Boys, boys, boys (and one very happy Nonnie)

Cody, Milo, and Braden

You can always pick him out in a crowd...

Nate and Milo at the rodeo

Nonnie and her grandboys

These two ALWAYS look delighted together.

Back off, old man.

Do you ever come to the startling realization that you have a really big mouth? Maybe you're not the same as I, but it seems like I manage to open my mouth and get into trouble on a regular basis.

I was in Walmart the other day, and came across an older gentleman who was absolutely smitten with Milo. He couldn't get over how cute he was, how polite he was, how he was wearing a hat, etc. etc. etc. He looked at me and asked, "Is he your only child?"

"Yes, sir," I replied, "but we're expecting a little girl in June."

"Well, I can see that," he answered, with a smirk at my growing tummy. I thought about kicking him, and then realized that just a polite smile might be in better taste. But boy, did I tell my mom about it later, and ended by mentioning, "I wanted to tell him, 'Back off, old man. Mind your business.'" That was the end of it, and I didn't think about it again until yesterday.

Yesterday, when Nate turned down the music in the car and asked, "Kate, what is Milo saying?" It took me a minute, and then I realized that he was saying in a sweet little sing-song voice, "Back off, old man. Mind your business." Over and over and over again. Between stifling laughs, Nate managed to choke out, "Kate, you have got to be more careful what you say in front of Milo!"

Now, let me just say, he heard this phrase one time, and I didn't know that he had overheard to begin with. He just has a knack for catching me at my, ahem, better moments... Let's hope he forgets this one in a hurry, right?

Tub painting

When I was a kid, I adored finger painting. Let's be honest. I'm an adult, and I still adore finger painting. The only thing I don't love about it is the clean-up afterward, which, actually, isn't that bad. Milo and I have definitely spent some time with the paints, and then I found the most fabulous thing ever at Walmart - tub finger paints that are actually lemon, raspberry, and bubblegum scented soaps. Um, yeah, best $3.48 I've ever spent. Milo and I both painted the heck out of the tub, he from inside and I from outside. Then I washed him with the paint, wiped it off the tub (it came right off), and we went about our merry way. Now the only problem is that I'm going to have to hijack these for my next bath. Shhhh, don't tell.

 

The paints come in little tubs, but I didn't want Milo to use ALL of it at once - so I used little Tupperware containers to hold his portions.

Delighted.

Thank heaven for little BOYS

Milo and his friend Ezra, both in their early-90s looking backwards hats. Love little boys.

Chilly nights in Texas

Loving this chilly weather we've been having! We have to enjoy it while it lasts... When I finish my long list of knitting projects, I'm going to start on something for Lucy. Haven't decided what yet. Any good ideas???

Seriously, does it get any cuter?

Cool leafy headband

Finally took the time to knit myself something! Don't be too impressed - I followed a pattern, and you can, too.
http://findyourknitch.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/seed-stitch-ear-warmer-5-2/

Lesson learned

Every now and then I make a mistake in judgment, and I always manage to pay for it.
Yesterday we ran out of dog food, and like the loving pet owner that I am, I didn't want to wait until the end of the day to feed them. After pitiful glances from both of them, and a lot of frantic running in circles by Bruiser, I decided to feed them the leftover macaroni and cheese from lunch. What's the harm in that, right? After all, they gobble up anything Milo drops at meal time. However, they never get people food, so when I offer it to them, they get a little thrown off. They nibbled at their meal, leaving half in the bowl, and I promptly forgot about it after mentioning how snotty they are.

Fast forward a few hours. I was sitting at the computer and finishing a knitting project. Milo was riding a little fire truck in and out of the kitchen, I'm assuming because it rolled better on the linoleum floor. All of a sudden, he was standing next to me with a handful of noodles and his mouth full, telling me, "Mommy, I eating noonies! Dogs eating noonies!"

