Updates...

-We got a new car! Actually, Justin got a new company car. It is a fully loaded GMC Acadia and is silver with tan leather interior. Some of my favorite features: DVD (for long car trips only), double sunroofs, touchscreen navigation, bluetooth, 3rd row seating, etc. We picked it up tonight and it is awesome!! Can't wait to take in on our next roadtrip. Here are some photos:

-Speaking of our next roadtrip, it will be back to Gainesville for Justin's graduation. We can't believe that 2 years has flown by so fast. He graduates at the end of April and I am so proud of him! He has worked hard and it has paid off. In fact, his professors and program administrators have also taken notice of his hard work. He has been asked to join the University of Florida as a TA (teaching assistant) and it looks like he will start next semester. Way to go sweetie!

-We have put Jackson on the waiting list for a nearby preschool. It is hard to believe that he will be approaching 2 years old this summer! It will be a part time preschool (half day), but it will be great for him to begin a curriculum. We have been working on his ABCs and numbers and he is getting so good!

-We are finally getting back to church and are going to start going regularly. Nobody will be able to call us Creasters (Christmas and Easter-goers) anymore! :) ha! Jackson will be starting Sunday School. Basically the teachers play with him and relate the lesson to his play. It will be nice to be there as a family of three. I am embarrased to say that the last time we went was when I was pregnant. Dr. Wren might just keel over from shock when he sees us in the congregation! Seems like just yesterday we were doing our premarital counseling with him...where does the time go?

-The new bigger vehicle does not equal new baby on the way. Just want to put that out there! Seems like the new topic of conversation these days. I guess once your baby turns 1, people start looking to you to get pregnant again. Here's the thing-There are definitely times when I am all gung ho for # 2. But there are also times that I think how much I love being able to devote so much time soley to Jackson. We are really enjoying this time with our sweet boy. And dare I say, things are relatively easy with him right now since he can follow simple commands, feed himself, sleeping better, etc. I know a new baby would dramatically change what we have now. When that time (hopefully!) comes, I will welcome that blessing with open arms...but we are not quite ready yet...although that ticking clock in the back of my mind is getting a little louder as time goes on. But for now we are enjoying each beautiful day with Jackson. Writing this just made me think of the video below. Remember that show Ally McBeal? Instead of hearing a ticking clock she would see a dancing baby. I loved that show!

-This weekend is an epic weekend in Charleston. There are 4 big events: Cooper River Bridge Run, James Island Cajun Festival, Summerville Flowertown Festival, and Family Circle Cup tennis tournament. Who plans all of that in one weekend? I am looking forward to a fun weekend at the Flowertown Festival. More importantly, though-April 4th will be our SEVEN year anniverary of dating. We started dating 4/4/4 and it was a magical day! We actually went to the Cajun festival that day and had a great time. I always love this time of year because it reminds me when it all began. Fun times!

Jackson's 1st Haircut in pictures

I don't think I like this....

Get me OUTTA here!!

Hey Lady-watch those scissors, will ya?

I'm still not too sure about this...

Boy, some snacks sure would be nice...Hey, what is that up there?

Sweet...a TV with a Disney movie playing! I'll sit here, but I'm not happy about it

Hey, this is not so bad after all!

Man, I am one handsome fella!

Success! Thank You Miss Kelly! So, uh, do you come here often? (Haha)

19 Months

Vroom vrooom! But I don't wanna leave the playground! :(

Happy, Happy Boy!

Ready for school

Daddy's Shoes

Two peas in a pod! This child LOVES his daddy!

Fun in Gainesville, FL at the playground

Working the "mote"

Hanging with mama before heading to bed...

