02.23.09 - Potty time!

Since Jackson had been taking his wet (and one dirty) diaper off in his crib in the mornings and after naps, we decided it was time to introduce him to the potty. We got him a plain potty - no batteries, music, etc., but it is shaped like a frog and as of today, he has 7 stickers on his potty chart. After 10, he'll get a new toy. He always gets very excited when we can add a new sticker to his chart. He is starting to learn his colors and can say yellow, blue, and purple. He really can only identify yellow, but we're getting there. He has really picked up a lot of new words recently, which is great because I was starting to really worry about his lack of speech. One of his newest words that we get a kick out of: amen! We've discovered a new place in town called Kidz Play that is full of inflatable bounce houses and slides and Jackson just has a blast there! We've gone twice and plan to go back again this week. We've been throwing around ideas about what to do for his second birthday party and I think we'll definitely be renting an inflatable for the party since he loves them so much. Now that he's a little older and less unpredictable, we've been trying to go out and do more things as a family. Last Friday, we went to Luray Caverns and he was such a good boy. I think he enjoyed looking around and he always loves stroller rides. We went out to at a sit-down and place-an-order, then wait for your food restaurant for the first time since he was a baby. We had had so many bad experiences before, so it had been a looooong time. He was incredibly well behaved this time and I think we'll be able to do this a lot more now. Crayons are a blessing. He would have rather played with the crayons and the box they gave him instead of eating his meal. And I must take this moment to publicly thank my parents for introducing him to the concept of dipping while Adam and I were away last month. Now he must dip EVERYTHING he eats! He even dips his macaroni and cheese! Thanks guys, really (you know I'm having fun teasing you about this!). Luckily, I can get away with giving him applesauce or yogurt to dip things in, so at least it's a healthy dipping habit.