December 2003
Wednesday the 31st. Well, this
is the last entry for 2003. Most memorable moments this year: Benjamin's
arrival in May tops them all of course. But Jackson's first day at
pre-school was a big one, and my surgery in July sticks out, along with our trip
to Duck in August with the Burtons and Landon Joyce's birth in September.
Then there were all the days spent with family and friends this year.
Jackson is so smart and funny, he made most days around the house hard to forget
too. And fat little Ben Ben was sweeter and more perfect than we could
have imagined.
We have a lot to look forward to in 2004.
Grandma Sue's is entering the new year in good health and hopefully will spend
some time with us in Mount Airy. Eric and Christy and Anita and Stephen are expecting babies in 2004, very exciting. Benjamin
will start crawling and walking and talking and... He will be so different this
time next year, it's amazing.
Sunday the 28th. Home Sweet
Home. We made the trek back to North Carolina safely and soundly.
Jackson and Benjamin make five hour drives like seasoned truckers. And all
it took was a little Dramamine to turn Zorro into a nice little travel
companion. Who knows, maybe he'll go with us on all our trips now.
Saturday the 27th. A beautiful day in Virginia. We took Zorro on lots of walks around the neighborhood, then Jackson spent a few hours at cousin Lexi's house while Grandma went shopping with us.
Friday the 26th. Another fun day with family at Grandma's followed by a visit to Walter Scott and Virginia in Short Pump. I told Virginia that Benjamin had a tooth and showed it to her. She said "Two". I checked it out and she was right, Benjamin has his 2nd tooth. That's another milestone.
Thursday the 25th. Merry Christmas!
Jackson was happy that Santa brought everything on his list, plus some things he
didn't ask for. His big gift was the Mountain Action Command Center. Benjamin
enjoyed his first Christmas too, especially his Santa balloon. Once the
wrapping paper stopped flying, the boys, still in their PJs, went over the hills
and through the woods to Grandma Sue's. Zorro made the trip to Colonial Heights
too and after six years on Bluff Street he spent his first night ever away
from home. The Mills
family then got together for another nice supper and more present swapping. The Bat
Cave from Grandma was a huge hit with Jackson.
Wednesday
the 24th. Another favorite tradition, Christmas Eve with Hama and
family. Jackson enjoyed playing with his cousins,
Benjamin enjoyed getting held, and Amy and I enjoyed the fantastic food and
getting to visit with family and friends. Jackson took a few of Hama's pickles home with him to leave out
for Santa again this year. When Jackson tells Santa that he is going to
leave him pickles, Santa tells him the same thing every year, he appreciates the
variety.
Tuesday
the 23rd. We got the boy's Christmas pictures back from Kids Shots
today. Mo and Papa watched Jackson and Benjamin while Amy and I had fondue
with Timmesa and Jeff. That was the first time in seven months that Amy
and I were both away from the baby at the same time.
Monday the 22nd. Jackson's cousin Caleb
slept over at our house tonight. A huge
clubhouse was erected in the middle of Jackson's room,
complete with Christmas
lights, but Caleb says his favorite thing was the
electric guitar. He had
me play some stuff for him, then he took a turn cranking it up. Caleb
played some awesome air guitar to a song by Stanley's band, Nex-Faze, that Jackson has me
play on the computer for him. Jackson thinks Stanley is some kind of rock
star and just loves the "I'll Be Fine" song. He jumps on the bed and yells
stuff like "Stanley Rocks" or "Stanley is Cool!". After playing non-stop,
they followed a long bath with movies and popcorn in bed. There was a lot
of big talk about staying up all night, but both boys drifted off by eleven.
Caleb first, then Jackson.
Sunday
the 21st. Benjamin started the day playing with his new toys and
Jackson started by shaving for the first time. That evening we went to a
Christmas play to see Melanie, Eric, Caleb, and Isabelle. Most everyone came
back to our house for ice cream afterwards. Check out the picture of Caleb
whispering to Jackson. I think that photo illustrates their relationship
perfectly.
Saturday
the 20th. Christmas with the Heaths and Beasleys in Claudville tonight. Lots
of great food, family and friends at Mo and Papa's house.
It was a special suprise when baby Ella Marion stopped by. We were excited
to finally meet her and it was nice seeing her family too. She is such a
precious little girl. Benjamin enjoyed his
presents, but maybe not as much as the ribbon and bows.
Friday the 19th. It was our
turn to host
Dinner Club. Judging by the pictures, everyone had a good
time. Thanks for all the desserts that were brought. Hope Sharon feels better soon, we missed her and Keith.
