Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Air Jackson

I had already been awake for a couple of hours before I remembered what today was. I drove past a building with the flags at half-mast and then I realized it was September 11. It's strange that this day could even pretend to be normal. I had a good cry with Oprah this afternoon while she interviewed some of the children of 9/11. Deena Burnett was there with her three girls. What a gracious, beautiful family. I've thought a lot about what I wanted to say about this day, but I haven't come up with anything worth writing. I wish it had never happened. That's all. But please do not miss this story on Nancy's Monablog. Wow.

I'm going to completely change gears now. I feel compelled to discuss my son's unexplainable obsession with his Crocs. Now, his mother wouldn't be caught dead in Crocs. No offense. I know how much people love them. I had been seeing some toddlers in them and they were just so ugly, they were cute. The shoes, not the toddlers. Then my friend Melissa sent some to Jackson and they were a couple sizes too big. Jackson loved playing with them so much that his granny and I bought him some in his current size. Well, his granny made the purchase while I supervised. Since then he has basically not taken them off his feet. If he's not wearing them and he happens to see them laying somewhere, he eagerly brings them to me and whines "Mommy! Mommy!" Then he plops down on the ground and holds his foot up in the air. Today he found both pairs - the ones that fit and the ones that will fit in a couple months - and he could not, would not understand why he couldn't wear both of them at the same time!

Here are some pics for the grandmas. This was the night he got his first basketball goal. I really whined about it because it's both big and ugly, and let me just tell you how bad I need another big and ugly toddler toy in my house. Wouldn't you know, he LOVES it. He is his father's child. Behold, Air Jackson.







61 comments:

Lisa @ The Preacher's Wife said...

Oh honey...the basketball goals get bigger. We have a Showtime Hoops in our playroom...It is a monstrosity but the kids love it :)

The pics of Jax and dad are priceless...!

Anonymous said...

What a doll. He has just remained ADORABLE at every stage! That smile and those eyes will make you melt!

Ditto the large toys in the house...I am going to make an announcement to the granny's this Christmas to DOWNSIZE...otherwise, we will have to build another room for the playroom overflow. Toy storage is a beast!

Love,
Sarah, TN

Unknown said...

What a great smile on your boy! He is adorable!

Jackie said...

The toys will always take over... I can't wait until Sara gets into barbies- those are small, right, I can just shove them all in her room(except I am sure there will be accessories EVERYWHERE!!)
He is getting so big- he's precious.
Wish you could have joined us at the start of Esther tonight- it was packed, I had to sit on the stairs...no chairs (and I was there at 6:30- not even late!!!)
You'll have to come one Tuesday. Take care!!

A Place For Ministry Wives/A Place For Me said...

You don't even like the Mary Jane crocs? You really must try them. They are the indispensable.

Yeah...those toys sure do cut into a girl's home decor and orderly home management...don't they? :-)

Heather said...

My hubby's parents sent both of my boys crocs as well. I couldn't bring myself to buy them. They even included hubs fav team as a little jibbit to put on them. OF COURSE I had to send off and find my fav team so they were balanced. The boys LOVE LOVE Love them as well and want to wear no other shoe ... my how dirty their feet get while playing outside in this shoe!

WE also have the bball goal. Both boys love it. Ryan can now throw from a few feet back and score ... he's so proud. Pace will come over and make noises until we pick him up and let him dunk it .... we didn't need another huge toy either! Oh I even think there will be more as they get older. The things we have to look forward to.

Erin Ward said...

How cute! I'm sure he doesn't remember, but we have it written somewhere in my baby book that when I was born, Curt called me Air Baby for quite a while. The mix between Erin and the ever popular Air Jordans of that time. He was just such a witty 8 year old.

Big Mama said...

You're a good woman for allowing that basketball hoop in your living room. Your children will rise up and call you blessed.

Jan said...

