Summer Adventures Begin

Summer adventures, oh how I have looked forward to you! 

Jackson and I partnered with my parents for some fun activities around the area last week. My husband was out of town for business, we wished he could have joined. 

Day one was raining so we decided to go to the Shedd Aquarium. 

J was so excited to see the big fish, stingrays, and jelly fish. Toward the end of our visit we saw the 15 min 4D Ice Age movie. Prior to going in, J was very interested in the animals in the poster. He thought the squirrel and sloth were "funny guys." The 3D glasses were exciting to wear and Jackson had never been in a movie theater before so it was all new to him. A few minutes into the movie the dinosaurs were introduced. Jackson was no longer happy, not even a little bit. His glasses were no longer on and he was just watching the blurry images on their own. He became increasingly scared at the loud, big toothed in your face tyrannosaurus rex. Then the Dino sneezed and we all got wet...and J lost it. Immensely scared, tears forming he repeated between cries that he wanted to go home. I held him tight and tried to turn him away while talking to him, but each time I did he would try to peek back at the screen. We made it through, although when leaving Jackson was not as excited about the poster any more. We asked him later what he thought of it..."I don't like those guys." (Referring to the dinosaurs)..."I was scared, I was crying."

Traumatized. A few days later though he refers, while in a playful voice and grin, to the cute squirrel and sloth as funny guys again, but doesn't fail to remind you that he was scared and crying at the dinosaurs!

We were able to try roasting marshmallows for s'mores later that evening. Jackson was concerned about the hot fire but quickly discovered he liked the snack!

Our second day brought much nicer weather! 

Throwing a coin and making a wish

We headed to Lake Geneva for the beach and a boat ride!

To say Jackson loved the beach is an understatement! He was so excited for the sand. He crushed every castle we made, except for the Mickey face my dad made, he didn't touch that. He buried a shark toy, threw rocks in the water, and loved to walk into the water with one of us then turn and come back. 

Ready for boat ride

We added some activities to our summer list and then crossed them right off. 

Baby Girl - 27 Weeks

Hello third trimester!!

Movement: I feel a lot of movement now, from full flips to some kicks. My round belly is beginning to take on various shapes as she moves. It's weird to look down and see this disfigured diagonal bump below me, now blocking my view of my feet. 

Clothing: All maternity and with summer break a nice rotation of a few of my favorite & most comfortable dresses. 

Food cravings: Pizza and sorbet

Girly Purchases: Headbands! I have been following Little Hip Squeaks for a while now and although I love the boy clothes, have been obsessed with their knotted headbands. Finally snagged some for baby girl! 

Nursery/Toddler Room Transition: We have sold our old family room couch and moved the upstairs loft couch down creating the space we need to move the nursery chair out of the room. We have not actually moved the chair...or touched anything else in the room yet either. I have gone through old clothes of Jackson's (0-9 months or so) and pulled out anything that can possibly be worn by baby girl. She now has some football pjs and quite a few blue/green onsies.
Jackson's Perspective: Ask him where baby sister is and he responds with "in Mommy's belly." He has also asked on several occasions if baby sister was still with me or if she was still in there (pointing to my belly). His overall incredibly sweet personality is becoming increasingly frustrated with my decreasing ability to hold him, especially for long durations.

Rainy Summer Day Project

Our first week of summer brought some rain. So we made the best of it by painting a bird house to hopefully house some birds the rest of the summer.

Jackson was all over this project, really taking his time to carefully paint each side. His focus was adorable, you can just see his concentration in the below photo!

Four generations got in on the painting action. My grandma barely made it out without blue hair but Jackson really enjoyed having her help. He would hold her brush so he could "get it started" when we began a new color and give it to her after he accomplished some brush strokes. 

Jackson was proud of his finished project and it really didn't turn out too bad!! Lesson learned though, only open one color at a time and be sure to use inexpensive brushes because J's painting technique does not leave a brush usable again. 

I sealed the bird house later that evening and hope to hang it this weekend!

Bird house purchased at Hobby Lobby

Talk About My Day

I lay him down at night and he quickly rolls over to the edge of the crib, smashing his face against the bars while leaving his eyes to see. His little hand drapes down between two bars and his fingers wiggle waiting for you to hold it. As I lay down next to the crib, I grab his waiting hand, often letting him squeeze on to a finger or two. 

"Talk about my day Mom."

I ask him how his day was and sometimes he will ask me how my day was too. He will say his day was fine or just go right into something from the day. His thoughts are sporadic and short but surprisingly accurate and clear. The details that he remembers and deems important make me smile and want to pick him up and squeeze him. Often they make me reflect about the day too, wondering how I handled things or what was going on around him and how he felt if I wasn't there. 

From telling me he didn't like his ham to pushing with a school mate Elliot to saying he went to the park/school/store, he loves to discuss it. I ask him lots of questions to help prompt responses, then after a few minutes we say its time for sleep. 

It is a sweet time that I find myself enjoying probably more than he does now. I am infatuated by his take on the day and treasure these moments where he is so excited to tell me. I know it wont always be that way from his end, but Jackson I will always be there to talk about your day. I love you sweet boy.