Reminiscing....

Since I've been feeling a bit nostalgic...I mean my little baby boy is quickly growing into an independent little boy who LOVES all things boy, and all things he can do with his daddy. Amazing how much fun a daddy and his little boy can have...I thought I'd share a few pics I came across when he was just a small little guy.

He was 11 months here...Just a reminder to cherish every moment because they grow up so fast. My how I miss when he was just a little guy, but I'm ever so thankful for the special little boy he is becoming.

Baby birds

Wow! This summer is really flying by! We have been busy catching up on projects, and enjoying family time together. Jackson and I have spent quite a bit of time working in the yard, and Jackson has enjoyed all the crickets, worms, lizards and other creatures that we have caught this summer. The past few weeks, Jackson and his friends from the neighborhood have enjoyed watching this the bird's nest that is on our front porch in our ferns. Just a few days ago, 2 of the birds hatched, and Jackson was so excited and has enjoyed checking on them daily to see them grow. Here's a picture of his new winged friends.

Marbles

One morning last week, Jackson and I set out to visit Marbles Children's Museum. We've planned to go on several occasions; however, something else has come up that has always kept us from going. Jackson loved it and really enjoyed himself. He's already talking about going back, so maybe we will before the summer is over. Here's a few pics of his adventure at Marbles.

After leaving Marbles, we made a trip to the Farmer's Market and checked out the fresh produce and had lunch. Jackson was excited about the various samples he got to try. He especially liked the Muscadine Grape Slushie. I thought it was interesting tasting...He's asked for daddy to go back with us to visit these places soon, so we'll plan another adventure with daddy real soon.

Roller Skating

Today we celebrated birthdays for 2 special little people in our life! At 1 of the parties, Jackson got to try out skating for the first time. He enjoyed it, but after falling numerous times became a little discouraged, and figured it was more fun for daddy to skate and carry him than it was to keep falling. Here's a few pics of our time today. We'll definitely do this again soon! Thanks Nicole for the opportunity to try something new, and for allowing us to celebrate this special day with Sophie!

Bedtime prayers

Donald is out of town this week for work, so Jackson and I are on our own. Boy, do we ever miss him after just 1 night!
Last night I was putting Jackson in bed after his bathtime and storytime. I asked him what he wanted mommy to pray about tonight, and he listed off: Daddy, Mommy, Mimi, Granny, Papa, Giz, me, and Daddy. He made sure to put daddy in there twice since daddy is gone, and I thought it was cute he asked me to pray for him. So, we closed our eyes and said our prayer, and when I was finished, I asked if he wanted to say a prayer. So we closed our eyes and this was his prayer:
Dear God, watch over me, Daddy, Mommy, Mimi, Granny, Papa, Giz. Protect us. We sat there for a minute and I peeked and he still had his eyes closed, so I asked if he was finished, and he nodded his head yes, so I rounded it out by saying Amen.
Oh it was precious! I love that child that God has so richly blessed me with! Parenting isn't always easy, but there's just some moments that make up for the difficult moments to encourage you to stick with it, because it's all worth it!

Sparkles

Tonight while at the dinner table, Jackson started pointing to my freckles on my arms. Here's how our conversation went:
Jackson: Mommy, what's this? (pointing at freckles on my arm)
Me: Those are freckles.
Jackson: Sparkles?
Me: No, they're called freckles
Jackson: Sparkles?

Now he calls them sparkles....how cute! This was followed by a brief speech therapy session to try to elicit a /f/ sound, which was successful; however, the /fr/ sound is a bit too advanced for a 2 1/2 year old. =) The poor child being the son of a speech therapist.

A Song in His Heart

It's no secret we spend a lot of time on the road. I always hate that we spend so much time on the road, and look for ways to engage Jackson while driving. We often work on counting, the ABCs, or singing and dancing. Lately Jackson has really enjoyed singing much more and I love hearing the little songs that he sings while playing.

Today, I heard him in the living room singing "Help me, help me, never let me go..." to the tune of "Hold me, hold me, never let me go until you've told me." He was in the middle of flipping off of the couch, and was stuck and needed my help. I busted out laughing because rewriting a song is very characteristic of Donald. Ever since we began dating many years ago, Donald often rewrites the words of songs to fit them with the moment. It looks like Jackson is becoming more like his daddy everyday.

My favorite monkey

Today, while I was washing dishes, Jackson came in the kitchen. He started to talking to me about his Curious George slippers he was wearing. Our conversation went something like this:
Me: You know, I really like Curious George. He's my favorite.
Jackson: No, he's not your favorite.
Me: I've always liked Curious George.
Jackson: (With emphasis!) Mommy, he's my favorite monkey I've ever SEEN!

