Another one bites the dust

Today started out pretty good, a little rocky but hey what day isn't with a toddler in the house right?

First off, Jackson started swim classes a few weeks ago and while the first week went off without a hitch (which was very un-Jackson like behavior) the second week was not quite as smooth. He was a bit apprehensive the first week with the kids and different atmosphere but during the second week he decided to throw the tantrum to beat all tantrums! This was a level 5 - gale force winds hurricane that sweeped through the rec center and continued on to the home front where damaging twisters tore through the house until the skies cleared 30 minutes later. So...naturally I woke up a bit un-easy today knowing that we'd have to show our faces to the people that looked at us with disapproving looks and would definitely not be my new bff's! Jackson once again surprised us and minus a few moments of toddler behavior ( wanting a toy and not wanting to participate) was extremely well behaved.

Because today was Jesse's day off and I like to suggest activities that I've been wanting to do but need an extra set of hands to help me with our spirited child I suggested we go down to the outlets. Jesse and I dispersed and performed the getting ready to leave routine ( I pack the bag & Jesse goes to the bathroom then gets Jackson's shoes on).

Unfortunately Jackson decided to take this time when his parents were busy to find his little Ikea chair, push it over to the wall, climb on top of it, stand up and fall straight into the wall. As we picked up our screaming child we noticed that blood was coming from somewhere and of course he had taken a big chunk out of his lip and bruised up his gums :(

A little doopy

It looks bad...but he seems fine

Still happy as a clam!

So while the day started off super awesome with a very successful swim class there is no telling when your child is going to decide to smack into a wall :)

Patience

Most days I wake up excited to see my little munchkins face and ready to face a new and trying (as the days have been lately) day.

I wake up knowing that my day will consist of make a meal, have the meal refused, screaming, whining, having my body abused and taken to the very edge of my sanity yet, I do this without question everyday.


Lately however i have grown tired of  the constant being climbed all over ALL day long, having my shirt pulled down in public and being bitten, scratched and poked at. This raising a human being business is HARD!

My new mission.....to become a more patient mother.

A little bit of this...A little bit of that

Yes! We are alive! :)

I just realized that I haven't made a post since the end of November! Obviously the hustle and bustle of the Holidays certainly got away with me :)

A little update on the happenings of the wacky Gardner household:

*Jackson and I headed back to Oregon for 9 days in December to celebrate the Holidays with mine and Jesse's families. We had so much fun! We celebrated Thanksgiving one weekend and Christmas the next and feel so blessed that our families were willing to put together these events for us :) Jackson had such fun making Christmas cookies with Aunt Melissa and stood in awe as he watched a Christmas tree get cut down for the first time. He made some amazing memories with cousins Henry and Joshua and learned about new traditions with Grandma Brigette! What an amazing trip we had!

*Jesse, Jackson and I experienced a new kind of Christmas this year. We have always celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our families and while this year was difficult and challenging to be away from everyone it helped us to realize something beautiful. We are now our own little Family. This is something that I think I've known since Jackson was born but I guess I've never really thought about until this holiday season. Realizing this has meant that I now must admit that I am an adult....obviously I have been an adult for some time now...but it's a hard to describe feeling of new found responsibility. We make the traditions now, we are responsible for all decisions that we make and further more we are the ones that have to make the decisions.
Jesse and I discussed how this year's Christmas didn't really feel like one but when we came to the day and saw Jackson's entire face light up as he grasped the concept of Santa more and the beauty in his eyes as he looked at the "Prettttyyyyy" lights (as he calls them) our hearts couldn't help but be filled with joy. All in all it was a wonderful Christmas and we can't wait for the excitement Jackson will have next year being a year older :)

*I have not so patiently been waiting for 4 months now for Jackson's darn 2nd molars to cut through! Now I know that while I'm waiting, Jackson is clearly doing all the work here. But I certainly have lost out on quite a bit of sleep with the 5am wake ups and the 40 min naps. FINALLY 2 days ago he cut the bottom right now and then in typical Jackson fashion yesterday he cut the bottom left one. This kid sure doesn't do anything slow as he now only has 2 teeth left to cut and he's only almost 22 months! This means that most likely he will have ALL his teeth by his 2nd Birthday! So crazy! But the minute he cut these suckers he's been sleeping from 7pm-7am and taking 1.5hour naps...I know it isn't likely to last but I am very very happy for the time that it will last :) It's the small things...

It amazes me what a BOY Jackson really is! He has recently become obsessed with the stereotypical planes, trains and automobiles :) I love it! He is using his imagination so much more now and takes parts of many different toys and makes a whole new toy with them all...SO cool!

He is growing up so fast and while I want him to slow down to savor it all I am excited to see what an amazing little boy I know he is going to become!

I may be a little biased but he is one CUTE little guy ;)

You know you're a Mom when...

You manage to walk through an entire store without noticing your jacket is inside out...what's better is it isn't the first time.

Since giving birth you have developed Paul Bunyan like strength and can carry your 24lb toddler strapped to your chest and groceries weighing the same amount up 3 flights of stairs without having a heart attack.

You have no clue what day of the week it is EVER!

When you hear people say in a store "gosh who's kid is that?" (talking about a screaming child)..Yes...they are talking about YOU now.

