Jacksonisms

1. Last week I took Jackson to see Santa and he freaked out as many two year olds do. He wouldn't let go of me and kept saying "No Mommy, no Mommy." So we left without a picture, as we got to the car, he said, "I don't want to see Santa, I want to see Baby Jesus!" I can't complain about that, can I?!?!

2. This year we watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas for the first time with Jackson. And ever since, Jackson keeps holding his arms, sways from side to side and sings, "Abbu sabbu, abbu sabbu..." but I guess he's not far off since these are the real words the Who's sing as they stand hand in hand around the Christmas tree, "Fah who for-aze! Dah who dor-aze!"

The 1st Kelly Family Thanksgiving SUCCESS!

We hosted our first Thankgsiving dinner at our home in Columbia and it was an absolute success. We spent the morning lounging in our pj's watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade, which Jackson absolutely loved! My parents arrived shortly before lunch and we are so grateful they were with us to celebrate today. Nick fried the most delicious turkey and we had an abundance of yummy sides especially for only 4 adults and a toddler!

This was the first year we were not able to spend with both of our families in Atlanta. Although we had part of my family here, it definitely was not the same as seeing 50+ family members. When we first found out Nick had to work and we couldn't go to Atlanta, I remember thinking I may not be in the celebrating mood missing our family and friends too much. Luckily, I realized I have so much to be grateful for here in Columbia. A year ago, I was still travelling to Atlanta at least once a month if not more and couldn't imagine how depressed I would be if I had to spend a holiday away from home, which at that point I still considered to be Atlanta. This year, Columbia is my home. That's not saying I don't miss Atlanta and our family and friends, but I am so appreciative of my good friends here in Columbia. I have met so many people and I am truly thankful for all the support and awesome friendships I have made over the last year.

Proud Mommy (and Daddy)

If you read my adventures in potty training post, you may remember we started potty training in September and had much success with very little wet accidents. However, we had problems with the brown side of potty training from the beginning and those problems have unfortunately lasted the last two months!!! As you can imagine, although I'm not sure anyone wants a mental image of this, it has been very disgusting to deal with accidents every single day and sometimes multiple times a day. I was confused and frustrated since I couldn't figure out what to do or how this was ever going to change. But I kept all that to myself (and a few friends) and just encouraged Jackson to keep trying and told him it wasn't scary.

Last weekend Mimi (Nick's mom) and Meghan (Nick's sister) came to Columbia for a visit and we spent most of the weekend enjoying the gorgeous weather and enjoying each other's company. We went out to dinner Saturday night and at the end of dinner, Jackson said, "Mommy I don't feel good, I'm going to puke." My reaction based on our most recent (refer to Big Apple post), was oh no, we have got to get out of here and FAST! We hurriedly paid the check, hopped in the car, used his portable potty as a puke bag just in case and made it home with no puke. Whew, that was a close one. Once we got home he seemed okay and then all of a sudden ran to the bathroom and screamed that he had to go. I ran in after him and heard him toot and then he said he was all done. I started to help him down when I realized his toot wasn't just a toot ;-) I immediately put him back on the toilet and told him he could do it and to try again. He did his overly dramatic pushing which is hilarious and IT WORKED!!! He went in the potty, I literally had tears in my eyes (and do now as I type) I was so proud of him. We all started jumping around and screaming with excitement, Jackson was thrilled. And the best news of all? He ha continued to be successful each day since then. Meghan asked me if I ever thought I would get so excited over poop. It's funny how much your priorities and what gives you joy changes when you have a baby and I guess it continues to change with every new stage your child goes through each year.

I know this doesn't mean he will not have any more accidents and we still have the nighttime potty training to worry about but for now I'm going to enjoy this feeling of potty training success and continuing to be one proud Mommy!

Back from the Big Apple

We had such a great time in NYC this past weekend with my mom, sister, niece, aunt and cousins. Here are a few highlights from our trip:

~ Going downtown no Friday night for dinner, we wanted to take the subway. We saw a sign for an elevator to the subway and thought we'd try to find it - it took asking three people and finally a Port Authority employee taking us up and down and around to finally get there! We were an hour late to dinner and the hostess was not happy with us when we finally arrived. Luckily the food was AMAZING and I don't usually like thai food. Lesson learned: just collapse the stroller, pick the kids up, and go down the stairs. ;-)

~ Went to the very top of the Empire State Building. Jackson wasn't too interested but he had fun running around while we enjoyed the views and got his very own King Kong gorilla as a souvenier, thanks to my Auntie.

