BIG accomplishment

This will probably sound like the stupidest accomplishment, but for those who know me and how I am, it might not. Jackson hasn't been well the past few days---fevers, cough, congestion. His appetite has been so low but I hadn't really known why until tonight when he vomited everything he ate (and then some!). Now, if it had been anyone else, I would have run out of the house in terror. I have a phobia of vomit (it's got a name: emetophobia). I'm an emetophobe. It's awful and frankly, it's been a big problem of mine for as long as I can remember (I have one early memory back in kindergarten). If there's puke, I'm sure to be the one running out the door!

So tonight, Jackson threw up, however this mommy didn't panic!! I helped him and was right there with a towel catching it. Gross, but for me, this is HUGE HUGE HUGE. I've had this fear that my poor child will be sick and I can't do anything to help him because I'm frozen in fear. That's a horrible feeling and unless you have this phobia, you can't really imagine it. But I was ok! And I felt such relief that I could be there for him!

But the poor poot is sick. We have his 2 year doctor's visit tomorrow, which will now turn into a sick visit. I don't really think anything can be done about this. It's just a virus that needs to run its course. I kept the appt though, just in case I need to learn something new from this.

Language update: his language skillz are coming along nicely these days! He's added a few more words, and he does try more and more to say things. Some words can apply to different things, for instance, any words with a /k/ sound on the end all sound like duck (dark and stuck, for instance). He's started saying wow again, which was probably the first word he ever said (at 10 months old), but he only said it for a month or so back then and hasn't since this past week. His blabbling has gotten more and more pronounced and he's saying more and more sounds, though nothing that really makes any sense. However, it's fun to watch him "talk" like that.

One thing that's helped has been a DVD called Baby Babble 2. It focuses on words that start with P, B, and M, the first consonants babies usually start uttering. A friend had told me about this DVD so I got it from the library. After renewing it 3 or 4 times, they wouldn't let me anymore but I managed to make a copy of it. It's about 30 minutes of watching enjoyment for him, and he's got a lot of it down pat now! He watches it at least once a day (if there's time), and will often ask to see it more than once in a row. I'm glad to see he's making progress with it!

The holidays are approaching! We have a bunch of Christmas parties this weekend (hopefully Jackson will be well enough for them!), then we're hosting my mom, brother, and sister and their families on Christmas eve, then headed to Paul's sister's for Christmas day. I can't wait to have everyone here to our house! I LOVE hosting everyone (though we've found that mixing the 2 families isn't always as successful). I have a small tree set up with ornaments, and I'm teaching Jackson to touch with 1 finger (a trick learned from Aunt Cake). He's ok with it, but likes to test his boundaries this way. That's all fine and dandy until something breaks (which hasn't happened yet).

Happy Holidays to all!