A day in the life of...

... a 16 month old endless ball of energy, a.k.a. Jackson. 

Sometimes I wonder why I can't get more done each day since I stay at home. After documenting my day with photos and looking back, I am reminded that I am constantly busy trying to keep up with my son! I did not stage, nor prompt any of these photos.

First, he "helps" with laundry by emptying his hamper

 

 Obviously, he wanted something from the bottom of the hamper

 

Why ask for help when you can just do it yourself?

Clapping for the contestants on The Price is Right

Dancing too!

In order to get my keys, he had to climb a chair to get my 

purse off the table. Then, he felt the need to lock the door.

 He'll sit still for a cup of juice!

Isn't he super cute?!?!

He found Derek's hat and put it on himself and wore it around the house. His expression is priceless! 

Checking out the squirrels outside.

Ugh! These blinds are in my way!

This is his way of asking me to raise the blinds.

A favorite spot to play- the toy chest

And then he empties it out.

 A snack on the way to the park

The swings are his favorite.

The slide is a close second. 

When we were up at the top of the slide, I practically had to dive to catch him as he started to go head first down this slide. This kid has no fear.

Back home: Unbuckle me already!!!

Finally, the sleeping position- tush in the air, one arm around blanket, the other tucked under his belly. Unfortunately, he didn't fall asleep. He fussed for awhile. But fell asleep while drinking a cup of milk while I rocked him.

And this is only nap time. We still had an entire evening ahead! I actually look forward to my evenings when I have class sometimes because I know I will be able to enjoy sitting still for a bit! Even after following this kid around today (and taking care of two others) I was still able to do three loads of laundry (with the joy of folding clothes twice. Thanks Jackson!), emptied and loaded the dishwasher, made a quiche for tomorrow's playdate, picked up Jackson's room, and managed to get a little bit of studying done for my midterm.

No wonder I am exhausted. But it truly is the best type of exhaustion ever. The pictures don't show the hugs, kisses, and cuddles that he gives me. Or his belly laugh about things that aren't really that funny. I love being a mommy!

Asthma, Ear Infections, Excema... Oh My!!!

As soon as we were finally recuperating from our vacation, Jackson started getting a nasty cold that turned into a horrible cough, wheezing, and a fever-- so we ended up in Urgent Care at the doctor's office. He had blocked airways and after asking about the family history of asthma, allergies, and excema the doctor concluded that this was probably Jackson's first encounter with asthma. Lots of babies deal with asthma when they are little and grow out of it, and we hope this will be the case. Since babies can't quite use an inhaler, we give him breathing treatments when needed. He wears a little oxygen mask and we use a nebulizer, drop in the perscription, and the medicine is like a vapor that he inhales. Doing this feels like it takes hours, but in all reality it's probably only 10-15 minutes-- but it's still a long 15 minutes!!

The whole Urgent Care, asthma diagnosis all happened on the day of my midterm.... It really threw me for a loop and it was really hard to concentrate. Fortunately, I still pulled a B on the test, and I am okay with that.

Four days after the urgent care visit, Jackson's cough was better, but he was still having horrible problems sleeping at night-- ever since our California trip. It was only at night that he was upset and during the day he was SO happy. I thought he might have an ear infection, so back to the doctor we went. Jackson did indeed have an ear infection. After only a couple of days on the antibiotic, Jackson started sleeping though most of the night again-- thank goodness!!

And while we were there, the doctor also prescribed a medicine for Jackson's excema, as it has gotten worse. So when you see blotchy, red checks in pictures-- blame his father! :) It is normally not so bad, but it flares up and down at times.

Jackson is better and he really is a healthy little guy. He is doing great and we are SO thankful that these are just minor little things that are treatable and easy to deal with. It was just that one week that we felt bombarded with all of this!! But, I suppose that is just how life goes!