Ward Mascot

'The boys' looked so handsome this morning I had to take a picture before we headed off to church. Jackson actually slept through most of the meeting and I only had to chase him down the aisle once. He is just so active and curious that some weeks I think, why bother? But today someone in my ward suggested that he should be our ward mascot. "Everyone one loves him and he is just so darn cute." We are in the Emerald ward so maybe next week we will try for a giant gem costume and he can lead the wave and dance with the Emeraldettes.

Gamers Anonymous

I have never been much of a gamer, at least not sense the power pad days but back then who wasn't.? Anyway, Mark and I bought a new game for the Wii and I am hooked. It looked innocent enough but I had no idea how much Excite Truck would take over. I have been obsessed with passing levels and earning upgrades to my growing truck collection. This morning I realized that there might be problem. I was in the middle of the Finland course in the gold cup when Jackson started hitting my leg and whining. I said in a very loving motherly voice, "Just a minute honey I am on the last lap and then I will make you lunch". I continued on, racing around hairpin turns at breakneck speeds. The finish was in sight! Jackson now became relentless and was demanding my attention. Okay this is when I knew......I actually ignored him and said out loud, "keep your eye on the prize". I have never been so disgusted with myself. I have sense established some rules for myself as outlined by NAGA (National Association of Gaming Addictions)

1. Your child's needs ALWAYS come before playing. No matter what level you are on.

2. Only allow yourself to play in the presence of a responsible adult (Mark).

3. Limit gaming time to less than your children's combined ages. In my case less than one hour.

I am glad I was able to come out in the open about this and I pledge to do better in the future.

P.S. I passed the level with an S grade. :)

Jackson Update

This is mainly for all of you out-of-towners. I thought I would give you a brief synopsis of what Jackson is up to. We are quickly approaching his first birthday and party preparations are in full swing. It must be wearing him out because for the last couple of weeks he has been sleeping through the night....finally. His loving and well intentioned father has a hard time letting him cry at night so he gets up with the least little peep. I'm not complaining though, I wasn't the one getting up.

I will cover the standard questions I usually get asked.

1. Walking? Not yet. He stands on his own but is not really sure what to do from there. He crawls about 100 mph so for now he much prefers the faster mode of transportation.

2. Teeth? None yet and yes he is almost a year. Stop panicking. My dentist and doctor assure me that there is no need to worry until about 18 months.

3. Talking? He has mastered the word 'up' and says it over and over. Usually with his chin resting against his chest and throws his head back as he says it. He also signs eat, more, ball, finished, milk, cold, and dog.

4.Happy? He is an extremely happy baby and smiles and laughs easily. He loves getting into everything and new favorite game is to throw balls down the stairs and bring them back up. It keeps him entertained for hours. When he tires of that he usually works on long division before his morning nap.

Hope you enjoyed seeing a small part of his life. We sure love him.

Beginning Blogger

Well, here it goes. I have officially joined the blogging revolution. I hope this will be a good way to let family and friends know what is going on in our lives and share pictures of our growing boy. I also thought it will be a good way to keep a journal sense I can't seem to keep up with it the old fashioned way. Now I just need to get my food storage, do my geneology, and all those others things that have been nagging at my conscience.
I am not making any promising on how often I will contribute. I have a bad habit of starting out new projects strong and losing steam along the way but I promise to keep everyone updated on Jackson's major milestones (I know people are mainly tuning in to see him and I am okay with that).