Stitches

Not even two whole days after his 2nd birthday, Jackson needed a trip to the E.R.  He went over the handle bars of a ride-on toy at Ms. Linda's house Monday.  She called me before lunch, with Jackson wailing in the background, to tell me that she thought it needed stitches, but I needed to come see for myself. 

After a couple of hours in the E.R. and the worst experience ever, we left with two stitches.  I don't wish that on anyone.  The hospital staff chose to bind him down to a backboard so that he wouldn't fight them.  Huh.  He fought them with everything that was in him.  I don't think I have ever heard that child speak so plainly. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"  I didn't even know he knew that phrase.  I held it together until they let him go, then I lost it.  Horrible.  Before they got started, I asked if he could be sedated, but the nurse told me that "they" didn't like for kids his age to be sedated.  "They" must not have had to watch their two year old get stitches.

I took the stitches out Sunday night and Jackson never flinched.  I think he would have been much better if they hadn't strapped him down.

Next time, I'll know better.  Yes, there will be a next time, I'm sure.

Happy Birthday Jackson!

Jackson had a blast at his birthday party.  We had it at Dairy Queen because they have an indoor playground.  I tried Chick-fil-A first, but they were booked that entire weekend.  I spent most of the weekend working on his cake, since I decided I was going to make it myself.  Crazy!  I don't think I'll do that again.  It took FOREVER!

I thought it turned out pretty good, but the icing tasted funny with all that coloring.

Here's Jackson blowing out his candle:

and opening some gifts...

This firetruck was easily in his top 5 gifts.  He loves it and I've caught him trying to ride it.

Paw Paw and Granna gave him a wagon.

Jackson has been pulling all of his toys around the house in it. 

I can't believe he's two!  I hope the next year goes by a little slower.

Catch Up Post

I have so much to post and I'm very late getting it done.  So, sit back and grab a snack because this one could be long!

In October, we went to Tate Farms with the Rowes.  We had a blast!  The weather could have been a little better, but we made the best of it.

Jackson on the tractor.

Swinging

Riding with Daddy on the corn train

On the hayride with Lawson (who was enoying some Laffy Taffy!)

Checking out the fire truck

For Halloween, Jackson was Woody from Toy Story.  He was all about that movie when I bought the costume, but then moved quickly to the Lion King and now Ice Age.  So, he wasn't all that into being Woody.

He refused to wear the hat and he didn't really like his bucket either, but I managed to get one picture with it.

His second sucker of the afternoon.

There's Woody with his pal Raggedy Ann (she'd lost her wig already, but she was too cute!)

On Veteran's Day, Jackson got to do one of his favorite things.  Play in the puddles!  It had poured on Tuesday so we had great puddles for jumping.

I had to tie a bandana around his ears.  The wind was blowing and he didn't want to wear a hat.

Lookin' like Aunt Jamima with his Frog boots

The four-wheeler MUST be pushed in the water

...then ridden in it.

Soaking wet and totally loving it!

We had to go in soon after this.  It was getting a little chilly outside and Jackson had to go down for his nap.  He wasn't very happy!

Tomorrow, my baby turns 2!  Where has the time gone?  He's talking in sentences and understanding and learning so much.  Before I know it, he'll be driving.  I'm a little sad, but excited about his party.  I'm decorating his cake this year.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Picking tomatoes

Last week, Jackson and I were playing in the dirt in the garden and he spied some left over tomatoes.

"Mater, mommy"

"See it?"

"Ew, mommy!"

"My fangers are dirty!" (Yes, we're raising a country boy with a bit of a country accent)

Riding with Daddy

Jackson has an obsession with tractors and riding with his daddy is easily his favorite pastime. These pictures are a couple of weeks old and I've been meaning to post them for some time.


Ignore Clint's weird expression. He's got a little wild-eyed look to him!!

Liz Hurley Results

Here we are after the race. Don't we look lovely?!! Mom beat her last race time, Anna came within seconds of hers and I was a 1.5 minutes slower. It was so cold and rainy that morning, but I'm so proud that we completed it together. Our next race is the Saturday after Thanksgiving and we're thinking about doing the Rudolph Run in December.

Thanks to everyone who donated! We really appreciate it!

Liz Hurley Run

I just registered with my team for the 6th Annual Liz Hurley Ribbon Run. Mom, Anna and I have joined the Union Grove Elementary team and we have a goal of raising $500 for breast cancer awareness and research. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness and you can help us meet our goal by visiting our team webpage and donating. Hurry! The race is October 17th!

