Oo oo ah ah, oo oo ah ah

No, this isn't about a monkey.  It's about a game that Paul and Jackson play.  It involves both of them and a stuffed Buzz Lightyear on the stairs.

With Paul at the bottom and Jackson at the top, Buzz is thrown from down below to the upper part of the stairs with a "To infinity and beyond!" thrown in for good measure.  Jackson then takes Buzz and gently throws him down the stairs.  While Buzz tosses and turns in each step, Paul makes grunting noises at each hit, possibly imagining what Buzz might be saying if he, himself, were not stuffed but could talk.

And the whole process is started over again.  And again.  And again.  And each night when it's time to come upstairs to get ready for bed, Jackson asks to play Oo oo ah ah, oo oo ah ah.  It's said twice like that.  Can't just say it once.  Not in this house.

Meanwhile, I sit in my office listening to what's going on, and I have to wonder if Buzz is the smartest character in that group. 

How many 2 year olds actually live in my house??!

My favorite thing to do this summer...

Jackson and I have made a habit of eating breakfast outside on the front patio each morning (during the week, since Daddy has control of him on weekends and his habits are different).  Each morning, we come downstairs and Jackson goes out the front door to arrange his chairs.  One is a little green plastic Adirondack chair that he sits on, and next to him is a wrought iron chair to hold his plate and cup (the seat of which sits a little higher, providing him a perfect table).  I've been making him special chocolate chip pancakes for a while now--ridiculously healthy, though I purposefully put 2-3 chips on each one.  That's it, just 2-3.  It's enough.

We head outside when it's time to eat, and Jackson sits on his little chair while I sit right next to him on the front stoop.  He eats his vitamins first, then will start in on the pancakes after a little prodding from me.  He'll sit or stand, look around at the sidewalk, notice a few ants marching by or bees buzzing by the nearby rose bushes.  At some point, he usually stands up and walks behind me, leaning in and wrapping his arms around my neck from behind.  He'll smack his little pancake right in my left ear, and while that might drive me nuts from anyone else, it makes me love him all the more (if that's even possible!).  He bounces a little while he eats, and talks to me, occasionally trying to climb my back, which I often discourage as it doesn't feel all that good.

Most mornings, I prepare myself an energy drink that Jackson calls my Boo Boo Juice.  A while back, I had a sore on my elbow and he pretended to eat it, so I would joke that I'd make him boo boo soup, boo boo juice, and boo boo goulash, all to make him laugh.  Not sure how the morning boo boo juice came to be, but it makes me laugh every single day!

We sit out there for about a half hour each morning.  Sometimes, we see neighbors walk by.  These last few days, we've seen kids walking to the bus stop.  Jackson says hi to each person that walks by, and most say hi back.  One neighbor across the street leaves for work each day that we're out there, and as she backs out of the driveway and is ready to move her car forward, she'll glance our way and give a wave, and Jackson always obliges with a wave back.

Sometimes, we talk about the birds (mostly Mommy's cardinal, which is usually in the tree by our mailbox), we notice the moon, we watch the planes go by, and if the weather is bad, we watch the clouds come in and the rain fall.

This is, by far, my favorite time of the day with him.  He loves to be out there, and I love to be with him, and I dread the day when it gets to be too cold to go out.  Until then, we'll continue our little morning activity, eventually bundling up in socks, shoes, jackets, and hats, until that time when it's just unbearable to sit out there.  Then we'll move inside and wait for next spring.

Failed!

HE FAILED!  Jackson "failed" his speech evaluation last week, which means that he'll be starting speech therapy in the next week or two.  And I, his mom, couldn't be happier!  I've wanted this for so long, and while I'm happy, I'm a little bummed that he'll only have 3 months of it before he ages out of the county program.  He'll then become part of the school system, and if things don't progress well in the next 3 months, he might be starting preschool a semester earlier than expected (starting this coming January instead of next fall).  Can't say I'm too excited about that, but I want what's best for him, and if that means starting early then so be it.  We'll see when the time comes.

The biggest surprise that came from his evaluation was his apparent need for developmental therapy as well.  One of the biggest issues is his reluctance to accept authority from an adult.  That means, basically, he throws tantrums when told to do something he doesn't want to do.  Sounds like every other 2.5 year old in the world, no?  This is seen as a big problem though, one that could be hindering his speech development.  And hell, if the county wants to send in someone that's going to help make this better, who am I to refuse?  I refuse not.

Next on the agenda?  Potty training.  I'm going to hold off as long as I can because frankly, I don't think he's ready for it yet, but what does a kid who's ready look like exactly?  There needs to be some introductions to it...in Jackson's case, slow ones.  He needs time to get used to the idea, and maybe with some improvement in his speech and development, we might make some good headway on this this fall.  I'm not going to push him, but we'll start the whole process maybe in October.  That's my thought anyway...for what it's worth.

I'm so sad that the summer is coming to an end.  Our weekends at Waynee World have ended for this year.  Cold weather and snow are just around the corner.  Aaaaaaaand now I'm depressed.  HA!  I'm enjoying the 70's we've had lately.  I love having the A/C off and the windows and doors open, letting all this fresh air in.  Our lawn is slowly coming back to life with the rains we've had lately.  Still not completely recovered, but definitely better than a month ago!

More on therapies later!!

4 months!!

OH MY WORD, we're only 4 months from Jackson's birthday!!!  I've already been thinking about what to do (theme, decor, etc) because yes, I'm crazy like that.  I think this year's theme will be Toy Story.  He LOVES LOVES LOVES the movies, and he has a bit of a Buzz obsession these days.  With all the traveling we've done in the last month, he's watched a LOT of Toy Story on the portable DVD player in the car, which has made his obsession a bit worse.  Truthfully, I don't mind one bit---I love watching the movies, which is good because we watch them quite a bit (he's seen 1 more than the others, and 3 a few times, but we've only shown him 2 just once...it's such a dark movie to me...).

Anyway, Jackson also loves the TV show, Word World (which he calls Doggie Duck because those are the first 2 characters in the intro).  He could watch this all day, everyday.  I think we have 31 episodes taped on the DVR.  However, it's much harder to find party supplies with WW than it is TS, so TS wins that war.

I'm also trying to plan his new room.  I'm going to start potty training in the next couple of months, and when he does get trained, he'll need to be moved to a big-boy bed.  So far, we have zero furniture for that to happen!  He has a dresser that will work, and his round, spinning bookshelf.  The crib and changing table will have to go, and in their place....a bed.  We're still discussing what size bed (twin or full), and the advatages of each.  I have a Target gift card that he was given for his first birthday that I've never used, so that will be used to buy sheets.  I've had my eye on a BEAUTIFUL comforter from Pottery Barn Kids.  Actually, I like their bedroom furniture as well.  How is it that, as cheap as I am, I have the most expensive tastes when it comes to Jackson??!  I think I'll be able to keep the paint on the walls as the colors are the same in the comforter I like.  :)  Well played, Mom...well played.

As much as I hate winter, I'm excited to have these things to look forward to, as small and pitiful as they may seem to others.  It's funny...when I look back on my life 10 years ago, I could never have imagined doing what I'm doing right now.  EVER.  Not that I ever had a great promising career, though I did love teaching.  I don't miss it much now.  I love what I'm doing, and I'm excited to see my little boy grow up and learn so much.  I miss him as a baby, but I'm enjoying him and soaking this all in RIGHT NOW as much as I can.  He's the only child I'll ever have, and I think that gives me the right to get excited about his birthday 4 months in advance.  HA!

This weekend: another round of Waynee World.  Ahhhhhhh.....can't wait to be floating on the crystal waters of that beautiful lake!