9 Month Maniac & Miscellany Monday

Yep, he's crawling, and he's everywhere! We invested in corner cushions and cabinet locks over the weekend.

As of Saturday, January 29th, Bird is officially off his seizure meds! Yaaaay!

The last few nights Bird has not wanted to go to sleep. He's very sleepy (rubbing his eyes), but the minute you put him in the bed, he screams. And screams. The last 2 nights I though it was his cough and cold keeping him up. Tonight, however, there's much less snot and little coughing. What's his excuse? Every time I walk back into his room, he immediately stops crying, reaches his hands up, and smiles. Hmmm. I'm thinking he wants some cuddle. A few minutes ago, I sent Jacin in to put the paci back into Bird's mouth and pat his tummy (with strict instructions NOT to pick him up). Upon entering Bird's room, this is what Jacin found:

Sing it, Jail Bird, sing it! Wait, what's that I hear? Could it be silence? Golden. Absolutely golden.

Thanks to Dianne West for taking Bird's 9 month pictures Saturday. Beautiful weather for pictures at the park. However, the wind and sunshine made Bird's eyes water and skin break out. Oh well. He's still pretty cute!!

We're back on the wagon, trying to eat right and exercise. We've had some good meals here lately:

White chili (yum!)

Home-made pizzas (with low fat cheese and turkey pepperoni)

Sausage, Cabbage & Potatoes (used turkey sausage and chicken broth)

Taco Soup (left-overs later this week over baked potato)

Spaghetti (home-made sauce, lean ground beef, whole wheat pasta)

Chicken DiVan (chicken, broccoli, fat free soups & mayo, low fat cheese)

Eating right is fun! I actually enjoy cooking, as long as Jacin cleans up the kitchen. :) Yep, I have a great hubby.

Thankful Thursday

1. I'm thankful that JBird is such a GREAT sleeper. In fact, at times he falls asleep so quickly I wonder if he's narcoleptic. On the way home from DayCare today, he was chattering and kicking and squealing and grabbing his toes and pulling his socks off. Literally about 2 minutes later I realized it had become very quiet. I look back and this is what I see. Sleeping Bird.

By the way, I do not text and drive. However, I might take pictures in my rear-view mirror while driving. :)

2. I'm thankful that Jacin is such a great Daddy. Every night after dinner he gets down on the floor and plays with Jackson, even on nights when he's completely worn out. Busy baby Bird, dog-tired Daddy.

3. I'm thankful for crockpots. Despite the fact that I hate getting up extra early to put the ingredients together, it's so nice to come home and actually sit down for a few minutes after work. Usually I start dinner preparations when I get home. This afternoon, Bird took a nap and I even napped for 30 minutes! Then when Jacin got home, I scooped out Santa Fe Chicken from the crockpot, and we ate! Magical!

4. I'm thankful for my job. I love teaching, and I love middle schoolers. However, we're still praying that God provides a part-time job or makes a way for me to stay home with my Bird.

9 Month CheckUp

I took JBird today to see Dr. Cordle for his 9 month visit. As usual, Bird was very charming, smiling and laughing at all the ladies. Anyway, the visit was quick and easy. Dr. Cordle says he's doing well, and is right on target developmentally, which was nice to hear.

 9 Month measurements:
Weight: 20 pounds, 15.5 ounces (50th percentile)
Height:  29 inches   (85th percentile)

Yay for Jackson Bird!

Punctuation Marks

I've never understood why students have such a hard time remembering the names of various marks of punctuation (you know - period, comma, apostrophe, and God forbid you ask them to remember the word semicolon). Today, I was explaining how to quote a resource in an essay. It went something like this...

Me: So how do I show that I've copied this sentence from another book?
Class: ...silence...
Me: What mark of punctuation do I use to show these are not my own words? How do I show I'm quoting someone else? (thinking the phrase quoting would be a dead give-away)
Student: Oh!! You use those flying commas!
Me: What?
Student: You know, those flying comma thingys.

It took me a minute to realize that "flying commas" is 7th grade lingo for "quotation marks." I love middle school. :)

Monday's Musings

Just some random thoughts on this MLK Monday...

1. We bought a new office chair today (it was on sale!). As Jacin was putting it together, he read the safety warning aloud from the directions: "WARNING: To reduce the risk of fire, electric shock, or serious personal injury, do not exceed the maximum weight limit of 220 pounds." Hmmm. I'm still uncertain how exceeding the weight limit on the chair is linked to fire or electric shock, although my imagination is running wild...

2. Yes, you read #1 correctly: Jacin reads ALL the directions when he gets a new product. Some men disregard the directions; not my man! He's very thorough. I'm actually surprised he didn't weigh me to make sure I can safely sit in the chair. :) He takes every precaution.

