Recent quotes from a 21-Month-Old

A few funnies from Jackson lately:

1. Mommy: "Jackson, are you a boy or a girl?"
Jackson: "Girl!"
Mommy: "Nooooo, Jackson, are you a boy or a girl?"
Jackson: "A kid!" and he grins and looks extremely proud of himself for answering in such a safe way.

2. Mommy: "Jackson, where are Mommy's keys?"
Jackson (as he looks around the house): "Mmmm...Papa!"
Mommy: "Papa didn't take my keys, Jackson, he's not even here. Where are my keys?"
Jackson (again--looking around the house): "Mmmmm...DAD!"
Daddy: "Hey, I get blamed for enough around here, I don't need to get blamed for something you did too, buddy."
He has learned the art of blame way too young.

3. One night Jackson was standing on a kitchen chair, which he had pulled up near the refrigerator, and was looking at all the pictures I have on the front of the fridge. He was pointing at the people and naming everyone he knew while I stood next to him at the stove, cooking. Pretty soon Jackson points at my cousin Derek and says, "Dake" (which is how he says Derek) and I said, "Yep, that's Derek!" Then Jackson puts his fingers on his forehead and, looking back at Derek's picture, says "Dake, hair, mess". Derek had curly, kind of shaggy hair at the time and Jackson apparently thought his hair was a mess in the picture. (Sorry Derek--we all know you have cool hair, but evidently Jackson has not developed a sense of style yet.)

4. This afternoon I decided to have my parents and my grandmother over for dinner, so I asked Jackson if he wanted to call Nana and ask them over for dinner. Of course he did, so I dialed and spoke with my mom a minute and told her Jackson wanted to tell her something. I gave the phone to Jackson and whispered, "Say 'come eat here Nana'" and Jackson yells into the phone, "EAT!!!" Mom made her reply and I whispered, "Say 'eat here Nana" and Jackson says, "EAT NANA EAT!" Apparently my mom figured it out and said, "Oh you want Nana to eat with you tonight?" to which Jackson replied, "Nana, Papa" and I whispered, "Tell them "six o'clock". He told my mom "six" and she figured it out and they showed up. He speaks like a telegram, but he gets the point across. (And he obviously gets very excited about eating!)

Big Boy Bed...Uh NO!

So Jake and I bought Jackson a new toddler bed yesterday. He was so excited and "helped" Jake put it together. He then wanted to play on it, read on it, pretend to be asleep on it...it was really fun. So when bedtime came, we went through the normal routine and put Jackson to bed in his new bed and told him that's where he was going to sleep. Well, of course, the first time we left his room, he just walked out five minutes later and said, "Play." We put him back in his bed and shut his bedroom door. A few minutes later we heard him crying and fussing (which he never does, he always goes to bed really well), so Jake went in there to check on him. HE HAD CLIMBED INTO HIS CRIB (which, by the way, did not have a mattress in it, since the mattress is now on the toddler bed), and he was standing on the springs just screaming and so upset! He is a child of habit and he wanted to go to bed in his crib. So, we just put the mattress back in the crib and let him sleep there. It was so precious! But, as I type this tonight, our son is sound asleep all curled up on his...new toddler bed. So, I guess that was a fairly quick adjustment. :)

A Critical Spirit

Our church is currently doing a series entitled "Is it you, is it me, or is it us?". We have been discussing how "relationally challenged" people are today (including Christians--we look no different than the secular world). People are "connected" technologically speaking, but the depth is just not there in many relationships. The messages we have heard so far have been amazing--very thought-provoking for me. I feel like we are hitting on subjects that are so relevant to what is happening with people these days and it has really inspired me to be better at "connecting" personally and deeply with people who God has brought into my life.

The message last Sunday zeroed in on the critical spirit of our society today. "This fast food is not fast enough", "This waiter is horrible, what bad service", "Why is she wearing that outfit?", "This worship music just doesn't put me in the mood", etc. We are all so naturally inclined to be critical, however subtle it may seem. We looked at Luke 18:9-14--the parable of the pharisees and the tax collector and discussed the fact that those who "exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted". We talked about truly encouraging one another and considering others better than ourselves. I have studied this before, but it seems so applicable to me now, I guess, more than ever. I just feel like I need to make every effort to be a more sacrificing person, a more humble person, and mostly just to truly invest in others. I also need to make every effort not to fall into the trap of being critical and judgemental. I need to focus on encouraging others and truly finding value in what everyone else has to offer. We as Christians have a great responsibility to continue the work that Jesus began and we can only be respected if we truly humble ourselves before Him and others.

A Day in the Life of Jackson

So yesterday Jackson and I had some errands to run in Twin and invited Aunt Shell (Michelle) along. Jackson desperately needed a haircut and I hadn't made an appointment for him, but my hair stylist, Heather, graciously worked us in while another lady's hair color was "processing". So, we had to wait a little while and Jackson was being pretty good, until he decided he needed to hang out by the front door of the salon. I didn't want him over there for obvious reasons, so I kept redirecting him. Finally, I told him if he went over there one more time, he would have to sit with me on the couch. As you may guess, he went back to the front door and tried to escape, so I grabbed him and forced him to sit on my lap. This, of course, brought on a temper tantrum. (And might I add, that while our son does indeed tantrum, it rarely occurs in public, so I was hugely embarrassed...). Right in the middle of his tantrum, Heather decided she was ready for Jackson. So, in the midst of screaming, a rigid body, and a bright red face, we tried to begin with the haircut. Thankfully, Heather quickly came to the rescue with a blue lollipop, which Jackson immediately shut up for. The haircut continued with Jackson being a model child. He ended up with an adorable "big boy" spiky haircut and a totally cute, messy, and sticky blue face!

Following this incident, we headed out to lunch, then over to Michelle's to hang out. Jackson played well and enjoyed himself while Michelle and I had much-needed girl time. Suddenly it became very quiet--too quiet, and as those of us with children know, that is not usually a good thing. Jackson had gone into Michelle's kitchen, so I got up to peek on him, and what a sight to see! Jackson had pulled open the oven door, used it to somehow get himself up onto the top of the stove, and was suspended with his little legs straight out behind him and his belly on the stove. He was grunting and groaning and saying, "stuck, stuck...". Of course, Michelle was about to die laughing, and I would have laughed had I not been in shock. I know he's a climber, he always has been, but I could not figure out how he had hoisted his little self all the way from the open oven door clear up onto the stove!!! I still have no idea how he did it, and I hope I never see him do it again! He definitely keeps us on our toes.