Merry Seattle Christmas

Yesterday was our Seattle Christmas. We had a big breakfast, did some babysitting, enjoyed a crab leg dinner, opened presents, and watched movies. Today is the packing and cleaning day, and tonight we are headed home for the real Christmas!

These are the twins that we were babysitting.

Jackson has a lot of fun with them.

Jackson's favorite present so far is his new train set.

Thanks again, Costco, for your Christmas genious.

Can you see the joy on his face?

Garden D'Lights

There is a botanical garden near where we live that does a free Christmas light display. We went this week and it was amazing. You walk along a little path and they have a bunch of different scenes and sculptures made entirely out of Christmas lights. So fun!

Just Like Mom

When I grow up, I want to be just like my mom, especially around the holidays. My mom is really good at Christmas. I use all of her recipes and decorate our house the same way she does. I copied her countdown calendar, and Jackson and I even enjoy Amy Grant Christmas music because that's what my mom always plays. She taught me everything I need to know about baking holiday goodies, and I'm pretty sure she learned it all from my Grandma, so in honor of them, I've been teaching Jackson. He seemed completely facinated when I explained to him the secrets of perfect toffee. And he was a very good little helper when it came time to deliver the treats to all of our friends.

Here he is all bundled up. He has his own gloves that fit, but he likes my fuzzy gloves better.

And here he is pouting because I won't let him hold the camera. Don't you just almost want to give in.

And this is what Tyler did while we delivered goodies. I guess finals have been pretty exhausting.

Chocolate

We've been very busy getting ready for Christmas, so here's a picture to hold over the grandparents until I have time to put up more. Jackson has been enjoying all of the Christmas goodies, and is very good at helping me with my baking (i.e. emptying the entire tupperware cupboard and stacking slippery bowls under my feet while I try to cook) He also occassionally insists on drinking out of the grown-up water bottles instead of his boring sippie cups, which is why his shirt is soaked.

Nutritional Project

Here is my project for this week. I am always paranoid about nutrition for Jackson, which is silly because he's a very healthy little eater for the most part, but Tyler and I are meat and carb lovers (we're working on it), so I worried about Jackson being more balanced than us. I never really know how much Jackson is supposed to be eating, if he's eating too much or not enough. So last week I got a nutrition chart from the State of Washington Health and Nutrition Department. It gave me guidelines for toddlers 18 months - 3 years. I decided to make a handy little chart for my fridge. That way, when I'm making dinner and can't remember what Jackson had for breakfast, I can see what he still needs to eat. I know that posting pictures of dorky projects like this is really lame blogging, but I put the chart on a "The Office" magnet board so that it's not quite so lame, right? I know that lots of my friends have kids in this same age range, so if anyone wants the actual nutritional information (or if anyone wants me to make them a handy little fridge checklist*) let me know :)

*The black writing is permanent marker, and then I fill in the squares with dry erase marker so that each night I can erase the blue squares but don't have to re-write any of the actual information.

Thanksgiving

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend. This was the first time doing it on our own, and we missed our families, but also enjoyed having time to ourselves. Wednesday Tyler finished class around noon, so we took the bus downtown and finished our Christmas shopping. Did you know that 90% of Americans have turkey on Thanksgiving? This year, we were in the 10%. Neither of us really love turkey and I didn't want to waste all of the leftovers, so we had honey-glazed ham and coconut shrimp instead. It was delicious and might be a new Seattle tradition. Jackson has a new friend named Alaina. She is adorable and such a little sweetheart. Her family lives right across the parking lot, so we have lots of babysitting trades, and her parents are from Idaho so we all get along really well. We had them over for a game night this weekend and it was a blast.

Friday we took Jackson to the zoo. He loves the zoo. It's cute how excited he gets about all of the animals. Our favorites this trip were the giraffes that we saw really up close and the baby snow leapords that did some good wrestling for us.

The boys also rode the carousel at the zoo. Jackson seemed a little nervous about it, but Tyler had fun.

Then on Saturday, we went to the Apple Cup and watched the Huskies play our big rival, Washington State, in football. It was a shut out, 30-0. Jackson was so excited, he was cheering and clapping and jumping around the entire game. I think he could feel the excitement of the crowd.

Jackson on Seinfeld

Today Bon Jovi performed on the Ellen show. Jackson started dancing to the music. He reminds me a little bit of Elaine on Seinfeld. What do you think?

Early Christmas

We are going to Idaho for 2 weeks for Christmas, so we decided to give Jackson his presents before we went. But when we saw how excited he got when my mom brought gifts, we decided it would be more fun to space out the gifts, so he has more time to enjoy each one. So last weekend we gave him his first Christmas present. Jackson loves to make tents out of blankets, or just sit underneath a blanket if he can't get it to prop up on the couch correctly. We found this adorable tent system for only $30. It has 2 tents and 2 tunnels that connect the tents. Jackson loves crawling around inside it. Anytime he's missing I find him just sitting inside one of the tents looking around. By the way, if you need cute Christmas present ideas, go to Costco! They have amazing presents and great prices. We got most of Jackson's presents there.

