houpley

We made it. Like a seasoned traveler, Jackson breezed through the layovers, canceled flights, uncomfortable seating and public restroom diaper changes. Never have I wiped down a surface so thuroughly. I broke down and let him play on airport "playground" equipment. I could feel the "pink eye" creeping around the corners of the bright yellow slides, but he was so in love with the Syracuse play area I had to let him play. He sat in the tiny helicopter and enjoyed its levers, pedals and buttons. Between the two of us, dad and I had it down to a science. Bathroom breaks, food court dining and playing baby swap during naps on the plane, we took on O'Hare, Dallas, Syracuse and Tulsa. Jackson adored his cousins and quickly learned to appeal to the Court of Oma for anything he might need. He took walks to the stream, shopped for a winter coat and was regularly chased in the backyard. And he now offically signs for "Please." Although grandaddy thinks it reall...

We are headed to New York tomorrow morning. On a plane. To New York. Many hours on a plane. Hours. Plane. 13 month old. From 8 am to 6 pm, I will be at the mercy of American Airlines, O'hare and a tiny wild thing that has a recent addiction to raisins. I've never been great at math, but this equation has me all riled up. I've packed and repacked for as many entertainment possibilities as I can fit into a diaper bag. I've got enough snack variations for everyone on the plane. I've got crayons, cups, stackable tugboats, books, pacifiers and benadryl. But my secret weapon is a grandaddy. Thank goodness I'll have a grandaddy chaperoning us all the way. Between the two of us, surely we can keep Jackson from eating everyone's free bag of peanuts.

For the time being, Elvis has been replaced. Our 6-year-old, black-and-white, four-legged mutt is still on Jackson's top 5 list. However, he has slid to No. 2 for the time being. No. 1? Acorns. Turns out our son is part squirrel. Every day we take a walk outside heading down the driveway, or through the neighbor's extensive garden or maybe to the stop sign and back. During each step, Jackson's eyes scour every inch for acorns. Acorn caps, acorn stems, entire acorns, half-eaten acorns, squished acrons... anything acorn related must be collected. He continually stuffs his already packed, tiny fists with more acorns. Each time he puts a new acorn in, one rolls out of his fingers. So now we must collect this rogue acorn spinning down the drive. And the cycle continues. I have even caught him trying to hold extra acorns in the folds of his neck. And yes, there are a few folds there ... so like a mother chipmunk, I check my baby's chins daily for acorns. Elvis seems fine wit...

It is becoming increasingly difficult to find time for scrapbooking and/or taking photos and documenting all of the awesome, hilarious stuff Jack does. I actually find that writing bits in this blog is easier. So just a quick note of some adorable Jackson-isms I want to remember. One, he giggles extensively every time we put his shoes off and on. He finds it very funny to watch the socks and shoes go on and off. And after giggling quite a bit during the taking off of the shoes and socks, he is immediately ready for us to put them back on again. Granted during sock-take-off I will slowly tug on the socks which is, to Jack, the best part of the shoe-show. Two, Jack has taken hide-and-seek to a whole new level. He is almost obsessed with the game. He plays it all day and the best part about it is that he thinks if he just rests his head on an object, any object, he is "hiding." Even behind the letter "W" from his alphabet magnets. If he places the orange "W" ...

Turns out the festival was not-so-festival. Kind of a bummer. But it was nice to get out, walk around, listen to some music and see the downtown skyline.

Yesterday, we headed out for some brunch and afterward noticed it was so nice we stopped by the park. No one was there so we sat on a blanket and let Jack run wild. He darted through the wet grass in his bare feet pointing out squirrels and dogs running past in the distance. After a while, he found a large tree and danced around it playing hide-and-go-seek. Until after a second or two we could no longer see him. Turns out he was behind the tree "taking care of some business." That's my boy. Taking after the family dog.

Tonight we are going to the annual Scottish festival. And I am looking forward to Whisky Tastings, men in kilts, great music, and large Scottish men throwing large, odd, Scottish equipment. This year there is also a dog parade. That's right - dogs of Scottish origin will be working the runway. I wonder what Ted Gunn would have to say about that. Not to get too "scrapbookish" here but it will be Jackson's first festival where he can run around, eat stuff and maybe throw some things.

The following is a list of all of the signs that 12-month-old Jack uses to communicate with us and/or boss us around. For some, he uses official sign language. For others, he has just aquired through various observations. He signs for: milk more: he points his right index finger in the open palm of his left hand. all done: he shakes both hands in the air when he is ready to go or finished eating lotion: this he picked up on his own. Every night after his bath I put lotion on him and so now everytime he sees a bottle of lotion he rubs his hands together. be quiet: he puts his pointer finger up to his lips to tell elvis (and/or other dogs) to be quiet help: when in the yard he will raise one arm up for you to help him over a step, a stick, the hose, etc. eat: he points to his mouth when he is hungry pointing: he points in the direction he would like to go These are such small and simple gestures but it is incredible to witness how much they have helped Jack communicate with us. Instead o...

So I am testing out the idea of starting a small blog to keep friends and family updated on the houpley happenings. Now that we have Jackson, it seems there is so much more to keep up with. So let's see how this turns out...!

I love making a list. Who doesn't? Aren't we all making lists? Let's make a list of who is making list! You? and you? Yes, and I know YOU are. Anyone who has ever done some traveling on the interwebs is surely aware that life lists are all the rage. The credit goes to http://www.mightygirl.com/ for the birthing of such lists. One of my fave writers, I have enjoyed watching her cross off items from her 100-item-long list. In the same vein, I thought I would start making my own list for several reasons. And then after talking with Eric about it, he started to make his own life list. And then I realized that making a life list should involve your life partner. Since pretty much they'll be the one watching the kid while you go do your life-list-stuff, right? It was touching to see how we had written some of the same things on our lists. Why now? 1. Because I don't want to forget all of the things Eric and I hope to do someday 2. Because it will be interesting to one da...