Race for the Cure & Pumpkin Patch

What a gorgeous weekend!!  We have spent as much time outside as we can enjoying this awesome fall weather.  This is my favorite time of the year!  Saturday morning, Jackson and I, along with my mom, sister, and friends, walked in the Race for the Cure.  This was my 8th year to participate and Jackson's 2nd! :)  As always, we greatly enjoyed this event!

This was Jackson at the Race for the Cure last year (3 months old).  He was sooo little!

Jackson wasn't very happy about having to get up so early!  He definitely wasn't in the mood for a picture!

"You expect me to stay in this stroller how long??"

Saturday afternoon, we went to BoBrook Pumpkin Patch to celebrate a friend's birthday.  We had so much fun!  Jackson enjoyed walking around and looking at all the pumpkins (aka "balls").  We will definitely be making a trip to another pumpkin patch before the season is over!

Jackson wasn't so sure about playing in the corn. :)

My sweet family!

The sunflower "maze" was beautiful!

"Hold me, mama!"

My silly boy!

This afternoon, we have been relaxing and playing.  Jackson has been helping his dad cheer on the Broncos. :)

Months 12-14

Some family members have made several comments to me lately about needing to do upate on Jackson.  When I pulled up the blog to look at my last post, I couldn't believe it has been 2 1/2 months!  How did I miss doing a 12 month update!?  In looking over Jackson's 10 & 11 month post, it is unbelievable to see how much Jackson has grown and changed.  Here is a recap of the last few months! :)

On a side note, as Jackson is getting older, I want to do more posts on family activities/events.  I will still do Jackson updates on "milestone" months, but hopefully, do better with regular posts about our family!  (Here's to hoping this will hold me accountable! :))

12 Months

Ornery boy!

Yes, that would be my hairspray bottle.

13 Months

One of Jackson's favorite things to do!  He loves pushing daddy's lawn mower. 

In August, we went to a friend's birthday party at Jump Zone.  He was unsure at first, but eventually joined in on the fun.

During month 13, Jackson started practicing with a spoon.  He is doing very good!

Jackson got his 3rd haircut.  He did SO good!

Month 14

Jackson and I went to visit my parents last weekend.  My mom, grandma, Jackson, and I decided to make a trip to Branson on Saturday for some shopping.  And... we came home with a ball. Imagine that! :)

Jackson LOVED riding the kiddie, coin machine rides at Tanger.  We didn't have a quarter left between us by the time we left!

After the ride was over, Jackson decided he wanted to go again and climbed back up.  

"Mimi, I need some more quarters!"

When did my sweet baby get so big!?!?

- Jackson went for his one year checkup on July 17th.  He weighed 24 lbs 2 ounces (68th percentile), was 30 inches tall (53rd percentile), and his head circumference was 19 inches (92nd percentile).  I'm anxious to see where he is at his 15 month checkup in October because I feel like he has grown so much over the last month.

- Jackson is still wearing size 4 diapers.  He is still able to fit into some of his 12 month shorts/pants, but mostly, he is wearing 12-18 month shirts/outfits.

- I was a little concerned with Jackson's transition to milk since he had been on Alimentum since he was a few weeks old and has consistently displayed an intolerance to dairy/lactose.  We waited until his one year checkup to discuss the transition with his doctor.  She recommended going ahead and trying whole milk and explained we could find an alternative if the transition went poorly.  Unfortunately, as soon as we began introducing whole milk, Jackson began having problems, lots of diarrhea and fussiness.  We made the decision to switch him to lactose-free milk and he has done great since then!  We will continue to limit dairy for him until he is a little older and then we will re-introduce lactose/dairy products and see how it goes.  As of now, he drinks lactose-free milk, eats lactose-free yogurt (limited), and occasionally gets cheddar cheese (which interestingly enough, has very little lactose).  Other than this limitation, Jackson is a great eater!  I honestly can't think of anything we've given him that he refuses to eat.  Let's hope this doesn't change...

- Jackson is still a great sleeper.  He occasionally wakes up during the night, but after a few minutes of rocking, he falls back asleep and sleeps the rest of the night.  He has dropped his morning nap and takes about a 2 hour nap each afternoon.  He is making up for all the sleep he missed as an infant!! :)

- As much crud as Jackson caught from daycare during his first year, he has been a healthy boy since turning 1 (knocking on wood...)!  He had a brief flare up with his allergies in late August, but with a little extra medicine from the doctor, he got back to normal quickly.  Jackson has a checkup in October for his tubes and I'm interested to see how they look.  These tubes have done wonders for Jackson!  Off and on for the past two months, Jackson has gone through periods where his teeth have bothered him.  I'm ready for these one year molars to push through already, for Jackson's sake and ours! :)

- I know I mentioned this in my 10 & 11 month post, but Jackson is SO much fun!  I know I may be a little biased, but he is just the coolest kid! :)  The quickness with which he learns and masters new skills is nothing short of amazing to watch for Eric and I!  He still an extremly headstrong, determined, and independent boy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  Our prayer is that we are able to mold that strong-willed, independent nature in a positive direction.  

- Jackson talks all the time.  There are words that Jackson says often, such as "mama," "dada," "ball," "car," "go," "more," "up (cup)," "og (dog)," "Zo-zo (Zoe)," "nite nite," etc. Then, there are moments where I will say a word and he will surprise me by repeating it, only to not say it again (of course!).  This has included "thank you," "cracker," "outside," and even "Jackson."  We have been working with him on animal noises and the two he has down to a T are "quack quack" and "arph" (Jackson's version of a dog bark lol). 

- Jackson is a very active little boy.  He does not like having to sit still (church is always a little difficult) and he LOVES being outside.  He couldn't care less about electronics (won't watch tv or play with our iPad and cares nothing about our phones).  We know this will change, but we are glad he prefers playing right now.  He still loves balls and any activity that involves a ball.  He loves throwing or kicking a ball back and forth with his dad or I.  We just recently bought him a toddler golf set and he loves whacking the balls around the house.  Recently, out of the blue, Jackson showed an interest in puzzles and was quickly able to complete a puzzle without help from Eric or I (one of those awesome moments to watch!).  Since Jackson started to walk, he has been on the move.  His new favorite activity is to run through the house playing chase with his dad or I.  It is absolutely adorable (again, probably a little biased!).  

- Likes:  Jackson still loves the water.  This summer, he loved running through the sprinklers when we were watering the yard and playing in his pool.  He got a water table for his first birthday and he loves splashing and playing with the toys.  As I mentioned earlier, being outside is one of Jackson's most favorite things.  We try to spend at least a little time each evening walking or playing in the backyard.  With cooler weather coming, we hope to spend much more time outside.  As always, Jackson is always a little happier carrying a ball around. :)

- Dislikes:  Anything that restricts Jackson's movement!  Now that he is so comfortable walking and running, he isn't a fan of being in a stroller or even being held.  He is also getting to where he is unhappy if he is in his car seat for longer that a few miles - not good!  At 14 months old, Jackson STILL hates having his diaper changed.  Hopefully he is a child that potty trains young/easily so we can get rid of these diaper changing fits! 

We have a busy next month planned and we are excited to get to experience some new places/activities with Jackson!  Oh, how we love this boy!