The Jackson Update

3WLE: 1•27•12

2012-01-27T13:53:00.003-05:00


Snuggle time with mama

Emmett is kind of obsessed with bubbles. He loves to have us draw fish with bubbles, he loves to look at them, he loves to take bubble baths. I thought I'd get some video of him in the tub enjoying the bubbles! I tried to keep it PG, and the bubbles help with some censorship, but I did have a few slip ups...sorry, Em!

20 months old

2012-01-26T06:30:00.000-05:00

Emmett and his necklace (it's yarn!)

At 20 months old Emmett:

• repeats words and demonstrates meaning. I truly can't believe the explosion of language that happened in the past 2 months. I remember being somewhat worried that he was not developing language skills, and then he just started saying all kinds of things like he'd been keeping his skills under wraps until he was ready to make a big debut. Now he will walk into our hallway in the morning and say, "dark!" and go into the living room and ask for "eye-you!" and get on the "couch," then come over to me and say "eat" when he's hungry and ask for "oat-muhl" and "mowch" (milk) for breakfast. And that's just the a.m. hours! He's making great strides!

• recognizes letters. We have an alphabet puzzle and he can say the names of letters as he picks them up to put them in their spot. He knows about half of the alphabet.

• says "thank you" almost every time you give him something. He says it more like, "Tee doo" and it's definitely adorable. We are working on please ("geez") but we have to remind him a lot. He also says "no" and "yes" now when we ask him questions. It's bizarre to ask him a question and get a real answer!

• wears size 2T in most everything now, just barely making the jump up in pajamas - we checked on him one night and his belly was hanging out because his arms were over his head!

• concentrates on specific tasks. Em has always been a focused guy, even as a baby he'd get caught up playing with certain toys for so long. Now, he's focusing on puzzles and books and coloring.

• has a new favorite character: Curious George! He asks for "maah-tee" (monkey) and even says George (well, sorta) and has even requested him instead of Caillou on occasion!

• likes to eat rice (almost any way we serve it), beans, corn, fruit squeeze packets, cheese, chili, peanut butter, graham crackers and drink milk ("mowch"). He's still picky with fruit and veggies, although he did try broccoli this month!! HUGE step. He actually ate some of the top part, but mostly sucked at it to get the olive oil and salt and pepper off.

• still goes to daycare twice a week and the YMCA. The ladies there say he keeps to himself mostly, playing with toys on his own or with adults. I can attest to this because whenever I take him out to a playdate or play spot for kids he does the same thing. He doesn't mind being away from me, but he doesn't seek out companions, either. Mr. Independent.

• is as sweet as he can be...except when he wakes up cranky after a nap. Then, watch out.

Roommates reunited

2012-01-25T14:44:00.000-05:00

While we were in Fayetteville we met up with our friends, Andy and Ellen Wehrman, and their new little guy, Charlie. Andy and Eric were college roommates and have stayed close since, although we don't live near each other. We stayed with them in Chicago and they showed us around the city - we had a great time! That was forever ago, back when we lived in Ann Arbor, back before the behbehs. Now who knows, maybe Charlie and Emmett will carry on the roomie tradition at U of A?!

Andy, Charlie, Eric and Emmett

Tiny baby fist bump!

(Thanks Ellen for these pics!)

We bought Charlie a shirt from Mustache in Fayetteville that predicts kids' futures. It's a surprise until it's opened. If you can't tell, his predicted Charlie will become a dog show judge. Hmmmm...better than a criminal mastermind!

The boys' first meeting - at the beautiful Fort Smith mall. ;)

3WLE: 1•20•12

2012-01-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

Emmett and his "moons!"

This week I managed to get some of Emmett's words on film, as well as some of his, um... special behaviors. Here's a brief list:

1. He moves his lower jaw back and forth while he talks sometimes. It gives his speech pattern a lovely vibrating quality that is definitely unique. In addition, he often just goes about his business with his lower jaw pushed to one side, giving him the crooked smile we have grown to love.

2. He says "Oh no!" all the time. If something happens - good or bad - you're going to hear this from him. And he has a distinct Northern accent, too...for which I blame Canadian Caillou.

3. He loves pointing out the "dark" places. We didn't film this, but he likes to shut all the doors to our hallway so that it's dark inside, while he's in there!

4. He says, "There it is" a lot, too. Any time he finds something, or if you find him after he's been "eye-ding" then "There it is!"

5. He definitely has some favorite animals these days: fish, worms, lions, monkeys, to name a few.

6. He likes saying "No." What kid doesn't?

Enjoy the video!

My mommy dream come true

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

Ever since I was pregnant (and probably well before that) I've always dreamed of snuggling with my little baby - bringing him into our big bed and cozying up close and falling asleep peacefully until the morning comes. Well that dream proved to be more of an unrealistic fantasy with our little one; when Emmett was smaller he was such a loud sleeper that we had him in his own room after a few weeks! He's always slept better on his own, and truthfully I knew we would too, even though a small part of me still longed to hug his little frame and hear him breathe sleepy breaths.

As of yesterday there had not been one. single. time that Emmett had slept in our bed with us. Oh, we've tried it before. It failed each time. He always wanted to play and roll around and be silly. So we ended up just getting up with him instead. I had grown used to the fact that he's not a cuddle-bug. But apparently, I had not given up on the idea all together...

This morning I awoke to Emmett on the monitor at 5:45 a.m. A little early for my taste, I'm much happier with a 7:00 a.m. wake up call. But he was crying pretty hard, which is unusual for him so I went in to check it out. There he was, lying down, crying, still obviously tired. So I rubbed his back for a couple of minutes and attempted to leave. FAIL. He caught me as I reached the door. So I went back to back rubbing and kept at it for much longer this time, convinced that if I stayed he'd fall asleep and I'd be assured another 45 minutes of sleep or so. It's amazing what the promise of more sleep will make me believe!

After what felt like 30 minutes, but was probably more like ten, Emmett just stood up in the crib. My heart sank, and my head's ringing with the thought, You're not going back to sleep now, unless you take drastic measures! So I picked him up and laid him down on the guest bed in his room and lay down next to him. He didn't fight it, surprisingly, so I kept up the dream and pulled him in close and I cherished the experience. I didn't have a camera on me so I took the liberty of recreating the dream I'd been expecting on Emmett's magna-doodle:

This lasted for all of one minute.

After that, he turned his limbs on super-high-activation mode and wiggled into just about every position I could have ever imagined a little body could contort into. Oh, he was cuddled in close all right, a little too close if you want to know the truth. I mean, I'm the first to admit I'm desperate for a little baby cuddle, but mama's gotta get to sleep too, right?

Instead, here's where we end up after a few minutes of "getting comfortable"...

Oh, hey yeah that is his hand in my face. Not an exaggeration. Dude had his hands all up in my face. His little blankie was completely covering his entire head, so he probably didn't think I would mind a little hand up the nose. Nah, good times, Mom!

This little guy did fall asleep, probably for about 30 minutes, which I was happy about. I probably slept for less than ten, but it was a true zonked-out sleep. So I guess that means my mommy dream came true this morning. And it was really only like 30% nightmare-ish.

PS. Also, I was totally inspired to draw these "draw-rings" because of a hilarious blog called Crappy Pictures. Click that link to read a funny post complete with awesome stick figure drawings!

Knit hats, for kids and adults

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Last year I learned to knit from both of my mothers-in-law. I started with scarves and then moved on to hats, slowly becoming more confident and learning new stitches as I went along. I'm definitely still a beginner, but I really enjoy knitting and the satisfaction I feel after finishing a project. Even more, I love seeing someone wearing something I knitted especially for them. Emmett can be sort of a hat snob, so I decided to knit hats for some special little girls.

I made the same hat for Harper, McKenzie and Annie (McKenzie's new baby sister) and tried my most challenging pattern yet for Olivia. I was so happy to see the girls in their hats!

When Christmas morning came around, I discovered these little goodies had been wrapped up for me from my mom. So I picked a pattern (the one on the cover, top right corner) and got to stitchin'!

I decided to make a hat for myself, since I obviously consider myself a celebrity. I mean, I put on a beanie and some aviator lenses, and you can't tell the difference between me and Carrie Underwood. See what I mean?

This is my "celebrity" face. I know it's great.

I've worn my slouchy celebrity beanie out a few times now, but I still haven't been mistaken for Taylor Swift - go figure!

But I still love my hat.

Simplify

2012-01-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

Over the past couple of weeks I have devoted almost all of my free time (ie: when Emmett is asleep) to cleaning out every room, closet, cabinet and craft bin in our house. You should see our house now. Wait. Actually, I hope you don't because it is still full of the stuff we are getting rid of, only it's out in the open now. In the corner of our kitchen, against the wall of our bedroom - yes, things are looking worse before they will look better.

People who know me well will surely agree that I am an organizational queen. It is one of my strongest and probably most annoying qualities. I have organized so many things this past week, but I wanted to share two examples with you to give you an idea of the kind of madness that envelops my otherwise normal mind. ONE: I organized a shoebox full of thread that was jumbled together into a tangled heap into a thing of beauty. Imagine Ziploc bags separating different hues of colors - a beautiful rainbow of organizational insanity if ever there was one. And TWO: I organized our junk drawer. And not for the first time. Who am I kidding, I organize the drawer at least once every 3-6 months. I am sick. Sick.

The whole thing started when I received a mailer about an organization here in middle TN that needed donations and offered a pickup service. Donate our unwanted items without having to load up my car and do it myself? You can bet that I went through my closet with reckless abandon!

And honestly, this has been one of the best things for me. It gave me a project to do in my free time (now that the holidays are over I'm not crafting too much), which is always good for my morale. And it has helped me to realize one of my personal goals for this year: simplification.

I like simplicity, yet our house is full of things that we don't need. Things we haven't used since we moved over two years ago. So I took action and I'm happy to say that I have a ginormous pile of things to donate. It feels good to give to people in need. And maybe it makes me a bad person, but I feel even better knowing that those things are gone and won't need to be sorted through in another 6 months when we pack up and move.

So I am calling the pickup service this week, but I think I like this new lifestyle of paring down and simplifying. I did a little makeover on the blog, as you've probably noticed. It's different. It's simple. And that's my 2012 motto.

3WLE: 1•13•12

2012-01-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

This picture below makes me laugh so hard. I had to control myself while taking it (and several others) because, I mean who does this kid think he is?! He probably has no idea I'm even standing right in front of him. Nope, it's just him and Caillou. He doesn't have a care in the world!

"Pops says this chair isn't that comfy, but I'd have to disagree!"

The video has nothing to do with the picture, I just had to get it on the blog. But the video is some real sweet footage, too. It features Emmett trying to imitate Eric juggling. And, oh man. The first time he did it was priceless. Lucky for you, the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth times were awesome, too!

Family shoot, casual style

2012-01-11T16:04:00.000-05:00

I guess I should finally share the photos we used in our Christmas card this year! They were taken almost three months ago, so you can understand how I could have forgotten about them. But a Grandma or two reminded me to share them, so here they are.

Christmas card, 2011

I think Eric was crumpling dead leaves here - Emmett was a huge fan.

Then, we used the ol' "Look at the airplane!" trick. Worked like a charm even though there may not have been an actual airplane....

Deep Thoughts, by Emmett Jackson

Mama and a startled Emmett

Dada and a flying Emmett

I put the whole series in the October photo album.

