A Look Back at 2012

2012 was a big year for the Morans.  It was busy.  It was fun.  It was full of many firsts for Jackson.  And it brought lots of changes. 

We rang in the year with a infant and wrap it up with a talking, walking, extremely busy toddler.  We bought a house in the 'burbs which we're thrilled with but which also meant a bittersweet change in daycare for Jackson - we love the new school, but truly miss his previous teachers and the great care they took of our baby beginning when he was only four months old.

J experienced his first plane trip when we traveled to the big island with my parents in February.  We also went on a handful of trips to Yakima, and thanks to Corey who watched J, I was able to join my family in Vegas in June to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday. 

And speaking of birthdays, it was a big year for those around here - Jackson had his first in April, Corey turned 36 in September, and I celebrated my 30th in October, complete with an amazing trip to Sonoma County with close friends, planned entirely by the hubby.  It even included a delicious private dinner cooked by chef Eric Lee.

2012 was a big year for friends and family as well.  Baby Stellan (Nick & Gina's son) arrived in July, our friends Jennifer and Andrew were married in October, and my brother and Anya got engaged on Christmas.

In less happy news, 2012 brought some sad moments as well with surgeries for both our kiddos (more about Jackson's here; more about Roxy's here).  Luckily though, both were only to remove benign cysts.  We also experienced a scary elbow dislocation with Jackson which was quickly fixed and he's as good as new.

All in all though, I'd say 2012 was a pretty great year, and we're all looking forward to what 2013 has in store for us.  But in the meantime, here's a photo recap of our year!

Happy New Year from our family to yours - we wish you love, health and happiness all year long.

Hippity Hoppity

It's no secret that Jackson enjoys dancing.  Here's a video to prove it, taken during our Yakima getaway a few weeks back.  He's dancing along, and sometimes mimicking, a singing and dancing Easter bunny.  I like to think he has his daddy's dancing skills...

(Be sure to watch the full video - the last few seconds are the best part.)

Boots!

It only took 3-4 months and countless attempts to coax them on to his feet only to end in a kicking and screaming match, but Jackson finally (!!!) asked for us to put his bug boots on him on Saturday to go play with balls outside.  I quickly agreed, despite the cold weather, afraid he'd change his mind.  So, boots on, we bundled up and headed outside for a bit to enjoy some fresh air.  Throughout his playing, he'd stop, bend over and point to his boots and yell "BOOTS!". 

Why yes, Jackson, those are your boots. 

Several days later and he's continued to wear and enjoy his boots.  Good thing we still have many months of rain left for him to enjoy them!

Merry Christmas!

Despite the many requests to watch Elmo (seriously, the kid is addicted), we had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas with our families over the past few days.

It all kicked off on Saturday when my parents, brother, Anya, and grandma arrived.  The present opening was so much more fun with Jackson this year - he understood the concept of opening them and loved to see what was underneath the paper.  He would then get very eager to play while we opened the boxes to retrieve the toy.  His favorite so far is a shopping cart and groceries.

On Sunday, Corey's family joined all of us here for brunch and more Elmo watching.  We weren't sure how Jackson would react to Elliott or Curtis since it had been awhile since he'd seen either of them (1 year for Uncle E and 6 months for grandpa) but he did great, giving hugs and kisses, playing with everyone, and not acting shy at all.  Whew!

We headed over to Joan's along with Consuelo for a yummy brunch and stockings on Monday.  Monday afternoon, we all headed back this way for secret Santa presents and dinner made by Chef Corey.

We were all completely spoiled by everyone.  Jackson received some great new toys, lots of adorable clothes (the stack of new clothes is like looking at a bunch of Corey's clothes - he's such a little man!), and fun books including a personalized race car book complete with photos of himself and his name used throughout.  Looking forward to playing with everything and trying on all J's new clothes during the rest of our time away from work!

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday and hope that you all enjoyed the time with friends and family as much as we did!

So pretty before all the destruction begins...

Serious shopper alert.

 

 

New Jordans from Uncle E --- and J loves them (not always the case with new shoes)!!

