Jackson absolutely loves four things: books, playing football, playing baseball, and playing his drum very loudly (notice how vigorously he's banging his "drum" in the picture above). I'm happy to report that I've found an additional use for his drumsticks, other than banging them as loudly as he can while I'm trying to get Luke and Olivia to sleep...scratching Mommy's back. I've waited for the day when he would be old enough to think that was great fun. That is, of course, until he gets bored 2 minutes later, as most 2 1/2-year olds do, and decides to actually use my back as his drum. So much for that! When it comes to playing baseball or football, the kid has more stamina than you could imagine. Grandpa Mike even counted the number of pitches Jackson made him throw one day for batting, and I believe it was well over 100. Just before Jackson turned 2 years old, I thought to myself how lucky I was that we didn't have battles over clothes and what he wanted to wear. Talk about a jinx. The day he turned 2 started his obsession with his Cubs jersey, and now it's any of 4 football outfits (2 Bears, 1 Illini, 1 Indiana) that he must wear at some point literally each day. Pick your battles, right? Thankfully, he's just as into books as he is into sports and can pretty much remember most or all of a book after just hearing it one time. We're still working on potty training and can't wait for the day when we can stop asking him every 5 minutes if he needs to use the potty. I'm happy, at least, that he has become less obsessed with getting his 2 M&M's each time and even sometimes forgets or says, "I'll just take 1 M&M." Umm, okay! He continues to amaze me with his growth and maturity amidst all the chaos in our house these days. He loves to help out with the babies, but don't get me wrong, he still has the typical 2-year old moments. His favorite things to say lately are "no", "why?", and "why no?" - "because I said so" doesn't quite work on our incredibly persistent little boy as it did on me when my parents used it.
When Jackson was born I spent his entire first year meticulously and obnoxiously documenting every single thing he did. His 12x12 scrapbook is literally overflowing with pictures, stories, and documentation of his first everything. Now, I'm convinced that I'm going to scar Olivia for life because so much time and energy seems to be spent on Luke's health and on Jackson, just because he's an energetic toddler. Hopefully she won't remember any of this...I guess until she reads my blog 18 years from now and holds it against me. "Leeva Diva" reminds me of Jackson already in so many ways. When she's tired she turns to her left side (always the left), with eyes closed, hands pulling at her hair just like Jackson did. She sleeps with her arms in the same goal post position as Jackson did. She has tons of dark hair, big blue eyes, and chubby round cheeks just like Jackson. And when she wants something, she sure does let you know it! She's discovering her hands lately, a baby milestone that always make me chuckle. They stare at the hand very intently as if to say, "Hmm, what's this?" and then go in straight for the kill (to the mouth). I think she's going to be our little social butterfly because, even when very hungry, she gets easily distracted if you make eye contact and just wants to bat her eyes flirtatiously and play while trying to eat. Best of all, when she smiles she gets the sweetest twinkle in her eyes that just melts your heart!
No comments:
Post a Comment