Crystal Bridges visit

2012-01-09T14:00:00.000-05:00

Over the holiday break Eric and I went up to Crystal Bridges, a new museum of American art in Bentonville, AR. This museum is kind of a big deal - especially for Arkansas - and it is legit. Serious artwork, incredible architecture, a world-class experience in Northwest Arkansas. Believe it. It was amazing. Eric and I are not art enthusiasts by any means. We went through the museum at a leisurely pace and it took about 2 hours to see all of the exhibits. The highlight was the Wonder World exhibit, where as Eric put it, you can come up with a completely random object and then increase its size by about 1,000 percent and you are a contemporary artist. It's hard to resist, I'll admit. The draw was so strong that we went back a second time with Emmett, Sara and Kenni to check out the walking trails around the museum. We had a great view of the museum, walked a beautiful series of trails and it was a terrific day. What could be better? How about spending it with some of our favorite people?! Enjoy some pictures...

The entrance to the museum, featuring a familiar sculpture for those who downloaded the January desktop calendar.

OK. This was seriously incredible. What you see here are spools of thread (!!) hung up on wires to form a mosaic that is upside down. Then, you look through this small glass orb and it appears right-side up as the Last Supper. Wow.

Anyone want to visit the Museum of Eric?

Emmett and Aunt Sara with a sculpture on the grounds.

Our family by the giant tree sculpture out front.

Walkin' some trails.

A panoramic view of the museum from a lookout on a higher trail.

Fenced in.

They called this exhibit "Uncle and Curious Toddler." Fascinating.

The hip-carry: Emmett doesn't seem impressed, but what does he know?

Definitely one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken.

You can see all of the museum photos in the December photo album.

3 with Lil' E: 1•6•12

2012-01-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

It's the first 3WLE of the new year and since I shortchanged y'all at the end of 2011, I'm going to make it up to you in 2012. As in, right now. TWO videos today! Whoop, whoop!

The first video was taken on New Year's Eve while we were in Bentonville with Sara and Kenni. We ate at The Station Cafe and then walked down Main Street to find this motorized truck. A woman inside the visitor's center ran out and insisted that she pay for Emmett's first ride, so ride he did! Twice, in fact. Listen for "Oh, no!" and "Uh ooohhh," two of his favorite words.

The next video shows you what Emmett did for about two straight days. "Eye-ding" is his version of hiding. I don't know why, but he usually treats the first letters of words as silent. Anyway, we got a huge kick out of his "eye-ding" and that only encouraged him. Then, we'd have him do it for people when they came over, like a party trick. He loved the attention. Alex took the picture above and it captured him in the moment perfectly.

2012. Whoa.

2012-01-05T00:25:00.000-05:00

The new year always has the same effect on me. I'm motivated to change things about myself and my life that I should have probably changed 6 months earlier. But that's what the new year is for: a fresh start. So, here's to everyone's resolutions and motivations. Cheers to a happy 2012!

{click here to download}

It's Christmas, baby

2011-12-31T19:17:00.000-05:00

What? Christmas was last week, you say? Psshhh! Don't worry about it, I'll just change the date of this post later and no one will ever remember. But! We will remember the awesome-ness that was Christmas morning. It's too bad that it's always over so fast, but we tried to savor it this year. The kids made it easier to do so, what with Emmett eating breakfast before we opened presents and Olivia sleeping in later than all of us. After a little bit of waiting...we finally got to the good stuff - the gifts! Enjoy the photos:

"Hey, cousin, what you got there? Don't get too close to my toys."

"Kiiiiids..."

Kathryn and Miss Olivia modeling a hat that I knit for her.

O and Parker with a sweet new toy.

Eric showing off the present I gave him. Any Parks and Rec fans out there?

Me and my little elf

Emmett gets the Caillou doll! Kathryn is just as excited as he is!

His new best friend.

JM looking suave in a new scarf

Momsie with her new wine glass (one of 12) and O with a Christmas bottle

What's made Pops so happy?

A new flat screen TV!!!!!

Em gets ready to clean up the aftermath (with Olivia's present).

You can see ALL of the Christmas photos in the December photo album. There are A LOT of them!

19 months old

2011-12-28T12:41:00.000-05:00

At 19 months old Emmett:

• is talking up a storm! He surprises us everyday with new words that he knows. He says too many now to list them all, but some new favorites include: hiding (and he usually hides), ah-wer (color - he likes coloring in his high chair), buh-bye, bops (Pops, my dad's name), and YESSS! (he usually accompanies this with an arm in the air).

• had his second Christmas and received some fun toys, favorites include a Bob the Builder truck that lights up and makes noise, a little Caillou doll (Eye-YOU!) and a Thomas the Train book with some trains in the back.

• is a big fan of puzzles. He has really improved in the past month, especially with not getting frustrated if the piece doesn't go in right away. Now he can do it all on his own. He also is a whiz at puzzle games on the iPad.

• eats pretty well. His favorites still include fruit squeeze pouches, black beans, Cheerios, and oatmeal. He typically eats two bowls of oatmeal every morning! We still have trouble getting him to try some things, but he's a bit more adventurous these days.

• still loves to watch Caillou on TV. He asks for it by name (Eye-YOU!) almost immediately after he gets out of his high chair and probably an additional five to ten times during the day.

• is such a sweet boy. He has started coming up behind us and grabbing our legs to hug us. He is more affectionate and willing to hug me than ever before. Plus, he's done really well with all the family and friends he's seen the past couple of weeks. He's usually shy at first but will warm up to new people.

• is our favorite little guy ever!

Pre-Christmas fun

2011-12-24T16:43:00.001-05:00

The blog has been silent this week because we've been busy enjoying the week leading up to Christmas. Here's just a sample of what we've been up to:

Decorating cookies...

Davis kids' white elephant gift exchange...

A trip to the Fayetteville square to see the Christmas lights...

Enjoying the Griswold-esque lights on the house...

Chowing down on spaghetti...

And coloring!

We've had a lot of fun with family. We are suuuuper excited about Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, especially with these two kiddos around. Lots of pictures to come later. ;) Merry Christmas, everyone!

Lights at Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Bass Pro Shop Fish

2011-12-18T15:11:00.000-05:00

We went to check out the Christmas lights at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel on Friday night. It was really amazing to see all the trees blanketed in lights, although we both thought that it looked most impressive from the Interstate as we drove away. But, we can check it off our "Things to do in Nashville" list that we are slowly working through. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I had to take photos with the iPhone. Not great, so I took a couple short videos that give a better view.

After the hotel, we went over to Bass Pro Shop because they have a free Santa and a huge fish tank. I'll give you one guess what Emmett was more excited about. In fact, this picture of Santa doesn't even have Emmett in it because we didn't even attempt it. Super long line + baby near bedtime + Santa = meltdown.

We did go see the fish and he loved it as much as we thought he would. The nice thing about these fish is that they are big and move very slowly. Perfect for little eyes to see!

3 with Lil' E: 12•16•11

2011-12-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

Let's chat about a few things:

1) Emmett is wearing only his diaper (and socks!): He had a very messy lunch of chili and after I stripped him down, he acted so happy that I just let him enjoy an afternoon unencumbered by clothes. We live on the wild side, I know.

2) Yes, Emmett eats chili. To my complete surprise, he eats a lot of semi-spicy things. He's always liked Mexican food and now we can add chili to the list as well as white rice with a small amount of Indian masala curry sauce. He still won't touch a fruit or veggie in a non-pureed state, so go figure.

3) Emmett plays on the iPad. He asks for it several hundred times a day ("OW-BUL!?") and I typically relent 3 or 4 times so that he can play his favorite apps. Right now, he's into Bartleby's Book of Buttons (Vol. 1 & 2), a few matching games (like the one in the video), and watching the movie trailer for The Lorax. He has seriously seen that trailer close to 50 times. Because he usually likes to watch it twice in one sitting. Minimum. Good thing it's a cute movie. We'll be first in line to go see it in March.

So that's the story with this week's video. Just a glimpse into our daily life. Enjoy!

Baubles

2011-12-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

Emmett's been doing a lot more talking in recent weeks, repeating things that we say a lot and attempting words for things that he loves (ie: iPad = "ow-bul"). It's so cute to hear him say things in his tiny voice, I just love it.

Two of his favorite words to say over and over again are fish ("ish") and bubbles ("baubles"). He loves to point them out whenever he sees them. So last night, Eric thought that giving him a "bauble bath" would be the most fun thing ever! The verdict? He likes bubbles, but he doesn't like when the bubbles are all up in his business. Eric said he got a little freaked out when he put a small pile of bubbles on his belly. So, for now, we will go back to bubble-less baths.

Bauble-head...get it?!

His best smile.

Opryland Hotel in December

2011-12-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

You may recall this post about the last time we went to the Opryland Hotel - it was an incredible sight to see! Since Eric didn't get the chance to go we've always known we would go back, and with Eric's dad in town for a couple of days we decided it would be the perfect outing.

We had heard that the hotel is really spectacular at Christmastime, because they have a TON of lights up. Seriously. They start putting lights up in July. They aren't kidding around over there. So we did what any smart people would have done. We went in the daytime.

I know, I know. Not our smartest move ever, but there was plenty inside the hotel to ooh and aah over, believe me. After getting there and seeing all the lights up, I knew that we would have to go back for a drive by, because there's just no way we can move from here not having seen it. Also, Emmett would flip out. So, when Eric finishes his finals, we'll go. And I'll try and take some pictures that do it justice. For now, you can at least check out the huge Christmas tree they put up (there's also a Santa there, which we did not attempt) and some shots of the indoor holiday decor. Here's a link to the December photo album for all the photos.

Holiday balloons and lights and garlands and wreaths....

There are several special movie tie-ins at the hotel now, we stopped at the Shrek house for a visit.

The ginormous Christmas tree. Emmett says, "HI!"

The guys looking at the huge tree from base-level. It's huge even for these tall dudes!

3 with Lil' E: 12•9•11

2011-12-09T11:44:00.003-05:00

I've been a bad blogger this week. My excuse is pretty lame: I haven't taken any pictures. Bad, mom-blogger, bad! I have been in a real photo slump lately. I know I need to find details in everyday life to shoot, but sometimes I just like to sit and enjoy a moment with my son. Instead of possibly ruining it to grab the camera. Trouble is that while I want to enjoy those moments as they happen, I truly do have a hard time remembering them later on, so the pictures help me relive them! I need to do better. Especially with the holidays here and watching special moments through the eyes of a child. And speaking of...the morning that we showed Emmett our Christmas tree, I took some video of his reaction. "Wwwoooowwwww!"

'Tis the season

2011-12-05T13:55:00.003-05:00

I can't deny that twinkling lights in the background of a photo makes me feel warm and fuzzy. And, since it is the season of warm-n-fuzzies, I decided to share that with you this month. Happy Holidays!

{click here to download}

He is captivated by Ratatouille. He loves rats, just like his dad!

{click here to download}

3 with Lil' E: 12•2•11

2011-12-02T16:47:00.001-05:00

This was probably the highlight of Emmett's Thanksgiving break:

Thanksgiving in Idaho

2011-12-01T15:44:00.005-05:00

This year we spent our Thanksgiving break in Idaho Falls with Eric's side of the family. We had a lot of fun going to some of the best local restaurants, crafting, playing with Eric's old toys, and even beginning the Christmas season a bit early. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Playing with toys at Dorothy and Ivan's house.