3. As Jacin was assembling the new chair, Bird was playing with the box. Sometimes the best toys aren't really toys at all.

4. My college roommate, Nicole (whom I call Roommate), visited this past weekend. It was GREAT. We definitely don't get to talk as often as we'd like, but it never fails - when we get together, we just pick up right where we left off. It's like we've never been apart. She's tons of fun, and it's so easy to be with her. Conversation is effortless, time passes quickly, and we both leave refreshed and encouraged. It was like Heaven on Earth having her here. I'm sad she's gone, and I'm excited about our next visit (whenever that might be...).

5. This afternoon JBird took a late nap - around 5. I started dinner and then let it cook for about 45 minutes. I suddenly found myself with nothing to do! I looked around, feeling a bit lost. I quickly decided, though, that 45 minutes of quiet would be best used reading a book (on my Kindle) with a cup of coffee.
I later told Jacin that I felt like such a lady of leisure drinking coffee in the evening.
His response: "What's a lady of leisure?"
Yeah. My point exactly.

Happy 9 Months!

Today marks 9 months since Jackson's birth. It's been the best 9 months of my life so far! Here are a few pics (some professional, some not-so-professional) of our JBird. He's changing every day!

4 Weeks

3 Months

6 Months

Another 6 Month Pic

9 Months

We can't wait to see what's next! We love you JBird!

Snow Days!

So it started snowing Sunday night (Jan 8th, 2011) and this is what we woke up to on Monday morning!

We're guessing it was about 4 inches. Of course school was cancelled, but Jacin also got to stay home! It was a very relaxing day. We took Bird out for just a few minutes. He wasn't very excited.

 Later we made snow cream, which I can't remember having since Nana fixed it when I was kid! Today was nice, too, although Jacin had to go to work. Bird and I had a great time together. I'm kind of getting spoiled. I've finished 3 books over the last few weeks - that's more than I've read in months! Sleeping till 7, staying in my PJs, playing with Bird, taking a morning AND afternoon nap, and reading in front of the fire... I could definitely get used to this! It's a good thing I'm enjoying it, too. No school tomorrow, either (3 days!).

However, I am getting a bit stir-crazy. You know it's bad when you can't wait to get out of the house to go to WalMart for diapers. Geez. And of course Jacin thinks I'm nuts. How could I NOT enjoy sitting around all day? Hmmm. This from the man who needs a project 2 days into any vacation? I told Jacin that if (and WHEN) I get a part-time job next year (hoping to have more time at home with Bird), my ONE requirement is that he take 3 personal or vacation days and do NOTHING but stay at home with Jackson. No running errands, no eating out, no going to the gym...nothing. Just stay at home, play with the baby, clean house, do laundry, wash dishes, change diapers, feed Bird, etc. After those 3 days, we'll talk.

He thinks I'm discontent staying home with Jackson. That's not it at all! It's just that sometimes a girl needs some adult conversation or a trip out of the house to ward off brain-mushiness.
He doesn't get it.
"Do you not like being with Jackson and talking to him?" Jacin asks.
"Sure," I answer, "but he doesn't say much."
Men.

Anyway, when Jacin got home today, I insisted that he take us OUT OF THE HOUSE! We all loaded up in the truck and he drove us to WalMart, where I purchased Bird a walker. At first he went backwards, but then he spotted Rascal and he quickly figured out FORWARD. He loves it, and Rascal is on the run!

He played so hard, he was completely worn out. He feel asleep with Jacin watching Seinfeld.

Maybe he will sleep all night long! Or maybe not. Either way, I love my boys!

Monday's Musings

Just some random thoughts for this 1st Monday of 2011:

1. You know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you're a Mom when you slide into bed exhausted, only to find a paci and wet burp cloth between your sheets. Nice. You know you've officially entered adulthood when you get excited about a steam mop, microwave, and dishwasher as Christmas presents.

2. My parents gave me a Kindle for Christmas this year, and I love it! I've already downloaded and read Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, and now I'm moving on to other things. I really think I'll read much more now that I have books readily available at my fingertips, and with no due-date!

3. I go back to work tomorrow, and I have mixed emotions. I LOVE my job, so I'm not dreading going back. But... I have also LOVED my time at home with JBird over the holidays. Since I've been home playing and working with him, I've really seen him learn and grow at an astonishing speed! Not that we don't have excellent daycare for him - we do. I would just do it better. :) Maybe something part-time will work out for next year.

4. I ran some errands today, and one of my most exciting purchases (using a gift card) is a new devotional book. I am pumped about getting back into my daily spending-time-with-God habit.