Resolution

As indicated by my recent post (in June - ha!), I am not super-great at keeping up with this blog, so after a lot of thought, I am challenging myself to blog every day for the rest of the year. I can't believe I am actually going to try to do this, but here goes!

Here is a little run-down of what has happened in the past few months:

July: We spent a lot of time swimming and playing in the water this summer. Texas sure is hot!

August: Jackson started preschool. I was so nervous about it all summer, but it has been such a blessing! He LOVES church more than ever and has the best time. Of course, it's nice for me to have some down time/errand time too.

September: September kicked off the "Birthday Season" as I like to call it. From September through December we had at least one birthday party almost every weekend. The most in one weekend was 4 parties. We also had a visit from our good friend, Nate, who we knew in Japan. The last time we had seen him I was 7 months pregnant, so it was great that he had a chance to meet our son. He has three girls and had recently become the proud father of a sweet little boy.

October: Of course, this was Halloween and the first year that I took Jackson Trick-or-Treating. We only went down 3 cul-de-sacs in our neighborhood, but it was fun. My parents came over and Steven and my Dad stayed at the house to hand out candy while Mom and I took Jackson around the neighborhood. I made his costume, which was a puppy dog (or a chocolate chip cookie, as one girl guessed - haha!).

November: Jackson turned 2!! We had his party at Gymboree, which he loved. They did such a great job. :) Also, Jackson learned how to climb out of his crib. Turned out it was much easier than he thought it would be. Because of this, we transitioned him to a big-boy bed much earlier than we expected. He now sleeps in a full-size bed in the old "junk room," which has been painted and transformed into a car-themed big boy room.

December: Of course, we celebrated Christmas and got to spend time with my sister ("Memi") and Steven's family, including his Aunt Karen and Uncle Keith. Jackson loves loves loves my sister. This is the first time he has recognized her at the beginning of a visit. He saw her and ran over to give her a hug, screaming "MEMIIIII" at the top of his lungs. On Christmas Eve, we took Jackson to service for the first time since he was probably 4 months old. He dressed as a shepherd (mostly because I spent all day making the costume and I safety-pinned it to him) and was noisy throughout the service. I apologized to the Senior Pastor afterwards (who sweetly said that he hadn't even noticed). This really confirmed to me that Sunday School is the best place for Jackson, he really isn't ready for service.

And that brings us to January. We celebrated our five-year marriage anniversary on January 3rd by going to Pancake House as a family. Our gift to each other this year was a new stainless steel sink, which Steven and his Dad are planning to install this Saturday. I can't wait! I have lived with that horrible, nasty, awful, yellowed, chipped, white porcelain sink for a year and I am over it.

So, here's to a new year and a new challenge. A lot of exciting things are going to happen this year, and I hope to keep a record of every one of them!