Birthday Musings...

Guest editor - Mommy

6:36 a.m.

Knox comes strolling into the bedroom rather early and plops his head down on the bed right beside mine. His nose immediately starts bleeding. I wake up to this all happening and quickly tell him to just lay down beside the bed and rest, thinking I can squeeze in a few extra minutes of sleep while he waits on his nose to stop gushing. Total rookie-mom mistake. I mean, by now I should know that "extra sleep" is a myth.

Then the humming begins... Never have you seen - or heard, rather - a kid so happy to be laying on the floor with a bloody nose. I finally give up the effort to extend my night of rest.

Sidenote - as blood is being spurted and knox is happily humming away on the floor, Jay NEVER stirs. Is this a genetic gift? Are all men able to sleep regardless of the fact their off-spring could literally be dancing a jig on top of them? I say this less out of frustration and more out of jealousy, but I digress...

Mommy: [roll over and stare down at him, laying on the floor] KNOX! It's your birthday! Happy birthday, big kid!

Knox: For real? Today? For REAL?

M: Yep! And because it is your special day, you can eat anything you want for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Why don't you think about what you want for breakfast first.

K: [very matter-of-factly] Oh wow. That is very cool.

[eyes getting bigger... things are sinking in.]

I KNOW! I know what I want for breakfast!

M: [bracing myself for a request of just a plain bowl of granulated sugar] What, honey!? What can I get you!?

K: [getting more excited and animated by the minute] TWO bananas! Can I have that? Can I have TWO!?

M: Wow. That is a crazy breakfast! But yep, you can have it because it's your big day!

Reh. Bull.

During the consumption of his two healthy, potassium-loaded breakfast treats, we discuss events for the upcoming day.

M: Hey... So what do you want to do today? We can play, we can swim, go see daddy, whatever!

K: [finger on chin - very dramatic] I know! I have a great idea!

[his little hands are becoming quite active as this idea grows in his head.] Let's have lunch, go for a swim before naps and then eat corn-on-the-cob for dinner!! [vigorously nodding his head, trying to get me to agree to this insane and reckless plan]

M: [squinting my eyes as if in deep thought...] OOOOOkay... Let's do it!

And thus, our day began!

While Knox has been hysterical, fun and entertaining during his year of being three, he has also been wild, challenging and just generally a bit crazy. I must say that if today is a preview of what I have to look forward to as he moves into being four - I. WILL. TAKE. IT.

Fruit for breakfast? Suggesting naps!? Corn for his birthday dinner?!

SOLD.

The year is in diapers, but it is certainly looking up.

And now back to Knox's witty commentary... :)

Guess who turned FOUR?!

Well, well, well... What's that? Who has officially launched himself out of those dreaded toddler years?! Peace out, babies! I have finally achieved big kid status!

I'm four, I'm fierce, and I love a floppy hat. Look out.



For my military-themed party, Daddy got in on the fun and busted out his awesome "urrrr-force" hat too. We look sooooo cool.



Mom and Sully = lame. Where is their gear? Army green shirts and khaki shorts don't count.



Although in Mom's defense, she did make me a camoflage cake. Sure, it was drenched in cake sweat (what the wha-!? who knew cakes actually sweat?!) by the time it was served, but whatevs. As far as I know, it didn't cause any food poisoning, so I'll chock it up to a success!




...munch...munch...munch...mmmm....CAKE.



After stuffing ourselves silly, a bunch of my friends and I were unleashed in the backyard.



And then it was time forrrrrr PPPPRRRREEESSSEEENNNNTTTSSS!!!!

Sidenote - this is the first year that I have fully anticipated an onslaught of presents (actually "got" it). I believe this caused my Mom some stress in that she was worried I would full-on tackle guests as they arrived and demand my loot. I am happy to report that I was quite gracious.

See? Simply angelic.



The other great thing that happened at my party (other than presents, cake, friends, etc...) is that Granny came to visit!!

We had an awesome time - mostly playing nerf gun wars. She's a surprisingly great shot! Who knew?



So in other news... turning four is bringing lots of new skills. Among them, I have recently learned how to swim -like for real swim. Deep-end and all!

This is particularly remarkable since about a month ago, my biggest aquatic skill was either drowning or flailing about while attempting to drown.

Here is my "starfish."



And here I am taking my swim test with full winter gear on. Swimming in a bunch of nylon - which basically made me into a giant water bubble - was slightly challenging.



But I passed! (This is me getting flipped around and showing my instructor that I can catch my breath.)



Since acquiring my newfound skills, we have been swimming quite a bit to combat the ridiculous heat. Problem is, you need to stay in the pool to actually cool down.

Sully still hasn't grasped that concept. Or the concept of wearing proper swim attire. Nice view, Sul.



When we go to the water park, Mom and Dad do make Sully dress appropriately. On behalf of everyone in South Georgia that patrons Wild Adventures, thank you.




Here I am taking a breather before heading back to the wave pool. Ignore my orange teeth...



We might have been eating orange crackers...

So as you can see, all is well in the Jackson household! Hope everyone is having an awesome summer!

Happy Birthday, Sully!!

EEK! I can't believe I am saying this already, but Sully turned ONE over the weekend!! Yes, that's right. Our tiny wrecking ball has made it through his first year of life - aaaand has done so relatively unscathed. (The "war wounds" he incurred from playing with me do not count. It's part of the game.)





To start out the birthday festivities, Sully received his first set of wheels.


Of course I was there to micro-manage everything he did with his new ride.





It was rather remarkable how quickly he learned how to zip around on it, AND...