Yes, J's holding snacks - it was the only way we could keep him happy after pulling him away from Elmo for two minutes to snag a family photo.  Story of our life.

 

Gotta love J's mouth stuff with Puffs.  So much for a nice, family photo.   

Trip to the Yak

Last week, Corey and I took Friday off and had decided to head to Yakima since it'd been months since we'd been there. 

J had fun with his grandparents, loved watching Elmo, doing his colorful fish puzzle, playing with all his Yakima toys and going out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant (El Porton).  He also enjoyed lots of holiday cookies at his great grandma's house.  And another notable was his love of running to hug (and ultimately) tackle grandpa --- something they even did on the floor of Wal-Mart.  Lovely.

Jackson witnessed and experienced his first snowfall of the year there and loved "catching" snowflakes in his mouth (as you can see here).  The good news is that we just got a taste of the snow that eventually came the afternoon after we left.  Yakima got 8+" that day and the pass was closed for hours.  We made it home in the nick of time.

It's always nice to spend time in Yakima - everything just feels more calm and we are able to get in much needed rest and relaxation.

Enjoying what was probably cookie #5 at great grandma's.

Not sure who liked Elmo more...

Grandma and grandpa have all kinds of fun toys at their house.

No caption needed.

Snowflake Lane

We'd heard great things about Snowflake Lane but hadn't ever been.  Jackson loves lights and music, and he'd never really seen or experienced (fake) snow, so with a dry evening expected last weekend, we packed up and headed to Bellevue with my parents.

We got there just in time to snag a decent spot so that Jackson could take everything.  Now, if only weren't for the dads who decided to park themselves right in front of us right before the show started, with their kids on their shoulders, everything would have been perfect.. 

It's quite a show that they put on and Jackson thoroughly enjoyed watching the drummer closest to us.  I don't think he even blinked the entire time.

Looking forward to continuing to experience Snowflake Lane in the years to come.

Jackson Trying to Catch Snow

Jackson's First Snow of the Year

(In Yakima)

Life Lately

Lots of new words being learned and said around our house these days, and I love it!  I hear at least one (and most days several more) new word out of J's mouth every day.

A new word over the last week or so is "garbage".  He likes to help throw things away and the I recently gave him little bits of each veggie from a veggie platter.  He stuck a piece of carrot in his mouth and promptly spit it out, saying "garbage!" and the walked over and tossed it in the garbage can.  Smart kid.

Another funny word is "heavy".  He must have gotten it from us always telling him that he's heavy when he insists that we carry him around at times.  Now he says it when we pick him up, or if he's trying to get us up.  When he wants me to stand up to do something, I ask him to help me up so as he's pulling, he'll say "heavy".  Thanks, son.

His most common word over the last couple weeks has been "LIGHTS", which he says many times every time we're in the car or looking outside as he spots houses with Christmas lights. I have to get it on video because he says it in such a funny way ("whites" with a lisp, but also with a deep voice). 

He continues to say "oh my" at all the right times (he drops something, spills something, is impressed by something, etc).  It's so cute.

Jackson absolutely LOVES watching Elmo.  He's only ever really known Elmo from his diapers.  And until a few weeks ago, he had absolutely no interest in TV...that is until we put on Sesame Street for the first time. Ever since then, he asks to watch Elmo multiple times per day.  I typically put it on when I'm making dinner now and he happily watches while transferring all his books from the shelf to the couch so he can read while watching.  We started DVR'ing Sesame Street every day, but he gets upset if there's not enough focus on Elmo, so we just ordered "The Best of Elmo's World" DVD three-pack.  Sounds like a winner to me.

Watching Elmo with his Elmo slippers, while reading every book he can get his hands on.  All just part of a hard day's work.

Bathing in his Elmo bubbles.

Ho, ho, ho!

Even though Jackson may dislike seeing Santa in person, that doesn't keep him from knowing or liking what Santa has to say.  (Although, I personally think he sounds a bit like Tim the Toolman Taylor from the hit TV show Home Improvement...)

