Singing

Lately, Jackson loves to sing. He'll sing to the radio, sing to the TV, or just start singing a song he knows. He'll pick up on words that he hears and put them in a song. It's just so funny to hear him singing while playing throughout the day.

Here's his version of "Twinkle, twinkle little star"

Tinkle tinkle little star
Like a diamond, like a diamond, like a diamond, like a diamond in the sky.

Then he might throw in a few other words from the song that he knows. He loves the phrase "Like a diamond in the sky" so he tends to repeat it a few times, and then he'll add "in the sky."

The precious things they do during this age, make you want them to stay this age forever.

Sweet dreams

This was the conversation this morning as I woke him to get him ready for the day.

Me: Did you sleep good?
Jackson: Yes (as he shot me a beautiful grin...he's such a morning person)
Me: Did you have sweet dreams?
Jackson: Yes
Me: What did you dream about?
Jackson: Daddy
Me: What did you and daddy do in your dreams?
Jackson: Me and daddy say prayers.

Guess he remembered him and his daddy saying his bedtime prayers last night before bedtime. He's just so precious and innocent. I could cherish these days forever!

Finger Painting

The weather has been absolutely beautiful the past few days, so Jackson and I have had the best time outdoors. We've been working to till our yard and plant grass seed this week, and thanks to a lot of sweat hours put in by Donald, the yard is finished, but it's time to wait and see what it turns out like when the grass seed sprouts. Jackson has been a big help in the yard as we drives his tractor around and throws sticks and rocks in the back of his tractor to help us haul off.

Yesterday, I pulled out the finger-painting supplies while I cooked dinner, and he had a great time creating masterpieces. Here's a few pics of him during his artistic moments.

I love this little boy so much, and I feel so blessed to be his mother!

Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Stayin' Alive

That's how I feel this semester! I'm swamped, but I'm alive =) My supervisor at my intern site has encouraged me to use a schedule to help me stay on track with all the responsibilities I have as a wife, mother, student, therapist, and as a person. She gave me a schedule that she uses, and it has blocks of time on it, and I schedule out what responsibilities I am dedicating that time to. I've been using it so far this week, and I must admit that it's kept me more accountable for getting things done, and not procrastinating. I'm caught up on all schoolwork. I could use to study quit a bit more, but I have blocked out time the rest of this week to study for midterms. I also blocked out time each week to study for the state licensure exam which it looks like I'll be taking the first week of January. It's so refreshing to see all of my hard work over the past few years finally paying off, and now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I hope to begin sending out resumes' soon after taking the state licensure exam, so only a few more months of this crazy, hectic schedule!
I could've never made it this far in grad school were it not for my super supportive family. God has blessed me beyond measure with an extremely supportive husband, mom, in-laws, and other family and friends. I'm so excited to be pursuing this dream to help people in such a special way. I get asked often why I chose this field, and it's hard to describe. It's hard to describe how exciting it is to work with the children who have worked for years to be understood by others and they finally get it, or to work with an adult who has had a stroke and has fought so hard to survive and get back to their life with their family, and to see them work in therapy and finally be able to speak again or eat again. I'm convinced that the paycheck doesn't matter when you see the impact you can have on others, and encourage them to take advantage of this second chance at life that God has given them.
Well, enough of my reflections tonight. You can see my mind is set on graduation! Hopefully this I'll be able to post some cute pics of Jackson and the things he's been into lately. He's growing so fast and learning so much. I hope to be able to share soon!

Labor Day Zoo Adventure

So, it's taken me a little while to get on the ball and post pictures from our Labor Day adventure to the zoo. We had a great idea to visit the zoo on Labor day, and it seems there were lots of other people who had the same idea. It was rather busy, but not too bad. We still had an enjoyable day together, and Jackson had a wonderful time. He was at a great age to really enjoy it, and get excited about the various animals.

Movin' Up

It seems like just yesterday, we welcomed Jackson into this world. It's amazing to think that's been over 2 years ago now, and how much he has changed our lives. We wouldn't change it for the world! Being a parent is such a rewarding experience, but is also such a stretching experience. I'm constantly reminded of how much I must call on the Lord for strength and wisdom as a mother, but I know that God would not have blessed us with such a blessing without equipping us to also raise Jackson in the way that he should go if we only seek Him.

Tomorrow Jackson moves up to the preschool class at church. We're excited about the new class, and the new things that he will learn in this class as they explore and learn more about God. Just reminds me even more how quickly he is growing up and how independent he is becoming as a 2 1/2 year old!

Imaginary Play

So, I never knew how imaginary play would develop, but apparently it has made it's appearance at our house. I've noticed for the past few weeks, Jackson would pretend to take his animals on excursions, or he'd pretend to feed the animals, or things like that, but I think today, his imagination has taken off, and it's such a cute thing =)

Today he pretended to steal my nose and put it back in place for a while, and when that got old, he pretended to cook me something to eat and serve it up. I asked what it was, and it was hot dogs with ketchup and then I was served juice to go with it. When I asked what kind of juice, "good juice" was the response. This was just a few of Jackson's imaginations, the list goes on, but it's so cute to watch it develop. It's as if it came from no where.

I'll post more soon. I need to get some pictures up from our zoo excursion over the Labor Day weekend.