...ring (AGGHHH!! MAKE IT STOP!) the little bell - A. LOT.





When he tired of doing the work himself, he suckered Poppy into helping him out.

BTW - It's truly amazing to watch how he he can manipulate people! Poor Poppy was minding his own business when - BAM! - big brown eyes and a sad stare greeted him at his ankles. Before long, Sul was riding around like a king.

Well played, young one. Well played.




He also indulged in his favorite pastime on his birthday - messin' my stuff up! Here, the toy-du-jour? Trains.





After he was done wreaking havoc on all things precious in my life, it was time for his birthday party! A luau to be exact...


Party shirts, leis and a grass skirt? Check!





Even Peedles and Poppy got in the spirit of things!





Sul started out slowly... with a festive chip.




But he soon graduated to some hearty bbq. I don't suppose it was a huge hardship for him to have one of his favorite girlfriends hand-feed him. His life is sooooo tough.





Then Mom and Dad brought out the big guns. We all had such high hopes for a messy, raucous cake eating experience.





Eh. Sul had a different idea of how things should go...




Mom finally resorted to shoving it in his face. That kind of helped...






After a few mouthfuls of blue icing, what better way to clean off than a dip in the baby pool with kids at least twice as big as you? A disaster just waiting to happen.




Shockingly, he survived just fine.


Due largely in part to the success of that dip, Sul got a bit ambitious and requested a trip to a water park. Peedles and Poppy were only too happy to oblige...





He did quite well, but he totally missed out on the awesome water slides that I went down. I don't think he realizes how lame it is to be a baby sometimes, but I digress...





All in all - it's been great having a little brother to pal around with and it seems likely that we will be keeping him for another year. Good news, eh Sully?!


Til the next episode... Peace out.

Spring 2010 = Busy.

Spring has been super busy, but also a lot of fun! Sully has had a lot of "firsts" and I have had a great time being an expert/troubleshooter for all of the things he is experiencing. You know... since I have done pretty much all there is to do in life at this point.

As I think I mentioned before, I have been playing T-ball. I am happy to report that my first season was a huge success. Having the coach for my dad probably didn't hurt things...

Spirit award? Check.



Also, we had some of our best friends come visit! Will and I had a wonderful time playing trains, bikes, guns, etc..., while Grace had a fabulous time "mothering" Sully.

On this note, Mom had a great time having a girl in the house. Rest assured, Grace did not leave before she had bright pink toes to show for it.



In other news, Sully - aka Godzilla - has really started to, ahem, develop his own preferences and dislikes. He went from being so happy and easy to control to pretty much ruining everything I touch.

Amazingly intricate block buildings? Gone with the sweep of a tiny hand. Long line of trains? Demolished in one step.

He is probably starting to forget his name since we call him Godzilla so much... Do I feel bad about it? In a word - no. Look at those eyes - no remorse. Just pure aggression.



Mom says I have to just adjust and have "self control." Ugh. Self control is the PITS.

Anyway... we had the opportunity to go to the beach a few weeks ago!



We had a great time. I have become an adept jumper of waves...



...and an accomplished builder of sandcastles.



Meanwhile, Sully became quite good at flailing his little digger around...



... and of course at eating sand.

Seriously - the kid ate ridiculous amounts of sand. At one point, Mom and Dad found him trying to ingest a huge shell. Seriously, Sul. Shells???



Here I am... busy being awesome with my huge muscles and my goggles.



Sully took advantage of the soft sand to practice his walking skills. Mmm... hate to be negative here, but they are pretty bad at the moment. Although at one point, I am pretty sure I saw Mom push him down while mumbling something about her not being ready for him to walk... Whatevs.

One of my favorite things we did was walk to the end of a super long pier... We even saw fisherman reeling in their catch of the day.

Sidenote - this is the face I use when I know I am riding that fine line of being in trouble and being funny. Thoughts about how I might improve it? It seems to be working less and less these days...

Sul and I checkin' out the big waves on the rocks.

Since one of our days at the beach was rainy, we found a museum that offered all kinds of things to wreak havoc on.

It is amazing how many ways you can contort your body in a minuscule turtle shell. Sully did not take full advantage of this opportunity, but rest assured - I did.

The dinosaur was slightly scary. Although now that I am looking at it in the picture, I would like to declare that it was my favorite thing we saw. Mom is not so sure about the accuracy of my declaration.



Sully was enthralled with the fish tanks. Awww... simple, little Sully.




Here we are at an interactive water table.



And while we're looking - I don't mean to tattle, buttttt... Sully totally failed to listen to instructions and just splashed away.






Mmmmhmmm... once again, it looks like Sully will survive that rule-breaking episode just fine. Must be nice.




Here I am petting a live sea anemone. It was very sticky and very scary. I did not like it when its tentacle things came up to my hand.

So that was fun... The other big thing we got to do this spring was take our first trip to an amusement park!!

Unshockingly to everyone involved, I am a roller-coaster, lovin' kid! And even better, because I just made it to a full 42", I am able to go on double the rides now!!

Mom made me start off with small rides...

But I convinced her that big was the only way for me! This is one of those ones that slowly takes you to the top and then free-fall drops you down. SO fun.

My last ride of the day (with one of my best buds, Hope) forced me to lay down on my stomach while it whirled me around and up and down in a circle. Mom was slightly concerned that I might be crying and screaming in fear once it came to a stop.

Negative. Loved. It.

So that is the update for now!

We are both about to have big birthdays in the new few weeks... Hard to believe I'll be turning 4 and Sully will be turning 1. What can we say?

Life is good.