Not so sure about this "Santa" guy.

Playing poker with Cramma.

Cramma, Sophie, Maddie and Kevin getting Thanksgiving dinner.

Emmett looking at Grandpa's "ites"

Emmett running around outside at night.

Emmett running around outside during the day with Grandpa.

Emmett with his favorite Christmas gift - a Santa cup and straw.

Grandma modeling Emmett's new Caillou shirt.

Emmett breaking in Grandpa's new edger.

Emmett giving Grandma a painting he made.

Emmett in the airport on the way home.

You may be thinking that this felt a lot more like a Christmas post, but we definitely made sure that we ate a lot of turkey and didn't turn the Christmas "ites" on until Thanksgiving night. So there. You can see all the photos we took in Idaho in our November photo album. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

18 month check-up

2011-11-29T13:14:00.003-05:00

Emmett went in for his 18 month check-up this morning. He didn't have to get any shots, which was awesome, but for the first time he really didn't like having the doctor check him. He was squirmy and cried a bit, but doc said that's normal. He got a clean bill of health and was told the usual stuff: "tall and skinny."

Here are his 18 month stats:
Weight: 26 lbs. 14 oz. (64th percentile) up 2 lbs. 12 oz. from 15 months
Height: 35.8 in. (over 97th percentile) up 1.8 in. from 15 months
Head circ: 18.91 in. (56th percentile) up .4 in. from 15 months

18 months old

2011-11-26T14:05:00.003-05:00

Emmett at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

At 18 months old Emmett:

• is talking much more and repeating words. His vocabulary has grown so much in the past month. Granted, he doesn't always say his words correctly, but that will come. Here is a list of words that he says:

"ane" for plane, along with an accompanying hand gesture of a plane flying
"ain" for train
"tzoo tzoo" for choo choo, along with arm motions
"ite" for light
"gath" for gas
"gock gock" for knock knock
"raff" for giraffe
"gurl" for squirrel
"isshh" for fish
"bye bye"
"night night"
"Uh Oh" - there is no mistaking this one
"whoa" - he says it a lot when playing and falling
"wow" - he shows a lot of genuine excitement
"Ho Ho Ho" - he's been learning a lot about Santa this week

• makes a lot of sounds when asked what specific animals say:

Turkey: gobble gobble (more like "obble obb)
Snake: ssssssss
Bear/lion/dragon: rrrraaaarrrrr (sometimes he says it very softly - so cute)
Duck: gack gack
Cow: oooooooo
Cramma: Bob-Bob-Bob! (This is a reference to him repeating Eric's grandma when she yelled her husband Bob's name one day. It was hilarious!)

• likes to do "knuckles" or "pound it."

• has a varied appetite. One day he'll eat everything you put out for him, the next he doesn't want to eat at all. His favorites still include black beans, yogurt smoothies, cheerios, milk, crackers, hummus, and almost anything that he can dip.

• loves to watch the show Caillou, a cartoon about a 4 year old boy. He's liked this for a few months now, but I don't know that I've mentioned it before.

• is still going to bed around 8 pm and getting up around 7 am. He still takes two naps a day, around 10 am and 3 pm.

• has grown more interested in trains and got his very first Thomas train, which talks and lights up.

• still loves being read to. He doesn't have too many favorites this month, he'll sit and listen to just about any book.

• is a good-natured little guy, who is serious most of the time and likes to concentrate on the task (toy) at hand. He loves to give hugs and kisses, too.

Photo log: Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T17:43:00.000-05:00

Photo log: enjoying a "Tastee Treet"

2011-11-22T16:51:00.000-05:00

Photo log: Playing in footie pajamas

2011-11-20T10:58:00.001-05:00

Photo log: fun with dad's old toys

2011-11-18T17:43:00.001-05:00

Photo log: Emmett loves "anes"

2011-11-18T16:25:00.001-05:00

Photo log: first flight's nap

2011-11-18T13:10:00.000-05:00

3 with Lil' E: 11•18•11

2011-11-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

The last time Em was in Idaho
December 2010

At the time you are reading this post, the Jackson family is en route to Idaho for Thanksgiving! We are flying on a plane, or an "ane" as Emmett calls it, and everything is probably going extremely well. Like, better than I could ever have even dreamed it would go.

Do you think that when you write things on the Internet they automatically become true? I do.

OR! I just jinxed this whole flying thing. Whoops!

Emmett flew to Idaho last year when he was around 7 months old. He did great, but he is a much different child now. But, we are bringing a vast array of toys, food, books, etc. and even the iPad, which he is very fond of. Hopefully, we will have enough to keep him calm for a couple of flights so that we don't have to be parents of "that child on the plane who would not shut up." Wish us luck!

I'll try and post some photos from our adventures in Idaho over the next week while we're gone. It's bound to be full of fun - and possibly even snow!

Today's video is from about a month ago when Eric stayed with Em while I went off and had a mom's weekend in Little Rock. They went to a new park and Emmett encountered some new things such as hedge apples and moss! And a steep hill. Eric wanted me to point out that the hill Emmett climbed was very steep, much steeper than you can possibly tell from the video.

iPhone photo show

2011-11-16T11:22:00.003-05:00

I've been in a bit of a camera slump lately and haven't taken that many photos with my good camera. Thank goodness the iPhone camera is with me all the time. Otherwise, I'd miss fun moments like these:

Don't get all mad at me, it was his idea to put them on!

Emmett likes to sit on the steps whenever we walk up to our front door.

Emmett also enjoys coloring...and eventually eating a crayon.

This is Emmett and his friend, Will. He doesn't seem too happy with me taking pictures and interrupting snack time, does he?

We took Emmett to Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams on Saturday and he really went to town on some Black Forest ice cream. He even used a sample spoon and took bites by himself!

3 with Lil' E: 11•11•11

2011-11-11T11:56:00.006-05:00

E&E playing quietly with Legos

These days Emmett is not only walking, but running - or rather, a stunted version of running in which his legs take very short strides and he keeps his knees up. His style is to "Run like a man!" as Eric says. You can catch a glimpse of his running in this video in which Emmett and Eric play ball in the living room. E&E have a nice little rapport now of playing ball and building lego-towers. Lil' E just doesn't get that into that stuff with me. It's a "dad thing," I guess. It's fun to watch their bond developing.

Hummus fiend

2011-11-08T16:43:00.002-05:00

Anyone who has watched our boy eat knows that sometimes it can be a delicate process. He carefully inspects everything before trying it and if something is defective (ie: a black bean that has already been split, thus ruining the taste!), he won't even think about eating it. He's gotten a bit better about that since he's started using utensils on his own, though.

My biggest gripe about his eating habits is that he won't try very many new things. Well, that AND that he will really like something for a few days and then the next time I try and give it to him, he's over it. Last night I boiled an entire package of cheese ravioli and he would not even try one. It's frustrating, for sure.

So, imagine my surprise when Emmett saw me eating hummus and pita chips the other day and showed some interest. I assumed he'd take one look and turn his head away. Oh, no. He wolfed down some hummus. He was double-, triple-, quadruple-dipping chips! And since I knew that my description of this act would pale in comparison, I present to you a minute and a half of hummus inhalation. Germ-aphobes, beware.

3 with Lil' E: 11•4•11

2011-11-04T07:00:00.001-04:00

Why do kids do this?

Step into our world for a moment, won't you? A world in which a tiny Buzz Lightyear spends 10 minutes talking to himself in his crib after a nap. Plotting, perhaps, to destroy all other occupants of said crib. This is an everyday occurrence, people. This is not a performance for the camera. This is our life. Boy be straight crazy.

November calendars

2011-11-03T16:41:00.004-04:00

I'm already a few days late with these, so here are the November desktop calendars.

{click here to download}

Faces of fall

2011-11-02T13:13:00.003-04:00

The weather on Halloween was perfect - sunny with a slight breeze - the kind of weather I would love to have all year long. So, Emmett and I took a stroll around the neighborhood and stopped for a bit at a church (the same church where we took some maternity photos) to play for a while. Emmett played with leaves, dirt and sticks and I played with my camera. All of the photos are in the October photo album, but these are my favorites.

Wild man

"Here mom, I crumpled this leaf just for you."

Mr. Crooked Smile

Pensive babe

"OK, photoshoot's over."

Our Halloween scene

2011-11-01T11:11:00.005-04:00

Over the last few weeks we'd become aware that our neighborhood goes all-out for Halloween. Lawns and houses were covered in spider webs, grave stones and jack-o'-lanterns - but those were just the tame houses.

There were a few that went above and beyond: those that brought in "sets" for maximum scariness; those that hosted pumpkin carving contests with hundreds of pumpkins in their front yard; and those that had a fog machine and a live guitarist belting out songs while hoards of trick-or-treaters ran like candy-fueled maniacs across lawns in search of - you guessed it - MORE CANDY!

Aaaahhhhhhhhh! Don't make them angry!

You could say that last night we were completely unprepared for the mayhem that ensued. We strolled out with our little moo cow expecting to hit up a few houses for a few pieces of candy, hoping that Emmett would do some adorable moo-ing and maybe get an extra piece here and there. Well, Emmett was a little taken aback by what he saw. He did not want to leave the stroller, he only walked for a few seconds, and he most certainly did not moo.

So we did what any good-natured parents would have done: we carried him from door to door, being judged by homeowners giving us - the non-costumed parents of a child obviously too young for candy - candy. Parenting is not always easy; sometimes you have to make tough choices.

This did not last long. After being accused several times of just getting candy for ourselves, we decided it would be best to just enjoy the scene and try to avoid being run over by children. We walked our neighborhood as Emmett tightly grasped a few pieces of unopened candy the entire way. I'm glad we were able to experience this over-the-top Halloween before we leave Nashy - although Emmett surely won't remember it, I don't think Eric and I will ever forget it.

If you'd like to see all the pictures from our neighborhood, click here to see the October photo album.

3 with Lil' E: 10•28•11

2011-10-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

Just me and my shadow.

So Emmett likes to do things on his own these days. Yes, the day has finally come, although we are still in the early stages - he is slowly learning to ask to do more and more things himself. He likes being a big boy. It's cute; we are learning to adjust and let him have a go at things.

Here's some video of him eating applesauce and doing pretty well, while getting pretty messy. I must admit he definitely eats more now that he's feeding himself, which is a bonus!

17 months old

2011-10-26T13:01:00.007-04:00

"Pinky's up, darling. Manners, manners."

At 17 months Emmett:

• is talking more and more! He can make several sounds, including a cow, monkey, dog, cat, lion, sheep, and truck/car. Other words include: mom, daddy, uh-oh, night-night and hi. He also still says words that we can't understand, my favorite being "te-toh" as when he said, "Oh hi, te-toh!" to Momsie this morning.

• has his own version of "more." When we started teaching him, we focused on the "m" sound at the beginning and would say, "mm-mm-mmore" and wouldn't you know it, that's exactly how he asks for more now.

• gets amazed by lots of things and says, "Oh wow-wow-wow-wow!" It is THE cutest thing in the whole world. I am attempting video soon.

• understands "no" and will shake his head when he doesn't want something.

• has started feeding himself with utensils. He is pretty good with a fork and is slowly getting the hang of a spoon (I will post a video of him eating applesauce with a spoon on Friday - it's total cuteness).

• loves airplanes and helicopters and always points to the sky the minute he hears a loud noise from above.

