Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Days go by

Here are a few pics from our daily life. These are the things I'm afraid I'll forget. The not so special days, that make up our daily life.

Mr. Potato Head

Jackson is playing with Miller('s toys)

Baby push ups!

Jackson playing on the train at the park down the street


The paci theif strikes again!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

The Food Revolution

From the day he was born we have had difficulty getting Jackson to eat. First it was breastfeeding, so we switched him to formula. Solid Gold formula to be exact. The stuff cost about $8 a day! We begged, pleaded and cried to get him to take the stuff. He eventualy gained enough weight to make the 30th percentile. Then he graduated to real food and we had a relatively easy time. He was pretty good with baby food and we could get him to eat pureed fruits and veggies. We did that for way too long. I thought that pureed veggies were better than no veggies. So he got that until he was almost 2.
As Jackson approached 2 it became apparent that we needed to take control of the situation. So I fazed out purees and fazed in canned cubed fruits and veggies. He took to he fruits, not veggies, though! Hmmm, he outsmarted me on that one.
Several weeks ago I was watching John and Kate Plus 8 and she says that all her kids eat most all food. She encouraged viewers to keep putting healthy foods on their kids' plates and one day they might pick them up and eat the healthy things. "Ok, sure," I thought.
That got me thinking. When I worked with disadvantaged kids they would eat everything that was put in front of them. Literally, they put food in their pockets to take it home to eat later. Those kids were hungry and they didn't care if it was nasty cafeteria food. That revelation made me realize that I had created a picky eater. This is just as much my doing as his. At his two year check up he was almost 30 pounds, which puts him into the 50th percentile. He is an average sized child...thanks to graham crackers!
In addition to this I was tired of having food thrown. Am I crazy to allow a toddler to throw food and then beg him to eat more? YES! I am an Early Childhood professional and there ain't no way I would ever allow someone else's child to do this.
All of this brought me to The Food Revolution. I decided that I am going to feed Jackson several healthy foods at each meal and he can eat it or not. I always include something he likes. If he throws a piece of food, he gets a warning, the next piece that gets thrown means the meal is over. Period!
The first few days were great. I must have timed it at a growth spurt. He ate most of what was given to him and only a little food got thrown. Obviously, I thought, this is easy. Now I have realized that true revolutions take time. And revolutions are hard! Sometimes you unknowingly lose ground.
As an educator I know that doing the right thing for kids is often a struggle but it doesn't make it any less worthwhile. As a mom I hate seeing my child go "HUNGWEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" because he threw the food that was placed in front of him. As a frugal mom I hate throwing away food that is perfectly good. But you can only reheat food so many times before it lose what little alure it had before. I know that this is the right thing to do.
My hope is that one day Jackson eats like a normal child. I'm prepared to hold my ground. I have to!
I have lots of cute pictures of Jackson eating food. It makes it look like he is a good healthy eater. This is just an illusion. I hope you enjoy them!



Thursday, October 23, 2008

That's How I Roll!

I am happy to report that Miller can roll from his front to his back. We knew he was strong, and the nurse confirmed it when she went to give him his shots last week! Kelly once told me that Jackson was "abnormally strong", and she is right. Well, it looks like this one is following in Jackson's footsteps. I wish I had been faster with the camera and then I could have documented it. Oh well, we will have time to document later.

Jackson continues to amaze us with his observations. Apparently all the talking and reading with him is paying off. Who knew that he would know the difference between a cell phone and a regular phone? Not me. He has picked up some letters on his own. Rather he sees a letter and says something that begins with that letter. So when he sees an M he says Miller, and a J is a Jackson. He is soaking up so much, so fast!

And for the big news....Miller has slept over 8 hours for 2 nights in a row (please don't let me jinx myself by saying this)!!! I am overjoyed. If you know me well, you know that my initiation into motherhood was not easy. This little guy has been giving us pleasant surprises since he was born (literally)! He eats, sleeps and smiles. He cries too, but if you pick him up, he will usually stop. Now I am working on getting his naps more regular. Thank You God for giving me this angel!