Surprisingly, Tyler and I can fit through the tunnels. We play inside the tents with him once in a while. He loves having visitors in his new little home.

Grandma & Grandpa Boyd

Tyler's parents visited this weekend. It was fun to have them around, even though Jackson had a bad fever and it rained all weekend. Welcome to flu season in Seattle I guess. We had a lot of fun eating yummy Seattle food and seeing the sites. I wish we could have visitors every weekend.

This is us at Pike's Place with the famous pig.

Just because they're cute

Last weekend, my sister Lindsay went to a dance with Tyler's brother Austin. They're just so cute that I had to post a picture.

Also, I'm sure they would both want me to clarify that they are just friends.

Motorcycles and Mr. Potato Head

What more does a little boy need? My mom visited this weekend and she brought Jackson new pajamas, 2 new books, and a toy motorcycle that makes real engine reving sounds when you push on it. Jackson absolutely loved it. We had a great weekend together, and Jackson got a little upset when we dropped her off at the airport yesterday. We took Jackson to the zoo, went to Pike's Place and ate lunch at our favorite little seafood place downtown by the water.

Thursday night Tyler was stuck at the lab waxing up teeth for his big Friday test, so we decided to go to Costco. I had never been to the one here, but it was only 5 miles away and we wanted to look at some Christmas presents for Jackson, so we figured we might as well. We ended up getting stuck in killer traffic and the whole trip took several hours, but it was well worth it because of this. My mom got Jackson a Mr. Potato Head Family Set, which is now his favorite toy. It's the first thing he runs to every morning when he wakes up. It's pretty cute how much he loves it. Despite traffic, tons of rain (which acutally made the deserted zoo quite pleasant), and my ridiculous never-ending cold, the weekend was a huge success and we had a great time!

Evel Knievel

Jackson's newest trick is climbing up on his riding car and standing on the seat. It reminds me of his uncles, who are all well known for stupid stunts, like standing on the seat of your dirtbike while flying along an Island Park road a few weeks before leaving on your mission (Jason). I guess Tyler had a similar incident too. Anyway, Jackson's bike is slightly smaller and slower than their dirtbikes, but it still makes me nervous. I shouldn't take pictures because I'm pretty sure it just encourages him.

This video is cute because of the little laugh he does in the middle.

Cute Funnies

I have a friend who puts cute quotes from her kids on the side of her blog. They are my favorite part of her blog. Jackson is starting to learn a few words, so I decided to start something similar. I'll keep it updated when Jackson does something funny. It's on the side of our blog below the countdowns, which by the way, are not counting down correctly.

7.16.10

This morning we were trying to hurry out the door and I decided to check Jackson’s diaper quickly. I realized it was messy and said "Oh no, Jackson, there’s poop in your diaper." He thought about this for a minute, frowned, and replied in a very sarcastic tone "Oh, great!" He’s never used that phrase before. I don’t know where it came from.

7.12.10

We took Jackson in a canoe on Lake Washington a few nights ago. We kept talking about all the waves, trying to avoid the waves, trying to go over some of them so we would bounch up and down, etc. We eventually realized that Jackson was waving his ahnd up in the air with an exhausted look on his face. Everytime we talked about the waves, Jackson thought we were instructing him to wave, and he was very obediently doing it. We tried to explain the difference, but he wasn't understanding, so we started refering to them as "water bumps" so Jackson could rest his arm.

6.14.2010

Jackson was very sick last night. Today he was feeling a little better so we decided to try some solids. i gave him a few crackers and said, "These crackers will help your tummy feel better." A few minutes later i looked down to find him holding his shirt up and rubbing the crackers on his tummy... I guess that makes sense.

6/3/2010

Jackson invented a new game today. I call it "Role Reversal" or maybe "Wear Mom Out". It works like this: Jackson sits on the park bench and watches me while he instructs me to go up and down the slide over and over again. I probably shouldn't let him be so bossy, but he's so cute and pleasant about it that he gets away with it.

5/25/2010

Jackson likes to help me with the laundry. When I fold laundry, I use my chin pressed to my chest to hold the shirt in place. So when Jackson wants to help, he grabs a piece of laundry, squeezes it under his chin, and systematically crumples it into a ball. Then he places his clothing ball on top of one of my laundry piles and smiles and says, "There." It's counterproductive, but really cute. He also pulls down the hand towels in our bathroom and uses those to wipe off the countertop and cupboards. He's really trying to help. Or maybe I'm not keeping the house clean enough for his standards?