Oh yes, my child was eating noodles. From the dog bowl. Where the dogs had also been eating. Poor Milo, because I literally screamed, "Oh ew! No no no! We don't eat noonies from the dog bowl! We don't eat anything from the dog bowl - ew ew ew ew EW!" He just threw out that bottom lip, opened his hand, and let the soggy noodles drop to the floor (where the snotty dogs finally ate them).

We both learned an important lesson. Milo learned not to eat from the dog bowl, no matter how tempting the food in there is (oh my word, ew). I learned that my dogs can just wait until the end of the day when I have the car to go buy them some dog food. Let's be honest - they weren't that hungry.

Pink or blue?

I don't remember if I ever showed you this, but I'm feeling a little sentimental today. This is little Milo, from the ultrasound where we found out he was a little man. I wasn't surprised, because I had known from the very beginning that he would be a boy. Don't ask me how, but Nate and I both knew. He was even cute in the womb, eh?

Little Milo, so content in here that he spent an extra eight days.

Well, you might not have known this, but yesterday we got a peek at our new little Jackson, and believe it or not, this sprout looks so much like Milo already! We'll have two little kiddos running around looking practically alike... Well, except for one important difference.

 

This little sprout is a girl!!! I have thought that from the beginning, but then didn't want to get my heart set on anything, because all Nate and I really care about is a healthy baby. And just as the doctor declared Milo perfect, we heard the same news again. Sigh of relief, scream of delight, here we go little lady.

 

So, consider yourself introduced to little Lucy (middle name undecided) Jackson. Or as Milo so perfectly puts it, "Woo-see." We can't wait to meet you!

I need kisses

Ahhh, sweet Milo. He can make a sucker out of anyone.

Yesterday we laid him down for a nap, and not five minutes after we put him down, he was in there yelling, "Daddy! Daddy!" Nate put his stern face on and prepared to lay the Daddy smack down. I heard him fling the door open and say, "Milo, what is going on? Do you need something?"

Then I heard the meltiest thing I've heard all week. "Daddy, I need kisses."

Score: Milo - 1, Daddy - 0. Nate had to kiss all over that sweet face, and then Milo really sealed the deal. "Daddy, I need hugs." So after countless hugs and kisses, Nate tucked him back in and headed out of the room.

Later that day, we headed out on a car ride, chatting about family and mentioning Chad and Tree. Milo, who was busy crashing cars in the back seat, piped in out of nowhere. "I like Chad." Imagine how Chad felt when Nate called to tell him, as Milo continued to repeat it in the background, louder and louder every time, and then alternating between, "I like Chad," and, "I like Tree."

And then there was today, when Milo fell down and I asked him, "Milo, are you okay?' He stayed put on the floor and answered, "I guess."

All I can say is sweet, sweet, funny, adorable Milo. Just wait until I show you a video of him signing "please" and "thank you." No contest. Cutest child on the planet.

No words necessary

Happy Weekend!

Fruit salad pancakes

Fruit salad pancake in the works - blueberries, bananas, and strawberries, cooked to golden brown and smothered in honey.

That right there is the face of satisfaction.

Milo's upping the ante these days. He wanted pancakes for lunch, and then on top of that, he wanted an assortment of fruit for the pancakes. So we had fruit salad pancakes, and from the looks of that face, the meal was a winner.

Snacks and silliness

Things that make me melty - my sweet son, all cozied up in his chair with a bowl of fruit snacks and goldfish crackers, cuddling his "peeno" (penguin), and watching the Curious George penguin episode...

Things that make me feel silly - my sweet son and I, walking up and down the street pushing his motorized car. If we ever break down anywhere, we are good to go, because Milo can push like a champ.

Almost Friday... What are you looking forward to most this weekend?

Mommy squared

This second pregnancy thing. It's really kicking my butt. I'm already in love with this wiggly little baby, whether it's a girl or a boy, but I'm struggling to keep up with two, and one of them is still in the womb! Please remind me that people do this all the time, okay? Milo is such a sweet boy, but let's also remember that he's two and has the energy to match... And I am 31 and feeling older every day.

