First Trip to the Zoo!

A couple of weeks ago we were on a walk and met our neighbors Carrie, Paul and their daughter Allison.  Allie is just a little over two.  Carrie invited me and Jackson to join her at the zoo one Friday, and although we had been putting it off so we could go with Dad, I said yes.  Greenville has a tiny little zoo that is handily located directly across from a very nice children's park and a main access point for the Swamp Rabbit trail which runs from there straight up to Main Street.  It only takes about an hour to walk through the whole zoo so most people hit both the zoo and park in one trip. 

 The giraffe at our zoo is supposed to have a baby any day now.  There's even a Giraffe Cam.  The zoo is pretty packed every day with people hoping to be the first to catch a glimpse.  While we were there the male giraffe came all the way over to the little fence and kneeled down, swaying his neck over the line and stretching out towards the little kids.  It was pretty cool. 

 He was NOT a fan of the cheetah.  As you can see, it was pacing right by the window.  At one point the cheetah whipped around and his face was right in Jackson's face.  It scared him to death and he shrieked so loud we had to leave the cheetah behind. 

 We practice animal sounds at home but all Jackson has ever really seen in person are cats and dogs.  He got a video of the San Diego zoo and actually sat through 30 minutes spellbound, but I didn't know if he would really know to look into cages for animals.  The first paddock we came to had the elephants.  I don't know how many pictures Carrie tried to take, but getting Jackson to look at the camera when there were huge zoo animals right there was impossible.  At least we got one of him making his "trunk". 

The next weekend we had enough time to take Dad on his first trip to the zoo.  That visit the zoo was all decorated for Boo at the Zoo, and the decorations were a bigger hit than most of the animals.  Matt had a ball telling Jackson about each animal and making the animal sounds for him.  Thanks to Gran we have an annual pass now so we can go all the time!      

Fun Times as an 11 month old

 It's amazing that over the course of just one month Jackson went from taking 3-4 steps to being able to make laps around the entire house without falling down.  He loves pushing the tiniest of trucks in front of him as he's walking, which usually ends up with him tripping over it into a somersault into the closest object.  Grammy Pammy made us a "boo boo penguin" and we are really putting that thing to use!  

Meals are more and more fun.  Jackson is getting pretty good with his fork- switching left and right hands though so we aren't sure which hand he will actually use later.  Maybe he will be ambidextrous like his mama.   

At 11 months all he says are "mama", "dada" and "dog".  He is obsessed with the penguins in his room and points to them and his "letters" (his initials over the door) as soon as you get him out of his crib.  His favorite game is throwing things into our tub.  One day I searched for my keys for 20 minutes before thinking to look in it.  He is fascinated with lights- pointing to them, turning them on and off, looking at new ones.  His favorite chores to help with are vacuuming (he holds the cord), laundry (he pulls things out of drawers as quickly as I can open and shut them) and unloading the dishwasher (he flings the utensils on the ground).  I jokingly call him my "unhelper".   

He's all boy at the playground.  He can sit on a big swing and knows to hold on tight.  He inches himself to the edge of the slide and zips down it over and over again.  Half of the mulch comes home stuck to his body or in his socks.  Anything he sees a "big boy" doing he has to copy.    

Our friend Zacharie.  He spent the night recently and they had their first ever sleepover not that either one of them had a clue until the next morning.  They thought posing in the crib together was big time fun! 

His favorite toy ever- the remote control.  He points it towards the TV and if a game is on tells the football players "hi".    

Fun Times as a 10 Month Old

We're getting settled in the new house and finally getting into a routine.  Jackson goes to a preschool right up the street two days a week now and loves it.  The first few times he didn't even look up when we dropped him off.  When we pick him up he's eating lunch and he just looks up and waves at me with a huge smile.  I'm back training for a half marathon in October so he runs with me a few times a week.  We normally meet up with my mom's group one day a week and he loves Mother Goose on the Loose at the library so we stay busy that's for sure!

He is a mad man with his push toy still although now he also pushes around the popper and small trucks.  He can walk a few steps alone if he isn't thinking about it but sits down the second he realizes he's walking all by himself.  I guess we can say he's walking at 10 months for all intensive purposes!    

 Jackson and his buddy Grant at Grant's first birthday party.

Best game ever. 

He insists on crawling into the middle of the six chairs in the kitchen then gets stuck and screeches until I pull him out. 

First day of school!  What a cutie

Still working on "Touchdown Hokies!".  He loves watching the football men on the TV and tells them "hi!". 

Poor Grace never gets a moment of peace.  Her bowls are on the other side of "baby jail" where Jackson can't normally get them.

Such a good eater.  He uses his fork and spoon very well and will only drink from the cup if it has no lid. 

Holden Beach with the Wolf Pack

Last year for their 30th anniversary (I think) the Wolfords rented a huge beach house at Holden Beach, NC where they used to go when Matt and Erin were little.  They loved every minute of their beach week and told us all that this year the only improvement would be if we joined them for a few days.  You don't have to ask me to the beach twice.  The house was right on the Intercoastal and had a huge picture window over the kitchen sink.  The coolest feature was a crow's nest where you could look at both the river and the ocean (and into the neighbor's house but that was an accident). 

 He wasn't spoiled at all.  Grandma brought him a beach tent and the Go Pod so he wouldn't get too much sun.  We all looked like pack mules going to and from the beach.  It's funny how the older you get the more it becomes going to the beach to sit in the shade instead of the sun. 

 Grandma made him a little outfit out of an old shirt.  It is the cutest thing ever.  We did a beach photo shoot so it promptly got wet.  I'm glad it's big enough he will probably be able to wear it next year too!   

 We got Dad this hammock for his birthday.  If only there was a picture of the rope untying and him plummeting to the floor.  Good thing it was an 8" drop.   