~ Got soaked walking back to the hotel from a 5 minute shopping trip. When we went in, it wasn't raining, by the time we left the one store we made it to, it was pouring all the way back to the hotel. It was probably quite a sight to see, a double stroller, with an umbrella rigged to cover both kids, being pushed by two mommies and their cousin all trying to share one umbrella. Needless to say that one umbrella didn't do much good. To top it all off, when my mom and aunt came back ten minutes later, they were bone dry!

~ Walked around Ground Zero, amazing.

~ We were so excited to see our cousins, Casey, Erin and Lauren who all live in NY for a yummy lunch on Sunday.

~ Ate well, really well, most of the trip thanks to the restaurant planning done by Tamara ahead of time. I even enjoyed Thai food!

~ Strolled around Central Park, enjoyed the playground with the kids, and took them on a carousel ride which was not so successful.

~Bought chestnuts off the street, unfortunately, they smelled better than they tasted.

~Spent a decent amount of time on the shoe floor at Saks, but walked away empty handed, tear.

~ Took the kids to FAO Schwartz where Jackson walked out with an awesome lunch box that included 4 puzzles one of which is a fire truck so you can guess how much he loves it. Thanks Auntie!

~ Jackson enjoyed the travel days full of taxi rides, moving sidewalks and trains at the airport and of course most of all the airplane! He was sitting next to the window, then me and Tamara but Nana (my mom) was sitting across the aisle which to Jackson meant she needed regular updates of what the plane was doing. He kept saying, "Nana, we're moving." and "Nana, we stopped." It was really cute, almost as cute as Jackson and Emerson holding hands on the plane. I had Emerson in my lap and looked down to see she had extended her arm over to Jackson and he was holding her hands in both of his hands, how cute is that?!?!?

It was a great trip with great company but not so great sleeping. Although I can't really blame Jackson for not sleeping well in a pack n play that he has outgrown, it would have been nice if we could have returned home well rested. We made it home safely and were very excited to see Nick at the airport!

Jacksonisms

1. The three of us were just playing around and Nick asked Jackson how old Mommy was. Jackson replied, "Too old!" Needless to say Nick and I couldn't stop laughing.
2. We are getting ready to go to New York for the weekend and Jackson keeps saying "I wanna go to New Nork."

Flashback Friday

Jacksonisms

1. While talking with Linda last weekend, Jackson interrupted us by saying, "Stop talking Mimi. Stop talking to Mommy, talk to me!" This is apparently his new thing because he then did it to my mom and Nick too.

2. I think I already shared this but in case you couldn't bare to read my entire potty training post, here's the best part. We've been telling him now he's a big boy because he goes to the potty. He said, "Mommy goes to the potty, she's a big boy!"

3. Last week while I was packing up the car, Jackson grabbed a halloween treat bag I had set aside for Emerson that was personalized with her name. I told him that was Emerson's. He looked at it very closely, pointed to the "M" and said, "Mommy, M is for Emerson." Even though it wasn't entirely true, okay it was true at all, I was so proud and couldn't bare to tell him he was wrong.

Flu Shot Success!

I took Jackson to CVS today to get his flu shot. He had seen my bandaid a couple weeks ago and has been asking for his flu shot ever since. He was so excited to go, I felt a little guilty not explaining fully that it was not something to look forward to. After waiting patiently for about half an hour, they called us back. He was naming all the different things in the office and having a great time. Then I sat him in my lap, pulled up his shorts, and in went the needle. Mommy cringing in fear and pain for my baby. Jackson said, "Can I have my sticker now?" That was it, he didn't move a muscle, shed a tear, or let out a scream. I was unbelievably impressed...and shocked of course!

Adventures in Potty Training

I'd like to start out with a warning, this post may have some ew, ew, ew, gross or gag reflex moments so read on at your own risk. We started potty training months ago one morning in June right after Jackson turned two. After 3 hours, 6 wet accidents, 1 "brown" accident, and 0 successes, we decided it was just too early. Our decision was also made easier when we realized Jackson was about to start his new school the following week and we have read that any changes may cause the child to regress or revert back to old ways. About 6 weeks later we decided to try again, he was fully adjusted to his new school and was showing lots of interest in the potty. Nick was on call and Jackson and I had no plans all day. We started immediately after breakfast by taking his diaper off and putting on big boy underwear. We had a lazy day and just hung out at home playing and trying to potty A LOT. He didn't do bad but also didn't do well enough for me to think he was ready. And apparently I'm not great at planning because this was the weekend before my trip to Atlanta, followed by a trip to HH, and another trip to Atlanta. So again I thought maybe I should wait a few more weeks. I know you're probably thinking I was just making excuses to put it off but trust me, I wasn't. I was only trying to be realistic and not get my hopes up.

