February 2004
Sunday the 29th. Grandma Sue
and I drove to Butner this morning where we met Alan,
Nicole, and Lexi for lunch. Grandma then rode back to Colonial Heights
with Alan, while I returned to another beautiful day in Mayberry. Jackson
spent the day with Papa, Mo, Caleb, and Isabelle going on adventure walks and
playing Little Foot. Not long after Mo and Papa brought Jackson back
we discovered that Ben had hives all over his face, neck, and ears. They
looked terrible and we were frantically trying to figure out what he was
allergic too when Mo was realized that he didn't have hives after all.
We got a wash cloth to see if she was right and they all wiped right off.
It was lipstick from her kisses.
Saturday the 28th.
While the rest of the state is under a blanket of snow, Mount Airy has nothing
but sunshine. So we all went for a nice walk on Main Street. It was
Benjamin's first walk in a real stroller and he had a great time. We ran
into our friend Cindy Ritenour and her mom and then stopped by
Creative Sewing to
see Megan's mom and grandparents. We made the
same
walk this time last year. The only difference is that Benji's view was
a little different. Click here to compare
Jackson's tree picture with last year's.
Friday the 27th. Benjamin turned nine months old today.
Thursday the 26th. First I
heard 5 inches of snow, then 10. Someone actually just said 18" of snow.
Guess we'll find out later. Benjamin has finally added Ma Ma to his
vocabulary. I think once he figures out that is what his mommy's name is
it will be his favorite word.
Wednesday
the 25th. Amy and the boys took Grandma to the produce markets in
Virginia this morning. Poor baby Ben got sick several times later in the
afternoon, but seemed to rebound by late evening. Benjamin gives the
biggest smacking kisses now. I don't even know how he makes such a good
smacking noise. I guess the secret is only having two teeth.
Tuesday
the 24th. Grandma Sue is busy trying to spoil the boys while she is here.
She bought Benji the new toy the boys are playing with in the picture, along
with slippers, an Elmo movie, and a new CD player for his nursery.
Jackson got the new Lego blocks he wanted and some cool new Superman clothes.
Deana picked Jackson up after work for a pizza picnic and movie at her house. He was very excited and packed his own lunch box full of snacks.
Monday
the 23rd. Benjamin can now stand up all by
himself. He does really good if there isn't anything around he wants to
get to. Jackson runs in the room and says "Mommy, Bugs Life comes on eight
seven central FRIDAY!". Mommy says "OK, 8/7 central." "Yeah, Mommy,
can you remember what day it is?"
Sunday
the 22nd. Jackson had a nasty spill off a bench and into an end table
last night. He followed it up today by running into a door jam. Afterward he wanted us to call Matthew
to see if he wanted to play with him. He pointed to
where he got his bump and said "What do you call that?". I told him it was
a door jam. He then very sadly said "Can you tell Matthew I hit the door jam?" So
Amy took the boys over to the Eads which perked Jackson up.
Saturday
the 21st. Jackson and I went to Blue Ridge Elementary to
watch Caleb and the Bulldogs take on the Stuart Wildcats. Caleb,
#11, scored the
very first time he touched the ball. He really hustled to the ball on
rebounds too. Then Megan came over after school and we are having a lot of fun
playing.
Friday
the 20th. A beautiful day in North Carolina. Amy, Timmesa, and
the boys enjoyed a morning at Westwood Park and I rode
the bike this
afternoon. Too bad the weekend isn't going to be like this. And
speaking of playgrounds, click
here to see
how you can help with the
Build A Dream
Playground Project. Whether it's with money or man power, they need your
help, and Mount Airy REALLY needs a playground.
Grandma
Sue stayed with Jackson this evening, Benjamin went to the Ead's, and Amy and I
went out for our Valentine's dinner. Benjamin later had two big firsts.
Amy was holding Benjamin in her lap when she realized that he had an entire hot
Krispy Kreme in his mouth, that was one. A few minutes later he stood in the middle of
the floor with no help and with nothing to hold onto. He probably stood
10-15 seconds. Jeff got the camera and Benjamin did it again for almost as
long. It was a very unexpected and awesome
milestone. Click here to see the clip.
Thursday
the 19th. Jackson started a Twenty Star rewards plan earlier this week
for unprompted trips to the potty. He made us very proud this afternoon by
getting his twentieth star in record fashion. His handsome reward for
doing so well was the The Major Powers Star Fortress Headquarters.
Wednesday the 18th. Amy,
Grandma, and the boys were able to get outside this afternoon to enjoy the
sunshine. I am sure that everyone enjoyed the change of scenery.
Tuesday
the 17th. Jackson finally got to have his Valentine's Day party at Central
Methodist. And for the first time, Daddy went to hang out at school with
Jackson and his buddies.
Monday
the 16th. We woke up to a beautiful heavy snow this morning. Luckily
the trees and the ground were the only things covered. The roads were
completely clear, so I went to the office. Papa stopped by to bring
Jackson a Happy Meal at lunchtime and Grandma Sue got to see the #8 win another
race.
