Jackson & his broken arm

It happened.  My baby boy broke his first bone.  And while this may be his first broken bone, I am sure it won't be his last.  My heart is broken for my little dude, which I am sure won't be my last either.

How did it happen you ask?

Well, you'd think that Action Jackson would break his first bone riding his bike, pretending to be Spider-man, or falling with style like Buzz.

Oh no, not the case.

Jackson broke his elbow while dancing, with his cousin, at a Mexican restaurant.  Sorry kids, not exactly the story to brag about while showing off battle wounds.

What's worse than his story is our story of completely blowing him off and chalking it up to being overly tired.  #parentsoftheyear #parentfail

Thursday night Jackson and I went on a date to Disney on Ice.  We got home late and Jackson woke up as soon as "the sky opened" Friday morning.  He went to school on Friday, so at most he got a two hour nap.

Friday night we met up with my family for dinner downtown.  It was a beautiful night with plenty of bands playing and music for Action Jackson to shake his booty to, which he loves to do! 

Fast-forward a couple of hours.  Jackson has been dancing and having a ball for a couple of hours.  He's dancing and trips and falls.

No.big.deal.

Except for the fact that he wouldn't quit screaming.

For the first time ever, we had to leave where we were because we could not get Jackson to settle down.

My mom saw Jackson fall and is a nurse.  She was convinced there was nothing wrong with Jackson and that he was probably just exhausted.

So, home we went.  And he screamed until we threatened to really give him something to cry about...you  know that ol' parental threat.  Why at that point we didn't head to the ER I will never know.

Jackson ended up sleeping with us Friday night and moaned in serious pain.  At 1:30AM he woke up and we knew his little fall did something to his arm.  However, nothing was swollen or bruised.  We waited until sunrise and Mr. took Jackson to the urgent care as soon as it opened.  They took a few X-rays and thought that Jackson probably just had nurse-maid's elbow and popped it back into place.

They sent the boys on their way and said Jackson should be back to normal.

Boy was that so not the case! We took Jackson to an Easter helicopter egg drop and he couldn't even hunt eggs.  He passed on the fun jumps and was just not getting any better.  He screamed getting in and out of his car seat and refused to move his arms...and then his hand started to swell.

No sooner than we questioned whether or not we needed to take Jackson to the ER for a second opinion, the urgent care called.  Turns out that the radiologist read Jackson's scans and saw a break in his elbow.  They had us bring Jackson back in and they put a splint/cast on Jackson's arm.  And almost instantly our dude was back to himself!

Mr. added some fun art to Jackson's cast and he couldn't have loved his "toothless the dragon" more.  The only problem with Jackson being in a cast was that when people asked him what happened, he would fall down and show them...that's my boy!

Yesterday Jackson had to be seen by a pediatric orthopedic to confirm that his elbow was in fact broken...which he did.  Now Jackson is in a real cast and it hasn't slowed him down one bit!

My heart seriously breaks thinking about the pain Jackson was in Friday night and Saturday.  Good news is that I doubt he remembers and he's all smiles now:)

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Valentine's Day 2013

It's not everyday that I feel particularly loved or special...especially now that Mr. is busier than ever with work and we're a family of four.  More work, more laundry, more chores and less time to do it all.  However, I can't get over how sweet and special Mr. made me feel on our Hallmark holiday Valentine's Day this year.

Between a house full of company for Mardi Gras, prepping for a big hearing/trial, and leaving for a weekend in New Orleans...Valentine's Day was the farthest thing from my mind.  I managed to get treats together for Jackson's class earlier in the week and had already gotten Mr. a year's membership for massages...check and check, I was done. 

We were headed to the city for my friend/co-workers wedding the day after Valentine's Day, so there was much to be done! Bags needed to be packed, my hair needed highlights and my nails needed some TLC!

Mr. tended to Jackson after school while Mattie and I spent the afternoon and early evening getting pampered making me look human again.  When we pulled in the garage we were greeted by our boys and my heart melted.  Mr. and Jackson decorated the kitchen with some lovely Pre-K3 artwork.  Flowers and balloons were sitting on the counter, next to champagne and petit fours.  And my absolute favorite dinner, grilled steaks and potatoes were waiting to be served. 

Jackson was so stinking excited about my present that he blew Mr.'s cover and got it out of hiding as soon as I walked in the door.  He was so excited that I had a present and he couldn't wait for me to open it.  Truth be told, the best gift that Mr. gave me this Valentine's Day was not in a box.  As cheesy as this sounds, it was the gift of showing our son how to treat a lady or someone that you love.