So another month goes by and it's September and I have made sure to have a weekend free of any activities. Nick had to work nights all weekend which meant he would be sleeping most of the morning so it was just me and Jackson. At first I thought this would be hard alone and it wasn't easy but I realized Nick was more of a distraction than a help. Nick and Jackson's time together isn't always consistent or daily due to Nick's schedule so when they do have time to play, it's so special and Jackson gets overly excited...do you get where I'm going with this??? Both mornings went very well and then Nick woke up and Jackson got distracted and didn't want to leave his Daddy even for the 2 minutes it took to run to the potty. It's very cute and sweet but wasn't helping the cause. Monday we decided to go out for the very first time in our big boy underwear. Good news: he didn't pee in my car :) Bad news: within 5 minutes of arriving at the park and 5 seconds of me asking if he had to go, Jackson wet himself. We ran to the bathroom, cleaned up, sat on the potty to see if there was more to come and changed into dry clothes. And again he wet himself immediately :(

More good news, that was pretty much our last bad WET accident and it's almost been two weeks. He's doing great and we are so proud of him. We've learned some lessons along the way too, for example, if your child has kept a dry pull-up on a 3 hour car ride, put him on the potty immediately and definitely before you put him in underwear, yup, made that mistake on Friday.

Now for the not so good and extremely gross part. He will not poop on the potty. We don't know what to do. In the last couple of weeks he has had an almost in the potty which we gave him credit for and made a huge deal out of in hopes that he would connect the great feeling with going in the potty with no luck of course. On the bright side, he isn't holding it in. On the dark side, literally, it's so gross. The worst part (well maybe not the worst) is that he doesn't seem to mind. He just goes in his pants and then continues playing. Or goes in his pants and says "Mommy, poo poo is gross" and sticks his hand in his pants!!! Ugh, gag me. So far my list of things I dislike about being a mom is very short and pretty insignificant, changing crib sheets can be a pain, cutting nails is a challenge, but cleaning dirty underwear??? That one tops my list! I'm not sure how parents that use cloth diapers do it, I can't deal with it. It's also been tricky to get him out of the underwear and instruct him clearly enough as to which foot to pick up first so he doesn't step in his POO! I haven't been very successful at that part, he either steps in it or it gets all over his legs as I pull his pants off. Then of course, he wants mommy to pick him up. Sorry bud, this is one time mommy is going to say no :) He's been doing good at school but has had two dirty pants incidents at school and for some reason (feel free to comment and tell me why if you know) his teacher told me she is not allowed to clean his dirty pants. She can clean him, just not his undies. I'm guessing it's a sanitary reason but all it does is add to my gross factor. She sends him home with a pair of undies with dried up poop, seriously?!?!? Can you guess what I've done with those? Yup, those have gone right to the trash can...OUTSIDE!

There's a synopsis of our adventures the last couple of weeks. I'll post again when there's been a change. We are trying to be patient, understanding and motivating so as not to put too much pressure on Jackson which could cause him to hold everything in. And if you've made it to the bottom of this very long post, here's something to make you smile; I've been telling Jackson he's a big boy now, he wears big boy underwear, he uses the potty, etc. The other day, he said "Mommy goes to the potty, she's a big boy!"

Jacksonisms

We have been enjoying Jackson's talkative stage very much lately. The phrases or questions that come out of his mouth are quite entertaining. I've heard many moms say you think you won't forget but eventually you will so I thought I'd post some of his latest random outbursts...please feel free to comment if you remember some too!

1. One day after we arrived at Nana and Jiddu's house, he started running around looking for his toys screaming "Where are my balls, where are my balls?"

2. The way he says fork...you can use your imagination here and guess why it's so funny.

3. He asks me to cuddle with him which means laying on the couch on top of me with his head resting on my shoulder. And then I start to rub his back and he sits up and screams, "No Mommy, DON'T TOUCH ME!"

