Monday, July 25, 2011

Civilized Society

Since this kid insists he's coordinated enough to use a big spoon by himself,


(Notice his mad skill of placing the food on the spoon. Effective eh?)





I decided it was time to to give the mane a trim.




Who better to do it than Aunt Mitzi?



With a little help from youtube's Sesame Street,

(I can't believe how effective the laptop is for pointing the head in the perfect direction. Tip head down? Place laptop on floor. Brilliant!)


We've got ourselves a trimmed, independent, less savage like creature.



I'm sure the large purple shiner on the forehead and the food and snot stains will definitely help his chances as a civilized person.



Welcome to society kid.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Dragon Training

'Chinese Zodiac - Year of the Dragon

#1: Determine if child is ready.

Does he/she:

-growl spontaneously?

Check.

-try to climb on everything that is high and try to fly off?

Check.

-play with matches or show an interest in fire production?

Check.
(Side Note--not sure how he got those, but they make a great rattle when shaken and apparently they are fun to chew on. Mother of the year again)

#2: Teach potential dragon how to fly.


Gravelly Point Park--a stone's throw away from Reagan National Airport. The planes come in every 2 min or so and are amazing for trainers and trainees.

#3: Eat Dragon Fruit



1.29$/lb at my favorite Asian Mart. Taste? Not superb. The texture is similar to a kiwi, but it definitely needed some sweetened yogurt to be palatable--I don't think it has very much natural sugar. Health Benefit? Immense. According to this website and the lady at the store, they're packed with natural vitamins, antioxidants and seem to help any health problem. Too bad the little man wasn't too fond of them. One piece was good enough for him.

#4: Practice uninhibited exploration



Jackson was tickled pink at his capability for figuring out how to climb onto the couch (toy box-->blue chair-->couch). Brilliant.

Now if it only this dragon training didn't make me so nervous, I might be able to take a decent video.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime?

This is a tribute to all the times in primary (children's sunday school) my dad made us come up with new words to this fabulous summertime song. If you're unfamiliar with it, you can find a copy and listen to it here.

Oh what do you do in the summertime

When all the skies are blue?

Do you get stuck with the flu




Or go to Barbeque


Or make the car sparkle like dew?


Is that what you do???

Hey! Us too.



Oh what do you do in the summertime

When all the world is green?

Do you climb down with a scream




Get leaner than lean




Or bounce balls up into the sky?




Is that what you do?!

So do I......


We did get sick with the flu, wash the car, and strap Jackson to my back so we could BBQ. Props go to Mark for finagling a way to let Jackson watch youtube without destroying the computer while we were sick.

The movies are long, so if you choose not to watch, I'm not offended. As usual, they are really for the Grandma's. I love how slowly Jackson turns around to go down the stairs (I know they're creepy gross, but they're well worth having a basement), his cute jibberjabber in the tub, and his solo ball playing [he had been playing that game for 5 min. before I filmed, and continued for another few rounds afterward].

What do you do in the summertime (with a one year old)???

[Because we're starting to run out of ideas in the hot humid weather!]

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Walking with a Bite


Jackson charmed the world while we were visiting Mark's family last week. "Oh he's so smiley!" the airline stewardess/stranger in the store/Grandma would say. Yes, yes. He loves to smile at people--which meant he was very happy for most of the week with all the cousins, strangers and new faces around. Everyone loved his two little teeth, and his Frankenstein walk, and he sure loved to show both of them off.

Jackson loved the horses, cattle drive, his cute cousins, and a house with space for him to walk.

He didn't really like sleeping--especially at night. We're not sure if that stemmed from the limited space a pack n' play offers, or real PTS (pre-teething syndrome). Sure enough, similar to our last visit with the Mark's Family (6 months ago), Jackson popped a little toother. It totally came as a surprise despite the obvious signs throughout the week. Beside lack of consistent sleep, Jackson decided to pick up a biting habit. The new habit came in handy for him when he needed to defend his territory or toys, but it sure was a pain when he tried it on us or innocent cousins.

In general however, he got along great with his cousins (1st, 2nd, and removed), aunties, uncles and grandparents.

He loved towing anyone around as his walker, and Daniel was a definite favorite

Cole and Jackson loved playing with each other and Grandma's "new" toys


But best of all was just hanging out, being together





The walking practice did seem to pay off. At the airport on the way home, Jackson managed to walk around without human incentive at the end. At the library today, he actually chose walking over crawling as his mode of transportation. Woo hoo!



Thankfully walking tuckered him out enough to persuade him to take one of these at the beginning of our plane ride. YAY!!