Ditto on the Croc thing. My hubby and I went to Dillards so I could get a pair for my 'barking dogs'. I put them on my feet and couldn't get them off fast enough. I looked like Chuckles the Clown in those big plastic shoes. But I bet that little Jackson looks pretty cute in them :)
Jan

Anonymous said...

Amanda -
Hey - Was it Lisa Beamer on Oprah? She has 2 boys and 1 girl. I am trying to see if I can find on Oprah.com if it was her. Do you think it could have been Deanna Burnett?

Toknowhim said...

I had never seen Crocs until I moved from Florida to Illinois about 3 years ago. When I came to Il everyone had a pair of Crocs on. I thought they were just plain ugly. Once I found out how much they cost, they became even more unattractive. BUT, slowly the Croc Craze began to wear me down... I started to feel a little out of place because I didn't have a pair (I thought I was done with Peer Pressure :) I still do not own a pair of Crocs, but my 3 boys have some (well, the Generic ones.. which are not good). My eight year old has saved enough allowance money to purchase a real pair of Crocs. The jury is still out on whether I will buy a pair of my own. Thanks for sharing..

Fran said...

Oh momma....Your big guy and little guy are just in heaven with that goal right now.....its just too precious....and little Jackson is just lovin life. I pray many blessings over you and your family.

Thank you Amanda for all you do for us and LPM. We love you all.
Have a blessed day.

Travis said...

You should have titled this post, "Not Quite An Ode to the Crock Shoes".

Teeheehee

Shelly said...

Girl, I refuse to wear the crocs as well! lol

And the last couple of pics...I mean really...precious!

Deidre said...

I had to giggle when I started to leave a comment because of the fact that you dislike 'crocs' and your previous post is about your dislike of the 'crock - pot'. Hmmm... :)

My Mom bought my 2 year old daughter a pair of LIME GREEN crocs that she adores. I must say the child doesn't own anything lime green, so they drive me crazy.

I love the pictures!

Amanda said...

Thanks for the correction on Deena Burnett!

Sunni at The Flying Mum said...

I saw Oprah, and had to take a minute after Deean Burnett. Her precious girls crying...it was so emotional, but I was so happy to hear how they've done their best to move forward.

Heather said...

PS ... I think Jackson looks so much like you!

Dionna said...

He's so sweet, Amanda. Just remember that those "ugly" toys represent your child is alive, healthy, well and you're living your dream of being a mama and watching him grow up. :)

Karla Porter Archer said...

my kids love their crocs too; especially my 22 month old. And I LOVE that he can put them on himself!

Blessings,
Karla

Janelle and Ella said...

Jackson is so smart! I love how he knows to make a basket with the ball! I might have to get one of those for Ella. I don't know where I would put it, maybe outside.

Holly said...

Oh Jackson is precious and adorable and handsome!!

Also, I must mention the door frame....oooh, how pretty!

I agree about crocs. I had a moment this summer in the mall, where I thought perhaps they'd be comfortable on the beach. They were not...barefoot is the way to go (and saves on paying for a pedicure, too!).
Have a wonderful day!

BethAnne said...

My boys live in Crocs! I have to say that my 3 year old usually has them on the wrong feet, but at least he put them on by himself. I dont really like the original Crocs for myself, but I did find the cutest pair of Crocs Mary Janes. I wore them last spring all the time and they are wonderful for all day shopping trips - no sore feet means more stores I can visit!
I also cried with Oprah yesterday - I was so sad for the husbands, wives and kids of those poor victims. They dont have to remember - they could never forget how their loved ones were murdered. I cant imagine having to tell my boys that Daddy isnt ever coming home. So sad!

Kelly @ Love Well said...

Just realized I've been reading and not commenting for a few weeks Amanda. And what good is that?

When it comes to Crocs, I'm another "I don't get it it" person. Of course, we had frost on the roof this morning, and it was a (brilliantly sunny) 45 degrees when I dropped my daughter off at school. So I won't have to worry about my lack of Crocs in a few weeks because my hiking boots will be my only shoe option.