You could probably drink 2 cups of coffee, a red bull and 3 espresso shots at 8pm and fall asleep by 9pm.

Parking lots are now like battlefields. People drive way to fast, don't stop for crosswalks and children are constantly darting out from between cars. Your mission - Just get out alive!

Every morning when your "alarm" aka "your screaming child" goes off you look at the monitor through one half opened eye and wonder if you could slyly turn it off and catch a few more zzzzz's.

As your child gets older and learns to communicate more you start to feel more and more stupid by the day as they become smarter.

When you finally go to a store to purchase an item for yourself you end up leaving the store with nothing but things for your child.

Your idea of the perfect day consists of taking a longer than 2 minute shower, going to the bathroom without an audience and being able to hear yourself think.

You feel like your brain is on hyper drive all day long....you're constantly scanning for ways your child will try to hurt themselves and have become aware of just how dangerous this world is.

While you own probably a dresser full of clothes, you choose to wear the same 5 t-shirts over and over.

Since becoming a mom you have become extremely apologetic to your own mom about all the terror you must have put her through :)

and finally....

You know you're a mom when at the end of every day you feel exhausted, beat up and defeated but you will get up tomorrow and every day after that and do it all over again because your child needs you and you love them. Being a mom is one of the hardest job in the world but I am stronger now than I have ever been. And even though sometimes it feels like I'm sinking....when I look at Jackson's beautiful face and the joy he gets from the little things I think...this is why it's all worth it!

He is definietly my son!

Pretty much every negative quality of mine since birth Jackson has unfortunately inherited. He had colic like a mad man and sensitive skin which led to a spendy trial and error process with soap, wipes and diapers. He is extremely "Spirited" and what I call "passionate" about life :) And he attempts to push what I think each day is my last button till the next day when he finds a new one. We struggle with his eating and getting him to gain weight which also has been a very costly process.

However despite all of this he is my beautiful son and I would do anything in this world for him and wouldn't change a single thing about him (except for maybe if he would sleep a little more).

Awhile ago I was cutting up some olives for dinner and he kept begging for some so I said what the heck have one! His eyes lit up like he'd seen Santa Claus and a tiny little "mmmmm" could be hear as he gnawed away at that delicious morsel. Many people may know that I am a huge fan of olives and while Jesse tolerates them in small quantities he is in no way a "fan" of olives. Tonight I introduced Jackson to the the "Olive hand". Boy oh Boy this kid is DEFINITELY my son!!

hmmmmm what shall I do with these

oh that's right! EAT THEM!!! num num num

so delicious!

out of everything on his plate...what does he eat first?!?!

    

What we affectionately call "The Creepy Walk"

Jackson has such a huge personality and loves to provide us with many laughs throughout the day!

One of our favorites is what we call "The Creepy Walk!" All you have to do is say "Jackson, do the creepy walk" and he gets it done!

Daily Embarrassment......the new normal

Now that we are full blown into the terrible 2's (clearly it should be changed to "the terrible 16months-?????" I have found that daily embarrassment set forth by my child is the new normal.

Last week Jackson and I went into Jo-Ann's to pick up a few things. Because I know that Jackson has a very limited attention span and ability to be good in stores I prepare myself to be in mommy hyper speed mode once we have entered the stores. On this visit I had everything prepared...snack-check, water-check, paci-check, books/toys-check and I went in on a mission!

Jackson did great until we reached the dreaded check-out line :(  

First of all I have no idea why every single time i go into a craft store they only EVER have 1 checkout person working. why?!?! Second of all who in their right mind writes checks for $5.00 worth of craft supplies?!?!?! Apparently in Colorado writing checks for small purchases is all the rage. After being in line for 10minutes watching Jackson start to squirm, I can tell that we only have maybeeee 5min max left before he looses it. I start digging through my arsenal of distraction items, luckily a nice lady comes in line behind us and since Jackson is SUCH a people person he finds great joy in chatting away with this lady. FINALLY it's our turn! I was so anxious about getting us out the store I didn't notice how close I had parked the cart and my grubby handed child to the gift card display. So....clearly not by any surprise to anyone, Jackson reaches his arm out and knocks over the entire gift card display. I'd say probably about 100 gift cards are all over the floor and the 10 people in line are staring me down while i pick up every last gift card.

This has become such a daily occurrence at this point that I don't lose my cool anymore. I simply fix whatever thing Jackson has destroyed, tell him we don't do that, apologize to the cashier and swiftly leave the store.

However, while I do keep my cool in the store I typically spend the 10min drive home crying quietly to myself from embarrassment.

I explain these occurrences to Jesse and how difficult they are but I don't think he truly understood until Jackson gave him a good taste of it in Costco & Walmart this week. Jackson's tantrums have recently turned from general grunts and jibber jabber of frustration to blood curdling screams. Jackson in all his glory let out the biggest one yet at the entrance of Costco a few days ago....so loud and sudden that people in the bakery section at the very back of costco all the way down to where we were at the entrance turned and starred. Oh yes...I wanted to pull my hood over my face and lay down on the floor in the fetal position. But a last I am 26 and not 2 so we kept moving and about 3min later Jackson was just fine. The look on Jesse's face was priceless though....a complete deer in headlights :) For a moment it did feel good to have Jesse there with me though sharing in the embarrassment.

For now we will limit our outings and hope that this intense stage will pass soon!