C E I I I O O

That's what I was left with the other night during a friendly game of Scrabble with J. Ridiculous right?! We called it a night and saved our game (we play travel scrabble in bed; I know it's weird), but I can't say I'm too anxious to return to it with these 6 vowels and a fairly useless consonant (I apologize to anyone who particularly likes "C" or has a name containing it). And I was all excited when I used 6 letters spelling "boxing." Who wouldn't be? I mean "X" is worth 8 points alone, and if I remember right I was on double word or something.

Eh...anyway, haven't felt very bloggy this week, hence the absence. And I haven't really been taking pictures this week either. Maybe this has something to do with it:

In case you have bad eyes or the picture is just too small or blurry...let's just say it is COLD! Colder than a witch's...well, I think you get the picture.

On the health front here at the Jackson house, J asked me if I would start getting up with him in the morning to work out or do pilates or some similar action devised to slim and tone. He's bent on getting back into shape. He doesn't seem to realize that I am bent on enjoying cake, cookies, pie, wild rice sausage and eggs for breakfast, cream sauces on pasta for suppers, and the like. I think he's going crazy. ;)

Jeremy's birthday was Monday...woohoo! 27 years old. Go J. =) He did really well on his test at work that day (only missed one) and actually got to come home a little early (not because he did well though; that's not how it works!) and we took Bugga to St. Cloud for some shopping and then out to dinner. Bug was very well behaved, it was wonderful! Then I went and left 2 (of our 4) locking-head diaper pins in the bathroom. ={ Arg! I don't think they took too kindly to our call asking if they would mail them to us, seeing as how we never heard back. This may all sound crazy to you, but I really don't know where I can pick up these pins anywhere local (maybe JoAnn's?) and I don't want to pay shipping just to order pins, since I long ago promised no more diapers or diaper paraphernalia. And they were the blue ones too, I loved the blue ones!

My life is just so stressful, right?!

Anyway, I should probably just get to the pictures.

Grady dumped out a container of beans on his tray while we weren't looking the other night. We were once again making our "beans and cornbread" supper. I think it's becoming a staple around here.

And here is the face he made when I told him he had to eat ALL the beans. Just kidding! Makes a good story though.

Another picture at a window. Man, it really makes him seem obsessed with windows, but he's not. I guess maybe I am; I just think it's so cute when he's looking out a window or trying to reach a window, so I tend to grab the camera. Hmmm, maybe I need to explore this window fixation of mine. Then again, some things are better left alone.

Okay, enough for today. It's the last day of January! Insane I tell you! Anywho (I don't normally like it when people say that, but it's a segue you see)...I'd love to hear from you if you're reading this! Stranger, family, friend, foe (well, I hope no foe is checking in)...come one, come all and leave a comment for me. Please! And if you don't want me to publish your comment (I do have to moderate it, i.e. give my wonderful stamp of approval) because you don't want other people that might be reading this to know you're reading this too...well, then just let me know and we'll keep it between ourselves. ;) Our little secret.

No, but seriously, leave a comment please. I'd love to know who's checking in and reading these ramblings and cyber-stalking my baby. HAHA. I'm totally kidding and I realize that didn't sound like much of an invitation, but I am sincere. Can't wait to hear from you!

Enjoy Happy New Month tonight! =)

Picture Saturday!

Not too much to say today (I promise!), but a lot of pictures. Here's Grady looking out the window. I love the sense of wonder over such simple things!







This one is titled "picking Papa's nose." Look close. ;)

And here's happy Bugga, climbing all over his Papa (that's J's head in the bottom of the pic).

But don't go thinking it's all happiness and light at the Jackson house....
Of course, if you know us, you wouldn't be thinking that regardless, but here is picture proof anyway. =)

Happy cuddles. I love this one because you've got happy baby, cute little baby toes (you have to look close), and you can see Paisley cuddling on the lounger with them. Yes, we're being naughty this morning, or rather I was being naughty, and invited her up to cuddle with me. No picture of that, but once J took over and took the Bug with him, I grabbed the camera and got to capture this.