• enjoys waving to people, including strangers on walks and scary Halloween decorations in our neighborhood like witches hanging from trees that scare me to death.

• moved up to size 4 diapers.

• still enjoys reading books and has a couple new favorites: Llama, Llama, Mad at Mama and Sleep, Baby, Sleep - both of which are from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.

• makes us laugh all the time. Whether he's getting in and out (and in and out) of his toy car, buckling everything he can get his hands on or saying something adorable, we are really enjoying watching his personality begin to blossom. He's so much fun!

Non-Mama weekend

2011-10-25T11:54:00.003-04:00

Eric already mentioned that I spent the weekend away from my boys. It marked the first time I'd been away from Emmett for longer than 24 hours - I think it was close to 72 hours away. I enjoyed my time away, free from parenting responsibilities (although with Olivia there I didn't get too rusty, hehe), but I definitely missed E & E a lot. The best way for me cope was knowing that they were together, doing some male bonding. Overall, it was a good weekend and we even got a couple photo booth pictures from the wedding to remember the happy occasion.

The first set is my parents and me (the third wheel, woot!) doing normal, serious, crazy and Charlie's Angels (which didn't work out so much).

The second set is my parents, me, Parker, and Kathryn (for the last two) doing normal, serious (I couldn't get it together so my hand it blocking my face), mustaches (my favorite!) and crazy.

Boys Weekend

2011-10-23T17:17:00.010-04:00

Jenny left on Friday afternoon for a wedding in Little Rock, and so it was a boys weekend in Nashville. Plus Sloane, but everyone thinks she is a boy, anyways.

It wasn't an especially exciting weekend, but we did get out and about a fair bit. The weather was wonderful, probably one of the last great weekends of the year. Emmett has been great, and it has been a good bonding experience. That being said, we're both quite excited for Jenny to get home in a few hours!

Here's a rough chronology of the weekend, in pictures:

We ran some errands...body wash, Teddy Grahams, hot chocolate. Dude things.

We went to park #1 (Nashville West, a favorite and near the body wash).

We went for a walk and crumbled some dried leaves...his favorite! No, seriously...he loves crumbling leaves.

We ate Honey Nut Cheerios off the pointy tail of a plastic seahorse.

We ate some coffee cake. Actually, quite a lot of coffee cake. Jenny made it on Thursday afternoon. This picture is from Saturday evening. As of now, there is perhaps one generous serving left.

We cheered for the Hogs, who only showed up to play in the second half but still managed to win. Woooo pig!

We went to park #2 (Sevier Park, off 12 South). More leaf crumbling ensued.

We ate a strawberry-banana popsicle from Las Paletas.

Sloane did what Sloane does, and enjoyed the extra space in the bed.

We went to park #3 (Centennial Park). Emmett is pretty interested in planes these days, and quite liked this old F-86. We also saw an old train, some ducks, and a lot of other people enjoying the great weather.

We went to playground at park #3. Having mastered tic-tac-toe, Emmett began experimenting with compost.

We finished up with some froyo...original tart, lemon-ginger, and orange. He likes to feed himself with utensils now, and it may be my favorite thing that he does. Mega-cute.

Quick trip to the park

2011-10-19T10:02:00.001-04:00

One year ago...

2011-10-18T12:03:00.003-04:00

I was looking through pictures on our computer and I came across some that were taken about a year ago - October 16th, to be exact. I just wanted to share one of my favorites.

Fun with G-ma

2011-10-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

Eric's mom was in town last week for a few days and we spent the time playing with the new truck, enjoying the great fall weather, eating good food and going to the zoo. It was lots of fun! Here are some pics from her visit.

Get ready, get set...

Off they go!

Cuddle time with Grandma

Love this pic!

Reading Llama Llama Mad at Mama - a super cute book we got for free from Local Taco because they are recognizing the Tennessee Books from Birth program.

3 with Lil' E: 10•14•11

2011-10-14T07:00:00.001-04:00

Emmett at Centennial Park in front of the Parthenon

Emmett and I headed over to Centennial Park yesterday afternoon. It was a cool, windy day, perfect for a frolic in the park. And did we ever frolic! We walked around and saw tons of squirrels (one of Emmett's favorites), a big, friendly dog, some ducks and even an elderly couple who seemed smitten with Emmett and offered to "buy him for $10." They were kidding...I think. I laughed and fast-walked in the other direction, pulling Emmett closer. ;)

Once we were safe, I took some video of Emmett doing his wandering toddler thang and tried to get him to talk a little. He does some animal sounds that are sort of hard to hear, and even if you were there they might be a little questionable, but he's getting much better!

Eat your heart out, Beibs!

2011-10-12T16:06:00.001-04:00

My son has the lustrous hair of a tween sensation. And just like Beiber, he too will need a cut soon.

3 with Lil' E: 10•7•11

2011-10-07T07:00:00.001-04:00

The big man in his new truck.

Dad pushed Emmett up the hill to our house; he loved going fast!

We surprised Emmett yesterday morning with a big gift from Grandma and Grandpa - a Little Tikes Cozy Truck. You've probably seen the Cozy Coupe before, but when Karen and Kirt found out there was a truck, they knew that's what they wanted to get Emmett. Plus, it has a trunk that folds up and down and we all knew that Emmett would love doing that for hours on end.

Eric took some video of the big reveal just after Emmett woke up. Since then, he's mastered getting in and out and we put the floorboard back in so he could just relax while we push him around. This kid leads quite a life, I tell ya.

We even took him for a stroll around the neighborhood in his truck instead of the usual stroller. I think he felt pretty cool. You can see some more pictures I took on our ride along in the October photo album.

Halloween photo shoot

2011-10-06T17:13:00.004-04:00

Here are some of my favorite photos from the Halloween photo shoot we had with Em and Olivia. All of them can be seen in the October photo album.

Laughing at Pops and Momsie

Sweet cousins

Great expressions

Olivia's floor routine

Emmett about to dismount from the chair

"Here, take this, I think there's one too many in this shot."

Look at those eyes. Beauty!

Olivia's First Birthday Bash

2011-10-04T07:00:00.000-04:00

Last Friday the Jackson clan loaded up and made our way to Little Rock to celebrate Olivia's first birthday. It was quite the party, featuring some of the cutest decor and kids' party ideas out there, courtesy of my super talented sister-in-law, Kathryn. I know she worked hard to create a memorable bash for her sweet girl and it showed in every aspect. I took some pictures to help document the day (all of which you can see here); here are some of my favorites.

Sweet birthday bunting and drink station.

Treat table with all the multi-colored cuteness you can handle!

The proud parents and the birthday girl!

Olivia and Momsie in the bubbles.

Olivia's homemade (from scratch, people!) rainbow birthday cake and adorable tiny bunting.

Miss O going to town on some cake :)

Love this one.

Love this one more!

Three generations of Robbins gals.

Aunt Jane with one flexible baby O!

Group pic in the ball pit (please notice Emmett's face as he dives!).

Pops and the kiddos.

Happy Birthday to our favorite niece, Olivia! We are so happy we could help celebrate your special day. We love you, sweet girl!

Octo-calendars

2011-10-03T11:58:00.004-04:00

October means crunchy leaves on the sidewalks, cozy sweaters and costume-centric desktop calendar season! My favorite kind of desktop calendar, in fact. This month the cousins were together for their monthly photo shoot which equals double the dose of the normal cuteness. I'm no math whiz, but I think that's like cuteness squared! Wow. Get ready to smile at these kiddos.

First, we have a cow who wandered into a pumpkin patch and seems to be trying to escape. Silly cow, not until we have taken a hundred photos of you!

{click here to download}

Next up, it seems the cow has started to get comfy in the pumpkin patch and even found a strawberry to snack on. The strawberry actually seems fine with it. ;)

{click here to download}

Finally, we get back to the desktop calendar goldmine: close-up flower shots. Since Kari and Brittnee are the only ones downloading these (I think), I won't worry too much about the over abundance of girly desktop calendars.

{click here to download}

Tomorrow I will upload all of the Halloween photo shoot pictures to a new October photo album for you to enjoy - the kids really seemed to have fun! I'll also share some from Miss Olivia's First Birthday Part-ay, in honor of tomorrow being her special day!

3 with Lil' E: 9•30•11

2011-09-30T10:23:00.002-04:00

This is a common occurrence in our house: Emmett has gone into his room and pulled out all of his books over a period of 10 - 20 minutes. I caught him in the middle of the action.

Buckle up!

2011-09-29T11:43:00.005-04:00

Emmett playing with a favorite toy - Sloane's Gentle Leader collar

During the past month or so Emmett has found a new favorite activity - buckling. Specifically, he loves buckling Sloane's collar, his stroller straps, his high chair straps and his car seat straps. The kid is a buckling machine!

He has had an interest in buckling his high chair straps for a while now, but within the last month he's actually been able to do it himself (with some guidance, but not much). His stroller straps buckle in the same way so he will sit there and buckle (and get us to unbuckle) the straps over and over again.

Emmett typically likes activities that require great focus. Whether that be loading crayons in (and out of) a small box or using a bath toy to make a small stream of water go into a half inch wide opening. His fine motor skills are sometimes shockingly advanced. In fact, I've read articles that say early advancement in some areas and can lead delays in other areas, which could help explain why he is a late bloomer verbally.

Anyhoo, Em's latest buckle obsession is with Sloane Gentle Leader collar. We use one with her because she tends to go wild when we see another dog on walks and it gives us more control over her. In the mornings we leash her up and let her go outside to take care of her bid-ness and who do you think is right there waiting to get his hands on the leash? Bucklemeister Meisterbuckle. (That reference is for Eric's mom!)

When he squeals with delight at the sight of either myself or Eric with Sloane in the morning? Yeah, it's because he loves playing with her leash...and of course, because he loves Sloane.

16 months old

2011-09-26T12:23:00.004-04:00

As Emmett's personality begins to shine through, there are certain things I'd like to remember about him. I'm also going to keep track of our day-to-day as much as possible because I always forget stuff like that later. So I'm going to share them here every month.

At 16 months Emmett:

• has 2 more teeth! He got two top molars in and we didn't even realize it until they'd already broken through. This could explain several things, including some whiny-ness and a few days of 4:30 - 5:30 a.m. wake up calls.

• is going to bed an hour later, now at 8 p.m. It happened completely by accident, but while we had grandparents visiting, we were busier during the day and his naps kept pushing back little by little. Eventually, he was sleeping in later and we wanted to do whatever we could to keep that going! So, we pushed back both of his daytime naps and meal times, too. It seems to be working out great so far. We've had a full week of close to 7:00 wake times and a on couple days he even slept past 7:30!

• has been going to "day care" at the YMCA 2-3 times a week for about a month now. He stays for less than 2 hours at a time while I work out. He's gotten so much better at not crying when I leave and he has begun to play with the other kids and not just the adults, hehe. I am really proud of him.

• is really funny. There have been several occasions where he has truly made me laugh out loud. He's got these expressions and looks that crack me up so much, probably because they give the impression that he's in on the joke. Whether he is or not, I don't know, but I think he's gonna be a funny guy.

• has a new favorite food - Gerber's meat sticks. Sounds delicious, no? It's basically turkey or chicken in the shape of a small sausage and it's very soft and easy to chew. They kinda gross me (and especially Eric) out, but he loves them!