I thought to myself...how many monkeys has he really seen?!? I hope it's his favorite monkey. Besides the handful of times we've been to the zoo, I think George is the only monkey he's ever seen.
Being a speech-language pathologist, I enjoy watching his language expand and grow. Lately, I have loved hearing his temporal markers in sentences. He's constantly telling me what days of the week we're going to do something (even though the day generally isn't right, he has the concept that it's not today, but in a few days). I really love it when he uses his favorite words like always, forever, etc. If we're talking about colors, he'll tell me Thomas is blue always, Percy is green always, etc; and he tells me he loves me forever! I love this age! They're so sweet, innocent, and unfortunately don't stay this age for long =(

Say a little prayer for me...

Pardon me if I've been a little MIA lately...I've been buried under an 800 pg. study guide for the state licensure exam that I take this Saturday. Please say a prayer for me, as I don't always do well on standardized exams...I feel ADD while taking them as I hate sitting for hours taking an exam, and tend to lose my concentration. So please pray that I have clarity of thought as I recall what I have been taught the past 8 years. I have prepared as best I know how, and will complete my studying tomorrow, and will take Friday off just to clear my head a bit before the big day.

I'm so far behind on the happenings at the Irwin house, but thought I'd just share a few tidbits just to share with you the sunshine of my day! I have been so thankful to be able to stay home with him everday during this past month. We have laughed so hard some days I started crying, and I have soaked in every minute of his cute laughter, jokes, and sweet kisses. We have had such a good time learning new things together, creating crafts for daddy to come home to each day, and playing with the mountains of Christmas toys. Being a mother changes everything, and I am so thankful that God chose me to be Jackson's mother, and that I have this awesome responsibility to raise him and teach him. I'm a bit sad to be going back to work next week, but am excited about finishing school this semester, and seeing where God leads us from here. I think Jackson is a little sad I'm going back to work (if he really understood all that meant), but is excited to be going to stay with MiMi, Granny, and hopefully starting preschool.

I leave you with a conversation I overheard the other night between Donald and Jackson...

Daddy: I have to go to work tomorrow.

Jackson: You watch movies at work?

Daddy: No, we don't have movies at work. At work, I work.

Jackson: You don't have movies at work?

Daddy: No, it's not fun at work. I just work.

(I could tell Jackson didn't know what work meant, and Donald didn't know how to explain it.)

Jackson: Is Santa at your work?

(Jackson remembers us going to eat cookies with Santa and Mrs. Clause last month, and now thinks that Santa works with Donald.)

Daddy: No, Santa just came to eat cookies with you that 1 day.

This conversation continued for a while. Jackson was trying to understand what kind of fun things Donald did at work, and Donald wasn't quite sure how to explain that it's work, not necessarily fun. It's so cute to hear Jackson carrying on his conversation like he's grown. Asking Donald how his day at work was while at the dinner table, and telling Donald about all the happenings of his train set that day. I just love that kid!

Jackson and Kaylie jumping on the punching bag. So cute to watch all the laughter the 2 of them shared with this!

Opening presents Christmas morning.

One of Jackson's favorite Christmas presents...his remote dinosaur. Thanks Mimi! Next time you're over, he'll have to eat your foot. That's his favorite move right now. =)

Word of the Day: Complicated

So, apparently today my mom and brother, Josh were having a conversation and Jackson overheard the word "complicated" being used. Mom proceeded to explain that a complication was "a mess." Jackson has been using the word ever since we left Mom's house tonight. It's found it's way into songs, conversations, and jokes. He uses this word in a variety If he wants to make you laugh "complicated" is the word, if he doesn't know all the words to the song "complicated" just might be the right word, and sometimes he's simply talking and "complicated" seems appropriate in his conversation. It's cute to watch, and gives us a laugh each time.
Thanks Mimi and Uncle Josh for educating my little boy today on "complicated." It's been fun to watch!

Catch-Up

Wow! Where does the time go. I have so many things that we've been doing that I'd love to post on here, but it's so hard for me to keep up with everything. So, I'll post a few of the things we've done recently.

This holiday season, I really wanted us to do something as an outreach for others. I want Jackson to grow up knowing that Christmas isn't a time of getting presents, but a time that we can celebrate Christ's birth, and be a blessing to others as well. Jackson and I put together 2 boxes for the Samaritan's Purse shoebox ministry at church a few weeks ago. Jackson was excited that we went shopping for toys and other items to put in our shoebox. He had a great time putting these boxes together, and was excited about taking his boxes to church to drop off. Here's a pic of him with his box. We're also participating in a few other outreach programs, so my prayer is that Jackson will grow up enjoying the blessings we have been blessed with, and blessing others as well.