Sunday
the 15th. We rolled into Mount Airy just in time to watch the snow
start falling and
the Daytona 500. Grandma Sue, who is a big fan of the #8, came back
to visit with us for a few weeks. I'm a fan of the #20, so we had fun
watching the race together. The snow has fallen all afternoon and is
finally starting to stick. Maybe Jackson will have enough to play in
tomorrow.
Saturday the 14th.
All the boy cousins were at Grandma Sue's this afternoon. We watched Wesley
practice his ollies in the
driveway, then climbed trees, played freeze tag and hide-and-seek. Later in the evening the girls,
Lexi and Nicole,
dropped by too. And at the end of the night Jackson fell asleep on the
couch with Grandma.
Friday the 13th. We made it to
Colonial Heights just in time to see all the family at Lexi's birthday dinner.
Lexi turned ten today. The boys are very happy to be at Grandma Sue's
again.
Thursday the 12th. It snowed
just enough for Jackson's Valentine's Day party to get cancelled, then it melted
away before we even had enough to play in. Matthew came over and watched
the Lion King 1 1/2 DVD this morning with Jackson. Deana gave the movie to
the boys as a Valentine's present. Benjamin has been in a great mood all
day. He talked all through breakfast this morning and through lunch too.
I think not being sick has made him very happy.
Wednesday the 11th. I asked
Jackson the other night what he was eating. He said "Lucky Charms...Yeah,
they're part of my complete breakfast."
Amy and the boys took Hama some birdseed this morning and were able to visit for awhile. Jackson carried his 4-wheeler with him and rode it around and around her house until he decided it was time for a snack. Both boys ate pickles and chocolate chip cookies before going with Papa to meet Jackson's new horse, Charlotte. From there it was back to Mount Airy to play with Samuel at our house. Then Papa picked Jackson up at dinner time to go back to his house for some fried chicken.
Tuesday the 10th. Benjamin will now
get in a grunt contest with you. You grunt at him, he grunts back, you
grunt a little louder, he grunts a little louder. Most of the time he ends
up winning. It is very cute. Benjamin's cold and cough seem much
better. He is still taking his medicine and still likes it, but he doesn't
enjoy the nebulizer at all. The other big news is that Papa got Jackson a
new horse. A fifteen month old pinto colt named Charlotte that Jackson
plans on calling Mira Nova.
Monday
the 9th. Amy checked on Jackson before turning in Sunday night and
found him just barely hanging on.
Sunday
the 8th. I walked into the living room today to see Benjamin's mouth wide
open and Jackson putting a big spoonful of chocolate pudding in it.
I think that is the first documented case of big and little brother working
together in secret. We also swapped out the baby's carrier car seat for
the big boy one. He still seems so little, but he has definitely pushed
pass the recommended weight limit. It sure is nice getting to carry him
in places without waking him up though, we'll miss that.
Saturday
the 7th. Jackson went to Caleb's for the afternoon, Amy and
Megan went
to a dance party, and Benjamin and I spent some one on one time at the house.
We then all met at Melanie's for supper before visiting with Hama at her
house.
Friday the 6th. Benjamin is on a
roll this week. One day after pulling up for the first time, he cruised all the way around his
LeapFrog table. He also
moved from the table to the couch and back to the table. I watched the
video of it today at lunch and he's definitely on the move.
Click here to see Jackson jamming in the car to Amos Moses by Jerry Reed (1MB). I try to make sure my children are exposed to as much culture as possible.
Thursday
the 5th. Yet another milestone for our
growing baby boy. Benjamin pulled up all by himself tonight for the first
time while we were playing with him at his
ball ramp toy. He pulled and
grunted and yelled, his legs slipped, but he kept his grip. Our little
champ just kept digging till he got there. Then he did it again later
while he and Amy were playing at his zoo corral.
Wednesday the 4th. Benjamin's
cold and coughs were not getting better, so he and Mommy headed to Dr. Gale's
this afternoon. The diagnoses: a cold gone bad. He is wheezing and
has an ear infection. So we had to break out the nebulizer which has been
in storage since Jackson's first winter. Benjamin did really well with it
his first time, but I am sure the new will wear of soon enough.
Tuesday
the 3rd. The snows have finally melted enough for Jackson to have a
school day.
Monday
the 2nd. Conversations with a three year old. Jackson hears the front door close... "Daddy, where are you going?" Daddy: "Nowhere."
Jackson: "Daddy, where are you going?" Daddy: "I let the cat in."
Jackson: "Daddy, where are you going?" Daddy: "I let the cat
in." Jackson: "Daddy, where are you going?" Daddy:
"Disney World." Jackson: "Right now?" Daddy: "No,
I let the cat in." Jackson: "Oh" ... "I thought you said
you were going to Disney World."
Sunday
the 1st. Well the Super Bowl could have turned out better, but at least it
was a close game. Papa and Mo came over to watch it with us and to play
with the boys. Jackson enjoyed setting up the snack table for everyone.
He pulled everything out of the cabinet that he could think of that wasn't real
food. We had to lower Benjamin's crib over the weekend because he should
be pulling up any day now. Now he can hold onto it with his hands AND with his
mouth.
