Where's the "Fancy Wash" Setting?

That evening, we got our new dishwasher, a "thank you" gift from my parents. My mom stayed with us for 6 weeks while her ribs healed from a horse accident, and she over-heard us complaining about our dishwasher (which is about 10 years old and wasn't getting our dishes clean), so they got us this beautiful, energy-star rated, whisper-quiet dishwasher:


Is it a coincidence that this looks monolithic? I think not. siiiiiigh. Let's view an interior shot, shall we?


Swoooooooooooooooon. I never thought I'd enjoy doing dishes so much.

Thanks Mom and Dad! Who knew horseback riding could lead to a new (gorrrrgeous!) dishwasher?

Before and After: Kitchen Drawers

If you look to the left of our blog, you'll see a list of other blogs I like to follow. Even in the days (weeks? months!??!) I take off from blogging, I still check my blog everyday to see who has updated their blogs. So convenient.

So, last week YHL challenged their readers to clean out their kitchen cupboards. I am incredibly disorganized in several areas of my life, but in general, the kitchen is not one of those areas. I regularly clean out the refrigerator and wipe down surfaces and there is a place for everything. However, the drawers were a different story...


Aghh!! I mean, it's not like I cram things in here when I want to clear off the counters. No, I would never do that.

So, I cleared everything out and laid it on the table, so I could go through it and decide what would stay and what would go in the trash (or to be filed in Steven's office).



...and that's just the left drawer!!


...there's the rest of it. When I say "cram" I mean it! Luckily, I had my good helper with me to lend a hand.


First, I tackled the left drawer (which typically holds things that I would use - pens, pads of paper, baby-proofing materials). I found a lot of manuals, which I want to keep in the kitchen, but not with things I use every day. I also found $2 in cash (jackpot! haha) and $110 worth of gift cards we haven't used yet!! Wow, looks like we need to cash those suckers in.


After putting my helper down for a nap, a few phone calls to Steven to figure out what he needs on-hand in his drawer, and some sorting and trashing, I am proud to reveal what our drawers look like now!


Phewwww, I bet all our stuff is happy to have some room to breathe! And I'm happy to be able to find things when I need them.

Blue Eyes, Blue Jeans

A few weeks ago, my sister posted this video on my facebook wall and after laughing my butt off, I knew I had to have these diapers for Jackson.


So, I grabbed a small package at the grocery store and when my mom was over at our house on Wednesday, waiting for my beautiful new dishwasher to show up, we had a denim diaper photo shoot!!


Steven and I both have blue eyes, but Jackson's are deep blue, like Steven's eyes. I love the wonder, innocence, and excitement that hide behind them.


Eventually, the fancy shirt came off. I thought that since he was down to his diaper already, that it would be a good time to have our favorite messy, filling meal that's perfect for practicing using a spoon - oatmeal!!! Yum!


After oatmeal (which is always a huge mess - but so much fun for Jackson!), I grabbed Jackson and put him right in the sink for a little wash-up. Moments like this make me so grateful for the time I have with Jackson before he becomes a man one day.


Jackson got thirsty. This is totally something I would do (and maybe I have... I'll never tell!). He is becoming such a ham and I totally dig it. This week he started saying (or I started understanding) "car" and "shoes." I think this brings his word count up to about 15-20 words - so amazing! He's gonna be a talker, and with parents like us, I don't know how he couldn't be!

Jackson's First Trip to the Hospital

A few weeks ago, Jackson woke up screaming with a 102.3F fever (!!!). We got him undressed and gave him Tylenol (generic - because real Tylenol has been recalled) and decided that since we weren't sure if we needed to get him to the hospital, that we should probably go just to be safe.

We learned that we probably would have been ok to break the temp at home when the triage nurse asked "You're first time parents, aren't you?" Hahaha, is it that obvious???


Poor sweet Jackson was exhausted and ready to go back to bed. He wasn't a fan of the hospital bracelet around his ankle either. Every 10 or 15 minutes he would remember it was there and try to pull it off and then ask me to pull it off for him - sorry kiddo!


Eventually, Jackson became so sleepy that he laid down with me and passed out in my arms. Even though I felt so bad for him, I was in Heaven when he fell asleep with me. My little boy is not a snuggler unless I'm standing up with him, but this gave us both a chance to rest.

