Little + man = curious

Milo decided the hat looked better on him.

Sar and I looked over this morning and realized that Milo had gotten himself into this disassembled jumper.

Getting in was the easy part. Getting out? Now that was another story!

Little men are curious men, and they want to get into things... Like mommy's hat, and Lily's new jumper... Life is never dull around here, that's for sure. Anyway, in the words of Milo, "Tut-tut, Mommy!" (translation: "Chill out, Mommy!" - he gets it from his daddy)

Explicit language

WARNING: Explicit content to follow.
Let me just explain. Milo doesn't know this word. He's (literally) never heard this word before. But Milo is experimenting with different sounds, and on Saturday, it was all about the shsh sound. I'm sure you can imagine where this is going...
Yeah, he said it. Twice, in fact, and one of those times being on video. Nate was taping him being so sweet, playing the piano and singing to me, and bam, it happened. Against my better judgment, I'm posting this on my blog for your viewing pleasure. At first I thought, "Oh my word, my Grandma reads my blog!" And then I realized, she'd probably think it was as funny  as I did (mixed with mortification). I'm pleased to report that Milo has now moved on to other child-friendly sounds, like "Tut-tut, mama." I much prefer it...

Fun on the trampoline

Good morning! I was looking at these pictures from Sunday this morning - Milo jumping on the trampoline. He's pretty much decided that jumping is fun to try all the time, probably because he spends a lot of time watching Lilypaul in the jump-a-roo. He jumps in his bed when I come in to get him. He tries to jump on the floor (hasn't cleared the floor yet, but he's still getting a nice leg workout!). He even stands next to the jump-a-roo and tries to jump as if he were in it.

How cute are these two?

Always exciting when one of the dogs decides to play underneath the trampoline.

Cutest child, messiest face. We had just finished eating outside, and in my haste to move the dishes back in, I simply forgot to clean poor Milo's face.

Look at this big boy!

Milo got a new hat. Had to add this, just for fun.

A Very Happy Monday

Milo/Daddy time in the hammock.

For some reason, Milo's hair parts itself down the middle when the wind blows...

Sarah asked me the other day if I ever imagined I would have such a beautiful little family, and I had to be honest. No. Growing up, I never even wanted to get married. In fact, one of my friends in high school wished me "a lifetime of serious dating" in our yearbook, and I would have just settled for a career instead. I remember feeling so irritated with people who gave up their careers to have children, thinking it was such a waste of an education and a good mind.

MY, how the tables have turned, right? Because, first of all, I met the most amazing man and ended up getting married. SHOCKER to most of the people I knew, myself included, but I knew it was right. And then when we decided to have a baby, almost everyone we told prefaced their joy with, "Wait, are you happy about this?"  Again, shocker. And then there was the topper, when I quit my job to be a stay-at-home mommy, and now here I am, using my education and my good  mind to raise my perfect little man. Everything about my life is the exact opposite of what I imagined, and you know what? I'm so glad. Because what I pictured never made me as happy as what I'm living now.

Petition

I'm usually all bright sunshine and smiles on this blog, posting cute photos and telling you about my babyson and our adventures.

I can't do that today because I've been thinking about someone else's son. I'm sure you've heard the national outrage at the murder of 17-year old Trayvon Martin. If not, please look here. I try to avoid the news these days, but this case has me riveted. I can't imagine being a mother and seeing a police department completely fail to do anything about my own son's murder.

If you're as upset about this as I am, you can at least do a little something. Here's a petition by the family to the Florida 18th District State's Attorney to prosecute George Zimmerman. Signing it at least made me feel like I could let someone else know that I care about this.

Powder Fresh

This morning I had to wake Milo up. Usually he stirs on his own right around 8, but I went to get him at 8:20. He groggily sat up, barely looked at me, and held his arms out to be picked up. Of course, I scooped him right up and snuggled him close. After a minute, he picked up his head, eyes half open, looked right at me, and licked me on the nose. Being a mommy never gets old.

Milo has been loving his Scentsy lion from Aunt Tree lately. Maybe because it's so cozy and soft, but he loves cuddling it right after naps. I couldn't resist getting a few shots of it yesterday. And really, while I'm at it, could I just mention how fabulous this lion is? Since it's a Scentsy product, it has a pouch in the back and you can add scent packs. GENIUS for a little boy, especially if he drags a toy around with him a lot, because it keeps it smelling really fresh. Milo's has the newborn nursery scent (powdery fresh - yay). Anyway, I digress. If you're interested in getting one of these, you can visit Teresa's website. The cool thing is that any money she makes off of these sales goes into a fund for adoption, which makes it even better.