I prayed for the Tuesday night Bible study -- and I have to confess, I prayed just as much for you. It must be hard at times like that to not be there.

ocean mommy said...

Oh that smile! We have little girs, so I don't know about the basketball goals. But I do know about the love for those ugly crocs! They ( my 6 and 9 year old) say they are comfortable. They are asking for ones in a "more neutral color". They have purple right now. Anyway, I guess Grams will have to fork out the money for those, I refuse to pay good money on them!

Sum said...

Ok, I couldn't resist giving a big AMEN to your thoughts about crocs. They are one rough-looking shoe but on kids they for sure are so ugly they are cute!

debra parker said...

I wish I had seen that Oprah. I don't have dvr anymore. I am trying to detox off of it but it is so hard!

In other news.

The toddler toy stage will pass. And it will be sad when it does. It is true those babies come in and overtake everything about us. (for the better)

kittyhox said...

Oh yeah, the big ugly (colorful!) toddler toys. I finally moved our sofa forward several feet(cutting our very looooong living room in half), and made the area behind the sofa the "play room." It's so nice! I don't feel like I live in a daycare center anymore.

I totally agree about the crocs. I don't recall ever seeing them on an adult - that's hard for me to imagine! But I see them on kids and at first, thought they were UGH-ly. But now they've grown on me and I'm thinking about how cute our Nicknack would look in them next summer.

I'm thinking Kelly green. What color are Jackson's?

Kara Akins said...

Amanda, Amanda,
Thank you for leaving Cecily a comment.That will encourage her sooo much. I also want you to know I started blogging mostly b/c of you. My friend told me about your blog and I so enjoyed reading about Jackson and seeing his pictures that I knew I had to do the same for my family. Entering the blogging world is lke taking on a full time job so I have to be careful not to over-do it but what little I can do is so much fun.
Thanks again!!
Kara

Tina said...

Amanda,

First time to comment... been reading for a while....

Have you noticed a trend in your life lately? Desiring to be like Betty Crocker, Crock pots and Crocs!

Jackson is precious! I have three boys and they are absolute FUN.... if only they would put their dirty dishes in the dishwasher... enjoy each moment!

Little Steps Of Faith said...

Love Air Jordan:)

Yea, those things look too funky on my feet, so I'll stick with flip flops( as I am a FL girl).

It is so awesome that we have gotten to watch Jackson grow up...I remember the beginning of the LPM blog...aww.

Anyway, I notice everytime..
you all have different sand up there, don't you?

Its white hear and less grainy, pain in the neck soft...I just had to mention, I'm a dork for mentioning, but its just one of those things you feel like you have to say sometimes..

forgive me:)

Be blessed:)

Angie

Anonymous said...

There is something weird about Crocs. I'm serious! We CANNOT live without them in my house. When my daughter got her first pair (we are now on our fouth) she would put them beside her bed at night so she could put them on first thing in the morning. I've heard that same thing from half of my friends.

Unknown said...

Yippee more pictures!! I'm not a grandma (and better not become one for quite a while KIDS ARE YOU LISTENING), but I love seeing pictures of your little one.

I couldn't believe it was already 9/11 yesterday either and almost had to force myself to listen to anything about it. It just brought back all these emotions that I try to keep pushed away.

Big ugly toys will only continue to multiply. Your house will not be your own until they move out possibly??? They are totally worth it though.

I don't like Crocs on me either but I do think they are absolutely adorable on children!

Praise and Coffee said...

Tha basketball hoop in the house reminds me of when our first 3 kids were little...we used the boxes from our new appliances to make a "city" in our living room.

You actually had to crawl through the city to get to the couch! It stayed up for a good 2 weeks!!
The kids still talk about it.

Martha Stewart Living...NOPE!

Blessings,
Sue

Richardsons of HV said...

