One Year Old

My sweet Jackson at one.

• His stats at his one-year well check: Weight is 21 lbs. 4 oz. (49th percentile), Height is 29 1/2 inches (34th percentile) and his head is only 70th percentile (down from 91st and 89th the last two times--looks like he is finally growing into that noggin of his!)
• He just got tooth #7, and I'm expecting #8 any day.
• He is taking his own sweet time to walk.  He still can crawl so fast, and he pulls himself up to his knees, but no signs of any steps yet.
• We have dropped the formula for whole milk, but haven't even tried to get rid of the bottles.  That's going to be hard.
• He is a pretty good eater. He still eats a lot of jars of baby food, but also loves cheese, yogurt, strawberries, and bananas.
• He has a few nicknames.  We sometimes call him Jack or Jackers, but he is usually Jackson. 
• He can say dada and uh oh.  He loves to play the uh oh game, where he drops things and says "uh oh."  He also seems to tease me, and quite often when I ask him to say momma, he replies with a dada.
• He waves good bye, and claps when he hears others clapping or cheering.
• He loves people.  He loves when people, especially his brothers, play with him.
• He has the best laugh.  Often times his brothers can really get him laughing--a great big belly laugh.
• He sleeps pretty well, but he still wants a bottle really early in the morning.  I would love him to go 12 straight hours, but...
• I feel so lucky to be this boys mom.  We love you Jackson!

And here's a look back at my boy this year.

Happy Birthday, Tyler!

And just like that my little boy is now 9.

Thankfully he was willing to have a family party this year; my ability to entertain was vanishing quickly.  In fact, I wasn't wanting to do anything that would take too much effort on my part, so we went bowling.  The bowling alley by us offers birthday packages, so we booked a party there.  We had our family, my mom, my brother, my sister's kids, and my other sister and her family.  In all 15 people.  We bowled one game, had pizza, played in the arcade, laser tag, gifts, cake, and one more game of laser tag. 

It's the birthday boy, and his cousin the photo bomber.

Our traditional birthday chomp.

Thank you grandma!

Is there a better game for a nine year old?

The party was going perfectly until our last game of laser tag.  Somehow Tyler and his cousin Logan ran right into each other--hard.  We took them out, and immediately Logan had a goose egg an inch tall, and Tyler already had a bruise around his eye.  It kind of put a damper on the otherwise fun party, but I think that a few days later, he has already forgotten about it and remembers that it really was a fun party.  Happy Birthday, Bud!

Christmas morning

As expected, Christmas morning was fun, loud, chaotic, and perfect.

 

Tyler got: Pokeman Black 2 (what he really wanted), books, a remote control shark, a poster from his trip to California, Lucky Charms, Connect 4 Launchers, Hungry Hippos, DVD, candy, bubble bath and a new shirt.

The twins got: Innotabs, pillow pets, character hooded towels, a bowling set to share, Buzz Lightyear toys, bubble bath, new shirts, and candy.

Jackson got some toys that looked very similar to some toys we already had, but had disappeared a few months ago.  He got: a Fisher Price learning table, some stacker toys, and some other toys too.

Chirstmas Eves

We got to celebrate Christmas Eve twice this year.  Due to some scheduling conflicts, we had our big family gathering on the 23rd at my mom's.  She made a delicious dinner (ham, potatoes, beans, carrots, jello salad) and then we acted out the nativity. 

We intended to have all the grandkids participate, but my kids wouldn't cooperate.  Jackson wouldn't hold still long enough to be baby Jesus.  And we kept asking the twins if they wanted to be wise men or shepherds.  Brady told me he would only be Buzz Lightyear, and Carter said he would only be a superhero. 

The next night, we had my parents and my brother and sister over.  We started off frosting our cookies for Santa.

 

 We didn't have a sit down dinner, but I just had different appetizers and munchies for us to graze on.  After eating, we opened up new pajamas.

And the best reaction to their new pajamas goes to my brother Dave:

Then we opened our new book from Grandma and Grandpa, which Grandma read to us.  Followed by the traditional reading of "The Night Before Christmas."

 

And with at least 30 minutes to go before bed, we decided last minute to watch Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, which we found on You Tube.  I hadn't seen it in forever, and it was super nostalgic for my sister and me.

We finally got the kids down and, thanks to my ill-prepared self, spent a good 2-3 hours wrapping gifts, assembling gifts, and making breakfast items for the next morning.  But it was awesome to spend time with my family.  

Jackson turns one

Finally, a day to breathe.  This is a crazy time for everyone, but add in 2 birthdays and it is extra crazy for us.  We celebrated Jackson's birthday on the 22nd; we had fake Christmas Eve at my mom's on the 23rd; we had real Christmas Eve at our house on the 24th; Christmas; and then Tyler's birthday on the 26th.  And yes, for all but one of those things--I was the host!

But boy have we had fun.  Enjoy a flurry of posts as I document our fun holidays. 

First up, Jackson's first birthday party.

I went with a circus theme.  I didn't want to spend tons of money, but did want to do something fun and special since you only have one first birthday.  The only decor was the tissue pom poms and pennant banner, both of which are inexpensive and easy to make.  I had popcorn and animal crackers to munch on.  We went with nachos for the main meal.  That was as circusy as I could think of.  I cooked salsa chicken (which by the way, you should do if you never have.  You throw chicken breasts in the crock pot with a jar of salsa and cook until it shreds.  Easiest meal ever, and so yummy.), and had lots of toppings to go with it.

My splurge was his cake.  My cousin Melanie started making cakes about a year or two ago, and she is amazing.  When she moved out here last summer, I told her I was hiring her to do a cake.  And boy did she deliver.

Not only was it adorable, but so delicious.  Strawberry pina colada for the top layer, and chocolate peppermint bark for the bottom.  If you live near me, and want an awesome cake, let me know.  I will get you her contact info.  We are definitely getting a 40th birthday cake for Dan from her.

I printed off coloring pages of circus stuff, and had the kids color them as they arrived.  After dinner, we went in the basement and had a cake walk, using the papers.  And then pin the nose on the clown.  Two simple, fun games.

Next up, presents.

And finally, the best part of a first birthday, the smash cake.

He loved it.  Happy Birthday Jackson!