The hospital pumped Jackson full of Motrin (again, the generic version) and told us that we could alternate the two and that next time we could try to break the fever at home ourselves. Better safe than sorry, and now we know :) Jackson was back to his happy, healthy self the next day!

Just Like Daddy

Hat? Check. Briefcase? Check. Absurdly handsome face? Double Check.

Now Mom, could you please get the door for me? Daddy needs my help at work.

But Where Do They Keep Chuck Norris?

The whole purpose of our trip this weekend was to see Steven's cousin, Kaylee, graduate from high school. Of course, I completely forgot to take any pictures with his family or at the graduation (cringe). We all really enjoyed seeing Uncle Sean, Aunt Kathy, Kaylee, Madison, and the rest of Steven's side of the family. And of course, I super-enjoyed my favorite guilty pleasure - checking out their new house!!!


Since Jackson had such a tough time staying in his car seat for over 4 hours on the way to Austin, we thought it would be best to take a break from the car when we were about half-way to Dallas. Steven had commented on the way down that he had always wanted to check out the Texas Ranger Museum, which was perfect since it was in Waco! So Jackson woke up about 20 minutes before we got into town, just in time to check it out!


One thing I loved was how kid-friendly the museum is! These horses were so exciting for Jackson to play with! I am actually taking this picture while "sitting" on an adjacent horse. Jackson loves telling everyone (especially me) where they are supposed to sit, and I was assigned the biggest horse. When we checked in, they gave Jackson a "junior ranger" badge, which you can see in these first two pictures.


Daddy LOVED visiting this museum and Jackson had a great time running around. So much fun, in fact, that we got a cranky face when we left. It was so pitiful that I couldn't help but take a picture. Despite the cranky face, Jackson was SO much happier having had a chance to run around and check out one of Daddy's interests.

Austin Children's Museum

Poor little Jackson, when we got to Austin and checked into our hotel, we were only 15 minutes away from Lauren and Jon's house. 45 minutes of frustrating traffic later, we finally made it to their house. Jackson was in so much pain that he was running around their house with his head cocked to one side. As hilarious as it was to watch, Steven and I both felt like awful parents! It was really apparent that my "straight-shot" mentality when it came to driving long distances was not going to work with a toddler along for the ride.

The next morning, even though we only had about an hour drive to Steven's aunt's house, we decided to stop by the Austin Children's Museum for some play time.


Guess what?! He loved it! They had slides, stairs, games, blocks, story time, and so many other fun activities! The best part for me (other than this gigantic grin) was seeing how much the staff members cared about the kids and cared about the facility. I love knowing that people care about Jackson (and other kids) having a good time in a safe environment!


I always appreciate when we go someplace that has a designated area for young children. Sadly, sometimes these areas are just a holding cell for younger siblings. But not this one! The activities were well-planned and designed for little, curious minds with clumsy, excited hands. One of Jackson's favorite activities was going in and out of the gate. He would go to the latch, show me his sign for please, and when I opened the gate he would exit, wait for me to follow him, and then close the door behind us. He must have gone in and out of that area a hundred times.


I was so impressed... and so was Jackson! He kept coming back to this area and exploring every little spot possible. I was worried that my active little explorer might be too much for the little little ones, but he was very gentle and steered clear of the younger kids.


There was also a big kid area, complete with baskets (Jackson's favorite!) and buttons to push! Jackson was hanging in pretty well, but I still kept a much closer eye on him than when he was in the toddler area. One thing Jackson did not like was that Mommy and Daddy wouldn't let him take toys from one area to another. Sorry Jacks, but I don't think the museum staff would appreciate your decorating style - we'll save that for the playroom.


Our plan worked! Look at this exhausted face! Jackson slept all the way from downtown Austin to his great-aunt Kathy's front door. He also didn't have the horrible crick in his neck and had plenty of energy to chase the four (!!!!) doggies at their house - too exciting!

As if I hadn't praised the Austin Children's Museum enough in this post, we highly recommend it if you live in the Austin area or need a play break on your way through!

Catching up with Great Friends

Our family had a very busy week this week!



On Sunday, our friend Kate came to visit. We met Kate when we lived in Japan. Her brother-in-law was the youth leader in Yokosuka and Steven and I were two of his volunteers. Kate arrived in Japan the same day I did, stayed for a semester as an MWR intern, and then moved to Hawaii with her parents, but we stayed in touch until she moved back to Yokosuka for a few months before heading down to Okinawa to help with the youth ministry program on Kadena Base.