Sister, you have just begun to have ugly boy toys!! Fortunately, many of them stay in the garage!

connorcolesmom said...

Amanda,
Oh the crocs - yes my mom bought my boys some and they love them. They make their feet stink and of course they want to wear only the stinky shoes!!
I love the look on Jackson's face while he is slamming the basket into the goal!!
We had one in our house for years but now the goal is finally outside :)
How did the Bible Study go? I have been praying for the Ester study!
What about your MOPS meeting? I loved MOPS I hope you enjoy it as well :)
God bless,
Kim

Patty said...

Oh how I remember the days of toys, big toys, little toys, everywhere. My boys loved matchbox cars, and I believe they had every matchbox car that was ever made!! We had the b-ball goal and anything Little Tikes. I had the Little Tikes car in my living room. It's funny, now that they are 17 and soon to be 19 I have no idea what I did with all their toys. Anyway, Crocs, UGLY but I have a black pair on. I bought them to wear at the beach(I wore them while I went in the ocean) and I wear them to clean the pool.(which is what I was doing until I got on the internet). Okay, back to the pool.

Kay Altic said...

How sweet are you boys!!! Love you friend...
K

pinkmommy said...

I am right there with you on the crocs. The princess owns about 5 pair and LOVES each and every one. I have sworn that crocs will not grace my own size 7s. I have to admit, the jibbits are adorable, though. We have a number of them.

The hubby was dying for some camo...yes camo ones. I got them for him for his birthday. He loves them. I don't look down when he wears them.

R said...

Amen on the big, ugly toys! And we have a "cottage-y" 2 bedroom house, so I don't even have a playroom to stash them all in. Craziness!

And I'm not a fan of Crocs either, but our daughter sure loves them. She calls them her "Cwocs"! So cute.

Lindsee Lou said...

Oprah. Oh my. I can't even talk about it or I'll get all emotional again. The 3 girls had me all up in an emotional mess. It wasn't pretty.

The pictures are precious!

McClure Family said...

I love the pictures! He is getting to be such a big boy! Sam loves his crocs as well, and it took me a while to be ok with buying them, but they are great! And, I did buy some for myself, but I don't wear them out of the house :)

Etta said...

My 15-month old has a similar obsession with his little red Crocs. I don't know what it is--they must be really comfy.

MamaCass said...

Uhmm...That is a very cool basketball hoop. You will have to tell me where you got it. Cute pictures!

Michelle said...

i need to buy some crocks. btw..we missed you last night at bible study. hopefully you can make it one tuesday night.

Darlene R. said...

Hi Amanda!
Love the pictures!
My daughter's birthday was yesterday and we now have a huge Polly Pocket "Race to The Mall" racetrack in our livingroom. I figured it is a small price to pay to teach my daughter such an important lesson! :) (It's kinda fun to play with too!) There's a picture of it on my blog, check it out sometime!
Smiles,
Darlene

Anonymous said...

You better bring Air Jackson to his Biggies' house and she'll shoot some hoops with him. I feel sure my basketball helps in the driveway were the secret weapon to your sister's success. I need to get my hands on that boy so badly I can't stand it!!! I even have a mind to wear crocs the whole time he's here. I love you, Baby. Get the car keys and get to Houston before the storm.

Jenna said...

That boy's got skillz!

And such a good mama for letting him have such a fun toy despite it's "big and ugly" status :)

Asher's mommy said...

Thank the Lord for tacky Crocs and that they come in tiny size 4-5 because without them, my son would be barefoot! Asher has two pair (a dull tan pair packed with jibbitz and a red Disney pair) and wears nothing but those two ratty pair of shoes BECAUSE his feet are so wide! (Ok, he does have a pair of WIDE Stride Rite sandals for church, but that's honestly ALL that will fit.) This is hard because during his first year he had all the cute little shoes. I've now given that up.

Y'all, please help if you're feeling me here--what do I do for this Winter's footwear needs? Crocs with socks? Lovely.