For good measure, here's a video (or two). Grady has taken to making this funny pucker face. I realized it just doesn't picture well, so I was glad I tried to video it.

By the way, you don't need your sound on, but if you did listen to it as well as watch...no, I don't know what that noise I made was. And for further background, J and I were playing our own lame version of Name that Tune last night, only it was really more like Name that Band/Performer. J kicked my hiney! In my defense, who the heck has heard of Operation Ivy? Or Cat Empire for that matter. Though I have to agree the latter is pretty cool (hence the link). Oh, and that was Sublime who came on at the end of the video (I won't name the song, for fear of judgment, ha).

And the second one. You do want your speakers on for this one. Who could get sick of this sound? I love it!

Quick shout out to our friends the Stewarts in AZ today! (Hey Justin, Tara, Miss Gabby, and little Mister Mason!) We were on the phone with them for almost 3 hours last night (did you guys realize it was that long?!). We sure miss them, and when it's below zero here in MN, we have our fair share of envy for them too. ;) Thinking about hopping on a plane...

While we're at it, here's sending a friendly hello to Mema and Papa (J's parents Linda and Danny) too. We know they like to check in and see the pictures of little man.

So there you have it, I think we've covered about 90% of our readers that check in with the blog. How sad is that?! =) At any rate, much love to any and all who come to our little corner of the cyber world. Thanks for joining us!

To fluoridate or not to fluoridate...

...that is the question. Ugh. It seems like there is always a choice to be made with this whole parenting business. Yuck! One day, you think something is a good idea, a doctor recommends it, or a friend or family member says they do this-or-that for their kid(s). Then you go online (oh the evil internet) and find all this crazy controversy. Today's battle: fluoride. Is it a poison? Or a helpful substance? I just don't know.

We did recently start giving Bugga fluoride/multivitamin drops. They were prescribed by our much loved family doctor in NY, then misplaced during the move, and we just found them and started giving them to him. It's probably only been about 2 weeks now. I figure, if it is in fact a poison, hopefully we haven't done much damage yet. The world is so scary and I'm sure there's bigger concerns than fluoride ingestion that I should be worried about.

Grady got out of his bed twice, possibly three times (I may have lost count!) today during the 2+ hour standoff over nap time today. Usually he's pretty good, pretty easy really, and goes down for nap like the sweet angel we know him to be (HAHAHA). Today, he must have decided Momma's timing was all off and he would remedy that for himself, since he's getting so old and capable. ;)

We re-signed up for netflix today. The deciding factor? They will have a film in shortly that is in limited release in theaters and community showings. It is called The Business of Being Born. I'm sure it will give me tons of wacky ideas for if we ever decide to have another child. Should be fun to watch. =) If nothing else, it might make me outraged at myself and the medical staff that urged pitocin on me to get the Peanut out. I'll have to try to watch without judging what can't be changed. That's always a challenge. On a less serious note, we're looking forward to seeing Ratatouille. =)

J came home early from work today, which is really nice since Bug is kind of a handful today.

Today's pictures take us back in time...to when Bugga could smile and maybe even laugh, but certainly couldn't move independently. He's tons of fun now, don't get me wrong, but at moments I do miss those days in the early months. The days when we could put him somewhere and that's where he stayed.

Here he is at about 2 1/2 months old; one of the first times he actually was comfortable with "tummy time." I can distinctly remember taking this photo (and a bunch of others that day). I love the drool!

This is Bug just over a month old. Making a "woa!" face.

Back to 2 1/2 months here. Waiting for his massage before bedtime. =) A tradition that has stuck. Look at that cute booty!

He doesn't get his back massaged anymore because he's too mobile for that. He would take it as an invitation to sit up or try to crawl away or something.

He may be more mobile now, but thankfully he's just as kissable and huggable as those early days. Here's hoping it stays that way for a long time to come.

Life with the Fonz

Several times throughout the day, I hear this very tell-tale "Hey..." that sounds as if I am being joined by the Fonz. Only it's coming out of little Bugga's mouth. Cracks me up! J and I usually respond with our own best Fonz impressions, which I'm sure only encourages him in thinking this is a pretty cool noise to make.