4. Thanks to Nick, whenever the AC turns on, Jackson grabs his ear and says, "What's that? A mouse! A mouse is coming!"

5. When we drive to or past Palmetto Health Hospital, he points and says, "Daddy's house."

6. This one kind of goes with #5. Last night, Nick came home and Jackson said, "Daddy come home to Mommy's house." So we're guessing he thinks I live here because I work here and Nick lives at the hospital because he works (and sleeps) there :( The funny part is during dinner Nick tried to bribe Jackson with food and told him to say "Daddy's house" and Jackson took the food, ate it, and then said "Mommy's house," ha ha ha.

7. Jackson woke up one morning and started talking in his crib like he normally does so I got up and as I was walking to his room I heard him yelling, "NICK! NICK! Where are you?"

8. I don't remember exactly how old Jackson was but sometime approximately 6 months ago, if you asked him his name, he would say, "You!" Or if you pointed to a picture of Jackson and asked what that was, he would enthusiastically reply, "You!"

Flashback Friday

In honor of Emerson's 1st Birthday and football season starting (I realize I'm a week late on both accounts), I thought it was perfect timing to post these...

A good one...

I'll try to keep it short but need to give a little background for those that I haven't kept up to date. Nick and I are renting our townhouse out and using a Atlantic property management company to handle everything for us, for a fee of course. We have a new tenant who has requested a few things be repaired that were not damaged when we lived there. Clearly, the tenants from last year did not take great care of our home. I received an email from our wonderful property mgmt co. advising that all the repairs would be taken out of the previous tenant's security deposit. A few weeks later I received an email asking how we wanted to pay for the repairs. I forwarded the first email and wrote per email below the fee for the repairs are to be deducted out of the security deposit. Then after 4 more emails asking for status on the issue, I receive an email saying sorry for the misunderstanding, but how do you want to pay? Seriously?!?!? I explained there was no misunderstanding, the email clearly says the security deposit will pay for the repairs. Then I'm told they accidentally sent back the security deposit early so they can't get it back now. Guess what? Not my problem!

Earlier this week I received two emails from Atlantic. One advised that they would take out the cost of the repairs from the monthly fees we pay them. It only took a month for them to resolve the issue! The second email was a receipt for the rent paid that is sent to us but it was $5 less than the agreed upon amount. So I sent an email that asked why there was a $5 difference to my main contact there, Laurie. Today I receive an email from Luis saying the tenant paid $5 less than she was supposed to but hopefully she will fix it next month. Seriously? SERIOUSLY??? Hopefully is not good enough. I'm pretty sure when you sign a lease for a certain amount you are obligated to pay that exact amount.

Now the good part...Laurie had forwarded my request for an explanation of the missing $5 to Luis to contact me. And Luis forwarded me that email and his very comforting response but forgot to delete what Laurie had written in her email. Per Laurie: "Luis, please follow up, she is one of the high maintenance owners so watch your tone."

I'll pause here for your laughter...needless to say I'm not happy. I'm not concerned about the name calling because I honestly don't care what they think of me personally. But the fact that I am red flagged to Atlantic property because I ask for things they should be doing anyway really infuriates me. I'm going to end this with a note from my brother-in-law, Brian, who is one of the funniest people EVER! Here is what he thought I should reply, enjoy :)

Hi Laurie,
It's Nour - your high maintenance owner. I just wanted to congratulate and thank you for your excellent service. When I get paid the wrong amount of money, the answer of "hopefully it will get fixed next month" is exactly what I'm looking for to reassure me that competent professionals are handling my townhouse. When I thought about not using a property management company, I was afraid that I would have to deal with issues such as:
1. Maintenance of my apartment
2. Having to pay for repairs that tenants caused out of my own pocket, even though I have their security deposits
3. Collecting rent on time, and for the right amount
But you guys have done such a wonderful job with all of the above. Hiring you has put my mind at ease so much, I feel like I'm constantly on vacation! As an added bonus, you are even kind enough to send me e-mails where you call me names. Perhaps we can renegotiate my payment to you, because I feel that you all are severly underpaid!! Thank you again for your constant professionalism and a job well done!!!!!!!

Good things come in 3's too!

I've heard that bad things comes in 3's but after this weekend, I'm starting to believe good things happen in 3's also. Jackson and I went to Atlanta for Emerson's 1st birthday and had such a wonderful time visiting and celebrating with family and friends. I can remember every detail of the day she was born, including leaving the hospital for a quick hair cut, and can't believe it's already been a year.

The day of her birthday brought a couple more pieces of good news for us. Sunday morning we found out that Eric and Lauren were engaged! We are so excited to celebrate with them and welcome Lauren to the family. Later on that day, we also heard the news that our good friend Marissa was also engaged. We couldn't be more thrilled for either of these happy couples. Congratulations!!!