Another month has flown by! At 19 months:

-Jackson is a talking machine! He will repeat most things and he has a huge vocabulary already. It amazes me everyday the new words that he learns. He also loves to make animal noises, and his favorite is a monkey. If I mention a banana he will get really excited and start hollering like a monkey (ooh ooh ahh ahh) at the top of his lungs. This is really fun when we are in a quiet restaurant :)

-He loves to go play on the playground. He loves the slide and he always makes sure that one of us is watching so that we can make over him when he slides down. He also loves the swings and he will just laugh and laugh while on them. He recently started liking the merry-go-round. He is so independent and he wants to do everything on his own. He gives me small heart attacks at times because he will be on the jungle gym and will start walking backwards if he is distracted. He has fallen a few times, but thankfully not too far. He really enjoyes playing with other kids on the playground. I caught him recently trying to play "Boo!" with a little girl. He kept jumping out and saying "Boo" trying to scare her. She smiled at him and then ran away. haha!

-He will pretty much try any food that is put in front of him...except melons! He does not like any kind of melon so far. Who does that sound like? He is (finally) eating blueberries, strawberries, and grapes. I make him a fruit salad every day. He has started eating more chicken and scrambled eggs (not at the same time :) He had his first taste of fish and broccoli recently as well, which he seemed to like. Also, he is crazy about Mac and Cheese. We recently went to eat in Awendaw at SeeWee with his pediatrician, Dr. Drew. Jackson sat next to Dr. Drew and snuck bites of his mac n cheese until it was all gone! But, hey, it was SeeWee mac n cheese-can you blame him? :) He feeds himself completely now. I had been feeding him his yogurt for the most part, but the ladies at his MMO program said that he feeds himself there. When I heard that, I have him the spoon the next time he ate yogurt and he ate every bite by himself! He's not a baby anymore!

-He is responding very well to time out. When he does something that warrants a time out, we tell him to go to time out and he will walk to his time out spot in whichever room we are in. He will usually stand quietly and wait for us to tell him that he can come out. When he does, he walks up to either one of us and gives us a hug and says "sorry". That being said, sometimes when he is in time out, he will start dancing, playing "boo", doing other extremely cute things which makes us laugh at him. He knows he is being charming and he uses it. That is surely something that he gets from his daddy! For the most part, he is very well behaved...just a couple of seconds of nastiness here and there. He is still an angel at his MMO program. They said they have never once seen him pitch a fit about anything. I guess he saves that for us. Still, overall he is a happy go lucky guy! (for now, at least!)

-He is still obsessed with our boat. We keep it in our garage, so naturally he thinks that all garages hold boats. When we go for a wagon ride in our neighborhood, he points to every garage and yells "BOAT" really loud. He is also now obsessed with Annabelle. I finally let him pet her and she has been great with him. I was wary of letting her get too close after she semi attacked me during the altercation with the stray cat several months ago. She seems to really love Jackson and he is so happy following her around the yard. I just have to make sure that he doesnt step on her, because she might change her opinion after that!

-He is tall and skinny. People usually guess that he is two years old because he is really tall for his age. His eyes are still blue. Dr. Drew thinks he will probably be mostly blue eyed, although we all agreed that we think we see the slightest hint of a green sliver in his eyes. Dr. Drew's guess is that he will have blue/green eyes, more on the blue side. We'll see! He is getting his first haircut this coming week. I can't believe that he is 19 months old and never needed a haircut. It is getting kind of unruly now, so it is time. I will miss all of his curls!

-He is into stickers right now. I gave him some on the plane ride to Hawaii and he loved them. Now, he wants stickers all of the time. He loves to stick them all over himself and the house. He still loves to color, and he will try to color on the floor if I am not watching him closely. I wanna try fingerpaints soon. I imagine that will be fun! :P

-I am actively weaning him now. He is down to nursing 3 times a day. I am cutting the morning feeding out in a week or so. The plan is to be done for good in about 6 weeks. You know how well I stick to a weaning plan, though! I know I sound like a broken record, but for real though, I am feeling very serious about it now. Stay tuned.

We are loving every.single.minute with Jackson. He has such a wonderful sense of humor and he makes us laugh every day with something new that he does or says. I know I've said it before, but we are so lucky and blessed to be Jackson's parents!