Here's a kind of cute video of Bugga laughing as I put (clean, dry) dipees over his head. You can almost hear the "hey" I'm talking about during the video, so turn up your speakers. It's really more "fonzie" when he says it on its own though, so you might not catch it.

We discovered Bug likes black beans. Yum! At least when his Papa makes them into a delicious soup. We had wonderful homemade black bean soup and homemade corn bread the other night and there J and I sit, being the Momma and Papa birds we are, spitting whole beans onto our plate to give to Grady. ;) Nice image, right? Well, it was worth it, he ate them up.

About the corn bread though, really we should call it corn cake. We're not southern, and hence we found we don't like the real southern corn bread, which is not sweet at all. We like it sweet, bring on the sugar and honey! So it was a resounding chorus of "beans and corn bread...I mean cake" last night. (You really have to sing the song with a meal like that.)

Grady is on the cusp of walking, it is so exciting. Twice on Monday he took 1 step, as in one leg took a step, and then down. Then yesterday, he took 2 steps, as in both legs, away from the lounger in the living room (by lounger, I mean 2 twin beds set up in a l-shape piled with pillows and blankets; no it's not a couch per se, but we call it our "lounger"). He was going after Turdie; that fatty does serve a purpose! HAHA. And last night he took another set of steps, though he was so close to J it was hard to tell if he was really holding on or not.

At any rate, we figure within the next month or so, he will be walking. We are simultaneously looking forward to and dreading his aquisition of this new skill. I look at it as the demarcation line of when it becomes truly difficult to take him places. We'll see if I'm right about that or not. For once, I can honestly say that I hope I'm wrong. ;)

Okay, gross. I just had to fish a ladybug out of Grady's mouth. He won't eat his green beans, but a ladybug seems yummy evidently.

And finally, a few more visuals for the day (it can't all be words, right?). Here's one of Monka from the other day. She's such a lovely, petite girl. And the oldest of the pets by far, she's probably pushing 10 years old by now. You wouldn't guess it to meet her though. I hope it stays that way. And no, the gray in her coloring is not a function of her age. She's always looked like that. ;)

"Will this library card get me out of jail?"

Here's a shot of the "lounger" I spoke of. Want to play "Where's Bugga?" That's right, he's next to the gas stove. Safety first around the Jackson household. =)

And here's a shot of Turdie, harassing me from on top of the cabinets while I do dishes.

So there you have it, another day in our zoo.

Let's win the lottery

Back to Monday, and therefore J back to work. =( We frequently talk about how we wish we could just win the lottery and J wouldn't have to work and could be around Bugga more. We talk about winning the lotto like it is a choice...not some one in a gazillion chance. Silly, we know.

In the meantime, during the work week, he's off to work before Grady is up in the morning, usually anyway. That's why the weekends are so fun; J gets to see Buggy first thing in the morning. Gets to go into his room and see him smiling and babbling to himself and bouncing around in his bed. I think it is important that the two of them get that experience; that Grady knows it isn't always Momma who comes and greets him in the morning.

I love this picture of Paisley; I think I took it last week sometime. Her eyes just look so beautiful! She is such a silly little lady lately. She really gives Turdie trouble, but other than that, she's pretty good. And she puts up with Grady really well. He loves her; she is probably among his favorite "toys." He pulls on her, uses her to stand up, and even tried using her to walk behind last night but she's too fast for that. ;) And then there's quieter moments when he is somewhat obsessed with her jowls, the little pink that pouts out from her lips. He'll sit and point at it and touch it, very gently, to his credit. Other times, he is definitely not gentle. There's pinching, hitting, eye poking. And she is a champ about it. So go Paisley!

We're trying to teach him "gentle" and sometimes we have to tell him "no" (and so it begins) and remove him from her area, and of course attempt to redirect him. Oh, the consequences of trying to implement discipline into his young life! What fun. There's crying of course, and stubbornness on his part (I wonder where he might get that?!), and the ever-popular throwing himself on the floor in protest...that is before he picks himself up and books it right back to Paisley.