Santa Success

...or lack thereof.

No amount of discussion and reasoning prior to seeing Santa at the U Village, during which J agreed to hug Santa and sit on his lap, brought J any comfort when actually meeting the guy this year.  After saying "hi" to the helper who opened the door to Santa's cabin, J started immediately crying upon actually seeing Santa up close.  He completely lost it when I set him on Santa's lap.

We had two photos to choose from - a sad, crying Jackson, or a terrified Jackson.  Being the great parents we are, we went with terrified.  Go big or go home, as they say.

And bless Santa's heart for remaining so calm, cool and collected in the midst of Jackson's tantrum.

Here's last year's photo for comparison.

Trinity Tree Farm

With no rain falling this morning, we headed back out to Trinity Tree Farm (same place in Issaquah that we got our pumpkin in October) to pick out our first real tree.  (Corey and I both had real Christmas trees growing up, but the convenience of a fake tree won out when we were in our condo. With this being the first Christmas in our house, we decided to try out a real tree.  I'm not going to lie though - while I love the look and smell of a real tree, it's definitely much more work and is way more expensive than a fake tree.  We'll see how long the real tree tradition lasts in this house!)

Trinity wasn't crowded at all and we had fun picking our tree out, and wandering around the property.  Jackson especially liked the rocks (sounds like our pumpkin trip all over again) and the bonfire they had going.

J and I ran some errands this afternoon and when we got home, Corey had set the tree up with all the lights in the living room and it looks great!  Still need to put the decorations on it, but we'll save that for another day.

We were excited to get our tree up since Jackson has been absolutely loving all the Christmas lights up on the houses around town. In fact, he sounded as though he was about to hyperventilate on our way home from daycare on Friday driving past all the lights in our neighborhood. That said, we thought he'd be in heaven being able to see all the lights on the tree in our house. So far though, he isn't too impressed. He was way more excited about helping me organize ribbon and taking it and out of the jar it belongs in. Interesting. This kid certainly keeps us on our toes.

A few pics from our morning at the tree farm, and of the final product.

 

 

 

 

Thankful

A few weeks ago, I realized that I constantly rush through most days and before I know it, another week has passed.  I rush to get ready each morning, get Jackson ready, get to work, get work done, pick Jackson up, make dinner, get house stuff/work, and then I go to bed and do it all over again the next day.  I rush around so much that I don't often stop to realize how great my life is, and how much I have to be thankful for. 

In honor of Thanksgiving, I thought I'd share just a few of those things in my life that I'm most thankful for.

This adorable, perfect little munchkin and my cute, supportive, and all around amazing hubby.  I love these two like you wouldn't believe!

My amazing family...

And fun and fabulous in-laws!

My supportive and amazing girlfriends and the fact that, regardless of how long it may have been between visits, we can always pick back up right where we last left off.  And we always have such a great time together and I love them like family.

A house that's a home.  We've only been in our new place six months but we already have so many great memories here, and it's been so nice to have a yard to play in, more space to spread out, and of course, to not have to worry about getting buried when opening closets.  I'm looking forward to hosting our first Thanksgiving here today, and to many happy years here as a family.

A stable job and super supportive boss who always has my back no matter what, and a great team of gals that I get to work with every day.

I truly have so much to be thankful for, and I need to remember to slow down and take time to appreciate everything more, and to not take anything for granted.

I wish you each a wonderful Thanksgiving and a day full of appreciation for all the good things in your lives.

Even More Cuteness

Okay, I've given you a break.  Now it's time to finish the list of cute Jackson happenings.

Sometimes I give Jackson string cheese on the way home from daycare.  Normally he eats most of it but we typically find crumbs on him and in his car seat that I give to Roxy when we get inside.  Last week though, he finished everything and there was nothing left for Roxy.  I didn't think anything of it or say anything to him but as we came inside, he tossed a bite size chunk of cheese into her bowl.  He'd actually saved her a piece and kept it tightly in his hand until he could give it to her!

