Life in Texas: Jackson is 2!

Monday, August 21, 2017

Jackson is 2!

Dear Jackson,

Happy 2nd birthday my awesome boy! We had a lot of fun celebrating your birthday. On your birthday, we went to Chick-fil-a for lunch. We met your grandparents there and then took them to our house to see our chicks and keets. We had pizza for dinner and I made brownies that I decorated with some trucks.

Saturday, we had your 2nd birthday party. It was a construction themed party that we had at our house. We invited your friends over and everyone had a great time. We served lunch and cake. Dad described your party as the ultimate playdate. What one could hope for when they invite lots of friends over. We had 26 people over. 7 of your friends and their siblings (if they have them) and a parent or two. I set up stations inside and outside for kids to explore. Some of the favorite stations were the hammer and nails, playing with truck area, and just playing outside. Your friends got to see the chicken chicks and guniea keets and many of them got to go on a tractor ride around our property to see the animals.

Favorites at 2:

Food: Crackers, macaroni and cheese (mamamoni); guacamole (mamamoli); pizza; banana (nana); grapes, oranges, watermelon, yogurt, chips, and hot sauce

Songs: "Jesus Loves Me" and "Happy Birthday"

Friends: Caden (Caycay), Grace, Brandon, and Emi

Books: You are really into books! I hope you develop a love of reading. Some of your favorite kind of books are the finger puppet books. For a while they made you laugh and laugh. Then you went through a stage of being terrified of them. Now you're back to loving them. You also like lift the flap books and books that I sing as well as interesting picture books.

Toys: Trucks, tractors, cars, and balls.

Outside Activity: Riding on the tractor or mowing with dad, playing in the sand, digging in the dirt, and playing in the backyard.

Inside: Playing with mom, brother or sister, reading, playing with toys, or eating.

Jackson, you are so smart and have a very good ear. When ever an airplane flies over us, you excitedly jump up and tell us, "plane! Plane!" as you point up toward the sky. When you hear a train, you excitedly, exclaim, "train! Train!" You will stop whatever you are doing to tell us about planes and trains. When we pass train tracks, you love looking for the trains. When we see a train, you love pointing at the trains.

You also are very determined. If someone has something you want, you are not afraid to go and take it. Size doesn't seem to matter. I've even seen you become pretty aggressive, for example, you've pinch and even hit (not good) a few kids who refuse to give you what you want. We are trying to teach you to be kind and gentle. We pray you continue to learn self-control while keeping your determination for good things.

You have a smile that can light up a room. You are quick to make friends and are a bit of a charmer. You love being our helper. You help mow, helped dad put in the circle driveway, help with the animals, help water the garden. In fact, another thing you love is WATER! You seem to always find a way to get wet. There's rarely a night that goes by that you are not wet from outside before bath time. You love water. If we had a pool, I'm pretty sure you'd already know how to swim. You are anxious to go under water.

Next week you'll have you two year check-up and I'll get your stats then. I'm thankful you have made it two years nursing. I'll be weaning you soon, which will be hard. But my ultimate goal was to try and nurse you until you were 2, if you wanted to. We made it! :)

We love you Jack! Happy birthday!

Love,
Mom