Back again

We got back late yesterday afternoon from a wonderful (not so relaxing) trip to Hilton Head. I say not so relaxing because Jackson didn't sleep very well and mommy didn't enjoy waking up at 5AM with him EVERY MORNING!!! Luckily, his lack of sleep didn't make him too cranky or fussy so we still had an awesome trip. We did pretty much the same thing every day starting with cuddles and playing in my bed until about 7AM, trying to be quiet so we didn't wake Emerson, Auntie and Amu Brian. Then Jackson and I would go for a walk with Emerson and whichever parent of hers was up that morning ;) After that it was sun, sand and pool all day with lunch and nap in between, of course!

I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of fear Jackson had of sand. He hates and seems pretty scared of grass...that's right grass; so I assumed he would have the same if not worse fear and hatred of sand. He loved playing in the sand and watching Nana and Auntie build sand castles for him to step on and squash. We spent about 45 minutes at a time at the beach and then he would ask to go back to the pool. The waves did frighten him a bit but as long as one of us held his hand or was carrying him, he did okay. We were lucky enough to have a large pool with a toddler play area and a separate toddler pool and splash pad at the resort. Jackson loved the water and rarely was ready to go up to the room at the end of the day.

I was able to meet a couple of old friends on Wednesday night after Jackson went to sleep for the night. Brian and Heather Quinn live in HH, so we got together to catch up and enjoy some delicious margaritas. I had a great time with both of them and hope to see them again soon...or at least the next time I'm in HH :)

We're definitely sad to be home especially since it's nearing the end of summer but that also means less heat and more time outside. We anxious to enjoy Jackson's swing set in less than 90 degree heat!

Back Home...Not for Long!

We are back in Columbia after a very busy and extremely FUN weekend! We drove to Atlanta Thursday for my much anticipated weekend with my besties and Rachel's Bachelorette Party. Jackson was so excited to see all of his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousin too! He had his first meal from the Varsity; 2 hot dogs (that's right 2!!!), french fries and a frosted orange.

Now we have to get ready for the beach! We're going to Hilton Head Island for a week. Jackson loves swimming in the pool but it will be interesting to see what he thinks of the sand and ocean. He doesn't like grass much so I'm guessing the sand won't be his favorite but we'll see. I am so excited to have a relaxing vacation, I just have to figure out how to make the next three days fly by!

Flashback Friday / Happy 1st Anniversary

Happy (early) 1st Anniversary to Sam and Sarah! We love you! Here are a couple flashback photos of Jackson from their wedding...

Flashback Friday

One whole week!

That's right, it's been one week of dropping Jackson off at school with no tears, no whining, and no protesting. In fact, now he doesn't even say bye to me, he just walks right in and starts playing. And he LOVES his teacher, Miss Gloria and has been saying "I wanna see Miss Goooo-ia" over and over again. Yesterday when I picked him up, he ran towards me and yelled "Bye bye Goooo-ia!" It was hilarious, especially since he forgot the Miss.

I knew it would happen eventually and am so happy that he has adjusted so well and relatively quickly to his new school. Not to mention all the new stuff he's learned. Hooray Jackson! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you!!!

Where'd it go?

That's the question Jackson has been asking ever since Yousif, Mariam and my parents left a few hours ago. Yousif and Mariam are visiting from London and they came to Columbia to visit with us for the weekend and we had a blast. They arrived on Friday afternoon and were wondering if Jackson would remember them. After only a few minutes it was apparent he not only remembered them but was so excited to see them. All we heard was Ousi (Yousif) and My Mimi (Mariam), where are you? Followed by an extremely happy, "I see you!"


Friday afternoon we went to the Palmetto Falls waterpark for a few hours, had a quick dinner and were home in time for Jackson's bedtime. Yousif, Mariam and I went to see Harry Potter that night and it was awesome! This was the first Harry Potter movie I saw in the theatre since I just jumped on the HP bandwagon last summer thanks to Brian. I can't wait to see the next two, definitely going to the theatre for those as well!


Saturday morning we all went to Edventure Children's Museum and ran around for a couple hours exploring all the different exhibits. After lunch and naptime, we picked up my dad and headed to the mall for a few SC souvenirs. We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out and playing games. Luckily Nick came home from his SC AAP conference in time to see everyone before their drive back to Atlanta. We already miss them all so much and hope to see them again soon. Jackson and I are trying to plan a trip to London in the fall!!!

