We made it...

We are home at last.  Hey...Chris and Nichole, here's a haiku I wrote about our trip home today:

Restless is the boy,

Mom and Pop can't make him stop.

Restless on the plane.

=)

Good thing I had lots of good memories to get me by when I closed my eyes to pretend that Bugga was being still next to me. ;)  You know, versus the reality of him bouncing like a pinball between all our seats.  HA!  

Okay, okay..I'm finally back with pictures in tow.  I do apologize for the delay. ;)  This is going to be fairly random too, so if you like order and reason...well, what are you doing here?!  HAHA.

Our little walking advertisement.  Better than a sandwich board at least.

Daly dog, in the flesh.  Er, fur.  Exhausted from all the wedding day hoopla.

A father-son moment to be...uh, proud of???  That is what you get for giving the boy hubies J!

Budding artists.  For sure. ;)

The happy couple, 2 days post-wedded bliss.

Ring thing.  Brandon engaging in the time-honored new-husband tradition of incessant ring-twisting.  I love it!

You know, if the artist thing doesn't pan out...

Uncle Brandon's hat (photo taken by Auntie Lindsey).

J, Bugga, me in Seattle (another photo courtesy of Miss Lindsey).

Lindsey and Daly dog.

Could she be any more adorable???

Exploring the Seattle Aquarium. We joked that people must have thought he was a "famous baby" because we had so many cameras on him...and so many people staring. ;)

I have to end with these because they totally crack me up!  Here is Bugga with his Uncle Chris and cousin Kaylee, all being silly for the webcam.

Sleeping Bug.  Snoring pups.  Purring kitties.  Home sweet home.  Good night all! ;)

Welp, looks like January is going down as a low-blog month around here.  Maybe because it seems to have gone by in the blink of an eye...scary!  Have no fear, February is almost here. ;)  Oh wait, it's a short month.  AGH!  At least we plan on staying close to home...

Contrary to the look on Bug's face...

...we are having TONS of fun in WA right now! ;)

Today is Sunday...yesterday was Saturday (always good to have a little review right?!), and that meant WEDDING DAY!  Our long time pals Brandon and Lindsey finally "did the damn* thing already"--as the best man so aptly put it during his toast--and we couldn't be more thrilled for them.  Or more honored to be part of their amazing day. =)

So again, today is Sunday and with yesterday being THE day, we are all finally able to breathe again.  Hehe.  I thought I'd sit down and send out a little blog love. ;)

Here is the bride herself...anti-bridezilla of the century...even though we're only 9 years in I know there won't ever be a more cool and sweet bride, EVER...okay, enough, here she is!

Okay wait, I have to give a quick shout-out to my new sis-in-law Nichole, who was very anti-bridezilla too. =)  I have some awesome ladies in my life huh?!  

Back to this bride though, hehe, here she is getting her "hair did."

Looking contemplative. ;)  There were nerves, but only over the magnitude of the event itself; pretty sure marrying Brandon was a no-brainer.  =)

J has been SUPER DAD over the past few days, being pretty much solely responsible for Buggie as I've been busy trying to be there for the bride (I hope I was at least okay, Linds!).  And Bug has weathered the long days and crazy whirling activity around him like a champ.  Mostly.  ;)

I wish I had pics of the bride and groom in their wedding day duds, but alas, we got busy and the day/night slipped completely away from us.  We were too busy having fun I guess!  What I really wish we had is a shot of Brandon carrying Lindsey over the threshold when they got home. ;)  Yup, they came home to house-guests on their wedding night.  What kooks!  And we sat around and drank wine, ate chips, and told silly stories til way too late.  

So CONGRATULATIONS to Lindsey and Brandon!  Whatever shenanigans may have befallen you day...or however wonderful it was too...the rest is what really counts.  How you live your life together is the true testament of your love for one another and I know J and I have felt blessed to be able to witness that. ;)  And we wish we could witness it more often in fact!  J will start preparing his job applications for WA soon I'm sure.  HAHA, just kidding.  Sort of. ;)

*Please excuse my language there.  I wanted to leave the direct quote intact because it was just too funny. ;)

The Many Faces of Bugga

Grady is at a stage where he just makes so many faces, each day a new funny face it seems.  So expressive, I love it!!!