Kate lived in Yokosuka (and joined me on some fantastic karaoke trips!!) while I was pregnant, but hadn't met Jackson yet! Let me tell you - he was in LOVE. Kate got more kisses than Steven and I combined for the few days she was here. She was so sweet to play with Jackson and watch him while I took care of a few things around the house. I wish I had thought to get a picture of the two of them together. It was such a blessing to have Kate here, but we miss her so much already! I can't wait to see her again when our paths cross again one day.

Kate left Wednesday morning and we went to a play date, but Jackson was "being a toot" (the phrase I use when Jackson is misbeahving and not listening), so we had to leave early and come home. I felt awful taking him away from his friends, but Jackson was pushing and pulling the other kids and he never acts that way, so I knew something was up. He went to take a nap and I started packing for our trip to Austin and San Antonio the next day.


Steven's cousin Kaylee graduated from high school this weekend (Woo-hoo class of 2010!!!), so we took the chance to stop in Austin on our way to San Antonio to see our friends, Lauren and Jon. Lauren is Steven's friend from high school and she was one of my bridesmaids in our wedding. Jon and Lauren were married about 6 months after us and just had a baby named Aedan almost 3 months ago. Meeting Aedan was such a blessing, not only because he was such a sweetie-pie, but also because I remember talking to Lauren about how much she and Jon wanted to start a family when Jackson was about Aedan's age. Jon and Lauren are such great friends and wonderful parents and I loved meeting sweet Aedan.


Jackson was so gentle with Aedan, but wanted to make sure I knew that I was a Jackson-mommy, not an Aedan-mommy (Don't worry Jacks, Aedan already has a great mommy who loves him very much!). Still Jackson gave Aedan kisses and wanted to help me bounce him in his bouncy seat (as you can see in the picture above!).


After checking out Lauren and Jon's house (and their awesome pegola - add that to Steven's honey-do list!), we headed out to one of their favorite spots - Hey Cupcake! I gotta say, it did not disappoint! Jackson certainly enjoyed his yummy desert. I had to borrow wipes from Lauren so he didn't ruin his shirt. We are working on baby signs and Jackson says "please" by rubbing his chest and belly - not good when his hands are dirty!!


Jackson is doing really well with the baby signs he has learned - all done, more, please, and thank you. I am so proud of him for being so polite and using these signs instead of whining for what he wants (usually food or a sippy cup).


I love this picture (above) of Jackson and Aedan - haha! Jackson looks really excited about being next to Aedan and Aedan is giving him a "Who the heck are you and why are you touching my stroller?" look. They really did get along well and were both so well-behaved as we walked around and enjoyed catching up with each other. We hope to see Lauren and Jon again very soon so we can show them our house and catch up on our conversation that was cut short by two kiddos with early bedtimes. Even still, it was really wonderful to see them and steal some baby cuddles from little Aedan.

Blue Bonnets

Happy Spring from Texas :)


image courtesy of Jessica Karlinski.

Mother of the Year

I can write about this because I've already told Steven what happened...

This morning Jackson woke up 2 hours (!!!!) later than he usually does. So, I decided to cancel our 1:30 play date (since I knew he'd have a late nap) and brought Jackson downstairs for breakfast.

After breakfast, I arranged to meet my mother in law, Terri, at Target to print some pictures of Jackson. We'll go every few months and print all the pictures since the last time we went. Since we do one hour photo for the better quality, we'll walk around the store and talk while we wait. I knew her schedule would be pretty flexible, so I could grab Jackson and go when he woke up. Which is exactly what I did!

I got ready for the day and picked out Jackson's clothes while he was napping and pulled from my computer the pictures we were going to print. Then, I grabbed Jackson, rushed him down to the car and got him in his car seat.

This is where everything went wrong.

As I was putting Jackson in the car, he grabbed my keys and pushed a button, honk. "Good job Jackson, you locked the car! You did that!" I encouraged him, while I took the keys away and threw them in the front seat, as I often do when I'm concentrating on putting him in his car seat. Having safely fastened his car seat, I shut the door and went to open the front door.

"Oh shoot" (that's not exactly what I said...)

"Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot" I (kinda) said as I ran around the car trying every handle.

I call Terri for back-up "Terri, you won't believe what I just did... I locked Jackson in the car and myself out of the house."