• is doing a lot more babbling. He talks in his own special language and neither one of us know what he's saying. But there have been times where we've thought that he has said, "There you are!" and "Oh hey dog!" Again, we are not sure that's what he said and it could possibly be parent delusions, but I wanted to make note of it because I think it's hilarious!

• is a sweet boy. He gives hugs and kisses and waves hello and goodbye and it all just generally melts my ol' mom heart. He's still a feisty one, for sure, but those sweet moments come more frequently and they get me every time.

3 with Lil' E: 9•23•11

2011-09-23T12:09:00.003-04:00

Emmett's special friends.

So Emmett has this blankie. He sleeps with it, cuddles with it, uses it like a cooling towel on the back of his neck (no lie) - basically, he loves it. He knows that the blankie and his binkie are a package deal. You get one, the other is on the way. So when you hand him his blankie, you get a big ol' smile and then his hand sticks back out again. You can almost hear him say, "I'm waaaiiiting..." until he gets the bink. He's clever like that.

When Emmett learned to walk, he learned that he could go into his room and get his b&b whenever he wanted. After a while we smartened up and started hiding them, but he almost always found them, that little weasel. He even picked up on a code word that we had for them (his "things") and before long we couldn't even say that without him looking at us with his hands stretched out in anticipation.

Then, before we knew it, he was using them all the time. Now we are trying to decide the best time to ditch the binkie. Part of me thinks that if we ditch the binkie he'll be able to cope with it better because he has the blankie. The other part of me thinks that if we allow him to keep the blankie, he'll always be expecting the binkie. So, I've been putting it off for a while because I'm nervous about the consequences. Any moms out there have suggestions for me?

For now, we try and keep the b&b hidden and typically he goes about his day without them (except for naps), but some days he does find them and proceeds to go on about his day as if they were just accessories. Yesterday, he kept the blankie on his head for more than three minutes as he was playing. In fact, he took it off almost exactly three minutes after I pushed record. How does he know about the blog?!

Back to the gardens

2011-09-20T07:00:00.001-04:00

The last time we went to the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens was almost a year ago. There is a new exhibit there now featuring multiple trains, so we headed over there last week with Grandad and Nana to check it out. It was a perfect day and Emmett really enjoyed watching the trains.

Emmett and Grandad watching one of the trains.

One of a couple frames around the gardens.

The frames were a natural photo-op!

My best shot of the day! I shot in macro mode almost the entire day and had so-so results (mostly a lot of blurriness), but this one I'm really proud of.

I love taking pictures of these two side-by-side. It reminds me of just how small Emmett really is and just how big he's going to grow up to be.

This one really captures just how much he loves that blankie!

You can see all of the Cheekwood pictures in the September photo album. PLUS, I added some that show the first attempt at a Halloween costume for Em. It was a little small so we had to exchange it, but they didn't have the same costume (a dog) in a bigger size, so we went with a different one. I'm going to keep it a surprise until the first of the month, because I've got a calendar picture in mind!

3 with Lil' E: 9•17•11

2011-09-17T07:00:00.000-04:00

Emmett and Grandad enjoying the iPad.

We've had multiple grandparents visiting us this week! My mom was here for the first part of the week and overlapped with Nana and Grandad in the latter part of the week. We've been having a good time exploring Nashville and also just hanging out at home letting Em entertain us.

This video is an example of the entertainment I just mentioned - it's also extremely hard to explain. We have no idea what possessed Emmett to do what you're about to watch in the video. It was some sort of odd routine mixed with talking to his shadow (?) at the door.

Yeah, he was weirding us out a little, but it was mostly funny.

So happy Friday everyone! We hope that watching our "odd duck" puts a smile on your face!

Franklin, Tennessee

2011-09-14T07:00:00.001-04:00

We have been hearing great things about downtown Franklin since we moved to Nashville, but we haven't been able to make it there - until now! Eric was in class, unfortunately, but Em and I went with my mom and Aunt Teresa to explore for a few hours. We had a really good time - and a very good lunch, including a delicious piece of peanut butter pie that my mom and I devoured. That may be a misleading statement - we each devoured our own piece of peanut butter pie. Second only to the PB pie I had once at Pied Piper Eatery in East Nashy. What is it about Tennessee and peanut butter pies? They are steppin' up their game!

But there was more than just food in Franklin. The downtown was bustling with restaurants and shops (and a roundabout!) and we went into quite a few. There is also a small theater there, but it looked either renovated or newly built. It was a nice day for strolling and after a few hours there we let Emmett stretch his legs for a while. Then it was back in the car to Nashville. It was a quick trip because, as they like to say, Franklin is just "15 miles and 100 years down the road from Nashville."

You can see all the photos from our Franklin roadie and some more from this past weekend in our September photo album.

The home of the infamous peanut butter pie.

Emmett having a snack on a bench.

Emmett saw this bright green bug on a store window and was entranced with it. He waved goodbye several times because he kept going back to see it. :)

Hog wild child

2011-09-12T21:09:00.000-04:00

On Razorback game days we typically dress Emmett in his Hogs shirt and get out of the house to spread the Razorback love all over Nashville. We are still working on his hog call, but we'll get there eventually.

Here are some photos from this past Saturday. Emmett is reading a catalog in his high chair. He was immersed in it (to say the least) and he was thoughtfully turning pages one by one as if he was reading the Sunday paper. We got a huge kick out of it!

"I can't wait to see what's on the next page!"

"That looks like a good price for step stools."

We went to one of our favorite playgrounds (at Nashville West shopping center) and Emmett ran around in the big grassy area. He's one wild Hog fan!

He's been making this face a lot lately.

Poppin' a squat.

Lil' E and Big E

3 with Lil' E: 9•9•11

2011-09-09T20:44:00.004-04:00

Hmmm, are ya tired?

I have to apologize for today's delayed video. Eric and I have been running on empty today. For him it was a late night of reading. For me it was an early morning with the wee one. A 4:30 AM kind of early.

Lately, Emmett has been an early riser (to the tune of 6 AM if we're lucky), making us wish for the days when he slept until 7 only a few months back. Aahhh, what I wouldn't give for another hour of sleep most mornings.

Anyway, Emmett doesn't seem to mind that we are groggy when we come get him out of his crib because he's ready to start the day whether we are or not. Unfortunately, today he was ready to start his day at 4:30 AM and there was very little that could be done to change his mind.

Binky and blankie? Check.
Diaper change? Check.
Cry it out a bit to see if he goes back down? Check.
Sippy cup with milk? Check.
More crying it out in a last ditch effort by parents. Siiiigh. Check and mate.

So, we've all been up since 4:30 AM. I napped when he did (only an hour, this kid is killin' me) this morning and I am ready to crawl into bed right now.

However, I know that E's grandparents would be awfully mad if I didn't post today's video, so here it is.

It's from August 25th. I got out a game of Jenga one day to change things up and Em loved putting the blocks in and dumping them out. In fact, it was such hard work that he needed to relax a little to regain his strength. Yes, we have taught him how to "relax," because it didn't seem like he was gonna give us a break if we didn't!

Top 5 things I think during today's Zumba workout

2011-09-08T16:30:00.004-04:00

5. Men like to do Zumba, too?

4. I wonder how ridiculous I look doing Zumba? Oh wait, there's a mirror, I know exactly how ridiculous I look now. Awesome.

3. The best way to work out is to shake your booty to a mash-up of nineties classics (Ice, Ice, Baby + Push It + Whoomp There it is).

2. Are you seriously singing along to the music while working out? Even Britney has trouble singing and dancing at the same time, geez!

1. No. More. Jumping. Jacks. Please. God.

You thought I was bad before

2011-09-07T15:34:00.004-04:00

At the suggestion of my friend, Kari, I decided to ask for some photography lessons for my birthday. My parents indulged me and I got two private lessons from Wolf Camera and Video, here in Nashville.

All I have to say is, Why did I not do this earlier?! It's really a shame that we've had this nice DSLR camera and I only barely knew how to use it for so long. Over the past couple of years I have become more savvy in the manual modes, but mostly that was trial and error. As the parent of a 3 month old, it was no big deal, I could just get the shot again, he wasn't going anywhere. Now though...sheesh. If I am not on my game the first time, the shot's probably gone in a flash (pun intended).

I am still figuring out all the terminology (there's a lot to remember and it can be somewhat confusing), but I understand my camera so much better. I appreciate all the things it can do, if I just do what I need to do.

So, yeah, if you thought I took a lot of pictures before well... you ain't seen the half of it!

Here are some of my favorite shots from the past couple of weeks. I have added these and more to the new September photo album.

Serious hair

2011-09-04T10:41:00.004-04:00

I actually think he looks quite handsome in this shot. He's mastered Blue Steel so quickly!

I added a few more photos to the August photo album!

3 with Lil' E: 9•2•11

2011-09-02T05:00:00.001-04:00

"Hello? Who's there? I don't hear anyone. Must be a dropped call."

Admittedly, this video is a little dull. While I think it's great that Emmett is learning to clean up after himself, it doesn't make for the most exciting footage. But! Bear with me because the last 20 seconds of the video make up for it! He gives me a great smile and then stays put for some close-up action. And he even waves goodbye on command! So, forget what I said about a dull video, this one is AWESOME!

September calendars

2011-09-01T11:32:00.004-04:00

September is here and with it comes football (Go Hogs!), cooler weather (cardigans!) and crock pot cooking (soup!). These are all some of the finer things in life that I assume everyone enjoys. C'mon, everyone loves soup, right?

I will be happy to see summer come to an end. Soon I will head to the playground with Em and not start sweating the minute I hit the pavement. Not to mention the apple cider that comes with the season - yum! Ah yes, fall has become one of my favorite seasons. Now if only it would start to actually cool down here in Nashville so I could start to enjoy it!

Here are new desktop calendars for September. There's a jellyfish, Emmett making a fish face while doing the sign for "more," and Olivia and Emmett making some pretty awesome faces while in their high chairs. Woohoo!

{click here to download}

15 Month check-up

2011-08-29T15:00:00.004-04:00

We thought the little gown they gave him was so cute, so we took pictures. This is a half smile.

Just hangin' out in my gown eating goldfish!

We took Emmett in for his 15 month well check-up this morning and had a good visit with Dr. Mace. We saw a different doctor over the summer for Em's 12 month visit and it was hard to believe it had been 6 months since we'd seen our regular doc. The check-up went well; Em behaved himself for the most part. We had to wait a while before we saw the doctor and he hung in there (thanks to some books and goldfish!).

The shots were not pleasant, but he did great, especially when they did a toe prick to see if he might have anemia and to check for high levels of lead. He didn't even cry! I think he was too fascinated watching the nurse collect the blood from his little toe. The funny part was that he did NOT like the band-aid being put on his toe, so he decided to cry after the whole thing was over!

Here are his 15 month stats:
Weight: 24 lbs. 2 oz. (44th percentile) up 2 lbs. 2 oz. from 12 months
Height: 34 in. (over 97th percentile) up 2.75 in. from 12 months
Head circ: 18.52 in. (45th percentile) up .3 in. from 12 months

Also, at 15 months Emmett...

• is walking, running and climbing. He can walk backwards if asked, too. He can climb up on both couches now with relative ease.

• LOVES to watch the PBS shows Caillou, Super WHY and Wild Kratts. These are his favorites that we can actually get him to sit still and watch for a while. It's nice in the mornings because we can rest while he watches.