These are from Christmas morning.

It was pretty low-key, as you can imagine.  Just the three of us, and the pets of course.  Nice and quiet, which suits us perfectly.  In case anyone is wondering, yes, I went old-school and wrapped his gifts in newspaper.  ;)

I adore his little dino sleeper.  He actually got it last Christmas from Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Brandon!  Can you believe it?  I can't figure out how it is still fitting, unless it is a magical grow-with-me sleeper.  And if so...you devils you, where did you find such a thing?!  HAHAHA.

This is my favorite. =)  One of the books he got is Big Wolf and Little Wolf and we love to read it as a family.  I am "Mama Wolf," "Little Wolf" and narrator, J is "Big Wolf" and sometimes narrator.  Bugga lends his voice to some good family-style howling at the end. ;)  

On nights when Papa isn't home for bedtime because of work, when we read this book and I am reading/singing Big Wolf's lines, Grady stops and says "Papa" a couple times for good measure.  As if to say "nice try, Momma, but Papa is really Big Wolf." ;)  

Happy Wednesday to all!  Within a week we'll be in WA.  WOOHOOO!  =)  And within 2 weeks we'll be in CO.  WOOHOOO again. ;)  The happy traveling Jacksons are taking to the road again, or rather the sky really.  Should be another fun adventure.  

Bugga's Room

I found myself in the Bug's room today.  We usually don't spend much time in there.  It is pretty spare, because we don't have toys in his room, his play space is out in our living space.  His bedroom is for sleeping. ;)

At any rate, sometimes we do go in there, just to add some spice to life I guess.  I know, we're pretty crazy right?!

And I laid on his bed today and I looked around and felt almost overwhelmed by all the meaning and love and warmth we have stuffed in there.  Most everything in his room has ties to people we love and who mean the world to us, just like Bug himself. ;)

There's the mobile of intersecting globes with figures from various cultures of the world hanging from it that I got at a little fair trade shop in B-Spa (that's Ballston Spa, NY) with my wonderful friend Megan, who I still miss terribly.  And a blanket she knit for the Buggie while he was still "Peanut" in my belly.

There are 4 Memaw-made blankets as well, all made with evident skill and lots of love.  And 3 piggy banks, one from Memaw and Papaw Jackson, one from our dear Lindsey and Brandon, and one from Aunt Kim and Uncle Kirk.

The furniture in his room includes a bed and dresser that were in my room growing up and a rocking chair that came from Great Grandma and Grandpa Jackson's shop.  Plus a blanket from my amazing former co-worker Bonnie (again, given when Bug was "Peanut") and another from our dear friends the Stewarts (or at least picked out by them, when they did our registry for my shower, HAHA; forgive me I can't remember if it was actually Justin and Tara who gave it to us in the end or not).  

Yes, the boy has an outstanding number of blankets, because when they are given or made by someone we love, I can't imagine doing anything else with them. ;)

The crowning glory has to be the one blanket that hangs on the wall.  It is a small baby quilt, the top was cross-stitched and embroidered by my Mom.  It hangs right above his bed.  She never got to meet Bugga.  Never got to hold him, to trace the contours of his newborn face with her fingers, never got to coo at him and "ooh" and "ahhh" over his newborn grunts and wiggles.  She never got to celebrate his firsts or delight in his laughter.  So many "nevers."  Yet, I know she's here with him in a different way.  I'm reminded of it every night I put him to bed when I look up at the blanket she poured love and hope into years ago, not knowing there were more grandchildren in her future, not knowing she wouldn't get to be with them like she wanted.  

She's with him in all the ways that I am a product of her and her love and guidance.  She's with him through who she made me, both in her being my Mom and through her loss, because it shaped me in countless ways I can't fully understand or express.  This love and loss reminds me every day of the importance of my role as his Momma, and it shapes the decisions I make within that role.

Yes, I laid there and I took stock.  I smiled.  I laughed.  I cried tears of a mourning that will never fully leave, but just ebb and flow like so many things in life.  Then my son got up on the bed and sat next to me, and I cried tears of pure happiness over the simple blessing of him.  There, with Bug next to me, and all the love and promises and hope surrounding us, I found myself laughing again.  

And why not?  Buggie was laughing after all. ;)