Simple.

I am long overdue in updating the blog, and I know it. We certainly have been busy, but I'll get to that later (maybe. sometime.). For now, I just want you to know that Jackson and I earlier this morning took a walk in our neighborhood. It started to rain, but we kept walking (no thunder or lightening). . .he led me to the corner where our neighborhood entrance meets a relatively busy road/highway. He then sat down on the sidewalk, and together we watched cars and trucks go by for a solid 20 minutes. It rained the whole time, and I know people must have thought we were crazy. He didn't care, and neither did I. I have no pictures to show for it because I left everything at home - cell phone, camera, etc. And to be honest, I'm thankful for that. Jackson reminded me just how very important it is to soak up every moment of every day and to be thankful for the simple joys in life.

So many days I wonder what I can do to fill up his time, teach him things, be active, etc. . .and maybe the secret is to sometimes simply enjoy just being and appreciating each other's company. Lessons learned from a 21 month old. . .simple joys, simple love. Thank you, Jackson; you are so loved!

Summer Time!

I've been back for awhile from Emmaus [which was awesome] and our trip to VA, but I [obviously] haven't been the best about updating the blog. . .not that it's a surprise to anyone. And now I'm ready for bed, so this is going to be short and sweet. We are loving summer, the outdoors, the pool, playing in dirt, and all things sweaty and active. This Friday, Brett and I will leave to go to Florida and then on to an Eastern Caribbean cruise. . .and Jackson will head north to be spoiled by Nana and MoMo for a week. I'm going to miss him SOOOO much but am also looking forward to some "real" quality time with Brett [you know, where you don't have to worry about what time you have to be home for the babysitter and can actually *gasp* sleep in til 8:00 am!]. So until we return, enjoy this glimpse of our growing little monkey. He is now 19 months old. At his 18 month check up a few weeks ago, he weighed 31 lbs 7 oz, putting him in the 95th percentile; he is 35 1/4 inches tall, and that's above the 97th percentile. I can't tell you how thankful we are for the blessing and miracle of a healthy and growing little [big] boy!!

No Photos (or Phone Calls, Texts, Watches, etc)

Why no photos? Well, let's start with reason number one. . .Jackson and I are STILL on the mend (2+ weeks of being sick for both of us, not that we're counting). I literally just started feeling the tiniest bit better yesterday, and Jackson seems to be on the same course. We both still have horrible drainage/congestion issues and a decent amount of coughing. As I told my dr, I can honestly say I don't think I have ever been this sick for this long before. And I'll be more than happy when it goes away and doesn't ever come back like this again. A big thank you to our wonderful husband/daddy who has stepped up tremendously over the past few weeks to tend to J and I!

But why else no photos? That would be reason number two. . .imagine your life without cameras, photos, cell phones, regular landlines, alarm clocks, watches, iPods, facebook, etc. I truly cannot imagine it, and y'all know I have an extremely active imagination. But I will begin living it for four days on Wednesday night. I'll be leaving for Emmaus, a spiritual retreat, that evening and returning Saturday evening. Not only will I not see Jackson for that length of time, but I won't be able to so much as call to check on him. At Emmaus they ask you to forgo all distractions and give your time and attention to God. I think this is a very good thing, but I won't pretend for two seconds it'll be an easy thing for me. To not be able to check on my little monkey (especially after he's been sick for so long and is still not back to full speed) or to even look at a watch to know what time it is will most likely drive me slightly insane. I'm hoping it'll be a good insane, and I look forward to it in my own way. Thankfully no one is asking me to fast, or they'd find a really grumpy girl on their hands. And we sleep in cabin-style dorms. Hmm, which would I rather - to sleep outside but with my "distractions" or to sleep inside without my distractions? That's a tough choice. . .

So in honor of Emmaus [and because we've been sick and I've taken no photos in the last two weeks], this post has no photos. And you won't hear from me til next week in any shape or form because. . .right, no distractions. Not even a watch. Whoa. Pray that Jackson does well for my parents [they're coming in to help while I'm gone], that I do well without him, and we both feel lots better by Wednesday. And if you still have some prayer room left in you after those, pray also for the leaders and pilgrims on the Emmaus walk. Thanks!!