Little People

Just a quick little something, because I hear my little man stirring in his room. Yesterday I opened the curtains to let some light in, and this is what I found.

 Both Milo and the dogs love playing by this window, hence the completely scraped-off paint on the edge. But I love that he placed two little animals right by the window so they could look out. He loves animals of all kinds...

Anyway, here's my cutie on a mission. I see this face a lot because he's usually busy with something or other and absolutely can't be bothered with stopping for a picture. Can't even remember where he was headed here, but I was in the way.

Milo in a Box

I love when I leave the room for a few minutes, and come back to find Milo doing interesting things. Like this, for example...

A Milo in a box

After I watched him for a minute, he stood up, and I realized that he had gotten into the box to try to reach something in the little grocery cart. But once he was in, he got stuck, so he sat down to watch Blue's Clues in the box. I love how his mind works.

Last night Milo was up until midnight. Literally. Midnight. Nate and I were baffled, because he would alternate between sleepy, laughing, talking, and crying... Now this child usually goes to bed by 8:30 (at the latest), so what on earth happened? We both went to bed frustrated, woke up exhausted, and then went, "Ohhhhhhhhh" when we realized that he had finally popped through a tooth that's he's been working on for at least a month. He's all sunshine today, even after his shortened night's sleep, and I'm sure his body is just breathing a long sigh of relief. My sweet Milo.

Okay, back to work. I've got two busy kids today.

Monday already?

Spring Break is over, which means Lilypaul is back today! Milo was so excited. I reminded him that she was here while she was napping (she goes down for her first nap before he wakes up), and he giggled, walked to the guest room door, and started knocking on it. When she did get up, he couldn't stop smiling and kissing her on the head.

Want to know how she felt about the whole thing?

That's a sassy face! Think it's the bunny ears?

Me, too, girl.
Happy Monday!

Ahhhh-tchhhhh

I know you've seen cute videos of Milo. But brace yourself for this one... He actually made a sentence today. "Dat ahhh-tchhhhh." I'll leave you to decipher what he said.

Fun with Pinterest

Overheard in the Jackson home.

Kate, from computer table: "Nate, do you want me to start texting you things like, 'REMINDER: I BELIEVE IN U? Not spelled y-o-u, but U?"

Silence.
Silence.
Silence.

Nate, from living room: "Kate, are you on Pinterest again?'

Kate: "Yeah, and I'm reading a list of 50 Ways to Inspire Your Husband."

Nate: "Why are you doing that?"

Kate: "Well, I just wanted to make sure I'm doing a good job. Oh, hey, should we start a dream binder together? And fill it with travel brochures of places we want to go? And then make sure we have a file at the end marked 'Dreams Fulfilled'?"

Nate: "Huh? Why would we fill our dream finder with coupons? What are the coupons for?"

Kate: "No, travel brochures!"

Nate: "In our dream finder?"

Kate: "No, our dream binder."

Nate: "Kate, you need to get away from Pinterest right now."

Kate: "Wait, I'm looking at the list of ways a husband can encourage his wife now. And it says you're supposed to gently encourage me in my hobbies. In fact, both lists say that."

Nate: "Well what are my hobbies?"

Kate: "Painting. Biking."

Again. Silence.

Nate: "Well, would you like to knit?"

Kate: "Together?"

Nate: "No, by yourself. I'm gently encouraging you."

On that note, good-night.

a REALLY bad hair day

I feel like this on a bad hair day, too, although a handful of baked beans isn't usually responsible for my hair trauma.

At least Milo had the decency to look upset about the whole thing, right?

And it was a two-bath kind of day...

Ever need to just wear a duckie robe?

Straight from the tub and onto the fire truck.

First Zoo Trip!

We took Milo to the zoo for the first time today. What a (hot, peacock-iful) fun time! I'll admit, I don't love a zoo. I don't think I ever have. But it was my idea today to take Milo since Nate had the day off, and we spent a good (hot) hour there. I had only one moment of almost-panic when I was trapped between a peacock headed for me and a low wall that led to a giant alligator. Whew! I remained calm, though, and kept on my merry way. Crisis averted. But did I mention how hot it was today?

