The Dubinskis are in town!

Several weeks ago we had an impromptu visit from Aunt Dwyn and Uncle Kenny, who live in Massachusetts.  We love how much they care for Jackson and it's always fun to see them! 

They brought the sweetest hand-carved whale bank for little J to save his pennies and some local honey which has been delicious on homemade bread from Val. They also transported a Christmas gift from Great Grammy Byrne, whom Jackson is eager to meet. She gave him a pint sized Cracker Barrel rocking chair with personal message carved underneath. He immediately started playing in it and now can get in and out of it like an old pro. He occasionally wants to stand and rock, or to sit up there with 25 toys but most of the time he's relatively safe in it. We're excited for the warm weather when we can enjoy our chairs on the front porch!

Aunt Dwyn, Granddad Byrne and Jackson

he loves his new rocker

quality time with the Dubinskis

In other news, Jackson is quite the dare-devil, sustaining two busted lips this week. He has decided he wants to run but doesn't quite have the coordination or realize when the edge of the rug is going to present a problem. He has had a runny nose and cough for about 4 weeks now and we are just about over it. He sleeps pretty well and he's happy most of the time but there is just so much snot. I guess a part of motherhood is having those tissue-less moments at Costco, Walmart or the park where you use whatever you can find to somewhat wipe your kid's nose.  Fun.

He loves the Christmas decorations and stands near the tree each morning waiting for us to light it. Yes, we are fake-tree people, but we do have a tree skirt so you can't see the metal 'tree trunk' anymore! We were up early one morning this week so we went for a run and looked at Christmas lights at 6am. Non-traditional, but a very fun way to start the day!

 One of the perks of having friends who are moms is that we all share memberships to various locations in Hampton Roads. We bring friends to the zoo and last week Blair and Summer took us to the aquarium. Jonathan and I had a great time looking at sharks, neon coral and the octopus.  Jackson had trouble understanding the concept of fish in tanks but he really loved reaching for the sting rays and hermit crabs. He tried to take one home with him but the sweet grandmotherly volunteers asked us to reign in our child  :) 

 Sometimes you just have to stop and enjoy some chubby thighs

 And finally, Jackson had his first haircut on December 9th and looks so handsome! He sat on my lap and we both had drapes on us (that lasted about 2 minutes) to protect us from the surprisingly-large amount of hair that she cut off. He spent the whole time trying to look at the stylist and grab her scissors and comb so the cut is a little rough around the ears but overall it's a great first hair cut and no one has called him a girl since then :)