Flashback Friday

Clearly I have not been able to do this weekly, so I will try to keep it up at least once a month. Here are some pics from July 2007, Jackson was two months old!

Oops...

I forgot to blog! Sorry, I'm still getting the hang of this blogging thing and haven't made it part of my weekly ritual. Nick is on clinic this month so he's been around a lot more and we're getting a bit spoiled by it. Next month is wards so it will be a rude awakening back to reality!!! And with the exception of the 4th of July, he has been off every weekend.

Last weekend we went to Asheville, NC for Greg and Michelle's wedding. It was definitely a high school reunion of sorts but we had a great time. Jackson stayed at home with Auntie, Emerson and Nana. I have a feeling they had an equally great time especially since I walked in to his room when he woke up from his nap and instead of being happy to see me, he was asking for Nana (my mom) and started crying for her! We are so grateful that they could come to Columbia, only downside was that we didn't get to spend too much time with them. I did see Emerson standing up and even taking one step towards me...that's right, she loves her Auntie! Okay, okay she loves the dress Auntie had on but that's almost the same thing, right?

This week, Yousif and Mariam (my cousins) are in Atlanta visiting from London and they are coming to Columbia on Friday. I can't wait to see them and show them around my new hometown. We are planning on going to the waterpark on Friday afternoon and going to see Harry Potter on Saturday night. Nick will be attending a SC AAP conference in Asheville (yes, he's going back to Asheville) but we're hoping he'll be back relatively early on Sunday as Yousif and Mariam are anxious to see him as well.

Is whining better than crying?

YES! I was a little nervous driving Jackson to school this morning since he hadn't been there since Thursday but he did great. Today was the first day he didn't cry and scream "No Mommy" over and over again as we walked into his classroom. He just stood beside me...okay he was more ON me than beside me, but very quiet. As I hugged and kissed him, he started whining but in this situation I'll take whining any day! Hopefully tomorrow or in a few days, the whining will be gone too and he will just walk into class happily and wave goodbye to me...a mom can hope right?

Happy Birthday to Me!

My golden birthday is today and what a great day and weekend I've had. For those of you that don't know, a golden birthday is when you turn the age of the date of your birthday. So for me turning 28 on the 28th of June is my golden birthday. Other than that, I'm not sure if it's supposed to signify something special but it sounds good, doesn't it? Today is also Carolina Day, how fitting that we moved to South Carolina and my birthday is on Carolina Day! For those that don't know, on June 28, 1776, a small band of Palmetto State patriots defeated the mighty British navy in the Battle of Sullivan's Island. Patriots stationed at an unfinished palmetto log and sand fort near what is today Fort Moultrie defeated a British naval force of nine warships as it attempted to invade Charleston. The victory put off a British occupation for four years.

Yesterday morning started out with Jackson sleeping in until 7:45AM!!! I think he knew his mommy wanted to sleep in...although I'm not sure why he didn't do that on my actual birthday today. Nick, Jackson and I got ready and took our first trip to the Botanical Gardens which are gorgeous and then the short tram ride to the Riverbanks Zoo next door. Good thing we have an annual pass to the zoo since Jackson's favorite part of the visit was the tram ride! He just wanted to go back and forth and ride on what he called the truck. We enjoyed a laid back afternoon and evening but it was so nice to all be together.

Nick was on call today for my actual birthday which was disappointing. I knew I didn't want to be alone all day, so I decided to host a playdate this morning for my mums and kids group. Jackson and I both had so much fun with everyone, thanks for coming over to play with us and celebrate. As soon as Jackson woke up from his afternoon nap, we left for the Palmetto Falls waterpark to meet Gina and Karen and their kiddos. This was our first time at any waterpark so I was excited (mommy code for nervous) to see how Jackson would react to the pool, splash park, water slides, etc. Well, I quickly realized it was silly for me to be nervous, he LOVED it and actually I did too. The kiddie pool was amazing, 1' deep all the way around with the cutest little slide in the middle of it that Jackson enjoyed over and over again. We also took a few turns lounging on inner tubes around the lazy river. We had such a great time and are so thankful for the invite from the Hepler Family and the great company with the Cho Family.

I had a wonderful and very memorable birthday. Thanks for all the birthday wishes from near, far or facebook!

Flashback Friday

Every Friday I'm going to post some flashback pics. Here are a few of Jackson last June, hard to believe that was just one year ago...