Fran said...

Amanda...
I have asked for prayers for a dear bible study girl a month or so ago....but she is in her last hours of life and I would appreciate all the prayers we can lift up for her family.

Her name is Kim and her blog is
www.kimsprayer.blogspot.com

She has the most amazing faith but her pain is just unbearable and they have admitted her to the hospital. She has a husband and 4 young children. Cancer is taking its toll and I thank you for the prayers.

Thank you Jesus for life and I ask your hand to be upon those who are suffering. May they feel your presence and be surrounded by people that can give them exactly what they need. I'm truly at a loss for words. Amen.

Amy T said...

Love the pics! I think Jackson kinda likes being with his daddy. Just a little tiny bit. And I totally agree about the Crocs! I can't understand the appeal and just shake my head when I see them. Oh well, to each his own. If they want ugly shoes, then they are welcome to have them. :)

Anonymous said...

Hey Amanda! I just have to agree with you on the whole crocs deal. They are SO ugly! I'd much rather put my boys in Nike's. Anyway I haven't left you a comment in forever. I just got back from NY I'll have to catch up with your blog:) I wanted to tell you that I am going to sign up for the Siesta Fiesta this week! I am so excited! I hope your parents are doing well and that the storm didn't affect them. Jackson is adorable! And if that shirt he's wearing in the picture is from the Gap I bought the same one at the gap for my son Noah:)
Be Blessed!
Suzi

Alicia said...

Hey babe!! Those pics of curtis and the little man are so precious! Love them...and i think crocs on little ones is a simple joy of mine and obviously your sons too!

jen said...

precious precious pics! And forgive me but what are crocs?? I'll wait for the gasps to die-down. My boys are all about having Spidey on their feet so it's whatever sneaker/sandal/slipper with Spidey that's their favorite. :) And don't worry, pretty soon the toys get too big and you can put the outside! :) Seeing Jackson with his first b-ball goal made me remember when we got Davids first goal. Man he loves that thing! We got him the "grow to pro" goal and he's about out grown it. I can't believe it. He'll be six in a few months. Yep, okay, you made me cry. :) Cherish the moments when they're little. You never get them back.

Brooke said...

What is sad is when Dad is playing with the basketball goal more than the child! We bought our son one for his birthday last year and Dad thought he was big stuff trying to hit the goal from across the room...I know, I know...but hey, it's cheaper than golf!

Ashley said...

I love the pictures that you posted! They're adorable!! :) I hope all is well!

Anonymous said...

A little public service announcement:
TO ALL MOMS WHOSE KIDS WEAR CROCS....
Please be vigilant when your children are on escalators...do not let them stand near the edge/side.

My good friend's son's Croc got "eaten" by the side of the escalator as they were going up, and his foot was mangled (he is 4 yrs old). Thankfully, no bones were broken, but we've since learned that this isn't the only time this has happened. The soft material can get caught on the "teeth" along the edge...and it's a disaster waiting to happen.

Not trying to freak anyone out...just a warning...would hate for this to happen to anyone else.

jennyhope said...

Amanda,

Your mom has some serious fashion skillz! I am LOVING her skirt from the deeper still weekend. I bet you helped her pick it out. :)

Holly said...

Hey Amanda,
I have had you on my mind this weekend and have prayed for a refreshing time with your loved ones. Also, I just posted a scrumptious recipe for applesauce in the crockpot (Tabor's Pre-K class made it last week...and the room smelled wonderful!). So I had to try it at home and was not disappointed.
Love and prayers,
holly

Kristen said...

59 comments already. will you even notice mine? it must be nice to be so well-loved to inpire others to comment. and here i am just an humble stranger. i just had to let you know at the beauty shop this week i indulged in a US magazine where Katie Holmes graced the cover. I looked desperately for signs of her baby bangs. Just for you.

Thanks for the impression. ;-)

kari said...

we want Croc pics, we want
Croc pics! love you girl, k