For now, he is resting up so he can play with his girl later. ;)

I actually took a couple pictures of Monkey the other day; I realized with horror recently just how much Grady had taken over the camera. Yes, he's our real life, human child and deserves to have a million and one pictures taken. But I couldn't find anything taken in months of Miss Monkey Doodle. It made me sad really. I'll have to post it, she was playing with the ribbon that was around Bugga's taggie duck he got for Christmas from J's parents.

What else? Hmmm...we nearly drown in a sea of papers this weekend. We are finally trying to get unpacked again. Instead of just letting the shop be filled with boxes and ignoring it as best we could, we thought we'd try to bring some of the office boxes upstairs. My oh my! What a mess of papers! And probably a good half, or more!, ended up in the shred pile or the recycle pile. It's insane. And our shredder will probably bite the dust before we're done with it all. It frequently got overheated and needed a break. A few times it kind of creepily started back up when neither of us was attending to it (it would stop with a sheet half way through sometimes). We filled several bags with shredded paper. It's crazy!

Okay, that's enough rambling for today I suppose. I think there's another cup of coffee (black again!), a cozy chair, and a book in my near future. If little man keeps sleeping that is. And some days that is a very big if...

At last...

Oh my, Friday is here. Whew. The weekdays can get so long sometimes. I love weekends! When J is home all day (usually) and I can get some things done since it isn't all up to me to keep Bugga alive. ;)

And today, I am drinking my coffee black. Jeremy will be proud to hear that. No, I'm not toughening up or getting "grown-up" taste buds or anything; I'm just out of creamer.

I really don't have anything exciting to say today. We went to St. Cloud last night for some shopping and J carried Grady in his sling everywhere we went. It was simply adorable! Bugga cuddled up so tight to his Papa, it was the cutest thing ever. Usually I sling him, but it was nice for Papa to do it since he was at work all day. It gave them some good up-close-and-personal time together. And gave me some good observe-the-babe-from-afar time. HAHA. I wish I had a picture of it to post.

Instead I'll post this great pic of Grady opening wide and inviting Paisley to kiss him. These two make out, I kid you not. And they would do it all day if I let them. However, I'm not that laid back. The inter-species frenching has to stop!

Oooh, we also discovered that there is a pretty good pizza place that delivers to our place. It has been a very, very long time since we could order food to be delivered. It's no Mama Mia's (our fave in NY), but it's pretty darn yummy. And straight to our door, how can you beat that?

Well, I was supposed to use Bugga's naptime to read (I'm reading For the Love of a Dog by Patricia McConnell; good so far). Instead, Pai and I did some training, I had some honey toast and my black coffee and puttered around on...you guessed it...the internet. My hopeless addiction.

And I hear him now...my time is up. =)

Edited to add, this is what I found when I went in his room:

Bubbles for Bugga

Last night Mr. Bug had his first bubble bath. Yes, we're boring parents and it's been plain old water til now.

Well, it didn't work out great anyway because he is so used to drinking his bath water (I know, gross). So, he tried to drink and suck on his washrags (which are really just toys in our mind) and he ended up vomiting in his bath water.

Oops! So, I guess we'll hold off on more bubble baths until little mister gets a handle on his need to partake of the water in which he sits. ;)

Grady is enjoying playing chase these days. He gets quite the mischievous look on his little face when is heading toward something we have repeatedly removed him from in the past. Like he knows he's going to get caught and dragged away, but the game is just so fun! I'm' currently trying to capture "the look" in a picture, but haven't had luck.

Back to the bubble bath...I forgot how much I like them! I was so tempted to strip down and jump in there with him, so I had to take a bubble bath after he went to bed. Oh do we need a bigger tub!!! =) HAHA. I'll make do with what I have though. On a side note, for good non-toxic, natural bubble bath, check out California Baby. Nice line of baby bath and body stuff.

So there's my product plug for the day. Off to feed Buggem.