We had a nice, busy Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful time of fellowship with family. Jackson was especially excited because his new cousin Dylan had just come home from the hospital, so we stopped by to visit with them, and let Jackson meet him. He loves babies, and has talked about his visit with Dylan for days now! Jackson also enjoyed his time with his cousin Kaylie. He cherishes their time together, and loves the time that they get to spend together. I hope they grow up to be close. I know when I was growing up, I always loved my cousins, and the special friendships that we shared, and still do.

Well, so much more has been happening, and hopefully I'll be able to post some more happenings soon.

An apple a day....

Jackson discovered this week that apples don't come in slices, and he can eat the whole thing without me slicing it. Here's a few pics. It was entertaining to watch!

The Beauty of the Age of 2

What a wonderful time of year it is! I love it when the weather has changed, and you get to see the beautiful leaves changing, and the air is a bit nippy. Christmas is just around the corner which is exciting! Finals are also just around the corner which is nerve-wrecking! I'd love to be spending time snuggled on the couch with my sweet hubby or my cute mama's boy, but unfortunately I have been spending lots of time working on studying for finals, writing papers upon papers (grad school is full of papers!), and working on a presentation I have to present at the hospital on Monday. Hopefully later today I'll be able to upload some pictures I've been taking of Jackson with my new camera.

Sometimes I wish I could just freeze time and soak up this wonderful age of 2 1/2. This is such a fun age as children learn their independence, and can communicate so much better. Recently, Jackson has been talking to me about events that occurred back in April. I'm just amazed at his clear recollection of the events he is talking about. I love hearing him tell me about Christmas, and that we celebrate it because it's baby Jesus' birthday. I love that we were out shopping today and he saw lots of Christmas trees, presents, snowmen, etc but his eye was immediately drawn to the nativity scene and what it represented. I love hearing him sing in the car as we drive from one place to another. Oh the beauty of the age of 2! Their hearts are so tender and receptive at this age. So, while I spend lots of time locked away working on papers, studying, etc; I make sure to spend plenty of time each day soaking up the beauty of the age of 2!

Love...

Recently, our digital camera died. This camera has been with us since we got married, our honeymoon, the birth of Jackson, etc... It's been through a lot, and it's last us over 4 1/2 years, but let's face it, it's never taken the quality of pictures that we would like. It's done an okay job, but not a fabulous job. I'm pretty practical though, and prefer not to spend money on a new camera if the one we have still works, but since the camera broke, we decided to save our money for a month or so that way we could buy the camera we've been wanting. So, I introduce you to my new love...

The Nikon D60.

I have already taken hundreds of pictures in only a few short days. Jackson was excited about the new camera at first, and willingly posed and smiled for pictures. That was short lived, and now he's back to turning his head around when he's tired of being in front of the camera. Either way, I've captured some great pictures, but I'm having to be creative to get him to look at the camera. I share with you a few of my favorite pictures from the past few days.

A fun day at the park

Jackson and I enjoyed an afternoon at the park the other day. It has been such beautiful weather lately, so we thought we'd take advantage of it! It's so wonderful having such a nice park only minutes from our house, so we frequent this park often.

Happy Halloween

Jackson was very excited about his costume this year. He wanted nothing more than to be a football player! He cried after going to multiple stores and not finding football pants that would fit him. Never fear! I'm not ashamed to ask for help, and was able to find help at a local factory here that manufactures sportswear and sells all over. Boy, am I thankful that they had 1 pair in his size they were willing to sell me! Jackson has wanted to wear this costume every single day, and often asks to sleep in it too. I guess Donald has instilled in him a love of the Pirates. AAAARRRRGGGHHHH!

Pumpkin Patch

I'm so far behind posting the latest happenings at our house, so I'm going to try to catch up a bit. We went to the pumpkin patch with some friends a few weeks ago, and we had a blast. Jackson had a lot of fun, and enjoyed the fun things they had to do there. This place was more like a carnival with the train, slide, pony rides, petting farm, etc. He loved it, and we had a great day together as a family.

NC State Fair 2008

So, Donald and I debated heading to the State Fair because of the rain that would be rolling in today, but decided to make the best of it and head out anyways. We had a great day together as a family! It didn't rain the entire time we were there, and the crowds were minimal. We didn't really have to wait for any of the rides that Jackson wanted to ride, and we had no trouble getting from place to place because the crowds were easy to navigate in and out of. Because we spent less time waiting in lines, we were able to do and see many of the things that Jackson wanted to do, but his favorites were definitely holding the baby ducks/chickens, riding the pony, and riding the rides. He saw this interesting robot while waiting to ride one of his rides, and it came over and talked to the kids, and scared him so much he wanted to get off the ride. He says now it was a nice robot talking to the girls, but he was a little upset by how large it was at the time. Here's a few of my favorite pictures.

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!