Jackson has sensitive skin and sometimes gets dry patches that take awhile to go away.  He's had a little dry skin on his cheek for a few weeks, which I've been putting hydrocortisone and Aquaphor on in the morning and again before bed.  Whenever I ask him if I can put these on his cheek, he'll point to his cheek and yell "cheek!" and run over and get both containers.  It's become such a part of his routine that sometimes he'll go grab these on his own and come back and point and say "cheek" to remind me.

When I ask Jackson to back up, he likes to say "beep, beep, beep".  Cracks me up every time.
One of the teachers at daycare told Corey last week that Jackson's latest development is his new phase of playing.  He's less shy now than he was there for a few months, but has started to fight with others over toys (vs. the "parallel play" phase) and has gotten into trouble a few times. At home he likes to collect all the balls in his room and throw them into crib, be put in the crib and throw them all out (wash, rinse, repeat).  Well, at school, he does this but with toys and the teacher was worried he'd throw the toys at other kids --- he'll collect them and then throw it over the gate in the changing area, or the wooden play area.  Sometimes, when he's organizing all the toys by himself, another kid sees that and wants to play, but he'll get upset and they end up fighting over the toys.  The teacher also told Corey that "he's a boy" and "it's the age" and it's all part of learning to play with others, rather than on his own all the time.

He has a big boy Stokke chair now that he really seems to like.  He'd started to outgrow the other high chair and we were ready to transition to him sitting up at the table with us (and I was so sick of that dang high chair tray constantly adorning our counter or table!).  And since about two weeks ago, he no longer drinks any bottles.  It's milk in a cup with breakfast, lunch and dinner, with water the rest of the time.  The only bottle he was drinking was right before bed, which he loved, and I thought it would be tough to break him of it, but after looking frantically around the room saying "baba" the first night, we were able to quickly distract him with a book and he hasn't looked back. He also always now asks for "mil" (milk) at meals rather than a "baba". 

Other new words include "peetza" (pizza) and "wall" (which he pointed out today while I was changing his diaper), "hiiiicha" (high chair), "dinNER", and he's started to understand possessive forms (i.e. he'll point at my shoes and say "mama's").

And here's a video from last week, where J's showing off his cleaning skills:

Too Much Cuteness

There's been all kinds of cuteness around this house lately.  Jackson is at such a fun age right now and it's so exciting to hear him constantly learning new words and testing out new skills.

He still absolutely loves to help us do anything around the house.  In fact, his latest thing is taking the kitchen towel and wiping up wet spots on the floor (he's drooling like crazy again -- literally leaving puddles wherever he spends more than a few seconds -- so, more teeth must be coming soon).  This quickly turns to the wiping of the cabinets, the inside or outside of the dishwasher (whichever is available), etc.  I guess he's seen me cleaning the kitchen a few times, huh?

His most recent new words are "shut" (the blinds, an open drawer or door, or pretty much anything that is open) and "donut" (sounds like doh-ut, which took us a bit to figure out what he meant) after having 1-1/2 of them for breakfast on Sunday a.m. and spotting extra donuts in a Tupperware the next day at breakfast.  And my favorite: "shhh" with a finger to his lips.  He whipped this one out over the weekend as we (Corey, my parents and I) were gathered around the table eating dinner.  We were trying to decide it if it was raining out and someone said "shhh" (not using a finger to demonstrate) so we could listen to hear the rain on the skylight, and then Jackson did it as well, but did the finger bit.  It was adorable.

And the final story for now...he recently figured out how to unzip his jackets so he enjoys helping take off his coat at night when we get home.  The other morning I went into his room to get him up for school and he was all snugly in his bed, in his footed pj's...which were completely unzipped.  I stood him up and said "what happened to your pjs?!" and he responded with a completely shocked expression and an "uh oh!" like he had no idea what he'd done. 

More stories to come soon.  Promise.

This past weekend brought chilly temps but some good a.m. sun, so we took advantage with a family Starbucks date.