Sharon's "Dirty Santa/White Elephant" idea went over very well, a lot of fun.
Wednesday the 17th. Benjamin's tooth keeps poking out more and more. We are loosing some sleep over it, but it could be worse. It seems like everyone we know has the flu. Jackson has turned some part of the house into a hideout everyday this week. He takes chairs, pillows, afgan's, sheets, etc... and makes these huge monstrosities that he can crawl around in. He is very proud of the finished work each time. Maybe he'll be an architect.
Monday the 15th. A milestone for baby Benjamin today. He has his first tooth!
Sunday
the 14th. A nice quite day at home. Cold and icy outside, nice
and warm inside. Benjamin had both of us, and Zorro, to himself all
morning. Zorro is very gentle with Benjamin and Benjamin loves him.
I have a 100% success rate at putting Benjamin to sleep by playing guitar for
him. And it worked so good today that I put myself to sleep too.
When the roads cleared, Papa brought Jackson home to his little brother.
He had told Papa that he missed him.
Time Capsule: "WE GOT HIM!" was the headline of the day, referring to Saddam Hussein's capture.
Saturday
the 13th. Samuel came over this morning. Jackson and Samuel
share a common passion, CANDY. The pieces on top of the gingerbread house
taunted them until they just couldn't take it anymore. The pictures of
Landon and Brooke are from their visit earlier this month.
During
the afternoon we took a Christmas tree to Mo in Claudville. Jackson hung the ornaments,
Benjamin played with Mo and Papa, Amy made coffee and cookies, I strung the
lights. We had just enough time leftover to pull some mistletoe from an old
oak next to an abandoned farmhouse and get back to Mount Airy before the winter
weather started. Jackson spent the night with Mo and Papa. He
doesn't spend many nights away from home so we miss him.
Friday
the 12th. Wow, things get busy this time of year. The boys saw
Santa at Hanes Mall this morning. Timmesa was with Amy and sent me the
photo of the boys on Santa's lap. On the right, Benjamin and
Jackson share some down time on the couch after a busy evening.
Benjamin is in an exploring stage. He
wants to grab everything
and anything. So we dump a bunch of toys in front of him and let him have
at it. He also loves Peek-a-Boo. He's laughing at Amy in the picture
on the left.
Tuesday the 9th. A school day for Jackson followed by pictures at Kid Shots. The baby did great, Jackson's photos may turn up on Toddlers Gone Wild.
Monday the 8th.
Both boys visited Dr. Gale today. Benjamin got four shots. Jackson
got one. Amy says all three of them shed plenty of tears, but it really
didn't go that bad. Benjamin had gained another pound, but no inches.
At six months he is still in the 95% for weight at 20 lbs 10 oz. He also
drank his first juice today and loved it. That's another entry for his
Milestones/Growth Chart. The doctor checked
out Jackson's booboo while they were there. Looks like he survived his run
in with the wall just fine. Luckily Benjamin's ear
infection has cleared up too. Then before bedtime Amy and Jackson
made a gingerbread house. Jackson mostly ate or licked everything while
Amy tried to get it together.
Sunday
the 7th. I don't know which moon was shining brighter. The one
outside the house or the one inside. Our
little man is sitting up
very well by himself or maybe his belly just keeps him propped up, I don't know. Papa stopped by and watched a movie with Jackson.
And just before bedtime Jackson ran as fast as he could into a door frame.
The poor kid bounced back three feet and landed on his back. He seemed to recover quickly, but will
probably sport a nice bump tomorrow.
Saturday
the 6th. A nice day spent at home. Samuel stopped by just long enough
for me to take his picture in front of the tree.
Friday the 5th.
This evening Amy asked me to take this picture of Jackson watching Rudolf the Red
Nosed Reindeer.
Jackson spent the day with Papa and Caleb. We took Eric and Melanie's picture when they dropped Jackson off. I thought they would look nicer with a better background than our dining room, so I changed it. Hope they don't mind.
Thursday
the 4th. Ho, Ho, Ho, it's Ben's first snow. Go, Go, Go, 'cause Jack's a
snow pro. We took pictures of the boys looking at the snow this morning.
Then Jackson got to play outside some when I came home for lunch.
It's a great snow to play in. Benjamin has his first ear infection, so
he's staying inside today.
Tuesday
the 2nd. Time to trim the tree. Jackson is three, so we made the
switch to fun colorful lights this year.
Monday
the 1st. Decorations have begun... We pulled everything from the
attic, Christmas CDs are in the stereo, the tree is in the house. Tis the
season to be jolly, fa la la la la, la la la la. Is that the right number
of la las? Brooke and Landon stopped by to play for awhile too.