Last Week=Fun. This Week=No Fun.

The title of this post pretty much says it all. Last week, we ate up all the sunshine, chalk drawings, bubble blowing, and neighborhood walks we could. It was splendiferous. We had a little detour on Thursday when we ended up at the pediatrician to look at something weird on Jackson's right foot, but it did not spoil our fun. Good thing we enjoyed last week.

This week has been very different. Not the good kind of different. Jackson went to bed on Sunday evening with a low grade fever; I went to bed with a bad feeling we'd all be up in the middle of the night with a sick baby. I really wish I had been wrong. But there we were at 1 am with a baby (you call him toddler/little boy - I call him baby. humor me.) who had vomited everywhere in his bed, even in his eyelashes and soaking through his sheets and supposedly waterproof mattress pad. He also had a fever of 102.8. So into the luke warm bath went mommy and Jackson, and we loaded up on Motrin. He awoke again at 6 am with a temp of 104.6. So the week has gone. He tested positive on Monday morning for the flu (he already had H1N1 in March; this go round is regular flu) despite having gotten both H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccinations. By Wednesday he was breathing strangely, the fever was still lurking (but had finally gone below 103.4, where it had lurked for 24+ hrs despite tylenol and motrin) and the toe (remember last Thursday?) had split open in two places. So back to the doctor we went [anyone keeping track? that's our 3rd visit in 7 days. thanks but no thanks. . .I do not want freqent flyer points at any doctor's office] to learn Jackson now has croup and an infected toe. Oh, and minor detail, I also was sick Friday through Wednesday and at the doctor on Saturday morning. So that's a tally of four doctors visits in seven days for Team Basquin. Yep, that great of a week. And if you're keeping track, I wrote in my last post that God was teaching me to laugh instead of gasp at germs and the like. I admit to regressing this week. I really don't find any of this funny.

But to take a break from my pity party (really, it's just that I can't stand not being able to make my little monkey all better immediately), there is a bright spot. . .Jackson and I have had plentiful cuddle and rocking time this week. And the child who is constant motion has sat around in my lap watching Elmo on repeat. Truth be told, I'd so much rather have constant motion without illness. It's just one of the many storms we'll weather as parents, and I can still say without wavering we are so blessed. Even with no appetite, a barky cough, ragged breathing, a toe that must really hurt, a fever that's STILL here, and sporadic vomiting, our little boy is managing to smile, laugh, and chase his dog for a few minutes a day. I will be over the moon for a boring, uneventful day [hopefully soon!] when he just runs willy nilly and I chase after him cleaning up his messes. Until then, I'll look at pictures of last week. And I promise my next post will be full of good news and positive thoughts. :)
Chalk covers us by the time we head inside after "art class."
Perfecting his lines. Jackson is obsessed with drawing chalk moons. He can't quite master them yet, but he asks me every time we go outside to draw him a gazillion moons in every color of the rainbow [or just every color in the chalk bucket]. Just a forewarning in case you see my driveway anytime soon. The moons make him happy, and I love a happy boy.

I get bored with moons, so I wrote Jackson's name on the neighbor's fence. Hopefully they haven't seen and/or don't mind.

I was determined to get a few good shots before church in something other than our every day casual clothing. The photographer might not have been very skilled, but he's so cute it doesn't matter. He loves rocking (in his own chair) on the front porch.

At almost 18 months, he still has no interest in smiling for the camera. This was the closest I could capture despite Daddy's silliest faces and noise making.

I can always get this when a car goes by.

Even though it's not a smile, this was my favorite. . .

Easter

Last year we spent Easter in Virginia, and Jackson met his great-grandparents, uncles and an aunt, and more family. This year was much more laid back as we stayed in Auburn and enjoyed the "secondary" festivities. I say secondary because that's what they really should be. The primary celebration in Easter is the sacrifice Jesus made in dying so that we might all live. My friend April and I shared similar sentiments in that the meaning of Easter really hit home this year. . .there is just no way I could or would give up Jackson to save anyone. I would give myself to save Jackson, but I just could not give my son. I thought seeing Passion of the Christ a few years back really changed Easter and how I view it, but this year completely brought new meaning and appreciation for what God did for each of us. I don't remember my feelings being so intense last year, but I think I was probably still sleep deprived and too busy traveling to think deeply. Sad but true.

