We have a walker on our hands!!!

I guess Jackson just woke up today and decided it would be the day he started...WALKING! He's been cruising and walking holding onto our fingers forever now, but today he decided to really get going!

At first he was just taking a few steps here and there--between people, from one thing to another, etc. But, after his afternoon nap he was off to the races---he's all over the place! He walked all the way from the front door to our bedroom, he'll walk all the way from the kitchen to the front door, he was ALL OVER the front yard--it's crazy! Just like a switched was turned on and he could walk! We're in trouble now!

The only bad part about it is that Brian is in L.A. until next Thursday and the ONLY thing he asked of Jackson was for him to NOT start walking while he was gone! Brian is so upset that he's missing it! But, I've got my video camera handy and he'll get to see it first-hand when he gets home.

If I can ever figure out how to upload a video here, I'll post one of Jackson on the move!

No More Monkeys...

We have a children's music CD that we play in the car when we're driving around with Jackson and his FAVORITE song on it is "No more monkeys jumping on the bed..." He is SO cute when it starts to play...

he recognizes the beat and the song immediately and gets this excited look on his face. It starts at 5 monkeys jumping on the bed and counts down to 1, but the best part of the song is when it says "no more monkeys jumping on the bed" because Jackson has learned this part. He'll say "mo mo mo mo" (his version of no more monkeys) and he points his finger and shakes it (like you would if you said no, no, no). He's picked this up from us because we always sing that part super-loud and shake our fingers, too.

We're in for a long couple of weeks here at the Dart house--Brian left today and is in L.A. for 10 days for work, so it's just us! I should be used to it by now--when Jackson was only 2 weeks old Brian had to go for 6 weeks of training (he was gone 1 week at a time) in Tampa, but this is the longest he's been gone in a row.

Jackson did have a good time at the airport watching the planes--he loves airplanes! He recognizes their sound when they fly in the sky and when he hears one he goes, "oooh, oooh" and points and looks up. He's so smart!

Dogs, cats, and cows...and walking all around

Some of Jackson's favorite animals to imitate the sounds of! If you ask him "What does a dog/cat/cow say?" he'll reply with his version of the animal sound...

"ugh, ugh, ugh" is a dog (like woof, woof, woof)

"moo, ooooooo" is a cow

"eowwww" (in his best high-pitched voice) is a cat

Jackson loves to move, move, move. He is in perpetual motion all of the time. The only trouble is that he'll only walk if he's holding onto your finger--if you let go of his hand, he'll just plop right down to the floor and crawl away. He definitley has the ability to walk on his own--I've seen him do it before (usually just cruising around from one chair to another or when he get super-excited about something he'll "accidentally" take a few steps), but I think he's just content with his speed-crawling right now.

He absolutely loves taking baths--if he even just hears the bath water running he starts saying "baa, baa, baa" (which, in this context, means bath) and heads toward the bathroom. He very dutifully stands next to the tub and tries to climb in, and once he is in, he goes to work with his toy ducks and a plastic cup that he likes to fill with water and pour over the faucet.

He has also learned to brush his teeth--all 4 of them! He sticks his little toothbrush under the water and puts it in his mouth (he doesnt do much actual brushing--more sucking the water off of the brush).

He's still a pretty crummy sleeper. He's up and down all night long--I just dont know how to get him to sleep completely through the night without any wake-ups! Maybe he'll grow out of this sleepless stage...

My little boy keeps growing up! Maybe it's time to think about #2???

New York City

We just got back from a 4-day trip to New York City to visit my sister-in-law and we had a blast! It was very windy, cold, and sometimes rainy, but all-in-all we got to see everything we wanted to. Jackson did a great job on his first airplane ride--no problems at all!

The view of Manhattan from my sister-in-law's apartment:

Central Park...

Jackson with his Aunt Camie...

Radio City Music Hall...

The fam in the Big Apple...

One-year stats...

Jackson had his one-year doctor's appointment this past Thursday and had all the usual done...weight, length, shots (one in each leg, one in his arm, and a finger prick--ouch!). Here's the update...

Weight: 22 lbs. 12 ounces

Length: 31 inches

The day Jackson left the hospital (exactly one year to the day of his one-year doctor's appointment) he weighed 7 pounds and was 19.5 inches long---SO, in the past year, my little man has gained 15pounds 12 ounces and has grown 11.5 inches in length! AMAZING when you think about it!



Newborn Jackson...





First-birthday...




HOW QUICKLY A YEAR HAS GONE BY!!!

My 1-year-old boy!

This past Tuesday, April 3rd, was Jackson's 1st birthday. I still cant believe that my little boy is 1!!!

We had a party for him the Saturday before his birthday at Oatland Island Wildlife Center here in Savannah. We had a blast--eating, looking at the animals, etc. I actually have no pictures yet of this event--we have a wonderful family friend who is a photographer and she took all the pictures! I havent seen them yet, but I cant wait to!

For his actual birthday, Brian wanted to take Jackson to Chuck-E-Cheese's so we did that. Jackson really could have cared less about anything there, so I really think Brian wanted to go for himself (he, my brother Nick, and brother-in-law Michael had TONS of fun playing games, though!).

Here are some pictures that I do have from April 3rd:

Jackson's birthday balloons on the mailbox (the balloons are now stuck high in a tree in the front yard!!)

The waitress at lunch brought Jackson a birthday ice cream, complete with a candle! Jackson is clapping because we just finished singing to him...

Playing in the front yard:

Birthday fun at Chuck-E-Cheese!!! (yes, my hair is now dark brown)