Almost a year old....

Being a mother of two has certainly left me busier than expected. I imagined that I would certainly make enough time to keep up with my blogging ritual to record those precious moments in my children's lives. Boy was I wrong! I often find myself sitting down and opening a new post never to finish. I often make lists of the memories I want to record and visualize entries in my mind, never getting around to actually recording them. I feel so badly for not having kept up with Jackson's firsts and progress the way I did with Tristyn. But as the saying says, life goes on.

Since I last wrote Jackson cut his two top teeth. They have not completely descended but are getting close. He has also cut more teeth on the bottom. I am sure he will be grateful when they finally come all the way through so he has more chomping power for his favorite activity, eating. The boy does not stop munching, he is a food-aholic. He has been off of baby food for several months and always eats what we do. He loves vegetables, crackers, spaghetti, and bananas. His serving size is normally equivalent to Tristyn's! Who would have thought that our three year daughter and 11 month old son would eat the same amount? I surely never would have imagined. Jackson has been drinking from a sippy cup for several months also. His normal favorite is half apple juice mixed with half water. We have started giving him tastes of whole milk and he seems to like it. During his spend the night outings at Yamaw's or Mimi's, he drinks formula but is still nursing at least four times a day. Even though his one year birthday is quickly approaching I do not foresee weaning anytime soon. He loves it and so do I. I just cannot imagine that bonding experience ending already. My goal is 15 months, so we will see what happens between now and then.

Halloween PJ's!

He is a crawling machine and loves to head for the stairs the moment you turn your head. He can be up to the top in a matter of seconds, giggling the entire way. It is a daily fight with him to keep him off of the stairs or away from the gate. He has been trying his hardest to walk and is doing a great job. He takes 4-5 steps at a time and his balance is improving as each day passes. I had hoped that he would walk before his first birthday and he may, but I do not think he will leave crawling behind anytime soon. He finds it much easier to chase his sister around and still her sippy cup while on his knees instead of his feet! Tristyn gets great joy from cheering him on when he stands or takes steps. She will start yelling "Look, Jackson's walking!!!" and gets extremely giddy and quite goofy. She loves that boy with all of her heart, that is a post in itself.



The plans for his first birthday party are well underway. I sent out the invitations today (late I know). I made them myself and am actually quite proud. They turned out very well. I will have to scan a copy and post it on here. We are going with a simple blue/prince theme that Tasha used for Mason's first birthday because she let us borrow all of the decorations. They are just my taste so it works out perfectly. We are planning to have close family and friends over for munchies and cake, short and simple. I am looking forward to watching him tear into his cake, I know he is going to get a thrill from it. The way he eats he just might consume the entire thing!

Halloween Costume - Cowgirl Tris!

Tristyn is developing into a little girl by the day. Her speech has improved greatly since surgery and she is learning new words everyday. She is still resistant to my efforts to teach her the ABC's and counting, but try I must. She will sing the alphabet (some parts out of order) and likes to count (not always in order after five) and is trying to write and spell her name. We started a little game of singing her name in a cheer and she really enjoys doing it. Hopefully she will get it down soon. She is an all time Daddy's girl these days, constantly asking for him during the day and night. She loves "smuggling" with him at night and they play together constantly. She is the keeper of her brother at all times throughout the day. Always looking after him and following him around with his sippy cup or toys in hand. A moment never passes that she is not worried about him! The bond they share is already so strong, I cannot express how proud I am of her sisterly love towards Jackson.

Little Miss Priss in her Sunglasses!

Tris' third birthday is coming up in a two months. It is so hard for me to believe that she's already almost out of toddlerhood. She talks about going to school and asks for her backpack so she can go. She loves playing with other kids and constantly asks about her friends when they are away. Her memory is impressive, the other day she asked me if Uncle Glenn's back was still hurt after weeks of not talking about it. It just proves her caring nature (she got that from her mother!).

In October the family went on a camping trip to the mountains of Georgia. We had a really great four day weekend with all of Josh's brothers and their wives, his mom and stepfather, and aunt and uncle. We rode bikes, ate great meals, sat around the campfire and talked, and of course roasted some killer marshmellows. The kids could not get enough of riding in the bike trailer, it was such pleasure for them! Tris constantly talks about going camping. I can't wait until she is really old enough to remember all of her experiences. I have so many fond memories of camping in my childhood and hope to give Tristyn the experience to create those same enchanting memories!

Tristyn was playing with her Noah's Ark Little People set earlier and came to me and said "Mommy, door is broken, please fix it", I told her that I did not know if I could fix it and she looked at me and said "We need a doc-er (doctor) fix it"....with a look of complete seriousness on her face! Too cute.

In October Josh and I took a trip to visit my Dad and Stepmom at their new home in Florida. We had a wonderful time sleeping on the floor since our air mattress died and they didn't have any furniture! It was well worth the aches and pains ;) We had fabulous meals every day and still haven't recovered from eating so well. I am looking forward to my dad's return in January and hope to go and visit him shortly before Tris' 3rd birthday to help unpack and get them settled.