• wakes up around 6:00 a.m. This is a behavior we'd love to modify, but nothing has worked. We put him to bed later on 3 different nights and we still got a 6 a.m. wake up call. So we are sticking with a 7:00 p.m. bedtime to guarantee he gets close to 11 hours and to give us some quality time in the evening.

• still doesn't talk very much. He understands simple commands and can communicate using a couple of signs (more and milk). He can also "bark" like a dog and will most likely bark when asked to say the word dog, which is not exactly progress, I know! He can also "moo" like a cow.

• gets so, SO excited to see Sloane. He lights up and squeals with delight when he sees her and loves to try and pet her. Unfortunately, Sloane isn't really cool with all of the attention she's getting from Em, so we have to keep them separated for the most part. It makes for some interesting days!

• can point to his belly, hair, nose, teeth and feet when asked where they are. Other body parts aren't as reliable yet, but he's doing better.

• LOVES books. He loves being read to, but he will also entertain himself by looking through the books on his bookshelf. He can now pick out a couple books for us to read to him before bed. Recent favorites include Old Hat, New Hat, ABC Slide and Seek and 101 Words: Animals.

• is still a semi-picky eater. He refuses to eat fruit (we feed him applesauce and freeze-dried fruit) and will only eat canned veggies. He is reluctant to try new things, so we mostly stick with bean and cheese burritos, pasta, waffles, cheese, chicken, black beans, bananas, eggs, yogurt, and cottage cheese. Recently, he tried peanut butter and nutella and liked them both!

• likes to go on walks in his stroller. Eric and I take turns getting up with him in the morning and we always take him on a nice long walk after breakfast. Good exercise for us, too!

• still has 6 teeth (4 top, 2 bottom).

• wears 12-18 and 18-24 month clothing. He can wear 12 month shorts because he's skinny, but when it gets colder he might have trouble finding pants that are long enough!

3 with Lil' E: 8•26•11

2011-08-26T07:00:00.001-04:00

Writing on the chalkboard at Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams.
AKA the best ice cream store in the whole entire world. Truth.

I caught some adorable Emmett behaviors on video for this week's 3WLE. You can see him:

• carry his little box of animals around by the handle.
• smile.
• play in Sloane's water bowl (not so adorable, really).
• make some animal noises (some correct, some incorrect).
• make a mess.
• flee the messy area in a flash.

Just a typical 3 minutes with him, honestly. He's a lot of fun these days!

Chatta-Newgma

2011-08-23T10:45:00.001-04:00

My mom might hurt me for sharing this with all the blog readers. Oh well, it's only like 20 people, half of whom already know this story. So here goes!

When I was still prego with Em my mom and dad were reveling in their status as Grandparents-to-be. They each wanted a different Grandparent name than the usual fare, so we tossed ideas around for several months. My dad actually had his picked out early on - Pops - and we all liked it so it stuck. My mom had a tougher time, though. She nixed a lot of suggestions; she's a little particular...cough, cough. ;)

So we were all hanging out during Thanksgiving break last year playing Words With Friends on our iPhones/iPod touches. Yeah...we were all playing each other in the same room...without really speaking. Good times. Anyway, I think Kathryn wanted to find my mom to play a game and asked what her username was. She spells out, "N-E-W-G-M-A." We all sit silently trying to figure it out.

"It's New G'ma. For New Grandma," she says.

"It looks like 'Noog-ma'" someone replied.

So that's how my mom became known as Newgma. Except she didn't really like it at the time so we had to call her that in secret. I think she's more open to that name now, but mostly she goes by Momsie. We'll see what the grand kids end up calling her, though. I can't promise that Emmett hasn't been listening to us say "Newgma" every day.

Hers is better than the nickname my dad earned around that same time, but that's for another day...

This post is mostly about our visit to Chattanooga, which is only 2 hours from Nashy, and which we found to be most delightful. We brought Momsie along for the trip and began referring to it as Chatta-Newgma. We're clever that way.

We went to the 'Noog for the Tennessee Aquarium, which was really awesome. Trust me, I've seen my fair share recently. They had two exhibits - the River Journey and the Ocean Journey. Two separate huge buildings filled with fish and other aquatic creatures. We loved it. A highlight was the jellyfish exhibit. All the jellies were in dark tanks with lights in various places that highlighted jellies when they moved through the beam. It was really gorgeous.

After the aquarium we walked to a pedestrian bridge over the Tennessee River and crossed to the other side. We were drawn to Chatty immediately. The city is vibrant and culturally stimulating, filled with gorgeous architecture and amazing scenery. We stopped at a delicious ice cream place (Clumpie's) and then headed to Coolidge Park where Emmett played in a fountain for an hour. Afterwards, we grabbed cupcakes at a small store below Clumpie's (Whipped Cupcakes) and then began the trek back across the bridge. I think we all fell a little bit in love with Chattanooga that day. If you ever get a chance to visit, I highly recommend it!

Fearless little boy at the stingray and shark tank.

Butterfly house

Alligator!

Scary shark tank!

Oooooh, aaahhhh. Jellyfish.

Cool looking stairs with mosaic tiles (it's just stickers) promoting the Hunter Museum of Art.

Walking across the pedestrian bridge.

Fountain time with Momsie.

I'm probably pointing out something really cool. I'm sure Em thought so, too.

Fountain boy.

Family bridge pic.

You can see all of the Chattanooga photos in the August photo album.

The very last first day of school

2011-08-22T11:21:00.004-04:00

Eric and Emmett on Eric's last day of law school at Vandy.
Also, this is Emmett's "smile."

We were Skyping with Grandma (Eric's mom) yesterday and she pointed out that today is Eric's last "First Day of School." EVER.

Let it sink in, people. It's kind of a big deal.

K-6: Check.
Junior High: Done.
High School: You bet.
College: Oh yeah.
Masters: Why stop now?
Ph.D: Booyah.
Law school: Sure!

It may not have been "the plan" from the start, but it's been a fun - albeit rather long - journey on this path of education with Eric. I'm so proud of what he's accomplished. I'm proud of his endurance and dedication. I'm proud that Emmett (and hopefully future kiddos) will have such a strong example of an educated man to look up to.

OK, OK, mostly I'm proud that he's almost DONE.

We are gonna enjoy this last year as much as we can. Look out for "The very first last day of school" post to come in May 2012!

Updates

2011-08-20T22:49:00.002-04:00

I just updated the Project 365 tab with three months worth of photos. I stopped posting them while we were in Dallas, but I was still taking photos. Here are May, June and July:

I also updated the Movies tab with the most recent list of movies we've seen. Some highlights since the last update include: Catfish, Bridesmaids, Zen (PBS), and Crazy, Stupid, Love.

I mentioned a few weeks back that we now have cable, but I'm pretty sure we'll cancel it when the special offer pricing ends. We both miss Netflix (which we put on hold before we went to Dallas for the summer), and we don't watch enough of the channels to justify paying for all of them. It'll be back to basic cable for us in a few months. I do love that DVR though. Oh well, there's always hulu and iTunes if I miss a show.

3 with Lil' E: 8•19•11

2011-08-19T10:26:00.003-04:00

Emmett playing in the fountain at Coolidge Park in Chattanooga.

My mom was in Nashville since Sunday evening (she left early this morning) and we enjoyed some new restaurants and shopping during the week. We also brought her along with us on a day trip to Chattanooga. It's only two hours away and we'd heard great things about the Tennessee Aquarium there.

What? You don't spend your summer going on a national tour of aquariums? You're missing out.

The aquarium did not disappoint. I will write more about it later, though. I'm here to share a video we took of Emmett in Chatty while at the Terminal Brewhouse, a delicious lunch spot.

We now receive kids' menus and crayons when we go to most restaurants. Recently, Emmett has taken an interest in coloring (mostly making dots on the paper) and it definitely keeps him occupied while we figure out orders and wait for food. These particular crayons were triangular in shape and came in a box. It didn't take Emmett long to start trying to put them right back inside again. But when the crayons didn't line up perfectly for the last one to go in, he'd have to start all over again. I think he worked like this for at least 10 minutes.

3 with Lil' E: 8•12•11

2011-08-12T07:00:00.000-04:00

The next Bobby Flay!
(Bobby Flay has ladybugs on his aprons, too...right?)

This week featuring 3.5 minutes of bonus footage! For all you grandparents out there, we love ya!

One thing we are beginning to notice is that Emmett can be a bit of a ham for the camera. Now, he does have his moments when he doesn't want to be recorded (who doesn't?), but sometimes we catch him and a little performer comes out. On this week's video you can see some candid playtime that I thought we should catch on film. Only seconds into the taping and he notices Eric recording. Then he breaks out his best moves: playing with his two "fancy sticks," which are technically kitchen tools (that we got as a wedding gift from Eric's Aunt Joy and Uncle Doug...hey guys!) and were displayed lovingly until Emmett found them and proclaimed them his.

Next, he decides to do some walking around the couch, trying to evade the camera, without success. Finally, he decides to bring out the big guns and attempts to climb onto the couch. He is persistent, I'll give him that. I won't spoil the surprise for you, you'll have to watch to the end to see what happens. Get ready for some exciting 6 minutes and 30 seconds, folks!

Dallas World Aquarium

2011-08-11T07:00:00.000-04:00

After our last trip to the aquarium we knew that Emmett would enjoy another look at aquatic animals, so we headed downtown with Karen and Kirt to the Dallas World Aquarium. We had heard that it was the better of the two aquariums in Dallas and we would have to agree.

For one thing, it's huge! The framework was two giant warehouses with a pathway from one to the other. Plus, the setup is very cool - you start at the top of one building and wind your way down through open exhibits with birds, monkeys, alligators, etc. and along the way are glass-covered exhibits in the walls where you can see smaller creatures. When you get to the bottom of one building (where you will find an entire wall made of glass so you can look at sea turtles, catfish, and an enormous manatee!), you start the trek again from the bottom of the second building.

Needless to say, there's a lot to see. I think we spent three hours there. We will be returning when we....well, return to Dallas in a couple of years. I think Emmett will be at an age where he will get really excited about all those animals!

I don't know what any of these animals are called. Sorry...I just thought they were pretty.

Don't let the gate fool you, this guy was not closed in. He flew right over my head after this shot!

Can you spot the otter? Those guys are fast!

Group shot near the bottom by the open exhibit.

Another group shot - look at that smile on Em!

Em checking out the penguins.

My new phone background, thankyouverymuch.

We walked through a tunnel where different types of sharks were swimming above. Very cool!

Everything's bigger in Texas

2011-08-08T07:00:00.001-04:00

Yes, the saying is cliche. But we found it to be oh-so-true when we toured the new stadium of the Dallas Cowboys. Not only is the stadium enormous, it's filled with the biggest and best of everything and they are NOT shy about letting you know it! The tour was great, though, and we got to see a lot of cool things, including Jerry Jones' private "perch," the players' locker room and the cheerleaders' locker room, and, most spectacularly, the field. After the tour, we pretty much ran loose on the field, taking pictures, running, throwing footballs, kicking field goals, it was great.

The field and the gigantic flat-screen TV - did I mention it's the biggest one in the world?!

A cool light fixture made to resemble the stitching of a football.

Sara and I sitting on some cubes in the Dr. Pepper seating area - we're as Cold As Ice!

Another sis-in-law shot because...we are the guinea pigs for embarrassing photo ops?
It's cool though, we are obviously tough enough to pull this look off.

Family shot on the field.