4/16/10

Jackson's newest word: "Seinfeld"

That's right. My 20 month old asks me if he can watch Seinfeld... all the time. And when we are watching it and an episode ends, he does sign language for "more". Doesn't this just scream parenting perfection?

4/12/10

It's amazing how Jackson uses the word "oh" more approriately than anyone I have ever met. Maybe you have to be there, but I think it is hilarious. Sometimes I tell him something or teach him something, and he thinks about it for a long time and then just says, "Oh."

More examples:

Mom: Jackson, did you smash up all your carrots so it would look like you ate them?

Jackson: Yeah.

Mom: Well, I need you to actually eat the carrots.

Jackson: Oh. (and he puts a carrot in his mouth)

He was playing with something and humming to himself and didn't realize I was watching. As soon as he saw me looking, he smiled and said, "Oh... hi."

Jackson was waving goodbye to the home teacher, and the home teacher said, "Nope, you gotta give me a fist bump goodbye." Jackson thinks about it for a second. Then says in an almost disappointed voice, "...oh" (then gives the fist bump)

3/16/10

This morning Jackson was pointing to the family room saying something that I couldn't understand. It sounded like "out" so I was trying to guess, and he was getting so frustrated. Everytime I guessed wrong, he would say "No. Ooouuuttt," and then do this weird little dance. I finally figured it out.

Me: You want me to workout?

Jackson: Yeah!

Me: You're ordering me to exercise?!

I stared at him in disbelief for a minute, so he politely patted the back of my leg and said, "Go."

Hehe, and I was thinking of slacking off this morning. It's nice to have a personal trainer I guess.

3/10/10

Jackson was in a bad mood this morning, so Tyler started asking him questions, trying to cheer him up.

Tyler: Do you love mommy?

Jackson: No.

Tyler: Do you love daddy?

Jackson: No.

Tyler: Do you love grandma?

Jackson: No.

Tyler: Do you love grandpa?

Jackson: No. (and so on and so on until...)

Tyler: Do you love Austin?

Jackson: Aut! (nodding yes excitedly)

Tyler went through the questions again a few minutes later and he said "no" to Austin", but "yes to our cute little neighbor, Alaina, so I guess it just depends on the mood.

We have been teaching Jackson about prayer. He has learned to fold his arms and close his eyes (sort of) and say amen at the end, and in general he is pretty reverent during prayers. Last night during family prayer, he accidentally let out the biggest burp I have ever heard from such a small boy. I opened my eyes. He had both hands covering his mouth and really big exclamation eyes. We giggled quietly through the rest of the prayer. Jackson is kind of a neat freak. Jackson was sitting on the carpet next to a bit of dirt from someone's shoe. He was crying. Me: Jackson, why are you sad? He points to the dirt. Me: Are you sad about the dirt? Jackson (in between sobs): Yeah. Me: I will clean it up later today. Jackson: No! Me: Do you want me to clean up the dirt right now? Jackson: Yeah (still sobbing and pointing)

So I get out the vacuum and clean up the dirt. Jackson wipes his tears away, smiles, and starts playing with his toys again.

Our doctor told us to encourage Jackson to use utensils when he eats, so we've been practicing it. Tonight I gave him his fork. For each bite, he stabs the food with the fork, lifts it off the tray, pulls the food off the fork with his other hand, and then uses that hand to put the food into his mouth. What am I missing here? Jackson has learned the parts of a face. You can say "Where is the nose/mouth/ears?" and he points to the approriate part. The other night, Tyler was holding Jackson and talking to me about school. He said something like, "I'll see what he knows." Jackson got really excited and pointed to Tyler's nose. Homophones are so confusing. The English language is ridiculous. We are trying to help Jackson learn more words. He makes the sounds, but still doesn't always associate them correctly. Recently I have been pointing to myself and saying "I am Mom. Who am I?" And then Jackson says "Mom." So a few days ago, I asked "Where is Mom?" He pointed to his own chest. I realized that I always point to my chest when I tell him that I am Mom. I'm pretty sure he thinks that a chest is called "Mom." We'll have to start over with that one.

The First Trick-Or-Treat

Yes, Jackson is probably too young for candy. We took him trick-or-treating anyway. He got lots of candy and we're going to let him eat it. He's just too cute, and that's just what happens. Getting ready to leave for trick-or-treating. You can tell by the look on his face that he has no idea what was about to happen. The stroller didn't last long. He wanted to walk and pick out his own candy at each stop.

These are our friends that we went with. They have twin boys a few months younger than Jackson. They dressed as monkeys. Jackson and Austin (one of their boys) had a lot of fun playing with eachothers costumes. Tails and elephant trunks are quite fascinating to toddlers.

