Jackson is now 16 months old!

I cannot believe Jackson is already 16 months old. We drove up to Rock Hill to see Charlie’s only living grandparent “Geemaw” on Saturday. We had not seen her since last Christmas, so it was great to see her!

Things are still going great, he just gets stir-crazy at the house….I think he is ready for preschool already! He still cries every time I drop him off at the nursery which is hard…I just try to drop him off as fast as possible ( I usually type off some instructions so I do not have to talk to whoever is there to watch Jackson). We are going to toddler time at the library starting this Wednesday morning. The program goes for 5 weeks and I am so excited! Overall, he is a joy, and has so much love to give. He is a great hugger and he loves people!

Some transitions:

Nap Time:

1. He is ready to go down to 1 nap a day, but the only problem is that I cannot get him to sleep but for like 1 hour and a half to two hours. I think he wakes up early because he is hungry. I would love it if he slept for closer to 3 hours starting at like 1 pm. Right now he sleeps for like an hour and a half after lunch and then sometimes he goes back to sleep around 5 and I have to wake him up at 6:30 and then to bed around 8:30 or 9 pm and wakes up around 7:45 am.
2. Toddler Wise says that you usually try to transition to two naps a day at eight months and usually continue this through sixteen to eighteen months. They recommend transitioning to one longer nap right after lunch at 18 to 20 months old. I guess we are just in that transition time. I just need to move up his morning routine to about ½ hour.

Eating:

1. He is getting better and will eat a variety of food now! Again the books say that just one teaspoon per age of child of food. So that means Jackson only needs about 1 teaspoon of food! I am sad to admit he still gets a morning bottle, midday bottle and night bottle. My goal is to cut out the middle of the day bottle in the next couple of weeks! He will only drink like a couple of ozs of milk out of the cup, but he drinks like 4 ozs of pear juice out of the cup. If anyone has any suggestions about getting rid of the bottle, I am all ears!

Playtime:

1. A new idea I have been trying that I discovered in the Toddler Wise books, is that I put a basket a toys in the middle of the den, and then just let him go through it and play. This last for an entire 15 minutes, which is long for Jackson, and then he helps me clean up the area. I think he is right on track with everything, except problem solving skills…I think (and so does the doctor) that he is advanced when it comes to problem solving. A couple of weeks ago, he got my keys and put them in the bottom keyhole of the door, and tried to unlock the door. I have only unlocked the door a couple of times with him because he is usually asleep when we come in, and I just always lock the bottom deadbolt behind me.
2. Toddler Wise also recommends teaching your toddler self-control with their hands. Ezzo states that, “teach your child that self-control begins with the folding of her hands. That is a wonderful concrete way for her to understand calmness. Children as young as eighteen-months can learn this wonderful skill.” I am trying to teach Jackson to fold his hands when we pray at night. Sometimes it actually works. I have now finished reading Toddler Wise. I would recommend this book to anyone who has toddlers. Of course, I do not agree with everything, but it helped me realize more what I do believe, and it helped me get some new ideas on how to teach Jackson.

Happy New Year!

Wow, we have had a fun week! We went to see Kelly in Atlanta this past Saturday and we had the best time. I got to go to my favorite dorky store...Franklin Covey....I have had a Franklin Covey planner since I was in the 7th grade with all the stickers and everything. We went to First Baptist Atlanta Sunday morning and it was great. It was a wonderful worship experience and we learned a lot from their preschool ministry just by dropping Jackson off at their nursery. The youth pastor actually preached and he did a great job....I really enjoyed his way of giving an invitation at then end. He preached on 1 John 3:8. He reminded us that what we think about is what we are passionate about. Romans 8:6 states that

"For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."

What we think about is really what we care about. It is so important for us to take every thought captive to the mind of Christ and to not dwell on things that are passing away here on earth. This is one way we fight the fight of faith. We need to have a time, place, and plan to spend every day in God's Word. Without a plan, we plan to fail. I am so excited that our Bible Study is trying to read through the Bible in chronological order. It is going to be such a blessing to everyone.

The above pictures are us at the Cheesecake Factory in Atlanta...yum! Then, we went to Waynesboro and finally met my cousin's baby Luke who is now 7 months old (he is in the above pictures)! He is so sweet and we had a great time visiting with Aunt Sandi and all her family!

The one good thing that I think I read in Toddler Wise is to have a bedtime routine with your toddler. We started a new one a couple months ago. We tell Jackson to go get his Baby Bible book. We go on and on saying that this is the your most important book you will ever have. We say we are going to read a night night story from this Bible. Then we read a story, pray with him by holding his hands, and then sing a night night song. All in preparation to go night night. I do not ever want Jackson to remember a day with us not reading the Bible or praying.

We had a New Year's Eve party at our house last night that was so much fun. I think we had around 15 adults and 15 children. We played games (new year's resolution games) and had a great time of fellowship. I hope yall all had a great New Year's. Ps- I will never be coming back into town again on the day we have a party...bad planning on my part.

More Christmas Pictures 2006

Here are some more Christmas pictures. The first couple are of Jackson with his Geemaw (his great grandmother) in Rock Hill on Christmas Eve. Then, there is pictures of Mimi and him on Christmas day followed by pictures with Drew Toney (one of Charlie best friends from home). Finally there is pictures of Neely and Brad. Neely and I have been best friends since elementry school. She is living in LA, California because Brad is getting his PHD. Brad is from Pamplico, SC which is only 1 hour from Sumter. So they came and visited yesterday, and it meant the world to me!

Pictures from last weekend-Decemeber 15th

Wow! It was a big weekend. The first picture is from our Sunday School Christmas party that we had at our house. This is Brandon Osborne with our first baby Millie Boo. The second picture is of Jake Albright and Lauren Albright. Jake and Jackson are first cousins (this is Charlie's sister). This picture was taken at his 2nd Birthday party that was Saturday afternoon. Then, the rest of the pictures are from Jackson being dedicated at the church on Sunday. It is more a parent's dedication in that we covenant to raise Jackson in a Christian home, and tell him about our wonderful Lord and Savior. Sandi, Larry and Rylie Boo suprised us and got up at 5 am to see Jackson being dedicated. It really meant a lot to us! That night we were Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in the church musical. It was a very busy weekend and I think we wore poor Boo Boo out! I cannot believe it but he is already teething so that is an issue right now. He has 2 white bottom teeth visible. They say they can start teething at 3 months. We are going to get some teething tablets today (we might even try giving him some Tylenol). Hope yall had a great weekend as well!