This child...

This child REFUSES to drink milk unless it comes out of a bottle. He will drink anything out of a sippy except milk. A few months ago I bought him his own special milk sippy cups thinking that that would help. I've even warmed it up for him so it would be just like his bottle. Nothing. He takes one sip and throws it across the room. It makes no sense. Jackson, it's the same stuff! It tastes exactly the same! He'll eat dryer lint and a whole clove of raw garlic, but don't even try giving him milk. Someone please explain this to me.

He's getting too old to have a bottle but if I don't give him one, he doesn't get any milk during the day. Plus, he will only drink one bottle at night. It's not like I can give it to him throughout the day. We've tried adding chocolate and strawberry to it as well. We've given him fun curly straws to drink from. We've tried soy milk and cow's milk. Still nothing. And I don't think it's a lactose issue...he'll eat mac and cheese with no problems. I think it's a stubborn child issue.

I'm afraid we may be to the point where we simply don't give him anything but milk and assume that if he gets thirsty enough, he'll drink it. That should be fun.... Any suggestions?

The big day!

Friday was one of the best days ever! I never thought I'd be able to say goodbye to contacts and glasses. My whole LASIK experience was fantastic from beginning to end. I went to Hoopes Vision which was a great decision.

I want to write about my day. Sorry if it's not too exciting but I want to remember it. First of all, a big thank you to my dad for tending the kids so Matt could stay with me the whole time. We checked in at Hoopes and I was given a quick check up. They took my vitals and gave me a Valium. I've never had one before and I'm not sure if it did anything but I didn't freak out under the laser so I guess that was the plan. Then I was given some antiseptic drops in my eyes. The procedure was explained to me several times so I would know what to expect. I met Dr. Hoopes and he made me feel great about the whole thing.

The procedure is done in three phases. I was awake for the whole thing but my eyes were numbed. The first phase is to make a corneal flap on each eye. The IntraLase method is really cool. It is done without a blade. The laser creates millions of tiny bubbles just under the surface of the eye. Phase two is the really good part. You get to sit in a massage chair for 20 minutes and wait for them to dissolve.

After the bubbles dissolve, the layer separates and there you have your flap. Phase three is where the actual reshaping of the cornea takes place. I was taken to a different laser and told the only thing I had to do was focus on the blinking green light. Easy enough. I don't know if I should describe the next part because it might gross some people out. So that's your warning. The doctor then peels back the thin flap and the laser does it's thing. Then they replace the flap, smooth it out, and it begins to heal right away. It was so fast. Both eyes probably took 3 minutes total to correct. That's it! 20 years of being dependent on glasses or contacts and that's all it took to change that.

After I was done under the laser I was taken down the hall to relax in a chair. I could already see clearer but it was foggy. Another doctor checked out my eyes to see how it was healing. He said it looked great. I was given all my drops and some very stylish sunglasses to wear. I just rested and took it easy that evening. At my one day check up, he said my eyes were showing some dry patches so I need to use my artificial tears more often but that's it. I am healing just fine and he said I was already seeing about 20/25. That is the same if not a little better than I saw with contacts. And the most exciting part is that he said over the next couple of weeks my vision will stabilize and get even better. YAY!!! I can't wait. I also can't wait to be able to wear eye makeup again. That's vain, I know. But really, the blonde eyelashes and dark circles don't do anything for me. :)

I feel so blessed to have had this done. It was completely painless. Honestly, the most unpleasant part of it is taking off my eye shields that are taped to my face each morning.

So there you have it! It has been wonderful and I know it will be life changing.

I have the whole thing on DVD. That's probably strange to some people but I think it's fascinating. If I can figure out how, I'll post it on here if anyone else wants to see it!

St. Patrick's Day!

I know it was three days ago but happy St. Patrick's Day!

On a side note...we found out I was pregnant with Eliza on St. Patrick's day, 2006. Now look at her!

Lesson learned

You know those little warning signs that are on shopping carts telling you how to NOT let your child ride in them? I will never ignore one again.

Jackson is a nightmare in shopping carts. He screams like he is being tortured if he gets strapped into one. So on my quick trip to Target this evening, I decided I did not want to fight with him so I put him in the basket portion with Eliza. He sat, he stood, he sat, he stood. I enticed him with fruit snacks and toys and sippy cups just to make it through the 10 minute trip without a meltdown. As my head was turned he started reaching for a something hanging on a rack. As I looked back at him what I saw was him tumbling out of the shopping cart. Head over feet. It all happened so fast. He landed flat on his back. I didn't even think, I scooped him up and decided that him crying and flailing around was a good sign. I left my cart where it was and left the store. I didn't need all the judgmental eyes around me telling me what I already knew - that was not a safe place for children to be. I felt horrible.

But I am very grateful. I have been going over and over how much worse this little learning experience could have been. He could have landed on his arm or even worse, his head. We could have been on the hard tile floor instead of the carpeted part of the store. He could have gotten his finger stuck in the holes of the cart as he fell out. It could have been bad. Instead, I think I was more shaken up than him. He was absolutely fine by the time we got home.

So if you happen to see me at a store with a screaming toddler strapped into the seatbelt of a shopping cart, you'll know why. He's being restrained against his will for his own good.

This picture has nothing to do with the shopping cart incident. It is just cute.

20 months

I can't believe that Jackson is really that old. I was thinking I needed to do a Jackson post and I counted three or four times to make sure that was right. 20 months! Some days it feels like longer and some days I don't know where the time has gone.

Jackson is doing great. He is such a sweet, funny boy and it has been fun to see his personality develop more.

We are especially thankful that his ears have not had any more trouble since his last infection in January. It has made such a difference in his mood and sleeping. We'll keep our fingers crossed!

Jackson loves his big sister. He follows her around and tries to do whatever she is doing.

Still no talking from him. I can tell that he is trying. He definitely understands a lot of what we say to him. I hope that within the next couple of months he'll get the hang of it.

He has all of his teeth besides his two year molars and when he smiles with those dimples, it is the cutest thing. I wish he would do it more often! It's hard to catch it on camera. We did however get a picture of his cross dressing tendencies. He LOVES to wear my heels. I don't know how this started but it is so funny. He puts one shoe on and clomps around the house for the next hour. His favorite accessory is Eliza's yellow headband. Should we be worried? :)

Some of his other favorite things:

- Throwing ANYTHING down the stairs. Some popular choices are rolls of toilet paper, balls, toys, shoes, sippy cups, couch pillows, books, paper towel rolls, anything he can reach in the pantry, TV remotes, and shampoo bottles.

- Going outside. If anyone even utters the word "go" he gets his jacket and brings it to me then stands at the door.

- Hiding when he needs a diaper change.

- Carrying cereal boxes around the house snacking from them.

- Banana bread

- His binky and little square burp cloth. He is so attached to those but it's kind of sweet.

Here are some pictures of my favorite boy.