The peacocks have always made me (and Alex) a little nervous. And I promise you the peacock population at the zoo has quadrupled since the last time I was there. They were everywhere, and the males were in full twitterpation mode, fanning out their tales and making a bizarre half-hissing noise. I watched one parade in front of a poor little peahen who was not impressed and just kept walking. He folded his feathers in and backed up a few steps, before turning and re-fanning, Vegas showgirl style, as if to say, "Perhaps you missed... this..."

Anyway, just when I was hoping we might have a bit of winter, it's getting hot, and we just skipped straight from summer to, well, more summer? Oh Texas, what I wouldn't give for a few other seasons. I always start holding my breath in March because I know that any hope of mild weather is now behind us. Hot, humid, hell, here we come.

On that note, care for a few zoo photos?

One of my favorite shots on the train car.

Nate got a kick out of this since we're both making the same face.

Seriously? Could he be any sweeter?

Milo is all about the point these days. I think he was pointing at an old boat in this picture. Really, it doesn't matter. I don't think there was a thing at the zoo that he didn't point at.

Loved the angle on this - Milo seeing the tiger.

My favorite men

Here are a few of my favorite shots of my two favorite men.

Houston Mini-Vacation

So many things to tell you, and so little time!
We went on a mini-vacation to Houston and stayed with Ann. We packed as much as we could into two full days, including a trip to Crave (cupcake shop), a bit of shopping, a visit to the Museum of Natural Science (DINOSAURS!!!!!), and a fabulous time at the horse races.

Milo loved the races since he loves animals, and spent most of the time pointing at the horses, walking up close to them, and then backing away before we got too close. He was all decked out in a little hat, plaid shirt, and suspenders, and made quite the splash. He and I were mistaken for a jockey's wife and child, but I think it's just because I had on a floppy hat and Milo is a little guy.

At one point, Nate took him out to the car to change his diaper (no changing stations in the men's rooms and it was a big pooper). When he brought him back, my adorably dapper little man was now dressed in some short navy shorts (slightly resembling cheerleading shorts), a red onesie, and his velcro shoes with no socks. When I asked Nate what on earth happened, he couldn't quite respond at first because he was so irritated. I finally got it out of him, though - Milo's poo had managed to leak out to his onesie, pants, all down his leg and covering his socks... He even managed to get it on the outside of the car (don't ask me how). This never happens. Literally. I've always kept a change of clothes in the diaper bag, but never one that's very cute because it's completely wasted. We've never had to change his outfit when we were out. Until Monday. So he ran around the races the rest of the time in his funny little clothes and everybody still stopped to stare. And I laughed the rest of the time.

Anyway, here are a few pictures to chronicle our time.

Hooray for dinosaurs!

Milo was satisfyingly impressed with the dinosaurs and spent much of the time pointing at different things.

Milo loved playing with Auntie Ann all weekend!

Here we are, looking a lot alike...

Is this display slightly disturbing to anyone else? I didn't even post the picture of the lion with the bloody zebra leg in front of him... Realism at its finest?

Family pic at the races. Well, in the parking lot. But we were almost there.

Milo was so delighted every time the horses ran! He clapped his hands, pointed, and giggled.

Here he is getting a good look at a horse up close(ish).

Such a cute outfit! Too bad it didn't last the whole time...

If you look closely, you'll see the horse I won $17 betting on in the winner's circle. I've never bet on a race before, and after this day, I probably won't again... We started out with $20 and left the track with $22, and Nate and I both decided we'll never have a gambling problem. Winning is great, but losing is just throwing away money, and I'm just too stingy for all that.

Mommies of boys

This is how I find Milo most mornings after breakfast, while I'm bustling around cleaning up, throwing in laundry, or taking a minute to myself.

He's reading aloud today, barefoot in a stack of books, turning the pages with delicate and deliberate movements. He took his socks off at breakfast, and then sat with furrowed brow, trying to put them back on his feet to no avail. My heart broke a little, because I want him to be able to do anything he tries on the first attempt. Life is rarely like that, though, and I'm mentally gearing myself up to teach him even now that we always try and try again until we get things right. I must be feeling overly sentimental today, because I sat for several minutes just watching him, wondering who on earth would give me responsibility for such a precious gift. (deep breath) I guess someone thought I was up to it, right?

Milo is at the same time mischievious and sensitive, all-energy and gentle snuggles. One minute he's knocking down crates of toys to climb the hearth, and the next minute he's reading books and patting little Lily on the back while she tries to sit up. I'm learning a delicate balance between being firm and being loving, between wielding an iron fist and becoming a soft place to land. I'm thinking of a verse in the New Testament, where we were instructed to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. Maybe that's what being a mommy of a boy is all about?

