The Little Toddler

Phew! May has been such a busy month! First of all, it seems like everyone, including us, has a birthday in May so we've been paryting it up baby style EVERY weekend this month and finishing out with a grand finale this Memorial day weekend with 3 baby parties and 2 memorial day bbqs! But we are not complaining, we are thankful that we have such great friends that want to include us as part of their birthdays. J has been loving it. It is really funny though how once you have a baby your social calendar seems to grow!

On a really exciting note....he's walking :) So the day before his birthday party, May 14 to be exact, he took his first steps in the evening. And I cried. lol. I was so excited for him, because he was excited with himself! He kept taking a few steps and giggling, and then taking a few steps and giggling and collasping on us. And now, well he is just trying it all the time. He is getting ALOT better now, so I snapped this quick video yesterday, of our little toddler.

For me, walking is huge because it opens up a whole new world of possibilites! We can go to the park again (because for awhile all he wanted to do was crawl in the mulch, yuck) and we could get him his first pair of shoes! Last week, we went to the ever famous Stride Rite and got him his first pair of shoes. We opted for sandals because of the summer. He loves them!

We practiced walking around some to break them in :)

And in case you're wondering why he has little pantyhose sockies with these, for the first time use they recommended them so that he wouldn't get blisters :) He doesn't wear them anymore...haha.

So now that he's toddling, I'm expecting a whole world of new adventures in the Wood Household :)

Our Little Buckaroo

Well he's finally 1!! The big one year old had a wonderful birthday :) He turned one last Wednesday and we had a small mini-party with family and Jessica (because well she's pretty much family haha). We headed out to Sonny's bbq because Jackson loves their chicken and ate dinner there, and then headed back to our house for some cupcakes. This was Jackson's first try at cupcakes and honestly..haha he wasn't too sure. I kept in mind though that it was late so maybe he was sleepy? Either way, after a few bites, he was done. :) Then we did gifts and Jackson got some new books and his favorite: a new ride on toy! He hasn't yet mastered how to ride on it yet, but he loves pushing it all over the house.

Then Sunday we had a small party with close friends and family. I chose to do a country/cowboy theme mostly because I thought it was absolutely precious! We had some amazing friends offer to do SO much. Our close friends Lisa and Marcus offered to make invitations and our birthday banner. They came out perfect and I told them they need to move into that buisness :)

Leah and Jessica offered to make cake, so J had 2 pretty much professional cakes for his party! Which were both delicious I might add :)

And Marcus also took pictures for us because well we all know how I am with taking pictures :) It went so smoothly and J had a fun time playing with his friends. I was sad though, because we weren't able to invite alot of his playgroup and mom's group friends :( We missed them alot, but I didn't want J to be overwhelmed and the size of our house just wouldn't allow it. For his next birthday though, we're going to do a big party in the park! Yes, I've already thought about it :)

Bye Bye Baby?

On May 11, J will be one year old. One. year. old. ONE year old! I don't care how many times I say it, it's still hard to believe. It's hard to believe that one year ago, we saw our little man for the first time and had literally NO idea what the future would hold! In ways it seems like he's been here longer than a year, and in other ways it seems like it's only been a few weeks. Nevertheless, I can't imagine, or remember life without him!

This is J and me when he was just 2 months old :)




So over the course of the year, he has gone through so many radical changes. And as a family so have we :) When we first met J he slept. ALOT. Then he progressed to crying. ALOT. Then that progressed to smiling alot. Then playing and eating alot. Then moving. A whole heck of alot. And now...well he's just settling into his own personality and becoming an active member of this family. It's werid how he can be a baby, but also a boy at the same time. Here are his updates for his big one year birthday:




*He likes to take all of his toys out at the SAME time :)



*He lets me know what he loves...and hates :)


*He laughs when we do.


*He thinks it's funny when we surprise him from around the corner. And he LOVES to be chased by Sam.

*He is curious and doesn't have time for nonsense. Nothing and no-one needs to interrupt him during exploring/adventure time. We have coined this time because this is a time where J (with a very serious face) goes digging in cabients, toy bins and hidden places. He could occupy himself doing this for a good while.


* His favorite song is "Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes" and this is the ONLY song he will dance too.


* Loves chicken, cantaloupe, spinach and goldfish. Thats pretty much it...for this week anyhow.


* He uses a fork just like a big boy.



*He loves being outside and doesn't mind getting dirty. This makes Sam proud.






* He is still nursing. I know, I know...but its only 3 times a day. He's a momma's boy...what can I say?


*He growls when happy. I have no clue.

*He gives hugs. Real hugs. Around the neck...and every time he does I almost tear up.

* He is particular about his naps and bedtime. I love this about him because that means I get "my time" in. :)

So here we go into the "toddler stage" Although no matter what..he'll always be my baby :)

When you think Tim Mc Graw...

What a weekend! First off let me tell you how ridiculously blessed we are. I know "blessed" can be a loaded term to many and sometimes the effect of that word can get lost when you don't truly mean it and know that all good things come from God. But we are seriously so blessed. On Saturday, I went and got my hair cut by the amazing Monica Anderson. She has a baby about 6 months older than Jackson so we can chat about our boys and she doens't think I'm obssessive. Or if she does at least she understands :) Then I came back and took Jackson to the park for some fun :)

Then we headed out to take some pictures with the amazing Jenee' Wagner. I wasn't sure how Jackson would do, but as always he completely impressed all of us and was a star. :) We'll be getting them on a cd shortly and I can't wait.

And then the best part....So about a month ago some friends of ours completely BLESSED our socks off and asked us if we wanted to go see Tim McGraw in concert. My response was "I'm there with bells on!!!" We made plans for my mom to watch Jackson and Sam and I were both eagerly awaiting some great grown-up time with great friends and a great concert.

And a great concert it was! Lemme tell ya, I love country music. I didn't grown up in a small town, and the thought of farm work exhausts me, but country music...ah I love it. I was raised on it. I know everything from Hank Williams, to Johnny Cash, to George Strait to the new people like Blake Shelton and Jason Aldean. Guess it's just the Cowboy in me. There's something beautiful about music that is relational and real. And they can talk about Jesus and not feel uncomfortable. I love it. :) And Sam and I are beyond glad we have friends that love it just as much as we do!