I am really loving Jackson right now. OK I am really loving him all the time, but the past few weeks he has been very easy going and so much fun. Since I've been pregnant I've really started analyzing Jackson and wondering how he's going to act with a baby in the house and how am I going to handle 2? There have been good and bad weeks - meaning some weeks I think I'm crazy for having another baby when I can't handle one & some weeks I think it will be great. Ever since Jamaica (and at some moments even during our trip) I'm thinking this is going to be a good thing - the kid is getting mature.
He slept great in Jamaica and has slept perfectly since we got home. He sleeps from 8 pm to 7 am or later every day and hasn't cried once while putting him to bed. He's taking 3 hour naps (sometimes longer) every afternoon and hasn't had a bad one in weeks. As he's able to understand and communicate better now, things are really going a lot more smooth. I've been trying to give him his binky only at nap and night time for a while now, and finally that is becoming more normal. Sure there is the occasional emergency "need to binkify" moment as Tyler and I call it, but he's pretty content without it during the days.
He wakes up happy every day. I think he probably plays around in his crib for 20-30 minutes before I go upstairs to get him. I'll hear him talking and rolling around but I won't get him until he starts shaking the side of the crib or I can tell he's talking to me saying, "I'm ready" in his own language. He is always happy and super talkative when he wakes up, it's still mostly gibberish but more and more words are surfacing. He normally is pointing out all the toys and books in his room that he wants to play with. "train" "boat" "chair" "stuck" "broke" "flag" and "the end" are all recent words, but I'm still waiting for him to say Mama! Normally he runs right over to his wooden train or grabs a book that he had spied from the crib.
After he plays with his toy(s) for a bit we will go downstairs and he'll immediately look for the "mote" aka remote control so he can turn on his Disney shows. Once he finds it (doesn't normally take more than a minute even when I hide it behind different pillows each day) he hands it to me and then starts playing with toys. After about 20 minutes or so he'll let me know he's hungry by running over to his high chair and starting to climb up.
Then when it's time for his afternoon nap or nighttime I tell him it's time for "binky, blanket, juice, and books" and he heads upstairs with me. After reading a few books and cuddling with his blankie he'll have one last drink of juice and get in his crib. He cuddles right in and doesn't fuss about it. He loves his crib - which is making me think about what we'll do when baby sister arrives...
But he has been doing something lately that I love - now as I'm leaving his room after putting him down for a nap or the night I'll always say "goodnight" one last time as I shut the door. Now, he's started saying "byebye" right as I shut the door, and I'll peek back in the room and he will be lifting his head up, looking at the door smiling at me. It's one of my favorite parts of the day as we look at each other smiling for a few seconds.
I think having little routines like this are really good for him and I hope that he can get into a good groove while we're visiting home for the holidays. We actually leave for Arizona next week and will be there until Christmas Day. Then we'll be in Utah until the start of January. We are excited to see our family and friends, especially since we haven't been back since last Christmas!
We've been able to do some fun Christmasy stuff in Florida, but really we haven't seen much of Tyler since we got back from Jamaica. He needed to be in Puerto Rico last week and he had to go to the airport right from our ultrasound, about 16 hours after getting back from Jamaica. Then he had school last weekend and finals this weekend. Throw in study groups, a trip to West Florida, and South Carolina & you've got one busy guy leading right up until we go to Arizona.
We were able to go to both Epcot's Candlelight Processional, and Hollywood Studios' Spectacle of Dancing Lights this week.
I was surprised how well Jackson did sitting through this concert, about an hour long! I love it though because they have a celebrity narrator read Luke 2 and a choir and orchestra perform classic Christmas songs. It's very emotional and religious for being held at a theme park and worth the line to get a seat.
Tonight is our church's Christmas Party, and tomorrow I'm baking up our Christmas treats to give to our friends neighbors! Ooh and we also just got our Christmas Cards so I'll be sending those out soon too. We have some addresses gathered but email / message us your address if you don't think we have it and would like to get one :-)