There's my brutal, blatant honesty for the day. On to the bright sunshine - I have one perfect pumpkin (By the way, if I ask him who Mommy's pumpkin is, he tells me, "Mino." If I ask him who Daddy's pumpkin is, he says, "Mommy."), and I'm about to add a second to that number. So whether my back hurts, I'm throwing up all day long (oh yes, there's still that), or crying for no reason, life always gets sweeter.

Enjoying a chill moment in the Cars robe and the Cars chair. Can you make out the child in all that?

Boobiecakes tongue

Little Man on a Mission

Poor Milo hasn't been feeling great the last week or so, so when I heard him crying at 6:30 this morning, I wasn't in the mood to let him cry it out. I threw my glasses on and stumbled into his room, and when I got there, he put his head against me and said, "Mommy, I want my Cars robe!"

 

Seriously? This is what all the fuss was about that we both had to wake up from a peaceful sleep? I shouldn't have been surprised, though, because he always wakes up thinking about something, or with a very particular agenda (okay, so he's at least a little bit like me...).  I normally don't let him wear the robe to bed, but for the sake of both of us getting a little more rest, I looked around the room for it. He immediately stopped crying, pointed at the door, and told me, "Mommy, it's out there." After I located the robe on the couch, got him all snuggled up and tucked in, he sighed and turned over, asleep before I left the room. I guess it's always a good time for a cozy robe, right?

 

Anyway, here's to my little man, the absolute perfect gift.

Catching a whale

 

Tonight Milo frantically splashed around in the tub, moving his arm in and out of the water and telling me, "Mommy, I catching a whale!" Somehow this picture should have been a prediction of what was coming...

Snippets

Well, I was going to post a few pictures of my adorable child, but my computer is being surly tonight. So you'll just have to hear how adorable he is instead...

Yesterday Milo was eating fruit cocktail, and he held up two cherry halves and told me, "Look, Mommy, beebos!" If you don't know what beebos are, you need to read more Sandra Boynton. They're belly buttons...

We went to Gary and Amanda's for Shabbat dinner tonight, and I know I've mentioned before how much Milo loves the juice. What you might not know is a.)how well he's talking and b.)how specific he is about what he wants. He told us, "I want Shabbat juice, right here (points at table) on the table!" It was both adorable and bossy at the same time.

He's been wearing his Cars robe from the Dants along with his Cars slippers all the time, all over the house, and looking like such a perfect little man.

Anyway, those are just snippets of life. I told myself I'd start the new year off right and blog more often than I have of late, so there you go. Expect pictures as soon as my technology stops talking back to me. Happy Friday!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I'm still in awe that it's 2013, and this is the year we'll add another little person to the Jackson family. In fact, I had my monthly check-up today, and the sprout is happy, healthy, and extremely wiggly. We'll be able to find out in the next few weeks whether we're giving Milo a brother or sister for my birthday.

And Milo turned two! I managed to go the entire day without crying, but maybe because I've already spent months crying about this one. He had a wonderful day, got spoiled with gifts and lots of love, and had an overall awesome time.

Milo and Daddy, playing with the Little People farm. We had to buy it for him after he played with it at the Lewis's and spent the night after we left yelling, "Mommy, get the farm!"

An amazingly over-the-top gift from Ira, Sean, Emma Kate, "Aunt B," "Den-den," and Drew. THANK YOU SO MUCH! Milo is either sitting in it or driving it at all times.

Milo has loved baby Emma Kate since before she was born and was so thrilled to hold her!

Milo loves to tell everyone that he's two.

Every time Milo sees this picture he tells me, "Messy hands!"

Milo also loves playing with his own tool bench.

Everything has to be Cars these days, including his water bottle, chair, and shirt.