Beach Time

 A very close friend of ours got married at the beach in September about an hour from my mom's house so we planned a trip for Jackson to come down and see everyone.  The last time we went he was barely three months old.  You may remember the disaster on the plane?  At least this trip Jackson was thoughtful enough to take care of it in the car on the way to the airport... nothing like a full outfit strip in the gas station parking lot on the way to catch a flight.

Although he went to the beach our first trip to FL, that was in Jan so I couldn't even stick his little feet in the water.  This trip a Tropical Storm decided to hit the same weekend but we managed to make it to the beach during a break in the rain.  Jackson absolutely loved it and wasn't scared of the waves a bit.  If he could have wriggled down into the water he would have!  

Holding hands :)

Sweet baby James with Uncle Matt

Reading with Nana

 My sister came over to my mom's for the weekend with Meredith and James.  Meredith remembers Jackson now and gets excited about seeing him.  Well she did until this trip when she realized that now he wants to play with her toys and be held by her Nana!  It was very cute to watch the two of them together and she is a big help bringing you anything you need for the baby and checking on James in his crib every so often.  One morning she woke up early so she and Jackson shared the ipad to watch Sesame Street together and I wish I had taken a picture of the two of them side by side but of course didn't think of it at the time. 

 Rachel and Tom have a 106lb Doberman named Chief.  He thinks he is a lap dog.  Really.  He will curl up on the couch next to you and edge over closer and closer until he's half on your lap.  The only thing you have to worry about from Chief is being licked to death or passing out from his shrimp breath.  Jackson is used to his dog wanting nothing to do with him so having Chief around made him very happy.  He even got a ride. 


 
  
 Since the weather was bad we let Jackson and Meredith play "at the beach" on the sand by the dock.  They don't know the difference and it's such a novelty Meredith could barely contain her excitement. 

We can't wait to go back and have Christmas in shorts!  As it should be. 

Home Sweet Birmingham

 Before we left for Greenville I promised to make a trip back for a friend's birthday in August.  By the time four months rolled around without having seen everyone I was thrilled to get to see all my old friends for a weekend so Jackson and I packed up to stay at Pam's house.

Pam has two dogs, Carter the Weimeraner and Oli the Great Dane.  Carter is pretty much the equivalent of Grace and would prefer to ignore other dogs and small children altogether.  Oli hadn't been around a baby before and was very curious at first, but she was surprisingly very careful to be gentle around Jackson.  He pretty much drove them nuts chasing after them as soon as they would settle down in a good spot.  Oli has the biggest dog kennel you can buy.  I think a bear could use it.  Jackson thought it was a great game to get inside and play with Oli's toys.   
 
Poor Lancer the Cat did not fare as well as the dogs.  Jackson discovered that cat toys are even more fun with dog toys and kept dragging Lancer's things all around the den.  Lancer liked the baby before.  Not so much now that he isn't a blob. 

What is he doing to my toy???

 Maloree and Courtney came over to watch some Olympics.  Pretty sure Maloree is scared of babies, or maybe just the ones that are obsessed with her teeth.  Can't blame her there.

Maloree: Oh God... he's moving...

 Seeing as how it is Club Canada, it's okay to be nakey in the pool.  He must have learned that from his daddy. 

 

Dex was sitting on the side frowning at us.  We didn't realize Jackson was copying him until later. 

Fun Times as a Nine Month Old

Playing at our new pool

 The wolfpack is finally in the new house and we couldn't be happier!  Granted, there is a LOT to be done, but we have room to move around and Gracedog has a backyard so we are a much happier penguin family.

Jackson went to his 9 month appointment and measured in at 21.5lbs and 28" so he's in the 60th percentile for weight and 70th for height.  He got a terrible case of hives that we had a really hard time treating, but thankfully they are gone.  He looked like an ogre for about two weeks.  Never could figure out the trigger, but let's hope it doesn't happen again. 

Nice shades, bro

 Jackson loves his new room and his playroom.  The upstairs is totally baby proofed so he just crawls his little self down the hallway and starts playing as soon as he gets up in the mornings.  We scored some really great new toys older baby at the baby consignment sale.  His favorites are the cookie jar shape sorter and the stacking rings.  By far the best thing about our new neighborhood is the 2 mile walking path by the river.  We pretty much run every morning and Jackson waves to every single person and dog that we pass along the way.       

 Aunt Rachel was the first one to notice that he is using his left hand in all of his videos and pictures lately.  Once she mentioned it we started paying attention and sure enough 9 of 10 times he uses his left hand first.  He has gotten pretty good with his spoon and is learning the spork now.  We switched him over to a regular cup at meals.  He has no trouble picking it up and drinking, but the learning to tilt the cup "away" from his face before setting it down hasn't caught on yet.  Cousin Meredith (age 2) saw a video of him eating recently and was appalled at his skills... her assessment was "he's so messy" as she watched the video 5 times in a row.   

Guess who is a lefty?

Look at Zachary ready to help Jackson get up.  Such a sweetie!

We've spent a little more time with the mom's group so he's starting to make friends.  Jackson is always excited to see Zachary and Grant.  He is a big guy and doesn't realize how strong he is so he's a bit of a bully still, but the two of them are walking so at least they can get away for the time being.  Speaking of walking, he will take a step or two and sit down.  He's also a climber and we have found him on shelves, up the step ladder, and trying to push open the back screen door to get outside.  

His vocabulary is growing every day.  Right now there are about 25 words that he responds to.  He follows instructions for "turn off the light", "sit on your bottom", "arms up", and "wash hands".  It took him forever to call Matt "da-da" but he says that, "ma-ma", "dah" for Gracedog, and "hi".  His version of hi sounds like the most Southern accent on record.  It's more like "haaaaaiiiiii" with about four syllables of vowels.