Mr. was and is so busy, but he took the time to cherish his wife.  He made me feel loved, special and irreplaceable.  He was patient with our son and let him pick out balloons and carefully taped up his school artwork.  Each and every detail was done with love and set an amazing example for our son.  I only hope that one day Jackson finds a special someone that he can spoil half as much as his daddy spoils me:)

Love,

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Big Brother, Jackson

I always knew that Jackson would be an amazing big brother.  He has an extremely tender heart and has always adored his 'melia's.  I am pretty sure that Amelia will always hold a special place in Jackson's heart.  Maybe more so than Mattie, but only time will tell:)

Watching Jackson love and interact with "his baby" is nothing short of pure love and joy for me.  I always want to remember these times and special things.  And I may need to remind Jackson of a few of these when Mattie starts stealing his toys and using his dinos for teething rings:)

Big brother, Jackson:

You do not like it when I burp Mattie because you are convinced that I am hurting your baby.  You take my hand away and ask me not to "pap" her.

You call Mattie your baby.  And I truly believe that in your heart of hearts, you think she is your baby.

You cannot wait for her to have slumber parties in your room and you want her to sleep in your bed every night.

I cannot count the number of times or things I find in her crib.  I am pretty sure you visit her through out the night to give her a princess or stuffed animal.  And every time I remove said item from her crib, the next time I go in her room it is right back where you had it.  You started putting little treasures in her crib before she was even born.  The first was a Minnie Mouse princess crown that you brought home from school.  Mattie may have to wear it to high school graduation because you will not let me part with that crown.

I always call Mattie the prettiest girl...and you love to refer to her as the prettiest princess in the world.  You melt my heart when you lay down next to her and tell her that she's the prettiest princess in the world.

You have your moments when you show a bit of jealousy and want me to put the baby down and come play, but it's far less than one would expect of a 3.5-year-old.

For some reason, you absolutely cannot stand when she has her pacifier in her mouth and insist that she doesn't need it...until she starts crying and you can't hear your show and your pissed.

You love when Mattie makes the littlest of noises because you think she's talking to you.

Recently, you started to read to Mattie.

There's nothing sweeter than your little voice saying, "I love you, baby".

You love to give Mattie kisses and get borderline obsessed with getting in her face.

You make me so incredibly proud to be your mother, every single day.

I love you to the moon and back, big brother Jack!

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A day with my boys

Much to my Mr.'s dismay, this football season was certainly different than years past.  Sunrise at Death Valley and tailgating into the night just don't work when you're 7-9 months pregnant.  Not to mention Louisiana heat and being crammed into bleacher seats for 4 hour games.

Mr. made it to just about all of the home games and even traveled to Texas A&M.  However, I only made it to 3 home games and we took Jackson to two of those.

I'm so glad that we decided to make a family day for the last home game.  Knowing that it was our last LSU game as a family of three, we tried to make it special for Jackson.  The only thing missing from our day was seeing the real Mike the Tiger up close and personal, but the mascot was just as entertaining.

LSU played Ole Miss and it ended up being a slightly closer game than we thought it would be.  Mr. was pretty confident that we'd be able to leave at halftime, but it was a good game right until the end! Jackson was out of suckers and totally done with being confined to our seats by the third quarter.  Truth be told, this momma was about done as well.  Such is life with a toddler and a pregnant wife, so we packed up and headed to Tsunami downtown to watch the rest of the game.

Jackson absolutely loves eating with chopsticks and sushi fried fish, my 3.5 year old has expensive tastes:)  We ordered up a table full of rolls and cheered our Tigers on to victory overlooking downtown Baton Rouge.  Of course, no meal at Tsunami is complete without their chocolate dessert box, which Jackson and I devoured before Mr. had a chance:)

A fun day was certainly had with my boys.  I soaked up every single moment with my family of three and am cherishing my limited time as their one and only princess.  Mattie Jayne and I are going to be some kinda lucky to have these guys in our lives:)

 

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Our "Rawring" Halloween

When my parents took Jackson up to St. Louis in August, my mom found Jackson the cutest dinosaur costume for Halloween. Truth be told, I wasn't sure if it would actually make it until Halloween because Jackson was obsessed and wanted to wear it all the time. I couldn't really blame him though, it was one cool costume and he looked so cute shaking his tail in it:)

 Spinosaurous Jack was no dino to mess with! 

Our neighborhood hosted a Trick-Or-Treat Fall Festival the Saturday before Halloween, which meant double the fun for Jackson. He got to "rawr" his way through our neighborhood on Saturday and then again with my parents on actual Halloween night.

Jackson's spider ride at my parent's for Halloween night

This year was by far the most fun Halloween and month with Jackson. He absolutely LOVES to look at the pretty decorations and "smooky" ones too. The bigger and nastier the spider, the more he wants to bring it home to sleep with...strange kid! 

The weather was remarkable during the weeks leading up to Halloween, so many nights were spent walking through neighborhoods checking out all the decor...which may or may not have inspired my Mr. to test out his decorating skills. He totally took it upon himself to hang a super "smooky" spider web outside our front door. 