Terri tells me she'll call Steve to find out what he suggests, and head over to our house, so I called our neighbors, Curtis and Emily, praying that Curtis would be home and able to help me out.

"Curtis, do you know how to break in to a car?"

"Do I know how to break in to a car?"
(I found out later that at this point Emily asked him who he was talking to)

"Yeah, I, uhhh, I locked Jackson in the car and we're outside, behind our house."

I get off the phone with Curtis, who promises to grab what he can and be over as quickly as possible, and get a call from Terri, telling me not to call a locksmith, but to instead call 9-1-1.

Jackson, through all of this, thinks it's an elaborate game of peek-a-boo and keeps waving to me and grinning from inside the car. I briefly consider whether or not I can get him to pull up on the door lock and decide it's probably out of his reach, and he's 16 months old.

"9-1-1 Collin County, what is your emergency?"

Emily walks up from the front of our house.

"Hi, yeah, I locked my son in the car, and he's in the sun. He's... (how old is Jackson?! he's not two yet...) he's 16 months."

"We're sending someone right away."

Emily has come to keep me company and immediately reassures me that, yes, she too has done this and, no, no one took her to jail and charged her with neglect, and yes, she was allowed to keep her kids. Curtis comes over with some tools and tells me that he has also called 9-1-1, in the distance we hear sirens. I groan. They may as well be announcing over a loud speaker that they're heading to rescue a baby from his idiot mother who obviously cannot handle a toddler.

Terri appears from around the corner of the house and introduces herself to Emily and Curtis. She reassures me that she too has done this and that if they take Jackson away from me, she'll be sure to request a relative placement. I tell her that she's been waiting for an opportunity like this. We're both joking and it feels good to laugh despite the stress.

The firefighters arrive. Thank God.

Two of them start prying open the front door, one of them tries all the handles (how embarrassing would that have been?!), and another starts filling out paperwork.

"Ma'am, did they tell you that we aren't liable for any damage done to your car?"

I don't tell him that I'm about 2 seconds from taking a hammer and beating in the window myself.

"As long as ya'll get my son out, I really don't care." I say, and mean it. I say a silent prayer, thanking God that it is March, not July.

Click. The firefighters unlock the car. I apologize as I shove past one of them to open the door and grab Jackson out of his car seat. He is hot! His face is pink and his back is sweaty. Terri takes him to go look at the fire truck, as I sign a piece of paper saying that I won't sue the city if my car is damaged. It probably also says something requiring me to appear at Lowe's within the next 30 days to have a duplicate key made.

It doesn't end there.

"Can I see your kitchen?" Asks Emily. I... uhhh... Steven painted the kitchen a few weeks ago.

"Sure" I respond, opening the front door, only to be met by our chain, that I forgot to unlatch before leaving in the first place. Dang it.

"Curtis!" calls Emily, trying to get him to come over and help-

BOOM!!

I throw my body against the door and rip the chain and a 36-inch piece of the trim out of the wall. I am tired of asking everyone else for help this afternoon. It's the Navy wife still inside of me.

"You go girl!" says Emily, and gives me a high-five.

We eventually make it to Target, no one asks me if I should really have custody of that adorable little boy. I even stop him from hurling a fist full of spaghetti at the next table during dinner.

Yep. Glad that's over.

Miss You Daddy!!!

We miss our Daddy a lot right now.


He's attending a conference, and even though we wanted to go with him, we all knew that all that time in the car would be really boring! And all the time in the hotel room would be really boring too.

So, we decided to have our friends over for a play date today! Daddy was upset that he didn't get to see Jackson in his little dinosaur outfit one more time, and made me promise to get pictures.


So, of course, we did!


Daddy, we missed you a lot today!


We missed you while we had a snack with our Zebra.


We missed you while we rode Mater.


and we missed you while we ROARRRRRRRRRRRED!!!!

Come home safe! We love you so much!

Hungry Monster!

Let's be honest, sometimes I don't wipe down Jackson's high chair immediately after he's done eating. And if he's had a particularly sticky meal, sometimes the chair and the tray need an especially thorough scrub-down before I feel comfortable serving him food in the high chair again. Such is the case when Jackson has baked beans.

Enter disposable place mats! Ta-dahh!


Ok, they may not be completely environmentally-friendly, but whoever came up with these things is brilliant! We usually use them when we're out to eat, but it also served as a great substitute for our dirty high chair tray during lunchtime.