I can't believe how grown up he's starting to look.  What happened to our cute little baby boy?!  (Yes, those are gloves he's wearing - he needed some for school, so we stopped at the store on the way home to pick some up.  I tried them on him, thinking they wouldn't go over well much like his boots, but he loved them.  He didn't want to take them off and finally when we got them off, his poor little hands were on fire!)

The vacuum used to scare our J, but it brings all kinds of fun and excitement now.  This new outlook makes weekend chores much easier, let me tell you!

Bus

Jackson learned the cutest new word about a week ago - "bus". He has some books that have buses in them, but we've never asked him to say bus, and he's never said it unprovoked...until recently.

We were driving home from daycare and at a light, I kept hearing what I thought was "buh"; however, when I turned around, I saw he was pointing at an approaching bus.  Another bus drove by, so I asked him what it was and again, he said the word, but when I was watching him as he said it, I realize he was saying the "s" it was just very quiet.  He even has a bit of a lisp when he says it.  A-freakin'-dorable.

Take a look:

And I'll leave you with one more cute story.  Jackson has a singing dog - you push the paws and songs play.  One song is "head, shoulders, knees, and toes".  He was playing with this the other day in the den, and I was in the kitchen.  I poked my head around the corner to check on him, and saw him point at his head, and features of his face.  It took me a second, but I realized that "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" was on and he was trying to do all the right motions.  Some were off, but he definitely pointed to a few of the right features (head, ears and mouth).  By the time I got the video camera out, he caught me and stopped.  Bummer!

I dressed Jackson today without even realizing that and and Corey were both wearing blue Seahawks shirts, and gray sweats.  Love my matching boys!

Happy Halloween!

Our little monkey had a fun day at school celebrating Halloween in costume and I was told he enjoyed the rice crispy treats that were on hand.

Surprisingly, when it was time to try trick-or-treating in our cul de sac, he actually let us put on the hood of his costume, which we'd be unsuccessful at numerous times leading up to the big day (he hates things on his face/head).

As expected, he was not a huge fan of going door-to-door but we were able to make it to a few houses with him in my arms.  And it's a good thing we did - our neighbors Bill and Susan had a goodie bag all ready for him including candy, tooth paste, a tooth brush and a light up ball among other things.  So cute and thoughtful!

Roxy dressed up as usual, but it wasn't the same as she's still healing from her surgery and has been wearing one of Jackson's old t-shirts to keep her wound dry and clean.   We tied her up to keep her from going nuts every time we opened the door but she at least got to see all the action from her spot in the dining room.

It was amazing to go from our condo, where we never had a single trick-or-treater, to our new neighborhood.  The knocks started coming about 6:30 and within an hour, we'd given away all ~200 pieces of candy. I guess I better listen to Corey next time when he tells me we don't have enough - I just had no idea we'd have 80-100 hungry kids at our door tonight. 

Hope you all had a spooky, sugar-filled day!

Cutest monkey in the whole world. 

Between Roxy wearing a t-shirt under her costume, and not seeing Jackson's face in his, this picture totally cracks me up.

Happy Halloween!



Nursemaid's Elbow

Say what?! 

We had quite the eventful evening that required a trip to Overlake Urgent Care to find out why Jackson wasn't moving his left arm much, and seemed to be in pain when we touched/moved it. 

When I got to daycare, he seemed in good spirits but right before getting him out of his high chair there, he started to cry.  I thought, given his mouthful of fish crackers, perhaps he'd bitten his tongue or cheek, but when his left arm was limp when I tried to put his coat on, I started to get worried.  Since he'd seemed fine just minutes before though, I thought maybe it had fallen asleep and that maybe he was experiencing "pins & needles", so we headed home.  By the time we got there, he still hadn't moved his arm much and was upset getting out of his car seat.  After a quick call to daycare to confirm that he didn't fall or seem hurt at all there, we decide to head in to get checked out.

As a mom, it's so awful to see your kiddo sick or hurt and, aside from his cyst removal, this was right up there in terms of worst mommy moments.  I immediately started assuming the worst - was it broken?  Would he need to be in a cast/sling?  If so, how would we keep him entertained and occupied while it healed? 

