A Day To Remember

Today at my moms group at church we learned about "spirited children." After a few moments of listening I realized that Jackson fit into the category like a glove. He is the most amazing little guy in the world and I love him with all of my heart but, as she described, being his mother translates into always being covered in a thin layer of perspiration, having a messy house and being exhausted at the end of most days. This happens to have been one of those days. . .

WARNING: DO NOT TRY ANY OF THE FOLLOWING AT HOME!!!!
TO ENSURE THAT NOBODY DIED TODAY THERE WERE NO PICTURES TAKEN:)

First of all while I was making Jackson's eggs this morning he turned the baby recliner, the two end tables and the pack n play upside down in the living room. This was not the first time he has done this, it was just the first thing that happened today.

Then later in the afternoon while I was using the bathroom he looked at me and said "bye bye momma" opened the door and walked out. All the while I was begging him to come back. Offering to let him flush the toilet. . .have a puppy. . .get a new car at 14. . .basically anything to keep him in my sight.
He declined my offers and then opened the dishwasher and dumped the dirty silverware tray on the kitchen floor. Then he ran to the big drawer under the stove and like a seasoned rock climber quickly scaled one drawer to the next before standing on the stove. Luckily he stood on the front two burners because he had turned the back two onto high. Next he opened the cabinet, put the spray can of pam into the microwave and turned it on. Thank God, I was watching all of this (and was actually amazed before the terror set in) and ran full speed to grab him right as he turned on the microwave. All of this while I was just trying to pee! (Sorry for the details but seriously!) So, the explosion from microwaving an aerosol can was avoided.

After I was able to breath again I decided to pick up from boston market instead of cooking dinner for my friend who had just had a baby.

Later that night the entire day was forgotten because the snuggle time with Jackson was so adorable. He was being such a sweet baby and all of the wild events quickly evaporated from my memory. Then as I was tickling him he accidentally kicked me in the stomach which made me double over and he then was worried about me and tried to hug me and instead head butted me in the nose. The great snuggle fest took a wrong turn and I ended up with a bloody nose. Knowing that I had caused the incident due to tickling him combined with the fact that I try to really embrace being the mommy of a very sweet and fairly active child I just rolled over and grabbed some tissues before snuggling (calmly) for another 15 minutes.

Laying Jax in his bed and having him give me the best hug ever before saying thank you and signing love was the perfect end to our Wednesday. And as I walked out of his bedroom I decided that cleaning the house was not a priority tonight. Instead I sat down, had a glass of wine while talking to Jenna and enjoying the fact that God chose me to be the parent of such an exciting child:) He can be exhausting at times but is also the greatest blessing in the world. And thank goodness I had been to a Bible study about that exact thing this morning!

BTW-The childcare lady at church today asked me why I don't give Jackson sugar. . .I'm thinking of emailing her this post as my reasoning.

Potty Time with Melmo

A few weeks ago the elmo (or as Jackson says in his sleep "melmo") potty seat was on sale at Babies R Us so I got one for when Jackson is ready to potty train. Last Thursday Jackson saw the seat and decided he wanted to go "potty." So, he sat down and actually went to the bathroom (number 1 & 2. . .for those who are into TMI). Yippee!
However, after his first potty experience I have decided to move the elmo seat to the garage and not try again for another several months. He did use the bathroom but then the next day he insisted he had to go about a dozen times. . .each time needing to get completely naked and sitting there for EVER while nothing happened. So, I just figure the timing is not right and I don't want to have to dress and undress him 50 times a day for the novelty of flushing the toilet:) So, we'll try again later but at least he is interested.

The Patterson Girls

After leaving Nanny and Paw Paw's house we spent a night in Houston with the Patterson's. It was a blast to have some time with Danielle and Jimmy and Jackson was in love with Rachel and Reagan. The girls are both just precious and I know we'll be spending lots of time together this summer. They put on a fashion show for us that was absolutely hysterical. Jackson of course found a way to rough house all of their princess stuff:) And now for my favorite part of any blog entry. . .the pictures!

Bruce Almighty

Nanny and Paw Paw's next door neighbor, Bruce, is one of Jackson's favorite people. He's super fun, has a really sweet dog and takes Jackson on TONS of rides on his four wheeler. Thanks Bruce!

Time with Nanny and Paw Paw

What an awesome time we had in Baytown Valentine's day weekend! Jackson was in heaven going on golf cart rides and "helping" Nanny and Paw Paw with cooking, washing cars and tons of other fun things. As usual with the Osby's there were a few firsts. Going up the stairs with Nanny the first day Jackson started counting. At first she would say one and he would say two. Later, after a car ride together she was counting every other number and they would get to eight together. I have no idea if he will do it again but we did get it on our hd video camera. Jax LOVED the time we had in Baytown. We can't wait to go back for Easter!
Here are a few (and yes, I know my version of few is different than most) pictures of our fun!

