to see Scott and Kirsten for a few days, we fit in a lot of quality time--at least enough to last until we see them again this Summer.

Seeing Jackson happy and healthy on Christmas and getting to spend time with my family made for a perfect holiday celebration.  And just like that, we're moving on to a new year.  Happy New Year to all of our family and friends all over the world!

Showing off the shopping items in his trolley and looking quite proud

Drawing a pretty picture on his new Aquadoodle mat

Dipping the water Aquadoodle pen in the water 'paint pot' to colour.  Jackson kept 'mixing' the pen in the pot so that he could draw on his mat.

Out of all the books Jackson has, he found my "Pretty Patterns" colouring book and decided he wanted to read that to his Aunt Kirsten.

One last photo for the road

Developmental updates:  Jackson can safely climb on and off of his ride-on pirate ship toy.  His legs are now long enough to stretch up and over the toy so that he doesn't need someone to lift him onto the seat anymore.  He also started playing hiding games this week where he will sneak behind a wall or into a corner and then 'appear' again and laugh as we are surprised by his trick.  Jackson's other hiding game is a one-sided hide-and-seek where he looks for us while we kneel behind furniture (he hasn't quite caught on to the hiding and waiting while we look for him).  This week, we noticed that he is talking a lot more in 'sentences' and he is using new sounds to pronounce his 'words.'  He definitely has a grasp of the word 'no' now and he shakes his head when he hears it sometimes and he is starting to answer questions by shaking his head no.  With all of his new toys, we are seeing his pretend play skills come alive, too.  Jackson has been playing with his plastic food and shopping trolley and likes to 'eat' the food and share it for others to try.  He also enjoys stacking his boxes of play food in a very neat row on the coffee table and it ends up looking like a shelf in the supermarket.  The best think Jackson started to do this week is come to us to get our attention and then reach out for our hand to follow him.

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