The doctor came in and immediately said that based on the placement of his arm (limp and resting on his thigh) it looked like "nursemaid's elbow" or closed posterior dislocation of the elbow, which is apparently very common in young kids.  It can occur when hanging or swinging by the arms, bracing a fall, etc.  Daycare couldn't really think of anything he'd done that would have caused him to hurt his arm, and he seemed fine earlier in the day, so it'll remain a mystery as to how it happened.

The good news is though that with about 30 seconds of work, the doctor was able to pop things back into place and Jackson was as good as new.  Seriously - within seconds of the doctor finishing, Jackson stopped crying and started reaching and grabbing for things with his left hand.  Thank goodness!  He even felt good enough to give the doc a few high fives, say goodbye and "dank que" (thank you). 

I'm so thankful that was all it was and that he's back to being our fun, lovable toddler.  I just don't know what I would have done if it was something worse.  I do know I would have given anything to take away his pain, though.  And I reconfirmed with Corey that this is exactly why J will not be playing football (or any sports for that matter) --- I can't stand seeing my kiddo in pain. It'll be chess or math club only for this kid! (Okay, not really, but I'm not ready to think about sports yet.)

All better, and with three stickers (on his shirt) for being such a big, brave boy.

And, a few videos of our happy, healthy boy from over the weekend:

Mama's kitchen helper.

 

 Dada is hilarious!

Morans' Day at the Doctors Part 2

At one of Roxy's routine checkups, we noticed a small bump at the top of one of her front legs. It looked like maybe it was a bug or spider bite and was about the size of a pea. At Roxy's checkup this last Saturday, the doctor had another look, because it still hadn't gone away. And Dr. Cotton did a needle aspiration to get some cells to look under the microscope--and she didn't like what she saw and diagnosed it as a mast cell tumor that she recommended removing as soon as possible. So, today we took Roxy in for surgery to have it removed.

Here is a link to info on mastocytoma:
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/mast-cell-tumors-mastocytoma-in-dogs/page1.aspx

They are the most common tumors found in dogs (although usually in older dogs) and the best way to treat them is to completely remove them--which includes removing the skin and inch or two around it. This is why even though it was the size of a pea, the cuts that were made covered a far wider area.

She did well in surgery and is home recovering. Still doesn't have her usual appetite or playfulness back, but I'm sure it'll be back soon enough.

Here's a picture of her at home (dressed in a Halloween bandanna given to her at the Vet's office). She's getting some extra treats and TLC on her road to recovery.

All the little, annoying things your dog may do don't seem to matter much at all when you have to see them sick or hurt. It's something I'll remind myself the next time she decides to chew some furniture. In the meantime, go ahead and give your dog a little extra hug today if you haven't already.

18 Months

It seems like Jackson's 1st birthday was yesterday, but here we are, half-way to his 2nd birthday already! 

We had his check-up today and he continues to top the charts:

• Weight = 30 lbs (90th+ percentile)
• Height = 35.5" (95th+ percentile)
• Head = 19 cm (50th percentile)

Developmentally he's right on track and the doc was impressed with the words he heard him say (including "thank you") and with how well Jackson understands what you say to him. Jackson enjoyed sharing his goldfish crackers and puffs with the doctor and only cried a few times with him; however, the nurse was a different story.  From the moment she came to the waiting room to call us back until the moment she left the room (and then again when she came back for shots), he screamed his head off.  To weigh him, she had to have me get on an adult scale while holding the screaming, naked babe, who then got even more upset when I had to hand him over to the her, so that she could weigh me alone and figure out the weight difference.  Slight separation anxiety/stranger danger, right?  Fun times.

Aside form that, the last few months have been very fun with J.  He's literally running all over the place, and is learning new tricks and words constantly.  In just the past few days, he's been babbling constantly in almost full sentences --- while we can't understand much of what he's saying, he's definitely turning into a chatterbox like his mama.

He continues to love playing with balls - kicking, throwing (which has translated into the throwing of other things like small pumpkins onto the ground, plastic bowls across the table, and the like), shooting baskets.  He continues to love reading, but doesn't ask us to stop everything to read quite as much as before.