He sure knows the way to his son's heart, and how to make me smile. I'll never forget the year of the spider obsession and Jackson's sweet voice and dialogue as we trick-or-treated. He has such a strong personality with a tender heart that always wants to take care of others too. I can't argue the fact that he is the perfect combo of his momma and daddy...and that heart certainly comes from his daddy.

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Geaux Tigers: Jackson's Gameday

One game a year, Mr. always gets sideline passes for us to hang out on the sidelines during LSU's pregame.  It something that he certainly looks forward to, especially now that Jackson is at an age that he can appreciate the tradition. 

Note: I'm just a bit late in posting these photos as it was the first game of the year...and it was hot! Jackson only made it to halftime, but our tigers were well on their way to beating the heck out of North Texas!

Mattie Jayne's first LSU game, 23 weeks!

Mr. so excited for the day ahead!

Mike made a special stop at our tailgate before the game!

My happy boys:)

Flirting with the cheerleaders, making daddy proud:)

My future little Tiger!

 

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Little Fisherman

Jackson has proven to be quite the little fisherman! Mr. and Jackson have been practicing his cast for a couple months now, and Jackson has finally picked up on the fundamental skill to fish.

I'm pretty sure Saturday was one of the happiest days in Mr.'s life...and not because it was our five year wedding anniversary, but because Jackson was ready for a hook!  I think this video says it all:)

Unfortuately, Jackson did not catch his fish on Saturday as we all had hoped.  So after bunch on Sunday, we packed up Jackson's pole and headed to a different pond which is stocked a little bit better then the one in our backyard.

Within minutes, Jackson caught his first fish...and then two more! It was a perfect Sunday afternoon for catching his first fish:)

 

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3 year well baby visit

Last Thursday was supposed to be a day dedicated solely to checking up on my babies. Unfortunately, I only got to see about my first baby because my doctor got stuck in emergency surgery.  My first OB appointment had to be rescheduled for tomorrow instead.

Jackson's appointment went amazing well, and speaking of well, it was his first well baby check-up in about 2.5 years! Man oh man have we come a long way with his health, thank you God!

Jackson weighes 36lbs. and is 37.5' tall, which puts him in the 87% for weight and 41% for height.  He's always been a little thicker than taller, just like his daddy:)

After checking out Jackson's sinuses and tonsils, his doctor thought for sure that we'd decided to go ahead with sinus surgery! He was surprised when I said we had not, we just finally had him healthy and under control.  Jackson's tonsils have returned to a normal size, his ears are clear and tubeless, and his sinuses are not infected!!! This is the first time he hasn't had a sinus infection in 2.5 years, y'all.  The months of antibiotics were hard, but obviously worth it.

Jackson got one quick shot before we were on our way! He cried for a minute, but was happily distracted by stickers and a promise of a popsicle:) I got all of his prescriptions refilled and a new spacer for his inhaler.  Now we'll be able to keep one at school and one in my purse, I've learned to never leave home without it!

Everything else was pretty routine.  Jackson is potty trained and right on track developmentally.  He just started in the Pre-K3 program at school and we're super excited that all is going so well! Jackson loves going to school and talks about seeing all of his friends and his teacher every Sunday night, and can't wait to see them the next morning.  I can't tell you what that means to us.  I feel like his little school is such a hidden jewel!

Happy boy with his stickers:)

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Captain Jack's 3rd Birthday Matey

We celebrated Jackson's 3rd birthday on Sunday with a little family pool party at my mom's house. I found some cute pirate party invitations and favors at Target, so that was the theme of the party. I use the term theme very loosely because I didn't really go all out with pirates besides the invites and favors.

The party was perfectly small with just our parents, siblings and cousins.  Mr. cooked an amazing barbeque lunch with smoked ribs, homemade mac & cheese and baked beans.  This pregnant momma was in pure heaven! Something finally tasted good for the first time in weeks!

Jackson had a great time swimming with his grandpas and uncles and caught bugs and sharks with his cousins.  It was so fun to watch them all play together and enjoy each others company.

I'm pretty sure Jackson's favorite part of the party was digging in to his cake! He had been talking about his chocolate ice cream cake for a week.  This month is a birthday packed time for our family, so Jackson was nice enough to share his cake with his two aunts and two of his uncles as well!

Jackson loved all of his birthday gifts and is looking forward to starting up another session of swim lessons with his favorite coach.  And we are all excited for the swing set my parents are going to get for our backyard...well except for Mr. who is dreading mowing around it and watching his perfect grass die under the slide:) My dad and step-dad think they have figured out a way to change up the swing set we like, so that it will fit better in our yard.  Fingers crossed that it will work!

It's hard to believe that this little Captain Jack will be three in less than 2 weeks - argh! 

 

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