Jackson Turns One

So it happened.  My baby turned one on Friday.  We were all so excited for this big milestone for our Jacky that when the day came I was just so happy for my big boy that it wasn't as bitter sweet as I was anticipating it to be.  It does make me sad that his first year flew by so quickly, but I am just loving this stage with him right now.  He is gaining so much personality and is just a joy to have around every day.  No new teeth to report this month, just a little thing called walking!  And yes he took his first steps (other than the step and a half he took prior) while at my parents house when I had the flu.  Little stinker.  He did make sure to promptly come home and show me his new trick.  So I forgave him.  He usually takes about four steps at a time, but has walked the entire length of the living room a few times. He is very sturdy but gets super hesitant and nervous after a few steps and just sits down.  He definitely still prefers crawling to walking, but should be up walking around full time in no time.  I love it when he does walk because he is so dang smiley.  He knows its a big deal and that he is hot stuff.

While he is still such a good baby, he is getting feistier by the day.  He no longer just lets his big brother have his way with him and screams really loud at him if he's bugging him.  He doesn't throw tantrums  and continuously scream, pout, or throw himself down on the floor or anything, but just yells really loud one big scream at a time until Ben gets the memo.  He also can be super rough and tough with Ben.  He pushes him away if he wants him to back off and kicks him in the back when Ben sits on the front of his stroller.  I think the day will come soon when he will really be able to hold his own with Ben.

Jackson is such an explorer and spends his days wondering around the house.  We have to make sure all the bathroom doors are closed at all times.  He's very good at playing on his own already and plays very well with his own toys and Ben's toys.  Ben has never been good at playing with his toys, especially independently- so this is a great thing.  I love now how he is old enough to play with Ben in his room while I'm getting dinner ready.  It's fun to already see them playing together and to imagine the future of them together.  Such cute brothers.

We are still pretty much keeping to the awesome schedule Jackson has carved out for himself.  7 pm bedtime and 8 am wake up call.  Almost to the dot.  He is such a moose now and eats both a whole wheat waffle and a jar of oatmeal baby food for breakfast.  He then drinks a bottle shortly after that.  Lunch now is usually a pb&j or leftover pasta and fruit (pureed, still not a fan of fresh chopped fruit).  A bottle for 1 pm nap, which usually lasts for three hours.  For dinner he eats usually a protein jar of baby food and then table feeds from our dinner.  And then yogurt for dessert and one last bottle for bedtime.  With lots of snacks in between.  Such a good eater this kid.  We have made the transition from formula to whole milk and he has taken it like a champ.  Now to start the transition from bottle to sippy cup.  He does drink sometimes from a sippy, but I need to do better about giving him both milk and water every day in his cup.

Jackson is always happy and content.  And if he's not you can fix that in a second by either a) giving him some food, or b) putting him to bed.  Nobody can make him laugh as much as his big brother, Ben and he reserves his biggest smiles for his daddy.  His eyes light up when he sees Daddy, as if at the moment he sees him he remembers him all over again and thinks to himself: yeah, where has that guy been all day?  While his mommy might always be around and not get the same excited smiles, he certainly is a mommy's boy.  His first word was dada, and second was baba, but mama- his third word- is his most used.  He says it all day long.  Music to my ears.  We couldn't be more blessed to have had Jackson Thomas join our family just over a year ago.  We love you Baby Jacky!  We can't wait to see what year two holds.