Here are a few recent pics! Why are the bottom 2 sideways Kelly? They were uploaded hortizontally???UGH I need a tutorial!



Jackson sees Miller has a paci...

and says, "I'll take that for you little brother!"

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Piggy Baby

Miller got this adorable pig towel when he was born (thanks Tammy). It even has his name embroidered on the back. He so cute on the way to the bath and back that Allen and I practicaly squeal every time we get him in and out of the bath. Hope you enjoy!


By the way Miller is getting very big. He's likely hit the 11 pound mark now. He was 10 pounds 14 oz last Monday. He has some pretty scrumptious rolls starting. I've got to clean him a lot differently than I did Jackson. So cute!


Let's Try a Video

In my desire to master blogging I'm going to try to post a video. This one was posted on Facebook because it was so darn cute.

Jackson, Miller and I went to the park near our house. As we were leaving, I noticed a cicada and pointed it out to Jackson. He wanted to touch it, and to my surprise it let me pick it up and put it on Jackson's leg. It rode on his knee the whole way home. I ran inside, got the camera and took this video. I love how it is a snapshot of how Jackson speaks at this stage in his life. I also love how after every question he says "um" before answering. My little boy continues to amaze me!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Big Boy Bedding

Jackson is almost ready to move into a twin bed. We however are not ready. We are not ready for him to roam all over as he pleases. He is fine in the crib because he is contained and a contained Jackson is a good thing!


We have been generally looking around at options for twin beds. Since we intend that they will share a room at some point in the not too distant future, we think bunk beds will be in order considering our space. But before I get ahead of myself and have them already in elementary school, let me show you what I got. This is really exciting for me.


You know I love a theme. But I am picky too! A theme for a little boys room in my opinion should be very basic and not something they will grow tired of or something that passes on a whim. It is harder than you think. So back in the summer I saw bedding in Pottery Barn Kids that was perfect it was quilts with bright primary colors and dogs in silhouette. I loved it. However the price, not so much.


Fast forward a couple of months to last Friday. I went to the Pottery Barn Kids store in Bethesda to get a hook thingy for Jackson's room. Well lo and behold the bedding that I adored was 50 % off. And because it was Columbus day weekend they were taking off an additional 15%. Woo Hoo! One thing I love even more than a theme is a bargain. My wonderful husband was willing to part with some cash for his beloved boys--and he knew it was a steal!


We are now the proud owners of 2 quilts, 2 sheet sets, 2 lampshades and 2 dog shaped pillows. Oh, and don't forget the night light--had to have that! Yesterday I was in Target and picked up a curtain panel that is pretty good match. Looking for another one at the other Target tomorrow.


So we don't have a bed, and we don't even want to move him to a big boy bed, but when we do the lovely bedding will make it a little more bearable--I hope!





So, now we will begin earnestly looking for a bed for when the time comes. I hope not too soon. After all he is still just a baby, right?

Pumpkin Patch






Yesterday was a beutiful fall day so we decided to capitalize on it and make a trip to the Pumpking Patch. Even though I have been on a few field trips to Pumpkin Patches I was not sure what to expect. After all every time I had been to a pumpkin Patch, I was on a big yellow bus and they were waiting for our arrival.


We got to the pumpkin patch, parked beside a corn field, then picked up our very sturdy wheelbarrow and off we went. Miller hung out in the Baby Bjorn most of the time and Jackson rode and roamed the field.


There were so many pumpkins and all sizes and shapes were represented. The pictures came out precious! We ended up picking a big orange one with lots of bumps because it was interesting. Last night we decided it was pretty ugly. I think it needs a ribbon to bring out it's true beauty!



I'm going to try to upload pictures on a regular basis, so at least you can see what we are up to. Here's to goals!