5K, Beach and more!

Lots to post about!

First, let me proudly show off my very first pictures of refrigerator art:

So cute! Of course, he colored a tractor. Speaking of tractors, I ran across this picture not too long ago.

That's me and my momma a long time ago riding my Papa Coston's tractor. Guess Jackson gets it from both sides, huh? And check out my momma driving a tractor bare-footed! Linda gave Jackson this gator recently.

He loves it because it's just like Daddy Jack's. And he loves to fill it with "men" and then dump them out. Then he'll come ask me for "nother men momma".

Mom, Anna and I completed our 5K on September 5th. You can check out Anna's pictures. Let me just warn you though, pictures taken of someone while they are running are not pleasant to look at. We had great times and I think we surprised ourselves at was we could accomplish. I'm so proud that we finished this goal together. Leigh and LeShell (our coaches) are sponsoring another group training program starting this Saturday, if anyone is interested. It will be for another 5K in November. They are also going to have a group in January training for a 10K.

And lastly, we just returned from a beach trip with Pawpaw and Granna (Clint's parents).

This is our first day after driving in. We took Jackson down to the beach before we ate dinner. See the sun...that's the last time we saw it.

Loves his "big 'ol boodin".

Telling the water "no, no ater." Look at that face. He wasn't very fond of the water this year.

This is the second day. As you can see, overcast and yuk. It started to rain mid-morning so this was the last time Jackson got to play on the beach.

We had a good time, but we were all hoping for some better weather. And I really wanted some good family beach photos!!

Nothin' much

I really don't have anything in particular to blog about. That totally explains why I haven't posted in, what, 3 weeks. Whew!! I'm behind!

Well, I'm still running. I had shin splints one week and turned my ankle the next, so this is my official week back at it. I declined quite a bit in those short two weeks. I went from running 42 minutes at a time to 25. I'm trying hard this week to increase, but my legs feel like lead. The race is September 5th!!! Just around the corner!

Jackson is a tornado of a two-year-old. He's going through a bit of a testing stage. Testing Linda and myself to our boundaries to see how long it takes to get into trouble or get caught. The kid is mischievous!!! I know he's into something when it gets quiet. Just this week, I was folding clothes and noticed that the house was too quiet. I went to check on him and he was dumping his travel size bottles of baby shampoo, lotion, powder, etc into the toilet!!! Fun stuff!!

He has started attaching my name onto the end of all of his phrases: "Owside, Momma?", "Traktur, Momma", "Diddy Jck traktur feeild, Momma", "Down now, Momma" "John Deere gaatur, Momma" and my personal favorite "Ew, Momma." Clint taught him that one. He loves to say that if he sees me in the bathroom.

We had a bout of sinus issues at our house this week too. Jackson had to go to the doctor Tuesday and thankfully, all is well with his ears. Both tubes have grown out, so we will have to see how this winter goes. I pray he is over ear infections.

We have finally found a house that we are interested in. It needs LOTS of work. I knew that going through this process would not be easy, but, whew! It's tough and we're not even in the thick of it yet. Please pray that we would follow God's direction in this situation.

A post with no pictures. Bummer! I haven't had my camera out in forever!

Boo Boo

Warning: Do not read any further if you are a grandmother who doesn't want to see pictures of your hurt grandbaby or if you are anyone who doesn't want to see pictures that you may consider "gross."


We have our first bad boo-boo. Sunday evening we were all outside. Our corn has come in and we were washing the ears and preparing them to freeze. Clint tilled a row in the garden while Jackson played on the other side in the dirt. When Clint got to the end of the row he stopped, turned the tiller off and went to check on the corn that was cooking on the porch. I was probably 15 feet from Jackson and the tiller when Jackson came over and stood behind it playing like he was "driving" it. I glanced up every few seconds from washing to check on him. He came under the left handle and I thought he was coming towards me so I went back to washing. The next thing I knew, he was screaming, holding his hands out and coming towards me. I got up quickly and rushed to him thinking that he had be stung by a wasp. Then it hit me, he had touched the muffler on the tiller and had burned his hand. I rushed him inside to clean and treat it and when we were finished, he wanted to go back outside. That evening it was just red and slightly swollen. This is what it looked like by Monday night:

Ouch!! We are keeping it bandaged and treated while he just keeps playing in true Jackson style. Please pray for fast healing and no infection!