Winter blues.

Oh, how I can't wait for winter to end!!! Thankfully, the snow from the big blizzard has mostly melted--only traces are left in the backyard, with a few larger piles in the front corners of the yard. We were able to purchase a good used snowblower from my good friend, Leslie, but I'm ok if we don't get to use that the rest of this winter!

I haven't let the cold weather keep us too house-bound. We've been to Evanston, made a couple trips to the north side of the city, and been to Des Plaines this month. For the first time in a month, I took Jackson to the mall to play today. Apparently, there was no school so there were a ton of kids there, a lot of them older (maybe 6-10?). Jackson started off by sitting and watching the kids running around him. He was on one of the play mats when a little boy ran up to him. Jackson, of course, didn't move out the way so the kid got frustrated and whacked him on the head. I was appalled! I was right there and looked at the kid and politely (as I could) asked him not to hit other kids, and if he wanted to go around him he could. It's not like Jackson was blocking anything, nor was he as bothered by the hit as I was. Anyway, he stared for a while and eventually got up and ran around. There were a couple girls who were helping him and it was so sweet! Then another little boy came around and kept falling on him and knocking him out of the way. I was PISSED, but I didn't say anything, mostly because I don't think the kid was purposefully trying to knock him over. Again, Jackson wasn't one bit bothered by any of it. He played for a good 20 minutes (there was a new barrier around the whole entire play area, so he was less likely to escape as he had before). I drew a few conclusions after all this:

1) My son is NOT a bully (as we once feared). No way, no how.
2) He's actually quite laid-back! He never once got upset by being bowled over by anyone, and seemed quite fascinated by the other kids.
3) Jackson is a SWEET boy! He was walking around, going in and out of things, and every now and then he'd look over at me and smile! That just melted my heart.
4) He's really a people-watcher. We knew this already, but WOW...he really likes to sit and take in what's going on around him.
5) One cute moment: a little girl about his age came up to him, and he leaned over to her, like he wanted to kiss her. I guess wanting to kiss her is better than wanting to bite her head off, however we may want to watch this in the future....

Naptimes are in constant flux these days. I read in a magazine that he should still be taking 2 naps a day for a total of about 3 hours combined (until he's 18 months). Somedays, he gets both naps, but lately, he's been skipping the morning one. When he doesn't take one, it shows--he's SUPER tired in the later-mornings, and by afternoon, he just drops. Sometimes, he'll follow a no-morning-nap day with a long afternoon one, but most of the time, it's an hour or so long. That's just not enough, in my opinion.

Bailey's days with us will probably be coming to an end soon. Aside from the incontinence, she seems to be getting more and more confused, anxious, and all-around senile. I can tell she's confused at times, mostly when we let her out to do her thing--she'll walk outside, then almost immediately turn around and stand at the door to come back in. Sometimes, she'll wander around the yard and look back at the door, almost as if she's forgotten why she's out there. It's so sad to see, and I hate knowing she's going through this. Paul's not quite on the same page as I am, but he's starting to see what's happening. I would imagine she'll be seeing her last days in the next few weeks.

Here's hoping for warmer weather and happier days!!