So moving on to a more light hearted topic, the secondary festivities were AWESOME this year. As I've mentioned before, Jackson is a social butterfly and constantly in motion. That made for so much fun (albeit chaotic fun) at the Easter festivities in Opelika. He sat happily on the Easter Bunny's lap for a photo. . .and I have to give him props here. I would not have sat on this Easter Bunny's lap because his suit looked a little [or a lot] dirty and his expression reminiscent of Chucky. After checking that off the list, J ran willy nilly through the crowds of children and adults, and Brett chased him while I snapped photos. The Easter egg hunt was hilarious because he had no clue what to do but quickly learned taking eggs out of other children’s baskets was much easier than fighting for them on the ground. Smart, huh? If only the other children and their parents had seen it that way. At one point, I looked down to see him eating an already unwrapped egg he must have found on the ground. For those that know me well, you know this made me shudder. Somehow I kept moving and even allowed him to keep eating it [since it had already been in his mouth and *sigh of relief* seemed to have been untouched/uneaten by anyone else]. I think God finds humor in challenging my germophobia with Jackson. I'm learning to laugh rather than gasp at His jokes. It's only taken me 17 months to get to this point. :)

But while eggs and bunnies were the draw for other attendees, Jackson’s favorite attraction was the fountain in Court Square. Water is quite possibly Jackson’s favorite thing in the world. And as he has quickly taught me, water is in a LOT of places he tries to frequent. Like the toilet. If I wasn’t afraid of having an accident myself one day, I’d put latches on the toilets to child proof them. I cannot begin to count the number of times he has decided the toilet is a great place to wash his hands. It happens in less than a second while I’m washing my own (in the SINK, of course) after a diaper change, etc. But I digress; this was an Easter post, right? You probably didn’t want to hear about my child frolicking in toilets. Me either! So I’ll leave you with the knowledge that he likes chocolate bunnies. A lot. There, that makes things seem much more normal in our household. Ha!

Jackson and the [scary] Easter Bunny.
Jackson throwing a fit before the start of the hunt because eggs/candy/ducks were in plain view but he wasn't allowed to touch them. Let me say that if I ever organize an egg hunt, children won't have to stand for several minutes before the start in front of the eggs. That's torture for both parents and children. But I wouldn't have learned that lesson without first experiencing it the hard way.

I just love this photo. Two handsome boys in front of the fountain. On a random note, can you see the big scrape on Jackson's chin? Is it just my imagination, or do children always seem to injure themselves the day before a big event or holiday so said injury is in all holiday/big event photos? I bet this only gets more interesting as they get older. . .

And I also love smocked outfits for holidays/special occasions. Even for boys, although Brett is not the fan I am.

Thank you, April for taking our family photo. One day Jackson will cheese for the camera like he does for an audience. :)

The Easter Bunny came to our house, and Jackson quickly dug in.

Because Jackson seemed unsure at the big egg hunt, we recreated one of our own at home. He caught on quickly. We're still playing with the eggs daily. How long does this go on [I guess the answer might be. . .until I hide the eggs permanently somewhere they won't be found]?

He's just this happy and this cute.

I love my new camera!

And since I'd rather go to bed than write a detailed post, captions not included.

Rewind. . .to Christmas

Since I neglected to post from early November until three weeks ago, there were no Christmas photos posted (unless you're on Facebook, and I finally uploaded them there a few weeks ago). Nor did I post Thanksgiving photos, but I can't seem to find them on my new computer. So you'll probably see Thanksgiving photos around Easter. To recap, we went to Statesboro to visit Grammy, Grampy, Uncle Blake, Aunt Stacey and Uncle Burke, Julia, and Brady for turkey day. It was so fun to see the cousins in action since Jackson was fully mobile and could participate in playtime.