He is still a great little helper around the house. He loves to pick things up off the floor and hand them to me or throw them into the garbage on his own (he even helped empty my lunch bag the other day, throwing away wrappers into the garbage without being asked - very cute), loves to "help" me with laundry (i.e. put everything I've taken out of the dryer back into it), loves to bring us our shoes in the a.m. (he runs them to us saying "mama! mama!" or "dada! dada!" as he brings them over, and then waits to make sure we put them on), and always tells daddy to take his shoes off when he gets home from work.  And he is great at following directions like "please go get your shoes and bring them back so I can put them on for you".

From an eating perspective, he had an adventurous streak a few weeks back, often putting most of what we asked him to try into his month and many times liking whatever it was (broccoli, tomatoes, edamame, lasagna, cauliflower, etc).  Sadly, this has ended and he's actually been extra picky lately.  Food that he continues to love, or recently tried and still enjoyes, are lasagna, macaroni, quesadillas, cereal (with milk, which daddy shares with him most mornings), bananas, grapes, crackers, string cheese, brown rice, and of course, lots of milk.

Jackson had been sleeping wonderfully since about January (minus a few rough nights shortly after our move), but September brought four molars and some rough nights along with them.  His overnight sleeping started to improve last week, but we've had some rough nights again lately.  Luckily though, it's not every night, and luckily, he usually only requires a quick trip into his room to lay him down and cover him back up once or twice.  We continue to tell ourselves that it's just a phase, and that it's a good thing his cute (a quote I find myself using a lot these days).

Naps continue to be great - he sleeps from 12 p.m. to at least 3 p.m., and sometimes even 3:30 or 3:45. 

He loves to point out body parts as we ask about them (i.e. "Jackson, where's your head?") and actually knows quite a few.  He can also make some fun animal sounds - dog, cow, sheep, lion, horse.

Tantrums are fewer and farther between, but still occur and often out of nowhere.  We typically give him space and time, and then try to distract him or make him laugh after he starts to calm down.

He continues to love to play with and organize anything he can find in the kitchen cabinets, but doesn't spend as much time snacking and drinking milk in his car (that was a very cute phase).  He laughs hysterically when tickled, especially if his tummy, armpits or thighs are involved, enjoys opening and shutting drawers/doors/cupboards, and absolutely loves turning on any lights or fans that he can reach the switches for.

He's been extra affectionate lately, even puckering up and saying "muah" while giving kisses on the mouth and he loves to give big hugs.  He always tells me "buh-bye" in the morning, often along with a blown kiss, when we're packing him into Corey's car for daycare.

Our love for this cute kid grows more and more every day, and more every month that goes by.  I absolutely cannot imagine life without him.

Pumpkin Patch 2012

After a failed attempt at making it to a pumpkin patch last weekend (long drive, road closure/detour, rain, and a rapidly approaching lunch time and nap), we woke up to semi-clear skies and an open schedule, so we packed up and headed out to pick out a pumpkin this morning.

Last weekend, we'd considered making the trek to Carnation for a pumpkin patch we'd heard about there, but after a co-worker raved about Trinity Tree Farm, just a short 15- minute drive from our house, I was sold. 

There were no crowds, tons of pumpkins left and we had a great time wandering the field looking for a perfect pumpkin to bring home.  Never mind the fact that Jackson was more interested in looking for and spotting rocks that happened to be in the field.  Corey carved our pick tonight and I can't wait to light it after it gets dark tomorrow and see what Jackson thinks.

I am looking forward to making a trip back to Trinity for our Christmas tree and future pumpkin patch adventures.

The Last Time

I read a great article recently that reminded me how important it is to enjoy each phase of childhood.  Every phase is just that - a phase - and good, or bad, it passes quickly and it's on to the next phase.  Life gets crazy and hectic, and I know I don't appreciate or remember all the phases and moments as much as I should. 

