Hey guys! It's been a long time since I've updated anything, but we had quite a lot going on with the move. We are now pretty much settled into desert living and just waiting for fall and cooler (we hope) days.
Jackson had his first birthday party about a week and a half ago at Mike and Janet's house, and it was wonderful! Jackson had a great time, and I even loosened up a little and let him have cake. (I made gramma pruitt's famous chocolate cake for him. It seemed appropriate!) He started taking steps here and there about a month before his birthday, but had it down pretty solidly by his party. He started running today...more on that later. He's got EIGHT teeth. That seems like more than any small child should have. It gives Jackson way too much power to inflict pain, in my opinion. Plus he doesn't have the cognitive skills to understand his power! His 1 year dentist appointment went great. They commended us for not using a pacifier...which we do. lol. I guess he doesn't really have it often at all, though. He also had his one year dr. appointment recently. They said he checked out great, although he did have to get five shots and have his blood drawn! His blood draw was to check for dairy sensitivities and coconut allergy. He was negative for both!!! Hallelujah! Milk here we come! I don't know if it's because of my own milk addiction, but I'm so thrilled to start giving it to him!
So...today was the day it all changed. There have been a few of these days since I became pregnant with Jackson. Of course the day he was born was one, another when he started crawling and motating on his own. Today is the day he became his own self. He became a toddler. He became so many things. And I swear, it happened over night! Yesterday night at dinner he signed "more" several times, which was strange and awesome. To see your "baby" communicate with you calmly and rationally is amazing. That was the beginning of the turn, I think. This morning he signed more several more times, and I decided to finally take him out to his new sandbox...
I set him in the sand barefoot. He scrunched his nose up, lifted one foot, then the other. He stuck his pointer finger into the sand, swirled it around, pulled it back out, and looked at me. I thought, "ok...he's just not old enough yet. We'll try again in a few weeks." and we came inside. He started screaming BLOODY MURDER and standing at the door. Ooooook then. I put shoes on him, so he could stand on the patio outside the box (since the sand was so offensive) and back out we went. He proceeded to play in the sand box, eventually crawling inside it and effectually getting sand into every crack and crevice, for thirty minutes. He then crawled out and took off running down our sidewalk. Ummm...what?! Since when do you go places alone? Without me? Without even worrying about where I am?! I let him run around outside for the next several minutes: pulling grass out of the ground, throwing dirt in the air and getting his butt covered in stickers. He got scratches on his knees. Ugh. A boy!
We then went to a spouses coffee gathering thing on base. The group moved outside because of the size, and Jackson went ballistic trying to get out of my arms and DOWN. Soooo I let him down. He proceeded to run (again...really?) across the pavilion and start playing with the rocks. Then he started eating the rocks. And the leaves. Ugh. BOY! When I went over and picked him up and started carrying him back to where we'd started, he again went ballistic. When we got home and I set him down, he went back to his room and started playing. Alone. Without me. He usually whines and cries at my feet until I do something....anything...WITH him. Now he's in his crib, asserting his independence by refusing to take the nap he has taken without a fuss for months. He's screaming. Not crying because he's sad and lonely, this is like "if I could pierce your heart with my anger at you for leaving me here by way of my cries I would" kind of cries. He's pissed. And he's effectually cussing at me in baby language. Great. lol.
Overall, I'm beyond excited for this new stage. He's becoming a person, a child. Not a baby. He can learn new and fun things from me. We can go to the park and run. He can play with other little kids. This new season is full of fun possibilities. But still, when he comes running back into the room, smiles at me, and runs back out to go play alone, I am amazed. He's a big kid now!
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