Fast forward a month to Christmas. We hosted the whole Rummel clan here and had a blast with bows, wrapping paper, and the dancing/singing Santa from Nana & MoMo. Jackson was showered with so much attention as the (temporarily) only grandchild/nephew. . .but soon we'll be welcoming baby Ty into the family. Aaron and Steph are due in just twelve days - we are so excited for Jackson's newest cousin to arrive!

Anyway, here are my favorite photos from Christmas. . .bear in mind he was around 13 or 14 months here and is now 16 1/2 months. I also need to scan the photo of Jackson with Santa. He did (surprisingly) fabulously - Santa didn't scare him at all. He played with the bells on Santa's wrists and smiled happily the whole time. I was stunned at the time but have come to learn Jackson is a social butterfly. He hasn't met a stranger and prefers men to women, unless it's mommy. He just walks right up to people and holds out his hands to be picked up. Knock on wood, he's never had a period of separation anxiety.
Just a photo to let you know Cooper is still alive. He is extremely jealous and vindictive now that Jackson is our true "baby;" he eats Jackson's books and poops on the floor when we're gone. Good times. Anyone want an overly rambunctious, poorly behaved, and attention starved puggle? Just throwing it out there.

Jackson got his first "official" (read: not from mommy) haircut from Mr Chris before Christmas. Nana had been telling us his hair was in his eyes - apparently that's not acceptable. We just figured he was going for the frat boy hair/head toss (you know what I'm talking about, right?). Jackson was not a fan of scissors near his ears . .not even suckers and pretzel rods could distract him. He let everyone in the salon know he was unamused by screaming loudly for the duration of the trim. Once it was over, he was all smiles and waving to everyone. He even let me take his picture on a big boy chair as he clung desperately to his toy dustbuster. Since then, we've gone to get another haircut with slightly better results. Mr Chris is very patient with us.

The sweet little man in his Nativity Christmas outfit before the Christmas Eve service at church. See the make-up brush in his hand? Jackson just loves to empty my bathroom drawers (read: the entire house looks as though a category 4 tornado touched down ALL the time). Jackson thoroughly enjoyed removing ornaments from the Christmas tree. Before the presents were unwrapped, we barricaded the tree by stacking them strategically to block his entry. All too quickly he figured out which presents were light weight and could be moved. He's not one to be deterred. Not sure where that comes from. . .ha!

Our little red-eyed reindeer. Good news (or maybe the red-eye thing only drives me crazy and y'all don't notice). . .my new camera should arrive on Tuesday. A digital SLR - don't know what that stands for but in layman's terms, it means I should finally be able to capture Jackson's smiles and milestones, minus red-eye, as they occur. My current digital camera has a several second delay, which means I usually capture Jackson's blurry backside as he's running away laughing after I attempt to take a picture/capture a memory.

Scary family photo complete with no make-up, bedhead, and baggy jammies. But it wouldn't be Christmas without an early morning family photo.

Hooray for a picture where Jackson is smiling and looking at the camera without red-eye! I've been told by several people he looks like his mommy - what say you? Regardless I find him absolutely adorable (I'm admittedly biased).

This little boy LOVES to "help" clean. . .despite the fact he has his own vacuum, iron, broom, and dustbuster (thanks Nana and MoMo!), he still prefers Mommy's swiffer and broom. And though the dustbuster initially terrified him, they have made peace and share a bond now.

He loves to ride his horsey (fisher price bounce and spin pony) that connects to the TV to teach him animals and sounds. I used to be the mom who barred television being on while my child was in the room, but I have relaxed some and now allow the horsey as well as some PBS cartoons. Fortunately (or sometimes unfortunately for me), he never sits down to actually watch an entire program. He'll watch for a few minutes, then bring me a book to read, then watch a minute or two, then run to his playroom, etc. So the TV is not really an issue - yet.

Mommy's little helper again. As I was attempting to unload the dishwasher, Jackson climbed in and looked at me as if to say, "Why are you looking me at me like that, mommy? Doesn't it look like a seat to you?!"

Ok, that's all for now. That was alot! An "All About Jackson" post will come soon!