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.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
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!
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!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
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!
~ 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!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
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."
2. We are getting ready to go to New York for the weekend and Jackson keeps saying "I wanna go to New Nork."
Friday, October 9, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
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.
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)