Like I said, we're letting him eat some of the candy. I'm sure we'll help him with it, but he worked hard for that candy. Plus he is really cute when he gets excited about candy.

It's in his blood

Today I found Jackson sprawled out on the floor tinkering with his tiny toy motorcycle. He reminded me of his dad/uncles/grandpas, the way they are always spread out all over the garage working on the dirtbikes. I suppose it's inevitable.

He always gets excited when he realizes he's doing something interesting enough to make me get the camera out. He likes to show off.

Autumn in Seattle

Have I mentioned how gorgeous Seattle is in the Fall? When you drive along the freeway just outside of Seattle, you can't even see buildings. The freeway is completely surrounded by thick trees. They are a mix of evergreen trees and then a variety of other trees. So right now it is dark deep green alternating with orange, red, and yellow. Beautiful. Yesterday Jackson and I went on a camera walk around our apartment to look at the leaves.

Look, Mom, I found a leaf.

Sleeping Problems

Babies sleep funny. I keep thinking at some point, Jackson will realize that he is too long to sleep sideways in his bed, and he'll turn the normal way, but it hasn't happened yet. And he always pulls the blanket off of his body and covers his face with it. Maybe he needs darker curtains in his room?

On a side note, does anyone have any great tips for difficulty sleeping? Ever since I stopped working (and therefore stopped being so overwhelmed that I fell over dead every night at 10pm) I have gone back to having a really hard time sleeping. I'd love suggestions.

Sick days

Jackson has been sick the last few days so we have been a little out of it. The poor little guy just laid on the recliner and watched Disney movies. But he's feeling better today and hopefully will have all of his energy back tomorrow. Here's a few recent pictures.

This is his favorite hide out. He sits behind the curtains looking out the back door. I try to open the curtains so he can see, but he just closes them again.

Just cute. His smile is starting to look more grown up.

Red Heads and Missionaries

Today in church, I noticed that one of the boys passing the sacrament had red hair the same color as my brother. No big deal. But then, he came and sat down next to the lady we were sharing a bench with, and he looked so much like Kevin. He even made the same faces. There were 3 expressions he made that were honestly exactly like Kevin. And you know who absolutely loved him? Jackson! I found out that his name was Spencer, and he played with Jackson for all of sacrament meeting. I know it is a silly response, but I kept crying because it kind of felt like Kevin was sitting right there next to me playing with Jackson. I had to stop looking at his face so I could keep myself under control.

Jackson has 2 amazing uncles on missions that he has not met yet. Alex is in Jamaica and Kevin is in Canada and they are both coming home in a few short months. I know that coming home is always hard on the missionaries, but we are so excited to welcome them back. Jackson cannot wait to meet them and finally get to play with his amazing uncles! I hope someday Jackson grows up to be just like them.

New School Clothes

Okay, so he isn't technically in school yet. But he did need new clothes because he's getting bigger and there was a Carter's Outlet in San Diego, so we kind of stocked up. Who can pass up $2 pants and $6 outfits. At least I resisted the $10 puffy vest. I decided I couldn't put him though that quite yet. I'm guessing those aren't very comfy on an active toddler. Anyway, here's my favorite of his new outfits (and the only one that already fits him.) I love his little smirk. This is why he gets a little spoiled. And yes, that's the Xbox controller. He doesn't actually play it, he just pretends to.

Learning to Stay Home

Back in Idaho, I was counting down to the day I would be done with work and stay home with Jackson all day every day. It is definately taking a lot more adjusting than I thought it would, but I think I'm getting used to it. I've learned that I need to have a schedule, and plan with a to-do list, even though the list rarely gets done. Anyway, here's some random pictures of the things that fill my days now. Various projects... the other day I decided to let Jackson do some coloring, but the crayons dissappeared during the move, so I got out my oil pastels. They would be easier to color with anyway, right? So I plopped Jackson down with some paper in the middle of our white carpet. Rookie mistake! He colored on the paper for a few seconds, and then realized that the carpet was much more exciting to color on because Mommy starts yelling. Thank goodness for the giant stash of Sol-U-Mel I saved up before leaving Melaleuca. So we moved to the brown rug for our coloring. But then Jackson decided the pastels were better for eating than coloring. So maybe he's still too young for coloring? The dreaded toy disaster. I've been advised to put away most of the toys and just give him a few toys each day, but I keep thinking that seems like so much work to find somewhere to pack up all the toys and store them (we have no space), but after several weeks of cleaning this up every day, maybe it would be worth it. The messes in the high chair. And thank goodness to Safeway for having toy cars on the front of the grocery carts. When we make the trip to Winco, I really miss those little cars, because apparently Jackson does not enjoy grocery shopping. (Tyler actually took this picture and I didn't know he was doing it, but it shows the car carts quite nicely. Simply genious.)