Of course, Jackson seemed to think that being able to sit in the big boy chair and move around without restraint was pretty cool too! I was very impressed, he stayed in his chair the whole time and didn't leave until he was done with lunch. What a great kiddo! One day Jackson is going to be a great big brother (hint hint Steven!) and role model.

Until then, I'm content to watch one little boy grow and learn, and celebrate the small stuff with him, even if it's good behavior during one lunch.

Lazy Days at Home

We don't spend a lot of time at home. We're usually bouncing from play date to play date... and my growing to-do list (and messy house) can attest to that.

But when it's gross and rainy outside, we often stay home, and I have to find new ways to entertain Jackson, especially if he's particularly interested in what I'm doing and insists on offering his help. In these times, I have a secret weapon...


I strip Jackson down to his diaper, plop him in his highchair, grab some spoons and cups, fill them with water, and let him splash his little heart out.


Here he is with the essentials: a cup for pouring, a shallow, non-breakable bowl (or tupperware), a plastic mixing spoon, and two floaty toys (of course!).


It's so much fun! I always got frustrated with Jackson playing in the water in Val's water bowl, which he eventually broke. Finally, after seeing that one of my friends had allowed her kids to finger paint, I realized that we could make a mess too!


While I wasn't ready to commit to paint yet, this seemed like a perfect compromise! Jackson doesn't seem to mind at all! And it gives me some time to get the dishwasher unloaded or to organize a cabinet.

In fact... I need to do some laundry tomorrow... Jackson, get your ducks, it's time to splash!

Did you know I have two puppies???

Of course, we adopted Val in September from Wylie Animal Shelter. We found her on PetFinder.com and knew we couldn't live without that sad face and those sweet, floppy ears!


Who wouldn't love this sweet puppy face?

But I said that I have two puppies living at my house...


Can you guess who the other one is?


Ta-Da!! It's Jackson!

Jackson is so sweet with Val and really thinks he's a puppy too! Every time we put her in her kennel before we leave to go somewhere, he reaches through the bars and looks at me, as if to say, "Mom, can't we bring her too?" And when I say "No honey, Val can't come with us, let's go to the car." He waves and says, in the sweetest little boy voice "Bah-Bah Ba-Pah" (which translates to "Bye-Bye Val Pal")


In fact, despite being the puppiest of puppies, Jackson is racking up quite a few words. He can say: Ball, Val, Val Pal, Bye-Bye, Ducks, Woof-Woof, This, and, new this weekend, Mama!!! 8 words at 14 months? Not bad! Of course, Jackson can say things that sound like other words, but these are the words he says consistently in the right context.


My sweet girl puppy is cuddled up next to me as I write this, so I suppose it's time to go to sleep. I need a lot of energy to keep up with my two active puppies!

Nice Pats

First of all, this is my 100th post!!! (imagine confetti exploding everywhere)

but I'm not going to write about my 100th post, I'm going to write about something so much more special than that. I'm going to write about pats.

When Jackson is upset or when he first wakes up from sleeping, I pick him up and I pat him on the back. A few months ago, he adopted this method of showing affection. He doesn't give out "nice pats" very often, but when he does they are just the sweetest thing ever. He puts his head on my shoulder, and gently pats my back with one hand.

Today Jackson woke up early. The sun was just coming up, and I was exhausted. I don't get out of bed unless there are blue skies overhead. I don't get up early, I just don't. I do, however, get up when I can no longer pretend that Jackson will probably "roll over and go back to sleep ANY time now." This morning, I took him to bed with me, attempted a snuggle, failed, and brought him back to his crib for more sleep.

It worked!!!

We woke up at 9:00 and went downstairs for breakfast. By 10:15, Jackson was done. He was cranky, and despite my efforts to calm him down, he kept running around whining. So, against my expectations, he took another nap.

Unfortunately, my phone rang as soon as I got downstairs. I had a great chat with one of my PEO sisters, but just as we were getting off the phone I heard it. The unmistakable sound of my Jackson waking up from his nap. I closed my eyes and sighed, and reluctantly went upstairs to get him.