Emmett got in touch with the turf; he liked the black rubbery pieces.

Well just make yourself at home, Em. Too bad it doesn't stand for Napping Fellas League!
(Sorry, that was terrible.)

Emmett and Grandma on the 50.

Our fam on the middle of the field.

He's a rule-breaker, this one.

3 with Lil' E: 8•5•11

2011-08-05T07:00:00.002-04:00

Playing in a laundry basket/car in GP. He had just finished swimming, which is why he has no clothes on. ;)

Splish splash, Emmett's taking a bath! He's still enjoying bath time these days. Funny how he enjoys his bedtime routine so much. We say, "Are you ready for bath time?" and he heads for the bathroom. We say, "Let's go brush your teeth!" and he's reaching up to grab the toothbrush. We say, "Time to pick out your books!" and he's off to the bookcase in his room to grab a few and then smirks as you pick him up to put him in your lap. He does sometimes test our limits, but on most days bedtime is truly pleasant, a time when he is at his sweetest.

Fort Worth Stockyards

2011-08-03T07:00:00.002-04:00

During our last week in Dallas/Grand Prairie, Eric's mom and stepdad were in town to explore the city with us and, of course, love on their favorite grandson. Sara and Kenni made the trip over from Fayetteville for the first weekend, too, so we were all able to be tourists for a while.

One of the first things on our Tourist List was to check out the Fort Worth Stockyards, an area that is now an historic site, but back in it's heyday was one of the nation's vital livestock centers. Now it's called "Cowtown" and they truly capitalize on their cows! We saw plenty of bulls, horses, cowboys, and enough Western wear to keep even the most stylish cowboy set for life. Aside from it being like a million degrees there, we enjoyed our visit. Here are some highlights:

The entrance to the stockyards. The streets are lined with tons of shops and restaurants and even a hotel.

This guy was handsome.

This is where we ate dinner - try the brisket!

Have I mentioned that Emmett is a carnivore?

A cool artistic rendering of the Stockyards inside the Visitors Center.

A couple of bulls from the cattle drive - which was over in about 3 minutes.

Cowboy...or paid actor.

Cool mural on the side of a store.

We had to go to Billy Bob's - the World's Largest Honky Tonk - and while we were there we decided to get even more touristy and pose for some pictures with a bull. I think you'll see that it was probably our best decision of the trip!

Trust me, this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as humiliation levels go.

This is where is gets really embarrassing. Let's discuss a few things...one, my child is clearly a terrific actor. It takes great poise to remain so composed in situations of complete lunacy. Two, those chaps are actually fake, they placed them over the front of our legs - I feel the need to tell you that we didn't actually put on chaps for this, I don't know how that makes it any less humiliating. Three, Kenni did have to don the clown costume and thank God he did because it definitely makes the picture seem that much more authentic.

I am really only joking, I was all about taking these pictures, as anyone who knows me should be willing to confirm. I am hardly embarrassed by them at all, in fact I hung the second one up on the fridge. It's a great souvenir from our trip to Cowtown!

August is upon us

2011-07-31T15:53:00.004-04:00

Time for new calendars! This month we have a sea dragon, which is possibly the coolest animal ever, that we saw at the Dallas World Aquarium; we also have Emmett taking a seat on the field at Dallas Cowboys Stadium; and lastly we have sweet Olivia and her favorite chair and Emmett practicing his throwing stance. Enjoy!

{click here to download}

This look says it all

2011-07-30T16:25:00.002-04:00

I feel so ashamed that I let the blog go for two entire weeks without a post. I have plenty of excuses (super slow internet, family visiting Dallas, packing up and moving back to Nashville, etc.), but what I'm gonna focus on now is the positive. For instance, I just uploaded TONS of new photos to our July photo album so that you can take a look at what we've been up to for the past two weeks. Another positive: we have fast internet again! We even splurged and went for the DVR so now we're recording programs just because we can! It's awesome.

I'll be detailing our adventures in Dallas soon, but for now it's back to unpacking and pausing live TV to watch later, oh yeah!

The Little Gym

2011-07-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

For his birthday, Emmett received summer sessions at The Little Gym from his Grandma and Aunt Sara. After a very fun first session (Mr. Independent did flips and somersaults!) the next two were showcases of supreme clingy behavior. It was a bummer for me to see him revert like that after he had done so well the first time. But we kept going and Eric took him on Saturday and said although he was a little clingy at the first, he got better as class went on.

Today I took Emmett again and I am very pleased to say that he was a precocious, adventurous little boy once more! I don't think he even knew where I was for the entire second half of the class, haha. He was so at ease with things that I got my camera out and took some pictures during his favorite time: playing with balls and bubbles!

See more photos from Little Gym class in our July photo album.

Children's Aquarium at Fair Park

2011-07-12T20:43:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we explored a couple more offerings in Dallas. Both were a HUGE hit! The first was the Children's Aquarium at Fair Park which was perfect for Emmett. The fish were easy to see, he could point and touch the glass, and there were some interactive parts. The highlight was Emmett's adventure with the stingrays. There is an outdoor deck where you can touch and feed the stingrays and Emmett wasted no time sticking his hands in. I was terrified of doing it myself, but he had no fear. He was splashing away and even touched a couple stingrays! I couldn't believe it, I stood there snapping a ton of pics in awe of him.

Splashing with stingrays.

Touching hermit crabs!

Bird's eye view of the stingrays.

You can look at all of the aquarium photos in our July photo album.

We also stopped in for a delicious treat at Pokey O's. I already tweeted this but I can't resist. Oh yeah, I'll be dreaming of Pokey O's until we go back.

Chocolate chip cookies with chocolate peanut butter ice cream in the middle.

Thank you, Dallas, for another home run! Aside from the burning heat, we have thoroughly enjoyed our summer here so far.

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T06:55:00.001-04:00

We wish everyone a Happy 4th of July! We're heading back to Texas today after a fun time in Fayetteville. Here are desktop calendars for July and here's a link to our July photo album with photos we took while we were there. :)

{click here to download}

3 with Lil' E: 7•1•11

2011-07-01T07:00:00.001-04:00

It's baaaack! And we're making up for lost time, too. I uploaded 4 videos to our YouTube page including today's video. You're welcome, grandparents! I know I've been slacking on the video side of things, so hope this makes up for it a little bit!

If you click over to our YouTube channel, be prepared to see:

1. Emmett showing me how to stack rings up. He's a pro, you see.
2. Emmett inhaling a baby food packet in a minute flat. What? He's a toddler now and these things are for 4 month olds? Doesn't stop him!
3. Emmett saying "dog" while looking at Sloane. So now, not only does he not say "mama" he actually says DOG. Heaven help me.
4. Emmett brushing his teeth. There's very little actual brushing of his TEETH, but he's got the routine down!

Summer 'do

2011-06-29T18:18:00.001-04:00

Emmett's got a new style for the summer!

Catching up

2011-06-29T15:13:00.009-04:00

This post will be fast and furious to try and catch you all up on what's been happening with the Jackson's since the last time I posted...

• Friday, June 17th - Emmett and I visited the Dallas Zoo. We enjoyed the giraffe and elephant exhibits, but man alive it was hotter than HOT!

• Sunday, June 19th - We celebrated Father's Day! Emmett gave Eric an iHome so that he can rock out all day long in his office this summer. We ate BBQ at Dickey's and had ice cream at Sheridan's in Texas. Sheridan's was very similar to Shake's (for those in Arkansas) and we scarfed it up!

• Tuesday, June 21st - Eric, Emmett and I drove 5 hours to El Dorado, AR, so that Eric could interview with a judge for a clerkship position for 2012-2013.

• Wednesday, June 22nd - Eric interviewed with a judge -- and we ate lunch downtown and then headed back to Dallas. Phew!

• Thursday, June 23rd - Eric and I celebrated 4 years of being married! As with many of our celebrations this year, we stayed in, haha. But we still had a great time eating an oven pizza and drinking Prosecco. Plus, Eric brought home a yummy molten chocolate cookie with caramel/chocolate ice cream to boot. He knows me well, he does...

• Friday, June 24th - I celebrated my 29th birthday! Holy moly, only one year left in my twenties. I'm sure that I've aged more this past year than any other, haha. My mom rode to Dallas with my aunt and uncle and it was great to be able to celebrate with her, too. Emmett and Sloane didn't pull out all the stops during the day (what gives?!), but we had a nice dinner after Emmett went to bed. All in all, not too shabby.

• Sunday, June 26th - We drove around Dallas in the Lakewood, University Park and Highland Park areas. We really like the Lakewood area, complete with a sweet restaurant (Legal Grounds) and an historic theater!

• Monday, June 27th - Mom, Emmett and I drove over to Fayetteville to spend the week with family and friends. PLUS Eric found out that he got the clerkship position in El Dorado! PLUS PLUS My dear friend Brittnee gave birth to a baby girl, Harper, who is too precious for words. I was so lucky to be able to see her that night!

I bet you thought I was just sitting home eating junk food and watching TLC all day instead of blogging, didn't you? I won't lie, I do a fair amount of that, too... But we have been very busy as you can see. I added a June photo album, too! Including this one, my fav...

Summertime photos

2011-06-15T21:46:00.005-04:00

We've been enjoying this hot Texas summer - mostly indoors - and Emmett has enjoyed some pool time, too!

First time in the pool with his birthday swim gear!

We got a couple shots with the hoodie on...

...mostly by distracting him with funny dance moves.

Emmett's modeling pose.

Pool time with Sloane, the guard dog.

Em liked this sculpture of a little boy reading at the GP public library.

Obsessed with a leftover cup from his birthday party. Did you know that you can put cookies and cheese in cups? It's so fun!

12 Month check-up

2011-06-08T21:57:00.007-04:00

We went in for Emmett's 12-month check-up on Monday. We had to schedule our appointment while we are in Dallas because of the immunization schedule. Technically, our appointment was scheduled for last Wednesday, but wouldn't you know that our never-been-sick little boy decided to get sick on the day of his well check-up? Figures. No harm in a few extra days of waiting though.

Here are his 12 month stats:
Weight: 22 lbs. 1 oz. (below 50th percentile) up 9 oz. from 9 months
Height: 31.25 in. (over 97th percentile) up 2.25 in. from SIX months
Head circ: 18.23 in. (50th percentile) up .5 in. from 9 months

First of all, let's clear things up: the height measurement from our 9 month check-up was incorrect. Or, Emmett is shrinking. But judging from the number of comments I get per week about how tall he is, I'm going to guess that it's NOT the latter. So, as our pediatrician predicted, the measurement was off. We'll go ahead and assume that he was somewhere around 30 inches tall at 9 months old since he's grown 2.25 inches from his 6 month check-up.

Emmett's still a skinny guy, he didn't even gain a pound since his last check-up. However, I did completely wean him over the past month so he could have even lost weight during that whole process. He's eating much more these days, I'm happy to report. His favorites include: shredded cheese, yogurt, toast, graham crackers, Nilla wafers, chicken, rice and applesauce.

We've tried some more adventures foods with him recently and he's totally surprised me by what he will eat. Deep fried pickles? Sure! He won't touch a strawberry, but he ate his weight in fried pickles at Slim Chickens (not that I blame him!). Spanish rice! Baked beans! Alas, the one thing I was so excited to see him devour - his birthday cake - didn't even get touched. Oh well, there's always next year! Also, he's not feeling fruits and veggies. We are still feeding him purees at this point so that he can get some nutritional value in a meal. I guess he's put off by the texture of the fruits. He will eat bananas and sweet potato, but otherwise he's not havin' it. If some moms out there have suggestions for ways to get him to try more fruits and veggies, I'm all ears!