Now, if you'll excuse me, somebody here rode a tiny fire truck across the living room to throw books over the baby gate at me, and I can't afford to sit still any longer.

A thought on free speech

Warning: Rant to follow.

We Americans love our free speech.
That is, unless someone else's free speech interferes with our opinion, right?

I read an article the other day about a celebrity who is being railed on because of some comments he made on gay marriage. Was he just out and about, bashing gay people and having a heyday? Nope. He was asked point blank by an interviewer and responded honestly. God forbid, right?

First things first. I have friends and people around me who, when asked, tell me the honest truth. If I don't want the honest truth on whether my butt looks big, my hair is a wreck, or I'm making the wrong decision, I don't ask those people. When will we learn? If you don't want to know someone's honest opinion, don't ask them. Right? And since when do you have to be a certain orientation or nationality to earn your free speech?

As a journalist, I value the right to express myself. No, not the right to go out and slam people for no reason, or to make people feel bad about the way they live their lives. But the right to express an opinion in a tasteful and respectful manner. But gosh, I've even felt compelled to edit myself on my personal blog because I had to be concerned with what others would think. We don't all agree in this world. Thank goodness, because we'd be living in a lot less colorful place. Variety is the spice of life, and I value people who will disagree with me and challenge me. I wish we could all feel the same.

Okay. Tangent concluded. Have a lovely day.

Operation Get up earlier (yuck)

Well, friends, we're creeping up on what has always been my least favorite weekend of the year.
Oh yes, it's spring time change, where we officially lose an hour of sleep and chalk it up to giving us longer days. I always loved getting that extra hour in the fall, but have dreaded this spring monstrosity ever since I can remember. And then I had a baby, a baby whom I try to keep on a schedule, and the whole thing seems even more insidious than ever. I'm trying to prepare him in advance, though. A little something I like to call...

"Operation Spring Ahead."

I'm pushing everything up a half an hour this week (ugh... 7:30 wake-up seems years ealier), and then another half an hour next week. I'm sure millions of other people have thought of this long before I, but Nate and I practically giggled with the genius of our plan. Shows you how much excitement we have in our lives, right?

What do you do to get your kids ready for time change?

New discoveries

Every day is full of new discoveries lately. This morning I sat and watched Milo try to figure out how to hold four little people in his hands at the same time (one of them was stuck on a fire truck, so it was throwing a wrench in the whole operation). I could literally see the wheels turning as he squatted there, picking them up and dropping them, until he finally managed two in each hand. He beamed at me, and then immediately threw them down and trotted on to the next project.

Milo has also decided that he likes grapefruit, so now we share in the mornings. Not like he needs any more food at breakfast time - the child eats more than I do, and yet he's still in 6-9 month clothes (sometimes 12 month, but that's pushing it)! His regular breakfast is a whole banana, a whole Nutrigrain bar, a big handful of cheerios, and a whole sippy cup of either juice or milk. Now add to that about half a grapefruit. WOW! Imagine how much running he has to do to burn off meals like that and not grow a pound and you can begin to understand how busy my life is these days. I wouldn't trade it for anything, though.

We finally managed to wear this adorable denim jacket (size 12 month) last night. It's a little baggy, but I think it's cute! Not sure about the excessive drool... He's usually a pretty clean little man.

"Awwww, Dad, does Mommy have to take another picture?" (sigh)

We managed to put our bed back where it belongs this weekend (thank goodness!), and we also got the most amazing curtains that make our room practically black. Lucky for me, we hung them just in time for a Monday morning, when I'm up long before the sun has even thought about rising. There's always next weekend, right?

BEFORE curtains picture



AFTER curtains, fabulously dark daylight picture

Sleepless?

WOW, where did my week go? Did I really post last on Tuesday? Here's what happened. I got exhausted. For some reason I haven't been able to sleep, and by the end of the week I found myself crying at Veggie Tales (in my defense, it was a really sweet tale...). But today was my sleep-in day and I managed to get a tiny bit caught up. At least I didn't have a headache for the first day this week.

Enough about me - check out this precious face!

We had a family bike ride (Nate) and run (Milo in the jog stroller and me pushing) today, because the weather was gorgeous! 65 and sunny was quite a treat after all the humidity of the last week or so.

Hope your weekend is amazing!