Breakthrough!!!

We are in the middle of Jackson's second full week of school. Our morning crying ritual has continued every day but according to his teachers, it doesn't last as long anymore. When I pick him up, he's usually sitting in Miss Gloria's lap cuddling with Buddy and sucking his thumb. Today I walked in expecting the same scene and...breakthrough...he was playing with the other kids and happy as a clam. The best part, Buddy was in Jackson's cubby IN THE HALLWAY!!! Miss Gloria said he had been there almost the entire morning! I know this may not seem like a big deal, but Buddy is Jackson's comfort so to know he was able to put him away and play is such a relief. I know he's adjusting and soon I'll be posting describing a drop off without tears (hopefully).

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day! It's strange not spending half our day in the car driving between the Salman and Kelly households to celebrate. We're sorry we couldn't be with you this year but hope you had a wonderful day, we love you!

Nick was post call today so we didn't have any crazy father's day plans. Luckily Nick came home early around 11AM so we were able to enjoy him for longer than his usual post call days. We ate lunch, Jackson took a nap and then we all took part in Nick's favorite thing to do...WATCHING SPORTS! We flipped between golf, baseball and soccer. Jackson had a blast since he normally isn't allowed to watch TV and of course, Nick enjoyed his relaxing day cuddling with his little buddy...

Random Rant

Every Tuesday is kids eat free day at Moe's and Jackson and I go pretty often with friends of ours, the Shahs. Moe's has hired a balloon man to walk around the restaurant and make fun balloon animals for all the kiddos. He is only there from 6-8 and if you've ever been to Moe's on a kids eat free night, you know how overcrowded with LITTLE kiddos it gets. Well last night was no exception, it was packed.

The balloon man arrived at 6PM and the first table he chose to go to was a table of teenagers! Seriously? We were sitting at the next booth so naturally Jackson and Salil were very excited that the balloon man was coming to our table very soon...or so we thought. He spent half an hour at the table of teenagers talking, laughing, and making them 4 different balloons. Again I ask, SERIOUSLY?!?!? You have a restaurant full of toddlers and young children and not only do you go there first but you also stay there for ages!!! He also had multiple parents ask him to come to their table that night since they usually missed him and he told all of them he may not have time. No kidding, how would you have time if you're talking to teeny boppers all night?!?!? His unprofessionalism and obliviousness to all the younger kids waiting was extremely annoying. Couple that with the "Oh my God!" screams and "Can you do an octopus balloon?" and the deafening shrieks from the teenage girls, and you get my random rant!

Poof, they're gone...

We had such a wonderful weekend thanks to Tamara and Emerson visiting. We miss them already and have started the countdown to the next visit, 4 weeks and 3 days!

Yesterday was Jackson's birthday party at My Gym. He had a blast with all his buds and Emerson loved it, especially the tambourine. Here are a few of my favorite pics...

Jackson was the birthday "king" riding around in the wagon and this was our group picture or the best we could do with 18 toddlers!

They're Here!!!

Tamara and Emerson arrived today around 11AM, just in time to eat lunch, play and take good afternoon naps. Well only Emerson took a good nap, I'm pretty sure Jackson was too excited about our visitors to stay asleep! After naptime, we met a friend of mine, Karen Bell, who is starting up a photography business at Pooh Park for a cousin photo session. We let the little lovies run around while she snapped away. Thanks Karen!

We came home and made a yummy dinner and let Jackson and Emerson play. Emerson liked all of Jackson's toys but Jackson didn't like that she was playing with all of them, we're still working on sharing ;) They will be here until Monday so hopefully he'll stop saying mine to everything Emerson touches...including the air conditioning vent!

New school, day 2...

Today was Jackson’s 2nd day Lake Carolina ELC. On the way there he wasn’t showing any signs of hesitation. He has figured out where we’re going based on which way I’m driving so I was worried he would know we were going back to school and freak out. So when that didn’t happen, it was a huge relief. He got out of the car and walked in with me. As soon as we stepped foot in the classroom, he grabbed Buddy (his blankie), wrapped his arms around my leg, and started crying, “No mommy, no.” Needless to say, it was devastating. I knelt down, gave him one last kiss and hug and told him mommy would be back soon and I was out.

I just got back from picking him up and I'm happy to report it was a fabulous experience! He was not crying and he had eaten lunch today! Hooray!!! When we were walking back to the car, I asked him if he had fun and he said yes. Then we got home and he threw a tantrum because he didn’t want to be home and he wanted to go back and play. I guess you can’t win no matter what you do. I’m just happy he seems to be adjusting well, and quickly.