Emmett really isn't a big talker. Although we counted "Dada" as his first word, it's clear to both of us that he doesn't associate it with his Dad. He says "dadadadada!" and "nienienie!" and squeals and shrieks but has made no effort to say other words. The pediatrician that we saw here in Texas recommended that we work with him on saying simple words and trying to get him to repeat them over the next few months. We know he understands certain words (Mama, Dada, ball, blankie, binkie and more) but for now he's content to drag us to a new room or new activity or point to things that he wants.

Over the past month we have seen Emmett become much more loving and sweet. He gives the most adorable hugs, he'll come down beside me if I'm laying down and lay down next to me, and he'll put his head next to mine and nuzzle (he thinks this is hilarious!). This from a kid who could not even be bothered to stand still while I hugged him a few months ago. The change was pretty substantial, so much so that when he came home after his first overnight stay with his grandma, aunt and uncle and gave me a hug...I cried. No lie. I cried in front of several onlookers because it was SO UNEXPECTED! He's always been a happy baby with a great disposition, now he just has some added sweetness.

First time in the baby pool in the backyard!

June is here

2011-06-02T21:20:00.004-04:00

We rang in June 1st with a sick day - Emmett was sidelined by his first real sickness. It was a 24-hour viral infection that showed itself with a low grade fever and some vomiting in the morning. He spent most of the day sleeping and, during the rare awake hours, snuggling with me (which I feel guilty about enjoying). The little dude took everything in stride and didn't hardly even cry at all. He's a trooper for sure. Today he was back to his normal self, just a bit sluggish. We took it slow, but he will be ready to go tomorrow, I'm sure.

Here are this month's calendars!

Strangely, I took a photo of this tree a couple weeks ago and now it's no longer here. It split and had to be cut down only two days ago. Poor tree!
{click here to download}

Another picture from Emmett's birthday photo shoot.
{click here to download}

A family shot taken at cousin Kelsey's beautiful wedding to Gabe.
{click here to download}

Emmett's Birthday Party

2011-05-29T11:41:00.004-04:00

We threw Emmett a birthday party yesterday and we had a blast! Here are some of my favorite pictures. You can see all of them in the May photo album.

Month by Month: Twelve

2011-05-26T21:05:00.005-04:00

I don't even know where to begin writing you a letter after you've been in our lives for an entire year. There seems to be so much to say, yet I can't think of the best way to say it.

When you woke up this morning I heard a happy little squeal through the monitor. It was a lovely way to begin my day, the first anniversary of your birth. This year, probably more than any other (whose to say?), I reminisced about the sequence of events on that day one year ago. My water breaking, those painful contractions, that blessed epidural and your miraculous entry into this world. It will be a day I will always remember and certain parts of it are so strong in my mind it feels like it was only yesterday.

When in fact, yesterday you were a far cry from the boy we brought home from the hospital. You were walking on your own. You were eating meals in a high chair. You were taking me by the hand. You were sitting in my lap while I read to you. You were laughing. You were a little boy.

You are a toddler now, no longer a baby. You are moving at high speeds these days. You walk in circles around the playroom for ten, fifteen, twenty minutes at a time. I am usually worn out after playing with you for half an hour, but you are always ready for more. These days, you control more of your activities. You like to take someone by the hand and lead them to a door for them to open so you can go where you want to go. Whether that is into your room so you can grab your blankie and binkie out of your crib, or whether you just want to go outside and play. You make a lot more decisions for yourself than I ever thought possible for a one year old.

You understand certain words and can interact with people. You definitely recognize the words blankie, binkie, eat, milk, night-night, book, read, hug, kiss, outside, mama and daddy. Your love of books is something that makes me so happy. Not only that, but you have favorite books that you like to read over and over. And over. I used to think you mainly enjoyed the mechanical aspect of turning the pages, but now I know that you are listening to the story. You grab Boy of Mine before bedtime and won't let it go until I've read it two or three times. And then, it's off to bed. You grab your trusty blankie and binkie and lay with glow worm until you fall to sleep.

Recently, you have started making a noise that I can best describe as an inflection that sounds like you are asking a question ("Hhmmmm?"). You haven't said any more words, but you seem to get by just fine by taking people by the hand and leading them where you want to go. It's amazing the conversation we will have just by you saying "Hhmmmm?" and me responding with the answer to what I think you might be asking. It's probably more than a little ridiculous.

Emmett, your first year was quite the ride. You taught me so many things, but mostly how to loosen up and just enjoy life. It's easy to get caught up in schedules and charts and guidelines, but you make it easier to sit and smile over the simplest things. You have brought so much love into my heart and I am grateful every day for you. Happy birthday, boy of mine, I love you so much.

Love,
Mama

Whirlwind

2011-05-23T22:23:00.004-04:00

This month has gone by so fast I feel like my head is spinning. I can't believe that I'm just now creating the photo album for May! Things have been so hectic that I have hardly gotten the camera out at all. Boo to me. I took a few on our last day in Nashville, during a trip to Joe Pool Lake in Grand Prairie and while Emmett had a snack in the backyard. Here are some favorites, you can see all of the photos in the May photo album.

Summertime

2011-05-18T10:09:00.000-04:00

Well, Eric, Emmett, Sloane and I have been in Grand Prairie, TX, for a week now. We ventured out of Nashville last Monday and stopped overnight in Little Rock since it's a long ten hour drive to Dallas. We are staying with Kenni's father, Darell, who very graciously opened up his home to us for the summer. Grand Prairie is less than 30 minutes away from Dallas, so Eric's commute isn't too bad.

Emmett and I have been exploring playgrounds around GP, but for the most part we are really enjoying Darell's fenced-in backyard! Sloane is quite fond of it, too...

Our internet here is very slow (we bought a mi-fi thingy), which has made blogging difficult. I am going to use free Starbucks wi-fi every week or so to put up pictures of our adventures - good thing Eric is a Gold Card member!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T21:42:00.005-04:00

I'm going to sneak into Jenny's usual territory and use the blog to wish her a very Happy Mother's Day! Jenny technically experienced her "first" Mother's Day last year while Emmett was still in her belly, squirming around and punching her in the riblets. I have to imagine that it's more fun (and less uncomfortable) to have the little guy toddling around out here, instead.

I am well acquainted with several mothers and have certainly never questioned that they have their own special day. Even though I wasn't a bad kid (nor was my sister), I'm sure raising ANY child is hard work. But Jenny is the first mom who I've really been able to observe from Day 1, and to watch as she grows as a mother right alongside our little son. I never had any doubt that Jenny would be a wonderful mother...she is kind, thoughtful, patient, and has a wonderful sense of humor. But she surpassed my own high expectations, even in those challenging early months where we were both just figuring things out on the fly. I suppose the best way to sum it up is to say the Jenny is both motivated to be a great parent, but also perfectly happy to let Emmett grow into his own little person. She is MUCH more laid back than I am with him (which is a role reversal from most other things), and I'm thankful that at least one of us is a relaxed parent.

Emmett is extraordinarily fortunate to have such a great mother, and I'm lucky to have such a wonderful wife. We love you, momma!

3 with Lil' E: 5•6•11

2011-05-06T07:00:00.001-04:00

It's been so amazing to watch Emmett try to figure things out on his own. We can see that his little brain is developing each and every day. We can't claim to have any clue as to what is going on in his brain, though... For example, see this video we took of him examining a small container, and apparently talking to it?

Haha, whoops! I meant to schedule this for Friday, but forgot to set that up first. Happy early video day!

Project 365: April 2011

2011-05-05T13:06:00.003-04:00

I'm still taking photos every day! I do cut it quite close some days and take a picture of something silly, like my clock at 11:09 PM on the 28th. Still counts though!

Cousins calendar

2011-05-04T16:36:00.004-04:00

What a sweet surprise this month from Emmett's cousin Olivia! She's sending him some birthday love all month long. And Happy 7 Month Birthday to you today, sweet cuz!

{click here to download}

April in a flash

2011-05-04T10:36:00.008-04:00

April flew by so incredibly quickly I can hardly believe it! We did so much and stayed so busy that I guess it's not very surprising that I hardly remember it. That speaks more to my memory than to anything else, though. So, since it would take me several weeks to update on each specific outing or event, I'll give you a barrage of photos instead.

April 2, 2011
Karen, Kirt, Eric, Emmett and I went to the Nashville Zoo

April 9, 2011
Kari, Jeni and I threw a baby shower for Brittnee and baby girl Harper

April 6 - 18, 2011
Emmett and I spend time in Little Rock and Fayetteville with family and friends

April 20 - 30, 2011
Emmett and I are reunited with Eric and Sloane and we spend our days hanging out at home, playing outside and drinking smoothies.

Phew! Who's ready for May?!
As always, if you'd like to see all of the photos for April, check out the April photo album.

New month

2011-05-03T22:09:00.004-04:00

I know I am late posting this month's calendars, but this is a busy time here in the Jackson household. Eric is in the middle of finals (and almost done with his second year of law school!) while the rest of us are gearing up for our big roadie to Dallas in ONE WEEK! Eric has accepted an internship at Jones Day and we will be there through the end of July. We are very excited for our summer in the Big D and will share more about it soon!

{click here to download}

What a sweet surprise this month from Emmett's cousin Olivia! She's sending him some birthday love all month long. And Happy 7 Month Birthday to you today, sweet cuz!

{click here to download}

3 with Lil' E: 4•29•11

2011-04-29T06:57:00.000-04:00

This week's video is just a random sampling of a Sunday afternoon at our house. I'm still in my pajamas, so try not to be jealous of my productivity on the weekends. We were just watching Emmett doing his own thing and Eric took some video. Enjoy!

Since this is a rando post, I wanted to add a few pictures that were on Eric's iPod when I uploaded the video. I just came to the sad realization that we really haven't posted that many embarrassing bathtub shots on the blog! Well I am fixing that right now...

Cue strategically placed bath toy...this blog is still rated PG.

I probably style his hair like this every other time I wash it.
Taken mid February 2011.

This was a cute stretch he did after a nap one day in March 2011.

Opryland Hotel and Belle Meade Plantation

2011-04-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

I am late posting all these photos from Karen and Kirt's visit, but we did so many things that I wanted to give each outing a little spotlight. So, here are a few favorite photos from our visits to The Opryland Hotel and then our tour of Belle Meade Plantation.

Just about every photo op in Nashville features either a guitar or a cowboy hat, but this is the first that I've seen of horses with both of those things AND cowboy boots - WIN!

Opryland Hotel is enormous! It features four gardens, which are more like entire habitats with cool plants and pathways. The one we spent the most time in even had a river and a boat tour!

Grandma and Emmett on the boat ride.

Grandpa and Emmett playing with his blankie, having a good time.

More pictures from the hotel can be seen in the March photo album.

Our visit to the Belle Meade Plantation was really interesting. The entire plantation is 30 acres and the mansion was built in 1853. It's always intriguing to see old bits of history in person, plus they have an excellent winery!

The mansion.

I'm never one to turn down a photo op cutout!

The gang in front of the mansion.

Having fun on the porch swings.

You can see all of the Belle Meade Plantation photos in the April photo album.