Jackson loves to play the piano with Nanny.



Nanny and Paw Paw got Jackson a wagon and he loved it. Each day he would pack his favorite book, his beloved Melmo and his water and play in the wagon.



Instead of using the door to climb into the wagon he just threw himself over the top. . .not surprising for our little man.



Jackson and Aunt Sherri cleaning the floor.



Jackson got very upset each time Aunt Sherri had to leave. He had so much fun with her!



Jackson usually runs straight for Paw Paws tractor each day.



Washing Nannys car.



Jackson loved using the hose by himself and shockingly enough he didn't spray any of us:)



After all of that work crashing on daddy's shoulder was just what Jackson needed.



My two guys!



Jackson in the cute new outfit Nanny bought for him.



He was very excited to give me what appeared to be very special leaves during our walks.



Grandparents are the best!



Visiting Bruce's dog Queenie.



This is just in here b/c it is one of my favorite pictures of Jackson, he just looks so happy!

Baytown

Thursday we drove to Baytown for a visit with Jay's family. His parents were still in Mexico but Sherri and Dennis were there and brought us dinner (THANKS so much). It was so much fun to have some time with them. After dinner Jay's high school friends Eric and Crystal Suggs and their two adorable kids Riley and Micah came over for a visit. It was nice to get to know some of Jay's old friends and since Eric served in Iraq it was really great to hear his uplifting stories. He told us about how grateful the people were and how they would invite the soldiers over and bring them gifts and let them know how their lives and safety had improved because of them. I have always supported the troops and the sacrifices they make for all of us but hearing from him was really special. His family had to be without him for awhile but they all felt so strongly about what he was doing and never complained. It really made me feel lucky for all that I have. What a blessing it is that we live in a free country!

A Manly Kitchen

Jackson loves Mia's play kitchen and really anything having to do with the kitchen or cooking. As a result of this we have been looking for a kitchen designed for a little boy. . .you know, not Barbie pink:) Anyway, we had not found anything that Jay deemed "boyish" and that I deemed in our budget. But last week I went to the consignment store and found what I think is the perfect, most masculine boy kitchen set I could find. It came with TONS of accessories and a full set of calphalon pots and pans. The only downside is that it is plastic and I was hoping for wood. But for the price, we are happy and Jackson loves it.

Boy Time!

A few weeks ago we went to a play date with some of the ladies from my MOMS group at church. There were several boys older than Jackson and he loved it! This group has been so great to be a part of and it's great that Adrienne, Jaclyn and I are all at the same table.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAY!!!!!!

Happy birthday to the greatest husband and father ever!!!! We love you and can not wait to celebrate with you tomorrow!
Love,
Hill and Jax

Best $4 Ever Spent!

A few weeks ago Jaclyn and I took the kids and went to Stonebriar mall (it was FREE cosmetics day!). Anyway, the kids were such good sports about us running to the different department stores for our loot that we took them to the carosel afterwards. I'm pretty sure it was the single best experience Jackson has ever had. He loved it so much! From the second I put him on the horse he was in awe. The worst part of the day was taking him off after 3 rides. He cried and begged to get back on. He signed love and sorry and all kinds of things pleading. It was rough gettin him out of there but I'm excited to take him back for another ride soon!
Thanks so much to Jaclyn for taking the pictures. . .I had forgotten my camera.

Here they are before the ride started.



Here's Jackson just loving the ride!!!



I don't think I have ever seen him any happier!



The entire ride he kept laughing and then looking at me and saying "whoa, mama!"



He was also mesmerized by the mechanics of the horses going up and down.

Juice Time!

On Tuesday Emma stayed with us for awhile while Jaclyn went to a meeting. I thought it might be fun for the kids to make some juice (Jackson has never had any kind of juice). Jackson LOVED pushing the carrots down into the juicer! Emma thought it was fun but liked watching Jax do it more than doing it herself. She even mentioned "wow, Jackson sure is great at pushing that stuff down!" We didn't get any good pictures of the juicing (too dangerious for me to pull out the camera) but the kids did like the juice. I was pretty excited that Jackson drank it because it will be a super easy (despite the clean up) way to get some quick veggies in him. Here are some pictures of the kiddos playing.

Emma had the most fun building towers and Jackson had a blast knocking them down. Here he is ready to destroy her tower!



Down it goes!



They both got hysterical when the tower fell!



Sweet little Jax sharing his coveted "nanabar" with Jaclyn.



Emma had such a great time and Jackson loved having her play with him.