Jackson: A Look at Your Life

Dear Jackson,
It's been a while since I've written a letter to you. I'd like to think it's because I've been busy enjoying you! This is what your life is like at 26 months old.

Your favorite things to eat are bananas, apples, and chips. You have just now started including the "ba" in bananas, but not all the time. I think it will be very bittersweet to hear your baby words change into big boy words. When you say "chips" it sounds like "chipths." I love it. Another one of your favorite things is "this" - whatever "this" may be at the moment. You talk about it and point to it a lot. Sometimes in the morning I make us Eggo waffles. I cut yours into strips and give you a tiny cup of syrup to dip them in. You look like such a big boy when you do that. You love apples and would eat them all day long, but you always do one of two things - spit the apple skin out and make a mess with it, or get choked on it and throw up everything you've eaten that day. Sadly, until I get one of those apple peeling contraptions, your apple consumption will be limited. You also like watermelon. I recently gave you a piece that was too big and every time you chomped down on it, pink juice gushed out of your mouth. You were trying so hard to keep it all in and it made mommy laugh. I hope that image stays with me forever.

When you learn a new word, you come up with many, many different ways to apply it to your daily life. "Fall down" and "stuck" have been getting a lot of use lately. One day you looked at some tall trees in our neighbor's yard and said, "Fall down." I don't know if you were scared of the tree falling over or if you imagined yourself climbing the tree and falling out of it. Either way, I'm sure it was my fault. There is so much going on in that little mind of yours. If I could just peek into it, I know I would be amazed! I have taught you the opposite to some of your words, like up and down, off and on. Just now you were asking me for something and I had to tell you no. You pleaded with me, "Yes and no! Yes and no!" Oh my word, child. You are so funny. Sometimes you say "MommyDadda" and that gets us really tickled.

Beckham is relieved that you finally learned to say his name instead of just calling him dog. You have started standing up for yourself whenever he comes near you when you have food in your hand. You're calling him out on his sly ways. He does deserve your kindness though. That poor dog has had to put up with you trying to use him as a step stool to get on the couch as well as your exploration of what happens when you poke his eye. That is a very bad thing to do, son. We don't want him to go the way of Bill, now do we? Right now you are sitting in your high chair eating/crunching up chipths and he is taking a nap underneath you. He is never more than a few steps away.

Some things you do not like include the following: whatever Mommy cooks for dinner, beef, when Mommy and Daddy look at you too much when you're in your car seat, sitting in the stroller (you drag your feet and often stand up and try to walk while attached to it), getting out of a swing, drinking plain water (unless you're with Ava, in which case it is the nectar of the gods), and getting out of the bath.

Thankfully, you are very enthusiastic about life and the list of things you like is much longer. You love to dance, play with cars and trucks, throw and kick balls, ride on your train, swing at the park, play in the sprinkler, look for airplanes in the sky and trains on the tracks, run around outside, throw your toys, scam as much milk and juice as you can from Bibby, pick up rocks, toss the pillows off the couch, jump off the couch, climb all over the coffee table, look for cool stuff in the trash can, draw with crayons and then chew the ends off, play with your food, go up and down the stairs, count to 10, try to sing the alphabet, play with other kids, read books, watch TV, jump in your bed...I could go on and on!

Yesterday morning I woke up very early to start getting ready for church before you were up. Over the baby monitor I heard you stir and whisper your first word of the day - Dadda. I have never heard anything more precious. Daddy was sleeping in his bed, so it wasn't because you had seen him or heard him. He was your first waking thought. That makes my heart melt for both of my guys - my big one and my small one. Your daddy loves you so much. We both think you are incredibly special and we thank God every day that He chose to entrust such a unique spirit to us. We love you, Jackson. You only get more adorable and more fun every single month. I am looking forward to a great summer together!

Love,
Mommy