23 months

Well, again it's been a while. I love having a toddler. He just keeps stealing my heart every day.

Jackson is almost 23 months and for those of you who don't have kids under two and count everything in months, that means ALMOST TWO YEARS OLD!!! Where did that time go?

J man is getting so tall and losing his big belly. When he stands next to me I can rest my hand on his head and have extra bend in my elbow. He runs everywhere. He can jump and get some good air (but he's still my child so he stays pretty close to the ground). He loves to wear boots and a diaper...nothing else. J gives the best hugs ever. My favorite time is at night when we finish reading books, we sing a song and pray together and he snuggles up in my neck and drapes his arms over my shoulders and we snuggle.  Sometimes we even get to spend that time together as a family of three when JB and I are not working late. 

He still sleeps in his crib and as much as I would love to sit in his big kid bed to read books with him, we are not going to mess with a good thing. Our little man used the potty on my birthday in August and started using it consistently (eg 1x/day) since September 13th. Again, we're not going to rush a currently-good-thing of diapers and an accident-free house but if he keeps this up, we will certainly encourage it!

 He hates having his teeth brushed but Jonathan can convince him to get brushed while we all sing the ABCs. He love hammocks, the beach, ocean waves, petting Lincoln, singing. His favorite song is "Happy Birthday to Max". We were going to Max's first bday party and practiced the song all afternoon before the party was cancelled due to flooding from the bathroom. Bummer on all accounts, but now Jackson thinks that the song was written for Max. We are trying to teach him how to sing Happy Birthday dear Pop Pop for September 23rd. 

He is so helpful and feeds Lincoln every morning. He waters the garden and picks tomatoes. J loves Thomas the Train, Super Why and Cars. He continues to boycot the stroller and all veggies, especially ones of a green hue. I have managed to get him to drink a spinach smoothie every morning and am getting good ideas from other friends with non-veggie eaters. 

 Jonathan and I continue to pray for guidance in raising him to know God and to love others. He is a gentle, kind child who is learning how to share his beloved things with others and find joy in that. He loves Katie McNabb and Lizzy Kay Sabin and again, we are so blessed to have good friends who share our values in raising children. 

 We had the pleasure of visiting Hatteras again in August and had a blast. We love relaxing, doing nothing - or everything, but at a slower speed. We branched out and tried the biscuits at Orange Blossom (DELICIOUS), played in the sound and went running. J was obsessed with their beanbag chair and might be getting one for his birthday ;)

J loves his daddy

sunset

J loves to play hide and seek now, and it usually involves him picking one hiding spot (that is not so great to begin with!) and hiding there over and over again. I'm using it as an opportunity to teach him prepositions: "Is J under the couch? Is J behind the table?" and then to give him a big tickle! He also loves to cover his face and say, "Where's Jackson?"

The Byrnes had a garage sale and were able to go through a ton of JB's toys from his childhood. J and Grandad have loved playing together.  

And finally, our little guy graduated from speech therapy. We had him in for 3 sessions of Early intervention and he passed with flying colors! The second week he greeted Kate at the door, said Hi and promptly pulled her over to play with his toys. He started talking like mad and now speaks in multi-word phrases. It's so fun to see his little personality through his words.

That's all for now, folks!