One of my absolute favorite phases has been Jackson's snuggles before bedtime.  For as long as I can remember, every night, after his bottle, we brush his teeth, read a book and then turn off the lights.  And the best part of my day is the next five minutes that follow - he snuggles up with his head on my shoulder as I rock and sing "Twinkle, Twinkle" a few times.  Lately, I've even kept rocking him a bit longer because I love this time with him so much, and he's getting so big it's almost awkward to hold him like this anymore, and I knew this phase wouldn't last forever. 

Just this week - Tuesday, I believe - Jackson started getting into snuggle position and a few words into the song, would pop up, point to his bed and say 'night night'.  While this is absolutely adorable, it also breaks our hearts - our baby is growing up right before our eyes, and is starting to prefer bedtime over snuggling with us.  It's been this way every night since, except for tonight. 

So tonight, when I realized he wasn't going to ask to be put in his crib right away, I snuggled him a little closer, for a little longer, and appreciated this time with him more than ever before.

Sonoma County, CA

For my (dreaded) big 3-0 birthday on Friday, we packed up and headed to Sonoma County, CA for a weekend away with good friends.  Sara, Kels and Mark joined us, along with my high school friend Mike and his partner, who live in San Francisco.

Corey did an amazing job planning a super fun weekend for us.  The house we stayed in was perfect, complete a birthday cake upon arrival, a hot tub, fireplaces, soaking tubs in nearly every bathroom, room to spread out and great views.  It was a great space to relax and spend time with everyone.

To kick the weekend off, we headed out to downtown Santa Rosa for drinks at Christy's on the Square, followed by a delicious pasta dinner at Ca'Bianca, a cute restaurant in an old Victorian house.  We wrapped up the evening with drinks at Russian River Brewing Co.   Once back at the house, we may have polished off five delicious mini pies of assorted flavors from Petaluma Pies after a soak in the hot tub.  Maybe.

Saturday rolled around which meant a wine tasting tour.  A fabulous driver named Mike picked us up and had bubbly waiting for us in the limo. 

First stop was Lynmar for a picnic pairing - lunch and the wine pairings were amazing.  Corey may have decided to purchase four bottles of wine there.  Maybe.

Next, we headed to Iron Horse Vineyards for some sparkling wine, followed by a stop at Russian River Vineyards.  Between the many tastings and the bar games the bar tender played, this was a very fun and memorable stop.  And another four bottles of wine were purchased by my husband.

We wrapped up the day with a stop at Hook & Ladder Vineyards.  Started by a retired fireman, it had a fun story and atmosphere and was a perfect final stop, and a perfect place for Corey to pick up four more bottles of wine. (Seriously, we will have more wine than we know what to do with once it all starts arriving!)

But the day didn't stop there!  Back at the house, we had dinner to get ready for --- and not just any dinner.  Dinner made especially for us by Chef Eric Lee - most well known as a recent finalist in Food Network Star (Season 8).  He was the nicest guy and was so fun to talk to, and was a wonderful chef to boot. 

Here's the yummy goodness we were able to enjoy:

Appetizers

• Local Artisan Cheeses
• Local Salumi
• Roasted Vegetables and Olives
• Prosciutto and Figs
• Burrata BLT's

1st

• Lobster, Belgian Endive and Avocado Salad with Preserved Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

2nd

• Ham hock and kale ravioli with peppers, ricotta and corn

Entree

• Braised Beef Shortrib
• Mashed Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts, Leeks and Butternut Squash

Dessert

• Molten Chocolate Cake

I don't think I've ever been so full in my life and between a day of drinking and evening of eating, I was all celebrated out.

The weekend was a blast and flew by but when Sunday rolled around and we headed home, we couldn't WAIT to see our little man, who was at home with my parents.  It was great to have some stress-free adult time, knowing Jackson was having fun and in great hands with my parents, but we missed him to pieces and found ourselves talking about him nonstop.

While I'm not too excited to be 30, I had such a memorable birthday and am so thankful for everyone who helped make it so special, and a huge thanks to my parents for keeping our kiddo happy and occupied while we were gone!

(Additional photos can be found here.)