Now all I have to do is get through the next 48 hours and then I get to see Tamara and Emerson! We are so excited they are coming to visit. Jackson keeps saying auntie and Emerson, which sounds more like Eh-son but you get the point.

Jackson's First Day at LCELC

Jackson has been on the waiting list at Lake Carolina Early Learning Center for months and finally got a spot on Tuesday and Thursday. Yesterday was his first day. I was prepared for him to cry when I dropped him off since that's what he used to do at NE Presbyterian Church MMO for the first few weeks. We walked in and as I was signing him in, he walked towards another kid in the class and started playing. I wasn't sure if I should say goodbye so I started to leave and as I turned to shut the door, I noticed Jackson looking at me so I just smiled and waved...no tears!!! Needless to say I was thrilled.

I went back to pick him up at 11:45AM and saw through the classroom window he was in the teacher's lap. I opened the door and he immediately ran to me and was sobbing. My heart broke into a million pieces. Apparently as soon as lunch arrived, he wouldn't eat and started crying and had been crying for half an hour. I know it will just take time for him to get used to it but it doesn't make it any easier to see your baby crying. Fingers crossed for tomorrow :)

And last, but definitely not least, our water finally got turned back on after twenty hours! Unfortunately, I have a feeling that is not the last of the drama with the water company.

Scary Bushes?

We had our water turned off yesterday by the wonderful City of Columbia Water Company. It was an error on their part which they advised would be solved that day. At 7PM there was a knock at my door and I saw the Water Company truck so I opened up to hear a guy asking me to cut my bushes. He said he couldn’t get to my water meter to turn the water on because he couldn’t get around the bushes. Now unless those bushes miraculously grew in 5 hours, they are the same bushes that were there when the water company turned off my water. Needless to say I was furious and I asked the guy to wait while I called the water company. He asked me if I was going to cut the bushes after I got off the phone to which I said, “Do I look like I’m going to cut those bushes?!?” He then got in his car and drove off. I called and was told they would send someone else that doesn’t mind bushes out that night. Well I woke up this morning and guess what? NO WATER!
I called again this morning and the person that answered the phone was literally at a loss for words. He kept asking me how it was possible that they turned off my water and then refused to turn it back on because of some bushes. At last, it seemed like I was speaking to someone that understood where I was coming from. So now I’m still waiting for them to turn the water back on hopefully sometime this morning.

In other news, we started potty training Jackson Saturday morning. In the morning he seemed really into it, I asked him if he wanted to be a big boy and wear big boy underwear and he shrieked yes with excitement. We quickly had 6 wet pairs of undies and 1 dirty pair, which was actually hilarious. He took a great nap (in a diaper) and woke up in a pretty good mood…until…Mommy said it was time to be a big boy. He insisted on keeping his diaper on. I asked him if he wanted to wear big boy underwear, he screamed no. I don’t want to force him into it and after remembering that he was starting a new school this week, we felt it was better to try again when he didn’t have any other changes going on. So for now, we’re back in diapers and will keep him on or around the potty as much as possible and try again in a month or so.

Busy, busy, busy

It’s been a pretty low key week after an extremely fun weekend. We had a playdate every single day starting last Thursday! One would think this would have worn Jackson out and he would be in a really good mood and okay to play at home this week so Mommy could work. One would be wrong. He’s been quite anxious this week to get out of the house. I’m sure he’ll be super excited to see Nana and Jiddu (my parents) tomorrow! Nick and I are excited about having a night out and knowing Jackson is being watched by trustworthy babysitters as we’ve had quite the experiences trying to find a good one in Columbia.

We are also going to attempt the 3 day potty training this weekend!!! I say attempt because Jackson has toddlers diarrhea and I’m not sure how successfully you can be potty trained with all that going on. But I’m sure I’ll have some interesting (and gross) posts to come.

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Nick! We love you! Today is Nick's birthday and of course he's on call :( So Jackson and I will be heading to the hospital to bring him dinner and surprise him with strawberry pie!

We're blogging...finally!

Welcome to our blog! I have finally started blogging after many months of reading my sister's blog and wanting one of our own. This is where we’ll keep you updated on our life in Columbia, any travels, and also share pictures. I can’t promise very frequent posts, but I will promise to try to blog regularly, as regularly as having a two-year old allows. Enjoy and happy reading!