At this point, I had almost lost hope of having a shower. The days of sitting Jackson in front of Baby Einstein for a few minutes while I sneak off for a quick shampoo are over. Instead, I get a longer shower, but I have to wait it out until Jackson gets a good nap in or ask Steven to watch him. But, lo and behold, Jackson was ready for another nap around 12:00. Yes! 20 minutes later I was clean, happy, and ready to face the world.

Of course, what else could have happened in that moment? The doorbell rang. I struggled to get some clothes on while trying to see who was at the door. It's the mailman, and he's already walking back to his truck. He must have left the packages at the door. I guess when he heard our ferocious, 25 pound guard dog barking, he must have decided to drop them and run. (haha!) Sadly, Jackson heard our ferocious guard dog barking as well. Also saddening, Jackson was cranky and still sleepy, but not actually sleepy enough to go back to sleep. Awesome. Thanks for that, Mr. Mailman.

So we go downstairs and I make Jackson a snack - PB and crackers with water in his sippy cup (I worry he isn't hydrated enough, so I keep pushing the water). He finishes most of it, then asks for more food. I give him more. He feeds it to Val. He asks for more food again. I give him more and tell him not to give it to Val. He gives it to Val. I take him out of his high chair and inform him that he is "All done." He asks for more food. I say no. He insists on more food. I say no and the cycle continues, with varying degrees of frustration from both of us.

All day today, I was feeling like I was at the end of my rope with Jackson. He was cranky, I was cranky, and neither one of us was giving the other one much slack. (Ok, really, I'm the parent here - I wasn't giving Jackson a lot of slack)

After dinner we went upstairs and I decided to try something I hadn't tried all day - getting on the ground and playing with Jackson. All day I had been watching TV or tidying the kitchen, or doing laundry, or talking on the phone, or doing just about anything except playing with Jackson. After all, why did I decide to stay home with him instead of putting him in daycare?

We wrestled, we threw balls at each other, I fed him water from my water bottle (faaaaar superior to a sippy cup!), we stuck our tongues out at each other, we played "Peek-a-boo" from across the room, and giggled until it hurt. At one point, Jackson came over to me, climbed up on my legs, put his arms around my neck and gave me "nice pats." I melted.

I live for these moments.

As I watched him toddle off towards his ball pit, I thought about my sweet little boy and what the future holds for him. One thing is certain - I won't have my little Jackson forever. He will grow up and become a child, a teenager, and one day, a man. I hope he always gives me "nice pats" full of the same gentle, clumsy, innocence they have now.

Perhaps more importantly, I hope I remember to thank God for the time I get to spend with my young son, and take full advantage of it every day.

Nana

You may remember my post in September about our exciting trip with my Dad to go visit my Nana.


At the time, I talked about the fact that I brought Jackson to see her so we could later on tell her about all the fun they had had together because she had Alzheimer's. There was also a second reason, which went unsaid, but became a reality this December.

Last month, my Nana had a heart attack, which caused her to fall and break her hip. We've known that she has Osteoporosis as a result of malnourishment as a child, but she's beaten a broken hip before. Unfortunately, her body was much more frail this time, and the doctor didn't think she would make it through the week. My Dad flew back from Taiwan to see her, and my sister and I took that as a cue that we should be there too.

As she did with the Alzheimer's diagnosis, Nana surprised everyone by fighting through and outlasting the doctor's expectations, but her body just wasn't strong enough to win this time. Early in the morning on December 20, my Nana passed away to be with her husband and brothers and sisters in Heaven. She was 88 years old.

I flew up again for the funeral and learned a lot about my Nana in the days that followed. She once applied for a job as a house cleaner, only to find out, after receiving the job, that she was really applying to make bombs for the war effort. She worked hard to earn a high school education as an adult, and as a result received her first office job, which she loved because it was the first time in her life she was able to dress up for work. She loved to tell stories, and she would repeat the same stories over and over again, but to the same people every time. My cousins knew different stories from my sister and me. My Nana's life impacted more people than I realized. There were a few of my Dad and Aunt's friends who stood out in particular, and they told me how profoundly her hospitality had affected them in their childhood.


I miss my Nana like crazy, and it's both harder and easier knowing that she was gone before she passed. I'll always remember the little joys of those last few visits with her. Watching Nana play with Jackson, the few moments when she realized who I was, and the times she told me that she loved me even though I knew she couldn't remember why.

I like to think she's in Heaven with my Papa, who passed away 25 years ago, and whose wedding ring she wore right until the end.

Miss you Nana. I love you & goodbye.